Toluene diisocyanate (TDI) is a leading cause of occupational asthma. Although considerable controversy remains regarding its pathogenesis, TDI-induced asthma is an inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by airway remodeling. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) has been shown to play a critical role in the control of airway inflammatory responses. However, no data are available on the role of PPARγ in TDI-induced asthma. We have used a mouse model for TDI-induced asthma to determine the effect of PPARγ agonist, rosiglitazone, or pioglitazone, and PPARγ on TDI-induced bronchial inflammation and airway remodeling. This study with the TDI-induced model of asthma revealed the following typical pathophysiological features: increased numbers of inflammatory cells of the airways, airway hyperresponsiveness, increased levels of Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13), adhesion molecules (ICAM-1 and VCAM-1), chemokines (RANTES and eotaxin), TGF-β1, and NF-κB in nuclear protein extracts. In addition, the mice exposed to TDI developed features of airway remodeling, including thickening of the peribronchial smooth muscle layer, subepithelial collagen deposition, and increased airway mucus production. Administration of PPARγ agonists or adenovirus carrying PPARγ2 cDNA reduced the pathophysiological symptoms of asthma and decreased the increased levels of Th2 cytokines, adhesion molecules, chemokines, TGF-β1, and NF-κB in nuclear protein extracts after TDI inhalation. In addition, inhibition of NF-κB activation decreased the increased levels of Th2 cytokines, adhesion molecules, chemokines, and TGF-β1 after TDI inhalation. These findings demonstrate a protective role of PPARγ in the pathogenesis of the TDI-induced asthma phenotype.


The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is up-regulated in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) and is reported to be associated with poor prognosis and chemo-resistance. Here we explored the therapeutic potential of targeting RAS in CRC using Losartan, an angiotensin receptor blocker. An integrative-systems biology approach was used to explore a proteome-level dataset of a gene signature that is modulated by Losartan. The anti-proliferative activity of Losartan was evaluated using 2- and 3-dimensional cell culture models. A xenograft model of colon cancer was used to investigate tumor growth with Losartan alone and in combination with 5-FU followed by histological staining (Hematoxylin & Eosin and Masson trichrome staining), biochemical analyses, gene expression analyses by RT-PCR, western blot/IHC, or MMP Gelatin Zymography studies. Effects on cell cycle and cell death were assessed by flow cytometry. Losartan inhibited cell growth and suppressed cell cycle progression, causing an increase in CRC cells in the G1 phase. Losartan significantly reduced tumor growth and enhanced tumor cell necrosis. An impact on the inflammatory response, including up-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in CRC cells are potential mechanisms that could partially explain Losartan's anti-proliferative effects. Moreover, metastasis and angiogenesis were reduced in Losartan-treated mice as observed by inhibited matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9 activities and decreased tumor vasculature. These data demonstrate the therapeutic potential of combining chemotherapeutic regimens with Losartan to synergistically enhance its activity and target the renin-angiotensin system as a new approach in colorectal cancer treatment.


Motivation: Since database retrieval is a fundamental operation, the measurement of retrieval efficacy is critical to progress in bioinformatics. This article points out some issues with current methods of measuring retrieval efficacy and suggests some improvements. In particular, many studies have used the pooled receiver operating characteristic for n irrelevant records (ROCn) score, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of a 'pooled' ROC curve, truncated at n irrelevant records. Unfortunately, the pooled ROCn score does not faithfully reflect actual usage of retrieval algorithms. Additionally, a pooled ROCn score can be very sensitive to retrieval results from as little as a single query. Methods: To replace the pooled ROCn score, we propose the Threshold Average Precision (TAP-k), a measure closely related to the well-known average precision in information retrieval, but reflecting the usage of E-values in bioinformatics. Furthermore, in addition to conditions previously given in the literature, we introduce three new criteria that an ideal measure of retrieval efficacy should satisfy. Results: PSI-BLAST, GLOBAL, HMMER and RPS-BLAST provided examples of using the TAP-k and pooled ROCn scores to evaluate sequence retrieval algorithms. In particular, compelling examples using real data highlight the drawbacks of the pooled ROCn score, showing that it can produce evaluations skewing far from intuitive expectations. In contrast, the TAP-k satisfies most of the criteria desired in an ideal measure of retrieval efficacy. Availability and Implementation: The TAP-k web server and downloadable Perl script are freely available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/CBBresearch/Spouge/html.ncbi/tap/ Contact: firstname.lastname@example.com Supplementary Information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.


Abstract. Kelp forests are among the world's most productive marine ecosystems, yet little is known about their biogeochemistry. This study presents a 14-month time series (July 2013–August 2014) of surface and benthic dissolved inorganic carbon and total alkalinity measurements, along with accompanying hydrographic measurements, from six locations within a central California kelp forest. We present ranges and patterns of variability in carbonate chemistry, including pH (7.70–8.33), pCO2 (172–952 µatm), and the aragonite saturation state, ΩAr (0.94–3.91). Surface-to-bottom gradients in CO2 system chemistry were as large as the spatial gradients throughout the bottom of the kelp forest. Dissolved inorganic carbon variability was the main driver of the observed CO2 system variability. The majority of spatial variability in the kelp forest can be explained by advection of cold, dense high-CO2 waters into the bottom of the kelp forest, with deeper sites experiencing high-CO2 conditions more frequently. Despite the strong imprint of advection on the biogeochemical variability of the kelp forest, surface waters were undersaturated with CO2 in the spring through fall, indicative of the strong role of photosynthesis on biogeochemical variability. We emphasize the importance of spatially distributed measurements for developing a process-based understanding of kelp forest ecosystem function in a changing climate.


Report discussing an international conference on mine-experiment stations assembling in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The United States sent invitations to countries that had mine-experiment stations, Great Britain and Canada were the only countries, that did not accept invitation.


Background Genetic backgrounds and environmental factors do not completely explain the etiology of disease and predisposition to rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and increasing attention has turned to the potential contributions of heritable epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation, post-translational modifications of histones, and expression of non-coding microRNAs. Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) isolated from affected joints of RA patients maintain an aggressive phenotype in vitro, indicating potential alteration of epigenetic regulatory processes, and changes in global and gene-specific promoter DNA methylation and histone modification are observed in RA FLS. I-BET compounds, acetyl histone mimetics which interfere with reading of acetylated histones by BET family bromodomain proteins BRD2-4, prevent LPS-induced inflammatory gene expression in murine bone marrow-derived macrophages in vitro, as well as in vivo models of endotoxic shock and bacterial sepsis. Objectives This study was undertaken to assess the potential of I-BET to influence the inflammatory activation of RA FLS. Methods RA fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) were treated with IL-1β or TNF in the presence or absence of increasing concentrations of I-BET, and IL-6 and IL-8 production measured by ELISA. Cellular viability was assessed using MTT assay and cell death ELISA kits. Activation of intracellular signaling pathways was examined by immunoblotting. Total RNA was extracted and mRNA expression of genes regulated by IL-1β or TNF in RA FLS was analyzed using a low density quantitative PCR custom array. Results BRD2-4 mRNA expression was readily detected in RA FLS. I-BET reduced RA FLS (n=6) production of IL-6 protein in response to IL-1β (1 μM, 70% reduction, P < 0.001) and TNF (50%, P < 0.001). IL-8 production in response to IL-1β (>75% reduction, P <. 0.001) and TNF (>70%, P < 0.001) was also inhibited. Similar effects were observed on IL-6 and IL-8 mRNA expression. Inhibition of IL-6 and IL-8 production was maintained when I-BET treatment was delayed 1-4 hours post-stimulation. I-BET had no effect on cell viability or survival, and failed to modulate IL-1β or TNF–induced activation of MAPK or NF-κB signaling pathways. Low density qPCR array analysis of 26 genes induced by IL-1β in RA FLS (n=3) demonstrated that I-BET reduced induction of 17 genes by >50%, including TNF (>80% suppression), MMP-1 (>90%), MMP-3 (90%), SELE (>80%), VCAM-1 (>60%), CXCL-6 (>75%), CXCL-9 (>95%) and CXCL-11 (>90%). Conclusions Our results demonstrate that disrupting the recruitment of BET family proteins to acetylated histones efficiently blocks RA FLS production of inflammatory mediators, including cytokines, chemokines and MMPs, in response to IL-1β and TNF. This study provides initial evidence that the development of synthethic compounds targeting interactions between epigenetic modifications, such as histone acetylation, and the proteins which interpret these modifications may have therapeutic potential in the treatment of RA. Disclosure of Interest P. Kabala: None Declared, A. Grabiec: None Declared, N. Smithers Shareholder of: GlaxoSmithKline, Employee of: GlaxoSmithKline, J. Witherington Shareholder of: GlaxoSmithKline, Employee of: GlaxoSmithKline, P. Tak Shareholder of: GlaxoSmithKline, Employee of: GlaxoSmithKline, R. Prinjha Shareholder of: GlaxoSmithKline, Employee of: GlaxoSmithKline, K. Reedquist Grant/research support from: GlaxoSmithKline


This paper presents a conceptual framework for person-centred practice with older people. The research from which the framework was developed was guided by hermeneutic philosophy and integrated processes of conversation analysis and reflective conversation in data collection and analysis. The research findings suggested that nurses need to be able to particularize the person that the patient is, the relationship that exists between them and the patient, and the understandings and expectations implicit in the relationship. From these findings a conceptual framework for person-centred practice was developed. In the framework, person-centredness is premised on the concept of authentic consciousness and is operationalized through five imperfect duties. The factors that enable person-centredness to operate in practice are identified as the patient's values, the nurse's values and the context of the care environment. Considerations for implementing the model in practice are highlighted.


Analysis and implementation of a single-phase half-bridge active power filter with the function of uninterruptible power supplies is presented. The system provides the combined functions of battery bank energy storage, power-factor compensation, harmonics elimination and uninterruption of the power supply. When the utility is in normal operation, the proposed system will not only supply DC power for battery charging, but also function as an active power filter for improving the power factor and reducing the current harmonics on the utility side. If the utility power fails, the proposed system will function as an inverter immediately, to supply the battery power to the AC load. Analysis for the proposed system is given first, and a personal computer is then used to implement digitised control of the proposed system to facilitate experimental evaluations for a 1 kVA prototype. The feasibility and multi-functional results obtained indicate that the proposed system can be realised by using a digital signal processor as the core controller for cost reduction and reliability enhancement.


Objective
To observe the damage of human lens epithelial cells (LECs) induced by ultraviolet (UV)B radiation and the expression changes of glutaredoxin 2 (Grx2) in the cells, and to investigate the protective effects of Grx2 on human LECs against UVB-induced apoptosis.

Methods
Human LECs (HLE-B3) were cultured and exposed to different energy of UVB (0, 10, 30, 50 mJ/cm2) with the wavelength of 297 nm.The morphology of the cells was examined under the optical microscope 2, 4, 8, 12 and 16 hours after irradiation of UVB.The survival rate of the cells was evaluated with cell counting kit 8 (CCK8). The apoptosis rate of the cells was detected by TUNEL assay.Real-time quantitative PCR and Western blot were employed to detect the expressions of Grx2 mRNA and Grx2 protein in the cells, respectively.The cells were transfected with pcDNA3.1-Grx2 plasmid by lipofectamine 2000 as the Grx2 transfected group, and pcDNA3.1 plasmid was transfected into cells as the empty plasmid group.The cells were irradiated by 50 mJ/cm2 for 4 hours, and the apoptosis rate of human LECs was detected by TUNEL assay.

Results
Cultured cells grew well with the green fluorescence for Grx2 expression in the non-UVB exposure group, and shrinkage and death of the cells were found after UVB irradiation.The survival rate of the cells was gradually reduced after irradiation of 10, 30, 50 mJ/cm2 UVB as the increase of UVB energy and lapse of time.The expression level of Grx2 mRNA were 2.53±0.48 and 3.53±0.14 in the 10 mJ/cm2 UVB group and 30 mJ/cm2 UVB group 4 hours after irradiation, which were significantly higher than 1.01±0.08 and 1.00±0.09 in the non-UVB exposure group (all at P<0.05). The expression level of Grx2 mRNA in the cells was 15.30±3.01 at 1 hour after irradiation in the 50 mJ/cm2 UVB group, which was significantly higher than 1.00±0.07 in the non-UVB exposure group (P<0.05). The expression levels of Grx2 protein showed the same tendency to Grx2 mRNA.The apoptosis rate of the cells in the Grx2 transfected group was (15.34±1.71)%, and that in the empty plasmid group was (22.11±2.46)% at 4 hours after 50 mJ/cm2 UVB irradiation, with a significant difference between them (t=3.189, P<0.05).

Conclusions
UVB irradiation induced damage of human LECs in dose- and time-dependent manner.However, the expression of Grx2 in human LECs is up-regulated transiently after exposure of UVB, which has a protective effect on the cells against the UVB-induced apoptosis.

Key words:
Ultraviolet rays/adverse effects; Epithelial cells; Lens, crystalline; Glutaredoxin; Apoptosis/radiation effects; Cells, cultured; Humans


Flexible polymer binders were introduced into electrically conductive adhesive (ECA) formulations in order to improve the reliability performance of ECA/component joints under thermal cycling/shock conditions while maintaining a comparable bulk conductivity. The curing behavior, modulus, coefficient of thermal expansion and moisture absorption were measured on the ECA formulations designed. Adhesion to Cu/OSP and tin surfaces was studied through substrate shear tests. Electrical bulk resistivity and contact resistances were monitored on specially prepared test coupons that were exposed to 85/spl deg/C/85%RH atmosphere. Experimental results showed that the rubbery ECA samples could typically give very similar bulk conductivity to that of conventional ECA materials. Some of the formulations exhibited acceptable contact resistance stability under thermal cycling conditions, while the ECA/component joint interfaces kept intact through the thermal cycling tests.


Crowding on slave ships was much more severe than historians have recognized, worsening in the nineteenth century during the illegal phase of the traffic. An analysis of numerous illustrations of slave vessels created by then-contemporary artists, in conjunction with new data, demonstrates that the 1789 diagram of the British slave ship Brooks—the most iconic of these illustrations—fails to capture the degree to which enslaved people were crowded on the Brooks, as well as on most other British slaving vessels of the eighteenth century. Five other images of slave ships sailing under different national colors in different eras further reveal the realities of ship crowding in different periods. The most accurate representation of ship-board conditions in the eighteenth-century slave trade is in the paintings of the French slave ship Marie-Séraphique.


Abstract

Gymnastics is a sport that is carried out en masse, starting from the elementary, middle, upper and public levels. In the past, gymnastics was very cultured, this is evidenced by the absence of differences in almost all circles of the gymnastics community both in groups and collectively, old, young, male, and female exercising together.
This study aims to determine "The Effect of Indonesian Move Gymnastics Exercise on the Physical Fitness Level of Class VIII Boys of SMP N 8 Jambi City. This research is an experimental study conducted with the aim of knowing whether there is a consequence of something imposed on the sample to be studied.
The research method used is an experimental method with a sample size of 36 people. The research method used is an experimental method with a sample size of 36 people. Before being given treatment, students began with (pretest), then were given treatment 16 times, after that it ended with (posttest). This exercise is carried out for 6 weeks with a frequency of training 3 times a week.
Based on the tests carried out, the following data were obtained, the initial test data for the average level of physical fitness was 12.83. Standard deviation 1.44. With the highest score of 16 and the lowest of 11. While the data for the final test, the level of physical fitness averaged 15.5. Standard deviation 1.34. With the highest score of 18 and the lowest of 13. The results of the analysis of the normality test for the initial test population obtained data L0 = 0.1357, L table = 0.1477. While the results of the analysis of the normality test for the final test population obtained data L0 = 0.1443, L table = 0.1477. Because L0 <Ltabel means that both data come from populations that are normally distributed. Homogeneity test results show Fcount (1.16) <Ftable (1.75), so the data is homogeneous. The -t test shows that there is a difference between (pretest) and (posttest) tcount (32.59)> ttable (1.689).
The results of this study prove that gymnastics let's move in Indonesia can improve the physical fitness of male students with a fitness level of 2.67. Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that there is a significant effect of Indonesian gymnastics exercises on the level of physical fitness of male students of class VIII SMP 8 Jambi City.

Keywords: SABI, Against, Level, Fitness, Physical


The results of Anti (D) immunoglobulin (RhoGAM) therapy in 25 Rh-negative women after delivery of Rh-positive babies are presented. None of the patients studied showed evidence of Rh-isoimmunization while two of 51 unprotected patients subsequently had antibodies detected in their serum. The incidence of Rh-negative patients is low in this environment. Because of the potential risk of isoimmunization, RhoGAM prophylaxis is advocated.


Anders Cullhed's study The Shadow of Creusa explores the early Christian confrontation with pagan culture as a remote anticipation of many later clashes between religious orthodoxy and literary fictionality. After a careful survey of Saint Augustine's critical attitudes to ancient myth and poetry, summarized as a long drawn-out farewell, Cullhed examines other Late Antique dismissals as well as appropriations of the classical heritage. Macrobius, Martianus Capella and Boethius figure among the Late Antique intellectuals who attempted to save or even restore the old mythology by means of allegorical representation. On the other hand, pious poets such as Paulinus of Nola and Bible epic writers such as Iuvencus or Avitus of Vienne turned against pagan lies, and the mighty arch-bishop of Milan, Saint Ambrose, played off unconditional Christian truth against the last Roman strongholds of cultural pluralism. Thus, The Shadow of Creusa elucidates a cultural conflict which was to leave traces all through the Middle Ages and reach down to our present day.


Availability is one of the most essential attributes of qualities of cloud services. Most popular public cloud services claim availability commitments with corresponding penalties in their SLAs. To gain the maximal profits, cloud providers should choose an optimal penalty strategy in the competitive cloud market. In this paper, we firstly survey availability and penalty calculation methods of cloud providers. Based on the survey, we propose a competitive penalty model and a corresponding penalty based profit maximization algorithm for cloud providers. According to the model, each cloud provider would choose the best fit penalty strategy to gain the maximal expected profit during the game procedure. The proposed model is evaluated with real data of popular cloud providers with sensitive analysis, and is valuable for cloud providers to define their penalty strategy.


A new conditional data processing scheme named the standard deviation (SD) method is presented and evaluated for identifying the spectral data of a gas–solid flow based on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. The SD method is compared with two conditional data processing methods called the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) method and the absolute peak intensity method. First, the performance of the three methods for identifying the spectral data of the same fly ash sample was compared. Then, the stability of the three methods was checked by identifying the spectral data of a set of 12 coal samples under different experimental conditions. The rejection rate, false rejection rate and false acceptance rate under various conditional analysis threshold values were used to evaluate these three different methods. The characteristic peaks at Si 288.16 nm and C 247.86 nm were selected for the analysis of fly ash and coal samples, respectively. The results show that true data and spurious data could be completely and accurately identified by the SD method. Moreover, it has been proved that the threshold values of the absolute peak intensity method and the SNR method fluctuate dramatically while the threshold value of the SD method remains stable under different experimental conditions. Compared with the other two methods, the SD method has better applicability and reliability when faced with variable detection conditions. So it has a greater advantage in identifying spurious laser-induced plasma emission spectra of particles in a gas–solid flow.


Abstract Aims The United Nations warned of COVID-19-related mental health crisis; however, it is unknown whether there is an increase in the prevalence of mental disorders as existing studies lack a reliable baseline analysis or they did not use a diagnostic measure. We aimed to analyse trends in the prevalence of mental disorders prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We analysed data from repeated cross-sectional surveys on a representative sample of non-institutionalised Czech adults (18+ years) from both November 2017 (n = 3306; 54% females) and May 2020 (n = 3021; 52% females). We used Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) as the main screening instrument. We calculated descriptive statistics and compared the prevalence of current mood and anxiety disorders, suicide risk and alcohol-related disorders at baseline and right after the first peak of COVID-19 when related lockdown was still in place in CZ. In addition, using logistic regression, we assessed the association between COVID-19-related worries and the presence of mental disorders. Results The prevalence of those experiencing symptoms of at least one current mental disorder rose from a baseline of 20.02 (95% CI = 18.64; 21.39) in 2017 to 29.63 (95% CI = 27.9; 31.37) in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The prevalence of both major depressive disorder (3.96, 95% CI = 3.28; 4.62 v. 11.77, 95% CI = 10.56; 12.99); and suicide risk (3.88, 95% CI = 3.21; 4.52 v. 11.88, 95% CI = 10.64; 13.07) tripled and current anxiety disorders almost doubled (7.79, 95% CI = 6.87; 8.7 v. 12.84, 95% CI = 11.6; 14.05). The prevalence of alcohol use disorders in 2020 was approximately the same as in 2017 (10.84, 95% CI = 9.78; 11.89 v. 9.88, 95% CI = 8.74; 10.98); however, there was a significant increase in weekly binge drinking behaviours (4.07% v. 6.39%). Strong worries about both, health or economic consequences of COVID-19, were associated with an increased odds of having a mental disorder (1.63, 95% CI = 1.4; 1.89 and 1.42, 95% CI = 1.23; 1.63 respectively). Conclusions This study provides evidence matching concerns that COVID-19-related mental health problems pose a major threat to populations, particularly considering the barriers in service provision posed during lockdown. This finding emphasises an urgent need to scale up mental health promotion and prevention globally.


The article developed approaches to management performance and development of holding company based on key performance indicators to achieve its strategic objectives.


The paper aims to develop a scale to be applied to the managers by conducting sensitivity analysis on strategic management activities. This paper uses a sample of 320 managers who are working in strategy units in the public institutions, municipalities, private sector, universities and managers engaged in strategic management activities in Turkey. Data is collected via the draft scale called "Strategic Management Sensitivity Scale Form" developed by the researcher. Dimensionality analysis, normality analysis, reliability analysis and factor analysis for construct validity are performed for data processing. The results revealed that the scale has 24 items measured by a five-point Likert-type scale. The items are grouped under three factors as (1) Distribution, Dissemination and Action Sensitivity, (2) Planning Sensitivity and (3) Process Sensitivity. They accounted for 58.49% of the total variance. The scale has a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.86. This improved scale is found fairly high in terms of validity and reliability. This paper has focused on the roles of managers in strategic management and strategic planning processes. The results show the importance of the managers' strategic management activities in the planning and decision making processes. This paper contributes to the literature on strategic management and strategic planning on managerial issues, human resource effectiveness and firms' strategies. Organizations can benefit from this scale on issues such as better recognition of people in recruitment, determination of training needs and promotion process.


This study investigates the impact of potential large-scale irrigation on the West African monsoon using the Massachusetts Institute of Technology regional climate model (MRCM). A new irrigation module is implemented to assess the impact of location and scheduling of irrigation on rainfall distribution over West Africa. A control simulation (without irrigation) and eight sensitivity experiments (with irrigation) are performedand compared to discern the effects of irrigation locationand scheduling. It is found that the irrigation effect on soil moisture could force significant changes in spatial distribution and magnitude of rainfall, depending on the latitudinal location of irrigation. In general, the large irrigation-induced surface cooling owing to anomalously wet soil tends to suppress moist convection and rainfall, which in turn induces local subsidence and low-level anticyclonic circulation. These local effects are dominated by a consistent reduction of local rainfall over the irrigated land, irrespective of its location. However, the remote response of rainfall distribution to irrigation exhibits a significant sensitivity to the latitudinal position of irrigation and the intraseasonal variation of supplied irrigation water. The low-level northeasterly airflow associated with an anticyclonic circulation centered over the irrigation area, induced at optimal location and timing, would enhance the extent of low-level convergence areas through interaction with the prevailing monsoon flow, leading to a significant increase in rainfall. As the location of the irrigation area is moved from the coast northward, the regional rainfall change exhibits a significant decrease first, then increases gradually to a maximum corresponding to irrigation centered around 208N, before it declines again.


In this study, we analyse the effects of social class on life satisfaction and develop a theoretical framework that shows how social class affects life satisfaction through five pathways. Informed by this framework, we estimate the direct effects of class destination and class origin, the effect of own intergenerational class mobility as well as the effects of others' class position and mobility (so-called reference effects). To do so, we utilize European Social Survey (ESS) waves 1 to 5 (2002-2010). We obtain information on life satisfaction as well as destination and origin class for about 100,000 respondents in 32 European countries. Our mobility analyses are performed with diagonal reference models, which allow for the consistent estimation of mobility effects. We find: (1) Class destination consistently and strongly structures life satisfaction across Europe. (2) Own class mobility positively impacts life satisfaction, particularly in Eastern Europe. (3) Other's class mobility has a strong negative effect on life satisfaction. Especially the latter finding points to the hitherto neglected importance of reference effects when considering the impact of social class onlife satisfaction.


— Globalization is putting enormous pressure on the business organizations specially manufacturing one to rethink the supply chain in innovative manners. Inventory consumes major portion of total sale revenue. Effective and efficient inventory management plays a vital role for the successful functioning of any organization. Selection of inventory policy is one of the important purchasing activities. This paper focuses on selection and ranking of alternative inventory policies. A deterministic quantitative model based on Distance Based Approach (DBA) method has been developed for evaluation and ranking of inventory policies. We have employed this concept first time for this type of the selection problem. Four inventory policies economic order quantity (EOQ), just in time (JIT), vendor managed inventory (VMI) and monthly policy are considered. Improper selection could affect a company's competitiveness in terms of the productivity of its facilities and quality of its products. The ranking of inventory policies is a multi-criteria problem. There is a need to first identify the selection criteria and then processes the information with reference to relative importance of attributes for comparison. Criteria values for each inventory policy can be obtained either analytically or by using a simulation technique or they are linguistic subjective judgments defined by fuzzy sets, like, for example, the values of criteria. A methodology is developed and applied to rank the inventory policies.


French mercantilism is generally associated with absolutist policy-making subject to capture by rent-seeking interests. This article investigates how the Bureau du Commerce, a small state agency in charge of commerce and the supply side, handed out rents and privileges to private entrepreneurs. We coded how the Bureau investigated and decided all 267 voluntary submissions received between 1724 and 1744. It is shown that the Bureau's formal, rule-based decision-making process could actually differentiate between alternate policy aims and target them consistently over time, with more or less powerful sets of rents. From this, a hierarchy of revealed policy preferences is derived. First comes technical innovation and diffusion, then local economic development; import substitution is only in the third position, followed by consumers' welfare. Lastly, and in contrast to a long line of authors, it is shown that the production of luxury goods was not a significant or valued objective.


From Sep. 1988 to Dec. 1989, 163 patients with gallstones and 7 with choledocholith were treated by biliary extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). After lithotripsy, ursodeoxycholic acid was administered in 74 patients, and self-made lithoexpulsive in 44 patients. The remaining 52 patients were given both ursodeoxycholic acid and lithoexpulsive. The total rate of stone fragmentation was 97.6%. One hundred and twenty patients were followed up after ESWL. Biliary stones disappeared in 26.6% of the patients within one month after ESWL, in 33.3% within one to three months, and in 36.6% within six to eight months. There were no severe complications. 10.1 percent of the patients had abdominal discomfort during the procedure of ESWL, and cutaneous petechiae were found in 12.2% of the patients. Other complications included biliary colic in 6, jaundice in 2, and hematuria in 2. Serum enzymology and chest X-ray remained unchanged after ESWL.


Experiments being conducted at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Pegasus facility are examining stability issues for driving an aluminum liner with a pulsed magnetic field. The Pegasus facility provides a current of 5 to 8 Megamperes to compress a cylindrical liner. Liners of various size and thickness are used, depending on the specific experimental objectives. In several of these experiments, the outer surface clearly develops perturbations in the mass distribution. These perturbations are strongest when the aluminum is suspected to have melted and in some cases partially vaporized. A series of specific experiments was designed to examine the growth rate of these instabilities. These experiments involved machining a sine wave onto the outer surface of the liner to seed a given wavelength. Two-dimensional MHD calculations, using the measured current profile, were performed to model the behavior of the liner under magnetic field compression. These predictions were made with a 2D Eulerian code complete with a Steinburg-Guinan strength model. The results of these calculations will be discussed in this paper. The density contours at specific times will be compared with the processed radiography.


Several cross-sectional studies report that caries in primary teeth is correlated with caries in permanent teeth. This eight-year cohort study sought to determine if caries in the primary dentition can predict caries in the permanent dentition of the same individuals and, if so, with what degree of prediction accuracy. A total of 362 Chinese children, from 3 to 5 years old at the time of the 1992 baseline study, were re-examined in 2000. The study found statistically significant associations between caries prevalence in primary and permanent dentitions (p < 0.01). Children having caries in their primary teeth were three times more likely to develop caries in their permanent teeth (relative ratio = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.4-4.7; p < 0.001). Caries on primary molars had the highest predictive value (85.4%). This study demonstrates that caries status in the primary teeth can be used as a risk indicator for predicting caries in the permanent teeth.


Because epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) hyperactivity is associated with many epithelial cancers, it is a popular target for the development of cancer therapies. Some tumors contain a variant form of EGFR (de2-7 EGFR) that has a deletion mutation in the extracellular domain, resulting in low constitutive activity. Johns et al. investigated the mechanism by which a monoclonal antibody mAb 806 binds the de2-7 EGFR effectively, but binds wild-type EGFR, when at normal concentrations on the cell surface, minimally. This antibody has been therapeutically effective against de2-7 EGFR-expressing tumors and tumors with amplified wild-type EGFR that have increased abundance of cell surface EGFR. The epitope for mAb 806 was identified to be residues 287 to 302 of the extracellular domain by immunoblotting of EGFR fragments and yeast surface display. The binding of mAb 806 to a peptide consisting of residues 287 to 302 was analyzed by surface plasmon resonance and the measured affinity (30 nM) correlated with the affinity for mAb 806 to de2-7 EGFR on cells. Analysis of the published crystal structures of the EGFR suggests that the receptor exists in three conformations: (i) a tethered form that is inactive and represents 95% of the unliganded receptor; (ii) an untethered form that is in equilibrium with the tethered state; and (iii) the dimerized, active form, which is abundant in the presence of ligand. Because mAb 806 binds to only a small fraction of wild-type EGFR on cells, the authors suggest that it is unlikely that this antibody binds the tethered form of the receptor. The dimerized receptor also does not have additional portions of the mAb 806 epitope exposed compared with the tethered form. However, in the untethered conformation, more of the mAb 806 epitope is exposed. Analysis of the binding of mAb 806 to cells expressing EGFR mutants that cannot form the tethered or dimerized conformations, which would be similar to de2-7 EGFR, indicated that mAb 806 does recognize the untethered conformation of the receptor. The authors propose that selectivity for the de2-7 EGFR tumors comes from the presence of this mutant receptor in the untethered form. The ability of mAb 806 to inhibit EGFR in cells with amplified EGFR compared to cells with normal concentrations of EGFR may arise because an increased proportion of the amplified EGFR is in the untethered conformation, thus providing selectivity for the effects of mAb 806. T. G. Johns, T. E. Adams, J. R. Cochran, N. E. Hall, P. A. Hoyne, M. J. Olsen, Y.-S. Kim, J. Rothacker, E. C. Nice, F. Walker, G. Ritter, A. A. Jungbluth, L. J. Old, C. W. Ward, A. W. Burgess, K. Dane Wittrup, A. M. Scott, Identification of the epitope for the epidermal growth factor receptor-specific monoclonal antibody 806 reveals that it preferentially recognizes an untethered form of the receptor. J. Biol. Chem. 279, 30375-30384 (2004). [Abstract][Full Text]


Artificial neural networks have shown great potential and have attracted much research interest. One problem faced when simulating such networks is speed. As the number of neurons increases, the time to simulate and train a network increases dramatically. This makes it difficult to simulate and train a large-scale network system without the support of a high-performance computer system. The solution we present is a ``real'' parallel system -- using a parallel machine to simulate neural networks which are intrinsically parallel applications.SpiNNaker is a scalable massively-parallel computing system under development with the aim of building a general-purpose platform for the parallel simulation of large-scale neural systems. This research investigates how to model large-scale neural networks efficiently on such a parallel machine. While providing increased overall computational power, a parallel architecture introduces a new problem -- the increased communication reduces the speedup gains. Modeling schemes, which take into account communication, processing, and storage requirements, are investigated to solve this problem. Since modeling schemes are application-dependent, two different types of neural network are examined -- spiking neural networks with spike-time dependent plasticity, and the parallel distributed processing model with the backpropagation learning rule. Different modeling schemes are developed and evaluated for the two types of neural network. The research shows the feasibility of the approach as well as the performance of SpiNNaker as a general-purpose platform for the simulation of neural networks. The linear scalability shown in this architecture provides a path to the further development of parallel solutions for the simulation of extremely large-scale neural networks.


Very large-fires (VLFs) have widespread impacts on ecosystems, air quality, fire suppression resources, and in many regions account for a majority of total area burned. Empirical generalized linear models of the largest fires (>5000 ha) across the contiguous United States (US) were developed at ∼60 km spatial and weekly temporal resolutions using solely atmospheric predictors. Climate−fire relationships on interannual timescales were evident, with wetter conditions than normal in the previous growing season enhancing VLFs probability in rangeland systems and with concurrent long-term drought enhancing VLFs probability in forested systems. Information at sub-seasonal timescales further refined these relationships, with short-term fire weather being a significant predictor in rangelands and fire danger indices linked to dead fuel moisture being a significant predictor in forested lands. Models demonstrated agreement in capturing the observed spatial and temporal variability including the interannual variability of VLF occurrences within most ecoregions. Furthermore the model captured the observed increase in VLF occurrences across parts of the southwestern and southeastern US from 1984 to 2010 suggesting that, irrespective of changes in fuels and land management, climatic factors have become more favorable for VLF occurrence over the past three decades in some regions. Our modeling framework provides a basis for simulations of future VLF occurrences from climate projections.


This volume aimed to highlight narrative identities of European cities or city neighbourhoods that have been overlooked, such as mid-sized cities. These cities are neither small towns nor metropolises, cities that are now unveiling their appeal or specificity. The present special issue thus covers a range of representations of cities. The articles investigate more systematically how different texts deal with various cities from different experiential and fictional perspectives. The issue covers the geographical scope across Europe, from east to west or vice versa, as well as a range of different works of national literature(s), but with a clear emphasis on mid-sized European cities that have until now been deemed as lesser-known, secondary, peripheral, 'other' cities that are in the focus of the research of the COST project Writing Urban Places. New Narratives of the European City, within which this journal issue is being published.


Objective: Subendocardial viability ratio (SEVR), defined as diastolic to systolic pressure-time integral ratio, is a useful tool reflecting the balance between coronary perfusion and arterial load. Suboptimal SEVR creating a supply–demand imbalance may limit favorable cardiac response to cardiac rehabilitation (CR). To explore this hypothesis, we designed a study to analyze the relationship between baseline SEVR and response to CR in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods: In this prospectively study, after baseline arterial tonometry, echocardiography, and cardiopulmonary exercise tests (CPETs), patients undergone 20 sessions of CR. Post-CR echocardiographic and CPET measurements were obtained for comparison. Results: Final study population was comprised of fifty subjects. Study population was divided into two subgroups by median SEVR value (1.45, interquartile range 0.38). Although both groups showed significant improvements in peak VO2, significant improvements in oxygen pulse (πO2) (from 16.1±3.4 to 19.1±4.8 mL O2.kg–1.beat–1; p<0.001) and stroke volume index (from 31±5 to 35±6 mL; p=0.008) were observed in only the patients in the above-median subgroup. The change in πO2 was also significantly higher in the above-median SEVR subgroup (2.9±3.3 vs. 0.5±2.4; p=0.007). Conclusion: Our study shows that baseline supply–demand imbalance may limit systolic improvement response to CR in patients with CAD.


A model for two-phase pipeline flow is presented, with evaporation and condensation modelled using a relaxation source term based on statistical rate theory. The model is solved numerically using a Godunov splitting scheme, making it possible to solve the hyperbolic fluid-mechanic equation system and the relaxation term separately. The hyperbolic equation system is solved using the multi-stage (MUSTA) finite volume scheme. The stiff relaxation term is solved using two approaches: one based on the Backward Euler method, and one using a time-asymptotic scheme. The results from these two methods are presented and compared for a CO2 pipeline depressurisation case.


Universally recognized as a brilliant and gifted 18th-century artist, Johan Zoffany (1733-1810) was regarded by Horace Walpole as one of the three greatest painters in England, along with his friends Reynolds and Gainsborough. Yet he has remained without a detailed study of his life and works, owing to the fascinating and complex vicissitudes of his career, now established from widely scattered sources. From being a late-baroque painter at a German princely court to working under the royal patronage of George III and Queen Charlotte, from his serious interest in Indian life and landscape, developed while living near Calcutta, to his attacks on the bloody progress of the French Revolution, Zoffany created pictures that document with incomparable liveliness the worlds and people among whom he moved.


Introduction New thrombectomy devices for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) may allow endovascular therapy (EVT) to gain traction. However for EVT to have a significant impact on stroke it has to demonstrate improved functional outcomes compared to the conclusively proven IV rt-PA (IVT) administration. Literature supports a higher efficacy of EVT for proximal vessel occlusions. The goal of the current undertaking was to compare EVT and IVT for AIS. Methods We analyzed our prospectively maintained database of 425 patients for stroke treatments over an almost 8-year period. Only patients with a documented intracranial vascular occlusion in the anterior circulation on the baseline CTA who had undergone either EVT or IVT, but not both were included. A large vessel was defined as either the internal carotid artery terminus (ICA-T), the middle cerebral artery main stem with or without bifurcation involvement (M1) or isolated involvement of the proximal M2 branches (M2). A good clinical outcome was defined as mRS≤2. Results 225 patients were anayzed (IVT=101, EVT=124). The baseline NIHSS of 16.1(±7.6) was not different between the two groups (p=0.9). Patients in the IVT-group were older (76.2±12.7 years) than the EVT-group (68.1±17.2 years), (p=0.0001). Lower baseline NIHSS (p<0.0001) and younger age (p<0.0001) predicted a good outcome. There was no difference in the percentage of ICA-T occlusions, 23.4% for EVT vs 17.5% for IVT (p=0.3). The EVT group had a significantly larger number of M1-occlusions compared to IVT, 56.5% vs 37.1% respectively (p=0.004) while there were a significantly larger number of M2- occlusions for IVT vs EVT, 45.4% vs 20.2% respectively (p<0.0001). The overall rate of good outcome was 36% while the mortality was 36.9%. Patients who underwent EVT had significantly higher good outcomes, (n=55, 44.4%) as compared to IVT (n=26, 25.7%), (p=0.003, OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.3 to 4.1). There was no difference in mortality between the two groups, 32.3% in EVT vs 42.6% in the IVT (p=0.1). For all occlusion sites, EVT resulted in significantly better outcomes than IVT. For ICA-T occlusions, a good outcome was seen in 27.6% for EVT vs 0% for IVT (p=0.004). For M1 occlusions, good outcome of 40% for EVT vs 10.5% for IVT (p=0.0007, OR-5.7, 95% CI 1.8 to 17.7) and for M2 occlusions, good outcome of 76% for EVT vs 47.8% for IVT (p=0.02, OR 3.4, 95% CI 1.2 to 10.2). A multi-variable logistic regression analysis was performed accounting for all significant predictors in the univariate analysis and especially controlling for the difference in age groups and occlusion-site composition between the two groups. This showed that accounting for all the variables, patients who underwent EV therapy had more than three times the odds of achieving a favorable outcome than those receiving IV thrombolysis (p=0.0007, OR 3.7, 95% CI 1.7 to 8.5). Conclusion This large study of over 200 patients concludes that patients presenting with AIS secondary to a large vessel occlusion in the anterior circulation have significantly higher odds of a favorable outcome with EVT as opposed to IVT. Our data supports the rationale of a randomized trial with head-to-head comparison of EV vs IV therapy for large vessel occlusions. Competing interests A Rai: Stryker Neurovascular. J Carpenter: Codman Neurovascular, Genetech. T Roberts: None. D Rodgers: None.


This paper describes a general methodology for extracting attribute-value pairs from web pages. It consists of two phases: candidate generation, in which syntactically likely attribute-value pairs are annotated; and candidate filtering, in which semantically improbable annotations are removed. We describe three types of candidate generators and two types of candidate filters, all of which are designed to be massively parallelizable. Our methods can handle 1 billion web pages in less than 6 hours with 1,000 machines. The best generator and filter combination achieves 70% F-measure compared to a hand-annotated corpus.


Cystic Fibrosis (CF) in Arab Mediterranean countries has a different CFTR mutational profile if compared either to Caucasians or in the Arabian Peninsula. The c.3909C>G (N1303K, p.Asn1303Lys) mutation of the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator gene (CFTR). This mutation represents a higher frequency in the Mediterranean countries in association with different polymorphisms or mutations in cis position constituting various complex alleles. N1303K mutation induces many phenotypes, especially pancreatic insufficiency from mild to severe and it is associated in cis with other polymorphisms. The aim of this investigation is therefore to screen complex alleles carrying N1303K mutation among Lebanese, Egyptian and French patients. All exons of the CFTR and their flanking regions were performed by PCR amplification, followed by automated direct DNA sequencing. Two complex alleles are more frequent corresponding to Wild Type and mutated haplotype. Besides that two other very rare complex alleles have been detected, one in Egyptian and French samples, and then another one in Lebanon samples. We have studied their impact on the CFTR mRNA splicing using a minigene strategy. Constructs containing wild-type and mutant CFTR cloned into the pTBNdeI hybride minigene have been expressed in HeLa, HT29 and HEK293 cells. RT-PCR analysis of mRNA using β-globin-specific primers revealed that N1303K and the polymorphisms associated with cis induce weak abnormal splicing and a modification of the quality and the quantity of CFTR protein. These different associations of identified polymorphisms with N1303K in cis could have an impact on the severity of the disease.


Now that endoscopic sclerotherapy is available, the rôle of surgery in portal hypertension needs to be reconsidered. Emergency treatment of bleeding esophageal varices is based on sclerotherapy, which has widely replaced such surgical procedures as emergency portocaval shunts. Sclerotherapy can be extended to repeated endoscopic sclerosis as definitive management to prevent recurrence of variceal bleeding. Only if varices cannot be treated adequately by sclerotherapy, or in the case of local complications are surgical measures of decompression indicated. For "Child C" patients gastric devascularization or transsection should be considered. For "Child A" or "Child B" patients, distal splenorenal shunts or portocaval shunts should be given preference.


The financial crisis has demonstrated the need to better understand the complex interactions between the financial system and the real economy. While stability has become the main focus of the regulatory changes, the implications for growth and equity are also important. To think through these issues and provide an emerging market perspective, CAFRAL, in collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements, organised an international conference of central banks and regulators on Financial regulation and its implications for growth equity and stability in the post crisis world in Mumbai on 15th and 16th November 2011. Several international experts and 26 representatives from 21 central banks/regulators joined Reserve Bank of India's Governor Duvvuri Subbarao and BIS General Manager Jaime Caruana at this conference. This volume is a collection of the speeches, papers and summaries of discussions in the conference. Full publication: Financial Sector Regulation for Growth, Equity and Stability


In this study we analyse how three cities in the arid Americas have addressed urban growth while facing water scarcity: Hermosillo, Mexico; Mendoza, Argentina; and Tucson, USA. We use the urban water security framework to examine five domains of water management: sociodemographic, economic, technological, ecological and governance (SETEG). Our analysis indicates that, in spite of water scarcity, urban growth has been promoted in the three cities. We argue that this expansion, although encouraged for economic development, is not sustainable in the long term. In the three cities, groundwater plays a major role in water supply, but growth has negatively affected riparian ecosystems, the health of the aquifers and access to domestic water. In order to pursue water security, several options are essential to enhance social–ecological system resilience. These include limits or reduction of urban expansion, reuse of treated effluent for riparian conservation, and community conservation efforts such as rainwater harvesting and other green infrastructure practices.


Calculations are made to determine the trajectories of liquid droplets introduced into the air disturbances generated by an airplane engaged in aerial spraying. The effects of such factors as the positions at which droplets are ejected into the disturbances, airplane lift coefficient, and altitude are investigated. The distribution of deposit on the ground is computed for several droplet-size spectra, variations in the rate at which mass is ejected along the span, and lateral flight-path spacings. Consideration is then given to the problem of adjusting these factors with the aim of improving the uniformity and increasing the effective width of the deposit. The results indicate that the lateral dispersion of droplets is increased when the spanwise position at which particles are ejected is moved toward the wing tip. Greater dispersion also results when the airplane lift coefficient or altitude is increased.


CD80 and CD86 (B7-1 and B7-2) are the ligands on antigen-presenting cells (APCs) which bind CD28 and deliver the costimulatory signals necessary for T cell activation. The reasons for the existence of two CD28 binding molecules are not well understood. We created a mutant version of CTLA4-Ig that could selectively bind CD80 and block CD28-CD80 interaction but leave CD28-CD86 binding intact. CD80 blockade prevented antigen-induced accumulation of eosinophils and lymphocytes in the lung of immunized mice, but did not block antigen induced systemic blood eosinophilia or IgE antibody production. No preferential expression of CD80 could be demonstrated on a population of lung APC consisting mainly of macrophages. These results indicate that CD80 costimulation is not necessary for the induction of Th2 immune responses but rather for the maintenance or amplification of lung inflammatory responses.


The project emphasizes simulation of various DSP effects using elementary phenomenon of audio processing, and by manipulating audio using various filters in order to enhance the quality. There are many commercially available systems, which provide facilities such as channel equalizers, karaoke systems, and a few audio processors based on Digital Signal Processing. Software systems are also available which provide a fairly good and cost effective solution to audio enhancement. Yet they are limited due to resources issues and thus make a trade-off between performance and quality. The project at first studies and analyses proceeds as study and analysis of audio processing phenomena and various effects involved in it. In the second phase algorithms have been developed for these phenomena and their simulation in MATLAB.


Soil fertility studies and crop improvement have brought remarkable change in crop production particularly in teff in Ethiopia. Differences in soil status affect productivities of various cultivars in which their nutritional demand is different and increasing. This elucidates that fertilizer rate studies are dynamic and increasing time to time across crop cultivars. Fertilizer rate recommendations need to be specific soil and tissue test based and should be done repeatedly for any cultivar to maximize the inherent potential yield of the crop. Field experiment was laid out to test teff cultivars to a soil and tissue test based NP fertilizer applications. Soil samples were collected and subjected to a soil test in respective methods employed to determine the physicochemical property of a soil. High available P, medium organic carbon content moderately low total N content and pH of 7.57 were obtained from the experimental site. Plant tissue samples were collected from a 2 × 2 m2 plot and subjected to analysis to determine tissue nitrogen and phosphorus contents. N application significantly increased the concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in shoot tissue and grain yield. However, application of P at different rates did not significantly affected any of the parameters. This might be due to unavailability of P for the plant due to fixation and hence examination must continue to identify real causes.


With the objective of characterizing the profile and performance of energy use by slaughterhouses, surveys and audits were performed in two different facilities located in the northeastern region of Portugal. Energy consumption from multiple energy sources was assessed monthly, along with production and costs, for the same reference year. Gathered data was analyzed to identify and quantify the main consuming processes and to estimate energy efficiency indicators for benchmarking purposes. Main results show differences between the two slaughterhouses concerning energy sources, consumption by source and sector, and global energy efficiency. Electricity is the most used source in both slaughterhouses with a contribution of around 50%, being essentially used for meat processing and refrigeration. Natural gas, in slaughterhouse A, and pellets, in slaughterhouse B, used for heating water take the second place, with a mean contribution of about 45%. On average, a 62 kgoe/t specific energy consumption (SEC) was found, although with differences between slaughterhouses. A prominent negative correlation between SEC and carcass production was found specially in slaughterhouse A. Estimated Specific Energy Cost and Greenhouse Gases Intensity (GHGI) show mean values of about 50 €/t and 1.8 tCO2e/toe, respectively. Main results show that there is a significant margin for improving energy efficiency and therefore lowering costs in this type of non-energy intensive industries. Keywords—Meat industry, energy intensity, energy efficiency, GHG emissions.


This paper describes an after-school club aimed to engage elementary students in project-based learning by integrating mathematics and literacy connections within a community- based topic. Building on students' backgrounds and interests, researchers created the Community Super Investigators (CSI) Club as part of an after-school program to explore students' questions by using critical mathematics and literacy skills. Fourth and fifth grade students who participated in the CSI Club chose the topic of improving the lives of homeless animals in the community. The students' main goals were to promote the adoption of animals and lead a donation drive for the local humane society. Students were engaged because it was a topic of their interest, they had choices, and they had the opportunity to collaborate on authentic tasks. Mathematics and literacy connections were made by using iPads to research questions, documenting data and reflecting in journals, and making the content relevant with the community connection. Recommendations for improving after-school club experiences and making the content more critical are also provided.


The paper revisits and extends the theory of induced G-structures introduced by A. A. Rosly and A. S. Schwarz. Let N be a n-dimensional smooth manifold endowed with a H-structure, i.e. a reduction p:Q-->N of the principal bundle F_N of all linear frames on N to a Lie subgroup H of GL_n(R). Any m-dimensional submanifold M of N, satisfying fairly general regularity conditions, inherits a reduction \pi:P-->M of F_M to a Lie subgroup G of GL_m(R), called the G-structure induced by the ambient geometry (N,Q). We estabilish necessary and sufficient conditions for a G-structure on a manifold M to be locally equivalent to the G-structure induced by an homogeneous ambient geometry (N,Q)=(\tilde{H}/\tilde{K},\tilde{H}/K), where K denotes the kernel of the isotropy representation i:\tilde{K}-->GL_n(R). In the special case of integrable ambient geometry (R^n;R^nxH), the obstructions to constructing local equivalences are shown to be functions with values in the cohomology groups H^{p,2}_{R}(h) of a "restricted" Spencer cochain complex. Several examples are described in detail.


AIm: Spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to an inflammatory response that generates substantial secondary damage within the tissue besides the primary damage. Ghrelin, 28 amino-acid peptide, has been shown to modulate the release of proinflammatory cytokines and exert antiinflammatory effects. The aim of the current study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of ghrelin, in a rat model of SCI. mAterIAl and methOds: Wistar albino rats were divided as control, SCI, and ghrelin-treated (10 µg/kg/day, ip) SCI groups. In order to induce SCI, a standard weight-drop method that induced a moderately severe injury (100 g/cm force) at T10, was used. Injured animals were given either ghrelin or saline 15 min post-injury. results: In plasma samples, neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and S-100β protein levels were evaluated. Spinal cord samples were taken for histological examination or determination of myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and DNA fragmentation. SCI caused significant increases in plasma NSE and S-100β levels and tissue MPO activity and DNA damage. On the other hand, ghrelin treatment improved histological findings as well as biochemical parameters while it failed to improve the impairment of the neurological functions due to SCI. COnClusIOn: The present study suggests that ghrelin could reduce SCI-induced oxidative stress and exert anti-inflammatory effects in the spinal cord following trauma.


This paper studies a distributed path-planning problem: How can a sensor network help navigate a nontrial robot to its desired goal in a distributed manner? We consider the case where each sensor node is equipped with sophisticated sensors capable of giving a map for its sensing region. We propose a distributed sampling-based planning algorithm, where every sensor node creates a local roadmap in its locally sensed environment; these local roadmaps are "stitched" together by passing messages among nodes and forming a larger implicit roadmap without having a global representation. Based on the implicit roadmap, a feasible path is computed in a distributed manner, and the robot moves along the path by interacting with sensor nodes, each of which giving a portion of the path within the local environment of the node. Simulations show that the algorithm is able to solve the path-planning problem with low communication overhead.


When the sungrazing comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) made its perihelion passage within two solar radii of the Sun's surface, it was expected to be a bright emitter at extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelengths. However, despite solar EUV telescopes repointing to track the orbit of the comet, no emission was detected. This "null result" is interesting in its own right, offering the possibility of placing limits on the size and composition of the nucleus. We explain the lack of detection by considering the properties of the comet and the solar atmosphere that determine the intensity of EUV emission from sungrazing comets. By comparing these properties with those of sungrazing comet C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy), which did emit in the EUV, we conclude that the primary factor resulting in non-detectable EUV emission from C/2012 S1 (ISON) was an insufficiently large nucleus. We conclude that the radius of C/2012 S1 (ISON) was at least a factor of four less than that of C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy). This is consistent with white-light observations in the days before perihelion that suggested the comet was dramatically reducing in size on approach.


In the EU FP6 project ILDAS a prototype In-flight Lightning Damage Assessment System is developed for passenger aircraft and helicopter. The project aims to localize the attachment and the severity of the strokes during flight to assist maintenance. A database of events will be constructed to substantiate requirements for aircraft lightning immunity. Inductive magnetic field sensors are put at various positions on the aircraft. The sensors are followed by passive/active integrators to deal with the large dynamic range and bandwidth, and by high speed data conversion/storage. The paper focuses on design and tests of three types of sensors.


ONE-HUNDRED YEARS AGO in the year 1910, Johan Turi's book Muitalus samiid birra (An Account of the Sami) first appeared. It was the first time that a Sami had written a book regarding the Sami situation in Sami. The book's genesis has its own particular history. Now, a century after the work's appearance, a new edition has been prepared based on Turi's original handwritten manuscript (Muitalus Samiid Birra). The present collection of essays examines Turi's masterpiece from a variety of different angles. The translations used in the essays below come from a new English version of Muitalus based upon the re-edited text of 2010 (An Account of the Sami). Because the Sami and English editions are meant to be used in conjunction with each other, they share the same format and pagination. Thus, in the essays that follow, cited page references apply to both the Sami and the English editions. Johan Turi was born on March 12, 1854, in Guovdageaidnu (Kautokeino), Norway. He moved with his family to Sweden and moved to the Talma sameby in the parish of Jukkasjarvi during the 1880s. Turi's family members were reindeer herders, but Johan seems to have been more interested in hunting and fishing. He had long considered writing a book about Sami relations when at last in 1904 he happened to meet a Danish artist and ethnographer, Emilie Demant on board a train carrying ore between Tornetrask and the Swedish-Norwegian border. This encounter has been examined in depth by Kristin Kuutma both in a book (Kuutma) and in her contribution below; the meeting proved decisive for Turi's career as an author as well as for Emilie Demant's childhood dream of spending an entire year as part of a reindeer-herding family. Turi and Demant could not understand each other's speech, as Turi spoke Sami and Finnish, as well as some broken Swedish, and Demant spoke only Danish. It happened, however, that there was a person on the train who could speak both Swedish and Finnish and thus could act as an interpreter. The result of their meeting was that Turi promised to arrange for Demant to spend a year with a reindeer-herding family, and she in turn promised to help Turi write his book. In an essay written many years after the fact, Emilie Demant Hatt (as she became known after her marriage) reminisced about her initial meeting with Turi and the events that led to their important collaboration (Demant Hatt). Her account provides us with concrete details of the process that led to the first book written in Sami. When Demant returned to Denmark, she began to study Sami with a Professor Vilhelm Thomsson of the University of Copenhagen, for she knew that only by learning the language could she truly come to know the Sami and their culture. It was, incidentally, the first and last time a course in Sami had ever been offered at the university. Turi kept his word and arranged for Demant to live with his brother, Aslak Turi, and his family over the course of a year. Demant returned in the spring of 1907 and accompanied Aslak's family for a year, participating in all activities related to herding, including the marking of calves, the round-up and separation of herds, and, of course, the migration. She experienced all that related to the nomadic life of reindeer-herding Sami: the course of migration, daily and seasonal activities, the ups and downs of life in a goahti. And she became practically a member of the family, dressing in the same manner as everyone else--an important decision, in that it ensured her protection from the winter cold. During the year she learned more Sami, gaining active competence in the spoken language as well. She had brought with her a large Sami-Norwegian dictionary as a study aid, which her Sami hosts teased her weighed as much as half a full burden for a reindeer to carry (i.e., 15-20 kg). Demant's year spent with Aslak's family made it possible for her to keep her word to Johan Turi and help him write a book about the Sami. …


Our essay addresses the way of thinking cultural policy that Augustin Girard was instrumental in working out and managing within the confines of UNESCO. This way of thinking lies behind the strategies of cultural policy of the industrialized countries in the period following the Second World War, which makes it legitimate to talk about a joint philosophy of cultural policy that transcends national borders. Girard's basic philosophy and approach is that cultural policy needs to create the conditions for a decentralized and pluralistic 'cultural democracy' in which the individual can play an active part. Thus, we argue that the motivation and foundation for Girard's way of thinking cultural policy is based on a democratic diagnosis of the present, which is implicit in his way of thinking and needs to be explicated and developed further. Departing form Girard's Cultural development: experiences and policies we clarify what Girard's way of thinking cultural policy involves and imply. Next, we address a distinct impression we have that Girard's overarching democratic approach has been toned down to the advantage of the "managerial" aspect of his thinking. Our task in this part of the essay is to assess the instrumental aspect of Girard's way of thinking and the ultimate purposes that motivates this way of thinking. The relation between these two aspects is unsettled in Girard. Thus, we ask whether Girard's way of thinking isn't itself a striking expression of the nihilism he combats, in that it furthers the very features of modernity that it wants to remedy, i.e. the progressive degradation of moral and social relation through processes of capitalization and instrumental rationality. The answer is that it is not, provided that his concern for cultural democracy and the development of a democratic culture is not forfeited.


A spectroscopic kinetic approach for determining the relative concentrations of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) exposed on the external and internal layers of small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs) used as a model system and prepared by sonication of purified soya-bean asolectin is proposed, based on the use of 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid (TNBS) and N-succinimidyl 3-(2-pyridyldithio)propionate (SPDP). The known reactions between PE and TNBS and/or SDPD were used, separately or in combination, to derivatize PE in preformed vesicles. We have observed that mixing SUVs with excess TNBS results in a biphasic time course. Kinetic analysis of the data supports the conclusion that external PE is rapidly derivatized (fast phase) with a half-time of 2 min. In the next (slow) phase (half-time 70 min), TNBS permeates the vesicle membrane and also reacts with PE molecules facing the internal liposomal compartment. Under the experimental conditions chosen, SPDP reacted with only the external PE molecules. The reaction of SUVs first derivatized with SPDP and then with TNBS further demonstrates that the two phases, observed with TNBS, are due to modification of external and internal PE. Approx. 30% of PE was found to be facing the external bulk phase, thus confirming the asymmetric distribution of the molecules in SUVs. The maximum number of thiol arms covalently linked by means of SPDP modification of PE on the surface of a single liposome was estimated at about 10(2).


Modern investigation methods and equipment for the quality estimation of the moulding sands matrices with organic binders, in their circulation process, are presented in the paper. These methods, utilising the special equipment combined with the authors investigation methods developed in the Faculty of Foundry Engineering, AGH the University of Science and Technology, allow for the better estimation of the matrix quality. Moulding sands systems with organic binders require an in-depth approach to factors deciding on the matrix technological suitability as well as on their environmental impact. Into modern methods allowing for the better assessment of the matrix quality belongs the grain size analysis of the reclaimed material performed by means of the laser diffraction and also the estimation of the moulding sand gas evolution rate and identification of the emitted gases and their BTEX group gases content, since they are specially hazardous from the point of view of the Occupational Safety and Health.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
Lymph node metastasis is one of the most important prognostic factors in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Neoadjuvant treatment can reduce micrometastasis in lymph nodes to enable curative resection by down staging. The aim of this study was to evaluate the histological effect of neoadjuvant therapy on lymph node metastasis of ESCC by performing immunohistochemistry for cytokeratin staining.

METHODOLOGY
A total of 3061 lymph nodes were examined from 62 patients who received neoadjuvant treatment followed by esophagectomy with lymphadenectomy.

RESULTS
We observed positive staining for cytokeratin in 276 (9.0%) lymph nodes, which included overt metastasis, micrometastasis and hyalinized cytokeratin particles (HCP). Patients with HCPs in lymph nodes had better outcomes than patients without HCPs in lymph node. A significant prognostic difference between the patients with HCPs and without HCPs was observed in a subgroup of patients with nodal metastasis.

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that HCP might reflect a degenerative change of cancer cells in lymph nodes and can predict the response to neoadjuvant therapy.


Introduction: "Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms" (MUPS) defines a subgroup of patients presenting physical symptoms of unclear origin. The study aims to profile clinical and socio-demographic characteristics of patients with MUPS. Materials and Methods: This 9-years observational retrospective study assesses all patients admitted between 2008 and 2016 in the divisions of neurology and gastroenterology. Socio-demographic and clinical variables were evaluated: gender, age, diagnosis or diagnostic hypothesis, presence of psychiatric comorbidities, psychiatric evaluation, pharmacological treatment, number of admissions/visits. Results: Among 2,479 neurological patients 10.1% presented MUPS. Patients were more frequently women (63.5%), with a mean age of about 50 years. Reported symptoms were headache (22.6%), seizures (8.7%), vertigo (5.9%), fibromyalgia (5.5%), paresthesia (5.1%), visual disturbances (5.1%), amnesia (3.9%). The diagnosis was somatoform disorder in 6.3% of cases, conversion disorder in 2.7%, and somatic symptom disorder in 1.5% only. 2,560 outpatients were evaluated in gastroenterology division. 9.6% (n = 248) of patients had MUPS; 62.1% of them were women. The most affected age group ranged between 15 and 45 years. The most frequent diagnoses were functional abdominal pain (50%), dysmotility-like dyspepsia (26.6%), irritable bowel syndrome (10.4%), meteorism of unknown cause (2.4%), hiccup (1.6%), burning mouth syndrome (1.2%). No patients received a diagnosis of somatic symptom disorder. Discussion: Patients with MUPS are more often women, of middle age, with self-referred specific symptomatology. While neurological patients received a diagnostic-therapeutic approach in line with the literature, gastroenterological patients mainly received antipsychotics. A more comprehensive assessment and a development of psychoeducational interventions are needed to improve patients' quality and quantity of life.


: The structure of the N-terminal 34-residue fragment of human parathyroid hormone was determined in 40% trifluoroethanol employing two-dimensional 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The proton chemical shifts were assigned from magnitude and phase-sensitive COSY, relayed COSY, and NOESY spectra. Distance constraints, estimated from NOESY spectra, were used to create a set of structures by distance geometry (DGEOM) which were subsequently refined by restrained energy minimization and restrained molecular dynamics (CHARMm). The resulting structures contained two helices spanning residues 3-12 and residues 17-26. The NOE constraints for residues 13-16 did not provide a single structural solution; however, their conformations were not disordered. The structures prepared by DGEOM and refined with CHARMm contained either an irregular turn or a helical structure at residues 13-16. The secondary structure of human parathyroid hormone(1-34) was also assessed by circular dichroism in the presence of methanol, trifluoroethanol, and dodecylphosphocholine micelles. Under all three conditions, the peptide formed structures containing various amounts of helical content. The formation of helical secondary structure in the presence of micelles supports the proposal that the trifluoroethanol-induced structure of human parathyroid(1-34) was not an artifact of its environment but perhaps was an indication of the conformation that the molecule adopts when in close proximity to a membrane surface and possibly when bound to the parathyroid receptor.


Cancer is the second leading cause of death with tens of millions of people diagnosed with cancer every year around the world. Most radio- and chemotherapies aim to eliminate cancer cells, notably by causing severe damage to the DNA. However, efficient repair of such damage represents a common mechanism of resistance to initially effective cytotoxic agents. Thus, development of new generation anticancer drugs that target DNA repair pathways, and more particularly the base excision repair (BER) pathway that is responsible for removal of damaged bases, is of growing interest. The BER pathway is initiated by a set of enzymes known as DNA glycosylases. Unlike several downstream BER enzymes, DNA glycosylases have so far received little attention and the development of specific inhibitors of these enzymes has been lagging. Yet, dysregulation of DNA glycosylases is also known to play a central role in numerous cancers and at different stages of the disease, and thus inhibiting DNA glycosylases is now considered a valid strategy to eliminate cancer cells. This review provides a detailed overview of the activities of DNA glycosylases in normal and cancer cells, their modes of regulation, and their potential as anticancer drug targets.


Reinforcement learning algorithms, though successful, tend to over-fit to training environments hampering their application to the real-world. This paper proposes $\text{W}\text{R}^{2}\text{L}$ -- a robust reinforcement learning algorithm with significant robust performance on low and high-dimensional control tasks. Our method formalises robust reinforcement learning as a novel min-max game with a Wasserstein constraint for a correct and convergent solver. Apart from the formulation, we also propose an efficient and scalable solver following a novel zero-order optimisation method that we believe can be useful to numerical optimisation in general. We empirically demonstrate significant gains compared to standard and robust state-of-the-art algorithms on high-dimensional MuJuCo environments.


Introduction: Bullying in the workplace of nurses is an issue with great interest. It is defined as repeated and persistent negative actions by one or more individuals in the workplace and more specifically an act of deliberate and continuous rather than individual events. The purpose of this study was to explore the bullying of nurses at their workplace. Methodology: The methodology used included a search review and research studies primarily in electronic ballast «PubMed». Results: According to the literature intimidation is a major cause for the abandonment of the profession by new nurses. Therefore, intimidation make most crucial the problem of shortage of nurses. The role of advisory nurses is an effective way to deal with bullying. Furthermore, it improves nursing efficiency and increases the confidence of young nurses, adapting them more effective in their roles. Conclusions: It becomes an imperative need to create a healthy working environment in which bullying has no place.


Arabidopsis thaliana hydroxynitrile lyase (AtHNL) catalyzes the selective synthesis of (R)-cyanohydrins. This enzyme is unstable under acidic conditions, therefore its immobilization is necessary for the synthesis of enantiopure cyanohydrins. EziG Opal is a controlled porosity glass material for the immobilization of His-tagged enzymes. The immobilization of His6-tagged AtHNL on EziG Opal was optimized for higher enzyme stability and tested for the synthesis of (R)-mandelonitrile in batch and continuous flow systems. AtHNL-EziG Opal achieved 95% of conversion after 30 min of reaction time in batch and it was recycled up to eight times with a final conversion of 80% and excellent enantioselectivity. The EziG Opal carrier catalyzed the racemic background reaction; however, the high enantioselectivity observed in the recycling study demonstrated that this was efficiently suppressed by using citrate/phosphate buffer saturated methyl-tert-butylether (MTBE) pH 5 as reaction medium. The continuous flow system achieved 96% of conversion and excellent enantioselectivity at 0.1 mL min−1. Lower conversion and enantioselectivity were observed at higher flow rates. The specific rate of AtHNL-EziG Opal in flow was 0.26 mol h−1 genzyme−1 at 0.1 mL min−1 and 96% of conversion whereas in batch, the immobilized enzyme displayed a specific rate of 0.51 mol h−1 genzyme−1 after 30 min of reaction time at a similar level of conversion. However, in terms of productivity the continuous flow system proved to be almost four times more productive than the batch approach, displaying a space-time-yield (STY) of 690 molproduct h−1 L−1 genzyme−1 compared to 187 molproduct h−1 L−1 genzyme−1 achieved with the batch system.


Phosphorus deficiency is common in rice cultivated soils and particularly acting as a limiting factor in the acid sulfate and acid upland soils. Improved variety adapted to low soil-P condition is needed to reduce the need of P fertilizer and to increase rice yield. A study was conducted on the application of modified bulk selection method in rice breeding to develop lines adapted to low soil-P condition. The materials used in the study were two populations of F3 generation derived from crosses of IR6008023/Bernas Prima and Gampai/Progol. The materials were planted on P sub-optimum condition at Muara Experiment Station, Bogor, West Java, to obtain F4 and F5 population, selected using modified bulk method. The F5 population were planted on two environment conditions, namely on P optimum (36 kg/ha P2O5) and on P sub-optimum (without P fertilizer) to obtain F6 population. A total of 40 lines from each population were selected, so that 160 F6 lines were obtained. The F6 lines were evaluated on P+ and Pconditions, using augmented design. Result showed that selection for lines adapted to Pshould be done on Pcondition, whereas for those adapted to P+ could be done on either P+ or Pcondition. Lines selected for Pwere different from those selected for P+, and some lines selected for both Pand P+ felt at different yield ranks. It was concluded that modified bulk method followed by line selection was effective to develop breeding lines adapted to Por P+. For P-, the modified bulk and line selection should be conducted in P-, whereas for P+, the modified bulk could be planted on P+ or P-, but the line selection should be conducted on P+ condition.


The article is concerned with the analysis of the electric power prices at the European spot exchanges, taking in consideration 27 Countries of the Union (excluding UK). The time series data are considering the half yearly average of the countries, as reported by the Eurostat database. The article examines the way spot prices are influenced by power exchanges, based on the overall installed power of more healthier economies. In recent years a growing capacity from renewable sources is pouring in the system, anyway the implementation of renewable energies do not guarantee constant supply to the network as they depend on weather conditions and therefore must still have recourse to conventional generation types - such as gas and coal - which generally have higher operating costs than renewable. An increasing number of Member States have adjusted mechanisms to promote investment in power plants or provided incentives to keep them standing. These public measures may be justified in certain situations but according to recent guidelines, the European Commission has established that the adjustment mechanisms can be in contrast with the legislation on state aid. The identification of these discrepancies is studied in this article through the key characteristics of the price differential for the EU spot markets. The inflation generated from the price adjustments within the EU members can be considered an important indicator of market inefficiency. Key words: electricity spot exchanges, subsidies, price setter, price taker, household consumers.


ABSTRACT Many recent studies have demonstrated recruitment of chromatin-modifying enzymes to double-strand breaks. Instead, we wanted to examine chromatin modifications during the repair of these double-strand breaks. We show that homologous recombination triggers the acetylation of N-terminal lysines on histones H3 and H4 flanking a double-strand break, followed by deacetylation of H3 and H4. Consistent with a requirement for acetylation and deacetylation during homologous recombination, Saccharomyces cerevisiae with substitutions of the acetylatable lysines of histone H4, deleted for the N-terminal tail of histone H3 or H4, deleted for the histone acetyltransferase GCN5 gene or the histone deacetylase RPD3 gene, shows inviability following induction of an HO lesion that is repaired primarily by homologous recombination. Furthermore, the histone acetyltransferases Gcn5 and Esa1 and the histone deacetylases Rpd3, Sir2, and Hst1 are recruited to the HO lesion during homologous recombinational repair. We have also observed a distinct pattern of histone deacetylation at the donor locus during homologous recombination. Our results demonstrate that dynamic changes in histone acetylation accompany homologous recombination and that the ability to modulate histone acetylation is essential for viability following homologous recombination.


Background: There is evidence of cognitive-motor coupling in multiple sclerosis (MS) such that the slowing of cognitive processing speed correlates with the worsening of walking speed and endurance. Objective: The current study first established the presence of cognitive-motor coupling and second examined the possibility that volumes of subcortical gray matter (SGM) structures and aerobic capacity might explain the coupling of cognitive and motor functions in persons with MS. Methods: We included data from 62 persons with clinically definite MS who underwent assessments of cognitive processing speed, walking performance, and aerobic capacity, and completed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) within 7 days of the aforementioned assessments. Results: The strong correlations between cognitive processing speed and walking performance were attenuated in magnitude and not statistically significant when controlling for aerobic capacity alone and aerobic capacity and SGM volumes together. The associations between cognitive processing speed and walking performance remained statistically significant when controlling for SGM volumes alone. Conclusion: Aerobic capacity may be an important target for neurorehabilitation-based approaches for managing co-occurring cognitive and motor dysfunction in MS.


The purpose of this class action research is to develop learning process skills that requires students to be independent by developing caharacter through reading activities in Social Sciences subject. Data analysis is done descriptively by comparing inter-cycles test scores. The results of this study showed an improved character correlated to the increase in student learning outcomes. 32 students of IX C class consisting of 14 boys and 18 girls experienced an increased character from the cycle I to cycle II. Research data shows an increase of 77.21% in character. In learning outcomes, there is an increase in classical mastery of 87.5% and the average of 78.26. The conclusion of this research is that the selection of learning model adapted to material characteristics and conditions of the students, with facilitation to continue syntopical reading to build characters make a maximal learning outcomes.


This paper investigates potential improvement of nonparametric detection performance via addition of noise and evaluates the performance of noise modified nonparametric detectors. Detection performance comparisons are made between the original detectors and noise modified detectors. Conditions for improvability as well as the optimum additive noise distributions of the widely used sign detector, the Wilcoxon detector, and the dead-zone limiter detector are derived. Finally, a simple and fast learning algorithm to find the optimal noise distribution solely based on received data is presented. A near-optimal solution can be found quickly based on a relatively small dataset.


Knowledge Management has been a subject of significant management interest for some 15 years. During that time it has been subjected to a variety of criticisms including the argument that it is little more than a "fad" -something that catches management"s attention for a while and then fades away because of a lack of sustainability. It has been compared to other major management fads such as quality circles and business process re-engineering. This paper examines the discipline of Knowledge Management (KM) through the lens of management fashion theory. It demonstrates that KM is not a fad and that it has become an enduring management activity. Management Fashion Theory (Abrahamson and Fairchild, 1999) is an extension of Rogers" Theory of Diffusion of Innovations (Rogers, 2003), that takes a skeptical view of business innovations, viewing the discourse about and the diffusion of innovations as a cultural phenomenon rather than a rational decision making process. After a brief introduction to the field of Knowledge Management (KM), a review of the theories of Diffusion of Innovations and Management Fashion is presented, along with a description of the methodology used to apply Management Fashion Theory to the discourse on KM. Bibliometric and content analysis techniques are used to examine publications and discourse in the field from 1990 to 2009. The analysis of discourse on KM demonstrates a significant period of "latency" from the late 1980s to 1994, during which foundational ideas and precursors to KM appear. Then a rapid growth period is identified, from 1995-2001 during which KM becomes an innovation of interest to most major organizations. Finally, it appears that discourse has settled at a steady state, with no decline apparent. However, detailed analysis has also indentified a potential conflict between the interests of practitioners and researchers, with a separation of the discourse into distinct groups that may have inconsistent views on what is or is not "Knowledge Management". In summary, this paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of discourse on KM. It provides bibliometric evidence that there has been a sustained interest in KM that is quite unlike that of other popular management themes over the last 30 years. It raises some questions about the relevance of some of the research being carried out.


ABSTRACT A fosmid library from genomic DNA of Streptomyces viridochromogenes DSM 40736 was constructed and screened for the presence of genes known to be involved in the biosynthesis of phosphinothricin tripeptide (PTT). Eight positives were identified, one of which was able to confer PTT biosynthetic capability upon Streptomyces lividans after integration of the fosmid into the chromosome of this heterologous host. Sequence analysis of the 40,241-bp fosmid insert revealed 29 complete open reading frames (ORFs). Deletion analysis demonstrated that a minimum set of 24 ORFs were required for PTT production in the heterologous host. Sequence analysis revealed that most of these PTT genes have been previously identified in either S. viridochromogenes or S. hygroscopicus (or both), although only 11 out of 24 of these ORFs have experimentally defined functions. Three previously unknown genes within the cluster were identified and are likely to have roles in the stepwise production of phosphonoformate from phosphonoacetaldehyde. This is the first report detailing the entire PTT gene cluster from any producing streptomycete.


Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) are rare tumours rising from the pancreatic duct epithelium. They are characterized by intraductal papillary growth and thick mucin secretion; mucin fills the Wirsung and/or branch pancreatic ducts and may cause ductal dilatation. IPMNs are classified into three types, according to the site of involvement: main duct type, branch duct type, and combined type. Most branch type IPMNs are benign, while the other two types are frequently malignant. Recent advances in diagnostic imaging have led to an increased frequency of diagnosis of IPMNs, but the clinical features of them can range broadly from benign, borderline, and malignant non-invasive to invasive lesions, and their management has not yet been clearly defined. The most of patients are asymptomatic. The possibility of malignancy is increased in cases which large mural nodules are presented. Presence of a large branch type IPMN and marked dilatation of the main duct indicate the existence of adenoma. Not infrequently, synchronous or metachronous malignancies may be developed in various organs. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS), intraductal ultrasonography, and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) are the most valuable imaging techniques for diagnosis of these lesions. Prognosis is excellent after complete resection of benign and non-invasive malignant IPMNs. Total pancreatectomy should be reserved for patients with resectable but extensive IPMN involving the whole pancreas; its benefits must be balanced against perioperative risks.


A study of the thermal decomposition sequence of a sample of natural arsenian plumbojarosite has been undertaken using in situ X-ray diffraction. The sample was heated to 900°C using an Anton-Paar heating stage fitted to an INEL CPS120 diffractometer. The data were analysed using a whole-pattern, Rietveld based approach for the extraction of quantitative phase abundances. The instrument configuration used required the development and application of algorithms to correct for aberrations in the (i) peak intensities due to differing path lengths of incident and diffracted beams in the sample and (ii) peak positions due to sample displacement. Details of the structural models used were refined at selected steps in the pattern and then fixed for subsequent analysis. The data sequence consists of some 110 individual data sets which were analysed sequentially with the output of each run forming the input for analysis of the next data set. The results of the analysis show a complex breakdown and recrystallisation sequence including the formation of a major amount of amorphous material after initial breakdown of the plumbojarosite.