Multiphoton fluorescence microscopy is now a well-established technique, currently attracting much interest across all fields of biophysics - especially with regard to enhanced focal resolution. The fundamental mechanism behind the technique, identified and understood through the application of quantum theory, reveals new optical polarization features that can be exploited to increase the information content of images from biological samples. In another development, based on a newly discovered, fundamentally related mechanism, it emerges the passage of off-resonant probe laser pulses may characteristically modify the intensity of single-photon fluorescence, and its associated optical polarization behavior. Here, the probe essentially confers optical nonlinearity on the decay transition, affording a means of optical control over the fluorescent emission. Compared to a catalogue of other laser-based techniques widely used in the life sciences, most suffer limitations reflecting the exploitation of specifically lifetime-associated features; the new optical control mechanism promises to be more generally applicable for the determination of kinetic data. Again, there is a prospect of improving spatial resolution, non-intrusively. It is anticipated that tight directionality can be imposed on single-photon fluorescence emission, expediting the development of new imaging applications. In addition, varying the optical frequency of the probe beam can add another dimension to the experimental parameter space. This affords a means of differentiating between molecular species with strongly overlapping fluorescence spectra, on the basis of their differential nonlinear optical properties. Such techniques significantly extend the scope and the precision of spatial and temporal information accessible from fluorescence studies.


For numerous enzymes reactive toward small gaseous compounds, growing evidence indicates that these substrates diffuse into active site pockets through defined pathways in the protein matrix. Toluene/o-xylene monooxygenase hydroxylase is a dioxygen-activating enzyme. Structural analysis suggests two possible pathways for dioxygen access through the α-subunit to the diiron center: a channel or a series of hydrophobic cavities. To distinguish which is utilized as the O2 migration pathway, the dimensions of the cavities and the channel were independently varied by site-directed mutagenesis and confirmed by X-ray crystallography. The rate constants for dioxygen access to the diiron center were derived from the formation rates of a peroxodiiron(III) intermediate, generated upon treatment of the diiron(II) enzyme with O2. This reaction depends on the concentration of dioxygen to the first order. Altering the dimensions of the cavities, but not the channel, changed the rate of dioxygen reactivity with the enzyme. These results strongly suggest that voids comprising the cavities in toluene/o-xylene monooxygenase hydroxylase are not artifacts of protein packing/folding, but rather programmed routes for dioxygen migration through the protein matrix. Because the cavities are not fully connected into the diiron active center in the enzyme resting state, conformational changes will be required to facilitate dioxygen access to the diiron center. We propose that such temporary opening and closing of the cavities may occur in all bacterial multicomponent monooxygenases to control O2 consumption for efficient catalysis. Our findings suggest that other gas-utilizing enzymes may employ similar structural features to effect substrate passage through a protein matrix.


Maintaining the physical integrity of electrode microstructures in Li-ion batteries is critical to significantly extend their cycle life. This is especially important for high-capacity anode materials such as silicon, whose operational volume expansion exerts huge internal stress within the anode, resulting in electrode destruction and capacity fade. In this study, we demonstrate that by incorporating metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with carboxylate organic linkers into Si-based anodes, a stable and flexible pore network is generated to maximize and maintain Li-ion flux throughout the electrode's architecture. We show that the zirconium carboxylate MOF UiO-67 is a versatile comaterial to boost performance and mitigate the rate of anode degradation that presently limits the lifetime of Si anodes. The cage-like pores in UiO-67 and flexural properties of the 4,4′-biphenyldicarboxylate organic linker are proposed to create robust "ionophores" in the anode film to enhance longer term durability and performance.


An 8.5-Gb/s/pin (Gb/s) 12-Gb LPDDR5 SDRAM is implemented in a second-generation 10-nm DRAM process with a hybrid-bank architecture that provides a power-optimized bank solution depending on the bank modes (4B/4BG, 16B-merged bank, 8B-split bank). Based on the specified bank modes, vertical and horizontal skew-cancel schemes for high density and an RBUS-based DBI ac to minimize data transition are newly proposed. Thus, the switching power of RBUS DBI ac is saved by 8.9% compared to that of DBI ac "OFF." To improve the rank interleaving efficiency with a current increase, partially enabled WCK (PE-WCK) mode is proposed, which minimizes the number of enabled circuits for maintaining the WCK2CK synchronization. Therefore, the current can be saved by 62% without a timing constraint compared to the WCK always-ON mode. To achieve high-speed operation beyond 6.4 Gb/s, speed-boosting techniques, namely, the two-step duty corrector, active resonant load (ARL), and one-tap decision feedback equalizer (DFE) with offset calibration, are newly adopted. In the coarse step in the two-step duty corrector, the value of the duty error decreases to below 5% by suppressing the dc signal. In the fine step, the remaining duty error is further reduced within 2.5 ps by the duty cycle monitor (DCM) and duty cycle adjustor (DCA). Moreover, the skew increase beyond 6.4 Gb/s due to the bandwidth limit by the heavy loading of four-phase WCK signals is alleviated by the ARL, where the four-phase skew is within 5 ps irrespective of process, voltage, and temperature (PVT) variations. The direct feedback DFE enables fast feedback (< 118 ps) for tap coefficient control, and offset calibration reduces the three-sigma offset of the four dynamic latches in DQ within 5 mV.


In the early 1990s, competitive elections in the Russian Federation signaled the end of the authoritarian political system dominated by a single political party. More than ten years and many elections later, a single party led by Russian President Vladimir Putin threatens to end Russia's democratic experiment. Russia's experience with new elections is not unique but it does challenge existing theories of democratic consolidation by showing that competitive elections cannot guarantee successful democratic consolidation. This book explores the conditions under which electoral competition contributes to democratic development by examining impact of elections on democratic consolidation. The theoretic framework focuses on the construction of infrastructure that transforms competitive elections into mechanisms of democratic development and shows how candidates for national parliamentary office systematically chose electoral strategies that undermined Russia's democratic foundation and created the conditions for a new single party autocracy to emerge.


Buffer insertion is an effective technique to reduce interconnect delay. In this paper, we give a simple O(mn) time algorithm for optimal buffer insertion, where m is the number of sinks and n is the number of buffer positions. When m is small, our algorithm is a significant improvement over the recent O(nlog2n) time algorithm by Shi and Li, and the O(n2) time algorithm of van Ginneken. For b buffer types, our algorithms runs in O(b2n+bmn) time, an improvement of the recent O(bn2) algorithm by Li and Shi. The improvement is made possible by an innovative linked list that can perform addition of a wire, addition of a buffer in amortized O(1) time, and smart design of pointers. We then present the extension of our algorithm for the buffer cost minimization problem, which improves the previous best algorithm. On industrial test cases, the new algorithms is faster than previous best algorithms by an order of magnitude.


Infections caused by the avian influenza virus have been known for a long time and they are present, to a smaller or greater extent, in both extensive and intensive poultry production in many parts of the world. Epidemiological investigations have established a definite significance of the population of wild birds in maintaining and spreading this infection. Avian influenza is a zoonosis, and the virus has a great potential for causing mortality in humans, in particular its subtypes H5 and H7, which is why it has lately been provoking much attention among scientists and experts, as well as the general public. The objective of the work was to catch a certain number of wild birds in several locations in the Republic of Serbia, to identify them, and to collect samples of their blood serum for the determination of specific antibodies against the avian influenza virus. Birds were caught in ten locations in a manner that was safe for the birds themselves, as well as for the staff that did the catching. The birds were caught in especially produced nets, and in some cases in special traps. The caught wild birds were identified using the methods described in reference literature. All the names of the wild birds were coordinated with the valid Serbian nomenclature of European birds, prepared by prominent ornithologist and bird lover Milan Ružic. Following catching and identification, blood samples were taken from the birds from the wing vein (in bigger birds) or from the leg vein (in smaller birds). In taking blood samples from wild birds, all the principles of asepsis and antisepsis were followed in order to prevent any possibility of infection. After that, the birds were returned to their natural habitat, to the same locations in which they were caught. Serums were isolated from the taken blood samples and they were stored at -20oC until the final examinations. A total of 46 species of wild birds were identified among a total of 259 birds from which 259 samples of blood serum were isolated. The following were used for the detection of the presence of specific antibodies against the avian influenza virus in blood serum samples of wild birds: agar gel precipitation (AGP), the hemagglutination inhibition test (HI) for subtypes H5 and H7, the cELISA test with antigen for the A type avian infleunza virus, and the cELISA test with antigen for subtype H5 of the avian influenza virus. Due to the fact that about 360 different species of wild birds live in the Republic of Serbia, the number of 46 identified species covered by these investigations account for 12.77% of the total number of bird species present in Serbia, which is considered a good sample. Specific antibodies against the A type avian influenza virus were established in serum samples of only 9 of the 259 birds covered by examinations using the cELISA test. Of the 46 identified wild bird species, 6 belonged to birds that live exclusively in water habitats and are considered a reservoir of the avian influenza virus (white stork, mallard, mute swan, common pochard, common goldeneye, and Eurasian coot). Among the listed species, particular attention was drawn to 4 species of wild birds of the order Anseriformes and the family Anatidae (mallard, mute swan, common pochard, common goldeneye) of which there were 30 birds among the total of 259 examined. In the 30 blood serum samples of the listed bird species, specific antibodies against the A type avian influenza virus were established in 9 (30%) serum samples using cELISA. Specific antibodies against the avian influenza virus subtype H5 were established in 3 serum samples of mute swans (one serum sample originated from a mute swan which was tagged in Poland) and in one blood serum sample of a common pochard, or a total of 4 (13.33%) serum samples, using the hemagglutination inhibition test. Specific antibodies against the avian inluenza virus subtype H7 were established in 3 (10%) blood serum samples, in two serum samples from mallards and one sample from a mute swan, using the hemagglutination inhibition test. Specific antibodies against the avian influenza virus type A were not established in any examined bird species using the AGP test. In the population of wild bird species in the Republic of Serbia covered by these investigations, specific antibodies against the avian influenza virus were established only in serum samples of birds of the family Anatidae. Specific antibodies against the avian influenza virus type A established in 3 (6.52%) species of wild birds, and against subtypes H5 and H7 in 2 (4.34%) of the total of 46 examined species. The sensitivity of the cELISA test for the avian influenza virus subtype H5 and the hemagglutination inhibition test for subtype H5 amounted to 100%.


Background Research on interpersonal synchrony has mostly focused on a single modality, and hence little is known about the connections between different types of social attunement. In this study, the relationship between sympathetic nervous system synchrony, movement synchrony, and the amount of speech were studied in couple therapy. Methods Data comprised 12 couple therapy cases (24 clients and 10 therapists working in pairs as co-therapists). Synchrony in electrodermal activity, head and body movement, and the amount of speech and simultaneous speech during the sessions were analyzed in 12 sessions at the start of couple therapy (all 72 dyads) and eight sessions at the end of therapy (48 dyads). Synchrony was calculated from cross-correlations using time lags and compared to segment-shuffled pseudo synchrony. The associations between the synchrony modalities and speech were analyzed using complex modeling (Mplus). Findings Couple therapy participants' synchrony mostly occurred in-phase (positive synchrony). Anti-phase (negative) synchrony was more common in movement than in sympathetic nervous system activity. Synchrony in sympathetic nervous system activity only correlated with movement synchrony between the client-therapist dyads (r = 0.66 body synchrony, r = 0.59 head synchrony). Movement synchrony and the amount of speech correlated negatively between spouses (r = −0.62 body synchrony, r = −0.47 head synchrony) and co-therapists (r = −0.39 body synchrony, r = −0.28 head synchrony), meaning that the more time the dyad members talked during the session, the less bodily synchrony they exhibited. Conclusion The different roles and relationships in couple therapy were associated with the extent to which synchrony modalities were linked with each other. In the relationship between clients and therapists, synchrony in arousal levels and movement "walked hand in hand", whereas in the other relationships (spouse or colleague) they were not linked. Generally, more talk time by the therapy participants was associated with anti-phase movement synchrony. If, as suggested, emotions prepare us for motor action, an important finding of this study is that sympathetic nervous system activity can also synchronize with that of others independently of motor action.


This essay examines how what is considered to be artificial intelligence (AI) has changed over time and come to intersect with the expertise of the author. Initially, AI developed on a separate trajectory, both topically and institutionally, from pattern recognition, neural information processing, decision and control systems, and allied topics by focusing on symbolic systems within computer science departments rather than on continuous systems in electrical engineering departments. The separate evolutions continued throughout the author's lifetime, with some crossover in reinforcement learning and graphical models, but were shocked into converging by the virality of deep learning, thus making an electrical engineer into an AI researcher. Now that this convergence has happened, opportunity exists to pursue an agenda that combines learning and reasoning bridged by interpretable machine learning models.


Metal-binding biopolymers play a significant role in processes, such as regulation, recognition and catalysis, due to their high affinity towards specificmetal ions, which they bind selectively from the cellular pool. Many enzymes can bind two or more metal ions, each at a specific binding site, to enable efficient cooperative function. Imitating these recognition abilities might lead to the production of biomimetic materials such as unique chelators and catalysts. Herein, we report a rationally designed helical peptoid bearing two distinct metal binding ligands at positions i and i + 3 (Helix HQT i + 3), which enables the selective recognition of one or two metal ions depending on its environment. Using various spectroscopic techniques, we describe (1) the selective intramolecular binding of Cu and its extraction from a mixture of neighboring metal ions in high concentrations, and (2) the selective intermolecular binding of two different metal ions, including the pair Cu and Zn, one at each binding site, for the generation of hetero-bimetallic peptoid duplexes. Thorough analysis and comparison between the spectroscopic data and association constants of the metal complexes formed by Helix HQT i + 3 and those formed by nonhelical peptoids, or helical peptoids in which the two metal binding ligands are not pre-organized, revealed that the unique recognition processes performed by Helix HQT i + 3 are controlled by both the sequence and the structure of the peptoid.


Current procedures for estimating compensatory multidimensional item response
theory (MIRT) models using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques are inadequate in that they do not directly model the interrelationship between
latent traits. This limits the implementation of the model in various applications and further prevents the development of other types of IRT models that offer advantages not realized in existing models. In view of this, an MCMC algorithm is proposed for MIRT models so that the actual latent structure is
directly modeled. It is demonstrated that the algorithm performs well in modeling parameters as well as intertrait correlations and that the MIRT model can be used to explore the relative importance of a latent trait in answering each
test item.


Blended learning is the integration of classroom face-to-face (F2F) learning with online learning experiences to engage students in a flexible learning framework. F2F lecturing is generally described as being more engaging. However, the incorporation of online resources gives students choice and flexibility in how they approach their studies, and can offer an additional tool to further enhance and re-enforce content delivered F2F. Concepts of emotional and cognitive engagement and self-determination theory have attracted attention as a possible way to describe and influence student engagement in blended learning. A recent survey at the University of Glasgow Singapore (UGS) found that students perceive the incorporation of online resources favourably, with recommendations for 40-60% of teaching experiences to be video-based/online. It is important that the online content, format and delivery are designed to maximise student engagement. However, there is no consensus on the best format and balance between online work vs traditional face to face (F2F) setting to achieve this outcome, and best practice guidelines are lacking. The objective of our study is to develop a series of pilot online resources across four engineering programmes and obtain student feedback through structured questionnaires, to identify what indicators and facilitators enhance engagement. In this paper, we present findings from the questionnaires on the learners' preferences and identify content and formats that are best received through online sources. In particular, our findings identify recorded video tutorials in combination with F2F lectures as a powerful tool to enhance student satisfaction and engagement.


Background: High-flow nasal cannula therapy has been shown to be useful in the treatment of patients with acute respiratory failure caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus disease-2. The ROX index can help predict the success of high-flow nasal cannula in coronavirus disease-19-related acute respiratory failure. However, the timing of ROX- index assessment is still unclear to protect the patients from complications due to early or delayed intubation. Aims: To evaluate the relation between ROX index patterns within the first 48 hours of the therapy and high-flow nasal cannula success rates. The secondary aim was to determine other possible predictors of high-flow nasal cannula failure. Study design: A cross-sectional study. Methods: Patients admitted to the intensive care unit between April 2020 and January 2022 with coronavirus disease-19-related acute respiratory failure and treated with high-flow nasal cannula were included in the study. Patients' demographics, clinical characteristics and laboratory findings at intensive care unit admission; ROX indices at initiation, 2nd, 8th, 12th, 24th and 48th hours of high-flow nasal cannula; and outcomes were recorded. Results: In the study period, 69th patients were managed with high-flow nasal cannula for at least 2 hours. While 24 patients (34.7%) were successfully weaned from high-flow nasal cannula, 45 (65.3%) patients failed. Overall mortality at day 28 was 44.9%. ROX indices were lower in the high-flow nasal cannula failure group through the 12th, 24th, and 48th hours of the therapy, no significant change was observed (P = 0.33). While an overall increase in ROX index patterns were detected in patients weaned from high-flow nasal cannula (P = 0.002). Pairwise analyses revealed that ROX indexes remain stable during the first 8th hours in both groups, then improved to 12th hours of the therapy in successfully high-flow nasal cannula-weaned patients. Conclusion: Dynamic assessments of the ROX indexes could be more suggestive rather than a point assessment to identify patients who would benefit from the high-flow nasal cannula or deteriorate in coronavirus disease-19 related acute respiratory failure.


The purpose of this case study was to explore how (if in any way) three informal science approaches as part of a teacher preparation program could shape preservice teachers' personal philosophies of science teaching and learning. Data were collected in a period of two academic semesters in the context of an elementary methods course through the following sources: science autobiographies, personal philosophies about science teaching, drawings about their most memorable and least memorable experiences of science, three reflective journals about the three informal science experiences (i.e., working with scientists, field, science festival), lesson plans, responses to final exam questions, observations, and semi-structured interviews. The participants were 16 preservice elementary teachers, seven males and nine females. Open coding techniques were used to analyse the data in order to construct categories and subcategories and eventually to identify emerging themes. The outcomes of the analysis showed that the inclusion of informal learning in teachers' preparation has the potential to support preservice teachers' in reconstructing their ideas about science and science teaching in ways that are aligned with reform efforts emphasizing student engagement, working with scientists, and utilizing out-of-school spaces for learning.


Dermoid cysts are unusual neoplasms and can occur in every part of the human body. They represent only 6.9% of all dermoid cysts in the head and neck region; in the oral cavity, the incidence is low, approximately 1.6% of all dermoid cysts. Our aim is to present an unusual case of a large sublingual dermoid cyst with mandibular prognathism caused by cyst growth. We reported a case of a large sublingual dermoid cyst in an 8-year-old female patient. A bibliographic research from 1937 to 2013 is reviewed and we found only three cases of mandibular deformity, of which only one was a dermoid cyst of the floor of the mouth. Removal of dermoid cysts of the floor of the mouth should be completed as early as detected, especially in newborns and infants when osseous growth abnormalities could result if removal is delayed.


Young ballerina Kepley has been bitten by the Nutcracker bug, and she's thrilled when she makes it through auditions and receives a role as a doll. She goes through practice and costume measurement, and finally it's glory time as she participates in twelve performances of the ballet, leaving her more in love with it than ever. The text is fairly literal and there's not much dramatic tension or trajectory, but the story faithfully covers the elements of primary interest to wannabe Sugar Plum Fairies, who will relish details about giggly in-jokes and princessy costumes. The bland featurelessness of the human figures dilutes the glamour of the setting in the watercolor illustrations, but the scenes are clear and accessible, touched like the text with small details (girls playing hand-clap games or stretching a limb as they wait) that will suggest verisimilitude to yearning young viewers. Though the stylistic plainness won't be much of a lure, this is a practical introduction for those youngsters whose imaginations are fired less by ornament than by believable prospects. DS


IMPORTANCE
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends the tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine for pregnant women during each pregnancy, regardless of prior immunization status. However, safety data on repeated Tdap vaccination in pregnancy is lacking.

OBJECTIVE
To determine whether receipt of Tdap vaccine during pregnancy administered in close intervals from prior tetanus-containing vaccinations is associated with acute adverse events in mothers and adverse birth outcomes in neonates.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
A retrospective cohort study in 29,155 pregnant women aged 14 through 49 years from January 1, 2007, through November 15, 2013, using data from 7 Vaccine Safety Datalink sites in California, Colorado, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin.

EXPOSURES
Women who received Tdap in pregnancy following a prior tetanus-containing vaccine less than 2 years before, 2 to 5 years before, and more than 5 years before.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Acute adverse events (fever, allergy, and local reactions) and adverse birth outcomes (small for gestational age, preterm delivery, and low birth weight) were evaluated. Women who were vaccinated with Tdap in pregnancy and had a prior tetanus-containing vaccine more than 5 years before served as controls.

RESULTS
There were no statistically significant differences in rates of medically attended acute adverse events or adverse birth outcomes related to timing since prior tetanus-containing vaccination. [table: see text].

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Among women who received Tdap vaccination during pregnancy, there was no increased risk of acute adverse events or adverse birth outcomes for those who had been previously vaccinated less than 2 years before or 2 to 5 years before compared with those who had been vaccinated more than 5 years before. These findings suggest that relatively recent receipt of a prior tetanus-containing vaccination does not increase risk after Tdap vaccination in pregnancy.


Precursory changes in the radon concentration of groundwater were observed prior to the Izu-Oshima-kinkai earthquake (magnitude 7.0) 14 January 1978. The distance from the epicenter to a continuous radon-monitoring station at Nakaizu was about 25 kilometers. A sudden drop and a subsequent increase in the radon concentration recorded on 9 January 1978 were significant. The size of the spike-like change was about 15 percent. After the earthquake, a remarkable increase in the radon concentration occurred.


Simulators are a commonly used tool in peer-to-peer systems research. However, they may not be able to capture all the details of a system operating in a live network. Transitioning from the simulation to the actual system implementation is a non-trivial and time-consuming task.

We present ProtoPeer, a peer-to-peer systems prototyping toolkit that allows for switching between the event-driven simulation and live network deployment without changing any of the application code. ProtoPeer defines a set of APIs for message passing, message queuing, timer operations as well as overlay routing and managing the overlay neighbors. Users can plug in their own custom implementations of most of the parts of ProtoPeer including custom network models for simulation and custom message passing over different network stacks.

ProtoPeer is not only a framework for building systems but also for evaluating them. It has a unified system-wide infrastructure for event injection, measurement logging, measurement aggregation and managing evaluation scenarios.

The simulator scales to tens of thousands of peers and gives accurate predictions closely matching the live network measurements.


Identifying a form of government intervention in social and economic affairs called public service liberalism, Alan Stone looks to that ideology to confront the problems of the 1990s and beyond. He shows in this fascinating case study that the policy has been effective in the past: the American telephone industry from its inception until 1934 is an illustration of how public service liberalism served both economic efficiency and a complex structure of public values. Stone depicts the stages by which public service liberalism was replaced by less adequate policies and suggests ways that it could be successfully restored. Furthermore, Stone demonstrates that government-business relationships like the one that prevailed in the telephone industry were common in the nineteenth and the early twentieth century. He argues that this period was not an era of laissez-faire, as is often alleged, but that its economic energy and extraordinary technological progress were accompanied by complete acceptance of certain kinds of government intervention. Challenging the presuppositions not only of the new ideologists of deregulation, privatization, and competition but also of the practitioners of what he calls the "sanctimonious muddle" of present-day liberalism, Stone demonstrates that public service liberalism could help resolve current problems, such as those in the savings and loan institutions and the cable television industry.Originally published in 1991.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.


The Olorgesailie Formation consists of sedimentary deposits which were laid down during the Middle Pleistocene in a small basin of internal drainage on the foor of the Gregory Rift Valley 65 kms south-west of Nairobi. The particular interest of the beds stems firstly from the fact that they preserve a rich and abundant archaeological record of the life patterns and handicrafts of early man; and secondly from the fact that the excellent exposure of the stratigraphy makes it possible to work out the history of sedimentation and to reconstruct the conditions under which the beds were deposited. For various reasons, Olorgesailie has come to be one of the best-known sites in the Rift Valley; this is partly due to the fact that it was discovered at a relatively early stage in the development of Quaternary studies in East Africa, and partly owing to the fact that access to Olorgesailie from Nairobi is easy by comparison with many other East African sites. However, the fame of Olorgesailie is mostly attributable to the spectacular abundance of well-preserved early stone age artefacts that occur there. The site has been known for more than 30 years (see below) and yet for various reasons no comprehensive account of either the archaeology or the geology has hitherto appeared. A monograph on the prehistory is now in press (Isaac, in press) and this volume provides a welcome opportunity to present an outline of the stratigraphy and a palaeoenvironemental interpretation. This accompanies a contoured 1:10000 geological map of


By combining the improved wavelet neural network and BP neural network, a new structure based on mixed cascade neural network was established. The novel cascade neural network has been used to the oscillopolargriphic signals analysis. By the figure fitting and parameters extracting, we realized the prediction of the simulation samples.The training speed and the predication accuracy can be enhanced by optimizing the network structure and parameters. The result of concentration prediction is satisfied . The method has been applied to the simultaneous determination of p- Nitrochlorobenzene (p-NCB) and o-Nitrophenol (o-NP) in simulation samples with satisfactory results. The Relative error and Recovery of p-NCB、o-NP were 3.76%、96.2%; 4.05%、96.0%, respectively. This novel cascade neural network combines the advantage of wavelet neural networks and BP neural networks, and performs its own functions respectively. It has shown a unique advantage in the overlap peak analyze.


Over time, how does beauty develop and decay? Common sense suggests that beauty is intensely felt only after prolonged experience of the object. Here, we present one of various stimuli for a variable duration (1–30 s), measure the observers' pleasure over time, and, finally, ask whether they felt beauty. On each trial, participants (N = 21) either see an image that they had chosen as "movingly beautiful," see an image with prerated valence, or suck a candy. During the stimulus and a further 60 s, participants rate pleasure continuously using a custom touchscreen web app, EmotionTracker.com. After each trial, participants judge whether they felt beauty. Across all stimulus kinds, durations, and beauty responses, the dynamic pleasure rating has a stereotypical time course that is well fit by a one-parameter model with a brief exponential onset (roughly 2.5 s), a sustained plateau during stimulus presentation, and a long exponential decay (roughly 70 s). Across conditions, only the plateau amplitude varies. Beauty and pleasure amplitude are nearly independent of stimulus duration. The final beauty rating is positively correlated with pleasure amplitude (r = 0.60), and nearly independent of duration (r = 0.10). Beauty's independence from duration is unlike Bentham's 18th-century notion of value (utility), which he supposed to depend on the product of pleasure amplitude and duration. Participants report having felt pleasure as strongly after a mere 1 s stimulus as after longer durations, up to 30 s. Thus, we find that amplitude of pleasure is independent of stimulus duration.


ABSTRACT Most people receive political news from social media platforms. Unlike traditional media, these platforms algorithmically determine the order in which news is presented, in part relying on an article's popularity (i.e. number of likes, shares, and comments) to determine its ranking. To what extent does sorting the news by popularity influence people's attitudes toward politics? With two large, nationally representative samples of adults and a novel experimental design, we find that ranking news articles by their popularity has consequential effects that vary depending on the partisan composition of the group upon which the rankings are based. Overall, algorithmic sorting exacerbates the tendency to "like" news that conform to the dominant viewpoint of the reference group. For example, when the group is ideologically like-minded, the in-party bias in "liking" creates a self-perpetuating cycle, where attitudinally congruent articles remain at the top of the feed. When the reference group is rather composed of out-party members, politically incongruent items rise to the top. While this helps to expose readers to new information, they also become disengaged from reading and sharing political news. Overall, our study holds important implications for how using social media as an outlet for political information can influence – and even polarize – our political preferences.


ABSTRACT Satellite cities in Kenya are driven by belief in economic growth driven by emerging middle classes and investors. As visionary policy objects they help inform national economic policies and spatial planning strategies such as Kenya's Vision 2030. State and private investments required for their planned realization however remains elusive. This paper examines the emergent planning process of four satellite cities in Kenya based on interviews with key stakeholders and extensive document analysis. In their suspended states awaiting investment and development, these cities contend with 'ordinary city' dynamics. They start to articulate with changes in the political and institutional landscape and state-led decentralization initiatives. Our findings show how these cities represent an unwieldy blend of private and public elements that is shaped largely as a result of 'statist alignments.' In conclusion, we nuance the common conceptualization of satellite cities as planning contexts for expansion of neoliberal, speculative development and global city-making.


The purpose of the study is firstly, to empirically validate the conceptual structure of the effectiveness of the ISO 9001 quality management system (QMS) in manufacturing companies and secondly, to determine the critical factors that have a significant impact on the QMS's effectiveness. A research study was carried out through a structured questionnaire in a sample of 163 ISO 9001 certified Greek companies. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses are applied to extract and validate latent constructs, while their relationships are determined through structural equation modelling. The analyses confirm the conceptual factorial structure of the ISO 9001 QMS's effectiveness which consists of three dimensions – the ISO 9001 objectives (prevention of non-conformities, continuous improvement and customer satisfaction focus). The analysis also confirms the five dimensions of the critical factors for ISO 9001 QMS effectiveness identified in the literature (internal motivation, external environment pressure, company attributes, employee attributes and quality system attributes). However, only the company internal motivation, company attributes and employee attributes have a significant impact on the ISO 9001 QMS's effectiveness.


Background Low-level developmental lead exposure is linked to cognitive and neurological disorders in children. However, the long-term effects of gestational lead exposure (GLE) have received little attention. Objectives Our goals were to establish a murine model of human equivalent GLE and to determine dose–response effects on body weight, motor functions, and dopamine neurochemistry in year-old offspring. Methods We exposed female C57BL/6 mice to water containing 0, 27 (low), 55 (moderate), or 109 ppm (high) of lead from 2 weeks prior to mating, throughout gestation, and until postnatal day 10 (PN10). Maternal and litter measures, blood lead concentrations ([BPb]), and body weights were obtained throughout the experiment. Locomotor behavior in the absence and presence of amphetamine, running wheel activity, rotarod test, and dopamine utilization were examined in year-old mice. Results Peak [BPb] were < 1, ≤ 10, 24–27, and 33–42 μg/dL in control, low-, moderate- and high-dose GLE groups at PN0–10, respectively. Year-old male but not female GLE mice exhibited late-onset obesity. Similarly, we observed male-specific decreased spontaneous motor activity, increased amphetamine-induced motor activity, and decreased rotarod performance in year-old GLE mice. Levels of dopamine and its major metabolite were altered in year-old male mice, although only forebrain utilization increased. GLE-induced alterations were consistently larger in low-dose GLE mice. Conclusions Our novel results show that GLE produced permanent male-specific deficits. The nonmonotonic dose-dependent responses showed that low-level GLE produced the most adverse effects. These data reinforce the idea that lifetime measures of dose–response toxicant exposure should be a component of the neurotoxic risk assessment process.


Five-channel 160-Gb/s wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) systems using ABA dispersion map and Raman amplification are investigated numerically. Transmission distance and system margin are evaluated for return-to-zero differential phase-shift keying (RZ-DPSK) and carrier-suppressed return-to-zero (CSRZ)-DPSK formats. The results show that RZ-DPSK can offer 2300-km system reach at large WDM channel spacing, while CSRZ-DPSK is more robust against nonlinear effects in the fibers and offers a reach of 1900 km at a spectral efficiency of 0.53 b/s/Hz. CSRZ-DPSK can also provide twice the dispersion tolerance of RZ-DPSK and larger spectral efficiency.


Immersed Boundary Methods (IBMs) are a class of methods in Computational Fluid Dynamics where the grids do not conform to the shape of the body. Instead they employ Cartesian meshes and alternative ways to incorporate the boundary conditions in the (discrete) governing equations. The simple grids and data structure are very well suited to handle complex geometries and moving boundaries. The ma
in objective of this project was to investigate Immersed Boundary Methods through literature study, brief analysis and numerical experiments, to gain experience and knowledge on the topic and to lay the foundations for practical use of these methods in future research. The approach that was taken to meet the objectives can be split into three parts: a literature study, a simple 1D channel-flow study and a 2D steady Navier-Stokes study. The literature study presents the
basic IBM techniques and a brief historical overview, followed by a discussion on some important properties of IBMs. Based on a structured classification of existing methods, a choice is made on the type of Immersed Boundary Methods to be explored in the 1D numerical study. The 1D study makes use of the Poiseuille low problem as a test case, since it has an analytical solution which allows us to calculate the absolute error made by the developed IBMs. The study of three new and two existing 1D methods and their derived variants reveals their accuracy on different grids and shows that this accuracy can be substantially affected by the position of an immersed boundary with respect to the neighboring grid points. The construction of a steady 2D Navier-Stokes code provided an opportunity to test some of the findings from the 1D numerical study in a higher dimension. A lot of effort was put in constructing the pre-processor, which creates the cartesian grid and determines the intersections of the grid lines with the immersed boundary. Additional parameters are defined to create a data structure that allows the IBMs to deal with immersed bodies effectively. The current pre-processor can handle most body shapes fully automatically. Thin, wedge-like shapes (e.g. airfoil trailing edges) still need a little bit of hand-coding. Three IBMs are successfully implemented in an existing 2D first-order finite volume code for the Navier-Stokes equations. These Immersed Boundary Methods are tested on three test cases: a backward-facing step flow, a circular cylinder flow
in a channel and a multi-element airfoil flow. The results show that Immersed Boundary Methods are able to treat different boundaries in a satisfying manner.
The qualitative aspects of the flows are captured well. Moreover, the grid generation is very straightforward and fast, even for the multi-element airfoil. The recommendations include suggestions on improving the pre-processor, on speeding up the steady solution method and on transforming the present code into an unsteady solver


The dosage of 18F-FDG must be sufficient to ensure adequate PET image quality. For younger patients and research controls, the lowest possible radiation dose should be used. The purpose of this study was to find a protocol for FDG-PET of the brain with reduced radiation dose and preserved quantitative characteristics. Eight patients with neurodegenerative disorders and nine controls (n=17) underwent FDG-PET/CT twice on separate occasions, first with normal-dose (3 MBq/kg), and second with low-dose (0.75 MBq/kg, 25% of the original). Five additional controls (total n=22) underwent FDG-PET twice, using normal-dose and ultra-low-dose (0.3 MBq/kg, 10% of original). All subjects underwent MRI. Ten-minute summation images were spatially normalized and intensity normalized. Regional standard uptake value ratios (SUV-r) were calculated using an automated atlas. SUV-r values from the normal- and low-dose images were compared pairwise. No clinically significant bias was found in any of the three groups. The mean absolute difference in regional SUV-r values was 0.015 (1.32%) in controls and 0.019 (1.67%) in patients. The ultra-low-dose protocol produced a slightly higher mean difference of 0.023 (2.10%). The main conclusion is that 0.75 MBq/kg (56 MBq for a 75-kg subject) is a sufficient FDG dose for evaluating regional SUV-ratios in brain PET scans in adults with or without neurodegenerative disease, resulting in a reduction of total PET/CT effective dose from 4.54 to 1.15 mSv. The ultra-low-dose (0.5 mSv) could be useful in research studies requiring serial PET in healthy controls or children.


We examine the prescribed time-dependent motion of a rigid particle (a sphere or a cylinder) moving in a viscous fluid close to a deformable wall. The fluid motion is described by a nonlinear evolution equation, derived using lubrication theory, which is solved using numerical and asymptotic methods; a local linear pressure-displacement model describes the wall. When the particle moves from rest towards the wall, fluid trapping beneath the particle leads to an overshoot in the normal force on the particle; a similarity solution is used to describe trapping at early times and a multiregion asymptotic structure describes fluid draining at late times. When the particle is pulled from rest away from the wall, a peeling process (described by a quasi-steady travelling wave) determines the rate at which fluid can enter the growing gap between the particle and the wall, leading to a transient adhesive normal force. When a cylinder moves from rest transversely over the wall, transient peeling motion is again observed (especially when the wall is initially indented), giving rise to an overshoot in the transverse drag. Simulations for a translating sphere show highly nonlinear wall deformations characterized by a localized crescent-shaped ridge. Despite generating sharp transient deformations, we found no numerical evidence of finite-time choking events.


The aim of our research was to evaluate the cardiovascular risk factors on epileptic patients treated at the Fann University Hospital and to study the influence of haptoglobin (Hp) polymorphism on disease progression. In order to do that, eighty-six (86) patients followed in neurology for at least 2 years were recruited. Each patient was matched to a control according to age and sex. Hp phenotyping was performed by electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gel, and lipid peroxidation was quantified by the dosage of the thiobarbituric acid reacting substances (TBARS). The determination of a number of biochemical parameters was performed in both patients and controls. The evaluation of lipid parameters showed significant differences in total cholesterol levels, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and atherogenic index between patients and controls. For C-Reactive Protein-ultra sensible (CRP-us) values greater than 3 mg / L, a statistically significant difference was found (p = 0.009). The frequencies of the three major phenotypes of patients compared to controls has shown significant difference only for Hp2-2 phenotype (p = 0.042). The significant increase of TBARS for patients compared to controls suggested an oxidative mechanism. Results have shown a risk of developing cardiovascular diseases during the progression of epilepsy. The influence of Hp polymorphism in modulating oxidative stress suggests that taking antioxidants may have a beneficial effect, especially in patients of phenotype Hp2-2.

 Key words: Epilepsy, haptoglobin polymorphism, cardiovascular risks.


Digital platforms such as Android, Uber or Airbnb have become hotspots of economic interactions between complementors (i.e., producers) and end-users (i.e., consumers). As the number of complementors and offered complements on digital platforms grow, platform providers need to exercise control to align their interests and strategies with those of the complementors. To manage complementors and their complements, platform providers draw on control modes. In this thesis, control mode refers to set of mechanisms employed by platform provider to control (e.g., approve, guide and monitor) complementors and their complements on digital platforms. To advance the emergent research in the field of control modes on digital platforms, this thesis focuses on a control mode that is widespread in practice but has been largely overlooked in IS research so far, namely input control. Input control can be described as the set of mechanisms used by the platform provider to screen and sort out complementors and their complements before entering the digital platform.
Within five articles, this thesis addresses the role and importance of input control on digital platforms by investigating the effects of input control in four different platform contexts (i.e., mobile applications, web-browsers, crowdfunding and e-marketplaces). The first article describes the development of an enhanced conceptual definition for input control and a corresponding measurement scale for questionnaire-based survey research that helps us measure input control more accurately and gauge its impact on platform complementors. The developed measurement scale was rigorously validated in the context of mobile application platforms (i.e., Android and iOS) based on the guidelines and recommendations in extant scale development literature.
The second article deals with the distinction between complementor-related and complement-related input control mechanisms that address complementors and complements, respectively. Using a combination of quantitative (i.e., survey) and qualitative (i.e., interviews) methods applied in the context of web-browser platforms (i.e., Chrome and Firefox), the results revealed that both mechanisms affect complementors' overall perception of input control on digital platforms. Moreover, the results showed that complementors' perceived usefulness of and satisfaction with a digital platform served as an important driving force through which perceived input control affects complementors' continuance intentions.
Drawing on IS control literature and goal attainment theory, the third article addresses the effects of input control and self control on complementors' intentions to stay on their respective digital platform. Results of an online survey with complementors from two major reward-based crowdfunding platforms (i.e., Kickstarter and Indiegogo) revealed that input control reduces and self control increases complementors' willingness to stay. Interestingly, these effects can be explained through the comparison of associated usefulness and effort of using the digital platform.
The fourth article investigates the impact of input control and clan control in the context of e-marketplace platforms (i.e., Amazon and Etsy). The results revealed opposing effects of input control and clan control on complementors' beliefs, attitudes and behavioral outcomes. In particular, whereas input control had a negative effect on complementors' perceived usefulness, satisfaction and continuance intention, clan control exerted a positive effect on the observed variables.
The fifth and last article examines the influence of input control on complementors' performance. Results of a field survey with sellers on Amazon indicated that input control reduces complementors' intrinsic motivation, resulting in a lower performance on a digital platform. Surprisingly, the findings revealed that input control has no direct effect on complementors' performance when accounting for intrinsic motivation.
Taken together, this thesis showcases the role and importance of input control and provides a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of how complementors perceive and react to input control mechanisms on digital platforms. Furthermore, the findings shed light on the underlying explanatory mechanisms of why the effects of input control on digital platforms unfold. As such, this thesis answers several calls for research in platform governance and control literature, and lays the foundation for future studies on digital platforms. The overarching contributions of this thesis for research consists of (1) investigating the effects of input control on complementors' behavior and performance outcomes on digital platforms, and (2) exploring input control in various platform contexts with unique circumstances and influences as well as in combination with other control modes. Additionally, this thesis provides crucial insights for platform providers on how and why input control mechanisms affect complementors behavior and performance outcomes. The findings therefore provide valuable impetus for platform providers to maintain platforms' long-term success und sustainability.


Proceedings of the 8th Conference and Exhibition of the European Ceramic Society; Istanbul; Turkey; 29 June 2003 through 3 July 2003


AbstractThe effects of three superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) on variations in the cement hydration process were studied by calorimetric measurements and the X-ray scanning technique. It was concluded that the influence of superabsorbent polymers on workability and autogenous shrinkage strongly depends on SAP water absorption/desorption kinetics. Gradual release of additional water stored by a SAP facilitated the formation of a denser and more homogenous cementitious matrix. The addition of fly ash to portland cement had a notable influence on the hydration process and microstructure development in mortars regardless of modifications by the SAP. Characteristic patterns attributed to pozzolanic reactions appeared to be related to the mortar densification measured by the X-ray absorption and quasi-adiabatic calorimetry techniques during the first 48 h.


Background: Diagnosis of syndesmotic injuries is primarily based upon the assessment of ankle radiographs. The purpose of our study was to redefine the radiographic relationships of the ankle syndesmosis based on a large series of normal ankle radiographs in living subjects. Methods: The study involved 392 patients (218 females, 174 males) with ankle radiographs without known clinical or radiographic evidence of abnormality. Eighty-three of the 392 patients had also had normal contralateral radiographs. Tibiofibular overlap and tibiofibular clear space were measured on anteroposterior (AP) and mortise radiographs. The radiographic measurements were used to calculate means, standard deviations, and intra- and interob-server reliabilities, and compare genders and side-to-side radiographs. Results: The mean overlap was 8.3 mm on the AP and 3.5 mm on the mortise while the mean clear space was 4.6 mm on the AP and 4.3 mm on the mortise view. The least amount of overlap on the AP view was 1.8 mm. On the mortise view, there was a subset of patients that had a complete lack of overlap (less than 0 mm) with the greatest gap noted to be 1.9 mm. The greatest clear space on AP was 8 mm and on the mortise was 7.6 mm. Mortise clear space was the most accurate measure when obtaining contralateral radiographs, with a mean side-to-side difference of 0.7 ± 0.7 mm. Conclusion: Lack of overlap on the mortise view can represent a normal variant, which has not been definitively reported in prior investigations. Clinical Relevance: Our data form the basis for revised radiographic criteria to evaluate the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis which may influence clinical management of these patients.


Users of computer-based based systems often want perfect reproducibility: when encountering the same situation twice, the system should exhibit the same behavior. For real-life systems that include sensors, this is not always possible: due to inevitable measurement uncertainty, for the same actual value of the corresponding quantity, we may get somewhat different measurement results, and thus, show somewhat different behavior. In this paper, we show that the above-described ideal reproducibility is not possible even in the idealized situation, when we assume that a sensor can perform its measurement with any given accuracy.


Copper pillar interconnects are a popular interposing option due to the advantages of small pillar size and good thermal and electrical performance, making copper pillar interconnects very useful for high-frequency and high-density flip-chip-on-module (FCOM) packages. However, the challenges associated with the technology include controlling the formation of brittle intermetallic compounds (IMC) and weak interfaces during heat-related processes, and preventing copper migration during bonding and reliability testing. As the reliability of the joint is significantly affected by the property of the surface finish, it is important to understand the influence of different surface finishes on the reliability of copper pillar interconnections. This paper focuses on Ni/Au-capped, Sn-capped, Sn-2.5Ag-capped, and organic solderability preservative (OSP)-capped copper pillar interconnections with lead-free Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder paste in FCOM packages. The types, morphology, and distribution of IMC formed in the bulk solder, the copper pillar/SAC, and copper pad/ENIG/SAC interfaces during multiple reflows ( 265degC ) and reliability testing thermal cycle (TC), autoclave (AC), high-temperature storage (HTS), and thermal shock [(TS)] were investigated using a scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX). The feasibility and reliability of these copper-pillar FCOM systems were also compared and evaluated. The reliability results show that OSP-capped copper pillar interconnects are the best interposing option in terms of reliability and performance.


Titanium alloy composites with titanium boride (TiB) discontinuous reinforcement have shown improved performance in terms of strength, stiffness, and hardness. Producing this composite through selective laser melting (SLM) can combine the advantages of freeform design with the ability to produce TiB reinforcement in-situ. In this study, SLM was used to consolidate a pre-alloyed Ti-6Al-4V (Ti64) and amorphous boron (B) powder mixture with the intent of producing 1.5wt% TiB reinforcement in a Ti64 matrix. The processing parameters of laser power and scanning speed were investigated for their effect on the density, microstructures, and hardness of the composite material. The results showed that the boron and Ti64 composite could achieve a density greater than 99.4%. Furthermore, it was found that processing parameters changed the microstructural features of the material. The higher the energy density employed the more homogenous the distribution of boron modified material. Macro features were also observed with laser paths being clearly evident in the subsurface microstructure. Micro-hardness testing and density measurement also showed a corresponding increase with increasing energy density. Maximum hardness of 392.4HV was achieved in the composite compared to 354.2HV in SLM fabricated Ti64.


The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between women's perceptions of mothers' postpartum cognitive functioning as a product of depicted time postpartum as well as respondents' reproductive history. Respondents included women with children and childless women. Respondents were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: to read a vignette either depicting a fictional mother 12 weeks postpartum or 24 weeks postpartum. The Profile of Mood States (POMS), in addition to author-written items, were used to assess differences in respondents' perceptions of the fictional mother to which they were assigned. Statistically significant differences were found between vignette conditions on subscales measuring perceived depression and vigor as well as on an item measuring perceived ability to sustain attention. No significant differences were found on the majority of subscales and author-written items. Also, no significant differences were found between participants who had children and those who didn't. The results are mostly consistent with past studies, tentatively fill in some gaps in the current literature, and suggest further directions for research.


This study evaluated the speed reduction effects of providing an audible message to the speeding motorists approaching a highway striping crew. The audible system consisted of a radar unit which activated a horn when approaching vehicles exceeded a speed threshold. Speed data for 118 vehicles were collected and a speed reduction profile for each vehicle was generated. The data were divided into horn activated, horn not activated, and control groups. When the horn was activated, the average, maximum, and minimum speed reductions were 9.71, 17, and 4 mph at a distance about 750 ft from the horn. When the horn was not activated the average, max and min reductions were 3.5, 5, and 3 mph, respectively. As the detection distance decreased, the effectiveness of the horn system decreased too. The exact amount of additional speed reductions due to horn blasts alone could not be determined because of a small control data. However, the range of the additional speed reduction due to the horn was estimated to be 0-6 mph at 750 ft from the horn, and 0-2 at 500 ft from the horn. At a distance 750 ft from the horn the speed reduction effect of the horn was the greatest. The horn should be activated when a speeding vehicle is at a distance not less than 750 ft from the horn to give the drivers enough time to slow down before passing the truck. The horn system seemed to have some speed reduction effects on the motorists. However, noise problems and the human factors considerations of this system needs to be studied. These concerns may limit application of this device to very special cases. Further studies on the effectiveness of the system are needed.


As far back as the 1920s, Otto Warburg observed that cancerous cells display an altered state of metabolism surrounding lipid biosynthesis. However, only until recently has metabolic reprogramming been a recognised hallmark of the disease. The number of cancer cases diagnosed is set to triple by 2030, demonstrating the need for disease prevention, improved diagnostic testing and personalised treatment therapies. However, with some cancers occurring in the brain and spinal cord, the type of treatment available can become challenging due to their locality. Such cancer types include meningioma and glioma which are the most common brain tumours diagnosed.
An initial study involving human meningioma tissue revealed unusually high levels of the phosphatidylserine enriched with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). In this study, the metabolism surrounding lipid biosynthesis was examined to establish if such alterations in lipid profiles were related to an altered state of metabolism. From the results gained, it can be suggested that meningioma does have an altered state of metabolism, evolving around serine as opposed to DHA. From the grade I and grade II meningioma tissues immunochemically examined, positive expressions of pyruvate kinase isoform 2 (PKM2) and phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH) were shown. Therefore, the results demonstrated that within meningioma tissues, serine can allosterically regulate the flux through glycolysis. The association that serine presence alone can alter the metabolic flux was demonstrated in the model organism, Lipomyces starkeyi.
Those L. starkeyi cells supplemented with serine, displayed a 50% reduction in the amount of radiolabelled acetate taken up during exponential and stationary growth phases. The radiolabelled study also highlighted that with serine presence, de novo lipid biosynthesis was altered. Once synthesised, these neutral lipids go on to be 4

stored in membrane bound organelles. Within the phenotype of cancerous cells, such storage of neutral lipids into lipid droplets prevent lipotoxicity. The light microscopy study of L. starkeyi cells supplemented with serine demonstrated that the formation of such lipid droplets was enhanced during lipid accumulation. These findings suggest that the production, storage and mobilisation of lipids within serine supplemented cells are adapted to cellular requirements, promoting a cancerous phenotype.
In order to gain an insight into the potential impact that an altered metabolic state may give to meningioma, a liposomal study was developed. Supplementation of both phosphatidylserine-consisting liposomes, as well as tumour-derived liposomes, enhanced the cellular viability of the non-cancerous cell line, SVG, during exponential phase. The supplementation of meningioma-derived liposomes also increased the viability of the non-cancerous human fetal glial SVG cell line, similar to that observed with phosphatidylserine containing liposomal preparations. Therefore, the data suggest that in fact, the phospholipid (phosphatidylserine), rather than the fatty acid (DHA) plays a role in cellular viability.

It is concluded that the results gained from this study can be used clinically in the diagnosis and management of meningioma as well as other diseased cells displaying ectopic lipid accumulation. The observation that meningioma has an altered biochemistry may provide guidance when histologically grading meningioma tumours. For those tumours expressing the enzymes involved in serine biosynthesis, such as PKM2 and PHGDH, a targeted treatment therapy surrounding enzyme inhibitors can be examined. By targeting serine biosynthesis, the resources needed to enable a cancerous phenotype are depleted. Future research can examine such targeted therapies utilizing either the developed model organism, L. starkeyi or the conventional SVG and U87 cell lines.


In this paper, the class of weak contractive type mappings, introduced in (3) and stud- ied in (3) and (4) is compared to some other well known contractive type mappings in Rhoades' classification. As corollaries of our main results, we obtain several convergence theorems for approxi- mating fixed points by means of Picard iteration. These complete or extend the corresponding results in literature by providing error estimates, rate of convergence for used iterative method as well as results concerning the data dependence of the fixed points.


The objective of this research work was to formulate an anti-acne gel consisting carrageenan as gelling agent, Niacinamide and calendula oil as acne controlling agents. In this present work, effect of calendula oil alone was ascertained in treatment of acne, in addition to comparison of anti acne properties of niacinamide and calendula oil combinatioin. Six formulations of gels were formulated and evaluated. Out of 6 formulations, the first three formulations (F1, F2 and F3) were carried out using niacinamide as active substance and carrageenan as gelling agent, the other three formulation (F4, F5 and F6) were carried out using niacinamide and calendula oil in combination as active substances and carrageenan as gelling agent. FTIR studies confirmed that there was no distinguishable physical or chemical interaction between drug and excipients used for this study of anti acne gel formulations. All formulations were evaluated for general appearance, viscosity, pH, drug content, spreadability, invitro diffusion studies and anti microbial studies. Results showed, using a combination of calendula oil and niacinamide proved effective treatment of acne than calendula oil used alone or niacinamide used alone. The prepared anti acne gels were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, In – Vitro diffusion profile and anti microbial studies. All the gel formulations showed more than 60 percentage drug release within 180 minutes, which was far better when compared to drug release profile of pure drug. By this study, it can be concluded that calendula oil in combination with acne treating drugs can be used as a conjunction in the formulation of gels. The anti microbial spectra of the drug could be improved by this methodology by more than 1.5 times due to improved permeability when compared to pure drug. This combination of calendula oil and niacinamide, using carrageenan as gelling agent can be further exploited for the successful treatment of acne.


The effects of liposome formulations of interleukin 2 (IL-2) and local route were studied in C57BL/6 mice with MCA-106 sarcoma pulmonary metastases. IL-2 liposomes made by hydration of powdered dimyristoyl-phosphatidylcholine with aqueous recombinant IL-2 had 95% of the IL-2 associated with the lipid fraction. When mice with pulmonary micrometastases were treated once daily with free cytokine on days 5, 6, and 7 after tumor inoculation, the intrathoracic route was superior to the i.p. or s.c. routes. When IL-2 liposomes were administered by the local intrathoracic route, significantly better antitumor effects (P less than 0.01) were seen compared to empty liposomes or free IL-2 as determined by (a) increased survival and (b) reduced numbers of pulmonary metastases. Minimal toxicity was observed. Results indicate that local route and incorporation of IL-2 in liposomes may enhance therapeutic efficacy and facilitate more practical daily dosing regimens.


It is notoriously difficult to assess the economic value of research aimed at improving research capacity, particularly for the human capital component of research capacity. In this paper, a framework is developed and an analysis is undertaken of the value of training for scientists in wheat rust resistance. The value of improving human capital is assessed through a framework based on marginal analysis of the improvement in productivity outcomes flowing from the increased capacity. On that basis, the value of programs to build human capacity through training or further education can be estimated. Although such estimates are necessarily qualified, they provide a basis for quantifying the value of building research and development capacity.


The study is aimed at developing methods which have a complete validation as stipulated in the ICH guidelines and to be applied for the determination of Bepotastine besilate (BB) in pure form and in pharmaceutical formulations in the presence of its oxidative degradation product. High performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC), Ultra high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) and different spectrophotometric methods (first derivative, first derivative of ratio spectra and ratio difference are developed for simultaneous determination of bepotastine besilate in laboratory-prepared mixtures of bepotastine besilate with its oxidative degradate and in pharmaceutical formulations were used in the study design. Firstly, HPTLC was performed and separation occurred on silica gel 60 F254 plates, with butanol: ammonia (8:2, v/v) as a developing system. UHPLC in which separation occurred on a Kinetex C 18 column using methanol- 0.1% O-phosphoric acid - acetonitrile (70:20:10, by volume) as mobile phase, followed. And lastly was UV/Vis spectrophotometry which included first derivative determination of the drug at 252.6 nm, first derivative of ratio of peak amplitudes at 233.4, 250 and 275.6 nm and the ratio difference with the amplitude difference between (240 nm and 260 nm). Result showed that HPTLC method was applicable over the concentration range of 0.5-5 μg / band, while UHPLC method was linear over the concentration 2- 12 μg/mL and spectrophotometric methods were linear over the concentration range 20-120 μg/mL for bepotastine besilate. The proposed three techniques are quite accurate and precise. They can be used for routine analysis of bepotastine besilate in pharmaceutical formulation and stability indicating methods.


There is an increasing interest in targeting molecules to the mitochondrial matrix. Many proteins are naturally imported through the translocase complexes found in the outer and inner mitochondrial membranes. One possible means for importing molecules is therefore to use a mitochondrial pre-protein as a vector and assess what forms of molecules can be attached to the pre-protein as cargo. A major difficulty with this approach is to ensure that any chimaeric molecule does indeed access the mitochondrial matrix and does not merely associate with the mitochondrial membranes. We have recently demonstrated that click chemistry can be used both to demonstrate convincingly mitochondrial import of a peptide–peptide nucleic acid conjugate and also to quantify the mitochondrial uptake for specific synthetic conjugates. We now report an adaptation of the synthesis to facilitate simple quantification of multiple molecules and hence to calculate the efficiency of their mitochondrial import.


Multimodal optimization has attracted increasing interest recently. Despite the emergence of various multimodal optimization algorithms during the last decade, little work has been dedicated to the development of benchmark tools. In this paper, we propose a visualization method for benchmark studies of multimodal optimization, called parallel peaks. Inspired by parallel coordinates, the proposed parallel peaks method is capable of visualizing both distribution information and convergence information of a given candidate solution set inside a 2D coordinate plane. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first visualization method in the multimodal optimization area. Our empirical results demonstrate that the proposed parallel peaks method can be robustly used to visualize candidate solutions sets with a range of properties, including high-accuracy solutions sets, high-dimensional solution sets and solution sets with a large number of optima. Additionally, by visualizing the populations obtained during the optimization process, it can also be used to investigate search behaviors of multimodal optimization algorithms.


Purpose
This study aims to examine the signalling hypothesis of dividends by testing empirically the market reaction to dividends announcements. Furthermore, this study aims to examine the information content of dividends announcements with respect to future earnings changes for a sample of Jordanian industrial firms over the period 2009 to 2015.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors mainly used the event study methodology to examine the market reaction to dividend release announcements. The market model is used to generate the expected returns. Also, the t-test is used to examine the significance of the mean and cumulative abnormal return. Furthermore, a simultaneous-equation model developed by Nissim and Ziv (2001) and Grullon et al. (2005), applying the two-stage least squares (2SLS), is used to examine the relationship between dividends changes and future earnings changes.

Findings
The results reveal consistency with the limited extant empirical evidence for developing markets and provide some new insights for Jordanian listed firms that support the signalling hypothesis. In applying the event study methodology, the information content of dividends shows that there is a significant positive market reaction to dividends announcements. The study's findings also present a strong relationship between dividends announcements and profitability in the year of announcements and the subsequent year, whereas this relationship does not exist in the second year. The findings show that there is value-relevance for dividends, suggest that investors recognize the signalling purpose and discern that dividends announcements are useful in predicting favourable and unfavourable future earnings in the short run (the same year and subsequent year) and also show that managers may use dividends to signal earnings prospects in anticipation of expected future market benefits.

Research limitations/implications
The findings of this study could have significant policy implications. The support of a signalling effect implies an existence of information symmetry, at least theoretically, between management and investors. On the other side, this study could not reflect the levels of inside ownership or the existence of signalling substitutes even though these findings could have implications for Jordan's existing corporate governance practices and firms' disclosure environment. The results are specific to Jordan, but they do shed light on the generality of the rival models of dividend policy. Many of the structural characteristics of the capital market in Jordan are, however, also present in other emerging markets. The results from this study may, therefore, help provide the basis for comparative research both in the region and in other emerging markets.

Practical implications
The support of the signalling effect implies the existence of information symmetries, at least theoretically, between management and investors. These findings could have implications for Jordan's existing corporate governance practices and firms' disclosure environment.

Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature by providing a workable test for the dividend signalling hypothesis, applying a simultaneous-equation model that incorporates the market reaction to dividends announcements and future earnings changes. Moreover, this paper uses a recent data set of dividends announcements in Jordan. This study provides additional insight to support the signalling hypothesis in emerging markets. Overall, current and previous studies have focused typically on investigating dividend policy in developed markets, especially the US and European markets, although there has been limited analysis of dividends changes on earnings changes for developing markets.


The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects at Intellectual Property Rights contains several provisions that both allow for exclusion from patentability, as well as exceptions from the exercise of the rights of the patent holder. With the exception of the first part of article 30, none of these have until now been clarified by the World Trade Organization's (WTO's) dispute-settlement system. Based on an in-depth analysis of a number of these TRIPS provisions, the article identifies whether and how human rights provisions, as well as more overall human rights principles, can be applied in order to strengthen and confer legitimacy to these exclusion and exception provisions. While there is general agreement of the weight of human rights, there is more disagreement on the relevance of human rights, primarily due to the general wording of human rights provisions. Without undertaking a full analysis of the relevant human rights provisions, the article finds that human rights also do provide guidance in negotiations and enforcement of intellectual property rights. An analysis of the prospects for taking into account human rights within the dispute-settlement system and in the political bodies of the WTO is also conducted.


Transnational oil and gas pipelines have a troublesome history of disagreements and disputes that in many cases have led to a cessation of supply. While geopolitics and weak international institutions are often pointed to as explanations, considering pipelines as social as well as material constructs can also shed light on why disputes emerge. This paper will consider the social construction of the Myanmar-China pipelines. In China, the pipelines are seen as the solution to China's 'Malacca dilemma'. In Myanmar, the changing political situation has allowed new actors to contest the military junta's narrative of economic development and the pipelines have become a lightning rod for national conversations about local resource ownership, social and environmental norms and Chinese exploitation of Myanmar's energy resources.


H and Pt NMR are used to probe the spin 1⁄2 anion chain in the quasi-one-dimensional conductor Per2[Pt(mnt)2], which exhibits nearly simultaneous charge density wave (CDW) and spin-Peierls (SP) transitions at low temperatures (Tc ~ 8 K). Below Tc the [Pt(mnt)2] chain forms a spin-singlet state that is evident in H NMR spectra and spin relaxation (1/T1) rates; however minority unpaired Pt spins may remain in the SP ground state. With increasing magnetic field, the SP and CDW order parameters decrease in unison, indicating they are coupled up to a critical field Bc ~ 20 T. Above Bc, the spin singlet evolves into a spin-polarized configuration. The Pt NMR signals vanish as either Tc or Bc are approached from within the SP ground state, suggesting the hyperfine field of the Pt nucleus is significantly stronger than at the proton sites. Simulations yield a consistent picture of the angular, temperature, and magnetic field-dependent spectral features. OPEN ACCESS PE ESS


A planning and control methodology is developed for manipulating passive objects by cooperating orbital free-flying servicers in zero gravity. Both on-off base thrusters and manipulator continuous forces are used in handling on-orbit passive objects and eliminating the effects of on-off control. For two different contact types, the system dynamics are presented. Using a two-layer optimization process, a planning strategy for the trajectory tracking motion of a passive object, including optimal end-effector contact point selection, is developed. A model-based controller adapted to the special characteristics of the system, such as the unilateral constraints and the on-off thrusting, is presented and its response is discussed, for both contact cases. The manipulation strategy is illustrated using a three-dimensional task. For the cases studied, the system performance exhibits desirable response characteristics, such as remarkable positioning accuracy and reduced thruster fuel consumption.


The purpose of this paper is to examine the behavioral outcomes and effectiveness of organizational response to open complaints by consumers following a dissatisfactory service experience.,Three natural communities (WhatsApp groups) were used with reference to online food and grocery retailing. The respondents comprised community members sharing negative experiences on the group. A scenario implanted in a survey was used as the research approach.,Consumer advocacy, a form of complaining, is a way to help other community members. The relationship between consumer advocacy and community usefulness strengthens the argument of consumers' collective concern as one of the motivational frames for consumer advocacy. Consumer advocates show stronger reactions, resulting in brand avoidance following voice complaining. An effective organizational response can mitigate brand avoidance.,Finding ways to restrict and alleviate brand avoidance is an area that is of major interest to practitioners. The study finds that prospective explanations could be a very effective antidote to brand avoidance.,The social side of complaining is a relatively under-researched area. This study examines the relationship between consumer advocacy, community usefulness and brand avoidance. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to examine the moderating effect of organizational response on consumer advocacy and its outcomes in the virtual context.


Treatments are lacking for sarcopenia, which is an age‐related disease characterized by loss of skeletal muscle mass, strength, and/or physical performance. Icariin is a phytomolecule from herbal Epimedium, a traditional Chinese medicine widely used to treat musculoskeletal disorders for thousands of years. Here the effects of icariin against sarcopenia are investigated and the underlying mechanism is elucidated. A classic rat model of bilaterally orchiectomized (ORX) is used to induce sarcopenia. After administration for 8 weeks, compared to the control group, the forelimb grip strength, the specific tetanic forces of the soleus (SOL) and extensor digitorum longus muscle (EDL) are higher, and the fiber cross‐sectional areas (CSAs) of the gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior muscle are larger in the icariin group. In addition, icariin promotes mRNA and protein expressions of myosin heavy chain (MyHC) both in SOL and EDL. Mechanistically, icariin significantly suppresses the mRNA and protein expressions of FOXO3a, atrogin‐1, and MuRF‐1, which are related to the degradation of myosin heavy chain. Collectively, icariin protects from sarcopenia in ORX rats characterized by enhancing grip strength and skeletal muscle contraction, as well as increasing skeletal muscle CSA by inhibiting the ubiquitination degradation of the MyHC in skeletal muscle fibers.


This brilliant and groundbreaking study of international relations in the Middle East during World War I traces the complex course of events that led to the Balfour Declaration in 1917. Isaiah Friedman offers an original and authoritatively documented reassessment of many crucial and controversial issues relating to the question of Palestine, issues that have bedevilled Middle Eastern politics until the present day. The book won the Kaplan Prize in Israeli Studies of The National Jewish Book Council when it initially appeared. The author's primary concern is with the motivations of British policy toward the Zionist movement In his new introduction, Friedman traces in detail the evolving attitudes of prominent English statesmen and public men toward the idea of Jewish settlement in Palestine. He challenges the view current among many British historians that the Balfour Declaration was the result of a miscalculation, a product of sentiment rather than of considered interests of state. He shows that one of the most important motives in British support of the Zionists was to counter the posssibilty of a Turkish-German protectorate of a Jewish Palestine emerging in the aftermath of the war. He also sheds new light on the Sykes-Picot Agreement and examines the intricate question of whether or not Palestine was a "twice promised land," an issue that still has political bearing today.


It was found in studying the antimeningococcus activity of the leukocytic and thymus histones and their fractions that both histones were capable of neutralizing in vitro the activity of the causative agent of meningopneumonia (MP). The neutralization effect was chiefly associated with the F3 fraction rich in arginine and depended on the duration of the histone fraction contact with the MP causative agent, the weight concentration of the histone and the pH of the incubation medium.


Spirit of Talk Talk is a finely crafted and lavishly produced book celebrating the music created by Talk Talk and illustrated with a treasure trove of images from long-time collaborator and renowned art designer James Marsh. Displayed alongside large original artworks and previously unseen sketches and alternative covers, are rare and previously unseen photographs of the band and a specially commissioned biography of Talk Talk by music journalist and author Chris Roberts. Photographic images have been supplied from the archives of photography luminaries Lawrence Watson, Richard Haughton and Sheila Rock amongst others. The book includes the full transcript of Mark Hollis's final interview about the band and numerous tributes and eulogies from musicians, artists, producers, and people who worked with the band and knew them intimately. There are also honest, touching, and revealing tributes from musicians, artists friends and fans who were, and continue to be, influenced by Talk Talk's music.


ELIXIR is one of six bio-medical projects that are part of the European Strategic Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) Roadmap. It is very significant that bio-medical projects are part of the ESFRI Roadmap as this is the first time that it has been recognized at this level that biology needs infrastructures in the same way that the physical sciences do. This is necessary because the nature of biological research is changing due to the availability of new high-throughput technologies such as next-generation sequencing.


Economically optimal cow size is examined using a two product production framework with a single allocatable factor. Auction price data is used to construct a Total Revenue Curve for sales of small and large calves. A Production Possibilities Curve is constructed for a farmer with 100 animal units of resources. Results show that smaller calves are the solution regardless of calving season or market location.


The copula representations for conditionally independent random variables and the distribution properties of order statistics of these random variables are studied.


This document defines an HTTP extension header field that allows proxy
components to disclose information lost in the proxying process, for
example, the originating IP address of a request or IP address of the
proxy on the user-agent-facing interface. In a path of proxying
components, this makes it possible to arrange it so that each
subsequent component will have access to, for example, all IP
addresses used in the chain of proxied HTTP requests. This document
also specifies guidelines for a proxy administrator to anonymize the
origin of a request.


Most of biomaterials come in direct contact with the body, making standardized methods of evaluation and validation of biocompatibility an important aspect to biomaterial development. However, biomaterial validation guidelines have not been fully established, until now. This study was to compare the in vitro behavior of osteoblasts cultured on nanomaterial surfaces to osteoblast behavior on culture plates. Comparisons were also made to cells grown in conditioned media (CM) that creates an environment similar to the in vivo environment. Comparisons were made between the different growth conditions for osteoblast adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, and functionality. We found that the in vivo-like system of growing cells in concentrated CM provided a good validation method for biomaterial development and in vivo implant therapy. The materials were biocompatible, showing similar behavior to that observed in vivo. This study provided valuable information that would aid in the creation of guidelines into standardization and evaluation of biocompatibility in biomaterials.


The effect of concurrent visual feedback (CVF) on continuous aiming movements was investigated in the preferred hand of participants of college age (ns = 12 men, 8 women). Participants made continuous rapid reversal movements with a lightweight lever in the sagittal plane. Participants attempted to reach a short target (20°) and a long target (60°) in separate constant practice conditions, but alternated between the two targets in a variable practice condition. Four blocks of practice trials were provided in each condition, with 40 movements made in each. CVF of the position-time trace was provided for the first 20 movements of each block, but was removed for the remaining 20 movements in each block. Movements were more accurate and consistent during constant practice compared to variable practice where the short target was overshot and the long target was undershot. CVF reduced errors in all conditions, compared to movements without CVF, particularly for the short target during variable practice. The results suggest that the interference generated by alternating targets can be modulated by providing visual feedback, but once the visual feedback was removed, errors increased markedly.


Seven Inuit artists reflect their lived experience of disappearing sea ice and climate change in their artworks. Living in Pangnirtung and Cape Dorset, Nunavut, for five months in 2013 and one month in 2015 enabled me to build relationships with artists and to initiate collaborations for this project. I examine how the artworks and artists use symbolism, metaphor, and other aesthetic devices to convey messages about their lived experience of sea ice and climate change. Stories told by artists about their artworks emphasize the importance of adaptation and interconnectedness and embrace themes about transformation and renewal. The insights provided by the artists participating in this research are crucial in the context of bridging knowledge systems to enhance our understanding of and potential responses to environmental change. Connecting with the intangible aspects of knowledge systems, such as emotional response, values, and identity, is an ongoing challenge; yet, accounting for these aspects of knowledge is a critical component of salient and legitimate environmental governance. Artists and their artworks can illuminate the less tangible aspects of knowledge about change and hence have an important role to play at the interface of diverse knowledge systems.


This particular assignment titled ȃRECIPEȂ RESTAURANT: MARKET PROJECT ANALYSISȃ was done to evaluate the role of a Marketing Manager, who is part of the strategic team to analyze the restaurant start up in one of the local areas of Malaysia. The observations was undertaken in the Nilai, region of Negeri Sembilan state of Malaysia, looking ahead the probability of the restaurant business considering the wider scope of food and beverages business. Inorder to evaluate the restaurant business this particular assignment looked into the internal organizational environment and the external market environment, Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning analysis for food and beverages business, Marketing Performance targets for each of the next 3 years for sales volume, sales value and organizational profit, marketing performance targets analysis based on Ansoff Matrix as a framework, Marketing Mix Analysis and Develop Action Plans to deliver Ansoff based strategies over the next 3 years and cross-functional dependencies which are critical for achieving the stated performance targets for sales and profit contribution. The extend excellent insight into the role of marketing managers, thinking as strategic partners to the restaurant business detailing the projected tasks and responsibilities and implementation of the project with the support of people, structure, process, effective promotion strategies in a suitable geographical areas considering the SWOT analysis with the footing of on Ansoff Matrix as a framework.


The introduction of 2D materials in the structure of memristors has been shown to provide the devices with enhanced flexibility and transparency. However, their use is still not well justified, as the electrical performance of 2D materials‐based memristors is still behind that of transition metal oxide (TMO)‐based memristors. This work presents the fabrication of metal/h‐BN/metal memristors with ultra‐low power consumption that beat the previous record set by Au/HfOx:Ag/Au memristors. Moreover, all the methods used to synthesize the 2D materials and fabricate the devices are scalable (e.g., chemical vapor deposition synthesis), and the 2D materials‐based memristors fabricated here use a vertical metal/insulator/metal configuration (i.e., low variability and 3D stackable). To the best of current knowledge, the metal/h‐BN/metal memristors here presented are the smallest 2D materials‐based memristors ever reported.


Abstract The number of pancreatic transplants and the success rate have continued to increase. Most pancreatic transplants have been placed in diabetic recipients of renal transplants with end-stage renal disease, but application to nonuremic patients not undergoing renal transplants is increasing. Drainage of the graft duct into the bladder allows direct assessment of exocrine function and leads to earlier diagnosis and treatment of rejection episodes. There has been an improvement in graft survival rates associated with the use of cyclosporine in combination with other immunosuppressants. The effect of successful pancreatic grafts on the specific complications of diabetes is just beginning to be discerned, but a salutary effect appears to occur if the transplant is performed sufficiently early in the course of the disease.


Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA) and Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) are major surgical procedures which can cause high morbidity and even mortality. Among these complications is venous thrombo embolism (VTE) comprising deep vien thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). Therefore, after these operations, thromboprophylaxis is routinely used. However, it has some complications such as bleeding, adverse effect of chemical agents for using prevention of DVT. Anti-thrombotic prophylaxis includes: low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), fondaparinux, apixaban, dabigatran, rivaroxaban, low dose unfractionated heparin (LDUH), adjusted dose vitamin K antagonist (VKA), aspirin, or mechanical thromboprophylaxis devices. All over the World, orthopaedic surgeons consider a balance between thromboprophylaxis and bleeding. However, it has been still controversy about optimum prophylaxis for DVT. In this current paper, we aimed to review the literature under light of the current studies.


Promotion of Acupuncture is the need of time but due to lack of integrated efforts, this target has not been achieved. Acupuncture may prove helpful in solving the basic health problems of developing countries so its promotion is more important for them. Ways and means to promote the art of Acupuncture internationally are discussed in this article.