The objective of this study was to evaluate the Sysmex XT-2000iV with respect to its use with samples from the feline species.
The Sysmex XT-2000iV is a flow cytometer that analyzes 31 hematological parameters and is based on the principles of multi-angle polarized light scatter separation for WBC, WBC differential, RET and PLT-O. In addition, the impedance method is used to determine the parameters RBC and PLT-I, and SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) is used for HGB.
The reference methods used were those recommended by the International Committee for Standardization in Haematology (ICSH). These included centrifugal hematocrit, the CellDyn® 3500 analyzer for RBC, red cell indices, and WBC, microscopic differentiation of 200 WBC (100 cells each by two technicians), and manual RET examination.
The coefficients of variation for precision in series were good to excellent and for precision from day to day excellent.
The tested range of linearity extended the reference ranges up to 100x103/μl for WBC, 19.6x106/μl for RBC, 29.1 g/dl for HGB, 82% for HCT, 98.2x103/μl for RET, and 4140x103/μl for PLT.
The correlations between the Sysmex XT-2000iV and the reference methods were good to excellent, except for MONO# (r = 0.65).
Additionally, quantitation of RET allowed characterization of regenerative versus nonregenerative anemias.
From this evaluation, we conclude that the Sysmex XT-2000iV is an excellent and highly reliable hematology instrument for the analysis of feline blood samples.


Patent S. westeri infection is particularly common in unweaned foals (61.2 per cent). It is much less common in foals which have been weaned (15.4 per cent). Examination of the faeces of ten artificially reared foals (free from worms) did not supply any evidence of possible prenatal (intra-uterine) helminth infection. In one Shetland pony mare, larvae of S. westeri were found to be present in the milk on the tenth, twenty-fourth and thirty-second day after parturition. Larvae were not detected in the milk of the other mares but all foals showed patent S. westeri infection within from thirteen to sixteen days after parturition. In view of the conditions in which the animals were kept, this can only have been due to galactogenous (trans-mammary) infection.


—The Peaks of Otter Salamander, Plethodon hubrichti, is found along a 19 km length of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia, USA, often in sympatry with the Eastern Red-backed Salamander, P. cinereus. In a sympatric area of Bedford County, Virginia, we conducted a mark-recapture study on a 10 × 10 m site. Surface densities of salamanders increased as the number of days without precipitation prior to a collection event increased. This suggests vertical movements in response to surface moisture. When salamanders returned to the surface after rain, individuals appeared to "shuffle" between rocks and likely, leaf litter. That is, we were more likely to find a different individual beneath a particular rock rather than the previous resident during sequential collection periods. There was no significant difference between the species in microhabitat use by adults; adults were primarily found under rocks. However, neonate and young-of-the-year P. hubrichti were found beneath rocks more frequently than P. cinereus. Linear movements, home ranges, growth rates and adult survival rates were similar for both species. Density for P. hubrichti in sympatry with P. cinereus was 0.6/m, which is lower than previously recorded for P. hubrichti in allopatry (1.6–3.3/m). Cumulative ratios of numbers of the two species were stable over nine collection events but showed the least change (≤ 2%) after the third collection. We recommend using ratios of the two species at a series of sympatric sites as one measure to determine whether P. cinereus is encroaching upon the distribution of P. hubrichti.


The 20 Mt reverberatory furnace slag dump at Nkana in Zambia contains a substantial quantity of cobalt. A 40 MW DC arc furnace has been built at Chambishi for the purpose of recovering cobalt from the slag. The technology was jointly developed by Mintek and Anglovaal Mining Ltd (Avmin), and the furnace was designed by Bateman Titaco. Testwork at the 150i?½250 kW scale was conducted at AVRL, and larger scale piloting was conducted at Mintek (in partnership with Avmin) in a 3 MW DC arc furnace. Approximately 840 tons of Nkana dump slag (ranging from 0.66% Co) was processed at power levels around 1-2 MW. Good overall cobalt extraction was achieved, and approximately 100 tons of cobalt-bearing alloy was produced (containing 5 to 14% Co). This testwork demonstrated that the Nkana dump slag could be processed in a DC arc furnace of suitable design, to produce a cobalt-bearing alloy suitable for further hydrometallurgical processing. Bateman Titaco were contracted to design and build the furnace, and the design team contained representatives from Avmin and Mintek. The project was conceived as a fast-track exercise, and many activities had to be run in parallel. Notable features of the furnace include an ABB power supply, a Concast conductive hearth, the refractory design, and copper cooling in the sidewalls. Power to the furnace was switched on during January 2001.


In order to fabricate high efficiency, light-weight hydrogen storage materials in an economical way, we have been made to propose a new mechanical alloying process by high-pressure hydrogen induced planetary ball milling(HIMA) using Mg and Ni chips. Microstructural evaluations of the Mg-Ni-H systems synthesized were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and the transmission electron microscopy. X-ray diffraction analysis was also made to characterize the lattice constant, crystallite size and misfit strain. The hydrogenation properties of the particles synthesized were evaluated by automatic PCI (pressure-composition-isotherm). Adopting 66:1 BCR (ball to chips mass ratio) for HIMA process, fully hydrogenated alloys were obtained after 96 hrs of milling, resulting in total hydrogen content of 2.25 mass%.


Objective The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of using machine learning to establish the need for preclinical airway management for injured patients based on a standardized emergency dataset. Methods A registry-based, retrospective analysis was conducted of adult trauma patients who were treated by physician-staffed emergency medical services in southwestern Germany between 2018 and 2020. The primary outcome was to assess the feasibility of using the random forest (RF) and Naive Bayes (NB) machine learning algorithms to predict the need for preclinical airway management. The secondary outcome was to use a principal component analysis to determine the attributes that can be used and advanced for future model development. Results In total, 25,556 adults with multiple injuries were identified, including 1,451 patients (5.7%) who required airway management. Key attributes were auscultation, injury pattern, oxygen therapy, thoracic drainage, noninvasive ventilation, catecholamines, pelvic sling, colloid infusion, initial vital signs, preemergency status, and shock index. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve was between 0.96 (RF; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.96–0.97) and 0.93 (NB; 95% CI, 0.92–0.93; P<0.01). For the prediction of airway management, RF yielded a higher precision-recall area than NB (0.83 [95% CI, 0.8–0.85] vs. 0.66 [95% CI, 0.61–0.72], respectively; P<0.01). Conclusion To predict the need for preclinical airway management in injured patients, attributes that are commonly recorded in standardized datasets can be used with machine learning. In future models, the RF algorithm could be used because it has robust prediction accuracy.


In this article, I develop the concept of 'suppressive synergy' to explain how meat products retain their everyday legitimacy amongst consumers despite the controversies which surround these products. While sociologists have offered various explanations for and solutions to contemporary food controversies, absent from this literature is a more integrated explanation as to how industry, mass media, and consumers' everyday habits reciprocally limit the public's engagement with these arguments. I investigated this empirically elusive phenomenon by conducting six focus groups plus follow-up interviews with urban meat consumers in the US and a content analysis of meat-related articles in the New York Times (1983–2011). Findings indicate that suppressive synergy occurs on both spatial-temporal and cognitive-affective dimensions. The meat and livestock industry enchants consumers with ornate products while sequestering production facilities in remote areas. Consumers, resistant to abandon their everyday habits and the cultural imperative of meat consumption, routinely avoid and dissociate themselves from meat-related controversies. The mass media further normalises meat culture by infrequently covering these debates. This only reinforces public indifference, as the dearth of controversial stories bolsters the cultural presupposition that meat consumption is a generally benign activity.


Frontiers of Science takes American scientific thought and discoveries away from the learned societies, museums, and teaching halls of the Northeast and puts the production of knowledge about the natural world in the context of competing empires and an expanding republic in the Gulf South. People often dismissed by starched northeasterners as nonintellectuals--Indian sages, African slaves, Spanish officials, Irishmen on the make, clearers of land and drivers of men--were also scientific observers, gatherers, organizers, and reporters. Skulls and stems, birds and bugs, rocks and maps, tall tales and fertile hypotheses came from them. They collected, described, and sent the objects that scientists gazed on and interpreted in polite Philadelphia. They made knowledge. This book offers a new framework for approaching American intellectual history, one that transcends political and cultural boundaries and reveals persistence across the colonial and national eras. The pursuit of knowledge in the United States did not cohere around democratic politics or the influence of liberty. It was, as in other empires, divided by multiple loyalties and identities, organized through contested hierarchies of ethnicity and place, and reliant on violence. By discovering the lost intellectual history of one region, Strang shows us how to recover a continent for science.


Magnets have been used in Prosthodontics since 1960 for various purposes, like for retention in over dentures, implant-supported dentures, partial dentures and for maxillo facial prostheses. However, insufficient literature is available in this aspect of treatment procedure. Part I of this article discusses history of dental magnets, different types available, classification, their general properties, mechanism of action, biocompatibility and recent developments in great detail.


Background New Zealand youth, especially those of Māori and Pacific descent, have high rates of depression, anxiety, and self-harm, but have low rates of help-seeking from mental health professionals. Apps, computerized therapy, and other digital tools can be effective, highly scalable treatments for anxiety and depression. Co-design processes are often used to foster engagement with end users, but this does not always lead to high levels of engagement. Objective We aimed to carry out preliminary scoping to understand adolescents' current internet use and diversity of preferences to inform a planned co-design process for creating digital mental health tools for teenagers. Methods Interactive workshops and focus groups were held with young people. Data were analyzed using a general inductive approach. Results Participants (N=58) engaged in 2 whānau (extended family) focus groups (n=4 and n=5), 2 school- or community-based focus groups (n=9 each), and 2 workshops (n=11 and n=20). The authors identified 3 overarching themes: (1) Digital mental health tools are unlikely to be successful if they rely solely on youth help-seeking. (2) A single approach is unlikely to appeal to all. Participants had diverse, noncompatible preferences in terms of look or feel of an app or digital tool. The authors identified 4 user groups players or gamers, engagers, sceptics, and straight-talkers. These groups differed by age and degree of current mental health need and preferred gamified or fun approaches, were open to a range of approaches, were generally disinterested, or preferred direct-to-the-point, serious approaches, respectively. (3) Digital mental health tools should provide an immediate response to a range of different issues and challenges that a young person may face. Conclusions Defining the preferences of different groups of users may be important for increasing engagement with digital therapies even within specific population and mental health–need groups. This study demonstrates the importance of scoping possible user needs to inform design processes.


The Platelet-Oriented Inhibition in New TIA and minor ischemic stroke (POINT) Trial, is a prospective, randomized, double-blind, multicenter trial with the primary null hypothesis that, in patients with TIA or minor ischemic stroke treated with aspirin 50-325 mg/day, there is no difference in survival free of ischemic stroke, myocardial infarction, and ischemic vascular death at 90 days in those treated with clopidogrel (600 mg loading dose then 75 mg/day) compared to placebo when therapy is initiated within 12 hours of the time last known free of new ischemic symptoms. Subjects are 18 years of age or older with high-risk TIA (defined as an ABCD 2 score > 4) or minor ischemic stroke (with an NIHSS Planned Number of Centers: 210; Present Number: 145 (06 AUG 2012) Planned Number of Subjects: 4,150; Present Number: 1,008 (06 AUG 2012) Sponsor: University of California, San Francisco (UCSF); National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Collaborators: Neurological Emergencies Treatment Trials Network (NETT); Statistics and Data Management Center (SDMC) at Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC); POINT Clinical Research Collaboration (POINT CRC) at EMMES Corporation Dates of Study: October 2009 - September 2016 ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00991029; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00991029?term=POINT&rank=1


We present two tweakable wide block cipher modes from doubly-extendable cryptographic keyed (deck) functions and a keyed hash function: double-decker and docked-double-decker. Double-decker is a direct generalization of Farfalle-WBC of Bertoni et al. (ToSC 2017(4)), and is a four-round Feistel network on two arbitrarily large branches, where the middle two rounds call deck functions and the first and last rounds call the keyed hash function. Docked-double-decker is a variant of double-decker where the bulk of the input to the deck functions is moved to the keyed hash functions. We prove that the distinguishing advantage of the resulting wide block ciphers is simply two times the sum of the pseudorandom function distinguishing advantage of the deck function and the blinded keyed hashing distinguishing advantage of the keyed hash functions. We demonstrate that blinded keyed hashing is more general than the conventional notion of XOR-universality, and that it allows us to instantiate our constructions with keyed hash functions that have a very strong claim on bkh security but not necessarily on XOR-universality, such as Xoofffie (ePrint 2018/767). The bounds of double-decker and docked-double-decker are moreover reduced tweak-dependent, informally meaning that collisions on the keyed hash function for different tweaks only have a limited impact. We describe two use cases that can exploit this property opportunistically to get stronger security than what would be achieved with prior solutions: SSD encryption, where each sector can only be written to a limited number of times, and incremental tweaks, where one includes the state of the system in the variable-length tweak and appends new data incrementally.


Lying in a hospital bed, Jose P. Ramirez, Jr. (b. 1948) almost lost everything because of a misunderstood disease. When the health department doctor gave him the Handbook for Persons with Leprosy, Ramirez learned his fate. Such a diagnosis in 1968 meant exile and hospitalization in the only leprosarium in the continental United States--Carville, Louisiana, 750 miles from his home in Laredo, Texas. In Squint: My Journey with Leprosy, Ramirez recalls being taken from his family in a hearse and thrown into a world filled with fear. He and his loved ones struggled against the stigma associated with the term "leper" and against beliefs that the disease was a punishment from God, that his illness was highly communicable, and that persons with Hansen's disease had to be banished from their communities. His disease not only meant separation from the girlfriend who would later become his wife, but also a derailment of all life's goals. In his struggle Ramirez overcame barriers both real and imagined and eventually became an international advocate on behalf of persons with disabilities. In Squint, titled for the sliver of a window through which persons with leprosy in medieval times were allowed to view Mass but not participate, Ramirez tells a story of love and perseverance over incredible odds. Jose P. Ramirez, Jr., is a social worker in Houston, Texas. He has written articles about Hansen's disease for the Houston Chronicle, the Star Magazine, the National Association of Social Workers Newsletter, and other publications.


With the increase in the volume of the world trade transported by the sea which has exceeded 80%, the interest in reducing the negative environmental impact of shipping has been growing recently. Therefore, the international maritime organization (IMO) has published and proposed regulations, measures and emission reduction policies to control the greenhouse gases emitted by ships. Hybrid electric power and propulsion concepts have been suggested by the IMO as an Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) technical reduction measure to increase the energy efficiency of ships. Different power sources and technologies can be used in hybrid propulsion systems which include fuel cells. Using fuel cell as the main source of power can increase the potentials of hybrid electric propulsion systems for reducing the emissions problem. In this presentation, an overview of hybrid electric power and propulsion concepts is introduced focusing on fuel cells, its basics, advantages, disadvantages, and its different marine applications. In order to assess the effectiveness of hybrid fuel cell propulsion systems, a three degree-of-freedom total ship system simulator is developed and implemented in MATLAB/Simulink environment. For a domestic ferry of the Faroe Islands, a hybrid fuel cell electric propulsion system is proposed and studied using the developed ship simulator. A comparison between the proposed hybrid system and the conventional diesel engines is then presented in terms of the first cost, fuel cost, system size and weight. Simulation results of the developed simulator are validated for the ferry existing diesel propulsion system using real ship operational data


A marketing focus emphasizes the customer's perspective rather than the supplier's internal perspective. The needs of the customer determine what services are brought to the market and how they are supplied, marketed, and sold. The marketing orientation differs drastically from the production orientation on a number of key sales and marketing criteria. For example, technical innovation is seen as a means of locating new opportunities for firms with a marketing orientation, whereas a firm with production orientation sees innovation as a mechanism for cutting costs. Biomedical equipment service managers who adopt these marketing principles understand the subtle differences between products and services, and in doing so have become enlightened marketers. Enlightened service marketers define and articulate their services to the customer and provide the customer with good knowledge of the service(s) to be delivered, before they are actually delivered. The customer is able to achieve a comfort level with the service provided before it is provided.


Each year in Britain 2.2 million units of red cells are transfused and perhaps four deaths due to preventable causes subsequently occur. Providers of health care and the public express most concern about the risk of infections transmitted by transfusion, particularly HIV infection, but procedural errors resulting in ABO incompatibility cause most of the deaths immediately after blood transfusion.1,2 ABO antibodies are "naturally occurring" and are present in all subjects except those of blood group AB after the first 3 to 6 months of life. Although these antibodies can cause intravascular haemolysis, with disseminated intravascular coagulation and renal failure, most incompatible transfusions are uneventful or result in minor signs and symptoms.3,4 Only about 1 in 10 ABO incompatible transfusions is fatal.2

Studies in the United States, where all deaths associated with transfusions must be reported to the Food and Drug Administration, show that patients with blood group O are most at risk of dying from ABO incompatibility1,2 because they have the highest concentrations of potent antibodies directed against A and B antigens. Other causes of death from transfusions, excluding viral infections, are generally not preventable. They include, in order of frequency of reports, acute lung injury related …


A microscale nanoassembly system has been designed for the fabrication of nanodevices and in situ electromechanical characterisation of nanostructures. This system consists of four Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS)-based nanomanipulators positioned around a centrally located port for introducing nanostructure samples. Each nanomanipulator is composed of an XYZ nanopositioning mechanism with an attached nanoprobe for interacting with the nanostructures. By simultaneously controlling the position of each of these nanoprobes, they can be used to cooperatively assemble complex structures. The static and dynamic motion characteristics of a prototype nanomanipulator have been measured, providing a non-linear calibration of the quasi-static input?output behaviour, as well as values for the system bandwidth and structural natural frequencies. Important operational issues including proposed manipulation schemes, precision motion control and integration with a Scanning Electron Microscope/Focused Ion Beam (SEM/...


Chromosome band 11q23, the location of the HRX gene, is a site of recurrent translocations in human malignancies. Infants with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) commonly have 11q23 translocations and have an especially poor prognosis despite intensive chemotherapy. We analyzed 96 cases of infant ALL treated on three consecutive Pediatric Oncology Group protocols to determine the frequency and prognostic significance of molecular rearrangements of HRX. Overall, 78 cases (81%) had HRX rearrangements detected by Southern blot analysis performed with a single HRX cDNA probe, whereas 18 cases (19%) had germline HRX. Of the 78 cases with HRX rearrangements, only 50 had abnormalities of 11q23 detected cytogenetically. Molecular abnormalities of HRX were associated with early treatment failure and a very poor outcome. Estimated event-free survival for patients with HRX rearrangements was 19% (SE, 7%) at 3 years, compared with 46% (SE, 17%) for patients with germline HRX (P = .033 by the two-sided logrank test). Therefore, infants with ALL and molecular abnormalities of HRX represent a group with an extremely high rate of failure who clearly need innovative or experimental treatment. Furthermore, cytogenetic analysis alone failed to detected 36% of HRX rearrangements, suggesting that molecular analysis be performed on all infants with ALL to identify this group of high-risk patients.


: Alexander's theory of the civil sphere can be placed in the context of development of sociology of law. However, Alexander draws not so much on sociological theories but rather on the approaches of philosophy of law, particularly the ideas of Fuller, Dworkin and Habermas. The civil sphere is presented by Alexander as the embodiment of Dworkin's principal integrity. Locating law within civil morality Alexander reveals the similarity of his viewpoint to Dworkin's position. Drawing on Fuller's works Alexander singles out the procedural foundations of the democratic order. At the same time for Alexander the source of morality of law is not the legal system itself but a certain level of civil solidarity. Like Habermas, Alexander emphasizes the culturally embedded character of the legal norms. Alexander shares Habermas's understanding of law as a regulative mechanism affecting all spheres of social life. However, Habermas is more sensitive to the danger of colonization of law by the imperatives of the economic and political subsystems. Alexander's approach can be contrasted with Luhmann's sociological theory of law. Alexander concentrates on interrelation and mutual penetration of the civil sphere and law while Luhmann regards law as an autonomous system following its own logic. While Alexander claims that his theory is rooted both in sociology and philosophy of law in fact his approach is closer to normative philosophy.


George Stigler's "The Theory of Economic Regulation" (1971) is a landmark in the economics of regulation. It used simple public choice reasoning to set out the "capture theory" of regulation whereby "… as a rule, regulation is acquired by the industry and is designed and operated primarily for its benefit." This article, written for a commemoration of the 1971 article in Public Choice, summarizes the context within which the article appeared and evaluate its long run impact. A central argument is the need to distinguish "acquired" from "designed and operated." The rule that regulation is produced in response to industry pressure seems honored mainly in the breach. Maintenance of the institutional status quo seems the more common industry goal. However, once the status quo is altered, the industry interest will, as Stigler argued, receive disproportionate weight. I discuss and analyze the varying impact of industry interests over three significant regulatory transitions – in transportation, pharmaceuticals and banking. I conclude that the durable impact of Stigler (1971) comes from the public choice framing and the consequent importance of organized interests to analysis of regulation.


The miniaturization of magnetic devices is a subject of enduring interest, since inductors and transformers of very small dimensions are constantly being required for integration into microchips and electrical circuit boards. The main objective of this survey is to supply a compilation of the published research on microtransformers, and to work as a support material, helping in the choice of the most appropriate technology and device configuration for a particular application. The text describes the historical development of microtransformers, the structures in which these devices might be assembled, the various proposed geometries, the fabrication processes, and the type of core used. A brief discussion of equivalent circuit modeling is presented. The current state of the technology in relation to commercial devices is then examined, pointing out some unsolved problems that warrant further studies.


The main objective of this paper is to propose an optimal fuzzy controller for suppressing the resulting vibration of an earthquake in a five floor building facilitated with magneto rheological damper. To this end, by utilizing the Hamilton's principle, equations of motion of the system are derived based on a distributed parameter model. The mode shapes of the system are found by finite element simulations. A magneto rheological damper is used for each floor. To find the rule base of the fuzzy controller, a single degree of freedom vibratory system is considered and the rules derived from open loop simulations are utilized for controlling the vibration of the building. Spencer's model is employed for analyzing the behavior of the magneto rheological damper. By recognizing the magneto rheological damper behavior as well as having the rule based obtained from single degree of freedom simulations, a fuzzy controller is designed to suppress the vibration of the building. Finally, the genetic algorithm is used to improve the performance of the proposed controller. Comparing the results of semi-active vibration control with passive-on and passive-off control strategies reveals that the suggested fuzzy controller can effectively reduce the amplitude of the vibration of the building. Review History: Received: 23 May 2017 Revised: 25 July 2017 Accepted: 6 September 2017 Available Online: 2 October 2017


This Paper documents the aggregate trends in the foreign listings of companies and analyses both their distinctive pre-listing characteristics and their post-listing performance relative to other companies. In the 1986-97 interval, many European companies listed abroad, but did so mainly on US exchanges. At the same time, the number of US companies listed in Europe decreased. The cross-listings of European companies appear to have sharply different motivations and consequences depending on whether they cross-list in the United States or within Europe. In the first case, companies pursue a strategy of rapid expansion and large equity issues after the listing. They rely increasingly on export markets and tend to belong to high-tech industries. In the second case, companies do not grow more than the control group, and increase their leverage after the cross-listing. The only features common to all cross-listing companies are their large size and their tendency to be recently privatized companies.


Reproductive success in relation to egg size was studied in European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) by swapping whole clutches between nests at the start of the incubation period. Egg size did not reflect parental quality as no measure of reproductive success was correlated with the foster mothers' mean egg size. There was a significant positive relationship between the mean size of the cross-fostered eggs and the subsequent mean size of hatchlings. The mean size of cross-fostered eggs did not affect hatching success or nestling growth rates, and initial nestling size differences between broods with large and small eggs persisted for <1 wk. No effect of mean egg size on mean nestling survival could be detected. Furthermore, a partial cross-fostering experiment, where nestlings were swapped between nests the day after hatching, failed to demonstrate any lasting effect of egg size on nestling size. It is suggested that mean egg size may only influence reproductive success during particularly inferior environmental conditions (Less)


The task model presented here is a working vision for the design professional redirecting focus from the application of predefined project structures to a process of complex evaluation. The task model is developed through a hermeneutic analysis of the discourse applied by design professionals to their practice. The tasks identified provide both a new focus and direction to the value creation process, in which the design professional is engaged. The intention of this paper is to provide the professional practitioner with deeper insights into own design role and design agenda. It is suggested not to use standard processes, but rather focus on developing a set of design tasks for each unique project, where design thinking and methods are implemented in unique ways. Chaos generation through chaos management as job to be done by the design professional is the main argument of this paper.


Knowledge as a key resource to the success of a business is widely recognised. It has, therefore, become imperative that organisations can build on the knowledge within the organisation and leverage their employees experiences through knowledge transfer. Social interactions have been identified as essential to the effective transfer of knowledge and require an understanding of the cultural context which influences these interactions. A review of the literature shows that research into knowledge transfer has focused on the inter-organisational transfer of knowledge between cultures. There is however a paucity of research on knowledge transfer practices in Nigeria. The aim of this thesis is to explore employees understanding of the organisational and national cultural complexities influencing knowledge transfer within professional service firms in Nigeria. Empirical research is undertaken to gain insight into employees perception of organisational and national culture on intra-organisational knowledge transfer. Data is collected by interviewing thirty employees in three professional service firms. The findings show that cultural artefacts such as shared language, terms of address, physical settings and mode of dressing create knowledge transfer behaviours such as approachability and openness to engage in knowledge transfer which in turn creates an environment of trust and open communication. Additional findings also indicate that employees use the enabling culture of the organisation to take ownership of their knowledge needs through self-directed learning due to a lack of professional knowledge and engaging in altruistic behaviour to create credibility and legitimise their place within the organisation. This study contributes to knowledge transfer practices in Nigeria and research in professional services firms. The research emphasises the need to undertake knowledge transfer research in culturally diverse nations which provides novel insights into employees knowledge transfer practices as a result of the cultural context.


Abstract This study aims to analyze the role of an independent audit committee on the relationship between the Risk Management Committee (RMC) and audit fees. We use 510 observations from 216 different companies indexed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for 2014–2016. This study uses ordinary least square analysis to prove our hypotheses. We find that participation of the independent commissioner as an audit committee member will strengthen the relationship between RMC and audit fee. Consistent with the demand side of audit theory, our study shows that the existence of a stand-alone risk management committee and a more independent commissioner sitting on the audit committee will demand higher audit coverage. As a result, it will increase the audit fee. It occurs since the existence of a more independent audit committees could be able to objectively assess the risk as recommended by the RMC and respond to it by increasing the demand on audit coverage for higher audit quality, and hence increase the fees paid to the external auditor. These findings could contribute to the regulatory bodies in Indonesia in terms of providing empirical evidence on the relationship between board governance structure and audit pricing within non-financial industries companies.


ABSTRACT The adoption of active learning instructional practices in college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses has been shown to result in improvements in student learning, contribute to increased retention rates, and reduce the achievement gap among different student populations. Descriptions of active learning strategies have been reported in other disciplines; however, the research literature that documents the success of these strategies may be unfamiliar to many geoscience instructors. This literature review seeks to serve as a bridge that connects the reflective practitioner, the research literature on instructional strategies, and the network of community resources available to the geoscience educator. We review the characteristics of 11 active learning strategies and weigh the evidence that these strategies improve student learning. Furthermore, we analyze the utility of these strategies in the context of their use in geoscience classrooms. We seek to provide geoscience instructors with a decision-making guide and evidence-based recommendations that they can use to select and implement active learning strategies that have the potential to enhance undergraduate learning experiences in geoscience courses.


Object detection is an important area of research in computer vision. One of the most popular approaches for object detection is based on combining many weak classifiers together to achieve one strong classifier through a technique called Boosting. A modified version of this technique for real-time face detection was developed by Viola and Jones, where a weak classifier is created by iteratively selecting a best single feature from a set of a very large number of potential features. During the detection process, there is a need to apply pruning techniques on the candidate results from different scales to eliminate the weak candidates and keep the most promising one. This paper presents improved pruning algorithms that result in reducing the number of false positives. For object detection, a complete framework is implemented based on Viola and Jones, then the proposed pruning algorithms are applied to obtain better detection results.


This research aims to examine the perception of the good death and religious coping styles of student nurses. The research is a correlational descriptive study. The research was conducted with 358 nursing students at a state university in the east of Turkey. It was found in the study that students had a good perception of death (58.83 ± 6.12) and mostly used positive religious coping styles (positive/24.55 ± 3.71, negative/13.31 ± 4.21). As a result of the correlation analysis, a weakly significant positive relationship was determined between good death perception and positive religious coping (p < .001).This study observed that students' perceptions of good death increased along with their positive religious coping styles.


States have frequently justified interventions in internal armed conflicts by claiming they were invited to assist one of the belligerent parties. In most cases the invitation is said to come from the government. Much less frequently states rely on an invitation from a rebel group fighting against the government. As a general matter, invitations from governments provide a lawful basis for intervention and invitations by rebel groups do not. The ICJ affirmed this dichotomous view of intervention by invitation in its 1986 Nicaragua opinion and has not been contradicted by any leading authority since.But the Nicaragua formulation is rife with problems. Some are of long-standing. In a situation where rebels control a substantial portion of national territory, can the government still issue an invitation on behalf of the state? The traditional effective control principle is of little help in that situation. Are the two sides then equivalent to two states at war, meaning third parties can give assistance to either? Or must third parties abstain from aiding either side on the theory that neither can legitimately speak for the state?More recently, the question has arisen whether there should be a qualitative evaluation of the party issuing the invitation. This follows on the rise of democratic legitimacy principles in disputes over recognition of governments. Should an invitation by a government or rebel group be judged, at least in part, by the democratic bona fides of the issuing party? The Security Council's experiences with invitations in the Haiti, Sierra Leone, Cote D'Ivoire and Malawi suggest that such qualitative determinations are entering international law for the first time. But the precedents have important limitations, notably the presence of the Security Council at virtually every stage. Invitations untethered from collective determinations about the merits of the requesting party carry a real danger of rampant unilateralism, especially if they come from rebel forces. This is perhaps the reason the Nicaragua opinion set out a rule devoid of any nuance. As the Court warned, "it is difficult to see what would remain of the principle of non-intervention in international law if intervention, which is already allowable at the request of the government of a state, were also to be allowed at the request of the opposition. This would permit any state to intervene at any moment in the internal affairs of another state."


In cementless total hip arthroplasty, increased femoral stem flexibility and decreased fracture propensity are desirable characteristics. The slotting and tapering of the stem have been introduced to achieve this. These features should not, however, be allowed to interfere with the ability of the distal stem to provide initial mechanical stability, especially under rotation. This study was done to investigate the ability of slotted and tapered stem designs to reduce stiffness and insertion force while still maintaining adequate torsional strength. The torsional strength, maximum insertion force, and insertional work of straight, slotted, and taper stems were measured by inserting each type into rigid polyurethane foam and torque testing to failure. Bending stiffness of each stem design was calculated using numerical methods. When compared to a straight stem, a unislot stem has similar torsional strength, maximum insertional force, and work of insertion. The bending stiffness is decreased by 19% to 82% depending on the bending direction. A trislot design decreased torque strength by 29%, maximal insertion force by 36%, and work by 11%. Bending stiffness was decreased by 74% and was not dependent on bending direction. A 0.5-mm taper decreased torque strength by 11% and insertional work by 14%. No difference was seen in maximum insertional force. We conclude that the design features studied (slots and taper) are effective in decreasing stem stiffness and reducing fracture propensity.


Firm-specific incentives and enterprise zones are the two most rapidly growing weapons in states' and localities' competitive arsenal. What incentives have states and localities adopted, which of these incentives are spreading, and what are the prominent successes and failures? What has been the experience with "clawback" provisions, assurances from recipients that they will actually create the jobs and other economic benefits they promise?


This study aimed to characterize the clinical profile of patients with oral lichen planus (OLP) and to evaluate the efficacy of topical, systemic and/or intralesional corticosteroids in the management of symptomatic cases. Fifty-two patients with OLP, 33 females and 19 males, aged from 17 to 75 years (mean 49.7 years) were studied. Information regarding the clinical forms, sites of involvement, patients' medical history and habits were recorded. Diagnosis of OLP was made using clinical criteria alone in 32 cases, while biopsy examination was required in the remaining 20. Symptomatic lesions were seen in 29 patients, who were treated with corticosteroid. Asymptomatic cases (23) were only clinically monitored. The forms of OLP found in this study were reticular (47%), atrophic (24%), erosive (21%) and plaque-like (8%). The buccal mucosa was the site predominantly affected. Systemic diseases were found in 17 patients (seven diabetic and ten with hypertension) but these data lacked statistical significance (p > 0.05) when compared with a control group of age and gender matched patients without any type of mucocutaneous disease. A habit of tobacco and/or alcohol use was reported by 11.5% of the patients, most of them with the reticular form of the disease. Topical corticosteroid therapy alone was effective in producing relief of symptoms in 18 of the 29 patients, although some relapses occurred after discontinuation. For lesions non-responsive to topical treatment, intralesional injection and/or short-term use of systemic corticosteroids were used.


body including mucous membrane involvement, with supra-arytenoid oedema and mucosal ulceration to the epiglottis and aryepiglottic folds shown on nasendoscopy. In addition, she had skin superinfection with streptococcus pyogenes. Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) was initiated with IV methylprednisolone, IV antibiotics and Rituximab. She responded well to therapy with gradual resolution of lesions. Abatacept was commenced as prophylaxis in view of progressive multiple autoimmunity.


Pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis is an uncommon infiltrative pulmonary disease characterized by deposition of microliths in the alveoli. We present the case of a young adult with complaints of shortness of breath on exertion. Chest radiograph showed innumerable small, dense nodules, diffusely involving both the lungs - predominantly in the lower zones. High-resolution CT scan illustrated widespread intra-alveolar microliths, diffuse ground-glass attenuation areas, septal thickening, and black pleural lines - predominantly in the basal regions. Transbronchial biopsy confirmed the diagnosis.


This paper proposes that case decomposes into a number of separate functional projections, which are ordered in a universal functional sequence. Cross-linguistic variation in position and complexity of case morphology isthen accounted for in terms of differential noun phrase movement within the invariant sequence (Cinque 2005). I further investigate the possibility that variation in movement may be reduced to variation in the shape of the actual lexical entries. In order to implement this idea, the model of cyclic spell out by Starke (2009b) is adopted. In this model, each step of external merge is followed by lexical access. Consequently, evacuation movements may be triggered after each step of external merge in order for successful lexicalization to take place. Keywords: agglutination; case; case paradigm; flexion; lexicon; movement; nanosyntax; parameter; phrasal spell out; variation


Construction joints are stopping places in the process of placing concrete, and they are required because in many structures it is impractical to place concrete in one continuous operation. The amount of concrete that can be placed at one time is governed by batching and mixing capacity and by the strength of the formwork. A good construction joint should provide adequate flexural and shear continuity through the interface. In this study, available experimental tests were analyzed by using a nonlinear three-dimensional finite element ANSYS computer program (v. 9). In addition an interface model was proposed for the transverse construction joints. Six beams with different transverse construction joints at mid-span as well as to one reference beam without joint are analyzed. The reliability of the model is demonstrated by comparison with the experiment and alternative numerical analysis which shows 5-7% difference.


Although we disagree with some of Gal and Rucker's (2018 – this issue) specific evidence and with their overstated conclusion regarding loss aversion, their overarching message makes a worthwhile contribution. In particular, loss aversion is less robust and universal than has been assumed while its most prominent empirical support — the endowment effect and the status quo bias — is susceptible to multiple alternative explanations. Instead of accepting loss aversion as true unless proven otherwise, we should treat it like other decision properties and psychological accounts that are contingent on various moderators and call for an analysis of psychological mechanisms. In this commentary, we suggest that gatekeepers, such as reviewers, tend to favor loss aversion and other widely accepted tendencies, while demanding a much higher support-threshold for alternative or newer accounts. Although building on prior theories and concepts is of course important, the bias in favor of incumbent assumptions can impede scientific progress, bar new ideas from the literature, and reinforce well-established but contingent notions that may apply under some conditions but not others.


A significant increase in growth of follicles that are selected for ovulation seems to occur on days 14-17 of the estrous cycle. In pigs there is a continuous growth of follicles without appearance of dominant follicles or follicle waves during the estrous cycle. There is a general consensus that a decrease of FSH during the follicular phase is accompanied with the selection of ovulatory follicles and changing from FSH to LH dependence. Development of preovulatory follicles is prevented during lactation mainly due to the inhibition of LH secretion. FSH is not inhibited during lactation and temporary increase in FSH is associated with wave-like follicular growth. Weaning of piglets normally results in increased secretion of LH, which is characterized by a high pulse frequency and low pulse amplitude. The duration of weaning-to-estrus interval is associated with plasma changes in gonadotropins, steroids, inhibin, leptin, IGF-I and insulin. Evidence for a positive role of short elevations in cortisol on LH secretion and ovarian function are accumulating but further studies are still needed to elucidate this issue. The aim of this review was to summarize our current knowledge of endocrinological changes in relation to follicular development during estrous cycle, lactation and after weaning in pigs.


The theoretical behavior of P-wave reflection amplitude as a function of incidence angle (offset) indicates that diagnostic changes should be spatially observable when crossing boundaries between different formation fluids. In particular, when free gas is present in porous sand, Poisson's ratios are known to be abnormally low (usually The problems in analyzing seismic amplitudes are well known. The distortions produced in the recorded amplitudes owing to the effects of sources and receivers, instrumentation, processing, attenuation and absorption, layer tuning, multiple interference, and noise can render the measurements meaningless unless corrected for, which would be difficult. However, by using relative instead of absolute amplitudes and by applying suitable analysis techniques, most of these effects can be virtually eliminated. The resulting amplitude behavior can then be properly interpreted in terms of changes in formation properties. End_of_Article - Last_Page 244------------


The effect of equivalent mineral density on pedicular screw fixation strength was investigated. The equivalent mineral density of human vertebral bodies was correlated highly with the pullout force of Kluger screws (r2 = 0.61, P less than 0.02). A moderate to high correlation existed between density and vertical force (r2 = 0.42 for Kluger screws, r2 = 0.55 for Steffee screws, P less than 0.02). In calf vertebral bodies of higher density (146 +/- 14 mg/cc), the forces were significantly higher than in the human vertebral bodies (P less than 0.05). Human lumbosacral spines were instrumented with three different fixators: Steffee plates, AO fixateur interne, and Kluger fixateur interne. Of five specimens with a mean density of 88 +/- 11 mg/cc, one screw loosened. More than one screw loosened in six specimens with a mean density of 63 +/- 12 mg/cc, and no screw loosened in four specimens with a mean density of 114 +/- 38 mg/cc. Measurement of equivalent mineral density correlates with the fixation strength of the intrapedicular screws in vitro and should be considered in patients with signs of osteopenia before using pedicular screws for spinal fusions. It is also concluded that calf spines are a good model for testing implants because they tend to focus failure processes in the implant rather than in the implant-bone interface.


Objective:To investigate the impact of various facets of ICU organization on outcome in a large cohort of ICU patients from different geographic regions. Design:International, multicenter, observational study. Setting:All 1,265 ICUs in 75 countries that contributed to the 1-day point prevalence Extended Prevalence of Infection in Intensive Care study. Patients:All adult patients present on a participating ICU on the study day. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:The Extended Prevalence of Infection in Intensive Care study included data on 13,796 adult patients. Organizational characteristics of the participating hospitals and units varied across geographic areas. Participating North American hospitals had greater availability of microbiologic examination and more 24-hour emergency departments than did the participating European and Latin American units. Of the participating ICUs, 82.9% were closed format, with the lowest prevalence among North American units (62.7%) and the highest in ICUs in Oceania (92.6%). The proportion of participating ICUs with 24-hour intensivist coverage was lower in North America than in Latin America (86.8% vs 98.1%, p = 0.002). ICU volume was significantly lower in participating ICUs from Western Europe, Latin America, and Asia compared with North America. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, medical and mixed ICUs were independently associated with a greater risk of in-hospital death. A nurse:patient ratio of more than 1:1.5 on the study day was independently associated with a lower risk of in-hospital death. Conclusions:In this international large cohort of ICU patients, hospital and ICU characteristics varied worldwide. A high nurse:patient ratio was independently associated with a lower risk of in-hospital death. These exploratory data need to be confirmed in large prospective studies that consider additional country-specific ICU practice variations.


Human Responsibilities: A Relational Account of Human Rights Christine Susienka What is and should be the scope of our appeals to human rights? To what desiderata should our theory of human rights adhere? On my proposal, human rights (i) are inherently relational, and (ii) play an important background role in our broader normative practices. Human rights derive from a foundational community relationship that human beings stand in with one another qua human beings. They are not, as naturalistic conceptions have it, grounded in the possession of any specific capacities such as high levels of rationality. They are also not, as political or practical conceptions claim, grounded in more specific relationships such as those between state and citizen. Unlike the current approaches, my relational approach offers both a non-derivative justification for recognizing all living human beings as human rights bearers and all human agents as duty bearers. Rights holder status and duty bearer status both have their source in this basic relationship shared by human beings. As such, neither precedes the other. The relationship gives rise to both. As an upshot, the view accounts for a variety of cases where we ordinarily do not invoke human rights even when their content is relevant, such as in cases of violent crimes or in interpersonal relationships. In turning to these examples, I consider not merely under what conditions human rights exist, but also under what conditions they ought to be invoked. Thus while they have a universal scope, we need not always appeal to them as human rights in order to fulfill them. My inquiry into the grounds of human rights begins with a paradox that emerges for both naturalistic and political conceptions of human rights. Namely, even though human rights have their place in social and political relations, they are often conceived in ways that are blind to the basic role that these relations play in constituting them. While they inhere in individual human beings, the function and content of human rights is largely dependent on facts about human relationships. This paradox is particularly striking in the case of anti-discrimination rights, which many naturalistic views struggle to include as these rights derive not from any particular capacity, but from a comparative egalitarian premise. Instead, a relational view can point directly toward the damaging effects of severely unequal social attitudes–of failures to recognize one another as fellow human beings. Despite these differences, there are 'natural' and 'political' elements to my proposal as well, though both notions get reinterpreted. The natural, insofar as it figures in my account, is the relational framework in which individual human beings live their lives. The political consists in these overlapping networks of social relations. Thus the natural and the political coincide, and in effect my approach falls in neither of the two traditional camps. Instead, by focusing on the relationship between all human beings and conceiving of this relationship as both natural and social/political, I aim to formulate a genuinely new account of human rights.


Casein in human milk is believed to serve several biological functions in newborns. However, the content and subunit composition of human casein has so far received little attention. We recently developed a method to separate human-milk whey and casein by adjustment of whole human milk to pH 4.3 and addition of calcium followed by ultracentrifugation. In this study we analyzed and evaluated human casein prepared by different methods. We used fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) with an anion-exchange column (Mono-Q) and polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis techniques to analyze the casein subunit composition. Total casein in human milk, as determined by the Kjeldahl method, varies during lactation; the casein content is approximately 20% of the total protein content in early lactation and 45% in late lactation. We found differences in both glycosylation and phosphorylation patterns of kappa-caseins and beta-caseins from premature and term milk samples.


Since antioxidants are health-beneficial compounds capable of removing reactive species, assay of total antioxidant capacity (TAC) by simple and low-cost methods is important. The magenta-coloured iron(II)-ferrozine (Fe(II)-FZ) complex showing an absorbance maximum at 562 nm has previously been utilized for iron-binding assays, but not for antioxidant determination. Ferrozine is a highly ferrous-stabilizing ligand such that ferric ion in the presence of ferrozine easily oxidizes antioxidants and is itself reduced to Fe(II)-FZ, yielding a very high molar absorptivity and thus enhanced sensitivity for most antioxidants. The hierarchic order of antioxidant power for common antioxidants was in accordance with known structure–activity relationships. The Fe(III)-FZ assay was applied to synthetic antioxidant mixtures to yield additive absorbance values, which is a prerequisite for precise determination of antioxidant capacity of complex mixtures. The calibration curves (lines) of trolox and quercetin individually and in herbal infusions—by using the method of standard additions—were parallel, confirming that the herbal antioxidants and trolox did not chemically interact among each other so as to cause apparent deviations from Beer's law. The proposed method was applied to medicinal plant infusions for total antioxidant capacity assay as trolox-equivalents, and the results were compared to those found with CUPRAC (cupric reducing antioxidant capacity), FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power) and Folin total phenols assays, the highest correlation being achieved with CUPRAC. In short, a novel ferric reducing assay for food antioxidants was introduced, which was superior to FRAP in regard to its realistic pH, enhanced sensitivity, faster kinetics, and absence of free Fe(II)—which can cause Fenton-type oxidations—in the reaction products.


Abstract Recently developed quantitative models of psychopathology (i.e., Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology) identify an Antagonistic Externalizing spectrum that captures the psychological disposition toward criminal and antisocial behavior. The purpose of the present study was to examine relations between Antagonistic psychopathology (and associated Five-Factor model Antagonism/Agreeableness) and neural functioning related to social-cognitive Theory of Mind using a large sample (N = 973) collected as part of the Human Connectome Project (Van Essen et al., 2013a). No meaningful relations between Antagonism/Antagonistic Externalizing and Theory of Mind-related neural activity or synchrony were observed (p < .005). We conclude by outlining methodological considerations (e.g., validity of social cognition task and low test–retest reliability of functional biomarkers) that may account for these null results, and present recommendations for future research.


We present new CO(2–1) observations of three low-z (d ~350 Mpc) ultra-luminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) systems (six nuclei) observed with the Atacama large millimeter/submillimeter array (ALMA) at high spatial resolution (~500 pc). We detect massive cold molecular gas outflows in five out of six nuclei (Mout ~ (0.3−5) × 108 M⊙). These outflows are spatially resolved with deprojected effective radii between 250 pc and 1 kpc although high-velocity molecular gas is detected up to Rmax ~ 0.5−1.8 kpc (1–6 kpc deprojected). The mass outflow rates are 12–400 M⊙ yr−1 and the inclination corrected average velocity of the outflowing gas is 350–550 km s−1 (vmax = 500−900 km s−1). The origin of these outflows can be explained by the strong nuclear starbursts although the contribution of an obscured active galactic nucleus cannot be completely ruled out. The position angle (PA) of the outflowing gas along the kinematic minor axis of the nuclear molecular disk suggests that the outflow axis is perpendicular to the disk for three of these outflows. Only in one case is the outflow PA clearly not along the kinematic minor axis, which might indicate a different outflow geometry. The outflow depletion times are 15–80 Myr. These are comparable to, although slightly shorter than, the star-formation (SF) depletion times (30–80 Myr). However, we estimate that only 15–30% of the outflowing molecular gas will escape the gravitational potential of the nucleus. The majority of the outflowing gas will return to the disk after 5–10 Myr and become available to form new stars. Therefore, these outflows will not likely completely quench the nuclear starbursts. These star-forming powered molecular outflows would be consistent with being driven by radiation pressure from young stars (i.e., momentum-driven) only if the coupling between radiation and dust increases with increasing SF rates. This can be achieved if the dust optical depth is higher in objects with higher SF. This is the case in at least one of the studied objects. Alternatively, if the outflows are mainly driven by supernovae (SNe), the coupling efficiency between the interstellar medium and SNe must increase with increasing SF levels. The relatively small sizes (<1 kpc) and dynamical times (<3 Myr) of the cold molecular outflows suggests that molecular gas cannot survive longer in the outflow environment or that it cannot form efficiently beyond these distances or times. In addition, the ionized and hot molecular phases have been detected for several of these outflows, so this suggests that outflowing gas can experience phase changes and indicates that the outflowing gas is intrinsically multiphase, likely sharing similar kinematics, but different mass and, therefore, different energy and momentum contributions.


The Upper Bathonian and Lower Callovian ostracod species Fastigatocythere juglandica (Jones, 1884) is shown to comprise a total of five subspecies. Of these, F. juglandica juglandica, F. juglandica major (Jones & Sherborn, 1888) and F. juglandica postrotunda subsp. nov., described as new herein, are all confined to the Upper Bathonian. Lophocythere fulgurata (Jones & Sherborn, 1888) is demonstrated to be an instar of F. juglandica major. Fastigatocythere juglandica degenerata subsp. nov., described as new herein and F. juglandica rugosa Weinholz comb. nov., both confined to the Lower Callovian, extend the known range of the species into that stage for the first time.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a world-wide health problem. The major obstacles for current anti-HBV therapy are the low efficacy and the occurrence of drug resistant HBV mutations. Recent studies have demonstrated that combination therapy can enhance antiviral efficacy and overcome the shortcomings. Here, the inhibitory effect mediated by combination of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) targeting different sites of HBV nuclear localization signal (NLS) was monitored in HepG2.2.15 cells.

METHODOLOGY
Recombinant plasmid psil-HBV was constructed and transfected into HepG2.2.15 cells. At 48, 72 and 96h after transfection, culture media were collected and cells were harvested for HBV replication assay. HBsAg and HBeAg in the cell culture medium were detected by enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay. Intracellular viral DNA and covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) was quantified by real-time PCR. HBV viral mRNA was measured by reverse-transcript PCR.

RESULTS
Our data demonstrated that the three used siRNAs showed marked anti-HBV effects. Combination of siRNAs, compared with individual use of each siRNA, exerted a stronger inhibition on antigen expression and viral replication, even though the final concentration of siRNA in the therapy was the same. More importantly, we showed that combination therapy significantly suppressed HBV cccDNA amplification.

CONCLUSION
Our results revealed that combination of siRNAs mediated a stronger inhibition on viral replication and antigen expression in HepG2.2.15 cells, especially, the amplification of cccDNA.


PurposeA systematic literature review (SLR) was used to identify and analyze literature related to use of system dynamics (SD) applications in organizational performance measurement (PM) research. The purpose of this article is to present the results of a thematic analysis (TA) conducted to synthesize existing empirical evidence, investigate trends and evaluate developments in the research area.Design/methodology/approachA SLR was conducted resulting in a dataset of 97 articles in this research area. Using TA, major themes/subthemes were inductively synthesized to explore the current development and emerging trends and provide guidance for future research.FindingsThe TA resulted in seven themes in the research area – Enhancing knowledge, Approaches to operationalizing PM systems, Utilizing simulation models, Improving organizational outcomes, Achieving strategic alignment, Applying systems thinking and Identifying critical variables. The analysis suggests that although SD has the potential to improve PM systems, there are many limitations and challenges that must be addressed to improve implementation and practical applications. In addition, the results showed that much of the work is exploratory and many fail to fully validate their models suggesting that this research is still in an relatively early phase of development.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of this study are limited to the 97 articles identified using the SLR protocol. Although the search was designed to be comprehensive, there may be other relevant literature that was excluded. Further, the TA was limited to addressing the research questions.Practical implicationsA key insight for managers is that these tools would support decision-makers in understanding performance behaviors and identifying performance drivers for improvement. This suggests that stakeholders can adopt the approach to improve understanding and effectiveness of PM, and to enhance strategic decision-making.Originality/valueThis study provides a distinct and thorough analysis of this research area by conducting an inductive synthesis of developments and challenges and guidance for future research and practice. The resulting thematic model, identified code definitions and proposed framework of strategies to overcome challenges, provide a general overview and resource to support future studies in the research area and facilitate practical use of SD capabilities to support PM.


The question of the importance of the effect of full correction on the progress of myopia has been disturbing my peace of mind for a number of years. It is only natural that during the years spent at the ophthalmic clinic at the University of Bern I devoted part of the time to the study of the problem. The enormous amount of material, consisting of 20,188 clinical patients, was made available through the courtesy of Professor Siegrist, director of the clinic. The results of this work are submitted in the hope of bringing some solution to the question as yet unsolved. A five year period, from 1916 to 1920, was selected, and the 2,166 persons with myopia, or 10.5 per cent of all the patients at the clinic, were studied. The study of the problem included: (1) an estimate of the average number of times a patient came to


This dissertation is conceived as a history of relations between Italy and the German Democratic
Republic (GDR) through town twinning practices between the 1960s and 1970s. At the center of the
study are the bonds which set seven Italian communist-oriented municipalities and local articulations
of labor unions, located in Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany and Piedmont, in contact with their
correspondents in East Germany. Methodologically, my research is grounded on the concept of
translocality and on the adoption of a bottom-up, micro perspective on international relations during
the late Cold War (chapter 1). Through the analysis of archival documents in both Italy and Germany,
diaries, travel reports and also oral testimonies, it has been possible to explore the political meaning
of these twinnings, their organization, strategic dimension and collocation in the national and
international networks (chapters 2 and 3). In particular, their specificities in terms of communist-led
local administrations and their ideal conception have been researched (chapter 4). At this level,
besides defining the actors and protagonists of the twinnings, I have investigated two main aspects.
On the one hand, the concrete repercussions that twinnings had on territorial economies and technical-administrative
realizations, mostly in Italy. Particular attention has been given to local welfare and
social assistance (chapter 5). On the other hand, the sphere of microsociability and grassroots
connections, with a focus on the shared memories of antifascism, war and Resistance, on the
(communist) symbols of the past and the present and their strategic use, on reciprocal perceptions of
the respective daily lives, as well as – through oral interviews – on the memories of the twinning
experiences (chapter 6).


Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the major cause of death and disability among young adults. In spite of preventive measures, the incidence of a TBI associated with motor vehicle accidents, falls, assault, and high-contact sports continues to be alarmingly high and constitutes a major public health concern. In addition, the recent military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have resulted in a large number of persons with blast injuries and brain trauma. Taking into account that cognitive and behavioral changes have a decisive influence in the recovery and community reintegration of patients with a TBI, there is a renewed interest in developing systematic studies of the frequency, mechanism, and treatment of the psychopathological alterations observed among these patients.


Increasing interest in the structural and functional organization of the human brain in health and disease encourages the acquisition of big datasets consisting of multiple neuroimaging modalities accompanied by additional information obtained from health records, cognitive tests, biomarkers and genotypes. Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging data enables a range of promising imaging phenotypes probing structural connections as well as macroanatomical and microstructural properties of the brain. The reliability and biological sensitivity and specificity of diffusion data depend on processing pipeline. A state-of-the-art framework for data processing facilitates crossstudy harmonisation and reduces pipeline-related variability. Using diffusion data from the UK Biobank we provide a comprehensive evaluation of different processing steps that have been suggested to reduce imaging artefacts and improve reliability of diffusion metrics. We consider a general pipeline comprising 7 post-processing blocks: noise correction; Gibbs ringing correction; evaluation of field distortions; susceptibility, eddy-current and motion-induced distortion corrections; bias field correction; spatial smoothing; and final diffusion metric estimations. Based on this evaluation, we suggest an optimised diffusion pipeline for processing of diffusion weighted imaging data.


Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to analyse how London Interbank Offered Rate Index (LIBOR) and the spread between LIBOR and the base rate of interest as set by the Bank of England (BoE) influences the variation in house prices in the UK. Design/methodology/approach - – This paper uses monthly data over a long time series, since 1986, to investigate the relationships between house price and LIBOR. Data are drawn from several different sources to include housing, financial and macro-economic variables. The time series is sub-divided into a series of splines based on stages in the economic and property market cycle. Both value-based and percentage change models are developed. Findings - – The results show that BoE base/LIBOR margin variable has a strong positive and significant effect on house price; however, the percentage change model infers a weaker and inverse relationship. The spline analysis re-emphasised the significance of the BoE base/LIBOR margin variable. Where variation between base rates and LIBOR is reduced, a significant positive effect can be observed in the average house price; however, where significant variation exists, the BoE base/LIBOR margin has little effect and LIBOR itself becomes a significant driver. Research limitations/implications - – The results highlight that the predictive qualities of the BoE base/LIBOR margin, as the contribution of this margin to the explanation of house price, exceeds both the base rate and LIBOR variables individually. Also highlighted is the contribution of unemployment to the explanation of house price. In both the value and percentage change models, unemployment is shown as a negative and highly significant contributor. Originality/value - – Previous papers have demonstrated the important linkage between house price and interest rates, the originality in this paper lies in examining the impact of LIBOR and the spreads between LIBOR and base rate as key variables influencing variation in UK house prices.


There is an established, positive relationship between vehicle speeds and road accidents. On rural roads, driving too fast for the conditions is more likely to be a factor in accidents than exceeding the speed limit. Encouraging drivers to drive at suitable speeds for the conditions is particularly important, since driver error is the major contributory factor in 95 per cent of accidents. A range of rural road safety engineering measures, in particular vehicle-activated signing, has been developed to encourage drivers to approach hazards such as bends and junctions at a safe speed, and to encourage them to comply with the speed limit, eg through villages. The signs display a message relating to road conditions such as these to just those drivers exceeding a set threshold speed. A study of the effectiveness of over 60 installations on rural roads in Norfolk, Kent, West Sussex and Wiltshire has been conducted by TRL for the Department for Transport (DfT). The trial aimed to assess the effect of the signs on speed and injury accidents, and drivers' understanding of the signs. The results will be used to develop best practice for sign installation. The signs appear to be very effective in reducing speeds, particularly those of the faster drivers who contribute disproportionately to the accident risk, without the need for enforcement such as safety cameras. In this study, a substantial accident reduction has been demonstrated. (A)


Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a life-threatening autoimmune mucocutaneous blistering disease caused by disruption of intercellular adhesion due to auto-antibodies directed against epithelial components. Treatment is limited to immunosuppressive agents, which are associated with serious adverse effects. The propensity to develop the disease is in part genetically determined. We therefore reasoned that the delineation of PV genetic basis may point to novel therapeutic strategies. Using a genome-wide association approach, we recently found that genetic variants in the vicinity of the ST18 gene confer a significant risk for the disease. Here, using targeted deep sequencing, we identified a PV-associated variant residing within the ST18 promoter region (p<0.0002; odds ratio = 2.03). This variant was found to drive increased gene transcription in a p53/p63-dependent manner, which may explain the fact that ST18 is up-regulated in the skin of PV patients. We then discovered that when overexpressed, ST18 stimulates PV serum-induced secretion of key inflammatory molecules and contributes to PV serum-induced disruption of keratinocyte cell-cell adhesion, two processes previously implicated in the pathogenesis of PV. Thus, the present findings indicate that ST18 may play a direct role in PV and consequently represents a potential target for the treatment of this disease.


This study aims to determine the growth rate of rabbitfish Siganus guttatus, snapper Lates calcarifer, tiger grouper Mycteroperca tigris and humpback grouper Cromileptes altivelis using artificial feed enriched with Alstonia acuminata. It was carried out in seawater of Kelanit village, southeast Mallucas district. This experiment used fish with a total length of 13-14 cm (35-37 g) for C. altivelis, 1112 cm (32-34 g) for S. guttatus, 14-15 cm (43-45 g) for M. tigris, and 21-23 cm (127-130 g) for L. calcarifer, respectively. Experimental fish were kept in floating net cages with 100 individuals of each species. The feed used was pellet feed with the addition of A. acuminata plant which was given twice a day as much as 5% of the fish biomass. The experimental design used was a randomized block design with 3 replications for 60 days of observation. Each species was stocked at a density of 25 ind plot, so that there were 16 experimental units. The results showed that there were significant differences between the treatment of fish species by using A. acuminata in absolute growth, daily growth rate, daily feed consumption, feed efficiency and feed conversion ratio. The highest absolute growth, daily growth rate, feed efficiency, and the lowest feed conversion ratio were achieved in the treatment of L. calcarifer species.


The precracked Charpy single-edge notched bend, SE(B), specimen (PCC) is the most likely specimen type to be used for determination of the reference temperature, T0 , with reactor pressure vessel (RPV) surveillance specimens. Unfortunately, for many RPV steels, significant differences have been observed between the T0 temperature for the PCC specimen and that obtained from the 25-mm thick compact specimen [1TC(T)], generally considered the standard reference specimen for T0 . This difference in T0 has often been designated a specimen bias effect, and the primary focus for explaining this effect is loss of constraint in the PCC specimen. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has developed a coordinated research project (CRP) to evaluate various issues associated with the fracture toughness Master Curve for application to light-water RPVs. Topic Area 1 of the CRP is focused on the issue of test specimen geometry effects, with emphasis on determination of T0 with the PCC specimen and the bias effect. Topic Area 1 has an experimental part and an analytical part. Participating organizations for the experimental part of the CRP performed fracture toughness testing of various steels, including the reference steel JRQ (A533-B-1) often used for IAEA studies, with various types of specimens under various conditions. Additionally, many of the participants took part in a round robin exercise on finite element modeling of the PCVN specimen, discussed in a separate paper. Results from fracture toughness tests are compared with regard to effects of specimen size and type on the reference temperature T0 . It is apparent from the results presented that the bias observed between the PCC specimen and larger specimens for Plate JRQ is not nearly as large as that obtained for Plate 13B (−11°C vs −37°C) and for some of the results in the literature (bias values as much as −45°C). This observation is consistent with observations in the literature that show significant variations in the bias that are dependent on the specific materials being tested. There are various methods for constraint adjustments and two methods were used that reduced the bias for Plate 13B from −37°C to −13°C in one case and to − 11°C in the second case. Unfortunately, there is not a consensus methodology available that accounts for the differences observed with different materials. Increasing the Mlim value in the ASTM E-1921 to ensure no loss of constraint for the PCC specimen is not a practicable solution because the PCC specimen is derived from CVN specimens in RPV surveillance capsules and larger specimens are normally not available. Resolution of these differences are needed for application of the master curve procedure to operating RPVs, but the research needed for such resolution is beyond the scope of this CRP.Copyright © 2009 by ASME


This paper addresses the existence of an Environmental Kuznets Curve for China, using a sample of 30 regions, covering the period 1982–1997. The types of pollution included are wastewater, waste gas, and solid waste. We consider the development of the sources of pollution in a pooled cross-section analysis with pollution in absolute levels, in per capita terms, and relative to real Gross Regional Product (GRP). At intermediate levels of GRP per capita, the increase of solid and gas emissions tends to decelerate, but it accelerates again at high levels of GRP per capita. Water pollution decreases with per capita GRP. We also predict future waste gas emissions.


TCP and UDP are the dominant transport protocols on the Internet. The first one is used for reliable transport, while the second one for multimedia applications. Their behavior is quite different, which makes coexistence a challenge. Namely, TCP is responsive to potential network problems, such as congestion, while UDP completely ignores it. The need to come up with a protocol that somehow extracts the "good" attributes of both TCP and UDP, and leaves out the less favorable to the Internet, has proved to be a challenging research venue. Rather then going for an "entirely" new protocol, our objectives have been to keep TCP as is, while using the mobile agent paradigm for UDP control. The proposed solution termed as Combined Model for Congestion Control (CM4CC) has been limited to wired networks. Today, the Internet is an aggregation of both wired and wireless infrastructures; the article focuses on the CM4CC extension in heterogeneous networks.


ABSTRACT The conventional elastoplastic model premising that the interior of yield surface is a purely elastic domain is incapable of describing the plastic deformation by the rate of stress inside the yield surface. Thus, it is inapplicable to the description of cyclic loading behavior. Besides, the traditional elastoplastic model is independent of the stress rate component tangential to the yield surface. Therefore, it predicts an unrealistically high stiffness modulus for nonproportional loading process deviating significantly from proportional one. The extended tangential-subloading surface model proposed by Hashiguchi and Tsutsumi (2001) would be capable of describing the cyclic loading behavior and the inelastic strain rate induced by the stress rate component tangential to the subloading surface. In this article, the extended tangential-subloading surface model is applied to the prediction of deformation behavior of sands subjected to various loading ranging from proportional to cyclic nonproportional loading. The validity is verified by comparing with the various test data. Then, it is revealed that the incorporation of the strain rate due to the stress rate component tangential to the subloading surface is of importance for the description of nonproportional loading behavior.


The calcineurin inhibitors— cyclosporine and tacrolimus— are the mainstay of immunosuppressive therapy in solid organ transplantation. These drugs produce severe adverse drug effects (ADEs) such as nephrotoxicity, posttransplantation diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. Accumulated evidence suggests that the development of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and renal failure may be associated with specific DNA genotypes. In this review, the genes involved with the development of these disease processes are compared with those implicated in calcineurin inhibitor‐induced ADEs. The renin‐angiotensin system genes, cytokine‐encoding genes, and plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 genes have been implicated in calcineurin inhibitor‐induced nephrotoxicity, as well as in development of renal failure. A number of genes are implicated in contributing to diabetes, and these include the vitamin D receptor gene, VDR; hepatocyte nuclear factor genes, HNF; transcription factor 7‐like 2 gene, TCF7L2; angiotensin‐converting enzyme gene, ACE; cytokines; peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ gene, PPARG; and others. Studies have suggested that the VDR, PPARG, HNF1A, and adenosine 5′‐triphosphate‐binding cassette ABCC8 (which encodes the sulfonylurea receptor) genes are associated with calcineurin inhibitor‐induced diabetes. The genes encoding for the angiotensin‐converting enzyme, endothelial constitutive nitric oxide synthase, and cytochrome P450 3A isoenzyme have been involved in the development of hypertension and in calcineurin inhibitor‐induced hypertension. The genetic study of disease states can be the stepping stones for thoroughly understanding the genetic basis of ADEs. Gene polymorphisms are implicated in the development of diseases and corresponding disease‐like ADEs. The disease‐associated genes provide candidate genes for exploring ADEs and may provide genomic biomarkers for assessing the risk for developing severe calcineurin inhibitor‐related ADEs as well as for developing preventive strategies.


BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality and features a substantial economic burden. METHODS: This article analyses the frequency of physician contacts and commonly provided services in the outpatient care of patients with COPD in Germany. Information on characteristic health care delivery in case of patients with COPD has been further used to construct basic scenarios of outpatient resource use. RESULTS: Altogether, 34 out of 150 respiratory specialists and 55 out of 350 general practitioners participated in the survey (response rates of 22.7 and 15.7 %, respectively). Results point out, that the number of commonly provided services (a) is limited to a very basic set, (b) does not differ substantially according to severity of COPD, and (c) does not substantially vary between the stable phase of the disease and the presence of exacerbations. CONCLUSIONS: Despite its low level of evidence, the use of expert opinion can serve as a valuable and legitimate tool; especially when the literature does not provide any or only outdated information.


The anthropometric and somatotype evaluation is an essential tool in the selection and control of high-performance athletes. The aim of this study was to describe the somatotype and body composition of male elite race walkers (20 k modality), and its relationship with athletic performance. Twenty-four race walkers participated in this study. The sample was divided into two groups: the race walkers with the best performance (upper 25 percentile; n=7) and the second group (n=17) that corresponds to the rest of the participants. Weight (kg), height (cm), seven skinfolds, two diameters and five perimeters were measured. Body fat percentage (BF%) were estimated with the Yuhasz formula, and the somatotype was used applying the Heath-Carter method. The best performing athletes were taller (178.3 ± 4.4 cm vs. 173.7 ± 5.6 cm, p <0.05) and showed a greater ectomorphic component (p<0.05) than the rest of the participants. The somatotype of the best performance athletes was 2.2-2.8-4.1 against the 2.5-3.8-2.9 of the lowest performing athletes. The average time (hours, minute, seconds) of execution of the race in athletes of better performances was 1:22:40, in comparison with the athletes of lower performances with 1:32:41 (p<0.02). The ectomorphic component and height are morphological characteristics that can determine athletic performance of race walkers. It is suggested to consider these factors in the selection of the race walkers.


With the dominance of multicore processors, parallel programming has become more important. Transactional Memory is a promising solution to synchronisation issues that are hurting parallel programmers. While there are a lot of researches on the implementation tradeoffs of TM, there is rare study on the applications that may utilize the techniques, which is essential to both providing feedbacks to the TM designers and to helping potential users. This paper makes the first step of this work by presenting our identification of emerging applications for the comprehensive study of TM. The selection is based on application-domains including popular server/client softwares, multimedia applications, bioinformatics applications, data mining applications, and other scientific applications, which cover most of the dwarfs. A preliminary experiment is also provided to illustrate what we can get from this work.


The topic of the thesis is developing an International Market Entry strategy for
AmStar-Europe to enter Europe. AmStar-Europe is a new company with no
experience abroad and needs an International Market Entry strategy plan to guide
the penetration of the European market.
The following recommendations are found:
· Enter Denmark through direct export and focus on AffaldVarme Arhus,
Forbraendingsanlaegget REFA, Roskilde Forbraending and I/S vestforbraending
first, because they are open to new technology's and responded quickly. Focus
on persons who make (big) investment decisions, analysed in table 14 and sell
the AmS 8** coating through personal selling.
· Develop references for potential customers by providing current customers with
small samples. These samples provide knowledge about the product and wordof-
mouth can distribute this knowledge into the market.
· Use trade shows and seminars to build awareness, show references, meet new
customers and maintain your relationships with current customers. Frequently
visit Denmark to maintain the relationships and to keep informed. AmStar-
Europe should keep up to date when it comes to environmental regulations and
laws in Europe. They should share information and educate and inform the
market about the function of the AmS 8** coating.
· Send information before business meetings, be punctual, professional and
organising personal meetings to establish a good relationship. When selling the
coating show environmental concern and focus on the long term effect of the
coating.
These recommendations are found searching the internet, contacting several external
organisations like the EVD, the FME, the embassy of the Netherlands in Denmark.
Also information to formulate these recommendations were found reading scientific
articles and distributing questionnaires.
The consequences are that it will take a lot of time to build awareness, establish
relationships and sell the coating. Because it is a new product with high investment
costs and little references people are cautious. The most important thing is to
develop references for potential customers.


The growth of the Semantic Web has resulted in the development of Semantic applications such as search engines. The continuous development of these applications has prompted many researchers to declare that the Semantic Web is a solution to the many problems faced by the current World Wide Web. However, there is a lack of proper evidence to prove that the Semantic Web is actually superior to the WWW. In our research, we collected queries from 30 university students and entered these queries into two search engines: Google – the most widely used search engine and Hakia – an upcoming Semantic search engine. Precision was thereafter calculated using a pre-determined formula. Our calculation revealed that Google outperforms Hakia as it has a higher mean precision at 0.64 as compared to Hakia at 0.54. Google also has a lower standard deviation at 0.14as compared to Hakia at 0.25. The results show that Google, which is a keyword search engine, is superior to Hakia, a Semantic Search engine in terms of the first 20 precision. While there is a possibility of this fact changing in the future with the current advancement rates of the Semantic Web, it remains absolutely true for now.


Abstract Though there are a variety of astronomy sonification software packages, none of them shown high granularity evidence of having been designed with a user-centric focus. SonoUno is a sonification package created taking into account the user from the beginning, and incorporates end user contact feedback for continuous improvements to the software. In this contribution, SonoUno user cases are presented with the soft corresponding updates, as well as the first description of a recent web page development.


We present an investigation of the effects of a change in the protonation state of the phosphonic acid anchoring ligand in the dye [Cu(H41)(2)][PF6] (H41 = ((6,6′-dimethyl-[2,2′-bipyridine]-4,4′-diyl)bis(4,1-phenylene))bis(phosphonic acid), 2 = 4,4′-bis(4-bromophenyl)-6,6′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine) on the performance of n-type dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). FTO/TiO2 electrodes were immersed in solutions of H41 in the presence of base (0–4 equivalents). TiO2-anchored heteroleptic copper(I) sensitizers were subsequently formed by ligand exchange between the homoleptic complex [Cu(2)2][PF6] and the anchored ligand [H4−n1]n−. The results demonstrate that the addition of one equivalent of base during the initial surface functionalization can afford up to a 26% increase in DSC efficiency, while the addition of ≥3 equivalents of base significantly hinders DSC performance. Deprotonation of H41 has been investigated using 1H and 31P NMR spectroscopic titrations. Further insight into DSC performance has been gained by using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and a comparison is made between DSCs in which the working electrodes are either pre-treated with a base, or exposed to a base post heteroleptic copper(I) dye-assembly.


Quantifying the global volcanic CO2 output from subaerial volcanism is key for a better understanding of rates and mechanisms of carbon cycling in and out of our planet and their consequences for the long‐term evolution of Earth's climate over geological timescales. Although having been the focus of intense research since the early 1990s, and in spite of recent progress, the global volcanic CO2 output remains inaccurately known. Here we review past developments and recent progress and examine limits and caveats of our current understanding and challenges for future research. We show that CO2 flux measurements are today only available for ~100 volcanoes (cumulative measured flux, 44 Tg CO2/year), implying that extrapolation is required to account for the emissions of the several hundred degassing volcanoes worldwide. Recent extrapolation attempts converge to indicate that persistent degassing through active crater fumaroles and plumes releases ~53–88 Tg CO2/year, about half of which is released from the 125 most actively degassing subaerial volcanoes (36.4 ± 2.4 Tg CO2/year from strong volcanic gas emitters, Svge). The global CO2 output sustained by diffuse degassing via soils, volcanic lakes, and volcanic aquifers is even less well characterized but could be as high as 83 to 93 Tg CO2/year, rivaling that from the far more manifest crater emissions. Extrapolating these current fluxes to the past geological history of the planet is challenging and will require a new generation of models linking subduction parameters to magma and volatile (CO2) fluxes.


This report examined the right to rehabilitation, and its implementation within a transitional justice process. The report looked into Tunisia as a case study, in which it examined the enacted laws and their coincidence with international treaties and conventions. The report looked into the practical implementation of the right to rehabilitation through studying and analyzing the work of the Tunisian institute for rehabilitation-Nebras, the first and only rehabilitation center in Tunisia. Through the development of the report, many challenges emerged facing the implementation of the right to rehabilitation; some are international, such as the lack of a clear definition of rehabilitation. Other challenges, on the national level, are the most problematic ones as the level of implementation in this report was on a national level, as shown by this report most of these challenges were created due to the lack of the government responsibilities towards its obligations, for example in terms of enacting laws and providing different types of support, such as financial support and other means of practices. To sum up, the report emphasized on the importance of the right to rehabilitation and its implementation, moreover it concluded to a number of recommendations that emerged as a solution for the challenges.