Competency training is a critical aspect of veterinary nursing education, as graduates must complete a practical competency assessment prior to registration as a veterinary nurse. Despite this absolute requirement for practical training across a range of domestic animal species, there is a lack of  published literature on optimal teaching approaches.  The aim of this project was to assess the value of customised video clips in the practical skills training of veterinary nursing students. The effectiveness of the intervention in promoting student-centred learning and competency development was evaluated via a qualitative case study incorporating student surveys and focus groups. The study found customised clips to be a valuable teaching tool. The video library helped address problems such as large class sizes, limited individual instruction time and restricted opportunities to practise skills. Internal student factors that inhibited learning, primarily lack of confidence, were also highlighted. Focus groups were found to be an effective way to obtain insights into the learner experience. They facilitated the identification of hidden learning barriers. Strategies to improve the training of practical competencies based on the findings of this study were identified for veterinary nursing educators.


: Histograms of cell distributions according to protein content obtained by means of flow cytofluorometry characterize the physiological state of the population as a whole and permit to calculate the velocity of protein accumulation in the cell in the course of the cell cycle. Dependence of population heterogeneity on culturing conditions is considered. Mathematical analysis of histograms of continuous cultures of S. cerevisiae is carried out at dilution rates 0.4 hours-1 and 0.05 hours-1. Calculations are carried out on condition that the protein content in the cell rises a) exponentially and b) linearly in the course of the cell cycle. At low growth rate (0.05 hours-1) the distribution is bimodal and therefore it is highly informative. The assumption concerning linear accumulation of the protein allows good approximation of the experimental distributions by the theoretical ones.


In the face of the ever-growing competition, banks need to consider other ways by which they can differentiate themselves from other competitors and stay competitive. Traditional banking services are no longer enough to significantly position a bank in a competitive space. Hence intangible attributes such as the corporate image that is intrinsic and cannot be copied become an ideal option. The study examines if there is any significant relationship between corporate image and customer loyalty. The research was carried out through a quantitative methodology. Kendall's tau_b correlations coefficient with the aid of SPSS 20.0 was used to test the hypothesis formulated to determine the presence of a relationship and findings were arrived at from individual facts provided by sampled customers of the 23 commercial banks in the Nigerian banking industry through the use of a questionnaire. The finding of the study reveals that there is a strong positive correlation between corporate image and customer's loyalty. The study also reveals that effective corporate image can improve an organization's productivity through continued patronage as a result of customer loyalty. Thus, an effective corporate image of a bank can actually influence the customers' loyalty to the bank. Therefore, the study recommends that since customer's satisfaction is of vital importance, sound relations with the firms' special publics, such as customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders, government, etc, is indispensable since customers are the banks most valued assets.


One of the many results of the Global Financial Crisis was the insight that the financial sector is under-taxed compared to other industries. In light of the huge bailouts and continued subsidies for financial institutions that are characterized as too-big-to-fail demands came on the agenda to make finance pay for the mega-crisis it caused. The most prominent examples of such taxes are a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) and a Financial Activities Tax (FAT). Possible effects of such taxes on the economic constitution and increasingly in particular on the European Single Market have been discussed controversially over the last decades already. Especially with the decision of eleven EU member states to adapt an FTT using the enhanced cooperation procedure a number of additional legal challenges for implementing such a tax have emerged. This paper analyzes how tax measures of indirectly regulating the financial industry differ, what legal challenges they pose, and what their overall contribution would be in making the financial system more stable and resilient. It also analyzes the legal arguments against enhanced cooperation in this area and the legal issues related to the British lawsuit against the Commission's Directive proposal in the European Court of Justice on grounds of the extra-territoriality application of tax. The paper concludes that the feasibility of an FTT is legally sound and given the FTT's advantages over a FAT the EU Directive should be implemented as a first step for an EU-wide FTT. However, significant uncertainties about its implementation remain at this stage.


This paper studies the case of the district of Ribaue, in Northern Mozambique, to analyse the components of (under)development in the district. By analysing the different factors that influence the possibilities for growth, the paper assesses the importance of economic/social aspects and that of culture, setting a differentiation between administration-based hindrances and culture-based obstacles, and affirming that the gap between institutions and population can be fixed through the establishment of strong and trained associations of farmers. Taking a hermeneutic approach and with the help of the Deprivation Trap, theories on culture and development and the Alternative Development, the paper argues that issues like the access to credit and inputs have an influence much stronger than that of the resistance to change from the farmers, and that several beneficial components of culture could be exploited to produce adequate development. The text concludes with a recommendation for a change in the view upon development in Mozambique, arguing that there is a need for an integrative form of development that would bring farmers closer to the institutions and that would allow Mozambique to recover the control of its strategy.


A new experimental dataset focusing on the influence of high free-stream turbulence and large pressure gradients on boundary layer transition is presented. The experiments are conducted in a new wind tunnel equipped with a flat plate test section and a new kind of turbulence generator which allows for a continuous variation of turbulence intensity. The flat plate features an elliptic nose and is mounted midway between contoured top and bottom walls. Two different wall contours can be implemented to create pressure distributions on the flat plate that are typical for the pressure and suction side of high pressure turbine cascades. A large variation of Reynolds number from 3.0 · 105 to 7.5 · 105 and inlet turbulence intensity between 1.1 % and 8 % is realized, resulting in more than 100 test cases. Measurements comprise highly resolved heat transfer, near-wall intermittency and free-stream Reynolds stress distributions. Near-wall intermittency is measured using a traversable hotfilm sensor embedded in a steel-belt that is running around the flat plate while free-stream Reynolds stresses are measured simultaneously at the same position with a revolvable X-wire probe. Additionally, turbulent length scales are analyzed using the X-wire signal along the flat plate. Results show that heat transfer and near wall intermittency distributions are in good agreement and that heat transfer at high turbulence levels increases prior to the formation of first turbulence spots. Transition onset is found to be influenced by the turbulence Reynolds number, i.e. turbulent length scales. At constant inlet turbulence intensity, transition onset moves upstream, when the turbulent Reynolds number is decreased.


Map formalism allows specifying processes with a high level of variability. However, this means many variation points, and therefore we need guidance to enact maps by customizing them. Traditional guidance consists in raising decision points to navigate in a map. The limit is that many decision points are raised at the same time, and the user (who enacts the map) does not know which decision to make first. Another kind of guidance, yet to be explored, consists in providing recommendations to the user. Such recommendations can be drawn from collections of profiles collected from map enactment traces using techniques from the data mining domain. This paper proposes a trace management system adapted to maps that was designed to support recommendation-based guidance. The paper shows how data mining algorithms can be used to find profile clusters in a collection of map enactment traces, used then to provide recommendations to the users.


In the present study, the thermal diffusivities of the Al, Si and ITO films deposited on the SUS304 steel substrate are evaluated via the present technique. Before applying this technique, the temperature for the thin film of the multi-layered specimen is developed theoretically for the onedimensional steady heat conduction in response to amplitude and frequency of the periodically oscillating temperature imposed by a peltier placed beneath the specimen's substrate. By the thermal-electrical data processing system excluding the lock-in amplifier, the temperature frequency a3 has been proved first to be independent of the electrical voltage applied to the peltier and the contact position of the thermocouples. The experimental data of phase difference for three kinds of specimen are regressed well by a straight line with a slope. Then, the thermal diffusivity of the thin film is thus determined if the slope value and the filmthickness are available. In the present arrangements for the thermocouples, two thermal diffusivity values are quite close each other and valid for every kind of specimen. This technique can provide an efficient, low-cost method for the thermal diffusivity measurements of thin films.


Reaction control subsystem (RCS) is an onboard satellite propulsion system used to provide required thrusting for orbit raising, orbit maintenance, and attitude control etc.. High pressure flow with high temperature could be generated in a chamber by chemical reactions or other power resources then expelled through a convergent-divergent nozzle to obtain thrust. In order to optimize the thrusting performance, numerical simulation is an efficient method to study the physics and parameters in design phase. In the current study, a hybrid method coupled continuum and particle methods is proposed to simulate flows involving continuum and rarefied regions. The Navier-Stokes (NS) solver named UNIC is developed by Chen and his coworkers. It employs the cell-centered finite-volume method with a hybrid 2D/3D unstructured-grid topology. The proposed particle code named Parallel DSMC Code (PDSC) is a parallelized solver based on the well-known Direct Simulation of Monte Carlo (DSMC) method, which was proposed by Bird in 1976. The physical domain is decomposed into several regimes and each sub-domain executes the serial DSMC code at different processor for speeding up the computing. A practical cold gas thruster with different chamber pressures is simulated by using this hybrid code to study the potential malfunction of the pressure regulator. Then the curve-fitting thrusting equation can be referred to satellite control operations.


§ 1. Introduction. I hope, in a series of communications, of which this may be considered the introduction, to lay before the Society the results of observations made principally during the summers of 1822, 1823, and 1824, among the Cumbrian mountains, and the neighbouring districts of the North of England. All the central portions of the region, I propose hereafter to describe in detail, is composed of rocks of a date anterior to the old red sandstone, but its outskirts are covered by deposits chiefly of the carboniferous order. On the west side it is washed by the Irish Sea; and on the east it presses against, and, in part, blends itself with, the great calcareous chain which forms the separation of the waters descending to the coasts of Lancashire and Yorkshire. To the north it is prolonged, through an unbroken zone of mountain limestone, into the plain of the new red sandstone, stretching down the vale of the Eden; to the south it sinks towards the shores of Morecombe Bay, and terminates in a succession of flat-topped elevations, crowned with precipices of mountain limestone—the remains of a calcareous ridge, once undoubtedly continuous from the higher part of the valley of the Kent to the southern extremity of Cumberland. It follows, from this description, and will be still more clearly seen by a glance of the eye over the north-west part of the geological map of England*, that the circular cluster of the mountains here described, presents, through the


Resistance to stripe and leaf rusts is the most important objectives in Kazakhstan, and they are the major factor that adversely affects wheat yield and quality and finally causes considerable economic damage. This study was aimed at characterizing elite wheat germplasm from Central Asia using molecular markers linked to the Lr34/Yr18 dual rust resistance gene and to identify new wheat germplasm resistant to leaf and yellow rust. In experiment with germplasm developed from Kazakhstan and Central and West Asia yellow rust trap nursery (CIMMYT), the frequency of the csLV34b-allele linked to Lr34/Yr18 (150 bp) was low and only seven of the 42 accessions had allele diagnostic of Lr34/Yr18. Two genotypes had high level of resistance, showing immune reaction to all three rusts. Disease severity from resistance to moderate susceptible was recorded in the lines having Lr34/Yr18 genes, which is comparable to the disease severity observed on the cultivar, Cook (20MS-30MS), carrying Lr34/Yr18 genes. The molecular screening of a set of additional 51 wheat genotypes, including commercial cultivars and breeding lines from different countries, showed that the csLV34 marker was present in 20 genotypes. This allowed us to select lines that could be used for future breeding work. In all, a total of 269 lines possessed effective Lr34/Yr18 gene complex: 28 lines of F4 Almaly/Opata-85, 34 lines of Almaly/Super Kauz, 26 lines of F4 Parula/(Almaly/Anza), 23 lines of F4 Babax 1/Opata 85, and 27 lines of Madsen/Cook populations. This further validates and confirms that the STS marker csLV34 and morphological marker leaf tip necrosis are reliable in the identification of carriers of effective slow rusting Lr34/Yr18 gene. The germplasms identified are further being tested for end-used quality and could be released by NARS as varieties in the various countries of Central Asia.


Against all the odds, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, North Korea) has survived two decades of acute crisis since the end of the Cold War. It has neither collapsed nor reformed itself, despite the dire state of its economy and the existence of extensive international sanctions. This has been possible as it has skillfully adapted to circumstances and found new ways to maintain supply lines and revenue streams, developing and using a range of suppliers and altering their relative importance over time, as well as the way in which they operate, in order to circumvent sanctions. Furthermore, they have also been able to develop new ones. There has also been a shift away from direct state control over illicit and semi-official activities, towards putting more trust in market mechanisms and obtaining the state's and the regime's share through different forms of "loyalty schemes", bribery and public-private constructions. This shift has made it more difficult to target the different sources of revenue. It is possible to identify ten supply lines and revenue streams: (a) The shadow economy and semi-official trade; (b) the "court economy"; (c) international trade; (d) the Kaesong Industrial Zone; (e) the export of labour and remittances; (f) mobile phones; (g) tourism ; (h) the arms trade; (i) illicit activities; and (j) foreign assistance. The shadow economy and semi-official trade have been crucial to keeping the state functioning, and the regime as well as the wider population alive. The success of the court economy has been crucial for the survival of the regime. The revenues gained from the export of labour and the national mobile phone network are also surprisingly large. The arms trade continues to bring in revenue, as do tourism and remittances, but none of these are as important as they once were. Illicit activities continue to be a major source of revenue. However, as the government becomes more skilled at hiding its involvement, it is increasingly difficult to estimate the amounts involved or obtained by the regime. International trade, most notably with China and South Korea, is also a major source of income. Foreign assistance also contributes, but is very limited in comparison. There is currently a wide range of sanctions on North Korea. These sanctions have been a complete failure in fulfilling their aim of halting North Korea's nuclear weapon programme. They have, however, had a substantial impact on the country. Under their pressure, North Korea has been forced to adapt to a new reality, not least by hiding its involvement in illicit activities and finding new revenue streams. It has been highly successful at both. In trying to refine and design new sanctions, it should be clear that there is no silver bullet. First and foremost, it is important to do the utmost to implement the sanctions currently in place, including monitoring and fine-tuning their implementation. All possible efforts should be made to get those states which do not currently comply to do so. Sanctions will not work as long as China and to some extent South Korea continue to engage with North Korea. Sanctions should target the following areas:The court economy should be a prime target for international sanctions. Financial sanctions are likely to be the most effective.The export of labour should be targeted by sanctions. It is a major revenue stream and, moreover, an area in which dependence on Chinese compliance is less important.Existing sanctions on International trade should be fine-tuned and developed. It is extremely doubtful that they will make a major difference, however, as North Korea's number one trading partner, China, is unlikely to comply. Nonetheless, such sanctions send a signal and are disruptive in Pyongyang.Efforts to implement sanctions that target the arms trade should continue, not least the work to detect, monitor and intercept suspicious cargoes and financial transactions in and out of North Korea.Sanctions targeting illicit activities should be fine-tuned and developed in order to increase their effectiveness. Efforts should be made to convince China to increase its pressure, in particular because apart from China, there are few channels left for North Korean illicit activities.The Kaesong Industrial Zone is in theory a good and easy target for sanctions, and its closure would be a major blow to the regime. However, in practice this is beyond the control of the international community, and it is unlikely that South Korea would be willing to close Kaesong. The following areas should not be targeted by sanctions: The shadow economy and semi-official trade are not good targets for sanctions. They are difficult to target, and doing so would be likely to have a disproportionate impact on ordinary North Koreans.Remittances are under control and there is no need for, nor would there be any likely impact from, more sanctions.The mobile phone network offers limited opportunities for successful sanctions. In addition, the proliferation of mobile phones should not be a target for sanctions because increased communication in a closed authoritarian state such as North Korea is a positive development.Foreign assistance is not an area that should be targeted by international sanctions.Outgoing Tourism is not possible to develop effective sanctions against. Nor would it be a good thing if wanting North Korea to open up.


Recently, industries need more effective software engineering education for undergraduate students as software plays an increasingly important role in consumer products. Specifically, the manufacturing industry emphasizes overall experience with software development processes from requirements to implementation in embedded software development. This paper proposes an educational toolkit focusing on architecture design methodology for embedded software and reports experience with teaching software engineering by using the toolkit. The toolkit has several tools that support methodology education. The toolkit consists of three perspectives: people, process, and technology. Each perspective represents a set of tools which can support educational activities. Particularly, the toolkit introduces LEGO MindStorms NXT as a robotic system to provide experiences with embedded software development, and visible and tangible course materials. We have conducted a case study based on the toolkit in undergraduate-level classes. The case study shows the toolkit can be successfully applied in undergraduate-level software engineering education.


Malic enzymes are a class of oxidative decarboxylases which catalyze the oxidative decarboxylation of malate to pyruvate and carbon dioxide. the former studies on lipid pathways and genetic engineering test for enhanced lipid synthesis suggests that ME are the most promising targets gene for enhanced lipid synthesis. The full-length cDNA encoding NADP malic enzyme was obtained from oleaginous microalgae Dunaliella parva, which include 1293 bp open reading frame (ORF) and 26 bp 3′-untranslated sequence. NCBI-CD search revealed that there are two mainly domains predicted in the Dunaliella parva ME protein. In addition, a 724 bp promoter was obtained. The potential regulatory elements associated with hormone and light responses were also found in the ME promoter region. Similarity analysis revealed that the highest identity was found between Dunaliella parva and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The Dunaliella parva ME also showed wide similarity with other species.


The aim of the present study was to use factorial design to enhance the dissolution rate of nimesulide using solid binary systems with the hydrophilic carriers D-mannitol and polyethylene glycol (PEG 4000). Two-factor full factorial design was employed to investigate the effects of the drug/carrier ratio (X(1), 10 and 20%) and the method of preparation (X(2), physical or co-melted mixture) on the percent drug release after 60 min (Y(1)). Drugcarrier co-melted mixtures were prepared by melting the carriers D-mannitol or PEG with the drug. For physical mixtures, the drug and carrier were mixed thoroughly in a mortar until a homogeneous mixture was obtained. Drug-carrier interactions were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). All prepared mixtures were filled in hard gelatin capsules, size 0, and then their dissolution rate was tested. The results showed an increase in the solubility of the drug with increasing polymer concentrations. Thermal analysis revealed no notable differences regarding thermal events of nimesulide, D-mannitol, PEG 4000, and their physical or comelted mixtures. The percent drug released after 60 min was 29.5% for nimesulide alone, 37.14 and 32.0% for a PEG/Physical mixture with a 10 or 20% drug/polymer ratio, and 69.7 and 53.1% for a PEG/Co-melted mixture with the same ratios. For nimesulide/D-mannitol, this percent drug released was 33.57 and 29.6% for a physical mixture and 63.13 and 48.04% for a co-melted mixture. Formulations with PEG showed an increase in solubility as well as dissolution in comparison to those prepared with D-mannitol. Factorial design was successfully used to optimize the dissolution rate of nimesulide. The chosen polymers caused a notable increase in drug solubility and co-melted formulations generally showed a higher dissolution than those prepared with physical mixtures.


Quantification of orienting responses can be used to differentiate between children with cerebral visual impairment and infantile nystagmus syndrome. To further improve the sensitivity of this method, we compared orienting responses to a Cartoon stimulus, which contains all sorts of visual information, to stimuli that contain only Contrast, Form coherence, Motion coherence, Color and Motion detection. The stimuli were shown on an eye tracker monitor using a preferential looking paradigm. We found that both groups of children showed general slowing in orienting responses compared to controls. The children with cerebral visual impairment had significantly prolonged responses to Cartoon compared to the children with nystagmus, whereas the children with nystagmus had prolonged responses to Motion detection and larger fixation areas. Previously reported differences in orienting responses to Cartoon were replicated. Application of specific visual information did not alter the sensitivity of the method to distinguish between children with visual processing deficits.


Abstract. The first systematic analysis of the Danian carditids of Patagonia is presented, which includes four genera—one new genus and the first records of three other genera in South America. They consist of Claibornicardia paleopatagonica (Ihering, 1903), a widely distributed species occuring in the Jagüel, Roca and Salamanca formations (Neuquén, Río Negro and Chubut Provinces); Rotundicardia Heaslip, 1968, represented by the new species R. mariobrosorum n. sp., which is restricted to the Roca Formation (Río Negro Province); Cardites feruglioi (Petersen, 1846) (Roca and Lefipán formations, Río Negro and Chubut Provinces); and by Kalelia new genus, which includes K. burmeisteri (Böhm, 1903) from the Salamanca and Roca formations (Río Negro and Chubut Provinces), which is related to the Paris Basin species K. multicostata (Lamarck, 1806) n. comb. and K. pectuncularis (Lamarck, 1806) n. comb. 'Venericardia' iheringi (Böhm, 1903), a species known only from internal molds, is described and regarded as a carditid with uncertain affinities. The presence of Claibornicardia, Rotundicardia, and Cardites in Patagonia constitutes the most ancient record of these genera and confirms biogeographical connections previously established between the Danian Argentinian and North American/European fossil faunas.


In this paper, we discuss the possibilities offered to neutrino physics by the upgrades of the CERN accelerator complex. Emphasis is on the physics reach of a medium γ (350-580) β-beam that fully exploits the improvements in the CERN accelerator complex for the luminosity/energy upgrade of the LHC. We show that, this design not only profits of the ongoing efforts for the upgrades of the LHC, but also leverage out the existing infrastructures of the LNGS underground laboratory. Furthermore, given the involved high neutrino energies, above 1 GeV, a non-magnetized iron detector could efficiently exploit the neutrino beam. We show that the performance of this complex for what concerns the discovery of the CP violation in the leptonic sector, in case θ13 is discovered by Phase I experiments, is comparable with the current baseline design based on a gigantic water Cherenkov at Frejus. Furthermore, this complex has also some sensitivity to the neutrino mass hierarchy.


Abstract This paper proposes a supervisory control structure for networked systems with time-varying delays. The control structure, in which a supervisor triggers the most appropriate controller from a multi-controller unit, aims at improving the closed-loop performance relative to what can be obtained using a single robust controller. Our analysis considers average dwell-time switching and is based on a novel multiple Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional. We develop analysis conditions that can be verified by semi-definite programming, and show that associated state feedback synthesis problem also can be solved using convex optimization. Small and large scale networked control systems are used to illustrate the effectiveness of our approach.


Biodiversity conservation in anthropogenically modified landscapes requires consideration of the
interactions between communities of species, the spatial heterogeneity of landscapes and their
change through time. The significance of insects for understanding the biodiversity crisis is well
known. However, we lack even basic information about the vast majority of insects and the
response of many taxa to landscape heterogeneity is poorly understood. Several groups of beetles,
especially ground beetles (Carabidae), are frequently employed as indicators in landscape-scale
studies. To more fully understand the range of responses to landscape heterogeneity and change in
beetles, this thesis considers three beetle communities in varied landscape contexts. A novel
application of historical land use data was used to consider time lag in woodland ground beetles'
response to landscape change. Flower-visiting beetles and coprophilous beetles were considered in
the context of an agriculture-dominated landscape mosaic and on a gradient of urban land use,
respectively. All three communities were modified to some degree by landscape heterogeneity,
with responses mediated by traits such as body size, dispersal ability and feeding guild. Woodland
ground beetle communities were more strongly linked to landscape patterns in the 18th and 19th
centuries, providing evidence for an extinction debt that may be on the order of 200 years. Flowervisiting beetle communities were shaped by mesoscale landscape composition, especially the
amount of tree cover and gardens in the surrounding 200 metres. A widespread but little-studied
genus of flower-visiting beetles (Scraptiidae: Anaspis) displayed heterogeneous sex ratios among
the sites visited; the distribution and sex ratios of two species were linked to local habitat
composition and structure, measured using LiDAR data. Coprophilous beetles were less speciesrich in urban sites, but some species appeared to benefit from urbanisation. Potential applications of
these results are considered along with suggestions for future research in landscape entomology.


Rationale: Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is the most common human enzyme defect, resulting in deficits in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate production, an important intracellular antioxidant enzyme. G6PD-deficient subjects present with a susceptibility of erythrocytes to oxidative stress and hemolysis, and should avoid drugs or stressors that have oxidative actions. Dexmedetomidine is an anesthetic agent with antioxidant actions. Patient concerns and diagnoses: A 5-year-old boy with G6PD deficiency. The patient was diagnosed with G6PD deficiency at birth. His red blood cell levels were indicating Class II G6PD activity by the World Health Organization (WHO) classification, but had no history of hemolytic anemia. Intraventions: Because of the patient's anxiety and hyperactivity prior to an operation for upper labial frenum resection, we performed perioperative management using intravenous sedation with dexmedetomidine, which provides upper airway patency and has an antioxidant action. Outcomes: There was no abnormal breathing observed during anesthesia, and arousal was smooth with stable hemodynamics. The patient had no symptoms of hemolytic anemia up to 1 week postsurgery. Conclusion: Antioxidant sedatives such as dexmedetomidine may be useful for reducing the risk of hemolysis after surgery in infant G6PD deficiency cases.


A creep resistant Mg alloy MRI 230D was subjected to laser surface treatment using Nd:YAG laser equipped with a fiber optics beam delivery system in argon atmosphere. The laser surface treatment produced a fine dendritic microstructure and this treatment was beneficial for the corrosion and wear resistance of the alloy. Long-term linear polarisation resistance and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy measurements confirmed that the polarisation resistance values of laser treated material were twice as high as that for the untreated material. This improved behaviour was due to the finer and more homogenous microstructure of the laser treated surface. The laser treatment also increased surface hardness two times and reduced the wear rate by 25% due to grain refinement and solid solution strengthening.


Abstract Background Lower respiratory infections constitute a major disease burden worldwide. Treatment is usually empiric and targeted towards typical bacterial pathogens. Understanding the prevalence of pathogens not covered by empirical treatment is important to improve diagnostic and treatment algorithms. Methods A prospective observational study in peri-urban communities of Yangon, Myanmar was conducted between July 2018 and April 2019. Sputum specimens of 299 adults presenting with fever and productive cough were tested for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (microscopy and GeneXpert MTB/RIF [Mycobacterium tuberculosis/resistance to rifampicin]) and Burkholderia pseudomallei (Active Melioidosis Detect Lateral Flow Assay and culture). Nasopharyngeal swabs underwent respiratory virus (influenza A, B, respiratory syncytial virus) polymerase chain reaction testing. Results Among 299 patients, 32% (95% confidence interval [CI] 26 to 37) were diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB), including 9 rifampicin-resistant cases. TB patients presented with a longer duration of fever (median 14 d) and productive cough (median 30 d) than non-TB patients (median fever duration 6 d, cough 7 d). One case of melioidosis pneumonia was detected by rapid test and confirmed by culture. Respiratory viruses were detected in 16% (95% CI 12 to 21) of patients. Conclusions TB was very common in this population, suggesting that microscopy and GeneXpert MTB/RIF on all sputum samples should be routinely included in diagnostic algorithms for fever and cough. Melioidosis was uncommon in this population.


Models and experiments of the evolution of age- and/or size-at-maturation in response to population harvesting have consistently shown that selective harvesting of older and larger individuals can cause earlier maturation. These predictions, however, are all based on singlespecies considerations and thus crucially neglect the selective forces caused or mediated by species interactions. Here we develop simple models of phenotypic evolution of age-at-firstreproduction in a prey population subject to different types of predation and harvesting. We show that, in the presence of natural predation, the potential evolutionary response of age-atfirst-reproduction to population harvesting is ambiguous: harvesting can cause either earlier or later maturation depending on the type of predator interaction and its strength relative to the fishing pressure. The counterintuitive consequences of harvesting result from the indirect effects that harvesting of a prey population has on the selection pressure exerted by its natural predator, since this selection pressure itself typically depends on prey density. If harvest rates are high, the direct selection pressures considered in classical analyses prevail and harvesting decreases the age-at-first-reproduction, whereas at lower harvest rates the indirect, interspecifically mediated effects of harvesting can qualitatively overturn predictions based on simpler single-species models.


To monitor the position of the electron beam during transport from the Booster Synchrotron to the Storage Ring at the Australian Synchrotron, a stripline Beam Position Monitor (BPM) has been designed, fabricated and installed in-house. The design was based on an existing stripline in the Booster and modified for the transfer line with a particular emphasis on ensuring the line impedance is properly matched to the detector system. The initial bench tests of a prototype stripline showed that the fabrication of the four individual striplines in the BPM was made precisely, each with a measured standing wave ratio (SWR) of 1.8 at 500 MHz. Further optimization for impedance matching will be done for new stripline BPMs. The linearity and gain factor was measured with the detector system. The detector system that digitizes the signals is an Instrumentation Technologies Brilliance Single Pass [1]. The results show an error of 1 mm at an offset (from the electrical centre) of 10 mm when a linear gain factor is assumed and an RMS noise of ~150 um that decreases to < 10 um with increasing signal intensity. The results were under our requirements for the transport line. The commissioning results of the stripline will also be presented showing a strong signal for an electron beam with an estimated integrated charge of ~50 nC with a position stability of 28 um (horizontal) and 75 um (vertical).


CCR9 mediates chemotaxis of thymocytes in response to CCL25/thymus-expressed chemokine, and its mRNA is selectively expressed in thymus and small intestine, the two known sites of T lymphopoiesis. To examine the expression of CCR9 during lymphocyte development, we generated polyclonal Ab that recognizes murine CCR9. CCR9 was expressed on the majority of immature CD4+CD8+ (double-positive) thymocytes, but not on immature CD4(-)CD8(-) (double-negative) thymocytes. CCR9 was down-regulated during the transition of double-positive thymocytes to the CD4+ or CD8+ (single-positive) stage, and only a minor subset of CD8+ lymph node T cells expressed CCR9. All CCR9+ thymocyte subsets migrated in response to CCL25; however, CD69+ thymocytes demonstrated enhanced CCL25-induced migration compared with CD69(-) thymocytes. Ab-mediated TCR stimulation also enhanced CCL25 responsiveness, indicating that CCL25-induced thymocyte migration is augmented by TCR signaling. Approximately one-half of all gammadeltaTCR+ thymocytes and peripheral gammadeltaTCR+ T cells expressed CCR9 on their surface, and these cells migrated in response to CCL25. These findings suggest that CCR9 may play an important role in the development and trafficking of both alphabetaTCR+ and gammadeltaTCR+ T cells.


A cartilage tissue engineering laboratory activity was developed as part of the Exciting Discoveries for Girls in Engineering (EDGE) Summer Camp sponsored by the Women In Engineering Program (WIEP) at Purdue University. Our goal was to increase awareness of chemical engineering and tissue engineering in female high school students through a laboratory activity that incorporated a number of National Research Council learning objectives for science and engineering. This manuscript describes the context of the activity, detailed instructions to perform the activity, and a summary of the feedback. As a result of the activity, participants knew more about the chemical engineering profession and were able to form stronger and more educated opinions about their career interests.


There are several MSW management approaches, but the most effective are source reduction, recycling, and reuse called (3R), which can prevent or divert materials from the waste stream. Source reduction involves altering the design, manufacture, or use of products and materials to reduce the amount and toxicity of what gets thrown away. The other approaches are recycling and reuse processes, in which inorganic part can be separated to achieve recycled products while, organic waste or green waste can be decomposed to produce usable substance called compost. This alternative approach for handling organic waste turned as wise waste alternative for achieving environmental friendly end product which would reduce waste burden from landfills and creates sustainable environment.

Generally, the paper discusses process and importance of organic composting as an alternative approach in reducing and diverting the organic waste burden from the traditional waste disposal methods like, landfill or incineration and analyses its advantages towards the municipalities and local communities in adopting organic waste diversion approach to achieve natural soil conditioner called Compost.


Three methods, pyrolytic and chemical extractions (PCE), extended X-ray adsorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS) and solid-phase-Hg-thermo-desorption (SPTD) were applied to determine mercury speciation in amended substrates and mine waste samples. Although these three methods determine Hg speciation by fundamentally different processes, comparison of the results are useful for validation of the three methods. PCE uses pyrolysis and weak leaches to determine relative percentages of volatile, 'soluble' and residual Hg in substrate. The results are operationally defined and specific species cannot be determined with this method. EXAFS is a nondestructive method which uses high energy synchrotron-sourced X-ray radiation to identify specific species based on scattering patterns. Least squares data analysis is done to link patterns to a database of model compounds. This method is most useful for identification of specific species, given that they are included in the model database. Identification of Hg0 is difficult using EXAFS. SPTD identifies Hg species by incremental heating and comparison of thermal release patterns to a database of compounds. SPTD allows the identification of a more limited number of specific species than EXAFS, but is the best of the three methods for the identification of Hg0. Overlapping release patterns make the identification of species, such as HgS and some forms of matrix-bound Hg, difficult. Results of PCE analyses indicate that volatile and leachable forms of Hg in mine waste are low relative to the total Hg concentration. This was supported by EXAFS and SPTD analysis which identified HgS as the primary component of mine waste. In contrast, analysis of tailings from mills that utilized Hg to amalgamate Au and Ag from ores yielded conflicting results. The results of this study illustrate the importance of using multiple analytical methods for the evaluation of Hg in the substrate.


The darker side of peer relations is subject that has been largely ignored by researchers. This volume begins the much-needed theoretical and empirically based explorations of the factors involved in the formation, maintenance, and impact of enemies and other mutual antipathies. Using diverse samples, the chapter authors provide an empirically based exposition of factors relevant to the formation and maintenance of these relations, as well as their developmental impact. Both distal (for example, attachment styles with parents, community violence exposure) and proximal (for example, perceptions of enemies' behavior, social structure of the peer group) factors related to inimical relations are explored, and the developmental sequelaw (for example, affective, behavioral, interpersonal) of having enemies are examined with concurrent and longitudinal designs.


As is well known, there exists a four-parameter family of local interactions in 1D. We interpret these parameters as coupling constants of delta-type interactions which include different kinds of momentum-dependent terms, and determine all cases leading to many-body systems of distinguishable particles which are exactly solvable by the coordinate Bethe ansatz. We find two such families of systems, one with two independent coupling constants deforming the well-known delta-interaction model to non-identical particles, and the other with a particular one-parameter combination of the delta and (the so-called) delta-prime interaction. We also find that the model of non-identical particles gives rise to a somewhat unusual solution of the Yang–Baxter relations. For the other model we write down explicit formulae for all eigenfunctions.


Purpose: To use an anthropomorphic spine phantom for dosimetric credentialing purposes in National Cancer Institute sponsored clinical trials. Methods: An anthropomorphic spine phantom that consists of lungs, a heart, an esophagus, a spinal cord, vertebrae and an abutting planning target volume (PTV) was sent to institutions interested in becoming credentialed for a radiosurgery protocol for spine metastasis. The phantom contained film in 2 planes and TLD in the PTV. Institutions were asked to fill the phantom with water, image the phantom, create an IMRT plan for the spinal SBRT, perform image‐guidance for the target localization, and to irradiate the phantom. They were also asked to perform the type of patient specific measurements that they would for an actual patient. TLD inside the PTV are required to be within ±7%. 85% of the analyzed area of film was required to pass a gamma analysis of ±5%/3 mm. Results: 125 phantom treatment plans from 88 institutions were analyzed since 2009. Only 83 (66%) of the phantom irradiations passed the acceptance criteria. Of the 42 failures, 14 of the irradiations failed both the TLD and film criteria, 27 failed only the film criteria and 1 failed only the TLD criteria. Six institutions passed the criteria after including the couch in the calculation. The most represented planning systems, machine manufacturers and algorithm types have the ability to pass the phantom. Both pencil beam and superposition/convolution type algorithms can adequately account for the bone heterogeneity present in this phantom. Conclusion: The phantom test is a critical credentialing tool to secure the high quality protocol study. Treatment couch attenuation could affect tumor dose delivery accuracy, especially in instances where the majority of the beams pass through the couch. Supported by PHS grants CA10953 and CA81647 (NCI, DHHS). The investigation was supported by PHS grants CA10953 and CA81647 (NCI, DHHS).


Increasingly, distributed systems are being constructed by composing a number of discrete components. This practice, termed composition, is particularly prevalent within the Web service domain. Here, enterprise systems are built from many existing discrete applications, often legacy applications exposed using Web service interfaces. There are a number of architectural configurations or distribution patterns, which express how a composed system is to be deployed. However, the amount of code required to realise these distribution patterns is considerable. In this paper, we propose a novel Model Driven Architecture using UML 2.0, which takes existing Web service interfaces as its input and generates an executable Web service composition, based on a distribution pattern chosen by the software architect.


Caenorhabditis nematodes form an excellent model for studying how the mode of reproduction affects genetic diversity, as some species reproduce via outcrossing whereas others can self-fertilize. Currently, chromosome-level patterns of diversity and recombination are only available for self-reproducing Caenorhabditis, making the generality of genomic patterns across the genus unclear given the profound potential influence of reproductive mode. Here we present a whole-genome diversity landscape, coupled with a new genetic map, for the outcrossing nematode C. remanei. We demonstrate that the genomic distribution of recombination in C. remanei, like the model nematode C. elegans, shows high recombination rates on chromosome arms and low rates toward the central regions. Patterns of genetic variation across the genome are also similar between these species, but differ dramatically in scale, being 10-fold greater for C. remanei. Historical reconstructions of variation in effective population size over the past million generations echo this difference in polymorphism. Evolutionary simulations demonstrate how selection, recombination, mutation, and selfing shape variation along the genome, and that multiple drivers can produce patterns similar to those observed in natural populations. Convolutional neural networks demonstrate the potential for classifying distinct evolutionary scenarios in simulated populations. Distinguishing these forces confidently with the empirical data, however, will benefit from larger population genomic samples from multiple populations and consideration of an even more extensive training set of simulations.


Yellow, orange, red and brown pigments are formed by air oxidation of single polyphenols or by thermal degradation of sugars to caramels. Caramels increase their colours during anaerobic heating or decrease them by air oxidation. Epicatechin and caramel undergo reversible redox reaction followed by degradation and/or polymerisation at beer aging. That is why both of these colour compounds, besides acting as acid/alkali indicators, can also represent redox indicators that gradually become irreversible. These reactions are accelerated by transient metals or buffering solutions and are therefore more distinct in tap or brewing water than in deionised water. The kind of the brewing water then predetermines not only the beer attributes but also the course of beer aging. Coloured pigments can be partially bleached by reducting agents such as yeast oxidoreductase enzymes and the colour can be then recovered by oxidation; this depends on their polymerisation degree. Methylene blue and methyl red can be used as artificial oxidation-reduction indicators for the study of the redox potential changes because they act reversibly or irreversibly under aerobic or anaerobic conditions, respectively.


Using the unique capability of JET to monotonically change the amplitude of the magnetic field ripple, without modifying other relevant equilibrium conditions, the effect of the ripple on the angular rotation frequency of the plasma column was investigated under the conditions of no external momentum input. The ripple amplitude was varied from 0.08% to 1.5% in Ohmic and ion-cyclotron radio-frequency (ICRF) heated plasmas. In both cases the ripple causes counterrotation, indicating a strong torque due to nonambipolar transport of thermal ions and in the case of ICRF also fast ions.


After operative intervention in 61 of the 5704 patients, as necessity in performance of relaparotomy arose. Mortality after its use was 38%.


Isotope composition of biogenic chemical elements (BCE) is discussed. A hypothesis is offered that biochemical and biomedical processes must be influenced as by the isotope composition of hydrogen and oxygen, so by the composition of stable isotopes of all the BCE constituting plants, animals, and humans. Biochemical, toxicological and other biomedical analyses should be performed to determine the best BCE isotope composition. These must be followed by development of methods, technologies, and life support systems to form and maintain the best isotope composition inside spacecraft habitable modules.


Farmed fish high in n-6 PUFA may undermine fish nutritional expectations and intake recommendations for n-3 PUFA requirements and exacerbate rather than improve already high n-6/n-3 PUFA diets. Dietary contribution of fish fortification by linseed-based n-3 PUFA was evaluated. Mango tilapia (12 months old) with high n-6 PUFA (21.8 FA%, n-6/n-3 ratio 4.6:1) were fed standard/control (T(C)) or linseed-supplemented (5%, T(5%); 7%, T(7%)) feed for 61 days regular-growth and 120 days stock-growth (to 650 g). Compared to T(C), n-3 PUFA increased in T(5%) 46% and T(7%) 58%; ALA in T(5%) increased 100% and T(7%) 167%; EPA+DHA in T(5%) increased 14% and T(7%) 23% (p < 0.05); n-6 PUFA/LCPUFA were unchanged. T(7%) EPA+DHA 168 mg/100 g of raw fillet is comparable to current American intake and Dietary Reference Intakes; controlled cooking preserved approximately 90% EPA+DHA. n-6/n-3 ratios decreased 16-38% in total PUFA to 2.3:1 and in LCPUFA to 0.61:1. Linseed supplementation could improve tilapia n-3 PUFA/LCPUFA, ameliorating n-3 PUFA scarcity and unexpectedly high fish n-6 PUFA content, potentially making a significant nutritional contribution.


An investigation into the effects of which "ethnicity" may be a cause is among the fastest-growing research agendas in comparative politics today. But causal claims about the effect of ethnicity in the discipline have so far been made without reference to concepts. As comparative political scientists, we talk about what ethnicity does while saying little about what ethnic identity is . We agree roughly on which identities we classify as ethnic. But we do not have a definition of ethnic identities that captures our classification and do not seem to believe that we need one. Many of us who theorize about the effect of ethnic identity proceed without a definition. Those who have provided definitions, including myself in previous work, propose theories and employ classifications that are disconnected from or inconsistent with them (Horowitz 1985; Fearon 2003; Chandra 2004). And, while we now have a large literature that criticizes existing data, measures, and theories about ethnicity, criticisms of the lack of concepts from research in this field are also largely absent. This chapter places causal theorizing about ethnic identity on a conceptual foundation for the first time. It proposes a definition of ethnic identity that captures the classification of ethnic identities to which our causal claims refer and eliminates definitions that do not. It uses this definition to identify properties that can reasonably be associated with ethnic identity and those that cannot.


Abstract Our goal is to point out the tremendous importance of the "es gibt" concept in heideggerian philosophy through the analysis of few texts of the 1921 to 1923 period. It will lead us to the emerging heideggerian conceptualization of phenomenology, where "seeing" means interpreting or understanding. To be able to see is the same as to be able to interpret. Right from the first courses, this terme is associated to the word "phenomenology". What does it mean? The understanding of life as pre-theoretical sphere with the philosophy' conceptual and objectivizing tools, included those of the husserlian phenomenology, unsatisfied Heidegger: for him, we need to emancipate ourselves from the deeply anchored obsession of theoretical. Is the phenomenological seeing not a topicalization, thus an objectivation, namely a theoretical activity? We have to regain the possibility of an a-theoretical intuition which shows a phenomenology considered in the specifics terms of the "opening to the experiential real life sphere", as a behavior, an attitude, a "to relate to something''.


Infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis is a long-trusted friend of the pediatrician and pediatric surgeon. The presentation of this disease is predictable, with development of progressive, projectile, nonbilious vomiting in a 2- to 6-week-old otherwise healthy infant. Most often it occurs in boys and firstborns, with white individuals being at increased risk. The diagnosis is easily confirmed by either physical examination or ultrasonography. The associated hypochloremic, hypokalemic, metabolic alkalosis is sufficiently characteristic that it predictably appears on medical school and board examinations. The preoperative fluid resuscitation is well known and used to teach medical students basic renal physiology. Most importantly, a brief operation (performed either laparoscopically or through a limited incision) returns a healthy infant to the arms of the relieved, new parents. 1 What more could one ask for from a disease?


Maintaining a positive investment flow over time to ensure business competitiveness is a challenge in the Brazilian sugar-energy sector, structured on a competitive price and cost basis that limits corporate margins. Notwithstanding, credit market asymmetries and low capital market liquidity constrain financing sources for long-term investments. Thus, new financial strategies are required to enable long-term investments that guarantee the longevity of companies. This study analyzes the economic viability of the outsourcing of harvesters in light of the decision to purchase the equipment, as this is a strategic management decision that involves the agricultural activity in sugarcane crop, with intensive use of machinery. For that purpose, a case study was performed in a mill located in Sao Paulo State, with data obtained between 2014 and 2016. Data related to equipment expenses were extracted from the mill itself, and market information was used to determine the discount rate. The method of analysis was Discounted Cash Flow, which allowed to analyze results through the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and the Net Present Value (NPV). The strategy of outsourcing harvesters proved to be the decision that provides greater value to the company, since it does not impact the need for investments, besides allowing the tax deductibility of expenses with the outsourced service. The incremental NPV of the outsourcing decision was R$ 396,000/machine and the incremental IRR was negative, signaling that for any discount rate, the decision to outsource is economically superior to the acquisition of harvesters.


The optimal stochastic signaling based on the joint design of prior distribution and signal constellation is investigated under an average bit rate and power constraints. First, an optimization problem is formulated to maximize the average probability of correct decision over the set of joint distribution functions for prior probabilities and the corresponding constellation symbols. Next, an alternative problem formulation, for which the optimal joint distribution is characterized by a randomization among at most three mass points, is provided, and it is shown that both formulations share the same solution. Three special cases of the problem are investigated in detail. First, in the absence of randomization, the optimal prior probability distribution is analyzed for a given signal constellation and a closed-form solution is provided. Second, the optimal deterministic pair of prior probabilities and the corresponding signal levels are considered. Third, a binary communication system with scalar observations is investigated in the presence of a zero-mean additive white Gaussian noise, and the optimal solution is obtained under practical assumptions. Finally, numerical examples are presented to illustrate the theoretical results. It is observed that the proposed approach can provide improvements in terms of average symbol error rate over the classical scheme for certain scenarios.


The use of hydrocarbons is ubiquitous in modern society, from fuel to raw materials. Seismic surveys now routinely produce large, volumetric representations of the Earth's crust. Human interpretation of these surveys plays an important part in locating oil and gas reservoirs, however it is a lengthy and time consuming process. Methods that provide semi-automated aid to the interpreter are highly sought after. In this research, texture is identified as a major cue to interpretation. A local gradient density method is then employed for the first time with seismic data to provide volumetric texture analysis. Extensive experiments are undertaken to determine parameter choices that provide good separation of seismic texture classes according to the Bhattacharya distance. A framework is then proposed to highlight regions of interest in a survey with high confidence based on texture queries by an interpreter. The interpretation task of seismic facies analysis is then considered and its equivalence with segmentation is established. Since the facies units may take a range of orientations within the survey, sensitivity of the analysis to rotation is considered. As a result, new methods based on alternative gradient estimation kernels and data realignment are proposed. The feature based method with alternative kernels is shown to provide the best performance. Achieving high texture label confidence requires large local windows and is in direct conflict with the need for small windows to identify fine detail. It is shown that smaller windows may be employed to achieve finer detail at the expense of label confidence. A probabilistic relaxation scheme is then described that recovers the label confidence whilst constraining texture boundaries to be smooth at the smallest scale. Testing with synthetic data shows reductions in error rate by up to a factor of 2. Experiments with seismic data indicate that more detailed structure can be identified using this approach.


The socioeconomic and political relationship between Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) with China has become increasingly significant for both since the beginning of the 21st century. This article analyzes proposals by the United States and China in their bilateral relationship and the political effects of their increasing tensions on LAC. Consistent with the proposed framework of analysis of the socioeconomic LAC–China relationship—at least in terms of trade, financing, overseas foreign direct investments, and infrastructure projects—the article examines in detail these conditions, as well as providing an in-depth example of trade. The final part of the article discusses the important potential and challenges of China for LAC's development and concludes that so far, and based on the in-depth analysis of the trade relationship, the LAC–China relation is closer to a core-periphery than to a South–South or win–win strategy.
 The document proposes to understand that the political economy within the United States, particularly of its private sector, have shifted substantially against China. In addition, the structure for analysis of the LAC-China relationship in the 21st century with a concrete structure of analysis in terns of trade, financing, Chinese overseas foreign direct investments (OFDI) and infrastructure projects. In light of current discussions, the analysis suggests for the inclusion of a group of new concepts –such as the "the new triangular relationships" and the "globalization process with Chinese characteristics" with a group of effects in LAC. The impact of the increasing China-United States tensions, from this perspective, generates massive challenges in LAC, independently of their diplomatic relationships to China.


Technology roadmap projects nanoscale multibillion- transistor integration in the coming years. However, on-chip memory becomes increasingly exposed to the dual challenges of device-level reliability degradation and architecture-level performance gap. In this paper, we propose to exploit the inherent memory soft (transient) redundancy for on-chip memory design. Due to the mismatch between fixed cache line size and runtime variations in memory spatial locality, many irrelevant data are fetched into the memory thereby wasting memory spaces. The proposed soft-redundancy allocated memory detects and utilizes these memory spaces for jointly achieving efficient memory access and effective error control. A runtime reconfiguration scheme is also proposed to further enhance the soft-redundancy allocation. Simulation results demonstrate 74.8% average error-control coverage ratio on the SPEC CPU2000 benchmarks with average of 59.5% and 41.3% reduction in memory miss rate and bandwidth usage, respectively, as compared to the existing memory techniques. Furthermore, the proposed technique is fully scalable with respect to various memory configurations.


Sediment redox potential (Eh), interstitial pore water pH, sulfate, carbonate, and trace metals were measured monthly from August 1984 to August 1985, in a salt, brackish, and freshwater marsh in Barataria Basin, LA. The salt marsh was characterized by low Eh during the summer and fall, resulting in pyrite formation. Early spring oxidation of the sediments created extreme acid conditions, indicating that pyrite was oxidized completely to sulfate. Brackish and freshwater marshes exhibited a much greater seasonal variability, with strong vertical redox fluctuations. In the freshwater marsh, both Fe²⁺ and Mn²⁺ were controlled by temporal pH changes and were relatively independent of oxidation-reduction phenomena, suggesting a possible organic control mechanism. However, in the brackish marsh, Fe²⁺ concentrations were governed by pH (r = −0.74** significant at the 0.01 probability level) and Eh (r = 0.65**) changes, indicating that Fe²⁺ concentrations were likely controlled by pyrite formation and oxidation. Ion activity product calculations indicated that iron and manganese phosphates and carbonates were unlikely to form in Barataria Basin marshes. However, iron and manganese sulfide supersaturation occurred in all three marshes. Brackish marshes were found to contain significantly higher pyrite concentrations (1.4% w/w), than salt (0.69% w/w) and freshwater (0.66% w/w) marshes. The dynamic pyrite cycling in Louisiana salt marshes, resulted in a low pyritic pool, characterized by single, fine grained euhedral crystals. Pyritic Fe represented 23% of the total Fe accumulation flux in the salt marsh, and 34% in the brackish marsh. Contribution of Lab. for Wetland Soils and Sediments.


This study was conducted to determine the yield stability of advanced cowpea lines in diverse agro-ecological zones of Uganda in order to facilitate documentation requirements for national performance trials (NPT). Thirty cowpea genotypes were evaluated against six checks in three localities, over three growing seasons, making a total of 9 unique environments. The trials were laid in a 6x6 alpha lattice design with three replications and grain yield was the principal trait measured. Single-site and multi-location data were summarized using analysis of variance. Further analysis of stability was visualized using the genotype and genotype by environment interaction (GGE) biplot and the additive main effect and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) models. ANOVA depicted highly significant differences among the genotypes, locations, seasons and GEI for grain yield. Based on AMMI analysis, environmental effect accounted for the most variation (84.7%) in the phenotype followed by GE (9.45%) and genotypes (4.45%), alluding to the complex inheritance of grain yield in cowpea. The polygon view and the average environment coordination view of the GGE biplot revealed Ayiyi as the wining genotype in the major mega environment and the most stable and high yielding across environments respectively. The genotypes Ayiyi, WC64 and ALEGIxACC2 yielded higher than the checks and were very stable. The other genotypes G36 (WC 36), G3 (ACC12xSECOW3B), G32 (WC16), and G14 (MU9) did not outperform the checks but displayed high yield stability and the mean yields were above the overall average. These genotypes were considered desirable for advancement to National Performance Trial for potential release as new improved cowpea cultivars.

 Key words: Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp), additive main effect and multiplicative interaction (AMMI), genotype and genotype by environment interaction (GGE), stability, grain yield.


The issue of the rescue of war refugees, especially Jews, including Polish Jews, during World War II, as well as the questions "Who saved who?" and "Why did they save each other?" are still very important and widely discussed. The above mentioned issues apply to the Polish Jews and Poles, saved from Nazi Germans and Soviet Russians, who managed to avoid death or exile in Siberia by escaping through Kaunas in Lithuania, as well as to the role of Japan in these events. Among the relatively well-known rescuers of Jews acting in Kaunas at the beginning of the war there were two consuls, Sugihara Chiune from Japan and Jan Zwartendijk from the Netherlands. The author of the present article focuses on a lesser known stage in those efforts to save the people from exile or death – on the role that Tadeusz Romer, as the Polish Ambassador to Japan (1937–1941), and later as the Ambassador in Shanghai on a special mission (1941–1942), played in these efforts.


A monolithic glass-ceramic lined steel elbow with 900-bend angle was fabricated using a self-propagating high-temperature synthesis gravitational-thermite process (SHS G-T process). The manufacture principle and some technologies were introduced. Experiment results showed that the inner surface of the composite elbow was smooth and there were no visible cracks and pores in it. The coating layer was symmetry and was of ~ 2.5 mm thick. It consisted of two zones (glass-like zone, columnar zone) and that there existed three phases (Al2O3, glass and Fe particles) in both of the two zones. However, the Al2O3 grains were different evidently in the two zones. XRD results showed that there was no hercynite phase in the coating layer.


Acid production from rhamnose is a characteristic phenotype of Listeria monocytogenes. We report the identification of the rhamnose transport and utilization operon located at lmo2846 to lmo2851, including the rhamnose-dependent promoter Prha. Expression of reporter genes under control of Prha on a single copy integration vector demonstrated its suitability for inducible gene expression in L. monocytogenes. Transcription initiation from Prha is dose dependent, and a concentration as low as 100 µM rhamnose was found sufficient for induction. Moreover, Prha is subject to glucose catabolite repression, which provides additional options for strict control of expression. Infection of human THP1 macrophages revealed that Prha is repressed in intracellular L. monocytogenes, which is explained by the absence of rhamnose in the cytosol and possible interference by catabolite repression. The Prha promoter provides a novel and useful tool for triggering gene expression in extracellular L. monocytogenes, whereas intracellular conditions prevent transcription from this promoter.


Abstract In the early ages, health tourism, which is believed to have begun by moving to cities with medical schools to learn the profession of travels and students who have made medical trips to other places where humans cannot get treatment in their own environment, medical doctors who have proven medical proficiency and natural healing resources, the source has become one of the tourism branches. Health tourism is divided into three main categories: Old and Disabled Tourism, Spa-Wellness Tourism and Medical Tourism. Health tourism; until the 1980s, the wealthy of the underdeveloped countries; high quality and standardized health care services to developed countries as well as travel towards health care has remained. After the 1980s, developed countries have become more and more affordable treatments because of the increased cost and price of health care services, and they have become more and more traveled in less developed countries that produce quality health care. Countries such as Thailand, Singapore, India and Dubai, which are well-regarded for the health tourism potential that has turned towards the underdeveloped countries, have rapidly become health bases by establishing health facilities with international standards and accreditation documents. Today, social security institutions of many developed countries reduce their costs by negotiating with hospitals that produce health services at the same level as their own countries that have international accreditation in underdeveloped countries, and treating their members cheaper. Pamukkale (Pamukkale-Karahayit-Akkoy-Yenicekent-Saraykoy) region, which has six five-star hotels and various accommodation places and 14.000 beds, Pamukkale which is one of the most important natural beauties of the world and the world has thermal water and mud resources, cannot get a share. Pamukkale is also home to the city of Denizli is close to 600 of the health institutions and institutions of our country is one of the highest potential health tourism health. Pamukkale; it has the potential to become an appealing treatment center for health tourists who will spend the rest of their life here after the treatment of the city and the rest of the country, as in the Roman period. Only a small part of the tourists who come to Pamukkale benefit from the Elderly and Handicapped Tourism and Spa-Wellness Tourism, because the medical service cannot be provided with this well-organized, well-organized health service and cannot benefit from the medical tourism services because medical service is not provided in the region. Pamukkale, which entered the list of UNESCO world heritage in its natural / cultural category in 1988, is one of the most recognized and well known trademarks of our country all over the world. The contribution to the health tourism of the region will be limited if the country will benefit from the reputation and brand value of Pamukkale with the construction of health facilities that will produce Elderly and Disabled Touristic, Spa-Wellness Touristic and Medical (tourism) tourism services by establishing "Health Free Zone" in the region.


Over the last fifteen years, Payments for Environmental Services (PES) schemes have become very popular environmental policy instruments, but the academic literature has begun to question their additionality. The literature attempts to estimate the causal effect of these programs by applying impact evaluation (IE) techniques. However, PES programs are complex instruments and IE methods cannot be directly applied without adjustments. Based on a systematic review of the literature, this article proposes a framework for the methodological process of designing an IE for PES schemes. It revises and discusses the methodological choices at each step of the process and proposes guidelines for practitioners.


Volvox has two cell types: mortal somatic cells and immortal germ cells. Here we describe the transposon-tagging, cloning and characterization of regA, which plays a central role as a master regulatory gene in Volvox germ-soma differentiation by suppressing reproductive activities in somatic cells. The 12.5 kb regA transcription unit generates a 6,725 nucleotide mRNA that appears at the beginning of somatic cell differentiation, and that encodes a 111 kDa RegA protein that localizes to the nucleus, and has an unusual abundance of alanine, glutamine and proline. This is a compositional feature shared by functional domains of many 'active' repressors. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that RegA acts in somatic cells to repress transcription of genes required for growth and reproduction, including 13 genes whose products are required for chloroplast biogenesis.


This paper deals with fluidization and heat storage characteristics of shape-stabilized latent heat storage particles packed into a fluidized bed-type heat storage vessel. The shape-stabilized latent heat storage material consists of normal paraffin (pentacosane C25H52, latent heat 164 kJ/kg, melting point of 327.2 K) as a latent heat material, and polyethylene as a shape-stabilizing material. The pressure losses both on fluidized and on fixed particle layers were measured in order to investigate flow behavior in the heat storage vessel. It was found that the pressure loss of the fluidized particle layer was lower than that of the fixed particle layer. Furthermore, the effects of hot air flow rate, inlet air temperature and the amount of heat storage particles packed into the heat storage vessel on the completion time of the heat storage process were investigated. As a result, the nondimensional correlations for the completion time of the heat storage process were expressed in terms of nondimensional pumping power, the Stefan number and the ratio of the packed particle layer height to the diameter of the cylindrical heat storage vessel.


OBJECTIVE
There have been few comparisons of the effectiveness of collaborative depression care between older versus younger adults with comorbid illness, particularly among low-income populations.

DESIGN
Intent-to-treat analyses are conducted on pooled data from three randomized controlled trials that tested collaborative care aimed at improving depression, quality of life, and treatment receipt.

SETTINGS
Trials were conducted in oncology and primary care safety net clinics and diverse home healthcare programs.

PARTICIPANTS
Thousand eighty-one patients with major depressive symptoms and cancer, diabetes, or other comorbid illness.

INTERVENTION
Similar intervention protocols included patient, provider, sociocultural, and organizational adaptations.

MEASUREMENTS
The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 depression, Short-Form Health Survey-12/20 quality of life, self-reported hospitalization, ER, intensive care unit utilization, and antidepressant, psychotherapy treatment receipt are assessed at baseline, 6, and 12 months.

RESULTS
There are no significant differences in reducing depression symptoms (p ranged 0.18-0.58), improving quality of life (t = 1.86, df = 669, p = 0.07 for physical functioning at 12 months, and p ranged 0.23-0.99 for all others) patients aged between >/=60 years versus 18-59 years. Both age group intervention patients have significantly higher rates of a 50% PHQ-9 reduction (older: Wald chi[df = 1] = 4.82, p = 0.03; younger: Wald chi[df = 1] = 6.47, p = 0.02), greater reduction in major depression rates (older: Wald chi[df = 1] = 7.72, p = 0.01; younger: Wald chi[df = 1] = 4.0, p = 0.05) than enhanced-usual-care patients at 6 months and no significant age group differences in treatment type or intensity.

CONCLUSION
Collaborative depression care in individuals with comorbid illness is as effective in reducing depression in older patients as younger patients, including among low-income, minority patients. Patient, provider, and organizational adaptations of depression care management models may contribute to positive outcomes.


Effective and appropriate hand-washing practice for schoolchildren is important in preventing infectious diseases such as diarrhoea, which is the second most common cause of death among school-age children in sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of the review was to identify hand hygiene intervention strategies to reduce infectious diseases such as diarrhoea and respiratory tract infections among schoolchildren aged 6–12 years in developing countries. Published research articles were searched from databases covering a period from as far back as the creation of the databases to November 2015. Eight randomized controlled trials (RCT/CRCT) from developing countries met the inclusion criteria. The Jadad Scale for appraising RCT/CRCT studies revealed methodological challenges in most studies, such that 75% (6/8) were rated as low-quality articles. The review found that hand hygiene can reduce the incidence of diarrhoea and respiratory conditions. Three hand hygiene intervention strategies utilized were training, funding and policy, with training and funding implemented more commonly than policy. These strategies were not only used in isolation but also in combination, and they qualified as multi-level interventions. Factors that influenced hand washing were contextual, psychosocial and technological. Findings can inform school health workers in categorizing and prioritizing activities into viable strategies when implementing multi-level hand-washing interventions. This review also adds to the existing evidence that multi-level hand-washing interventions can reduce the incidence of diarrhoea, respiratory infections, and school absenteeism. Further evidence-based studies are needed with improved methodological rigour in developing countries, to inform policy in this area.


A single-blind, randomized prospective trial was performed at a university hospital to determine if preoperative relaxation training will decrease pain and narcotic demand postoperatively. A convenience sample of 49 patients undergoing lumbar and cervical spine surgery was randomized to receive instruction on relaxation techniques or routine preoperative information before surgery. Pain score and narcotic demand in the first 48 hours after surgery were the primary outcomes. Pain scores were higher in the relaxation (4.8 ± 1.7) versus the standard preparation group (3.9 ± 1.7) on postoperative day one (POD) 1, but lower on POD 2 (3.9 ± 1.9 vs 4.1 ± 1.9), whereas narcotic use (milligrams of IV morphine per hour) was higher in the relaxation group on POD 1 (1.14 ± 0.94 vs 0.54 ± 0.55) and POD 2 (0.86 ± 0.73 vs 0.50 ± 0.61). The differences were significant for narcotic demand (P = 0.01) but not for pain (P = 0.94). In conclusion, our results could not support the use of relaxation training for reducing postoperative pain and narcotic demand in this selected surgical population.


—Rapid growth in wireless networks is fueling demand for video services from mobile users. While the problem of transmitting video over unreliable channels has received some attention, the wireless network environment poses challenges such as transmission power management that have received little attention previously in connection with video. Transmission power management affects battery life in mobile devices, interference to other users, and network capacity. We consider energy efficient transmission of a video sequence under delay and quality constraints. The selection of source coding parameters is considered jointly with transmitter power and rate adaptation, and packet transmission scheduling. The goal is to transmit a video frame using the minimal required transmission energy under delay and quality constraints. Experimental results are presented that illustrate the advantages of the proposed approach.


Background Monocytes are a major component of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, the complex interactions between tumor cells and monocytes and their role in tumor invasion have not been fully established. Methods In this in vitro study, to specifically test the impact of interaction on invasive potential, two PDAC cell lines PaTu8902 and CFPAC-1 were selected on their ability to form invasive adhesions, otherwise known as invadopodia. Co-culture experiments were performed using undifferentiated THP1 monocytes. Results When the PDAC cells were co-cultured with undifferentiated THP1 monocytes invadopodia formation was significantly suppressed. Moreover, conditioned media of THP1 cells (CM) was also able to suppress invadopodia formation. Further investigation revealed that both tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP) 1 and 2 were present in the CM. However, suppression of invadopodia formation was found that was specific to TIMP2 activity. Conclusions Our findings indicate that TIMP2 levels in the tumour microenvironment may have prognostic value in patients with PDAC. Furthermore, activation of TIMP2 expressing monocytes in the primary tumour could present a potential therapeutic opportunity to suppress cell invasion in PDAC.


Abstract. Aluminosilicates (such as feldspars, clay minerals and micas) and quartz (a crystalline form of silica), constitute the majority of airborne mineral dust. Despite similarities in structures and surfaces they differ greatly in terms of their ice nucleation (IN) efficiency. Here, we show that determining factors for their IN activity include surface ion exchange, NH3 or NH4+ adsorption, as well as surface degradation due to the slow dissolution of the minerals. We performed immersion freezing experiments with the (Na-Ca)-feldspar andesine, the K-feldspar sanidine, the clay mineral kaolinite, the micas muscovite and biotite, and gibbsite (Al(OH)3, a mineral form of aluminum hydroxide) and compare their IN efficiencies with those of the previously characterized K-feldspar microcline and quartz. Samples were suspended in pure water as well as in aqueous solutions of NH3, (NH4)2SO4, NH4Cl and Na2SO4, with solute concentrations corresponding to water activities aw = 0.88–1.0. Using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) on emulsified micron-sized droplets, we derived onset temperatures of heterogeneous (Thet) and homogeneous (Thom) freezing as well as heterogeneously frozen water volume fractions (Fhet). Suspensions in pure water of andesine, sanidine and kaolinite yield Thet = 242.8 K, 241.2 K and 240.3 K, respectively, while no discernable heterogeneous freezing signal is present in case of the micas or gibbsite (i.e. Thet ≈ Thom ≈ 237.0 K). The presence of NH3 and/or NH4+-salts as solutes has distinct effects on the IN efficiency of most of the investigated minerals. When feldspars and kaolinite are suspended in very dilute solutions of NH3 or NH4+-salts ( ~ 0.99), Thet shifts to higher temperatures (by 2.6–7.0 K compared to the pure water suspension). Even micas and gibbsite develop weak heterogeneous freezing activities in ammonia solutions. Conversely, suspensions containing Na2SO4 cause Thet of feldspars to clearly fall below the water-activity-based immersion freezing description (Δaw = const) even in very dilute Na2SO4 solutions, while Thet of kaolinite follows the Δaw = const curve. The water activity determines how the freezing temperature is affected by solute concentration alone, i.e. if the surface properties of the ice nucleating particles are not affected by the solute. Therefore, the complex behavior of the IN activities can only be explained in terms of solute-surface-specific processes. We suggest that the immediate exchange of the native cations (K+/Na+/Ca2+) with protons, when feldspars are immersed in water, is a prerequisite for their high IN efficiency. On the other hand, excess cations from dissolved alkali salts prevent surface protonation, thus explaining the decreased IN activity in such solutions. In kaolinite, the lack of exchangeable cations in the crystal lattice explains why the IN activity is insensitive to the presence of alkali salts (Δaw = const). We hypothesize that adsorption of NH3 and NH4+ on the feldspar surface rather than ion exchange is the main reason for the anomalous increased Thet in dilute solutions of NH3 or NH4+-salts. This is supported by the response of kaolinite to NH3 or NH4+, despite lacking exchangeable ions. Finally, on longer timescales (hours to days) the dissolution of the feldspars in water or solutions becomes an important process leading to depletion of Al and formation of an amorphous layer enriched in Si within less than an hour. This hampers the IN activity of andesine the most, followed by sanidine, then eventually microcline, the least soluble feldspar.


Using survey data, we offer a specific test of the general claim that character type—specifically, inner- versus other-direction—is a significant factor in the social influence process. Riesman (1950, 1954) defined character not in terms of idiosyncratic psychological processes, but rather as a robust outcome of socialization. We placed respondents on an inner- versus other-direction continuum using a previously developed 36-item scale (the I-O scale). In addition, we asked respondents to provide information bearing on several indicators of social influence in terms of popular musical culture. The results indicate that I-O significantly predicts musical preference controlling for a variety of demographic characteristics.


Organisational relocation directly affects the family. It is thus often assumed that relocation is more difficult for individuals with families; however, few studies actually examine this premise. This paper investigates whether family status plays a role in relocation by comparing single individuals to married individuals. The paper uses qualitative and quantitative indicators to uncover subtle nuances between the groups and, on the basis of these, develops proposition for future research to test. Quantitative indicators highlight several important differences: Individuals with families report a greater number of moving tasks and difficulties; family relocation is viewed as more complex because of the impact of non-relocation related factors; and employees with families experience more negative and positive consequences of relocation. Qualitative techniques help to uncover subtle differences between groups and suggest that although relocation for families is different from individual relocation, it is not necessarily worse. RP0721.


The growing norm for students in the field of Construction Management is to have at least one internship under their belt prior to entering the industry for a full-time career. The goal of this research paper is to analyze student feedback from their previous internships to draw conclusions on how companies should structure their internship programs based on student interests and level of experience. Research was done evaluating current Construction Management students with previous internship experience at California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo. This research paper will be beneficial for industry companies to better tailor their internship programs to each student. This information will also be beneficial for students who can use this information from previous students to find out what key aspects they should look for when selecting and completing an internship at a certain company. A survey was sent out to all Construction Management Students at Cal Poly and were requested to only complete the survey if they had previous internship experience. This paper analyzes what elements of their internships students believe resulted in the most learning, the optimal internship "path" for students, and generally how Construction internships can be improved.


Organizations are constantly looking to enhance their decision-making activities in order to improve business processes and build a competitive advantage. Each day they collect and store large amounts of data that may be analyzed to reduce costs, increase revenues, improve efficiencies, and predict future trends and customer behaviors. Data mining, which is the automated extraction of predictive information from large databases, helps connect large volumes of this heterogeneous data and allows organizations to analyze it from multiple perspectives. Designed for query and analysis rather than transaction processing, a data warehouse is a relational database that centralizes data coming from multiple sources. It translates information into common models, names, and definitions while also providing a mean to make information available for decision making. Although data mining and data warehousing are powerful tools for organizations they can present several challenges. The airline industry collects and stores large amount of heterogeneous data from a wide variety of sources. Studying the successes and failures of this industry to conduct data mining and data warehousing activities as airlines struggle in an increasingly competitive environment can be beneficial to other economic sectors as well.


The focus of this study is to empirically assess insurance market activities in Nigeria with the view to determining its impact on economic growth. The period of study was 1970- 2008, the study made use of insurance density measures (premium per capita) as a measure for insurance market activity and real GDP for economic growth. It also employed control variables such as inflation and savings rate as other determinants of growth. The Johansen cointegration and vector error correction approach was used to estimate the relationship between the variables. All the variables used were stationary at first difference and the result showed a long term relationship existing among the variables. The hallmark finding of this study is that the insurance sector did not reveal any positively and significant affect on economic growth in Nigeria within the period of study. The result shows a low insurance market activity in Nigeria and that Nigerians have not fully embrace the insurance industry despite its importance to the growth of the economy.


We used immunoelectron microscopy to localize glucosidase II in pig hepatocytes. The enzyme trims the two inner alpha 1,3-linked glucoses from N-linked oligosaccharide precursor chains of glycoproteins. Immunoreactive enzyme was concentrated in rough (RER) and smooth (SER) endoplasmic reticulum but not detectable in Golgi apparatus cisternae. Transitional elements of RER and smooth membraned structures close to Golgi apparatus cisternae contained labeling for glucosidase II. Specific labeling was also found in autophagosomes. These results indicate strongly that glucosidase II acts on glycoproteins before their transport to, and processing in Golgi apparatus cisternae, and suggest that an important transitional region for glucosidase II exists between RER and Golgi apparatus cisternae. Degradation in autophagolysosomes could form a normal catabolic pathway for glucosidase II.


ridiculous. To discover the incidence of Down's syndrome in this particular population, we need, of course, to know the total number of babies born to all 213 school fellows. The authors omit this vital piece of information, though the true incidence of Down's syndrome probably is higher than the expected one in 600, unless the 213 had a mean family size of > 16-9. A further confusion arises because the control group appears to be a mixture of some of the remaining normal babies born to schoolfellows and babies born to mothers from other schools, one of whom had Down's syndrome. It is necessary to decide whether to conduct either a case controlled study, in which mothers of Down's babies are compared with matched mothers of normal babies, or a cohort study, in which the incidence of Down's syndrome in one school is compared with that in another matched school over the same period, or perhaps in siblings of case mothers who attended different schools.


The current pneumonia epidemic in China could evolve into a pandemic on a global scale if not effectively contained. The SARS-CoV-2 possesses a 61-amino acid open reading frame resembling SARS-CoV virulence factor - ORF6 peptide. The isoleucine content is 15.9% in ORF6 of SARS-CoV versus 16.4% of that in SARS-CoV-2. Given the proton affinity in the carbonyl oxygen in isoleucine, augmented proton traffic can enhance proton-ion antiport and prompt cell swelling. Calorie restriction has been confirmed in animal studies to extend lifespan, and its underlying mechanism is not fully known. As the content of essential amino acids in the open reading frame of SARS-CoV-2 reaches 57.4%, a starch/vitamin diet served for short period of time does not give rise to essential amino acids and halts virion production, which could be adopted as prophylactic approach of many viral infections. Plant-based diet or fasting/boiled rice water can also minimize the intake of essential amino acids or all amino acids respectively. Furthermore, several proteins of SARS-CoV-2 possess high valine plus glycine content which is implicated in heart disease, justifying the aforementioned approaches.


In 1985, we began a 4-year evaluation of the effects of the diagnosis related groups-based prospective payment system on quality of care for hospitalized Medicare patients. This article provides an overview of the study's background, aims, design, and methods. We used a clinically detailed review of the medical record supplemented by data on postdischarge outcomes drawn from the files of the Health Care Financing Administration and fiscal intermediaries to (1) compare outcomes of care after adjustment for sickness at admission, (2) assess the process of in-hospital care and relationships between processes and outcomes, and (3) assess status at discharge for a nationally representative sample of patients hospitalized before and after prospective payment was implemented.


The practice of peer review is to ensure the research published in Current Issues in Sport Science (CISS) is of the highest standard. Peer review lies at the heart of scholarly publishing and is utilized by all reputable journals. Our referees and section editors play a crucial role in developing the reputation of Current Issues in Sport Science (CISS) to a leading forum for original research in the field. Therefore, I would like to formally thank all who have so willingly and voluntarily contributed to the journal in 2018.


A cluster of adverse events following immunization (AEFI) represents a stress test for an immunization program. The community can suspect on vaccine-related reaction leading to mistrust on the immunization program. An immunization anxiety-related reaction is one of the hypotheses to be tested and can be reasonably accepted when the vaccine-related and immunization error-related reactions are ruled out and no coincidental events can explain the cases. Immunization program approaches widely accepted to understand and respond to adverse events are root-cause analysis and systems analysis. Psychiatric cognitive frame will support the root-cause analysis assigning a causal relationship to individual temporary disorders of the affected vaccinees. Communication will focus on vaccine safety and absence of errors in the immunization program. Systems analysis addresses the whole context considering the fear spread as a systemic threat. Socio-psychological frame offers a broader opportunity to understand and respond to a specific community. Management is based on communication to change community belief in misperceptions of vaccine risks and support the idea of immunization as a causal factor, different from the vaccine. Communities can consider use of psychiatric labels, Mass Psychogenic Illness or Mass Hysteria, as an act of inconsiderateness. Labels like immunization anxiety-related reactions in clusters or collective immunization anxiety-related reactions are recommended to bridge the causal perception of the community with the result of the scientific investigation of the cases.


Purpose

Dementia cafes (also known as Alzheimer's or memory cafes) have been running in the UK since 2000. The purpose of this paper is to report on the recommendations from recent research that interviewed family carers on their experiences of using the cafes.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was carried out in cafes in and around London, and focussed on informal, unpaid carers' experiences of using them. In total, 11 carers from five different dementia cafes were interviewed, using semi-structured questionnaires. The results were thematically analysed.

Findings

The findings showed that carers had an overwhelming appreciation of the cafes and what they offered, but several of the findings led to the recommendations about the recruitment and training of cafe co-ordinators; how cafes present themselves and their services and how they can offer dedicated support to informal carers.

Originality/value

These recommendations will be of use to cafe organisers and commissioners, especially considering the dearth of information currently available in this area.