This paper specifies a flexible model of labor demand in the manufacturing sector. The model is further extended to incorporate a risk function part which allows identifying the determinants of both level and variations in the employment. The risk function is particularly important when designing public policies that are geared at reducing the variance of employment or those policies that seek to increase employment in manufacturing. Since the variance of the function is both industry- and time-specific, it allows for the identification of industries that are from the perspective of vulnerable employment and design of policies targeting specific segment of the industry. In addition the paper looks at the time variant efficiency of the manufacturing industry in the choice of the level of employment that is technically necessary to produce a given level of output to satisfy the market demand. In applying this model to Tunisian manufacturing sector we add another dimension to the development of the literature on the estimation of a labor demand relationship.


Estrogen withdrawal in women leads initially to rapid bone loss caused by increased numbers or activity of osteoclasts. We previously have noted apoptosis of lacunar osteocytes associated with conditions of high bone turnover. Therefore, in this study, we investigated whether the increased bone loss associated with GnRH analogue (GnRH-a)-induced estrogen withdrawal affects osteocyte viability in situ in a way that would be directly contrary to the effect of estrogens on osteoclast viability. Transiliac biopsies were obtained from six premenopausal women, between 30-45 yr old, diagnosed as having endometriosis. Biopsies were taken before and after 24 weeks of GnRH-a therapy. Biopsies were snap-frozen and cryostat sectioned. Osteocyte viability, determined by the presence of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, was reduced in all but one subject after treatment. Furthermore, in every subject, the proportion of osteocytes showing evidence of DNA fragmentation typical of apoptosis increased, as demonstrated using in situ DNA nick translation (P = 0.008). Gel electrophoresis of extracted DNA and morphological studies of chromatin condensation and nuclear fragmentation confirmed that changes typical of apoptosis were affecting the osteocytes. It was concluded that GnRH-a therapy caused a higher prevalence of dead osteocytes in iliac bone, probably caused by the increase in the observed proportion of osteocytes showing apoptotic changes. The capacity of bone to repair microdamage and to modulate the effects of mechanical strain is currently believed to be dependent on osteocyte viability. Our findings have therefore revealed a possible mechanism whereby estrogen deficiency could lead to increased bone fragility with or without an accompanying net bone loss.


The results of the five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) procedure have historically represented information that is arbitrary in its meaning and interpretation. BOD results are too frequently accepted on "face value" with face value related partly to numerical value and partly to the opinion (or lack of understanding) of the interpreter. The Joint Task Group of the American Public Health Association, the American Water Works Association, and the Water Pollution Control Federation, which developed the BOD method for the 15th edition of Standard Methods, considered the problems with the method and certain improvements were introduced. A practical nitrification inhibitor was proposed, but an error in identifying a source for the reagent has lead to problems in method application. The method continues to require organic-free dilution water even though development of such water can be costly and unnecessary. Corrections for oxygen consumption by organic materials in the dilution water can be introduced into the procedure.


When studying wave interference, one often wants to know the difference in path length for two waves arriving at a common point P but coming from adjacent sources. For example, in many contexts interference maxima occur where this path-length difference is an integer multiple of the wavelength. The standard approximation for the path-length difference is path-length difference≈dsin θ, where d is the distance between the sources and θ is the angle between the perpendicular bisector of d and the line connecting P to the midpoint of d. A common derivation of Eq. (1) begins with the seemingly paradoxical approximation that two paths that meet at a common point can be treated as parallel. In this paper we present an alternative derivation that first finds a simple, exact expression for the path-length difference, valid even when the paths clearly are not parallel. We then show the circumstances under which Eq. (1) is a useful approximation to the exact expression and finally determine an upper limit to the err...


We experimentally test the theoretical results obtained by the method called globally periodic signal analysis. The method shows a reduction of spectral lines of the average amplitude spectrum and a power dissipation of a square waveform signal with randomly perturbed time transitions. The reduction factor is the Fourier transform of the distribution function of the random perturbations affecting the signal time transitions. The experimental results are in agreement with the theoretical predictions. The method shows the possibility to characterize the perturbation and proves useful in measurement (e.g., metrology) and signal processing problems.


The problem of establishing reliable communication across point-to-point networks is addressed. Several protocols are given, using node-disjoint paths to implement a set of independent virtual links (u-links) between each node pair. The u-links can be used to establish communication between the node pair provided the number and type of failures in the network are limited. Failed devices are classified by whether they are benign (delay and omission faults) or are malicious (not benign). The use of u-links is demonstrated with a protocol for remote information retrieval. With b benign and m malicious faults, retrieval can always be achieved if the graph connectivity exceeds b+2 m. This bound is tight. The authors give a flexible retrieval protocol; it analyzes the responses received thus far, and computes a minimum and maximum number of u-links to send (additional) retrieval requests. Maximal requests guarantee completion of the protocol upon their timeout. With minimal requests, protocol completion is barely possible with no further requests. u-links are extended so that they bounce requests when there is no response, which strengthens the retrieval protocol.


Background Woodpeckers are found in nearly every part of the world, absent only from Antarctica, Australasia, and Madagascar. Woodpeckers have been important for studies of biogeography, phylogeography, and macroecology. Woodpeckers hybrid zones are often studied to understand the dynamics of introgression between bird species. Notably, woodpeckers are gaining attention for their enriched levels of transposable elements (TEs) relative to most other birds. This enrichment of TEs may have substantial effects on woodpecker molecular evolution. The Golden-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons) is a member of the largest radiation of New World woodpeckers. However, comparative studies of woodpecker genomes are hindered by the fact that no high-contiguity genome exists for any woodpecker species. Findings Using hybrid assembly methods that combine long-read Oxford Nanopore and short-read Illumina sequencing data, we generated a highly contiguous genome assembly for the Golden-fronted Woodpecker. The final assembly is 1.31 Gb and comprises 441 contigs plus a full mitochondrial genome. Half of the assembly is represented by 28 contigs (contig N50), each of these contigs is at least 16 Mb in size (contig L50). High recovery (92.6%) of bird-specific BUSCO genes suggests our assembly is both relatively complete and relatively accurate. Accuracy is also demonstrated by the recovery of a putatively error-free mitochondrial genome. Over a quarter (25.8%) of the genome consists of repetitive elements, with 287 Mb (21.9%) of those elements assignable to the CR1 superfamily of transposable elements, the highest proportion of CR1 repeats reported for any bird genome to date. Conclusion Our assembly provides a useful tool for comparative studies of molecular evolution and genomics in woodpeckers and allies, a group emerging as important for studies on the role that TEs may play in avian evolution. Additionally, the sequencing and bioinformatic resources used to generate this assembly were relatively low-cost and should provide a direction for the development of high-quality genomes for future studies of animal biodiversity.


Loss of the E3 ubiquitin ligase Parkin causes early onset Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder of unknown etiology. Parkin has been linked to multiple cellular processes including protein degradation, mitochondrial homeostasis, and autophagy; however, its precise role in pathogenesis is unclear. Recent evidence suggests that Parkin is recruited to damaged mitochondria, possibly affecting mitochondrial fission and/or fusion, to mediate their autophagic turnover. The precise mechanism of recruitment and the ubiquitination target are unclear. Here we show in Drosophila cells that PINK1 is required to recruit Parkin to dysfunctional mitochondria and promote their degradation. Furthermore, PINK1 and Parkin mediate the ubiquitination of the profusion factor Mfn on the outer surface of mitochondria. Loss of Drosophila PINK1 or parkin causes an increase in Mfn abundance in vivo and concomitant elongation of mitochondria. These findings provide a molecular mechanism by which the PINK1/Parkin pathway affects mitochondrial fission/fusion as suggested by previous genetic interaction studies. We hypothesize that Mfn ubiquitination may provide a mechanism by which terminally damaged mitochondria are labeled and sequestered for degradation by autophagy.


This study aims to investigate students' problem solving approaches by examining students' use of mathematical models. In this research, since many students think that the concepts of relativity are unfamiliar, abstract and difficult, it was focused on relativistic kinematicsthe relativistic Doppler Effect. Sophomores from two cohorts of physics (n=60) and physics teaching (n=32) enrolled in a modern physics course at a university participated in the study. Participants were asked to provide extended written responses to the Doppler Effect problems with a test. Afterwards six students were purposefully selected for semi-structured interviews. Students' use of mathematicaland difficult, it was focused on relativistic kinematicsthe relativistic Doppler Effect. Sophomores from two cohorts of physics (n=60) and physics teaching (n=32) enrolled in a modern physics course at a university participated in the study. Participants were asked to provide extended written responses to the Doppler Effect problems with a test. Afterwards six students were purposefully selected for semi-structured interviews. Students' use of mathematical models revealed that students had difficulty in discriminating between fundamental concepts such as frequency and wavelength, source and observer, red-shift and blue-shift, and they consequently used these concepts interchangeably. In addition, because of students' the lack of ability of representing the problem in different forms according to a given physical context, they also had difficulty in determining the appropriate model. In conclusion, students used both physically and mathematically meaningless models and their problem solving approaches varied due to the use of mathematical models.


Transactional Memory (TM) has received a lot of attention as a programming API for concurrent programs on emerging multicore architectures. If the transactional programming model is to realize its promise of simplifying the problem of writing correct and scalable concurrent programs, debuggers will have to change. In this paper, we introduce tm db, an open-source library to provide debuggers with a general debugging support for transactional programs. The library helps debuggers provide programmers with generic transactional debugging features, independent of the particular TM's runtime internals. In addition, it provides TM designers with a well defined interface for transactional debugging support. We discuss the basic debugging features we believe are essential to debug transactional programs, how they are provided by the library, and how they integrate into a general debugging infrastructure.


A. Thanks for your question. The role of AFB is still somewhat controversial. With the new more sophisticated conventional white light bronchosopies, the role of fluorescence itself may be receding. Recent abstracts at the British Thoracic Society tended to suggest that, with modern equipment, an experienced bronchoscopist will identify as many abnormalities in the mucosa as they would with AFB. Having said that, there is no evidence yet that AFB has a place in routine bronchoscopy. It is being used as a surveillance tool in patients in whom routine bronchoscopy or follow-up bronchoscopy after resection identifies abnormal mucosa. Our policy at University College Hospital (UCH) is to repeat AFB every 4–6 months in individuals who have either severe dysplasia or carcinoma in situ (CIS). It is still controversial whether all CIS lesions become invasive.


Laguna Junin is a large lake 675 km long but only 4 m deep, located in the grass-covered altiplano at an altitude of 4,100 m, northeast of Lima. Pollen analysis of a 30-m core indicates that from about 12,000 yr ago until some time after 3,000 yr ago, about 30% of the pollen was carried in by easterly winds from the east Andean forests, which today are at least 600 m lower in elevation. Contemporaneous pollen deposition in lakes on moraines of the last glaciation west of the Junin plain was dominated by local grassland types and had little contribution from this easterly source. At some time after 3,000 yr ago (perhaps about 1,200 yr ago), the pollen influx to Laguna Junin from this distant forest source greatly diminished, perhaps because of deforestation by increased human populations. Between about 12,000 and 24,000 yr ago in the Junin core, the sparse pollen concentration was dominated by grassland types, supplemented by Polylepis / Acaena , Alnus , and Compositae blown in from the sub-puna shrublands that may have occupied much of the east Andean slopes in place of the humid forest that occurs there today. The silty sediment in this section of the core is interpreted as outwash from piedmont glaciers that invaded the plain, especially from the cordillera to the west. These glaciers left a distinctive pattern of moraines and outwash fans, which served to dam tine lake basin. An unconformity in the sediment covers the time from about 24,000 to 39,000 yr ago, when the lake was probably dry. Before this time, the silty sediment and the dominance of grassland and shrubland pollen types indicates an earlier interval of glaciation, recorded on the landscape by an older set of moraines and outwash fans, which initially dammed the lake basin.


Mediation - with its promise of less contentious, less expensive and more satisfying resolution of disputes - has been widely recommended for disputes in all areas of the law. Yet its successes have been far from uniform. While it has flourished in some areas - most notably divorce and child custody - it has met with much greater resistance in others. This is particularly puzzling for areas of the law such as will disputes, for which mediation would seem to provide so many benefits. In this essay I argue that the answer to this conundrum can be found in doctrine - the statutory and common law rules governing a particular dispute. Although legal doctrine is sometimes seen as mere window dressing that is applied to cover up what really goes on in the law - I argue that doctrine plays an important role in structuring how lawyers and parties involved in a dispute conceive of the dispute and its proper mode of resolution. In particular, I argue that the acceptance of mediation in the divorce field would not have been possible without the changes in doctrinal law known as the no-fault revolution. By contrast, wills law doctrine encourages lawyers and parties to seek judicial resolution of their disputes through its focus on testamentary intent, its opportunity for moral condemnation or vindication and its winner take all system. In this essay I also identify those features of the law that would encourage mediation or negotiation of disputes and consider the costs of adopting such a system.


Synopsis A thermally-mature palynomorph assemblage containing significant proportions of the characteristic dinoflagellate cyst Liasidium variabile Drugg 1978 was recovered from the Lower Jurassic Pabay Shale Formation of SW Raasay. This is the first record of this biostratigraphically important species from the Jurassic of onshore Scotland. Liasidium variabile is a zonal index for the Late Sinemurian in NW Europe, and this occurrence allows a correlation to the Oxynotum Zone of this substage. This is the first evidence for this chronozone on Raasay. Furthermore, the presence of morphotypes A and B of Liasidium variabile indicates a probable correlation to the Oxynotum Subzone of the Oxynotum Zone. This interpretation is not consistent with a hiatus within the Upper Sinemurian succession on Raasay.


Technical advances have brought circuit switching back to the stage of interconnection network design for high performance computing. Although circuit switching has long connection establishment delays and the dedication of connections prevents other communicating nodes from sharing the network, it has simple control logic and significant cost advantage over packet or wormhole switching. With the proper assistance from compilers, circuit switching has the potential of providing significant performance benefits when connections can be established prior to the actual communication.
This dissertation presents a novel compilation framework for achieving efficient communications in circuit switching interconnection networks. The goal of the framework is to identify communication patterns in Single-Program-Multiple-Data (SPMD) parallel applications and compile these patterns as network configuration directives. This can significantly reduce the communication overhead on circuit switching interconnection networks.
A powerful representation scheme is developed in this research to capture the property of communication patterns and allow manipulation of these patterns. Based on the temporal and spatial localities of communications and the capability of the compiler to identify the communication patterns, we classify communication patterns into three categories—static, persistent , and dynamic. We target static and persistent communications, which are dominant in most parallel applications. To identify communication patterns, we develop a novel symbolic expression analysis. We develop certain compiler techniques for analyzing communication patterns. Since the underlying network capacity is limited, we develop an algorithm to partition the program into phases based on the communication requirements and network capacity.
To demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework, we implement an experimental compiler. The compiler identifies the communication patterns from the source code, partitions the program into phases, and inserts the network configuration directives at phase boundaries to achieve efficient communications. The compiler also can generate communication traces, which provides useful information about the communication pattern correlated to the structure of the source code. We develop a multiprocessor system simulator to evaluate our techniques. Our simulation-based performance analysis demonstrates that using our compiler techniques can achieve the same level, or even better level of communication performance than fast packet switching networks while using much less expensive circuit switches.


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A new, facile Cu(ii) template method has been employed for the unsymmetrical dicondensation of 1,2-ethylenediamine with salicylaldehyde and o-vanillin. The mononuclear complex, [CuL] (1), thus obtained, has been used as an O3 donor metalloligand for the synthesis of four new Cu(ii)-Mn(ii) complexes, [(CuL)MnCl2] (2), [(CuL)Mn(NO3)2(CH3OH)]n (3), {[(CuL)Mn(benz)(H2O)]2·(CuL)2(ClO4)2} (4) and [(CuL)Mn(benz)Cl]2 (5) (where benz = benzoate). Single-crystal structural analyses reveal that 2 is a dinuclear complex while complex 3 is polymeric with a repeating dinuclear [(CuL)Mn(NO3)2(CH3OH)] unit, linked via the nitrate ion. Both 4 and 5 are discrete tetranuclear complexes, where the dinuclear units [(CuL)Mn(benz)(H2O)] and [(CuL)Mn(benz)Cl] are connected by double benzoate and double chloride bridges, respectively. In complex 4, two monomeric [CuL] units are cocrystallized with the tetranuclear complex. An important difference in the structure of 4 from the other three complexes is that one solvent water molecule is coordinated to each Mn(ii) ion, which makes complex 4 catalytically very active towards mimicking catecholase and phenoxazinone synthase-like oxidation reactions. The turnover numbers (kcat) for the aerial oxidation of 3,5-di-tert-butylcatechol and o-aminophenol are 399 h-1 and 230 h-1, respectively. The evidence of the intermediate species in the mass spectra indicates possible heterometallic cooperation where the Mn(ii) center helps in substrate binding and Cu(ii) participates in the oxidation reactions with molecular oxygen. Cyclic voltammetry measurements suggest the reduction of Cu(ii) to Cu(i) during the catalytic process. Temperature-dependent dc molar magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal that complexes 2-5 are antiferromagnetically coupled with the exchange coupling constants (J) of J = -13.5 cm-1 and J = -13.5 cm-1 for 2 and 3, respectively, J1 = -12.6 cm-1 and J2 = -1.20 cm-1 for complex 4 and J1 = -13.24 cm-1 and J2 = 0.36 cm-1 for complex 5 as is expected from the Cu-O-Mn bridging angles.


Preface. Introduction. Characterization of fly ash. Origin of coal and burning conditions. Properties of fly ash. Fresh mortar and concrete with fly ash. Properties of freshly mixed mortar and concrete. Admixtures and air content. Setting. Plastic shrinkage. Hardened mortar and concrete with fly ash. Hydration and strength. Deformations. Frost resistance. Chemical resistance. Carbonation. Chloride attack on steel reinforcement. Electrical resistivity. Other uses of fly ash. Cement. Binders with fly ash. Precast concrete. Bricks and blocks. Lightweight aggregates. Fly ash in road construction. Fly ash in soil stabilization. Fly as asphalt-filler. Fly ash as fill. Waste neutralizaton and stabilization. References. Appendix. RILEM Recommendations: Fly ash in concrete - Test methods. Index.


We describe a semi-quantitative PCR-RFLP method for detecting low densities of Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts present in final drinking water samples and natural mineral waters. UK Standard Operating Protocols were used to concentrate oocysts from drinking water samples. Oocysts were concentrated from mineral waters by membrane filtration. Cryptosporidium oocysts identified by epifluorescence microscopy on slides or filters were subjected to DNA extraction and PCR-RFLP analysis. Oocysts were disrupted by freeze-thawing in lysis buffer. Amplicons were readily detected from 2 to 5 intact oocysts on ethidium bromide stained gels following 1 round of PCR. DNA extracted from C. parvum, C. muris, C. baileyi, human-derived C. meleagridis, and C. felis were used to confirm species identity by PCR-RFLP following simultaneous digestion with Dral and Vspl.


Asian financial crisis has led many countries to perform related party transactions, which are transactions made by the firms to affiliated parties and often performed by controlling shareholders. The emergence of related party transactions cannot be separated from the existence of pyramidal ownership, where the controlling shareholder has several layers of ownership. Just as related party transactions can create a conflict of interest between the controller and the minority, the controller may transfer firms' resources or assets to a parent entity that is not normally listed on a stock exchange. Therefore, in our paper, we would like to discuss about different aspects and arguments on the impact of related party transactions. Prior studies provide various contributions, as one argues that related party transactions are part of an efficient contract, where the two connected parties have better information with each other due to the connection than the unaffiliated parties. On the other hand, several studies suggest that related party transactions have a bad impact and are full of expropriation of minority interests.


This edition of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regional economic update concerns the region recovering from the financial crisis along with the global economy. Growth in 2010 is expected to be 4.4 percent region-wide, driven by domestic absorption as well as a positive contribution from external demand. The recovery from the crisis differs by country depending on initial conditions and the intensity of the impact via the three principal channels through which the global financial crisis affected MENA economies-the financial sector, the price of oil, and the balance of payments, reflecting the impact on trade, remittances and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are leading the regional recovery as oil prices have rebounded and the GCC financial sector is stabilizing. Developing oil exporters felt the impact of the crisis, and now the recovery, largely through the oil price channel, due to the limited integration of their banking sectors into global financial markets and the importance of oil in their exports. The oil importers were affected by the crisis through the secondary effects on trade, remittances, and FDI flows, so their recovery will depend crucially on the recovery in key markets, especially the EU and the GCC countries. High unemployment has been a problem in MENA for years, and the crisis has dimmed prospects for improvements in the near term. Ample oil and gas resources, a youthful and growing workforce, and a growing momentum to look for ways to diversify their economies imply that the growth potential of the region is high, but MENA countries continue to face formidable longer term challenges. Ensuring access to finance without compromising financial stability will be a major challenge in MENA, although issues related to weak regulatory systems, corporate governance and overdependence on the banking system also loom large. Key problems of the business environment in MENA include policy and regulatory uncertainty and discretion in implementing reforms which prevent a level playing field for all firms and encourage the pursuit of privileged access. These problems, coupled with barriers to entry and exit, have created an environment of stagnation. Addressing these issues will require applying rules and regulations consistently and without discrimination among firms and introducing reforms that promote business dynamism, private investment, and innovation.


The aim of the present paper is to establish some new integral inequalities of Snow's type involving functions of two independent variables which provide explicit bounds on unknown functions. The inequalities given here can be used as tools in the qualitative theory of certain partial differential equations.


Reports on findings from a research project, which has been examining the development of the New Public Management (NPM), a managerial reform movement for change in public sectors worldwide, and reports on a series of semi‐structured interviews with academics in Sweden and England as elements of NPM are introduced into the daily routines of university work. The findings suggest that, despite evidence of common elements of the NPM appearing in Higher Education in the two countries in question, as well as many similarities of experience and response among those subjected to change, there are differences ‐ with academics in England reporting longer hours and increased monitoring of their work than their Swedish counterparts. The article explores the nature of these similarities and differences.


Genetic analysis has implicated the cell surface glycoprotein gp130 in cell interactions of the social amoeba Dictyostelium, and information about the utilization of the 18 N-glycosylation sequons present in gp130 is needed to identify critical molecular determinants of its activity. Various glycomics strategies, including mass spectrometry of native and derivatized glycans, monosaccharide analysis, exoglycosidase digestion, and antibody binding, were applied to characterize a nonanchored version secreted from Dictyostelium. s-gp130 is modified by a predominant Man(8)GlcNAc(4) species containing bisecting and intersecting GlcNAc residues and additional high-mannose N-glycans substituted with sulfate, methyl-phosphate, and/or core alpha 3-fucose. Site mapping confirmed the occupancy of 15 sequons, some variably, and glycopeptide analysis confirmed 14 sites and revealed extensive heterogeneity at most sites. Glycopeptide glycoforms ranged from Man(6) to Man(9), GlcNAc(0-2) (peripheral), Fuc(0-2) (including core alpha 3 and peripheral), (SO(4))(0-1), and (MePO(4))(0-1), which represented elements of virtually the entire known cellular N-glycome as inferred from prior metabolic labeling and mass spectrometry studies. gp130, and a family of 14 related predicted glycoproteins whose polypeptide sequences are rapidly diverging in the Dictyostelium lineage, may contribute a functionally important shroud of high-mannose N-glycans at the interface of the amoebae with each other, their predators and prey, and the soil environment.


The manner in which governments approve facility siting and permitting for renewable energy projects is a key consideration in both project design and the cost-benefit analysis of project feasibility. A variety of federal, state and local laws may be implicated depending upon the magnitude of the project and the geographic location of the project site. In addition to the application of a suite of environmental review related statutes for proposed clean energy projects, public participation issues as well as land acquisition issues may be present. At times, federal and state preemption may factor into the siting and permitting analysis, and local zoning and building code laws and regulations may also affect projects. This chapter is designed to provide an overview of whether and how these laws apply to siting and permitting applications.


just above the junction up to the renal pelvis with a diameter of 8.4 mm. 2D USG showed the renal calyceal dilatation (Figure 1), but the ureteral dilatation was difficult to identify because of the liquid containing image of the fetal intestines. With the aid of the 3D/4D USG view the insertion side of the right ureter in to the fetal urinary bladder was easily identified and measurement of the diameter done (Figure 1). Postnatal follow of the neonate showed no progression of the megaureter and hydroureteronephrosis.


We propose a model for the dynamics of a probe embedded in a living cell, where both thermal fluctuations and nonequilibrium activity coexist. The model is based on a confining harmonic potential describing the elastic cytoskeletal matrix, which undergoes random active hops as a result of the nonequilibrium rearrangements within the cell. We describe the probe's statistics and we bring forth quantities affected by the nonequilibrium activity. We find an excellent agreement between the predictions of our model and experimental results for tracers inside living cells. Finally, we exploit our model to arrive at quantitative predictions for the parameters characterizing nonequilibrium activity, such as the typical time scale of the activity and the amplitude of the active fluctuations.


Abstract: In the last fifty years, process improvements in service and product based organizations have greatly improvement quality, decreased development time and reduced scrap by improving process efficiency. Terms such as Lean Engineering, Just in Time, Total Quality Management and certifications such as ISO 9000 have become commonplace. In support of these process improvements, Engineering Data Management is a toolkit for achieving a truly integrated environment within a technical business by allowing teams to work more closely together, improving speed and efficiencies within the organization. This report was created to introduce the reader to basic principles of EDM and how it can improve an organization's ability to compete.


Continuing the debate between Drs Furness, Harnden and Parkinson,' 2 the philosophy behind examining all of the resected material from a TURP in a man under 60 years of age and extensively sampling specimens from older patients is twofold: (1) To detect a carcinoma confined to the prostate in a patient young enough to benefit from a radical prostatectomy or radical radiotherapy. (2) To detect carcinoma in older patients, who are not candidates for radical therapy, so that we don't look silly when they present symptomatically from their carcinoma shortly after their TURP. The majority (70%) of prostatic carcinomas arise in the peripheral zone. Prostatic hyperplasia affects the transitional zone and periurethral tissue. TUR specimens consist of tissue from the transitional zone, urethra, periurethral area, bladder neck, and anterior fibromuscular stroma. TUR specimens do


The past two decades have been characterized by an increasing uncoupling of economic growth and social and economic development. Outside of China, the numbers living in absolute poverty have remained stubbornly large; in Africa, they have increased substantially. Although this uncoupling has multiple sources, the trajectory of innovation (large in scale, capital intensive in nature and destructive of the environment) has contributed to these outcomes. Reorienting towards a more 'inclusive innovation' path has an important role to play in overcoming exclusion. However, we have only a weak understanding of the definition, nature and dynamics of inclusive innovation, and this paper seeks to fill this conceptual gap. It argues that inclusive innovation needs to be understood and developed in the context of a holistic conception of the innovation cycle, the distinction between process and product innovation and the roles played by the poor as both producers and consumer. It further charts the growing interest of private sector actors in inclusive innovation (including, but not confined to transnational corporations seeking the 'fortune at the bottom of the pyramid') and large global funds working in tandem with the private sector and governments. Consideration is also given to the role which growth trajectories play in determining the direction of innovation and in promoting linkages between the globally absolute poor (incomes below $1pd) and those with discretionary cash incomes living in the margins above $1pd. The paper concludes with a call for a more holistic and balanced approach to inclusive innovation to be adopted by a range of stakeholders so that resources are deployed most effectively to aid the recoupling of growth and development.


While an extensive set of research project deals with the saving power problem of electronic devices powered by electric battery, few have interest in large scale distributed systems permanently plugged in the wall socket. However, a rapid study shows that each computer, member of a dis- tributed system platform, consume a substantial quantity of power especially when those resources are idle. Today, given the number of processing resources involved in large scale computing infrastructure, we are convinced that we can save a lot of electric power by applying what we called green policies. Those policies, introduced in this article, propose to alternatively switch On and Off computer nodes in a clever way.


We observed the emission of correlated electron pairs from the valence band of solids following the absorption of single photons in the vacuum ultraviolet range. Applying a time-of-flight technique, we measured the energy distributions of correlated electron pairs emitted from clean Cu(001) and Ni(001) crystals. Significant differences between both metals were found. For the interpretation we suggest a single step two-electron-photoionization process and a competing two step mechanism involving a single photoionization and a subsequent electron-electron collision in the valence band. [S0031-9007(98)07072-0]


Despite the various research initiatives and proposed programming models, efficient solutions for parallel programming in HPC clusters still rely on a complex combination of different programming models (e.g., OpenMP and MPI), languages (e.g., C++ and CUDA), and specialized runtimes (e.g., Charm++ and Legion). On the other hand, task parallelism has shown to be an efficient and seamless programming model for clusters. This paper introduces OpenMP Cluster (OMPC), a task-parallel model that extends OpenMP for cluster programming. OMPC leverages OpenMP's offloading standard to distribute annotated regions of code across the nodes of a distributed system. To achieve that it hides MPI-based data distribution and load-balancing mechanisms behind OpenMP task dependencies. Given its compliance with OpenMP, OMPC allows applications to use the same programming model to exploit intra- and inter-node parallelism, thus simplifying the development process and maintenance. We evaluated OMPC using Task Bench, a synthetic benchmark focused on task parallelism, comparing its performance against other distributed runtimes. Experimental results show that OMPC can deliver up to 1.53x and 2.43x better performance than Charm++ on CCR and scalability experiments, respectively. Experiments also show that OMPC performance weakly scales for both Task Bench and a real-world seismic imaging application.


In this first section of a two-part article the author expresses the opinion that the domestic (English) judicial system fails to acknowledge the Strasbourg court's accepted opinion that, the right ' . . . to a fair [ . . ..] hearing . . .', as per the right of access to Court, should be differentiated as between: (i) 'physical'; and, (ii) 'remedial'; access to the court. The second section will deal with two cases illustrating the points the author makes regarding access to the court. The first arises from a Spanish domicile (instructing on DPA terms), abattoir hygiene consultant's claims for: (a) breach of his former company's articles of association; and, (b) fraudulent misrepresentation, by his then English domiciled business partner. The second arises from a Paraguayan domiciled, international businessman's claims for breach of a: (c) multi-jurisdictional crossborder credit transfer agreement; and, (d) company director's personal guarantee, secured on two real property mortgages (in Brazil), as well as other UK based assets. A jurisprudence-based analysis of the potential justice deficit resulting from the judiciary's seemingly automaton perceptions of their common law and statutory obligations under the Civil Procedure Act 1997 and the consequential Civil Procedure Rules. Accordingly, it is suggested that the premature applicability of (1) the CPR 3.4(2) Strikeout and CPR 24(2) Summary Judgment procedures, as well as (in the domestic litigation context), (2) the CPR 11(1) (including CPR PD 6B para. 3.1(6)) Challenge to Jurisdiction procedure, not only (a) fetter and wrongfully infringe the Respondent's right to fully test the Applicant's evidence contrary to Articles 6(1), 6(3) and 13 ECHR, as the astute Applicant acts before disclosure, but also (b) flouts the court's and judiciary's section 6(3)(a)-(b) Human Rights Act 1998 public authority duties, failing to note that they: ' . . . must consider all matters capable of having a bearing on that judgment, must act equitably as between [the parties], and must [find] accordingly.' Thus, the court and judiciary acting as decision makers must not follow rules blindly: (i) irrespective of the weight of (I suggest misconstrued) precedent; and, (ii) in light of the degree of discretion purportedly given by Parliament.


Efficient light management in optoelectronic devices requires nanosystems where high optical qualities coincide with suitable device integration. The requirement of chemical and electrical passivation for integrating nanostrutures in e.g. thin film solar cells points towards the use of insulating and stable dielectric material, which however has to provide high scattering and near-fields as well. We investigate metal@dielectric core-shell nanoparticles and dielectric nanorods. Whereas core-shell nanoparticles can be simulated using Mie theory, nanorods of finite length are studied with the finite element method. We reveal that a metallic core within a thin dielectric shell can help to enhance scattering and near-field cross sections compared to a bare dielectric nanoparticle of the same radius. A dielectric nanorod has the benefit over a dielectric nanosphere in that it can generate much higher scattering cross sections and also give rise to a high near-field enhancement along its whole length. Electrical benefits of e.g. Ag@oxide nanoparticles in thin-film solar cells and ZnO nanorods in hybrid devices lie in reduction of recombination centers or close contact of the nanorod material with the surrounding organics, respectively. The optical benefit of dielectric shell material and elongated dielectric nanostructures is highlighted in this paper.


Previous experiments with the sheep model of silicosis have demonstrated a reduction of the pathological activity of quartz after treatments with aluminum lactate (Al-lac), such as Al-lac pretreatment of intratracheally injected quartz or Al-lac inhalation of quartz-exposed animals. Preliminary data also suggested a more effective alveolar clearance of quartz treated with Al-lac. The present study was undertaken to fully document the effect of Al-lac treatments on the pulmonary retention of quartz. Sheep (on average, 27 per group) received a single injection in the tracheal lobe of either 100 mg/100 mL of alpha-quartz, 100 mg/100 mL of alpha-quartz followed by Al-lac inhalations at 1-month intervals, or 100 mg/100 mL of alpha-quartz Al-lac pretreated in vitro. Samples of lung parenchyma were analyzed at 2, 6, and 10 months after the injection. The quartz concentration in each sample was measured using the X-ray diffraction method. The concentrations were expressed in micrograms of quartz per milligram of dry lung parenchyma. The geometric mean concentrations in each of the three groups at 2 months were statistically different (ANOVA of the log values; p = .016) as well as at 6 months (ANOVA of the log values; p = .001). Al-lac clearly reduced the pulmonary retention of quartz. Both modalities of Al delivery were equally effective in clearing quartz up to 2 months, which may explain the documented reduction in pathological activities after in both forms of therapy. However, quartz soaked in Al-Lac solution was more effective than inhalation of Al-lac after quartz exposure. The half-life of both native quartz and quartz Al-lactate inhaled was 5.05 and 4.99 months, respectively, while it was 3.1 months for Al-treated quartz. Al-lac inhalations after the second month of exposure do not significantly affect the rate of clearance of deposited quartz.


Cotton not only provides the world's best natural spinnable fibre but also its seed is a rich source oil and protein, which is best for food and livestock feed. A biotic and biotic stresses always a serious threat to cotton production world widely. There is a demand of such cultivars which could oppose these stresses with wide genetic variability. Molecular breeding along with marker technology opened new ways in crop improvement. Genome mapping which is the identification of genomic regions linked with different traits; using construction of linkage map and quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis can be used to identify resistant sources with the use of marker assistant selection (MAS). Improvements in control of many biotic diseases like verticillium (V) and Fusarium Wilt (FW), Reniform and Root-knot Nematodes had been made using molecular breeding. Cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) is the most distressing diseases of cotton in Pakistan, north-western areas of India and some parts of Africa which could be improved using these biotechnological tools. In many agricultural crops viral diseases like tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), tomato mosaic virus (ToMV), tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), rice black-streaked virus (RBSV), Maize Streak Virus (MSV), Maize dwarf mosaic virus (MDMV), SCMV (Sugarcane mosaic virus), WSMV (Wheat streak mosaic virus), MCDV (Maize chlorotic dwarf virus), MMV (Maize mosaic virus), MFSV (Maize fine streak virus), Rice Stripe Virus (RSV), Rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV), rice black-streaked dwarf virus (RBSDV) and Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV) had been studied using molecular markers. This Review study provides explanation of molecular markers involved in crop improvement especially for disease resistance in cotton and other field crop which could carry out to find out CLCuD resistant sources in upland cotton.


BACKGROUND
Circulating N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels are elevated in patients with diabetic nephropathy and independently predict excess cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Therefore, we investigated the association between two polymorphisms -381T/C and 1551G/A of the BNP gene, plasma NT-proBNP levels and mortality prognosis in 380 type 1 diabetic patients with and without diabetic nephropathy.

METHODS
In a prospective observational follow-up study, 197 type 1 diabetic patients with diabetic nephropathy {121 men, age [mean (SD)] 41 +/- 9.5 years, duration of diabetes 28 +/- 8.0 years, glomerular filtration rate 67 +/- 28 ml/min/1.73 m2}, and a matched control group of 183 patients with longstanding type 1 diabetes and persistent normoalbuminuria (111 men, age 43 +/- 10.0 years, duration of diabetes 27 +/- 8.3 years) were followed for 12.6 (0.0-12.9) years. Plasma NT-proBNP concentration was determined by immunoassay at baseline. The BNP genotypes were determined by TaqMan chemistry based assays.

RESULTS
The two polymorphisms were in almost complete linkage disequilibrium (r2 = 0.883) and thus only the results of the -381T/C promoter polymorphism are shown. There was no significant difference between cases and controls in either genotype distributions (cases TT 32%, TC 53%, CC 15%; controls TT 28%, TC 52%, CC 20%) or allele frequencies (cases T/C 0.58/0.42; controls T/C 0.54/0.46) for the -381T/C polymorphism. Among the 164 normoalbuminuric patients without antihypertensive treatment and previous major cardiovascular disease (CVD), the -381T/C polymorphism was associated with circulating levels of NT-proBNP [median (interquartile range) 21 (5-32), 34 (12-67) and 32 (12-58) ng/l for TT, TC and CC, respectively (P = 0.041)] persisting after adjustment for covariates (P = 0.018). During follow-up, the -381T/C polymorphism did not predict all-cause or cardiovascular mortality among type 1 diabetic patients with or without diabetic nephropathy.

CONCLUSIONS
The BNP -381T/C and 1551G/A polymorphisms are associated with circulating levels of NT-proBNP but not with prevalent overt diabetic nephropathy. These polymorphisms do not predict all-cause or cardiovascular mortality in Caucasian type 1 diabetic patients with or without diabetic nephropathy.


Written in the tradition of the vastly popular Prometheus title "Atheism: The Case Against God" and "The Atheist Debater's Handbook", this accessible and inviting primer of non-belief ponders eight of the most-asked questions about atheism. What is atheism? How can atheists have morals? How can atheists have purpose in their lives? Doesn't the Bible show that god exists? Do reports of miracles prove the existence of a god? Aren't there philosophical proofs demonstrating that god exists? Wouldn't a person have to know everything to say that god doesn't exist? What's wrong with believing on faith? These are the concerns that arise when believers and those who are simply curious question the purpose and meaning they suspect is lacking in the lives of non-believers. These questions also come up in philosophical and theological debates on the assumptions and merits of both belief and non-belief. Krueger contends that atheism is a powerful alternative to the religious outlook so prevalent today, yet it is also one of the most misunderstood because people harbour preconceived ideas about atheism. This concise introduction to atheism, from a scholar who has led thousands of students to the enlightenment of free-thought, has been designed with the general audience in mind.


Introduction The Composite Caecal Intubation Rate (CIRc) has been proposed as a more pragmatic colonoscopy performance index, encompassing three key components; caecal intubation rate (CIR), patient comfort and sedation dose.1 We calculated CIRcs within a Tertiary Unit (St Mark's Hospital,UK), aiming to assess performance and look for possible correlation between CIRc and adenoma detection rate (ADR).2 Methods We analysed all colonoscopies performed by 32 Endoscopists in 12 months. CIRc was the proportion of procedures fulfilling the following criteria; procedure completion, comfort score ≤3 (Gloucester scale)3 and midazolam dose 0–2 mg. We examined the association between CIRc and annual colonoscopy volume, completion rate, midazolam dose and polyp detection rate (PDR). Finally, we sought for a correlation between CIRc and ADR for 7 Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (BCSP) Endoscopists. Results Analysis included 5416 colonoscopies. Overall CIRc was 85.6%. There was significant correlation between CIRc and annual colonoscopy volume; all colonoscopists with >250 procedures had CIRcs >85%. The majority of operators with <200 procedures had the lower scores, but still more than 70%. There were Endoscopists with low annual volumes and high CIRc meaning that expert endoscopists with high lifetime (but low annual) volumes can nonetheless deliver high quality colonoscopy. There was also evidence of a negative correlation between midazolam and CIRc, but of no statistical significance. No significant association was observed with CIR or PDR. There was a reasonable positive correlation, albeit non significant, between ADR and CIRc in the BCSP Endoscopists' subgroup. Conclusion CIRc is a more informative performance index, reflecting key aspects of colonoscopy. Reassuringly, overall CIRc achievement in the Unit was above National Audit data (54.1%).1 Endoscopists with larger procedure volumes performed better. No significant correlation with ADR was seen, although a positive trend was noted. The small amount of patients included in the ADR analysis group is insufficient to draw definite conclusions. Applying CIRc at a local level may aid in identification of under-performers, although case-mix factors may affect results. References 1 Valori R, Damery S, Swarbrick E, et al. PWE-057 A composite measure of colonic intubation is better able to distinguish performance of colonoscopy and is associated with higher polyp detection rates. Gut 2014;63:A148. 2 Corley DA, Jensen CD, Marks AR, et al. Adenoma detection rate and risk of colorectal cancer and death. N Engl J Med 2014;370:1298–306. 3 Ekkelenkamp VE, Dowler K, Valori RM, Dunckley P. Patient comfort and quality in colonoscopy. World J Gastroenterol 2013;19:2355–61. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Sizes of C-band heterochromatin regions were estimated in embryonic and extraembryonic lineages. These regions in chromosomes 1 and 16, containing mainly satellite 2 DNA, were significantly longer in extraembryonic tissues than in embryonic tissues. The differences in length between chromosome 9 C-band heterochromatin, which contained satellite 3 DNA, and Y chromosome C-band heterochromatin, which contained all four classical satellite types, were not significant between the two tissues. Our data, together with other findings on the correlation between chromosome compactization and DNA methylation, indicated that the observed variations in C-band length reflected a tissue-specific pattern of heterochromatin methylation. Satellite 2 DNA probably was the most sensitive target for the decondensation effect of DNA methylation compared with other satellite types. 24 refs., 1 tab.


Surfactant-associated protein A (SP-A) is involved in surfactant homeostasis and host defense in the lung. We have previously demonstrated that SP-A specifically binds to and enhances the ingestion of bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) organisms by macrophages. In the current study, we investigated the effect of SP-A on the generation of inflammatory mediators induced by BCG and the subsequent fate of ingested BCG organisms. Rat macrophages were incubated with BCG in the presence and absence of SP-A. Noningested BCG organisms were removed, and the release of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and nitric oxide were measured at varying times. TNF-alpha and nitric oxide production induced by BCG were enhanced by SP-A. In addition, SP-A enhanced the BCG-induced increase in the level of inducible nitric oxide synthase protein. Addition of antibodies directed against SPR210, a specific macrophage SP-A receptor, inhibited the SP-A-enhanced mediator production. BCG in the absence of SP-A showed increased growth over a 5-day period, whereas inclusion of SP-A dramatically inhibited BCG growth. Inhibition of nitric oxide production blocked BCG killing in the presence and absence of SP-A. These results demonstrate that ingestion of SP-A-BCG complexes by rat macrophages leads to production of inflammatory mediators and increased mycobacterial killing.


In The Loss Library and Other Unfinished Stories (2011), Ivan Vladislavić takes his characteristic genre experimentation to a new extreme. Presenting story ideas, bits of research and anecdotes, he interrogates several literary genres, but the volume as a whole has few obvious generic antecedents. Here I briefly consider the established literary genres that the author explores, and argue that the text is closer to a type of fine arts and artefacts that has always fascinated Vladislavić: those that commemorate loss. To refer to what he does in The Loss Library, I coin the term ars non scribendi – the art of not writing – as the inverse of ars poetica, the closest genre to (almost) accommodate the text. Encouraged by Vladislavić calling Micha Ullman an artist of the absent, I call the genre of The Loss Library and these other works 'art of the absent'. Aligning Vladislavić's ars non scribendi with artworks that he has written about in non-fiction or invented in his fiction, I show that the book represents and mourns loss, and conclude that The Loss Library's genre-transcendence gives form to loss and absence.


Time-series cross-section (TSCS) data are prevalent in political science, yet many distinct challenges presented by TSCS data remain underaddressed. We focus on how dependence in both space and time complicates estimating either spatial or temporal dependence, dynamics, and effects. Little is known about how modeling one of temporal or cross-sectional dependence well while neglecting the other affects results in TSCS analysis. We demonstrate analytically and through simulations how misspecification of either temporal or spatial dependence inflates estimates of the other dimension's dependence and thereby induces biased estimates and tests of other covariate effects. Therefore, we recommend the spatiotemporal autoregressive distributed lag (STADL) model with distributed lags in both space and time as an effective general starting point for TSCS model specification. We illustrate with two example reanalyses and provide R code to facilitate researchers' implementation—from automation of common spatial-weights matrices (W) through estimated spatiotemporal effects/response calculations—for their own TSCS analyses.


Abstract. Since 2011, within the framework of a research project shared between the University of Cuenca (UC) and the Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven), several practical experiences were proposed and carried out in order to identify paths and actions that allow reversing a marked trend to the loss of built cultural assets, both in the rural and urban context. Most of these assets are made up of vernacular architecture built with technologies such as adobe or bahareque, which use the earth as an essential building material. From the beginning of the first intervention in Susudel (2011), it was important to carry out constant and sustained work with the respective communities and actors involved. It was necessary to inform them about the initiative, but, above all, to involve them consistently, completely and directly, throughout the process, in decision-making and in the search for solutions that were finally applied in the interventions. A comparison between all the interventions carried out from the year 2011 until 2018 show a very significant change of social involvement, both in quantity as well as in quality, with each new intervention. From an empirical and intuitive process, we have moved to a more technical, planned and structured one, based on participatory methodologies that allow a more intense and proactive involvement of communities in the search for solutions and commitments. The article analyzes the participatory process during 4 preventive conservation experiences applied in the town of Susudel and the city of Cuenca, in southern Ecuador, over the past 7 years.


The prediction of aerodynamic damping is a relevant issue for turbomachinery design trends. Most of the conventional analysis methodologies for the study of aeroelastic forcing in use until recently neglect any hypothetical effects of adjacent rows. However, in recent years, it has become unquestionable that acoustic waves and nearly convected perturbations reflected in neighboring rows play a significant role in the evaluation of the overall unsteady loading of the blades. In this paper, a study of the impact of these effects in flutter stability margin is performed. For this analysis, ITP Aero's in-house unsteady 3D frequency domain linearized RANS solver is used. The subject of this research is a setup which is a close representation of a proper LPT geometry. The influence of neighboring rows is examined, taking into consideration how the interactions between rows are scattered into several circumferential modes, as well as into radial modes. A quantitative assessment of all these effects is performed to understand the relative relevance of each one of them, and the results of unsteady aerodynamic blade loading are compared with those of a single-row simulation.


Liposome is an artificial colloidal particle that formed from convolution of bilayer structure from amphiphilic molecules into a spherical particle. At certain pH, the
presence of both ionized and non-ionized fatty acid molecules in the solution leads to the formation of dimers that can be an analog to the double chain phospholipids. Fatty acid liposomes provide both hydrophilic and hydrophobic compartments that make them suitable candidates as a carrier for water soluble and liposoluble substances that have potential for medicinal or cosmetic applications. Unmodified fatty acid liposome suspensions are normally unstable and it needs to be addressed so that it is more viable for useful applications. The widely applied method in stabilizing of liposome is through steric stabilization. In this study, polyethoxylated groups with different polymerization degree grafted to phospholipids namely 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)2000] and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-snglycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)5000] were incorporated in fatty acid liposome to improve their stability. The stability of fatty acid/PEGylated lipid liposomes was characterized by their critical vesiculation concentration, mean particle size and zeta potential for a period of 30 days. The presence of liposomes was identified by transmission electron micrograph. It was found that the stability of fatty acid liposomes can be enhanced with incorporation of
PEGylated lipid. Langmuir monolayer isotherm was used for the intermolecular interaction study, and the most compatible mixture proportion of fatty acid to
PEGylated lipid for the formation of a stable liposome suspension was proposed accordingly. The energetically favorable composition of a resulting mixture was found
varied slightly depending on the type of PEGylated lipid. The loading efficiencies of these liposomes were assessed by both water soluble calcein as well as water insoluble
α-tocopherol acetate. Certain amount of these compounds could be successfully loaded into the resulting liposomes under this experimental condition. As for a fixed fatty acid
concentration, the loading efficiency was found to be affected by the type of fatty acid, bilayer composition and the amount of calcein and α-tocopherol acetate.


As NATO School Oberammergau (NSO) is continuously looking into implementing new tools and methods in training and education, student's skills recognition, competencies and achievements through digital badges has been adopted for resident courses from NATO School Oberammergau Academic Departments. In 2017 NATO School Oberammergau introduced digital badges to selected courses; however the idea to reward students' accomplishments is not new. When NATO School Oberammergau implemented the "Gender Sticker" earlier, in 2015, the first step towards a new way of recognizing students' efforts was made. While the "Gender Sticker", a special designed NATO School Oberammergau sticker any student can earn who is successfully completing the ADL 169 (Gender Awareness) course online, was simply added to the classic NSO course certificates, the digital badges are an online recognition system. In addition to the traditional "Certificate of Completion", the NSO offers a digital badge for selected courses to students who met all course requirements. Currently digital badges at NSO are used to help quantify the amount of formal time spent in training, or by participation in a program. However, digital badges have the potential to bridge both formal and informal learning in NATO. So far NATO School Oberammergau is currently the only NATO Education and Training Facility to provide their students digital badges. In this this paper the authors will demonstrate some initial findings following the implementation of the Digital Badging Project by NATO School Oberammergau and recommendations for other military organizations that may be looking to implement similar programs.


Objective: There is growing realization that it is important for health care organizations to provide a quality service in order to keep patients from shifting to other doctors. This study aims to examine the relationship between patient satisfaction, patient trust, patient commitment, patient loyalty and doctorsi?½ reputation with doctor services.
Methodology: 200 sets of questionnaires were distributed to regular public patients of the government hospital and clinics, as well as private clinics in The Federal Territory of Labuan, Malaysia. Data were then analyzed using the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) procedure.
Results: Patient commitment directly and positively affects patient loyalty to a doctor (?1 = 0.833, p < 0.05). Patient trust directly and positively affects patient commitment to a doctor (?2 = 0.800, p < 0.05). Patient satisfaction (?3 = 0.409, p < 0.05) and a doctori?½s reputation (?4 = 0.422, p < 0.05) directly and positively affects patient trust in a doctor. Doctor reputation directly and positively affects patient satisfaction with the doctor (?5 = 0.891, p < 0.05).
Conclusion: The findings verified the research hypotheses, and confirmed that there are relationships between patient commitment and patient loyalty and also patient trust and patient commitment to a doctor. Furthermore, patient satisfaction affected patient trust in a doctor whereas patient satisfaction and trust are affected by a doctori?½s reputation. This study helps doctors and health service providers to formulate strategies and tactics that will effectively develop the loyalty of patients.


As non-profits, community health clinics face a unique set of challenges. Primary amongst these is a shortage of financial resources. Staff turnover, including Registered Nurses (RNs) and Medical Assistants (MAs), can result in avoidable increased wage costs related to training of newly-hired RNs/MAs (clinical staff). Retention of experienced RNs/MAs can be directly correlated with job satisfaction, the obverse of which is job frustration. The intent of this RN/MA training and orientation project is to ameliorate frustration related to a lack of informational resources and clear competency expectations. Upon completion and implementation, project efficacy will be assessed via four longitudinal measures: Likert Scale job satisfaction surveys, clinical skill competency assessment, tracking of RN/MA turnover rates, and fiscal analysis. It is anticipated that the clinic will see results including a decrease in job frustration with subsequent decreased RN/MA turnover, improved quality of care and a decrease of avoidable costs. Retaining experienced RNs equates to responsible stewardship of resources and most importantly maintains quality standards of care.


This study examined the prevalence of sexual assault at a mid-sized rural university. Although there has been much attention paid to sexual assault on college campuses in academic research generally, studies that specifically focus on this social problem within a rural institution remains lacking. Thus, this study addressed that gap by utilizing a survey tool created by Fisher, Cullen, and Turner (1999) that measured attempted and completed rape, sexual coercion, and sexual contact at a rural university. Additionally, we assessed the overall campus climate using questions created through a recent White House (2014) initiative. Ultimately, this study underscores the point that rape and sexual assault is not solely a "big city" problem, but is present at rural institutions as well. Moreover, survivors of sexual victimization differ in their overall perception of the campus climate from non-victimized students in several meaningful ways.


Learning compact representation from customer shopping behaviors is at the core of web-scale E-commerce recommender systems. At Amazon, we put great efforts into learning embedding of customer engagements in order to fuel multiple downstream tasks for better recommendation services. In this work, we define the notion of shopping trajectory that consists of customer interactions at the categorical level of products, then construct an end-to-end model namely C-STAR which is capable of learning rich embedding for representing the variable-length customer trajectory. C-STAR explicitly captures the trajectory distribution similarity and trajectory topological semantics , providing a coarse-to-fine trajectory representation learning paradigm both structurally and semantically. We evaluate the model on Amazon proprietary data as well as four public datasets, where the learned embeddings have shown to be effective for customer-centric tasks including customer segmentation and shopping trajectory completion .


The objective of this study was to determine the oral wound healing effects of acai berry water extracts (ABWE) in rat oral mucosa. To estimate the anti-oxidative effects of ABWE, the contents of phenolic compounds, and DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl) and ABTS (2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) abilities were evaluated. Wound healing effects of ABWE were tested following 6-day exposure after induction of wound by applying 50% acetic acid to oral mucosa of Sprague-Dawley rats. Macroscopic and histopathological analyses were performed to determine wound healing effects of ABWE. Sodium fusidate (20 mg/g) was used as positive control. ABWE showed significantly high antioxidant effects in all assays, although its potency was weaker than the positive control. From day 3 after treatment, wound healing effects of ABWE were observed in oral mucosa. These wound healing effects were also consistent with histopathological evaluation results. Taken together, these results indicate that ABWE might have potential as an oral wound healing agent in the future.


Marketers and scholars are interested in the development of digital goods because of the growing popularity and profitability of these goods. The online game environment provides a perfect setting for investigating hedonic buying of digital goods. Using social influence theory and the theory of sense of community, we developed a research model to investigate the influence of online and offline social groups on consumers' purchase decisions. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. The analysis yielded several findings. Online and offline social influences affect purchase intentions. Happiness has a complementary mediating effect on the relationship between online informational influence and purchase intention. Happiness also has an indirect-only mediating effect on the relationships between offline informational influence and purchase intention, and between offline normative influence and purchase intention. Sense of virtual community and sense of community moderate the effects of social influence on happiness and social influence on purchase intention for online and offline social groups, respectively. These findings extend our knowledge of social influence and digital goods and have implications for online businesses.


DNA extraction is one of the most modern of the biological sciences. Scientists and doctors use DNA extraction to diagnose many medical conditions. DNA extraction can also be used to gather evidence in a criminal investigation. There are many methods for DNA isolation from human samples but all the available methods are more time consuming and require corrosive chemicals like phenol-chloroform, liquid nitrogen, silica and they are highly expensive chemicals also or it requires high-cost kits. The present study describes a rapid, reliable SDS buffer protocol suitable for extraction of DNA from Blood, fresh human tissue, dried tissue, bone, paraffin-embedded tissue and plastinated tissue samples. The protocol does not any require toxic chemicals and also consumes less time (<1 hour) and also cost-effective. In our study extracted DNA showed the excellent purity evidenced by UV spectrometer at the ratio of A260/A280 ranging from 1.8-1.85 and A260/A230 ratio was 2, which shows the preparations are sufficiently free from proteins and polysaccharides. This new method is suitable for all human samples including blood. The success of this method is that we obtained high-quality genomic DNA.


We previously demonstrated that formate and oxalate stimulate Cl-transport in the rat proximal tubule in accord with a model involving NaCl uptake across the luminal membrane via Cl-/organic anion exchange in parallel with Na+/H+ exchange and organic acid recycling. The purpose of the present study was to test whether similar mechanisms contribute to Cl- transport in the rat distal tubule. In distal tubules microperfused in situ with an isotonic solution, addition of 0.5 mM formate to the luminal perfusate increased Cl- (JCl) and fluid (Jv) absorption by 77 and 93%, respectively. Addition of 5 microM oxalate increased JCl and Jv by 52 and 108%, respectively. In distal tubules perfused with a hypotonic solution, formate stimulated JCl and Jv by 85 and 98%, respectively, and oxalate stimulated JCl and Jv by 80 and 115%, respectively. Addition of 0.5 mM acetate caused no significant change in JCl and Jv. The stimulation of JCl and Jv by formate was largely abolished by addition of 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (100 microM) or ethylisopropyl-amiloride (10 microM) to the luminal perfusate. Chlorothiazide (0.5 mM) inhibited baseline JCl and Jv but caused no inhibition of the increments in Jv and JCl induced by formate. Formate stimulation of JCl and Jv was confined to early segments of the distal tubule. We conclude that formate and oxalate markedly enhance JCl and Jv in the early distal tubule by a thiazide-insensitive mechanism involving NaCl entry across the apical membrane by Cl-/organic anion exchange in parallel with Na+/H+ exchange.


We present a new scheme for all-optical contention detection and time-domain contention resolution of optical packets in label-switched routers that employ all-optical label recognition. The contention detection subsystem provides all the necessary control signals required to drive an optically-controlled buffer which employs 1times2 optical switching elements and an optical fiber delay line (FDL). The state of the buffer is dynamically controlled on a per packet basis with all the decisions and processing performed in the optical domain. Physical layer simulations show successful buffering and forwarding of 40 Gb/s optical packets with 2 dB power penalty.


The fluoroquinolones are a group of potent antimicrobials with marked in vitro activity against gram negative bacteria and, to a lesser extent, staphylococci. Their major advantages include the availability of oral preparations, relative safety, and excellent tissue penetration. Controlled clinical studies have shown that the oral quinolones are as effective as cephalexin in mild skin and soft tissue infections, and that ciprofloxacin is as effective as cefotaxime in more severe infections. Uncontrolled studies chiefly with ciprofloxacin in patients with acute and chronic osteomyelitis with staphylococci and gram negative bacteria have resulted in cure rates of 60-85%. The quinolones offer definite advances in the management of gram negative osteomyelitis and could be substituted for the aminoglycosides or third generation cephalosporins in nosocomial soft tissue infections. However, the quinolones offer no advantage over standard therapy for mild skin and soft tissue infections, particularly those caused by streptococci or methicillin-sensitive staphylococci. Development of resistant mutants may become a problem with indiscriminate use of these agents.


Indonesia is a multi-religious society with a long history of religious tolerance. Ahmadiyah, a minority religious community that identifies with Islam, has existed peacefully in Indonesia for over 80 years. The Ahmadiyah community in Indonesia, however, is increasingly under threat of attack by radical Islamic groups, and there are ongoing demands from conservative Islamic groups that the state implement further legal restrictions on Ahmadis. An analysis of the recent decision of the Constitutional Court on what is known as Indonesia's 'Blasphemy Law' will show the ongoing risk of Ahmadis being convicted for blasphemy, in addition to threats and violent attacks from radical Muslims.


Dental schools have created summer enrichment and recruitment programs to increase enrollment of underrepresented and disadvantaged students. Enrichment programs strengthen students' academic skills in the areas of basic medical sciences, communications, test taking, and other learning strategies. The purpose of this study was to identify program characteristics of summer enrichment and recruitment programs and to determine which characteristics predicted participant enrollment in dental school. Twenty-three schools received a survey, and seventeen responded for a response rate of 74 percent. The majority of program participants were underrepresented minority (URM) students (program median=99 percent). The leading program goals were to increase minority enrollment (47 percent) and URM competitiveness (35 percent). The median program length was seven weeks and forty hours per week. Programs offered the following components: basic sciences (thirty-two median hours). DAT review/preparation (thirty median hours), introduction to dentistry (sixteen median hours), preclinical laboratory activities (sixteen median hours), and learning strategies (nine median hours). The length of program time in existence was a significant predictor of participant enrollment into dental school (R square=.320; p=.035). The overall median percentage for dental school enrollment in the study was 52.3 percent. The directors of six programs who place more than 60 percent of their students in dental school were interviewed. They reported that mentorship, institutional support, program structure, and admission policies were key factors contributing to success. It is concluded that recruitment and enrichment programs are a viable option to increase URM dental school enrollment.


In this paper, we describe the fabrication of a heater integrated microprobe and we propose microprobe-based electrical and thermal recording techniques for application to high-density data storage. The small heater with a sharp tip is located at the free end of the microprobe and can be heated up electrically by flowing a pulsed current through the microprobe legs. The generated heat is transferred to the media through the tip to create a bit. The dimensions of the small heater are minimized to reduce the power consumption and increase the thermal response. For the electrical recording on the thin Pb(ZrTi)O3 (PZT) film, a pulse voltage is applied between the conductive tip and the bottom Pt electrode, which induces a local polarization of the PZT. To read the direction of the local polarization, the static deflection of the microprobe is measured through a lock-in amplifier while the tip with small ac voltage is traveling on the PZT medium. For the thermal recording on the thin AgInSbTe film, the small heater is employed instead of a focused laser. The electrical resistance between the tip and the bottom Pt electrode is directly measured to read the phase information in a local region. The recording marks on both materials are below 100 nm in diameter, which corresponds to the areal density of 100 Gb in.−2.


Two dominant lines of reasoning in the philosophical debate on energy transition can be described as boundless consumerism (we should find ways to keep growing) and eco-frugality (we should reduce our impact as much as possible). This paper problematizes both approaches via their implicit understanding of the good life, and proposes a third alternative: qualitative abundance. Society is not interested in any sustainable energy system, but in one that caters to our needs and enables us to flourish as human beings. Because the dominant lines in the current debate share a concern for scarcity, they fail to raise the question of a "good" energy system, and therefore the possibility of a positive energy ethics. Qualitative abundance initiates discourse around prosperity (with boundless consumerism) and simplicity (with ecofrugality), thus expanding and enriching debates on energy transition.


As concerns about ocean acidification continue to grow, the importance of macroalgal communities in buffering coastal seawater biogeochemistry through their metabolisms is gaining more attention. However, studies on diel and seasonal fluctuations in seawater chemistry within these communities are still rare. Here, we characterized the spatial and temporal heterogeneity in diel and seasonal dynamics of seawater carbonate chemistry and dissolved oxygen (DO) in three types of macroalgal habitats (UAM: ulvoid algal mat dominated, TAM: turf algal mat dominated, and SC: Sargassum horneri and coralline algae dominated). Our results show that diel fluctuations in carbonate parameters and DO varied significantly among habitat types and seasons due to differences in their biological metabolisms (photosynthesis and calcification) and each site's hydrological characteristics. Specifically, carbonate parameters were most affected by biological metabolisms at the SC site, and by environmental variables at the UAM site. Also, we demonstrate that macroalgal communities reduced ocean acidification conditions when ocean temperatures supported photosynthesis and thereby the absorption of dissolved inorganic carbon. However, once temperatures exceeded the optimum ranges for macroalgae, respiration within these communities exceeded photosynthesis and increased CO2 concentrations, thereby exacerbating ocean acidification conditions. We conclude that the seawater carbonate chemistry is strongly influenced by the metabolisms of the dominant macroalgae within these different habitat types, which may, in turn, alter their buffering capacity against ocean acidification.


The aim of the research presented in this paper is to propose a classification of the manifestation of uncertainty to offer a basis for a shared understanding and characterization of the concept of uncertainty within the area of design research. During the past decade a growing number of papers about uncertainty have been published. These papers focus on different aspects and points of the design process and offer insights on different aspects of uncertainty. The research presented in this paper describes the manifestation of uncertainty and proposes a classification. The classification consists of context uncertainty arising from the situation circumstances, data uncertainty stemming from input information or data into a further process, model uncertainty resulting from the simplifications in models, and phenomenological uncertainty connected to the outcome of a process. Each of these categories is described in detail offering a basis for positioning specific research contributions published in previous ICED conferences. This offers a basis for the consideration of the appropriate uncertainty management methods.


Weed diversity, structure, and distribution within and outside agricultural fields affect not only ecological processes but also weed management strategies. We studied how areas managed differently within and outside the field determine weed communities in a sugarcane cropping system in the dry tropics of Costa Rica. A total of 120 weed species were detected, which was similar to surveys conducted in subtropical and temperate conditions. Weed species richness was highest in undisturbed field borders and lowest in rows and furrows. The area where tractors turn within the field (turn area) had similar richness compared with the borders, despite being one of the most disturbed management areas studied. The most predominant weed species were divided between generalists and species that exhibited clear preferences for management area or soil texture. Soil texture was more important for determining weed community structure than management area when considering weed species affecting weed control decisions. The results indicated that disturbance in the management area and, especially, weed control practices are critical factors affecting weed diversity, but availability of resources for weed growth such as nutrients, soil moisture, and light can mitigate some of the limitations imposed by weed control on weed diversity, especially in the turn area. Differences in weed communities between management areas within fields indicated the existence of conditions that favor key weed species, and this information can be used to anticipate their population growth and help determine when and where more intensive control should be implemented. Nomenclature: sugarcane, Saccharum officinarum L.


This paper proposes an approach to track US$1 trillion of emerging market government debt held by foreign investors in local and hard currency, based on a similar approach that was used for advanced economies (Arslanalp and Tsuda, 2012). The estimates are constructed on a quarterly basis from 2004 to mid-2013 and are available along with the paper in an online dataset. We estimate that about half a trillion dollars of foreign flows went into emerging market government debt during 2010–12, mostly coming from foreign asset managers. Foreign central bank holdings have risen as well, but remain concentrated in a few countries: Brazil, China, Indonesia, Poland, Malaysia, Mexico, and South Africa. We also find that foreign investor flows to emerging markets were less differentiated during 2010–12 against the background of near-zero interest rates in advanced economies. The paper extends some of the indicators proposed in our earlier paper to show how the investor base data can be used to assess countries' sensitivity to external funding shocks and to track foreign investors' exposures to different markets within a global benchmark portfolio.


textabstractPancreatic cancer, including ampullary, distal bile duct and pancreatic head cancer,
is one of the most lethal human cancers and still is a major unsolved health problem
at the start of the 21st century. It has been estimated that this disease causes 30.000
deaths per year in the USA with an incidence of 9-10 cases per 100.000 and slightly
increased male: female and black: white ratios. The incidence of pancreatic cancer
in the Netherlands is approximately 8.4 per 100.000 patients. This number has
been quite steady over the past ten years. Pancreatic cancer currently ranks as the
fifth most common cause of cancer related deaths in the western countries. Over the
past 20 years the disease continuous to have an appalling prognosis with less than
1% of patients surviving more than 5 years from diagnosis, so that mortality rates
and annual incidence are virtually identical.


The text presents a proposal of new a concept of social anchoring, which redefines the problem of links between an individual and a society and tries to tackle the problem of cement in a contemporary society. In the first part of the article the role of identity for the analysis of a contemporary society and reasons why the concept of identity is so problematic are examined. Afterwards the problem of relationship between identity, on the one hand, and integration as well as social cohesion in complex and diverse societies, on the other hand, is described. These parts play a role of introduction to the concept of social anchoring, similarly to the analysis of the daily and metaphoric usage of anchoring, particularly in psychology. The central part of the text presents the concept of social anchoring as a new theoretical proposal, which revises and integrates the previous categories and research approaches. It is proposed to provisionally define anchoring as searching for points of reference and footholds which enables individuals to establish socio-psychological stability in their lives. There can be distinguished different types of anchors, among others such as legal and institutional (e.g. citizenship), economic (material resources), places (e.g. place of birth), personal anchors (such as appearance, physical practices, individual traits and values), cultural (e.g. language), and social anchors (embedded for example in family or friend relations). The proposed approach provides an opportunity to integrate the issues of identity, adaptation and integration as well as to overcome the limitations of subjectively defined identity and include the psycho-sociological resources that can be used by individuals to adapt to changeable social realities. Although this concept mainly originates from migration studies dealing with the adaptation and integration of migrants, it seems to be also useful for more general sociological analyses.


Date Presented 04/04/19
 An occupation-based assessment tool is needed to support therapists in their assessment of how parents' behavior impacts how their young children's play. The usefulness of the Parent's Caregiver Support of Young Children's Playfulness (a new assessment tool) for identifying how parents' behavior influences their children's playfulness, was examined through a mixed-methods study.
 Primary Author and Speaker: Amiya Waldman-Levi
 Additional Authors and Speakers: Laurette Olson
 Contributing Authors: Sherraine Grinon


3D photography renders a static image into a video with appealing 3D visual effects. Existing approaches typically first conduct monocular depth estimation, then render the input frame to subsequent frames with various viewpoints, and finally use an inpainting model to fill those missing/occluded regions. The inpainting model plays a crucial role in rendering quality, but it is normally trained on out-of-domain data. To reduce the training and inference gap, we propose a novel self-supervised diffusion model as the inpainting module. Given a single input image, we automatically construct a training pair of the masked occluded image and the ground-truth image with random cycle rendering. The constructed training samples are closely aligned to the testing instances, without the need for data annotation. To make full use of the masked images, we designed a Masked Enhanced Block (MEB), which can be easily plugged into the UNet and enhance the semantic conditions. Towards real-world animation, we present a novel task: out-animation, which extends the space and time of input objects. Extensive experiments on real datasets show that our method achieves competitive results with existing SOTA methods.


The two-phase 4/2 switched reluctance machine is suitable for high-speed operation. It has a simple and robust construction and can be operated from power converters that have no shoot-through mode. In this paper, conducting screens are incorporated in the rotor of a prototype 400 W, 7500 rpm two-phase switched reluctance machine. The effect of the conducting screens on current response, output torque, output power, and efficiency of the machine are experimentally evaluated and explained. The conducting screens improve the torque at higher speeds, increase the output power, and improve drive efficiency. At low speeds, the conducting screens improve rate of change of inductance and, hence, torque. At high speeds, enhancements of performance are due to a lowered unaligned inductance that provides an improved initial current response. At rotor speeds greater than base speed and below a breakpoint speed, it is found that the conducting screens are detrimental to the performance of the machine. A reason for this phenomenon is given.


This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a bovine brucellosis vaccination program in Rio Grande do Sul, with prevalence as the indicator, and to identify risk factors for the disease. The state was divided into seven regions. For each region, a predetermined number of properties were randomly sampled, in which a pre-established number of randomly selected females aged over 24 months were tested. The serodiagnosis protocol consisted of a screening test using buffered acidified antigen, followed by a confirmatory test using 2-mercaptoethanol. An epidemiological questionnaire was utilized to identify possible risk factors associated with bovine brucellosis. In the state of Rio Grande do Sul, the prevalence of infected herds was found to be 3.54% [2.49-4.88], and the prevalence of infected animals was 0.98% [0.57-1.57]. In assessments of specific regions, the infected herd prevalence ranged from 0.66% to 3.09%, and among the animals, from 0.06% to 2.03%. In herds comprising 15 or more cows, beef type and pasture sharing emerged as risk factors for bovine brucellosis in the state. The epidemiological status of bovine brucellosis in Rio Grande do Sul has remained unchanged since 2004, even though adequate vaccination coverage has been recorded since 2009. Thus, the state should continue its vaccination program, with emphasis on the quality of the process and on encouraging the use of non-antibody inducing vaccines. In addition, the state must make a greater effort to educate producers on the importance of testing for brucellosis in breeding animals before introducing them onto their properties, and on the importance of avoiding shared grazing among herds whose health conditions are unknown.


The performance of local tax offices of Norway is studied over a three year period applying Data Envelopment Efficiency analysis and a Malmquist productivity index. The estimates are biascorrected using a bootstrap approach recently developed for DEA models. The results show that bias correction and the construction of confidence intervals give a quite different picture than without bootstrapping. A set of best practice offices is identified for future work on finding explanations for good performance. The productivity development of individual offices is classified into the four categories efficient cost increase, efficient cost savings, inefficient cost savings and inefficient cost increase


A poorly chosen article title may make a paper difficult to discover or discourage readership when discovered, reducing an article's impact. Yet, it is unclear how the structure of a manuscript's title influences readership and impact. We used manuscript tracking data for all manuscripts submitted to the journal Functional Ecology from 2004 to 2013 and citation data for papers published in this journal from 1987 to 2011 to examine how title features changed and whether a manuscript's title structure was predictive of success during the manuscript review process and/or impact (citation) after publication. Titles of manuscripts submitted to Functional Ecology became marginally longer (after controlling for other variables), broader in focus (less frequent inclusion of genus and species names), and included more humor and subtitles over the period of the study. Papers with subtitles were less likely to be rejected by editors both pre- and post-peer review, although both effects were small and the presence of subtitles in published papers was not predictive of citations. Papers with specific names of study organisms in their titles fared poorly during editorial (but not peer) review and, if published, were less well cited than papers whose titles did not include specific names. Papers with intermediate length titles were more successful during editorial review, although the effect was small and title word count was not predictive of citations. No features of titles were predictive of reviewer willingness to review papers or the length of time a paper was in peer review. We conclude that titles have changed in structure over time, but features of title structure have only small or no relationship with success during editorial review and post-publication impact. The title feature that was most predictive of manuscript success: papers whose titles emphasize broader conceptual or comparative issues fare better both pre- and post-publication than do papers with organism-specific titles.


: The relationship among primitive postural reflexes, postural and bilateral integration, and premorbid adjustment were examined in 29 subjects who were divided into 3 groups: normal, chronic process nonparanoid schizophrenic, and chronic paranoid schizophrenic. Significant differences were found between the normal and szhizophrenic groups on the tonic labyrinthine reflex and on five of the six measures of postural and bilateral integration. No significant differences were found between the two schizophrenic groups on any of the test variables. There were significant positive correlations between the tonic labyrinthine reflex, postural and bilateral integration, and premorbid status in the subjects studied.


Due to the increased demand and consumption of bottled water in South Africa, there has been a growing concern about the microbiological quality of this product. Retail outlets sell local as well as imported bottled water to consumers. The microbiological quality of 10 different (8 local and 2 imported) bottled water products were tested over a period of three months on days 1, 30 and 90. Tests for the detection of heterotrophic plate count (HPC) bacteria, total and faecal coliform bacteria, spore-forming Clostridium perfringens, somatic and F-RNA coliphages were performed on the samples. In addition samples were analysed for three selected enteric viruses, caliciviruses, enteroviruses and rotaviruses using the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The results indicated that 8/10 of the bottled water samples analysed, met the requirements set by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) for HPCs in bottled water of less than 100 counts per ml. However, in two bottled water samples the average HPC bacteria counts were 2.64 x 102 cfu·ml-1 and 8.89 x 103 cfu·ml-1 respectively which exceeded the recommended SABS guideline. HPC counts showed a slight variation during the three-month period in the bottled water samples. Total and faecal coliform bacteria, enterococci, C. perfringens, bacteriophages or enteric viruses were not detected in any of the ten bottled water samples analysed. It can be concluded that the microbial quality of eight of the ten selected bottled water samples analysed was within the acceptable limits set by the SABS guidelines and therefore, was safe for human consumption.