Despite the substantial efforts to elucidate the role of early brain injury in subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), an effective pharmaceutical therapy for patients with SAH continues to be unavailable. This study aims to reveal the role of necroptosis after SAH, and explore whether the disruption of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and RIP3-mediated necroptosis following SAH in a rat SAH model are altered by necrostatin-1 via its selective inhibition of receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIP1). Sixty-five rats were used in the experiments. The SAH model was established using endovascular perforation. Necrostatin-1 was intracerebroventricularly injected 1 h before SAH induction. The neuroprotective effects of necrostatin-1 were evaluated with multiple methods such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning, immunohistochemistry, propidium iodide (PI) labeling, and western blotting. Pretreatment with necrostatin-1 attenuated brain swelling and reduced the lesion volume on T2 sequence and ventricular volume on MRI 72 h after SAH induction. Albumin leakage and the degradation of tight junction proteins were also ameliorated by necrostatin-1 administration. In addition, necrostatin-1 decreased the number of PI-positive cells in the basal cortex, reduced the levels of the RIP3 and MLKL proteins, and inhibited the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. Based on the findings from the present study, the selective RIP1 inhibitor necrostatin-1 functioned as a neuroprotective agent after SAH by attenuating brain swelling and BBB disruption. Moreover, the necrostatin-1 pretreatment prevented SAH-induced necroptosis by suppressing the activity of the RIP3/MLKL signaling pathway. These results will provide insights into new drugs and pharmacological targets to manage SAH, which are worth further study.


A method is presented for generating statistical models of timing data continuously over very long monitoring sessions. This method is intended for memory-efficient runtime modeling of timing properties in embedded software systems, such as execution times or inter-arrival times, but is a quite generic method that should be applicable for other purposes and domains as well. Specifically, we intend to use this method as a component in automatic generation of simulation models for probabilistic timing analysis of complex embedded software systems. Given a stream of data as input, this method gradually builds up a statistical model capturing the approximate distribution of the data. The method uses a modest and fixed amount of on-target RAM, decided by the desired accuracy of the model, and allows for long monitoring sessions covering billions of data points. The paper presents the motivation, algorithm, a prototype implementation and evaluation using real execution time data from an ARM7 microcontroller.


1. The rate of loss of weight of adult male Blatta orientalis was measured in half-saturated and in dry air at various temperatures from 20 to 40° C. 2. The rate of consumption of oxygen was measured in saturated air over the same temperature range. 3. If no correction is made for losses of weight other than water loss, the rate of total loss can be taken as a satisfactory measure of the rate of water loss. 4. At different temperatures the rate of water loss was not proportional to the saturation deficiency of the air. The rate of loss in dry air was proportionally too low (or the rate at higher temperatures too high) to fit this relationship. 5. A formula was found for the rate of loss at all temperatures from 20 to 30° C, and the conclusion was reached that most of the water escapes through the spiracles rather than from the body surface. 6. Above 30° C. the rate of loss is much greater, due to a change of respiratory mechanism from diffusion regulation to ventilation regulation. 7. Blatta orientalis dies from heat stroke at a minimum temperature between 36 and 40° C. It will die from desiccation at any of the temperatures and humidities studied, but the speed of desiccation increases very rapidly above 30° C. owing to the form and mode of action of the tracheal system. Desiccation sets an upper limit to the temperature range of the species, which is below the heat-stroke temperature. 8. The view that the temperature range of the species is increased by a regulation of body temperature through a rapid loss of water vapour is untenable.


Medieval surgery adumbrates a theory of the body in which flesh, because it is sanguine, is radically different from the other simple members that make up the body, such as skin, which are understood instead to be spermatic. In contrast with spermatic members, sanguine flesh is renewable, and so is held to be able to stand in the place of lost, diseased or injured spermatic parts. Surgical theory and practice utilises and artificially enhances this natural capacity of flesh to supplement and substitute in its remedies to repair the body, in what is broadly termed 'incarnatyf' medicine in Middle English. This essay suggests that this 'incarnatyf' tradition is part of a missing history of prosthesis, which in turn grounds forms of medieval prosthetic thought in two Middle English examples: the miracle of Cosmas and Damian, in which a living man's rotten leg is replaced with the healthy leg of a dead man; and a series of connected revelations in Bridget of Sweden's Liber Celestis, in which incorporation into the body of Christ is effected through Christ's own practice of surgical prosthesis. Raising questions about the relationship between self and other, life and death, and the human and divine, the medieval 'incarnatyf' imaginary also asks questions about the possibilities and limits of prosthesis as a metaphor for community and for the body of Christ itself.


In order to obtain a dynamically adjustable plasmon induced transparency (PIT) phenomenon in non-contact way, we theoretically and numerically investigate the thermal tunable PIT by taking into account of electrons and phonons interaction in graphene metamaterial. The novel structure consists of two hollow square graphene and a rectangular strip in right middle, each of them acting as a bright mode. To fully explore the physical origin of the transparency window, the Lorentz coupled oscillator theory is employed. Good agreement can be achieved with the numerical results, which further verifies our calculations. To alter the PIT effect, the influence on the transparency window with different temperature and polarization angle are elaborately examined. The bandwidth of the transparent window gets wider with the lower temperature and switchable transparent window appears with varied polarization angle. As a potential application in the slow light device, the group index and group delay are also calculated with the temperature from 60 K to 500 K. Our proposed thermal tunable PIT structure may open up a new avenue in the application of controllable optical filters, switchers and optical memories.


Ampicillin-resistant Hemophilus influenzae had not been identified in Fresno, California, before June 1976. In the 12 months that followed, eight resistant type B strains and three resistant nontypable isolates were cultured from patients treated at two hospitals that provide nearly all of the acute pediatric inpatient care for the area. Two of the resistant strains were obtained from patients with invasive infections and represented 4.2 percent of Hemophilus influenzae isolated from blood, cerebrospinal fluid or joint aspirates during the 12 months. The remaining six resistant type B strains were obtained from 117 patients, and were the predominant organism in cultures of other sites, primarily respiratory secretions. In two of three patients infected with nontypable organisms, resistance appeared to emerge during therapy with ampicillin. Measurement of beta lactamase was a practical and accurate method for differentiating between ampicillin-sensitive and resistant strains. All ten of the beta lactamase-positive isolates tested had minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for ampicillin of 15 mug per ml, or less. In contrast 30 beta lactamase-negative strains had MIC's of 1.5 mug per ml, or less, of ampicillin. Our results indicate that ampicillin resistance has become a significant problem in the Central Valley of California and probably the entire state.


THE FREQUENCY AND INTENSITY OF TROPICAL CYCLONES IN THE PHILIPPINES HAVE INCREASED IN RECENT years, with detrimental effects for the economy, socioeconomic welfare, and food security. An archipelago known for its climatic and ecological diversity, the Philippines is strongly affected by the adverse impacts of climate change, especially in the agricultural sector. Yet, apart from extreme events, it remains to be seen whether the climate impact will be unequivocally negative, or whether, on balance, some parts of the country may experience gains. An enhanced understanding of how these dynamics will affect the country's major crops—rice, maize, sugarcane, coconuts, and bananas—is intended to assist Philippine communities in preparing for and adapting to these changes effectively and to assist donors and policy makers in helping them.


Consumption based equivalence scales are estimated by applying the extended partially linear model (EPLM) to the 1998 Income and Consumption Survey (EVS) of Germany. The chosen flexible semiparametric specification is able to capture a large variety of functional forms of household expenditure shares; it yields √ N−consistent parameter estimates and is consistent with consumer theory. The model specification seems to be appropriate for many demographic groups of the survey population. The estimated equivalence scales are mostly lower than the expert equivalence scales of the German social benefits system and the OECD scales. The large standard errors of the estimates indicate that there is still unexplained noise in the data even after constructing homogenous data segments for the estimations.


In Durango State, Mexico, the production of beans is usually performed under adverse condition including: use of expensive and polluting chemical fertilizers, agriculture lands poor in organic material and erratic rainfall conditions. All this adversely affects the environment, the physical and economic returns and which expression is a low standard of living of farmers. To assist in improving these conditions and reduce environmental damage, this study was implemented with the aim of analyzing the economic feasibility of the use of mycorrhiza (Glomus Intraradices)and chemical fertilizer on beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) under rainfed conditions, in the spring-summer seasons of 2008 and 2009. The transfer of technology was done by researchers of the National Institute of Forestry, Agricultural and Livestock Research (INIFAP) - Valle del Guadiana and productions was in direct seeding with producers under their own productions system. The evaluation was carried out in the municipalities of Guadalupe Victoria,Cuencame, Penon Blanco and Panuco de Coronado of the Durango state, Mexico. In the economic evaluation the methodology known as "Partial Budget" of CIMMYT was used. The results indicate that mycorrhizal fertilization practices are recommended for rainfed bean producers because the benefits outweight the costs incurred by doubling the rates of return.


Summary

Ecological filter models derived from community assembly theory can inform restoration planning by highlighting management actions most likely to affect community composition. Despite growing interest in these models, many restoration studies solely manipulate a single assembly filter – the biotic filter by altering interspecific competition – while ignoring abiotic and dispersal filters that may also influence restoration success.
To examine how manipulating all three assembly filters (biotic, abiotic, dispersal) affected restoration in an annual-type grassland, we seeded native forbs from the same functional group as a target invader to increase biotic resistance to invasion (biotic filter), cut standing biomass and either removed it or returned it to plots as litter to alter light conditions (abiotic filter), and added native forbs at different seeding rates to alter density of establishing native populations (dispersal filter). We measured grassland restoration success by recording native species and invader cover in plots.
The addition of native species with phenological and morphological traits similar to the target invader reduced invasion and increased native populations, but only in litter-free plots when high densities of native seed were added.
Seeding two species with functional traits similar to the invader was more effective for achieving restoration goals than seeding just one functionally similar species. As such, trait differences among restoration species, even species belonging to the same functional group, may increase biotic resistance to invasion in restored communities.
Litter removal altered native–invader interactions. When litter was left on the plots, added natives did not reduce invader cover. However, when litter was removed, added natives led to declines in invader cover.
Increasing native seeding rates led to larger native populations and increased invasion resistance.
Synthesis and applications. In this study, simultaneously manipulating biotic, abiotic and dispersal filters was necessary to optimize grassland restoration outcomes. In particular, the biotic filter only contributed to successful restoration outcomes under abiotic and dispersal conditions that were created through management actions specifically targeting these two additional filters. Restoration planning based on filter models should incorporate actions that target all three assembly filters, rather than solely focusing on the biotic filter.


Objective: To study the epidemiology and clinical aspects of the hypertensive retinopathy among pregnant women with hypertension in the CHUD-B. Material and methods: The study was multicenter and analytical. It concerned all pregnant women admitted to the CHDU-B from April 1st to July 31, 2012, four months. Results: Out of 1327 pregnant women, 158 (11.90%) have presented an arterial hypertension associated with pregnancy. Among these 158 pregnant women with hypertension, 112 have benefited from the ophthalmological examination, for a participation rate of 70.88%. 48 had retinopathy hypertensive either a prevalence of 42.86%. The average age of pregnant women was 28 ± 7.76 years. These women were in the majority illiterate (38%) with a predominance of craftswomen and housewives (66.97% ). The HTA was severe in 54.17% of cases and the hypertensive retinopathy was statistically linked to the severity and chronicity of the HTA. Conclusion: The hypertensive retinopathy during pregnancy is common and affects women around the thirties. It is often related to the severity and chronicity of the HTA.


Previous studies in Rhesus monkeys have demonstrated that a dopamine (DA) infusion rate of 0.1 microgram/kg X min induces peripheral DA levels similar to those measured in hypophysial stalk blood and normalizes serum prolactin (PRL) levels in stalk-transected animals. We therefore examined the effect of such DA infusion rate on basal and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH)-stimulated PRL secretion in both normal cycling women and women with pathological hyperprolactinemia. 0.1 microgram/kg X min DA infusion fully normalized PRL serum levels in 8 normal cycling women whose endogenous catecholamine synthesis had been inhibited by alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine (AMPT) pretreatment. Furthermore, DA significantly reduced, but did not abolish, the rise in serum PRL concentrations induced by both acute 500 mg AMPT administration and 200 micrograms intravenous TRH injection in normal women. A significant reduction in serum PRL levels in response to 0.1 microgram/kg X min DA, similar to that observed in normal cycling women when expressed as a percentage of baseline PRL, was documented in 13 amenorrheic patients with TRH-unresponsive pathological hyperprolactinemia. However, a marked rise was observed in the serum PRL of the same patients when TRH was administered during the course of a 0.1-microgram/kg X min DA infusion. The PRL response to TRH was significantly higher during DA than in basal conditions in hyperprolactinemic patients, irrespective of whether this was expressed as an absolute increase (delta PRL 94.4 +/- 14.2 vs. 17.8 +/- 14.1 ng/ml, p less than 0.002) or a percent increase (delta% PRL 155.4 +/- 18.9 vs. 17.9 +/- 7.1, p less than 0.0005), and there was a significant linear correlation between the PRL decrements induced by DA and the subsequent PRL responses to TRH. These data would seem to show that the 0.1-microgram/kg X min DA infusion rate reduces basal PRL secretion and blunts, but does not abolish, the PRL response to both TRH and acute AMPT administration. The strong reduction in PRL secretion and the restoration of the PRL response to TRH by 0.1 microgram/kg X min DA infusion in high majority of hyperprolactinemic patients, seem to indicate that both PRL hypersecretion and abnormal PRL response to TRH in women with pathological hyperprolactinemia are due to a relative DA deficiency at the DA receptor site of the pituitary lactotrophs.


Sustained growth occurs in developing nations through improvements in markets and organizations. Entrepreneurial innovation resembles biological mutation that is unpredictable before it occurs and understandable afterwards. It is unpredictable because it begins with an innovator who acquires private information and earns extraordinary profits. It is understandable because its ends with the public figuring out the innovation and all investors earning ordinary profits. These characteristics of innovation have important consequences for law and policy to foster economic growth. Government officials who rely on public information cannot predict which firms or industries will experience rapid growth. Consequently, industrial policies that promote growth are unlikely to succeed. Proponents of industrial policy today make the same mistake as the mercantilists whose interventions Adam Smith attacked as a cause of national poverty. In contrast, secure property and contract rights, and effective business law (especially the laws regulating financial markets), create conditions under which competition naturally produces entrepreneurial innovation and nations become rich. The main obstacle to sustained economic growth in poor countries today is ineffective civil and business law.


In his 1982 essay on 'Traveling Theory', Edward Said argues that the transfer of ideas in the humanities and the social sciences is influenced by both 'conditions of acceptance' and 'resistances'. The journey of theories, he explains, is never unimpeded. Following this observation, the present study wishes to explore further the factors determining the itinerary of theories. It puts forward the thesis that the interdisciplinary reception of theory is a selective – and historically variable – process, depending on the receiving discipline's dominant paradigm, which directs the researchers' attention to those aspects of the received theory that can best be adapted to their present purpose. In the process, individual concepts are isolated from their original context and reintegrated into a new theoretical and disciplinary environment. My example of this is the divergent use of Michel Foucault and Edward Said in the contexts of the respective linguistic and spatial turns, firstly as pioneers of discourse analysis and secondly as precursors of spatial thinking. As the current interest in Foucault and Said as explorers of 'imaginative geographies' shows, each turn emphasizes other concepts of a travelling theory, leading to highly productive – though always partial – (mis-)readings.


The purpose of this paper is to increase our understanding of the governing of flood risk mitigation in advanced liberal society, through an in-depth Swedish case study. By combining social network analysis and genealogy, this paper investigates who is involved, how they organise, their modes of thinking, how they mitigate flood risk, as well as how such regime of practises have come into being. The findings suggest dominant rationalities that reduce the actual complexity of flood risk in spatial and temporal terms to fit the legal and institutional environment. The resulting fragmentation is associated with a commodification of flood risk mitigation, in which actors expect to be able to procure modules of safety and sustainability on the market. This commodification materialises in a vacuum of responsibilisation, when obligations are imposed without commensurate guidelines. These processes of fragmentation, commodification, and responsibilisation are core constituents of neoliberalisation, which is clearly shaping the governing of flood risk mitigation even in Sweden; a bastion of the strong welfare state. Regardless of the notable individual capacities of the involved actors, systemic constraints in the governmentality have generated these detrimental processes in the face of overwhelming complexity. These systemic constraints must be removed or overcome for the governing of flood risk mitigation to match the complexity of flood risk in the catchment area. This paper thus provides input that can inform policy changes for a more sustainable future in the face of unprecedented change.


The arteries of the forearm are muscular arteries that originate from the brachial artery at its bifurcation into the ulnar and radial arteries in the cubital fossa. The division occurs anterior to the radius and ulna at approximately the level of the radial neck or radial tuberosity.[1][2] Soon after the bifurcation of the brachial artery, branches from the ulnar and radial arteries travel superiorly to anastomose with branches of the brachial artery around the elbow joint. These branches include the radial recurrent artery and the anterior and posterior ulnar recurrent arteries. Distal to the origins of these branches, the common interosseous artery originates from the ulnar artery and bifurcates into the anterior and posterior interosseous arteries. The recurrent interosseous artery branches off the posterior interosseous artery to travel proximally and anastomose with a branch of the deep brachial artery. The ulnar, radial, and anterior and posterior interosseous arteries course down the forearm. They branch into dorsal and palmar carpal arteries that supply the wrist and deep and superficial palmar branches that supply the hand. The arteries of the forearm supply the muscles and nerves of the forearm that control the hands. Anatomists have described several variants of the arterial anatomy. This activity will discuss in detail the anatomic details of the arteries of the forearm and their clinical significance.


This kaupapa Māori examination of Māori leadership in the New Zealand public sector reveals that the experience of Māori working in government agencies is neither well understood nor specifically addressed in the fields of public administration and public-sector leadership. The study found that a key leadership practice of Māori public servants is to position themselves strategically and thoughtfully to advance mātauranga Māori and kaupapa Māori. They are public servants who are cognisant of the Crown–Māori spaces in which they occupy. They are careful in their assumptions and views about the underlying forces at play and the responsibility they have in working for government. They are concerned about the legitimate place of mātauranga Māori and kaupapa Māori in kāwanatanga spaces and work to alleviate and mitigate bureaucratic pressures imposed by the dominant Westminster model of governance. Māori leadership practices are designed and constructed through personal models of leadership shaped by Māori values, legacies, whakapapa, and whānau upbringing. Māori leadership practice has influence beyond the hierarchical structures of kāwanatanga. Metaphorically, Māori public servants are manu kōrero (literally, knowledge birds) who, given the right conditions, would not operate alone singularly, but operate as many birds, as Manurau (literally, one hundred birds). They work inside kāwanatanga – empowering and leading others, expressing rangatiratanga from a position of personal integrity, humility, and authority. This study applied critical theoretical tools for research and analysis and found answers that are rooted in kaupapa and mātauranga Māori methodologies. Te Arawatanga, as a tribal framework, positions the insider Māori researcher into a safe cultural space to be courageous about expressing rangatiratanga in a kāwanatanga context. Whakapapa analysis grounds the research within a Māori ontology. Whakataukī emphasises the Māori voices and narratives framed within the wisdom of ancestors. This study can be said to rest on the shoulders of those with lived experience who see with Māori eyes, hear with Māori ears and feel with a Māori heart. The significance of this thesis therefore provides a 'starting point' that seeks to legitimate the Māori leadership contribution to New Zealand's public service and advocates for greater recognition and validation of Māori leadership practice and indigenous leadership in public administration globally.


In this paper, we present a new approach for mobile robot heading detection using MEMS Gyro north finding method. Based on this, the robot heading angle measurement scheme is proposed; improved north finding theory and algorithm are also explained. Several approaches are applied to confirm system's precision and effectiveness. In order to find out the heading angle, we use a single axis MEMS gyroscope and accelerometer package to sense the angle between the robot heading direction and the north. At the same time, we apply the accelerometer to sense the effect of the earth gravity to ensure the targeting function on both horizontal road and rugged road. To reach enough estimation accuracy and reduce detection time, we apply Least Square Method (LSM) and Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) for the signal fitting, filtering and data fusion. Through a turn-table, we setup a carouseling system to decrease the substantial bias effect on gyroscope's heading angle. For the evaluation of the proposed method, this system is implemented to the Pioneer robot platform. The performance and heading error are analyzed after the test. From the simulation and experimental results, system's accuracy, usefulness and adaptability are shown.


SUMMARY: Five strains of Gram-negative denitrifying bacteria that used various ketones as sole carbon and energy sources were isolated from activated sludge from a municipal sewage plant. Three strains are related to the genus Pseudomonas; two non-motile species have not yet been affiliated. All strains grew well with ketones and fatty acids (C2 to C7), but sugars were seldom utilized. The physiology of anaerobic acetone degradation was studied with strain BunN, which was originally enriched with butanone. Bicarbonate was essential for growth with acetone under anaerobic and aerobic conditions, but not if acetate or 3-hydroxybutyrate were used as substrates. An apparent K
s value of 5.6 mM-bicarbonate was determined for growth with acetone in batch culture. The molar growth yield was 24.8-29.8 g dry cell matter (mol acetone consumed)-1, with nitrate as the electron acceptor in batch culture; it varied slightly with the extent of poly-β-hydroxybutyric acid (PHB) formation. During growth with acetone, 14CO2 was incorporated mainly into the C-1 atom of the monomers of the storage polymer PHB. With 3-hydroxybutyrate as substrate, 14CO2 incorporation into PHB was negligible. The results provide evidence that acetone is channelled into the intermediary metabolism of this strain via carboxylation to acetoacetate.


Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Delivery (CD) are widespread in both industrial and open-source software (OSS) projects. Recent research characterized build failures in CI and identified factors potentially correlated to them. However, most observations and findings of previous work are exclusively based on OSS projects or data from a single industrial organization. This paper provides a first attempt to compare the CI processes and occurrences of build failures in 349 Java OSS projects and 418 projects from a financial organization, ING Nederland. Through the analysis of 34,182 failing builds (26% of the total number of observed builds), we derived a taxonomy of failures that affect the observed CI processes. Using cluster analysis, we observed that in some cases OSS and ING projects share similar build failure patterns (e.g., few compilation failures as compared to frequent testing failures), while in other cases completely different patterns emerge. In short, we explain how OSS and ING CI processes exhibit commonalities, yet are substantially different in their design and in the failures they report.


Mechanically-attached waterproofing system has become popular in Japan. Being vulnerable to wind actions, especially to suctions, this roofing system is often damaged by strong winds. Similarly, photovoltaic (PV) systems installed on flat roofs are often damaged by strong winds, because the PV panels are subjected to large wind forces in an adverse wind. In order to reduce such damage to both systems, the authors propose to install the PV panels parallel to the flat roof with gaps between them, which may reduce the net wind forces on the PV panels due to the effect of pressure equalization. In addition, the wind pressures acting on the waterproofing system will decrease significantly. The present paper investigates the validity of the above-mentioned idea. The wind pressures underneath the PV panels, called 'layer pressures', are evaluated by a numerical simulation using the unsteady Bernoulli equation together with the time history of external pressures measured at many locations on the rooftop of a flat-roofed building model in a turbulent boundary layer. The results clearly indicate a significant reduction of wind forces acting on the PV panels as well as on the waterproofing system. The use of PV panels for reducing the wind pressures on waterproofing system is quite effective to the corner region of the roof, where very large suctions are induced in a diagonal wind.


An adaptive fuzzy neural network control system in cylindrical grinding process was proposed. In this system, the initial cylindrical grinding parameters were decided by the expert system based on fuzzy neural network. Multi-feed and setting overshoot optimization methods were also adopted during the grinding process, and a human machine cooperation system (composed of human and two fuzzy – neural networks) could revise the process parameters in real-time. The experiment of the cylindrical grinding was implemented. The results showed that this control system was valid, and could greatly improve the cylindrical grinding quality and machining efficiency.


Narrative is an important tool for developing and writing up action research experiences. Its power lies in the fact that narrative construction and narrative recounting are fundamental human communication practices. Narratives are also knowledge producing devices, since they make sense of personal experiences and share that sense-giving with others. However, the twinned duality of narrative knowing (sense-making) and narrative telling (communicating that sense) has often caused narrative as a methodological approach to be disregarded or misunderstood. Our objective is to reflect on how we can best use the narrative method in action research by paying due attention to these issues. In doing so, we consider ontologies, epistemologies and key characteristics. We argue that what has been seen as a weakness in the narrative method, its deep subjectivity, can actually be employed as an analytical strength in action research. We show how examining explanations of context, inherent in narrative processes, can provide rich insights into the meanings of phenomena.


In the motor current signal, the characteristic frequency of broken rotor bar (BRB) fault is modulated by the supply frequency and it decreases with the decrease of the load, resulting it to be easily buried under light load conditions. Teager–Kaiser energy operator (TKEO) has shown better performance to detect the BRB faults than classical methods, such as envelope analysis and spectral analysis. However, the original definition of TKEO leads to its result lack of physical meanings and the causal processing in TKEO can lead to phase distortion and nonideal filter characteristics. Therefore, this article proposes a normalized frequency-domain energy operator (FDEO) for the BRB fault diagnosis, which does not require causal processing and calculates multiple differentiations in the frequency domain with equal accuracy in one operation. Furthermore, the normalized FDEO removes the influence of the supply frequency followed by the spectral analysis to extract fault features. The mathematical model of induction motor (IM) under healthy and faulty condition is studied in this article. Then, the proposed approach is experimentally validated with seeded one and two BRB faults operating under various load conditions. To verify the effectiveness, the results are compared with the TKEO, envelope analysis, and spectral analysis. It was found that the proposed method provides slightly obvious fault features with respect to the TKEO, especially when the IMs run under light load conditions with two BRB faults.


This study examines the covariates of weapon choice in homicide incidents. Two research questions are examined. The first research question is: what variables influence the use of a particular type of weapon in a homicide? The second research question asks: how does the method of weapon retrieval, or lack thereof, affect the choice of weapon? The findings suggest that firearms are more likely to be on the offender's person and carried to the incident scene relative to other weapon types. In addition, the use of specific types of weapons is conditioned by the demographic and lifestyle characteristics of victims and offenders.


The type and percentage of multiple pituitary hormone deficiency (MPHD) were studied in 42 patients with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency (IGHD). It was found that the development of secondary sexual characteristics was poor or absent in 39 patients (93%) with gonadotropin deficiency (GnD). Mean serum testosterone (T), luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels in the 39 patients were significantly less than those of normal adult males (P less than 0.01). Mean testicular volume in 36 patients with GnD was significantly less than that in 3 with normal T level. We also found that 24-hour urinary free cortisol level (24 hour UFC) was low in 24 (57.1%) of 42 patients, but it is important that none had obvious symptoms of hypoadrenocorticism such as hypoglycemia, hypotension etc and received adrenal-corticosteroid treatment. 22 (52.4%) of the 42 patients suffered from hypothyroidism, with serum thyroxine (T4) level lower than normal but thyrotrophin (TSH) within normal range. 6 patients with hypothyroidism had moderate symptoms such as cold intolerance, constipation, rough and dry skin, slowing down both mentally and physically. 17 patients have treated with thyroxine. From the results mentioned above, 14 of the 41 patients with MPHD had pan-pituitary hormones (LH, FSH, TSH, ACTH) deficiency, only one had isolated growth hormone deficiency. Among all the patients, 23 underwent breech delivery and 11 patients had birth asphyxia. We therefore conclude that: (1) most of the IGHD cases are complicated with other pituitary hormone deficiency; (2) most of the IGHD cases have with MPHD; (3) Breech delivery and birth asphyxia were important etiological factors of IGHD.


The present study on the prognostic and predictive value of serine proteases was conducted in 460 early breast cancer patients mostly treated with some kind of adjuvant systemic therapy: 156 received chemotherapy, 141 hormone therapy and 111 a combination of both. Already in univariate analysis PAI-1 was the only proteolytic factor with a significant impact on DFS, which was retained in multivariate analysis (p = 0.020); PAI-2 showed borderline significance in univariate analysis (p = 0.0503) and uPA did not present as a significant prognostic factor for DFS in our patient series. In a separate univariate analysis of DFS on patient subgroups defined by adjuvant systemic therapy, a higher risk of relapse associated with higher uPA and PAI-1 levels was found in the subgroup of patients who did not receive any treatment; this difference did not reach the level of significance, probably due to the small number (n = 52) of patients in this group (HR 1.37; p = 0.71 and HR 2.14; p = 0.321, respectively). A higher risk of relapse was also found in the subgroup of patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy (HR 1.44; p = 0.381 and HR 2.48; p = 0.003, respectively). In contrast, the bad prognostic impact of high uPA and PAI-1 levels was lost in the subgroup of patients treated with adjuvant hormone therapy (HR 0.79; p = 0.693 and HR 0.26; p = 0.204, respectively). The same observations were made for the uPA/PAI-1 combination. Our study confirmed the prognostic value of serine proteases in early breast cancer. In addition, it pointed to a possible predictive value of these tumor markers for response to adjuvant hormone therapy with tamoxifen, which should be confirmed in further studies.


Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) utilizing 3'-deoxy-3'-[(18) F]fluorothymidine ((18) FLT), a proliferation tracer, has been found to be a useful tool for characterizing neoplastic diseases and bone marrow function in humans. As PET and PET/CT imaging become increasingly available in veterinary medicine, knowledge of radiopharmaceutical biodistribution in veterinary species is needed for lesion interpretation in the clinical setting. The purpose of this study was to describe the normal biodistribution of (18) FLT in adult domestic cats. Imaging of six healthy young adult castrated male cats was performed using a commercially available PET/CT scanner consisting of a 64-slice helical CT scanner with an integrated whole-body, high-resolution lutetium oxy-orthosilicate (LSO) PET scanner. Cats were sedated and injected intravenously with 108.60 ± 2.09 (mean ± SD) MBq of (18) FLT (greater than 99% radiochemical purity by high-performance liquid chromatography). Imaging was performed in sternal recumbency under general anesthesia. Static images utilizing multiple bed positions were acquired 80.83 ± 7.52 (mean ± SD) minutes post-injection. Regions of interest were manually drawn over major parenchymal organs and selected areas of bone marrow and increased tracer uptake. Standardized uptake values were calculated. Notable areas of uptake included hematopoietic bone marrow, intestinal tract, and the urinary and hepatobiliary systems. No appreciable uptake was observed within brain, lung, myocardium, spleen, or skeletal muscle. Findings from this study can be used as baseline data for future studies of diseases in cats.


The aim of this study was to detect heavy metal concentrations in the creek which passes through Nigde city garbage dump. In this respect, the soil samples collected in the study area by GPS were analyzed using X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer. Traces of heavy metals were observed by using statistical programs on analysis results. Geological observations were taken into consideration. According to the heavy metal concentrations in the Creek, the maximum values were as follows; (mg/ kg) Ti: 4960, V: 520, Cr: 120, Mn: 810, Ni: 460, Cu: 410, zn: 100 and Pb: 480. The concentration levels of heavy metals in soil caused by garbage dump are listed in the following order; Pb > Cu > V > Ti > Cr > Ni > zn. high positive correlation were observed between Ti-Mn, V-Ni and Cr-Ni. Medium positive correlations were observed between V-Cr, V-Cu and Ni-zn. It has been found by chemical analysis data collected from stations established throughout the creek that there is an effect of morphological structure and no geologi - cal anomaly has been formed. According to chemical analysis results, statistical programs give important accuracy. heavy metals, which give anomaly, differ throughout the creek. The source of these heavy metals was determined as Nigde city garbage dump. For this reason, it was suggested that, in order to refine the study area, a modern, organized storage system must be used instead of wild storage system in storing the urban wastes, and recyclable products must be used in the industry .


Housing is the major sector of urban infrastructure. Government of India has launched the scheme "Housing for All by 2022" for urban areas. To achieve this goal Government is providing subsidy to the urban poor upto Rs. 1 lakh per house which causes huge burden over the country's economy. Despite urban houses are not affordable to the poor due to escalating land & construction cost. This scenario can be improved if the land or construction cost can be reduced to some extent without compromising with the quality of structure. Low cost housing offers the use of various low cost material & technique which reduces the overall cost of construction. In this paper an attempt is made to review the various researches on low cost housing material & techniques which can be used for both rural and urban areas according to their suitability in different conditions.


The article concerns the spatial diversity of rural areas. The aim of the article is to evaluate whether the process of convergence of real wages in rural areas in Poland can be observed. The author focuses on two concepts of convergence: absolute (unconditional) beta convergence and sigma convergence. The analysis regards rural districts at NUTS-4 level for 2002–2014. It was stated that rural areas in Poland became similar (converge) in terms of real wages what can help reducing the diff erences in living standard of inhabitants. An estimated regression function confi rms the existence of absolute beta convergence process. The growth rate of real wages was relatively higher in the districts with lower initial level. Moreover, the research carried out by the author indicates a decreasing dispersion of wages among rural districts. It shows the existence of sigma convergence process.


This demonstration concerns the visual user interface of the On-TIME system, a task-centered information management system, whose aim is to actively participate to and support the user tasks. The design of a user friendly interface is one of the key challenges that needs to be addressed for the success of On-TIME. Being On-TIME based on the use of a so-called Personal Ontology to provide a semantic account to user's personal data, the interface has to allow the user to easily browse the ontology. On the other hand, it has to address the management of tasks. This requires to both suggest tasks that the user might be willing to perform, and to support her while executing tasks. We present a typical user scenario in order to illustrate a possible interaction with the On-TIME interface, and discuss some preliminary user evaluation.


Neonatal testicular germline stem cell suspension prepared from twenty 3-5 day old albino rats were incubated in normal saline or in NC-01in triplicate groups. A control group of saline alone (without cell suspension) was also prepared. The cell-containing groups and control were incubated for 21 days at room temperature, stained with 50% Mezo (organic) and visually studied daily with a view to histological characterizing the changes in cellular aggregation, morphology and coloration during incubation. Images of dense oval cells and cellular developmental transformation into mixed populations of these testicular cells showed clearly identifiable patterns of clump formation. Saline alone (control) did not show the presence of any cells during the period of incubation. In vitro expansion of neonatal germline stem cells within 21 days of incubation was associated with multiple divisions into numerous structurally similar cells and transformation into clusters of multi-colored component rod-like cells. A many-fold increase in the number of dense oval cells was observed in the NC-01 culture medium than in the normal saline. Using these morphological criteria and functional characteristics, we suggest a many-fold increased presence of rat neonatal spermatogonial stem cells capable of cellular division in NC-01 culture medium than in normal saline.

 Key words: Rat, neonatal germline stem cell, Mezo stain, cell suspension, NC-01


Despite the increasing popularity and advantage of native advertising on social media, advertisers are concerned about the possibility of native ads misleading consumers, resulting in boomerang effects. This study attempts to address this concern by comparing the predictive role of native ad nonintrusiveness with that of native ad manipulativeness in consumers' attitude toward and sharing intention of native advertising. Findings from an online survey of 550 U.S. adult consumers showed that native ad nonintrusiveness was positively related to attitude toward and sharing intention of native advertising, whereas native ad manipulativeness was not. Consumers' ad skepticism and persuasion knowledge were negatively related to attitude toward and sharing intention of native advertising; but persuasion knowledge became nonsignificant when native ad nonintrusiveness and manipulativeness were included in regression models. Additionally, those with stronger information-seeking motivation showed more positive attitudinal and behavioral responses. This study advances the knowledge of native advertising by examining the possibility of its being a double-edged sword. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.


This dissertation comprises three essays on the topic of industrial organization.

The first essay considers how different intellectual property systems can affect the incentives to invest in R&D when innovation is cumulative. I introduce a distinction
between plain and sophisticated technological knowledge, which plays a crucial role in determining how different appropriability rules affect the incentives to innovate.
I argue that the positive effect of weak intellectual property regimes on the sharing of intermediate technological knowledge vanishes when technological knowledge is sophisticated, as is likely to be the case in many high tech industries.

The second essay analyzes a two-sided market for news where advertisers may pay a media outlet to conceal negative information on the quality of their own product
(paying positive to avoid negative) and/or to disclose negative information on the quality of their competitors products (paying positive to go negative). It is shown that
whether advertisers have negative consequences on the accuracy of media reports or not, ultimately depends on the extent of correlation among advertisers products.

The third essay considers the role of social learning in the diffusion of a new technology. A population of agents can choose between two risky technologies: an old one for which they know the expected outcome, and a new one for which they have only a prior. Different environments are confronted. In the benchmark case agents are isolated and can perform costly experiments to infer the quality of the
new technology. In the other cases agents are settled in a network and can observe the outcomes of neighbors. We observe that in expectations the quality of the new technology may be overestimated when there is a network spread of information.


Global Manufacturing and International Supply Chains changed the way trade and international economics are understood today. The present essay builds on recent statistical advances to suggest new ways of looking at the demand and supply side approaches when Global Value Chains (GVCs) —articulating supply and demand chains from an international perspective— are taken into consideration. This pilot case focuses on the G-20 countries, a group of leading developed and developing economies which took a prominent role in fostering and managing global economic governance. The paper is organised into two independent parts. The demand dynamics is first analysed through a growth-accounting decomposition, then through the long term determinants of income elasticity of imports. The second part looks at the implications of global manufacturing for our understanding of the supply-side growth dynamics, privileging a trade perspective: the definition of comparative advantages and the potential for value-chain upgrading.


This paper aims to validate the measurement of entrepreneurial leadership (EL) in the context of innovation management and strategic entrepreneurship, and to examine the relationship between EL and the innovation process (IP). It proposes the measurement of EL and outlines the reason and the importance of EL in the IP. The study further examines whether the IP would have direct impact on innovation performance.,The paper opted for an explanatory and confirmatory study using a quantitative approach employing an online survey/questionnaire distributed to two groups of employees representing middle and senior management having mixed background such as finance, marketing, operations and management. The first group consists of 222 respondents spread across multiple industries, and the second group consists of 60 respondents mainly from the financial services industry to validate the measurement of the EL construct.,The paper provides empirical insights into the validation of EL measurement through two samples, and on the impact of EL in fostering all elements in the IP (i.e. idea generation, idea selection and development or idea conversion and idea diffusion). The paper also confirms some of the literature views on the difficulty of identifying a significant relationship between the IP and innovation performance. It suggests counterintuitively that the IP may not necessarily have a positive relationship with innovation performance.,Most of the respondents were those from the financial services industry, which may have an impact on the overall model but less on the validation of the EL measurement. The research affirms the theoretical concept of the dimensions of EL and validates its measurement. The research also shows intriguing findings on the missing link between the IP and innovation performance. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to identify variables or factors that should link the influence of the IP on innovation performance so that the contribution of innovation management to competitiveness can be clearly identified.,The research validates the measurement of the EL construct, which could be used as a screening tool in measuring the EL capacity at all levels within an organization as part of its leadership development in fostering its IP.,This paper fulfills an identified need to have a validated measurement of EL and its relationship with the IP.


In light of the continuing biodiversity crisis, the need for high‐resolution, broad‐scale ecological data is particularly acute. The expansive scale of volunteer data collection programmes provides an opportunity to address this challenge, however, protocols used to collect such data are typically less standardized than those used by professional scientists. Although previous studies have established that different protocols can lead to different results, it remains unclear how relevant these differences are to specific study goals, such as biodiversity assessment. This study uses both null model and Bayesian occupancy approaches to examine the capacity of a widely used volunteer survey protocol, the roving diver transect, to detect patterns of marine fish diversity. Richness estimates are compared with those obtained using the conventional belt transects favoured in many peer reviewed studies, examining the power of both protocols to detect statistically significant differences between survey sites and quantifying differences in detectability. Pairwise site comparisons of α‐diversity (i.e. within site diversity) were consistent between protocols, particularly for species totals. The roving diver transect protocol detected a substantially larger number of species than the belt transect protocol, due to notably higher detectability, even after controlling for confounding factors. Both protocols detected the same species pool, although the species richness among observations was higher for the belt protocol at certain sites. The significance of pairwise site β‐diversity (i.e. differentiation between sites) comparisons differed between the protocols and care should be exercised, when using either protocol, when studying variation in species composition. These results provide vital information for managers and researchers considering the use of volunteer data or protocols for the purpose of biodiversity assessment in aquatic systems, helping to quantify the value of thousands of existing survey records. The larger number of species detected by the volunteer protocol suggests this protocol may be advantageous with regards to the completion of taxonomic lists.


Tear analysis has become an invaluable asset in clinical research in order to identify and quantify novel biomarkers for a wide array of conditions. The present work is intended to take this area of study one step further by implementing an innovative sensing platform through which exploration of low-molecular-weight compounds is conducted outperforming traditional analytical technologies. With this aim, carefully engineered plasmonic nanoassemblies have been synergistically combined with molecular-sieving materials giving rise to size-selective samplers with SERS detection capabilities. These architectures have been then integrated onto hydrogel-based contact lenses and tested in simulated tear fluids in order to evidence their operational features. Through this approach, a prolonged analyte accumulation can be realized, thus providing a competitive advantage in those scenarios where concentration of biomarkers is typically low or minimum sample volumes are not met. Additionally, quenching of metabolic flux and analyte extraction protocols can be circumvented, hence preventing the intrinsic physical and chemical interferences stemming from these procedures. The obtained results render these sensing platforms as promising medical devices, and constitute a great opportunity in order to expand the clinical toolkit in tear analysis.


The blood feeding activity of flies at crime scenes can be confounding. Where a high number are present at a crime scene, a forensic investigator could mistakenly sample a fly artefact with the assumption that it is blood spatter, thus, making errors in the reconstruction of the event, or even recovering DNA from an individual who has not attended the scene. Three experiments were conducted to investigate the blood feeding activity, and blood artefact patterns created by flies following a blood meal. The respective trials were undertaken in a staged environment that can be considered operationally relevant to the field of bloodstain pattern analysis (BPA); in which approximately 500 flies per experiment were exposed to tray of 500ml of horse blood in a sealed 3m x 3m gazebo for a period of approximately 72 hours. The resulting patterns, consisting of a total of 539,507 individual fly blood artefacts, were objectively compared to recreated impact and expirated bloodstain patterns. These comparisons focused on overall pattern shape, total artefact/stain numbers, artefact/stain density per cm2 and the distance from the blood source in which they were deposited. By utilising the bloodstain size classification proposed by Laber in 1985 as a model, individual artefact/stain size was also examined. Informal observations and recordings were also made regarding similarities in individual artefact/stain colour, artefact/stain alignment and artefact/stain morphology but these were not quantified. Lastly, the present-day suitability of Wonders 2001 objective criteria for BPA was assessed against its suitability to include the feeding/deposition activity of flies, which is currently not accounted for. Results found highly significant differences between genera in the zones which their artefacts were deposited, the size of these artefacts (χ2 .05, 4 = 314093, p < 0.01), their count (F0.05, 4, 476025 = 137082, p < 0.01) and their densities (F0.05, 2, 538278 = 77680, p < 0.01). Furthermore, these results indicate that Diptera have a high affinity for window areas. From a total of 170,898 within this area, where fly artefacts were considerably more abundant than in other areas, Calliphora deposited 33.9% of its total artefacts, Hydrotaea 31.1% and Lucilia 29.1%, suggesting that artefact deposition /bloodstain pattern alteration by Diptera may occur significantly more in areas of light ingress. Moreover, in the tested window area, all five artefact categories (Calliphora, Lucilia, Hydrotaea, impact spatter and expirated spatter) displayed significantly different count totals (F0.05, 4, 310417 = 364774, p <0.01) thus, significantly different respective densities (F0.05, 4, 284227 = 360217, p <0.01). Additionally, impact spatter, expirated spatter and the fly artefacts from the three genera of flies exhibited significant differences in their respective zonal distribution (A-E) in both artefact count (F0.05, 4, 120369 = 38787, p < 0.01) and artefact density (F0.05, 4, 107509 = 4597, p < 0.01). These findings suggest that within fly artefact deposition patterns, and generated impact and expirated bloodstain patterns, distinctive areas in which artefacts/bloodstains will be of higher or lower count and density are present. As shown here, this could be confounding for a BPA analyst when fly artefact patterns are overlaid on top of these spatter patterns, creating a uniformly dense mixture of fly artefacts and bloodstains. As a result of these studies, three additional criteria are proposed for addition to the current objective criteria: 1.) External factors impacting on overall pattern shape 2.) Morphology (shape) of individual bloodstains 3.) Colour of individual bloodstains.


The aim of the present study was to investigate whether coping resources mediated the changes in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) specific salivary antibodies caused by academic stress. Fifty-four first-year female students of nursing and physiotherapy completed pencil and paper written questionnaires and concurrently donated saliva samples. The instrument included the short version of the Sense of Coherence (SOC) scale, measures of social support, current health, health practices, the scale of psychological distress, and state anxiety questionnaire. Data and saliva samples were collected one month after the beginning of the first semester, during term examinations period and a month into the second semester. Statistically significant changes in the level of specific salivary EBV and HCMV antibodies were observed between the four study points. State anxiety and psychological distress were significantly associated with HCMV-specific salivary antibody level increase during examinations and its decrease after the stress was over. Coping resources, however, were not associated with changes in any of the antibodies studied.


This paper investigates the factors that influence the outcome of financial-loss analysis in voltage sag studies. Focusing on industrial processes, this paper considers the effects of voltage sag profile estimation, plant-load profile modelling, and process cycle modelling on the financial risk associated with process failure. Based on voltage sag monitoring records, sag profile is probabilistically modeled for the estimation of future sag characteristic. Variations in financial risk due to varying process activities in different stages of a process (process cycle) and load profile are also investigated. The effects of the individual factors are analyzed through Monte Carlo simulation. The stochastic net present value method is introduced as a financial analysis tool.


This paper identifies and analyzes the changes that have occurred in terms of territorial and commodity structure of agrarian trade (exports) of countries of the Visegrad Group (or V4 -i.e. Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia) in the period 1993-2008. In terms of methodological approaches, the analysis is divided into several parts dealing with the development of the agrarian trade of the Visegrad Group in terms of commodity and territorial structure, as well as from the perspective of the sensitivity of agrarian trade (exports) to the changing economic environment. The paper concludes that in recent years, both the value and volume of V4 export and import operations increased significantly. In the case of exports, individual countries have managed increasing its volumes of exported sophisticated products. The share of current EU members on the value of V4 agricultural trade is increasing at the expense of trade with "third countries". EU accession and its common market forced all analyzed V4 countries to restructure the export commodity structure and most of them (excluding Hungary) have been able to export in the EU market sophisticated products with higher unit prices. It is expected that with the intensification of V4 integration within the EU single market, prices of agrarian exports will rise further. V4 countries are going through a gradual process of specialization of exports of a limited number of aggregate commodity groups. Various specific factors might cause an overall restructuring of the agrarian sector and foreign trade activities in the V4 countries.


Background:Routine opt-out provider-initiated HIV testing and counseling (PITC) remains underutilized in sub-Saharan Africa. By selectively targeting clients who either volunteer or have clinical indications of HIV disease, standard approaches to HIV counseling and testing are presumed more cost-efficient than PITC. Methods:One thousand two hundred twenty-one patients aged 15-49 years were seen by 22 practitioners in a mobile clinic in southern Zambia. A random sample of physicians was assigned to administer PITC, whereas the remaining practitioners offered standard non-PITC (ie, voluntary or diagnostic). Questionnaires assessed patient demographics and attitudes toward HIV. HIV detection rates were stratified by referral type, demographics, and HIV-related knowledge and attitudes. Results:HIV prevalence was 10.6%. Infection rates detected using PITC [11.1%; 95% confidence interval (CI): 8.8% to 13.5%] and standard non-PITC (10.0%; 95% CI: 7.5% to 12.5%) did not significantly differ (odds ratio = 1.01; 95% CI: 0.67 to 1.52; P = 0.95). Patients who did not request testing or demonstrate clinical indicators of HIV did not have significantly higher HIV prevalence than those who did (odds ratio = 0.83; 95% CI: 0.55 to 1.24; P = 0.36). Implementation of PITC was highly acceptable and produced a 3-fold increase in patients tested per practitioner compared with standard non-PITC (114 vs. 34 patients per practitioner, respectively). Conclusions:PITC detected a comparable HIV infection rate as a standard non-PITC approach among rural adults seeking primary care services. Widespread implementation of PITC may therefore lead to significantly more cases of HIV detected.


The isolation and cultivation method of microorganisms has been explored to study morphology, physiology, genetics, and pathogenicity of organisms in detail. Pure cultured microorganisms provide us informative knowledge on the physiology of organisms but it has some limits in the examination of interactions of microorganisms with their microbial community. Coculture study has strong merits in that it helps us understand interactions between microorganisms and predict the phenotypic changes that might occur during the cultivation. The physiology of Moorella thermoacetica was examined when it was cocultured with six secondary organisms : Geobacter sulfurreducens, Thermotoga maritima, Clostridium ljungdhalii, Sporomusa ovata, Methanosarcina barkeri, and Methanococcus maripaludis. M. thermoacetica growth was enhanced only with supplementation of G. sulfurreducens cells. To interpret the cause of the amplified growth of M. thermoacetica, different components of G. sulfurreducens were examined. The metabolites were analyzed by mass spectrometer in order to find the compound responsible for the growth advantage of M. thermoacetica. From LCMS analysis, total 138 compounds were detected as metabolites of M. thermoacetica. The genetic profiles of M. thermoacetica and M. thermoacetica with filtered G. sulfurreducens media were analyzed. Detection of plasmid pJIR418 in Cmr transformants of M. thermoacetica was also performed by PCR after the extraction of plasmid. Single compound or genes responsible for the stimulation of growth of M. thermoacetica were unable to be identified. When M. thermoacetica was supplemented with G. sulfurreducens, the biomass was doubled but the hydrogen production was decreased. RNA sequencing result shows no significant change in hydrogenase activity between two samples, which indicates M. thermoacetica produces hydrogen and consumes hydrogen for respiration as well. The genes identified for the respiration, however, were not up-regulated with the supplementation of G. sulfurreducens. The results indicate that the secondary organisms have an impact on the proteomics or fluxomics level of M. thermoacetica


Abstract. Pyrometers and thermography cameras used to be characterized by different specifications and technical definitions. After an analysis of the market situation and the physical basics, the following article describes common methods to determine optical and thermal key parameters. Based on this, aspects of future sensor developments and certain applications of infrared (IR) cameras are discussed. (This article was first published in the journal tm – Technisches Messen, Vol. 81, No. 3, 2014, a volume which is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Ludwig Walther.)


Growths of numbers of tourists who stay long-term in tourism sites are an important policy for local governments in islands due to their locations that are far from urban areas. However, many tourists hesitate to stay long-term in islands owing to not only the expensive travel costs but also the lack of public services in islands. The purpose of this study is to examine effects of improving public services in islands for tourists' willingness to pays (WTPs) and non-tourists' attitudes for long-term stays. Data on tourism activity for islands, Nagasaki, Japan were used. Respondents were asked about their WTPs for long-term stays and their needs for public services of islands; reductions of costs for rent or purchasing houses for long-term stays and travel costs, easy to take a vacation, to enhance medical services, educational services and job search services. The logit model was used for estimations. Median and mean values of WTPs (per year) were calculated JPY 151,629 (USD 1184) and JPY 242,110 (USD 3008). Positive effects on five public services (without travel costs) were confirmed. For example, the median values of WTPs were increased to JPY 478,369 (USD 5943) when the medical services were improved, and JPY 1,484,704 (USD 18,446) when all public services were improved. The results showed that improvement of public services have the effect 1) to improve tourists' benefits and 2) to change many non-tourists' attitudes from the rejection of staying long term in islands to the acceptance. Thus, results indicate that it would be better for central and/or local governments in islands to enhance islands' public services.


Modern wind turbines allow for tight control of terminal voltage, this is particularly true for synchronous generator (SG) based wind turbines. Therefore, an integrated design of wind turbine and HVDC link control can lead to a substantial simplification of the off-shore rectifier. This paper introduces an integrated control algorithm for line commutated thyristor (LCT) based HVDC transmission line and the wind farm whereby the off-shore rectifier tap changer is eliminated and a cheaper and more efficient uncontrolled rectifier is used instead of a LCT-based rectifier. The presented control strategy allows for good performance during steady state and transient operation.


This study determined the haematological profiles of Sprague-Dawley (SD) outbred albino rats of both sexes and diferent age sets bred and maintained at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Laboratory Animal Unit, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria. Erythrocyte counts (EC), packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin concentraton (Hb), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), tota leukocyte counts (TLC), and differential leukocyte counts (DLC), were carried out following standard procedures on blood samples collected from 543 rats (267 males and 276 unbred females) during a 14-month study period. Results of the determinations for each of the haematoogical characteristics were compared with standard reference values generated in temperate countries for specific age sets and sexes of the rats. Findings from our study showed that there weresignificant differences in the normal values of some of the indices between the sexes and age sets orats studied also there were significant differences for some indices in some age sets and sexes between the results obtained in Nsukka Nigeria and the ones generated in temperate climatic conditions - means of the PCV, Hb, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin and absolute numbers of the different leukocytic cellular elements of the rats studied were found to significantly differ from comparable standard reference values generated in temperate locations for specific age sets and sexes, but the means o the EC and TLC were not found to significantly differ from thetemperate values. The results of the study were discussed in relation to climatic and geographical locational factors (especially temperature) as they affect the normal reference haematological values, and the relevance of haematology in model animal experimentation and biomedical research. Keywords : Haematology, Rat, Sprague-Dawley strain, Nsukka, Nigeria. Animal Research International Vol. 1 (2) 2004 pp. 125-132


Collective properties of the radioactive nuclei 220Rn and 224Ra have been studied via Coulomb excitation of a 2.8 A.MeV radioactive ion beam (RIB) incident upon 60Ni, 112,114Cd and 120Sn targets. The experiments took place at the REX-ISOLDE RIB facility, CERN. De-excitation γ-ray yields following multiple-step Coulomb excitation were detected in coincidence with recoiling target nuclei in the Miniball spectrometer.
For the first time, B(E3;3+ → 0+) values have been directly measured with a radioactive ion beam. In the process, 224Ra becomes the heaviest post-accelerated RIB to date at ISOLDE (with the possible exception of the quasi-stable 238U). The measurements presented in this thesis represent a tripling of the number of nuclei around Z ≃ 88 and N ≃ 134, for which direct measurements of the octupole collectivity have been performed. The only previous measurements being for the relatively long-lived 226Ra.
The γ-ray yields, in conjunction with previously measured spectroscopic data, were used to determine electromagnetic matrix elements using the least-squares search code, Gosia. In total, nine E1, E2 and E3 matrix elements were measured in 220Rn (plus six upper limits) and 12 (plus four upper limits) in 224Ra. The measured B(E3; 3+ → 0+) values in 220Rn and 224Ra are 32±4 W.u. and 42±3 W.u., respectively. A new state has been observed at 937.8(8) keV in 220Rn and is proposed to be the 2+ member of the K = 2, γ-vibrational band.
The results are interpreted in terms of the collectivity and deformation, and are compared with the predictions of self-consistent mean-field theory and cluster model calculations.


The reaction of 9H-fluorene-9-thione (1) with the cis- and trans-isomers of dimethyl 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-aziridine-2,3-dicarboxylate (cis- and trans-2, resp.) in xylene at 110° yielded exclusively the spirocyclic cycloadduct with trans- and cis-configurations, respectively (trans- and cis-3, resp.; Scheme 1). Analogously, less- reactive thioketones, e.g., thiobenzophenone (5), and cis-2 reacted stereoselectively to give the corresponding trans-1,3-thiazolidine-2,4-dicarboxylate (e.g., trans-8; Scheme 2). On the other hand, the reaction of 5 and trans-2 proceeded in a nonstereoselective course to provide a mixture of trans- and cis-substituted cycloadducts. This result can be explained by an isomerization of the intermediate azomethine ylide. Dimethyl 1,3-thiazolidine-2,2-dicarboxylates 14 and 15 were formed in the thermal reaction of dimethyl aziridine-2,2-dicarboxylate 11 with aromatic thioketones (Scheme3). On treatment of 14 and 15 with Raney-Ni in refluxing EtOH, a desulfurization and ring-contraction led to the formation of azetidine-2,2-dicarboxylates 17 and 18, respectively (Scheme 4).


We found that tandem repeat (TR) arrays were present in the ark shell Scapharca broughtonii mitochondrial genome, and we demonstrated the efficiency of using this TR region as a tool for the detection of genetic differentiation. In samples collected from seven populations off the Japanese, Chinese, Russian and Korean coasts, five TR types with length ranging from 481 to 601 bp (base pairs) were found, as were 18 haplotypes (n = 155). All the Japanese samples from SD, IK, AM and KG, which represented four geographically distinct populations, had the same type of tandem repeat array, 481-TR. All the samples from China and all but one sample from Russia had the same TR type, 511-TR; these finding may be strong evidence that the ark shell populations in China and Russia are very similar. Based on a neighbor-joining dendrogram of haplotypes, the Korean population was divided into two groups as follows: samples with haplotype H481-3 and samples with haplotypes H601-1, H601-2, H601-3 or H541-1. Based on the haplotype diversity and nucleotide diversity, the Chinese, Russian and Korean populations showed a higher diversity than Japanese populations (P < 0.05).


Forest management strategies and policies such as REDD (reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) may have unintentional implications for forest
sectors in countries not targeted by such policies. The success of a policy effort like REDD would result in a significant reduction in deforestation and forest degradation and an ensuing reduction in the supply of natural forest timber production within participating
countries. This could in turn result in price increases, inducing a supply response outside project boundaries with possible implications for forest management as well as global carbon emissions. This paper reviews the literature to discern potential timber market implications for countries sourcing wood products from developing countries affected by REDD related conservation efforts. The literature reviewed shows varying degrees of market effects leakage—policy actions in one place creating incentives for third parties to increase timber harvesting elsewhere through the price mechanism—ranging from negligible to substantial. However, wood products in the studies reviewed are dealt with on quite an aggregated scale and are assumed to be more or less perfect substitutes for wood products outside conservation effort boundaries. The review suggests that a thorough mapping of the end-uses of tropical timber is needed to comprehensively analyze impacts on wood-product markets in regions such as Europe from conservation efforts in tropical developing countries. The types of tropical timber expected to be affected, in which applications they are used, which are the most likely substitutes and where they would be sourced, are issues that, along with empirical analysis of supply and demand price elasticities and degree of substitutability, should be investigated when assessing the overall effectiveness of REDD.


The aim of such paper is to explain in detail the foundations of quantum cognition and to evidence the manner in which our pioneering experiments on quantum interference in humans should be correctly interpreted in the framework of a correct quantum mechanical elaboration. Often, studies on quantum cognition are elaborated from some authors evidencing that presently we have empirical evidence that the application of quantum rules gives better results respect to classical ones. Consequently, such studies are delineated as empirical tentative. It is not true. Quantum cognition is a scientific realization structured about robust quantum foundations and this is the reason because it gives such important results. Consequently, we discuss the evidence to correctly explain the foundations of this emerging discipline. In order to reach this objective we analyze the fundamental role of the abstract entity that is called quantum mechanical wave function. Soon after we describe the manner in which quantum operators must be entered in cognition studies by using the projectors that represent logic statements and thus relate directly our cognitive functions. We also discuss in detail the logical origins of quantum mechanics outlining that it does not represent a physical theory looking at the matter at microscopic level but a God Giano two faces looking simultaneously to material and to mental reality. We also discuss results establishing the nature of our consciousness and the unquestionable result that it obeys to the basic rules of quantum mechanics. We also give a further and pressing indication: in quantum cognition studies the quantum wave function must be intended as reconstructed experimentally a posteriori in our cognitive studies and cannot be confused with the standard examining elaboration that is used in usual textbooks of quantum mechanics. Also the question of the order effect is analyzed in detail using the important notion of reaction time of psychology. In substance, we give a total reformulation of the current quantum cognition studies evidencing that previous elaborations finalized to present the current status of this discipline as empirical tentative to characterize a quantum cognitive modelling result to be only approximate, incorrect and confusing prospects that damage the information about the robust structure of quantum cognition and therefore need to be rejected.


NOAA has for many years operated two weather satellite systems, the Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite system (POES), using low-earth orbiting (LEO) satellites, and GOES, using geostationary Earth orbiting (GEO) satellites. The POES satellites have been equipped with both infrared (IR) and microwave (MW) atmospheric sounders, which makes it possible to determine the vertical distribution of temperature and humidity in the troposphere even under cloudy conditions. Such satellite observations have had a significant impact on weather forecasting accuracy, especially in regions where in situ observations are sparse. In contrast, the GOES satellites have only been equipped with IR sounders, since it has not been feasible to build a large enough antenna to achieve sufficient spatial resolution for a MW sounder in GEO. As a result, GOES soundings can only be obtained in cloud free areas and in the less important upper atmosphere, above the cloud tops. This has hindered the effective use of GOES data in numerical weather prediction. Full sounding capabilities with the GOES system is highly desirable because of the advantageous spatial and temporal coverage that is possible from GEO. While POES satellites provide coverage in relatively narrow swaths, and with a revisit time of 12-24 hours or more, GOES satellites can provide continuous hemispheric coverage, making it possible to monitor highly dynamic phenomena such as hurricanes. In response to a NASA Research Announcement calling for innovative measurement concepts suitable for non-LEO deployment, GEO/SAMS was proposed as a solution to the GOES microwave sounder problem. Using an approach similar to the SMOS mission, GEO/SAMS synthesizes a large aperture to measure atmospheric parameters at high MW frequencies with high spatial resolution from GEO. In 1999 NASA's Office of Earth Science selected GEO/SAMS for a Phase A study, sponsored through the New Millennium Program.


Abstract. This research studies the protection of the rural landscape and agri-food heritage, offering a perspective on the role and contribution of research to support land management processes and the development of local resources.This opportunity for reflection was created by a project developed at the request of Regione Campania, in Southern Italy, aimed at preserving the inestimable source of biodiversity represented by olive varieties from the risk of genetic erosion, and at guaranteeing the production of oils with typical and diversified organoleptic qualities and properties.Within the scope of the project, the geo-cartographic section has analyzed, surveyed, georeferenced and represented, for a selected territory, the presence of centuries-old olive trees and allowed the creation of other research sections, more specifically agronomic and legal.The georeferencing map of the millenary olive trees typical of the territory, together with the genetic identity card of each plant, have been inserted in a publicly accessible database, through which it is possible to trace the origins and, consequently, the quality of the oil produced.


We have taken observations on 28 cases of Panmyelopathia, all of which belonged to inpatients of our dept., statistically and clinically; results were as follows:- There were found no definite co-relations either iu age, sex. or by occupation; except 1 case of chronic X-Ray injury; for conscious symptoms, facial paleness was found almost inevitably, while fever, general languor, and palpitation were discovered to succeed it; as for the bleeding, in main it was wont to appear in the form of gingival bleeding, epistaxis, or ecchymosis; for symptoms that were discovered by others, red-cell sedimentation rate was found to be stimulated, in total cases, and such as lengthened bleeding time, anemic cardiac murmurs, together with changes in the eye ground, was recognizable in most cases. Among the blood figure. number of red cells was seen to be about a million or so in majority of cases; while, figures below 1 million was considered to point at serious prognosis. As to hemoglobin content, in most cases, it occupied 20% or so; in respect to hemoglobin index, most of them indicated a hyperchrom, over the entire process, or in partial process. In most cases, the numher of leucocytes proved to be short of 4000, which was also supposed to keep much co-relation with the prognosis. In view to differentiation of lencocytes, a decrease of grauulocytes, an increase of lymphocytes appeared, and in general, in deceased cases, lymphocytosis was clearly observed. Number of blood platelet were apt to decrease to a certain extent. Number of reticulocytes was seen to be small in majority of cases, but it would seem unreasonable to refer to it for the state of prognosis. Heinz' body proved, in serious cases, a value pretty nigh to 1, 000‰, showing a great difference with that, belonging to another sort of anemic diseases, as well as people in healthy condition. No special phase was foundin the myelogramm; in respective disease, various apperances of hematopoetic functions observed. The disease could generally be divided into following 5 types. I. Type of bloodcell-arrest. II. Type of maturation-arrest III. Type of disturbanced regeneration. IV. Mixed type. V. Panmyelophthisis. By dint of Tissue Culture of bone marrow. it has been supposed that there existed certain factor that inhibited growth of parenchyma of bone marrow directly; moreover, the functions of bone marrow have suffered a marked hindrance; Having examined respiration and glycolysis in bone marrow, it was discovered that with type of blodcell-arrest, it has proved normal; with other typs, proved considerablly low value. Its sideroblastogram proved slightly to shift to the right. Generally in most cases, gastric juice showed certain hypoacidity. Among the circulatory system, no unique quality discovered, while the rise in serum iron value was seen, owing to extreme decrease of hematopoetic function. Amongst urine and cerebrospinal fluid, some anemia-causing substance has been detected. As for sugar metabolism, rate for normal and abnormal stood almost the same; while as for the basal metabolism, there was discovered some abnormality. The function test of autonomic nervous system, also showed much abnormality. As to histological view, a high degree atrophy was discovered in hematopoetic tissue, with a marked bleeding tendency.


Cultured mouse myeloma cells have been cloned in soft agar using a modification of the method established by Pluznik and Sachs ('65, '66) and by Bradley and Metcalf ('66). A linear relationship existed between the number of cells plated and the number of colonies produced. Conditions for obtaining optimum cloning efficiency and colony size were determined for the MPC‐11 cell line. Feeder cells of mouse, human and rabbit origin and conditioned growth medium obtained from mouse cultures and had an enhancing effect on colony formation. Immunoglobulin production by cloned cells was detected by overlaying the clones with anti‐immunoglobulin antiserum. The antiserum had no adverse effect on cloning efficiency or colony size. A reconstruction experiment was performed to show that the plate assay could reliably detect rare variants of immunoglobulin producing cells. The plate assay was validated by studying immunoglobulin production following recovery of clones from dishes and their growth to mass suspension culture. Immunoglobulin formation in these cultures was assessed by a Ouchterlony immunodiffusion of the supernatant medium, and by incubating the cells with radioactive amino acids and analyzing the intracellular and secreted immunoglobulin on polyacrylamide gels.


The broad arsenal of psychotropic medications is characterised by significant interindividual variability in clinical response and adverse effects, stringent monitoring requirements, potential drug-drug interactions, difficult long-term adherence and high costs. Pharmacogenomics investigates the correlation between genetic polymorphisms and responsiveness to drugs and could provide a valuable guide to fulfill the promise of personalized therapy in the context of the genomic medicine era, by tailoring treatment based on the patient's specific genetic markers. The present paper overviews the current advances in the clinical applications of pharmacogenomics to individualized psychotropic therapy. Material and methods. The relevant recent pharmacogenomics literature is selected and analysed in order to illustrate the impact on the clinical outcomes and quality of life in psychiatric patients of the genetic variants in the neurotransmitter receptors (dopamine and serotonin), metabolic pathways of drugs (cytochrome CYP450 2D6 and 2C19) and  the human leukocyte antigen system. The paper focuses on some of the major psychotropic drug classes, such as: antipsychotics, antidepressants and mood stabilizers. Validation of statistically significant pharmacogenomics relationships has enabled the development and market approval of some predictive tests which are already integrated into some psychotropic drugs label. Results and discussions. Predictive pharmacogenomics tests have changed the classical approach of prescription  "trial-and error" and "one dose fits all patients" towards personalized therapy. In addition, in new therapeutic candidates' clinical development, pharmacogenomics practically guides the clinical studies design, by substantially reducing the failure rates, costs and exposure risks of non-responders patients to new drugs. Current translation barriers of predictive pharmacogenomic tests from bench to clinical practice are also discussed. Conclusion. The paper emphasizes the current progress and future prospects in the field of pharmacogenomics as a guide to personalized therapy of psychiatric disorders, by: a) pretreatment selection of the right drug, prescribed in its optimized dose, to the right patient, according to one's specific genetic biomarkers; b) by improved clinical trials design based on genetic stratification of patients' population into responders versus non-responders, especially in the costly phases III and IV.


This study charts the design and development of a pioneering design-led multidisciplinary innovation Master's degree; a degree in Design Thinking. It reviews a decade of delivery of the programme and considers the contextual factors that influenced its original design and subsequent iterations. The study uses a critical participatory action research methodology and draws on previous research conducted on and through the programme in question, together with stakeholder surveys and interviews. The programme in question has evolved from its original manifestation as a teaching programme to an entity that acts as a locus for education, research and practice in design-led innovation. As such, the study identifies four essential stakeholders; students, partner organisations, society and academia, whose priorities have formed the contextual elements that have driven the programme's introduction and development. It considers their influence on the programme design and the values derived by each from the programme. Furthermore, the study reveals the underlying pedagogic principles and aspects of delivery that have ensured that these values are delivered.


Simulating and researching for characteristics of channel is essential when designing a wireless communications system. Based on the research of existed simulating methods, this paper proposed the Rayleigh-Normal simulating model which looks received signal as the linear combination of Rayleigh stochastic process and Normal stochastic process. This method was used to simulate the first-order statistical characteristics of Rayleigh model, Ricean model, Nakagami model, Lognormal model and so on, the simulating results prove that Rayleigh-Normal simulating model is a correct and valid simulating model for wireless channel.


In order to improve the intelligibility of HMM-generated Text-to-Speech (TTS) in noise, this work evaluates several speech enhancement methods, exploring combinations of noise-independent and - dependent approaches as well as algorithms previously developed for natural speech. We evaluate one noise-dependent method proposed for TTS, based on the glimpse proportion measure, and three approaches originally proposed for natural speech - one that estimates the noise and is based on the speech intelligibility index, and two noise-independent methods based on different spectral shaping techniques followed by dynamic range compression. We demonstrate how these methods influence the average spectra for different phone classes. We then present results of a listening experiment with speech-shaped noise and a competing speaker. A few methods made the TTS voice even more intelligible than the natural one. Although noise-dependent methods did not improve gains, the intelligibility differences found in distinct noises motivates such dependency.


In this paper we propose a highly efficient statistical simulation methodology based on sample reuse. In the event of design re-centering, multiple manufacturing variability corners, or statistical sensitivity analysis the methodology enables design yield estimations at no additional cost to the reference center analysis. Sample points from the reference center statistical simulation can be utilized to estimate the yield at multiple neighboring centers. The capabilities of the methodology are further extended by projecting the new center onto the critical fail/sampling direction of the reference simulation. This improves the accuracy of the estimate and widens the scope of application. Theoretical applications and analysis of state of the art memory designs indicate excellent yield estimate matching and several orders of magnitude of speedup due to sample reuse.


Macrophytodetritus is a heterogeneous mixture of detrital material that accumulates on submerged unvegetated sand patches amid vast Mediterranean Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows. Several vagile invertebrates are present in substantial biomass and biodiversity. Among these invertebrates, meiofauna (fauna between 38µm and 1mm) is ubiquitous and seems to play a key-feature in this dynamic and patchy system. Coastal ecosystems are under the direct effect of anthropogenic disturbance and degradation. Extra research is crucially needed to understand better the dynamics of coastal vegetation, in order to have a more successful restauration of these regressing ecosystems. In this context, the main goal of this PhD research was triple: (1) characterising in situ the physico-chemistry and the composition of the macrophytodetritus accumulations in the Calvi Bay, Corsica, (2) identifying the diversity of the associated meiofauna communities, especially harpacticoid copepods together with unravelling the origin of the present copepods and (3) characterizing the trophic ecology of the copepod communities in the macrophytodetritus at the specific and eco-morphological level.
This research showed that macrophytodetritus biomass is composed on average for 75% of dead P. oceanica seagrass leaves shed after senescence. Attached to the surface of the seagrass leaves numerous micro- and macroepiphytes are present, representing on average 10% of the total biomass. The remaining part is mainly constituted of drift material, like detached P. oceanica shoots and epilithic macroalgae. A seasonal pattern is observed regarding the amount of accumulated material and the physico-chemical composition inside the accumulation. Wind-induced hydrodynamics is the responsible driver behind the variability of the macrophytodetritus and consequently it has a major impact on the faunal communities already present in a macrophytodetritus accumulation.
Previous studies showed that the presence of macrofaunal invertebrates (> 1 mm) in high amounts contributes to the degradation of the detritus. Similarly, this study proves the ubiquitous presence of meiofauna in macrophytodetritus. Depending on the season, densities from 20.10³ to 160.10³ meiofaunal organisms per square metre of accumulation were recorded. Copepods were the most abundant taxon (> 50%) of which 87% belonged to the order Harpacticoida. Nematodes were the second most abundant taxon, representing on average 18% of the total meiofauna densities. A total of 61 copepod species were found in Calvi Bay macrophytodetritus accumulations and adjacent habitats (bare sand, seagrass and water column), wherefrom 85% were shared amongst these habitats, underlining the high colonization capabilities of copepods. Active colonization occurred within 24h through species-specific dispersal pathways. Certain species were more avid to colonize, resulting in a colonizer-competitor trade-off among the copepod community. Eco-morphological characteristics seemed to be responsible for the dispersal potential. However, the variety of the composition of the copepod community suggested that other factors also contributed to the attractiveness of the structurally complex macrophytodetritus habitat.
The isotopic niches of four abundant copepod species, representing four different eco-morphological groups were identified: Ectinosoma dentatum (mesopsammic-type), Diosaccus tenuiremis (phytal-type), Tisbe furcata (epibenthic-type) and Clausocalanus arcuicornis (water-column-type). Based on stable isotope analysis, fatty acid profiling and Bayesian mixing model, results suggested an interspecific diversity which would indicate a species-specific resource partitioning. C. arcuicornis mainly fed on suspended organic matter, while D. tenuiremis thrived mainly on epiphytes (mostly diatoms). E. dentatum was dependent on the seasonal availability of food sources, while T. furcata fed on a heterogeneous mixture of sources. Presumably none of the species directly assimilated dead seagrass leaf litter.
Overall, by combining in situ sampling, novel mesocosm experiment, biomarkers and mixing models, this study displayed the carrying capacity of macrophytodetritus to support a large amount of meiofauna and a wide diversity of copepod species. The morphological differences among copepod species seem to allow specialization towards habitat preferences, (physical habitat preferences and colonization potential) and towards resource preferences (food partitioning). Macrophytodetritus seems thus to be a suitable home, or a temporary hub for a diverse copepod community. Finally, this dynamic and patchy habitat, prone to swift changes and situated at the crossing of different ecosystems, plays a major role in coastal ecology.


The relationship of ratio of apolipoprotein (apo) B/apoA-1 with other indicators of lipid metabolism in healthy people with normal lipemia was analyzed. The dependence of ratio of apolipoprotein (apo) B/apoA-1 from content of apoE (X2=8.20; p=0.042) was established. Under low indicators of apoE risk of detection of unfavorable ratio apolipoprotein (apo) B/apoA-1 (higher than 0.9) increases (probability ratio 0.61, CI 95% 0.41-0.88, p=0.009). It is possible that low content of apoE results in deceleration of elimination and accumulation of lipoproteins in blood. This occurrence is followed by alteration of balance between apoE and apoA-1. In general, among patients with unfavorable ratio apoB/apoA-1 in spite of normal lipemia were detected higher indicators of triglycerides and atherogenic index of plasma and lower values of ratio of cholesterol lipoproteins of low density and apoB. This observation indicates on increasing of quantity triglyceride-reach lipoproteins and little solid lipoproteins of low density. Therefore, low content of apoE in blood can be considered as a predictor of increasing of ratio apoB/apoA-1 in healthy persons.