The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to sudden and unexpected circumstances in education for all the involved people (pupils, teachers, education policymakers, parents). International organizations have paid attention to their responses in crises by using alternative modes of teaching. The typical teaching methods had to be replaced by e-learning processes and all the participants needed to adjust themselves and adapt innovative methods. Most studies concentrated on teachers' and students' difficulties, barriers and new challenges. However, a different role was given to parents as well, especially in the case of primary and the first grades of secondary education, as they were asked to facilitate their children to use the e-learning processes and support them during the learning process. The present study examined the change of parental involvement during the pandemic in comparison to the previous situation in the case of mathematical subject. A questionnaire was constructed and administered to parents from Cyprus at the first days of the school year 2019-2020 in order to examine their beliefs and self-efficacy beliefs about their parental role and involvement during homework at their children's mathematical understanding and the development of their children's perseverance strategies during mathematical problem solving. The same questionnaire was administered to them at the end of the e-learning teaching processes in May 2020, after they had alternative experiences in order to identify any differences at their respective beliefs. Only the sample of parents who took part at both phases of the study was used for the comparative analyses. Results indicated that parents, especially in primary education, had the willingness to support their children's learning under the different teaching and learning processes; however they needed training in order to develop appropriate knowledge, relevant experiences, positive beliefs and selfefficacy beliefs.


The aim of this study is to verify the feasibility of another option: transumbilical endoscopic cholecystectomy by using the trichannel trocar technique. Eight domestic pigs were submitted to transumbilical endoscopic cholecystectomy by using the trichannel trocar technique. A fine grasper of 2 mm in diameter was inserted through a small skin incision on the right upper abdomen for grasping the gallbladders. The natural scar of the umbilicus was restored after extract of the specimen. All the gallbladders were removed successfully without severe bleeding during dissection, intraoperative, and postoperative complications. Postmortem examination revealed that the gallbladder fossa was clean, the clips on the cystic duct and artery were secure, and neither bile nor blood leakage was found at the operative field. The feasibility and safety of transumbilical endoscopic cholecystectomy are demonstrated by this study. It is possible to use this approach in patients with gallbladder diseases.


An endpoint detection algorithm that combines expanded spectral subtraction with the SAP (speech absence probability) soft decision is proposed based on traditional methods. The algorithm employs a method of expanded spectral subtraction based on the noise compensation structure, which can estimate the noise during speech presence. A method of endpoint detection based on the SAP soft decision is given, which improves robustness and precision of endpoint detection. The experiments show that better performance can be obtained even if SNR is equal to -10dB whereas such performance cannot be achieved by traditional energy-based methods with the same SNR.


Glyphosate continues to attract controversial debate following the International Agency for Research on Cancer carcinogenicity classification in 2015. Despite its ubiquitous presence in our environment, there remains a dearth of data on human exposure to both glyphosate and its main biodegradation product aminomethylphosphonic (AMPA). Herein, we reviewed and compared results from 21 studies that use human biomonitoring (HBM) to measure urinary glyphosate and AMPA. Elucidation of the level and range of exposure was complicated by differences in sampling strategy, analytical methods, and data presentation. Exposure data is required to enable a more robust regulatory risk assessment, and these studies included higher occupational exposures, environmental exposures, and vulnerable groups such as children. There was also considerable uncertainty regarding the absorption and excretion pattern of glyphosate and AMPA in humans. This information is required to back-calculate exposure doses from urinary levels and thus, then compare these levels with health-based guidance values. Back-calculations based on animal-derived excretion rates suggested that there were no health concerns in relation to glyphosate exposure (when compared with EFSA acceptable daily intake (ADI)). However, recent human metabolism data has reported as low as a 1% urinary excretion rate of glyphosate. Human exposures extrapolated from urinary glyphosate concentrations found that upper-bound levels may be much closer to the ADI than previously reported.


This paper aims to investigate the evolution of aggregate-surface characteristics due to tyre polishing action. Three kinds of aggregates were polished by the Wehner/Schluze polishing machine. The evolution of dynamic friction coefficient, surface height profiles and their power spectral density in polishing process were characterized. Spectrum analysis is conducted to characterization the polishing effects on surface texture. The results reveal that the polishing action of rubber tyre plays an important role in the changes of micro-texture, and the evolution of friction of aggregate is governed by micro-texture changes due to differential removal of mineral components.


Single- and many-electron calculations and related dynamics are presented for a dimer and small Hubbard clusters. Floquet-Bloch picture for a periodic dimer is discussed with regard to the time dependence of the Peierls gap and the expectation of the current operator. In driven Fermi-Hubbard clusters, the time dependence of Charge Gaps and phase separation along with charge pairing at various cluster sizes indicate the presence and absence of paired electron states. We examine the effect of electromagnetic time dependent external perturbations on Hubbard many-electron systems in our search of for precursors to superconducting states and time crystals. Two principally different kinds of electromagnetic excitations are analyzed:(1) Recently demonstrated dynamic modulation of Hubbard parameters due to excitation of certain phonon modes within the far-infrared domain, and (2) Hubbard Hamiltonian, with fixed parameters in an electromagnetic field, resonant with transitions between the ground state and high-energy excited states as possible precursors to superconductivity, within visible-near-infrared domains.


Denial of Service (DoS) attacks frequently happen on the Internet, paralyzing Internet services and causing millions of dollars of financial loss. This work presents NetFence, a scalable DoS-resistant network architecture. NetFence uses a novel mechanism, secure congestion policing feedback, to enable robust congestion policing inside the network. Bottleneck routers update the feedback in packet headers to signal congestion, and access routers use it to police senders' traffic. Targeted DoS victims can use the secure congestion policing feedback as capability tokens to suppress unwanted traffic. When compromised senders and receivers organize into pairs to congest a network link, NetFence provably guarantees a legitimate sender its fair share of network resources without keeping per-host state at the congested link. We use a Linux implementation, ns-2 simulations, and theoretical analysis to show that NetFence is an effective and scalable DoS solution: it reduces the amount of state maintained by a congested router from per-host to at most per-(Autonomous System).


Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) excels at providing high-resolution anatomical maps, while positron emission tomography (PET) can better gauge the actual function of tissues. But never have the twain met in one machine: The powerful magnetic fields generated by MRI wreak havoc with the electronic detectors of PET scanners. That's made it hard on researchers studying the effects of drugs on particular tissues, for example. Now, however, things finally seem to be coming together. A team of researchers have created a small PET prototype that's able to distance its vital electronics from MRI's high magnetic fields, thanks to fiber optic lines and highly sensitive detectors based on a crystalline material never before used in PET. This week, at the Society of Nuclear Medicine meeting in Denver, the team demonstrated their results: the first-ever simultaneous PET and MRI images.


The Artistic Taste Is Considered As One Of The Aspects Which The Iraqi Education Ministry Attempts To Achieve Through Implementing The Artistic Education Programs In The Materials And Curriculums Of The Secondary Schools. Hence, We Must Give Attention With This Aspect And Developing The Basis Which Contributes In Achieving It. On Top Of This, Comes Overcoming The Problem Low Standard Of The Artistic Taste Which Became A Dire Necessity Which Puts The Current Study In Front Of The Correct Scientific Steps In Adopting This Need.The Research Aimed At Identifying The Effectiveness Of Analyzing Design Works In Developing The Artistic Taste For The Secondary Stage Students; In Addition To The Variations In The Artistic Taste Between The Male And Female Students At This Secondary Stage. The Study Included Two Samples From The Fifth Secondary Class Students Where The First Sample Was An Experimental Sample Whereas The Second Sample Was A Control Sample . The Number Of Students In Each Sample Equal (30) Male And Female Students That Is (15) Male Students And (15) Female Students For Both Samples For Both Experimental And Control Samples. This Study Used The (Artistic Taste Test) As A Research Tool Prepared In Year 2010 For The Universities Colleges Students. The Two Researchers Adjusted This Test To Conform To The Secondary Stage Students And According To The Well-Known Controls In The Scientific Research. For This Test New True And Steady Coefficient Were Invented Where It Was Possible To Use And Implement This Test On The Secondary Stage Students. Also, The Research Was Performed Through The Use Of Statistical Means Which Were Suitable To Extract The Results. The Study Reached The Following Group Of Results Including:The Experimental Sample Which Used (Analysis Of The Design Works) Was Superior To The Control Sample With Statistical Significance Equals (0.05). The Study Also Concluded That There Are Differences Between Male And Female Students In The (Artistic Taste) Variable At Significance Level Of (0.05). The Research Reached Several Conclusions Such As The Artistic Taste For The Secondary Stage Students Can Be Developed By The Method Of Analyzing The Design Works. The Two Researchers Reached Several Recommendations Such As Using The (Analysis Of The


This study evaluates efficiency of forest management in Japan. Our results show that efficiency of forest management decreases over 25 years period from 1975-2000 on average. The study indicates a substantial variation in efficiency across prefectures with a potential for output saving in the range of forty percent on average. Our econometric results seem to support the hypothesis that government subsidies had an adverse effect on economic performance of forestry sector. More subsidized prefectures were found to exhibit statistically significantly lower levels of efficiency.


Sediments are delivered to basins or rises by a number of discrete processes or sets of processes working from several sources including terrigenous, biogenous, and hydrogenous which may deliver sediments continuously or discontinuously. The processes can be grouped in terms of the zone from which they move sediments directly to the deposition site. These include river and shore systems, shelf systems, canyon systems, slope systems, and the processes operating in the overlying water column. River and Canyon-centered processes work from point sources; shore, shelf and slope-centered processes deliver from linear sources; and the water mass-centered processes operate from area sources. These are the primary determinants of the patterns of sediments deposited from these sets. Of these sets of processes and their resulting products, the river-shore system and the canyon system are easily the best known. A new surge of interest has begun for the slope system, but the water mass process system and the resulting hemipelagic and pelagic sediments and sedimentary rocks have been only narrowly studied although they produce the most complete records of environmental (climatic) changes and provide the best correlation data. Another area of research yet to be broadly developed lies in the study of interactions between processes and process sets and in the factors that modulate process systems. How each of the major process groups work together and what synergistic effects come from those linkages offer productive areas of study. All of these should be examined to aid us in our primary goal of describing the Earth9s history.


From Neolithic painted petroglyphs, early paintings on silk, and landscapes by twelfth-century literati to the traditional handscrolls being produced today, Chinese painting has always had the power to enthrall. This magnificent book, written by a team of eminent international scholars, is the first to recount the history of Chinese painting over a span of some three thousand years. Drawing on museum collections, archives, and archaeological sites in China-including many resources never before available to Western scholars-as well as on collections in other countries, the authors present and analyze the very best examples of Chinese painting: more than 300 of them are reproduced here in color. Both accessible to the general reader and revelatory for the scholar, the book provides the most up-to-date and detailed history of China's pictorial art available today. In this book the authors rewrite the history of Chinese art wherever it is found-in caves, temples, or museum collections. They begin by grounding the Western reader in Chinese traditions and practices, showing in essence how to look at a Chinese painting. They then shed light on such topics as the development of classical and narrative painting, the origins of the literati tradition, the flowering of landscape painting, and the ways the traditions of Chinese painting have been carried into the present day. The book, which concludes with a glossary of techniques and terms and a list of artists by dynasty, is an essential resource for all lovers of, or newcomers to, Chinese painting. Three Thousand Years of Chinese Painting is the inaugural volume in a new series, The Culture & Civilization of China, a joint publishing venture of Yale University Press and the American Council of Learned Societies with the China International Publishing Group in Beijing. The undertaking will ultimately result in the publication of more than seventy-five volumes on the visual arts, classical literature, language, and philosophy, as well as several comprehensive reference volumes.


Software is a centerpiece in today's society. Because of that, much effort is spent measuring various aspects of software. This is done using software metrics. Code churn is one of these metrics. Code churn is a metric measuring change volume between two versions of a system, defined as sum of added, modified and deleted lines. We use code churn to gain more insight into the evolution of software systems. With that in mind, we describe four experiments that we conducted on open source as well as proprietary systems. First, we show how code churn can be calculated on different time intervals and the effect this can have on studies. This can differ up to 20% between commit-based and week-based intervals. Secondly, we use code churn and related metrics to automatically determine what the primary focus of a development team was during a period of time. We show how we built such a classifier with a precision of 74%. Thirdly, we attempted to find generalizable patterns in the code churn progression of systems. We did not find such patterns, and we think this is inherent to software evolution. Finally we study the effect of change volume on the surroundings and user base of a system. We show there is a correlation between change volume and the amount of activity on issue trackers and Q&A websites.


The philosophy of Economics Sharia or Islamic real economics have appeared since the existence of the religion of Islam, i.e. Since the days of the Prophet. His goal was to bring humans to the world and the hereafter fallah and putting human beings as the Caliph was given a treasure by God to take advantage of what is on Earth with his best. A Socialist or a capitalist system is not able to answer the problem humans with leaves many problems of life, with evidence that the system is not able to give welfare to humanity as a whole even just for some particular people only. This factor becomes one evidence that economy more Islamic have the right concept and can provide overall well-being to mankind. It can be seen from the deployment of Islamic economic system since the days of the Prophet, which has provided a good impact to the society that existed at the time. And when the system is taken down to the next generation, in fact it can be applied with good and provide solutions for existing problems. Thus Islamic economic philosophy is holding an important role in the development of the economy of humans for the sake of reaching fallah is expected.


HIV infection burden is globally high among transgender women (TGW) and particularly in TGW migrant sex workers and TGW subpopulations with structural inequalities like racism and classism. In addition to stigma related to transphobia, migrant TGW face multiple forms of discrimination because of intersection with other experiences of stigma related to migration and working as sex workers in the host society. This study explores the experiences of TGW seeking care in an HIV and STI clinic in Paris, to evaluate medical adherence, namely, the degree to which a patient is regularly followed up in care and adequately takes the treatment, and trans individuals' social inclusion in this health institution. We examined the different forms of HIV-associated stigma among TGW. A qualitative study was conducted using semistructural in-depth interviews with TGW receiving HIV care and HIV preventive measures. A description is given of how a community-based participation policy and practice in this clinic integrate an intersectional approach among TGW. This results in a high rate of medical adherence in TGW migrants and could lead to social integration.


Heart disease and depression are among the most common diseases seen in developed countries. The relation-ship between heart disease and depression has been the subject of both popular interest and scientific research. Sadness is often portrayed as a feeling of heaviness in the chest or as a "broken heart." Interestingly as we learn more about the expression of emotions, it appears that these perceptions may simply be the language representation of somatic feelings. Large, prospective, longitudinal studies that have examined the relationship between depression and development of coronary artery disease (CAD) have shown that depression is a risk factor for the development of CAD. Depression also increases mortality in patients with stable CAD or myocardial infarction compared with patients without depression. The recent Sertraline AntiDepressant HeARt attack Trial (SADHART) has shown that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors like sertraline can be safely used in patients with depression following myocardial infarction. There is also intriguing evidence that treating depression with antidepressants may improve outcomes, including mortality.


Catalytic oxidation of gaseous benzene using ozone over SiO2-supported metal oxides (oxides of Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu) was performed at 343 K. The supported metal oxides were prepared from metal nitrates via impregnation followed by calcination at 873 K. X-ray diffraction studies revealed that aggregated metal oxides were formed on the supports. The quantities of the exposed metal oxides on SiO2 were determined using temperature-programmed desorption of formic acid species adsorbed on the catalysts. The turnover frequencies (TOFs) for ozone decomposition and catalytic oxidation of benzene with ozone were also compared for the supported metal oxides. The TOFs for ozone decomposition with the supported metal oxides decreased in the order: Cu > Co ~ Ni > Fe > Mn. Conversely, the SiO2-supported Mn oxide (Mn/SiO2) catalyst exhibited the highest activity for catalytic oxidation of benzene with ozone and the highest efficiency for ozone utilization. FTIR studies revealed that benzene ring cleavage continuously proceeded on the Mn/SiO2 catalyst, and oxygen-containing species, which were readily oxidized to CO2 and CO in the presence of ozone, accumulated on the catalyst surface. The Fe-, Co-, Ni-, and Cu-oxides suffered from catalyst deactivation due to the build-up of by-product compounds, which was attributed to their low activity for oxidation of these substances. These results suggest that the most important steps in benzene oxidation with ozone on metal oxides are the formation and oxidation of by-product compounds. The higher activity of the Mn oxide catalyst for benzene oxidation is ascribed to the facile oxidation of these by-product compounds.


This thesis deals with the little known but much needed history of the Adilshahi kingdom of Bijapur. Flourishing as this kingdom did with the other Deccan sultanates, its policy affords an insight into the disintegration and disunion among the Muslim states of the Deccan during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The significance of this cannot be overrated. For, it was the perpetual quarrels between the sultanates and the bitter dissensions in them between Sunnis and Shias, between Deccanis and Pardesis, that invited the Mughals to the south, and enabled the Marathas to consolidate their power. The petty principalities with their petty cabals could seldom gauge the common danger or concert common measures for common safety. The only redeeming feature was the formation of the Muslim confederacy which resulted in the destruction of the Hindu Empire of Vijayanagar. The attempts to dislodge the Portuguese, however, proved utterly unavailing. And after the victory over Vijayanagar, the normal internecine warfare once more flared up in the Deccan, never to abate till the end. In this period of storm and stress general administration was completely neglected; it remained as it was under the Bahmanis save for a few incidental modifications. I have, therefore, given only a short sketch of the Adilshahi administration. I have devoted two chapters to the social and economic conditions of the kingdom, and I have also made an attempt to deal with the prominent features of the cultural aspects of Adilshani rule.


The response of endothelial cells to radiation in the context of wound healing is not yet completely understood. In this study we investigated the mechanism involved in the wound healing process after low linear energy transfer (LET) radiation exposure. A scratch wound model on primary vascular endothelial cell monolayer was exposed to acute dose of 0.1, 2 or 10 Gy. The number of cells crossing the wound border and the wound closure percentage was measured. The expression of α(v)β₃ integrins, focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and phosphorylated FAK (tyr397) as well as SHP-2 phosphatase were assayed through immunoblotting, immunoprecipitation and optical imaging. Compared to the low dose irradiation, 2 and 10 Gy had remarkably inhibitory effects on cell motility and consequently the wound closure. Integrins α(v) and β₃ showed no irradiation-dose dependent variation. Contrast to the relatively constant level of FAK in all groups, the amount of phosphor-FAK tyr397 was higher with dose increasing. The protein and PCR analysis of SHP-2 revealed an opposite expression pattern to FAK tyr397. In conclusion, radiation-induced inhibition of cell migration could be attributed to the irradiative inhibition to SHP-2 phosphatase, and the subsequent accumulated phosphorylated FAK abrogated the contraction-extension cycle of cytoskeletons.


The widespread abuse of prescription opioids and a dramatic increase in the availability of illicit opioids have created what is commonly referred to as the opioid epidemic. The magnitude of this epidemic is startling: About 4% of the adult US population misuses prescription opioids, and in 2015, more than 33,000 deaths were attributable to overdose with licit and illicit opioids. Increasing the availability of medication-assisted treatments (such as buprenorphine and naltrexone), the use of abuse-deterrent formulations, and the adoption of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention prescribing guidelines all constitute short-term approaches to quell this epidemic. However, with more than 125 million Americans suffering from either acute or chronic pain, the development of effective alternatives to opioids, enabled at least in part by a fuller understanding of the neurobiological bases of pain, offers the best long-term solution for controlling and ultimately eradicating this epidemic.


Multicaterpillar track chassis are used in the biggest machines. This kind of chassis is commonly used in open cast mines for mobile transfer conveyor or for bucket wheel excavators. In each machine the chassis consist of 6 to 12 caterpillar tracks, which some are steered. Existing models used for analytical calculations are based on simplified relations taken from quasistatic equations of stability and geometrical connections. The complex research was conducted on mobile transfer conveyor, which is used in open cast mine. The aim of measurements was to identify the value of force that acts on elements of chassis during the steering and driving the machine. The measurements were taken during the drive in different directions, with different positions of center of gravity. The strain gauges were used to measure the deformation on each caterpillar track, trusses and drawbar.


Abstract Interviews with local people have been widely used by biologists as a cost-effective approach to studying certain topics in wildlife ecology and conservation. However, doubts still exist about the validity and quality of the information gathered, especially in studies targeting cryptic or elusive species, such as carnivores. We assessed the reliability of interviews (n = 155) in detecting the presence of three species of carnivores with different characteristics, by comparing interview results with data obtained through camera trapping surveys at 52 sites in central Argentina. The degree of concordance between methods was low for Geoffroy's cat Leopardus geoffroyi and especially for the puma Puma concolor. However, Geoffroy's cats were detected more frequently by camera traps than interviews, whereas the opposite was true for pumas. For the pampas fox Pseudalopex gymnocercus, a less elusive species, we observed a high degree of concordance and a similar probability of occurrence between methods. Our results indicate that data obtained by interviewing local inhabitants should be used with caution because the information about species presence provided by local people may be inaccurate and biased.


This critical feminist study uses qualitative methods of inquiry to better understand how mothers navigate the academic journey while balancing child rearing, partnership, household, and doctoral coursework. The study focuses on how mothers experience the intersection of higher education institutions and family structures as well as, the ways in which they enact agency over their time, relationships and academic career. This study challenges patriarchal tones, power structures, and biases about gender roles that permeate the lives of women.


textabstractSince the introduction of continuous recording of intracranial pressure
(ICP) in neurosurgical practice (Guillaume and Janny, 1951; Lundberg,
1960) this method has greatly contributed to clinical research in the
field of intracranial hypertension. Numerous publications have enriched
the literature on ICP and five International Symposia (1972, 1974, 1976,
1979 and 1982) on the subject have been held. The knowledge gained from
these investigations has considerably benefited the management of patients
suffering from raised ICP. However, in spite of the enthousiasm among
those who practise ICP monitoring, the method has not yet gained universal
acceptance as a routine procedure with regard to the various aspects of
care of the individual patient: diagnosis, surveillance, treatment and
prognosis.
The question of the clinical value of ICP monitoring is, of course,
closely related to the question as to what extent ICP truly reflects
central nervous system function. In our view the answer to this question
must be sought somewhere between the two extremes expressed in the
statements of Stern (1963) "that ICP should be given a subsidiary role
in the assessment of the fluid-mass dynamics in neurological disease"
and of Langfitt (1969) "that uncontrolled, increased ICP is one of the
most common causes of neurological death". This dilemma is clinically
illustrated by the common experience that high levels of ICP may be
sustained by normal subjects without evidence of neurological impairment
(Evans et al., 1951), whereas patients with large space-occupying lesions
may have clinical signs of brainstem distortion without significant
elevation of ICP. Much of this controversy results from the two-fold meaning of
increased ICP. On the one hand it may be regarded as a symptom indicating
the presence of a space-occupying process, of whatever nature, which can
no longer be compensated for. On the other hand intracranial hypertension
may be a pathogenetic factor causing brain dysfunction per se. The latter
aspect in particular is still controversial; for instance, it is not yet known for certain which level of ICP is so critical that it requires
treatment. The interaction between ICP and brain function is apparently
so complex that no simple deductions can be made from the level of ICP
alone. It is therefore necessary to consider many other aspects of ICP
that 'matter' (Jennett, 1976) such as: the cause and rate of development
of intracranial hypertension, the presence of pressure waves, brain shift,
and of pressure gradients, the cerebral perfusion pressure, and the
craniospinal volume-pressure relationships


PT. Primissima is a company engaged in textile Bisang, producing gray cloth that was established in 1971. The purpose of this study to determine the level of productivity with the approach of the American method Productivity Center (APC) and the Cobb-Douglas particular weaving section. Next calculate the productivity index forecast to come on the method selected is the highest. The data collected in this study consisted of data from production (output), labor, material, energy, and capital. Methods American Productivity Center (APC) was used to calculate the index of productivity, profitability index and the index of price improvement. While the Cobb-Douglas method used to calculate the coefficient of the intercept and Return to Scale. From the research conducted, the total productivity index using American Productivity Center (APC) has decreased, with a productivity index of 96.00 partially in 2009 and 2011. The profitability of the total input decreased by an average of 47.98 in partial quarterly. Total input price index improvement on average decreased partially 0.50 per quarter. The results using the method Cobb-Douglas found that inputs affect the production process is the efficiency index for 2009 was 58,997,167.96, while the year 2010 was 8.499, and in 2011 was 36,179,393.57. The use of the elasticity of input for the year 2009 amounted to -0.549 labor, material amounted to 0,062, a total energy of 0.613, and a capital of 0.093. The use of the elasticity of input for the year 2010 amounting to -0.032 use of labor, material amounted to 0.595, an energy of 0.114, and a capital of 0.267. The use of the elasticity of input for the year 2011 amounting to -0.781 use of labor, material amounted to 0.602, an energy of 0.063 and capital.of 0.298.


Educators like to imagine that education matters. We like to believe that the leadership of a congregation is improved when that person has a graduate degree and three years of study. We like to think that pouring resources into education is worthwhile. We argue that the more resources we devote to theological education, the better the clergyperson, and therefore the stronger the congregation. Yet one challenge for the leadership of theological education is this: the traditions that spend most on theological education are declining, while those who spend much less are getting stronger. So, for example, die Presbyterian Church (USA) has some of the finest seminaries in the world (Princeton Theological Seminary and Columbia Theological Seminary), but the Presbyterian Church lost two hundred thousand members from 1999-2004, which is more than any other mainline Protestant denomination during that period.1 Contrast this with Pentecostalism, which as David Martin explains, "includes about a quarter of a billion people"2 and in the United States alone has some ten million members and growing.3 The training for these pastors is often very limited and informal. Much of the congregational leadership is raised up from within and learning is limited to the Bible college. This comparison seems to suggest that the better the theological education, the less effective the congregational leadership. In this article, I shall argue that theological education needs to allow the issues of denominational health to be much more central to the curriculum and program of the seminary. Leadership in theological education should have less to do with the survival of this or that institution and instead should involve a commitment to producing a stronger and more creative graduate who can make a difference to the nature and size of a congregation within the Episcopal Church (or whichever tradition the seminary is linked with). This argument will be constructed under three headings: the first is the importance of the theological underpinning; the second is the willingness to learn from congregational studies, globalization, and technology; and the third is an imaginative curriculum that weaves tiieology together with the insights learned from congregational studies, globalization, and technology. To make this article manageable, the area of exploration has been limited to die following. First, the focus is theological education in seminaries. I recognize that there are many forms of theological education beyond die seminary- - in congregations, in dioceses, and in lay programs. All of these forms are important (and parts of my argument can apply to these areas); however, my expertise does not extend to a full exploration of these areas. Second, the focus is on the Episcopal Church. Much of the argument can be applied to other mainline denominations, but the context out of which I am writing is the Anglican one. Theological Underpinning Creating a bigger congregation is never a goal in itself. If a leader wants to be in the business of building up a large organization, then he or she should organize a presidential campaign or join a major global corporation. Instead, this is a gospel work. As a priest in the Episcopal Church, I believe that the Eternal Word was made flesh, and that in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, humanity can discern the nature of die Creator - a creator who loves humanity and seeks to five in relationship with each and eveiy person. Any vocation to the priesthood must arise from a belief in the truth of the gospel. The Episcopal Church must be careful to retain this commitment to the core Christian narrative. The American church scene already has a denomination specializing in supporting those who seek to create their own theological identity, winch can be taken from any source or tradition. The Unitarian Universalist congregations welcome everyone - from those who are skeptical of God through the pantheist to the theist. …


Since the military coup of July 3, 2013, guns and batons have, broadly speaking, taken the place of open debate and elections in deciding the political future of Egypt. How can the political struggle be understood with regard to the shape and content of the reformed post-Mubarak state that took place during the period of relative free debate and of tentative steps towards a democratic system between February 11, 2011 and July 3, 2013. In light of the deepening polarization between the Muslim Brothers and the more secular political tendencies that characterized the period, the conflict is often portrayed by the media and by some researchers as between a project of Islamization and a secularist agenda. To what extent does this hold true? In this article I will argue (1) that what took place was rather a power struggle involving competing elites as well as what is sometimes termed the 'deep state', i.e., the entrenched power holders from Mubarak's time, especially in the military, the police and the judiciary; and (2) to the extent that secularization was at stake, in some important aspects Islamists turned out to be, if anything, more secularizing than their secularist competitors. What follows is nothing near a full treatment of the transitional period. Neither is it a formal study of constitutional issues, although it does dwell on some important aspects of the new constitution finalized in 2012. The primary interest here is what the struggle over the new constitution, and more broadly over the path to be followed in the transition process, can tell us about the main forces at work at the heart of the intense political conflict that developed.


Topical administration of guanethidine leads to a "chemical postganglionic sympathectomy" that causes a hypersensitivity to epinephrine in the eye. Therefore, even low concentrations of epinephrine added to guanethidine lower intraocular pressure efficiently in cases of open-angle glaucoma. In order to test the feasibility of a therapy with both low dosages and minimal effective concentrations, at the same time avoiding the disadvantages of topical parasympathicomimetic treatment in normalizing intraocular pressure, a long-term study of ten patients presenting with confirmed open-angle glaucoma is being carried out. It has now been running for 15 months. A collyrium containing 1.0% guanethidine and 0.2% epinephrine is administered topically. The results and the statistical evaluation confirm a significant lowering of intraocular pressure without triggering any signs of tachyphylaxy during the whole duration of the trial. This represents a further alternative to nonmiotic treatment of open-angle glaucoma.


Maspin (Mammary Serine Protease Inhibitor) was first reported in 1994 as a serpin with tumor suppressive properties. Maspin was initially isolated through subtractive hybridization and differential display analysis as a 42kDa protein that is expressed in normal mammary epithelial cells but reduced or absent in breast carcinomas. Further research led to maspin's characterization as a class II tumor suppressor based on its ability to inhibit cell invasion, promote apoptosis and inhibit angiogenesis. Since then, efforts have been made to characterize maspin's tumor suppressive mechanisms. In particular, researchers have studied maspin localization, the regulation of maspin expression, and more recently, maspin protein interactions. We employed a maspinbaited yeast two-hybrid system and subsequently identified Interferon Regulatory Factor 6 (IRF6) as a maspin-binding protein. Whereas many of the IRF family members have been well characterized, IRF6 remains poorly understood. In this dissertation, we elucidate some of the complex mechanisms involved in maspin activity, specifically relating to IRF6 regulation and function. We have examined the expression of IRF6 in breast cancer cells and we show that, similar to maspin, IRF6 is reduced or absent in breast carcinomas. We further show that the re-expression of IRF6 in breast cancer cells results in genotypic and phenotypic changes which can be abrogated in the presence of maspin. We identify ERK1/2 as a kinase involved in IRF6 phosphorylation, and we demonstrate a possible role for toll-like receptor signaling in the activation of IRF6. We also evaluate the differential expression of maspin and IRF6 during murine mammary gland development and we show that both maspin and IRF6 are maximally expressed during lactation. These studies have increased our understanding of the complex, pleiotropic nature of maspin and provide an avenue to develop maspin's potential as a diagnostic marker for cancer progression and as a potentially powerful therapeutic agent in the fight against breast cancer.


[reaction: see text] A new approach for catalytic asymmetric epoxidation of olefins was developed that utilized chiral iminium salts, generated in situ from chiral amines and aldehydes, as catalysts. Epoxidation reactions can be conducted with 20 mol % of amines and aldehydes. The enantioselectivity of epoxides can be up to 65%. This modular approach obviates the difficulties inherent in the preparation and isolation of unstable exocyclic iminium salts.


Low-back pain (LBP) is a common medical complaint and associated with high societal costs. Degeneration of the intervertebral disc (IVD) is assumed to be an important causal factor of LBP. IVDs are continuously mechanically loaded and both positive and negative effects have been attributed to different loading conditions. In order to study mechanical loading effects, degeneration-associated processes and/or potential regenerative therapies in IVDs, it is imperative to maintain the IVDs' structural integrity. While in vivo models provide comprehensive insight in IVD biology, an accompanying organ culture model can focus on a single factor, such as loading and may serve as a prescreening model to reduce life animal testing. In the current study we examined the feasibility of organ culture of caprine lumbar discs, with the hypothesis that a simulated-physiological load will optimally preserve IVD properties. Lumbar caprine IVDs (n = 175) were cultured in a bioreactor up to 21 days either without load, low dynamic load (LDL), or with simulated-physiological load (SPL). IVD stiffness was calculated from measurements of IVD loading and displacement. IVD nucleus, inner- and outer annulus were assessed for cell viability, cell density and gene expression. The extracellular matrix (ECM) was analyzed for water, glycosaminoglycan and total collagen content. IVD biomechanical properties did not change significantly with loading conditions. With SPL, cell viability, cell density and gene expression were preserved up to 21 days. Both unloaded and LDL resulted in decreased cell viability, cell density and significant changes in gene expression, yet no differences in ECM content were observed in any group. In conclusion, simulated-physiological loading preserved the native properties of caprine IVDs during a 21-day culture period. The characterization of caprine IVD response to culture in the LDCS under SPL conditions paves the way for controlled analysis of degeneration- and regeneration-associated processes in the future.


Work and family scholarship increasingly focuses on how institutions constrain the choices of families struggling to balance market work with care work. Recent legal reforms, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, also focus on institutional reform to alleviate work/family conflict. This article reviews important empirical questions raised by this institutional turn in both law and social science. How have changes in the institutions of family and work contributed to work/family conflict? Have legal reforms produced more egalitarian sharing of care work between men and women? How do work organizations respond to these legal mandates? How have organizational and cultural institutions hindered or given support to laws that attempt to reform the relationship between work and family? Empirical research indicates that legal reforms have brought about important changes but that entrenched work practices and cultural norms around work, family, and gender continue to generate institutional resistance to social change.


A driven diftusive lattice gas is studied in a rectangular geometry: particles are fed in at one side and extracted at the other, after being swept through the system by a uniform driving field. Being periodic in the transverse direction, the lattice lies on the surface of a cylinder. The resulting nonequilibrium steady state depends strongly on this choice of boundary conditions. Both Monte Carlo and analytic techniques are employed to investigate the structure of typical configurations, the density profile, the steady-state current, and the nearest-neighbor correlations. As the temperature is lowered in a finite system, the simulations indicate a crossover from a disordered to an ordered state that is characterized by a backgammonlike pattern of alternating highand low-density regions ("fingers"). For fixed strengths of the field and interparticle attraction, the average number of fingers is controlled by the ratio of the transverse to the longitudinal system size. Whether the crossover corresponds to an actual phase transition, where typical thermodynamic observables become singular, remains to be determined.


When the Micro Inertial Measurement Unit is been placed randomly in the case of stationary, the sum vectors that measured by the inertial devices configured orthogonally along three axis, are constant vectors. In view of the above objective facts, a field calibration method of micro inertial measurement unit was proposed. On the base of the establishment and optimization of calibration model, all parameters to be calibrated can be obtained through the least square by the ellipsoid fitting, with the result of high-precision field calibration for micro inertial measurement unit. Finally, a filed calibration program for micro inertial measurement unit is scheduled reasonably. The experiment results show that the method has such characteristics such as easily-operation, time-saving, higher calibration accuracy, and not depending on the baseline direction and datum offered by precision instruments. Especially, it fits for inertial measurement systems which work short time and ask for high accuracy. In addition, it can also significantly increase the measurement accuracy of micro inertial measurement system in practical application.


The influence of post-inoculation and of cerium and antimony additions on the solidification process and on the formation of chunky graphite in ductile iron heavy-section parts have been studied previously in the case of near-eutectic alloys. It appeared of interest to complement these works by analysing the effect of carbon equivalent on graphite degeneracy. In the present work, hypo-, hyper- and near-eutectic melts have been cast in large blocks and standard cups. Analysis of the corresponding cooling curves recorded during solidification as well as microstructure observations on these casts have been carried out. A clear effect of carbon equivalent as promoter of chunky graphite formation is observed. The results have been added to the set of data already available and various correlations are discussed.


Passive circuits and active circuits (i.e., switched-mode power converters) for vibration-energy harvesting are reviewed, focusing on power-extraction efficiency (PEE). Optimal battery voltage and resistance are given for maximal power extraction by passive circuits. Switched-mode converters are reviewed as means to match the actual battery voltage or load resistance to the optimal ones. To emulate the optimal battery voltage or load resistor, these converters could be controlled by pulse-width modulation (PWM) or by resonance, could operate in continuous or discontinuous conduction modes (CCM or DCM), and could leverage the piezoelectric (PZT) impedances in the energy extraction process. The large filter capacitor usually found after the bridge rectifier actually degrades the PEE. Resonance between the output capacitor of the PZT and the converter inductor improves the PEE at the expense of higher voltage and current stresses.Copyright © 2006 by ASME


Blood and serum glucosaminoglycanes, serum glycosaminoglycane hydrolases, hydroxyprolinuria were measured in 140 patients, 60 of these suffering from psoriasis and 80 from psoriatic arthropathy. A relationship between the severity of impairments of connective tissue metabolism and dissemination of the skin process, as well as activity of articular and visceral inflammations, was examined. The detected regularities are discussed in the light of psoriasis pathogenesis; differential diagnostic potentialities of these regularities are analyzed.


Adaptation to abiotic stresses like drought is an important acquirement of agriculturally relevant crops like maize. Development of enhanced drought tolerance in crops grown in climatic zones where drought is a very dominant stress factor therefore plays an essential role in plant breeding. Previous studies demonstrated that corn yield potential and enhanced stress tolerance are associated traits. In this study, we analyzed six different maize hybrids for their ability to deal with drought stress in a greenhouse experiment. We were able to combine data from morphophysiological parameters measured under well-watered conditions and under water restriction with metabolic data from different organs. These different organs possessed distinct metabolite compositions, with the leaf blade displaying the most considerable metabolome changes following water deficiency. Whilst we could show a general increase in metabolite levels under drought stress, including changes in amino acids, sugars, sugar alcohols, and intermediates of the TCA cycle, these changes were not differential between maize hybrids that had previously been designated based on field trial data as either drought-tolerant or susceptible. The fact that data described here resulted from a greenhouse experiment with rather different growth conditions compared to natural ones in the field may explain why tolerance groups could not be confirmed in this study. We were, however, able to highlight several metabolites that displayed conserved responses to drought as well as metabolites whose levels correlated well with certain physiological traits.


When the camera was first connected to the endoscope in 1984, we did not imagine the undergoing revolution yet! At that time the pessimists claimed that nothing could be better than the human eye. But plugging this camera not only enhanced the quality of vision, improved the surgeon's comfort and the ergonomic, but also allowed to share the vision to all the actors of the surgery. Above this and most important, it opened the way to a new method of understanding and teaching surgery. Beyond the signal delivered by the camera and restituted to the screen it is not only what is seen, it is what is understood. That's why this "apparent" simple evolution has turned out to become a revolution and allowed endoscopic surgery to develop, to improve and to be teached and reproduced in safe conditions for the patient. Having a constant electronic signal not only allows us to see and teach directly, it can also be stored and kept for comparison fulfilling the real mean of medicine which is documentation. What kind of medical report could better compare situations at different times and the effect of a surgical treatment? What can better give you the exact pre-operative and postoperative patient's status that can lead to a correct study of the outcomes? It can be useful to check a possible missed adverse effect that could explain an abnormal clinical evolution. It can be stored to constitute a library that represents the experience of the surgeon and its evolution. It can be a witness of what has been done to the patient: right or wrong. It's also the only way to store surgical procedures allowing the beginner to view them again and again until no steps are unknown. That's why a video corner open for endoscopic procedures becomes mandatory in peer-reviewed scientific journals. It will deal with interesting and challenging clinical cases, surgical techniques and significant original situations but also will present didactic cases useful to train youngsters and trainees. Doing a video of a surgical case is not easy. It requires from the surgeon an analysis of what has been done and a selection of the right moment to be shown. Again the pessimists will claim that those videos do not represent the truth! That's right, but they will represent the ideal situation that every surgeon aims to reach! Needless to say that all contributions have to be peer-reviewed following strict guidelines. We invite all endoscopists to publish in the journal. No matter the location, the settings, the affiliation or curriculum vitae. From wherever in the world the journal will be the opportunity to share experience and receive the expertise of a great number of surgeons. Endoscopic surgery: One picture worth thousand words


Indian food processing sector has shown promising growth with wider scope to accelerate agricultural economy of the country. It has given level playing to the multinational corporate to excel direct retailing of the food products. This study has tried to explore the factors affecting the quality delivery in the food processing industry. The conceptual framework has been developed on the basis of existing literature and finds nine responsible factors to deliver quality in the food processing industry. Statistical tests are used to examine the quest, based on the inputs from 50 food processing entrepreneurs. A survey based on structured questionnaire was conducted in three districts of Uttar Pradesh. The finding reveals that availability of educated and trained workers are the most challenging task for food processing players. The study further explores the potential and prospect of Skill India initiative in resolving the scarcity of qualified manpower. It is found that PMKVY (Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana) is giving the meaningful result by adding expertise to employed and unemployed individuals. This initiative is producing competent workforce in almost every zone in India. It is needed to include industrial participation for delivering training so that the needs of both parties were fulfilled. JEL Classification: L66, J24, P23, L15, P47


80 patients aged 14-60 years with progredient paranoid schizophrenia which began alcohol abuse after the first attack of the disease were observed. The peculiarities of both clinical manifestations and course of alcoholism and schizophrenia were analysed in age aspect. The patients were divided into 3 groups according to age: 14-20, 21-40 and 41-60 years. It was established that alcohol abuse in schizophrenia does not cause any further increase of alcoholic symptomatology and had not the phased development as in alcoholism, i.e. alcohol abuse does not cause typical alcoholic disease. Alcoholism, which is symptomatic in schizophrenic patients, can change, however, the clinical picture of psychosis. It can cause atypical and soft course of the disease or, on the contrary, development of decompensation in remission and increase of psychic defect.


 Abstract — The research study was conducted on the effects of child abuse on primary education with the objectives of finding out how iteffects primary education ofpupils in Zuru Local Government area of kebbi state. Simple random sampling technique was used to collect data from the respondents using sixty (60) structured questionnaires. Responses obtained were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics comprising frequency tables and percentages. The study discovered that Low academic achievements, truancy, absenteeism, drug abuse , delinquency, theft, prostitution and drop out from schools by the pupils were found to be the major challenges among the school pupils in the study are, and that poverty, illiteracy, hawking, gambling, drug abuse, trading and farming were contributory to the causes of child abuse in the area. Parents, teachers and child caregivers were found to mostly involve in child abuse in the area and that physical and emotional abuses were prominent in the area. A conclusion was therefore drawn from the research work that the school pupils in the study area were beset with a number of problems which hinder their academic suit and whose future is quite very blink and endangered just as well the future of the community they belong to. Therefore research study recommended that parents should be enlightened on proper parenting, uplifting of the commun ity's socio -economic level, staging of adequate family planning seminars, adoption of psycho therapies on the pupils deserving such, involvement of government, religious institutions and non-governmental organizations forming part of the stakeholders such as the UNICEF, NAPTIP and WOTCLEF for child abuse control in the study area.


The optics for the International X-Ray Observatory (IXO) require alignment and integration of about fourteen thousand thin mirror segments to achieve the mission goal of 3.0 square meters of effective area at 1.25 keV with an angular resolution of five arc-seconds. These mirror segments are 0.4 mm thick, and 200 to 400 mm in size, which makes it hard not to impart distortion at the sub-arc-second level. This paper outlines the precise alignment, verification testing, and permanent bonding techniques developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). These techniques are used to overcome the challenge of aligning thin mirror segments and bonding them with arc-second alignment and minimal figure distortion. Recent advances in technology development in the area of permanent bonding have produced significant results. This paper will highlight the recent advances in alignment, testing, and permanent bonding techniques as well as the results they have produced.


Four honeybee species viz. Apis cerana indica F., A. mellifera L., A. dorsata F., and A. florea F. were examined for the presence of mites during a study conducted between 1991 and 1992. The investigation revealed the presence of Varroa jacobsoni Oudemans in A. cerana indica F. colonies. Tropilaelaps clareae Delfinado & Baker was found associated with A. mellifera, A. cerana indica, and A. dorsata colonies whereas Euvarroa sinhai Delfinado & Baker occurred with A. florea only. The maximum infestation of mites was observed during March to May and August to September in all the honeybee species. Phoretic mites Neocypholaelaps indica Evans and stored product mites Tyrophagus longior (Gervais), Caloglyphus indica, and hypoi were also found in hives. Population dynamics of mites varied during different seasons as well as from one bee species to another. The study further revealed that bee mite interactions were species-specific.


Be the first in line when the green flag for Zope 3 goes down with the help of the Zope Developer's Handbook. This collection of cookbook recipes provides easy-to-follow solutions to common problems you may face as a Zope or Python developer when beginning to implement the Zope 3 open-source application server. Utilize the book's solutions-oriented, task-based structure, as well as the supporting website for code used in each recipe, to help build your Zope components. Stay at the front of the line with the Zope Developer's Handbook.


This paper characterizes the attractor structure of synchronous and asynchronous Boolean networks induced by bi-threshold functions. Bi-threshold functions are generalizations of standard threshold functions and have separate threshold values for the transitions $0 \rightarrow $1 (up-threshold) and $1 \rightarrow 0$ (down-threshold). We show that synchronous bi-threshold systems may, just like standard threshold systems, only have fixed points and 2-cycles as attractors. Asynchronous bi-threshold systems (fixed permutation update sequence), on the other hand, undergo a bifurcation. When the difference $\Delta$ of the down- and up-threshold is less than 2 they only have fixed points as limit sets. However, for $\Delta \geq 2$ they may have long periodic orbits. The limiting case of $\Delta = 2$ is identified using a potential function argument. Finally, we present a series of results on the dynamics of bi-threshold systems for families of graphs.


A new optical instrument has been developed that captures 2-D images at high speed and high sensitivity using 1-D photomultiplier tube arrays. The arrays are orthogonally aligned, and using a coaligned video-speed imager, fast images can be reconstructed using matrix inversion techniques. The instrument can be used to make measurements of optical signatures of energetic electron precipitation induced by discrete waves (e.g., lightning discharges and very-low-frequency transmitter pulses), as well as measurements of high-speed high-altitude glow discharges in the upper atmosphere known as sprites, halos, and ELVES. In this paper, we introduce the instrument and present some first results of sprites and ELVES, and we discuss how the instrument can improve upon current observations in other experiments.


The research presented in this thesis has its base in product development methodology and examines product representations and visual displays as tools for product design. New visualisation technologies, such as VR, has entered the market, but unfortunately, questions of usability and accessibility for the designer are often set aside in favour of development of the technology itself.The aim with this research is to acquire knowledge about the use of, the need for and the possibilities offered by immersive visual displays and navigation means for engineering designers engaged in product design activities. The purpose is to draw up recommendations for the meaningful application of these tools, i.e. find a means of assisting the engineering designer in his everyday work. At the end of this thesis, the conclusions drawn from the findings of the research are presented as a series of guidelines to help product designers understand the possible benefits and drawbacks of introducing virtual reality techniques in their product design activities.The research approach is mainly explorative and is based on several studies, for example four experimental studies, an interview study and a questionnaire survey, all focusing on Swedish industry.The results can be divided into two categories, descriptive and prescriptive. The descriptive results concern the use of product representations and visualisation techniques in companies engaged in product development and design consulting. It was found that the overall view of these techniques is positive and has resulted in investments at a number of companies. The use of VR techniques primarily concerns tasks involving analysis, such as the assessment of product properties and early concept evaluation and selection. Its use, however, is not coherent between companies, but depends on factors such as company size, type of product, existing CAD software and a company's own traditions with regard to product representations.The prescriptive results primarily consist of a set of qualitative guidelines referring to different aspects of the visualisation and representation of a product-to-be. Digital product representations have been found to offer good possibilities for replacing physical mock-ups, assuming that a conscious strategy has been established for their use. The concluding guidelines include user aspects, degree of immersion, colouring, and level of detail. Together, the aspects form a basis for understanding the possible benefits and drawbacks of digital product representations - visualised for product design.The research has also shown that a supportive visualisation tool is not enough to be able to use VR-technology successfully. The possibility for a user to easily navigate through the virtual environment and manipulate objects therein is also an important factor. Haptics presents a means to introduce more senses for a better understanding of the product or product concepts. The use of haptics significantly improved subjects' results, compared to using a mouse, and is just as efficient as working with pen and paper, while holding additional properties of its own. This opens up for the possibility of having parts of the conceptual design stages supported by a computer environment, for more efficient handling downstream in the design process.


One major area of synthetic biology is to engineer microbial cells and subcellular systems for diverse applications including biosynthesis, biocatalysis, therapeutics, drug delivery, and bioremediation. For most applications, robust cellular systems are preferred for longer activity half-life and resistance to harsh environments. Two projects related to robust cellular systems involving Gram-positive bacteria are presented in this work. One is to develop thermostable genetic reporters for Geobacilli species and the other is to display an enzyme on the Bacillus subtilis spore surface to enhance its robustness and present an alternative to purified enzymes for industrial applications. Bacillus subtilis and Geobacillus thermoglucosidans are gram-positive, spore-forming bacteria. They secrete many proteins used industrially for the production of paper, food, textiles, chemicals, medicine, and cosmetics. Since G. thermoglucosidans is thermostable with an optimal growth temperature of 60oC, its secreted proteins are also thermostable which proves advantageous for a variety of industrial applications. Additionally, a strain of G. thermoglucosidans has been used for the production of ethanol from biomass. Unfortunately the inner workings of G. thermoglucosidans are still poorly understood and a genetic toolkit is necessary to better discover how to improve them via genetic engineering for industrial use. Important components of this toolkit are genetic reporters which allow for the analysis of gene expression in G. thermoglucosidans. Fluorescent proteins are commonly used reporters for other bacterial species due to their easily observed and readily measured signal, however no thermostable fluorescent proteins have been shown to be functional in Geobacillus. Seven different fluorescent proteins including mCherry, Venus, GFP, sfGFP, GFPmut3, mCherry (Gt), and Venus (Gt) were tested for stability and functionality in Geobacillus thermoglucosidans. Venus (Gt) and mCherry (Gt) were codon optimized for this bacterium with the goal of increasing expression level and thus improving the fluorescence signal. The fluorescence intensity of each fluorescent protein expressed in G. thermoglucosidans was measured after several hours of bacterial growth at 50oC and 60oC. Venus, mCherry, Venus (Gt), mCherry (Gt), and sfGFP all had signal when expressed in G. thermoglucosidans at 50oC and sfGFP had signal at 60oC. Therefore, fluorescent reporter proteins in three different colors were found to be functional in G. thermoglucosidans. This will further genetic engineering of the species for thermostable protein production, bioremediation, and biofuel production. Bacillus subtilis is Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) by the FDA and amenable toward genetic manipulation. Thus it has been engineered for the production of many heterologous proteins. Oftentimes, proteins secreted by bacteria are purified for industrial use. However, protein purification is expensive and time-consuming and long-term storage of purified proteins requires extremely low temperatures (-20oC). B. subtilis spores have been used to immobilize a variety of proteins for vaccines, biosensors, and bioremediation applications. Spore surface display eliminates the need for purification and provides a way to easily separate proteins from the final product if necessary. A novel and thermostable laccase, a copper-containing oxidase, was isolated and purified from G. thermoglucosidans. It can be used to degrade lignin and a variety of phenolic compounds and thus has applications for the production of paper, textiles, food, and biofuel. This laccase was isolated, characterized, and immobilized on the surface of B. subtilis spores. The purified and spore displayed laccase were tested for heat stability and catalytic function. The purified laccase showed high activity toward 2,6-dimethoxyphenol (2,6-DMP) and moderate activity toward veratryl alcohol and 2,2′Azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) while the spore displayed laccase showed high activity toward 2,6-DMP. The purified laccase was considerably more heat stable than a commonly used fungal This thesis is available at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/2398 laccase. The spore displayed laccase was also found to be heat stable with a half-life of about 6 hours at 80oC. The binding affinity of the immobilized laccase for the substrate 2,6-DMP was virtually the same as that of the purified laccase, plus the immobilized laccase showed solid activity. These results show that spore surface display of proteins is a promising, more inexpensive alternative to purifying proteins for industrial use.


We investigated the microbial community compositions in two sediment samples from the acidic (pH ∼3) and hypersaline (>4.5% NaCl) surface waters, which are widespread in Western Australia. In West Dalyup River, large amounts of NaCl, Fe(II) and sulfate are brought by the groundwater into the surface run-off. The presence of K-jarosite and schwertmannite minerals in the river sediments suggested the occurrence of microbial Fe(II) oxidation because chemical oxidation is greatly reduced at low pH. 16S rRNA gene diversity analyses revealed that sequences affiliated with an uncultured archaeal lineage named Aplasma, which has the genomic potential for Fe(II) oxidation, were dominant in both sediment samples. The acidophilic heterotrophs Acidiphilium and Acidocella were identified as the dominant bacterial groups. Acidiphilium strain AusYE3-1 obtained from the river sediment tolerated up to 6% NaCl at pH 3 under oxic conditions and cells of strain AusYE3-1 reduced the effects of high salt content by forming filamentous structure clumping as aggregates. Neither growth nor Fe(III) reduction by strain AusYE3-1 was observed in anoxic salt-containing medium. The detection of Aplasma group as potential Fe(II) oxidizers and the inhibited Fe(III)-reducing capacity of Acidiphilium contributes to our understanding of the microbial ecology of acidic hypersaline environments.


Tax and expenditure limitations (TEL) on state and local governments have been passed with the presumption they will limit the growth of government, raise government efficiency, and increase direct democracy by requiring voter approval of tax increases. Both the popular press and the academic literature focus on the impacts of TEL on state budgets. Yet at a time when decentralization and devolution are increasing demands on local government, TEL provisions are in some cases causing rigidity in local budgets and subsequent fiscal stress. The smaller the budget, the more significant the potential adverse effects of TEL, and small governments tend to be rural governments. While there is some evidence that governments under TEL become more efficient, governments typically look for ways to circumvent the restrictions as they become more severe, increasing inefficiencies and reducing both representative and direct democracy, the opposite of the intended effects of TEL laws. States would be wise to avoid TEL and instead utilize stricter reporting and auditing requirements. The latter are a more direct means of monitoring public sector management while allowing local governments the flexibility to adjust to local fiscal circumstances.


Public understanding leading to support for investment in aging water infrastructure is absolutely essential in order to close the "gap" between projected and current funding levels. In response to the need identified by its utility members, the Water Environment Research Foundation has funded a research program on Strategic Asset Management program (SAM) for wastewater and water utilities. One objective of the research program included the development of an effective communications package - aimed at public officials, policy makers, utility managers and rate payers - to encourage the adoption of SAM and provide guidance on its implementation in the utility environment.

This report provides the initial results of the research program to understand elected and appointed officials' perspectives on the issue of asset management and infrastructure sustainability. It uses results of a survey, focus groups, interviews and a case study to understand how public support for infrastructure sustainability can be gained. Relevant and readily usable tools that focus on the infrastructure sustainability issue are identified. Messages that elected, appointed, and salaried public officials can use in communication with their stakeholders have been identified.

This title belongs to WERF Research Report Series .

ISBN: 9781843393313 (Print)

ISBN: 9781780403403 (eBook)


All rights reserved IN FO RM ATIO N TO A LL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality o f the copy subm itted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete m anuscript and there are m issing pages, these will be noted. Also, if m aterial had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion.


With over 600 thousand people each year surviving a stroke, it has become the leading cause of serious long-term disability in the United States [1], [2]. The adverse financial and social conditions attributed to stroke have prompted researchers and entrepreneurs to explore the viability of rehabilitation robots. The Powered Ankle Foot Orthosis (PAFO) utilizes robotic tendon technology and supports motion with a single degree of freedom, ankle rotation in the Sagittal plane. Motion capture data, robot sensor data, and functional 6 minute walk data were collected on three stroke subjects. All subjects had some positive changes in their key gait variables while using the PAFO. These changes were more dramatic while harnessed and using a treadmill as opposed to walking over ground. Robot sensor data showed significant improvements on key variables for the three subjects. Motion capture data showed improvements in knee range of motion for subject 1, and the 6 minute walk data showed an increase in distance walked for subjects 1 and 3. Comfort, stability, and robustness proved to be critical design parameters for developing a gait therapy robot capable of collecting repeatable data with low variability.


It is October 2009 and Barry Salzberg, CEO of Deloitte LLP, has just returned from the groundbreaking of Deloitte University. When completed, Deloitte University would be a world class learning and development center owned by, and for the exclusive use by the employees of, Deloitte. Deloitte spent a significant amount of time and money on the training and development of its employees. Historically, this training had taken place at hotels and conference centers, not affiliated with Deloitte. The idea for the construction of a special-purpose, Deloitte-owned learning facility had been championed by Salzberg. He believed Deloitte University would allow the firm to "instill our values in our people through learning and development" which he thought was critical to Deloitte's long-term success. Salzberg had won over the necessary majority of the partners, but not all of them supported the University concept. As he thought about the future of this new facility, how could he ensure it would be successful?Learning Objective:Understand challenges associated with leading and implementing major change in a large organization.


The objective was to test the hypothesis that dopamine regulates prolactin (PRL) secretion by determining acute changes in catecholamine concentrations in hypophyseal portal blood of cattle and their relation to peripheral blood concentration of PRL in hypophyseal stalk-transected (HST) and sham-operated control (SOC). Holstein heifers were subjected to neurosurgery to collect hypophyseal portal blood with a stainless steel cannula designed with a cuff placed under the pituitary stalk and peripheral blood via a jugular vein catheter. PRL plasma concentration was measured by radioimmunoassay, and dopamine and norepinephrine in portal plasma by radioenzymatic assay. During anesthesia before HST or SOC, PRL plasma concentration ranged from 20–40 ng/ml throughout 255 minutes. PRL abruptly increased and remained above 90 ng/ml after HST, compared with a steady decrease to <20 ng/ml in SOC heifers throughout 440 minutes. Within 5 minutes after severing of the hypophyseal stalk, dopamine in portal blood (>8 ng/ml) was significantly increased (P<0.05) compared with peripheral blood (<2 ng/ml). Norepinephrine concentration in portal blood was significantly greater (P<0.05) than in peripheral blood during the first 60 minutes. The sustained high PRL level in peripheral plasma after severing the hypophyseal stalk stimulated hypothalamic dopamine secretion from hypophyseal portal vessels during the prolonged period of blood collection. Norepinephrine concentration in these cattle was greater in hypophyseal portal blood than in peripheral blood, implicating both an important hypothalamic source of the catecholamine as well as an adrenal gland contribution during anesthesia.


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Purpose: To assess the prevalence and causes of avoidable blindness in Atsinanana Region, Madagascar, with the Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) survey. We analyzed the hospital records to supplement the findings for public health care planning. Materials and Methods: Only villages within a two-hour walk from a road, about half of the population of Atsinanana was included. Seventy-two villages were selected by population-proportional-to-size sampling. In each village, compact segment sampling was used to select 50 people over age 50 for eye examination using standard RAAB methods. Records at the two hospitals providing cataract surgery in the region were analyzed for information on patients who underwent cataract surgery in 2010. Cataract incidence rate and target cataract surgery rate (CSR) was modeled from age-specific prevalence of cataract. Results: The participation rate was 87% and the sample prevalence of blindness was 1.96%. Cataract was responsible for 64% and 85.7% of blindness and severe visual impairment, respectively. Visual impairment was due to cataract (69.4%) and refractive error (14.1%). There was a strong positive correlation between cataract surgical rate by district and the proportion of people living within 2 hours of a road. There were marked differences in the profiles of the cataract patients at the two facilities. The estimated incidence of cataract at the 6/18 level was 2.4 eyes per 100 people over age 50 per year. Conclusions: Although the survey included only people with reasonable access, the main cause of visual impairment was still cataract. The incidence of cataract is such that it ought to be possible to eliminate it as a cause of visual impairment, but changes in service delivery at hospitals and strategies to improve access will be necessary for this change.


Prevalence of symptomatic lumbar disc herniation is 1-3% in the adult population. When conservative therapy (e.g., physiotherapy, anti-inflammatories, epidural injections, etc.) fails, open microsurgical discectomy is regarded as the treatment of choice.With this procedure, the incidence of injury to visceral bowel is reported to be 3.8 per 10,000 cases. With the recent advent of tubular retractor systems, an increasing number of surgeons are using this minimally invasive procedure to replace traditional open microsurgical discectomy. The advantages include a smaller skin incision and a muscle splitting rather than muscle incising technique. As a result post-operative pain, blood loss and length of hospital stay may decrease significantly. Multiple studies have compared the two surgical techniques with regards to their clinical outcomes. The results of these studies reveal equal if not superior clinical outcomes with the minimally invasive technique. Despite the success of the minimally invasive microdiscectomy, none of the studies reported any intraoperative complications using this novel technique.


Symbiosis, as defined by Kisho Kurokawa, one of Japan's leading architects, is a new way of interpreting today's culture. A philosophy which takes its name from ecological and biological concepts, it puts forward ideals developed from traditional Japanese philosophy and culture, while continually acknowledging the presence of the multivalent, contemporary world. It is a philosophy of "both-and" rather than "either-or", a practice of mix-and-match rather than creation from scratch, an ethic of inclusion rather than exclusion. As such, it is thought to be one of the most essential statements of post-modern culture to date. Kurokawa feels that we will recognize each other's differing personalities while competing and will co-operate while we oppose and criticize each other.


During acoustic communication, animals must attend to sounds from a particular source while simultaneously rejecting intrusion from other sources. One possible candidate mechanism for this process is the noradrenergic system. Noradrenaline is a neuromodulator that tunes sensory processing systems and regulates attention. We examined whether pharmacological degradation of the noradrenergic system using N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-2-bromobenzyl-amine hydrochloride (DSP-4) modifies processing of species-typical auditory signals in female canaries (Serinus canaria). We measured auditory responses to conspecific and heterospecific songs using ZENK protein expression within the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM) and the mesopallium caudomedial (CMM). Song-induced ZENK expression in these auditory forebrain areas is typically higher in birds exposed to conspecific songs as opposed to heterospecific songs. Our results reveal that this differential ZENK induction is abolished specifically within dNCM and CMM in female canaries treated with DSP-4. Furthermore, in DSP-4-treated birds, conspecific song-induced ZENK expression is significantly reduced when compared to saline-treated birds. This suggests that the noradrenergic system modifies auditory processing by enhancing neuronal responses to signals relevant to survival and reproduction rather than inhibiting neuronal responses to signals that are less relevant. Overall, our results reveal that noradrenaline plays a significant neuromodulatory role during the reception of species-typical communication signals.


: There were examined 78 patients, to whom the lower extremity amputation on the hip level was performed. Complex examination, using the nuclear magnet resonance relaxation and arteriography, was performed. Introduction of method of the lower extremity amputation on the hip level, the apparatuses for the cutaneo-fascial flaps cutting out had permitted to reduce the purulent-septic complications frequency from 34.1 down to 7.8% and postoperative mortality--from 13.1 to 5.3%.


Data visualizations present a massive number of potential messages to an observer. One might notice that one group's average is larger than another's, or that a difference in values is smaller than a difference between two others, or any of a combinatorial explosion of other possibilities. The message that a viewer tends to notice - the message that a visualization 'affords' - is strongly affected by how values are arranged in a chart, e.g., how the values are colored or positioned. Although understanding the mapping between a chart's arrangement and what viewers tend to notice is critical for creating guidelines and recommendation systems, current empirical work is insufficient to lay out clear rules. We present a set of empirical evaluations of how different messages-including ranking, grouping, and part-to-whole relationships-are afforded by variations in ordering, partitioning, spacing, and coloring of values, within the ubiquitous case study of bar graphs. In doing so, we introduce a quantitative method that is easily scalable, reviewable, and replicable, laying groundwork for further investigation of the effects of arrangement on message affordances across other visualizations and tasks. Pre-registration and all supplemental materials are available at https://osf.io/np3q7 and https://osf.io/bvy95, respectively.


This study focused on a unique action research project called the Centre for Academic Achievement (CAA). This university based study involved planning, implementing, evaluating and improving an afterschool academic enrichment courses for promising learners from a socio-economic disadvantaged background. This qualitative study investigated whether this short-term educational intervention had any academic or social effects on the students attending courses at the CAA.

The research was framed within a participatory worldview with social constructivist elements. This philosophical stance led to the choice of action research being embraced for the study. This method was reinforced with critical theory, and it was hoped that this piece of action research would lead to some level of social change for the participants. Focus groups, interviews and surveys were the analytical tools used.

After two cycles of action research four main themes regarding the influence and effects of the study emerged:

-There are academic benefits for promising learners that attend enrichment programmes.
-An increase in self-esteem for disadvantaged students may be linked to attending enrichment programmes
-The importance of fostering links between school, university & socio-economic disadvantaged communities is recognised.
-The importance of using action research to improve programme development & also to help improve the lives of participants is suggested.

The researcher acknowledges that this study is on a very small scale but has shown that a degree of social change for the better has occurred during the research.


Deep-sea bivalves found at hydrothermal vents, cold seeps and organic falls are sustained by chemosynthetic bacteria that ensure part or all of their carbon nutrition. These symbioses are of prime importance for the functioning of the ecosystems. Similar symbioses occur in other bivalve species living in shallow and coastal reduced habitats worldwide. In recent years, several deep-sea species have been investigated from continental margins around Europe, West Africa, eastern Americas, the Gulf of Mexico, and from hydrothermal vents on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In parallel, numerous, more easily accessible shallow marine species have been studied. Herein we provide a summary of the current knowledge available on chemosymbiotic bivalves in the area ranging west-to-east from the Gulf of Mexico to the Sea of Marmara, and north-to-south from the Arctic to the Gulf of Guinea. Characteristics of symbioses in 53 species from the area are summarized for each of the five bivalve families documented to harbor chemosynthetic symbionts (Mytilidae, Vesicomyidae, Solemyidae, Thyasiridae and Lucinidae). Comparisons are made between the families, with special emphasis on ecology, life cycle, and connectivity. Chemosynthetic symbioses are a major adaptation to ecosystems and habitats exposed to reducing conditions. However, relatively little is known regarding their diversity and functioning, apart from a few "model species" on which effort has focused over the last 30 yr. In the context of increasing concern about biodiversity and ecosystems, and increasing anthropogenic pressure on oceans, we advocate a better assessment of the diversity of bivalve symbioses in order to evaluate the capacities of these remarkable ecological and evolutionary units to withstand environmental change.


The family of moire and fringe projection techniques can be used to measure the shape,
orientation and deformation of arbitrary objects. These experimental techniques are easy to
automate, allow remote operation, provide full-field information and are versatile, inexpensive
and relatively simple. They have been applied extensively in the past, but mostly in the
controlled environment of a laboratory.
There is great potential in the use of these techniques for a variety of industrial applications
including quality control and process monitoring. However, this implies dealing with the
adverse conditions of the factory, hangar or similar environment. In addition, these techniques
will only appeal to industry if they are fast, simple, and foolproof.
The main goal of this research was to exploit recent technological advances to fulfil the
requirements of industry, making these techniques easier to use and more robust, and explore
the potential offered by the combination and cross-fertilization of moire methods with
techniques from different fields such as experimental stress analysis, non-destructive evaluation,
and machine vision.
This research resulted in the development of a number of instruments and procedures for
industrial applications based in moire and fringe projection techniques, including:
• A handheld instrument based in the shadow moire technique designed to assist in the
detection of very small surface defects in aircraft parts, during in-service maintenance
inspections;
• A multi-purpose system to measure remotely (i) the shape and deformation of three dimensional
objects by means of the fringe projection technique, and (ii) the location of the
object by means of triangulation. The elements were integrated in a portable instrument, and
fully automated novel algorithms were implemented to process the data;
• Finally, a novel experimental technique is proposed that uses thermal marking to measure
deformation in a component, in a combination of concepts from moire and thermography.
Experimental results obtained in a range of situations are presented in several industrial
applications in the context of the aerospace industry and in bioengineering.


Present thesis explores the application of different data based modeling techniques in identification, product quality monitoring and fault detection of a process. Biodegradation of an organic pollutant phenol has been considered for the identification and fault detection purpose. A wine data set has been used for demonstrating the application of data based models in product quality monitoring. A comprehensive discussion was done on theoretical and mathematical background of different data based models, multivariate statistical models and statistical models used in the present thesis.The identification of phenol biodegradation was done by using Artificial Neural Networks (namely Multi Layer Percetprons) and Auto Regression models with eXogenious inputs (ARX)
considering the draw backs and complications associated with the first principle model. Both the models have shown a good efficiency in identifying the dynamics of the phenol biodegradation process. ANN has proved its worth over ARX models when trained with sufficient data with an efficiency of almost 99.99%. A Partial Least Squares (PLS) based model has been developed which can predict the process outcome at any level of the process variables (within the range
considered for the development of the model) at steady state. Three continuous process variables namely temperature, pH and RPM were monitored using statistical process monitoring. Both univariate and multivariate statistical process monitoring techniques were used for the fault detection purpose. X-bar charts along with Range charts were used for univariate SPM and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) has been used for multivariate SPM. The advantage of multivariate statistical process monitoring over univariate statistical process monitoring has been
demonstrated.


Mutual aid fellowships have been shown to improve outcomes for those with co-occurring substance use and mental illness disorders. Processes associated with usefulness include helper therapy (the assumption of a helping role to foster commitment) and reciprocal learning (the sharing of problems and solutions among members). The present qualitative investigation used focus groups comprised a subset of participants in Double Trouble in Recovery (DTR), a 12-step mutual aid group for those with co-occurring disorders, to gather their subjective perceptions of the groups. Participants emphasized that in linking them to others with similar problems, the DTR groups played a vital emotional role in their lives and provided a needed venue for information sharing that might have been otherwise unavailable.


Fly ash from municipal solid waste incineration ~MSWI! is considered as hazardous waste that calls for a robust, reliable, and reasonable treatment technique. This investigation aims to assess the impact of CO 2 partial pressure, water addition, time, and temperature on the stabilization of MSWI fly ash with particular emphasis on Pb, Zn, Cd, and Cr. Carbonation and element mobility were studied by applying thermal analysis and leaching assays on fly ash samples treated according to a 2 4 factorial design. The relationship between the factors and the response variables was evaluated using partial least squares modeling. Chemical equilibrium calculations were performed so as to complement the experimental findings. Decalcification of carbonated fly ash in a typical Swedish landfill was estimated at 0.13 mmiyr 21 Treatment through carbonation reduced the availability of Pb and Zn about 100 times and also the carbonate alkalinity of 7.4 eqi~kgiFS! 21 ~FS represents the fixed solids! was remedied successfully. However, shortcomings that need to be resolved are the


Objective—To examine the methods of appointment, experience, and qualifications of club doctors and physiotherapists in professional football. Methods—Semistructured tape recorded interviews with 12 club doctors, 10 club physiotherapists, and 27 current and former players. A questionnaire was also sent to 90 club doctors; 58 were returned. Results—In almost all clubs, methods of appointment of doctors are informal and reflect poor employment practice: posts are rarely advertised and many doctors are appointed on the basis of personal contacts and without interview. Few club doctors had prior experience or qualifications in sports medicine and very few have a written job description. The club doctor is often not consulted about the appointment of the physiotherapist; physiotherapists are usually appointed informally, often without interview, and often by the manager without involving anyone who is qualified in medicine or physiotherapy. Half of all clubs do not have a qualified (chartered) physiotherapist; such unqualified physiotherapists are in a weak position to resist threats to their clinical autonomy, particularly those arising from managers' attempts to influence clinical decisions. Conclusions—Almost all aspects of the appointment of club doctors and physiotherapists need careful re-examination.


This paper reviews the efficiency and cost implications of Area Travel Plans (ATP's) relative to site-specific Travel Plans (TP's) from the perspective of the network users and travel planners. It is seen that the implementation of ATP's may decrease the potential for development planning related traffic 'rebound'. Rebound itself is characterized by an increase in demand incurred by indirect price benefits - an obvious example being increased fuel efficiency in cars. The present example identifies how such effects can potentially manifest in the development planning process. In particular it is shown that a TP results in a reduced generalised cost of travel and so offers positive externalities to all members of the surrounding community - not just those whom the policies are intended to directly affect - and consequently leaves individuals facing a new cost structure for alternative modes of transport. As a result, rebound may occur through mode switching behaviour (ie from bus to car) and/or an increased number of trips. Investigation of the effects of implementing two alternative, though potentially complementary TDM interventions namely (i) 'soft factor' policies which are intended to instigate behavioural change and (ii) 'hard factor' policies which impose constraints on car use, are conducted using a graphical supply and demand analysis. This diagrammatic exposition coupled with some consideration of the socio-psychological benefits provides a compelling argument for further application of ATP's by the planning community.


Although nanomedicines have been pursued for nearly 20 years, fundamental chemical strategies that seek to optimize both the drug and drug carrier together in a concerted effort remain uncommon yet may be powerful. In this work, two block polymers and one dimeric prodrug molecule were designed to be coassembled into degradable, functional nanocarriers, where the chemistry of each component was defined to accomplish important tasks. The result is a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-protected redox-responsive dimeric paclitaxel (diPTX)-loaded cationic poly(d-glucose carbonate) micelle (diPTX@CPGC). These nanostructures showed tunable sizes and surface charges and displayed controlled PTX drug release profiles in the presence of reducing agents, such as glutathione (GSH) and dithiothreitol (DTT), thereby resulting in significant selectivity for killing cancer cells over healthy cells. Compared to free PTX and diPTX, diPTX@CPGC exhibited improved tumor penetration and significant inhibition of tumor cell growth toward osteosarcoma (OS) lung metastases with minimal side effects both in vitro and in vivo, indicating the promise of diPTX@CPGC as optimized anticancer therapeutic agents for treatment of OS lung metastases.