The research interest in the rural lifestyle is due to several trends. On the one hand, it is the deepening depopulation of rural areas and the growth of crisis phenomena. On the other hand, there is a trend of deurbanization, which it is legitimate to consider not only as a temporary consequence of the pandemic situation, but as an aspect of the formation of fundamentally new civilizational relations, the need for which is stated both internationally and at the Russian level. Thus, the reports of the Club of Rome argue for the inevitability of the transition to a new paradigm of development. In the Russian scientific and philosophical literature, one of the alternative civilizational models has been called noospheric or spiritual-ecological, which should replace the prevailing technogenic-consumer model today. At the same time, the values and attitudes that dominate today are criticized first of all, and a return to a number of basic traditional values, preserved, in particular, in the rural way of life, is asserted at a new level. The purpose of the study is divided into three main ones: to isolate the basic values and socio-cultural traditions of the Russian and, above all, the Siberian peasantry, which correspond to the spiritual and ecological civilizational relations; to identify the degree of prevalence of these values in the modern youth environment of Siberia; to give a general assessment of what is happening and offer their recommendations. As a result of the conducted survey of students of agricultural universities in Siberia, it was noted that the key socio-cultural attitudes and values of the rural lifestyle, namely: nature centrism, hard work, the dominance of direct human communication and mutual assistance, nepotism and the continuity of generations have largely been preserved. The rural way of life still retains its deep potential for the reproduction of the cultural, social and family way of life. But at the same time, it is actively undergoing destruction and transformation, which requires the adoption of appropriate socio-economic measures and infrastructural transformations, taking into account global trends in the development of a "smart village". A significant role in realizing this potential is assigned to young people, namely graduates of agricultural universities as future professionals in the field of agriculture. The methodology of the research was based theoretically, firstly, on a detailed and multidimensional critique of modern civilization, presented in the works of many authors (the Frankfurt School, E. Fromm, the works of the Club of Rome, etc.); secondly, on studies of the state of modern rural areas, in particular in Siberia. Sociological methods such as questionnaires and express surveys were used as empirical methods.


The motivation of juvenile rabbits to graze was tested by offering a choice of coarse mix or grass as rewards to rabbits fed a nutritionally adequate diet of carrots and hay. Before measuring the motivation of the 16 rabbits, eight were offered access to grass for 16 days and the remaining eight were kept in outdoor hutches. An initial preference test was then conducted using a Y-maze apparatus, in which the rabbits were offered a choice of grass or coarse mix for 3 min. The rabbits that had not previously been offered grass had a strong preference for the grass reward, whereas those that had chose coarse mix and grass equally. Measurement of rabbits' behaviour during the reward period revealed that rabbits spent longer eating if their reward was grass; this difference was particularly notable toward the end of the 3 min period. If they received a coarse mix reward, they spent more of the 3 min self-grooming, standing still and chewing the wire of the cage. Feeding rabbits with a coarse mix diet may therefore increase the likelihood of problem behaviours including inactivity and trichophagia. The rabbits were also trained in a novel operant test of motivation for the two rewards, in which they were required to circumnavigate an object several times before receiving a reward. The number of circumnavigations before a reward was offered was progressively increased, and rabbits were offered two opportunities to take the reward at each level. Although the rabbits were prepared to circumnavigate the object up to II times on average, there was little evidence that they would work harder for a grass reward than for a coarse mix reward. This may have been because they had previously had experience of grass during the preference tests. It is concluded that juvenile rabbits show a strong initial preference for a grass reward, compared with coarse mix, but that this preference disappears after brief exposure to grass. There was no strong evidence that rabbits will work harder to receive a grass reward than to receive a coarse mix reward.


Fama's (1984) volatility relations show that the risk premium in foreign exchange markets is more volatile than, and is negatively correlated with the expected rate of depreciation. This paper studies these relations from the perspective of goods markets frictions. Using a sticky-price general equilibrium model, we show that near-random walk behaviors of both exchange rates and consumption, in response to monetary shocks, can be derived endogenously. Based on this approach, the paper provides quantitative results that might explain the forward premium anomaly, which is one of the most important puzzles in international finance.


The practice of medicine can be roughly divided into two specialties: the diagnosis of disease and the treatment of disease. Historically, healthcare investing has been focused on treatment, with pharmaceutical and biotech companies commanding the majority of attention. However, diagnosis remains a significant opportunity for the informed investor. Diagnostic products are pervasive in the healthcare system and as varied as the diseases the humans encounter. This report provides an overview of both the diversity and the commonalities in this market.


We examined the role o fT lymphocytes bearing the L3T4 phenotype in acute murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) infection. In vivo administration of rat IgG2b monoclonal antibody (MAb) GK 1.5 was used to deplete mice of L3T4 + lymphocytes during acute MCMV infection. Unlike the saline-treated controls that resolved their infections, mice receiving the MAb developed persistent and high levels of virus in the salivary gland, lung and spleen. The production of antibody to MCMV was delayed and the titres achieved were markedly less than in the controls. Despite the higher levels of virus replication, there was no increase in mortality seen in animals treated with the MAb. Following intraperitoneal challenge with MCMV, depletion of L3T4 + lymphocytes was protective, increasing the dose of MCMV required to produce death. These data indicate that T lymphocytes of the L3T4 phenotype influence the degree of MCMV replication during acute infection and may contribute to mortality following intraperitoneal virus challenge.


Two runs of experiments were carried out to obtain an understanding of phosphorus release and uptake under the anaerobic condition and then the aerobic condition respectively. Under anaerobic condition, it was found that the extent of phosphorus release appeared to increase with the increase of the initial organic loading rate when the initial organic loading rate was up to 0.1 gSCOD/gMLSS.When the initial organic loading rate was higher than 0.1 gSCOD/gMLSS, the amount of phosphorus release per unit mass of MLSS reached nearly a same stationary value, and it seemed this is not affected by organic loading rate when there is external available substrate remained. In addition, the effect of NOx-N on the phosphorus release and uptake was also investigated, it was proved that the denitrifiers has an advantage over polyphosphate accumulating bacteria in competition for organic substrate under anoxic condition. Therefore, the existence of NOx-N is disadvantageous to the phosphorus release. Based upon the above investigations, the process configuration of membrane bioreactor(MBR) in combination with anaerobic phase was proposed to enhance the removal of phosphorus in treating domestic wastewater. During the experimental period of four months, average removals of 92.50%, 84.25%, 100%, 94.09% and 85.33% were achieved for COD, TP, SS, NH3-N and TN respectively.


The pH distributions in transplanted neural (TV1A, BT1A) and hepatic (HV1A3) tumors and in brain and kidney of BDIX rats were analyzed as a function of serum glucose concentration (SGC), tumor size, and tissue architecture. Tissue damage during pH measurements in vivo could be minimized by the use of pH microelectrodes with tip diameters of less than or equal to 10 micrometers. In normoglycemic rats, the pH in TV1A tumors was only slightly lower than in brain or kidney. However, at 6 hr after the induction of hyperglycemia by continuous i.v. infusion of glucose, the average pH in TV1A tumors had fallen to 6.7 at an SGC of 27 mM and to 6.1 at an SGC of 50 mM. A similar glucose-mediated pH reduction was observed in BT1A and HV1A3 tumors. No significant increase in tissue acidity occurred in brain and kidney. The pH in tumors had reached its minimum at 2 hr after the onset of high-dose glucose infusion (SGC, 50 mM) and could be maintained at this level in hyperglycemic rats for at least 48 hr. In hyperglycemic hosts, an increased retention of acidic metabolites in the tumor tissue with decreasing vascular density was reflected by a tumor size (age)-dependent pH reduction and a higher degree of intratumoral pH variation. In partially necrotic tumors, pH values as low as 5.2 were recorded. Oral administration of NaHCO3 to tumor-bearing rats had no effect on the average pH in TV1A tumors.


Geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the options envisaged for mitigating the environmental consequences of anthropogenic CO2 increases in the atmosphere. The general principle is to capture carbon dioxide at the exhaust of power plants and then to inject the compressed fluid into deep geological formations. Before implementation over large scales, it is necessary to assess the efficiency of the process and its environmental consequences. The goal of this paper is to discuss some environmental mineralogy research perspectives raised by CO2 geological storage.


This study from Vietnam shows that a switch from conventional to organic tea productions would bring real environmental, health and economic benefits for the country's farmers and its society as a whole. In particular, the amount of agrochemical residue and waste produced by tea production would be reduced. Farmers would also be able to enjoy a better livelihood as they could command a premium price for their organic tea products. The study therefore recommends that organic tea production is the best method for farmers to adopt. The study finds that there are a number of technical and economic challenges that confront farmers making the switch to organic production. It therefore highlights the fact that clean tea production (which has a less strict environmental management regime) can offer an interim approach that still brings higher quality standards and profitability for tea growers. There are a number of ways in which the government can promote clean tea and organic tea production. Support from governmental agencies and NGOs in the form of technical training and on-farm monitoring is vital. The government can also create a market mechanism to guarantee a premium price for organic tea products.


The Law of the Republic of Armenia on the use and protection of the emblems of the red cross and red crescent was adopted on 5 February 2002, was promulgated on 2 March 2002 and entered into force the same day. It sets out rules for the emblem's use as a protective device (by the medical and religious personnel of the armed forces, troops of the Ministry of the Interior, border guards, other military formations and public authorities responsible for action in emergencies, civilian medical units, and the medical personnel of the Armenian Red Cross Society and other National Red Cross or Red Crescent Societies) and as an indicative device (by bodies belonging to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and, in peacetime, by authorized ambulances and aid stations providing free treatment to the injured and sick). The law also mentions the use by organizations that do not need any special authorization (the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies) and includes rules on the distinctive emblems and the names "Red Cross" and "Red Crescent". It states that any person who violates the law will be held accountable by virtue of the legislation of Armenia. In the event of contradictions between the law and treaties listed in the law itself, the treaties take precedence.


We review here the role that sex steroids play in experimental intraperitoneal Taenia crassiceps cysticercosis of male and female BalbC/AnN mice. Briefly, estrogens favour and androgens hinder the reproduction of cysticerci by at least two main mechanisms: 1) through estradiol tilting the TH2/TH1 immune system balance towards parasite-permissive TH2 response,which is IL-6 dependent mediating P450-aromatase over expression, shunting testosterone towards estradiol and thus creating a positive feed-back loop which progressively favours TH2 response, blocking in turns TH1 and furthers parasite growth; and 2) estrogens and androgens acting directly upon the cysticercus reproductive system, favoring or hindering, respectively, its asexual reproduction. Later infection, when parasite loads are for milliars, male mice become estrogenized, deandrogenized and diminish their copulative, aggressive and social behaviors in association with P450-aromatase testis overexpression. Changes in c-fos expression in different areas of the infected mice brain point to the additional connection of the central nervous system with the infection driven events, which senses and perhaps reacts to infection with behavioral changes. This complex immune-neuro-endocrine network management of parasite loads in murine cysticercosis, and its physiological and behavioral consequences upon the host, may be operative in other infections of mammals. Such complexity may also help to explain the often conflicting results, observed between infections with respect to the role of the host sex, and hints to other avenues of research and strategies for their treatment and control.


This paper presents the development of a portable solar desalination system using membrane distillation (MD) for processing seawater for drinking in remote areas and for emergency situations such as natural disasters. The portable system uses the vacuum MD to desalinate the seawater. Solar energy is being harvested to provide the energy input for the MD. The portable system should be scalable so that numerous systems can be deployed in case of emergency. The system is self-contained and draws all its energy needs from solar energy. A combination of solar PV and solar thermal collectors are being exploited to harness the energy from the sun to power the portable system. The development work focuses on the engineering design of the MD system to optimize the water production within a given frame size for portability and energy availability. The challenge lies in the engineering of an efficient self-contained system that is reliable and ease of maintenance that will provide drinking water for all where clean drinking water is not readily available.


Taking 2K-H differential gear train as study object, dynamic equation of torsion vibration was established with influence of time-varying meshing stiffness. The virtual-prototype with nonlinear meshing force was modeled using Virtual.Lab Motion software. Gear contact force was simulated, and it was verified by theoretical data. The reason of meshing vibration is analyzed. The results show that time-varying meshing stiffness is the main excitation of gear system, and gear system is vibratory although the input and output are stable, and the basic frequency is meshing frequency. This research lays foundation for strength checking, optimum design and fatigue life prediction.


Libraries are facing many challenges today. In addition to diminishing funding and increased user expectations, the use of classic library catalogues is becoming an additional challenge. Library users require fast and easy access to information resources regardless whether the format used is paper or electronic. Google search, with its speed and simplicity, set up a new standard for information retrieval which is hard to achieve with the previous generation of library search facilities. Put in a position of David versus Goliath, many small, and even larger libraries, are losing the battle with Google and letting many of its users use Google rather than library catalogues. The International Nuclear Information System (INIS) hosts one of the world's largest collections of published information on the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology. It offers online access to a unique collection of 3.6 million bibliographic records and 320,000 full-texts of non-conventional (grey) literature. This large digital library collection suffered from most of the well-known shortcomings of the classic library catalogue. Searching was complex and complicated, required some training in using Boolean logic, full-text searching was not an option, and the response time was slow. An opportune moment came with the retirement of the previous catalogue software and with the adoption of Google Search Appliance (GSA) as an organization-wide search engine standard. INIS was quick to realize a great potential in using such a well-known application as a replacement for its online catalogue and this paper presents the advantages and disadvantages encountered during three years of GSA use. Based on specific INIS-based practice and experience, this paper also offers some guidelines on ways to improve classic collections of millions of bibliographic and full-text documents, while achieving multiple benefits such as increased use, accessibility, usability, expandability and improving the user search and retrieval experience.


The origin of the summertime synoptic wave train in the western North Pacific is investigated with a multilevel, nonlinear baroclinic model. A realistic three-dimensional summer mean state is specified and eigenvectors are calculated by introducing small perturbation initially to the model. Numerical experiments indicate that the origin of the synoptic wave train may arise from instability of the summer mean flow in the presence of a convection–frictional convergence (CFC) feedback. In the lack of the CFC feedback, the summer mean flow supports only a least damped mode, characterized by a northwest–southeast-oriented wave train pattern with a zonal wavelength of 2500 km. In the presence of both the realistic summer mean flow and the CFC feedback, the model reproduces a fast growing mode, whose structure and propagation characters are similar to the observed. Sensitivity experiments with different initial perturbation patterns indicate that the model solution is not sensitive to initial conditions. Further sensitivity experiments reveal that the basic-state vertical shear may affect the growth rate and propagation character of the wave train. An easterly shear may lead to a faster growth and northwestward phase propagation, whereas a westerly shear may favor a slower growth and southeastward phase propagation.


INTRODUCTION
World population of elderly is increasing at a fast pace. The number of elderly in India has increased by 54.77% in the last 15 years. A number of social security measures have been taken by Indian government.

AIM
To assess awareness, utilization and barriers faced while utilizing social security schemes by elderly in a secondary care hospital situated in a rural area in Delhi, India.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 360 individuals aged 60 years and above in a secondary care hospital situated in a rural area in Delhi. A pre-tested, semi-structured schedule prepared in local language was used. Data was analysed using SPSS software (version 17.0). Chi-square test was used to observe any statistical association between categorical variables. The results were considered statistically significant if p-value was less than 0.05.

RESULTS
A majority of study subjects were females (54.2%), Hindu (89.7%), married (60.3%) and were not engaged in any occupation (82.8%). Awareness about Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) was present among 286 (79.4%) and Annapurna scheme in 193 (53.6%) subjects. Among 223 subjects who were below poverty line, 179 (80.3%) were aware of IGNOAPS; while, 112 (50.2%) were utilizing the scheme. There was no association of awareness with education status, occupation, religion, family type, marital status and caste (p>0.05). Corruption and tedious administrative formalities were major barriers reported.

CONCLUSION
Awareness generation, provision of information on how to approach the concerned authority for utilizing the scheme and ease of administrative procedures should be an integral part of any social security scheme or measure. In the present study, about 79.4% of elderly were aware and 45% of the eligible subjects were utilizing pension scheme. Major barriers reported in utilization of schemes were corruption and tedious administrative procedures.


In the context of the calls for sufficiency held by climate experts, consumption is a major lever of ecological transition. Following numerous social sciences studies, I suggest that the belief that such an ecological transition could rest on the shoulders of consumers alone is illusory. I highlight the strong interdependencies within a political economy of affluent consumption between public policies, corporate business models and consumer practices. Taking an economic sociological and Foucauldian perspective, I develop a research agenda to explore how affluent consumption becomes a legitimised and institutionalised norm. Affluent consumption, which is highly resource intensive, is structural in both economic policies of governments and business models of companies and is therefore constantly organised and governed. However, it is not imposed on individuals by force. The government of consumption is based on technologies of power that shape and orient consumers' conduct, leading them to adopt the norms of affluent consumption by activating and playing on their dispositions acquired through market socialisation.


We examine crop choice as a dynamic optimization problem over an infinite time horizon, taking into account the effects over time that corn-soybean rotations have on soil quality, which manifest in yield and therefore profit impacts. We show how the efficient decision rule depends on model parameters and how it compares to those characteristic of static models of supply. The model is parameterized for a representative acre of Iowa cropland and used to predict actual crop choices in a panel of over 6500 Iowa plots during 1979–1997 surprisingly well.


Daily emotional labor can impair psychological well-being, especially when emotions have to be displayed that are not truly felt. To explain these deleterious effects of emotional labor, scholars have theorized that emotional labor can put high demands on self-control and diminishes limited regulatory resources. On the basis of this notion, we examined 2 moderators of the daily emotional labor process, namely day-specific sleep quality and individual self-control capacity. In particular, in 2 diary studies (NTOTAL = 171), we tested whether sleep quality moderates the influence of emotional dissonance (the perceived discrepancy between felt and required emotions) on daily psychological well-being (ego depletion, need for recovery, and work engagement). In addition, we examined 3-way interactions of self-control capacity, sleep quality, and emotional dissonance on indicators of day-specific psychological well-being (Study 2). Our results indicate that the negative relations of day-specific emotional dissonance to all day-specific indicators of well-being are attenuated as a function of increasing day-specific sleep quality and that self-control capacity moderates this interaction. Specifically, compared with low self-control capacity, the day-specific interaction of emotional dissonance and sleep quality was more pronounced when trait self-control was high. For those with low trait self-control, day-specific sleep quality did not attenuate the negative relations of emotional dissonance to day-specific well-being. Implications for research on emotional labor and for intervention programs are discussed.


What makes a city meaningful to its residents? What attracts people to live in a city and to care for it? Today, we might see such questions as concerns for HCI, given the emerging agendas of smart and connected cities, IoT, and ubiquitous computing: city residents' perceptions of and attitudes towards smart city technologies will play a role in technology acceptance. Theories of "placemaking" from humanist geography and urban planning address themselves to such concerns, and they have been taken up in HCI and urban informatics research. This theory offers ideas for developing community attachment, heightening the legibility of the city, and intensifying lived experiences in the city. We add to this body of research with an analysis of several initiatives of City Yeast, a community-based design collective in Taiwan that proposes the metaphor of fermentation as an approach to placemaking. We unpack how this approach shapes their design practice and link its implications to urban informatics research in HCI. We suggest that smart cities can also be pursued by leveraging the knowledge of city residents and helping to facilitate their participation in acts of perceiving, envisioning, and improving their local communities, including but not limited to smart and connected technologies.


Objective: Gymnosporia royleana (G royleana) Wall ex MA Lawson, locally known as (Sur Azghee), is traditionally used for the management of various diseases. In the current investigation, we made an effort to scientifically validate its traditional use in various pathological conditions, such as microbial infections and cancer, and to explore its additional pharmacological activities via random screening against locally accessible pharmacological methods, irrespective of its traditional uses like antidiabetic, haemagglutination and antioxidant assays. Methods: Extraction was carried out using a cold maceration methodology. Dilution method was used for antimicrobial susceptibility testing using different concentrations. Streptozocin (STZ) induced protocol was used to assess antidiabetic activity at a dose level of 200, 400 mg/ kg. Antioxidant activity, haemagglutination activity, and anticancer activities against HepG-2 and MCF-7 cell lines were determined as per established protocols. Similarly, the maximum amount of phenolic content (12.02 mg 100 g) was determined by using Folin Ciocalteu assay. Results: Promising antimicrobial activities in terms of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) were noted for crude extract (25‒200 μg/mL), n-hexane (100‒400 μg/mL), ethyl acetate (50‒200 μg/mL) and aqueous (100‒400 μg/mL). Antidiabetic potential was significant at a dose level of 200‒400 mg/kg bodyweight by reducing the blood glucose level at days 10 and 15. The percentage of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) values increase by increasing the concentration of the plant extract (10‒100 μg/mL). The methanol extract was found to possess high agglutination activity. Conclusion: It was concluded that this plant species possess significant antimicrobial, antidiabetic, antioxidant, anticancer and haemagglutination activities, which could be attributed to the phenolic content of the extract.


The present study investigates the relationship between felt job insecurity and union membership accounting for potential differences between temporary and permanent workers. Consistent with the idea that felt job insecurity leads workers to seek social protection from the unions, and with earlier studies, we hypothesize a positive relationship between felt job insecurity and union membership (Hypothesis 1). Furthermore, we argue that this relationship may be stronger among temporary compared with permanent workers (Hypothesis 2): insecure temporary workers are in a situation of 'double vulnerability', hence they have strong motives for unionization. Hypotheses are tested in a cross- -sectional sample of 560 Flemish (Dutch-speaking part of Belgium) workers. Our results were as follows: the relationship between felt job insecurity and union membership was not significant. The interaction term between contract type and felt job insecurity was significantly related to union membership: the relationship between felt job insecurity and union membership was positive among temporary workers, but not among permanent workers. This pattern of results may inspire unions to target future recruitment strategies on temporary workers. A route for future research could be to test our hypotheses also longitudinally.


Stockholm TMA handles traffic to Sweden's two biggest airports movement wise: Stockholm Arlanda and Stockholm Bromma. The airports are located in close proximity to each other, meaning traffic in and out of the airports is likely to conflict, depending on the runway configurations. Stockholm TMA capacity will depend on how complex the traffic is, especially in the arrival sector (sector East), as well as weather, wind and other capacity factors. The thesis focuses on arriving traffic to Stockholm Arlanda. The number of arrivals for any given hour is restricted by a landing rate. The landing rate is set depending on a number of factors. For a high landing rate to be set, Stockholm Arlanda will need to be in traffic peak, utilizing one of the runway configurations used for hours of high traffic intensity. Why was a certain landing rate set? What were the main contributors? What was the outcome of the rate in terms of arrivals?


Learning allows the value of motivationally salient events to become associated with stimuli that predict those events. Here, we asked whether value associations could facilitate visual working memory (WM), and whether such effects would be valence dependent. Our experiment was specifically designed to isolate value-based effects on WM from value-based effects on selective attention that might be expected to bias encoding. In a simple associative learning task, participants learned to associate the color of tinted faces with gaining or losing money or neither. Tinted faces then served as memoranda in a face identity WM task for which previously learned color associations were irrelevant and no monetary outcomes were forthcoming. Memory was best for faces with gain-associated tints, poorest for faces with loss-associated tints, and average for faces with no-outcome-associated tints. Value associated with 1 item in the WM array did not modulate memory for other items in the array. Eye movements when studying faces did not depend on the valence of previously learned color associations, arguing against value-based biases being due to differential encoding. This valence-sensitive value-conditioning effect on WM appears to result from modulation of WM maintenance processes.


Food safety and quality are the major concern for food processing industries. In today's world, people are getting more conscious about food safety parameters. In this regard, bacteriocin plays a major role in ensuring the safety and quality of food products. From those, LAB bacteriocins are of great interest due to their GRAS status. They are widely used in food preservation, agriculture and pharmaceutical industries. They have also been incorporated into food packaging material due to their both antibacterial and antifungal properties. In this review, we highlighted the possible ways to produce and purify bacteriocin and also the potential application to be used as a natural preservative.


The leaves of the common guava plant Psidium guajava have long been used as an herbal remedy. Natural products extracted from these leaves include (+)-psiguadial B, which is toxic to liver cancer cells. (+)-Psiguadial B possesses the kind of structure that makes synthetic chemists swoon. It's loaded with strained rings and stereocenters—perfect for trying out some new chemistry. Caltech chemists led by Sarah E. Reisman now report the first enantioselective total synthesis of (+)-psiguadial B (J. Am. Chem Soc. 2016, DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b07229). The chemists completed the synthesis in just 15 steps, starting from a simple diazoketone. Reisman's group first set out to make the strained portion of the molecule, which includes a fused trans-cyclobutane ring. A key transformation they developed en route was a tandem reaction combining a Wolff rearrangement and an asymmetric ketene addition—the first time this combo has been reported. This step creates the cyclobutane portion of the


Long-acting local anesthetics have proved to be effective for the suppression of both intraoperative and postoperative pain. They are useful for lengthy dental treatments and for prevention of severe pain following many types of surgical procedures. Although the currently available long-acting local anesthetics for dentistry have minimal side effects in the doses usually employed, there are potential problems. Bupivacaine, for example, can cause significant cardiac depressant and dysrhythmogenic responses. Etidocaine has less pronounced effects on the cardiovascular system, but its use may be associated with inadequate control of intraoperative bleeding. A new long-acting local anesthetic, ropivacaine, appears to offer advantages over either of the currently used long-acting agents.


Dr S C ARYA (New Delhi, India) writes: The recommendation for serosurveillance in rubella vaccinees for up to 30-40 years (23 July, p 253) is very timely and appropriate because only that can ensure the review of different vaccination policies. However, a judicious evaluation of various vaccination strategies in any community . . . would be feasible only if there were a continuous programme of serosurveillance with blood samples being drawn from various socioeconomic strata in all ethnic groups in different areas. Even with very sensitive screening procedures the serological studies should invariably be followed by virus challenge studies in antibodynegative subjects. It should be possible to determine whether or not rubella vaccination in such individuals many years earlier had left behind any primed immunologically competent cells. Apart from tests from any primed B-cell population in the form of tests for circulating antibody, it would indeed be worth attempting tests for any residual sensitised T-cell population....


Ensuring welfare in captive wild animal populations is important not only for ethical and legal reasons, but also to maintain healthy individuals and populations. An increased level of social behaviors such as aggression can reduce welfare by causing physical damage and chronic stress to animals. Recently, cortisol in hair has been advanced as a non-invasive indicator to quantify long-lasting stress in many species. The sensitivity of social behavior and hair cortisol concentration was evaluated in several groups of dorcas gazelles (Gazella dorcas). Four different groups of gazelles from three different zoos were observed and the expression of intra-specific affiliative and negative social behaviors was assessed across the different groups. Hair samples were taken from sub-groups of animals and analyzed for cortisol concentrations. Significant differences between groups of dorcas gazelles were found in frequency of negative social behavior and hair cortisol concentration. Despite the low sample size, these two parameters had a positive Spearman correlation coefficient (rs  = +0.80, P = 0.20). These results suggest that hair cortisol levels are sensitive to differences in the social structure of dorcas gazelles. Zoo Biol. 35:467-473, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Abstract: While accounts of Renaissance rhetoric have recently begun to consider the work of Martin Luther, understanding of Luther9s preaching strategies depends on detailed scrutiny of his sermons. A careful investigation of the language of a Luther sermon, in consideration of the rhetorical intent and context in which the work was developed, reveals a speaker striving to engage an audience. As a critical concept more pervasive than traditional notions of elocutio ,
the paradigmatic concept of "style" offered here draws from Burke and Perelman/Olbrechts-Tyteca to show how rhetorical devices ("figures") advance the argument and how the audience is intended to
apprehend the meaning and action ("form") of the discourse. Coherent analysis of contextual, thematic, and structural features of Luther9s sermon text shows style a primary rather than derivative
feature of rhetorical criticism.


Bone xenografts are used for reconstructive surgery in medicine and dentistry. The grafts are osteoconductive, serving as a matrix in bone regeneration. Furcation involvements are one of the most challenging clinical problems in periodontics. Unilab Surgibone is a bone xenograft and has been investigated in many clinical and experimental studies. In this case report, a 50-year old male patient was diagnosed with a Class III furcation problem in his upper right first molar. The tooth was surgically treated by resection of the distobuccal root after the flap elevation. The extraction defect was grafted with the Unilab Surgibone. After nine months, the patient was evaluated clinically and radiographically. The healing was uneventful. The clinical and radiographic data suggest that Unilab Surgibone supports bone regeneration.


The overall purpose of this article is to examine the theoretical connections between Corporate Entrepreneurship-CE and International Performance-IP. More specifically, we address two main research questions: (1) How do different dimensions of CE influence IP and (2) To what extent the context of host country matters? Using a two-case study approach, we employ hybrid qualitative–quantitative analyses to address the effects of different dimensions of CE on IP. We adopted four statistical techniques: descriptive statistics, decision tree, cluster analysis, and principal components (factorial maps). The results show that country matters for the perception of the relationship between CE and IP. They show that it is meaningful to separate the different dimensions of CE (innovative behavior, new business ventures, competitive aggressiveness, product/service and process innovation, self-renewal, proactiveness, and risk taking) when examining their influence on IP. The paper focuses on three level of the organization: the production sector (staff), middle management (managers), and top management (CEO and directors). Such perspective allows to explore the role of first-level managers in a "bottom-up" process of corporate entrepreneurship.  Furthermore, we distinguished between two levels of corporate entrepreneurship: results and entrepreneurial behavior.


ABSTRACT Performance Librarians Background As Teachers in the Processing of Library Collection in SMP Widya Suara Sukawati This research is a descriptive study using a qualitative approach. In the study described it  matters relating to the p erformance teacher background librarian in processing the collection, involving 4 (four) teachers to work on the processing of the collections in the library of SMP Widya Suara Sukawati. Data collection techniques are interviews, observation and documentation. In this study the authors conducted with triangulation data processing, reduction, data presentation, and conclusion, while the technique of presenting data using formal presentation techniques and informal. Performance teacher background librarian in processing the collection will not run according to standards in general because librarians should really  understand about the science library that included work on the processing of the library collection. Teachers only have educational background as a teacher rather than as a librarian in general. Sound library should SMP Widya Suara Sukawati seek expert librarians so that processing can be run according library collections in general . Key Words : Perfomance, Collection, Teacher


: A case is reported of neuroleptic-induced catatonia that developed after treatment with loxapine succinate, a drug not previously reported to cause catatonia. The syndrome, characterized by marked parkinsonism, episodes of posturing, social withdrawal, and urinary incontinence, persisted during haloperidol treatment and remitted when the drug was discontinued. This syndrome appears to represent severe neuroleptic-induced parkinsonism.


Persistent Müllerian duct syndrome (PMDS) is a sex-limited disorder in which males develop portions of the female reproductive tract. Important consequences of PMDS are cryptorchidism and its sequelae of infertility and increased risk of testicular cancer. Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and its receptor (AMHR2) induce the regression of the Müllerian ducts in male embryos. In Miniature Schnauzer dogs, the genetic basis has been identified as an autosomal recessive nonsense mutation in AMHR2, but the allele frequency of the mutation is unknown. Thus, the primary objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of the AMHR2 mutation in North American Miniature Schnauzers, in order to ascertain the value of genetic testing in this breed. An additional objective was to determine whether mutations in AMH or AMHR2 were responsible for PMDS in a Belgian Malinois; this would aid development of a genetic test for the Belgian Malinois breed. Genomic DNA from 216 Miniature Schnauzers (including one known PMDS case) was genotyped for the AMHR2 mutation, and DNA from a single PMDS-affected Belgian Malinois was sequenced for all coding exons of AMH and AMHR2. The Miniature Schnauzer cohort had an AMHR2 mutation allele frequency of 0.16 and a carrier genotypic frequency of 0.27. The genetic basis for PMDS in the Belgian Malinois was not determined, as no coding or splicing mutations were identified in either AMH or AMHR2. These findings support a benefit to AMHR2 mutation testing Miniature Schnauzers used for breeding or with cryptorchidism.


Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus production facilities, nonproduction water sources and effluents in the United States and Canada were sampled to determine if chlamydiae associated with epitheliocystis were present in water and were associated with inclusions of epitheliocystis in gill tissue. Gills from 607 fish from 13 sites were processed for histopathologic examination and DNA extraction. Water was collected from 21 locations for DNA testing. Eighteen fish from one location had inclusions of epitheliocystis with proliferative and inflammatory gill lesions. Inclusions were stained using the Gimenez technique and, at the ultrastructural level, consisted of intracytoplasmic membrane-bound vacuoles containing reticulate and intermediate bodies in a fibrillar matrix. PCR using Order Chlamydiales-specific primers performed on DNA extracts from 12 of 13 infected fish yielded amplicons that were identical to (GQ302988) or differed at one base from (GQ302987) the 16S ribosomal RNA gene signature sequence of 'Candidatus Piscichlamydia salmonis', which is the chlamydia that was previously identified in epitheliocystis inclusions of farmed Atlantic salmon. In situ hybridization using a approximately 1.5 kb riboprobe corresponding to the 'Candidatus Piscichlamydia salmonis' 16S rRNA genetic sequence (AY462244) confirmed its presence within Arctic charr gill inclusions. DNA isolated from water samples was tested by Chlamydiales-specific PCR and yielded 54 partial 16S rRNA genetic sequences spanning the signature region; however, no 16S rRNA genetic sequences associated with epitheliocystis were identified. This is the first report of 'Candidatus Piscichlamydia salmonis' associated with epitheliocystis in Arctic charr, the first identification of 'Candidatus Piscichlamydia salmonis' from a freshwater production location, and the first reported occurrence in North America.


Introduction: The polymorphisms of beta-fibrinogen gene are now suggested to affect plasma fibrinogen
levels and the risk for coronary artery disease (CAD).
Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the association between the two polymorphisms of G\
A455 and C\A148 with beta fibrinogen gene and the increased risk for premature CAD among a sample
of Iranian population.

Patients and Methods: This case-control association study was conducted on 100 consecutive patients
suffering premature coronary artery disease as the cases and 100 healthy individuals without any evidence
of coronary involvement. Patients were randomly selected and adjusted for gender and age. Determining
different genotypic patterns of the G\A455 and C\A148 SNPs were carried out by polymerase chain
reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis.

Results: The mean level of serum fibrinogen was 354.32±93.85 mg/dL in the case group and 303.43 ±
84.51 mg/dL in the control group, indicating the abnormally increased level of fibrinogen in 68% and
30% respectively with a significant difference (P<0.001). Overall, the mean level of fibrinogen was
significantly higher in the smoker group than in the non-smoker group (P=0.032). Regarding the frequency
of C/T148 alleles, in the case group, 82% had C allele and 18% had T allele of the polymorphisms. The
rate of these alleles in the control group was 83% and 17% respectively with no significant difference
(P=0.852). Similarly, the frequency of the alleles A and G of G\A455 polymorphism was 87% and 13%
in the case group and 89% and 11% in the control group respectively with no significant difference
(P=0.663).

Conclusion: There is no association between G\A455 and C\A148 polymorphisms with beta-fibrinogen
gene and presence of CAD. However, the increased level of serum fibrinogen can effectively predict CAD.


This article presents an overview of the history of development and the current status of the Soviet and Russian early-warning system, which was built to provide the Soviet strategic forces with information about a missile attack in an event of a nuclear conflict with the United States. Two main components of this system are considered--the network of early-warning radars, and the space-based early-warning system, which includes satellites on highly-elliptical and geosynchronous orbits. The system appears to be capable of detecting a massive attack, but cannot be relied upon to detect individual missile launches.


Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) is a technology that allows a vehicle to automatically adjust its speed to maintain a preset distance from the vehicle in front of it based on the driver's preferences. Individual drivers have different driving styles and preferences. Current systems do not distinguish among the users. We introduce a method to combine machine learning algorithms with demographic information and expert advice into existing automated assistive systems. This method can save on the interactions between drivers and automated systems by adjusting parameters relevant to the operation of these systems based on their specific drivers and context of drive. We also learn when users tend to engage and disengage the automated system. This method sheds light on the kinds of dynamics that users develop while interacting with automation and can teach us how to improve these systems for the benefit of their users. While accepted packages such as Weka were successful in learning drivers' behavior, we found that improved learning models could be developed by adding information on drivers' demographics and a previously developed model about different driver types. We present the general methodology of our learning procedure and suggest applications of our approach to other domains as well.


Integrators are key building blocks in many analog signal processing circuits and systems. The DC gain of conventional opamp-RC or Gm- C integrators is severely limited by the gain of operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) used to implement them. Process scaling reduces transistor output resistance, which further exacerbates this issue. We propose applying ring oscillator integrators (ROIs) in the design of high order analog filters. ROIs implemented with simple CMOS inverters achieve infinite DC gain at low supply voltages independent of transistor non-idealities and imperfections such as finite output impedance. Consequently, ROIs scale more effectively into newer processes. A prototype fourth order filter designed using the ROIs was fabricated in 90 nm CMOS and occupies an area of 0.29 mm2. Operating with a 0.55 V supply, the filter consumes 2.9 mW power and achieves bandwidth of 7 MHz, SNR of 61.4 dB, SFDR of 67.6 dB and THD of 60.1 dB. The measured IM3 obtained by feeding two tones at 1 MHz and 2 MHz is 63.4 dB.


Abstract A 915-MHz boundary-layer wind profiler radar with radio acoustic sounding system (RASS) capability has been used to measure the turbulent fluxes of heat and momentum in the convective boundary layer by eddy correlation. The diurnal variation of the heat flux at several heights between 160 and 500 m above ground level and values of the momentum flux for 2-h periods in midday from 160 to 1000 m are presented, as well as wind and temperature data. The momentum flux is calculated both from the clear-air velocities and from the RASS velocities, and the two results are compared.


Energy is one the important subjects in the world because of its cost and achievable. In order to reduce energy costs, some kinds of plants may have founded and are managed related to demands and environmental conditions. Artificial neural network is one of the famous artificial intelligent in literature to solve nonlinear problems from medical to constructions. Artificial neural network uses nodes to weights to achieve the output. In this study, obtainable power per hour from combined gas and steam turbine power plant tries to be predicted. Data include 9685 features and 4 variables. Artificial neural network results have been evaluated with mean square error and two fold cross validation. Mean square error and two-fold cross validation are statistical evaluation methods to evaluate the results. Dataset divided 2 sections to test and train. Two datasets are trained and tested using two fold cross validation and generated R value to evaluate the fitting performance. R is famous comparing method to figure out the fitting ability. The obtained mean square error after two fold cross validation and R value are 3.176 and 0.96675, respectively. 


Although editorial cartoons are among the most preferred parts of the newspapers,1 they have seldom been the topic of research, especially war cartoons. As a "communication of the quick," the editorial cartoon offers clarity and amusement as well as a speedy message, Harrison argues, despite possible distortion from such simplification or exaggeration.2 He and others point out how editorial cartoons have long fascinated newspaper readers with a combination of realism, satirical drawings and caricatures often filled with parody, graphic outrage and even overt bias.3 In general, cartoon opinions represent political attitudes through visual satire as noted by Nir.4 With graphic political interpretations, many of which recall stereotypes, this study examines how editorial cartoons swiftly communicate particular political messages with historical references. Certainly, there is scant or no research on cartoons' images types and symbols. In particular, there is little scholarly work done on how the editorial cartoons use historical references, those easily recognizable images and symbols of the past or within the readers' memories. For example, historical references might be analogies, similarities to a then present. Neustadt and May argue that historical analogies can be one technique used to analyze the past.5 For cartoons, past images and symbols would still be relevant and bare some insight into a current circumstance. The presumptions made in the cartoon would not only define the situation but also would help establish the concerns and aims of the day because of a recent past. Such uses of history would identify the problem and perhaps shed some light on options. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine how American editorial cartoons used historical references in their visual presentations during three wars or conflicts. Those confrontations occurred with North Korea during the Cold War. With no official, internal U.S. information agencies to push propaganda images, such as the World War II Office of War Information or the World War I Committee on Public Information, the American editorial cartoonists creatively initiated an American adversary, in this case, North Korea. For this study, we examined three major events for historical references from three decades concerning the Korean peninsula. They were the Korean War, June 25, 1950 - July 27, 1953; the capture of the Pueblo gun boat, January 23 - December 23, 1968; the killing of U.S. officers along the border of the South Korea and North Korea demilitarized zone, August 18, 1976, referred to as the DMZ. Method The methods used here are twofold. The first is historical, using the editorial cartoon. Through a content analysis, we determined whether historical symbols and figures were used. An analogy would be the symbols or figures from an historical event or stereotypes of events, such as Nazi symbols or Hitler for World War II. One broad research question was asked: How did editorial cartoonists use historical referents in editorial cartoons? We examined 79 editorial cartoons for all three time periods from The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Atlanta Constitution, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Des Moines Register and the Dallas Morning News. In particular, we looked for symbols and easily recalled referents that could be important for a "communication of the quick." Results Among the editorial cartoons for all three time-periods, only 7.6 percent of the cartoons used the history-related graphics. Of those, the greater percentage, 32.9 percent, used symbols, such as Uncle Sam and the "Stars and Stripes" to describe the United States and the "Kremlin" and the "Hammer and Sickle" to depict the Soviet Union. No such symbols depict North Korea. All historical symbols related to the conflict between communism and democracy. During the Cold War, the United States generally represented the democracy, and the Soviet Union referred to communism, yet historical analogies were made to the previous war, World War II. …


Although there has been a rapid growth in research into tourism education, little has focused on teaching or its evaluation. In connection with this point this book offers a timely perspective by addressing issues about the nature and the evaluation of teaching in tourism higher education. Specifically, it aims to explore the key dimensions on which teaching can be evaluated and, with reference to the views of tourism students and teachers, to identify the main factors associated with good teaching. The work draws on literature from the field of education more generally to arrive at a set of dimensions. Based on these it explains a study conducted in the UK, from which the main factors are identified. In addition to setting out an understanding of the main factors that are asociated with good tourism teaching it also offers valuable implications for the content of the curriculum and its organisation, for teaching practice and for the student experience and concludes with a reflective agenda of issues for the future. In this context, this book will be of value to anyone intersted in teaching evaluation but also interested in wider educational issues related to tourism.


The paper concerns the complex subject of architecture and construction of bridges, in particular selected architectural, constructional and methodological problems. The interdisciplinary analyses and considerations are accompanied with the selected examples of the architecture of bridges creating harmony with natural and organized landscape and being simultaneously characterized by the unity of form and construction. From among the presented examples of bridge architecture, the bridges of Calatrava are distingnished by organic forms particularly close to the human being. This work is directed to those in the field of science and technology, including bridge designers, architects, theoreticians of architecture, praxiologists, methodologists, as well as to future students of the arts of construction and architecture.


The Teacher Training Resource Bank (TTRB) is a project, funded by the English Teacher Development Agency for Schools (TDA). The main aims of the project are to articulate and represent the professional knowledge bases that underpin teacher education and to increase the range and quality of resources available for the professional development of novice teachers, through the development of an on-line knowledge management system. The TTRB seeks to link theory, debate and practice through raising the profile of teacher training research and knowledge creation. It makes use of research and evidence from across the world and includes some reviewers from different countries.
Statistical records of TTRB usage since its inception in 2006 demonstrate widespread use of the resource within English initial teacher education (ITE) and schools. An independent evaluation of the TTRB (Chambers, 2009) indicated a positive impact on trainee teachers in terms of making a large range of research and up-to-date resource material easily available. Trainee teachers were further enabled to make connections between theory and research, and the quality of their academic work was seen to be improved through more comprehensive use of sources.
The research reported in this paper seeks to extend these findings in order to investigate more fully the ways in which the knowledge bases presented by TTRB are mobilised in school based professional development activity Although the TTRB may be conceptualised as a form of 'knowledge transfer', this metaphor ignores the complexities of institutional cultural context and the situated nature of practice transfer (Fielding et al 2005). Cordingley et al (2005) have argued that continuing professional development (CPD) is more effective where is it collaborative, linked to teachers' own professional priorities (and appropriately supported by external specialists). The linkages between articles within the TTRB resource can support the professional learner in taking increased responsibility for their own professional development by deciding and accounting for the pathways of exploration followed. This can also increase ownership of professional development. The TTRB may be seen as a democratisation of professional knowledge development through a 'heterarchical' (Oatley, 1984) process.
The paper draws on case studies of professional development activity within schools to examine ways in which utilisation of a knowledge portal (in this case the TTRB) enhances professional development, drawing on the 'knowledge spiral' from Nonaka & Konno (1998) as a framework. The knowledge spiral depicts key processes involved in the professional development of teachers where there is a dynamic interplay between implicit and explicit knowledge that changes by dialogue and action (Rogoff, 1991 Wenger, 1998, Daniels et al, 2009). The purpose of the research is to investigate the contribution made by the knowledge portal to this process.

Methods/methodology
Case study schools have volunteered to be part of the research investigation, and have identified focus areas for CPD as relevant to their individual contexts. These were schools already involved in a variety of professional development activities or programmes. Participants recorded their use of the TTRB site as part of their existing record of professional development, and identified ways in which the knowledge portal impacted on their thinking and practice. This was augmented by a semi-structured recording instrument. These records were analysed on a thematic basis, and this data triangulated through semi–structured interviews with selected participants and other stakeholders.

Expected Outcomes/results
The TTRB may be viewed as one example of a number of knowledge portals for evidence in education that can be seen to have potential across Europe. The findings include a consideration of how portals should be developed and deployed across Europe, taking into account differences in national concerns and frameworks. A heterarchical model of democratic professional development is articulated.


A novel class of color-tunable and white light emitting hybrid phosphors based on efficient energy-transfer between Tb3+ and Eu3+ and the rich interlayer chemistry of the layered rare-earth hydroxides (LRHs) were successfully designed and assembled. Besides, flexible luminescent materials have attracted an extensive amount of interest owing to their broad application in optoelectronic devices. Therefore, novel transparent color-tunable nano-composite film devices have been fabricated facilely by using a solvent-casting method based on the compatibility between the LRH hybrid phosphors modified by organic sensitizers and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) in this paper. A full interpretation to the interaction between the host and guest of the hybrid phosphors was given, the luminescence intensity of hybrid phosphors was significantly enhanced through a cascaded energy-transfer mechanism from the host to Tb3+via organic sensitizers, precisely as induced by the synergistic effect of host and guest. And in the nano-composite films, PMMA acted as a co-sensitizer and improved the optical properties of hybrid phosphors, thus the photoluminescence quantum yield of the films more than doubled compared with that of hybrid phosphors. These findings may open up new avenues for the exploration of hybrid phosphors based on LRHs and fabrication of color-tunable emitting nano-composite films, which can serve as promising materials for use in various optical devices. And the proposed facile synthetic strategy can be easily extended to the synthesis of other highly efficient rare-earth hybrid phosphors.


Commentary and analysis of the Report of the Working Group on Mass Torts of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules, issued February 15, 1999. The Report includes three studies from the Federal Judicial Center, as well as potential solutions for consideration. The various appendices to the Report include materials relating to the Working Group's meetings; a Judicial Conference Study on mass tort problems and proposals; and a Judicial Conference Team Project entitled "Individual Characteristics of Mass Tort Case Congregations." The Report also includes a Judicial Conference study "Mass Torts & Limited Fund Bankruptcy Reorganization Settlements," by Professor S. Elizabeth Gibson, discussing case studies of bankruptcy or limited fund settlements of mass torts arising from asbestos, breast implants, and orthopedic bone screws. The Report's final appendix contains fourteen separate proposals for dealing with mass tort litigation.


Cloud computing and freely available, high-resolution satellite data have enabled recent progress in crop yield mapping at fine scales. However, extensive validation data at a matching resolution remain uncommon or infeasible due to data availability. This has limited the ability to evaluate different yield estimation models and improve understanding of key features useful for yield estimation in both data-rich and data-poor contexts. Here, we assess machine learning models' capacity for soybean yield prediction using a unique ground-truth dataset of high-resolution (5 m) yield maps generated from combine harvester yield monitor data for over a million field-year observations across the Midwestern United States from 2008 to 2018. First, we compare random forest (RF) implementations, testing a range of feature engineering approaches using Sentinel-2 and Landsat spectral data for 20- and 30-m scale yield prediction. We find that Sentinel-2-based models can explain up to 45% of out-of-sample yield variability from 2017 to 2018 (r2 = 0.45), while Landsat models explain up to 43% across the longer 2008–2018 period. Using discrete Fourier transforms, or harmonic regressions, to capture soybean phenology improved the Landsat-based model considerably. Second, we compare RF models trained using this ground-truth data to models trained on available county-level statistics. We find that county-level models rely more heavily on just a few predictors, namely August weather covariates (vapor pressure deficit, rainfall, temperature) and July and August near-infrared observations. As a result, county-scale models perform relatively poorly on field-scale validation (r2 = 0.32), especially for high-yielding fields, but perform similarly to field-scale models when evaluated at the county scale (r2 = 0.82). Finally, we test whether our findings on variable importance can inform a simple, generalizable framework for regions or time periods beyond ground data availability. To do so, we test improvements to a Scalable Crop Yield Mapper (SCYM) approach that uses crop simulations to train statistical models for yield estimation. Based on findings from our RF models, we employ harmonic regressions to estimate peak vegetation index (VI) and a VI observation 30 days later, with August rainfall as the sole weather covariate in our new SCYM model. Modifications improved SCYM's explained variance (r2 = 0.27 at the 30 m scale) and provide a new, parsimonious model.


BACKGROUND
The vitreous is the clear jelly of the eye and contains fine strands of proteins. Throughout life the composition of this vitreous changes, which causes the protein strands in it to bundle together and scatter light before it reaches the retina. Individuals perceive the shadows cast by these protein bundles as 'floaters'. Some people are so bothered by floaters that treatment is required to control their symptoms. Two major interventions for floaters include Nd:YAG laser vitreolysis and vitrectomy. Nd:YAG laser vitreolysis involves using laser energy to fragment the vitreous opacities via a non-invasive approach. Vitrectomy involves the surgical replacement of the patient's vitreous (including the symptomatic vitreous floaters) with an inert and translucent balanced salt solution, through small openings in the pars plana.

OBJECTIVES
To compare the effectiveness and safety of Nd:YAG laser vitreolysis to pars plana vitrectomy for symptomatic vitreous floaters.

SEARCH METHODS
We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (which contains the Cochrane Eyes and Vision Trials Register) (2016, Issue 12), MEDLINE Ovid (1946 to 17 January 2017), Embase Ovid (1947 to 17 January 2017), LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature Database) (1982 to 17 January 2017), the ISRCTN registry (www.isrctn.com/editAdvancedSearch); searched 17 January 2017, ClinicalTrials.gov (www.clinicaltrials.gov); searched 17 January 2017 and the World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) (www.who.int/ictrp/search/en); searched 17 January 2017. We did not use any date or language restrictions in the electronic searches for trials. We also searched conference proceedings to identify additional studies.

SELECTION CRITERIA
We included only randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared Nd:YAG laser vitreolysis to pars plana vitrectomy for treatment of symptomatic floaters.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
We planned to use methods recommended by Cochrane. The primary outcome we planned to measure was change in vision-related quality of life from baseline to 12 months, as determined by a vision-related quality of life questionnaire. The secondary outcomes we planned to measure were best corrected logMAR or Snellen visual acuity at 12 months for the treated eye(s) and costs. Adverse outcomes we planned to record were the occurrence of sight-threatening complications by 12 months (asymptomatic retinal tears, symptomatic retinal tears, retinal detachment, cataract formation, and endophthalmitis).

MAIN RESULTS
No studies met the inclusion criteria of this review.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
There are currently no RCTs that compare Nd:YAG laser vitreolysis with pars plana vitrectomy for the treatment of symptomatic floaters. Properly designed RCTs are needed to evaluate the treatment outcomes from the interventions described. We recommend future studies randomise participants to either a Nd:YAG laser vitreolysis group or a vitrectomy group, with participants in each group assigned to either receive treatment or a sham intervention. Future studies should follow participants at six months and 12 months after the intervention. Also they should use best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) using an Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) chart read at 4 metres, vision-related quality of life (VRQOL), and adverse outcomes as the outcome measures of the trial.


This paper presents a new approach to build prototypes of Wireless Sensor Network rapidly based on virtual instruments technology. There are two different methods introduced in this paper. One of the two methods uses WSN (short for Wireless Sensor Network) Node and WSN Gateway manufactured by NI (short for National Instruments). The other method adopts Compact RIO (short for Reconfigurable Input and Output) and GPRS (short for General Packet Radio Service) module. Though they are two different methods, they have the same structure. Both of the two methods adopt DAQ (short for data acquisition) card and sensors to acquire specified data. The DAQ card and sensors compose a node which can sense and process data. Different nodes form a local area WSN. Nodes within a local area WSN communicate with each other via ZigBee or other means of communication. The local area WSN can access the Internet via a WSN Gateway or GPRS module. Modular hardware and graphic programming language LabVIEW (short for Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Engineering Workbench) are adopted in this proposed approach.


Aim: To compare and evaluate the surface characteristics of different restorative materials used for restoration of cervical defects when subjected to periodontal prophylactic instrumentation techniques. Materials and Methodology: Sixty box-shaped cavities were prepared on the labial surface of decoronated permanent maxillary anterior teeth which were randomly divided into two groups (n = 30) based on the instrumentation technique Group I: Manual instrumentation using curettes and Group II: Ultrasonic instrumentation. The samples were further divided into three subgroups based on restorative material subgroups I V and II V-restored with Vitremer, subgroups I F and II F-restored with Filtek Z 250 XT and subgroups I D and II D-restored with Dyract flow, respectively. After finishing and polishing, the samples were subjected to surface profilometry analysis for determining the surface roughness values (Ra). Thereafter, the restored surfaces of all the samples in different subgroups were subjected to prophylactic instrumentation with Gracey's curettes (Group I) and ultrasonic scalers (Group II). Ra values were recorded again after prophylactic instrumentation and after polishing. The data thus obtained were subjected to the statistical analysis using the independent t-test and one-way ANOVA (p<0.05). Results: Ra values were significantly higher for both manual and ultrasonic prophylaxis compared to preprophylaxis and postpolishing in all the three restorative materials. Ultrasonic scaling produced significantly higher Ra for subgroup V as compared to subgroup F and subgroup D, whereas the difference between the materials was not significant for manual scaling. Conclusion: Manual prophylaxis resulted in significant reduction in surface roughness of all the three restorative materials while ultrasonic prophylaxis resulted in significant reduction for Vitremer only. Polishing after scaling significantly reduced the effect of both manual and ultrasonic prophylaxis on surface roughness.


Integral armor concepts are of primary interest to armored vehicles requiring ballistic protection. A composite integral armor provides multi-interface, multi-functional capability, easy reparability, quick deployment, enhanced ballistic performance and lightweight advantages. The typical design of integral armor is seen to utilize a combination of thick section S2-glass vinyl ester structural composite, alumina, ceramic tiles, resilient rubber, fire retardant, phenolic layer and several signature/functional layers. Thick composite laminate serves as the primary load-bearing component of the integral armor used in the upper hull of a Composite Armored Vehicle (CAV). Current solution of the structural laminate (typically 0.8" thick) comprises an S2-glass/epoxy automated fiber placed laminate. Currently used processing techniques such as automated fiber placement prove to be costly and time consuming.
 In the current study, several alternative cost-effective processing solutions are employed. They include Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM) and Vacuum Assisted Resin Infusion Molding (VARI) and their variations. Both VARTM and VARI use low viscosity resins, however, the consolidation conditions that the laminate undergoes are significantly different Composite laminates are made using 45 layer of 2 × 2 twill weave S2-glass with 933 sizing /vinyl ester C-50 resin. Effectiveness of the different fabrication methods is compared in terms of the compression behavior of the laminates. Both static as well as high strain rate test using Split Hopkinson's bar technique are studied.


Parkinson's disease (PD), one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders worldwide, currently lacks a cure. Although most PD cases occur sporadically, studies from rare genetic mutations give significant insights into addressing the pathological mechanism of not only familial PD, but also sporadic PD. Recent PD research focuses on generating genetic mutant animal models that recapitulate the features of human PD patients. Significant advances in PD research have resulted from studying Drosophila mutants of several identified PD-associated genes because they show strikingly visible phenotypes. In particular, previous studies with the Drosophila mutants parkin and PINK1, which are two common causative genes among PD familial forms, have suggested strongly that mitochondrial dysfunction is the prominent cause for the PD pathogenesis and that these two PD genes are in a common pathway, with Parkin downstream of PINK1. Recent genetic studies have revealed that the PINK1-Parkin pathway is involved in regulating the mitochondrial remodeling process. In addition, PINK1 was recently found to regulate the localization of Parkin through direct phosphorylation. Here, we briefly review these new and exciting findings in Drosophila PD models and discuss how using these models can further advance PD studies.


Exposure of mouse kidney cells to 5,6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole (DRB) (75 to 300 microM) during the late phase of infection by polyoma virus resulted in nearly complete (90 to 98%) inhibition of virus RNA synthesis. Sedimentation analysis revealed that, although the synthesis of high mol. wt. (greater than 10S) virus RNA was inhibited in a manner parallel to that of total virus RNA, the synthesis of small (3S to 7S) virus RNA was inhibited by only 40 to 50% in the presence of DRB. As a result, virus RNA synthesized in the presence of DRB contained a peak at 3S to 7S in addition ot residual high mol. wt. virus RNA. Small virus RNA from either untreated or DRB-treated cells contained three- to sixfold higher levels of transcripts from the DNA fragment which lies between the BamHI and Bg/I sites (58 . 0 to 72 . 2 map units) than from DNA fragments covering the rest of the virus genome. Furthermore, 80% of the small RNA which hybridized to this fragment was complementary to the L strand of virus DNA. These results suggest that L strand transcripts are initiated within the Bg/I-BamHI DNA fragment and that a portion of these transcripts is prematurely terminated within several hundred nucleotides of the site(s) of initiation. DRB had little effect on the synthesis of these prematurely terminated RNAs.


An imitation circuit Animals, including humans, rely heavily on imitation and social learning, yet we know little about how this process operates in the brain. Zhao et al. used optogenetic manipulation of a synaptic pathway connecting auditory and vocal motor circuits to implant song memories sufficient to guide song learning into young zebra finches (see the Perspective by Clayton). Activation of this circuit overrode learning from live tutors. These experiments define circuits essential for social learning of songs from tutors and show that such memories can be localized. Science, this issue p. 83; see also p. 33 A synaptic pathway that encodes social learning of song is elucidated in the zebra finch. Animals learn many complex behaviors by emulating the behavior of more experienced individuals. This essential, yet still poorly understood, form of learning relies on the ability to encode lasting memories of observed behaviors. We identified a vocal-motor pathway in the zebra finch where memories that guide learning of song-element durations can be implanted. Activation of synapses in this pathway seeds memories that guide learning of song-element duration and can override learning from social interactions with other individuals. Genetic lesions of this circuit after memory formation, however, do not disrupt subsequent song imitation, which suggests that these memories are stored at downstream synapses. Thus, activity at these sensorimotor synapses can bypass learning from auditory and social experience and embed memories that guide learning of song timing.


. Salvador Dalí's oilpainting Hallucination partielle. Six apparitions de Lénine sur un piano (1931) has been considered to be one of the most difficult works to interpret. O. Zaslavskii has analyzed it, using the sound of the words in title and the items depicted on the masterpiece, "the phonetic subtext". Obviously, Zaslavskii's interpretation is based on Osip Mandelstam's poem "Grand piano" (1931), that in the context of Russian language associates the piano ( ) with the French Revolution. Nevertheless, Zaslavskii's final conclusion of the connections between Dalí's painting and the French Revolution turns to be accurate, because it is possible to find iconographic parallels between Dalí's "Partial hallucination…" and Jacques-Louis David's "The death of Marat" (1793). On at least four most significant oil paintings from the beginning of Dalí's surreal period we can observe his "emblem of love and death" as the combination of fellatio and bleeding. Obviously, he understood in the same code also Marat's murdering by the knife of a woman. This allows us to insist, that Dalí was inspired to paint "Partial hallucination…" by "The death of Marat". The shadow of a grand piano on his painting "Diurnal illusion: the shadow of a grand piano approaching" (1931) directly bears the meaning of "terror" and "fear". In such motif combination and graphic parallel, the complex cultural metaphoric relations of these two paintings can be viewed. This complex can be considered as rhetorical in the sense of Juri Lotman's conception. But it is evidently a case of "pure visual metaphor", not an illustration of verbal metaphors.


In this paper we attempted to address the question presented in the title based on the data contained in the Farm Accounting Data Network (FADN). Analyses covered the first six years following the extension of the European Union in 2004. Estimation of the Malmquist total factor productivity (TFP) and its components was conducted using data envelopment analysis, separately for crop and mixed farms of EU (2004-2009) taking into consideration their economic size. The analysis showed, in general, that for farms from the "old" regions the total factor productivity increased with an increase in the economic size of farms, while for farms from the "new" regions, just the opposite, the increase in the size of farms caused a decrease of productivity. As to differences in types of farming, the biggest improvement was observed in the technical and technological aspects. Finally, the estimated Malmquist total factor productivity index, although close to one, nevertheless indicates a slight progress for farms from "old" regions and, just the opposite, a slight regress for those from "new" regions.


While teaching the art of Computer Programming, students with visual impairments (VI) are disadvantaged, because speech is their preferred modality. Existing accessibility assistants can only read out predefined texts sequentially, word-for-word, sentence-for-sentence, whilst the presentations of programming concepts could be conveyed in a more structured way. Earlier we have shown that deep neural networks such as Tree-Based Convolutional Neural Networks (TBCNN) and Gated Graph Neural Networks (GGNN) can be used to classify algorithms across different programming languages with over 90% accuracy. Furthermore, TBCNN or GGNN have been shown useful for generating natural and conversational dialogues from natural language texts. In this paper, we propose a novel pedagogy called "Programming Assistant", by creating a personal tutor that can respond to voice commands, which trigger an explanation of programming concepts, hands-free. We generate dialogues using DNNs, which substitute code with the names of algorithms characterising the programs, and we read aloud descriptions of the code. Furthermore, the application of the dialogue generation can be embodied into an Alexa Skill, which turns them into fully natural voices, forming the basis of a smart assistant to handle a large number of formative questions in teaching the Art of Computer Programming at a distance.


Purpose: Dental erosion has become increasingly frequent in adolescents and is considered an oral health problem in this phase of life. Several factors have been associated with the development of dental erosion in adolescents, including lifestyle, socioeconomic status, and risk behaviors. We performed an integrative review of the prevalence of dental erosion and associated factors in adolescents. Methods: We analyzed studies, published between 2008 and 2018, available in Portuguese, English and Spanish, about the prevalence of and factors associated with dental erosion in adolescents between 10 and 19 years of age. Methodological quality was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skill Program. The eligibility criteria defined the selection of articles available through searches of the LILACS, PubMed®, and MEDLINE databases conducted between July and September 2018. Results: Among the 503 articles retrieved during the initial search, 471 did not meet the inclusion criteria. Among the 32 selected studies, five found no factors significantly associated with dental erosion and 27 found significantly associated factors, such as sociodemographic characteristics, diet, age, and others. Conclusions: The prevalence of dental erosion in adolescents was considered high and associated with lifestyle, diet, and sociodemographic and economic characteristics.


This book is concerned with civil society organisations (CSOs) and the challenges of facilitating sustainable societal transformation in Africa, focusing on the case of Ethiopia. The book underlines the fact that some western scholars argue that the Enlightenment period in Europe provided the bedrock for the foundation of 'modern' CSOs. As a result, they believed that the life patterns and 'traditional' social organizing practices of Africans, Asians and other societies of the world are incompatible with the 'civilized' world. This outlook constitutes the mainstream view that has played an uncontested role in the decades of development in Africa. Proponents of African and 'traditional' perspectives of civil society argue that many nations in Africa have centuries-old humanism and a history of volunteerism and civic institutions, which form the backbone of their social fabric, which are fundamental to generating and developing healthy human societies and effectively functioning CSOs on the continent. The book calls for a re-examination of the meanings and practices of CSOs and the re-exploration of the role of 'traditional' CSOs in facilitating societal transformation in Africa.


Mass spectrometry (MS) has shown great potential in detecting disease-related biomarkers for early diagnosis of stroke. To discover potential biomarkers from large volume of noisy MS data, peak detection must be performed first. This article proposes a novel automatic peak detection method for the stroke MS data. In this method, a mixture model is proposed to model the spectrum. Bayesian approach is used to estimate parameters of the mixture model, and Markov chain Monte Carlo method is employed to perform Bayesian inference. By introducing a reversible jump method, we can automatically estimate the number of peaks in the model. Instead of separating peak detection into substeps, the proposed peak detection method can do baseline correction, denoising and peak identification simultaneously. Therefore, it minimizes the risk of introducing irrecoverable bias and errors from each substep. In addition, this peak detection method does not require a manually selected denoising threshold. Experimental results on both simulated dataset and stroke MS dataset show that the proposed peak detection method not only has the ability to detect small signal-to-noise ratio peaks, but also greatly reduces false detection rate while maintaining the same sensitivity. Contact: firstname.lastname@example.com


Introduction: Continued smoking after a diagnosis of cancer has been found to lead to poorer treatment response, reduced survival and quality of life and increased risk of second primary cancers. We have previously demonstrated that SHS (exposure at home, with spouses and peers) is a significant barrier to smoking cessation in tobacco-related (lung and head and neck) cancers with adjust odds ratios of 6-9 (PMID: 24419133, 23765604) for quitting 1 year after diagnosis and quitting at any time after diagnosis; relationships stronger than in non-cancer populations. Here, we examined whether this relationship exists in cancers that are not traditionally associated with smoking. Patients and Methods: Cancer survivors from a single tertiary cancer centre, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (Toronto, Canada) completed a one-time cross-sectional questionnaire assessing their socio-demographics, functional status, smoking history and SHS exposure. Clinico-pathological variables were obtained through review of patient charts. Multivariate logistic regression and Cox-proportional hazard models evaluated the association of SHS with smoking cessation at 1 year after diagnosis and any time after diagnosis, and time-to-quitting respectively, adjusted for significant co-variates. Results: A total of 1011 non-tobacco related cancer survivors were surveyed between 2012 and 2014: 19% breast, 15% gastrointestinal, 16% genitourinary, 12% gynecological, 23% hematologic, 15% other. Median follow-up time after diagnosis was 26 months. Among the 162 patients currently smoking at diagnosis, 35% quit 1 year after diagnosis and 48% quit at any time after diagnosis. None of the 306 ex-smokers and 543 never smokers (re-)started smoking after diagnosis. Home exposure to SHS was found to be strongly associated with reduced smoking cessation in cancer patients at any time after diagnosis (aOR=4.28, 95% CI (1.56-11.78), P =4.8E-3), while there was a less strong and non-significant trend for home exposure to SHS and reduced smoking cessation at 1 year after diagnosis (aOR=2.56, 95% CI (0.91-7.22), P =0.08)). Time-to-quitting analysis for home exposure to SHS were consistent with these results (aHR=2.76, 95% CI (1.15-6.59), P =0.02)). Unlike lung and head and neck cancer patients, spousal and peer smoking were not found significantly associated with smoking cessation at either time-point ( P >0.05). Kaplan-Meier analysis found that 72% of patients who quit, did so within 1 year of their cancer diagnosis. When comparing factors between patients quitting one year after diagnosis versus quitting more than one year after diagnosis, those quitting at one year were more likely older ( P P =0.06). Conclusions: Home exposure to SHS is a significant barrier to quitting smoking after a diagnosis of cancer in both tobacco-related and non-tobacco related cancers; while spousal and peer smoking were not found significantly associated with smoking cessation in non-tobacco related cancers. Unlike in tobacco-related cancers, home exposure to SHS had a weaker association with quitting at 1 year after diagnosis than quitting at any time after diagnosis; suggesting the effect of the "teachable moment" with SHS and cancer may not be as strong in these cancers. Survivorship programs focusing on secondary prevention and smoking cessation in cancer patients should focus on incorporating SHS exposure. Citation Format: Lawson Eng, Xin Qiu, Jie Su, M Catherine Brown, Margaret Irwin, Dan Pringle, Hiten Naik, Chongya Niu, Mary Mahler, Henrique Hon, Kyoko Tiessen, Rebecca Charow, Henry Thai, Valerie Ho, Vivien Pat, Lindsay Herzog, Anthea Ho, Jennifer M. Jones, Doris Howell, David P. Goldstein, Meredith E. Giuliani, Wei Xu, Peter Selby, Geoffrey Liu. Second-hand smoke (SHS) and smoking cessation in non-tobacco related cancers. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirteenth Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; 2014 Sep 27-Oct 1; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Can Prev Res 2015;8(10 Suppl): Abstract nr B15.


The main purpose of this design is to raise the drawing power of the vacuum cleaner. All researches were done at the original vacuum model which typed U36. After analyzing the structure and work principle of the vacuum cleaner, a related influence factor of vacuum inhalation efficiency and combine the principle of an experiment method were put forward. Then Improvement design of motor, seal system, filter system and blow vent had been analyzed and tested by experiment method respectively. At last, the total effect of drawing power and noise testing had been tested. The results showed that the improvement design is successful.


Abstract The electronic spin state of Fe2+ in ferropericlase, (Mg0.75Fe0.25)O, transitions from a high-spin (spin unpaired) to low-spin (spin paired) state within the Earth's mid-lower mantle region. To better understand the local electronic environment of high-spin Fe2+ ions in ferropericlase near the transition, we obtained synchrotron Mössbauer spectra (SMS) of (Mg0.75,Fe0.25)O in externally heated and laser-heated diamond anvil cells at relevant high pressures and temperatures. Results show that the quadrupole splitting (QS) of the dominant high-spin Fe2+ site decreases with increasing temperature at static high pressure. The QS values at constant pressure are fitted to a temperature-dependent Boltzmann distribution model, which permits estimation of the crystal-field splitting energy (Δ3) between the dxy and dxz or dzy orbitals of the t2g states in a distorted octahedral Fe2+ site. The derived Δ3 increases from approximately 36 meV at 1 GPa to 95 meV at 40 GPa, revealing that both high pressure and high temperature have significant effects on the 3d electronic shells of Fe2+ in ferropericlase. The SMS spectra collected from the laser-heated diamond cells within the time window of 146 ns also indicate that QS significantly decreases at very high temperatures. A larger splitting of the energy levels at high temperatures and pressures should broaden the spin crossover in ferropericlase because the degeneracy of energy levels is partially lifted. Our results provide information on the hyperfine parameters and crystal-field splitting energy of high-spin Fe2+ in ferropericlase at high pressures and temperatures, relevant to the electronic structure of iron in oxides in the deep lower mantle.


BABY N.D., a male, aged six days, was admitted to the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Sydney, on November 16, 1934. The confinement had been normal and the infant appeared to be a normal healthy boy. The birth weight was 3·6 kilograms (eight pounds). Meconium was passed as usual, and for the first four days the stools were normal. On the fifth· day he commenced to vomit the breast milk, and the vomitus soon became bile-stained and the vomiting was projectile. The stomach was washed out but the vomiting became more frequent and the vomitu~ more bile-stained. There was no generalized abdominal distension, but the distended stomach could be readily seen in the epigastric region. There was no visible gastric peristalsis. The lower part of the abdomen was flattened. The child began to lose weight rapidly. It was obvious that there was some duodenal obstruction. The stomach was washed out and a large quantity of bile-stained fluid was evacuated. The abdomen was opened through a mid-line incision, about 6·75 centimetres (two and a half inches) long, with the umbilicus at its centre. The disposition of the viscera appeared to be normal. There was no evidence of non-rotation or reversed rotation of the mid-gut loop. The whole of the small bowel was collapsed and empty. The large bowel was smaller than normal and apparently empty. The transverse colon was withdrawn and turned upwards on to the abdominal wall, and the whole of the small bowel was withdrawn through ~he wound. The mesentery had only a narrow pedicle Instead of the usual broad attachment, and its base was thickened and redematous. No actual volvulus could be detected. The duodenum was fixed in its normal position, but appeared to be slightly dilated. There was a band of tissue stretching between the last five centimetres of the duodenum and the first five centimetres of the jejunum. This band caused a kinking of the duodeno-jejunal flexure. A fossa was thus formed, with its opening pointing downwards and to the right, and into which a finger could be passed. The tissue forming the anterior wall of this fossa was divided and the bowel was returned into the abdomen. The child had no further vomiting and made an uneventful recovery. Commentary.


This study examines year-by-year correlations between Freedom House and Reporters Sans Frontières' (RSF) press freedom scores for countries over a 13-year period (2002–2014). The goal of the study is to test the hypothesis that, further into the age of digital disclosure, as press abuses and harassment of journalists are more widely reported, press freedom ranking systems are gradually becoming more precise and, therefore, correlations between the two indices will strengthen over time. To further assess concurrent validity of the indices, correlations between both indices and scores on the United Nations Human Development Index are also provided. The study also examines changes in the indices' rankings of countries over time within six world regions: the Middle East and North Africa, the Americas, Western Europe, Eastern Europe/Central Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia. In so doing, this study adds a degree of understanding to the validity of two press freedom indices that are routinely cited in journalistic reportage and trade journals, as well as many scholarly publications. Results suggest that the two organizations' scoring of press freedom has become significantly more correlated in the years 2002–2014, and the primary cause of the increased agreement is that RSF's ratings became substantially more aligned with Freedom House's scores during this period. Both indices' ratings are significantly correlated with countries' United Nations Human Development Index scores.


Concentrations of lymphocytotoxic antibodies were measured in serum samples from 19 patients recently diagnosed as having type I diabetes and 43 healthy relatives (33 consanguineous and 10 non-consanguineous). The specificity of the reaction was tested at 15 degrees C and 37 degrees C against T lymphocytes and purified helper/inducer and cytotoxic/suppressor subsets. The concentrations of lymphocytotoxic antibodies in each of the three test groups were significantly higher than those in controls (type I patients, p less than 0.005; consanguineous relatives, p less than 0.001; and non-consanguineous relatives, p less than 0.002). The frequency of detection of the antibodies was also greater in each of the study groups (p less than 0.01, p less than 0.01, and p less than 0.05, respectively). Cytotoxicity affected both subsets at 15 degrees C but only cytotoxic/suppressor cells at 37 degrees C. The findings of lymphocytotoxic antibodies in healthy relatives of type I diabetics, irrespective of consanguinity, suggests that an environmental agent such as a virus is at least partially responsible for this lymphocytotoxic effect. Furthermore, the residual cytotoxic/suppressor cell killing at 37 degrees C could explain the defect of suppressor cells observed in these patients.