Piezoelectric materials constitute a class of intelligent materials that are helpful for monitoring the structural integrity. The principle of the piezoelectric impedance-based structural health monitoring technique is to measure the electrical impedance of a piezoelectric patch attached to a structure in a certain frequency range. Electrical impedance variations indicate physical changes in the structure due to the coupling between the electrical impedance and the mechanical impedance. Traditional methods use an impedance analyser that increases the inspection cost. The objective of this work is to introduce an electronic circuit for the piezoelectric impedance-based structural health monitoring. The circuit can monitor the electrical impedance variations of a piezoelectric patch attached to a structure. The frequency range is from 7.47 to 277.29 kHz. This frequency range covers the sensitive range of the piezoelectric structural integrity. The power consumption of the circuit is 18.15 mW. The chip area is 1.03 mm x 2.30 mm. The cost of the final design will be much lower than that of an impedance analyser. Using a wireless communication circuit, a sensor network might be established in the future.


The Center for Electromechanics at the University of Texas at Austin (UT-CEM) has designed, built, and tested three generations of iron-core and air-core compensated pulsed alternators (CPA). These include the iron core, small caliber, cannon caliber, and model scale compulsators. Early CPA were single-phase machines that were optimized for a specific load and desired performance. The most recent machine, the model-scale CPA, is a multiphase alternator coupled to the load through a rectifier. This paper includes a discussion of the requirements and capabilities of both single-phase and multiphase systems, a point design for each system type, and a comparison of system performance in driving a cannon caliber launcher.


Objective We investigated malignancy risk after renal transplantation in patients with and without systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods Using the United States Renal Data System from 2001 to 2009, 143 652 renal transplant recipients with and without SLE contributed 585 420 patient-years of follow-up to determine incident cancers using Medicare claims codes. We calculated standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) of cancer by group using age, sex, race/ethnicity-specific and calendar year-specific cancer rates compared with the US population. Results 10 160 cancers occurred at least 3 months after renal transplant. Overall cancer risk was increased in both SLE and non-SLE groups compared with the US general population, SIR 3.5 (95% CI 2.1 to 5.7) and SIR 3.7 (95% CI 2.4 to 5.7), respectively. Lip/oropharyngeal, Kaposi, neuroendocrine, thyroid, renal, cervical, lymphoma, liver, colorectal and breast cancers were increased in both groups, whereas only melanoma was increased in SLE and lung cancer was increased in non-SLE. In Cox regression analysis, SLE status (HR 1.1, 95% CI 0.9 to 1.3) was not associated with increased risk of developing cancer, adjusted for other independent risk factors for developing cancer in renal transplant recipients. We found that smoking (HR 2.2, 95% CI 1.2 to 4.0), cytomegalovirus positivity at time of transplant (HR 1.3, 95% CI 1.2 to 1.4), white race (HR 1.2, 95% CI 1.2 to 1.3) and older recipient age at time of transplantation (HR 1.0 95% CI 1.0 to 1.2) were associated with an increased risk for development of cancer, whereas shorter time on dialysis, Epstein-Barr virus or HIV were associated with a lower risk for development of cancer. Conclusions Cancer risk in renal transplant recipients appeared similar in SLE and non-SLE subjects, aside from melanoma. Renal transplant recipients may need targeted counselling regarding surveillance and modifiable risk factors.


Race-specific resistance of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to yellow rust caused by Puccinia striiformis Westend. f.sp. tritici is often short-lived. Slow-rusting resistance has been reported to be a more durable type of resistance. A set of sixteen bread wheat varieties along with a susceptible control Morocco was tested during 2004―05 to 2006―07 in field plots at Peshawar (Pakistan) to identify slow rusting genotypes through epidemiological variables including final rust severity (FRS), apparent infection rate (r), area under disease progress curve (AUDPC), average coefficients of infection (ACI) and leaf tip necrosis (LTN). Epidemiological parameters of resistance were significantly (P < 0.01) different for years/varieties in three seasons, while variety x year interactions remained non-significant. Sequence tagged site (STS) marker, csLV34 analyses revealed that cultivars Faisalabad-83, Bahawalpur-95, Suleman-96, Punjab-96, Bakhtawar-93, Faisalabad-85, Shahkar-95 and Kohsar-95 possessed Yr18 linked allele. Faisalabad-83, Bahawalpur-95, Suleman-96, Punjab-96, Bakhtawar-93 and Faisalabad-85 were relatively more stable over 3-years where FRS, AUDPC and r values reduced by 80, 84 and 70% respectively compared to control Morocco. These six varieties therefore could be exploited for the deployment of Yr18 in breeding for slow rusting in wheat. Both FRS and ACI are suitable parameters for phenotypic selection.


Cloud-based computing infrastructure with enormous storage capability, coupled with new tools for remotely accessing, analysing and visualising data, is developing at an exponential rate in terms of the variety and scale of available information. The 'sensor web' is an area of particular interest, with many major industries increasingly looking at ways to apply sensor network technologies to develop new products and services.
Sensor networks require a scalable model, in which the basic building block, the sensor (or sensing platform) is very low cost to buy, requires no maintenance, and has a very long lifetime (Years). Understandably, attention has therefore focused on sensors that meet these requirements, like thermistors, photodiodes, movement and vibration sensors, and imaging systems. Despite the obvious tremendous value of integrating molecular sensing capabilities into this concept via networked chemical sensors and biosensors, there are no examples of large-scale deployments of such devices.
There are a number of reasons why this is so including capital cost, maintenance costs, reliability issues, and the hostile environments to which these devices are typically exposed. These issues are obviously inter-related, and are linked to the degradation of sensitive sensor surfaces that occurs upon deployment. This changes the device response characteristics, which in turn requires integration of calibration procedures into devices. Conventional approaches to liquid handling within chemical sensor platforms drives up the price and complexity, and requires larger form factors for reagent and waste storage. The integration of new concepts for liquid control using fully integrated photo-actuated polymer valves offers a way forward, if issues related to reliability and response characteristics can be solved. In this paper, I will present recent results based on photo-switchable gels that suggest we are moving closer to the realisation of efficient, low-cost microfluidic platforms that could provide the building block for future autonomous chemo/bio-sensing technologies.


Dermatoglyphics in Noonan's Syndrome A dermatoglyphic analysis has been carried out in 7 boys and 5 girls affected by Noonan's syndrome. No deviation from the general population values was found with respect to individual quantitative value, A line termination, absence of C line, a-b ridge count, hypothenar patterns, and presence of p proximal triradius on soles. Whorls were however increased on fingertips and the axial triradius t, as in Turner's syndrome, was in 21% of the cases in position t' or t".


Palm oil is one of the major oil crops in the world, producing important vegetable oils in the world oil and fats market. Its production generates solid wastes whose sustainable management is crucial for the oil chain development in oil palm producing countries. Benin Republic is a small oil palm producing country where oil palm plays social, cultural, and economic roles for farmers. This chapter analyzes the linkage between improvement of palm oil process extraction and palm oil mill solid waste (POMSW) management for sustainable palm oil production. Composed mainly of fibers, the two kinds of POMSW are empty fruit bunches (EFBs) and press mesocarp fibers (PMFs), which are rich in units' fertilizers and are renewable energy. POMSW in Benin Republic is used in agriculture, in cosmetic, or as energy. The upgrade of traditional mills generates POMSW use as a boiler fuel to reducing wood necessity and increasing farm profit. As this use is not sustainable, research must be made to generate electricity with POMSW and its use for crop fertiliza‐ tion, to ensure environment protection, enhance contribution to food security, restore degraded soils, and increase earnings of producers of rural areas.


This paper offers a close reading of the intergenerational trilogy by Ashapurna Debi, one of the first-canonized women-novelists of post-independence India: Pratham Pratisruti ( The First Promise ), 1965, Subarnalata , 1967, and Bakul Katha ( Bakul's Story ), 1974. Reconstituting a history of almost two centuries and countering the colonial/postcolonial grand narratives, these novels act as a saga of Bengali Hindu lower and middle-class women's plight under and resistance against a patriarchal social order operating at the most intimate levels of domestic relationships. Ashapurna Debi's treatment of the intricacies of gender inequality and a woman's response to the violence inflicted on her body in one of the centres of South-Asian modernity and its vicinity intervenes crucially in the twentieth century feminist discourse. At the same time, her narrative closely follows a promise, accompanied by a sense of commitment and responsibility, handed over from mother to daughter to granddaughter to rise as self-conscious individual subjects by overcoming personal and social reservations and taboos. This paper, therefore, examines the micro-physics of power exercised in gender relations as evident in the concerned trilogy. It focuses on the performing bodies of women amidst all sorts of physical and psychological oppressions and how they provide a critique of the broader aspects of social change, like reform and nationalist movements. While considering the intersections between the poststructuralist gender studies in the West—developed as a sustained critique of the mechanism of modern power being proposed by Michel Foucault among others—and Ashapurna Debi's observations, this paper theoretically emphasizes how the factors of contingency in Bengali women's lives posit new insights into what, after Judith Butler, may be called "gender trouble" as they undo many of the morally ordered gender roles.


Alternating current (ac) windings in electrical machines basically have a twofold purpose. In electrical generators ac windings are place where electromotive force (EMF) should be induced. In electrical motors, primarily ac windings goal is to produce rotating magneto-motive force (MMF) wave. In any case, ac windings should be designed in such a manner that induced EMF or generated rotating MMF wave consists predominantly of the fundamental sinusoidal component. Therefore, the starting point of an induction machine study is the analysis of MMF waves in the air gap of such machines. This assumes knowledge of winding distribution along the air gap from stator as well as from rotor side. The magnetic flux is analogous to the electric current. The MMF which sets up the magnetic flux is analogous to the EMF. The MMF is equivalent to a number of turns of wire carrying an electric current. If either the current through a coil (as in an electromagnet) or the number of turns of wire in the coil is increased, the MMF will be higher; and if the rest of the magnetic circuit remains the same, the magnetic flux increases proportionally [1]. At least two different approaches exist for describing winding distribution.


In this study, the fractal dimension of the leaves of Tectaria dissecta was evaluated through fractal analysis to determine any morphological variation that existed in this species in the three elevations in Tinago Falls, Iligan city. Ten samples of T. dissecta were collected in each elevation and two to three leaves (fronds) were taken per fern. The leaves were pressed, scanned, processed with the Corel Paint, and binarized images were run with the software using the box-counting method to determine the fractal dimension. FD (fractal index) values of the ferns in the three elevations were compared using the boxand- whisker plot and analyzed using the Kruskal- Wallis (P<0.05) to test for the significant difference. Results showed that the average fractal dimension of the fern leaves at high elevation is 1.63, 1.74 in the middle elevation and 1.72 at low elevation. The Kruskal-Wallis test revealed a significant difference in the fractal dimensions of the fern leaves between the high and middle elevation and between the high and low elevation. The ferns in the middle and low elevations have a more complex leaves than in the high elevation as exhibited by higher FD values. The complexity of the fern leaves in the middle and low elevations could be related to the necessity of light penetration through these ferns. The structure of the leaves of the ferns in high elevation assures its needs of light and temperature.


Fluid balance is known to alter with hypoxia and exercise, yet the combined effects have not been investigated using a controlled acute hypoxic exposure. Seven healthy participants were hypohydrated 24hrs prior to testing, using exercise and fluid restriction, causing a ~2.5% loss in body mass. Participants then rested in either normoxia with no fluid replacement (NH) or hypoxia (FIO2:0.12) with no fluid (HH), water (HW) or isotonic fluid (HI) replacement over the first 2 hrs of exposure. After 200mins of rest, participants completed an intermittent walking protocol at 50%VO2max. TBW, ICF, ECF, serum s100b, HSP70, ADH and urine hydration markers were taken pre and post exposure. HR, SaO2, core temperature and perceptual scales were monitored throughout. Fluid compartment volumes increased with rehydration and remained at similar values in the isotonic rehydration trial. HSP70 values increased in all trials (HH=1.48, HW=1.00, HI=0.95, NH=0.46pg/L), increases were greater in hypoxia. Serum s100b increased in all hypoxic trials (HH=0.28, HW=0.25, HI=0.09, NH=−0.005μg/L). Hypoxia and hypohydration induced similar physiological strain, which was exacerbated when the two were combined. Hypoxic disruption of the blood brain barrier increased with water intake, suggesting isotonic rehydration is necessary to reduce physiological strain and symptoms of headache and nausea.


The comparative analysis of paramount parameters of success clearly indicates that pear production is the most cost-effective followed by apple and plum production. Within pear production, the highest production value (818250 RSD per hectare) has been established, alongside the highest gross margin (607721 RSD per hectare) and the highest profit (557194 RSD per hectare). Pear production is estimated to have the highest production efficiency (3,13) and the highest profit rate (68,1%). The results of the sensitivity analysis indicate that the analysed productions comprise significant capacity in obtaining positive financial results due to their resilience to the decrease in yield and/or market price of products (from 49% in plum production to 75% in pear production).


Background & Aim: Midlife is one of the most important steps of life that in case of lack of exercise, can lead to a significant reduction in quality of life. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of Aquatic Exercise on quality of life, Body Mass index, and cardiovascular Markers in Middle-aged Women. Methods: After measuring anthropometric markers, 20 women aged between 45 and 55 years were randomly assigned into two groups of aquatic exercise (n=10) and control (n=10). In the baseline stage, both groups completed WHOQOL-BREF scale to assess the quality of life. Moreover, Body Mass index and cardiovascular Markers were measured. The exercises in aquatic exercise group were performed in 60 minutes sessions twice a week for eight weeks. At the end of the eighth week, study parameters were measured in both groups. Results: Eight weeks of aquatic exercise significantly increased the quality of life in middle-aged women (P=0.001), so that in addition to the overall life quality scores, the subscales including mental health (P=0.001), social relationships (P=0.02) and environmental health (P=0.001) were improved. In addition, blood pressure (P=0.04) and body mass index (P=0.001) were significantly decreased. Conclusion: Eight weeks of aquatic exercise may significantly increase the quality of life and improve Body Mass index and cardiovascular indices in middle-aged women.


Purpose: The continuing issue of health inequity for Hispanics highlights the importance of retaining Hispanic nurses in the workplace. This article describes the use of short answers such as "Describe the bias you experienced" and "If a patient refused care, what was the reason given?" to increase understandings about bias through the descriptions of Hispanic nurses. In this study, bias was defined as those implicit negative stereotypes and attitudes that negatively affect judgments about, evaluations of, and actions toward others. Design/Method: For this qualitative component of a descriptive study employing both qualitative and quantitative methods, 111 Hispanic nurses responded to open-ended questions about experiences of bias that were included with a survey tool and demographic questionnaire. Findings: Three themes emerged: being overlooked and undervalued, having to prove competency, and living with "only-ness." Respect was an overarching concept. Discussion/Conclusions: The written descriptions of bias provided depth and understanding to the quantitative findings. Nurse leaders are well positioned to develop and implement strategies to more effectively support Hispanic nurses and to promote nonbiased interactions in the workplace. Implications: Retaining Hispanic nurses is a vital component to address issues of health inequity for Hispanic patients.


Objectives: Quercetin exhibits a wide range of biological functions. The present study aimed to investigate the possible beneficial effects of rosiglitazone, quercetin as well as their combination on metabolic and biochemical changes associated with the fructose-induced metabolic syndrome (MS). Materials and Methods: Four groups of rats were fed on fructose-enriched diet for 14 weeks. One group served as fructose-enriched diet control, while the remaining groups were treated with rosiglitazone (4 mg/kg/day), quercetin (50 mg/kg/day), and their combination during the last 4 weeks. A fifth group was fed on normal laboratory diet. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were withdrawn for the estimation of markers of MS. Results: Rosiglitazone or quercetin attenuated the biochemical and metabolic changes associated with MS. The combination of rosiglitazone and quercetin nearly normalized these changes. Conclusion: Quercetin, as well as its combination with rosiglitazone, showed beneficial protective effects against metabolic and biochemical changes associated with MS.


Over the past decade, the area of stretchable inorganic electronics has evolved very rapidly, in part because the results have opened up a series of unprecedented applications with broad interest and potential for impact, especially in bio‐integrated systems. Low modulus mechanics and the ability to accommodate extreme mechanical deformations, especially high levels of stretching, represent key defining characteristics. Most existing studies exploit structural material designs to achieve these properties, through the integration of hard inorganic electronic components configured into strategic 2D/3D geometries onto patterned soft substrates. The diverse structural geometries developed for stretchable inorganic electronics are summarized, covering the designs of functional devices and soft substrates, with a focus on fundamental principles, design approaches, and system demonstrations. Strategies that allow spatial integration of 3D stretchable device layouts are also highlighted. Finally, perspectives on the remaining challenges and open opportunities are provided.


Computer vision technologies and more specifically activity recognition can be considered one of the most helpful tools that computer science can provide to the society's disposal. Activity recognition deals with the visual analysis of video sequences and provides semantic information about the activities that may occur within them. In state-of-the-art literature, activity recognition deals with problems that vary from (a) video retrieval topics, which concentrate to the extraction of visual information concerning activities that exist within movies or youtube video samples, to (b) activity of daily living (ADL) topics which focus to the recognition of activities that may occur within a home or kitchen based environment. Although the great range of activities that current action datasets include, we have not yet encountered the implementation of any realistic scenario which deal with the real life problems, such as dementia and related diseases. Considering the above reasons and trying to encourage future studies on dementia disease, we propose DemCare action datasets which record a spate of human patients to perform a large set of daily activities in a home based environment.


1. Procedures are described for the isolation of seven distinct cyanogen bromide fragments in high yield from human serum transferrin. 2. Cyanogen bromide-cleaved transferrin is separated into three fragments (CN-A, CN-B and CN-C) by gel filtration with Sephadex G-100. 3. Four peptides are obtained from CN-A (the largest fragment) after reduction and carboxamidomethylation, by gel filtration in acidic solvents. Two peptides are similarly obtained from fragment CN-B, whereas fragment CN-C is a single cystine-free peptide. 4. The molecular weights of the seven peptides, as determined by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate, by sedimentation-equilibrium ultracentrifugation and by sequence studies, range from 3100 to 27000. Together they account for a molecular weight of 76200 for transferrin. 5. The two largest fragments contain the carbohydrate attachment sites of the protein, and the smallest fragment is derived from the N-terminus. 6. The amino acid compositions and N-terminal groups of the fragments are reported and the results compared with those of previous investigations.


Study on the preparation processing of E-ACE.By experimental methods, the conductivity, the mechanical flexibility of the electrode material and the thickness of the acrylic polymers were studied respectively. Experimental results show that the conductivity of electrode material have an impact on the performance of E-ACE, E-ACE performance is enhanced with the increasing of conductivity of the electrode material. Mechanical flexibility of Electrode materials and thickness of acrylic polymer have significantly impact on the performance of E-ACE, E-ACE performance is enhanced with the decreasing of mechanical flexibility of electrode material, and E-ACE performance is also enhanced with the decreasing of the thickness of acrylic polymers.


Gene-on-gene regulations are key components of every living organism. Dynamical abstract models of genetic regulatory networks help explain the genome's evolvability and robustness. These properties can be attributed to the structural topology of the graph formed by genes, as vertices, and regulatory interactions, as edges. Moreover, the actual gene interaction of each gene is believed to play a key role in the stability of the structure. With advances in biology, some effort was deployed to develop update functions in Boolean models that include recent knowledge. We combine real-life gene interaction networks with novel update functions in a Boolean model. We use two sub-networks of biological organisms, the yeast cell-cycle and the mouse embryonic stem cell, as topological support for our system. On these structures, we substitute the original random update functions by a novel threshold-based dynamic function in which the promoting and repressing effect of each interaction is considered. We use a third real-life regulatory network, along with its inferred Boolean update functions to validate the proposed update function. Results of this validation hint to increased biological plausibility of the threshold-based function. To investigate the dynamical behavior of this new model, we visualized the phase transition between order and chaos into the critical regime using Derrida plots. We complement the qualitative nature of Derrida plots with an alternative measure, the criticality distance, that also allows to discriminate between regimes in a quantitative way. Simulation on both real-life genetic regulatory networks show that there exists a set of parameters that allows the systems to operate in the critical region. This new model includes experimentally derived biological information and recent discoveries, which makes it potentially useful to guide experimental research. The update function confers additional realism to the model, while reducing the complexity and solution space, thus making it easier to investigate.


ultrasound examination of the legs was carried out, using the technique described by Evans.' 2 No flow was dttected in the veins of ths Lft leg. While the Itft calf was being squeezed the patient complained of feeling faint and became unconscious. Resuscitation was not successful. At postmortem there were clots in the deep veins of the lkft leg although both the popliteal and femoral veins were patent. The main pulmonary artery was full of coiled thrombus which was 60 cm in length.


More and more organizations are realizing that the only hope for survival in an ultracompetitive landscape is through innovation: developing new and better products and services—and creating efficient processes for delivering them. Designed for managers, team leaders, and trainers looking to promote innovation at work, the book is packed with 55 activities to help participants:

 Employ "visioning" and "brainwriting" processes to achieve breakthroughs

 Cultivate a sense of curiosity and inquisitiveness

 Utilize methods of deep observation

 Build networks for open source innovation and creative collaboration

 Use images to spark ideas and connections

 Develop out-of-the-box techniques for problemsolving

 Deal with failure successfully and productively

 Spot trends and determine "the next step"

 Innovation at Work contains worksheets, questions, and case studies to inspire discussion as well as assessments for determining managers' openness to innovation. Innovation isn't just about the next iPod, and it's not just for scientists. This handy book provides readers with a roadmap for fostering creativity and innovation in any team in any industry.


The convection electric field resulting from the coupling of the Earth's magnetosphere with the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) drives plasma in the tail plasma sheet earthward. This transport and the resulting energy storage in the near Earth plasma sheet are important for setting up the conditions that lead to major space weather disturbances, such as storms and substorms. Penetration of plasma sheet particles into the near-Earth magnetosphere in response to enhanced convection is crucial to the development of the Region 2 field-aligned current system and large-scale magnetosphere-ionosphere (M-I) coupling, which results in the shielding of the convection electric field. In addition to the electric field, plasma transport is also strongly affected by the magnetic field, which is distinctly different from dipole field in the inner plasma sheet and changes with plasma pressure in maintaining force balance. The goal of this dissertation is to investigate how the plasma transport into the inner magnetosphere is affected by the interplay between plasma, electric field and magnetic field. For this purpose, we conduct simulations using the Rice Convection Model (RCM), which self-consistently calculates the electric field resulting from M-I coupling. In order to quantitatively evaluate the interplay, we improved the RCM simulations by establishing realistic plasma sheet particle sources, by incorporating it with a modified Dungey force balance magnetic field solver (RCM-Dungey runs), and by adopting more realistic electron loss rates. We found that plasma sheet particle sources strongly affect the shielding of the convection electric field, with a hotter and more tenuous plasma sheet resulting in less shielding than a colder and denser one and thus in more earthward penetration of the plasma sheet. The Harang reversal, which is closely associated with the shielding of the convection electric field and the earthward penetration of low-energy protons, is found to be located at lower latitudes and extend more dawnward for a hotter and more tenuous plasma sheet. In comparison with simulation runs under an empirical but not force balance magnetic field from the Tsyganenko 96 model, the simulation results show that transport under force-balanced magnetic field results in weaker pressure gradients and thus weaker R2 FAC in the near-earth region, weaker shielding of the penetration electric field and, as a result, more earthward penetration of plasma sheet protons and electrons with their inner edges being closer together and more azimuthally symmetric. To evaluate the effect of electron loss rate on ionospheric conductivity, a major contributing factor to M-I coupling, we run RCM-Dungey with a more realistic, MLT dependent electron loss rate established from observed wave activity. Comparing our results with those using a strong diffusion everywhere rate, we found that under the MLT dependent loss rate, the dawn-dusk asymmetry in the precipitating electron energy fluxes agrees better with statistical DMSP observations. The more realistic loss rate is much weaker than the strong diffusion limit in the inner magnetosphere. This allows high-energy electrons in the inner magnetosphere to remain much longer and produce substantial conductivity at lower latitudes. The higher conductivity at lower latitudes under the MLT dependent loss rate results in less efficient shielding in response to an enhanced convection electric field, and thus to deeper penetration of the ion plasma sheet into the inner magnetosphere than under the strong diffusion everywhere rate.


Does climate change pose a crisis for the concept of nation-state sovereignty? This article explores how contemporary debates about climate and sovereignty are connected to deeper histories of empire and capitalism in the global South. Arguing against recent critical appraisals of sovereignty that emphasize the elision of nature from formal political and legal theory, the article reconstructs a genealogy of sovereign power in the major fossil fuel-producing territories of India spanning the nineteenth century to the present day. It brings to light three historical articulations of sovereignty that undergird contemporary modes of extractive dispossession enforced by the Indian state: the discovery of fossil fuels as subjects of sovereign power during an early colonial project to build prison complexes in Indian coal mines; the juridical remaking of "land" under Benthamite-inspired laws of "real property;" and the politicization of fossil fuels as an underground commons belonging to the abstract entity of the postcolonial nation.


The last two Quaternary transgressive-regressive events (Late Pleistocene and Holocene) left abundant marine deposits along coastal areas in various regions of the world, including the Bahia Blanca Estuary in Argentina. In this work, the sedimentation paleoenvironmental conditions prevailing during the marine transgressions are established, on the basis of sedimentological and taphonomic characteristics. Analysis of the two deposits, which are located well inland of the current littoral zone and are separated by an unconformity, shows that Pleistocene materials are distinguished by a higher degree of cementation, specially in the uppermost part of deposit. Sedimentological and taphonomic features reflect differences in the dominant sedimentation regime. The Pleistocene deposit, with sediment finer grained and less well sorted, were formed under lower energy conditions with an important role of stream flows carrying lithic material coming from coastal formations. The Holocene transgressive maximum is proposed to have given rise to a coastal geography more exposed to the action of storm waves (concentrated fossils in beach ridges), with sediments mobilized by coastal drift. The diversity difference of the marine fauna (Pleistocene: 17 species, Holocene: 106 species) suggest a Pleistocene ecosystem poor for the development of organisms. The disappearance of species between the two transgressive events would be indicative of a fall in the sea water temperature.


A 2-step 'semi-nested' enterovirus PCR was developed and applied to CSF and serum specimens from 27 consecutive patients with aseptic meningitis. CSF and sera from 8 patients with non-enteroviral diagnoses were included as negative clinical controls. Enterovirus RNA was detected in CSF by PCR in 15 of the patients with aseptic meningitis, compared with 6 by virus culture. Acute-phase sera proved positive for enterovirus RNA in 11 patients, thus increasing the number of PCR-positive patients to 18. Convalescent-phase sera were all negative by PCR. The correlation of a positive or negative PCR result in CSF and/or serum versus combined conventional virology (serology and isolation from 1-3 sites, i.e. CSF, stool and throat) was 78%. All negative controls were negative by PCR. PCR is a reliable and sensitive diagnostic tool for the detection of enteroviral infections. Both CSF and acute-phase serum should be considered for testing.


Impurity is one of the key issues on a great impact to the quality of tokamak plasma. HL-2A is the first divertor tokamak in China. In this paper the experimental results are presented on impurity through the line emission measurement in the campaign in 2003 under the limiter and divertor configurations. The low-Z impurities such as carbon and oxygen are the most important components in the plasma, but their content are not so high to affect the discharge quality. The high-Z impurities such as copper and ferrum are not essential. The emission intensity of impurity is clearly decreased during the divertor configuration formed.


Authors examine attitudes of owners and managers of Russian small and medium businesses (SMEs) towards the concept and phenomena of social responsibility of business. An empirical background of the research consists of 57 focused interviews with representatives of Russian SMEs from the Central Federal Count of the Russian Federation. The research conducted allows to evaluate individual motives of behavior, influence of values, as well as key factors that determine choices of Russian SMEs' practices related to social responsibility of business. Analysis of interviews evidences that there is no complex understanding of the term "social responsibility of business" among owners and managers of Russian SMEs, however, there is a variety of individual examples of responsible behavior and initiatives. This allows to conclude that norms and principles of ethical and responsible behavior are spread among companies of the business segment analyzed. Research results demonstrate that Russian SMEs are focused on practices of social responsibility aimed at internal stakeholders (such as employees). Among seven directions of responsible behavior according to ISO 26000 representatives of Russian SMEs indicated the following ones as most strategically important: relationship with consumers (1st place according to the number of attitudes), responsible behavior towards employees (expressed in stable wages, opportunities for professional development and qualification improvement; provision of additional health insurance and social benefits; creation of attractive work places etc.) (2nd place according to the number of attitudes), environmental protection (activities aimed at improving ecological situation) (3rd place), good business practices (4th place). Research results confirm that practice of social responsibility in case of Russian SMEs is shaped notonly by official legislative requirements, but in a great extent by personal attitudes, values, choices and beliefs of their owners. The practice of social responsibility of Russian SMEs is also influenced by choices and attitudes of these companies' employees. Owners and managers of Russian SMEs believe that responsible behavior and practices allow to create and maintain long-term relationship of trust between their companies and key groups of stakeholders which include consumers of their goods and services, their employees and local communities.


The network formulation of structural analysis, applicable to all linear, elastic bar systems for homogeneous structures, has been extended to include the effects of local static releases and/or local kinematic constraints both on members and on joints. Procedures have been described for the stiffness as well as for the flexibility method. The functional properties of all procedures within the total formulation have been classified; and use has been made of the dualities between corresponding procedures in the flexibility and in the stiffness method. The extended formulation of structural analysis maintains the simplicity and generality of the network formulation. This not only leads to a concise and clearly structured formulation of the theory, but also allows for efficient and general digital computer programming of these procedures.


In summary, the voltage-sensitive sodium channel from eel electroplax provides an optimal preparation for biochemical and biophysical studies of molecular structure and gating. We have demonstrated that the purified and reconstituted protein is capable of functioning normally, exhibiting, among other properties, voltage-dependent activation and inactivation gating mechanisms. We have been able to recreate the classical electrophysiological studies in which inactivation gating can be removed by proteolytic modification of the cytoplasmic surface of the molecule, and have mapped the probable site of modification to the peptide segment lying between subunit domains III and IV. We have demonstrated that the reconstituted protein undergoes interactions with the lidocaine derivative QX-314 which, at low concentrations, results in paradoxical activation of the channel and a facilitation of modification by oxidizing reagents that remove inactivation gating.


Thermal diffusivity, heat capacity, and thermal conductivity of Central Aare granite are reported in the temperature range from 25°C to 500°C. Each rock sample underwent three consecutive heating and cooling cycles. Significant irreversible changes in the properties due to thermal crack formation could be observed. After the first thermal cycle, both thermal diffusivity and conductivity dropped to about 75% of the initial value at room temperature, whereas the heat capacity did not show an irreversible decay. For subsequent thermal cycles, no further permanent changes of the investigated properties could be observed. From the conducted measurements, accurate correlations are derived, offering a platform for precise high‐temperature experiments and other research on Central Aare granite and similar granitic rocks. The report shows that the assumption of constant thermal properties leads to significant inaccuracies at elevated temperatures, especially if thermal cycles are present.


We study delay-independent stability in nonlinear models with a
distributed delay which have a positive equilibrium.
Models with a unique positive equilibrium frequently occur in population dynamics and other
applications. In particular, we construct a relevant difference
equation such that its stability implies stability
of the equation with a distributed delay and a finite memory.
This result is, generally speaking, incorrect for systems with infinite
memory. If the relevant difference equation is unstable, we describe
the general delay-independent lower and upper solution bounds
and also demonstrate that the equation with a distributed delay is stable
for small enough delays.


Background Existing research shows that family members who suffer the loss of a loved one through suicide often experience self-blame and shame, and that this limits their grieving process. It can also lock them into stigmatized positions and the notion that either somebody or a dysfunctional family is to blame for the suicide. Aim This article investigates from a narrative perspective how a theater play might counteract the stigma that surrounds suicide bereavement by contributing destigmatizing understandings of suicide. Methods A theater play was performed in a churchyard theater in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2019. Audience members were asked to write down their free reflections on a form distributed at the theater. In particular, they were asked to assess whether they found the play related to their own lives and, if so, how; and to describe what they had learned. Their written reflections [N = 41] were analyzed from a narrative methodological perspective to investigate their responses to the play. Three categories of audience member were identified from their responses: people with their own suicide bereavement experiences; people with similar but different experiences of stigmatized trauma; and people who did not report any experiences of suicide or stigmatized trauma. Results The suicide-bereaved generally reported familiarity with the thematic performed, in particular the "why question," the blame and shame responses and the silenced family communication. Most of these aspects were also shared by those affected by other types of stigmatized trauma. Respondents from all categories emphasized how they had learned that suicide is a desperate rather than a deliberated act, caused by overwhelming emotional pain or depression. Ultimately, suicide was perceived as an involuntary death caused by complex interacting factors linked to both inner vulnerabilities and stressful life events, for which no one was to blame. Conclusion The results show that research-based theater isa time-limited and cost-effective method of introducing alternative meanings and identities to both individual mourners and the broader cultural context from which stigma originates, and how it can have destigmatizing effects on a stigmatized trauma such as suicide bereavement.


The main purpose of this work is to analyze the perceptions and attitudes of secondary school education units regarding the qualitative characteristics of human resources, both in relation to the existing and the desired situation so that the administration is effectively carried out in the framework of the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) and based on the specifications that the European Model of Administrative Excellence (EFQM) defines. The survey was conducted in the framework of the quantitative research approach from April 24 to May 26, 2017 by using the anonymous written questionnaire method, which was completed by 214 secondary education teachers in the prefecture of Arcadia. The results of the survey show that moral rewards are low, while financial rewards are completely absent from school units. At the same time, there is a low level of good communication, lack of competition on a personal level, a low degree of cooperation and exchange of views and honesty, while most respondents stated that the above mentioned are quality features that they would wish to be present in school units. Finally, the majority of respondents said that the dissemination of information and the transferring of it through various techniques, the encouraging and supporting of human resources to participate in activities (educational programs, innovative actions) aimed at improving the educational unit are quality features, which the sample prioritizes as very important and imperative to be adopted by the educational units.


Abstract A quantity is identified that can be experimentally determined and used to directly test the validity of the Ramsauer hypothesis. This quantity, which is called the relative differential cross section, is defined as the ratio of the differential to the total shape-elastic cross section. The Ramsauer model prediction of this quantity is compared with that obtained from the spherical optical model code SCAT2. The results of this comparison and the analysis are presented for neutron interaction with 208Pb, for incident neutron energies less than 60 MeV.


Despite some limited success, computational biology has not been able to produce reliable results in the field of protein structure prediction. Although the fragment assembly approach has shown a lot of potential, it still requires substantial improvements. Not only are its predictions largely inaccurate whenever a protein exceeds 150 amino acids in length, but also, even for short targets, inconsistencies of the energy function associated with the enormous search space too often lead to the generation of erroneous conformations. Moreover, as it relies on the creation of a large number of decoys, it is highly computational expensive. Based on its secondary structure content, a protein can generally be classified into one of the standard structural classes, i.e. all-alpha, all-beta or alpha-beta. Since structural class prediction has reached a prominent accuracy, it is proposed to amend the standard pipeline of fragment-based methods by including some constraints on the template proteins from which fragments are extracted. Using Rosetta, a state-of-the-art fragment-based protein structure prediction package, the suggested customized method was evaluated on 67 former CASP targets ranging from 47 to 149 amino acids in length. Using SCOP-based structural class annotations, improvement of structure prediction performance is highly significant in terms of GDT (53 out of 67 targets show higher scores of 6.1% on average, $\mathbf{p}-\mathbf{value} < 0.0005$).


While rural tourism will provide new opportunities for farmers and inhabitants in rural areas, many problems must be solved to make its sustainable development a reality. Therefore, this paper focused on the present issues facing rural tourism in Japan that must be addressed for further development. Firstly, we characterized rural tourism in Japan as still being in transition from the old style rural tourism that has been conducted as a low quality sideline for farmers in winter to modern rural tourism that provides tourists with a better quality experience and authentic rural hospitality. A main reason that this transition is not yet complete is because institutional constraints on a long-holiday system remain and thus farmers must rely on day trippers rather than overnight tourists. Secondly, we pointed out the generation gap between the young and middle/senior generations in terms of recognition of the value of rural tourism as well as experience with rural tourism, and also the mismatch between rural and urban sides in terms of desires and expectations. The urban side wants more software aspects such as information on available menus and where to find rural tourism accommodation and sites of interest, while the rural side tends to look at hardware aspects such as building facilities for tourists. Thus, it is crucial to properly recognize the existence of the mismatch between the two sides. This is the first step in rectifying the causes of the mismatch and enables farmers to offer proper services to meet the growing demand.


This paper reviews multi-scale computational homogenisation frameworks for the non-linear behaviour of heterogeneous thin planar shells. Based on a review of some of the currently available methods, a computational homogenisation scheme for shells is applied on representative volume elements for plain weave composites. The effect of flexural loading on the potential failure modes of such materials is analysed, focusing on the reinforcement-matrix delamination mechanism. The attention is next shifted toward failure localisation in masonry unit cells. Subsequently, a recently developed computational FE$^2$ solution scheme accounting for damage localisation at structural scales based on RVE computations is applied.


This guide is intended to aid in the navigation of the Sanborn Map Collection held by University of Maryland Libraries and the Digital Sanborn Maps.


Mounting pressure on research organizations to achieve sustainable development outcomes from research has pushed them to use multi-stakeholder approaches. Insights are missing however, on how these influence social, technical, and institutional change, as well as what outcomes emerge from these. The thesis is an examination of the enactment of multi-stakeholder approaches, questioning how and to what extent Adaptive Research (AR) and Learning Alliance (LA) approaches influence socio-technical innovation in rice farming communities. Four case studies of research and development projects that employed the approaches in rice farming communities were elaborated in this thesis. AR implementation in Indonesia (chapter 2), showed how AR fast-tracked technical adaptations and built upon the improvisational capacities of farmers. AR monitoring however, rendered invisible the adaptations required on the social aspect. Simultaneous social, technical, and institutional redesign was limited. A case of LA implemented at national level engaged a network that changed and expanded after three years to include diverse actors (chapter 3). There were points where implementation (mis)aligned with assumptions from project implementers and from conceptual literature of the LA approach. The network influenced change at community level by engaging small groups that made reconfigurations on the technologies and the social arrangements for these (chapter 4). A community-level LA in Myanmar was also found to stimulate a self-organized learning process towards innovation for flatbed dryer technology (chapter 5). A case where a project used AR only versus AR with LA in Myanmar (chapter 6), revealed differing networks, learning processes, and outcomes in terms of learning agenda. The involvement of a wider network resulted in a broader set of activities, which were initiatives outside the original plans of the project. The learning activities were not only about technologies but also included experimentations on supportive environment for access and use of the technologies. This thesis therefore demonstrates that project actors implement AR and LA approaches through a range of translations in multiple contexts. These imply varied interactions in different types of networks. Such interactions triggered varied learning processes and thus influenced different planned or emergent outcomes. Both approaches have potential to catalyze innovation in farming communities; however, outcomes on adoption numbers provide a caveat that these approaches are not silver bullets that guarantee technology adoption. Instead, implementation that facilitates effective learning processes, and monitoring that flags where projects could support emergent outcomes, can help implementers improve their contributions to development in farming communities.


Background The mechanisms underlying vascular cognitive impairment remain poorly understood. Brain microbleeds may contribute, particularly to executive dysfunction. We investigated the cognitive effects of microbleeds and other neuroimaging markers for cerebrovascular disease in a large, hospital-based study. Methods Consecutive, unselected patients referred to the stroke unit or clinic underwent clinical assessment, detailed neuropsychological testing and vascular MRI. Microbleeds, white matter changes (WMC) and brain infarcts were identified and their effects on cognition assessed. Results 242 patients were included (N=60 with, N=182 without microbleeds). Executive impairment was more prevalent in patients with microbleeds than without (37% vs 20%; p=0.008). Patients with microbleeds were impaired in more cognitive domains than those without (p=0.007). The presence and number of lobar microbleeds, number of infarcts, and mean WMC score independently predicted executive impairment. The number of lobar microbleeds predicted impairment in multiple cognitive domains (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.01 to 4.16, p=0.048), as did infarct number. Total microbleed count correlated with number of cognitive domains impaired (p=0.002). Conclusion Lobar microbleeds were independently associated with executive dysfunction and extent of cognitive impairment; number of infarcts and WMC score also contributed, suggesting an interaction between these different imaging markers of cerebrovascular disease.


Aim: This study aims to determine the anxiety levels of orthodontic patients related to the coronavirus pandemic and to evaluate the effects of quarantine on orthodontic appointments and orthodontic treatment.
Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted as an online survey with the participation of patients who were actively receiving orthodontic treatment. A total of 281 orthodontic patients (191 [67.97%] females and 90 [32.03%] males) participated in the survey. The questionnaire consisted of five sections that included questions about demographics, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the patients' orthodontic status. Anxiety levels were measured using Turkish versions of the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale. Descriptive statistics, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk normality tests, the Pearson correlation test, and the Mann Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis.
Results: Regarding patients' perceptions of the pandemic, 251 patients (89.32%) reported that they were sufficiently informed about COVID-19. The main concern about the effects of quarantine on orthodontic treatment was the delay of orthodontic treatment at a rate of 58.36% (164/281). This study found that 36% (103/281) of the participants exhibited anxiety symptoms. The prevalence of dental anxiety specifically was 33% (95/281). Our study results reveal a significant relationship between dental anxiety and general anxiety, which indicates that dentally anxious people tend to also be generally anxious. Females had significantly higher anxiety levels than males (p <0.001).
Conclusion: The coronavirus pandemic and quarantine seem to impact orthodontic patients' anxiety. Delay of treatment was the primary concern of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Female patients were more anxious than males.

How to cite this article: Yıldırım E, Adıgüzel A, Karaçay Ş. Assessment of the anxiety levels of orthodontic patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Int Dent Res 2021;11(Suppl.1):73-9. https://doi.org/10.5577/intdentres.2021.vol11.suppl1.12

Linguistic Revision: The English in this manuscript has been checked by at least two professional editors, both native speakers of English.


The life of 'Hanasaari A' power plant and its employees in 1957–2007

The Hanasaari A power plant in Helsinki was built at the end of the 1950s. Since then the plant was in intensive use, till the beginning of 21st century, when it was turned into a standby plant and a "culture factory". The article describes the work at the power plant at different times, and also brings forward those fundamental changes the plant has gone through during its lifetime. The article is based on a documentation project started by Helsinki Energy after the Helsinki City Council had affirmed the resolution to dismantle the power plant in December 2006. Around 50 present and former employees were interviewed as wells as some representatives of Helsingin Sanomat newspaper, City Planning Department, and the City Council.
The article uses micro-historical approach where the perspective derives from individual experiences and life stories.


The most common method of shipping cells between institutes and companies is sending them frozen, usually treated with anti-freeze solution (most commonly DMSO because it is less toxic than many alternatives), and then packaging them in dry ice for shipment. However many countries place restrictions on dry ice shipments. An alternative to shipping frozen cell vials is to send flasks of growing cells in media. This also has problems because cells in media have limited viability and the flasks can leak. Here we report on an alternative method for shipping viable cells at ambient temperature without dry ice or in media filled flasks. In this study we report on the development and properties of HemSol™. This is an inexpensive, eco-friendly and protects cell integrity at ambient temperature while maintaining viability. We have previously shown that HemSol™ protects platelet and RBC function in cold storage and circulating tumor cells up to 6 days. Therefore we wanted to know if HemSol™ could also be used to transport live cells. Since HemSol™ is a liquid, we experimented with encasing the cells with HemSol™ and gelatin so as to prevent dry ice shipment of cells and circumvent the shipping of cells in media. We performed mock shipping experiments where cells were stored in HemSol™ gel kept at room temperature on a lab benchtop and cells stored in dry ice was also kept on lab benchtop for up to 2 days. After the mock shipping period, we analyzed cells for their functions. Our results show that cells in HemSol™ gel have greater than 95% viability and restored biological functions in 2 hours, whereas, cells shipped in dry ice required more than 24 hours to recover and needed media change to remove the DMSO.


Background SLX4 encodes a DNA repair protein that regulates three structure-specific endonucleases and is necessary for resistance to DNA crosslinking agents, topoisomerase I and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors. Recent studies have reported mutations in SLX4 in a new subtype of Fanconi anemia (FA), FA-P. Monoallelic defects in several FA genes are known to confer susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancers. Methods and Results To determine if SLX4 is involved in breast cancer susceptibility, we sequenced the entire SLX4 coding region in 738 (270 Jewish and 468 non-Jewish) breast cancer patients with 2 or more family members affected by breast cancer and no known BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. We found a novel nonsense (c.2469G>A, p.W823*) mutation in one patient. In addition, we also found 51 missense variants [13 novel, 23 rare (MAF<0.1%), and 15 common (MAF>1%)], of which 22 (5 novel and 17 rare) were predicted to be damaging by Polyphen2 (score = 0.65–1). We performed functional complementation studies using p.W823* and 5 SLX4 variants (4 novel and 1 rare) cDNAs in a human SLX4-null fibroblast cell line, RA3331. While wild type SLX4 and all the other variants fully rescued the sensitivity to mitomycin C (MMC), campthothecin (CPT), and PARP inhibitor (Olaparib) the p.W823* SLX4 mutant failed to do so. Conclusion Loss-of-function mutations in SLX4 may contribute to the development of breast cancer in very rare cases.


This chapter examines two U.S. four-year public universities, the Pennsylvania State University World Campus and the University of Oklahoma Outreach, that have successfully developed online adult education system/programs for adults. Using the principles of effectiveness for serving adult learners, the integrated review reveals not only how they advance online higher education environment for adults, but the types of challenges they have. Key findings highlight that, under a strong tradition of distance education, "self-assessment system," "financial independence," and "diverse active supports for life and career planning" play a critical role in increasing the academic engagement and retention of adult students. However, they also have several challenges: "high tuition rates and limited scholarship options," "monitoring students' experience," "learning outcome assessment," and "commitment of faculty members." The authors close with practical/academic implications and future research agendas.


The spatial and temporal organization of climbing fibre activation of Purkinje cells, the so‐called complex spikes, were studied in the rat cerebellar Crus II folium utilizing a multiple microeletrode recording technique. As many as 32 Purkinje cells could be simultaneously recorded by using a custom‐built electronic amplifier system and a special data storage device. Analysis of the auto‐correlation activity of complex spikes in any given group of Purkinje cells indicated that activation occurs with a particular rhythmicity having a base firing of 10 Hz. Cross‐correlation of spontaneous complex spikes demonstrated, in addition to a particular rhythmicity, an extraordinarily high degree of synchronicity within a particular spatial distribution of Purkinje cells. Thus, Purkinje cells organized in rostra‐caudal rows tend to fire within 1 ms of each other for distances as far as 800 μm (the width of a folium) from the 'master' neuron. By contrast, Purkinje cells located medial or lateral to the master neuron showed almost no cross‐correlation. Administration of harmaline to the animal increased the degree of auto‐ and cross‐correlation but did not change the spatial order of the distribution of the cross‐correlation. The results indicate that the olivo‐cerebellar system is organized in such a way that climbing fibre afferents may be activated in a close‐to‐synchronous and rhythmic fashion. The spatial distribution of these afferents over the cortex is such as to activate rostro‐caudal bands of Purkinje cells which tend to fire in a close‐to‐synchronous manner.


As wireless technologies are becoming more mature for payment systems, the public transportation companies are facing great challenges in designing their next fare collection system. They have to decide whether they want to keep their legacy systems or innovate with the implementation of new mobile technologies for their upcoming payment instrument. Therefore, they need to consider various technical and business aspects during the design process. Moreover, in such an industry, a technological consensus between the stakeholders involved is desirable to eventually reach a global market. In this paper, we propose a multi-actor multi-criteria framework to facilitate the assessment of mobile payments for the Swiss public transportation industry. To compute our proposed model, we recently conducted a first set of structured interviews with Swiss key experts to collect data.


Natural antibodies, particularly natural IgM, are proved to play indispensable roles in the immune defenses against common infections. More recently, the protective roles of these natural IgM were also recognized in autoimmune diseases. They are mainly produced by B-1 and innate-like B cells (ILBs). Human CD19+CD27+IgD+ B cells, also termed as un-switched memory B cells, were proposed to be a kind of ILBs. However, functional features and characteristics of these cells in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remained poorly understood. In this study, we found that human CD27+IgD+ B cells could produce natural antibody-like IgM. Under RA circumstance, the frequencies of these cells were significantly decreased. Moreover, the IgM-producing capacities of these cells were also dampened. Interestingly, the BCR repertoire of these cells was altered in RA, demonstrating decreased diversity with preferential usage alteration from VH3-23D to VH1-8. Single cell sequencing further revealed the proinflammatory biased features of these cells in RA. These CD27+IgD+ B cells were negatively correlated with RA patient disease activities and clinical manifestations. After effective therapy with disease remission in RA, these cells could be recovered. Taken together, these results have revealed that CD27+IgD+ B cells were impaired in RA with dysfunctional features, which might contribute to the disease perpetuation.


Purpose Loop diuretics, such as furosemide (F), are commonly used in patients with congestive heart failure, where chronic, inappropriate (relative to dietary Na+) elevations in plasma aldosterone (ALDO) are expected, together with a wasting of soft tissues and bone. We hypothesized aldosteronism is accompanied by increased urinary excretion of Ca2+ and Mg2+ that ultimately leads to bone loss and this scenario would be aggravated with F while spironolactone, an ALDO receptor antagonist, would attenuate this loss. Methods We monitored: 24 hour urinary Ca2+ and Mg2+ excretion; plasma ionized [Ca2+]o and [Mg2+]o and plasma K+; and bone mineral density of femur. The following groups (n = 5) were studied: age-/gender-matched, untreated and F-treated controls; 4 weeks aldosterone/salt treatment (ALDOST, 0.75 μg/h+dietary 1% NaCl/0.4% KCl); 4 weeks ALDOST + F (40 mg/kg in prepared food); and 4 weeks ALDOST + F + spironolactone (Spi; 200 mg/kg/day in divided doses by twice-daily gavage). Results ALDOST markedly increased (p < .05) urinary Ca2+ and Mg2+ excretion (4969 ± 1078 and 3856 ± 440 μg/24 h, respectively) vs. controls (896 ± 138 and 970 ± 137 μg/24 h); F co-treatment further increased (p < .05) urinary Ca2+ and Mg2+ excretion (6976 ± 648 and 6199 ± 759 μg/24 h, respectively) while Spi co-treatment attenuated (p < .05) these exaggerated losses (4003 ± 515 and 3915 ± 972 μg/24 h). Plasma [Ca2+]o was reduced (p < .05) at week 4 ALDOST + F and in 5 of 5 rats was accompanied by hypokalemia (< 3.4 mmol/L), with each of these responses rescued by Spi co-treatment. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) was increased (p < .05) in ALDOST compared to controls (30 ± 4 vs. 11 ± 3 pmol/mL, respectively) while bone mineral density of femur was decreased (p < .05) at week 4 of ALDOST and ALDOST + F, which was not the case with Spi co-treatment (0.153 ± 0.006, 0.151 ± 0.006 vs. 0.165 ± 0.003 g/cm2, respectively). Conclusions Hypercalciuria and hypermagnesuria with ALDOST lead to a fall in plasma ionized concentrations of these divalent cations and the elaboration of PTH with secondary hyperparathyroidism accounting for bone resorption. F exaggerates these losses while co-treatment with Spi attenuates Ca2+ and Mg2+ excretion to prevent bone loss. The management of CHF with diuretics should take into consideration their effects on Ca2+ and Mg2+ homeostasis, including their propensity to either promote or prevent bone loss.


Summary The life course perspective in social inequalities in health research has resulted in an increased interest in status attainment processes. Adult status is commonly measured as occupational class, income level or educational attainment, and the latter was applied in this study. The study objective was to estimate the relative contribution of parental and early individual characteristics on educational attainment. The study population comprised all males born in Norway in 1967–1971, and alive at age 28 years (n=160,914). Data on social and biological variables were compiled from birth onwards in several national registers. Information on educational attainment at age 28 years was derived from Statistics Norway. Mean years of education was 12.62 years (SD 2.24). Educational attainment was strongly associated with general ability score at age 18 years and parental educational attainment. Parental income had more limited influence; all other early factors had only marginal effect. Path analysis results suggest that the direct effect of general ability was of the same size as the combined direct and indirect effect of parental education and income. The results suggest that status attainment in this young male population is mainly dependent on general ability and parental education level.


The intrinsic electronic absorption and fluorescence properties of several multifluorophoric dihomooxacalix[4]arenes are studied. The contributions of phenyl and/or benzyl groups (lower rim) and p-tert-butylphenyl ethers (upper rim) to the absorption and fluorescence are established. Fluorescence titrations were undertaken to investigate the calixarene complexes with nitrate and hydrogen sulfate. A comparison with UV-Vis titrations in the same concentration range showed that similar values for the association constants are obtained by both techniques. Fluorescence is thus demonstrated to be a good method for the determination of calixarene–anion association constants.


The Slovene language has several roles in the educational process in the Republic of Slovenia, including its role as a subject in the curriculum in its own right. It is a basic general education subject in public primary schools and has the most hours of all of the subjects. All teachers were forced to teach remotely for the first time in the history of education (first during the 2019/20 school year and then in the 2020/21 school year) during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. The results of a survey comprising 348 teachers with the ability to teach the mother tongue at primary school level (grades 1–9 of primary school; 59% were class curriculum teachers and 41% were Slovene language teachers) show, among other things, that teachers mostly have a good attitude towards distance teaching and feel empowered for this type of teaching, although they feel that this method makes them mentally and physically more tired than teaching in the classroom. Among the advantages of distance teaching, teachers mention the greater use of modern information and communication technology, more use of e-material and the opportunity for formal monitoring of students. In their opinion, the biggest problems of distance teaching (of the Slovene language) include: lack of student participation; lack of non-verbal communication, thus creating difficulties in understanding; and technical issues. Most teachers believe that students acquire less knowledge or far less knowledge by distance education than they would from education in the classroom. Teachers who feel more empowered to teach remotely also have a better attitude towards teaching their mother tongue and are more satisfied with the communication aspect with students in distant teaching. Teachers who have received the necessary training for distance teaching as part of their work feel more empowered to teach this way than teachers who have not had such training.


The primary cutaneous marginal zone B cell lymphoma is a small B cell lymphoma, including cells of the marginal zone, lymphoplasmacytic cells, and plasma cells. Clinically it manifests as erythematous or erythematous-violaceous papules, plaques, or nodules, single or multiple, most often located to the extremities. Its course is usually indolent, with a survival at 5 years of approximately 97 percent. The tumor exhibits a tendency towards local recurrence, but spread to locations outside the skin is extremely rare. We present a case report of a man, 80 years of age, with a primary cutaneous marginal B cell lymphoma of the chin, an atypical location.


The origin and evolution of the eureptantic nemerteans is discussed from a biogeographic point of view. It is most likely that East Indian Ocean was part of the ancestral distribution of the Eureptantia. The area cladogram estimated by Brooks parsimony analysis (BPA) is to a high degree congruent with a vicariance explanation of the evolution of the Eureptantia and suggests an ancestral distribution concordant with the Tethys Sea. A general area cladogram based on a combined BPA analysis of eureptantic nemerteans and acanthuroid fishes is reconstructed and suggested as a hypothesis of the relationships between east Indian Ocean, west Indian Ocean, west Pacific Ocean, east Atlantic Ocean, west Atlantic Ocean, and the Mediterranean. This tree is compared with cladograms from the same areas based on other taxa.


Over the last decades, organisations have increasingly been more knowledge intensive and professional. Professional work generally has certain specific properties related to its working context. In this paper, a case study conducted within emergency healthcare, in which professional groups like for example physicians and nurses were the objects of study, will be presented. This paper explores different characteristics of these professions in the time and life critical work practice performed within emergency healthcare. The aim of this paper is partly to analyse specific characteristics of the healthcare professions and their use of information systems, partly to identify the implications and challenges that the professions face while using information systems. Characteristics related to a certain healthcare profession can be seen as having an impact on its professionals' attitudes and use of information systems, both on an individual and on a collective level. Some challenges in the use of information systems can also be due to how the development of the system and implementation processes are organised.


This review deals with nano-structured liquids gene¬rated from amphiphiles (supramolecular solvents) and their application in the separation and preconcentration of metal ions. Supramolecular solvents can be used in sample preparation in methods such as cloud point extraction (CPE) and coacervative extraction (CAE). CPE involves phase separation of uncharged amphiphiles whereas CAE involves phase separation of ionic amphiphiles. While CPE is well-established and extensively used in metal ion analysis. CAE is mainly used for extraction of various organics and in metal analysis. Their application in separation and preconcentration of various metal ions can be expected.


Hepatocytes are a key target for gene therapy of inborn errors of metabolism as well as of acquired diseases such as liver cancer and hepatitis. Gene transfer efficiency into hepatocytes is significantly determined by histological and functional aspects of liver sinusoidal cells. On the one hand, uptake of vectors by Kupffer cells and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells may limit hepatocyte transduction. On the other hand, the presence of fenestrae in liver sinusoidal endothelial cells provides direct access to the space of Disse and allows vectors to bind to receptors on the microvillous surface of hepatocytes. Nevertheless, the diameter of fenestrae may restrict the passage of vectors according to their size. On the basis of lege artis measurements of the diameter of fenestrae in different species, we show that the diameter of fenestrae affects the distribution of transgene DNA between sinusoidal and parenchymal liver cells after adenoviral transfer. The small diameter of fenestrae in humans may underlie low efficiency of adenoviral transfer into hepatocytes in men. The disappearance of the unique morphological features of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells in pathological conditions like liver cirrhosis and liver cancer may further affect gene transfer efficiency. Preclinical gene transfer studies should consider species differences in the structure and function of liver sinusoidal cells as important determinants of gene transfer efficiency into hepatocytes.


On a global level, an attempt will be made to relate relatively macro-level intuitions about properties of texts to more micro-level notions and to empirically testable lexicogrammatical properties. The strategy will be to (a) partly reduce an intuitive notion of 'information distribution' in texts and sentences to more technical and better understood notions of 'information structure', 'informational density' and 'grammatical metaphoricity', and (b) operationalize these latter notions in such a way as to make them empirically testable on electronic corpora, using the 'shallow' concepts of 'explicitness, density, and directness' as properties of semantics-to-grammar mapping in sentences. It will furthermore be suggested that aspects of intuitive qualities of texts, such as 'content orientation' vs. 'interactant orientation' and others can be partly modelled in terms of (a) and (b). The argumentation in this paper thus proceeds from intuitive text-level notions to more technical and clause-based concepts, and from these concepts to operationalizations. It then moves 'upwards' again to text-level properties, exploring the relationships between the two levels. Finally, an outline is attempted of some implications for studies of language contact and language change.


1. Aqueous extracts of acetone-dried liver and kidney mitochondria, supplemented with NAD(+), CoA and phenazine methosulphate, efficiently convert fatty-acyl-CoA compounds into acetyl-CoA; the process was followed with an O(2) electrode. 2. Label from [1-(14)C]octanoyl-CoA appears in acetyl-CoA more rapidly than that from [8-(14)C]octanoyl-CoA. 3. Oxidation of [8-(14)C]octanoyl-CoA was terminated by addition of neutral ethanolic hydroxylamine and the resulting hydroxamates were separated chromatographically. Hydroxamate derivatives of 3-hydroxyoctanoyl-, hexanoyl-, butyryl- and acetyl-CoA were obtained. 4. These and other observations suggest that oxidation of octanoyl-CoA by extracts involves participation of free intermediates rather than uninterrupted complete degradation of individual molecules to acetyl-CoA by a multienzyme complex. 5. Intact liver mitochondria studied by the hydroxamate technique were also shown to form intermediates during oxidation of labelled octanoates. In addition to octanoylhydroxamate, [8-(14)C]octanoate gave rise to small amounts of hexanoyl-, butyryl- and 3-hydroxyoctanoyl-hydroxamate. In contrast with extracts, however, where the quantity of intermediates found was a significant fraction of the precursors, mitochondria oxidizing octanoate contained much larger quantities of octanoyl-CoA than of any other intermediate.


The accuracy of acoustic measurements will play an increasing role, if legislation, prediction, and noise control are to be taken seriously. If the traffic intensity is doubled by year 2000, one should expect a 3 dB higher noise level, unless the emitted sound power from each vehicle is reduced by 3 dB. It is unlikely that emitted power will be cut in half, unless a number of sources the sum of which is half are attacked. This calls for better and more accurate measurements. Better monitoring equipment and better source location and source ranking equipment is needed. Outdoor monitoring has undergone a development to more rugged, stable, and accurately calibrated systems. Intensity measurements are getting out of the crib. Standards have evolved and calibration procedures are starting to be evolved. Instrumentation has been improved. It is important that intensity probes can now be produced to narrow specifications to fulfill the demand for precise and reproducible measurements; they are no longer selected from large populations, but manufactured to exact specifications. It is important to make proper calibrations, not just assume that certain parts of a probe are working properly. If intensity measurements shall gain in popularity it is important to develop the instrumentation from magic machines into practical tools for the practitioner. Practical systems, calibration, and applications will be discussed.


An important consideration in four-dimensional CT scanning is the selection of a breathing metric for sorting the CT data and modeling internal motion. This study compared two noninvasive breathing metrics, spirometry and abdominal height, against internal air content, used as a surrogate for internal motion. Both metrics were shown to be accurate, but the spirometry showed a stronger and more reproducible relationship than the abdominal height in the lung. The abdominal height was known to be affected by sensor placement and patient positioning while the spirometer exhibited signal drift. By combining these two, a normalization of the drift-free metric to tidal volume may be generated and the overall metric precision may be improved.


Massively parallel processing systems consist of a large number of processing nodes to provide high performance primarily for data-intensive applications. In a system of such dimensions high availability cannot be achieved without relying on redundancy and reconfiguration. An important aspect of highly available design is rapid diagnosis and graceful degradation in the event of a failure. This paper presents a diagnostic network for locating faults in massively parallel processing systems comprised of identical processing nodes.<<ETX>>


First pass absorption of the Lower Hybrid waves in thermonuclear devices like ITER and DEMO is modelled by coupling the ray tracing equations for the wave phase and amplitude with the quasi-linear evolution of the electron distribution function. A system of coupled ordinary differential equations for each Fourier component of the spectrum radiated by the LH antenna is derived and solved when considering both 1D/2D Fokker-Planck model for the electron distribution function. This allows to reconstruct and to evolve the quasi-linear diffusion coefficient consistently with the wave propagation, to calculate the power deposition profile and the amount of current driven by the wave. As usually assumed, the Lower Hybrid Current Drive is not effective in a plasma of a tokamak fusion reactor like ITER or DEMO, because the high electron temperature would enhance the wave absorption and then limit the RF power deposition to the very periphery of the plasma column (near the separatrix). In this work by extensively using this self-consistent modelling for the propagation and absorption of the LH wave, a parametric study on the wave spectrum (and consequently on the antenna design) as spectrum width, peak value, secondary lobes etc. has been performed very accurately. Such a careful investigation aims at controlling the power deposition layer possibly in the external half radius of the plasma, thus providing a valuable aid to the solution of how to control the plasma current profile in a toroidal magnetic configuration. This analysis is useful not only for exploring the possibility of profile control of a pulsed operation reactor, but also in order to reconsider the feasibility of steady state regime.


A method is presented for analysis of the compressible flow between the hub and the shroud of mixed-flow impellers of arbitrary design. Axial symmetry was assumed, but the forces in the meridional (hub to shroud) plane, which are derived from tangential pressure gradients, were taken into account. The method was applied to an experimental mixed-flow impeller. The analysis of the flow in the meridional plane of the impeller showed that the rotational forces, the blade curvature, and the hub-shroud profile can introduce severe velocity gradients along the hub and the shroud surfaces. Choked flow at the impeller inlet as determined by the analysis was verified by experimental results.


All round the world, many studies have measured elevated concentrations of Particulate Matter (PM) in underground metro systems, with non-negligible implications for human health due to protracted exposition to fine particles. Starting from this consideration, the aim of this research was to investigate what is the "aging time" needed to measure high PM concentrations also in new stations of an underground metro line. This was possible taking advantage of the opening, in December 2013, of a new section of the Naples (Italy) line 1 railways. The Naples underground metro line 1 before December 31 was long – about 13 km with 14 stations. The new section, opened in December, consists of 5 new kilometres of line and 3 new stations. During the period December 2013– January 2014, an extensive sampling survey was conducted to measure PM10 concentrations both in the "historical" stations and in the "new" ones. The results of the study are twofold: a) the PM10 concentrations measured in the historical stations confirm the average values of literature; b) just a few days after the opening of the new metro section, high PM10 concentrations were also measured in the new stations with average PM10 values comparable (from a statistical point of view) with those measured in the historical stations of the line. This result suggests that PM10 pollution in the historical section is delivered by the motion of the trains, almost immediately, into the new section of the line "piston effect").


Nuru is a deep learning object detection model for diagnosing plant diseases and pests developed as a public good by PlantVillage (Penn State University), FAO, IITA, CIMMYT, and others. It provides a simple, inexpensive and robust means of conducting in-field diagnosis without requiring an internet connection. Diagnostic tools that do not require the internet are critical for rural settings, especially in Africa where internet penetration is very low. An investigation was conducted in East Africa to evaluate the effectiveness of Nuru as a diagnostic tool by comparing the ability of Nuru, cassava experts (researchers trained on cassava pests and diseases), agricultural extension officers and farmers to correctly identify symptoms of cassava mosaic disease (CMD), cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) and the damage caused by cassava green mites (CGM). The diagnosis capability of Nuru and that of the assessed individuals was determined by inspecting cassava plants and by using the cassava symptom recognition assessment tool (CaSRAT) to score images of cassava leaves, based on the symptoms present. Nuru could diagnose symptoms of cassava diseases at a higher accuracy (65% in 2020) than the agricultural extension agents (40–58%) and farmers (18–31%). Nuru's accuracy in diagnosing cassava disease and pest symptoms, in the field, was enhanced significantly by increasing the number of leaves assessed to six leaves per plant (74–88%). Two weeks of Nuru practical use provided a slight increase in the diagnostic skill of extension workers, suggesting that a longer duration of field experience with Nuru might result in significant improvements. Overall, these findings suggest that Nuru can be an effective tool for in-field diagnosis of cassava diseases and has the potential to be a quick and cost-effective means of disseminating knowledge from researchers to agricultural extension agents and farmers, particularly on the identification of disease symptoms and their management practices.


This study examines the complex relationship between the Ultramontane Catholic Church and different forms of modernity in the context of the Brazilian First Republic (1889–1930). While the adjective "modern" turned into a discursive weapon to label and reject all kinds of criticized phenomena in Brazilian society (from "modern" literature, arts, theatre, or dances to "modern" – meaning secular – education), the representatives of the Brazilian Ultramontanism fully embraced scientific arguments and the mantle of progress, even adapting to certain aspects of the ideology of modernity promoted by their liberal competitors.


Mapping of normal faults cutting the Bishop Tuff in the Volcanic Tableland, northern Owens Valley, California, using side-looking airborne radar data, low-altitude aerial photographs, airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data, and standard field mapping yields insights into fault scarp development, fault system evolution, and timing. Fault zones are characterized by multiple linked fault segments, tilting of the welded ignimbrite surface, dilation of polygonal cooling joints, and toppling of joint-bounded blocks. Maximum fault zone width is governed by ( i ) lateral spacing of cooperating fault segments and ( ii ) widths of fault tip monoclines. Large-displacement faults interact over larger rock volumes than small-displacement faults and generate larger relay ramps, which, when breached, form the widest portions of fault zones. Locally intense faulting within a breached relay ramp results from a combination of distributed east-west extension, and within-ramp bending and stretching to accommodate displacement gradients on bounding faults. One prominent fluvial channel is offset by both east- and west-dipping normal faults such that the channel is no longer in an active flowing configuration, indicating that channel incision began before development of significant fault-related geomorphic features. The channel thalweg is "hanging" with respect to modern (Q1) and previous (Q2) Owens River terraces, is incised through the pre-Tahoe age terrace level (Q4, 131–463 ka), and is at grade with the Tahoe age (Q3, 53–119 ka) terrace. Differential incision across fault scarps implies that the channel remained active during some of the faulting history, but it was abandoned between Q2 and Q3 time, while faulting continues to the present day.


Physical aging of glassy corn starch and its effect on the physical properties of compressed starch bars were investigated by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical thermal analyzer (DMTA), and Instron texturometer. Amorphous corn starch samples were prepared by drying a starch paste, followed by compressing the dried powders to bar-type specimens under heat (1007C, 1.38610 7 Pa). These bars were then aged at 257C for up to 22 days, after which thermal and mechanical characteristics were determined. There were progressive increases in glass transition temperature and relaxation enthalpy during the aging, which reached limiting values as structural equilibrium of the amorphous matrix was approached. The peak temperature of the relaxation endotherm (DSC thermogram) changed with time in a trend similar to the relaxation enthalpy. The storage modulus (DMTA) increased with aging time, but the peak intensity of tan d decreased. The breaking strength (Instron texturometer) increased gradually with time of aging and reached a maximum. It has been demonstrated the relaxation kinetics for glassy amorphous corn starch can be characterized by both thermal and mechanical properties, such as relaxation enthalpy, storage modulus, and breaking strength.


Distributed, real time sensor networks are essential for effective surveillance in the digitized battlefield and for environmental monitoring. We present the first systematic theory that leads to novel sensor deployment strategies for effective surveillance and target location. We represent the sensor field as a grid (two- or three-dimensional) of points (coordinates), and use the term target at a grid point at any instant in time. We use the framework of unidentified codes to determine sensor placement for unique target location. We provide coding-theoretic-bounds on the number of sensors and present methods for determining their placement in the sensor field. We also show that sensor placement for single targets provides asymptotically complete (unambiguous) location of multiple targets.


For several reasons, fertilizer subsidies are again popular policy tools. First, there is broad agreement that fertilizer is a critical yet still-underused input for improving productivity and food security in Africa. Second, politicians have felt greater urgency to increase domestic food production since the 2007/08 food price crisis. Third, subsidy programs are highly visible, popular with voters, and viewed as politically beneficial. Fourth, donor budget support has made it easier for governments to pay for subsidies.


: Computer discrimination of atypical (ATY) urothelial cells from the urinary sediment by means of supervised learning algorithms discoled that these cells form a distinct, although ill-defined, family of cells which differs from normal (NEG) and malignant (POS) cell groups. The clinical significance of this observation must await long-term clinical follow-up. The possibility of issuing computer displays on individual patients with possible diagnostic and prognostic implications is discussed.


Helicobacter pylori is a worlwide spread infection mostly manifested in childhood. Many both invasive and noninvasive diagnostic tests are now available,. The colonisation effect of gastric mucosa and its consequences are well known and studied. H. pylori can also induce extra-gastric manifestations, like iron-deficiency anemia. The role of oral cavity colonisation is not clearly defined, several studies stating that the oral cavity represents a reservoir for H. pyloris. The presence of this rod in the dental plaque may lead to periodontitis, dental caries, dental calculus and tooth loos. Dental treatment associated with eradication therapy decreases the prevalence of oral H. pylori and improves the eradication rate of gastric H. pylori. Dental treatment in H. pylori infection management should be taken into consideration, especially in children and teens.


: An evaluation of some standardized and relative indices of ergometry is presented: heart rate and oxygen consumption as percentage of individual values, indices of chrono-, isotropic, aerobic and coronary reserves. The investigation is based on the study of 113 normal individuals, 363 hypertonic patients, and 100 patients with ischaemic heart disease. In all cases the maximum tolerable workload was tested by way of its step-wise increase, conducted under pulse, arterial pressure, ECG and oxygen consumption control. Some patients were examined after Obsidan and Dopegit therapy. The use of the relative values of the heart rate and oxygen consumption was shown to neglect the role of individual factors (sex, age, body weight). The determination of the relative augmentation of these indices, as well as of the arterial pressure permits to precise the state of functional reserves of the cardiopulmonary system, and can be used for the diagnosis and evaluation of therapeutic results.


In this brilliantly focused and haunting portrait of the people, the politics, the land, and the poetry of Nicaragua, Salman Rushdie brings to the forefront the palpable human facts of a country in the midst of a revolution. Rushdie went to Nicaragua in 1986, harboring no preconceptions of what he might find. What he discovered was overwhelming: a culture of heroes who had turned into inanimate objects and of politicians and warriors who were poets; a land of difficult, often beautiful contradictions. His perceptions always heightened by his special sensitivity to " the views from underneath, " Rushdie reveals a land resounding with the clashes between history and morality, government and individuals. With a new preface by the author.


This paper examines challenges to the implementation and internalization of benchmarked management practices by research organizations in developing economies as transformative tools towards commercialization. The purpose is to understand the contributing influence of internal organizational factors from both situational and historical perspectives towards the practice implementation constraints, and also to provide theoretical understanding on how systemic formations and transformations in the organizations' activities influenced the level to which their desired needs are attained. The results showed that the variability in the outcomes of the organizations' transformation processes was indicative of their (in)ability to deal with the impacts of cumulated tensions in the systemic interfaces of their organizational activity systems. It is concluded that the functionalities of the systemic interfaces influence the functionality of the organizational activity system.


In this age of social media where interacting with others online and personalizing content are now second nature to almost every age group, regardless of context, ProQuest's Syndetics Unbound brings all these elements together in an enrichment platform for library OPACs, ILS,
 and discovery systems. Syndetics Unbound creates a search environment where library users want to linger and continue to browse, discovering content that they may otherwise overlook, and potentially improving library circulation of such content.


1. The paper 'Biodiversity values of remnant freshwater floodplain lagoons in agricultural catchments: evidence for fish of the Wet Tropics bioregion, northern Australia', published in Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems in 2015, has contributed in several ways to the integration of freshwater wetland science within new catchment management policies and practices for Great Barrier Reef (GBR) sustainability.
2 The Tully–Murray biodiversity study developed novel protocols to sample larval, juvenile, and adult fish life‐history stages in floodplain lagoons using a combination of boat‐based backpack electrofishing and fyke netting. In addition, hydrological and hydrodynamic models were applied in a completely new way to quantify the timing, extent, and duration of water connectivity across floodplain streams, cane drains, and wetlands. Combining the two novel approaches enabled an analysis of lagoon fish assemblage patterns in relation to environmental gradients, especially floodplain hydrology, connectivity patterns, and measures related to agricultural land use.
3. In demonstrating the importance of different levels of connectivity for different biodiversity outcomes in freshwater floodplain lagoons of the Tully–Murray catchment, the subject paper established that floodplain connectivity needs to be taken into consideration in wetland management practices.
4. The timing of the subject publication was fortuitous. It coincided with the preparation of the evidence‐based 2017 Scientific Consensus Statement on land‐based water quality impacts on the GBR. As one of the few freshwater wetland ecology publications for the catchments of the GBR at that time, this paper played an important role in demonstrating freshwater wetland values, fish conservation options, and management imperatives to sustain wetland ecological health and services in GBR catchments.
5. By advancing the understanding of factors driving biodiversity patterns, and the importance of connectivity and ecohydrological processes in freshwater floodplain wetlands of the GBR catchment, the Tully–Murray study helped to drive new policy directives for the protection and restoration of catchment, floodplain, and estuary functions, and connectivity, now embedded in the Reef 2050 Long‐Term Sustainability Plan 2018, an overarching strategy for managing the GBR over the next 35 years, and complementary Queensland environmental legislation.