According to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM, 2010), students who have reading, writing, and listening support reap dual benefits in that they can communicate to learn mathematics and they learn to communicate mathematically. This article presents a description of a professional development workshop designed specifically for middle grades (grades 4-8) mathematics teachers to learn best practices for literacy instruction. Thus the purpose was three-fold; that is, to (1) provide professional development in reading and writing using research-based strategies to support student mathematical learning, (2) examine the perceptions of middle grades mathematics classroom teachers regarding the NCTM principle, and (3) determine the impact, or lack thereof, of the provided professional development in the teachers' classrooms.


In clinical hyperthermia, the 'ideal' parallel insertion of an interstitial antenna array for the treatment of cancer is virtually impossible. The effect of nonparallelism and variable antenna insertion depths on the electric fields, and thus the heating distributions produced by such arrays is investigated in the present work through the use of computational modeling. The degradation in SAR (specific absorption rate) patterns when one or more of the antennas are skewed from their 'ideal' configuration relative to the array is examined. In addition, the inhomogeneity of a tumor within a homogeneous tissue medium is considered. The contrasting electrical properties of the tumor to those of the surrounding medium will cause a scattering of the electric field patterns incident from the array. This incident electric field pattern from the array is first calculated. The scattering from the tumor is then used to obtain the total electric field produced, and thus the SAR distribution.<<ETX>>


A new phase-domain induction machine model for use in power system dynamic simulation is developed with the aid of a symbolic tool. The symbolic tool can automatically construct a time-domain power system component model in the resistive companion form (RCF) that is widely used in time-domain simulators. The automatic differentiation technique (ADT) is utilized within the context of a symbolic modeling language, and the tool has been implemented for the virtual test bed (VTB) simulation environment. The new induction machine model was used to study start-up transients of an induction motor. The new model was verified by comparing the simulation results to those obtained from a standard d-q model. This paper also demonstrates that a symbolically assisted technique can provide an efficient and rapid path for developing complex nonlinear device models for power system simulations.


Adolescence is a developmental period characterized by significant changes in brain architecture and behavior. The immaturity of the adolescent brain is associated with heightened vulnerability to exogenous agents, including alcohol. Alcohol is the most consumed drug among teenagers, and binge-drinking during adolescence is a major public health concern. Studies have suggested that adolescent alcohol exposure (AAE) may interfere with the maturation of frontal brain regions and lead to long-lasting behavioral consequences. In this study, we used a mouse model of AAE in which adolescent mice reach high blood alcohol concentration after voluntary binge-drinking. In order to assess short- and long-term consequences of AAE, a battery of behavioral tests was performed during late adolescence and during adulthood. We showed that AAE had no short-term effect on young mice behavior but rather increased anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors, as well as alcohol consumption during adulthood. Moreover, alcohol binge-drinking during adolescence dramatically decreased recognition memory performances and behavioral flexibility in both adult males and females. Furthermore, we showed that voluntary consumption of alcohol during adolescence did not trigger any major activation of the innate immune system in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Together, our data suggest that voluntary alcohol binge-drinking in adolescent mice induces a delayed appearance of behavioral impairments in adulthood.


Even considering a smallfirm network as a new organizational form, few studies analyze how network management practices may influence the performance of member firms. To help overcome this gap, we conducted a survey with 242 firms associated with 49 smallfirm networks in Brazil. The results show that collective planning, evaluation, communication, in novation, services offered by the network, leadership, and also the entrepreneurs' orientation to business development have a positive influence on firms' performance. The study contributes to the organizational literature and practice as it identifies a set of management practices that influence the performance of firms in smallfirm networks.


Tracheotomy is one of the oldest operative procedures. Asclepiades, in 124 bc, described a tracheotomy as a means of relieving upper respiratory obstruction. Since the time of Asclepiades, there has been a steady increase in the indications for tracheotomy. Today, many varied conditions from eclampsia 1 to leprosy, 2 are treated by this lifesaving operation. With the ever-growing use of the procedure, a more complete knowledge of the complications will help make it a safer, more effective tool in our hands. The "snowplowing" of tissue from the tracheal wall by the tracheotomy tube which occurs during expiration (Fig 1), can cause difficulty in oxygen exchange severe enough to be incompatible with life. Snowplowing and tracheal irritation may also be the cause of other post-tracheotomy complications which, until now, have been poorly explained. The simple and successful correction of this difficulty should be known and understood by all who employ this


In wireless sensor networks, anchor positions play an important role for high localization accuracy. Planning an efficient path for mobile anchor nodes (MN) is critical for required anchor positions. In this work, an adaptive path planning algorithm is proposed for mobile anchors based on Gauss-Markov mobility model. The approach, which the velocity adjustment, the perpendicular bisector and the virtual repulsive strategies are combined based on Gauss-Markov mobility, is improved by developing a grid based virtual repulsive force strategy. To enhance the localization accuracy, the surveillance area is divided into grids and the grid based virtual repulsive force is applied to the MN if it is located in an anchor dense area. The simulation results show that defining a grid based virtual repulsive strategy increase the localization accuracy and cover more surveillance region using less energy.


Determination of autoantibodies against cellular antigens (ANA-HEp-2) has undergone several methodological changes over the decades and for an appropriate evaluation of results requires reflection on its sensitivity and specificity properties. Currently the test is known to have high sensitivity and questionable specificity since it is frequently positive in a considerable number of non-autoimmune subjects. Awareness that a substantial portion of the population has a positive ANA-HEp-2 test demands that characteristics permitting to distinguish positive tests in autoimmune patients from positive tests in non-autoimmune subjects be identified. Among these characteristics are noteworthy the titer and the fluorescence pattern. In particular, one must bear in mind that the fluorescence pattern results from recognition by autoantibodies of distinct cellular structures and, therefore, the fluorescence pattern provides a preliminary indication of possible autoantigens targeted by the sera being tested. An emblematic example is the nuclear dense fine speckled pattern. It was originally studied by Ochs and collaborators in 1994 in a restricted number of patients with interstitial cystitis. Further studies demonstrated its frequent occurrence in laboratory practice in individuals with diverse non-autoimmune clinical conditions. Indeed, this pattern is one of the most frequently observed in non-autoimmune patients with an ANA-HEp-2 positive reaction. The present review intends to provide elements allowing the clinician to perform a critical interpretation of results of an ANA-HE-2 test, including analysis of the titer and the fluorescence pattern.


We present a data-driven approach for the prediction of the electric dipole moment of diatomic molecules, which is one of the most relevant molecular properties. In particular, we apply Gaussian process regression to a novel dataset to show that dipole moments of diatomic molecules can be learned, and hence predicted, with a relative error ⪅5%. The dataset contains the dipole moment of 162 diatomic molecules, the most exhaustive and unbiased dataset of dipole moments up to date. Our findings show that the dipole moment of diatomic molecules depends on atomic properties of the constituents atoms: electron affinity and ionization potential, as well as on (a feature related to) the first derivative of the electronic kinetic energy at the equilibrium distance.


The question addressed in this paper is whether action learning as a management development technique can be more effective in promoting ethical decision-making than more traditional approaches. Recent examples of moral failures which have emerged in both corporate and public sector organisations in the UK during recent years have prompted a review of some of the literature about the teaching of business ethics in and by business schools. While the use of theoretical approaches to ethical analysis (such as consequentialist and deontological approaches), coupled with the discussion of scenarios or cases is a common way of structuring the teaching of business and organisational ethics, it may be limited as an approach insofar as it does not necessarily address the affective aspects of the learning process which contribute to the development of moral sensitivity and moral character. It is suggested that an action learning approach may help fill this gap, particularly if coupled with an Aristotelian focus on the development of moral character. Action learning as a technique seeks to replace instruction with facilitation, and to enable individual personal growth rather than the acquisition of knowledge. It emphasises practical action in the workplace and working with peers as part of an action learning set. The action learning method may be more suitable to fostering both technical/scientific wisdom (poeisis) and practical or prudential wisdom (phronesis) and could be adapted for use with both business students and practising managers.


Cronobacter sakazakii is an emerging foodborne pathogen, which is linked to life-threatening infections causing septicemia, meningitis, and necrotizing enterocolitis. These infections have been epidemiologically connected to ingestion of contaminated reconstituted powder infant formula. Even at low water activity C. sakazakii can survive for a long time; it is capable of protective biofilm formation and occasionally shows high virulence and pathogenicity even following stressful environmental conditions. Hence it is a challenging task for the food industry to control contamination of food ingredients and products through the entire production chain, since an increasing number of severe food-related outbreaks of C. sakazakii infections has been observed. The seemingly great capability of C. sakazakii to survive even strict countermeasures combined with its prevalence in many food ingredients requires a greater in depth understanding of its virulence factors to master the food safety issues related to this organism. In this context, we present the whole genome sequence (WGS) of two different C. sakazakii isolated from skimmed milk powder (C7) and ready-to-eat salad mix (C8), respectively. These are compared to other, already sequenced, C. sakazakii genomes. Sequencing of the fusA allele revealed that both isolates were C. sakazakii. We investigated the molecular characteristics of both isolates relevant for genes associated with pathogenesis and virulence factors, resistance to stressful environmental conditions (e.g., osmotic and heat), survival in desiccation as well as conducted a comparative genomic analysis. By using multi-locus sequence typing (MLST), the genetic type of both isolates is assessed and the number of unique genes is determined. DNA of C. sakazakii C8 is shown to hold a novel and unique sequence type; the number of unique genes identified in the genomic sequence of C. sakazakii C7 and C8 were 109 and 188, respectively. Some of the determined unique genes such as the rhs and VgrG genes are linked to the Type VI Secretion System cluster, which is associated with pathogenicity and virulence factors. Moreover, seven genes encoding for multi-drug resistance were found in both isolates. The finding of a number of genes linked to producing capsules and biofilm are likely related to the observed resistance to desiccation.


BACKGROUND
Although atherosclerotic renovascular disease is increasingly recognized in chronic kidney disease, few national level studies have examined its clinical epidemiology.

METHODS
Claims data from a 5% random sample of the United States Medicare population were used to select patients without atherosclerotic renovascular disease in the 2 years preceding December 31, 1999 (N= 1,085,250), followed until December 31, 2001.

RESULTS
The incidence of atherosclerotic renovascular disease was 3.7 per 1000 patient-years. Major antecedent associations [P < 0.05, with adjusted hazards ratios (HR) > 1.5] included chronic kidney disease (adjusted HR 2.54), hypertension (2.42), peripheral vascular disease (2.00), and atherosclerotic heart disease (1.70). Adverse event rates after incident atherosclerotic renovascular disease greatly exceeded those in the general population (P < 0.0001): atherosclerotic heart disease, 303.9 per 1000 patient-years (vs. 73.5 in the general population); peripheral vascular disease, 258.6 (vs. 52.2); congestive heart failure, 194.5 (vs. 56.3); cerebrovascular accident or transient ischemic attack, 175.5 (vs. 52.9); death, 166.3 (vs. 63.3); and renal replacement therapy, 28.8 (vs. 1.3). Among atherosclerotic renovascular disease patients, 16.2% underwent a renal revascularization procedure, percutaneously in 96%. Revascularization was not associated with renal replacement therapy, congestive heart failure, or death but was associated with atherosclerotic heart disease (adjusted HR 1.42) (P= 0.004) and peripheral vascular disease (adjusted HR 1.38) (P= 0.002).

CONCLUSION
Atherosclerotic renovascular disease is strongly associated with cardiovascular disease, both past and future. Absolute cardiovascular risk exceeds that of renal replacement therapy. Renal revascularization is used selectively and shows inconsistent associations with cardiovascular outcomes, renal replacement therapy, and death.


We have systematically studied strong THz radiation from solid targets driven by relativistic femtosecond and picosecond laser pulses. The THz generation is due to coherent transition radiation of relativistic laser-driven electron beams when they pass the solid-vacuum boundary. The THz radiation with pulse energy of >mJ has been observed with picosecond pulses. Such high energy THz pulses can not only trigger various nonlinear dynamics in matter, but also open up a new research field of relativistic THz optics.


Abstract Water extracts genotoxicity of the coagulant produced from industrial waste (red mud and waste base) and its waste mud remained after waste water treatment by the coagulation/flocculation process were studied. Tests were conducted in order to confirm nontoxicity of this new product prior to commercial production and usage and also to recommend a safe way for a handling and disposal of the remaining waste material. The toxicity investigation included (i) determining frequency of the cell survival, (ii) the Ames assays, (iii) micronucleus assay, and (iv) cell proliferation kinetics (expressed as mitotic index). These techniques were also employed in toxicity testing of the different concentrations of metal salts, zinc chloride, and lead nitrate in this case since these two elements were present in high concentrations in the waste water intended for the purification with the new coagulant. Mixture of metal salts in the concentrations that represent maximum allowed values for water extracts of technological waste was also tested. Two strains of Salmonella typhimurium, TA98, and TA100 were used for determining cytotoxicity and for the Ames test, while the cytogenetic investigations were performed on human peripheral blood lymphocytes. Water extracts of the coagulant and its waste mud did not induce a significant increase of the micronuclei in human peripheral blood lymphocytes. They also did not disturb lymphocyte proliferation kinetics in vitro. As regards lead nitrate it proved not to be cytotoxic on bacterial strains in the tested concentration range (1–100 mg/L), whereas zinc chloride showed cytotoxic effect for the concentrations above 25 mg/L. The Ames test results for the noncytotoxic concentrations of these metals were negative. Comparing to the negative control a significantly higher number of the micronuclei was determined after the treatment of the whole blood with 100 mg/L of zinc chloride, as well as with 10 and 100 mg/L of lead nitrate. A linear, dose dependent increase was obtained for both salts. Similar results were obtained on the basis of the mitotic index.


Considerable amount of transmission and distribution of electricity is carried out by power cable. At present, most high voltage direct current (HVDC) installation uses traditional (oil-impregnated paper insulation and oil-filled-types) cables which pose a risk of environmental pollution in case of an accident. Thus, significant advances and usage of polymeric material, notably cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE), have been made as the insulation material for power cables due to its economical production, environmental benefits and its electrical properties. However, unwanted disadvantages to its performance are featured when operated under direct current (DC) application. Such as the accumulation of comprehensive immobile charges in the XLPE, this superimposes to the Laplacian field resulting the changes of electric stress across the dielectric material. Additionally, in most HVDC transmission systems both the presence of temperature gradient across its insulation and bi-directional power flow are also needed to be considered. Space charge existence within the insulation is particularly dangerous in the event of polarity reversal, which has been recognised as the root source of breakdown in the early extruded insulation of commercial DC cables. High electric stresses within the insulation may be created, especially in the case when rated voltage is applied on the cable and with the presence of temperature gradient. Therefore, investigations are needed on both the space charge dynamics and also the accurate determination of electric field across the insulation of a full sized cable. In this research, space charge accumulation within the polymeric material of a XLPE power cable is measured using a modified pulsed electro-acoustic (PEA) system with a current transformer attached. The presence of these accumulated space charges along with the consideration of conductivity influences the electric field distribution across the insulation material. As it is well known that the conductivity of an insulating material is dependent of both temperature and electric field, the coupled problems impose significant difficulty to know the electric field distribution in HVDC power cables. In this thesis, scientific contributions have been made towards the research on power cables by allowing both users and cable designers to obtain a much more accurate calculation of the total electric field. This total electric field calculation is based on the influences of both the variation of the conductivity and the space charge field across the insulation material under its specific temperature gradient. In addition, parameters pertinent to the insulation material of the power cable are obtained based on the hopping model of conduction in dielectric and are utilised in the calculation of the total electric field. To stage the cables working under a real world HVDC transmission system scenario, experiments on the space charge dynamics of the full sized polymeric insulated cables were conducted by replicating it under the service conditions where both temperature gradient present across its insulation and bi-directional power flow are being considered. The field enhancement obtained within the cable under these scenarios allow us to estimate the lifetime of the power cable which are relatively important towards the power companies in realising the time for replacement of their aging cables. In the polarity reversal experiments, results have shown that the total electric field is higher during polarity reversal when a 10 0C temperature gradient is applied across the insulation as compared to the application of no temperature and 20 0C temperature gradients. Therefore, this higher electric field due to the 10 0C temperature gradient will stage a higher potential risk due to the amount of heterocharge accumulation adjacent to the outer electrode.


If $D:A \to X$ is a derivation from a Banach algebra to a contractive, Banach $A$-bimodule, then one can equip $X^{**}$ with an $A^{**}$-bimodule structure, such that the second transpose $D^{**}: A^{**} \to X^{**}$ is again a derivation. We prove an analogous extension result, where $A^{**}$ is replaced by $\mathsf{F}(A)$, the enveloping dual Banach algebra of $A$, and $X^{**}$ by an appropriate kind of universal, enveloping, normal dual bimodule of $X$. Using this, we obtain some new characterizations of Connes-amenability of $\mathsf{F}(A)$. In particular we show that $\mathsf{F}(A)$ is Connes-amenable if and only if $A$ admits a so-called $\operatorname{WAP}$-virtual diagonal. We show that when $A=L^1(G)$, existence of a $\operatorname{WAP}$-virtual diagonal is equivalent to the existence of a virtual diagonal in the usual sense. Our approach does not involve invariant means for $G$.


The correlation between different cell expression patterns of CEA and the quantities of this antigen in serum is still a controversial subject. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was to verify whether there is a correlation between the distribution pattern of CEA in the neoplastic tissue and CEA levels in serum. METHOD: Twenty-four patients with colorectal cancer were studied. Their mean age was 62.6 years. The measurement of CEA in serum was done by quimioluminiscence technique. To study the tissue expression pattern, the immunohistochemical method with the streptavidin-biotin peroxidase technique was utilized with the use of anti-CEA monoclonal antibodies. The tissue expression pattern was classified as apical, cytoplasmic or stromal, according to the predominant localization of the CEA distribution in the neoplastic tissue. The intensity of the immunoexpression of CEA in the neoplastic tissue was classified as slight, moderate or strong. The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the CEA levels in serum with the tissue distribution pattern and histological tumor grade. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to variance analysis and Spearman test was used to analyze the correlation among the studied variables. The significance level of 5% (p<0.05) was adopted. RESULTS: Two patients (8.3%) were classified in Dukes stage A, 12 (50.0%) in B and 10 (41.6%) in C. The mean CEA values in serum in patients with tumors restricted to the intestinal wall (Dukes A + B) were significantly lower than did the tumors with lymph node involvement (p=0.0139). In the 14 patients (58.3%) who presented an apical tissue expression pattern, the mean CEA value in serum was 4.0 ng/ml, while in the 10 patients (41.6%) with expression of cytoplasmic type, the mean CEA value in serum was 31.0 ng/ml (p=0.0002). Independent of the histological grade, the tumors with tissue expression of apical type presented CEA values in serum that were significantly lower than did the tumors with the cytoplasmic pattern (p<0.05). No patients were found to have the stromal pattern of CEA distribution. There was a statistically significant correlation between the tissue expression pattern, CEA values in serum and the Dukes classification. CONCLUSION: The results from the present study allow concluding that tumors with the cytoplasmic pattern of CEA distribution presented serum values of the antigen significantly higher than apical pattern. There is a positive and statistically significant correlation between the different cell distribution patterns of CEA, its levels in serum and the staging of the disease.


: Mild temperature fluctuation of a material sitting on a slope may only cause a small slip, but a large number of the repeated temperature changes can amplify the magnitude of the overall slip and eventually bring an issue of structural instability. The slip accumulation starts from the minor magnitude and reaches the extensive level called "slip ratcheting". Experimental evidence for such thermally-induced slip ratcheting is first provided in this work. It is implemented with an acryl sheet placed on an inclined wood with a mild angle; it is found that the temperature fluctuation of the acryl sheet causes the sheet to slide down gradually without any additional loading. The numerical model is then attempted to emulate the major findings of the experiments. From the simulation work, the location of a neutral point is found when the acryl plate is heated, and another neutral point is observed when cooled down. The shift of the neutral point appears to be a major reason for the unrecovered slip after a temperature increase and decrease cycle. Finally, a parametric study using the numerical model is carried out to examine which parameters play a major role in the development of residual slips.


The underlying mechanisms of action of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) are still a matter of debate. TMS may impair a subject's performance by increasing neural noise, suppressing the neural signal, or both. Here, we delivered a single pulse of TMS (spTMS) to V5/MT during a motion direction discrimination task while concurrently manipulating the level of noise in the motion stimulus. Our results indicate that spTMS essentially acts by suppressing the strength of the relevant visual signal. We suggest that TMS may induce a pattern of neural activity that complements the ongoing activation elicited by the sensory signal in a manner that partially impoverishes that signal.


In wave energy converters, it is hard to achieve efficient and stable energy generation because of wave instability. Based on a hydraulic transmission system of single float wave power generation equipment, this article studies the effect of throttle valve opening on power generation quality by AMESim simulation and semi-physical experiment. Results show that it is feasible to adjust throttle valve opening to improve the conversion efficiency. Besides, a hydraulic variable damping control technology is proposed to control the opening of throttle valve by monitoring wave amplitude and wave period, so as to increase the output power stability and energy conversion efficiency.


Purpose – Bearings in electric machines often work in high speed, light load and vibration load conditions. The purpose of this paper is to find a new fatigue damage accumulation rating life model of ball bearings, which is expected for calculating fatigue life of ball bearings more accurately under vibration load, especially in high speed and light load conditions. Design/methodology/approach – A new fatigue damage accumulation rating life model of ball bearings considering time-varying vibration load is proposed. Vibration equations of rotor-bearing system are constructed and solved by Runge–Kutta method. The modified rating life and modified reference rating life model under vibration load is also proposed. Contrast of the three fatigue life models and the influence of dynamic balance level, rotating speed, preload of ball bearings on bearing's fatigue life are analyzed. Findings – To calculate fatigue rating life of ball bearings more accurately under vibration load, especially in high speed and light load conditions, the fatigue damage accumulation rating life model should be considered. The optimum preload has an obvious influence on fatigue rating life. Originality/value – This paper used analytical method and model that is helpful for design of steel ball bearing in high speed, light load and vibration load conditions. Peer review – The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-05-2019-0180/


A number of neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) have recently been discovered to show broad, asymmetric Fe K emission lines in their X-ray spectra. These lines are generally thought to be the most prominent part of a reflection spectrum, originating in the inner part of the accretion disk where strong relativistic effects can broaden emission lines. We present a comprehensive, systematic analysis of Suzaku and XMM-Newton spectra of 10 neutron star LMXBs, all of which display broad Fe K emission lines. Of the 10 sources, 4 are Z sources, 4 are atolls, and 2 are accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars (also atolls). The Fe K lines are fit well by a relativistic line model for a Schwarzschild metric, and imply a narrow range of inner disk radii (6–15 GM/c2) in most cases. This implies that the accretion disk extends close to the neutron star surface over a range of luminosities. Continuum modeling shows that for the majority of observations, a blackbody component (plausibly associated with the boundary layer) dominates the X-ray emission from 8 to 20 keV. Thus it appears likely that this spectral component produces the majority of the ionizing flux that illuminates the accretion disk. Therefore, we also fit the spectra with a blurred reflection model, wherein a blackbody component illuminates the disk. This model fits well in most cases, supporting the idea that the boundary layer illuminates a geometrically thin disk.


Presently 4.6 million new cases of such disorder are added every year. By 2040, Highest Growth projection is in Asian region, there is a high degree of prevalence of Neuropsychopharmacological disorders worldwide, and many countries have understood the seriousness of such disorders and have undertaken family history studies also. In other words the significance of Neuropsychopharmacological disorders is further compounded as the number of identified cases is estimated to double or triple by 2050. Most of the treatments available have been able to only delay the progression of the disorder, problems associated with side effect is also a concern. Plants having medicinal properties have been used since antiquity in the treatment of various disorders, including those related to Neuropsychopharmacological that includes Learning and Memory, Epilepsy, Depression, Anxiety, Behavioral disorders etc. Use of natural resources like plants is mentioned not only in Ancient Traditional Indian text of 'Ayurveda', but also in other system of Traditional Medicine like Chinese, European, Korean etc. Some of the Pharmacological treatments that are common for the Neuropsychopharmacological disorders are Senile plaque deposits and anti amyloid peptides, alpha secretase activity enhancers, Beta and Gamma Secretase inhibitors, ABeta Immunisation, Neurofibrillation tangle formation and tau inhibitors, prevention of hyperphosphorylation of tau, tau aggregation prevention, Oxidative stress and antioxidant activity, Inflammatory response and anti-inflammatory activity, Cholinergic deficit and replacement therapy of neurotransmitter, stimulation of muscarinic receptor, Inhibition of Cholinesterase activity are some of the major ones. None of the lines of treatment have far been able to stop the progression of Neurological disorders: thus there is a need of some sort of alternative approach based on medicinal plants. Natural resources have been used since quite along in various traditional systems of medicine for learning and memory disorders, Studies conducted on selected species have resulted in identification of 'leads' which are currently in clinical use or are in the process of drug discovery, one such example is Galantamine, an alkaloid isolated from Galanthus nivalis. Other plants exhibiting promising C.N.S. activity are Ginko biloba, Melissa officinalis, Panax Ginseng, Salvia lavandulifolia, Valeriana officinalis, Bacopa monniera, Alternanthera sessilis, Clerodendrum infortunatum etc. It was in traditional used for neurological conditions that helped in the process of drug development. The significance of natural products in drug discovery is quite evident from the Prescription Drug Audit analysis of previous years; approx. 35 herbal products were featuring among top 150 selling drugs. The majority of plant related drugs were obtained from ten plants species, out of which nine had been used traditionally for medicinal purpose, presently being commercially marketed. This clearly proves the interrelationship of Ethnopharmacognosy / Traditional of folk usage of medicinal plants and the current use of drugs derived from them, and thereby successfully being marketed. This approach has derived international researchers' attention, as approximately 80% of them had a traditional usage background. Some of the phytochemical that have generated renewed interest in Neuropsychopharmacology dealing with medicinal plants are Arecoline isolated from betel nut of Areca catechu, Asiaticosides, Bacosides derived from Bacopa monniera, Biphenolic lignans derived from Magnolia officinalis. Caffeic acid derivatives from Salvia miltiorrhiza, Crocin from Crocus sativus, Curcuminoids from Curcuma longa, Huperzine A from Huperzia serrata, Pilocarpine from genus Pilocarpus. Stilbenes ,Galantamine, Tashinones, Withanolides and Zeatin are some the few. Even W.H.O. has stated that one needs to explore its own country's medicinal plants / resources to become economically self dependant, Hence it would be pertinent to state that the exploration of medicinal plants have not disappointed us, till date, and therefore there is no reason to believe that they continue to serve as huge reservoirs for potential future drug development for neurological disorders. Some of the issues that are also to be kept in mind are to definitely identify relevant active compound, and understand the interactions between various factors, standardization is also a concern for reproducible results. Pharmacologically active Secondary metabolites are considered to be the products of environmental stressors, therefore proper understanding of varied ecological roles such as herbivore attack, salinity, UV light, microbes would serve as an added advantage. Volume 4 Issue 2 2016


Recently, the vision transformer and its variants have played an increasingly important role in both monocular and multi-view human pose estimation. Considering image patches as tokens, transformers can model the global dependencies within the entire image or across images from other views. However, global attention is computationally expensive. As a consequence, it is difficult to scale up these transformer-based methods to high-resolution features and many views. In this paper, we propose the token-Pruned Pose Transformer (PPT) for 2D human pose estimation, which can locate a rough human mask and performs self-attention only within selected tokens. Furthermore, we extend our PPT to multi-view human pose estimation. Built upon PPT, we propose a new cross-view fusion strategy, called human area fusion, which considers all human foreground pixels as corresponding candidates. Experimental results on COCO and MPII demonstrate that our PPT can match the accuracy of previous pose transformer methods while reducing the computation. Moreover, experiments on Human 3.6M and Ski-Pose demonstrate that our Multi-view PPT can efficiently fuse cues from multiple views and achieve new state-of-the-art results.


Repeatedly, news headlines read: "Buffer overflow in vendor's product allows intruders to take over computer!" This widespread programming mistake is easy to make, exacerbated by the ubiquitous C language, and very simple to exploit. We describe a demonstration (a Java applet) appropriate for a traditional programming course to drive home key points: why buffer overflows occur, how overflows open the door to attackers, and why certain defense mechanisms should be used. The module is in its early stages of experimental use, with a formative evaluation to determine how well the module works and opportunities for its improvement.


The metal inert gas (MIG) welding and the crucial parameters influenced on the thermal and mechanical behaviours, and microstructure of AA 6063 aluminum were investigated through the experiment and the FE simulation. A thermo-mechanical model was extended using the finite element software of ABAQUS. In this manner, the thermal distribution and time-temperature histories made during MIG welding were derived. To achieve more accuracy, a subroutine was developed by FORTRAN. The real-time temperature measurements and the effective parameters of the thermal distribution, including the welding speed and the arc voltage were studied by conducting MIG bead-on-plate welds and the residual stresses derived from the simulation were compared with the empirical observations. The results depicted that the simulation would estimate rigorously the temperature gradients and the fields of welding-induced stress. The microstructural and microhardness examinations were also conducted which allowed—alongside the TTT curve—the phases precipitated and the heat sink effects were studied and foreseen. Indeed, the microstructure images demonstrated that the overaged, agglomerated β-Mg2Si phases, in the HAZ, and the modified β-AlFeSi pseudo-platelike precipitates alongside the smaller and coarsened β-Mg2Si phases, in the fusion zone, were precipitated.


The lack of ethnic and gender diversity in the Dutch literary domain has recently been subject to discussions in the public debate. In the academic context, questions regarding diversity are studied either on a literary-sociological level (institutional approaches) or on the level of the individual text (close readings). In this article we question the representation of gender, ethnic and class diversity on a larger scale than most qualitative studies address. This type of quantitative analysis of representation is commonly applied in media studies, but has not yet been utilised in literary studies. We provide an exploration of a quantitative approach to the representation of characters within the Dutch novel. Through 'distant reading' we collected identifying marks of 1,176 characters (gender, descent, education, profession, age) in 170 novels from the bulk list of the Libris Literatuurprijs 2013, a prestigious award for Dutch literature. Thus, we intended to map a 'demographic landscape' of characters in recent Dutch literature. On the basis of our results, we argue (1) that a hierarchy of identities can be discerned in which certain categories dominate others; (2) that the emergence of literary norms becomes most visible through the intersections of different categories; and (3) that within matters of diversity in literature a quantitative approach can complement and enhance qualitative literary analyses.


We apply the generalised linear mixed model (GLMM) with logit and probit links to data (Stevens and Anderson-Cook, 2017a, 2017b), which is univariate data with binary response of passing or failing for complex munitions generated to match age and usage rate found in US Department of Defense complex systems (Army and Navy). Instead of the generalised linear model (GLM) used in Stevens and Anderson-Cook (2017b), we propose to apply the adaptive Gaussian hermite quadrature approach (GLMM-AGHQ) (Ha et al., 2017) to predict binary response of passing or failing for the Army and Navy data. We suggest two methods to find the best models for the Army and Navy. The first method is based on statistical inference, the variance of random effect for intercept term for every GLMM given in this paper, and the log-likelihood. The second method focuses on the accuracy of prediction of each model. We compare the GLMMs with the GLMs in terms of inter quartile range (IQR) of the residuals. We find that the models capturing random effects lead to smaller IQR which in the end results in the high accuracy of the models. This accuracy is measured by area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC).


This study aimed to validate the summation methods suggested by ISO 9920. Twenty seven items from an ambulance personnel clothing system were selected for testing. The basic insulation of each garment item (Iclu) was calculated based on the thermal manikin tests. More than 100 realistic clothing combinations were compiled and basic insulation (Icl) of these ensembles was calculated according to ISO 9920. These were ranked after the calculated insulation, and 14 sets covering insulation from 0.63 to 3.33 clo were measured on the thermal manikin for acquiring the basic clothing insulation (Icl). Regression analysis was used to compare the summed and measured Icl values. The difference between values varied from −18 to 12%. The highest percentual difference was for the lightest clothing sets, while the absolute differences were similar over the whole insulation range ranging between −0.17 to 0.18 clo with an average difference of 0.02 clo (−0.16%). All basic insulation values stayed very close to the line of identity (R2=0.98). The summation equation gave, in the case of this ambulance clothing system, very close results to the measured values. This encourages evaluating and selecting protective clothing combinations for thermal comfort based on individual item measurements.


Superman, the original superhero, is a culmination of the great mythic heroes of the past. The hero's journey, a recurring cycle of events in mythology, is described by Joseph Campbell. The three acts in Superman: The Movie portray a complex calling to the superhero's role, consisting of three distinct calls and journeys. Each of the three stages includes the death of someone close to him, different symbols of his own death and resurrection, and different experiences of atonement with a father figure. Analyzing these mythic cycles bestows the viewer with a heroic "elixir." This article is available in Journal of Religion & Film: http://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol10/iss2/6


: Concurrent with the expanding clinical applications of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging, patients with metallic middle-ear implants will certainly be exposed to this strong magnetic field in the future. To determine potential hazards, associated with movements of steel- or Platinum stapes-prostheses, several tests were performed in a 0.5 tesla NMR unit and the induced forces were calculated. Although the commonly used paramagnetic steel-wire or platinum-alloys will not dislodge in vivo, ferromagnetic prostheses may present a risk. Prior to exposure to the magnetic field, information about the implanted material should therefore be obtained. A side-effect of the induced current flow is the attenuation of the sound-vibrations of the stapes prosthesis. This, 5-10 dB impairment of transmission develops only at a certain position of the patient's head, when the prosthesis vibrates perpendicularly to the magnetic field's Z-axis. Patients with a metallic prosthesis should be informed about this purely physical, harmless phenomenon prior to entering the NMR-cylinder.


Background: While immune checkpoint blockade is a promising therapeutic approach, combination with agents that modulate complementary pathways may improve responses. Interleukin-2 (IL-2) immunotherapy leads to long-term responses in a small percentage of cancer patients, but systemic toxicity limits its use. In addition, IL-2 expands T regulatory cells, antagonizing antitumor immunity and resulting in a poorer clinical outcome. NKTR-214 is a novel CD122-biased immunostimulatory cytokine which combines biased activation of the IL-2R beta receptor subunit, greatly favoring activation of effector over regulatory T cells, with improved pharmacokinetics and tolerability compared to Proleukin in non-human models. Here we examine the efficacy and mechanism of NKTR-214 combined with anti-CTLA-4 in murine tumor models. Methods: Mice bearing subcutaneous EMT6 mammary tumors were treated with NKTR-214 q9d, murine anti-CTLA-4 or anti-PD-1 twice-weekly, or both in combination. Immune cell profiling was assessed by flow cytometry following treatment. CD8 or NK cells were depleted in vivo by serial anti-CD8 or anti-asialo-GM1 antibody injections, respectively. Antitumor memory and specificity was assessed in complete responders by challenging with EMT6 or CT26 colon carcinoma implants with no additional treatment. Results: While NKTR-214 and anti-CTLA-4 were not as efficacious individually, their combination was synergistic and well-tolerated with 83% of test animals tumor-free. Combination treatment increased NK and memory effector CD8 cells in both tumor and spleen. Antitumor immunity by the combination was durable and specific as 70% and 100% of mice remained tumor-free after challenge with a second and third EMT6 implant, but not after a subsequent CT26 implant. NKTR-214 combined with anti-PD-1 also proved synergistic with 40% of animals remaining tumor free following treatment. In vivo depletion of either CD8 effector or NK cells abrogated efficacy suggesting both contribute to the response. Conclusions: The mechanism of NKTR-214 antitumor immunity is complementary to checkpoint inhibition. Favorable pharmacokinetics of NKTR-214 allows sustained tumor exposure and dosing schedules commensurate with other therapies. This new therapeutic combination of NKTR-214 and checkpoint inhibition may similarly enable durable responses in humans. Citation Format: John L. Langowski, Seema S. Kantak, Rhoneil Pena, Yolanda Kirksey, Murali Addepalli, Steve Lee, Ute Hoch, Deborah H. Charych, Stephen K. Doberstein. Antitumor activity of the CD122-biased immunostimulatory cytokine combined with immune checkpoint blockade requires innate and adaptive immunity. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR Inaugural International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; September 16-19, 2015; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2016;4(1 Suppl):Abstract nr B015.


Background Focused on excellence and innovation, DynaLIFEDx has transformed their Microbiology laboratory, which serves hospital and community patients, with the BD Kiestra Total Laboratory Automation (TLA) system. Objectives In 2013, DynaLIFEDx partnered with Becton Dickinson to implement the Kiestra TLA driving transformation from a traditional microbiology laboratory to a high quality, standardized, LEAN operation supporting improved patient care. Methods LEAN process observation, change management, value stream mapping and simulation modelling tools allowed for the design of the optimal BD Kiestra Technology and supported process improvement planning for every aspect of the laboratory operation. Results Impressive results were achieved through the integration of People, Process and Technology. Employing automatic barcoding and media selection reduced manual process errors by 87%. Smart Read A incubators provide optimal growth conditions for earlier detection of positive cultures. High resolution digital images support improved accuracy and TAT. The implementation of single piece flow supported a 67% reduction in time from receipt in the lab to planting by the TLA system. Conclusions Current practices in diagnostic microbiology laboratories are manual, error prone and time consuming leading to delays in critical reports. Automation systems have the potential to revolutionize patient care by improving standardization and time to result. However; as the results obtained at DynaLIFEDx demonstrate, only by combining this technology with up front and downstream process improvements, can the full advantages of the system be realized. Implications of the data reported here include significant improvements in therapy delivery, improved patient outcomes and changes in diagnostic reporting guidelines. Figure 1 Fewer processing errors. Figure 2 Staffing matches demand. Figure 3 LEAN lab layout.


The calcium requirement for hemolytic activity of Escherichia coli hemolysin was investigated by using hemolytic assays and immunoblotting of toxin-treated erythrocytes. The hemolytic activity of cell culture supernatants obtained during growth of E. coli in Luria-Bertani (LB) broth or calcium-free LB broth was calcium dependent. The hemolytic activity of culture supernatants obtained during growth in LB broth supplemented with calcium was calcium independent. Osmotic protection experiments using Dextran 4 to prevent cell lysis indicated that calcium was required for the binding of hemolysin to erythrocytes at both 4 and 37 degrees C. The binding efficiency at 4 degrees C was 50% of that occurring at 37 degrees C. The calcium-dependent binding was confirmed by immunoblotting saline-washed, toxin-treated erythrocytes with a monoclonal antibody after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis separation of membrane proteins. Bound hemolysin increased the calcium permeability of the cell membranes as evidenced by calcium-induced membrane protein alterations. The alterations in membrane proteins did not directly cause lysis of the cells. The results were consistent with a mechanism of lysis involving the formation of cation-selective pores in the membranes of target cells.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
Little is known about the effects of periodic endoscopic screening before detection of primary gastric cancer. We compared clinical outcomes in patients who did and did not undergo endoscopy before diagnosis.

METHODS
Between January 2009 and November 2011, 769 patients were referred to Asan Medical Center after diagnosis of gastric cancer. Clinical outcomes were compared in patients who had (n=512) and had not (n=257) undergone endoscopic screening before diagnosis of gastric cancer. Factors about resectability and possibility of endoscopic resection were analyzed.

RESULTS
In the nonexamined group, 225 patients (87.5%) had resectable gastric cancers and were treated surgically (n=151, 67.1%) or by endoscopic resection (n=74, 32.9%). In the examined group, 493 (96.3%) had resectability and were resected surgically (n=243, 49.3%) or endoscopically (n=250, 50.7%). Multivariate analysis showed that symptoms, no endoscopic screening, and lower serum albumin were associated with unresectability. Of the 718 resectable tumors, 394 underwent surgery and 324 underwent endoscopic resection. Multivariate analysis showed that older age, no symptoms, ≤1 year interval endoscopy, and higher serum albumin were associated with endoscopic resection.

CONCLUSIONS
Previous endoscopy can increase gastric cancer resectability. Moreover, a ≤1 year interval from endoscopic examination can increase the possibility of endoscopic resection.


Purpose
The purpose of this study is to review the recent approaches in food packaging trends to address the preferences of the modern world.

Design/methodology/approach
Recent studies in all the emerging food packaging technologies have been discussed with the examples of commercially available products.

Findings
Advanced food packaging solutions have acquired much appreciation from food industries to address the preferences of the modern world. This paper attempts to describe the current practices in food packaging with examples of commercially available products. Significant emphasis has been given on the technical aspects of the intelligent packaging components, namely, barcodes, radio frequency identification, sensors and indicators. Another distinctive area of packaging focused in this review is the importance of bioplastics due to non-degradable nature of synthetic polymers. Three major categories of biodegradable polymers, namely, polysaccharide-based materials, protein-based materials and lipid-based materials, have been discussed along with an insight about sustainable packaging and edible films and coatings.

Originality/value
Changes in the industrial & retail matters and increasing demand for fresh, safe, nutritious food are the factors owing to the new innovations in the packaging sector. Imminent packaging technologies aim at value addition involving the extension of shelf life, prevention of microbial attack, proper moisture barrier, use of carbon dioxide scavengers/emitters, ethylene scavengers, flavor absorbers, freshness indicators, biosensors and release of bioactive compounds during storage.


Objective Identify methods to improve the frozen-section diagnosis of acute invasive fungal rhinosinusitis. Study Design Biopsies with frozen section for suspected acute invasive fungal rhinosinusitis were reviewed to identify causes for missed diagnoses and evaluate methods for potential improvement. Setting All aspects of the study were performed at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Subjects and Methods All frozen sections performed for suspected acute invasive fungal rhinosinusitis between 2006 through 2017 were reviewed with their diagnoses compared to the final diagnoses. Sensitivity and specificity were determined for each biopsy specimen to evaluate the diagnostic method and for each patient for its effectiveness on outcome. Causes for frozen-section failures in diagnosis were identified. A periodic acid–Schiff stain for fungus (PASF) was modified for use on frozen tissue (PASF-fs) and applied both retrospectively and prospectively to frozen sections to determine its ability to identify undetected fungus and improve diagnostic sensitivity. Results Of 63 biopsies positive for acute invasive fungal rhinosinusitis, 51 were diagnosed on frozen section, while 61 were identified by including the novel PASF-fs stain, reducing the failure rate from 19% to 3%. Of 41 cases that were positive, 34 were diagnosed on frozen section. Of the 7 that were not, 5 were identified by including the PASF-fs, reducing the failure rate from 17% to 5%. Conclusions Frozen section interpretation of biopsies for suspected acute invasive fungal rhinosinusitis using a PASF-fs stain should enable a rapid and accurate diagnosis with improved outcomes by shortening the time to surgery.


After the grinding process, the cutting edges of cemented carbide milling tools tend to chipping. Chipping has a strong influence on the tool performance. For this reason, the cutting edges are further prepared. Additionally, a cutting edge rounding has an impact on the wear behavior and the process stability. For the cutting edge preparation of milling tools, magnetic finishing is a promising process. This paper describes the process of magnetic finishing. The influencing parameters, i.e. the process time and the distance between the cutting tool and the magnetic disks, are investigated. Furthermore, the effect of magnetic finishing on the tool life is demonstrated using the example of a milling process with titanium.


Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their tissue inhibitors may play important roles in tissue remodelling processes of the uterus. This study identified MMP-26 (endometase/matrilysin-2) in the endometrium of pregnant rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and monitored the spatial and temporal expression of the transcript and protein in the uteri on days 12, 18 and 26 of pregnancy. The partial monkey MMP-26 gene sequence of 289 nucleotides was 98% identical to that of its human homologue and its protein fragment contained a PHCGVPDGSD sequence in the prodomain identical to that in human MMP-26. RT-PCR analysis demonstrated that the average level of MMP-26 mRNA in the endometrium was high on day 12 of pregnancy, but significantly decreased on days 18 and 26 (P < 0.05). In-situ hybridization confirmed that MMP-26 mRNA is specifically localized in the endometrial compartments, with intense signals in the glandular epithelium on day 12 and in the walls of spiral arterioles adjacent to the implantation site on day 26. The hybridization signal for MMP-26 mRNA in the glandular epithelium decreased dramatically on day 18 and was undetectable on day 26. No MMP-26 mRNA transcripts were detected in the placental villi on days 18 and 26. Immunohistochemistry showed that the expression pattern of MMP-26 protein was similar to that of its mRNA. The restricted expression pattern of MMP-26 in the monkey uterus implies that this new MMP is involved in the highly regulated tissue remodelling processes of the glandular epithelium and spiral arteries during early pregnancy.


In this paper, I look at the interaction between social learning and cooperative behavior. I model this using a social dilemma game with publicly observed sequential actions and asymmetric information about pay offs. I find that some informed agents in this model act, individually and without collusion, to conceal the privately optimal action. Because the privately optimal action is socially costly the behavior of informed agents can lead to a Pareto improvement in a social dilemma. In my model I show that it is possible to get cooperative behavior if information is restricted to a small but non-zero proportion of the population. Moreover, such cooperative behavior occurs in a finite setting where it is public knowledge which agent will act last. The proportion of cooperative agents within the population can be made arbitrarily close to 1 by increasing the finite number of agents playing the game. Finally, I show that under a broad set of conditions that it is a Pareto improvement on a corner value, in the ex-ante welfare sense, for an interior proportion of the population to be informed.


Increasingly Thomas has come to be seen as a figure of major importance, central to the development of modern British poetry. His poems express a complex, questioning, modern sensibility while remaining alive to the beauties of the world. They are simultaneously understated and revolutionary in form and rhythm and have exerted a quiet yet incisive influence on many poets of our day. Thomas's poems, always popular with readers but for long undervalued by critics of poetry, have, over the past decade, attracted an increasing amount of critical attention. This book consists of nine new essays by leading poets and critics, and provides a varied contemporary view of Thomas as poet, prose-writer, critic and anthologist, making possible a re-evaluation on the seventieth anniversary of his death. The editor has included an Introduction tracing the course of Thomas studies, a Chronology of his life and a Bibliography of books by and on Thomas. This volume provides both an introduction to Edward Thomas for new readers and also an up-to-date picture of Thomas today for the student of literature.


Turkey has been undergoing a severe economic crisis recently. Despite its low standing in terms of basic economic and welfare indicators, Turkey has been leading in arms imports. The pressing issues of macroeconomic imbalances are budget deficits, current account deficits and external debt burden. Previous work on the trade-off between defence and growth and between defence and budget deficits concludes that the presence of such trade-offs is not confirmed. As budget deficits are financed through internal and external debt, this paper attempts to explore to what extent defence might be contributing to Turkey's current account deficits and external indebtedness since the 1980s. Related data problems are also assessed.


This article interprets the repercussions of visual storytelling for art education and arts-based narrative research and, particularly, it approaches visual storytelling as a critical tool for pre-service teacher education. After reinterpreting storytelling from the perspective of visual critical pedagogy, I will narratively reconstruct the use of visual storytelling in three learning stories taking the form of students' portfolios. As a visual narrative researcher, I will examine the tactics for writing and reading that these students have developed in creating visual stories: the first narrative analyses the role of art during the reconstruction of the learning process by incorporating autobiography and reflexivity (Tanit's portfolio); the second narrative reflects on deconstruction and intertextuality in a multimedia portfolio, which mainly interrelates opera and cinema (Eulalia's portfolio); and the third narrative introduces virtual storytelling and connects self-awareness/meta-awareness with multi-literacy in narrative learning (Sonia's portfolios). This article also views improvisations, attempts, drafts and interactions in the process of writing and reading portfolios as part of visual experimentation to fabricate learning stories, in order to analyse the opportunities that visual storytelling offers for visual narrative pedagogy.


These two experiments indicate that once walnut orchards become crowded, hedging to allow light between trees is not effective in alleviating the condition. A substantial loss in production occurs initially and, al-though new growth develops in response to the hedging, it does not result in increased production, or in the restoration of lower fruit wood. Hedging, however, may prove to be a valuable tool in maintaining tree size and production in orchards where the trees have not yet grown together. Work needs to be done to evaluate the effect of repeated hedging where it is started before tree crowding has developed.


Create your own complete blog or web site from scratch with WordPress Everything you need to set up your own feature-rich WordPress blog or web site Clear and practical explanations of all aspects of WordPress In-depth coverage of installation, themes, syndication, and podcasting Explore WordPress as a fully functioning content management system Concise, clear, and easy to follow; rich with examples In Detail Using WordPress you can easily create dynamic blogs and web sites with great content and many outstanding features. It is an ideal tool for developing blogs and although it is chiefly used for blogging, it can also be used as a complete CMS with very little effort. You can customize the features, incorporate your own design, and even write your own plug-ins with ease. Its versatility and ease of use have attracted a large, enthusiastic, and helpful community of users. While it is easy to get started with WordPress, its full power is not obvious. If you want to create a powerful, fully-featured blog or non-blog web site in no time, this book is for you. It will give you a rapid and straightforward introduction to the rich and powerful features of WordPress and get you up and running with a state-of-the-art blog as quickly and painlessly as possible. It will help you learn everything WordPress has to offer, from the ground up, so you can build your complete web site. You will see many of WorPress's hidden powers that will help you build a fully functioning web site. You will be introduced to the main aspects of a blog - users, communities, posts, comments, news feeds - and learn how to manage them using WordPress. You will learn to install WordPress and customize the look-and-feel of your web site. You will develop the skills and confidence to manage all types of content, be it text or images, on your blog, and also understand how users interact with the blog. By working through the book you'll be inspired as well as informed, and have the capability and the ideas to make your blog cutting edge and exciting to maximize its impact. More advanced users will also pick up tips on creating your own themes and plug-ins, and such technical steps as backing up your WordPress web site and moving it from one server to another. What you will learn from this book? Upgrade your WordPress from older installations Add tags and images to your posts and manage the comments on those posts Personalize and control the content of your web site using feature-rich widgets and plug-ins Manage the look and feel of your WordPress web site with customized themes and templates Share a blog with multiple authors and give them differing levels of control over blog administration and content Manage different levels of privileges for your users in a particular community and create custom roles for them Link your web site to the outside world through feeds, syndication, and podcasting Explore how you can take WordPress beyond blogging and use it as an effective CMS tool Approach Written in a clear, easy-to-read style, the book takes you through the essential tasks required to create a feature-rich blog as quickly as possible. From initial setup to customizing modules, each task is explained in a clear, practical way using an example blog developed through the book. Who this book is written for? This book is a guide to WordPress for both beginners and those who are slightly more advanced. It's for people who are new to blogging and want to create their own blogs in a simple and straightforward manner, and it's also for people who want to learn how to customize and expand the capabilities of a WordPress web site. It does not require any detailed knowledge of programming or web development, and any IT-confident user will be able to use the book to produce an impressive blog.


Researchers around the world are interested in knowing how to support teachers in developing both their technology skills and their understanding of how educational technologies can provide opportunity to engage all learners at their skill and interest level in learning activities that were not possible without technology. The solution involves the design and development of teacher professional learning (PL). This study examines a snapshot of one school district, which has experienced a growth in available digital student technology occurring at the same time when teachers experienced a loss of traditional pen and paper resources. Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered and analysed to determine what features of PL would best support teachers in this district. These findings were then considered within the scope of government suggested policy, frameworks and reports. The final suggested framework is for a PL that is collaborative, grade and subject relevant; offers hands-on opportunities; is supported by coaching; is based on research; and is supported by leadership which provides both time and a collaboratively developed vision. Published : 5 February 2018 Citation : Research in Learning Technology 2018,  26 : 1989 -  https://dx.doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v26.1989


*These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: To evaluate the effects of body weight loss on reproductive outcomes in young women with early-stage endometrial cancer (EC) and atypical hyperplasia (AH) who underwent fertility-sparing therapy. Patients and Methods: Patients with well-differentiated EC (n=8, FIGO stage Ia) and AH (n=36) who achieved complete regression after fertility-sparing therapy were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided into a weight loss group (n=25) and a non-weight loss group (n=19). Subgroup analysis according to body mass index and relative weight loss were performed to investigate the effect of weight loss on pregnancy and live birth outcomes. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were undertaken to determine pregnancy-associated factors. Results: Mean body weight and body mass index at pre-progestin treatment and at fertility treatment initiation were 70.63±12.03 and 67.08±8.18 kg, respectively, 27.06±4.44 and 25.73 ±3.15 kg/m, respectively. Twenty-five patients (56.82%) lost weight, the median absolute weight loss was 5.00 kg (1.00–34.50), and the median relative weight loss was 6.70% (1.00– 36.00%) over a median of 12 months (5.00–97.00). A favorable pregnancy rate (65.91%) and live birth rate (50.00%) were achieved. The pregnancy and live birth rates were meaningfully higher in the weight loss group than in the non-weight loss group (88.00% vs 36.84%, P=0.000; 64.00% vs 31.58%, P=0.033); weight loss ≥5% significantly increased pregnancy and live birth rate in patients with BMI ≥25 kg/m. The risk ratio of weight loss ≥5% in multivariate logistic analysis for pregnancy was 10.448 (1.102, 99.056, P=0.041). Conclusion: Weight loss could positively affect pregnancy rate and improve live birth rate in overweight and obese women with early-stage EC and AH during/after fertility-sparing therapy. Weight loss ≥5% increased pregnancy and livebirth rates significantly in overweight and obese women.


Gas exchange in the gourami, Trichogaster trichopterus , an obligate air breather, is achieved both by branchial exchange with water and aerial exchange via labyrinth organs lying within the suprabranchial chamber.

Ventilation of the suprabranchial chamber, M OO2, M COCO2, gas exchange ratios of both gills and labyrinth organs, and air convection requirements have been measured under conditions of hypoxia, hyperoxia or hypercapnia in either water or air.

In undisturbed fish in control conditions (27 °C), air breathing frequency was 12 breaths/h, gas tidal volume 30 μl/g, total oxygen uptake 5.2 μ.M/g/h and total carbon dioxide excretion 4.1 μM/g/h, indicating a total gas exchange ratio of approximately 0.8. The aerial labyrinth organs accounted for 40% of oxygen uptake but only 15% of carbon dioxide elimination.

Hypoxia, in either inspired water or air, stimulated air breathing. Total M OO2 was continuously maintained at or above control levels by an augmentation of oxygen uptake by the labyrinth during aquatic hypoxia or by the gills during aerial hypoxia. Hypoxia had no effect on MCOl partitioning between air and water. Hypercapnia in water greatly stimulated air breathing. About 60% of total M COCO2 then occurred via aerial excretion, a situation unusual among air breathing fish, enabling the overall gas exchange to remain at control levels. Aerial hypercapnia had no effect on air breathing or O2 partitioning, but resulted in a net aerial CO2 uptake and a decrease in overall gas exchange ratio.

Trichogaster is thus an air breathing fish which is able to maintain a respiratory homeostasis under varying environmental conditions by exploiting whichever respiratory medium at a particular time is the most effective for O2 uptake and CO2 elimination.


This paper proposes a prioritization scheme of the control state variables transmitted via a computer network, considering time delay. The robustness of each state variable against time delay is evaluated, and then the priority order is assigned. The priority based data transfer is implemented on a real-time network system by a device named Responsive Processor. The network system is applied to a bilateral robot system, which is driven by a controller based on impedance matching theory. The control algorithm employs an adaptive hybrid control method, which adjusts the hybrid combination ratio of position control and force control depending on the variation of the remote environment. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the priority assignment. Various combinations of the time delay and state variables were set up. The results conducted to the different stiffness objects, verified the effectiveness of priority assignment and supported the analytical results.


Novel organic cation - exchangers based on biomass and furfural suitable for processing into ion exchangers was prepared. The polymer has been processed chemically into different types of cation exchange resins. The role of various parameters such as catalyst concentration, the effects in the different particle sizes in exchange capacity, etc., for preparing the polymer is systematically studied and presented. Similarly, the conditions for preparing the various cation exchange resins (Sulphonated, Furfuraldehyde, and unmodified type from the polymer) are also described. The overall best particle size in exchange of ions is the 500μm size.


Purpose: To assess the efficacy of a novel orbital tissue expander (OTE) in treating congenital anophthalmic and microphthalmic infants. Methods: The OTE implant is an inflatable (0.5 to >6cc) silicone rubber globe sliding on a titanium T-shaped bone plate secured to the temporal bone with 1mm titanium screws. In vitro testing was performed to assess injection volume versus diameter measurements to determine consistency between devices, flex fatigue for durability of the implants when compressed, weight change in isotonic saline at 37°C to mimic human body temperature, seal durability by puncturing the globe numerous times while inflating, capacity before rupture to determine the maximum amount of saline it is able to contain, and effective sterilization. Ex-vivo testing was performed for adjustments prior to in vivo study. An OTE was then implanted in five 2-week old kittens (OS only) and inflated in 0.5cc increments. Three control animals received enucleation alone. All 8 animals were followed for 18 weeks and underwent euthanasia for morphological and histopathological analysis. Results: In vitro testing confirmed a <5% diameter variance between different OTEs inflated in 0.5cc increments up to 5.0cc, <5% weight change in isotonic saline at 37°C over 7 weeks, <3% weight change over 14 months in the fatigue tester, and no quantifiable leakage (<1mg) after 65 consecutive 30ga needle punctures. The OTEs were successfully sterilized by autoclave and easily secured in the orbit of postmortem kittens. The in vivo study demonstrated biocompatibility of the implant which stimulates orbital bone growth resulting in almost no difference between the implanted socket and the control eye of the cat. There were no adverse effects in the normal maturation, weight gain, and food intake of the cats. Light microscopy showed no signs of foreign body reaction. Pictures of the implants were obtained by using a shadow-photogrammetry system to compare the explanted OTE with the OD control eye. Conclusion: In vitro and in vivo studies show the implant's potential to safely treat anophthalmic and microphthalmic infants.


Q&A with Authors Eric Redmond and Jim Wilson How did you pick the seven databases? Eric: We did have some criteria, if not explicit. The databases had to be open source---we didn't want to cover any databases that would tie readers to a company. We wanted at least one implementation for each of the five database genres (Relational, Key-Value, Columnar, Document, Graph). Then we chose databases that exemplified some general concepts we wanted to cover, like the CAP theorem, or mapreduce. Finally, we chose databases that were good counterpoints to each other--so we chose MongoDB and CouchDB (different ways of implementing document stores). Or we chose Riak because it was a Dynamo (Amazon's database) implementation to compare to HBase as a BigTable (Google's database) implementation. Jim: Our goal with the book was principally to introduce readers to the field of choices they now have. Our selections were largely in service of that goal. Even so, it was a pretty long and iterative process. We knew that no matter which ones we picked there'd be people asking why we did or didn't include their favorite. It came down to choosing the genres we wanted to discuss and then picking databases that had the right combination of (A) representing their genre and (B) relative popularity. For example, we picked PostgreSQL since it sticks very closely to the SQL standard and is relatively less well known than other OSS competitors like MySQL. Similarly, even though both HBase and Cassandra are column-oriented databases, we went with HBase because Cassandra is more of a hybrid that incorporates elements from both the BigTable paper and the Dynamo paper. Databases are rapidly changing. What do you wish youd included now? Eric: There are hundreds of database options, but I'm glad to see that our choices are still going strong a year later. However, if I had to do it over again, I would like to have added a Triplestore (like Mulgara), since the semantic web is slowly popularizing this method of data storage. I also would have liked to spend more time on Neo4j's Cypher language, or have covered Hadoop in a bit of detail, since analytics is a huge part of data storage. Jim: Yes, databases are rapidly changing, in two senses. First, the field of available data storage technology has been seeing an explosion in recent years. More and more different sorts of databases are cropping up to fill in various niche needs. In the other sense, the databases themselves are rapidly evolving. Even between minor version releases, modern NoSQL databases incorporate more and more features in order to claim more of the market and remain competitive. In that regard, there's a bit of convergence happening and it makes choosing one even harder as there are more that can meet your needs all the time. I still think the five genres and seven databases we chose satisfy the criteria that we set out to achieve. But there are others I'd like to write about as well. These include some old favorites like SQLite and some databases you might not think of as such, like OpenLDAP and SOLR (an inverted index/search engine). Why did you decide to write this book? Eric: Jim and I discussed writing a book like this for quite some time. About a year and a half ago he sent me an email with no body--the subject was "Seven Databases in Seven Weeks?" The title sold me. We both loved Bruce's "Seven Languages" book, and this seemed the perfect format to explore this emerging field. Jim: As early as March of 2010, Eric and I brainstormed about writing a NoSQL book of some kind. At the time there was a lot of buzz around the term, but also a lot of confusion. We thought we could bring some structure to the discussion and educate people who might not be up to speed yet on all the latest developments. After reading Bruce A. Tate's Seven Languages in Seven Weeks I thought, "What about Seven Databases?" Eric submitted a proposal and a few weeks later we were off to the races. What do you see as up and coming databases? Eric: I've become a big fan of Neo4j. It's one we covered in the book, but in all honesty we chose it because we wanted to explore an open source graph database. But over the past year it's really come into its own. I really do believe this is the year we'll see wider adoption of graph databases. As for ones we did not cover, I think ElasticSearch is clearly gaining traction. OrientDB is also interesting, as it can act as a relational, key-value, document, or a graph database. I think you'll see more of this multi-genre behavior in the future. And as I hinted at before, Triplestores are gaining a bit of traction, too, though their problem-set greatly overlaps with general graph databases. Jim: There are many, of course, but there are at least two that I personally look forward to exploring in more detail: ElasticSearch and doozer. ElasticSearch is a distributed, peer-based, REST/JSON powered document search engine. Using a distributed Lucene index at its core, ElasticSearch allows REST clients to find documents based on fuzzy criteria. Everyone needs a search engine, and ElasticSearch makes it easy. Doozer is a fast, headless consensus engine. It's written in the Go programming language by the smart folks at Heroku. Doozer is great for storing small blobs of important information that absolutely must be consistent (like cluster configuration metadata), but without a single point of failure.


Diatom biomonitoring and ecological studies can greatly benefit from DNA metabarcoding compared to conventional microscopical analysis by potentially providing more reliable and accurate data in a costand time-efficient way. A conventional strategy for the bioinformatic treatment of sequencing data involves the clustering of quality filtered sequences into Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) based on a global sequence similarity, and their assignment to taxonomy using a reference library. Then, the obtained species lists of the successfully assigned taxa are used for subsequent analyses or quality index calculation. However, the high diversity of bioinformatic methods and parameters make inter-studies comparison difficult, especially because OTUs are specific to a given study. Clustering sequences into OTUs aims to reduce the biasing effect of sequencing artefacts and to reach an approximate species level delimitation at the price of potentially grouping together sequences with different ecology. A similar bias occurs when sequences that differ from ‡,§ | ¶ # ¤ « » # © Tapolczai K et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. each other by their ecological preference are assigned to the same taxa. The incompleteness of reference libraries can further introduce a bias by not taking into account unassigned sequences, thus losing the ecological information they possess. In order to overcome these biases, our studies tested new approaches on de novo developed diatom indices based on periphytic samples collected from streams in France and Hungary. Index development was performed with the leave-one-out cross validation (LOOCV) technique by building a model on a training dataset containing n-1 samples and testing it on the remaining test sample. Test values were correlated with a reference environmental gradient. The model was based on the calculation of optimum and tolerance of taxonomic units along the reference gradient and a modified Zelinka-Marvan diatom index equation. Taxonomic units tested in the studies were morphospecies, OTUs (95% similarity threshold), Individual Sequence Units (ISUs, via minimal bioinformatic quality filtering) and Exact Sequence Variants (ESVs, via DADA2 denoising algorithm). The "clustering-free" approach (ISUand ESV-based indices) performed better than the OTU-based one, providing a fine taxonomic resolution where the ecological difference on genetically close sequence variants could be detected. Thus, these indices are more adapted to a standardized and comparable routine bioassessment. The "taxonomy-free" approach revealed the ecological preferences for those molecular taxonomic units (ISUs/ ESVs) that otherwise either (i) would have been assigned to the same taxa due to genetic similarity, or (ii) would not have been recognized because of their absence from the reference libraries. However, we also found that taxonomic information cannot be neglected in ecological studies when the presence of organisms under particular environmental conditions is to be explained or interpreted e.g. via the traits they possess. New types of clustering methods are welcome in the future of biomonitoring where the delimitation of taxonomic units should be refined based on a higher emphasis on their ecology rather than on morphological or genetical criteria.


Although progress has been made on Semantic Web during the past decades, security is still one of the major challenges in the development of Semantic Web. Elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) serves as an excellent candidate because of its small key size and high security protection. Digital watermark is the practice of hiding a message within that work itself. In this paper, a novel method is proposed to combine elliptic curve cryptography with digital watermark for OWL-based ontology encryption.


Immunoglobulins type-M (IgMs) are one of the first antibody classes mobilized during immune responses against pathogens and tumor cells. Binding to specific target antigens enables the interaction with the C1 complex which strongly activates the classical complement pathway. This biological function is the basis for the huge therapeutic potential of IgMs. But, due to their high oligomeric complexity, in vitro production, biochemical characterization, and biophysical characterization are challenging. In this study, we present recombinant production of two IgM models (IgM617 and IgM012) in pentameric and hexameric states and the evaluation of their polymer distribution using different biophysical methods (analytical ultracentrifugation, size exclusion chromatography coupled to multi-angle laser light scattering, mass photometry, and transmission electron microscopy). Each IgM construct is defined by a specific expression and purification pattern with different sample quality. Nevertheless, both purified IgMs were able to activate complement in a C1q-dependent manner. More importantly, BioLayer Interferometry (BLI) was used for characterizing the kinetics of C1q binding to recombinant IgMs. We show that recombinant IgMs possess similar C1q-binding properties as IgMs purified from human plasma.


While there is a general acceptance of a broad definition of social institutions as accepted rules of conduct in agent interactions, there are overlapping views on how institutions come into being and develop. Different views see institutions as the result of evolution, contract, convention, game theory, political power, or legal necessity. Once created, institutions can live their own life and gain influence on the whole economy/society in respects beyond their intrinsic origins. The overlapping views give the impression of pursued piecemeal approaches in addressing the issues. Treating issues of institutional formation and development in the framework of social system theory and analysis can be shown to simplify the picture appreciably and bring more insight. This paper intends to do that. It will display and apply the social system perspective to understanding institutional formation and development. The paper falls in two sections. First, it develops an analytical framework that views the economy as a social system with interactive subsystems that initiate and maintain their own subsystem institutions. Some subsystems expand faster than others, gaining more influence. Interaction of agents across subsystems facilitates the dominance of the more influential subsystem and the spread of the subsystem's allied institutions to the whole social system. Second, the paper illustrates the validity of the social system perspective via reviewing a timeline that highlights the changing and evolving dominance of the major subsystems and their attached institutions in the economic history of the western world, and in particular, the interactions between the firm subsystem and the state subsystem.


Much of the native forest in the highlands of western Kenya has been converted to agricultural land in order to feed the growing population, and more land is being cleared. In tropical Africa, this land use change results in progressive soil degradation, as the period of cultivation increases. Both rates and variation in infiltration, soil carbon concentration and other soil parameters are influenced by management within agricultural systems, but they have rarely been well documented in East Africa. We constructed a chronosequence for an area of western Kenya, using two native forest sites and six fields that had been converted to agriculture for up to 119 yr. We assessed changes in infiltrability (the steady-state infiltration rate), bulk density, proportion of macro- and microaggregates in soil, soil C and N concentrations, as well as the isotopic signature of soil C (δ 13 C), along the 119-yr chronosequence of conversion from natural forest to agriculture. Infiltration, soil C and N decreased within 40 yr after conversion, while bulk density increased. Median infiltration rates fell to about 15% of the initial values in the forest, and C and N concentrations dropped to around 60%, whilst the bulk density increased by 50%. Despite high spatial variability, these parameters have correlated well with time since conversion and with each other.


This research focuses on urban haze in Upper Northern Thailand (UNT), where smoke haze often produce impacts on human health, tourism, and transportation. The objective was to better understand how the public sector responded to the haze impacts in policy review interviews and analyses of compiled haze-related data during 2007-2011. Moreover, integration of haze adaptation policy and coherency was also explored. The results revealed that Thailand has mainly implemented three National Haze Action Plans since 1997, together with laws and regulations for haze management. Further examination of haze policy at all levels of governance disclosed only vertical integration, whereas cross-boundary integration was reported only with the data and budget. Practically, manpower and function have not yet brought satisfactory outcomes. Moreover, the extent of state responses has been centralized –not decentralized from their centralized political structure. Low participation of people living in both urban and rural areas and cooperative efforts were identified as the main factors contributing to failures in combating smoke haze. Therefore, individuals are of utmost importance for effective solutions. There is a continuous need for prevention campaigns to enhance local people's understanding and participation as well as local communities' networking for solutions to the haze problem.


Model updating based on Bayesian theory for the prediction of natural frequencies of full prestressed concrete beam has been developed. Morris screening method is employed to study the sensitivity of model parameters and elastic modulus and density of concrete are determined to be updated. Cooperative work between finite element analysis program and Markov chain generating program is realized, and multiple chains with different starting points are designed to obtain the posterior distribution of model parameters. It is found that standard deviations of posterior estimates decrease compared to those of prior distributions. In addition, different starting points are selected to discuss their influence on posterior estimates of model parameters. On reducing the uncertainty of posterior estimate, the difference of each natural frequency used as witness resource is compared.


Even with a leveling-off of population growth from 2008 to 2011, Southern Nevada had one of the fastest growing populations in the nation over the past decade. While population growth is projected to increase for the next ten years, the rate of growth will be slower than in the past decade. The Hispanic population, as a percentage of the total population, is projected to surpass the White population somewhere near the year 2030. The Southern Nevada population is aging, as the median age in the region increased between 2000 and 2010. The 65+ age group is projected to increase as a percentage of the total population. Public health programs will be necessary to meet the unique needs of these two segments of the population. The region will need culturally competent health care providers and public health programs and an increase in geriatric care availability, chronic disease prevention, and caregiver support. Southern NV residents had a higher median household income and a lower percentage of people living below the poverty level when compared to the nation. However, compared to peer regions, Southern Nevada had a lower percentage of residents with a Bachelor's degree or graduate/professional degree and highest rates of unemployment. These findings are of concern because of the relationship between health and education and the health consequences of being unemployment.


We have experimentally demonstrated square pulses emission from a co-doped Er:Yb double-clad fiber laser operating in anomalous dispersion DSR regime using the nonlinear polarization evolution technique. Stable mode-locked pulses have a repetition rate of 373 kHz with 2.27 µJ energy per pulse under a pumping power of 30 W in cavity. With the increase of pump power, both the duration and the energy of the output square pulses broaden. The experimental results demonstrate that the passively mode-locked fiber laser operating in the anomalous regime can also realize a high-energy pulse, which is different from the conventional low-energy soliton pulse.


The development objective of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Regional Health Project for Caribbean is to improve preparedness capacities of health systems for public health emergencies in the OECS region. Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (1) health care centres and laboratory will be required to implement a workers' health and safety plan for personal injury from medical waste; (2) provide referrals and referral services to alternative service locations during rehabilitation; (3) implement, as a minimum, the generic environmental, social, and health and safety (ESHS) management plan to address the potential impacts of small construction activities; (3) prepare a medical waste management plan prior to the start of works; and (4) countries will verify the correct operation of the incinerator, including sorting materials prior to incineration and, checking adequate temperature and humidity of wastes according to the manufacturer's specification for the incinerator.


Background Avaialable minimal invasive arthro/endoscopic techniques are not compatible with 30 degree arthroscope which orthopedic surgeons uses in knee and shoulder arthroscopy. Minimally invasive "Arthrospine assisted percutaneous technique for lumbar discectomy" is an attempt to allow standard familiar microsurgical discectomy and decompression to be performed using 30° arthroscope used in knee and shoulder arthroscopy with conventional micro discectomy instruments. Materials and Methods 150 patients suffering from lumbar disc herniations were operated between January 2004 and December 2012 by indiginously designed Arthrospine system and were evaluated retrospectively. In lumbar discectomy group, there were 85 males and 65 females aged between 18 and 72 years (mean, 38.4 years). The delay between onset of symptoms to surgery was between 3 months to 7 years. Levels operated upon included L1-L2 ( n = 3), L2-L3 ( n = 2), L3-L4 ( n = 8), L4-L5 ( n = 90), and L5-S1 ( n = 47). Ninety patients had radiculopathy on right side and 60 on left side. There were 22 central, 88 paracentral, 12 contained, 3 extraforaminal, and 25 sequestrated herniations. Standard protocol of preoperative blood tests, x-ray LS Spine and pre operative MRI and pre anaesthetic evaluation for anaesthesia was done in all cases. Technique comprised localization of symptomatic level followed by percutaneous dilatation and insertion of a newly devised arthrospine system devise over a dilator through a 15 mm skin and fascial incision. Arthro/endoscopic discectomy was then carried out by 30° arthroscope and conventional disc surgery instruments. Results Based on modified Macnab's criteria, of 150 patients operated for lumbar discectomy, 136 (90%) patients had excellent to good, 12 (8%) had fair, and 2 patients (1.3%) had poor results. The complications observed were discitis in 3 patients (2%), dural tear in 4 patients (2.6%), and nerve root injury in 2 patients (1.3%). About 90% patients were able to return to light and sedentary work with an average delay of 2 weeks and normal physical activities after 2 months. Conclusion Arthrospine system is compatible with 30° arthroscope and conventional micro-discectomy instruments. Technique minimizes approach related morbidity and provides minimal access corridor for lumbar discectomy.


Birds can influence the embryonic development through incubation behaviour because avian embryos develop using parent's body heat. Although previous studies assumed that incubation behaviour influences hatching patterns, few studies have studied the effect of incubation behaviour during egg-laying and early incubation on hatching patterns due to difficulties to determine onset of incubation during egg-laying. I investigated whether incubation behaviour during egg-laying and early incubation affects hatching patterns in gulls using measurements of mean nest attendance and daily change of nest attendance. Hatching patterns were influenced by incubation behaviour during egg-laying and early incubation behaviour. As parents spent more time in their nests, a brood hatched more synchronously and hatching success of the first-laid eggs increased when gulls laid relatively smaller first-laid eggs than other pairs. Within-clutch variation in eggshell colour related to daily change of incubation behaviour. This might relate to hormonal change during egg-laying. Increase of prolactin initiates incubation and accompanies decline of steroid hormones which relate to accumulation of eggshell pigments. Hatching patterns may also be influenced by accelerated development of last-laid eggs. When eggs were swapped to increase interval between eggs, last-laid eggs of herring gulls accelerated their development to catch up. Accelerated development may increase the survival of chicks from last-laid eggs by reducing the disadvantage of small size within a clutch. However, the costs of accelerated development seem to appear during the embryonic period. Hatching success was low in eggs with accelerated development, although there were no differences in growth rate and early nestling survival between accelerated and control last-laid eggs. Eggshell characteristics might be a factor affecting hatching patterns because they are related to embryonic metabolism. Hatching duration was not related to eggshell thickness and total functional area, but chicks which hatched from eggs with higher proportion of mammilllary cone contact area took longer to hatch. Chicks hatched from thicker eggshells showed longer "head plus bill" at hatching and grew faster in skeleton size after hatching. Diet during egg-laying and early incubation affected nest attendance. Females which consumed more marine food during egg formation had lower nest attendance during egg-laying and early incubation. This may relate to longer foraging time required to obtain marine food. In conclusion, this thesis suggests that parents can influence hatching patterns by altering incubation behaviour during egg-laying and early incubation and hatching patterns also may be affected by accelerated development of last-laid eggs, diet during egg-laying and early incubation and eggshell characteristics (proportion of mammillary cone contact area).