The paper presents the functioning of the Polish residential real estate market from the perspective of the construction and financial sectors. Developers operating on a dynamic market must respond quickly and flexibly to the changes occurring on the market, e.g., at the growth stage they should be increasing their investment portfolios, while during the slowdown stage they should be taking measures to maintain the scale of their business, or be reducing the price of the developed area. The paper also shows the involvement of the banking sector in financing the real estate market, which affects majorly the dynamics of the real estate market development.


To control the polarization switching characteristics of ferroelectric HfxZr1−xO2 (HZO) thin films, the effects of oxygen partial pressure (PO2) during the sputtering deposition of HZO and the area ratio (SI/SF) of metal–ferroelectric–metal–insulator–semiconductor (MFMIS) gate stacks were investigated for ferroelectric synapse transistors. An increase in PO2 resulted in a relative decrease in the ferroelectric orthorhombic phase owing to the compensation of oxygen vacancies into the HZO films. The introduction of an MFMIS gate stack with a smaller SI/SF ratio effectively reduced the electric field applied across the HZO gate insulator. The polarization switching times for the HZO thin films could be modulated in a wide range by means of these two strategies, which were clearly examined to facilitate the synaptic operations of ferroelectric field-effect transistors (FeFETs) using HZO gate insulators. Typical synaptic operations, including paired-pulse facilitation and spike timing-dependent plasticity, were clearly demonstrated to exhibit gradual modulations of the channel conductance of the FeFETs with the evolution of spike signals, and these behaviors were enhanced upon increasing PO2 and decreasing the SI/SF ratio by controlling the switching kinetics of the ferroelectric partial polarizations of the HZO gate insulators in the proposed synapse FeFETs.


Collaborative efforts have expanded in recent years to reduce fuel loads and restore the resilience of forest landscapes to future fires. The social acceptability of harvesting and using forest biomass associated with these programs are a hot topic, with questions about the extent to which collaboration can generate unified acceptance. We present results from a Q-Method study of the variation of acceptability judgments of participants engaged in the Uncompahgre Plateau Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project in western Colorado in the United States. Four factors encompassing discourses of acceptability judgments were identified: protecting and conserving ecosystem health and wildlife habitat, supporting local wood products industry, supporting biomass utilization to reduce waste, and protecting and sustaining multiple use. Consensus judgments include perceptions that biomass harvesting can help fund restoration treatments to create a win-win situation and that collaboration is the preferred strategy to arrive at win-win outcomes. Our results indicate that the acceptability of forest biomass harvesting and utilization from the project is conditional on other values, some of which are in tension with one another. Collaboration is a beneficial strategy to elicit varying stakeholder perspectives, but substantive differences in acceptability judgments are likely to persist based on competing values.


In this study, a total of 29 specimens (16 males, 10 females and 3 juvenile) collected from Ihlara Valley were examined. The study was based on pholidosis, coloration and pattern, and body measurement as well as ecological and biologic observations. In conclusion it was determened that the population in the vicinity of Aksaray possess the same features as the nominate subspecies.


5G and edge computing have brought great changes to video industry. Interactive video is becoming an emerging application form of multimedia service, which provides attraction beyond typical scenarios like cloud gaming and remote virtual reality (VR), and puts forward great challenges in resource capacity, response latency, and function flexibility to its service system. In this paper, we propose an elastic system architecture with low latency features to accommodate generic interactive video applications on near user edges. To increase system flexibility, we firstly design a dynamic Directed Acyclic Graph (dDAG) model for efficient task representation. Secondly, based on the model, we present the elastic architecture together with its scalable workflow pipeline. Thirdly, we propose a set of novel latency measurement metrics to analyze and optimize the performance of an interactive video system. Based on the proposed approaches, we disassemble a real world free-viewpoint synthesis application and benchmark its performance with the metrics. Extensive experimental results show the flexibility of our system to handle the stochastic human interactions during a video service session, with less than 5 ms additional scheduling latency introduced. End to end latency is kept within 43 ms for complex functions, and 28 ms for simpler scenarios, which satisfies the restrictions of most interactive video applications provided by an edge. Client of the architecture serves as a pure video player, which is also friendly to power limited terminals such as 5G phones. Efficiency and stability analyses of the system show superiorities over existing work, and also reveal potential optimization directions for future research.


The paper presents an analysis of current socio-economic and environmental aspects of the industry imbalances in the regional economy by the example of Ural Federal District and Siberian Federal District. The main aim of it is to identify the actual socio-economic problems in the development of the regional economies. The authors analyze the economic, ecological and social aspects in the development of regional economies by the examples. They investigate the specifics of the correlation between industrial development, ecological problems and health problems of the local population. Particular emphasis is placed on the analysis of correlations between the mortality of the population and industrial pollution of air and water. The analysis has resulted in making proposals for optimization of the regional policy in the field of invest ments, manufacturing and ecology. The special attention is given to environment-oriented projects. The most practicable way in solving the problem of these regional industry imbalances would be the development of regional diversification programs of the Siberia and the Ural economies. It has to support manufacturing and the largest public-private investment projects for the foundation of enterprises in agriculture, food and other industries. The most prosperous among them is the direction of bioenergy and forest-engineering-oriented businesses. The results of the research can be useful in solving the problem of the industry imbalances in the regional economic policy of the Russian Federation.


The purpose of this study was to characterise the miscibility of several poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate), EVA, based polymer blends. EVA has many industrial applications and is often present as one of several polymeric components. Consequently, there is considerable interest in the thermodynamics of these blend systems. The thermodynamics of these blends was studied using several techniques: differential scanning calorimetry; phase contrast optical microscopy; small angle neutron scattering and wide angle X-ray scattering. Characterisation was also to include assessing the relative enthalpic and entropic thermodynamic contributions to the Rory-Huggins interaction parameter (%) of these blends. To determine the enthalpic interaction parameter, a "mixing calorimeter" was designed and constructed to measure accurately the "heat of mixing" values on blending these polymers. Free energy interaction parameters were determined from melting point depression and small angle neutron scattering measurements. In all the blends studied, the heat of mixing was endothermic and consequently, the enthalpic interaction parameters were positive i.e. unfavourable to miscibility. Miscibility in these blends can therefore only be achieved by a dominant entropic contribution, favourable to miscibility. Using phase contrast optical microscopy, both miscible and immiscible phase behaviour was observed in this series of blends. This shows good agreement with predictions of miscibility from heat of mixing, melting point and small angle neutron scattering measurements, based on the classical Flory-Huggins lattice theory. Wide angle X-ray scattering and differential scanning calorimetry results have associated miscible blends with crystallisation effects between the blend components. Small angle neutron scattering has been used to determine the concentration and temperature dependence of interaction parameters in a miscible blend. From these values the upper critical solution temperature (UCST) of the blend was predicted. The enthalpic contributions to these interaction parameters show good agreement with experimental values determined from heat of mixing measurements. It was concluded that the classical Flory-Huggins lattice theory (despite its many well documented Limitations) appears to be particularly suited to the thermodynamic characterisation of miscibility in these polymer blends.


This article tests the plausibility of several leading, explanatory theories of tort by reference to the fact that tort law possesses neither the juridical nor the structural unity that the relevant theories ascribe to it. It considers a wide range of tort actions that reveal a much more heterogeneous body of law than any of the targeted theorists admit exists. It concludes that, taken together, tort law's varying liability bases, its departures from the requirement of a rights infringement, its structural variations and its remedial diversity combine to belie the various reductionist claims the theorists in question make.


Recently, the virtual reality has progressed rapidly in the field of the science and technology. The coverage includes extremely various fields such as communication, design, entertainment, etc. Various VR space have been proposed and constructed by present. However, there are no VR system that realizes real time simulation based on the same physical law as it works in the real world. Then, we construct a virtual air hockey game based on rigid dynamics in this research. Moreover, to provide the presence with users, two sensations (the visual and auditory sensation) are synchronized. This paper describes various problems and their solutions in construction of the system, and utilities for synchronizing the two sensations


In earthquake resistance design of structures, two general concepts have been used. The first is to increase the capacity of the structures to resist the earthquake load effects (mostly horizontal forces) or to increase the dynamic stiffness such as the seismic energy dissipation ability by adding damping systems (both devices and/or structural fuses). The second concept includes seismic isolation systems to reduce the input load effects on structures. Obviously, both concepts can be integrated to achieve an optimal design of earthquake resilient structures. This chapter is focused on the principles of seismic isolation. It should be pointed out that from the perspective of the structural response control community, earthquake protective systems are generally classified as passive, active and semi-active systems. The passive control area consists of many different categories such as energy dissipation systems, toned-mass systems and vibration isolation systems. This chapter addresses only the passive, seismic isolation systems [Soong and Dargush, 1997; Takewaki, 2009; Liang et al, 2011] Using seismic isolation devices/systems to control earthquake induced vibration of bridges and buildings is considered to be a relatively matured technology and such devices have been installed in many structures world-wide in recent decades. Design guidelines have been established and they are periodically improved as new information based on research and/or field observations become available during the past 20-30 years [ATC 1995; SEAONC 1986; FEMA 1997; IBC 2000; ECS 2000; AASHTO 2010, ASCE 2007, 2010]. Besides the United States, base isolation technologies are also used in Japan, Italy, New Zealand, China, as well as many other countries and regions. [Naiem and Kelly, 1999; Komodromos, 2000; Christopoulos, C. and Filiatrault 2006] Affiliated with the increased use of seismic isolation systems, there is an increased demand of various isolation devices manufactured by different vendors. This growth of installing seismic isolation devices in earthquake engineering has been following the typical pattern experienced in structural engineering development, which begins from a "statics" platform by gradually modifying the design approach to include the seismic effects based on structural dynamics principles as they develop and new field observations on the responses of real-world structures. The process is typically slow because most studies and laboratory observations have been concentrated on the performances of the devices with scaled-down experiments. Results could not be readily scaled-up for design purposes. At the same time, there were very limited field data on the actual performances of seismically isolated


We create virtual sources and receivers in a 3-D subsurface using the previously derived single-sided homogeneous Green's function representation. We employ Green's functions and focusing functions that are obtained using reflection data at the Earth's surface, a macrovelocity model, and the Marchenko method. The homogeneous Green's function is Green's function superposed with its time-reversal. Unlike the classical homogeneous Green's function representation, our approach requires no receivers on an enclosing boundary; however, it does require the source signal to be symmetric in time. We demonstrate that, in 3-D, the single-sided representation is an improvement over the classical representation by applying the representations to numerical data. We retrieve responses to virtual point sources with an isotropic and with a double-couple radiation pattern and compare the results to a directly modeled reference result. We also demonstrate the application of the single-sided representation for retrieving the response to a virtual rupture that consists of a superposition of double-couple point sources. This is achieved by obtaining the homogeneous Green's function for each source separately before they are transformed to the causal Green's function, time-shifted, and superposed. The single-sided representation is also used to monitor the complete wavefield that is caused by a numerically modeled rupture. However, the source signal of an actual rupture is not symmetric in time, and the single-sided representation can, therefore, only be used to obtain the causal Green's function. This approach leaves artifacts in the final result; however, these artifacts are limited in space and time.


The humidity levels in PEM fuel cells has a profound effect on the performance. However, in large fuel cell stacks the relative humidity (RH) changes significantly along the length of the stack. This paper presents a control-oriented model with spatial considerations of the distribution of water vapor that can be used to properly predict and control the humidity levels in a PEM fuel cell stack.This model predicts the dynamic response of the stack in real-time by tracking energy and mass flows in four basic CVs. To provide spatial information of the stack conditions, the cathode CV was further subdivided into 6 sub-volumes. The model was validated with experiments conducted on a 28-cell, 2kW fuel cell stack. The validation results show that the multiple CV approach can accurately predict the stack RH and voltage, and is capable of predicting localized voltage losses. This new modeling methodology shows the importance of a distributed understanding of the RH profile, and provides a tool to create control algorithms for PEM fuel cells that consider the health of all the sections of the stack.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


In 79 experiments with a canine model of acute 2-hour myocardial ischemia, a positive affect of inosine was found on parameters of cardiac bioelectrical activity, contractile and hemodynamic functions in normal and hypodynamic circulation. In excessive myocardial hyperfunction, inosine infusion led to aggravation of ischemic signs in the ischemic lesion zone and only to its modest decrease in the adjacent and intact segments of the myocardium. During pre-infusion of contrykal and heparin followed by inosine administration, there was a considerable decrease in ischemia in all myocardial areas, as evidenced by ECG and electrograms, no matter what the hemodynamic type of acute myocardial ischemia. As this took place, a particularly marked inosine-induced improvement was seen in myocardial contractility and relaxation, total and intracardiac hemodynamic parameters.


The history of the Siwalik forest commons counters the notion of a 'tragedy of the commons' as is commonly understood. It also corroborates their support as buffers and safety niches for pastoral peoples from uncertain political and harsh landscape of seven rivers and mountain chains of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas. Here we document those features of such traditional systems of shamilat van or forest commons in the Siwalik forests of the Punjab and analyse their contribution to the agro-ecosystems of both local agriculturalists and pastoralists to the north and south and the reciprocal system of rights, rules, and responsibilities devised by the users to ensure the survival of the forests. These resource-use systems also enabled communities to bear uncertainty and share risks. Indigenous management systems assumed a diversity of forms, reflecting the flexibility required to adapt to the dynamic environments in which these communities lived. It appears that this institutional flexibility allowed local management systems to endure through political upheavals and natural disasters. Thus it is that the collaborative management of the Siwalik forests successfully supported fragile ecosystems of the Upper Himalayas and relieved resource pressures on the plains below in the doabs or land lying between the rivers of Punjab.


Luminous red galaxies (LRGs) are much rarer and more massive than L* galaxies. Coupled with their extreme colours, LRGs therefore provide a demanding testing ground for the physics of massive galaxy formation. We present the first self-consistent predictions for the abundance and properties of LRGs in hierarchical structure formation models. We test two published models which use quite different mechanisms to suppress the formation of massive galaxies: the Bower et al. model which invokes 'active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback' to prevent gas from cooling in massive haloes and the Baugh et al. model which relies upon a 'superwind' to eject gas before it is turned into stars. Without adjusting any parameters, the Bower et al. model gives an excellent match to the observed luminosity function of LRGs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (with a median redshift of z=0.24 ) and to their clustering; the Baugh et al. model is less successful in these respects. Both models fail to match the observed abundance of LRGs at z= 0.5 to better than a factor of ≈2. In the models, LRGs are typically bulge-dominated systems with stellar masses of ≈2 × 10^11 h^−1 M⊙ and velocity dispersions of σ∼ 250 km s^−1 . Around half of the stellar mass in the model LRGs is already formed by z∼ 2.2 and is assembled into one main progenitor by z∼ 1.5; on average, only 25 per cent of the mass of the main progenitor is added after z∼ 1. LRGs are predicted to be found in a wide range of halo masses, a conclusion which relies on properly taking into account the scatter in the formation histories of haloes. Remarkably, we find that the correlation function of LRGs is predicted to be a power law down to small pair separations, in excellent agreement with observational estimates. Neither the Bower et al. nor the Baugh et al. model is able to reproduce the observed radii of LRGs.


Quantified class constraints have been proposed many years ago to raise the expressive power of type classes from Horn clauses to the universal fragment of Hereditiary Harrop logic. Yet, while it has been much asked for over the years, the feature was never implemented or studied in depth. Instead, several workarounds have been proposed, all of which are ultimately stopgap measures. This paper revisits the idea of quantified class constraints and elaborates it into a practical language design. We show the merit of quantified class constraints in terms of more expressive modeling and in terms of terminating type class resolution. In addition, we provide a declarative specification of the type system as well as a type inference algorithm that elaborates into System F. Moreover, we discuss termination conditions of our system and also provide a prototype implementation.


In global, competitive markets, an understanding of consumer innovativeness is required to manage the adoption process for new high-tech products. Crucial to this understanding is the role of culture. Although a key element in the process by which consumer innovativeness and product experience impact consideration sets, little research exists regarding how culture actually moderates that process. In this study, we investigate the role that culture plays in facilitating the relationship between consumers' general and domain-specific innovativeness, and their decision-making as characterized by the size and composition of their consideration sets. We undertake this work in the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and the United States. We develop and test several research hypotheses pertaining to cultural effects on decision-making. The results support most of our hypotheses, suggesting that it is important for global marketers to target markets on the basis of domain-specific measures of consumer innovativeness.


Abstract The South Atlantic Ocean evolved after rupture of the São Francisco–Congo–Rio de la Plata–Kalahari cratonic landmass and the Late Proterozoic fold belts. Break-up in the South Atlantic realm developed diachronously: rifting started in the south (Argentina) during the Jurassic and progressed towards the equatorial segment. The central portion was controlled by a rift-resistant cratonic nucleus (the São Francisco–Congo craton) and as a result underwent development of narrow basins; parts controlled by Neoproterozoic fold belts developed wide basins. The final break-up of western Gondwana and the onset of plate divergence were marked by thick wedges of seaward-dipping reflectors, located near the incipient ocean-ridge spreading centre that had already been formed by the time Aptian evaporites were deposited. Subsequently, a few episodes of intraplate tectonic and magmatic activity affected the Santos, Campos and Espírito Santo basins. Post-break up development of the offshore basins was affected by gravity gliding over the Aptian evaporites. Continental uplift may be invoked as the main cause of salt mobilization, generating prograding clastic wedges that thickened basin-wards and produced a loading effect on the salt basin. Coupled with onshore erosional unloading and the effects of the gravity gliding, this probably resulted in further flexural uplift of the continental margin.


Understanding different human attributes and how they affect model behavior may become a standard need for all model creation and usage, from traditional computer vision tasks to the newest multimodal generative AI systems. In computer vision specifically, we have relied on datasets augmented with perceived attribute signals (e.g., gender presentation, skin tone, and age) and benchmarks enabled by these datasets. Typically labels for these tasks come from human annotators. However, annotating attribute signals, especially skin tone, is a difficult and subjective task. Perceived skin tone is affected by technical factors, like lighting conditions, and social factors that shape an annotator's lived experience. This paper examines the subjectivity of skin tone annotation through a series of annotation experiments using the Monk Skin Tone (MST) scale, a small pool of professional photographers, and a much larger pool of trained crowdsourced annotators. Along with this study we release the Monk Skin Tone Examples (MST-E) dataset, containing 1515 images and 31 videos spread across the full MST scale. MST-E is designed to help train human annotators to annotate MST effectively. Our study shows that annotators can reliably annotate skin tone in a way that aligns with an expert in the MST scale, even under challenging environmental conditions. We also find evidence that annotators from different geographic regions rely on different mental models of MST categories resulting in annotations that systematically vary across regions. Given this, we advise practitioners to use a diverse set of annotators and a higher replication count for each image when annotating skin tone for fairness research.


The kaleidoscopic applications of zeolite catalysts (zeo-catalysts) in petrochemical processes has been considered as one of the major accomplishments in recent decades. About twenty types of zeolite have been industrially applied so far, and their versatile porous architectures have contributed their most essential features to affect the catalytic efficiency. This review depicts the evolution of pore models in zeolite catalysts accompanied by the increase in industrial and environmental demands. The indispensable roles of modulating pore models are outlined for zeo-catalysts for the enhancement of their catalytic performances in various industrial processes. The zeolites and related industrial processes discussed range from the uni-modal micropore system of zeolite Y (12-ring micropore, 12-R) in fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), zeolite ZSM-5 (10-R) in xylene isomerization and SAPO-34 (8-R) in olefin production to the multi-modal micropore system of MCM-22 (10-R and 12-R pocket) in aromatic alkylation and the hierarchical pores in FCC and catalytic cracking of C4 olefins. The rational construction of pore models, especially hierarchical features, is highlighted with a careful classification from an industrial perspective accompanied by a detailed analysis of the theoretical mechanisms.


This paper presents an embedded frequency response analyzer for fuel cells (FCs) based on a robust measurement technique with simple implementation. A frequency response analysis technique provides valuable information of different electrochemical processes that occur inside the FC. The measurement system is implemented on a low-cost digital signal processor to perform frequency response and impedance tracking. The small-size and low-power consumption allows this special device to be embedded into the FC controller or power conditioning stage. The system is capable of measuring automatically the frequency response of the FC at different operating points, even when the FC is operating with a load. These measurements can be used to characterize the FC at the design stage and to perform online monitoring of the FC state during a continuous operation. The proposed instrument uses the lock-in amplification technique, which allows very accurate and precise measurements even in the presence of high noise levels. The proposed hardware and signal processing technique are described in this paper, including the experimental result of a 1.2-kW proton exchange membrane FC system.


Understanding the status quo of occupational incidents in Nigeria in relation to accident rates, fatality rates, accident causal factors and intervention is vital in developing effective strategies for improving the problematic state of occupational health and safety (OHS) in Nigeria. As such, this study explores the pattern of reported accidents, injuries, near misses, accident causal factors and intervention in Nigeria. It reviews and discusses accidents reported to the custodian of OHS in Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity Inspectorate Division (FMLPID) over an 11-year period (2002-2012). Analysis of the data collected was also conducted, the findings from which prompted interviews of 10 staff out of 48 staff employed by FMLPID. Over the 11 year period, this study found that of the reported accidents: 80% occurred at night; manufacturers of rubber products accounted for the highest number of injuries at 53.8% and 63% for death; the total case fatality rate was 49.5, hence a significant increase in case fatality rate compared with the last study in 2001 by Ezenwa. Fire resulted in 53% of the deaths, while management factors accounted for 91.3% of the remote or contributory accident causal factors in which 90% were due to lack of training. Also, with a notable reduction in accident reporting in Nigeria and the FMLPID reportedly failing to penalise offenders as specified by the OHS legislation as established in this study, an overhaul of the operations of the FMLPID is therefore recommended. This is in addition with development and adoption of free mobile accident reporting system for victims. KEYWORDS: Accidents, accident causal factors, fatality, injuries, intervention and Nigeria. Language: en


This chapter shows how the methods and approaches of Celebrity Studies throw fresh light on what authors and literature can do in the world. In particular, the divide between elite and popular fiction turns out to be illusory once we start paying attention to the way authors and their works actually move around. Combining celebrity theory with a practical analysis of the networks sustaining literature allows us to examine afresh the ways and degrees to which authors accrue 'attention capital' and from which social groupings, and why. Working through examples taken from the early modern period to the present day, this chapter provides a model approach not only for seeing beyond the individual author to witness the complex networks of agents involved in the process of authorship—from editors to translators, agents, and readers, and so on—but also for placing the question of agency once again at the heart of that process.


A double precision dot product operation is designed in which the final rounded result is validated by raising exception flags if either the result incurs catastrophic cancellation or the result is not accurate to one unit in the last place (ulp). The design guarantees one ulp accuracy in the absence of catastrophic cancellation. The user can thus obtain validated results at marginal extra cost with the ability to trap to alternative routines in those cases where the results are suspicious.<<ETX>>


Plants form the basis for traditional medicines throughout the world for thousands of years and continue to provide new remedies to mankind. Adulteration and substitutions are frequent in herbal raw material trade. Legally it has been treated as an intentional malpractice and economically motivated; however, it is unintentional too. Several studies have been done for a number of important herbal substances of indigenous systems of medicine to distinguish and authenticate the genuine material from adulterant. Adulterants are not legal, however, substitutes are legal and in practice to manufacture or prepare traditional medicines of AYUSH. There are several reports from India, by numerous researchers, who are authenticating the market samples of herbal substances and also identifying and characterizing them (both authentic and spurious). In general, the identification of market sample is achieved through reliable suppliers who will connect the researchers to the field collectors. Botanical pharmacognosy, describing organoleptic, macroscopic and microscopic characteristic features will help after the taxonomic identification of the spurious material. Until then it is difficult to identify the correct source of the adulterant. Though few reports are available on the adulteration on Argyreia nervosa (Burm.f.) Boj. , in this article, we bring to light, another adulterant, the stem of  Rivea hypocrateriformis Choisy found in trade. We followed the conventional methodology of tracing back the origin of the herbal substance from the wholesale dealers, to the local agents and finally approached the field collectors, to know the botanical origin of the adulterant. In this article we described the diagnostic pharmacognostical characteristic features to differentiate the authentic and adulterant in market samples.


The objective of this article is to suggest a systematic approach for evaluating stocks with extraordinary growth prospects to supplement the conventional valuation of growth companies. The approach is simple but the determination of the necessary inputs remains as difficult as ever. Also, the proposed calculation does not replace conventional valuation measures, but complements them. The objective is to compute the minimum period of extraordinary growth that justifies the current stock price. The minimum required growth periods for different assumed earning growth rates can be readily computed. When the earnings history of the company consists of all loss years, any calculation will have a large subjective component.


Orientation: Changing organisational dynamics have caused a need for organisations to understand the employment relationship processes and outcomes in order to improve organisational effectiveness, increase productivity and retain talented employees.Research purpose: The purpose of the study is to determine which elements of the academic employee's psychological contract are impacting employee engagement at a university of technology.Motivation for the study: The study was motivated by the findings of a 2013 climate survey at an institute of higher education, indicating that many employees were dissatisfied and believed that their expectations were not met by the organisation.Research approach/design and method: A quantitative technique via online questionnaires was employed for data collection. The sample size was 400 out of 900 academic staff members.Main findings: The study confirmed that most employees appear to have developed a positive psychological contract. It indicated, however, that many employees may be experiencing discord in the employment relationship. Both transactional and relational elements of the psychological contract appeared to be essential to academic employees.Practical/managerial implications: The study identified factors of importance to academic employees that should be considered in the compilation of retention policies.Contribution/value-add: The results of the study could contribute towards addressing some of the challenges by creating a better understanding of the needs of academic employees and the impact of psychological contract fulfilment and breach. This could benefit the higher education sector as a whole.


Anastomotic airway complications still remain an important issue after lung transplantation. Most of the complications are stenosis and anastomotic leakage. Stent insertion is one option for the stenosis. We review the anastomotic airway complications and report our recent experience of stent insertion using 3-dimensional printed airway model.


When engaged in an attention-demanding task, Observers (Os) often miss stimuli that would otherwise be perfectly obvious, like a dancing gorilla or a clown on a unicycle, a finding known as Inattentional Blindness (IB). Previous work has shown noticing rates for unexpected stimuli increase as the similarity to the target increases: when tracking white items, Os are much more likely to notice an unexpected white stimulus than a black one. Most and colleagues (2001), showed that noticing rates follow a simple linear relation with the similarity of the attended stimulus, even for unexpected items of novel color (e.g. a grey item when tracking white items and ignoring black items). We wondered whether the presence of distractors in these intermediate positions would change the pattern of results. The presence of the distractors that share a similar color to the attended objects may result in this color being inhibited in feature space. Recent behavioral and electrophysiological work has suggested that feature-based suppression operates on colors that are similar (~30° in hue space) to the attended color (Störmer et al., 2014). For example, visual search performance for two colors separated by 30° in hue space was worse than performance for two colors separated by 75°. Os in the current study attended objects colored X while ignoring an equal number of distractors colored X+30° and X+180°. We measured IB rates for unexpected items of attended, near-attended and far from attended colors in different Os. Inconsistent with the predictions of surround suppression, IB rates were inversely proportional to similarity to the attended color. The results suggest that while we may use feature-based suppression to inhibit near-target colors under some circumstances, this does not manifest itself in reduced noticing rates during Inattentional Blindness. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2015.


Drs Horwitz and Rizzoli are to be complimented for performing the monumental task of describing postoperative complications of intracranial surgery. In this volume, to be followed by a second volume delineating complications associated with spinal surgery, there is a comprehensive review of all aspects of complications relating to intracranial neurological surgery. The book covers the general complications accompanying intracranial surgery, including brain edema, postoperative hemorrhage, wound problems, and sepsis, as well as neurological deficits. The various aspects of complications are further categorized into intracranial neoplasms, aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, head injuries, cranial operations for pain, intracranial infections, and congenital and acquired defects. Each chapter is excellently referenced and gives a historical background into various factors that affect mortality and morbidity in the various surgical procedures. This edition, which is a revision of a 1967 text, again is invaluable to the neurosurgical community. One must be aware that certain complications occur, so


In spite of the fact that the TQM (Total Quality Management) has profoundly entered many higher education institutions and business spheres within Europe and abroad, there is still not enough presence of it in Macedonia and other developing countries. Especially critical moment is the durability of this philosophy, as though the results do not come "over night".
This new TQM strategy regarding quality requires new activities in the area of education of the academic staff, implementing a standardization of each process, inducing statistical process control as for to provide quality and new approach in the costs analyses. All of the aforementioned seeks a scientific, methodological, well-planned approach, persistence and systematic action. At the same time this refers to a drastic change of the attitude of the academic staff, radical changes into the organizational setting, clear defining of rights, obligations and responsibility of each individual.
This paper present a given integral methodology for designing of TQM system within higher education institutions and its implementation into practice of the higher education as well as the activities that ought to be undertaken to build a system in order to provide quality. The efficiency of the TQM implementation depends on the involvement of academic and administrative staff and their motivation.
Keywords: TQM strategy, internal standardization, statistical process control, providing quality, costs analyses, methodologies.


Illustrated with over fifty photos, Civilizing Rituals merges contemporary debates with lively discussion and explores central issues involved in the making and displaying of art as industry and how it is presented to the community. Carol Duncan looks at how nations, institutions and private individuals present art , and how art museums are shaped by cultural, social and political determinants. Civilizing Rituals is ideal reading for students of art history and museum studies, and professionals in the field will also find much of interest here.


Moggi's computational lambda calculus is a metalanguage for denotational semantics which arose from the observation that many different notions of computation have the categorical structure of a strong monad on a cartesian closed category. In this paper we show that the computational lambda calculus also arises naturally as the term calculus corresponding (by the Curry–Howard correspondence) to a novel intuitionistic modal propositional logic. We give natural deduction, sequent calculus and Hilbert-style presentations of this logic and prove strong normalisation and confluence results.


This study involves PbSe deposits fabricated on glass substrates at different pH. Some optical properties of these deposits, including reflectance, extinction coefficient, refractive index, and dielectric constant were calculated by using absorbance values at room temperature with UV spectrophotometer according to wavelength. The surface properties and compositions were examined by SEM and EDX, respectively. Surface tensions were measured by Zisman Method, and obtained to be 39.0, 42.1, 43.1 and 39.1 mN m−1 for pH: 8, 9, 10 and 11 values, respectively. The optical band gaps (Egap) were calculated as 2.17, 1.82, 1.77 and 2.27 eV for pH: 8, 9, 10 and 11, respectively. PbSe deposits' electrical resistivity was measured via four-point probe technique depending on deposits thicknesses, and they were found to be 65.27, 26.21, 39.87 and 36.03 Ωcm for pH: 8, 9, 10 and 11, respectively.


We examine how an algorithm for localizing cylinders of arbitrary known radius is affected by errors in the radius knowledge. Reflection mode multi-frequency multi-bistatic configuration is considered. The problem is first examined in far zone, where analytical results can be found. Then, numerical results for the near zone case are provided and a procedure to estimate the cylinder's radius, if it is not known, is introduced. The expected behavior is tested against simulated and experimental data for both perfectly electrical conducting and dielectric cylinders embedded into a lossless homogeneous background. Numerical results of localization of objects embedded into a lossy half space are also shown.


: In cells of Acholeplasma laidlawii a constitutive system of transport of glucose derivate 3-O-methyl-D-glucose was found. This derivate penetrated into cells, without modification and accumulated in free state. The transport system was of enzymatic nature and exhibited sharp substrate specificity. The transport of 3-O-methyl-D-glucose was an active process and occurred against the concentrated gradient.


This analysis developed a population pharmacokinetic (PK) model for odanacatib, characterized demographic and concomitant medication covariates effect, and provided odanacatib exposure estimates for subjects in phase 2/3 studies. Data from multiple phase 1 (P005, P025, and P014), phase 2b (P004 and P022), and phase 3 (Long‐Term Odanacatib Fracture Trial; P018) studies were pooled to create a data set of 1280 postmenopausal women aged 45 to 91 years (102 from phase 1, 514 from phase 2b, and 664 from phase 3) who received weekly oral odanacatib doses ranging from 3 to 100 mg. A 1‐compartment model with first‐order absorption, dose‐dependent relative bioavailability (F1), and first‐order elimination best described odanacatib PK. F1 decreased from the 100% reference bioavailability for a 3‐mg oral dose to 24.5% for a 100‐mg dose. Eight statistically significant covariates were included in the final PK model: body weight, age, race, and concomitant cytochrome P450 (CYP)3A inhibitors on apparent clearance; body weight on apparent central volume of distribution; and concomitant hydrochlorothiazide, high‐fat breakfast, and a study effect on F1. All fixed‐ and random‐effects parameters were estimated with good precision (%standard error of the mean ≤29.5%). This population PK analysis provides insights into intrinsic‐ and extrinsic‐factor effects on odanacatib exposure in postmenopausal and elderly women with osteoporosis. The magnitude of the intrinsic‐factor effects was generally modest (odanacatib exposure geometric mean ratios, 0.80‐1.21) even in subjects aged >80 years, or in subsets with multiple combinations of factors.


The yield of bacteriophage 643 was increased by infecting cultures of Streptococcus lactis ML3 in late-log phase growth, harvesting the infected cells, and suspending them in fresh, phosphate-buffered minimal medium. The cells lysed after this treatment and produced high titers of bacteriophage. The phage particles were dissociated from debris by 2 M NaCl and purified by differential and CsCl band centrifugation.


AbstractVaginal discharge in the prepubertal patient is a common symptom, and can be a source of distress for the caregiver and concern for the healthcare worker. Several factors predispose these patients to the development of recurrent vaginal discharge. Unless noticed by the caregiver, this problem can persist for long periods of time.Making a diagnosis in the prepubertal patient requires physician skills different from those required for diagnosis in the adult population. The history may often be difficult to obtain, and at times inaccurate or inconsistent. Common anatomical variants have to be considered during examination. Sexual abuse of children continues to be a serious problem in our society. Vaginal discharge is often the only presenting symptom. A high index of suspicion is required in order to make a diagnosis. Common causes of vaginal discharge in this group of patients will be looked at. Physical examination techniques and treatment of specific causes will not be discussed here.


The idea that the political system is subject to rampant and invisible voter fraud has animated recent debates over the regulation of elections. Election integrity advocates have claimed that this threat justifies voter identification laws and other laws that have narrowed the ability for some citizens to vote, while voting-rights advocates have claimed that these measures are a form of voter suppression. These legal changes have occurred despite research that has demonstrated that virtually no actual voter fraud (specifically voter impersonation fraud) exists. While the consensus is that these voter suppression initiatives are driven by naked partisanship, this consensus fails to consider how longstanding ideological traditions about voter participation (and their interrelation with race, gender, and class myths) influence the debates over how to adequately regulate the right to vote. This paper will propose a different theoretical framework to address the voter fraud myth: memetics. This paper argues that the most appropriate way to think about the myth of voter fraud is as a meme. A meme is "an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture" without regard to the truth or falsity of the idea. Memes spread because the ideas re-enforce the views of the purveyors of the meme and increase the purveyor's power. In a sense, our memes can program us to accept or explain away ideas and can form the basis of our ideologies.When viewed as a meme, the voter fraud claim can be analyzed as the latest variation on the ideology of exclusion of the "unworthy" from the franchise. The voter fraud meme replicates through both evoking myths and stereotypes about the worthiness of certain voters and motivates individuals and legislatures to replicate the meme through a belief that the unworthy voter will be a threat to the democratic process. This process of replication has contributed to the passage of voter identification and similar legislation, the popularity of heightened regulation of the voting process, and private acts of voter vigilantism. This account will demonstrate how the meme of voter fraud interferes either intentionally or inadvertently with the democratic value of inclusion and forces policymakers to fail to account for the effects of structural exclusion. Courts, scholars, and policymakers can use the analytic framework offered in this paper to more thoroughly understand the ideological forces behind the meme of voter fraud. This paper concludes by offering a framework by which courts and policymakers can separate the voter fraud meme and other such ideology from fact-driven analysis of right to vote issues.


In central regions of the U. S. Corn Belt, agricultural production since 2001 has changed in response to federal policies implemented to encourage production of biofuels. As a result, increasing demand for sustainable bioenergy resources has accelerated biofuel production, and led to changes in agricultural land use. This study examines: (1) increases and decreases in cultivated area, and (2) pixel-by-pixel crop rotation sequences within a region of southeastern Iowa. The practice of agriculture brings lands in and out of production in response to variations in local landscapes, markets, and technologies. Further, crops are rotated in response to environmental and market concerns. Knowledge of how such lands are used, and of their topographic and pedological properties, forms a prerequisite for understanding the context for developing sustainable management practices and policies. This study examines temporal and spatial patterns of agricultural land use from 2001 to 2012 in a region of southeastern Iowa within a single Landsat scene (Path 25/Row 31). After 2007, intensity of cultivated land use increased and crop rotation changed from standard corn-soybean or soybean-corn cycle to more intensive rotations. These changes may be correlated with market forces. Intensity of cultivated land use depended on topographic and pedological properties, although motivations and constraints perceived by farmers and managers as they plan their use of landscapes are important.


Relationship marketing, however defined, has received considerable attention recently. Relationship marketing has emerged as a new paradigm in the marketing's concepts and practices. This paradigm has shifted from transactional approach to relationship-based marketing strategy.  The main purpose of relationship marketing is focused on a long-term relationship with a key parties—customer, suppliers, and distributor. Today, relationship marketing concept has been a key point of firm's business activities. In a modern business, marketer's tasks not only meet customer want, but also treat their customer as well. Firm should understand the principles of underlying relationship marketing before. Those principles are loyalty and customer satisfaction, profitability, and customer retention. Relationship marketing is concerned with how organizations manage and improve their relationships with customer for long-term profitability. In the end of this paper, I will define important steps that marketers must do. Finally, this paper discusses about relationship marketing in building relationship with customer for long-term.


In connected sample, the authors studied changes in state of peripheral nerves (electroneuromyography) and central afferent conduction tracts (somatosensory evoked potentials) in patients with long-term chronic mercury intoxication. The study helped to reveal negative changes in peripheral and central afferent conduction tracts in the patients with long-term chronic mercury intoxication, more marked in 3 period of the study--demyelination of sensory and motor components of peripheral nerves and longer impulse propagation time in conduction tracts of subcortical and cortical structures of somatosensory brain cortex.


Objectives: To conduct an assessment of sound, dB(A) levels, in two areas of the hospital: patient rooms and nurse stations using sound meters (SMs). Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends sound levels of 35 dB(A) during the day and 30 dB(A) during the night; however, many hospitals exceed these recommended levels. Assessing post-occupancy sound levels enables hospital administrators and healthcare workers to identify whether interventions to improve sound levels are needed. Methods: Sound assessments were conducted at three healthcare facilities in both patient rooms and nursing stations, and we include information on facility characteristics. An Amprobe SM-20A Sound Level Meter was placed for a 24-hr period and recorded decibel levels every 8 min. These sound levels were averaged for each hour for reporting purposes. Averages as well as highest and lowest readings are reported for both daytime (8 a.m.–10 p.m.) and nighttime (10 p.m.–8 a.m.) for each facility. Results: All three sites are considered urban and are classified with the highest complexity level (1a). Average daytime measurements for patient rooms and their corresponding nurses stations were as follows: Site A—63 dB(A)/56 dB(A), Site B—52 dB(A)/55 dB(A), and Site C—42 dB(A)/59 dB(A). Average nighttime measurements for patient rooms and nurses stations were Site A—62 dB(A)/55 dB(A), Site B—48 dB(A)/55 dB(A), and Site C—42 dB(A)/60 dB(A). Conclusion: Our findings, considered independently and collectively, showed that facilities in this study exceeded the WHO-recommended sound levels for patient rooms of 35 dB(A) during daytime and 30 dB(A) during nighttime. Research has reported negative patient outcomes, for example, decreased satisfaction, sleep disturbance, and higher incidence of rehospitalization in patients staying in areas with higher noise levels.


Twenty-four cases of simultaneous surgical treatment for coexisting diseases of the thyroid gland and other organs are discussed. Such operations were mainly performed for associated nodular goiter (including thyroid cancer) and benign or malignant tumours of other localisations. As a rule surgical interventions were planned beforehand. Only in 2 cases there were urgent operations for coexisting diffuse toxic goiter and complicated ulcer disease. In 4 cases thyroid resection and laparoscopic cholecystectomy were made simultaneously. Immediate and long-term outcomes were good. The indications and conditions of performing the operations are discussed.


This paper stems from the Primary French Research Project (PFRP) that explored the perceptions and experiences of educational professionals involved in introducing modern languages (ML) into the primary curriculum in England. UK government policy was to make modern language learning a compulsory curriculum requirement for English schools in Key Stage 2 (pupils aged 7–11) from September 2010. However, with the election of a coalition government in 2010, the policy shifted and ML became reframed as a non-compulsory 'entitlement'. Although many primary schools were already teaching some modern languages, this still requires many primary educators to develop the necessary ML knowledge and skills. Anecdotal evidence garnered from primary teachers suggested that they were daunted at this prospect, and the authors felt that questions were arising relating to teachers' epistemological and ontological security as well as the interplay between policy and practice. In this paper, Bourdieu's notions of habitus and cultural capital are employed to identify and consider the impact on self-identity of policy shifts for a particular group of teaching professionals. These individuals were all studying on a continuing professional development course relating to the introduction of primary ML. The research that is detailed explores how these individuals' perceptions of themselves as language teachers developed over time and what tensions between self-identity, classroom practice and national policy were manifest. While the focus is on a particular group of professionals, their localised experience highlights issues that may resonate with others who are tasked with interpreting and implementing new educational policy.


Industrial wastewaters with high ammonia concentrations, high toxicity and/or unfavourable COD/N ratio call for special attention and concern with regard to design and operation of the wastewater treatment system. Two cases are described: wastewater from a rendering plant and from a coke oven plant.

The precondition for obtaining and maintaining a nitrification process in both a rendering plant and a coke oven plant is close control and regulation of pH in the process tanks. Both high and low values of pH cause inhibition of the nitrifiers. pH should be kept in the range 6.5-7.0.

The organic fraction at the rendering plant mainly consists of easily biodegradable organic acids. The BIO-DENITRO concept has been chosen for this application and proven to be very efficient to obtain low effluent values for (NH3 + NH4)-N due to the flexibility in adjusting the phase length under variation in loadings and wastewater composition. Complete denitrification could be obtained with COD/N ratio larger than 5.

Wastewater from a coke oven plant contains compounds that are extremely toxic to the nitrifiers as for example phenol, cyanide, thiocyanate, sulphide and ammonia. Sufficient upstream buffering is essential to prevent shock loads. In order to obtain complete denitrification at the coke oven plant by using an internal carbon source, it is necessary to have an efficient ammonia stripping and phenol must not be removed from wastewater. COD/N ratio must be larger than 8 to obtain complete denitrification.


The aim of the present study was to determine whether dietary intake of monounsaturated (MUFA) and/or polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) of the (n- 3) and (n-6) series could improve intestinal damage and reduce inflammation in experimental ulcerative colitis (UC). Rats were treated with 80 mg/kg body of 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid and fed for 1 or 2 wk diets enriched in olive oil (OO), fish oil (FO), or purified pig brain phospholipids (BPL), as sources of monounsaturated and PUFA of the (n-3) and (n-3) + (n-6) series. Evaluation of macroscopic and microscopic colonic damage was assessed. Ultrastructural and histologic changes were analyzed as well as plasma and colonic mucosa fatty acid profiles and some biochemical markers of injury and inflammation [alkaline phosphatase (AP), mieloperoxidase (MPO), prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) and leukotriene B(4)]. Fatty acid profiles of both plasma and mucosa mostly reflected the dietary fatty acid composition. Plasma MUFA proportions were higher in UC animals fed the OO diet compared with FO or BPL groups 1 and 2 wk and (n-3) long chain PUFA (LC-PUFA) were higher in the FO than in the OO and BPL groups. At 1 wk, UC led to lower MUFA mucosa levels and (n-3)LC-PUFA were higher in the FO group compared with the OO and BPL groups. Rats with UC fed FO at 1 wk showed significantly less macroscopic and microscopic colonic damage. They also have lower AP and MPO activities and PGE(2) levels compared with the OO and BPL groups and showed enhanced histological repair, less necrotic areas within the mucosa, and more goblet cells with mature mucin granules. These results suggest that the use of balanced diets containing (n-3) LC-PUFA could ameliorate the inflammation and mucosal damage in UC.


As research in superconducting electronics matures, it is necessary to have failure analysis techniques to identify parameters that impact yield and failure modes in the fabricated product. However, there has been significant skepticism regarding the ability of laser-based failure analysis techniques to detect defects at room temperature in superconducting electronics designed to operate at cryogenic temperatures. In this paper, we describe preliminary data showing the use of Thermally Induced Voltage Alteration (TIVA) [1] at ambient temperature to locate defects in known defective circuits fabricated using state-of-the-art techniques for superconducting electronics.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the mechanism of injury, outcomes, and complications of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction in overweight and obese patients.

DATA SOURCES
MEDLINE, EMBASE, and OVID electronic libraries were systematically searched from inception to December, 2017 for any eligible articles using a combination of the phrases "anterior cruciate ligament," "ACL," "overweight," "obese," and "BMI."

RESULTS
Studies that evaluated patients with primary ACL reconstruction, classified patients as overweight or obese, and reported a minimum of 1-year follow-up data were included. Eight cohorts from 9 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. There were no significant differences for mechanism of injury, Lysholm scores, Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Scores values, or return to sports with a body mass index (BMI) above or below 25 kg/m. A significant difference was described in International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scores when comparing obese patients (BMI >30 kg/m) to patients with BMI <25 kg/m (P <0.01). In patients with BMI >25 kg/m, the risk for arthritis was significantly higher but the risk for revision surgery or contralateral ACL tear was lower (P <0.05). There was no significant difference in complication rates (P = 0.77).

CONCLUSION
Patient-reported outcome measures were similar for patients with BMI above and below 25 kg/m, but there is evidence that obese patients have lower IKDC scores. There is a consistent association between overweight status and developing arthritis among patients having an ACL reconstruction. Overweight and obese patients have a lower risk of revision ACL reconstruction and contralateral ACL tear. There is insufficient data to make any conclusions regarding mechanism of injury or complications. More research is needed to better understand what is the appropriate counsel and treatment for overweight or obese patients with ACL tears.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER
CRD42017055594.


After COVID, activities for motor racing championship competitions have increased year after year. As a result, an engine change is necessary to compete in motor racing events because utilizing a factory standard engine will not produce the best results. It basically has to be modified on the machine because factory standard machines have standard speed and are not ideal for the event motor racing. The goal of this study was to determine how intake and exhaust channel porting affected the 150 cc Kawasaki Ninja's performance and how the results varied in these areas. The experimental procedure entailed reshaping the intake and exhaust holes in the cylinder block from the intake port, which measured 44 mm to 42.5 mm from the upper lip, and the exhaust, which measured 36 mm to 41.5 mm, and exhaust height, which measured 35 mm to 29.5 mm from the upper lip of the cylinder block, a Dynojet test kit on a 150 cc Kawasaki Ninja 2 stroke motorcycle was used to determine the horsepower and torque data obtained. The results of the standard cylinder block data after porting adjustments to the intake and exhaust holes show that the torque results on the standard cylinder block get data from 19.31 at 6,723 rpm to 21.85 at 8,018 rpm, and the HP results on the standard block get data from 23.49 HP at 6,915 rpm to 27.92 HP at 8,584 rpm. The results of this investigation suggest that power and torque can be increased by changing the intake and exhaust ports. Engine performance will be impacted by increased power and torque. The process of adding ports to the intake and exhaust is only getting started with this research. Therefore, more study is required. In order to achieve the best power and torque outputs for the demands of motor racing, research can be conducted by creating porting adjustments


Standard Monte Carlo computation is widely known to exhibit a canonical square-root convergence speed in terms of sample size. Two recent techniques, one based on control variate and one on importance sampling, both derived from an integration of reproducing kernels and Stein's identity, have been proposed to reduce the error in Monte Carlo computation to supercanonical convergence. This paper presents a more general framework to encompass both techniques that is especially beneficial when the sample generator is biased and noise-corrupted. We show our general estimator, which we call the doubly robust Stein-kernelized estimator, outperforms both existing methods in terms of mean squared error rates across different scenarios. We also demonstrate the superior performance of our method via numerical examples.


l-Galactose (l-Gal), a monosaccharide involved in l-ascorbate and rhamnogalacturonan II (RG-II) biosynthesis in plants, is produced in the cytosol by a GDP-d-mannose 3,5-epimerase (GME). It has been recently reported that the partial inactivation of GME induced growth defects affecting both cell division and cell expansion (Gilbert, L., Alhagdow, M., Nunes-Nesi, A., Quemener, B., Guillon, F., Bouchet, B., Faurobert, M., Gouble, B., Page, D., Garcia, V., Petit, J., Stevens, R., Causse, M., Fernie, A. R., Lahaye, M., Rothan, C., and Baldet, P. (2009) Plant J. 60, 499–508). In the present study, we show that the silencing of the two GME genes in tomato leaves resulted in approximately a 60% decrease in terminal l-Gal content in the side chain A of RG-II as well as in a lower capacity of RG-II to perform in muro cross-linking. In addition, we show that unlike supplementation with l-Gal or ascorbate, supplementation of GME-silenced lines with boric acid was able to restore both the wild-type growth phenotype of tomato seedlings and an efficient in muro boron-mediated cross-linking of RG-II. Our findings suggest that developmental phenotypes in GME-deficient lines are due to the structural alteration of RG-II and further underline the crucial role of the cross-linking of RG-II in the formation of the pectic network required for normal plant growth and development.


To investigate the effect of geometry on nucleophilic substitution at sulfur (VI), a search was made for examples of endocyclic substitution. Substrate molecules were synthesized and then treated with strong bases, n-butyllithium or lithium diisopropylamide, in order to deprotonate a nitrogen or carbon so as to create a nucleophile which could attack a sulfonyl sulfur atom intramolecularly with displacement of a leaving group from the latter. The desired substitution was observed in several molecules. Deuterium-labeled substrates were prepared and crossover experiments were run to determine whether or not these reactions were intramolecular. One case involving a four-membered cyclic intermediate or transition state, the reaction of Nmethyl-N-phenyl-4-toluenesulfonamide with n-butyllithium, proved to be intramolecular. Another case involving a five-membered cyclic intermediate or transition state, the reaction of 2-aminoaryl arenesulfonates with strong bases, proved to be intramolecular. A third case which had the potential to involve a six-membered cyclic intermediate or transition state, the reaction of 2'-(N-methylaminomethyl)phenyl-4-toluenesulfonate, proved to be intermolecular. No stereochemical investigations were undertaken.


Batik is the nation's cultural heritage which functions as a formal attire as well as a medium for delivering non-verbal messages to users. Indonesia is recognized by UNESCO as the owner of batik culture. Currently, there is an innovation about cold wax that can be used for batik, where the results are as good as hot wax batik and more environmentally friendly. This community service activity raised the theme of cold wax batik training for the Cakra Borneo community in Bakungan Village, Loa Janan District, Kutai Kartanegara Regency, East Kalimantan. This activity was organized with partners, namely Borneo Craft Indonesia, batik craftsmen who will help transfer knowledge about cold wax batik. Through this training, participants are able to improve their abilities in producing East Kalimantan batik works that will make city branding a candidate for the capital city of Indonesia.


Age-related correlation of impaired plasticity of neurons (biochemical and biophysical aspects) and behavioral alterations were investigated in young (3.5 months) and extremely aged (approximately 40 months) female Wistar rats. Age-dependent significant differences in second messenger (cAMP and Ins (1,4,5)P3) concentration and signal transduction via muscarinic and dopaminergic receptors were found. The results point to the specifically impaired coupling between dopamine D1 receptor and GS protein, which underlies normal brain aging. However, cholinergic neurotransmission may be modulated at another level in extremely aged rats. Thus, it appears that the site of affection in coupling of receptor and G protein and/or G protein-dependent signal transduction in aging cannot be generalized. This indicates that alterations in the coupling of signal transduction depend on diverse neurotransmitter receptors with advanced age. The age-dependent alterations in the cAMP and PI signal pathways could be due to changes in the physical properties of the membranes. To support this hypothesis, age-dependent changes in the physical state and the biochemical composition of synaptosomal membranes from the cortex, cerebellum, and striatum were examined by measuring the steady-state fluorescence amisotropy of the membrane probes 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH), trimethylammonium-DPH (TMA-DPH), and trimethylammoniumpropyl-DPH (TMAP-DPH). Significant differences in the physical properties of the synaptosomal membranes existed between young and very aged rats, expressed by a higher anisotropy in the 40-month-old rat brain tissue. The changes in the physical properties of the membranes were in line with the determined age-dependent alterations in the chemical composition, e.g., the increase in cholesterol content of the aged membranes.


The conformational behavior of a model cyclic pentapeptide—cyclo(Gly‐L‐Pro‐D‐Phe‐Gly‐L‐Val)—has been explored through the combined use of in vacuo molecular dynamics simulations and a range of nmr experiments (preceding paper). The molecular dynamics analysis suggests that, despite the conformational constraints imposed by formation of the pentapeptide cycle, this pentapeptide undergoes conformational transitions between various hydrogen‐bonded conformations, characterized by low energy barriers. An inverse γ turn with Pro in position i+1 and a γ turn with D‐Phe in position i+1 are two alternatives occurring frequently. Like other DLDDL cyclic pentapeptides, cyclo (Gly‐Pro‐D‐Phe‐Gly‐Val) is also stabilized by an inverse γ‐turn structure with the β‐branched Val residue in position i + 1, and this hydrogen bond is retained in the different conformational families. The γ‐turn around D‐Phe3 and the inverse γ turn around Val5 are consistent with the nmr observations. 3JNH—CHα coupling constants of the all‐trans forms were calculated from one of the molecular dynamics trajectories and are comparable to nmr experimental data, suggesting that the conformational states visited during the simulation are representative of the conformational distribution in solution. In addition to the equilibrium among various hydrogen‐bonded all‐trans conformers, the observation in nmr spectra of two sets of resonances for all peptide protons indicated a slow conformational interconversion of the Gly‐Pro peptide bond between trans and cis isomers. The activation energy between these two conformers was determined experimentally by magnetization transfer and was calculated by high temperature constrained molecular dynamics simulation. Both methods yield a free energy of activation of ca. 20 kcal/mol. Furthermore, the free energy of activation is dependent on the direction of rotation of the Gly‐Pro peptide bond. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


Abstract Coronal dimmings in both micro and macro scales, can be observed by extreme ultraviolet images, recorded from Solar Dynamics Observatory or Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (SDO/AIA). Mini-dimmings are sometimes associated with wave-like brightening, called coronal mass ejections. Here, the sun full disk images with 171 Å wavelenght, cadence of 2.5, and 0.6 arcsec cell size, were taken on 3 March 2012, then the obtained data were analyzed. Using Zernike Moment and Support Vector Machine (SVM), mini dimmings are detected. 538 active region events, 680 coronal hole events and 723 quiet sun events have been recognized using algorithm. The position, time duration and spatial expansion of these events were computed .The eruptive dimmings have a more spatial development than thermal dimmings after eruptions. This is evident in their graph characteristics length. Then, using graph theory, eruptive and thermal mini-dimmings were classified, with 13% error, for 200 dimmings. 68 dimmings were classified as thermal, and 132 as eruptive. To do this, evolution of graph characteristic length were used.


The general goal of this project is to validate test protocols that are commonly used to assess the stability of various biosolids products, and to specify a standard for each test method. Toward this end, the project team conducted a literature review, surveyed selected practicing facilities, and conducted a sampling and analysis program. Information concerning stability-testing protocols and data for each biosolids-stabilization technology and testing method reviewed were collected and evaluated. The biosolids-stabilization technologies reviewed were aerobic and anaerobic digestion, alkaline stabilization, and composting; the testing methods reviewed were specific oxygen uptake rate, volatile solids reduction, additional volatile solids reduction, pH and changes in pH, and carbon dioxide evolution.

The report recommends specific protocols for each testing method, and presents intrinsic precision data for each protocol. In addition, data is presented from facilities using each protocol, to serve as a basis for evaluating the collective degree of variability associated with each stabilization process. Collective variability results from sampling, feedstock, the stabilization process, and the intrinsic variability of each testing method. Using split sample testing, interlaboratory data (variability among different laboratories) are presented. Issues associated with variability, error sources, shortcomings, and numerical criteria values are discussed for each method.

This title belongs to WERF Research Report Series

ISBN: 9781843396550 (eBook)


ABSTRACT:  In the past few years, noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) have emerged as key modulators of the transcriptional and post-transcriptional control of a variety of cellular processes such as development, signaling, homeostasis and oncogenesis. Like their host cells, many viruses produce ncRNAs. During viral infection, and in order to establish persistent life-long infection of the host, viruses express both protein-coding and noncoding genes, modulating the cellular environment to favor infection. Given their limited genomic capacity, viruses evolved or acquired ncRNAs only if advantageous, either by enhancing the viral life cycle or assisting the virus in immune evasion of the host's response to infection. With variable length, structure, number, abundance and protein-binding partners, viral ncRNAs show specificity and diversity with respect to time of expression during the different stages of the virus life cycle and viral infection. Here, we review our current knowledge on the RNA-based mechanisms that re...


Background Disability-adjusted life years (DALY) are a common public health metric used to consistently estimate and compare health loss because of both fatal and nonfatal disease burden. The annual number of DALY because of adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in the United States is unknown. Our objective was to estimate the DALY after adult nontraumatic, emergency medical services–treated OHCA, and to compare OHCA DALY to other leading causes of death and disability in the US. Methods and Results The DALY were calculated as the sum of years of life lost and years lived with disability. The years of life lost were calculated using all adult nontraumatic emergency medical services–treated OHCA with complete data from the national Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival database for 2016, and actuarial data for remaining life expectancy at the age of death. Cerebral performance category scores from the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival database and previously established disability weights were used to estimate years lived with disability. The cohort's calculated DALY were extrapolated to a national level to estimate total US DALY. Data were reported as total, mean, and DALY per 100 000 individuals. A total of 59 752 OHCA met study inclusion criteria. The DALY for the study population were 1 194 993 (years of life lost, 1 194 069; years lived with disability, 924) in 2016. The estimated total DALY following adult nontraumatic emergency medical services–treated OHCA in the US were 4 354  192 (years of life lost, 4 350  825; years lived with disability, 3365) for the index year 2016. The rate of OHCA DALY were 1347 per 100 000 population, which ranked third in the US behind ischemic heart disease (2447) and low back and neck pain (1565). Sensitivity analyses yielded similar findings. Conclusions Adult nontraumatic OHCA is a leading cause of annual DALY in the US and should be a focus of public health policy and resources.


We address the problem of identifying the structure of an undirected graph from the observation of signals defined on its nodes. Fundamentally, the unknown graph encodes direct relationships between signal elements, which we aim to recover from observable indirect relationships generated by a diffusion process on the graph. The fresh look advocated here leverages concepts from convex optimization and stationarity of graph signals, in order to identify the graph shift operator (a matrix representation of the graph) given only its eigenvectors. These spectral templates can be obtained, e.g., from the sample covariance of independent graph signals diffused on the sought network. The novel idea is to find a graph shift that, while being consistent with the provided spectral information, endows the network with certain desired properties such as sparsity. To that end, we develop efficient inference algorithms stemming from provably tight convex relaxations of natural nonconvex criteria, particularizing the results for two shifts: the adjacency matrix and the normalized Laplacian. Algorithms and theoretical recovery conditions are developed not only when the templates are perfectly known, but also when the eigenvectors are noisy or when only a subset of them are given. Numerical tests showcase the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms in recovering synthetic and real-world networks.


CHOP (GADD153) is a mammalian nuclear protein that dimerizes with members of the C/EBP family of transcriptional factors. Absent under normal conditions, CHOP is induced by the stress encountered during nutrient deprivation, the acute-phase response, and treatment of cells with certain toxins. The basic region of CHOP deviates considerably in sequence from that of other C/EBP proteins, and CHOP-C/EBP heterodimers are incapable of binding to a common class of C/EBP sites. With respect to such sites, CHOP serves as an inhibitor of the activity of C/EBP proteins. However, recent studies indicate that certain functions of CHOP, such as the induction of growth arrest by overexpression of the wild-type protein and oncogenic transformation by the TLS-CHOP fusion protein, require an intact basic region, suggesting that DNA binding by CHOP may be implicated in these activities. In this study an in vitro PCR-based selection assay was used to identify sequences bound by CHOP-C/EBP dimers. These sequences were found to contain a unique core element PuPuPuTGCAAT(A/C)CCC. Competition in DNA-binding assays, DNase 1 footprint analysis, and methylation interference demonstrate that the binding is sequence specific. Deletions in the basic region of CHOP lead to a loss of DNA binding, suggesting that CHOP participates in this process. Stress induction in NIH 3T3 cells leads to the appearance of CHOP-containing DNA-binding activity. CHOP is found to contain a transcriptional activation domain which is inducible by cellular stress, lending further support to the notion that the protein can function as a positively acting transcription factor. We conclude that CHOP may serve a dual role both as an inhibitor of the ability of C/EBP proteins to activate some target genes and as a direct activator of others.


Background Impairments in key neuropsychological domains (e.g. working memory, attention) and social cognitive deficits have been implicated as intermediate (endo) phenotypes for bipolar disorder (BD), and should therefore be evident in unaffected relatives. Method Neurocognitive and social cognitive ability was examined in 99 young people (age range 16–30 years) with a biological parent or sibling diagnosed with the disorder [thus deemed to be at risk (AR) of developing BD], compared with 78 healthy control (HC) subjects, and 52 people with a confirmed diagnosis of BD. Results Only verbal intelligence and affective response inhibition were significantly impaired in AR relative to HC participants; the BD participants showed significant deficits in attention tasks compared with HCs. Neither AR nor BD patients showed impairments in general intellectual ability, working memory, visuospatial or language ability, relative to HC participants. Analysis of BD-I and BD-II cases separately revealed deficits in attention and immediate memory in BD-I patients (only), relative to HCs. Only the BD (but not AR) participants showed impaired emotion recognition, relative to HCs. Conclusions Selective cognitive deficits in the capacity to inhibit negative affective information, and general verbal ability may be intermediate markers of risk for BD; however, the extent and severity of impairment in this sample was less pronounced than has been reported in previous studies of older family members and BD cases. These findings highlight distinctions in the cognitive profiles of AR and BD participants, and provide limited support for progressive cognitive decline in association with illness development in BD.


Empirical claims that US Supreme Court decisions tend to follow public opinion raise important questions about the countermajoritarian role of the American judiciary. Yet, for the vast majority of federal cases, the de facto court of last resort is actually a US court of appeals. We examine the role of public opinion in shaping decisions on these courts. We argue that the courts of appeals' position in the judicial hierarchy, lack of docket control, and lack of public attention encourage circuit judges to ignore public opinion and adhere to consistent legal rules; however, appeals by federal litigants are strongly associated with public opinion. Consequently, circuit judges actively resist ideological shifts in public opinion, as they issue consistent rulings in the face of varying case facts. Applying multilevel modeling techniques to a data set of courts of appeals decisions from 1952 to 2002, we find strong support for our theory.


The problem of mating-type switches in heterothallic yeast cells was investigated. 93% of non-mating hybrids were obtained in a X a crosses. The hybrids obtained in alpha X alpha crosses expressed alpha-mating type predominantly. Hybrids with no major rearrangements or loss of chromosome III were detected among these hybrids. In the selective system for cytoduction in a X a crosses the significant part of all cytoductants were alpha-maters, i.e. those originated through a----alpha switches. In alpha X alpha crosses alpha cytoductants were predominantly obtained either spontaneously or after UV-irradiation, though the frequency of cytoductants after UV-irradiation exceeded the control value several times. So, we developed the method for selection of mating-type "switchers" (a in equilibrium alpha), avoiding the diploid stage, and demonstrated the possibility of hybridization among the alpha-cells without hereditary changes at the MAT locus.


Despite increased recognition that a higher education sports coaching qualification plays an important role in shaping coaches' ethical decision-making, few scholars have considered what ethics to teach and how best to deliver such curriculum. Examples of actual ethics courses are particularly amiss. This article furthers scholarship on ethics education by introducing Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), a pedagogical perspective and approach that is employed to teach quality of mind competences considered necessary to make ethical decisions. To demonstrate how ESD can be translated into ethics curriculum, we present the university course "IIG206 Sustainable Sports Coaching", which the authors delivered to coaching students, and outline how the course offered students' opportunities to develop quality of mind competences, including "thinking on their feet", complexity thinking, working interdisciplinarily, creativity, and "thinking outside the box". Practical recommendations for scholars keen to create and deliver ethics education in coaching education conclude the article. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 17 January 2020 Accepted 26 February 2021


This paper contributes to the literature on payment methods in Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A). It seeks to establish how the use of Contingent Value Rights (CVRs) in M&A affect the probability of deal completion following a bid announcement. Further, the paper provides answers on how the stock market reacts to bidders' issuing CVRs as part of their deal consideration package by estimating the bidders' cumulative abnormal returns (BCAR). It also presents a general definition of a CVR that acknowledges that there exist two main categories of the instrument. Namely, event-driven CVRs and performance CVRs. By utilizing more than 1,800 U.S. transactions, including 41 observed CVRs, we find robust evidence in favour of that CVRs have a significant positive impact on the probability of deal completion in M&A. More precisely, we run Probit regressions on matched sub-samples and estimate that the marginal probability increase on deal completion when using CVRs are 13.9% to 22.1%. BCAR is estimated using a market model. We find consistent evidence across all our regressions that indicates a negative relationship between BCAR and the use of CVRs. Moreover, the final matched sample regression shows that the issuance of event-driven CVRs have a negative, and statistically significant, effect of 5.08 percentage points on BCAR. To our knowledge, this paper is the first contribution on both how CVRs affect the deal completion probability, how event-driven CVRs affect BCAR, as well as to be presenting the first general definition of a CVR.


Among UK criminal lawyers few subjects tend to give vent to as much passionate debate as the introduction of public defence solicitors. Although the public defender pilot has only recently begun in England and Wales, north of the border in Scotland the evaluation of the public defence experiment has recently been completed. This article explains some of the key findings on case outcomes achieved by "private" and "public" defence solicitors for similar cases; and also in terms of client satisfaction. In so doing, the research also raises broader questions about summary justice.


Interactions between an oblique shock wave generated by a sharp fin placed on a cylindrical surface and the incoming boundary layer are investigated to unravel the mean features of the resulting shock/boundary layer interaction (SBLI) unit. This fin-on-cylinder SBLI unit has several unique features caused by the three-dimensional (3-D) relief offered by the cylindrical surface that noticeably alter the shock structure. Complementary experimental and computational studies are made to delineate both the surface and off-body flow features of the fin-on-cylinder SBLI unit and to obtain a detailed understanding of the mechanisms that dictate the mean flow and wall pressure features of the SBLI unit. Results show that the fin-on-cylinder SBLI exhibits substantial deviation from quasi-conical symmetry that is observed in planar fin SBLI. Furthermore, the separated flow growth rate appears to decrease with downstream distance and the separation size is consistently smaller than the planar fin SBLI with the same inflow and fin configurations. The causes for the observed diminution of the separated flow and its downstream growth rate were investigated in the light of changes caused by the cylinder curvature on the inviscid as well as separation shock. It was found that the inviscid shock gets progressively weakened in the region close to the triple point with downstream distance due to the 3-D relief effect from cylinder curvature. This weakening of the inviscid shock feeds into the separation shock, which is also independently impacted by the 3-D relief, to result in the observed modifications in the fin-on-cylinder SBLI unit.


INTRODUCTION: Chronic low back pain has a direct repercussion on the activities of daily living and the alteration of motor control is its main cause. This change leads to instability of the trunk stabilizer systems that control movements. Trunk flexion and extension movements associated with external disturbances may increase the potential for motor control error, resulting in injury and pain. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and compare the recruitment of the trunk stabilizer muscles, with and without load, in the flexion and extension movements of the trunk. METHODS: Thirty four sedentary women were evaluated, aged between 30 and 59 years, divided into: low back pain group (LBPG n = 19) and control group (CG n = 15). The protocol consisted of clinical evaluation, pain evaluation, strength test of extensor trunk muscles and trunk flexion and extension tests (TFET). Muscle electromyography in internal oblique (IO), lumbar multifidus (LM), rectus abdominis (RA), external oblique (EO) and lumbar iliacus (LI) were performed simultaneously. Multivariate analysis of variance was used with two-way repeated measurements. RESULTS: LBPG presented a trend of greater recruitment in all muscles and loads evaluated, with muscle activation up to 47% higher when compared to CG. In the intergroup comparison, the global muscles demonstrated a tendency for greater activation in LBPG, with values up to 53% higher when compared to CG, and predominantly high effect size d> 0.80. In the intragroup comparison, the IO, EO, LI and LM muscles of the LBPG presented ascending muscle recruitment with increased load the opposite was seen in the CG, which showed increased activation only in the LI and LM muscles. CONCLUSION: Women with low back pain need more muscle recruitment to remain stable and, in challenging situations, use inefficient strategies.


The RASopathies constitute a diverse group of congenital disorders characterised by short stature, cardiac anomalies, distinctive facial features, predisposition to developing juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML) and germline mutations in the Ras-mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway.1 We recently described the genomic landscape of JMML, which can arise in the context of germline or somatic lesions in the Ras-MAPK pathway and identified somatic RRAS2 mutations as a novel lesion in JMML.2 We thus hypothesised that germline RRAS2 mutations could be an additional cause of Noonan syndrome (NS) and therefore screened 116 patients with NS who had no other identified lesions. No recurrent mutations were found in RRAS2 .

Autosomal dominant germline mutations in a variety of Ras-MAPK pathway genes, including PTPN11, SOS1, KRAS, HRAS, MAP2K1, MAP2K2, NRAS, RAF1, CBL, NF1, SPRED1, BRAF, SHOC2, …


Tamoxifen is a synthetic non steroidal anti-estrogen used to treat patients with breast cancer and healthy subjects with high risk of breast cancer. It was aimed to study the short term effects of tamoxifen on the plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC), nitric oxide (NO) and the adenosine deaminase activity (ADA) in healthy rabbits. Sixteen healthy New Zealand rabbits were allocated to 2 groups including controls and tamoxifen treated animals. Controls received a single application of 0.9% saline via oral route while the treated rabbits received orally tamoxifen (dissolved in 0.9% saline, at a dose of 5 mg/kg). Blood samples were collected at 6 and 24 hours following the treatments. Plasma TAC and ADA were not affected by Tamoxifen treatment. However, NO level in tamoxifen treated group was increased at 24 hours following tamoxifen treatment as compared to controls. In conclusion, acute tamoxifen treatment may not affect the antioxidant status and cellular immunity, as evidenced by unaltered TAC and ADA. However, NO level was increased as early as 24 hours following tamoxifen treatment.


Optical vortices are beams of laser light with screw symmetry in their wavefront. With a corresponding azimuthal dependence in optical phase, they convey orbital angular momentum, and their methods of production and applications have become one of the most rapidly accelerating areas in optical physics and technology. It has been established that the quantum nature of electromagnetic radiation extends to properties conveyed by each individual photon in such beams. It is therefore of interest to identify and characterize the symmetry aspects of the quantized fields of vortex radiation that relate to the beam and become manifest in its interactions with matter. Chirality is a prominent example of one such aspect; many other facets also invite attention. Fundamental CPT symmetry is satisfied throughout the field of optics, and it plays significantly into manifestations of chirality where spatial parity is broken; duality symmetry between electric and magnetic fields is also involved in the detailed representation. From more specific considerations of spatial inversion, amongst which it emerges that the topological charge has the character of a pseudoscalar, other elements of spatial symmetry, beyond simple parity inversion, prove to repay additional scrutiny. A photon-based perspective on these features enables regard to be given to the salient quantum operators, paying heed to quantum uncertainty limits of observables. The analysis supports a persistence in features of significance for the material interactions of vortex beams, which may indicate further scope for suitably tailored experimental design.


The National Cancer Chemotherapy Program was initiated in 1955. It is administered and integrated by the Division of Cancer Treatment at the National Cancer Institute. The program involves the discovery and development of potential new antitumor agents; their screening in preclinical experimental systems for antitumor effect, and, if active, for toxicology; and, for selected agents, preliminary, and more definitive clinical trials. While serendipity and empiricism played a substantial role in the early years of the program, the program has increasingly emphasized and been influenced by advances in tumor biology, drug development, clinical pharmacology, and the science of clinical trials. There has been effective interaction between investigator-initiated research on the one hand and developmental research at preclinical and clinical levels on the other. Over 30 chemotherapeutic agents with substantial clinical antitumor activity have been discovered, and their proper use, often in combination and often integrated with surgery or radiotherapy, has resulted in significant progress in the effective treatment of many forms of cancer.


What did Jesus mean by the things he said and the things he did? To what extent are we beginning to learn that Love is His Meaning, as Keith Ward ponders aloud?

Jesus' teaching has changed the world. Yet his sayings can often seem cryptic and hard to understand.

In Love Is His Meaning, Keith Ward explores the various figures of speech and images that Jesus used, and finds they are all ways of expressing and evoking the self-giving love of God, manifested supremely in Jesus' life. They communicate spiritual truths, often not in a literal but in a poetic way. They encourage us to take our own moral decisions with sensitivity and care for others. They show that God's love will never abandon anyone, and that it extends to everyone in the world without exception. And they promise a fulfilment of our hopes for a just and peaceable world that surpasses anything we might describe or imagine.

Putting aside presentations of Jesus' teachings that focus on a literalist, authoritarian, legalistic, judgemental and divisive interpretation, the author shows that what remains is the Gospel of a divine love that is stronger than death, and is the only power that can and will redeem our broken and disordered world.


Objective: To explore the effect of the environmental toxicants polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) on the
 ovary.
Methods: Female mice of child-bearing age were
 randomized to a control group and three PAH exposure
 groups at a dose of 0.1 μg/mL, 1 μg/mL or 10 μg/mL. The
 ovary was removed using aseptic technique, cultured in
 vitro for 10 days, and HE stained to observe structural
 change by light microscopy. Ovarian granulosa cell apoptosis
 was detected by immunohistochemistry, and the number of
 ovarian follicles undergoing atresia was counted. Western
 blot was carried out to detect the expression of apoptosisrelated
 proteins (Caspase3,Caspase9, bax and bcl-2). Then
 we detected if these damages can be prevented by 740Y-P,
 an activator of PI3K/Akt pathway.
Results: The number of ovarian follicles in the three PAH
 groups was significantly lower than that in the control group
 (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the expression
 of apoptotic protein Caspase-3, Caspases9 and Bax was
 increased, and the expression of Bcl-2 was decreased in PAH
 groups. PI3K/Akt pathway prevented the apoptosis of the
 ovary.
Conclusion: Exposure of female mice of reproductive age to
 PAH induced ovarian granulosa cell apoptosis that can be
 prevented with the activator of PI3K/Akt pathway 740Y-P.