Objective The underlying biology of bipolar disorder and the mechanisms by which effective medications induce their therapeutic effects are not clear. Appropriate use of animal models are essential to further understand biological mechanisms of disease and treatment, and further understanding the therapeutic mechanism of mood stabilisers requires that clinically relevant administration will be effective in animal models. The clinical regimens for mood-stabilising drugs include chronic oral administration; however, much of the work with animal models includes acute administration via injection. An effective chronic and oral administration of the prototypic mood stabiliser lithium was already established and the present study was designed to do the same for the mood stabiliser carbamazepine. Methods Mice were treated for 3 weeks with carbamazepine in food. ICR mice were treated with 0.25%, 0.5% and 0.75%, and C57bl/6 mice with 0.5% and 0.75%, carbamazepine in food (w/w, namely, 2.5, 5.0 or 7.5 g/kg food). Mice were then tested for spontaneous activity, forced swim test (FST), tail suspension test (TST) and amphetamine-induced hyperactivity. Results Oral carbamazepine administration resulted in dose-dependent blood levels reaching 3.65 μg/ml at the highest dose. In ICR mice, carbamazepine at the 0.5% dose had no effect on spontaneous activity, but significantly reduced immobility in the TST by 27% and amphetamine-induced hyperactivity by 28%. In C57bl/6 mice, carbamazepine at the 0.75% dose reduced immobility time in the FST by 26%. Conclusions These results demonstrate a behaviourally effective oral and chronic regimen for carbamazepine with mood stabilising-like activity in a standard model for mania-like behaviour and two standard models for depression-like behaviour.


Sputtered reactive multilayers applied as a heat source in electronic joining processes are an emerging technology. Their use promises low-stress assembly of components while improving thermal contact and reducing thermal resistance. Nanostructured surface modifications can significantly enhance adhesion and reliability of joints between different materials. This work examines reactive multilayer of nickel and aluminum, directly sputtered on nanostructured black silicon surfaces and compares their phase transformation with reference samples deposited on pristine silicon surface. The investigation of the quenched self-propagating reaction reveals a clear influence of the nanostructured surface on the prolongation of the phase transition. Rapid thermal annealing tests result in the formation of Al1.1Ni0.9 phase. The nanostructured interface seems to hinder the full transformation of the parent material. The surface modification improves the adhesion of the formed alloy on silicon surfaces and can possibly increase the reliability of joints based on reactive aluminum/nickel multilayer. The use of black silicon, a nanostructured surface modification, is thus a promising approach to realize reliable multi-material joints in complex systems.


Biostimulants are compounds that infl uence physiological processes in plants, producing better growth and enhancing stress tolerance. The effect of some biostimulants on vines was investigated over a number of years to assess their effect both on the incidence of esca leaf symptoms in the vineyard and on the growth of Phaeomoniella chlamydospora artifi cially inoculated into potted vines. Field trials were carried out for 4–7 years in fi ve 15-20-yearold vineyards infected with esca proper. Potted plants were sprayed with biostimulants, after which the vine trunks were inoculated with P. chlamydospora, and then the vines were sprayed again with biostimulants in the following 2 or 3 growing seasons. On the whole, biostimulants in the fi eld did not reduce foliar symptoms. The percentage of symptomatic vines that had shown symptoms in previous years was higher in the biostimulant-sprayed plots. In the greenhouse, a certain reduction of internal necrosis caused by P. chlamydospora was seen with three of the four biostimulants tested. Prospects for biostimulants as a means control esca are discussed.


The present study first makes a short analysis of the use of the expression Sustainable Tourism at internet sites of different international and Brazilian organizations to find out that none of them is of much help to evaluate the sustainability of community based tourism projects. This is why we adopt the criteria which the German NGO "Studienkreis fur Tourismus und Entwicklung" (Study Group of Tourism and Development) uses to judge candidates for the TODO prize. The prize is awarded each year to two or three communities considered worthy of the title Socially Responsi-ble Tourism. The case study shows how a com-munity occupying a small stretch of beach since 1870, develops its principal activity which is fish-ing and at the same time writes some pages of history thanks to the spirit of adventure of its population, while suffering the aggression of real estate speculators who sense a million dollar busi-ness on the land where the humble fisher-families live. The study looks at the community, which, with the support of NGO´s and a human rights defense group not only resists the speculators, but looks for the way of sustainability. For them tour-ism means not only complementary income to fishing, but also a way to show that communities with strong village organizations and support from well meaning volunteers can develop tourism, challenging government view that tourism is for business. Income from tourism stays and circu-lates in the community generating economic ac-tivities. We also see how tourism developed by the community within its eco-system helps to raise awareness for nature of the population, at the same time recovering and strengthening cultural expression and diversity, lifting self-esteem of this traditional population, called Jangadeiros.


Christians typically seek to approach life from a biblical perspective. Within this biblical perspective, an apocalyptic view on life encourages them to experience the reality of a relationship with God in adverse conditions. With this in mind, this article focused on the biblical apocalyptic tradition found in Exodus chapter 15, later interpreted christologically in the Apocalypse of John chapter 15; the 'victory song of Moses', and the 'victory song of Moses and the Lamb'. Literature on the dialogue between these two songs was researched, and the implications for suffering Christians were explored. Finally, this article demonstrated how Christians may be aware of the 'secular' onslaught on this 'sacred' perspective.


Reducing gender inequality makes economic sense apart from being the right thing to do. Achievinggender equality and empowering all women and girls is the fifth sustainable development goal and is a top priority for governments. Countries can achieve this goal if they take appropriate steps. This note is part of a series that aims to measure the economic cost of gender inequality globally and regionally by examining the impacts of gender inequality in a wide range of areas and the costs associated with those impacts. Given that gender inequality affects individuals throughouttheir life, economic costs are measured in terms of losses in human capital wealth, as opposed to annual losses in income or economic growth. The notes also aim to provide a synthesis of the available evidence on successful programs and policies that contribute to gender equality in multiple areas and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This note has two main objectives. The first is to estimate potential losses in national wealth due to inequality inearnings between men and women in Uganda. The second is to document the impact of gender inequality in selected other domains, including fertility and population growth, health outcomes for young children, and measures of women's agency.


In this article, we present the design and implementation of the software-defined IoT management (SDIM) framework based on software-defined networking (SDN)-enabled architecture that is purposely built for the edge computing multidomain wireless sensor networks (WSNs). This framework can dynamically provision the IoT devices to enable machine-to-machine (M2M) communication as well as continuous operational fault detection for WSNs. Unlike the existing approaches in the literature, SDIM is mainly deployed at multiaccess edge computing (MEC) nodes and is integrated with the cloud by aggregating multidomain topology information. Backed by the experimental results over the University of Bristol 5G test network, we demonstrate in practice that our framework outperforms the implementations of the lightweight M2M (LWM2M) and NETCONF Light IoT device management protocols when deployed autonomously at the network edge and/or the cloud. Specifically, SDIM edge deployments can lower the average device provisioning time as high as 46% compared to LWM2M and 60.3% compared to NETCONF Light. Moreover, it can decrease the average operational fault detection time by approximately 33% compared to LWM2M and roughly 40% compared to NETCONF Light. Also, SDIM reduces control operations time up to 27%, posing a powerful feature for use cases with time-critical control requirements. Last, SDIM manages to both reduce CPU consumption and to have important energy consumption gains at the network edge, which can reach as high as 20% during device provisioning and 4.5%–4.9% during fault detection compared to the benchmark framework deployments.


AIM
The aim of this study is to examine the effects of an 8-day university-based training course, aimed at identifying and addressing psychosocial prognostic factors during physiotherapy treatment, in shifting therapists towards a more biopsychosocial orientation as measured by changes in beliefs/attitudes, knowledge, skills and behaviour.

METHOD
We combined a randomized controlled trail with a pre-post design. Forty-two physiotherapists applied for a university-accredited training course designed to enhance knowledge and management of psychosocial factors in their practice with patients suffering from musculoskeletal pain. The course participants were randomized either to receiving the course or to a waiting list for training. Attitudes and beliefs towards, and knowledge of psychosocial factors, patient vignettes and a video of an imaginary patient were tested before and after training. The patients of the course participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire with background questions at treatment start. The patients also received a questionnaire about the physical therapists' behaviour and patient satisfaction 6 weeks after treatment start.

RESULTS
The results show that physical therapists' attitudes and believes became more biopsychosocially and less biomedically orientated, they were less convinced that pain justifies disability and limitation of activities, and their knowledge and skills on psychosocial risk factors increased after a university-accredited training course. Yet despite these changes their patients perceived their practice behaviour before and after the course as similar and were equally satisfied with their treatment and treatment result.

CONCLUSION
A course, which enhanced biopsychosocial attitudes and beliefs, as well as increased such knowledge and skills did not change the way patients perceived their physical therapists. A future question is whether it improves patient outcome.


Mouse embryonal carcinoma F9 cells are pluripotent stem cells and differentiate into primitive endodermal cells upon treatment with retinoic acid (RA). We have recently shown that in F9 cells RA regulates gene expression of activin receptor type II (ActR-II), whose ligand is a potent differentiation agent. The present study examined the regulation of the newly cloned activin receptor type IIB (ActR-IIB) gene by RA. F9 cells expressed equal amounts of three ActR-IIB transcripts of 8.0, 7.5 and 4.0 kb. Both 9-cis-RA (c-RA) and all-trans-RA (t-RA) induced ActR-IIB gene expression in a dose-dependent manner. At 10(-9) M c-RA exerted no effect, while 10(-5) M c-RA increased the 8.0 kb ActR-IIB transcript about sevenfold. In contrast, t-RA induced the 8.0 kb ActR-IIB transcript fivefold at 10(-9) M and up to eightfold at 10(-5) M. The inductive effect on the 8.0 kb transcript was greater than that on the 7.5 kb transcript, and was least effective on the 4.0 kb transcript, suggesting that these three mRNA isoforms may originate from different promoters. Both cycloheximide and actinomycin D inhibited the inductive effect of t-RA on ActR-IIB gene expression, in contrast to ActR-II whose gene expression was not suppressed by cycloheximide but abolished by actinomycin D. Thus, endodermal differentiation of F9 cells is associated with activation of ActR-IIB gene and the mechanisms involved in the regulation of ActR-II and IIB gene expression are different.


SUMMARY: Several strains of propane-utilizing bacteria were isolated from samples of pond and river water. They could be classified into three groups according to their ability to grow on acetone, and a representative strain from each group was selected for detailed study. All three strains belonged to the genus Arthrobacter. Strain B3aP could not grow on acetone and could not oxidize acetone after growth on propane. Strain PrIO3 grew slowly on acetone but could not oxidize acetone after growth on propane. Both strains excreted acetone during growth on propane. Simultaneous adaptation experiments demonstrated that, whilst propane was oxidized to both propan-1-ol and propan-2-ol, only propan-1-ol was metabolized completely suggesting that only the terminal oxidation pathway was involved in propane dissimilation. The third strain, B2, grew rapidly on acetone and was induced for acetone oxidation after growth on propane, suggesting that both propan-1-ol and propan-2-ol were produced and metabolized completely since no products of propane oxidation could be detected in culture supernatants. We compare these findings with previous reports concerning pathways of propane oxidation.


Soybeans contain various physiology activated materials, so that they are used very
essentially in our dietary life. The functional materials for physiology in soybean are
isoflavone, fiber, phytic acid, trypsin inhibitors, saponin, soybean protein, hydrolysis
peptide, phytosterol and phenolic compounds, etc. Therefore, the purpose of this
study is proving the effects of soybean on recovering the hair health. To accomplish
this purpose, this study took one male adult in Norwood's IV , two male adults in
Norwood's III style, two female adult in Ludwig's I, two in II style and two in No type
as subjects. And as a confront group, two in Ludwig's I style were taken. Total 11
persons had eaten soybeans for three months. As a result, they all experienced a
change in head skin and improvement in hair health.
In the research survey on the effect of soybeans or Hair loss treatment, all of the
subjects responded positively to express their satisfaction in the test.
Recently, as various physiology functional materials were revealed, many studies
has been conducted. Therefore, this study is intended to help the study of
relationship between hair and food, which can be applicated to healthy scalp
maintenance, hair creation, and beauty vital activated materials.


The mechanisms by which oscillatory shear stress (OS) induces, while high laminar shear stress (LS) prevents, atherosclerosis are still unclear. Here, we examined the hypothesis that OS induces inflammatory response, a critical atherogenic event, in endothelial cells by a microRNA (miRNA)-dependent mechanism. By miRNA microarray analysis using total RNA from human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) that were exposed to OS or LS for 24 h, we identified 21 miRNAs that were differentially expressed. Of the 21 miRNAs, 13 were further examined by quantitative PCR, which validated the result for 10 miRNAs. Treatment of HUVECs with the miR-663 antagonist (miR-663-locked nucleic acids) blocked OS-induced monocyte adhesion, but not apoptosis. In contrast, overexpression of miR-663 increased monocyte adhesion in LS-exposed cells. Subsequent mRNA expression microarray study using HUVECs treated with miR-663-locked nucleic acids and OS revealed 32 up- and 3 downregulated genes, 6 of which are known to be involved in inflammatory response. In summary, we identified 10 OS-sensitive miRNAs, including miR-663, which plays a key role in OS-induced inflammatory responses by mediating the expression of inflammatory gene network in HUVECs. These OS-sensitive miRNAs may mediate atherosclerosis induced by disturbed flow.


The lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) belongs to the category of sensory projection nuclei of the thalamus and plays an essential role in normal visual processing. The lateral geniculate nucleus has broadly distributed connectivity projecting to various regions of the extrastriate cortex and receiving input from the same as well as from hindbrain and other midbrain structures. It is located in the posteroventral region of the thalamic nuclei, immediately abutting the pulvinar and posterior to the inferior choroidal point of the choroid plexus. The nucleus' name is from its lateral position relative to the medial geniculate nucleus and the sharp bend (Latin geniculum, "joint") of its laminae.


During the 1980s, American urban areas have experienced rapid change associated with expansion of activities by multinational and multilocational corporations, shifts in the significance of new communications technologies, and the residential and locational preferences of people and organizations. These processes have led to a restructuring of the American city that has major implications for many metropolitan universities. This article presents recommendations for revising the missions of metropolitan universities to account for these changes.


This article focuses on the tools that are available to assess nasal airflow, their utility in clinical practice, and comparison between them. Assessment of the nasal airway traditionally relied on history and physical examination only. Recently, tools have been developed that aid the physician in completing an assessment by measurement of parameters that are directly or indirectly related to airflow. Many physiologic and pathologic conditions can influence the amount of airflow or nasal airway resistance. These conditions can include normal changes, such as the nasal cycle, or pathology, such as septal deviations, turbinate hypertrophy, tumors, synechiae, nasal congestion or obstruction, allergies, nonallergic rhinitis, and sinonasal polyposis. Objective measures can be used to assist the clinician to diagnose and treat nasal complaints and also for objective quantification for research.


We present a framework for evaluating and generating access control policies. The framework contains a modelling formalism called RW, which is supported by a model checking tool. RW is designed for modelling access control policies, and verifying their properties. The RW language is very expressive, allowing us to model complex access conditions which can depend on data values, other permissions, and agent roles.

A property expresses the capability of a coalition of agents to achieve a goal, which may include reading and overwriting certain information. Given a model built based on a policy and a property, the model-checking algorithm decides whether the goal defined by the property is achievable by the coalition within the permissions the policy provides. In the case that the goal is achievable, the algorithm outputs strategies which may be used by the coalition to achieve the goal.

The unachievability of legitimate goals may suggest that the policy does not provide the users enough permissions to carry out their actions. The achievability of malicious goals may reveal certain security holes in the policy. When malicious goals are achievable, the resulting strategies help to provide clues on amending the policy. The tool implements the algorithm and thus performs the RW model-checking. It can also convert a policy written in the RW language into a policy file in XACML. An access control system can then be built on the converted policy file.


Abstract Previous work indicates that 1) adults with native sign language experience produce more manual co-speech gestures than monolingual non-signers, and 2) one year of ASL instruction increases gesture production in adults, but not enough to differentiate them from non-signers. To elucidate these effects, we asked early ASL–English bilinguals, fluent late second language (L2) signers (≥ 10 years of experience signing), and monolingual non-signers to retell a story depicted in cartoon clips to a monolingual partner. Early and L2 signers produced manual gestures at higher rates compared to non-signers, particularly iconic gestures, and used a greater variety of handshapes. These results indicate susceptibility of the co-speech gesture system to modification by extensive sign language experience, regardless of the age of acquisition. L2 signers produced more ASL signs and more handshape varieties than early signers, suggesting less separation between the ASL lexicon and the co-speech gesture system for L2 signers.


An investigation of the biogas production potentials of Bambara nut chaff (Vigna Subterranea) (BNC) was carried out. The waste was charged into a metal prototype digester of 50L capacity in a ratio of 2:1 of water to waste, under mesophilic temperature range of 24° - 37°C and within a retention period of 22 days. Results obtained showed that the BNC had a cumulative biogas production of 4.04 L/kg. slurry and mean biogas yield of 0.18± 0.09 L/kg. slurry. The onset of gas flammability took place on the 10th day though it discontinued after five days. The gas production also stopped after 19 days (giving effective retention time of 19 days). The result of the microbial total viable count (TVC) showed zero count at the end of the digestion showing that the microbes died. Overall results indicate that Bambara nut chaff has the potentials to generate biogas but would require some form of treatment to optimize its biogas production.


This article shows how new time series models can be used to track the progress of an epidemic, forecast key variables and evaluate the effects of policies. The univariate framework of Harvey and Kattuman (2020, Harvard Data Science Review, Special Issue 1—COVID-19, https://hdsr.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/ozgjx0yn) is extended to model the relationship between two or more series and the role of common trends is discussed. Data on daily deaths from COVID-19 in Italy and the UK provides an example of leading indicators when there is a balanced growth. When growth is not balanced, the model can be extended by including a non-stationary component in one of the series. The viability of this model is investigated by examining the relationship between new cases and deaths in the Florida second wave of summer 2020. The balanced growth framework is then used as the basis for policy evaluation by showing how some variables can serve as control groups for a target variable. This approach is used to investigate the consequences of Sweden's soft lockdown coronavirus policy in the spring of 2020.


We investigated the associations between the DRD2/ANKK1 genotype (rs1800497, C > T) and both physical activity (PA) level and exercise habit. A total of 648 Japanese men and women aged 26 – 82 years were included in this cross-sectional study. The PA level was evaluated using a triaxial accelerometer. Exercise habits in the past year and in the period from childhood to adolescence were assessed using a questionnaire. There were no significant differences in PA level or exercise habit in the past year among the DRD2/ANKK1 genotypes. On the other hand, there was a significant association between the DRD2/ANKK1 genotype and exercise habit in the period from childhood to adolescence. Regular exercisers (Ex) showed a lower proportion of the CC genotype than non-exercisers (Non-Ex) (P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis for exercise habit in the period from childhood to adolescence, controlling for gender and age in an additive genetic model, indicated significant associations with increased likelihood of exercisers (Ex) carrying the T allele, OR = 1.38 (95% CI: 1.06 – 1.80, P < 0.05). In conclusion, it was suggested that the DRD2/ANKK1 genotype is associated with exercise habit in the period from childhood to adolescence, but not current PA and exercise habit in the past year.


Contrastive learning (CL) is widely known to require many negative samples, 65536 in MoCo for instance, for which the performance of a dictionary-free framework is often inferior because the negative sample size (NSS) is limited by its mini-batch size (MBS). To decouple the NSS from the MBS, a dynamic dictionary has been adopted in a large volume of CL frameworks, among which arguably the most popular one is MoCo family. In essence, MoCo adopts a momentum-based queue dictionary, for which we perform a fine-grained analysis of its size and consistency. We point out that InfoNCE loss used in MoCo implicitly attract anchors to their corresponding positive sample with various strength of penalties and identify such inter-anchor hardness-awareness property as a major reason for the necessity of a large dictionary. Our findings motivate us to simplify MoCo v2 via the removal of its dictionary as well as momentum. Based on an InfoNCE with the proposed dual temperature, our simplified frameworks, Sim-MoCo and SimCo, outperform MoCo v2 by a visible margin. Moreover, our work bridges the gap between CL and non-CL frameworks, contributing to a more unified under-standing of these two mainstream frameworks in SSL. Code is available at: https://bit.ly/3LkQbaT.


A protege of the legendary Vladimir S. Littauer and for more than thirty years director of the riding program at Sweet Briar College, Paul D. Cronin is a well-known and highly respected trainer and riding instructor. Schooling and Riding the Sport Horse is Cronin's clear and practical guide to getting the most out of your horse in a humane and sensitive way. Beginning with a brief history of educated horsemanship from the earliest published riding masters of the sixteenth century, Cronin clarifies the differences between forward riding and classical dressage, and how at times the two have become inappropriately mixed. He then gives an in-depth presentation of the American forward riding system that is the basis of hunter/jumper riding and examines the ways in which a rider's position and controls are essential to the training of the horse. In the system as Cronin explains it, the three basic pillars are position, controls, and schooling. In clear language, he walks the reader from the beginning stages of training through advanced jumping and cross-country work. He sets out proper methods of early schooling of the young, green, or reclaimed horse, based on freedom of movement under the weight of the rider at the walk, trot, canter, and jump; of gaining the horse's trust and cooperation; and of establishing agility and calmness in the horse at all gaits and over fences. Schooling and Riding the Sport Horse is an important book on horsemanship for riding instructors, trainers, and amateur riders alike.


PURPOSE
Urologists and anatomists have disagreed concerning pelvic neurovascular bundle (NVB) structure. Recently interposition nerve grafting has been performed to improve erectile function after radical prostatectomy. To refine this procedure we reviewed NVB structure from the surgical viewpoint.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Seven fresh cadavers and serial horizontal sections from 20 formalin fixed cadavers were used for gross dissection and histological examination.

RESULTS
Fresh cadaver dissections demonstrated that the pelvic splanchnic nerve (PSN) joined the NVB at a point distal or inferior to the bladder-prostate (BP) junction. Histologically hypogastric nerve fibers were much more dominant than PSN fibers at the BP junction, and the NVB, covered by the lateral pelvic fascia, became evident at levels more than 20 to 30 mm below the BP junction. PSN components joined the NVB in a spray-like distribution at multiple levels more than 20 mm distal to the BP junction. At these low levels nerves tended to be located outside of the NVB at the dorsolateral margin of the prostate. The cranial end of the mimic interposition nerve graft was directed toward the hypogastric nerve rather than the PSN.

CONCLUSIONS
In contrast to general clinical opinion, the NVB appears to supply few PSN components at the BP junction with caudal PSN branches reaching the dorsolateral prostate more than 20 mm below the BP junction. This anatomy has important implications for a reliable nerve graft.


Propolis (bee glue) is a resinous hive product collected by honey bees from many plant sources in temperate and tropical climates. Its fairly complex chemical composition includes polyphenols, phenolic aldehydes, sequiterpenes, quinins, coumarins, amino acids, steroids and inorganic compounds. The contents of propolis depended especially on its location and plant sources. Consequently, the biological activity of propolis gathered from different phytogeographical areas can vary. Propolis is known to have a broad spectrum of biological properties, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiinflammatory, antiallergic, dermatoprotective, laxative, antidiabetic, antitumor and immunomodulatory activity. The immunomodulatory activity of propolis has been well-researched. This activity is attributed to flavonoids and some phenolic acids, mainly caffeic acid (cinnamic acid) phenethyl esters and artepillin C (3,5-diprenyl-4-hydroxycinnamic acid). Propolis and these components exhibited immunomodulatory effects on a wide spectrum of immune cells, including cells of lymphoid or monocytic lineages, mediated by the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2 and mitogen-activated protein-kinase signalling pathway and by eukaryotic transcription factors: nuclear factor of activated T cells and nuclear factor κB. In vitro and in vivo assays have demonstrated that propolis activated monocytes/macrophages and neutrophils, increasing their microbicidal activity. It enhanced the lytic activity of natural killer cells against tumour cells. It also exhibited antiallergic effects, in part by inhibiting degranulation of mast cells or basophils. Propolis stimulated greater antibody production, suggesting that it could be used as an adjuvant in vaccines. Its inhibitory effects on lymphoproliferation might be linked to its antiinflammatory properties. However, this effect appeared to occur in the presence of high concentrations of propolis, while at low concentrations the effect is reversed, causing stimulation of lymphocyte proliferation.


Fibrogenesis encompasses the deposition of matrix proteins, such as collagen I, by hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) that culminates in cirrhosis. Fibrogenic signals drive transcription of procollagen I, which enters the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), is trafficked through the secretory pathway, and released to generate extracellular matrix. Alternatively, disruption of procollagen I ER export could activate the unfolded protein response (UPR) and drive HSC apoptosis. Using a small interfering RNA screen, we identified Transport and Golgi organization 1 (TANGO1) as a potential participant in collagen I secretion. We investigated the role of TANGO1 in procollagen I secretion in HSCs and liver fibrogenesis. Depletion of TANGO1 in HSCs blocked collagen I secretion without affecting other matrix proteins. Disruption of secretion led to procollagen I retention within the ER, induction of the UPR, and HSC apoptosis. In wild‐type (WT) HSCs, both TANGO1 and the UPR were induced by transforming growth factor β (TGFβ). As the UPR up‐regulates proteins involved in secretion, we studied whether TANGO1 was a target of the UPR. We found that UPR signaling is responsible for up‐regulating TANGO1 in response to TGFβ, and this mechanism is mediated by the transcription factor X‐box binding protein 1 (XBP1). In vivo, murine and human cirrhotic tissue displayed increased TANGO1 messenger RNA levels. Finally, TANGO1+/– mice displayed less hepatic fibrosis compared to WT mice in two separate murine models: CCl4 and bile duct ligation. Conclusion: Loss of TANGO1 leads to procollagen I retention in the ER, which promotes UPR‐mediated HSC apoptosis. TANGO1 regulation during HSC activation occurs through a UPR‐dependent mechanism that requires the transcription factor, XBP1. Finally, TANGO1 is critical for fibrogenesis through mediating HSC homeostasis. The work reveals a unique role for TANGO1 and the UPR in facilitating collagen I secretion and fibrogenesis. (Hepatology 2017;65:983‐998).


The approval of several CAR-T cell therapies highlights the ongoing transition of cell-based therapeutics from clinical trial to commercialization. This transition stage is difficult at the best of times, encompassing a shift from smallto large-scale drug production while maintaining product safety and efficacy. Cell therapy presents a unique challenge not extant to traditional medical treatments. Living cells embody an intrinsic variability of response and function that can impact their efficacy in a patient. It is important that pharmaceutical companies take pains to optimize their production workflow from the beginning, to ensure an effective and reliable product. The need for high-quality starting material is crucial to success, since the number of healthy cells in leukapheresis-derived starting material directly impacts the efficacy of the final product. In this article, we examine the processes that ensure optimal quality of the material that forms the basis of CAR-T therapies.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the pharmacokinetics and opioid effects of methadone after administration of multiple doses by means of 2 dosing regimens of methadone-fluconazole-naltrexone.

ANIMALS
12 healthy Beagles.

PROCEDURES
Dogs were randomly allocated (6 dogs/group) to receive 1 of 2 oral dosing regimens of methadone-fluconazole-naltrexone. Treatment 1 doses were administered at 0 (methadone-to-fluconazole-to-naltrexone ratio of 1:5:0.25 mg/kg), 14 (1:5:0.25), 24 (0.5:2.5:0.125), and 38 (0.5:2.5:0.125) hours. Treatment 2 doses were administered at 0 (1:5:0.25), 4 (0.5:2.5:0.125), 10 (0.5:2.5:0.125), and 24 (0.5:2.5:0.125) hours. Blood samples, rectal temperatures, and von Frey antinociceptive measurements were obtained at designated times.

RESULTS
Compared with baseline, temperatures significantly decreased for treatment 1 group dogs at 2 to ≥ 4 hours and from 16 to ≥ 50 hours (12 hours after last dose) and for treatment 2 group dogs at 2 to ≥ 36 hours (12 hours after last dose), when trough methadone concentrations were ≥ 21.3 ng/mL. Antinociception occurred after the first dose but was not maintained throughout the study. Lesions were noted in some dogs at the application site of the von Frey device. Naltrexone and β-naltrexol were sporadically detected in plasma, and naltrexone glucuronide was consistently detected.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Opioid effects were noted after oral administration of the first dose, and data suggested that administering a second dose 6 hours later and every 12 hours thereafter was necessary to maintain opioid effects. Antinociception may have been lost because dogs became averse or hyperalgesic to the von Frey device, such that the antinociception model used here may not be robust for repeated measurements in dogs.


With the increase in world population, food resources have to be modified to be more productive, resistive, and reliable. Wheat is one of the most important food resources in the world, mainly because of the variety of wheat-based products. Wheat crops are threatened by three main types of diseases which cause large amounts of annual damage in crop yield. These diseases can be eliminated by using pesticides at the right time. While the task of manually spraying pesticides is burdensome and expensive, agricultural robotics can aid farmers by increasing the speed and decreasing the amount of chemicals. In this work, a smart autonomous system has been implemented on an unmanned aerial vehicle to automate the task of monitoring wheat fields. First, an image-based deep learning approach is used to detect and classify disease-infected wheat plants. To find the most optimal method, different approaches have been studied. Because of the lack of a public wheat-disease dataset, a custom dataset has been created and labeled. Second, an efficient mapping and navigation system is presented using a simulation in the robot operating system and Gazebo environments. A 2D simultaneous localization and mapping algorithm is used for mapping the workspace autonomously with the help of a frontier-based exploration method.


Data-intensive applications in the Condor high-throughput computing (HTC) environment can place heavy demands on network resources for checkpointing and remote data access. We have developed mechanisms to monitor, control and schedule network usage in Condor. By managing network resources, these mechanisms provide administrative control over Condor's network usage and improve the execution efficiency of Condor applications.


This paper proposes, for the first time, the use of re-encryption scheme to improve users privacy in a privacy-enhancing system. Firstly, a secure protocol to distribute a re-encryption key from a user A to a service provider B, with the help of n referees, is proposed. Next, this re-encryption key distribution protocol is combined with an existing private credential system to provide a protocol for conditional revocation of private information. This protocol has a strong accountability property with efficient online performance. It does not assume the existence of a single trusted entity. We tolerate up to t dishonest referees (t les n - 1), while A and B are dishonest and do not trust each other.


A method is presented for the three-dimensional analysis of ski jumping using two pan and tilt cameras. In each film frame two reference markers are digitized and identified so that a pseudo focal length and three angles defining camera orientation can be calculated from a knowledge of the positions of camera and markers. In each film frame 12 body landmarks are digitized and the films taken by the two cameras are synchronized using the digitized displacement data. The time histories of the center of mass location and 15 angles describing the orientation and configuration of the jumper are calculated. Digitization errors lead to an error of 0.05 m in center of mass location and an error of 1° in orientation angles.


Background Reasons for the variability in survival among ALS cases are unknown but may include exposure to environmental neurotoxicants. Objectives We aimed to determine whether lead exposure, assessed by measuring blood and bone lead levels, is associated with survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods We evaluated the relationship of lead exposure to ALS survival in 110 cases from a case–control study conducted in New England in 1993–1996 that included measurements of blood and bone lead. We retrieved information on date and cause of death through 31 December 2003 from the National Death Index Plus and the Social Security Administration Death Index. We evaluated the relationship of survival to lead exposure using Cox proportional hazard analysis, with adjustment for age, sex, and smoking. Results We found mortality data for 100 of 110 cases; 93 of 100 death certificates mentioned ALS. Median survival from diagnosis to death was 28 months. Shorter survival was associated with older age at diagnosis, female sex, bulbar onset, shorter interval between symptom onset and diagnosis, and reduced lung function. Shorter survival from diagnosis to death had a weak inverse association with blood lead (hazard ratio = 0.9; 95% confidence interval, 0.8–1.0) and a stronger inverse association with patella lead (0.5; 0.2–1.0) and tibia lead (0.3; 0.1–0.7); similar results were found for survival from symptom onset to death. Conclusions These results suggest that lead exposure is associated with longer survival in ALS cases and, if confirmed, may shed light on mechanisms involved in disease progression.


Duplex stainless steels contain similar amounts of austenite  and ferrite α. This two-phase microstructure leads to an excellent combination of mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. However, there are few works dealing with the wear behaviour of these steels. This paper aims to determine the sliding wear mechanisms of a duplex stainless steel type 2205. In order to do it, three different sliding velocities (0.2, 0.7 and 1.2 m/s) and six sliding distances (500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 and 5000 m) were selected. The results show that wear rate depends on both sliding velocity and sliding distance. The wear mechanisms detected were plowing, microcracking and microcutting (typical mechanisms of fatigue wear). These mechanisms evolve according to sliding velocity and sliding distance, highlighting a transition zone in which wear rate is reduced.


Geologic hazards such as volcanism must be assessed when evaluating potential sites for the geologic disposal of high-level radioactive waste. The Japanese islands comprise one of the more volcanically active regions on Earth and the risk of volcanism to a geologic repository is being evaluated as part of the Japanese high-level radioactive waste-disposal program. One hazard that is being evaluated as part of volcanic risk assessment is the possible intersection of a repository by a dike, if a composite volcano were to form near a repository during the long (100 k.y.) performance period of the repository. In this paper we use the characteristics of a well-exposed radial dike system at the Summer Coon volcano in Colorado to define Monte Carlo simulations that estimate the probability of a dike intersection of a repository as a function of volcano distance, dike length and density, and repository area. The models indicate that the probability of intersection declines rapidly as a function of distance from a volcano, as dike density decreases due to the radial dike geometry. The probability of intersection for a mafic dike set with shorter average length declines more rapidly than that of a silicic dike set with longer average length. However, mafic dikes have a higher probability of intersecting a repository close to a volcano (<5–6 km) because they are more numerous than longer silicic dikes. The probability of a silicic dike intersecting a repository is ≤10−2 at distances greater than 15 km from the volcano, decreasing to ≤10−4 at distances greater than 30 km.


We use a multi-agent system to model how agents (representing firms) may collaborate and adapt in a business 'landscape' where some, more influential, firms are given the power to shape the landscape of other firms. The landscapes we study are based on the well-known NK model of Kauffman, with the addition of 'shapers', firms that can change the landscape's features for themselves and all other players. Our work investigates how firms that are additionally endowed with cognitive and experiential search, and the ability to form collaborations with other firms, can use these capabilities to adapt more quickly and adeptly. We find that, in a collaborative group, firms must still have a mind of their own and resist direct mimicry of stronger partners to attain better heights collectively. Larger groups and groups with more influential members generally do better, so targeted intelligent cooperation is beneficial. These conclusions are tentative, and our results show a sensitivity to landscape ruggedness and"malleability"(i.e. the capacity of the landscape to be changed by the shaper firms). Overall, our work demonstrates the potential of computer science, evolution, and machine learning to contribute to business strategy in these complex environments.


Victorian society witnessed a transformation in the understanding and treatment of psychological disorders. The expansion of nosologies or classifications of lunacy was one measure hailed by psychological physicians as indicative of their mastery over madness. Yet between the 1840s and the 1870s the introduction of moral insanity and monomania to established classificatory systems undercut the medical authority of physicians and challenged their desired cultural stature as benevolent and authoritative agents of cure. Far from consolidating medical authority, these `partial' forms of lunacy (which were detected in the emotions rather than the intellect) paradoxically heightened anxiety about the ease with which eccentric or sane individuals could be wrongfully incarcerated in lunatic asylums. This dissertation examines the themes, motifs and defining issues of wrongful incarceration as they were discussed in Parliament, national and regional newspapers, medical and literary journals, and novels and short stories. Discussing in detail several infamous `cases' of wrongful confinement, it traces the ways in which anxieties were formulated, expressed and negotiated. The public outcry over cultural representations of wrongful confinement generated heated reactions from physicians and lunacy law reformers. The most contentious discussions centred on the manner in which notions of humanity and benevolence, and tyranny and liberty, were marshalled to influence public opinion. These debates represented not solely a legal conflict centring the claim to treatment and authority over the alleged lunatic, but more dramatically a battle for the public's good opinion. As important as medico-legal trials and their consequent rulings was the contested appropriateness of sentiment; this was manifested in words and images utilised to exacerbate or contain anxiety. The wrongful confinement controversy constitutes an important (though largely overlooked) episode in the history of English nineteenth-century psychiatry; formatively altering perceptions of the profession of mental science in the Victorian period. .


The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) on the reading skills of emergent readers in kindergarten classes at select Reading First schools in the School District of Palm Beach County, Florida. The reading software analyzed was Destination Reading (Riverdeep, 2001), used during the 2004-2005 school year.
Comparisons were made between users of the program and nonusers. Comparisons were also made between English language learners who used or did not use the program, as well as Exceptional Education students who used or did not use it. Another factor analyzed was how teacher attitude toward the computer affected student reading achievement. This was established by survey responses.
The measures used to compare treatment and non-treatment schools were the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), which tested letter naming ability, initial sound identification, phoneme segmentation ability, and nonsense word decoding. The Word Recognition and Reading Running Record assessments from the School District of Palm Beach County Reading and Writing Assessment System Grades K-1 protocol booklet tested identification of 25 sight words and ability to read continuous text.
Students using Destination Reading (Riverdeep, 2001) did not benefit significantly from use of the program compared to nonusers. Only on the letter-naming measure was there a significant advantage for all students in the sample and the English language learner group. The CAI group scored significantly lower on the initial sound fluency measure. Word Recognition and Reading Running Record assessments showed no significant results. ESE students showed no significant advantage in having had supplemental computer-assisted instruction on any measures.
Factorial ANOVAs were used to compare DIBELS scores for effectiveness of the treatment, pre- and posttest comparisons, and interaction of treatment with test scores for the CAI compared with the nonuser group. T distributions were used to analyze data from the Reading Running Record and Word Recognition assessments. There were no significant differences between the CAI and comparison schools on these two measures.
Teacher attitude toward computers did not affect students' acquisition of reading skills, as survey responses were in the positive range for all participants.


The paper discusses problems existing in neural network design using mathematically guided training methods. It presents a genetic algorithm based design technique to train the network, which overcomes all these problems. The paper also presents suitability conditions for using the genetic algorithm based design methods and develops, under these conditions, direct neurocontrollers with a novel structure inspired by proportional plus derivative control. Techniques are also developed to select the architectures in the same process of parameter training. The proposed methods are validated by several examples, including one with plant transport delay.


Cities are increasingly demanding that planning and design must take history, culture and meaning into account and given the projected continued growth of urbanization in the world and increasing demand for modern and technologic life, pressure on cities and their historic centers will continue to mount. There is no doubt that the historic texture of a city cannot be merely seen as an accumulation of significant monuments but rather needs to be considered as a living organism and vital living space for its inhabitants making it necessary to speculate on how to integrate modern life into traditional structure of historic cities. This paper is an attempt to analyze diverse challenges and contradictions in urban management regarding integration of contemporary urban life to historic center of city in Iran.


The early detection of cancer shows great promise for the control and prevention of cancer. For early detection, one of the challenges that still exists is searching for methods that can illuminate tumors with high sensitivity. Here, acidity and hypoxia, two typical features that exist universally in a solid tumor microenvironment, were focused on to attain synergistic imaging with an enhanced signal-to-noise ratio. This was realized using an iridium(iii) based optical probe (Ir-1) that could sense acidity and hypoxia simultaneously and synergistically. Through the synergistic sensing of acidic pH and hypoxia, stronger emission signals or larger lifetime changes can be obtained than if a single factor (acidity or hypoxia) is used to induce variations. Furthermore, its potential for biological applications was confirmed by employing Ir-1 for phosphorescence synergistic intensity and lifetime imaging of acidity and hypoxia in live monolayer cells and 3D multicellular spheroids.


Purpose
Corporate relocation is a rare event in the history of an individual company. The choices related to location, building and workplace constitute major long-term strategic decisions that determine the company's future operating environment. However, business decision-makers often do not evaluate all the aspects of relocation before making relocation decisions. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to systemise the knowledge behind corporate relocation and the strategic qualities and impacts of these choices.

Design/methodology/approach
This conceptual paper is based on a comprehensive literature review of 74 articles on the strategic qualities of short-distance corporate relocation of knowledge-intensive firms. Based on the review insights, a conceptual model of the strategic operational qualities for work environment selection is developed.

Findings
This paper identifies three strategic layers of physical environment change, namely, location, building and physical work environment, which need to be considered when deciding to relocate. Corporate relocation affects a company through five operational qualities, namely, staff productivity, costs, employee retention and availability, operational changes and organisational culture.

Practical implications
Relocation is a complex process for an individual company. Justifying choices based on direct costs can lead to unexpected changes in indirect costs for the company. This paper helps decision-makers understand the strategic importance of corporate relocation, identify relocation goals and plan successful relocation.

Originality/value
This paper uses a strategy and organisation lens to provide a systematic overview and synthesis of the strategic qualities of short-distance corporate relocation of knowledge-intensive firms.


Today's business development is very advanced. No longer developing only business that leads conventionally but also leads to technology-based business. The business of trade and services that lead to this technology also eventually also requires assistance from the financial services sector in the context of developing its business. Financial technology or better known as fintech is innovation in the field of financial services. Fintech is better known in recent years in the business world. This happens because technology evolves with the times. The development and evolution of this technology can make individuals today become easier in doing business. One service from Fintech that is currently popular is often also called Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Lending, or a company that brings lenders with loan seekers in one container, which financing or credit agreement is carried out with an online system and with the form of a standard agreement electronically. The financing or credit agreement is signed with an electronic signature and no stamp. This will cause problems if there is a default when the loan payment cannot be paid. What legal certainty can be given to creditors and debtors in the loan agreement. The research method used in this paper is a normative juridical legal research method. Where normative legal research is carried out by examining legislation and other literary materials.


Adult male dragonflies were sampled from 42 sites on four variously disturbed rivers and three reservoirs in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Fifty‐one species and 2671 individuals were recorded. Large flow fluctuations resulted in a high species turnover during sampling. Dragonfly species richness mostly conformed with the intermediate‐disturbance hypothesis, with species richness high on the rivers with moderate disturbance and low on the most disturbed ones. Ordination of dragonfly species data separated rivers into clear groups, indicating that the dragonfly assemblages reflected the distinct plant physiognomic and physical environmental conditions of each river system. Species that were abundant on any particular river had biotope preferences that reflected the overall environmental conditions of that river. Aquatic macrophytes, including two exotic invasive species, promoted dragonfly species richness. These species, however, were not rare or threatened. Highly disturbed rivers were characterized by species that preferred highly exposed situations with broad environmental conditions. In contrast, long grass or shady trees were important for some species because they buffered larger‐scale, unpredictable environmental changes. Biotic disturbance was also important because trampling by buffalo reduced local species richness and composition. Dragonfly assemblages were highly visible and sensitive indicators of aspects of long‐term environmental conditions of the water body. Management recommendations for dragonflies and other aquatic invertebrates include maintaining water and riparian biotope heterogeneity, maintaining constant flow rates and water levels, and allowing some macrophyte cover. A little natural and anthropogenic disturbance encourages much greater species richness than more extreme disturbance. The Sabie River is a major subject for conservation action in the premier protected area of Kruger National Park.


Modern societies must face increasing social needs which characterize the world nowadays. Traditional business models propose a hierarchical organization based on a capitalist pattern, which is restrictive for enterprises aiming to put the social dimension at the core of their organization. In opposition to the capitalist model, we are witnessing the development of social organizations. We suggest investigating how functions a special type of social organization, a social cooperative in a real-life context conducting a case study. In the socio-technical structure of a social cooperative there are multiple relationships between different actors. Specifically, the work organisation must interface with many different actors and different ways of carrying out the work. In this complexity, the aim is to reach a detailed understanding of the dynamics that characterize the social cooperative. For doing so, we apply an innovative context framework the Holistic Diagnosis (HD). HD is applying to the management organisation of the cooperative including both aspects of work organisation with related material resources and the social aspects inherent in the cooperative's mission. The results emerging from HD highlight the main critical issues and potentialities within personnel organisation and resource management. HD allows us to have a holistic view of the reference context. In the specific case it allows us to clearly identify the management and organizational aspects that are less functional and not strategic.


To assess performances of N95 respirators for Health Care Workers (HCWs) in a simulated health-care setting, we measured the Simulated Workplace Protection Factors (SWPFs) in real-time from the volunteers. A total of 49 study subjects, wearing 3 M respirator Model N95 1860 and 1860S, were fit tested using the OSHA Exercise Regimen. The test subjects were asked to perform simulated scenarios, including patient assessments, suction, and intravenous injection (IV) treatment. Two TSI PortaCount instruments continuously measured concentrations in the respirator and the room concentration. For Quantitative Fit Testing (QNFT), 36 out of 49 (73.5%) passed the fit factor (FF) criteria set at 100 and 13 (26.5%) failed. The results of QNFT were found to have a low correlation with SWPF, with R2=0.32. The geometric means (GM) and geometric standard deviations (GSD) of SWPF were 68.8 (1.1) for those subjects who passed and 39.6 (1.3) for those who failed. Real-time assessments of SWPF showed that lower SWPFs were; moving head up and down, and bending at the waist. This study identifies the needs for providing different sizes of respirators for HCWs and the importance of performing fit tests for HCWs regularly. And particular movements were identified as attributing factors affecting more on SWPFs.


This paper extends an interpolatory framework for weighted-H2 model reduction to MIMO dynamical systems. A new representation of the weighted-H2 inner product in MIMO settings is presented together with associated rst-order necessary conditions for an optimal weighted-H2 reduced-order model. Equivalence of these conditions with necessary conditions given by Halevi is shown. An examination of realizations for equivalent weighted-H2 systems leads to an algorithm that remains tractable for large state-space dimension. Several numerical examples illustrate the eectiveness of this approach and its competitiveness with Frequency Weighted Balanced Truncation and Weighted Iterative Rational Krylov Algorithm.


This thesis reports on an exploratory study of the relationship between the Internet and women's empowerment in China. The theoretical framework of the study combines feminist theorisations of power – the core concept of empowerment – with insights from sociological perspectives on power and gender, as well as collective action theory. This allows for the conceptualisation of women's empowerment as a dynamic process that is shaped by a set of communicative practices.

Focusing on female Chinese bloggers and women's groups of different organisational types, this study aims to explore the respective ways in which these two types of women actors use the Internet with a view to examining whether, and the extent to which it enables them to generate a sense of empowerment. The empirical data mainly derives from interviews with female bloggers and with staff members from different women's groups, as well as from a features analysis and social network
analysis of the sampled blogs and official websites of studied groups.

Overall, the findings suggest that the opportunities offered by the Internet for women's empowerment through awareness-raising, social interactions, and the organising of collective action, are limited. For female bloggers, their activities do not translate the new communicative practices afforded by the Internet into concrete action to bring about changes in their everyday life. On the contrary, blogs become an alternative platform to discipline their behaviours and to reinforce patriarchal gendered norms. Moreover, the research finds that the promise of empowerment is further undermined by the pervasive commercialisation of the Internet and state control. For women's groups, contextual factors prevent them from fully realising the potential of the Internet for increasing their organisational visibility, promoting public awareness about gender issues, building a sense of the collective, campaigning, or networking. The major barriers in these processes are state control, a lack of resources, online censorship, and at times, competition from commercial sites. In this respect, the Internet does not play a significant role in forming a collective to challenge existing
unjust power relations.


An antenna fabricated using clothing materials is presented. The antenna operates over the wireless network bands at 2.45 Hz and 5 GHz. An electromagnetic band gap surface is used to reduce back radiation by 10 to 15 dB while maintaining the impedance match over the two frequency bands. Coupling between antennas is significantly reduced making it ideal for body worn communication systems.


Purpose This study aimed to examine the effects of self-selected low-intensity walking on an active workstation on executive functions (EF) in young and middle-age adults. Methods Using a within-subjects design, 32 young (20.6 ± 2.0 yr) and 26 middle-age (45.6 ± 11.8 yr) adults performed low-intensity treadmill walking and seated control conditions in randomized order on separate days, while completing an EF test battery. EF was assessed using modified versions of the Stroop (inhibition), Sternberg (working memory), Wisconsin Card Sorting (cognitive flexibility), and Tower of London (global EF) cognitive tasks. Behavioral performance outcomes were assessed using composite task z-scores and traditional measures of reaction time and accuracy. Average HR and step count were also measured throughout. Results The expected task difficulty effects were found for reaction time and accuracy. No significant main effects or interactions as a function of treadmill walking were found for tasks assessing global EF and the three individual EF domains. Accuracy on the Tower of London task was slightly impaired during slow treadmill walking for both age-groups. Middle-age adults displayed longer planning times for more difficult conditions of the Tower of London during walking compared with sitting. A 50-min session of low-intensity treadmill walking on an active workstation resulted in accruing approximately 4500 steps. Conclusions These findings suggest that executive function performance remains relatively unaffected while walking on an active workstation, further supporting the use of treadmill workstations as an effective approach to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary time in the workplace.


Broadband and wireless communications are here to stay and innovations in digital bandwidth and hardware have created a convergence of mediums that is changing the way we watch television, use the telephone and drive our cars. As these new mediums grow, so will the need for designers and design firms skilled in creating user experiences as big as a home theatre screen or as small as the face of a watch. This book focuses on graphic design for the full range of new media platforms, and showcases groundbreaking work from international designers in these arenas. Categories covered include interactive television, broadband computing and wireless devices and the text addresses the specific challenges of, and ideas for, designing each platform. It includes navigation schemes, icon systems, wireless games and interactive television menus.


Two subcritical configurations of the zero-power coupled subcritical core YALINA-Booster have been identified through pulsed neutron source measurements. The area ratio and the slope fitting reactivity estimation methods have been utilized as well as the pulsed Rossi-�. noise method. The measurements showed that despite the inhomogeneous two-zone core composition a clear single exponential prompt neutron decay was obtained. Spatial spread of the results and converegence issues related to the area ratio method are addressed.


Parties to the Internal Electricity Market of the European Union (IEM) decided in 2001 to abolish the method of pancaking of transmission tariffs for cross-border transactions that was originally in place. Instead, they have agreed to implement a system whereby national transmission tariffs provide access to the entire IEM. This system is supplemented by a scheme of inter-TSO payments. However, conflict may arise if the compensation that a country must pay another one is not in accordance with the electrical usage that the former is making of the grid of the latter. For instance, Inter TSO Compensation methods (ITC methods) implicitly allocate the cost of any existing or new transmission line. Therefore, the adoption of an inefficient method may be an obstacle for building some needed regional grid investments. Consequently, one should give careful consideration to the selection of the ITC method. This paper analyzes, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the implementation of the most relevant ITC methods that have been considered so far in the European debate. When assessing each method from a conceptual point of view, considerable attention is devoted to the critical examination of its main underlying assumptions.


The Council of Chalcedon in 451 was a defining moment in the Christological controversies that tore apart the churches of the Eastern Roman Empire in the fifth and sixth centuries. Theological division, political rivalry and sectarian violence combined to produce what ultimately became separate Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian churches, a schism that persists to this day. Whether seen as a milestone in the development of orthodox doctrine or as a divisive and misguided cause of schism, Chalcedon is chiefly remembered for its Definition of Faith, a classic expression of Christian belief in Christ as both God and man. The council also dealt with other contentious issues relating to individuals and to the rights of various sees; its famous Canon 28 was crucial in the development of the patriarchate of Constantinople. Little attention, however, has been devoted to the process by which these results were reached, the day-by-day deliberations of the council as revealed in its Acts. These are particularly illuminating for the politics of the late antique church and its relations with the civil power, and contain moments of high drama. This edition, based on both the Greek and Latin versions of the Acts, is the first translation in a modern western language, and the first annotated edition. In addition to the minutes, it includes a selection of the attendant documentation, relating to imperial policy and the stance of the papacy.


It can be denied that most of roads condition in Indonesia is worst. It is because maintenance works is not properly conducted because of insufficiently, unsustainably, and inconsistency on allocating budget for maintenance. Insufficient or uncertain budgetary allocations to road maintenance have resulted in road deterioration that has significantly increased production and transport costs. To avoid this problem, highway professionals advocate the establishment of dedicated road funds, managed by independent road boards made up of road user representatives. So far roads maintenance in Indonesia is financed using the government budget allocation. It is difficult to give guarantee to the sustainable road maintenance if the finance for road maintenance takes from the government budget allocation. Therefore in this paper will be introduced road fund, the road maintenance funding system widely used in some countries that road conditions can be well maintained. The conclusion isthat the road fund needs to be applied to maintenancethe road in Indonesia. Keywords: Road, deteriorate, maintenance, road fund, budget system, sustainable


Vedolizumab (VDZ), an anti-integrin monoclonal antibody has demonstrated its efficacy in inducing and maintaining response in patients with luminal Crohn`s disease (CD). Postoperative recurrence (POR) affects over half of the patients with CD and currently, majority of these patients undergo surgery due to primary or secondary failure of anti-tumor necrosis factor (antiTNF) biologics. Thus, data on efficacy of other agents in this setting are needed. Considering the slow onset of action of VDZ together with its favorable safety profile in older and co-morbid patients, VDZ would represent a good candidate for preventing and treating POR but the data on its efficacy in this specific clinical situation are scarce. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of VDZ in preventing and treating of Crohn`s disease postoperative recurrence.

 In this retrospective single-center cohort study, we included all patients with CD treated with VDZ between May 2015 and August 2020. Patients who started with VDZ immediately postoperatively or continued from the pre-operative period (prevention of POR) or patients who started VDZ because of clinical or endoscopic POR (treatment of POR) with a minimal follow-up of one year were eligible for further analysis. The effect of VDZ was determined by Harvey-Bradshaw Index ≤ 4 in case of prevention of POR, or as any decrease of 3 or more points in case of treatment of POR. Endoscopic response was evaluated by Rutgeerts` score as any decrease of the score. All patients underwent the colonoscopy at 6 months postoperatively and further follow-up colonoscopy one year after treatment adjustment.

 In the defined period, a total of 54 patients with Crohn`s disease were treated with VDZ. Of these 54 patients, sixteen (11 women; median age 57 years, range 25–75) receive VDZ for prevention (6) or treatment (10) of postoperative recurrence. Six patients received first-line VDZ due to high risk profile for systemic biologics (age and/or co-morbidities), the remaining ten patients all had previously failed at least one anti-tumor necrosis factor biologic agent.
 During the median follow-up of 24 months (range 12 to 70), thirteen patients (81%) had clinical response or achieved remission, eleven (69%) had endoscopic response. Three patients with no response had to change the treatment to another biologic. Out thirteen responders, seven (54%) necessitated intensification of dosing regimen to every 4 or 6 weeks in order to achieve clinical and/or endoscopic response.

 Vedolizumab is effective in preventing and treating of Crohn`s disease postoperative recurrence in a difficult-to-treat population of patients.


The Kabbalistic idea of creation, as expressed through light, space and geometry, has left its unmistakable mark on our civilization. Drawing upon a wide array of historical materials and images of contemporary art, sculpture and architecture, architect Alexander Gorlin explores the influence, whether actually acknowledged or not, of the Kabbalah on modern design. Comprising ten chapters that each outline key concepts of the Kabbalah and its representations, both in historic diagrams and the modern built environment, Kabbalah in Art and Architecture puts forth an unparalleled and compelling reinterpretation of art and architecture through the lens of the Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism. A chapter on the Golem, and an epilogue that discusses German artist Anselm Kiefers powerful interpretations of the Kabbalah, complete this unique book.


Background: Sildenafil is used for the treatment of pediatric pulmonary hypertension. A dried blood spot (DBS)-based LC–MS method for sildenafil quantitation was developed and applied to a group of patients. Results: DBS showed high portability and stability of samples, and the method was selective and linear for quantitation of sildenafil (5–3,000 ng/ml) and N-desmethyl-sildenafil (3–1,500 ng/ml). After a single oral dose of sildenafil (1 mg/kg), method evidenced poor metabolism in these patients.Conclusion: The method was successfully applied in peripheral blood and can be used for both pharmacokinetics and therapeutic drug monitoring. DBS proved to have advantages during sample translation and preservation of analytes. Data suggest that hazardous blood sildenafil levels may be reached in this population.


This thesis explores the experiences of New Zealanders who order illicit drugs from cryptomarkets, with particular attention to their perspectives on New Zealand's conventional illicit drug market, the negatives and positives of drug cryptomarkets, and their notable insights and features. Internationally, research on engagement with drug cryptomarkets is emergent. However, peer-reviewed research on New Zealand drug cryptomarket users remains absent. This thesis attempts to begin to fill this gap, exploring the experiences and viewpoints of New Zealand drug cryptomarket users within the context of existing international literature. The study utilised qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 12 New Zealanders who have accessed drug cryptomarkets. The data from the interviews were interpreted through thematic analysis using constructivist grounded theory.  The research found that the constraints of New Zealand's conventional drug market push some drug consumers to use cryptomarkets to access illicit drugs. Although drug cryptomarkets have various pull factors that attract participants to them, they also have negative aspects which influence participants' choices and behaviours when accessing cryptomarkets. The findings that are presented give voice to the lived experiences of New Zealanders who access drug cryptomarkets, extend scholarly knowledge of cryptomarket users, and highlight further avenues for research.


The effects of perturbations of whispering gallery modes (WGMs) in cylindrical microcavities by embedded particles are studied by FDTD modeling. The principal effects are: i) spectral shift of the WGM-related peaks caused by the variation of the average index, ii) broadening of the WGM peaks introduced by the scattering, and iii) splitting of the WGM peaks due to formation of symmetric (SSW) and antisymmetric (ASW) standing waves. The focus of this work is on the last effect. We show that it can be maximized by placing the nanoparticle inside the cavity at a position corresponding to the antinode of the radial distribution of intensity of WGM. It is demonstrated that in this case the magnitude of splitting reaches several angstroms for cavities with moderately high quality (Q approximately = 10(5)) WGMs. We show that for relatively small particles with radius <70 nm and index contrasts <0.2 the magnitude of SSW/ASW splitting is linearly dependent on the size and index of the nanoparticle. This allows developing biomolecular sensors based on measuring this splitting in porous cavities. It is predicted that a similar effect of splitting can occur in semiconductor microdisks and pillars where the role of embedded dielectric nanoparticles can be played by self-assembled quantum dots.


This paper focuses on risk, conceived not as an individual action, but considering its social dimension, analyzing the various forms in the socio-cultural context related to internalized homophobia and hegemonic gender norms that allow barriers to be constructed in risk perception. Such barriers hinder negotiation and protection among homosexual men that have adopted a female gender identity, living in low-income barrios of Lima and Trujillo, Peru. Risk perception is analyzed on the socio-cultural plane, allowing one to explain the limited negotiating capacity of this population, even though they have extensive knowledge of HIV/AIDS and its consequences.


This study developed species distribution models (SDMs) of the 6 dominant Hawaiian coral species (Montipora capitata, Montipora flabellata, Montipora patula, Pocillopora meandrina, Porites compressa, and Porites lobata) around the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI). To construct the SDMs, we used boosted regression tree (BRT) models to investigate relationships between the abundance (i.e. benthic cover) of each species with a set of environmental variables for the time period from 2000 to 2009. Mean significant wave height and maximum significant wave height were the most influential variables explaining coral abundance in the Hawaiian Islands. The BRT models also identified relationships between coral cover and island age, depth, downwelled irradiance, rugosity, slope, and aspect. The rank order of coral abundance (from highest to lowest) for the MHI was Porites lobata, M. patula, Pocillopora meandrina, M. capitata, Porites compressa, and M. flabellata. Mean coral cover predicted for each species was relatively low (≤5%) at each island and for the entire MHI except for Porites lobata around Hawaii (11%). The areas of highest predicted coral cover summed for the 6 species were Kaneohe Bay on Oahu; the wave-sheltered reefs of Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and Kahoolawe; and the Kohala coast of Hawaii. Regional-scale characterizations of coral species from these SDMs provide a framework for spatially explicit population modeling and ecological inputs to marine spatial planning of Hawaiian coral reef ecosystems.


The assessment of motion sickness susceptibility is still an unsolved problem, due in part to its unclear etiology. We studied 16 referred patients suffering from "idiopathic motion sickness" and 4 pilots suffering from motion airsickness. All clinical and neurological tests proved negative, including electroencephalograms, electronystagmograms, Doppler studies, and computerized tomography of the brain. Cervical spine X-rays and personality characteristics were assessed. Simultaneously, 35 asymptomatic pilots and pilot applicants were studied as controls. Both groups were exposed to cross-coupled accelerations on a Barany chair at 15 rpm along with 0.5 Hz head flexions. The pathological group showed a straightened cervical curvature as well as a significantly higher degree of malaise (scale of Graybiel and Lackner). Their personalities were highly alexithymic or obsessive compared to the control group (Kruskal-Wallis Test). Alexithymic and obsessive personalities may express their stress reactions and psychic conflicts through somatic signs, such as cervical muscle contractures; consequently, straightening the cervical spine with the subsequent alteration of proprioceptive inputs to the vestibular nuclei may increase motion sickness susceptibility.


The development of infections in 420 wounded soldiers, admitted to the Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem between October 7, 1973 and November 31, 1973, was studied. An attempt was made to relate the development of infection to the type of injury. The overall infection rate was 22%, but varied with the type of injury. Three "risk factors" were found to be associated with infection regardless of the number of injuries: 1)penetrating abdominal wounds involving the colon; 2) fractures involving the femur; 3) burns involving more than 25% of body surface. In patients with comparable injuries, the presence of infection was found to prolong the duration of hospitalization. Pseudomonas was the most common single pathogen. There were no cases of myonecrosis (gas gangrene). Of the 8 soliders who died, 5 died with or because of infection.


Infants with a tongue-tie or ankyloglossia have a short lingual frenulum, which can lead to problems with breastfeeding: attachment difficulties, nipple pain and damage, poor weight gain and eventually a reduction in milk supply. Trained clinicians can release the frenulum (frenotomy) in infants having difficulty with breastfeeding. Although traditionally performed by medical practitioners, we argue that this simple procedure is within the scope of practice of other clinicians. This paper outlines the process of setting up and maintaining credentialing for midwife lactation consultants (International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs)) to assess infant tongue-ties and perform frenotomy when appropriate at a tertiary maternity hospital. Since 2005, 11 midwives/IBCLCs have been credentialed to perform frenotomies at The Breastfeeding Education and Support Services at The Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. We believe that nurses/midwives/lactation consultants working in other settings could be trained to perform frenotomies, thus enabling faster resolution of breastfeeding problems.


The 4.0 technologies are changing agricultural production processes and with them the agro-food supply chains, fundamental for the competitiveness of the Made in Italy and Basilicata, a region of southern Italy. It has invested in modernization and restructuring of agricultural, agri-food and forestry farms by rural development policies, which address respect for sustainability and to reduction of renewable and non-renewable resources, preserving quality and the link with the territory.   Some Lucanian agricultural entrepreneurs, interested in experimenting with innovative and sustainable agriculture, has intensified relations with the local scientific world, the advisors, training institutions and with small and medium-sized agro-industrial enterprises, setting up clusters. Then European Partnerships for Innovation have formed inside them.   This paper analyses the eleven Operational Groups of the Lucanian European Partnerships which represent the incubators for the digitalization of agri-food 4.0. From the analysis it emerged that the maximum expression of digitization in Basilicata is Precision Farming, as evidenced by the establishment of a specific operating group, AgrotechBasilicata. However, the other Lucanian OGs can also be classified as digital because they are interested by information collection systems, software and data analysis, as well as robotics and automation.


Naïve T cells continuously traffic to secondary lymphoid organs, including peripheral lymph nodes, to detect rare expressed antigens. The migration of T cells into lymph nodes is a complex process which involves both cellular and chemical factors including chemokines. Recently, the use of two-photon microscopy has permitted to track T cells in intact lymph nodes and to derive some quantitative information on their behavior and their interactions with other cells. While there are obvious advantages to an in vivo system, this approach requires a complex and expensive instrumentation and provides limited access to the tissue. To analyze the behavior of T cells within murine lymph nodes, we have developed a slice assay 1, originally set up by neurobiologists and transposed recently to murine thymus 2. In this technique, fluorescently labeled T cells are plated on top of an acutely prepared lymph node slice. In this video-article, the localization and migration of T cells into the tissue are analyzed in real-time with a widefield and a confocal microscope. The technique which complements in vivo two-photon microscopy offers an effective approach to image T cells in their natural environment and to elucidate mechanisms underlying T cell migration.


The problem of estimating the population variance is presented using auxiliary information in the presence of measurement errors. The estimators in this article use auxiliary information to improve efficiency and assume that measurement error is present both in study and auxiliary variable. A numerical study is carried out to compare the performance of the proposed estimator with other estimators and the variance per unit estimator in the presence of measurement errors.


Novel technologies that produce medical models which are synthetic equivalents to human tissue may forever change the way human anatomy and medicine are explored. Medical modelling using a bitmap-based additive manufacturing workflow offers exciting opportunities for medical education, informed consent practices, skills acquisition, pre-operative planning and surgical simulation. Moving medical data from the 2D-world to tactile, highly detailed 3D-printed anatomical models may significantly change how we comprehend the body; revamping everything – from medical education to clinical practice.  Research Problem The existing workflow for producing patient-specific anatomical models from biomedical imaging data involves image thresholding and iso-surface extraction techniques that result in surface meshes (also known as objects or parts). This process restricts shape specification to one colour and density, limiting material blending and resulting in anatomically inequivalent medical models. So, how can the use of 3D-printing go beyond static anatomical replication? Imagine pulling back the layers of tissue to reveal the complexity of a procedure, allowing a family to understand and discuss their diagnosis. Overcoming the disadvantages of static medical models could be a breakthrough in the areas of medical communication and simulation. Currently, patient specific models are either rigid or mesh-based and, therefore, are not equivalents of physiology.  Research Aim The aim of this research is to create tangible and visually compelling patient-specific prototypes of human anatomy, offering an insight into the capabilities of new bitmap-based 3D-printing technology. It proposes that full colour, multi-property, voxel-based 3D-printing can emulate physiology, creating a new format of visual and physical medical communication.  Data Collection and Procedure For this study, biomedical imaging data was converted into multi-property 3D-printed synthetic anatomy by bypassing the conversion steps of traditional segmentation. Bitmap-based 3D-printing allows for the precise control over every 14-micron material droplet or "voxel".  Control over each voxel involves a process of sending bitmap images to a high-resolution and multi-property 3D-printer. Bitmap-based 3D-printed synthetic medical models – which mimicked the colour and density of human anatomy – were successfully produced.  Findings This research presented a novel and streamlined bitmap-based medical modelling workflow with the potential to save manufacturing time and labour cost. Moreover, this workflow produced highly accurate models with graduated densities, translucency, colour and flexion – overcoming complexities that arise due to our body's opaqueness. The presented workflow may serve as an incentive for others to investigate bitmap-based 3D-printing workflows for different manufacturing applications.


Local politics in Britain has changed dramatically over recent decades with the traditional model dominated by local councils increasingly transformed into one involving broader networks of actors in policy-making and delivery. This book examines the changing nature of local politics, drawing on the latest research from the ESRC Local Governance Program. It assesses the emergence of new forms of elite organizations and changing power relations in the context of increasing roles for business and other partners. The book concludes with a consideration of the extent to which the emerging system of local governance can meet the social and economic challenges created by globalization.


The circulating levels of hyaluronate were determined in 36 patients with scleroderma and in 36 control subjects matched for age and sex. The mean serum hyaluronate concentration in patients with progressive systemic sclerosis (n = 25) was 131 +/- 67 (SD) microgram/l and significantly greater (p less than 0.001) than that of the controls (mean level 49 +/- 21 (SD) microgram/l). Hyaluronate levels in patients with localised scleroderma (n = 4) were 141 +/- 47 (SEM) microgram/l and in patients with scleroderma-associated overlap syndromes (n = 7) 202 +/- 54 (SEM) microgram/l. The increase in serum hyaluronate probably reflected an enhanced synthesis or outflow of hyaluronate from the connective tissue, or both; it could not be explained by affection of the liver, which is the catabolic site of hyaluronate. The hyaluronate values were not related to certain serological indicators of inflammatory activity or to the extent of the skin lesions or the severity of internal organ manifestations. A positive correlation was noted between circulating platelet counts and hyaluronate levels (p less than 0.001). Plasma beta-thromboglobulin was measured in 15 of the patients with systemic sclerosis and found to correlate positively with platelet counts. Raised levels of beta-thromboglobulin were associated with the highest hyaluronate values. Platelet-derived growth factor, which stimulates connective tissue cells and is stored in the alpha-granules of platelets together with beta-thromboglobulin, was shown to enhance hyaluronate synthesis in fibroblast cultures. The results suggest an involvement in scleroderma of connective tissue activating substances released from platelets.


The growing amount of scientific data from sensors and field observations is posing a challenge to "data valets" responsible for managing them in data repositories. These repositories built on commodity clusters need to reliably ingest data continuously and ensure its availability to a wide user community. Workflows provide several benefits to modeling data-intensive science applications and many of these benefits can help manage the data ingest pipelines too. But using workflows is not panacea in itself and data valets need to consider several issues when designing workflows that behave reliably on fault prone hardware while retaining the consistency of the scientific data. In this paper, we propose workflow designs for reliable data ingest in a distributed environment and identify workflow framework features to support resilience. We illustrate these using the data pipeline for the Pan-STARRS repository, one of the largest digital surveys that accumulates 100TB of data annually to support 300 astronomers.


The conventional railway substructure in France was built by emplacing ballast directly on subgrade. Over years of operation, the interpenetration of ballast and subgrade created a soil layer between them. Under different conditions, this naturally formed layer, namely interlayer, can contain different quantities of fine particles, becoming more or less sensitive to changes in water content. As the water content changes are governed by the hydraulic behavior of the interlayer soil, assessing the influence of fine particle content on the hydraulic behavior of interlayer soil is of importance. To this end, the hydraulic behavior of an interlayer soil taken from Senissiat (near Lyon, France) was investigated using two infiltration columns, a large-scale column equipped with tensiometers and a time domain reflectometer (TDR) for suction and volumetric water content measurements, respectively, and a smaller column equipped with high-capacity tensiometers only. Different fines contents were considered and wetting-drying cycles were applied to the soil specimens. The hydraulic conductivity was determined by applying the instantaneous profile method. The results obtained showed that (i) hysteresis exists for both the soil water retention curve and the hydraulic conductivity changes with suction; (ii) the effect of wetting-drying cycles is insignificant; (iii) adding 10% fine particles to the natural interlayer soil gives rise to changes in the soil water retention curve but does not induce significant changes in hydraulic conductivity; (iv) the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of interlayer soil with 10% fine particles added is close to that of soil sieved at 2 mm, suggesting that the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of interlayer soil is mainly governed by fine particles through the suction effect. By contrast, in a saturated state, the value for the interlayer soil with 10% fine particles added was found to be higher, suggesting that in this case the hydraulic conductivity is mainly governed by the water transfer through macropores.


Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing with subcarrier number modulation (OFDM-SNM) has been recently proposed to improve the spectral efficiency (SE) of the traditional OFDM system. In this paper, we propose a joint-mapping OFDM-SNM (JM-OFDM-SNM) scheme to transmit the signal vector with a constant length of information bits by jointly considering the subcarrier activation patterns and constellation symbols. A low-complexity detection scheme based on log-likelihood ratio criterion is proposed to relieve the high computational complexity of the maximum-likelihood detection at the cost of a negligible performance loss. Upper-bounded bit error rate (BER) and lower-bounded achievable rate are both derived in closed-form to evaluate the performance of JM-OFDM-SNM. To suit different application scenarios, we further propose two enhanced schemes, named adaptive JM-OFDM-SNM (AJM-OFDM-SNM) and JM-OFDM with in-phase/quadrature SNM (JM-OFDM-IQ-SNM), where the former adjusts the constellation orders for different numbers of active subcarriers, and the latter extends the indexing to in-phase and quadrature domains. Simulation results corroborate the tightness of the derived BER expression in the high signal-to-noise ratio region and show that (A)JM-OFDM-SNM improves the performance of OFDM-SNM, while both AJM-OFDM-SNM and JM-OFDM-IQ-SNM schemes perform better than JM-OFDM-SNM at the same SE.


Abstract: During the last 18 months 360 new pedagogic small-scale projects have been performed within the framework of the pedagogic teacher training courses in higher education at Uppsala University. In the presentation we focus on the following questions. What interests in developing and exploring teaching and learning in HE do our new teaching staff have? How are the new findings and results from the projects received in the faculties? Does the process of working with pedagogic development have any impact on our new teaching staff? A dominant element in the central pedagogic teacher training course, a basic course for the university teaching staff, is the planning and execution of a small-scale project which focuses on scholarly and reflective pedagogic development. The course participants are encouraged to select a topic based on their own teaching and educational experiences which they would like to explore and develop. The project work load is six to seven days, including readings and planning, and is assessed on the basis of predefined evaluation criteria as well as by a structured peer and facilitator feedback procedure. Approximately 360 new projects have been produced during a period of 18 months. The conference audience is introduced to the framework and goals of Uppsala University´s pedagogic teacher training course. This is followed by examples from selected projects in order to demonstrate the richness and depth of the work performed by course participants. The focus is on the topic areas, especially motivations behind selections, methodology, as well as theoretical basis, implementation and evaluation blueprints. The topics are systematically categorized on the basis of specific variables that were identified through a combination of previous published models and the findings in the process of analysis In the analysis of the project topics important questions regarding the relevance of university teacher training courses and the impact of the course structures and content arises. What is received and retained by participants and how are results transferred to the actual teaching and learning activities across the university? A number of previous project authors are interviewed in order to follow-up the implementation and impact of the projects both regarding the teaching and learning and on the teacher/author. The presentation argues that organized training courses and projects are powerful, yet under-utilized, tools to enhance a SoTL-aware approach to teaching and learning as well as a motivational factor for the new teaching staff to engage in research and development in a reflective, scholarly fashion as framed by Boyer (1990). Furthermore that the engagement level of the participants generally supports a relatively high level of scholarship quality in the actual projects, besides a high level of practical value, and encourages a scholarly approach to the art and craft of teaching. There is, however, an inherent conflict in that there is a tendency to view course projects as less scholarly, a view we object to, as there is a risk that quality contributions to SoTL do not receive the attention they deserve. We propose that such work contributes significantly to engaging those involved in all three approaches to teaching as described by Kreber (2002) and should be firmly supported by pedagogic and quality-management leaders in higher education. Boyer, E. (1990). Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate. Princetown, N.J.: The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Kreber, C. (2002) Teaching Excellence, Teaching Expertise, and the Scholarship of Teaching, Innovative Higher Education, Vol. 27, No. 1, Fall 2002 Schon, D. (1995). The reflective practitioner: how professionals think in action. London, UK: Ashgate