Fish swim by undulating their bodies. These propulsive motions require coordinated shape changes of a body that interacts with its fluid environment, but the specific shape coordination that leads to robust turning and swimming motions remains unclear. We propose a simple model of a three-link fish swimming in a potential flow environment and we use model-free reinforcement learning to arrive at optimal shape changes for two swimming tasks: swimming in a desired direction and swimming towards a known target. This fish model belongs to a class of problems in geometric mechanics, known as driftless dynamical systems, which allow us to analyze the swimming behavior in terms of geometric phases over the shape space of the fish. These geometric methods are less intuitive in the presence of drift. Here, we use the shape space analysis as a tool for assessing, visualizing, and interpreting the control policies obtained via reinforcement learning in the absence of drift. We then examine the robustness of these policies to drift-related perturbations. Although the fish has no direct control over the drift itself, it learns to take advantage of the presence of moderate drift to reach its target.


BACKGROUND
 Although Web-based questionnaires are an efficient, increasingly popular mode of data collection, their utility is often challenged by high participant dropout. Researchers can gain insight into potential causes of high participant dropout by analyzing the dropout patterns.

 OBJECTIVE
 This study proposed the application of and assessed the use of user-specified and existing hypothesis testing methods in a novel setting—survey dropout data—to identify phases of higher or lower survey dropout.

 METHODS
 First, we proposed the application of user-specified thresholds to identify abrupt differences in the dropout rate. Second, we proposed the application of 2 existing hypothesis testing methods to detect significant differences in participant dropout. We assessed these methods through a simulation study and through application to a case study, featuring a questionnaire addressing decision-making surrounding cancer screening.

 RESULTS
 The user-specified method set to a low threshold performed best at accurately detecting phases of high attrition in both the simulation study and test case application, although all proposed methods were too sensitive.

 CONCLUSIONS
 The user-specified method set to a low threshold correctly identified the attrition phases. Hypothesis testing methods, although sensitive at times, were unable to accurately identify the attrition phases. These results strengthen the case for further development of and research surrounding the science of attrition.


The objective of this study was to evaluate the morphogenetic and structural characteristics of Aruana guineagrass pastures (Panicum maximum cv. Aruana) subjected to rotational stocking by sheep. The treatments corresponded to grazing when swards reached 95 or 98% of interception of incident light (LI) until post-grazing heights of 10 and 15cm and were allocated to experimental units (plots of 196 m2), according to a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement in a completely randomized design, with three replications, from January to May 2009. The morphogenetic assessments included: leaf appearance and elongation rates (LAR and LER), phyllochron (PHY) and leaf life span (LLS). Structural evaluations assessed the number of green leaves (NGL), dead leaves (NDL) and expanded leaves (NEL) per tiller, tiller population density (TPD) and final leaf length (FLL). The pre-grazing sward height relatively constant during the experimental period, with values ranging between 30 and 40 cm for treatments of 95 and 98% of LI, respectively, indicating potential for the development and use of management practices based on pasture conditions goals. The morphogenetic and structural characteristics were influenced by the frequency and intensity of grazing adopted, as well as by the seasons, implying that the capacity and speed for the recovery of Aruana grass pastures after grazing depend mainly on the management and edaphoclimatic conditions. The best grazing management for Aruana guineagrass is 95% canopy light interception, i.e., 30 cm pre-grazing height pastures interrupted when reaching 15 cm residue.


In the present work, multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-doped TiO2 nanocomposite films were synthesized by sol–gel method. The influence of nanotube concentration on the structural, electrical and optical properties of the films was investigated. The beneficial effects of the addition of carbon nanotubes into a TiO2 film and titania-coated MWCNTs have much in common. On the other hand, this work contributes to the previous studies in terms of the optical and electrical properties of MWCNT. For this reason, MWCNT/rare brookite-phased TiO2 matrix as simple sol–gel deposited composite films were investigated in our study. The XRD studies showed that the composite film has a brookite crystal structure at the annealing temperature of 450∘C. According to the surface morphology investigations, SEM image of nanocomposite film shows that composite film has a granular and rod-like structure. The absorbance measurements of the films were carried out by the UV–Vis spectrophotometer to investigate transparency and to calculate the bandgap energy of composite films. The surface resistivity of the MWCNT-doped TiO2 composites decreased from [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text] ohm/sq with increase in MWCNT content.


Small domains of cobalt on silica (CoSBA) were prepared by the reaction of Co[N(SiMe3)2]2 and SBA-15, resulting in a range of surface structures as the cobalt loading varied from 0.27 to 5.11 wt%. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) was employed to characterize these surface structures, which range from single-site cobalt atoms to small clusters of Co3O4. The CoSBA materials exhibit photochemical water oxidation catalysis, revealing distinct catalytic activities associated with characteristic types of surface structures that are dominant in particular concentration regimes. The catalytic turnover frequency for water oxidation of an isolated single-site cobalt atom (0.0143 s−1) is much greater than that observed for a surface atom of a small cluster Co3O4 on silica (0.0006 s−1). The CoSBA catalysts were recyclable for more than seven catalytic cycles (>200 turnovers) with additional sacrificial oxidant, and no leaching of cobalt was observed. Post-catalytic analysis of CoSBA by XAS revealed that the cobalt atoms were partially oxidized to Co3+, without exhibiting significant surface migration and aggregation of cobalt atoms.


Attribute-based access control (ABAC) is a new generation of access control techniques. It enables fine-grained access control by using various attributes of authorization elements, facilitates collaborative policy administration within a large enterprise or across multiple organizations, and allows for decoupling of access control policies from application logic. Nevertheless, ABAC-based systems can be very complex to manage. High expressiveness of ABAC specifications also increases the possibility of having defects. Therefore testing and verification are important for assuring that ABAC policies are specified and enforced correctly. This paper presents an overview of the existing work on specification, dynamic testing, and static verification of ABAC policies. It not only summarizes the up-to-date research progresses, but also provides an understanding about the limitations and open issues of the existing work. It is expected to serve as useful guidelines for future research.


While interests in Industry 4.0 technologies such as cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT) are growing, an ongoing challenge is to properly evaluate the performance of the providers of such technologies. Methods have been developed and applied to assess the efficiency of cloud service providers (CSPs) for Industry 4.0. However, most existing methods suffer from such shortcomings as subjective weights and computing complexity, rendering it difficult to succinctly differentiate the performance of CSPs in a competitive market. Besides, the literature has not taken into account many different types of data such as ratios, integers, and undesirable factors that can affect the performance of CSPs. Most importantly, most existing studies do not consider the sustainability of CSPs in evaluating their performance. To address the above issues, we present a comprehensive analytical method based on data envelopment analysis (DEA) to gauge the sustainability of CSPs for Industry 4.0. Validating the usefulness of our method using a real-life dataset, we provide not only a viable means with sound academic underpinning but also significant managerial insights for practitioners to assess the sustainability of CSPs for Industry 4.0.


This paper presents a study and experimentation of a hybrid energy storage system prototype, based on compressed air, where the charging and discharging is done within maximum efficiency conditions of the volumetric machine. As the maximum efficiency conditions impose the level of the converted power, an intermittent time-modulated operation mode is applied to the thermodynamic converter to obtain a variable converted power. A smoothly variable output power is achieved with the help of a supercapacitive auxiliary storage device used as a filter. The paper describes the concept of the system, and reports on the calculated energetic performance, as well as the measured ones for a first prototype system


Today, students entering higher education are diverse and include many students who in previous generations did not attend higher education. Research shows that these non-traditional students (e.g., first generation students, students with disabilities, older students) often feel less prepared for higher education (Reed et al., 2006; Stebleton & Soria, 2012; Zafft, 2008). An option for non-traditional students seeking entry to university or professional programmes is to upgrade their academic skill through college pathway programmes. Regardless of how one might come to higher education, being prepared in higher education involves resourcefulness and resilience. Highly resourceful students use a number of self-management strategies when faced with challenges (Rosenbaum, 1990; Kennett & Keefer, 2006). Akgun and Ciarrochi (2003) showed that while high resourceful and low resourceful students face similar academic stresses, there is a greater impact of that stress on the performance of low resourceful students. Indeed, resourcefulness is predictive of student belief in their academic abilities, university adaptation, and higher grades (Kennett & Keefer 2006; Kennett & Reed 2009). Yet, non-traditional students are frequently less resourceful, less adapted and less able to balance their multiple academic and non-academic roles (Reed & Kennett, 2016; Reed, Kennett, & Emond, 2015). Here, we examine the concept of resourcefulness and resilience in today's higher education classroom. We argue that, given the diversity of the student population, strategies should be implemented within programs, such as pathways programs, to increase student resourcefulness and resilience as both will have far reaching benefits in higher education and beyond.


Musical instrument recognition is an important aspect of music information retrieval. In this paper, statistical pattern recognition techniques are utilized to tackle the problem in the context of solo musical phrases. Ten instrument classes from different instrument families are considered. A large sound database is collected from excerpts of musical phrases acquired from commercial recordings translating different instrument instances, performers, and recording conditions. More than 150 signal processing features are studied including new descriptors. Two feature selection techniques, inertia ratio maximization with feature space projection and genetic algorithms are considered in a class pairwise manner whereby the most relevant features are fetched for each instrument pair. For the classification task, experimental results are provided using Gaussian mixture models (GMMs) and support vector machines (SVMs). It is shown that higher recognition rates can be reached with pairwise optimized subsets of features in association with SVM classification using a radial basis function kernel


The author considers that the most important prerequisite of the effective anesthesiology is high qualification of the anesthesiologist. The main components of the anesthesia are believed to be strong analgesia of the NLA-II type by high doses of phentanyl supplemented with local anesthesia at the expense of peridural blockade and infiltration of trimecain of reflexogenous zones. The motor reaction should be cupped off not by a relaxant but by the increased analgesia. Such analgesia against the background of prophylactic hemodilution, restriction of blood transfusions can reliably maintain homeostasis providing the recovery of clear consciousness and adequate spontaneous respiration as early as the end of injurious operations on the organs of abdomen and chest including those with the artificial blood circulation.


In most countries,
Small Medium Enterprise (SMEs) are known as main players in generating domestic-led investment and stimulate
economic expansion. They are vital for
economic growth and innovation, poverty reduction, local employment and
development, and social cohesion. However, in the current digitally-connected
trading economy, SMEs have face many new challenges that change the way SMEs
business-to-business (B2B) trading operates. Among these challenges ARE the level of B2B
e-commerce implementation and utilization that able to facilitate B2B trading
process. However,
the implementation of B2B
e-commerce is being categorized as a system with high degree of difficulty
since it involves complexity of the multiple relationships and interactions
between trading partners. The interactions are not just complicated by their
volume and variation in processes, but also by the complexity inherent in the
dependencies exist between different trading parties. Based on this, for
SMEs to partake in the B2B e-commerce activities, they need to have attained some reasonable level of
maturity or readiness measurement in order to participate in B2B e-commerce
initiatives. To overcome this, the robust multidimensional B2B e-commerce maturity
application to assess the e-readiness level is needed. This paper describes the
development of B2B e-Commerce
Maturity Application (BeMA) which involves several distinct sequential exploratory stages. In
order to ensure its validity and practicality, the application was evaluated by
35 selected SMEs. Based on the evaluation results, all respondents were agreed
on the model usefulness and its practicality. The research believes that the
model will provide practical guidance for SMEs to clearly define appropriate
method of measuring e-readiness and the recommendation approaches to improve
their B2B e-commerce maturity level.


This paper presents new data about the chronological placement of two archaeological sites at Cape Denbigh, Norton Sound, Alaska and others along the Kobuk River, Alaska. Direct radiometric dates on arrowpoints and harpoon heads indicate that selected type specimens are not always reliable temporal indicators for late prehistoric sequences in northwest Alaska and Arctic Canada. In the future new fieldwork and direct dating of artifacts and associated sediments will be necessary in order to refine culture-history sequences, evaluate the utility of artifact types as chronological indicators, and to examine the relationship between past culture change and environmental change in coastal Alaska.


To compare the metabolic control and acceptability of a pen injector to the traditional syringe used in diabetes, 12 non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) patients and six insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) patients were followed-up at the outpatient clinic of the Taipei Municipal Yang-Ming Hospital. All patients participated in a four-week run-in period and 24-week randomized cross-over design study. Human NPH insulin (Protaphane HM) in vials and in penfills were used in each 12-week experimental period, respectively. Metabolic control was assessed by a biochemical examination (before and after seven months of treatment) and HbA1c levels (at Weeks 1, 4, 16 and 28) and was found to be unchanged. The overall mean blood glucose declined slightly in both treatment modalities but not to a significant level (mean +/- SE; run-in: 175 mg/dL +/- 10 mg/dL; pen: 159 mg/dL +/- 8 mg/dL; syringe: 156 mg/dL +/- 7 mg/dL). The number of hypoglycemic episodes and self-adjustments of insulin dosage did not differ significantly between pen and syringe treatments. At the end of the study, a questionnaire revealed that eight patients would choose pen injectors, nine patients syringes and one was unsure of what to use as a future preference. The limitation of 36 units per injection of insulin is a drawback for those NIDDM patients with insulin resistance. An insulin delivery device that would allow an injection of a larger quantity of insulin is desirable for some patients.


Abstract Hydrilla is one of the most serious aquatic weed problems in the United States, and fluridone is the United States Environment Protection Agency (USEPA)-approved herbicide that provides relatively long-term systemic control. Mature (6-wk-old) and young (freshly planted from 10-cm apical shoot apices) hydrilla were grown in 540 L fiberglass vaults under short- (natural 8 to 10 hr light/14 to 16 hr dark photoperiod) or long- (artificially extended 16 h light/8 h dark photoperiod) day greenhouse conditions. Fluridone treatments of 0, 1, 5, and 10 µg L−1 were applied after 2 wk and maintained within each population and photoperiodic regime throughout the study. Short days promoted subterranean turion formation, but this effect was reduced by long days and 5 and 10 µg L−1 fluridone. Fluridone caused a reduction in chlorophyll and carotenoid levels but the effect on anthocyanin content was variable. Short days caused elevated anthocyanin, and this effect was diminished by fluridone. Fluridone reduced the abscisic acid content of mature apical stems and was higher under short days in younger plants. These studies provide further evidence that fluridone can be used as a fall herbicide application to reduce turion production. Nomenclature: Fluridone; hydrilla, Hydrilla verticillata (L. f.) Royle HYLLI


The Walk Score is a patented algorithm for measuring the walkability of a given geographic area. In addition to its use in real estate, the accompanying API is used in a range of research in public health and urban development. This study explores how neighborhood residents differently understand the notion of walkability as well as the extent to which their personal definitions of neighborhood walkability are reflected in the Walk Score's underlying algorithm. We find that, while the Walk Score generally aligns with residents' priorities around walkability, significant subjective aspects that influence walking behavior are not reflected in the score, raising the need to consider implications for using algorithmic tools like the Walk Score in certain research contexts. We discuss the challenge of measuring subjective experience and how designers might begin to address it. We call for qualitative evaluations of algorithmic tools to help determine appropriate contexts of use.


This paper describes an elective course in mechatronic systems engineering that is project based and team-oriented with hands-on learning. Working in small teams, students add electronic components to a mobile robot base and write the programs required to make the robot perform a series of tasks. Although the application of mobile robots as an educational tool in a mechatronics course is becoming the norm at many universities, the task based organization of the Queen's mechatronics course is believed to have a number of novel features. The paper will review the pedagogy of the course, including aspects of the student workload, the interplay between teams, and the task based approach to marking and organization of the laboratories.Copyright © 2004 by ASME


Forensic analysis of digital photographs relies on intrinsic statistical traces introduced at the time of their acquisition or subsequent editing. Such traces are often removed by post-processing (e.g., down-sampling and re-compression applied upon distribution in the Web) which inhibits reliable provenance analysis. Increasing adoption of computational methods within digital cameras further complicates the process and renders explicit mathematical modeling infeasible. While this trend challenges forensic analysis even in near-acquisition conditions, it also creates new opportunities. This paper explores end-to-end optimization of the entire image acquisition and distribution workflow to facilitate reliable forensic analysis at the end of the distribution channel, where state-of-the-art forensic techniques fail. We demonstrate that a neural network can be trained to replace the entire photo development pipeline, and jointly optimized for high-fidelity photo rendering and reliable provenance analysis. Such optimized neural imaging pipeline allowed us to increase image manipulation detection accuracy from approx. 45% to over 90%. The network learns to introduce carefully crafted artifacts, akin to digital watermarks, which facilitate subsequent manipulation detection. Analysis of performance trade-offs indicates that most of the gains can be obtained with only minor distortion. The findings encourage further research towards building more reliable imaging pipelines with explicit provenance-guaranteeing properties.


This paper combines the study of income distribution with that of natural disasters. We introduce several income density functions to approximate the income distributions of five samples: New Orleans prior to Katrina, New Orleans after Katrina, the United States during the same year (2005), and then New Orleans and the United States in 2007. We then assess the goodness of fit of these models to determine which most accurately represents the income dis-tributions of the samples. We conclude with a discussion of how the income inequality and distribution was impacted in the city of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina using the best-fitting models and examine the persistence of these changes two years later.


Pathologists and pediatric hematologist/ oncologists of the World Health Organization's Committee on Histiocytic/Reticulum Cell Proliferations and the Reclassification Working Group of the Histiocyte Society present a classification of the histiocytic disorders that primarily affect children. Nosology, based on the lineage of lesional cells and biological behavior, is related to the ontogeny of histiocytes (macrophages and dendritic cells of the immune system). Dendritic cell-related disorders of varied biological behavior are dominated by Langerhans cell histiocytosis, but separate secondary proliferations of dendritic cells must be differentiated. Juvenile xanthogranuloma represents a disorder of dermal dendrocytes, another dendritic cell of skin. The hemophagocytic syndromes are the most common of the macrophage-related disorders of varied biological behavior. Guidelines for distinguishing the exceedingly rare malignant diseases of histiocytes from large cell lymphomas through the use of a battery of special studies are provided.


SU-8 exhibits interesting mechanical and optical properties for various MEMS applications, such as the development of micro lens and ball-like lens arrays. One of the most common method to fabricate such structures, is thermal reflow. However, a promising alternative is inkjet printing. It is generally reported that inks with a dynamic viscosity below 40 mPa•s and a surface tension from 10-3 to 10-1 N•m-1 can be inkjetted. The ability of inkjet printing SU-8 based material and fabricate micro lens has already been demonstrated. Another area of interest for SU-8 is MEMS packaging. Once the MEMS active parts are fabricated, it is often important to protect them from environmental damages or perturbations affecting their functionality. In this work, SU-8 based material has been inkjet printed for the development of optical micro lenses with controlled contact angle and for MEMS like parts embedding. Chemical functionalization and dedicated topographical features allows self-alignment of the deposited drops, and using the fabrication method described in high drop confinement is also performed. It was possible to fabricate spherical shapes with different radius of curvature on practically 1 mm diameter round platforms in a controlled manner. The experimental standard deviation is below 1.5% from theoretical expectations. Furthermore a precise positioning of the inkjetted drop can be used to micromachine overhanging ball-like lens structures with edge angle up to 160°. This paper will present three case studies; a) the fabrication of micro lens arrays, with a controlled radius of curvature and thus controlled focal lens, b) the possibility to prototype ball like lens structures and c) the ability to precisely encapsulate MEMS parts.


ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to map the temporal changes in chickpea cropped area over the last decade in Andhra Pradesh using remote-sensing imagery. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data composited for every 16 days were used to map the spatial distribution of seasonal crop extent in Andhra Pradesh. MODIS derived 16 day normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and maximum value composite (MVC) with seasonal ground survey information for the years 2005–2006 and 2012–2013 were used. A subset of ground survey information was also used to assess the pixel-based accuracies of the MODIS-derived major cropland extent. Chickpea-growing areas were identified and mapped based on their characteristic growing periods during the post-rainy season. Significant growth in the chickpea-growing areas was observed in the four districts of Andhra Pradesh between 2001 and 2012. The area cropped to chickpea almost tripled from 0.22 million ha during 2000–2001 to 0.6 million ha by 2012–2013. Furthermore, survey data were also used to assess the accuracy of the MODIS estimates of chickpea-growing areas. When compared with ground survey, the 10 land-use and land-cover classes derived from the MODIS temporal imagery resulted in overall accuracies of 86% of actual. The accuracy of areas identified as cropped to chickpea was 94%. To complement this remote-sensing study, a state-level representative primary household survey was conducted to elicit information on the socio-economic characteristics of chickpea-growing farmers, the extent of adoption of improved cultivars, costs and returns from chickpea cultivation, competitiveness of chickpea with other post-rainy crops, etc. during 2012–13. The findings revealed that nearly 98% of the chickpea cropped area is now under improved cultivars, with an average increase in yield of 37% over yields achieved with unimproved varieties. The average annual per capita incomes have increased to US$ 1.89 day−1 with this silent chickpea revolution across the rain-fed areas of Andhra Pradesh.


Task period adaptations are often used to alleviate temporal overload conditions in real-time systems. Existing frameworks assume that only task periods are adjustable and that task deadlines remain unchanged at all times. This paper formally introduces a more general real-time task model where task deadlines, which are less than or equal to task periods, are functions of task periods. This tight coupling between task deadlines and task periods has been discussed in a recent work in control systems and presents a novel real-time scheduling challenge. To solve the period and deadline selection problem, this article identifies a feasible period-deadline combination and proposes a heuristic, which iteratively adjusts task periods and deadlines in such a way that the task set becomes schedulable. Experimental results show that the heuristic finds a solution to the period and deadline selection problem over 73% of the time, using less than three search iterations. When it is unable to find a solution to the problem, the heuristic requires less than 0.02s to run in the worst-case (with at most 100 search iterations).


Backgrounds: Pott's disease is a rare form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis, and presents with several clinical patterns. Delay in diagnosis and management may cause serious complications. We conducted a retrospective study between 19912006 to evaluate clinical presentation, radiologic and laboratory findings, and therapeutic approaches to spinal tuberculosis. Methods: We reviewed clinical presentation, radiological and laboratory findings of 58 patients with spinal tuberculosis retrospectively. The diagnosis of tuberculous spondylitis was based on characteristic histology or microbiologic evidence of the disease. The results of study were recorded, and statistically analyzed by SPSS 11.5. Results: The most frequent symptom was back pain (84%), with thoracic region being the most affected site (46%). Paravertebral abscess noted in 67% of cases and the average time for diagnosis was 16 months. Conclusions: The 42 cases of this study underwent surgery and all were treated with drug therapy for 12 months . There was no worsening of the neurologic status in any patient. All patients with tuberculous spondylitis began to improve 3 months after chemotherapy and healed within 12 months in nonsurgical and surgical groups.


The question of how to respond to out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) encapsulates the tension between the individual and the population perspective on health. Faced with someone who has just collapsed with no pulse, the appropriate response is clear. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) makes it possible to sustain some individuals until their cardiac rhythm can be diagnosed; those found to have ventricular fibrillation can often be shocked back into sinus rhythm and evacuated to hospital, from which they have an over 70% probability, in the best centres, of being discharged alive.1

The question of what to do, at a population level, to enhance the number of people who survive is more difficult. For almost two decades it has been argued that what is needed is a coordinated "chain of survival",2 which would include rapid access to skilled care, early CPR and defibrillation. What was initially less clear was how such a system could be put in place. The solution was largely seen as getting more defibrillators into trained hands. In some places the hands were those of physicians,3 while in others they belonged to paramedics.4 Much of the debate about who could take on this role centred around the accuracy of diagnosis; clearly it was undesirable to administer high voltage shocks to people who did not need them. Yet, whichever option had been adopted, there would never have been enough trained health workers to ensure that one would be readily available when he or she was needed.

The development …


Schizophrenia exacts a heavy toll on a person's capacity to work, and a variety of vocational rehabilitation interventions have been developed over the past few decades to enhance the vocational capacities of persons with this disorder. The research literature on outcomes of vocational rehabilitation during the era of deinstitutionalization for persons with schizophrenia is reviewed. Most vocational rehabilitation programs have a positive influence on work-related activities, but most have failed to show substantial and enduring impacts on independent, competitive employment. Recent advances in supported employment suggest that vocational rehabilitation offers greater promise than do transitional and sheltered employment approaches. Vocational rehabilitation intervention may also exert positive influences on such clinical outcomes as medication compliance, symptom reduction, and relapse.


Background: A reduction in the inspired oxygen fraction (FiO2) induces a decline in arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) and changes of heart rate variability (HRV). It has been shown that SpO2 and HRV responses to similar levels of acute normobaric hypoxia are inter-individual variable. Variable response may be influenced by normoxia reached maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) value. Objective: The primary aim was to assess HRV and the SpO2 response to hypoxia, and examine the association with normoxic VO2max. Methods: Supine HRV and SpO2 were monitored during normobaric hypoxia (FiO2 = 9.6%) for 10 minutes in 28 subjects, aged 23.7 ± 1.7 years. HRV was evaluated by using both spectral and time domain HRV analysis. Low frequency (LF, 0.05-0.15 Hz) and high frequency (HF, 0.15-0.50 Hz) power together with square root of the mean of the squares of the successive differences (rMSSD) were calculated and transformed by natural logarithm (Ln). Based on the SpO2 in hypoxia, subjects were divided into Resistant (RG, SpO2 ≥ 70.9%, n = 14) and Sensitive (SG, SpO2 < 70.9%, n = 14) groups. Perceived hypoxia tolerance was self-scored on a 4-level scale. Results: VO2max was higher in SG (62.4 ± 7.2 ml ⋅ kg-1 ⋅ min-1) compared with RG (55.5 ± 7.1 ml ⋅ kg-1 ⋅ min-1, p = .017, d = 0.97). A significant relationship (r = -.45, p = .017) between hypoxic-normoxic difference in SpO2 and normoxic VO2max level was found. Vagal activity (Ln rMSSD) was significantly decreased (SG: p < .001, d = 2.64; RG: p < .001, d = 1.22), while sympathetic activity (Ln LF/HF) was relatively increased (p < .001, d = -1.40) in only the SG during hypoxia. Conclusions: Results show that subjects with a higher aerobic capacity exhibited a greater decline in SpO2, accompanied by greater autonomic cardiac disturbances during hypoxia. The SpO2 reduction was associated with perceived hypoxia comfort/discomfort. The hypoxia discomfort state was accompanied by a greater withdrawal in cardiac vagal activity.


EU compliance scholarship has expanded rapidly over the last decade but has neglected the financial dimension of compliance in terms of Member States' conformity with EU financial rules on the regularity and legality of EU spending. This article makes the case for a multi-dimensional approach to compliance research and provides a cross-national assessment of financial compliance in EU Cohesion policy, employing quantitative and qualitative methods. To account for cross-national variations in the application of financial corrections for non-compliant spending, several factors are explored, focusing on regional autonomy, administrative capacity and goodness-of-fit. The quantitative analysis finds strong support for the impact of administrative capacity on cross-national compliance patterns and some evidence for the role of goodness-of-fit. Contrary to expectations, regional autonomy is not associated with compliance in this critical case of EU multi-level governance. Qualitative analysis reinforces these findings and reveals additional factors of relevance.


In this paper, we review some of the key challenges associated with the Ni silicidation process in the most recent CMOS technologies. The introduction of new materials (e.g. SiGe), and of non-planar architectures bring some important changes that require fundamental investigation from a material engineering perspective. Following a discussion of the device architecture and silicide evolution through the last CMOS generations, we focus our study on a very peculiar defect, termed NiSi-Fangs. We describe a mechanism for the defect formation, and present a detailed material analysis that supports this mechanism. We highlight some of the possible metal enrichment processes of the nickel monosilicide such as oxidation or various RIE (Reactive Ion Etching) plasma process, leading to a metal source available for defect formation. We also investigate the NiSi formation and re-formation silicidation differences between Si and SiGe materials, and between (100) and (111) orientations. Finally, we show that the thermal budgets post silicidation can lead to the formation of NiSi-Fangs if the structure and the processes are not optimized. Beyond the understanding of the defect and the discussion on the engineering solutions used to prevent its formation, the interest of this investigation also lies in the fundamental learning within the Ni–Pt–Si– Ge system and some additional perspective on Ni-based contacts to advanced microelectronic devices. 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


Edible seaweeds have historically been consumed by coastal populations across the globe. Today, seaweed is still part of the habitual diet in many Asian countries. Seaweed consumption also appears to be growing in popularity in Western cultures, due both to the influx of Asian cuisine as well as notional health benefits associated with consumption. Isolates of seaweeds (particularly viscous polysaccharides) are used in an increasing number of food applications in order to improve product acceptability and extend shelf-life.
Epidemiological evidence suggests regular seaweed consumption may protect against a range of diseases of modernity. The addition of seaweed and seaweed isolates to foods has already shown potential to enhance satiety and reduce the postprandial absorption rates of glucose and lipids in acute human feeding studies, highlighting their potential use in the development of anti-obesity foods. As seaweeds and seaweed isolates have the potential to both benefit health and improve food acceptability, seaweeds and seaweed isolates offer exciting potential as ingredients in the development of new food products.
This review will outline the evidence from human and experimental studies that suggests consumption of seaweeds and seaweed isolates may impact on health (both positively and negatively). Finally, this review will highlight current gaps in knowledge in this area and what future strategies should be adopted for maximising seaweed's potential food uses.


Abstract. A research study was conducted during Rabi 2016 (Samba season) to estimate rice area using SAR data in Tiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu. Multi temporal Sentinel 1A satellite data with VV and VH polarization at 20 m spatial resolution was acquired between September 2016 and January 2017 at 12 days interval and processed using rule-based Parameterized classification in MAPscape-RICE software. Continuous monitoring for crop parameters and validation exercise was done for accuracy assessment. Spectral dB curve of rice was generated and the dB values ranged from −12.76 to −9.95 for VV and from −19.25 to −15.15 for VH polarization with an average primary variation of 1.3 and 2.5 dB respectively. Start of Season (SOS) map was derived from satellite data showing rice emergence dates for the cropping season. A total rice area of 106773 ha was estimated in Tiruvarur district using VV polarization with an overall accuracy of 79.5% and 0.59 kappa index, while in VH polarization, the rice area was estimated to be 91007 ha with 82.1% over all accuracy and 0.64 kappa index. The lesser accuracy in VV polarization was due to underestimate of direct seeded rice area and in VH polarization, it was due to underestimate in Transplanted rice area. The VV and VH rice area maps were then integrated to derive a VV-VH rice area map in MAPscape-RICE software and it recorded a total rice area of 124551 ha with an accuracy of 91.5% and 0.83-kappa index.


Government financed crop damage compensation (CDC) scheme is covering crop losses in Finland. The scheme is about to be abolished. Crop insurance scheme based on public–private partnership will be in place in 2016. In this study, we analysed how government expenditure will change due to the policy shift. According to a stochastic simulation model, the government's risk exposure will decrease and the mean expenditures for the government as well as the variability in expenditure between years are expected to be lower, when the policy is shifted. The results obtained support the government's decision to terminate the CDC scheme.


OBJECTIVE
Higher risks of adverse outcomes have been reported for patients admitted acutely during off-hours. However, in relation to hip fracture, the evidence is inconsistent. We examined whether time of admission influenced compliance with performance measures, surgical delay and 30-day mortality in patients with hip fracture.

DESIGN
Cohort study.

SETTING
Data from The Danish Multidisciplinary Hip Fracture Registry linked with data from Danish National Registries.

PARTICIPANTS
Danish patients undergoing hip fracture surgery, aged >65 years, admitted 1 March 2010 to 30 November 2013 (N = 25 305).

EXPOSURE
Off-hours: weekday evenings and nights, and weekends.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Meeting specific performance measures, surgical delay and mortality.

RESULTS
No differences were found in patient characteristics or in meeting performance measures (RRs from 0.99 [95% CI: 0.98-1.01] to 1.01 [95% CI: 0.99-1.02]. When comparing admission on weekdays (evenings and nights vs. days), off-hours admission was associated with a lower risk of surgical delay (adjusted OR 0.75 [95% CI: 0.66-0.85]) while no differences in 30-day mortality was found (adjusted OR 0.91 [95% CI: 0.80-1.04]. When comparing admission during weekends with admission during weekdays, off-hours admission was associated with a higher risk of surgical delay (adjusted OR 1.19 [95% CI: 1.05-1.37]) and a higher 30-day mortality risk (adjusted OR 1.13 [95% CI: 1.04-1.23]. The risk of surgical delay appeared not to explain the excess 30-day mortality.

CONCLUSIONS
Patients admitted off-hours and on-hours received similar quality of care. The risk of surgical delay and 30 days mortality was higher among patients admitted during weekends; explanations need to be clarified.


Critical information on a flood-affected area is needed in a short time frame to initiate rapid response operations and develop long-term flood management strategies. This study combined rainfall trend analysis using Asian Precipitation—Highly Resolved Observational Data Integration towards Evaluation of Water Resources (APHRODITE) gridded rainfall data with flood maps derived from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and multispectral satellite to arrive at holistic spatio-temporal patterns of floods in Sri Lanka. Advanced Land Observing Satellite Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (ALOS PALSAR) data were used to map flood extents for emergency relief operations while eight-day Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) surface reflectance data for the time period from 2001 to 2016 were used to map long term flood-affected areas. The inundation maps produced for rapid response were published within three hours upon the availability of satellite imagery in web platforms, with the aim of supporting a wide range of stakeholders in emergency response and flood relief operations. The aggregated time series of flood extents mapped using MODIS data were used to develop a flood occurrence map (2001–2016) for Sri Lanka. Flood hotpots identified using both optical and synthetic aperture average of 325 km2 for the years 2006–2015 and exceptional flooding in 2016 with inundation extent of approximately 1400 km2. The time series rainfall data explains increasing trend in the extreme rainfall indices with similar observation derived from satellite imagery. The results demonstrate the feasibility of using multi-sensor flood mapping approaches, which will aid Disaster Management Center (DMC) and other multi-lateral agencies involved in managing rapid response operations and preparing mitigation measures.


INTRODUCTION Nephrolithiasis has a worldwide prevalence of approximately 5 to 15%, and its occurrence is associated with age, sex, race, dietary habits, geographic location, climatic conditions, and other factors. The objective of the present study was to determine the association between climate and the number of hospitalizations for nephrolithiasis (NH) in Brazilian cities located in different climatic regions. METHODS We analyzed data from cities with tropical and subtropical climates. The effects of the lowest (LT), mean (MT), and highest (HT) monthly temperatures and relative humidity of the air (RH) were assessed. RESULTS A positive association was found between the number of hospitalizations for nephrolithiasis and temperature ((LT x NH; R2=0.218; P<0.0001) (MT x NH; R2=0.284; P<0.0001) (HT x NH; R2=0.317; P<0.0001)), and a negative association was found between the number of hospitalizations for nephrolithiasis and the relative humidity (RH x NH; R2=0.234; P<0.0001). Interactions were also observed between MT and RH with respect to their effects on the NH, as described by a linear model (NH = 4.688 + 0.296 x MT - 0.088 x RH). The NH was higher in cities with tropical climates than in cities with subtropical climates (82.4 ± 10.0 vs 28.2 ± 1.6; P<0.00001). CONCLUSION There is an association between the NH and variations in temperature and relative humidity.


La Niña events typically bring dry conditions to the southwestern United States. Recent La Niñas rarely exceed 2 years duration, but a new record of ENSO from a central Pacific coral reveals much longer La Niña anomalies in the 1800s. A La Niña event between 1855–63 coincides with prolonged drought across the western U.S. The spatial pattern of this drought correlates with that expected from La Niña during most of the La Niña event; land‐surface feedbacks are implied by drought persistence and expansion. Earlier periods also show persistent La Niña‐like drought patterns, further implicating Pacific anomalies and surface feedbacks in driving prolonged drought. An extended index of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation suggests that extratropical influences would have reinforced drought in the 1860s and 1890s but weakened it during the La Niña of the 1880s.


The old adage "meeting of the minds" is always an exciting and motivating experience. I only wish that every healthcare provider could share this type of encounter in his or her professional career. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to meet Renee almost 20 years ago when we were both assigned to facilitate a metastatic breast cancer support group. Her role was the clinical social worker, and mine was to provide knowledge and education as the oncology educator. We were a fabulous team.


All of the various schemes that have been put forward to resolve the current credit crisis follow either the "business as usual" or the "good bank" model. The "business as usual" model takes different forms--insurance or guarantee of the assets or liabilities of the financial institutions, creation of a "bad bank" to buy toxic assets, temporary nationalization--and is the one favored by banks and pursued by government. It amounts to a bailout of the financial system using taxpayer money. Its drawback is that the cost may exceed by trillions the original estimate of $700 billion, and despite the mounting cost, it may not even prevent the bankruptcy of financial institutions. Moreover, it runs the risk of government insolvency, and turning an already severe recession into a depression worse than that in the 1930s. The "good bank" solution consists of creating a new banking system from the ashes of the old one by removing the healthy assets and liabilities from the balance sheet of the old banks. It has a relatively small cost and the major advantage that credit flows will resume. Its drawback is that it lets the old banks sink or swim. But if they sink, with huge losses, these might spill over into the personal sector, and the ultimate cost may be the same as in the business-as-usual model: a catastrophic depression. In this new Policy Note, author Elias Karakitsos of Guildhall Asset Management and the Centre for Economic and Public Policy, University of Cambridge, outlines a modified "good bank" approach, with the government either guaranteeing a large proportion of the personal sector's assets or assuming the first loss in case the old banks fail. It has the same advantages as the original good-bank model, but it makes sure that, in the eventuality that the old banks become insolvent, the economy is shielded from falling into depression, and recovery is ultimately ensured.


ABSTRACT The emotional toll of working in healthcare is widely recognised, but staff rarely have time to reflect on their experiences. Schwartz Rounds provide an opportunity for all staff in a healthcare organisation to meet regularly and reflect on the human connections made with patients and the emotional impact of their work. They are now running in over 200 organisations across the UK & Ireland. In the first evaluation of a national sample in the UK, we review feedback received from a large sample of 402 Schwartz Rounds in a total of 47 organisations, including acute and non-acute NHS trusts and hospices. Analyses were undertaken to explore self-reported experiences of the Rounds, and differences between the proportions of professional staff groups attending. The overall experience of Schwartz Rounds was very positive across all settings. In particular, staff reported that Rounds helped them to gain insight into the working lives of their colleagues. There were no differences between the responses of clinical and non-clinical staff, indicating that all staff value a reflective space regardless of background. Healthcare staff value an opportunity to reflect on the emotional impact of their work. In increasingly overstretched and hurried services, it is a priority to provide this.


Two cases of Enterobius granuloma containing eggs only are reported. The first case involved the vulva, where no such granuloma has been reported previously. The coexistence of peritoneal granuloma and rectal adenocarcinoma in the second case suggests the possibility of direct penetration of the damaged colonic wall by the parasite, as emphasized by several previous reports of neoplastic involvement and perforation of the intestinal wall in cases of ectopic infections. The diagnostic criteria of Enterobius eggs granuloma, which might be a diagnostic dilemma for pathologists who are not familiar with such criteria, are described herein.


Herein, we describe the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of a series of DOTA-conjugated monomeric, dimeric, and tetrameric [Tyr(3)]octreotide-based analogues as a tool for tumor imaging and/or radionuclide therapy. These compounds were synthesized using a Cu(I)-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition ("click" reaction) between peptidic azides and dendrimer-derived alkynes and a subsequent metal-free introduction of DOTA via the thio acid/sulfonyl azide amidation ("sulfo-click" reaction). In a competitive binding assay using rat pancreatic AR42J tumor cells, the monomeric [Tyr(3)]octreotide conjugate displayed the highest binding affinity (IC(50) = 1.32 nM) followed by dimeric [Tyr(3)]octreotide (2.45 nM), [DOTA(0),Tyr(3)]octreotide (2.45 nM), and tetrameric [Tyr(3)]octreotide (14.0 nM). Biodistribution studies with BALB/c nude mice with subcutaneous AR42J tumors showed that the (111)In-labeled monomeric [Tyr(3)]octreotide conjugate had the highest tumor uptake (42.3 +/- 2.8 %ID/g) at 2 h p.i., which was better than [(111)In-DOTA(0),Tyr(3)]octreotide (19.5 +/- 4.8 %ID/g). The (111)In-labeled dimeric [Tyr(3)]octreotide conjugate showed a long tumor retention (25.3 +/- 5.9 %ID/g at 2 h p.i. and 12.1 +/- 1.3 %ID/g at 24 h p.i.). These promising results can be exploited for therapeutic applications.


D-mannose is a 6-carbon sugar that has benefits in comple mentary therapy in veterinary medicine. The most researched application is in the treatment and prevention of urinary tract infections (UTIs) caused by Research has shown that E coli has mannose receptors on its fimbriae which bind to D-mannose, preventing it from attaching to the uroepithelium. As a result, the bacteria are eliminated during urination instead of colonizing urinary tissues. Since recurrent UTIs are common in dogs and cats, in cases in which the infection is due to outside factors, preventive use of D-mannose can be of value. Benefits include low cost, low incidence of adverse effects, and perhaps less risk for development of antibiotic resistance. D-mannose should be considered as a standard preventive measure when formulating treatment plans for patients with recurrent UTIs.


Whatever else may be necessary as a part of the operative procedure for the cure of hernia, complete removal of the sac followed by high ligation or suture of the peritoneum is essential. All surgeons recognize this as the most important part of the procedure and many believe that in small-sized indirect hernias in children and young persons success is apt to follow regardless of the method employed for closing the canal. For hernias of large size, for direct hernia with imperfect development or absence of the conjoined tendon and for postoperative rupture, it is necessary to suture together certain fascial structures, such as the conjoined tendon and the shelf of Poupart's ligament. In many cases the use of fascial strips as recommended by Gallie is extremely important. The numerous modifications of the original operations of Bassini and of Halsted have been directed largely, if not solely, to methods of


To understand where driver training should focus to contribute to improving the safety of cyclists, this study compared bicycle-motor-vehicle (BMV) crashes involving novice drivers (under 25 years) with those involving experienced drivers in the Australian states of Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia. Novice drivers were involved in only a small proportion of BMV crashes and were not over-represented on a per-license basis. For both driver groups, most crashes happened on lower speed roads, at intersections, and during the day. In contrast to expectations, the distribution of types of BMV crashes differed little between experienced and novice drivers. The absence of major differences between experienced and novice drivers may result from learning opportunities being too infrequent in low-volume cycling countries, but this hypothesis needs further testing. A comparison between Queensland and Victoria showed three situations with a higher proportion of young driver crashes: in the evening in both states, Right through-opposing directions (Victoria only), and From footway-maneuvering (Queensland only). These patterns are likely to be indicative of young driver experiences. When their time on the road increases, so does their exposure to risk and to challenging driving conditions (e.g., driving in darkness). On the other hand, these patterns may also point to effects of legislation on young driver crashes, for instance cycling on the sidewalk in Queensland. The results suggest that training for novice drivers needs to supplement a wider strategy to improve cyclist safety (including infrastructure and traffic management improvements) and that training needs to be tailored to state-specific conditions.


Hyperuricemia is a condition that uric acid levels increased and cause accumulated uric acid crystals in the tissues. Xanthine oxidase is an enzyme which catalyze the oxidation of hypoxanthine into xanthine and into uric acid. Therefore, the inhibition of xanthine oxidase will reduce ammount of uric acid. The purpose of this study was to determine xanthine oxidase inhibition activity and to identify chemical constituent of rrind rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum Linn.). Rind of Rambutan was extracted using maceration methods, based on polarity the solvent are n-hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol. The test of inhibition xanthine oxidase activity used a spectrophotometer at  λ = 274.79 nm, pH 7.8, substrate concentration of xanthine 0.15 mM and incubation temperature of 30°C. Allopurinol as positive control had C50 0.15 μg/mL. The result showed that methanol extract of rind rambutan had the highest inhibition  with IC50 3.71 μg/mL. Phytochemical screening showed that the most active extract methanol of rind rambutan contain flavonoids, saponins, tannins and terpenoids.


In this article digital transformation in education and the associated ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) are considered. In order to make use of the innovation potential of mixed reality and artificial intelligence in vocational education and training, it is argued in this article that a constructive approach should be used for the ethical, legal, and social implications. To this end, after the introduction and a brief presentation of the potential of digital technologies, selected ethical, legal, and social implications are discussed in order to provide starting points and recommendations for a reflective approach to the ELSI aspects.
Keywords: Digital transformation, Mixed Reality (MR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Learning An-alytics (LA), Human-Technology Interaction (HTI), ELSI


Few, if any, political scientists currently study climate change adaptation or are even aware that there is a large and growing interdisciplinary field of study devoted not just to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions but to reducing our vulnerability to the now-inevitable impacts of climate change. The lack of political science expertise and research represents an obstacle for adapting to climate change, because adaptation is fundamentally political. Technical advances in adaptations for infrastructure, agriculture, public health, coastal protection, conservation, and other fields all depend on political variables for their implementation and effectiveness. For example, adaptation raises questions about political economy (adaptation costs money), political theory (adaptation involves questions of social justice), comparative politics (some countries more aggressively pursue adaptation), urban politics (some cities more aggressively pursue adaptation), regime type (democracies and authoritarian regimes may differently pursue adaptation), federalism (different levels of government may be involved), and several other fields of study including political conflict, international development, bureaucracy, migration, media, political parties, elections, civil society, and public opinion. I review the field of climate change adaptation and then explore the tremendous contributions that political scientists could make to adaptation research.


Relativistic corrections to the evolution of structure can be used to test general relativity on cosmological scales. They are also a well-known systematic contamination in the search for a primordial non-Gaussian signal. We present a numerical framework to generate RELativistic second-order Initial Conditions (RELIC) based on a generic (not necessarily separable) second-order kernel for the density perturbations. In order to keep the time complexity manageable we introduce a scale cut that separates long and short scales, and neglect the "short-short" coupling that will eventually be swamped by uncontrollable higher-order effects. To test our approach, we use the second-order Einstein-Boltzmann code SONG to provide the numerical second-order kernel in a ΛCDM model, and we demonstrate that the realisations generated by RELIC reproduce the bispectra well whenever at least one of the scales is a "long" mode. We then present a generic algorithm that takes a perturbed density field as an input and provides particle initial data that matches this input to arbitrary order in perturbations for a given particle-mesh scheme. We implement this algorithm in the relativistic N-body code gevolution to demonstrate how our framework can be used to set precise initial conditions for cosmological simulations of large-scale structure.


l | ~~.......... replaced by a firm s l i g h tl y lobulated tumour 1I in. (3.8 cm.) across. The tumour did not extend into the pedicle which attached it to the areola. The skin covering the tumour was stretched, but not ulcerated or attached to it. There were no palpable lymph nodes in the left axilla or supraclavicular region. The tumour was excised together with the areolar and underlying tissue. The pathologist (Dr. W. G. Millar) reported as follows "Sections show a leiomyoma. It shows sarcomatous change in its substance, but there does not appear to be any invasion. In view of the history, the malignancy is either of extreme low grade or it has only recently developed."-I am, etc.,


A 16-year-old girl presents to an emergency department (ED) accompanied by her boyfriend to report a 24-hour history of right lower quadrant pain. The pain is associated with midline lower back pain and light vaginal bleeding (1 to 2 tampons per day). She has experienced some nausea but no vomiting.


Generally it is necessary to occlude vessels both proximally and distally when arterial reconstruction, endarterectomy, or bypass is being done. In a significant number of instances the application of an occluding clamp to a diseased artery, such as the popliteal or internal carotid, has precipitated a series of technical difficulties culminating in the loss of the repair. This is due to the crushing of an atheromatous plaque by the occluding clamp and subsequent compromise of the lumen of the vessel, either directly by elevation of the plaque or by dissection of blood under the loosened atheroma. When this involves the cerebral vessels, even a small embolic fragment may result in catastrophy. For the past two years it has been our policy when operating upon smaller arteries, such as superficial femoral, profunda femoris, popliteal, or internal carotid, to avoid the use of a distal occluding clamp when application of a clamp


The learning style preferences of Education students in 3 faculties were identified using the Index of Learning Styles questionnaire (Felder 2002). The study also includes an observation of teaching styles. Findings reveal that whilst learning styles are varied, teaching styles are rigid and one-directional. Attempts must be made to match teaching with learning styles.


Kinetoplastid and apicomplexan parasites comprise a group of protozoans responsible for human diseases, with a serious impact in human health and the socioeconomic growth of developing countries. Chemotherapy is the main option to control these pathogenic organisms and nucleotide metabolism is considered a promising area for the provision of antimicrobial therapeutic targets. Impairment of thymidylate (dTMP) biosynthesis severely diminishes the viability of parasitic protozoa and the absence of enzymatic activities specifically involved in the formation of dTMP (e.g. dUTPase, thymidylate synthase, dihydrofolate reductase or thymidine kinase) results in decreased deoxythymidine triphosphate (dTTP) levels and the so-called thymineless death. In this process the ratio of deoxyuridine triphosphate (dUTP) versus dTTP in the cellular nucleotide pool has a crucial role. A high dUTP/dTTP ratio leads to uracil misincorporation into DNA, the activation of DNA repair pathways, DNA fragmentation and eventually cell death. The essential character of dTMP synthesis has stimulated the interest in the identification and development of drugs that specifically block the biochemical steps involved in thymine nucleotide formation. Here, we review the available literature in relation to drug discovery studies targeting thymidylate biosynthesis in kinetoplastid (genera Trypanosoma and Leishmania) and apicomplexan (Plasmodium spp and Toxoplasma gondii) protozoans. The most relevant findings concerning novel inhibitory molecules with antiparasitic activity against these human pathogens are presented herein.


Cloud computing services have evolved to a sourcing option that promises a wide range of benefits, such as increased scalability and flexibility at reduced costs. However, many enterprise applications are subject to strict requirements -- e.g. regarding privacy, security and availability -- and are embedded into complex enterprise IT architectures with a multitude of interdependencies. For these reasons, many decision makers have developed a sceptical stance towards cloud computing. A solution might be a hybrid (local/cloud infrastructure) approach where only suited components are migrated to a cloud infrastructure. This, however, has significant architectural consequences that need to be taken into account. This contribution suggests a cloud migration framework that will be implemented as an IT-based decision support system based on modelling the interdependencies between components. The approach is illustrated with the example of Business Intelligence (BI), i.e. integrated approaches to management support. The underlying decision model would particularly consider data transfer volumes, performance, sensitivity of cloud based data repositories, as well as exposure to public networks. The potential of such an approach is illustrated with a selected set of BI scenarios. Based on this, conclusions are derived and generalised for approaches taking into account deployments on both the local premises and cloud infrastructures.


Sixteen archeological sites along the coast of Soviet Primorye formed the basis for developing geoarcheological methodologies. Stages and methods of subsistence by ancient peoples are used to infer prior climatic conditions and former sea levels. Artifact-bearing sediments, geomorphological position, and results of granulometric, mineralogical-petrographical, and spore-pollen analyses as well as radiocarbon dates were studied for the sixten archeological sites. Three broad levels of cultural development were identified – the Vestigial Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Early Iron Age. Based on three geoarcheological investigations it was determined that sea level rose repeatedly to higher stands (compared to the present} during the Holocene. Transgressions are thought to have occurred 3000 years ago and again at about 2000 BP. These high stands are tentatively identified with the Atlantic period and also correspond with recognized relict shorelines along the Japanese coast. The correlation between changes in sea level and monsoon climate in coastal Primorye is attributed to the Peterssen Shnitnikov mechanism where a high monsoon index corresponds to a lowering of sea level and a low index to a rising sea level. A possible exception occurred 2000 years ago when a transgression coincided with a high monsoon index. It was probably a response to Holocene warming at this time.


Being examined by tensile tests at 820°C with initial strain rates of 2.5×10-4 s-1, 5.0×10-3 s-1and 1.0×10-1 s-1, the hot-rolled spay formed high speed steel (SF-HSS) had superplastic properties. With έ=2.5×10-4 s-1and 5.0×10-3 s-1, the σ-ε curves indicate that there has occurred dynamic recrystallization at the later stage of deformation.The tensile elongation decreases monotonously with strain rate increasing. The strain rate sensitivity m =dlogσ/dlog έ is about 0.23. In the sub-surface of fractured SF-HSS samples with έ=2.5×10-4 s-1,, most of holes on the subsurface are observed to distribute near the carbides and arranged along the tensile axis direction. The interface between coarse carbides and matrix is very weak sites where the holes are easy to nucleate and connect to cracks during deformation. In the necked region, fine carbide particles on the grain boundary have pinned the slip of dislocations and formed dislocation wall inside the grain. Dynamic recrystallization and some climb of dislocations has occurred. The superplastic deformation mechanism with έ=2.5×10-4 s-1 was dislocation creep mechanism controlled by dynamic recrystallization. During deformation, the role of some carbide in the materials was to retard the grain growth and keep SF-HSS having fine equiaxed grain size and remain stable.


In 1969 West Germany, the country was abuzz with anticipation of the approaching Beethoven bicentennial. That year the composer and experimental filmmaker Mauricio Raul Kagel, born in Argentina to Russian- and German-Jewish parents in 1931 and living in Cologne since 1957, was commissioned by the State to commemorate the momentous occasion. What resulted was a film that surely no West German official had anticipated. Entitled Ludwig van: A Report and strongly inflected by Kagel's absurdist aesthetic, Kagel's film critiques the fetish object that Beethoven's music and person had become in twentieth-century West Germany, touching upon, amongst many topics, East German claims of Beethoven's "misuse" by the West German government, as well as the rise in the 1960s of the theory that Beethoven was Black.
While Ludwig van has been recognized for its sendup of bourgeois music culture, it has yet to be analyzed from the perspective of diasporic experience. Simultaneously a love letter to and deconstruction of Beethoven's cultural legacy, Ludwig van asks its audience to consider the complex diasporic experiences of avant-garde artists in the wake of WWII. Drawing on work by Brigid Cohen, I argue for the centrality of the theme of migration and displacement in Ludwig van. And in reading two central scenes from the film, I consider, in dialogue with Scott Burnham, what light the fifty-one-year-old film's critique of the fetishization of origins and genealogy might shed on the celebration of Beethoven's 250th birthday in 2020, and such acts of memorization more generally.
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We study the employment gap between immigrants and natives in 16 European countries and the effect of integration policies and country of origin. In this paper, we want to answer 3 main questions. First, is there employment gap between natives and immigrants? Using the European Social Survey, we found that employment gap exists for both male and female immigrants compare to natives because of their characteristics are different from natives. Second, how do various integration policies affect the employment probability of immigrants? Using Migration Integration Policy Index, the result shows that some integration policies are beneficial to immigrants but some are not. Lastly, how do various countries of origin characteristics affect the employment probability of immigrants? Using data from the World Bank and the United Nation Development Program, we found that Human development index and labor force participation rate of the origin country affects immigrants in positive effects of probability of being employed.


The aim of this article is to investigate the views of the three Cappadocian fathers, namely Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus, on how to manage slaves. The article approaches slaveholding as a habitus. Firstly, Basil of Caesarea's views are examined. Basil's views on slave management were based on the principle that slaves should still remain obedient and submissive to their masters, but that masters should treat their slaves justly. He especially discusses slave management as the management of wealth and sexuality. Secondly, Gregory of Nazianzus's views, especially from his testament, highlighted the importance of managing slaves after death. It is also a window into the realities of clerics and churches managing slaves. Finally, Gregory of Nyssa's fourth homily on Ecclesiastes can be described as the ancient treatise against mastery and the vice of pride, since this is the angle from which he criticises slave management. The homily is indeed proof that ancient authors were able to think outside the habitus of Roman slaveholding.


Despite initiatives to promote interdisciplinary research, early-career academics continue to perceive professional risks to working at the interface between traditional disciplines. Unexpectedly, the inherent practical challenges of interdisciplinary scholarship, such as new methodologies and lexicons, are not the chief source of the perceived risk. The perception of risk is pervasive across disciplines, and it persists despite efforts to support career development for individuals with common interests [Mitchell and Weiler, 2011]. Suggestions that interdisciplinary work can go unrewarded in academia [Clark et al., 2011] foster a concern that targeting interdisciplinary questions, such as those presented by climate change, will pose problems for acquiring and succeeding in a tenure-track position. If self-preservation limits the questions posed by early-career academics, a perceived career risk is as damaging as a real one to new transdisciplinary initiatives. Thus, institutions should address the source of this perception whether real or specious.


Transmission infrared (IR) spectroscopy, either dispersive or Fourier transformed (FTIR), has been used extensively in studies on humic substances. A variety of bands characteristic of molecular structures and functional groups have been identified for these substances. The development of an attachment mounted onto FTIR spectrophotometers has allowed the determination of diffuse reflectance Fourier-transformed infrared (DRIFT) spectra. The purpose of this work was to study the applicability of DRIFT to soil organic-matter research and to compare the use of this instrumentation to dispersive and Fourier-transformed transmission IR spectroscopy. The DRIFT spectra were determined for humic acids, peat samples, and composts. In addition, the possibility of using DRIFT spectra to quantitatively measure sample concentration and measuring the relative concentration of functional groups was assessed. Sample preparation for DRIFT is much simpler than for transmission IR spectroscopy, interferences due to water adsorption are reduced, and resolution is improved. The spectra obtained using DRIFT had a higher degree of resolution as compared with dispersive and Fourier-transform transmission IR spectroscopy. Bands indicative of aliphatic C-H, carboxyl and corboxylate functional groups, aromatic C=C, and C-O stretch of polysaccharides were prominent and very well resolved. The DRIFT spectra obtained can also he used to fingerprint organic matter acquired from various sources. Spectra obtained at various concentrations of humic acid indicated that DRIFT cannot be used to estimate concentrations of organic matter in a given mixture. Relative concentrations of functional groups, however, were found to be fairly constant regardless of sample concentration. Therefore, changes in the relative concentration of functional groups can he measured during the humification process. It is expected that the application of DRIFT to organic-matter research will prove especially useful for characterizing bulky heterogeneous samples such as peat and composts.


Surgeons who choose a position in an academic teaching center have chosen to incorporate research and education into their clinical practice. These clinicians–scientists need passion, an inquiring mind, pertinent questions, time, money, and a research team to pursue a lifetime of intellectual challenges and patient care. The desire and passion for research is a critical requirement. An "inquiring mind" has to have a relevant question that is feasible to be tested and attain an answer. Adequate time carved into one's weekly schedule will greatly facilitate research productivity. Pursuit of money will also assist in obtaining the support personnel to help gather data, communicate with institutional review boards, and write grants and manuscripts. All these components will be critical members of the "research team." Established teams can also greatly facilitate orthopaedic research by joining groups that are doing multicenter studies with established studies. This can be a great learning experience and introduction into multicenter research.


Salmonella enteritidis is now the most common serotype of the genus Salmonella reported in the United States. Bacteriophage typing has been helpful for subdividing S. enteritidis strains from different sources in the United States. Most S. enteritidis outbreaks reported were egg related, and the majority of them were caused by strains of phage type 8. To determine whether restriction fragment length polymorphism of the rRNA genes (ribotyping) and of the genomic DNAs from two lysogenic phages from S. enteritidis could be used to discriminate between S. enteritidis phage type 8 strains, we conducted Southern hybridization studies on 24 isolates from different outbreaks and six non-outbreak-associated strains using DNA probes for 16S and 23S rRNA genes and S. enteritidis typing phages 1 and 2 from the Ward typing system (L. R. Ward, J. D. H. de Sa, and B. Rowe, Epidemiol. Infect. 99:291-294, 1987). Of seven restriction endonucleases screened with the probe for rRNA genes, AccI provided the best discrimination between strains; six distinct patterns were observed. AccI ribosomal DNA patterns 1 to 6 were detected among 76.7, 3.3, 6.7, 3.3, 3.3, and 6.7% of isolates tested, respectively. Strains of AccI ribosomal DNA pattern 3 could be further subdivided into two additional patterns by using SmaI. Epidemiologically related strains had identical patterns. No discrimination between strains was achieved by probes for phages 1 and 2. No sequences homologous to the phage I probe were detected among phage type 8 strains, and all strains tested with six restriction enzymes had the same hybridization pattern with the phage 2 probe. These findings demonstrate that ribotyping with AccI and SmaI provides an additional means of discriminating between some phage type 8 strains; however, ribotyping and the phage 2 hybridization results from egg-related outbreak strains support previous findings that these strains are closely related.


The study aimed to investigate the effect of cryptococcal sonicated antigen and chitosan on the infection with this fungus which isolated from human skin lesions. Isolate of Cryptococcus neoformans was used to prepare the sonicated antigen, also 60 white mice from both sexes, at average age 8-10 weeks were getted and divided randomly into 4 groups equally and treated as following: First group: fifteen mice were immunized with 0.5ml of whole sonicated  Ags(Wsc Ag) (protein concentration14mg/ml) subcutaneous two doses, one week interval.Second group: fifteen mice were fed diet supplemented with chitosan 1g/kg diet for 6 weeks.Third group: Mice were immunized as 1st group and at the same time fed diet supplemented with chitosan as 2nd group. Fourth group: Mice, which seted as control positive group.
At day 28-30 post-immunization, delayed hypersensitivity  and  indirect  passive  haemagglutination  tests  were done, then 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th groups were administrated  intraperitoneally with  0.3 ml of fungal suspension containing 1X107 fungal cells, all animals were sacrificed at day 30 post-infection. The results showed that the immunized animals and fed diet containing chitosan had values of delayed hypersensitivity test(1.99±0.02 at 24hours and 2.11±0.03 at 48 hours)and value of antibodies(160±29.6) higher than that of immunized animals only(1.75±0.03 at 24 hours and 1.81±0.03 at 48 hours)and value of antibodies(136±28.2).The immunized animals with whole sonicated cryptococcal antigens (1st group) expressed high values of delayed type hypersensitivity and high levels of Abs titer, as well as the chitosan stimulate the immune system in the second group and the best results of immunization were getted in the third group while all animals of control positive(fourth group)  were died at  the first week post-infection.
The current study showed that all the non-immunized and infected animals of the fourth group  were died during the first  2 weeks post-infection with severe fungal cells isolated from internal organs  and severe  suppurative  inflammatory  reaction in the examined organs  during early stage of infection  with granulomatous lesions appear at day 14 post-infection while no mortality  rate was seen in animal fed diet supplement with chitosan  with or without immunization(2nd and 3rd groups)  moderate fungal isolation and granulomatous lesions were recorded in the examined organs of  animals sacrificed at day 30 post-infection while  the immunized animals and fed diet containing chitosan showed that there is no fungal isolation and nor fungal cells in the histological sections with few histological degeneration  and small granulomatous lesions and sometimes absence of them in the examined organs. It concluded that cryptococcal sonicated antigen and chitosan have important role in protective immunity against C.neoformans infection.


: Aggressive T cell lymphomas are a subgroup of lymphomas with a particularly poor prognosis. This is especially true for patients with recurrent or refractory disease, who typically have limited response to salvage therapy and extremely poor overall survival. For this reason, there is a strong need to develop potentially active drugs for these malignancies. Pralatrexate is a novel antifolate designed to have high affinity for reduced folate carrier type 1. Preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated that pralatrexate has significant activity against T cell lymphomas. The dose-limiting toxicity for pralatrexate is mucositis, which can be abrogated with folic acid and vitamin B12 supplementation. Pralatrexate is the first single agent approved for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory peripheral T cell lymphoma. This approval was based on an overall objective response rate observed in the pivotal study. The overall response rate was 29%, with a median duration of 10.1 months. This article reviews the biochemistry, preclinical experience, metabolism, and pharmacokinetics of pralatrexate, including the clinical experience with this agent in lymphoma. Future areas of development are now focused on identifying synergistic combinations of pralatrexate with other agents and the evaluation of predictive markers for clinical benefit.


The new energetic materials 2-amino-5-nitrotetrazole (ANT, 1), 1-amino-3,4-dinitro-1,2,4-triazole (ADNT, 2), and both 1,1'-diamino-5,5'-bistetrazole and 1,2'-diamino-5,5'-bistetrazole (11DABT, 3 and 12DABT, 4) have been prepared by the amination of the parent anion with O-tosylhydroxylamine. The 5-H-tetrazolate anion has also been aminated using hydroxylamine O-sulfonic acid to both 1-aminotetrazole and 2-aminotetrazole (1AT, 5 and 2AT, 6). The prepared materials have been characterized chemically (XRD (1-4, 6·AtNO(2), 8), multinuclear NMR, IR, Raman) and as explosives (mechanical and electrostatic sensitivity) and their explosive performances calculated using the EXPLO5 computer code. The prepared N-amino energetic materials, which can also be used as new ligands for high energy-capacity transition metal complexes, exhibit high explosive performances (in the range of hexogen and octogen) and a range of sensitivities from low to extremely high.


ABSTRACT This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of a parent-mediated cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) group anxiety intervention with young children with high functioning forms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Thirty-one children aged four to six years with ASD and anxiety were randomly assigned to treatment or waitlist control conditions. Outcomes were assessed via parent-report measures of child anxiety and emotional awareness. Parental outcomes were also investigated via self-report. At post-treatment no treatment effects were found for child or parent outcomes. However, by three-month follow-up for the completer sample, children in the treatment group demonstrated significant reductions in internalizing behaviours and there was a trend for a reduction in anxiety compared to pre-treatment. For parent outcomes, at three-month follow-up for the completer sample, no significant effects were found. Results provided preliminary evidence that children may make some gains in terms of anxiety subsequent to their parents attending a group CBT intervention for anxiety.


Corrosion experiments on a number of rare earth di-silicates containing Y, Yb and Lu have been conducted in flowing air with 30 vol.% H2O at 1500°C. Nominally the corrosion rate is slower by a factor 5 to 10 compared to silica. However, alumina impurity incorporation has a profound influence on the process of corrosion as it masks not only the gravimetric results but also changes the surface phase assemblages to contain rare earth garnets and liquid phases. It is presumed that silica loss occurs under those conditions via the liquid phase and does not necessarily follow the same kinetics as direct silicate corrosion. Furthermore, atmospheric silicon hydroxide saturation effects contribute to the corrosion process. Currently all determined corrosion rates of rare earth silicates are viewed as system specific only.


Strategic human resource management (SHRM) emerged as a dominant approach to human resource management (HRM) policy during the past 30 years. However, during the last decade, a new approach to HRM has evolved. This approach has been labelled sustainable human resource management (sustainable HRM). It is an approach that seeks to link HRM and sustainability. The term sustainability is fraught with semantic difficulties, as is conceptualising its relationship to HRM. Consequently, sustainable HRM is viewed in a variety of ways. This paper examines the major features of SHRM, some of the meanings given to sustainability and the relationship between sustainability and HRM. It then outlines the major characteristics of sustainable HRM. Although there are a diversity of views about sustainable HRM, this approach has a number of features which differentiate it from SHRM. It acknowledges organisational outcomes, which are broader than financial outcomes. All the writings emphasise the importance of human and social outcomes. In addition, it explicitly identifies the negative as well as the positive effects of HRM on a variety of stakeholders; it pays further attention to the processes associated with the implementation of HRM policies and acknowledges the tensions in reconciling competing organisational requirements. Such an approach takes an explicit moral position about the desired outcomes of organisational practices in the short term and the long term. Sustainable HRM can be understood in terms of a number of complimentary frameworks.


Ensuring correct network behavior is hard. Previous state of the art has demonstrated that analyzing a network containing middleboxes is hard. In this paper, we show that even using only statically configured switches, and asking the simplest possible question - "Will this concrete packet reach the destination?" - can make the problem intractable. Moreover, we demonstrate that this is a fundamental property because a network can perform arbitrary computations. Namely, we show how to emulate the Rule 110 cellular automaton using only basic network switches with simple features such as packet matching, header rewriting and round-robin loadbalancing. This ultimately means that analyzing dynamic network behavior can be as hard as analyzing an arbitrary program.


The importance of inhabitants attitude to the area they live in is drastically illustrated when detested settlements sooner or later are degraded, abandoned and destroyed. On the contrary, liked areas are often well maintained and have a low recirculation rate. In this paper a questionnaire study of values individuals express in their choice of settlements are reported, asking the inhabitants in Suchy Dwor, near Gdynia in Poland.


© 2006 The Electrochemical Society, Inc. All rights reserved. Except as provided under U.S. copyright law, this work may not be reproduced, resold, distributed, or modified without the express permission of The Electrochemical Society (ECS).


The halogenation of monosubstituted benzenes in aqueous solvent was studied using density functional theory at the PCM-M06-2 X/6-311G(d,p) level. The reaction with Cl2 begins with the formation of C atom coordinated π-complex and is followed by the formation of the σ-complex, which is rate-determining. The final part proceeds via the abstraction of the proton by a water molecule or a weak base. We evaluated the use of the σ-complex as a model for the rate-determining transition state (TS) and found that this model is more accurate the later the TS comes along the reaction coordinate. This explains the higher accuracy of the model for halogenations (late TS) compared to nitrations (early TS); that is, the more deactivated the substrate the later the TS. The halogenation with Br2 proceeds with a similar mechanism as the corresponding chlorination, but the bromination has a very late rate-determining TS that is similar to the σ-complex in energy. The iodination with ICl follows a different mechanism than chlorination and bromination. After the formation of the π-complex, the reaction proceeds in a concerted manner without a σ-complex. This reaction has a large primary hydrogen kinetic isotope effect in agreement with experimental observations.


A scalable bottom-up solution-based approach for the site-specific realization of ZnO nanowire (ZnO-NW)-based field-effect transistors for sensing applications in liquids is reported. The nanowires are grown across predefined electrodes patterned by photolithography. Site specificity is attained by the use of nanoparticles acting as seeds. Using integrated on-chip microchannels and microfabricated gate electrodes, electrochemically gated ZnO-NW network transistors functioning in liquids are demonstrated. The optimized devices are rendered sensitive to pH through chemical functionalization. The unique combination of the sensitivity, site specificity, scalability, and cost effectiveness of the technique opens up avenues for the routine realization of one-dimensional nanostructure-based chemical and biosensors for analytical and diagnostic applications.


A profound impact of the Web2.0 lies in its power to transform skilled users into service providers, resulting in more complex value networks. As recently traditional "operated" network infrastructure is complemented with huge amounts of connected smart objects (the Internet-of-Things), the same mass creativity can be made applicable to smart, context-enabled services with real-world interactivity, collaboratively created by end users with varying degrees of programming skills. We report on a vision and solutions addressing easy, do-it-yourself service creation by the masses in an Internet-of-Things-enabled world, from which we discuss the (i) value networks, (ii) enabling technology framework, and (iii) domain-specific proof-of- concepts. Keywords-Internet-of-Things; Long Tail; Service Delivery; Web2.0; user programming; smart objects; context awareness


In the present investigation, the scope of commercially available powdered activated carbon (adsorbent) and water hyacinth (absorbent) as alternative cost-effective and efficient treatment methodologies have been warranted for a simulated aqueous environment. The present sorption studies were carried out in the batch reactors under control conditions such as contact time, pH, initial adsorbent concentration and adsorbent dosage. While water hyacinth as an absorption media indicated economic viability, isotherm analysis indicated adsorption by activated carbon as an excellent alternative and reliable technique for Cr (VI) removal.


Grain-boundary (GB) structures are commonly imaged as discrete atomic columns, yet the chemical modifications are gradual and extend into the adjacent lattices, notably the space charge, hence the two-dimensional defects may also be treated as continuum changes to extended interfacial structure. This review presents a spatially-resolved analysis by electron energy-loss spectroscopy of the GB chemical structures in a series of SrTiO3 bicrystals and a ceramic, using analytical electron microscopy of the pre-Cs-correction era. It has identified and separated a transient layer at the model Σ5 grain-boundaries (GBs) with characteristic chemical bonding, extending the continuum interfacial approach to redefine the GB chemical structure. This GB layer has evolved under segregation of iron dopant, starting from subtle changes in local bonds until a clear transition into a distinctive GB chemistry with substantially increased titanium concentration confined within the GB layer in 3-unit cells, heavily strained, and with less strontium. Similar segregated GB layer turns into a titania-based amorphous film in SrTiO3 ceramic, hence reaching a more stable chemical structure in equilibrium with the intergranular Ti2O3 glass also. Space charge was not found by acceptor doping in both the strained Σ5 and amorphous GBs in SrTiO3 owing to the native transient nature of the GB layer that facilitates the transitions induced by Fe segregation into novel chemical structures subject to local and global equilibria. These GB transitions may add a new dimension into the structure–property relationship of the electronic materials.


In the aftermath of the war in Bosnia Herzegovina, a task group of Swedish experts organised and supported training of community psychiatry and social work as part of the mental health reform. Among the basic principles of the programme were a close cooperation with the Ministry of Health, personal continuity, exchange of knowledge and long term engagement. With the support of the programme, community mental health centres were created and staffed with a team consisting of: a psychiatrist, four nurses, a psychologist and a social worker. They catered, on average, for 65,000 people of all ages and saw 25–30 patients a day. Of these patients, 75% had psychiatric problems. Among the trained personnel, a major attitude shift occurred in favour of community psychiatry. As a result of the training, informal networks between local professionals were established. An evaluation, four years after the project ended, found that the community mental health centres were the major providers of psychiatric services in the region.


A first result of realization of silicon nitride templates on 100mm silicon wafer as nanoinprint mold using simple wet etching method is reported in this paper. The process is based on traditional photolithograph and following buffer HF wet etching, which started from a p-type wafer with 400nm thermal silicon oxide, 200nm PECVD silicon nitride and 400nm PECVD silicon oxide sandwich layer. After patterning with lithography, the patterned resist is used as mask for the isotropic underlayer wet etching of silicon dioxide with buffer HF solution. Using the obtained nanosacle silicon dioxide lines as RIE dry etching mask, silicon nitride template of 100nm width with steep sidewalls is successfully realized.


Fish meat is highly prone to microbiological contamination from hunting and slaughtering stages to the transportation and kitchen, especially by Pseudomonas spp. In this study, effects of nisin (0.04 g/L/kg at pH 5.2), lactic acid (5% at pH 2.9) and their combinations were studied on coated (where vegetable oil, beeswax and distilled water mixture with pH 7.2 was used as the main coating material) and noncoated fish specimens on inhibition of Pseudomonas and mesophilic aerobic bacteria (MAB) at refrigeration temperatures (+4C). Lactic acid, nisin and coating reached 5.95 log units as cfu/mL on total MAB on the seventh day of shelf life at +4C, whereas control has reached 6.62 log on the fifth day. Lactic acid, nisin and coating, and lactic acid and coating applications were determined as the most preservative applications with lowest acidity losses and highest bacterial inhibition, including Pseudomonas spp. (P < 0.01).


Background: Recent studies demonstrated low-grade inflammation in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). However, these studies have been relatively small and do not enable examination of this factor in different subtypes of IBS and the possibility of confounding effects of comorbidities that may be associated with inflammatory responses. Goals: To investigate the association between high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and the diagnosis of IBS, IBS subtypes, symptoms' severity, and IBS-associated comorbidities. Study: This cross-sectional study uses data from a large matched case-control study of IBS subjects and healthy controls (HC). hs-CRP levels were measured in all subjects. IBS diagnosis was determined by Rome III criteria, negative screening blood tests, and normal colonoscopy. Subjects were evaluated for IBS severity and associated pain and psychological comorbidities. Results: A total of 242 IBS patients and 244 HC were studied. Median hs-CRP levels in the IBS group were significantly higher than in HC (1.80; interquartile range, 0.7 to 4.04 mg/L vs. 1.20, interquartile range, 0.5 to 2.97 mg/L respectively, P<0.006). Levels were highest in IBS-D patients with greater disease severity. Hs-CRP levels mildly correlated with symptoms severity (r=0.169, P=0.009); this correlation was stronger for the IBS-D patients (r=0.27, P=0.006). IBS was a significant independent predictor (P=0.025) for higher hs-CRP levels, whereas other pain and psychological comorbidities were not. Conclusions: Given these observations of cross-sectional differences in hs-CRP between IBS subtypes and severity, independent of pain and comorbidities, more research is needed to explore a possible role of low-grade inflammation in the pathogenesis and/or clinical presentation of IBS.


UNLABELLED
EFFECTS OF BILE ACIDS AND THEIR SALTS ON ABSORPTION OF OTHER SUBSTANCES: Bile acids and their salts increase intestinal absorption of lipids and transmembrane and paracellular transfer of small and endogenous and exogenous polar molecules. It has been established that they are good promotors of insulin absorption through skin and nasal mucose, and of blood-brain barrier transfer of salycilates and quinine.

EFFECTS OF BILE ACIDS AND THEIR SALTS ON ABSORPTION OF OTHER SUBSTANCES AND THEIR POTENTIAL ACTION
It has been established that combination of bile acids with amphotericin B has potential Leishmanicideal effect and combination with ciprofloxacine has improved its antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa in vitro.

BILE ACIDS
PHARMACADYNAMIC EFFECTS: Bile acids have analgesic and hypoglycemic effect. They also have anti-HIV effect probably suppressing virus transmission from cell to cell.

CONCLUSION
New studies of natural bile acids and new synthetic bile acids have revealed that they are not only adjuvants to existing active principles in pharmaceutical forms, but they can act as new therapeutic agents. However, it is necessary to study their possible mechanisms, but they are not crucial for their therapeutic application. Toxicological and pharmacological studies will determine the role of newly synthesized bile acids and their salts in current therapy.