Scleractinian coral, Acropora millepora is a hermaphroditic species which develops both male and female gonads in each polyp at the same time. Corals are diploblastic metazoa and have a simple body structure without well-defined organs. They lack typical reproductive system. Instead, eggs and sperms form independent clusters in the mesoglea of mesenteries.

Little has been known for the molecular mechanisms of sexdetermination in coral. Recently, a homolog of doublesex (AmDM1) was cloned for Acropora millepora. doublesex was identified as the somatic sex-determinant of Drosophila melanogaster and has been shown to be well conserved throughout the metazoan evolution. The gene product, Dsx, is a transcription factor containing the DM domain, a highly conserved DNA-binding domain. Thus it was speculated that AmDM1 took part in the sex-determination cascade by controlling the transcription of genes which regulated the female and/or male gonad formation.

In order to study the involvement of AmDM1 in the gonad development, I tried to isolate the candidates for the downstream genes of AmDM1 by applying the yeast one-hybrid screening system. This selection system enabled me to isolate the genomic DNA fragments including the potential binding elements for the DM domain. 5 clones were finally isolated by this screening. 4 of them contain the repeat sequences which are specific to genus Acropora. The interaction of these sequences and the DM domain of AmDM1 was demonstrated by the electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA).

A genomic clone was isolated by using the fifth clone for the hybridization probe and identified as a coral homolog of T-type amino acid transporters 1 (TAT1) which was supposed to mediated the membrane transport of aromatic amino acids. Therefore this gene was named AmTAT1. The nucleotide sequence of the genomic clone indicated that the DNA fragment isolated by one-hybrid screening was located in the second intron of AmTAT1. According to the deduced amino acid sequence, AmTAT1 was predicted to have common features of membrane transporters with 12 transmembrane domains.

The responsive sequence to DM domain in the second intron of AmTAT1 was identified by EMSA. Comparison of this sequence with that in the repeat sequence revealed that the recognition motif was AATGT(GT)/(TG)C. The mutant study showed the AATGT pentanucleotide stretch was essential to the interaction with the DM domain. Moreover alignment of DM recognition elements of various species indicates that this stretch is absolutely conserved throughout evolution.

The regulatory function of AmDM1 on the DM recognition motif was investigated by CAT assay with Hep-2 cell line. In this system, AmDM1 acted on the recognition motif in an inhibitory manner. The transcriptional inhibition by AmDM1 was insensitive to the orientation of the responsive element. Therefore I concluded that the DM responsive element in the second intron of AmTAT1 was the cisacting on the gene expression of this gene. This observation is consistent with the result of expression analysis on AmTAT1. In adult branch tips of Acropora millepora, the expression of AmDM1 was reported to be detected in October, the season of sexual maturation. On the contrary, the expression of AmTAT1 is down-regulated in October but is detectable before and after October.

Although the biological significance of the inhibition of AmTAT1 expression in the process of sex-determination is yet to be known, it may lead to the sexual maturation of coral polyps by blocking the influx of specific amino acids or derivatives.

vitellogenin gene expression is controlled by Doublesex homologs in Caenorhabditis elegans and Bombyx mori. I isolated cDNA and genomic DNA of coral vitellogenin (AmVit). The genomic DNA was partially sequenced. However, no potential AmDM1 binding site was found in the upstream regulatory region and introns.

nanos plays crucial roles in abdominal formation and proper germline differentiation in Drosophila. Lower animals including sponges and cnidarians also have nanos homologs. To know the roles of nanos genes in the germline speciation in coral, I isolated cDNAs and genomic DNAs of nanos homologs of Acropora millepora and Nematostella vectensis. Cnidarians have two nanos homologs, cnnos1 and cnnos2. All Nanos proteins have the highly conserved Zinc finger domains. The phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that two cnnos genes segregated before the cnidarian radiation.

The sequence of 5'-flanking regions of these cnnos genes were subjected to the prediction of potential transcription factor binding sites. Their features turned out to be quite different. This finding is in agreement with their expression pattern: the expression of Cnnos1(Am) was only observed in the early embryonal stage and no expression was detected in the adult coral tips and Cnnos2(Am) expression was detected in all stages of development (eggs, prawnchip and pre-settlement) and all samples for the adult colony (September, October and December).

Although the difference in functions between cnnos1(Am) and cnnos2(Am) is suggested by these data, the roles of cnnos genes in the germline speciation is still unknown.


Federal Section 1915(b) and Section 1115 waivers, through the Health Care Financing Administration, are the primary modes for implementing Medicaid-managed mental health and chemical dependency services. This paper focuses on three distinct case studies of managed mental health programs in Tennessee, Massachusetts, and Hawaii. The purpose is to determine, among other design factors (such as carve-in, carve-out, and covered services) the specific roles that differences in the financing structure play in the relative success of these programs. Findings from the three distinct models should provide lessons for the impending mental health programs of other states, including those in the varying stages of implementation.


KEY TAKEWAYS
Eggs can be part of a healthy diet. Epidemiologic evidence and clinical trials have found no links between egg intake and increased risk for heart disease. Eggs are a good source of high-quality protein. Eggs, in addition to numerous vitamins and minerals, contain compounds including choline, lutein, and zeaxanthin with functions that go beyond nutrition as they protect against chronic disease.


We analyse three models to determine the conditions under which reserve requirements are used as a part of an optimal monetary policy framework in an inflation targeting regime. In all cases the Central Bank (CB) minimizes an objective function that depends on deviations of inflation from its target, the output gap and deviations of reserve requirements from its optimal long term level. In a closed economy model we find that optimal monetary policy implies setting reserve requirements at their long term level, while adjusting the policy interest rate to face macroeconomic shocks. Reserve requirements are included in an optimal monetary policy response in an open economy model with the same CB objective function and in a closed economy model in which the CB objective function includes financial stability. The relevance, magnitude and direction of the movements of reserve requirements depend on the parameters of the economy and the shocks that affect it.


This paper reports preliminary work into the exploitation of argumentation schemes within dialogue games. We identify a property of dialogue games that we call "scheme awareness" that captures the relationship between dialogue game systems and argumentation schemes. Scheme awareness is used to examine the ways in which existing dialogue games utilise argumentation schemes and consequently the degree with which a dialogue game can be used to construct argument structures. The aim is to develop a set of guidelines for dialogue game design, which feed into a set of Dialogue Game Description Language (DGDL) extensions in turn enabling dialogue games to better exploit argumentation schemes.


Deviated well sections are common in modern well construction. In mature areas like the North Sea region, practically all producers or injector wells will have highly deviated sections. These wells must be drilled and completed in an optimal manner with respect to drill time, cost, risk and functionality. Most cuttings transport and hydraulic models are developed based on tests with model fluids and often in small diameter test sections. Hole cleaning properties and hydraulic behaviour of field fluids differ from those of most model fluids. Furthermore, results from small diameter tests may not always be relevant for, nor scalable to, field applications due to time, length and other scale differences. Hence, there is a need for studies in controlled laboratory environments with various field application designed drilling fluids to improve engineering models and practices.
 This paper presents results from laboratory tests using field applied fluids. The drilling fluids have similar density and viscosity within the relevant shear rate range applied during drilling operations and in the tests. One of the fluids is oil-based and the other one is an inhibitive water-based drilling fluid.


In this paper we give a comprehensive introduction to the mathematical definitions and ideas used to analyze origami. An origami is defined as a two-dimensional plane projected into three dimensions by rotation about a set of creases. We represent this rotation using matrices, and discuss the implied restrictions on the movement of origami structures. Flat foldability conditions such as Kawasaki's theorem determine whether local crease patterns can be folded at, and rigid foldability conditions determine their range of motion. We extend one existing at foldability theorem to include a broader class of structures. Origami has inspired designs for many engineering applications, such as efficient storage and impact damping. Metallic origami structures are useful for impact damping because they absorb energy by metallic deformation and can return to their original shapes. We create a design sketch for earthquake damping using origami, and outline how one might use the mathematical principles discussed in this paper to find an optimal design for this application. Document Type Capstone Project Degree Name Bachelor of Science Department Mathematics First Advisor Christine Guenther Subject Categories Physical Sciences and Mathematics


Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 45, 2004

3002

Objective: Malignant astrocytomas are deadly, treatment-resistant brain tumors. Our goal is to identify new treatment targets in malignant astrocytomas. Previous therapies, developed using normoxic conditions, have not worked well. Astrocytic potential for gluconeogenic removal of lactate may help to counteract metabolic stress during treatment. We propose that astrocytic metabolism requires brain tumor therapy to target cellular adaptations to hypoxia, as well as normoxic functions. Phosphorylations and dephosphorylations of key proteins, including phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) pathway components, are proposed to trigger rapid, critical responses to hypoxia. Mutated phosphatase and tensin homolog, PTEN , commonly seen in malignant astrocytomas, allows anomalous activation of the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3 pathway, leading to activated glycogen synthase, thus providing additional removal of lactate as glycogen in poorly-perfused, invading tumor cells. Methods: Quantifying cellular adjustments to hypoxia, within 5 hrs of exposure, provided detection of the rapid adaptations that bypass the need for transcription factor-mediated alterations of protein levels. Quantifying 5 hr migration assays of U87 astrocytoma cells (mutated PTEN ) under hypoxic conditions, following restoration of PTEN- wild type (WT) with transient adenoviral transfections, revealed PTEN's contribution to control of hypoxic cell migration via its negative regulation of the pathway. Peptide competition studies of GSK-3alpha's phosphorylation by Akt indicated whether inhibitory drugs can be developed to shut down downstream signaling leading to glycogen synthesis in PTEN -mutated astrocytomas. Results: Previously, wortmannin (3.0 –30.0 nM), a specific PI3K inhibitor, suppressed hypoxic U87 migration with a dose response. Restoration of PTEN -WT in U87 cells, followed by functional assays showed significantly decreased, 50.4% (95% CI = 35.0 to 65.8%), migration in hypoxia compared to normoxia, when control vector hypoxic migration was maintained at levels comparable to normoxic migration (p=0.3, two-tailed, paired samples, 4 assays). Previously, whole cell and pseudopodal lysates showed that GSK-3alpha was phosphorylated at peak levels in the pseudopodal leading edge. Preliminary competition studies showed that a peptide containing an 11 residue sequence of the GSK-3alpha phosphorylation site inhibited phosphorylation by cell derived Akt with a dose response at 250 to 1000-fold greater amounts than substrate. Conclusion: Anomalous PI3K/Akt/GSK-3alpha pathway activity in PTEN -mutated astrocytoma cells offers novel targets for future drug therapies to suppress hypoxic migration required for invasion. We thank The Nick Eric Wichman Foundation for encouragement and financial support.


Adult social care services are increasingly establishing reablement services as part of their range of home care provision, sometimes alone, sometimes jointly with NHS partners. Typically, home care reablement is a short‐term intervention, often free of charge, that aims to maximise independent living skills. This paper describes two small studies examining the impact of home care reablement on subsequent service use. The evidence so far strongly suggests that a period of home care reablement can reduce the subsequent use of home care services and that, for some people, these benefits may last for a year or more. However, a number of organisational and cultural factors can limit the immediate and longer‐term benefits of home care reablement.


The cells of Necturus gallbladder epithelium are electrically coupled. This work used intracellular injection of the fluorescent dye Lucifer yellow to demonstrate that these cells are also dye coupled and that this coupling is rapidly and reversibly inhibited by high concentrations of carbon dioxide. Dye coupling is also inhibited by the calcium ionophore A23187.


The D.C. Circuit's January 2014 decision in Verizon v. FCC represented a major milestone in the debate over network neutrality that has dominated communications policy for the past decade. This article analyzes the implications of the D.C. Circuit's ruling, beginning with a critique of the court's ruling that section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 gave the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the authority to mandate some form of network neutrality. Examination of the statute's text, application of canons of construction such as ejusdem generis and noscitur a sociis, and a perusal of the statute's legislative history all raise questions about the propriety of the court's conclusion. Moreover, the precedents on ancillary jurisdiction and common carriage impose limits to the FCC's section 706 jurisdiction, preventing the FCC from regulating content before or after it is in transit and likely barring the FCC from imposing a strict nondiscrimination mandate. A revised rule based on commercial reasonableness as initially proposed by the FCC could accomplish many of the goals of network neutrality without running afoul of these prohibitions.Reclassification of broadband Internet access to bring it within the regulatory regime governing traditional telephone service (known as Title II) faces substantial statutory obstacles, would not prevent prioritization of services, and ignores the longstanding problems associated with common carriage regulation and forbearance. The legislative history of section 706 also suggests that the FCC has the authority to preempt the concurrent jurisdiction accorded to state regulatory authorities. Moreover, calls to extend network neutrality to interconnection between networks overlooks the fact that such arrangements are not universal and instead are based on some type of reciprocity and that requiring zero-price interconnection would ignore the important role played by prices and by bilateral negotiations. The article closes by examining five early examples of network neutrality disputes: MetroPCS/YouTube, AT&T/Apple FaceTime, Verizon/Google tethering apps, Verizon/Google Wallet, and the Amazon Kindle/zero-rating programs. These cases demonstrate the difficulties surrounding the implementation of network neutrality rules.


We introduce an experimentally accessible network representation for many-body quantum states based on entanglement between all pairs of its constituents. We illustrate the power of this representation by applying it to a paradigmatic spin chain model, the XX model, and showing that it brings to light new phenomena. The analysis of these entanglement networks reveals that the gradual establishment of quasi-long range order is accompanied by a symmetry regarding single-spin concurrence distributions, as well as by instabilities in the network topology. Moreover, we identify the existence of emergent entanglement structures, spatially localized communities enforced by the global symmetry of the system that can be revealed by model-agnostic community detection algorithms. The network representation further unveils the existence of structural classes and a cyclic self-similarity in the state, which we conjecture to be intimately linked to the community structure. Our results demonstrate that the use of tools and concepts from complex network theory enables the discovery, understanding and description of new physical phenomena even in models studied for decades. This article is part of the theme issue 'Emergent phenomena in complex physical and socio-technical systems: from cells to societies'.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the epidemiological profile of tuberculosis cases reported among health care workers in the Tuberculosis Control Program of the Cassiano Antonio of Moraes University Hospital in Vitoria, Brazil.

METHODS
A retrospective descriptive study of secondary data was conducted between 2002 and 2006.

RESULTS
Twenty-five cases of health care workers with tuberculosis were reported: 8 in nursing technicians (32%); 4 in doctors (16%); 3 in nurses (12%); 2 in radiology technicians (8%) and 8 in professionals from other categories (32%). Of those 25 health care workers, 14 (56%) were male and 11 (44%) were female. The incidence of the disease was highest among those from 35 to 39 years of age. The predominant clinical presentation was extrapulmonary (12 cases, 48%), followed by pulmonary (11 cases, 44%) and a combination of the two (2 cases, 8%). Regarding comorbidities, AIDS, alcoholism and smoking, respectively, were present in 33.3% of the study population. Outcomes were as follows: 22 cases of cure (88%); 2 transfers (8%); and 1 death (4%). The proportion of health care workers diagnosed with tuberculosis in the period studied was 2.53%.

CONCLUSIONS
The results show the need for heath care workers who work in the tuberculosis control program to fill out the field "professional occupation" on the tuberculosis case registry database reporting forms. In addition, this situation draws attention to the need to implement an occupational tuberculosis control program.


Background Drug shortages are currently on the rise. In-depth investigation of the problem of drug shortages is necessary; however, a variety of definitions for 'drug shortages' are adopted by different organisations, e.g. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the American Society of Hospital Pharmacies (ASHP). For international comparison, it is important to clearly denote which definition is used by the national authorities or by (inter)national organisations. Purpose To identify and compare different definitions and analyse the overlap and missing info in each definition. Material and methods A literature review was performed searching the scientific databases MEDLINE and Embase for definitions of drug shortages. Grey literature, such as websites and documents of (inter)national drug agencies, was also incorporated. Results More than 15 different definitions for drug shortages were identified. Articles in the scientific literature often refer to existing definitions. Only a few articles describe their own definition. After comparison of the definitions some overlap was observed. Sometimes drug shortages are defined as situations in which a drug is undeliverable for a certain period; this period ranges from one day to 20 days. However, delaying treatment of infectious diseases for 20 days will have a serious effect on patients. Other definitions only consider those drugs used for the treatment of serious diseases or drugs for which no alternative is available; this underestimates the size of the problem. Conclusion The ultimate goal is to formulate a general European definition for reporting drug shortages, which is essential for international comparison. Indicating a time limit in the definition is an essential element for the comparison of nationally reported drug shortages. This time limit might be even one day if the patient's health warrants it. A definition of drug shortages covering all types of drugs is crucial to acknowledge the size of the problem. References and/or acknowledgements No conflict of interest.


Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is characterized by a differentiation block resulting in accumulation of immature myeloid cells. Differentiation therapy, e.g. with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) has become a part of standard treatment for the acute promyelocytic leukemia variant of AML. Other agents like cytokines and HDAC inhibitors were shown to enhance differentiation of AML cells, which results in apoptosis induction or re-sensitization to ATRA. However, a differentiation therapy resulting in the restoration of antigen presenting function of AML cells would be a more desirable asset, since such cells will be able to induce or enhance immune response against residual malignant AML cells. Here, we analyzed the impact of 4SC-202 alone and in combination with different cytokines on differentiation of AML cell lines THP-1, HL-60 and MOLM-13 (AML-M4, -M2, and -M5 class, respectively). Myeloid lineage markers CD11b, CD86, CD14 and HLA-DR were analyzed by flow cytometry and quantitative PCR. Cytokine production was measured using Luminex multiplex system. Furthermore, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) was performed to assess the direct impact of 4SC-202 on promoter histone acetylation of differentiation genes. 4SC-202 is an orally available clinical stage epigenetic small molecule inhibitor which specifically targets histone deacetylases HDAC class I isoenzymes 1-3 as well as the lysine-specific demethylase LSD1 (KDM1A). 4SC-202 treatment of AML cell lines resulted in a dose-dependent increase of myeloid differentiation genes CD86 and ITGAM (=CD11b) on mRNA and protein level. On the chromatin level, 4SC-202 correspondently induced an upregulation of chromatin activation marks like acetylation of histone H3 lysine 9 and 27 (H3K9ac, H3K27ac) at the promoters of these genes. Interestingly, reference compounds like ATRA, bexarotene, GM-CSF and TNF-α were not as efficacious as 4SC-202 in the induction of differentiation markers in AML cells, whereas IFN-γ strongly induced MHC class II molecules HLA-DR and myeloid lineage marker CD14. Finally, the combination of 4SC-202 and IFN-γ resulted in a strong and complementary induction of differentiation and APC markers CD11b, CD14, CD86 and HLA-DR resulting in a CD86high/HLA-DRhigh phenotype which was able to produce pro-inflammatory cytokines. In summary, we demonstrate that 4SC-202 induces differentiation of AML cells of different subtypes and thus provide promising preclinical data for applying this novel epigenetic modulator for differentiation therapy of AML. Moreover, the mature APC phenotype induced by the combination of 4SC-202 and IFN-γ may further suggest an application in consolidation treatment of AML to enhance or even elicit a tumor-specific T-cell response against residual malignant AML cells preventing AML recurrence. Citation Format: Anne Catherine Bretz, Ulrike Parnitzke, Kerstin Kronthaler, Svetlana Hamm. Combination of 4SC-202 and IFN-γ restores mature APC phenotype in AML cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3088. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-3088


In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. The Section on Suicidology and Suicide Prevention of the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) wants to raise awareness about the potential increase in mental health disorders and suicides as a result of the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and of the necessary restrictive measures adopted worldwide to contain its spread. Even if fear, worries and symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress can be considered a natural response to this global crisis, some individuals are overexposed to its potential negative effects, such as healthcare workers, COVID-19 and psychiatric patients, prisoners, members of the LGBTQ+ community, migrants (including migrant workers), ethnic minorities and asylum seekers and internally displaced populations. Nevertheless, social support, resilience, a supportive work environment and other protective factors may buffer the impact of this crisis on mental health. These unprecedented times are calling for unprecedented efforts. Evidence-based and coordinated actions to prevent the risk of increased mental health disorders and suicide are needed. However, most of the data about COVID-19 impact on mental health comes from online surveys using non-probability and convenience sample in which females are often over-represented. For this reason the quality of future research should be also improved.


Professor Seamus Heaney delivered his inaugural lecture on 24th October, 1989. The poet whom Professor Heaney chose to celebrate in his inaugural lecture was George Herbert. He described him as not just the epitome of English poetic virtue but the embodiment of certain qualities of phlegm, tolerance and equanimity which are usually ascribed to the English themselves. Professor Heaney argues that poetry's present use is neither political nor futile. It offers instead a redress to our discontents and failures, not by lending rhetorical aid to particular causes, but by a symbolic resolution of insoluble problems.


This paper is an exploration of diskless checkpointing for distributed scientific computations. With the widespread use of the "Network Of Workstation" (NOW) platform for distributed computing, longrunning scientific computations need to tolerate the changing and often faulty nature of NOW environments. We present high-performance implementations of several algorithms for distributed scientific computing, including Cholesky factorization, L U factorization, QR factorization, and Preconditioned Conjugate Gradient. These implementations are able to run on PVM networks of at least N processors, and can complete with low overhead as long as any N processors remain functional. We discuss the details of how the algorithms are tuned for fault-tolemnce, and present the performance results on a PVM network of SUN Workstations, and on the IBM SPd


A chemical treatment for preparing high purity selectively oxidised SWNTs while preserving optical/electronic properties of the material has been developed. Efficient removal of both metal and carbonaceous impurities has been demonstrated by AFM, TEM, Raman and absorption spectroscopy, while XPS confirmed quantitative conversion of oxidised defects to functionalisable carboxylic acid groups. Furthermore persistence of the characteristic optical properties was confirmed using absorption and NIR photoluminescence spectroscopy, thus indicating preservation of the electronic structure. This chemical treatment thus paves the way for the preparation of high purity, covalently functionalised SWNTs enhancing their potential for use in high-performance optical/electronic applications. A comparison with commonly used purification protocols that utilize nitric acid and sodium hydroxide followed by piranha solution treatments or simple solvent washing is made, highlighting the advantages of the reported method for the production of SWNT starting materials ideal for efficient chemical modifications.


In regions with high intermittent renewable energy share, thermal plants are forced to operate with greater flexibility beyond their original design intent. Decreasing energy prices and capacity factors will further force these plants to more transient operation with steeper load gradients. Older steam turbine (ST) protections systems on site are often not designed for such flexible operation and do not properly supervise the resulting impact on lifetime consumption. Therefore, precise lifetime management concepts are required to increase plant reliability and flexibility, and to mitigate risks for new implemented operation modes. Several lifetime assessment methods were developed to quantify the damage evolution and the residual lifetime for ST components. Usually, these methods require both input about representative or operated loading profiles and characteristic material curves. These characteristic curves are determined by a number of standardized material tests. Due to the material scatter and other different sources of uncertainties, each test is a realization of a stochastic process. Hence, the corresponding characteristic material curves inherit these uncertainties and do not represent an absolute limit. The analyses of different loading profiles even for the same plant and same start-up class reveal that the consideration of statistically evaluated specific start-up distributions and further transient events are of major importance. Probabilistic methods are able to quantify all of these uncertainties and compute the probability of failure for a given lifetime or vice versa. Within this paper, at first an extensive and systematic operational profile analysis is carried out and discussed, which acts as an input for a probabilistic lifetime assessment approach. For that, a developed probabilistic workflow is presented to quantify the uncertainties and for lifetime prediction using the generalized damage accumulation rule with focus on creep-fatigue loading. To quantify the characteristic material curves, existing experimental data of a 2%-Cr forged steel (23CrMoNiWV8-8) is used. A probabilistic representation of the Wilshire–Scharning equation characterizes the creep rupture behavior. The maximum-likelihood method is used for parameter estimation and to take still running long term creep experiments into account. The end of life in low cycle fatigue experiments is characterized by a macroscopic crack initiation, and the Manson–Coffin–Basquin equation is utilized to represent the characteristic material curve. A temperature-modified version of the Manson–Coffin–Basquin equation is used to represent the experimental data. The parameter estimation is done by using the linear regression analysis followed by a comprehensive regression diagnostic. Taking both the material and the load scatter into account, a reliability analysis is carried out to compute the probability of crack initiation. Finally, different load cases are considered and evaluated against each other.


The interannual changes in leaf formation and vertical growth rates and their correlation to the records available of environmental change (rainfall, mean sea level, water temperature, and transparency) were examined in 15 Posidonia oceanica meadows growing along the Spanish Mediterranean coast between 1967 and 1992. P. oceanica leaf production fluctuated interannually, but it did not exhibit any steady trend toward decline, indicative of nonhuman effects on changes in water quality in these areas. Conversely, the steady decline in vertical rhizome growth rate of P. oceanica observed in two sites suggests that shoreline erosion there could derive from human activities. In all meadows examined, interannual variability in vertical rhizome growth of P. oceanica showed clear oscillating trends, suggesting alternating episodes of sediment erosion and accretion every 7 yr and at least every 25 yr. Mean sea level and surface water temperature have been increasing for the last two decades, but water transparency has been declining. However, overall trends only accounted for 24–37% of the long‐term climatic variance. Rainfall interannual changes were dominated by time scales of 8 and 28 yr, whereas water transparency, temperature, and sea level showed dominant time scales in the oscillations of 4 and 15 yr, 6 and 20 yr, and 11 and 27 yr, respectively. In addition, 33% of P. oceanica vertical growth variability in the southern Spanish Mediterranean coast derived from variability in rainfall, suggesting a rise of erosive coastal conditions during rainy years. The similarity in the interannual changes of seagrass growth over a wide spatial scale (1,000 km), together with the significant coupling between seagrass growth and climate variability, points out climate change, and not widespread deterioration derived from anthropogenic pressure, as the main source of the observed changes in the Mediterranean littoral zone.


During the past decade innovative research results in a better understanding of the physiology of erection and the pathophysiology of impotence. The smooth muscle of the cavernous bodies of the penis plays a major role in regulating the hemodynamics of erection. Pharmacologically induced artificial erection brought a new era in the diagnosis and treatment of impotence. Combining these injection techniques with Duplex-ultrasound a more functional and objective evaluation of the penile vasculature is possible. Based on this "one step" diagnostic work-up an improved and widened spectrum of therapeutic modalities can be offered to the patient.


This paper describes and discusses learning in repeated acquisitions of innovative firms. Researchers have pointed to how companies may improve performance through conducting repeated acquisitions, while they have not previously focused on repeated acquisitions of innovative firms. Findings of this present study are summarised in five learnings: forming a professional organisation that deals with acquisitions; acquiring present, ready-for-market innovations rather than innovative capabilities; acquiring complementary rather than diverse innovations; keeping the innovator and disbanding from him/her; and the slow process of integration. The findings indicate risk reductions and decreased diversification foci in later acquisitions. They also pinpoint learning on how to handle acquisitions, not just knowledge related to the acquired party. The paper contributes to research on acquisitions of innovative firms through discussing performance improvements and what expectations to place on acquisitions. It also contributes to the learning literature through providing a case illustration on a company that changed its acquisition strategy based on knowledge accumulated through previous acquisitions.


Across the nation, fire departments are adopting the 48/96 work schedule, in which firefighters work 48 consecutive hours with the following 96 hours off. Our study objective was to explain and quantify the impact of switching from the Kelly schedule to the 48/96 schedule by measuring changes in sleep, feelings of daytime function, as well as perceptions of professional and personal well-being for American firefighters. Sleep diaries and self-reported surveys were administered to firefighters at an urban fire department. Sleep diaries measuring the number of hours slept and feelings of refreshment were compared one month before and four months after implementation of the 48/96 schedule. The self-reported surveys measured sleepiness levels via the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Secondary study objectives included changes in professional and personal well-being time for personal schedules, satisfaction, and health habits before and after the 48/96 schedule was implemented. The 59 firefighters included in the study reported an increase in sleep on-shift after the new schedule implementation (5.8 to 6.6 hours/night, p < 0.001). Participants also reported increased feelings of refreshment on days off (p < 0.001) and decreased daytime sleepiness (p < 0.001). We also found a general trend of improved perceptions of satisfaction, less shift interference with personal schedules and decreased feelings of burnout. American firefighters appeared to benefit from a 48/96 schedule, with short-term SIGNA VITAE 2015; 10(1): 25 37


Abstract The local scour around bridge piers influences their stabilities and plays a key role in the bridge failures. The estimation of the maximum possible scour depth around bridge piers is an important step in the design of the bridge pier foundations. In this study, the temporal evolution of local scour depths as well as the equilibrium scour depths were analyzed. The experiments were carried out in a rectangular flume by using uniform sediment with median diameter of 3.5 mm and geometric standard deviation of 1.4. The diameters of the tested circular bridge piers were 40 mm, 80 mm, 150 mm and 200 mm. The flow and scour depths were determined by ultrasonic sensors. The experiments were realized in clear water conditions with various constant flow rates. The experimental findings were compared with those calculated from some empirical equations existing in the literature. A new empirical relation involving the flow intensity, the relative water depth and the dimensionless time is also introduced. The advantage of this proposed relation is that the only parameter requiring the calculation is the critical velocity, other parameters being known geometric and hydraulic parameters. The performance of this relation was tested by using experimental data available in the literature, and a satisfactory compatibility was revealed between the experimental and numerical results.


The analysis for rigid plastic forming problems with finite element method can lose considerable accuracy due to severely distortional meshes. By measuring the mesh equality of elements, a coupling algorithm for rigid plastic problems have been proposed based on the interface element method, which converts the FE analysis into the EFG computation to preserve the accuracy in the region where meshes have been severely distorted. Numerical example shows that the present algorithms exploit the respective advantages of both the FE method whose computational efficiency is high and the EFG method which can throws out mesh distortions and be suitable for rigid plastic forming analysis.


In 2014, groundwater samples from residential and public supply wells in the vicinity of two former U.S. Navy bases at Willow Grove and Warminster, and an active Air National Guard Station at Horsham, Bucks and Montgomery Counties, Pennsylvania, were found to have concentrations of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), which are perand polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), above U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provisional health advisory (HA) levels for drinking water. Five supply wells near the bases were shut down because of PFAS contamination. In 2016, after EPA established a Lifetime HA for PFAS in drinking water that is lower than the provisional HA in place in 2014, at least 13 additional supply wells near the bases were shut down because of PFAS contamination. At the request of the U.S. Navy, and in consultation with other Federal and State agencies and local stakeholders, the U.S. Geological Survey used historical and recent data on well withdrawals, recharge rates, aquifer properties, groundwater levels, and stream base flow to evaluate regional groundwater-flow paths from identified areas of PFAS groundwater contamination or potential PFAS sources at the bases. Groundwater withdrawals near the bases from public supply and other large wells decreased substantially from the 1990s to 2017, increasing the proportion of groundwater recharge that discharged to local streams. A preliminary groundwater-flow model, calibrated using 1,009 groundwater levels and 17 stream base flow estimates, simulated regional flow paths from the bases and showed that recharge at the bases discharged to withdrawal wells and local streams, generally within a mile or two of the bases. Supply and remediation wells at the bases captured some of the recharge on base areas of possible PFAS contamination, whereas other base recharge was simulated to flow to nearby public supply wells and streams, depending on water use and aquifer recharge conditions between 1999 and 2017. The locations of many residential wells near the bases that were identified by the Navy and Air National Guard as having elevated PFAS concentrations were generally consistent with the simulated flow paths from possible sources at the bases. However, there are some areas of observed PFAS contamination where no flow paths from base sources were simulated. Additionally, no data were available on PFAS concentrations in groundwater in some areas of simulated flow paths from base sources. Data and models used for this study are provided in this report and in digital data releases to support further investigations and model revisions.


The medical profession has been waiting for a decade to be invigorated by the sequencing of the human genome, arguably the greatest scientific project ever. The technology has been spectacular but the results of the project have yielded more unexpected results than definitive answers - many about the very nature of our human genome and our microbiome. While a few direct benefits have become apparent, the anticipated torrent of clinical applications has not yet materialised. The vast numbers of naturally occurring mutations (or polymorphisms) has surprised scientists and sifting through the variations to pinpoint meaningful and irrelevant aberrations is a daunting task. Understanding the association of sequence abnormalities, both single and multiple, with pathology will allow the prediction of the risk of developing a disorder but it is already clear that risk and manifestation are not easily calculated. The presence of a mutation does not mean a resulting condition will inevitably appear. The interpretation of sequencing is still in its infancy, as are the rules, guidelines and recommendations regarding what information about a genome is released, to whom and what a genomic sequencing laboratory's present and future obligations are. Genome sequencing is a new science, much younger than assisted reproduction, and developments in the clinical, moral, ethical, legal and commercial aspects of gene sequencing have to be addressed by doctors. It is our obligation to join that debate.


Among all the Catholic missionaries sent to Asia, The Capuchins played an important role in the Indian subcontinent. Settled in the Kathmandu Valley in the eighteenth century, some of them (the prefetti) took charge of guiding the Catholic mission and striving proselytism in Nepal and Tibet. Father Anselmo da Ragusa (Ragusa 1716-1776), despite having been "perfect" for eleven years, has left meagre notice of his missionary activities. We know that after reaching India in 1750 And being posted in Kathmandu, he was assigned to the "Tibetan Mission", of which he became the seventh responsible in 1758. After eleven years, in 1769, he was relieved from his office because of his bad health, and allowed to go back to Italy.
This article deals with six unpublished letters of Father Anselmo written between 1754 and 1766: one belongs to a private archive; two are kept in the central archive of the Capuchin branch of the Franciscan order in Rome, and three in the Sacrum Collegium de Propaganda Fide, also in Rome.
The analysis of these letters makes us hear the echo of several events of contemporary Indo-Nepalese history through some enlightening details. The letter dated 1754 witnesses the arrival in Kathmundu from through the Kingdom of Ladakh of Buddhist statue followed by a set of eleven images (nine gods and two goddesses). The scandalised reaction of the father Anselmo would have brought to the impalement of three Buddhist leaders. Not considering the propaganda and the biased viewpoint of the witness, we can appreciate from the reported event the political strategy, of an alliance between Nepal, Kashmir and Ladakh promoted by the Tibetan Kingdom mainly through the monk Ka't'og Rig `dzin, an indefatigable traveller and promoter of the Buddhist religion in these countries (in 1751 he had gone again to Nepal to carry out repairs in the Tibetan at the Nepalese court following the abdication of Jaya Prakash Malla in 1754, as well as on the revenge of the king against the rebelled nobleman headed by Taudhik. In addition to this, the correspondence reveals in several passages the strained relations between the missionaries, supporting the view expressed by Petech on Father Anselmo's character as Seccamente autoritario, "drily authoritarian" (Petech 1952-56: I,lxvii).
The analysis of father Anselmo's handwriting clearly shows that he was the author of the first part of the Repertorio de' Missionari de Propaganda Fide della Missione del Tibet, started in 1766 and kept at the present in the central archive of the Capuchin branch of the Franciscan order in Rome.


To meet the surging demand for high-speed computation in an era of stagnating increase in performance per processor, systems designers resort to aggregating many and even heterogeneous processors into single systems. Automatic parallelization tools relieve application developers of the tedious and error prone task of programming these heterogeneous systems. For these tools, there are two aspects to maximizing performance: Optimizing the execution on each parallel platform individually, and executing work on the available platforms cooperatively. To date, various approaches exist targeting either aspect. Automatic parallelization for simultaneous cooperative computation with optimized per-platform execution however remains an unsolved problem. This thesis presents the APHES framework to close that gap. The framework combines automatic parallelization with a novel technique for input-sensitive online autotuning. Its first component, a parallelizing polyhedral compiler, transforms implicitly data-parallel program parts for multiple platforms. Targeted platforms then automatically cooperate to process the work. During compilation, the code is instrumented to interact with libtuning, our new autotuner and second component of the framework. Tuning the work distribution and per-platform execution maximizes overall performance. The autotuner enables always-on autotuning through a novel hybrid tuning method, combining a new efficient search technique and model-based prediction. Experiments show that the APHES framework can solve the cooperative heterogeneous parallelization problem and that cooperative execution outperforms versions parallelized for a single platform. On benchmarks from the PolyBench benchmark suite, the APHES-transformed programs achieve a speedup of up to 6× compared to program versions generated by state-of-the-art single-platform parallelizers. The libtuning autotuner reduces the search time by up to 30% compared to stateof-the-art autotuning while still finding competitive configurations. Additionally, model-based prediction is is able to reduce 99% of the search overhead.


Toyota and Volvo have traditionally been viewed as anchoring two extremes of production models that companies in the
automotive and other manufacturing sectors draw upon. The 'Toyota (Lean) Production System' drove superior
organizational learning, innovation, and control with positive implications for customer-oriented outcomes. Volvo's
'Reflective Production' model aimed to leverage and develop workers' unique abilities, leading to adaptability, motivation,
satisfaction, and innovation at the individual and group levels, with positive benefits for employees. Through a longitudinal
case study, we show that environmental pressures, in the form of increased international product market competition and
labor market constraints, drove convergence across the two production systems as enacted at Volvo and Toyota, in
organizational structure, work design, and to a lesser extent, technology. The result is an integration of the adaptability,
motivation, and development of workers at the individual and group levels, with enhanced organizational capacity for
responsiveness, variability reduction, and innovation at the organizational level. Understanding how production models
evolve provides insight into their operation, their limitations, and the challenges that are associated with their study,
imitation, implementation, and use.


In a prospective observational study 4485 patients from 46 clinical centres in 17 European countries were followed between April 1994 and November 1996. Information on AIDS-defining events (ADEs) were collected together with basic demographic data, treatment history and laboratory results. The centres were divided into four geographical regions (north, central, south-west and south-east) so that it was possible to identify any existing regional differences in ADEs. The regional differences that we observed included a higher risk of all forms of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections (Tb) and wasting disease in the south-west and an increased risk of infections with the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) in the north. In Cox multivariable analyses, where north was used as the reference group, we observed hazard ratios of 6·87, 7·77, 2·29 and 0·16 (P<0·05 in all cases) for pulmonary Tb, extrapulmonary Tb, wasting disease and MAC respectively in the south-west. Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) was less commonly diagnosed in the central region (RH=0·51, 95% CI 0·32–0·79, P=0·003) and most common in the south-east (RH=1·04, 95% CI 0·71–1·51, P=0·85). Comparisons with a similar 'AIDS in Europe' study that concentrated on the early phase of the epidemic reveal that most of the regional differences that were observed in the 1980s still persist in the mid-1990s.


Over the years, the oil industries have avoided aromatic, naphthenic, and paraffinic oils as drilling mud base fluids principally because of their detrimental environmental issues on pelagic and benthic marine ecosystems as a result of their toxicity and nonbiodegradability coupled with the possible deterioration of the oil itself and the rubber parts of the drilling equipment because the aromatic hydrocarbons present in the oil have a tendency to dissolve/damage elastomers present in rubber. Hence, possible insights into how to chemically and/or physically produce synthetic base drilling fluids whose cuttings are nontoxic, readily biodegradable, environmentally friendly, and of nonpetroleum source become imperative. In this study, enzymatic interesterification of canola oil was done with ethanol by using enzyme lipase as catalyst under optimum conditions of temperature and pressure and the physicochemical properties of the produced ester were evaluated and compared with that of diesel and a synthetic hydrocarbon base fluid (SHBF). Results show that the specific gravity, kinematic viscosity, dynamic viscosity, and surface tension of canola oil were reduced by 5.50%, 94.74%, 95.03%, and 9.38%, respectively, upon enzymatic interesterification to conform to standard requirements. Similarly, increased |mud ability to pump fluids and possibility of cold temperature environment can be achieved with the reduction in pour point and cloud point, respectively, of the produced canola oil ester. Finally, the produced ester showed no aromatic content as confirmed from its FTIR analysis which indicates its nontoxicity, biodegradability, and environmental friendliness.


: The effect of zinc ions on presynaptic currents and transmitter release was studied at the neuromuscular junction of the frog cutaneous pectoris muscle preparation with using an extracellular microelectrode. It has been shown that zinc (100 mkM) amplified MEPP frequency at first, but suppressed it later. Zinc affected the presynaptic spike waveform and transmitter release in a concentration-dependent manner. Depending on concentration and time of exposure zinc increased or suppressed transmitter release. Increase of transmitter release was shown to be resulted by blockade voltage gated and calcium activated potassium channels in nerve ending, leading to broad of both presynaptic spike and action potential. Strong change of presynaptic spike waveform after high concentration zinc treatment supposed that under this condition zinc depressed voltage gated calcium and sodium channel leading to decrease of transmitter release. It was concluded that the final and irreversible depression of acetylcholine release by zinc was due to alteration of whole ion conductances in nerve ending and to change of configuration of proteins included in structure of ion channels. It is discussed possible mechanisms of various effects of zinc ions at the neuromuscular synapse.


Little attention has been paid to the nano-TiO2 as corrosion inhibitor before. In this paper, Myristic acid-modified nano-TiO2 (MA-TiO2) were synthesized by Myristic acid and tetrabutyl titanate via the sol-gel method, and it was characterized by IR and TEM. MA-TiO2 was dispersed in oil, and used as a corrosion inhibitor. From the Tafel plots and EIS spectra, we can know that the values of the current densities decreased by the addition of MA-TiO2. Because of the MA-TiO2 formed a deposition layer in the surface of 45# carbon steel panels, the current density of the the base oil with MA-TiO2 is much smaller than the base oil. The inhibition efficiency was over 90% with added 5 wt % TiO2.


Creating virtual avatars with realistic rendering is one of the most essential and challenging tasks to provide highly immersive virtual reality (VR) experiences. It requires not only sophisticated deep neural network (DNN) based codec avatar decoders to ensure high visual quality and precise motion expression, but also efficient hardware accelerators to guarantee smooth real-time rendering using lightweight edge devices, like untethered VR headsets. Existing hardware accelerators, however, fail to deliver sufficient performance and efficiency targeting such decoders which consist of multi-branch DNNs and require demanding compute and memory resources. To address these problems, we propose an automation framework, called F-CAD (Facebook Codec avatar Accelerator Design), to explore and deliver optimized hardware accelerators for codec avatar decoding. Novel technologies include 1) a new accelerator architecture to efficiently handle multi-branch DNNs; 2) a multi-branch dynamic design space to enable fine-grained architecture configurations; and 3) an efficient architecture search for picking the optimized hardware design based on both application-specific demands and hardware resource constraints. To the best of our knowledge, F-CAD is the first automation tool that supports the whole design flow of hardware acceleration of codec avatar decoders, allowing joint optimization on decoder designs in popular machine learning frameworks and corresponding customized accelerator design with cycle-accurate evaluation. Results show that the accelerators generated by F-CAD can deliver up to 122.1 frames per second (FPS) and 91.6% hardware efficiency when running the latest codec avatar decoder. Compared to the state-of-the-art designs, F-CAD achieves 4.0× and 2.8× higher throughput, 62.5% and 21.2% higher efficiency than DNNBuilder [1] and HybridDNN [2] by targeting the same hardware device.


States have long been wary of putting international migration on the global agenda. As an issue that defines sovereignty - that is, who enters and remains on a state's territory - international migration has called for protection of national prerogatives and unilateral actions. However, since the end of World War I, governments have sought ways to address various aspects of international migration in a collaborative manner. This book examines how these efforts to increase international cooperation have evolved from the early twentieth century to the present. The scope encompasses all of the components of international migration: labor migration, family reunification, refugees, human trafficking and smuggling, and newly emerging forms of displacement (including movements likely to result from global climate change). The final chapter assesses the progress (and lack thereof) in developing an international migration regime and makes recommendations towards strengthening international cooperation in this area.


Dual analysis uses statistics to describe both the dimensions and rows of a high-dimensional dataset. Researchers have integrated it into StratomeX, a Caleydo view for cancer subtype analysis. In addition, significant-difference plots show the elements of a candidate subtype that differ significantly from other subtypes, thus letting analysts characterize subtypes. Analysts can also investigate how data samples relate to their assigned subtype and other groups. This approach lets them create well-defined subtypes based on statistical properties. Three case studies demonstrate the approach's utility, showing how it reproduced findings from a published subtype characterization.


The field of neurointerventional surgery (NIS) has undergone a truly remarkable maturation over the past decade. This maturation is largely based upon two fundamental, but sometimes seemingly diametrically opposed, factors. First, industry-driven research and development provides us with new devices at an accelerating pace. Some are truly novel (eg, flow diverters) and allow the treatment of cerebrovascular diseases which were previously untreatable or poorly managed. Others represent iterative improvements of existing techniques and technologies, which make our procedures safer, faster, easier, and ultimately, more effective (eg, stent-retrievers and aspiration catheters). Second, a dramatic transition has occurred from a practice based almost entirely on personal case experience and single-center, retrospective series, to an evidence-based practice, supported by data derived from one or more randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

In diseases where no endovascular device or technique has been shown to be effective, RCTs are required, when feasible, to establish efficacy over standard management—typically either medical management or conventional open surgical treatment. These RCTs, from the International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial (ISAT) and Barrow Ruptured Aneurysm Trial (BRAT) for ruptured aneurysms to the recent series of thrombectomy trials for emergent large vessel occlusion (ELVO), have fundamentally advanced medicine and established endovascular therapies as the new standards of care for certain cerebrovascular diseases.1–7 Similarly, trials such as Stenting And Aggressive Medical Management for Preventing Recurrent Stroke in Intracranial Stenosis (SAMMPRIS), have led to the re-evaluation of endovascular treatment while advancing the status of aggressive medical management, again resulting in the development of a new standard of care.8

Despite the unambiguous merits of RCTs, there are many situations in NIS where they may not be feasible. These include:

1. At the introduction of a new device. In the field of NIS, regulatory clearance, whether it be by premarket approval (PMA) (eg, the Pipeline embolization …


The essay examines Pope's entire poetic career under the aspect of rapture, in all its many connotations and contexts. Though Pope's early amatory poems and his later satire are usually considered in isolation from each other, this essay explores their common preoccupation with the formal erotic, affective, and spiritual experience of rapture and thus demonstrates their dynamic interconnectedness. The result is a new account of Pope's poetic career, and a new assessment of the relationships between writing and life. Pope came to concentrate on writing satire in the last third of his life, but he was also a translator, a textual scholar, a prodigious letter writer, and in the first major phase of his career, a love poet depicting young women in love, such as Sapho, Eloise, the Unfortunate Lady, and Belinda, often focusing on erotic rapture and death. From about 1728 until his death in 1744, he no longer wrote this kind of poetry, but instead turned his creative energies toward passionate social and political satire, fashioning a poetic persona of the satirist as powerful, wide-ranging, virtually sacred raptor. Hence, Pope's poetic career moves in a direction from portraying passive subjects, usually young women under the influence of erotic rapture, to exercising his own poetic power of depicting the active force of rapture as satiric predation. The transition from poet of rapturous, death-haunted female love to poet of avenging satirical rapture coincided significantly with his involvement with, and rejection by, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu sometime in the 1720s. Though Pope is largely remembered for his satire, this essay takes a more holistic view of Pope's life and work, drawing attention to the ways that his translation, scholarship, and especially love poetry contributed directly to his satiric practice later in life. This essay not only brings Pope's biography to bear on his poetic artistry, but also unites what has often been seen as disparate parts of Pope's career by seeing him first and foremost as a poet of rapture.


This paper discusses the impact of Indonesian language politics on the formation and consolidation of Indonesian national identity. Maier's central argument is that Indonesia's claim to have completely eradicated colonist language from that of the independent state is a myth. He contends rather, that the revolutionary fervor that drove the creation of a new language and national culture in Indonesia also contributed to the repression of the ongoing presence of Dutch in both its language and national infrastructure. Indeed, Indonesian leadership has endeavored since Independence to disregard both the state's colonial antecedents, and ongoing Dutch physical and cultural presence in it. Indonesians have been extremely reluctant for instance to acknowledge that the basis of modern Indonesian was laid by Dutch scholars. Maier maps this linguistic foundation through the work of earlier Dutch students of Malay, such as Van Ophuijsen, Takdir Alisjahbana, Gerth van Wijk and De Hollander. He stresses moreover, that significant aspects of Takdirs scholarship may be found in the Standard Grammar of Indonesian, published in 1988 and used to this day. Dutch has also contributed grammatical structure and vocabulary to Indonesian; roughly 20% of contemporary Indonesian can be traced back to Dutch words, and appear even in quintessential nationalist texts such as the October 1988 Pledge of Youth. They are unrecognized as such however, because few Indonesian speakers are aware of this linguistic history. Finally, Maier argues, Malay is accepted today by inlanders as Indonesia's most inclusive language, only because colonial administrators and scholars deliberately encouraged its use as the official language of communication in the Indies. This chapter in Indonesian history has also been obscured.


Among the Federal laws affecting business and payment practices in the healthcare field is the limitation on certain physician self-referrals known as the "Stark law." This article includes an expanded analysis of the Stark law, with particular attention paid to Congressional amendments under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993.


Addressing Hannah Arendt's call to prepare the next generation to "renew our common world," this essay questions how we can simultaneously share our world with students and encourage them to question it. Because teacher education is suffocating in the stipulations of "best practices" that blanket the ambiguity that makes it interesting, this essay explores the questions that make this work compelling. It considers the inhibitions that constrain agency and imagination in teaching, the narratives that collapse experience into predictable accounts delivered to satisfy rubrics and protocols, and turns to the work of poet and classicist, Anne Carson, for a sense of story that opens up experience instead of closing it down.


While autologous HSCT appears to induce remissions and improve quality of life in the majority of patients, it remains unclear whether either myeloablative or lymphoablative autologous HSCT can cure autoimmune disorders, and randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm the benefit and cost-effectiveness of this therapy. There are currently 2 disparate philosophical approaches to the design of these trials. One approach is to apply aggressive malignancy-specific myeloablative regimens. Although more intensive lymphoablative regimens could be designed, since cancer-specific myeloablative regimens are more intensive than currently utilized lymphoablative regimens, myeloablative regimens may result in longer duration of disease remission. The other philosophical approach is to use lymphoablative regimens that are disease specific and nonmyeloablative (i.e., do not irreversibly damage the hematopoietic stem cell compartment), maximize drugs already used to treat each disease, and avoid agents in the regimen that could cause further damage to already disease-injured organs. It appears that lymphoablative regimens are safer than myeloablative regimens, and it appears that even if relapse occurs, durable long-term remission may be achieved with conventional treatment to which the patient's disease was previously refractory. If considered on a disease-specific basis, the high disease-related mortality of SSc could justify the higher treatment-related mortality associated with a myeloablative regimen. However, since radiation is already considered a relative contraindication for SSc and radiation-induced and SSc-related microvascular compartment injuries are similar, and because TBI is associated with late myelodysplasia, leukemia, and lymphomas, some investigators have voiced concern over use of a TBI-based myeloablative regimen to treat SSc (19,59). The controversy that surrounds the competing visions of lymphoablative versus myeloablative autologous HSCT regimens for autoimmune disease has yet to be resolved. Further experience will likely indicate the superiority of one of these approaches when both safety and efficacy are considered. Since both lymphoablative and myeloablative protocols are being offered for a select group of severely ill patients with autoimmune disorders refractory to conventional therapy, subspecialists who refer patients for such therapy should be aware of the emerging body of literature that at the very least suggests that lymphoablative regimens will be associated with less morbidity and mortality. Sharing of such information is crucial if patients are to provide consent that is truly informed.


We have measured the photoionization-excitation-to-photoionization ratio for (n = 2 - 6) at several photon energies from 90 to 900 eV. By extrapolating these values we could determine the asymptotic high-energy ratios for (n = 2 - 5) which agree with theoretical predictions. We show that the satellite-to-main-line ratios are consistent with experimental double-to-single photoionization ratios and agree well with recent measurements.


Background TNF-α-blocking therapy is a successful treatment strategy for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but is associated with reduced resistance to tuberculosis. We have developed a vaccine against mouse TNF-α (TNF-KLH) which protects mice from collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) and collagen-antibodies-induced arthritis (CAIA). We aimed at modelizing the infectious risk/benefit ratio of TNF-α neutralisation by comparing different strategies of TNF-α targeting in experimental Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Materials and methods 4 groups (TNF-KLH, etanercept, KLH, PBS) of 10 C57BL/6 mice were compared with TNF deficient mice (TNF -/-). Vaccines were emulsified in IFA before i.m. administration (days −44, –31, −17 and −4). Other treatments were given from D0. All groups were infected at day 0 by 104 cfu of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (H37Rv virulent strain). Mouse groups were divided in two arms: one was euthanized 28 days post-infection, the lasting mice were euthanized 56 days post-infection. Bacterial burden was evaluated in lungs. Cellular infiltration was studied by immunohistological analysis. Results A sustained anti-TNF-α antibody production was obtained in vaccinated mice. At day 28 of Mycobacteria infection, bacterial burden, organ weights, neutrophils and B cells infiltration were similar between TNF-KLH, KLH and PBS groups. At this time point, histological analysis showed higher surface of granuloma in liver of etanercept and TNF-/- groups than TNF-KLH group. At day 56 post infection, etanercept group presented higher surface of liver and lung granuloma than TNF-KLH and KLH groups. These observations were in accordance with a progression of the disease in etanercept group, whereas such effect was not retrieved in TNF-KLH and immunocompetent groups (KLH, PBS). Conclusion Our results indicate that anti-TNF-α vaccination could protect mice from inflammatory arthritis without deeply altering host immunity against infection, suggesting the existence of two distinct pathophysiologic thresholds for TNF-α inhibition, one for arthritis improvement, the other for infection facilitation. These thresholds might be dependend on the TNF inhibition strategy.


An overview of the wide range of polymer-based capsules that have been constructed from synthetic and biological building blocks or from biological building blocks that are taken out of their natural environment, using both hyperbranched and self-assembly approaches, was reviewed. The capsules that are discussed can be considered as the simplest mimics of an organelle or cell and contain a cavity in which chemical reactions can take place or cargo can be stored. The chemical tool box available for constructing polymer micelles and polymersomes is much larger, and natural motifs have been actively incorporated into their designs. Regarding LbL, polymersome, or polymeric micelle nanoreactors, it can be predicted that nature's biocatalysts will be increasingly used for encapsulation in these synthetic systems, holding promise for future nanoscale diagnostic devices. One of the main challenges in this field will be the effective stimulation of responsive polymersomes since most stimuli reported thus far cannot be applied in living organisms.


Human C8 is one of five complement components (C5b, C6, C7, C8 and C9) that assemble on bacterial membranes to form a pore-like structure referred to as the "membrane attack complex" (MAC). C8 contains three genetically distinct subunits (C8α, C8β, Cγ.) arranged as a disulfide-linked C8α-γ dimer that is noncovalently associated with C8β. C6, C7 C8α, C8β and C9 are homologous. All contain Nand C-terminal modules and an intervening 40-kDa segment referred to as the membrane attack complex/perforin (MACPF) domain. The C8γ subunit is unrelated and belongs to the lipocalin family of proteins that display a β-barrel fold and generally bind small, hydrophobic ligands. Several hundred proteins with MACPF domains have been identified based on sequence similarity; however, the structure and function of most are unknown. Crystal structures of the secreted bacterial protein Plu-MACPF and the human C8α MACPF domain were recently reported and both display a fold similar to the bacterial pore-forming cholesterol-dependent cytolysins (CDC). In the present study, we determined the crystal structure of the human C8α MACPF domain disulfide-linked to C8γ (αMACPF-γ) at 2.15 Å resolution. The αMACPF portion has the predicted CDC-like fold and shows two regions of interaction with C8γ. One is in a previously characterized 19-residue insertion (indel) in C8α and fills the entrance to the putative C8γ ligand binding site. The second is a hydrophobic pocket that makes contact with residues on the side of the C8γ β-barrel. The latter interaction induces conformational changes in αMACPF that are likely important for C8 function. Also observed is structural conservation of the MACPF signature motif Y/W-G-T/S-H-F/Y-X6-G-G in αMACPF and Plu-MACPF, and conservation of several key glycine residues known to be important for refolding and pore formation by CDCs.


Few data have evaluated Zn balance in young children after the first year of life. The objective of the present study was to study the relationships among Zn intake, absorption, endogenous faecal excretion, and retention in a group of healthy children. Thirty children, aged 15–48 months, were studied on a diet representative of their usual daily mineral intake. Zn absorption was assessed using a dual-tracer stable-isotope technique. Endogenous Zn faecal excretion and Cu absorption were determined in a subset of children. We found that Zn intake from the in-patient weighed dietary record (5·0 (sd 2·1) mg/d) was significantly greater than the current estimated average requirement (EAR; 2·5 mg/d; P < 0·0001). Neither fractional Zn absorption, urinary Zn excretion, nor endogenous faecal Zn excretion was significantly related to Zn intake (r2 < 0·1; P>0·4, for all). Absolute Zn absorption was significantly related to Zn intake (r2 0·696; P < 0·0001), as was Zn retention (r2 0·506; P < 0·0001). Cu absorption was relatively high (75·1 (sd 10·8) %) despite the high Zn intake. The EAR for Zn based on this dataset would appear to be between 4·2 and 4·7 mg/d to allow for a net average retention of 120 μg/d consistent with growth needs. We concluded that at relatively high Zn intakes there was little evidence of down regulation of absorption or up regulation of urinary or endogenous faecal Zn excretion across the intake range studied. Zn retention was positively correlated with intake. A Zn intake between 4·2 and 4·7 mg/d should meet the requirement for normal growth for this age group.


A contactless energy transfer system to supply computer peripherals is under development. It consists of an array of primary coils that are integrated in a table and secondary coils placed under the peripherals. For an everyday use, it is unthinkable to supply continuously all the primaries. In this paper, the electronic implementation of the primary coils is presented, including the circuit used to detect peripherals and store their position above the table. Therefore, each primary coil has to integrate the possibility to be individually supplied. A strategy to locate the peripherals and then supply only the concerned primary coils has been developped and applied to a prototype. The process is controlled by a DSP and does not require additional sensors.


This paper endeavours to prove the centrality of the ecoweb formed by earth, water, air and fire in the verse of the Northern Irish poet Seamus Heaney. The bridge between Nature (rural ancestry) and culture (literary consciousness), the intimate relationship between locus and language, or the outstanding sense of movement and balance between earthy root and airy imagination are just some of the ideas to be discussed in Heaney's ecopoetics. Together with this, the outstanding role of the four elements among Heaney critics will be emphasized, in order to show that we can certainly talk about some kind of ecocritical framework emerging from within the discourse about Heaney's literary evolution: the four elements, especially earth and air, are explicitly or implicitly used by a large number of critics in order to differentiate between a first stage (or earthy phase), characterized by its rootedness in Northern Irish people, history and culture, and a second stage (or airy phase) in which the poet allegedly liberates himself from earthy bounds to accomplish visionary poetic freedom. It is contended here that, for several reasons, reading Heaney's poetry in binary terms—earth versus air—is not precisely a satisfactory enough critical response. In our opinion, a more adequate and clarifying reading is encapsulated in the complementary terms—earth and air. It is the outstanding nuance of tension and permanent search for balance that keeps both symbols in a fruitful encounter. From a much more conscious ecocritical point of view, this may well embody the search for a possible site of reconciliation between Nature and Culture.


On-going improvements in the scaling of FPGA device sizes and time-to-market pressures encourage the use of module-oriented design flows [3], while economic factors favour the reuse of smaller devices for high performance computational tasks. One of the core problems in proposing dynamic modular reconfiguration approaches is supporting the differing communications needs of the sequence of modules configured over time [2]. Proposals to date have not focussed on communications issues. Moreover, they have advocated the use of specific protocols [4], or they cannot be readily implemented [1], or they suffer from high overheads [5], or rely upon deprecated features such as tri-state lines [7]. In contrast, we propose a methodology for the rapid deployment of a communications infrastructure that provides the wires required by dynamic modules and allows users to implement the protocols they want. Our aim is to support new tiled dynamically reconfigurable architectures such as Virtex-4, as well as mature device families.


The paper shows it urgent to realize the concept of biological risk assessment and management on handling pathogenic biological agents (PBA). It gives a number of objective reasons that impede development of a methodology to assess laboratory biological risks. A concept of continuous improvement (a process approach) is proposed for use as a biorisk management tool for biosafety assurance when handling PBA. It is demonstrated that development of international cooperation urgently requires that national concepts and standards be harmonized with international regulatory documents on biosafety assurance on handling PBA.


A modified learning algorithm of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) is introduced in this paper to solve imbalanced data set problems. In solving imbalanced data set, it is critical to predict the minority class due to their imbalanced nature. In order to improve the standard ANN classifier prediction performance, this paper focuses on optimizing the decision boundary of the step function at the output layer of ANN using particle swarm optimization (PSO). A feedforward ANN is chosen in this study. Firstly, a conventional back propagation algorithm is employed to train the ANN. PSO is then applied to train the real predicted output of training data from this trained network. As the result, the optimum value of decision boundary is found and applied to the classifier. Prediction performance is assessed by G-mean, which is a measure to indicate the efficiency of classifiers for imbalanced data sets. Based on experimental results, the proposed model is able to solve imbalanced data sets problem with better performance compared to the standard ANN.


The superb plant bug, Adelphocoris superbus (Uhl.), is a serious pest in some alfalfa seed fields in southern Alberta. It feeds on the unopened bud clusters, causing them to whiten and die (bud-blasting). Under cages, it has also caused flower-drop, stunting of plants, and destruction of immature seed (Sorenson, 1954). When numerous it may prevent fields from producing enough bloom for the alfalfa pollinators in the vicinity, and in such numbers is of economic importance to the seed-growers. The number of bugs necessary for an economic population thus varies inversely with the pollinator population on the field.


Our previous studies revealed the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and phthalic acid esters were the major organic pollutants in the Jialing River and Yangtze River in the Three Gorges area, and they might cause the toxicity in male fertility when combined. Thus we used di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) and Benzo(a)pyrene (Bap) as their representatives respectively to explore their effects on the spermatogenesis in male rats. Male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 groups and respectively exposed to corn oil, Bap (5 mg/kg/d), DBP (250 mg/kg/d), and combined doses of Bap (5 mg/kg/d) and DBP (250 mg/kg/d) for 90 days. We observed a significant increase in the stillbirth rate after Bap and combined treatments, while the mean area of seminiferous tubules was reduced after Bap, DBP and combined treatments. Bap and combined treatment had a sup- pressing effect on meiosis in germ cells, which reduced the haploid contents and the ratio between haploid and diploid but increased the tetraploid and diploid contents and the ratio between hap- loid and tetraploid. These effects were more obvious in the combined group. Furthermore, the ex- pression of a number of proteins was changed, of which was associated with the oxidative stress and cAMP/PKA signaling pathway. Our results suggest that Bap has significant toxic effects on male fertility, while the combined treatment of Bap and DBP has more toxic effects.


At a time when accusations of American ignorance and anti-intellectualism are ubiquitous, this article challenges problematic assumptions about intellectualism and proposes an expanded view of intellectualism. It is important to recognize and to challenge narrow views of intellectualism because they not only influence public perceptions of and engagement with education and intellectualism, but they also affect what and how we teach in U.S. schools and aid in institutionalizing social hierarchies that privilege the knowledge, learning sites, and educational experiences of the cultural elite. To demonstrate the benefits of revising our views of intellectualism, I draw upon my observations of and interviews with adult learners participating in GED-preparation writing workshops.


Spring nozzles are widely used in deaerators. The spray issued from a spring nozzle was studied numerically with an adapted volume of fluid method combined with a continuous surface force model to capture the gas–liquid interface dynamics. The present analysis focuses on the formation of a water film and the generation of droplets near the spring nozzle outlet. The numerical simulation results show that the water film breaks up to droplets at the location 20~25cm from the nozzle exit vertically. The vortical structures are formed due to the interaction between the liquid film and the surrounding air, which leads to air recirculation and water film instability. When the inlet water velocity decreases from 5.33m/s to 4.1m/s, it results in a slightly reduced spray angle. But the vertical break up length is not obviously influenced. The water sheet disintegration is probably at the transition state between Rayleigh and first wind-induced breakup regimes.


Background: There are many parameters that modulate the severity of sickle cell anemia. Fetal hemoglobin (Hb F) is one of these major variables. However, its effect is clinically inconsistent. We conducted a descriptive study to assess the influence of Hb F on clinical events and hematological variables in patients with sickle cell anemia. Methods: 151 patients with sickle cell anemia with a stable condition, aged 1-18 years, were recruited from March through November 2010. The results of complete blood count and Hb F level and various clinical variables were recorded. Results: Of the 151 patients, the Hb F was more than 20%, 10-20%, and less than 10% in 77 (51%), 60 (39.7%), and 14 (9.3%) patients. A significant negative association was reported between Hb F level and frequency of painful crisis (95% CI=0.05-0.96, OR=0.22), acute chest syndrome (95% CI=0.01-0.43, OR=0.07) and frequency of hospitalizations (95% CI=0.03-0.85, OR=0.11). There was a significant positive association between hemoglobin level (95% CI=2.14-27.17, OR=7.63) and splenomegaly (95% CI=1.37-57.4, OR=12.88) with Hb F level. Conclusion: In children and adolescents with sickle cell anemia, the higher the Hb F levels, the lesser clinical complications of the disease would be. Therefore, patients with low Hb F need close follow-up and monitoring since early age to detect complications as early as possible and consider use of disease modifying agents. *Corresponding author: Meaad K. Hassan Basra Medical College, Basra, Iraq Tel: +96 47801000174 Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


A numerical procedure is presented for the study of the failure mechanism of reinforced concrete sections of arbitrary shape in biaxial bending with axial force. The procedure is a fiber model, which allows to compute the moment-curvature diagram and the interaction domains using non-linear constitutive laws, also with softening post-peak branch for concrete. The numerical technique is able to find the position and the orientation of the neutral axis that determines a resultant moment, which acts along a predefined orientation angle. Analytical moment-curvature diagrams and interaction domains are compared with data published in the literature.


The Medical Mycological Society of the Americas (MMSA) and the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) are both premier scientific organizations which held their annual conferences in Atlanta, Georgia, May 17-21, 1998. The MMSA scientific session focused on the role of animal models in drug development and on the immunology and molecular biology of the medically important fungi. The use of current molecular tools in identifying new fungal targets for the development of antifungal agents and for the study of fungal epidemiology was reviewed. At the ASM, several sessions were held which focused on the pathogenesis of fungal disease, the in vitro susceptibility testing of new (voriconazole, SCH-56592, LY-303366, metalloporphyrins) and established antifungal agents, the experimental in vivo activity of new antifungal drugs in various animal models of fungal disease and pediatric mycology; the clinical activity of fluconazole, itraconazole, liposomal nystatin and liposomal amphotericin B formulations was also reviewed.


As part of the International Sexuality Description Project, 16,954 participants from 53 nations were administered an anonymous survey about experiences with romantic attraction. Mate poaching--romantically attracting someone who is already in a relationship--was most common in Southern Europe, South America, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe and was relatively infrequent in Africa, South/Southeast Asia, and East Asia. Evolutionary and social-role hypotheses received empirical support. Men were more likely than women to report having made and succumbed to short-term poaching across all regions, but differences between men and women were often smaller in more gender-egalitarian regions. People who try to steal another's mate possess similar personality traits across all regions, as do those who frequently receive and succumb to the poaching attempts by others. The authors conclude that human mate-poaching experiences are universally linked to sex, culture, and the robust influence of personal dispositions.


Questions: What is the effect of the 19th century (pre-industrialization) landscape pattern on the recovery of climax forests in cool-temperate mountain areas dominated by Fagus crenata (Japanese beech)? Location: Secondary forests on Mt. Daisen, western Japan. Methods: Vegetation patterns before and after industrialization were obtained from maps drawn in 1898 and 1979. Tree measurements were made in 12 plots in 1997. Correlation between current Fagus crenata dominance and forest edge in the 19th century was analysed using an S-shaped regression curve. Fagus juvenile density was counted in the plots, and distances from each plot to the five nearest mother trees were measured to determine the dispersal kernel. Results: Secondary grassland covered a substantial area in 1898, whereas forest covered most of the area in 1997. Fagus was dominant in places in the interior forest 100 years ago, and mature Fagus trees were absent in secondary forests that had been grasslands in 1898. The expected number of juveniles decreased to one individual per 100 m 2 at 43.5 m from the mother tree. Conclusions: The pre-industrialization landscape greatly affected recovery of Fagus forest. Forests found on the 1898 vegetation map might have acted as refugia for Fagus. The limited dispersal ability of Fagus suggests that it would take many generations (several hundred years) for Fagus forests to recover at the centre of what had been grasslands in the 19th century.


The timing and mode of uplift of the Troodos ophiolite are constrained by low‐temperature thermochronology combined with geomorphic analysis. Zircon (U‐Th)/He and apatite fission track cooling ages in the Troodos plutonic sequence are all Cretaceous (83–106 Ma) and within error of published zircon U‐Pb crystallization ages. This indicates early cooling of the oceanic crust and termination of spreading axis magmatism at ~90 Ma. Apatite (U‐Th)/He ages decrease with reconstructed crustal depths from ~40 Ma near the top of the sheeted‐dike complex to ~4 Ma within the mantle sequence. A prominent inflection point in the age versus depth curve defines the bottom of the exhumed helium partial retention zone and records the onset of rapid exhumation of the main Troodos massif at 6 ± 2 Ma. Inverse thermal modeling supports this conclusion, indicating that the timing of uplift is earlier than previously estimated. The boundaries of the mantle sequence exposed in the core of the Troodos structure closely overlap the boundaries of a concentric zone delineated by high local relief and higher channel steepness indices, indicating differential exhumation and uplift of this area relative to its surroundings. This zone also overlaps with a prominent negative Bouguer gravity anomaly. The timing and pattern of the Troodos ophiolite uplift suggest that it is driven by serpentinite diapirism, possibly triggered by Miocene reactivation of subduction along the Cyprean Arc. The worldwide ubiquity of suprasubduction zone ophiolites may thus reflect the importance of extensive serpentinization at the overthrusting mantle wedge in obduction processes.


Increasing frequencies of cataracts (i.e., opacities in eye lens) have been diagnosed in farmed salmonids during past years. Cataract has proven a pronounced problem in fish farming because it leads to reduced eyesight and even total blindness of the fish. Of the Nordic countries, Norway has been the leading quarter in research on cataracts owing to the need to solve this problem that has been noticed to prevail in the economically significant Atlantic salmon farming and to lead to monetary losses because of impaired growth and lowered survival of the fish with cataracts. However, salmonid fishes are nowadays also subject to culture in order to enhance the various endangered local populations by stocking of captive-propagated fish in nature. Stocking is also conducted merely for fisheries purposes. Therefore, in addition to the economic questions, concern has also arisen of the possible role of cataracts in stocking success, not to mention the question of animal welfare in general. Although information of factors underlying cataract development has started to accumulate during past years, there still are gaps in our knowledge on the causes of cataract as well as on its consequences. Furthermore, quantitative information on the severity of the problem is still largely lacking. The main objectives of this joint Nordic research project ",Looking fish in the eye - cataract as a problem in fish farming ", (LFITE) carried out by scientists from Finland, Sweden and Norway was to fill these gaps in our knowledge by updating information on the prevalence of cataracts in hatchery (and wild) populations of salmonid fishes in the participating Nordic countries, illuminating factors important in influencing cataract development in fish eyes and finally, investigating also consequences of cataract to fish in the hatchery and to stocked fish in the wild. The report presents results from a number of case studies that have been conducted by the project group and collaborators. The project has shown cataracts to be relatively common in all the six salmonid species included in our surveys in Finland and Sweden. The prevalence and severity (coverage of eye lens) were however variable often related to an exposure to Diplostomum spp. parasites that use fish as their intermediate hosts. The result contrasts with findings from Norway about the importance of nutritional imbalance and environmental (abiotic) factors in predisposing fish to cataract development. Progress has also been achieved in the course of the project in the understanding of the potentially significant role of proximate biotic factors, parasite and pathogen infestation, as well as genetic predisposition in cataract formation. The project has also shed new light on the relationship between fish performance (metabolism, foraging, predation risk, breeding, survival in nature) and the occurrence of cataract. At the end of the report, conclusions and recommendations regarding possible lines of future actions are also proposed.


Two ferredoxins were isolated from horsetail (Equisetum telmateia) and their amino acid sequences were determined by use of a sequence analyzer in combination with carboxypeptidase digestion and manual Edman degradation of tryptic peptides of carboxymethyl-ferredoxins. Ferredoxins I and II each had only four cysteine residues in a total of 95 and 93 residues, respectively. The amino-terminal residues of both ferredoxins were heterogeneous, but alanine was concluded to be their genuine terminal residue. The comparison of these isozymelike molecules showed 29 differences in amino acid residues with three inverted replacements. One gap was inserted in ferredoxin II at position 32 to align the ferredoxins with greatest homology. Despite the many differences in amino acid residues there was no difference in net charges of the two ferredoxins.


The aim of the paper is to critically analyse the potential of Zimbabwe's foreign policy, specifically the Look East Policy at stimulating economic development and growth. This analysis is based solely on selected secondary material. In response to external and internal pressure, the government of Zimbabwe redesigned its foreign policy outlook with the aim of establishing relations with countries in the East like China as an alternative to the fragmented links with the West. Zimbabwe's target is to create and sustain relations with states that it supposedly shares common goals with. China, regardless of its famous proclamation that it is driven by a desire to help the oppressed, pursues foreign policies that promote its own national interests. China is seeking opportunities to boost its economic and political status in the international system. Zimbabwe, while seeking similar goals, lacks proper guiding structures and appears to be closely associated with ZANU-PF to an extent that one is tempted to conclude that it is more of a political slogan rather than a proper foreign policy. Zimbabwe has turned into a predatory state which is on the verge of total collapse. The ruling elite are concerning themselves with security political posts as a means to accessing personal wealthy at the expense of national development. The potential of the LEP can only be realised when Zimbabwe policy makers put the needs of electorates ahead of personal gains and develop a strategic approach to its relationship with Beijing. The government of Zimbabwe needs to realise that if China does indeed become a super power it is likely going to impose its will on its weaker associates. Before positive economic development outcomes can be produced by the LEP, Zimbabwe has to change its position in this partnership.

 Key words: Look East Policy, economic development, failed state, sovereignty, state.


Under observation were 106 patients with closed injuries of the scrotum and organs in it. The conservative treatment was used in 24 patients, 82 patients (77,3%) were subjected to operations. Different injuries of testicles, epididymis or tunics of the testicles were observed. The operative treatment allows making reliable diagnosis of injuries of the testicle and its epididymis, gives favourable results and considerably accelerates the healing of the patients.