This brief is part of the Central Bank of the Future Project ("CBOTF"), a research project that seeks to identify ways that central banks across the world can improve access to financial products and services for underserved communities. CBOTF engages with scholars, financial regulators and policymakers, think tanks, financial institutions, fintech companies, consumer and community organizations, and other stakeholders to examine how central banks can evolve to better promote financial inclusion and financial health. CBOTF also works to find ways that businesses and nonprofits can work alongside government sector efforts for financial inclusion. One output is a series of working papers and policy briefs focused on specific topics.

This paper examines how central banks might use distributed ledger technology ("DLT") to improve access to safe and affordable financial products and services. We consider how central banks might use DLT to advance objectives such as Anti-Money Laundering ("AML") compliance and discuss both central bank digital currencies ("CBDC") and private digital currencies. We consider implementation challenges for these new approaches relating to interoperability, privacy, and efficiency. We conclude that financial inclusion is far from an assured outcome: central banks must work to ensure that any new technologies they adopt or foster do not exclude marginalized groups and instead focus with intentionality on low-income households. Moreover, difficult issues with respect to financial disintermediation, credit availability, and financial stability would need to be addressed.

This paper proceeds in four parts. Part II provides a primer on DLT and CBDC. Part III considers four ways central banks might use DLT to advance financial inclusion: to accelerate payments, to improve identity verification, to formalize collateral, and to lower compliance costs. Part IV focuses on DLT in the digital currency context, analyzing non-fiat DLT-based digital currencies and proposals to create DLT and non-DLT central bank digital currencies. Part V concludes.


Transmission of malaria parasites relies on the formation of a specialized blood form called the gametocyte. Gametocytes of the human pathogen, Plasmodium falciparum, adopt a crescent shape. Their dramatic morphogenesis is driven by the assembly of a network of microtubules and an underpinning inner membrane complex (IMC). Using super-resolution optical and electron microscopies we define the ultrastructure of the IMC at different stages of gametocyte development. We characterize two new proteins of the gametocyte IMC, called PhIL1 and PIP1. Genetic disruption of PhIL1 or PIP1 ablates elongation and prevents formation of transmission-ready mature gametocytes. The maturation defect is accompanied by failure to form an enveloping IMC and a marked swelling of the digestive vacuole, suggesting PhIL1 and PIP1 are required for correct membrane trafficking. Using immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry we reveal that PhIL1 interacts with known and new components of the gametocyte IMC.


This paper presents a system that can harvest energy in the water and use the harvested energy to power electronic devices deployed in the water. The system consists of a microbial fuel cell (MFC) and a power management system. The MFC uses electrochemical reactions and bacteria that are safe and abundant in the water to harvest energy and generate electricity. The power management system, consisting of a charge pump, a super capacitor, and a boost converter, accumulates and stores the energy harvested by the MFC in the super capacitor and bursts power to the load. The power management system also boosts the voltage of the MFC to a sufficient level for the electronic devices. The presented energy harvest system is sustainable, environmentally friendly and maintenance free. The system has been tested and proven through experimental work.


The study analyzes the effect of tax incentive on the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Rwanda taking SMEs in Nyarugenge as a case study. Qualitative and quantitative research approach was adopted. The population includes 49000 SMEs from agricultural, industrial, services and tourism sectors operating in Nyarugenge district. A sample of 136 SMEs was determined using Silovin and Yemen's formula of sample size. Simple random and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the sample. The data set was analysed using descriptive statistics. A multiple regression analysis was used to explain the relation between variables. The results from the study revealed that 75.7% of the respondents agreed that they know the tax laws, 78.7% agreed that they know the tax incentives that are available to SMEs. The results further revealed that wear and tear, loss carried forward and value-added tax (VAT) refund as the most tax incentives available to Rwandan SMEs as evidenced by 100, 94.1 and 95.6%, respectively. The study indicated that there was a strong positive and significant relationship between tax incentives and the growth of small and medium enterprises in Rwanda as approved by coefficients of correlation equal to 88.8% of R-square. This meant that only 11.2% of the variation in the growth of SMEs was outside the tested variables. The study concluded that tax incentives are the key to the sustainable growth of SMEs. The government should design policies that specifically address issues related to the sustainable growth of SMEs.

 Key words: Tax, tax incentive, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), growth.


This article addresses wh-displacement and wh-expletive constructions in Hindi-Urdu, accounting for parametric variation in terms of the properties of the phase-defining heads C and v. This analysis provides an understanding of a systematic set of contrasts between Kashmiri and Hindi-Urdu that suggests that crosslinguistic variation may follow from properties of specifically the phase-defining functional heads. It is then possible to construct a unified account of the various strategies of forming long-distance wh-dependencies in the two languages.


Recent advances in computation power accessible to machine learning researchers has sparked the flurry of research interest in large scale Reinforcement Learning (RL). However, this interest is facing RL unique characteristics; Any theoretical study as well as empirical investigation of any innovative RL algorithm requires an extensive amount of experts' time and imposes intolerably massive computation cost. These challenges are even more vital in RL due to the significantly limited dedicated resources, such as human-time and computation resources, to RL research. These hardnesses and enormous costs impel an immediate consideration in both guiding our research directions and allocating our resources to advance RL in practice. We devote this paper to discuss a set of essential issues that are necessary to be addressed in order to provide greater supervisions in conducting future RL studies.


This article examines decision processes in the perception and categorization of stimuli composed of the separable psychological dimensions, orientation and size. The randomization technique (Ashby & Gott, 1988) of general recognition theory, which allows accurate estimation of a subject's decision boundary in a categorization task, is used in 4 experiments. Even though the stimulus components are clearly separable, it was found that Ss were not constrained to use separable response strategies, nor were they constrained to attend to distance to the prototypes. Instead, they used decision rules that were nearly optimal, even if this required information integration or for the Ss to attend to higher level category properties such as component correlation.


COMBINATION THERAPY by Joshua Heejae Choi (Under the Direction of Shanta Dhar) ABSTRACT Many conventional therapies are used to treat various cancers. However, because of multiple problems that include low efficacy and safety issues, different strategies to treat cancer are necessary. One strategy is combination therapy. Combining drugs or other adjuvants has a synergistic effect in cancer treatments. Combination therapy permits multiple targeting through the same or different signaling pathways to overcome the limitations. Moreover, the use of nanotechnology in combination therapy permits even greater increases in efficacy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved biodegradable polymers such as poly (D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) that can be surface modified with targeting moiety for active targeting strategy. PLGA-b-PEG is used for formation of biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles for delivery of payloads. In this thesis, I report on several strategies of combination therapy using polymeric nanoparticles.


Author(s): Datta, Debajyoti | Advisor(s): Wells, James A | Abstract: Caspases are a family of dimeric thiol proteases central to the inflammatory and apoptotic pathways. Structural studies of the major inflammatory caspase, caspase-1, reveal that the enzyme exists in two states: an on-state when the active site is occupied; or an off-state when the active site is empty or when the enzyme is bound by allosteric ligand at the dimer interface. Determining which residues and regions of the enzyme are responsible for determining enzyme conformation and for regulating transitions between states would elucidate the molecular basis for allostery in caspase-1. A network of 21 hydrogen bonds from 9 side chains connecting the active and allosteric sites change partners when going between the on- and off-states. Alanine-scanning mutagenesis of these 9 side chains shows that only two of them, Arg286 and Glu390, which form a salt bridge, have major effects causing 100- to 200- fold reductions in catalytic efficiency (kcat/KM). More detailed mutational analysis reveals that the enzyme is especially sensitive to substitutions of the salt bridge: a homologous R286K substitution causes a 150-fold reduction in kcat/KM. Thus, side chains from only a small subset of the larger H-bonding network are critical for activity. These form a contiguous set of interactions that run from one active site through the allosteric site at the dimer interface and on to the second active site. This subset constitutes a functional allosteric circuit or "hot-wire" that promotes site-to-site coupling. Further experiments demonstrate the utility of using site-directed mutagenesis and chemical ligands to select for and examine enzyme conformation. Targeting specific glycine and proline residues in caspase-1 for mutation selects for different conformational states of the enzyme. We present a method of using covalent inhibitors for caspases to create half-labeled hybrid constructs that trap the conformational state of caspases in solution and allow us to understand how allostery plays a role in caspase activity. We present a model that provides a mechanism by which the very conformational state of the various caspase family members recapitulates their role in specific biologic pathways and provides an additional level of regulation.


The globally exponential synchronization problem for general dynamical networks is considered in this paper. One quantity will be distilled from the coupling matrix to characterize the synchronizability of the corresponding dynamical networks. The calculation of such a quantity is very convenient even for large-scale networks. The network topology is assumed to be directed and weakly connected, which implies that the coupling configuration matrix can be asymmetric, weighted, or reducible. This assumption is more consistent with the realistic network in practice than the constraint of symmetry and irreducibility. By using the Lyapunov functional method and the Kronecker product techniques, some criteria are obtained to guarantee the globally exponential synchronization of general dynamical networks. In addition, numerical examples, including small-world and scale-free networks, are given to demonstrate the theoretical results. It will be shown that our criteria are available for large-scale dynamical networks.


We present a highly scalable strategy for developing mesh-free neuro-symbolic partial differential equation solvers from existing numerical discretizations found in scientific computing. This strategy is unique in that it can be used to efficiently train neural network surrogate models for the solution functions and the differential operators, while retaining the accuracy and convergence properties of state-of-the-art numerical solvers. This neural bootstrapping method is based on minimizing residuals of discretized differential systems on a set of random collocation points with respect to the trainable parameters of the neural network, achieving unprecedented resolution and optimal scaling for solving physical and biological systems.


A correlation was found between the level of the tissue enzyme activity in cadaveric kidneys perfusates and the degree of their functional adequacy in the early posttransplantation period. According to the data obtained the level of the activity of leucin aminopeptidase and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase in the perfusates may be of importance for prognostication of a delayed function of the kidneys after transplantation. An elevated level of activity, in addition to leucin adminopeptidase and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase, lactatedehydrogenase, aspartataminotransferase, muramidase, acid and alkali phosphatases suggests the transplanted kidney to be not functioning.


The hygroscopicity and the dimensional changes of black locust heartwood were investigated in relation to the progressive removal of hot-water extractives. Extraction in the original specimen form removed only part of the total 8.434 % hot-water extractives, 3.601 % in first extraction and 4.642 % in second extraction. As a result, the adsorption and desorption behaviour of black locust wood was little affected by the extraction and only a small increase was observed in dimensional changes at every RH from 0 % to 97 %. The mean hysteresis coefficient was also little affected by extraction and increased from 0.75 at the unextracted stage to 0.77 at the second extraction. The initial dimensional change 3.76 % of unextracted black locust wood corresponding to RH changes between 43 % and 80 % increased after the first and second extraction to the respective values of 3.96 % and 3.97 %. Extraction had no effect on the significant, very strong linear relationships between swelling or shrinkage and equilibrium moisture content (EMC).


The conventional decoupling controls of variable-speed doubly fed wind turbines provide minimal support to the regulation of system frequency. The characteristics of doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) wind turbines and conventional power plans are compared, and the contributions of DFIG to system inertial response and frequency regulation are investigated. The influence of auxiliary loop parameters on the inertial response is illustrated. We also introduce a novel algorithm to enhance the participation of DFIG in existing frequency regulation mechanisms. The proposed approach takes advantage of the fast responses associated with DFIGs. The control system consists of four functional modules, namely, frequency control, rotational speed delay recovery, speed protection, and coordination control with conventional generators. The simulation results show that the control strategy has a fast response speed to the transient frequency error, thereby proving that wind farms can participate in system frequency regulation to a certain extent.


Rationale: Cognitive impairment in schizophrenia is associated with outcomes affecting social function and vocational performance. Cognitive enhancement is thus recognized as fundamental in the treatment of schizophrenia. Some clinical trials have used acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs) add-on therapy to test the cognitive-enhancing effects of these kinds of medication, which is usually prescribed for indications other than schizophrenia. Objective: To perform a quantitative systematic review of the effects of AChEI on various cognitive domains (attention, language, and motor and executive functions) in schizophrenia. Data Source: Exhaustive electronic search engines, hand searches, cross-referencing of studies, and contacts with investigators were carried out. Data Selection: The studies included compared neurocognitive performance in patients with schizophrenia before and after AChEI treatment in randomized controlled trials and crossover and open trials of AChEI in people with schizophrenia. Results: Our findings reveal a small, but significant, homogeneous effect estimate of AChEI on attention before and after treatment. A small nonsignificant heterogeneous effect estimate was yielded for motor performance after AChEI treatment. However, no significant change appears in language performance or executive functions after AChEI treatment, independently of the type of AChEI. After AChEI treatment, when patients were compared with control groups, no difference appears in attention and executive functions. Nevertheless, the analysis reveals that the control groups performed better on language tasks than patients after AChEI treatment but worse on motor tasks. Conclusions: Despite an extensive investigation of the electronic and gray literature, few data appropriate for the meta-analysis were found. The results reveal a small improvement in attention and a trend on motor tasks after AChEI medication in schizophrenia. No clear conclusion can yet be reached concerning the cognitive-enhancing effects of AChEI considering the small number of studies available. This finding needs to be substantiated by larger trials. This systematic review complements a meta-analysis focusing on memory, which showed a small improvement with a cocktail of antipsychotics and AChEIs.


The term welfare commends the condition of prosperity, wellbeing, satisfaction, success and the advancement of HR. The present examination is an endeavor to recognize the worker welfare programs being directed in IT industry. The study targets to discover how the welfare activities are effecting employee satisfaction. The successful and proficient approaches (statutory and non-statutory) make the worker to play out the activity better, which prompts adequacy of the association and is a factor of representative commitment. As a part of the investigation, various IT companies such as Tech Mahindra, TCS, Infosys employees were chosen to study the welfare facilities and employees satisfaction levels. It is found that welfare activities are showing significant impact on employee satisfaction. Conceptual information was taken through different diaries, magazines and various sites. The primary information became collected through questionnaire from employees of various IT companies. For data analysis Cronbach's alpha was used for determining validity and reliability of the variables used in this study.


Summary

Certain lactic acid bacteria present in the natural flora of the wine fermentation medium perform the malolactic fermentation process and other biochemical activities which lead to the formation of the outstanding aroma and bouquet of wine. However, because of the spoilage phenomena caused also by certain lactic cultures, off-odours formed via metabolic side reactions cause severe economic losses in the wine industry. Several control mechanisms were introduced in order to eliminate these spoilage cultures, but none of these has been implemented as an efficient and healthy process. A partially purified bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance (BLIS) with a molecular weight of 32 000 Da, obtained from a Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris isolate belonging to the native flora of wines of the Cappadocia region, was studied for its inhibitory activity on the spoilage strain, Lactobacillus fructivorans, isolated from the same wine flora and several other pathogens, and was found to be efficient in eliminating both the spoilage strain and the pathogens.


Abstract. Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) greatly facilitates the acquisition of detailed and accurate 3D measurements of remote rock outcrops, at an operational range from several meters to a few kilometres. Reliable, quantitative measures of rock discontinuity roughness are necessary to characterize and evaluate the mechanical and hydraulic behavior of the rock mass. The aim of this research is to investigate the TLS potential and limitations for a reliable estimation of small scale roughness. TLS data noise and resolution define the level of extractable morphological detail, and therefore need to be known and associated with roughness value. The stationary variant of Discrete Wavelet Transform (SWT) was applied to estimate TLS noise level and perform wavelet denoising in direction of range measurements. Denoised TLS data were compared to reference surfaces of decreasing resolution (reference grids) in order to define the size of extractable surface detail. Noise and resolution effect on rock surface roughness, wavelet denoising success and extractable roughness scale were investigated with comparative analyses of TLS and reference surfaces. The developed methodology enabled reasonable TLS noise estimation, improved capabilities of TLS for modelling fine features of an irregular rock surface, and indicated the surface scale that can be reliably extracted from the TLS data.


ABSTRACT Petrography of the Lower Ordovician Ellenburger Group, both in deeply-buried subsurface cores and in outcrops which have never been deeply buried, documents live generations of dolomite, three generations of microquartz chert, and one generation of megaquartz. Regional periods of karstification serve to subdivide the dolomite into "early-stage", which predates pre-Middle Ordovician karstification, and "late-stage", which postdates pre-Middle Ordovician karstification and predates pre-Permian karstification. Approximately 10% of the dolomite in the Ellenburger Group is "late-stage". The earliest generation of late-stage dolomite, Dolomite-L1, is interpreted as a precursor to regional Dolomite-L2. L1 has been replaced by L2 and has similar trace element, O, C, and Sr isotopic signatures, and similar cathodoluminescence and backscattered electron images. It is possible to differentiate L1 from L2 only where cross-cutting relationships with chert are observed. Replacement Dolomite-L2 is associated with the grainstone, subarkose, and mixed carbonate-siliciclastic facies, and with karst breccias. The distribution of L2 is related to porosity and permeability which focused the flow of reactive fluids within the Ellenburger. Fluid inclusion data from megaquartz, interpreted to be cogenetic with Dolomite-L2, yield a mean temperature of homogenization of 85 ± 6°C. On the basis of temperature/18Owater plots, temperatures of dolomitization ranged from approximately 60 to 110°C. Given estimates of maximum burial of the Ellenburger Group, these temperatures cannot be due to burial alone and are interpreted to be the result of migration of hot fluids into the a ea. A contour map of 18O from replacement Dolomite-L2 suggests a regional trend consistent with derivation of fluids from the Ouachita Orogenic Belt. The timing and direction of fluid migration associated with the Ouachita Orogeny are consistent with the timing and distribution of late-stage dolomite. Post-dating Dolomite-L2 are two generations of dolomite cement (C1 and C2) that are most abundant in karst breccias and are also associated with fractures, subarkoses and grainstones. 87Sr/86Sr data from L2, C1, and C2 suggest rock-buffering relative to Sr within Dolomite-L2 (and a retention of a Lower Ordovician seawater signature), while cements C1 and C2 became increasingly radiogenic. It is hypothesized that reactive fluids were Pennsylvanian pore fluids derived from basinal siliciclastics. The precipitating fluid evolved relative to 87Sr/86Sr from an initial Pennsylvanian seawater signature to radiogenic values; this evolution is due to increasing temperature and a concomitant evolution in pore-water geochemistry in the dominantly silic clastic Pennsylvanian section. A possible source of Mg for late-stage dolomite is interpreted to be from the dissolution of early-stage dolomite by reactive basinal fluids.


XFET references make up a new kind of voltage references different from the popular band-gap or buried Zener devices. These references are built by means of a reference cell consisting of a couple of p-channel junction field effect transistors with different pinch-off voltage values and an operational amplifier for the purpose of improving the output characteristics of the whole device. An irradiation in a mixed gamma and neutron environment was performed at the Portuguese Research Reactor for a complete characterization of the devices. Some of the parameters were measured during the irradiation while the rest of them were obtained once the samples were removed from the neutron facility. Experimental results show that some references belonging to this class are interesting candidates for a design of radiation-tolerant electronic systems based on COTS devices.


In the present study, Paraergasilus longidigitus Yin, 1954 (Copepoda: Poecilostomatoida) was identified in branchial flaments of Alburnus alburnus Lin.,1758 caught from Enne Dam Lake for the first time in Turkish fauna. The study carried out monthly between June 98 - May 99, and a total of 208 fish was collected. The distribution of parasitic copepods in relation with the length, sex of fish were recorded. The fishes were infested with P. longidigitus with a mean intensity of 6.2 and an prevalence incidence of 56.7%. The infestation prevalence and mean intensity were seasonal with higher levels in autumn with 74.2%. No significant differences were noticed in the infestation of male and female fishes. A slight increase in the infestation prevalence was recorded as the size of fish increased.


ABSTRACT For the first time, distribution of epiphytic dinoflagellates was studied in Saint Martin Island (Lesser Antilles) during the cyclonic season (between September 1st and 3rd, 2015). The present study provides a semi-quantitative analysis because the fresh weight of each macrophyte was estimated around 10 g. The identified genera were: Ostreopsis J.Schmidt, Prorocentrum Ehrenberg, Coolia Meunier, Amphidinium Claperède & Lachmann, and Gambierdiscus Adachi & Fukuyo in order of decreasing abundance. Highest average abundance values of the genera Ostreopsis and Amphidinium were hosted by macrophytes of the Phaeophyceae class with c. 15 000 and 60 cells g–1 respectively. Epiphytic Coolia cells were mainly observed on seagrasses with the highest average abundance value of c. 1000 cells g–1 whereas the genera Gambierdiscus and Prorocentrum were most often associated with Florideophyceae with the highest average abundances of c. 70 and 1500 cells g–1 respectively. This preliminary study indicates the most relevant locations to survey the biodiversity of potentially toxic epiphytic dinoflagellates in Saint Martin Island.


PURPOSE
We conducted this phase II trial to determine the efficacy of erlotinib in patients with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) and adenocarcinoma, BAC subtype, and to determine molecular characteristics associated with response.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Patients (n = 101) with BAC (n = 12) or adenocarcinoma, BAC subtype (n = 89), were enrolled. All patients received erlotinib 150 mg daily. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation, EGFR copy number, EGFR immunohistochemistry (IHC), and KRAS mutation status were analyzed in available tumors. The primary end point was response rate (RR).

RESULTS
Overall RR was 22% (95% CI, 14% to 31%). In patients with pure BAC, the RR and median survival were 20% and 4 months, as compared with 23% and 19 months in those with adenocarcinoma, BAC subtype. No patient (zero of 18; 95% CI, 0% to 19%) whose tumor harbored a KRAS mutation responded to erlotinib. Patients with EGFR mutations had an 83% RR (15 of 18; 95% CI, 65% to 94%) and 23-month median OS. On univariate analysis, EGFR mutation and copy number were associated with RR and PFS. EGFR IHC was not associated with RR or progression-free survival (PFS). After multivariate analysis, only EGFR mutation was associated with RR and PFS. No molecular factors were associated with overall survival.

CONCLUSION
Erlotinib is active in BAC and adenocarcinoma, mixed subtype, BAC. Testing for EGFR and KRAS mutations can predict RR and PFS after treatment with erlotinib in this histologically enriched subset of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These data suggest that histologic subtype and molecular characteristics should be reported in clinical trials in NSCLC using EGFR-directed therapy.


This purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between contract management and performance of road maintenance projects in Arua Municipality. A cross-sectional survey design was used, with data collected from a sample of 102 respondents using questionnaire survey and interviews. The study found a significant relationship between contract administration, relationship management and contract closure and performance of the maintenance projects. We conclude that improved payment mechanism, controlled contract variations, improved communication channels and dispute management improve project performance. The study recommends that the government of Uganda should increase the budget for road works; internal audit function be strengthened, contract management meetings be regularly held and contract specifications clearly articulated and adhered to; and technical staff should be trained in contract management and stringent performance measures provided as controls to adequately punish errant officials. These findings offer a useful foundation in the road sector for policy and practical improvement in Uganda.


Motivation: The COVID-19 pandemic is the most recent instance of global development problems being liable to occur anywhere, challenging the assumption of a world divided into "developed" and "developing" countries. Recent scholarship has increasingly opted for the term "global development" to capture this changing geography of development problems. Purpose: Our article contributes to these debates by proposing a novel empirical approach to localize global development problems in country contexts worldwide. Methods and approach: Our approach rests on a universal understanding of "development." We identify countries that are particularly relevant for global problem-solving and consider not only the problem dimension but also countries' capacities to address these problems. Findings: Our results show that countries with the most severe combinations of problems cover a range as broad as Afghanistan, Nigeria, and the United States. Two thirds of countries with above-average contributions to global problems are governed by authoritarian regimes. We also find that middle income countries, whether lower-middle or upper-middle as defined by the World Bank, have little in common apart from their income level. Policy implications: Our analysis shows that traditional development concepts of a binary world order and of foreign aid as financial transfer to remedy imbalances are not enough to address constellations of global problems and capacity that have long evolved beyond rich and poor. © 2022 The Authors. Development Policy Review published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of ODI.


in China and Europe DTU Orbit (30/12/2018) An Evolutionary Approach to Water Innovation: Comparing the Water Innovation Systems in China and Europe The recent rise of the 'green economy' agenda has increased the attention to eco-innovations globally, with issues related to water stress identified as one of the major bottlenecks for sustainable economic growth. Water being a critical resource, more and more countries worldwide are recognizing the need for increasing their innovative capacity within the water sector. Using evolutionary economic theory, this thesis undertakes a longitudinal and comparative analysis of the water innovation dynamics in Europe and China, representing respectively a developed, green early mover economy, and a centrally-planned economy and green late mover. The thesis aims to assess the similarities and differences in the mechanisms applied across these two regions, with a focus on outlining what drives eco-innovation development in the water sector. The thesis builds more specifically on the innovation system framework within evolutionary economic theory, as well as draws on eco-innovation and water specific literature. The analysis seeks to contribute to the still limited water innovation dynamics research, as well as the green economy and to some degree the 'catching up' literature, highlighting the innovation conditions of the green economy in regions with different stages of development. The empirical analysis is based primarily on patent data but also draws in trade data for some of the analysis. These data have been little used in water innovation studies and even less situated within an evolutionary economic theoretical perspective. The thesis compares and contrasts the elements and dynamics of the Chinese and European water innovation systems, working on multiple levels. The thesis identifies and characterizes: a) the actors of the water innovation system, b) trends in innovative capacity and the driving forces of the technological development, and c) the degree of Chinese catching up to Europe, both in general as well as related to different technological patterns of eco-innovation in the water sector. The main findings of the thesis are related to the clear differences in the dynamics of water innovation versus water eco-innovations in the Chinese context, where public innovators (universities and knowledge institutions) are found to have a more important role than in Europe in the development of eco-innovation – as opposed to the development of "general" water innovations. This points towards a better association among the actors involved in performing eco-innovation and the water regulations and innovation policies. This alignment is expected given the planned economy of China, but which has not been previously documented or discussed for the water sector. Additionally, the thesis identified and analysed the drivers for the overall (eco) innovative capacity development of the water sector in the two regions, and found them to be similar and strongly related to the national innovative strategy, as well as to public budgets, environmental regulations and R&D development. Generally, Europe presents a higher water (eco) innovative capacity; nevertheless, the thesis also indicates that China is increasing its innovative capacity in the water sector relative to Europe. In particular it could be seen that China is in the process of a "market" technological catch-up while remaining at a much lower patenting innovative performance level than Europe. Both regions present similar eco-innovative patterns, with a strong remaining focus on traditional water pollution technologies and wastewater treatment. This demonstrates there is still a huge potential for green business development related to water conservation and water recovery in both regions that hasn't been explored yet and may become crucial to the future transition towards sustainability. Overall, the analysis of the thesis contributes to a more nuanced understanding of water innovation dynamics, as well as global water innovation trends than has been conducted to-date. Novel contributions include the combined analysis of the micro aspects of water innovation dynamics, the econometric analysis of innovative capacity drivers, as well as the longitudinal catch-up analysis of combined patent and trade data, including the discussion of the development of different water technological trajectories. The suggested taxonomy for water (eco-) innovations and the trade data list of water technologies can be used as novel indicators to analyse eco-innovation developments and diffusion in the water sector. Given the limited prior research to draw on and limitations regarding data availability, as well as the many very recent green water policy tendencies in China whose effects are yet to be seen, the empirical results of this thesis are not that clear cut. In some respects, China is catching up in water innovations, in other respects not. Further analyses are needed to provide a more thorough understanding of the water innovation performances and dynamics of the European and Chinese water innovation systems.


An autobiographical account of life in communist Poland in the 1970's and early 1980's. Andrzej Klimowski and Danusia Schejbal describe the rich and highly improvised cultural life of two young artists starting out on their professional careers against the background of political unrest, where the economic inconsistencies and absurdities initiated street protests that gave birth to free trade unions (Solidarnosc). The book ends on the imposition of Martial Law. For a whole new generation communism is just an anachronism. The book aims at depicting everyday reality under a system that was more surreal than utopian. The narrative occasionally slips back in time to the Second World War and the Warsaw Uprising in which the authors' parents took an active part.

This was funded by Self Made Hero. Andrzej's graphic novels reach a wide public through major publishers.
This abstract will be extended to include significance, originality and rigour after its completion and publication.


Objective : To compare the efficacy and safety of rofecoxib 12.5 mg once daily to naproxen 500 mg twice daily in patients S 40 years of age with knee or hip osteoarthritis (OA). Methods : Two identical 6-week, randomized, double-blind studies were conducted (1 in Africa, Australia, Europe, Canada, Mexico, & South America; 1 in Asia). Primary endpoints were pain walking on a flat surface, patient global assessment of response to therapy, and investigator global assessment of disease status. Results : Overall, 944 patients participated. For all efficacy endpoints, treatment effects for rofecoxib and naproxen were comparable and seen at the first measures of efficacy. Both compounds were generally well-tolerated, with an improved gastrointestinal safety profile for rofecoxib versus naproxen. Conclusions : In these studies, rofecoxib 12.5 mg once daily (the lowest indicated dose) and naproxen 500 mg twice daily showed similar treatment effects in OA patients. Rofecoxib and naproxen were generally well tolerated.


The evolution of 13- and 17-y periodical cicadas (Magicicada) is enigmatic because at any given location, up to three distinct species groups (Decim, Cassini, Decula) with synchronized life cycles are involved. Each species group is divided into one 13- and one 17-y species with the exception of the Decim group, which contains two 13-y species—13-y species are Magicicada tredecim, Magicicada neotredecim, Magicicada tredecassini, and Magicicada tredecula; and 17-y species are Magicicada septendecim, Magicicada cassini, and Magicicada septendecula. Here we show that the divergence leading to the present 13- and 17-y populations differs considerably among the species groups despite the fact that each group exhibits strikingly similar phylogeographic patterning. The earliest divergence of extant lineages occurred ∼4 Mya with one branch forming the Decim species group and the other subsequently splitting 2.5 Mya to form the Cassini and Decula species groups. The earliest split of extant lineages into 13- and 17-y life cycles occurred in the Decim lineage 0.5 Mya. All three species groups experienced at least one episode of life cycle divergence since the last glacial maximum. We hypothesize that despite independent origins, the three species groups achieved their current overlapping distributions because life-cycle synchronization of invading congeners to a dominant resident population enabled escape from predation and population persistence. The repeated life-cycle divergences supported by our data suggest the presence of a common genetic basis for the two life cycles in the three species groups.


The article concerns the life and activities of the actor FedirFedorovych. His fate was typical for a great number of Ukrainian intelligentsia, who found themselves in emigration after WWII, producing impact on the formation of Ukrainian diaspora culture.

Purpose. The author's intention has been to follow and analyze the main stages in the actor FedirFedorovych's creative activities within the context of the Ukrainian theater's development. The research is based on studying the contemporary press and the Fedorovyches' family archive.

Methods. The author has used the cultural-historical method, which implies searching and collecting information concerning the exact object, processing this information, analyzing its correlation with historical and cultural background, and defining the significance of the actor's activities for development of the theater art in a certain period.

Results. The early period of Fedorovych's activities was closely connected with Kharkiv. The actor was born in the town of Uman in 1895. He took part in the fighting during the First World War. In 1920 he studied at the workshop under Kyidramte (Kyiv Drama Theater), under the guidance of Les Kurbas. Later he acted on stages of the I. Franko Theater, the First Odessa Workers and Peasants' Theater led by Ye. Kokhanenko, Chervonozavodsky Theater in Kharkiv, the Kharkiv Theater of the Revolution, the Leninist Komsomol Theater in this city. He played mostly character and comic personages in performances after Ukrainian and foreign playwrights. In 1940Fedorovych left Kharkiv for Chernivtsi, where the Leninist Komsomol Theater was transferred. After the Soviet Union got involved in WWII, Fedorovych returned to Kharkiv, staying there under the Nazis. At the time he worked at the T. Shevchenko Theater, then, in 1943, left the city together with the retreating Hitlerite troops. When Germany was defeated, Fedorovych experienced a lot of wandering, in the end finding himself in the "Orlyk" displaced persons' camp, Bavaria, and founded a theater there. The latter existed until 1950. There Fedorovich as a director put on the stage a number of productions after "The Mistress of the Inn" by C. Goldoni; "Rosy Weaverbird" by Ya. Mamontov; "Martyn Borulia" by I. Karpenko-Karyi; "Going for the First Hangout" by S. Vasylchenko; and some others. In 1950Fedorovich, together with his family, was granted entrance to the U.S., where he organized an amateur theater in NewHaven, Conn. He also worked as both director and actor of the Ukrainian Opera Ensemble (NewYork, NY). Inthelatter, heplayedin "NatalkaPoltavka" byI. Kotliarevsky (1958); "TheMatchmakinginHoncharivka" byH. Kvitka-Osnovyanenko (1963); operas "The Black Sea People" by M. Lysenko (1965); "Cossacks in Exile" by S. Hulak-Artemovsky (1972).

Novelty of research. This research is the first one to present an integral evaluation of FedirFedorovych's creative activities as typical for a member of theatrical community of Ukraine. It also introduces the documents from the Fedorovyches' family archive into scientific parlance.

Conclusions. Fedir Fedorovych's creative activities testify to the fact that a number of Ukrainian actors in exile proved to be able both to maintain the high level of acting, worked up in the native country, and to preserve the classical repertoire, thus passing their experience to the next generations.


Data communication is a widespread service in our society and the need for controlling the information interchange increases. Intending to solve this need, different kinds of data capture systems (sensors or probes) have been implemented. The aim of this paper is to present a new architecture that analyses data providing essential information like complex quality of service statistics, intrusion detection, and accounting. Nowadays, performance requirements limit the functionalities of sensors. Therefore, we have developed a high performance multiprocessor architecture which can process passively and online the captured packets in different ways. This improvement allows us to apply complex QoS algorithms whose implementation is quite difficult if the number of connections to follow is high.


ABSTRACT The history of the Slavic word for 'morning' constitutes an old problem of Slavic etymology. Forms such as OCS utro, Cr jȕtro, R утро, Cz jitro 'morning' as well as the adverb OCS zaustra 'in the morning', Bg зáстра etc. certainly continue the root PIE *h2eu̯s- '(morgens) hell werden'. Consequently, an explanation of the attested forms needs to account for the following three issues: (1) the loss of the root final sibilant in most of the Slavic forms; (2) the acute tone on the root syllable; (3) the presence of a word-initial glide j in some Slavic languages. The present article deals with these problems. By starting from a holokinetic r-stem both the loss of the root final sibilant as well as the acute tone on the root syllable are explained as resulting from contamination of different stem or root variants respectively. The occurrence of a word initial glide, on the other hand, is explained by a transfer within syntagmatic expressions. One of the advantages of the proposed scenario is that all the posited changes may be paralleled by developments elsewhere in Slavic or Indo-European.


This is one of the series of monographs published by the Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development, which is part of NATO. A hard-covered book, it has almost 800 pages of good quality printing, uniformly clear line diagrams and not so clear half-tones. Divided into 12 Chapters it examines the various problem areas which must be tackled successfully if progress in solid propellant rocket propulsion is to be maintained. With one exception all the Chapters are concerned with internal ballistics; i.e. flow in nozzles, performance, steady-state motor operation, combustion fundamentals from both the practical and theoretical points of view, special erosive effects and transient phenomena such as ignition extinction and instability. The one exception is the consideration of the propellant grains which are dealt with at some length.


The resource optimization of ship erection procedure is a classic NP-hard problem. Through analyzing the character about this problem, an algorithm model of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is proposed. Particle's coordinate in the particle swarm is used for the activity's actual start time and methods for resource leveling based on dynamic time variance are designed. Evolution equations based on integer compute rule is introduced to improve the converging speed and accuracy of traditional PSO algorithm. The last simulation experiment with the practical data demonstrates the feasibility and the effectiveness of the improved PSO algorithm by comparisons and analyses.


Objectives: Preliminary studies suggested that the high rates of stress are increasingly prevalent in students in tertiary education in the Arabian Gulf countries and that their emotional eating is often triggered by stress. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of studies on this topic and Oman is no exception. In this study, we intended to examine the prevalence of emotional eating and perceived stress in Omani college students and to clarify the relationship between their emotional eating and sociodemographic and risk factors among the population in the college students in Oman. Methods: We used Salzburg Emotional Eating Scale and Perceived Stress Scale to assess emotional eating and variations in perceived stress, respectively. We also study their sociodemographic and risk factors. Results: A total of 422 students took part in the study, with the age of 20.6 ± 1.8 (mean ± standard deviation) years. Of all students, 85.8% (n = 362) were reported to have emotional eating and 78.7% of the sample were reported to experience stress. The multivariate logistic analysis showed that body mass index (BMI) and the student's major subjects were the significant risk factors. Students who majored in science/engineering/agriculture (odds ratio [OR] = 0.926, p < 0.001) and arts/business/law were 3.1 times (OR = 3.115, p < 0.05) and 2.3 times (OR = 2.347, p < 0.05) were significantly engaged in emotional eating as compared to those majoring in medicine/nursing. Students who are underweight (BMI < 18) were 3.9 times (OR = 3.984, p < 0.05) were also significantly more to engage in emotional eating than those students who were overweight/obese (BMI 25+). Conclusion: In this study, we found that both rates of emotional eating and stress were high among college students in Oman. Contrary to international trends, underweight students (BMI < 18) were more prone to engaging in emotional eating than overweight/obese students (BMI 25+) in our study sample. This suggests that there is likely to be subcultural diversity or artifacts that are intimately tied to emotional eating. More studies on this discrepant finding are warranted.


Energy transition discussions have centered on the technical, economic, and policy aspects of energy transitions. Despite this, the political dynamics have received less attention. It is suggested that since energy policy change threaten incumbent industries and impose substantial costs, enacting and sustaining policies require considerable political support. Even though it is widely acknowledged that barriers to energy transition are primarily political than technical, there is a lack of cohesive literature on the politics that drive, constrain, and shape renewable energy regulation or policy. This gap motivates this study. Adopting a desk research methodology and arguing from the lens of Kingdon's multiple streams framework, the study found among others that the streams of problem, politics and policy shows enough prospects to be coupled for Africa to make a serious consideration on its renewable energy capacity. However, a number of obstacles were also identified to make this venture difficult but are surmountable.


During 9 years of operation, the Collective Consultation has provided a structure within which nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) exchange information and experience related to literacy more effectively. The bureau known as "the working group" is responsible for implementation of decisions taken during the Collective Consultation, for their follow-up, and for preparation, in collaboration with the UNESCO Secretariat, of the agenda of the Collective Consultations and the ad hoc working groups. Because it was set up to improve the level of knowledge about the literacy problem and to heighten public awareness of the subject, the Collective Consultation is naturally a forum for information, exchange, and research. From 1984-92, two periods can be clearly distinguished for the Collective Consultation. A preparatory period from 1984-88 is distinguished by no criteria or guidelines, proposals for only 27 small-scale projects, and no joint projects. The year 1989 marks a turning point in the development of the Collective Consultation due to a charge of persons involved, a change of projects, and more practical and clearly defined recommendations. The scope of the Collective Consultation has been Lroadened to include basic elucation for adults and children. (Appendixes include the following: a table of NGOs ill;strating years of participation, a list of projects implemented to further the UNESCO proposal on literacy, a chart showing projects proposed from 1989-92, and minutes of two meetings.) (YLB) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can la made from the original document. *********************************************************************** COLLECTIVE CONSULTATION ON LITERACY AND EDUCATION FOR ALL APPRAISAL AND PROSPECTS U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION pints F rie,04' :WO 1-vnve.",-,-; EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Is document has been reproduced as received from the person or orgarelation originating it Minor changes have been made improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated ur this document do not necessanly represent official OERI positron or policy


The prominent visibility of the face has placed both significant functional and aesthetic roles on it. It represents a major source of communication and sensory input for the person. Maxillofacial injuries are an infrequent cause of immediate death for the multiply traumatized patient. It is therefore extremely important for the primary physician to recognize and treat facial trauma properly, and in its proper sequence in the management of the multiply traumatized patient.


The antimicrobial action of the dietary supplement Oxidal® was tested using the classic Bauer and Kirby agar-gel diffusion method. Clinical and reference strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were used in the studies. The tested dietary supplement showed a well-pronounced inhibitory effect against the microbial strains commensurable with that of the broad-spectrum chemotherapeutic agent Enrofloxacin and showed even higher activity than the broad spectrum antibiotic Thiamphenicol. The proven inhibitory effect of the tested dietary supplement against the examined pathogenic bacteria is in accordance with the established clinical effectiveness standards for antimicrobial agents.


Recent years have seen rapid growth in IS scholarship addressing the efficacy and utility of blockchain technology in trade-processing and financial services. Numerous IS scholars encourage applied research into the ostensible synergies between the nascent technology and its various use cases. Yet the vast majority of published research approaches the issue from a purely contemplative or theoretical perspective. Addressing this gap in the IS literature, we apply the design science research methodology in the construction a software artefact for the abstract representation of physical assets in the form of blockchain tokens, a process colloquially referred to as tokenization. We present the final iteration of the artefact, evaluating our results against the requirements collected through the design search process. This informs a rigorous evaluation of the conceptual limitations of blockchain-based software artefacts. We conclude that, provided the aforementioned requirements are adequately observed within the design search process, blockchain technology can indeed improve post-trade processing.


The use of GIS for disaster management can readily fail due to the unavailability of spatial data in real-time. Although Internet GIS provides proprietary ways to allow users to quickly access, display and query spatial data over the web, the heterogeneity of existing GIS and the file-level data sharing systems over the web causes problems for time-critical disaster management that need real-time data access to the most up-to-date information. This paper proposed a framework of real-time spatial data sharing at feature level by using geospatial semantic web services. The results from an implemented prototype show that the approach has great potential towards data sharing in real time over the web for disaster management applications. However, several challenges of the approach illustrate that we still seem far away from the ideal of seamless access to geospatial information and services for effective disaster management.


We exploit a natural measure of congruence between politicians and their constituency' bnm bnnb fgvhjuis preferences to directly quantify the extent of legislative shirking and evaluate the mechanism of the median voter model. The median voter model explains the behavior of politicians with respect to revealed preferences of their constituency about 18.8 percentage points better than a random decision benchmark. However, it fails to account for a substantial part of its theoretical prediction of convergence. Nevertheless, competition for voters under majority rule crowds out individual charact eristics and party affiliations as potential factors which explain legislative shirking.


In this paper, bounding volume trees of slab cut balls are evaluated and compared with other types of trees for raytracing. A novel tree construction algorithm is proposed, which utilizes a relative orientation heuristic betweenparent and child nodes. Also, a fast intersection test between a ray and a slab cut ball is presented. Experimentalcomparisons to other commonly used enclosing shapes reveal that the slab cut ball is attractive. In particular, theslab cut ball outperforms the sphere in all tested scenes with speed-up factors between 1 and 4.


Forecasting oil price volatility is considered of major importance for numerous stakeholders, including, policy makers, industries and investors. This paper examines and evaluates the main factors that oil price volatility forecasters should take before constructing their forecasting models. Such factors are related to: i) direct vs iterated forecasts, ii) the incorporation of continuous and jump components, iii) the importance of semi variance volatility measures, and iv) OLS vs time-varying parameter (TVP) estimation procedures. Even more, we evaluate the performance of these factors for both realized and implied volatility measures, based on statistical loss functions, as well
as, their economic use. The results show that depending on whether end-users are interested in forecasting the realized or the implied volatility, the factors influencing the accuracy of forecasts are different. In particular, for the realized volatility, direct forecasting based on TVP estimation procedure, as well as, using the information obtained in the semi variance measures are capable of producing significantly superior forecasts. By contrast, separating the continuous and the jump components of the realized volatility does not provide any added value to these forecasts. Turning to the OVX, based on the economic evaluation of our forecasts, the TVP estimation procedure
seems to performbetter. In addition, we find evidence that the continuous component and the semi variance measures of the realized volatility also yield better OVX forecasts in the longer run horizons.


This thesis examines the image of the adolescent girl in contemporary French first-person novels, read from a gender perspective. It is both a thematic and a narratologic study of thirty-two novels (1950-1999), focusing on the use of stereotypical concepts of femininity. From a thematic perspective, the female protagonists' world stands out as dark and problematic, especially in comparison with the world of the male protagonists. The recurrent themes revolve around sexuality and violence in both worlds, but they are treated differently depending on the biological sex of the protagonist. This thematic study thus shows that the protagonists live in a patriarchal world, with different norms for girls and boys. However, an examination of the 'I' narrator somewhat modifies the compact, gloomy picture of the girls' situation. The authors introduce perspectives on the fictional universe of the adolescent, for instance by contrasting the focalization of the adolescent and potentially unreliable narrator with the supposed view of the adult reader. These perspectives are subversive in some novels, but mostly vague. Accordingly, the readers are often left to their own interpretation and evaluation of the adolescent girls' situation. Finally, a discussion of virtual readers and "target readers" shows a tendency to read and market the novels in question as more or less autobiographical. Such readings modify their ideological potential.


Computers have already eclipsed the level of human play in competitive Scrabble, but there remains room for improvement. In particular, there is much to be gained by incorporating information about the opponent's tiles into the decision-making process. In this work, we quantify the value of knowing what letters the opponent has. We use observations from previous plays to predict what tiles our opponent may hold and then use this information to guide our play. Our model of the oppoent, based on Bayes' theorem, sacrifices accuracy for simplicity and ease of computation. But even with this simplified model, we show significant improvement in play over an existing Scrabble program. These empirical results suggest that this simple approximation may serve as a suitable substitute for the intractable partially observable Markov decision process. Although this work focuses on computer-vs-computer Scrabble play, the tools developed can be of great use in training humans to play against other humans.


Entrepreneurial knowledge and skills can play a crucial role for young people in order to achieve a bright professional perspective. In this context, entrepreneur-ship education can make a significant contribution to the development of their en-trepreneurial attitudes and skills. It can inspire future graduates to develop and in-ternalize entrepreneurial mindsets and prepare them for the challenges of the fu-ture. This paper introduces four practices for fostering entrepreneurial skills car-ried out at Vienna's biggest secondary school Vienna Institute of Technolo-gy/Technologisches Gewerbemuseum (TGM). Two of the presented approaches are realized by the TGM alone (the Junior Company and the Learning Office) while the other two are implemented in cooperation with the non-profit associa-tion Practical Robotics Institute Austria (PRIA) and the Automation and Control Institute (ACIN) of the Vienna University of Technology (iBridge and Mak-ers@School, the latter also with further partners).


Cytosol fractions were prepared from fetal rat or embryonic chick calvaria and analyzed for binding of vitamin D3 metabolites on sucrose density gradients. Both cytosol fractions contain a 3.5S macromolecule which specifically binds 1,25-dihydroxy-[3H]vitamin D3 and in addition, a 5 to 6S macromolecule which binds 25-hydroxy-[3H]vitamin D3. In rat calvaria cytosol, 1,25-dihydroxy-[3H]vitamin D3 also binds to the 5 to 6S macromolecule but appears to have greater affinity for the 3.5S component.


Electric resistivity tomography (ERT), seismic refraction tomography, and seismic reflection are widely used in shallow geological applications such as fault detection. In this work we use the three methods to find and trace a shallow subsurface fault. A low velocity-low resistivity anomaly is shown on the velocity tomogram and the ERT, respectively. This anomaly is interpreted as a colluvial wedge located at the downthrown side of the fault. Comparing the results from the three methods show a very good match in the fault location, colluvial wedge location, thickness and width, as well as the different subsurface geological units.


This paper presents CHASE, a framework for requirement capture, formalization, and validation for cyber-physical systems. CHASE combines a practical front-end formal specification language based on patterns with a rigorous verification back-end based on assume-guarantee contracts. The front-end language can express temporal properties of networks using a declarative style, and supports automatic translation from natural-language constructs to low-level mathematical languages. The verification back-end leverages the mathematical formalism of contracts to reason about system requirements and determine inconsistencies and dependencies between them. CHASE features a modular and extensible software infrastructure that can support different domain-specific languages, modeling formalisms, and analysis tools. We illustrate its effectiveness on industrial design examples, including control of aircraft power distribution networks and arbitration of a mixed-criticality automotive bus.


Photographs, heirlooms, and stories are some of the tangible memories that we keep to remind us of our personal and family history. The resources in this guide allow others to share their memories and will help you to share and preserve yours.


A CCD on-line image measurement system for curve grinding was schemed out according to the working process. Real-time images of work piece and wheel grinding can be gathered while using synchronal control and outer trigger technology. For the purpose of increasing the measurement precision, we presented a new method for locating edges in digital images to sub-pixel values based on local interpolation and spline fitting. An application of its validity and the comparison results of grinding wheel wear are also given. Experiments show that the proposed method in this paper is effective, and its detection precision and results are reasonable.


The pharmacokinetics of gentamicin (3 mg/kg of body weight) were evaluated in 6 adult ewes before and after fever was induced with Escherichia coli endotoxin (1 micrograms/kg). In the ewes with normal rectal temperature, significant (P less than 0.05) increases in rectal temperature occurred before gentamicin injection and during the first 2 hours. Other mild clinical signs of fever also were present. In the same ewes with endotoxin-induced fever, statistically (P less than 0.05) increased gentamicin concentrations occurred at 15 and 40 minutes and at 6 hours after injection of gentamicin. Changes were not observed in the apparent volume of distribution calculated by the area method, the volume of distribution at steady state, the overall biological half-life, or body clearance. Significant (P less than 0.05) reductions occurred in the zero time intercept for distribution, the distribution rate constant, the concentration in plasma at time of injection, the volume of the peripheral compartment, and the first order transfer rate constants; only the volume of the central compartment was increased. Total amounts of gentamicin were increased in the central compartment and decreased in the peripheral or tissue compartment.


As a high energy density power system, lithium-carbon dioxide (Li-CO2 ) batteries play an important role in addressing the fossil fuel crisis issues and alleviating the greenhouse effect. However, the sluggish transformation kinetic of CO2 and the difficult decomposition of discharge products impede the achievement of large capacity, small overpotential, and long life span of the batteries, which require exploring efficient catalysts to resolve these problems. In this review, the main focus is on the hot spot regulation strategies of the catalysts, which include the modulation of the active sites, the designing of microstructure, and the construction of composition. The recent progress of promising catalysis with hot spot regulated strategies is systematically addressed. Critical challenges are also presented and perspectives to provide useful guidance for the rational design of highly efficient catalysts for practical advanced Li-CO2 batteries are proposed.


Obesity can be characterized as a disorder in which affected individuals fail to properly regulate the balance between energy intake and expenditure. Recently, genome-wide association studies have identified over 30 genetic variants that associate with increased body weight and thus provide clues on the existence of unknown mechanisms that regulate energy balance. As a first step, the expression levels of a subset of these obesity-associated genes (genes of which variants associate with increased BMI) were measured in the hypothalamus and midbrain as a consequence of nutritional state. The expression levels of four out of five investigated genes were dependent on nutritional state, which confirms a role for these genes in the etiology of obesity. Next, two of those genes were selected for further functional characterization, namely E-twenty six version 5 (Etv5) and neural growth regulator 1 (Negr1). Athough in vitro experiments pointed towards a function for Etv5 in the synthesis of dopamine (a neurotransmitter that has been suggested to play an important role in overeating) in vivo evidence for this theory could not be obtained. In addition, none of the behavioral tests showed that increased levels of Etv5 mRNA in the midbrain had an effect on the regulation of energy balance. Viral-mediated techniques were also used to influence the expression of Negr1 in the hypothalamus (a region that is important for the regulation of energy balance). Although increased expression of Negr1 did not have any dramatic effects on the regulation of energy balance, decreased expression of Negr1 in the hypothalamus led to increased food intake and body weight, confirming its role in etiology of obesity. The two remaining studies in this thesis were directed at the dopaminergic system. Two dopaminoceptive populations exist, namely the D1-population and the D2-population. The combined activity of these populations will determine which action is selected from a range of possibilities. By looking at expression levels of the opioidergic, endocannabinoidergic and melanotonergic receptors in either of the two populations it was found that the two dopaminoceptive populations are differentially modulated by the opioidergic and melanotonergic systems, giving more insight in the molecular mechanisms that lead to action selection. The dopaminergic system was also subject of investigation in the validation of a novel technique that can be used to activate a specific neural pathway in vivo and determine subsequent effects on behavior. Activation of the dopaminergic system led to an increase in effort to obtain a sucrose pellet, which could be expected from earlier studies and as such validated this novel technique for use in behavioral neuroscience. In sum, the results from this thesis underscore the fact that obesity is a complex and multifactorial disorder, which is not caused by one gene or one mechanism. Therefore it is necessary to use a combination of genetic and physiological approaches (of which some are described in this thesis) to fully grasp all the elements that are involved in the regulation of energy balance and as such better understand the etiology of obesity.


Pseudomonas populations producing the biocontrol compounds 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (Phl) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN) were found in the rhizosphere of tobacco both in Swiss soils suppressive to Thielaviopsis basicola and in their conducive counterparts. In this study, a collection of Phl+ HCN+Pseudomonas isolates from two suppressive and two conducive soils were used to assess whether suppressiveness could be linked to soil-specific properties of individual pseudomonads. The isolates were compared based on restriction analysis of the biocontrol genes phlD and hcnBC, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR profiling and their biocontrol ability. Restriction analyses of phlD and hcnBC yielded very concordant relationships between the strains, and suggested significant population differentiation occurring at the soil level, regardless of soil suppressiveness status. This was corroborated by high strain diversity (ERIC-PCR) within each of the four soils and among isolates harboring the same phlD or hcnBC alleles. No correlation was found between the origin of the isolates and their biocontrol activity in vitro and in planta. Significant differences in T. basicola inhibition were however evidenced between the isolates when they were grouped according to their biocontrol alleles. Moreover, two main Pseudomonas lineages differing by the capacity to produce pyoluteorin were evidenced in the collection. Thus, Phl+ HCN+ pseudomonads from suppressive soils were not markedly different from those from nearby conducive soils. Therefore, as far as biocontrol pseudomonads are concerned, this work yields the hypothesis that the suppressiveness of Swiss soils may rely on the differential effects of environmental factors on the expression of key biocontrol genes in pseudomonads rather than differences in population structure of biocontrol Pseudomonas subcommunities or the biocontrol potential of individual Phl+ HCN+ pseudomonad strains.


The Introduction of Oral Vaccine Although the introduction and immediate widespread use of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) in 1955 was accompanied by an abrupt decline in the reported number of cases of poliomyelitis in the United States, there was considerable excitement in the late 1950s about the impending availability of attenuated live (oral) poliovirus vaccine (OPV). 1-3 This excitement stemmed both from anticipated advantages of OPV and from some disappointment with the performance of IPV. The anticipated advantages of OPV included its potential to induce effective and long-lasting protection after only one dose, obviating the need for boosters, its ability to pass to contacts of vaccinees, thereby extending the effects of the vaccine beyond those directly vaccinated, and the fact that the protection induced embraces both infection and disease. The disappointment with IPV resulted from the fact that, after a record low of 2,499 cases of paralytic poliomyelitis in 1957,


This memorial essay on the French historian of philosophy Pierre Hadot (1922 – 2010) explores his life and work. Starting out from an ecclesiastical background and education, Hadot's interest in mysticism led him to study the late Greek Neoplatonists Plotinus and Porphyry, as well as the Latin Church Fathers. Elected first to the École pratique des hautes études and then to the Collège de France, Hadot developed his most influential idea, that ancient philosophy was not the construction of an abstract system of ideas, but a concrete, lived practice intended to transform the perception and being of the practitioner, and thereby to ensure his or her happiness. Later in his career, Hadot, influenced by German Romanticism and above all by Goethe, turned to study the history of the concept of nature from classical to modern times. The breadth of his interests and the novelty of his approach account for the wide interest in his works, extending to circles that extend far beyond the disciplines of classical studies and the history of philosophy.


The nodal regulatory properties of microRNAs (miRNA) in metastatic cancer may offer new targets for therapeutic control. Here, we report that upregulation of miR-483-5p is correlated with the progression of human lung adenocarcinoma. miR-483-5p promotes the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) accompanied by invasive and metastatic properties of lung adenocarcinoma. Mechanistically, miR-483-5p is activated by the WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway and exerts its prometastatic function by directly targeting the Rho GDP dissociation inhibitor alpha (RhoGDI1) and activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM), two putative metastasis suppressors. Furthermore, we found that downregulation of RhoGDI1 enhances expression of Snail, thereby promoting EMT. Importantly, miR-483-5p levels are positively correlated with β-catenin expression, but are negatively correlated with the levels of RhoGDI1 and ALCAM in human lung adenocarcinoma. Our findings reveal that miR-483-5p is a critical β-catenin-activated prometastatic miRNA and a negative regulator of the metastasis suppressors RhoGDI1 and ALCAM.


Previous studies suggest the physical structure of a habitat has profound effects on intraspecific competition and spacing behaviour among small mammals. We compared habitat preferences and the exploratory behaviour and aggressive territorial defence of male house mice in three types of enclosure differing only in their degree of structural complexity. Each enclosure contained a nestbox placed in one corner, a central food hopper and 10 house bricks. The bricks were either placed around the outer walls (open enclosures), lined up across the middle (wall enclosures) or scattered separately across the floor (complex enclosures). In pairwise choice tests, mice showed a strong preference for wall or complex enclosures over open enclosures but no preference between wall and complex enclosures. They were more active throughout the enclosure with complex structuring and stayed near the side walls in open enclosures. Residents in open enclosures initially showed a lower rate of attack and duration of pursuit when faced with an intruder but not when faced with a second intruder. In complex enclosures, nearly all encounters ended because the residents continued pursuit but lost track of the intruder. This occurred in only half of intruder pursuits in open and wall enclosures. Our results suggest that mice prefer areas containing physical structure because this provides a degree of protection from predators but territories with complex physical structuring appear to be much more difficult to defend. Complex areas may thus support a higher density of mice than open areas or those with more simply aligned physical structuring. Copyright 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.


This research is to explore the relationships among entrepreneur psychological capital; innovative behavior; transformational leadership and knowledge sharing. Chinese enterprises participated in this investigation. We found that entrepreneur psychological capital influenced transformational leadership, while transformational leadership influenced employee's innovative behavior positively. Besides, entrepreneur psychological capital influenced employee's knowledge sharing positively while knowledge sharing influenced employee's innovative behavior positively, but the direct influence between entrepreneur psychological capital and employee's innovative behavior wasn't exist. As anticipated, the intervening effect of transformational leadership and knowledge sharing between entrepreneur psychological capital and employee's innovative behavior was significant. Implications, limitations and future research directions for the study are discussed.


The problem of transition from marine diesel-generator sets operation by the assigned useful life to that by their technical condition is considered. This Article includes a review of control and diagnostic systems of marine diesel-generator sets, establishes their features, analyzes the methods of trend control used and shows their identified shortcomings. A regression statistical model linking the temperature conditions and the load change is offered. The trends of deviations of time series of the temperature condition recorded parameters data from the statistical model in marine diesel generator sets long operation are analyzed. It is proposed to improve the methods of trend control and analysis for use in the systems of technical diagnosing of marine diesel generator sets, in order to increase their efficiency by taking into account the natural wear-and-tear.


Three species of Lophogastrida and eight Mysida are documented for samples from 5161–5497 m bottom depth in the Angola Basin. Previously known latitudinal ranges are extended southward for five species, and bathymetric ranges extended beyond 5000 m for six species. Upon revision of the subfamily Petalophthalminae (Mysidae), four species previously attributed to the genus Petalophthalmus are integrated into Ipirophthalmus gen. nov. as I. liui gen. et comb. nov., I. caribbeanus gen. et comb. nov., I. oculatus gen. et comb. nov., and I. macrops gen. et comb. nov., mainly based on the structure of eyes and presence of setae on the telson. Petalophthalmus cristatus sp. nov. is described based on its reduced cornea and the structure of eyestalks, rostrum, mandibles, and telson. The structure of mouthparts, foregut and maxillipeds suggests an omnivorous mode of life. The diagnosis of the tribe Calyptommini (Mysidae: Erythropinae) is widened to cover the 3-segmented, uniramous fourth male pleopod and the non-incised eyeplate with horn-like rudiments of eyestalks in Abyssomysis cornuta gen. et sp. nov. The structure of mandibles, foregut, and second maxilliped suggest detritus feeding in this species. Keys to the Calyptommini and Petalophthalminae are given.


The echoendoscopic biliary drainage is an option to treat obstructive jaundices when ERCP drainage fails. These procedures compose alternative methods to the side of surgery and percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage, and it was only possible by the continuous development and improvement of echoendoscopes and accessories. The development of linear setorial array echoendoscopes in early 1990 brought a new approach to diagnostic and therapeutic dimenion on echoendoscopy capabilities, opening the possibility to perform punction over direct ultrasonographic view. Despite of the high success rate and low morbidity of biliary drainage obtained by ERCP, difficulty could be found at the presence of stent tumor ingrown, tumor gut compression, periampulary diverticula, and anatomic variation. The echoendoscopic technique starts performing punction and contrast of the left biliary tree. When performed from gastric wall, the access is made through hepatic segment III. From duodenum, direct common bile duct punction. Dilatation is required before stent introduction, and a plastic or metallic stent is introduced. This phrase should be replaced by: diathermic dilatation of the puncturing tract is required using a 6F cystostome. The technical success of hepaticogastrostomy is near 98%, and complications are present in 36%: pneumoperitoneum, choleperitoneum, infection, and stent disfunction. To prevent bile leakage, we have used the 2 stent techniques, the first stent introduced was a long uncovered metallic stent (8 or 10 cm), and inside this first stent a second fully covered stent of 6 cm was delivered to bridge the bile duct and the stomach. Choledochoduodenostomy overall success rate is 92% and described complications include, in frequency order, pneumoperitoneum and focal bile peritonitis, present in 19%. By the last 10 years, the technique was especially performed in reference centers, by ERCP experienced groups, and this seems to be a general guideline to safer procedure execution.


With the spread of COVID-19 across the globe, almost
33 million people became sick and almost 1 million have died (WHO). The
government of the Philippines, along with the government of other countries
declared movement restrictions or lockdown in the attempt to contain the virus.
This resulted in loss of job and economic breakdown. The Philippines, in particular,
experienced the longest and strictest lockdown. As a down side, a lot of people
have lost their jobs and the country is currently facing economic recession.
With the aim of containing the virus to reopen the economy, a team of experts
developed a mobile application called EPIDEM. The application is available for
both Android and Apple smartphones. With the use of EPIDEM, lay people can
monitor their infection risk for COVID-19 and isolate themselves or get
themselves tested when infection risk is high. Users can also monitor the
health risk of other people that they come in contact with, so they can decide
if meeting them is safe or risky. Further, the application provides a
monitoring map that shows the area that is safe from COVID-19 and area where a possible
outbreak might occur. The monitoring map will be helpful to both lay people, so
they would know the places to avoid and to government officials, so they can
quickly respond to outbreak. The teams of developers are recommending the nationwide implementation of EPIDEM
to help contain the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. The application is not a
new strategy of containment. Instead, it's a better wheel that utilizes advanced technology to execute the manual containment strategies that are already
being implemented in the country.


RNA splicing has enabled a dramatic increase in species complexity. Splicing occurs in over 95% of mam- malian genes allowing the development of exceptional cellular diversity without an increase in raw gene numbers. This is highlighted by the fact that human and nematodes have the same number of genes (20,000 human genes versus 19,000 genes in Caenorhabditis elegans). Although the mechanistic process of splicing is now well understood there remains a multitude of unexplored dynamics that have only become visible with the power of next generation sequencing (NGS). The human brain is one of the best examples of an intricate cellular structure. Neuronal cell types are incredibly diverse and specialised, regulated through various transcriptional mechanisms. Recently, long genes (150kb+) have been implicated as crucial to neuronal function and their impairment has been attributed to several neurological disorders. I explore this relationship further by showing that long genes are more highly expressed in the brain than other tissues. Long genes are also distinct in that they are deficient in H3k36me3, a histone mark largely associated with splicing and active transcription. Through analysis of brain RNA-seq data, a novel splicing mechanism known as recursive splicing was identified in long introns. Recursive splice sites (RSS) consist of an intronic 3'splice site followed immediately by a 5' splice site. These sites result in a zero-length exon that regulates the use of cryptic promoters ensuring only the functional isoform is expressed. This discovery lead me to question if other non-canonical forms of splicing are common in the brain. Backsplicing is a recently discovered splicing mechanism pervasive in the tree of life. This occurs when a 3' end of a downstream exon is spliced onto the 5' end of an upstream exon resulting in a circular RNA molecule (hereafter: circRNA). circRNA are enriched in neuronal genes and mediated by RNA binding factors. I have identified and quantified the presence of circRNA within the brain, identifying a large number of highly expressed novel circRNA. From these findings I identify a subset of highly expressed backsplice junctions that occur between two proximal genes from the same family. vii In order to understand the function of these splicing reactions I inspected the splicing features themselves, namely; the 5' and 3' splice sites and the branchpoint. The branchpoint remains a poorly char- acterised feature and until recently very few have been experimentally validated. I explore these features through the ExAC and UCLex consortia, using cumulative variant ratios to annotate invariant positions within the branchpoint and splice sites. By identifying invariant positions I could then investigate how vari- ation impacts splicing efficiency by integrating whole exome and RNA sequence data from the GEUVADIS consortium. Findings show that exon expression is a poor indicator of splicing dysfunction, showing a three fold lower sensitivity than direct analysis of splice junction reads. I also devise a variant effect score that captures a significant portion of change in splice site efficiency enabling improved prediction of deleterious variants. Together, this thesis hints at the massive potential of NGS to investigate the diversity of splicing related features while identifying novel features that could be implicated in neurological dysfunction.


On the basis of a case study of the integration of Haredi Jewish women into the Israeli high-tech industry, we explore how gender–religiosity intersectionality affects ultra-conservative women's participation in the labor market and their ability to negotiate with employers for corporate work–family practices that address their idiosyncratic requirements. We highlight the importance of pious women's affiliation to their highly organized religious communities while taking a process-centered approach to intersectionality and focusing on the matrix of domination formed by the Israeli state, employers, and the organized ultra-orthodox community. We dub this set of actors "the unholy-trinity" and argue that it constructs a specific, religion-centric inequality regime that restrains women's job and earning opportunities. At the same time, the "unholy trinity" also empowers women in their struggle to create a working environment that is receptive to their religiosity and what that commitment demands of them.


Originalism, best understood, is not a theory of interpretation but a theory of our law. Its central claim is that the Founders' law remains good law for us today. And it ought to be defended, if at all, based not on normative goals or abstract philosophy, but on positive features of American legal practice and of our rules for legal change.A basic assumption of legal systems is that the law, whatever it is, stays the same until it's lawfully changed. Originalism begins this process with an origin, a Founding. Whatever rules we had when the Constitution was adopted, we still have today -- unless something legally relevant happened along the way to change them. We expect assertions of constitutional change to provide this kind of historical pedigree; and a wide variety of approaches -- "conservative" and "liberal," from precedent to post-Founding practice -- are defended as products of the Founders' law. These ordinary practices show an implicit commitment to a deeply originalist premise: that our law today consists of their law, the Founders' law, plus any lawful changes.What's important about the Constitution, on this account, isn't so much what its text said, but what its enactment did -- what it contributed to American law at the Founding, as preserved to the present day. Rather than look to original intentions, original public meaning, and so on, we should look to the original law -- the law added to our system by the text's enactment, according to the legal rules governing interpretation at the time. This "original-law originalism" helps us to understand, and hopefully to resolve, longstanding constitutional debates: originalists and nonoriginalists ought to disagree about the sources of today's law, while different schools of originalists ought to disagree about the law's content in the past.The claim that we still take as our own the Founders' law, as it's been lawfully changed, is a claim about current society; it might be true or false. This Article merely argues that, if it is true, it's the best reason to be an originalist -- and, if it's false, the best reason not to.


Abstract The objective of the present study was to determine to what extent activin participates in setting the level of FSH secretion and if this regulation includes mediation via changes in GnRH secretion. We administered follistatin, the high-affinity binding protein for activin, to five ovariectomized sheep; we reasoned that the resultant binding of follistatin to activin should lower activin bioavailability and FSH secretion. Hypophyseal portal and peripheral blood samples were collected simultaneously at 10-min intervals for 18 h to measure GnRH, LH, FSH, and both activin-free and total follistatin. Six hours into collection, each ewe received 150 μg/kg i.v. of recombinant human follistatin-288. A week later, the same ewes were subjected to a second series of blood collections of similar length (time control). The FSH levels in pituitary portal blood were approximately 8-fold higher than those in the peripheral circulation. The FSH secretory patterns changed minimally during the time-control period. In contrast, follistatin had profound suppressive effects on FSH secretion. Maximal FSH suppression after FS-288 administration occurred at 5–6 h in the pituitary portal (65% suppression) and 9–10 h in the peripheral (48% suppression) circulation. Follistatin had no effect on GnRH or LH secretory patterns. Disappearance of total follistatin (i.e., free follistatin plus activin-bound follistatin) from the circulation was slower (P < 0.05) than that of free follistatin alone, suggesting that some of the follistatin was complexed with circulating activin, thus reducing the bioavailability of activin. The slower clearance of total follistatin and the lack of follistatin effects on GnRH secretion suggest that changes in activin bioavailability dictate the level of pituitary FSH secretion and that this is a pituitary-specific effect.


Many plants are found to be effective in the management of lifestyle diseases, there is an increased focus on herbal medicines in recent times. DIA7 is the Polyherbal formulation containing multiple ingredients of herbal origin, which are individually used in traditional system of medicine in the treatment of various metabolic disorders including Diabetic Mellitus. DIA7 consists of seven medicinal plants namely Salacia reticilata, Aegle marmelose, Azadirachta indica, Curcuma longa, Trigonella foenum graecum, Nigella sativa and Embilica officinalis. The above dried ingredients were powdered and formulated as DIA7 and administered orally to the animals by suspending in 0.5% Carboxy Methyl Cellulose solution. The effect of the Polyherbal Formulation DIA7 on fasting blood glucose level was evaluated by treatment with three dose levels i.e. 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg/day orally in both Alloxan induced diabetic rats for 28 days. From the study, DIA7 was found to be very effective in control of fasting blood glucose level in Alloxan induced diabetic rats, at a dose level of 400 mg/kg. The study indicates that the various active principles in DIA7 had produced a combined effect on fasting blood sugar level of the experimental rats


Abstract We are interested in Monte Carlo (MC) methods for solving the diffusion equation: in the case of a constant diffusion coefficient, the solution is approximated by using particles and in every time step, a constant stepsize is added to or subtracted from the coordinates of each particle with equal probability. For a spatially dependent diffusion coefficient, the naive extension of the previous method using a spatially variable stepsize introduces a systematic error: particles migrate in the directions of decreasing diffusivity. A correction of stepsizes and stepping probabilities has recently been proposed and the numerical tests have given satisfactory results. In this paper, we describe a quasi-Monte Carlo (QMC) method for solving the diffusion equation in a spatially nonhomogeneous medium: we replace the random samples in the corrected MC scheme by low-discrepancy point sets. In order to make a proper use of the better uniformity of these point sets, the particles are reordered according to their successive coordinates at each time step. We illustrate the method with numerical examples: in dimensions 1 and 2, we show that the QMC approach leads to improved accuracy when compared with the original MC method using the same number of particles.


This study describes the successful separation of acrylonitrile (ACN) from dilute aqueous streams using pervaporation process. The influences of ACN feed concentration, permeate pressure, operating temperature, feed flow rate and membrane thickness on the membrane separation performance were investigated. The results showed that with an increase in ACN concentration in the feed solution, the permeation flux of ACN increased while the enrichment factor decreased. It was also indicated that increasing the permeate pressure reduced the driving force for mass transfer and consequently the permeation flux dropped while the enrichment factor enhanced. Polydimethylsiloxane membranes used in this study showed very good properties in the separation process, leading to enrichment factors in the range of 70-140. Furthermore, the activation energy for pervaporation of both ACN and water calculated from Arrhenius plot indicated that the permeation of water through the membrane was more temperature dependant than ACN.


Affinity-purified antibodies to mouse liver 26- and 21-kD gap junction proteins have been used to characterize gap junctions in liver and cultured hepatocytes. Both proteins are colocalized in the same gap junction plaques as shown by double immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy. In the lobules of rat liver, the 21-kD immunoreactivity is detected as a gradient of fluorescent spots on apposing plasma membranes, the maximum being in the periportal zone and a faint reaction in the perivenous zone. In contrast, the 26-kD immunoreactivity is evenly distributed in fluorescent spots on apposing plasma membranes throughout the rat liver lobule. Immunoreactive sites with anti-21 kD shown by immunofluorescence are also present in exocrine pancreas, proximal tubules of the kidney, and the epithelium of small intestine. The 21-kD immunoreactivity was not found in thin sections of myocardium and adult brain cortex. Subsequent to partial rat hepatectomy, both the 26- and 21-kD proteins first decrease and after approximately 2 d increase again. By comparison of the 26- and 21- kD immunoreactivity in cultured embryonic mouse hepatocytes, we found (a) the same pattern of immunoreactivity on apposing plasma membranes and colocalization within the same plaque, (b) a similar decrease after 1 d and subsequent increase after 3 d of both proteins, (c) cAMP- dependent in vitro phosphorylation of the 26-kD but not of the 21-kD protein, and (d) complete inhibition of intercellular transfer of Lucifer Yellow in all hepatocytes microinjected with anti-26 kD and, in most cases, partial inhibition of dye transfer after injection of anti- 21 kD. Our results indicate that both the 26-kD and the 21-kD proteins are functional gap junction proteins.


OBJECTIVE
Primary aldosteronism (PA) is considered a major cause of resistant hypertension (RHT). The prevalence of RHT has been recently reported to reach 18% in general hypertension. However, little is known about the prevalence and the outcomes after adrenalectomy of RHT in PA. Therefore, we aimed to clarify the prevalence and surgical outcomes in patients with both PA and RHT.

PATIENTS AND DESIGN
Among 550 patients who underwent adrenalectomy for unilateral PA in the Japan Primary Aldosteronism Study, RHT was defined as an uncontrolled blood pressure (≥140/90 mmHg) despite treatment with at least any three antihypertensives or hypertension controlled with at least four drugs. Surgical outcome was assessed by the biochemical and clinical outcome.

RESULTS
Although 40 (7.3%) patients fulfilled the criteria for preoperative RHT, this should be underestimated because only 36% of patients with postoperative RHT were classified as having preoperative RHT. The prevalence of preoperative RHT was approximately 20% when estimated using the total number of patients with postoperative RHT, and the ratio of postoperative RHT in patients with preoperative RHT. Although an improvement in hypertension was achieved in approximately 80% of patients with preoperative RHT, 20% of these exhibited persistent RHT. These patients were more obese than those for whom RHT improved after surgery. Notably, body mass index of ≥25 kg/m2 was an independent predictor of postoperative RHT.

CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of RHT in PA was lower than expected even with the adjustment for underestimation. Furthermore, obesity is an independent factor predicting the postoperative persistence of RHT.