Respiratory support is frequently required during neonatal transport. This review identifies the various modalities of respiratory support available during neonatal transport and their appropriate clinical uses. The respiratory equipment required during neonatal transport and appropriate safety checks are also reviewed. In addition, we discuss potential respiratory emergencies and how to respond to them to decrease the risk of complications during transport and improve health outcomes.


In the developing tooth, 1-hydroxyethylidene-1, 1-bisphosphonate (HEBP) causes hypoplasia and hypomineralization of enamel and dentine. The present study was undertaken to clarify the effects of HEBP on the formation of dental tissues of tooth germs in an organ culture system. Mandibular first molars from 17.5-day-old mouse embryos were cultured with or without 250μM HEBP in culture medium. Cultured tooth germs were analyzed by histological examination and by immunohistochemical localization using anti-amelogenin antibody. In cultured tooth germs treated with HEBP before the commencement of calcification in dentine, calcification of dentine matrix was inhibited completely and enamel formation was not observed. Ameloblasts were directly adjacent to dentine matrix. However, immunohistochemical data indicated that these ameloblasts secreted amelogenin. In the experiments of adding HEBP to cultured tooth germs on culture day 13, calcified dentine and enamel had formed before the administration of HEBP, but the dentine matrix newly formed after the administration of HEBP had not calcified. It was confirmed by immunohistochemical observations that enamel matrix-like material had penetrated into uncalcified dentine matrix and accumulated in dental papilla of tooth germs. However, no enamel matrix-like material was observed in calcified dentine and predentine underneath the calcified dentine by immunohistochemical staining. From these results, it might be concluded that ameloblasts secreted enamel matrix in the presence of HEBP and diffused through uncalcified dentine matrix into dental papilla. These findings suggest the calcification of dentine might be essential for the physical barrier to accumulate the enamel matrix and form a distinct layer of enamel as enamel.


An in situ dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) method together with flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS) is developed for the extraction and determination of copper and cadmium from aqueous samples using as an extraction solvent a low cytotoxic ionic liquid (IL)-based surfactant, specifically decylguanidinium chloride (C10Gu-Cl). The IL-based surfactant 1-hexadecyl-3-butylimidazolium bromide (C16C4Im-Br) is also used for comparative purposes. In the method, N,N′-bis(salicylidene)thiocarbohydrazide is the complexing agent, and the metathesis reaction in the in situ DLLME is accomplished using lithium bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]imide. The main parameters affecting the extraction efficiency of the method, i.e. pH of the sample, NaCl content, and vortex time, are properly optimized with a Doehlert experimental design. The method using C10Gu-Cl exhibited a limit of detection (LOD) four times lower and with slightly better reproducibility than that of the imidazolium IL-based surfactant. The validation of the in situ DLLME-FAAS method with C10Gu-Cl is accomplished for the simultaneous extraction and quantification of copper and cadmium from water. The optimum method requires 10 mL of aqueous sample and ∼25 μL of the IL-based surfactant to obtain a microdroplet of ∼21 μL, which is diluted up to 120 μL with acetonitrile to perform the analytical determination of both metals. LODs down to 0.3 and 0.5 μg L−1 were reached with the entire in situ IL-DLLME-FAAS for copper and cadmium, respectively. The inter-day relative standard deviation values were lower than 17% for both metal ions; with relative recoveries of 97.8% and 102%, and enrichment factors of 85 and 94, for copper and cadmium, respectively, at a low spiked level (4 and 6 μg L−1, respectively). Furthermore, the developed method shows adequate precision and accuracy evaluated with a certified reference material, the absence of matrix effects, and high tolerance limits towards common cations (between 80 and 600) for the analysis of tap water, while accomplishing the requirements of green analytical chemistry.


The paper examines the plausibility of the re-conceptualisation of CSR as rectification for corporations operating in Africa (and other developing nations) given that the current global economic order works to the disadvantage of these countries. Using the Kenya Cut-flower industry as a case in point the paper establishes ground for rectification using Robert Nozick's libertarian entitlement theory of property rights. The paper then explores how the responsibility for reparations can be rightly ascribed to corporations on the basis of the Integrative Social Contract Theory. Some possible objections to the concept of CSR as rectification are discussed and the implications thereof. It is asserted that though what is ultimately required is the radical re-ordering of the global economic system as it is practiced today, corporations as neo-colonial agents of the economic system have a responsibility to contribute to correcting the injustice.


The strengths and limitations of approaches to participatory and democratic practice rooted in voice have been discussed in relation to education and also 'youth voice'. The paper seeks to make critical connection between the two debates, especially in relation to the persistence of practices of exclusion and marginalisation. Drawing on a two-year participant observation of a creativity-based project in Manchester, UK – The Blue Room – which worked with young men in the city centre who may have been engaged in selling sex, the article asks what it might mean for them to have voice. The widely discussed limitations of neo-liberal accounts of voice and choice are evident in this case, for the extent to which such a way of life can be thought to be freely chosen is a matter of intense debate. The possibility explored in this article is that arts-based strategies of pedagogic engagement might offer (to this group of young people and others) a hopeful (because complex, provisional and in process) form of voice rather than a tokenistic and controlling one.


Objectives A multicenter, randomized controlled trial has demonstrated the benefit of adding azithromycin to routine preoperative antibiotics in unscheduled cesarean deliveries (CDs) to prevent surgical site infections. We sought to describe and identify barriers to the implementation of azithromycin prophylaxis for CDs by Alabama healthcare providers. Methods We conducted an online, self-administered survey of obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN) providers in Alabama. E-mail addresses were obtained from a publicly available list. We sent an invitation to complete an anonymous online survey to 478 providers after excluding incompatible addresses and providers who previously opted out of the survey platform. After the initial survey, three reminders to complete the survey were sent. Standard questions regarding population and provider demographics were asked. We assessed timing, duration, and type of antibiotic used for scheduled cesareans and unscheduled (labor) cesareans, and the reasons for not using azithromycin for prophylaxis. Results were compared using the Student t test and &khgr;2 test as appropriate. Results Of the 66 OB/GYN providers who responded to the survey, 44 (66.7%) performed CDs. Most providers (59.1%) identified as female, served a mix of urban and rural communities (54.5%), and performed deliveries at a level IV hospital (54.5%) with >2000 deliveries annually (52.3%). Most providers (77.3%) reported that an antibiotic stewardship committee supervised antibiotic use at their hospital. For unscheduled cesareans, 54.5% reported the use of azithromycin and 47.7% for scheduled cesareans. The most common reason for not currently using azithromycin was being unaware of evidence for its use (55.6%). The only factors associated with azithromycin use were the urban/rural mix of the provider's patient population (P = 0.03) and the hospital level (P < 0.01). More providers serving a primarily urban population reported azithromycin use (87.5%) compared with those serving in a rural (33.3%) or mixed (47.6%) population. In addition, 74.2% of the obstetricians who delivered in a level 3 or 4 hospital reported using azithromycin prophylaxis, whereas only 22.2% of level 1 or 2 hospital providers reported this usage. Conclusions Only 56.8% of Alabama obstetrics providers reported using azithromycin for CD, which is both effective and cost saving for prevention of surgical site infections. More needs to be done to increase awareness of these benefits.


Processing method: splined, velocity algorithm: splined. Data have been checked by the WOCE Subsurface Float Data Assembly Center. See hdl:10013/epic.32931.d001 for further information.


The oligomers of constrained cis-exo-β-norbornene amino acid were synthesised and characterised by extensive NMR, CD, IR and MD studies. The results showed the formation of both right and left handed consecutive 6-membered hydrogen-bonded strands for [2S,3R] and [2R,3S] enantiomers, respectively.


Background : Preoperative bleeding is aserious and common problem in surgery. Induction anesthetic agent usage is known for the inhibition of platelet aggregation. Objective : To see the changes of platelet agregation after the injection of Etomidate 0,3mg/kgBM. Method : An experimental study on 20 patients who received general anasthesia. Sample received Etomidate as the induction anesthetic. The speciments are taken before the injection of Etomidate and 5 minutes after injection. All specimens were taken to the Clinical Pathology Laboratory for Platelete Agregation testing. Statistical analyses were performed using paired t-test ( with level of significant is P<0,05). Result : The patients characteristic and variables data to be compared were normally distributed. The changes of platelete agregation after the injection of Etomidate 0,3mg/kgBM is not significant. The platelete agregation before the injection Etomidate is 73,45 ± 7,33 and the platelete agregation after the injection of Etomidate is 66,07 ± 8,28 with P=0,089. Conclution : Etomidate is unsignificantly changes the platelete agregation. Keywords : Etomidate, ADP, Platelete agregation.


Problem focused coping is the one of coping that hope use individual, because that ways is anefective strategy to solve the problem, particulary in the work problem. Any factor that related with problem focused coping is personality. Personality is the one of factor to influence problem focused coping. Personality that mean is locus of control internal, this personality also expected include in individual personality to solve their problem. For this, the research mean to know the relation between locus of control internal with problem focused coping. Problem focused coping is the strategy that use individual to solve stress and try to solve their problem that directly with the situassion and stressor with use the constructive ways and learn new ways thet eventually decrease or eliminate it. Locus of control internal is individual's believe tahat their self, their ability and their characteristic influence their success and their failure.
This research is non experimental research. Population in this research is official employee of PT.Pos Indonesia – Malang. The ways to assamble sample is random stratification . the ways to assamble data is scale, this research use 2 scale, the first locus of control internal scale and the second is problem focused coping scale. Analize data technic that use is product moment correlation. From the analize data to get koefisien correlation (r) = 0.689 with signification (P)=0.000, it's mean the relation is very significant. The relation to show is positive direction. The effective contribution thet given locus of control internal to problem focused coping is 47,4 %.


The objective of the present study was to estimate heritabilities for ascites-related traits in broilers and to assess the importance of maternal genetic effects for these traits. Several traits related to ascites were measured on more than 4,000 broilers kept under cold conditions. Heritabilities were estimated using an animal model with a direct genetic effect and a model with direct and maternal genetic effects. Estimated heritabilities from the direct genetic effects model were 0.46 for hematocrit value, 0.42 for BW, 0.47 for right ventricular weight, 0.46 for total ventricular weight, 0.45 for ratio of right ventricular weight to the total ventricular weight, 0.32 for total mortality, and 0.18 for fluid accumulation in the heart sac. Maternal effects significantly influenced the traits BW, total ventricular weight, and total mortality. Direct and maternal heritabilities, respectively, for BW were 0.21 and 0.04, for total ventricular weights were 0.29 and 0.03, and for total mortality were 0.16 and 0.05. The heritability estimates for ascites-related traits and the significance of maternal genetic effects for most of these traits indicate that direct and maternal genetic effects play an important role in the development of the ascites syndrome.


Plants have adopted a number of mechanisms to restore redox homeostasis in the chloroplast under fluctuating light conditions in nature. Chloroplast thioredoxin systems are crucial components of this redox network, mediating environmental signals to chloroplast proteins. In the reduced state, thioredoxins control the structure and function of proteins by reducing disulfide bridges in the redox active site of a protein. Subsequently, an oxidized thioredoxin is reduced by a thioredoxin reductase, the two enzymes together forming a thioredoxin system. Plant chloroplasts have versatile thioredoxin systems, including two reductases dependent on ferredoxin and NADPH as reducing power, respectively, several types of thioredoxins, and the system to deliver thiol redox signals to the thylakoid membrane and lumen. Light controls the activity of chloroplast thioredoxin systems in two ways. First, light reactions activate the thioredoxin systems via donation of electrons to oxidized ferredoxin and NADP+, and second, light induces production of reactive oxygen species in chloroplasts which deactivate the components of the thiol redox network. The diversity and partial redundancy of chloroplast thioredoxin systems enable chloroplast metabolism to rapidly respond to ever-changing environmental conditions and to raise plant fitness in natural growth conditions.


The MB1 regulatory sequence of the myelin basic protein (MBP) gene spanning between nucleotides -14 to -50 with respect to the transcription start site is critical for cell type-specific transcription of the MBP gene, which encodes the major protein component of myelin sheath in cells derived from the central nervous system (CNS). This regulatory sequence has the ability to interact with a developmentally controlled DNA-binding protein from mouse brain that stimulates transcription of MBP promoter in an in vitro system (Haas, S., J. Gordon, and K. Khalili. 1993. Mol. Cell. Biol. 13:3103-3112). Here, we report the purification of a 39-kD protein from mouse brain tissue at the peak of myelination and MBP production that binds to the MB1 regulatory motif. Following partial amino acid sequence analysis, we have identified a complementary DNA encoding a 39-kD DNA-binding protein called pur alpha. Expression of pur alpha cDNA in the prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells resulted in the synthesis of a protein with characteristics similar to the purified brain-derived 39-kD protein in band shift competition assays. Cotransfection of the recombinant pur alpha expressor plasmid with MBP promoter construct indicated that Pur alpha stimulates transcription of the MBP promoter in oligodendrocytic cells, and that the nucleotide sequence required for binding of the 39-kD Pur alpha to DNA within the MB1 region is crucial for this activity. Moreover, transient expression of Pur alpha caused elevation in the level of endogenous MBP RNA in oligodendrocytic cells. Thus, Pur alpha, a sequence-specific DNA-binding protein upon binding to MB1 regulatory region may play a significant role in determining the cell type-specific expression of MBP in brain.


Purpose – Many organizations expect their service engineers, or frontline employees (FLEs), to behave as brand advocates by engaging in favorable communication about the brand and its offerings toward customers. However, this approach is not without risk as customers may be disappointed or even frustrated with brand advocacy behavior in many service encounters. The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of FLEs' brand advocacy on customer satisfaction with the service encounter, and identify the conditions under which the effects are detrimental. This paper specifically considers service issue severity and product newness as contingency conditions. Design/methodology/approach – Building on social identification theory, the paper builds a conceptual model, which is empirically tested using a data set that matches data from service engineers, customers, and archival records from the after-sales service department of a globally operating business-to-business print and document management solutions provider. Findings – This paper finds that brand advocacy behavior harms customer satisfaction especially in service encounters that involve simple service issues (e.g. maintenance) for products that are new to the market. Fortunately, brand identification can compensate this negative effect under many service conditions. While the joint effect of brand identification and advocacy is most beneficial for severe service issues of new products, no effect on customer satisfaction was found for established products. Practical implications – This paper identifies those service situations in which brand advocacy is advisable and guides managers toward achieving more favorable customer evaluations. Originality/value – Past research has considered several FLE branding activities in the frontline but the effects of brand advocacy have not been isolated. In addition, most studies have assumed the effects of employee brand-related behaviors on customer satisfaction to be universally positive rather than negative and focused on antecedents and not on moderators and consequences.


The detailed design and development of the intelligent creel mechanical structure and control system is based on the research and analysis of specific operation and practical functions, which realizes its functions of intelligent analysis, right amount of supply and prompt storing. As the transmission of the carpet yarns from the storage unit to the loom, the intelligent creel is able to automatically make analysis of the usage amount of different yarns according to different orders, makes more reasonable supplies to the loom and prepares yarns before used up, which makes best use of the yarn and increases the production efficiency. Meanwhile, a lot of time and labor of replacing yarns is saved.


Abstracts: Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research 2008

B37

Eleven Department of Health and Human Services agencies (eg NIH, FDA, CDC, etc) were included in a social network analysis to determine the extent to which they were communicating and coordinating to address tobacco use - which is the leading cause of preventable death in the US.

Result Individuals within the DHHS tobacco network showed a high level of awareness of the tobacco work being carried out by other network members across DHHS (density = 0.30), but much less actual contact between agencies (0.17). Some agencies, such as the FDA, had no or almost no contact with other agencies, and there was considerable between-agency contact variability. CDC was the most central agency.

Conclusion Considerable trans-DHHS awareness of tobacco control efforts exists, but does not

always translate into agencies working together in a coordinated fashion to address tobacco use.

Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2008;1(7 Suppl):B37.


The Lepidopteran stemborer Chilo partellus is a key constraint to cereal production in most resource-poor farming systems as it causes damage to the crop, accruing up to 80%. When plants are damaged by herbivorous insects, they produce herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) which can act as repellants for these insect pests and as attractants for organisms antagonistic to these pests (parasitic wasps and predators). Plants can also produce signals that warn other plants of impending attack. Thus, HIPVs potentially have a practical role in crop protection by directly deterring further colonization in already infested and neighbouring plants and indirectly by attracting natural enemies of the pests, particularly parasitoids. The study sought to evaluate the effect of herbivore-induced plant volatiles on maize plants exposed to neighbouring Brachiaria brizantha (A.Rich) Stapf (Poaceae) grass oviposited by the spotted stemborer Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae). This was done using six maize varieties; four local varieties and two hybrids. Treatments comprised of maize seedlings exposed to B. brizantha with C. partellus eggs versus nonexposed ones and or maize seedlings exposed to B. brizantha without C. partellus eggs. Responses of stemborers and larval parasitoids to HIPVs collected from maize plants exposed to B. brizantha with and without stemborer eggs was determined by olfactometer and oviposition bioassays respectively. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of these HIPVs was determined through gas chromatography (GC) and GC-Mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to identify electrophysiologically active compounds. The results of this study demonstrated that exposing farmers" local maize varieties to Brachiaria brizantha with Chilo partellus eggs induced the plants to emit volatile blends that are attractive to the parasitoid Cotessia sesamiae Cameron (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) parasitoid. Also the same volatile blends were repellent to Chilo partellus. On the other hand the hybrids exposed to Brachiaria brizantha with Chilo partellus eggs were not induced. The biologically active chemical compounds responsible for the behaviour of Cotessia sesamiae and Chilo partellus obtained from local maize exposed to B. brizantha with eggs were (E)-4, 8-Dimethyl-1, 3, 7-nonatriene, Decanal, (E)-Caryophyllene, Linalool, linalool (plus Nananal), E-β-fernesene, Methyl salicylate and (3E, 7E)-4, 8, 12-trimethyl-1, 3, 7, 11-tri-decatetraene. Hybrids did not produce any biologically active chemical compounds. Attraction of larval parasitoids implies that natural enemies can be recruited to attack the newly hatched stemborer larvae before they cause damage to the crop. In addition, this grass can be used as a trap crop to ward off Chilo partellus from the maize crop in the field. The results reported in this study are of great significance for the management of Chilo partellus stemborers as they provide insights into possible exploitation of the signalling of defence responses in the smart maize varieties using an equally smart plant. In addition, it also would open up opportunities for a more efficient exploitation of natural enemies as they would be recruited earliest before larvae of the pest hatch from eggs to cause damage to maize plants. It is recommended that resource poor farmers adopt the findings of this research to increase food on the table and cash in the pocket.


Pulmonary Tuberculosis (Pulmonary TB) is one of the most contagious diseases affecting the
lungs. The disease is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis with morphology that is
shaped basil that is resistant to alcoholic acid if stained with Ziehl-Neelsen staining. Sputum
examination of pulmonary TB patients with Centrifugation Technique is examination with a certain
rotational speed that is affected by gravity to produce precipitate. The purpose of this research is to
know the microscopic picture of acid proof bacillus (BTA) examination by using centrifugation
technique and conventional technique. This type of research is descriptive to see the microscopic
picture of smear from sputum pulmonary tuberculosis patients. Sample collection that is accidental
sampling amounted to 14 samples of sputum which have been checked by conventional technique
of laboratory of RSUP. Prof. Dr. R. D. Kandou and re-examined at the BPPK Laboratory of North
Sulawesi Province using centrifugation technique with 4% NaOH addition. Microscopic
examination results from 14 sputum samples that had been examined with conventional technique
of BTA obtained 7 sputum samples there is an increase in the number of BTA after spiral
centrifugation. This indicates that the results of the examination have increased the degree of
positivity found after centrifugation technique. Sputum centrifugation technique can be used as an
alternative method of examination of BTA in the laboratory if necessary.

Kata kunci : Sputum, BTA, Conventional Technique, Sentrifugas Techniquei


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Excessive BK (bradykinin) stimulation is responsible for the exaggerated permeabilization of the endothelium in angioedema. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these responses have not been investigated. BK receptors are Gq-protein-coupled receptors phosphorylated by GRK2 (G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2) with a hitherto unknown biological and pathophysiological significance. In the present study, we sought to identify the functional role of GRK2 in angioedema through the regulation of BK signaling. We found that the accumulation of cytosolic Ca2+ in endothelial cells induced by BK was sensitive to GRK2 activity, as it was significantly augmented by inhibiting the kinase. Accordingly, permeabilization and NO production induced by BK were enhanced, as well. In vivo, mice with reduced GRK2 levels in the endothelium (Tie2-CRE/GRK2fl+/fl−) exhibited an increased response to BK in terms of vascular permeability and extravasation. Finally, patients with reduced GRK2 levels displayed a severe phenotype of angioedema. Taken together, these findings establish GRK2 as a novel pivotal regulator of BK signaling with an essential role in the pathophysiology of vascular permeability and angioedema.


Sampling and securing traces at a crime scene is a crucial step in the investigation process. Information obtained at this stage immediately gives direction to the investigation. The aim of this project was to develop a microdevice that enables the investigator at the crime scene to screen traces for their possibility of containing (human) biological material. This presumptive test gives an answer to the question whether or not there is (human) DNA present in the sample. The process of DNA analysis can be divided in five consecutive steps: trace sampling, sample work-up, amplification, detection and secure storage, which were all investigated in this research. Trace sampling is conventionally carried out by the use of a (cotton) swab, despite the fact that the performance is low in terms of sample release. A ceramic collection tool, an alternative for the standard swab, showed promising results. Thermal lysis, part of the sample work-up, is a fast and simple method for on-chip cell lysis of the trace sample. Amplification of the DNA is needed, since crime scene samples often contain low amounts of DNA. Isothermal techniques, such as multiple displacement amplification and helicase dependent amplification, are suitable for sensitive and fast on-chip amplification. For the detection DNA dyes can be used of which the increase in fluorescence along the amplification can be monitored in time. The biological sample in the chip is present in an enclosed environment, which limits the risk of (cross-)contamination and improves the chain of custody. Various microfluidic devices were designed, developed and tested to achieve on-chip lysis, amplification and detection. The majority of these chips were made of cyclic olefin copolymer, since the material is biochemical compatible, resistant to many chemicals (acids, alkaline solution and common solvents) and optically transparent.


Iterative Proportional Fitting (IPF) generates from an input matrix W a sequence of matrices that converges, under certain conditions, to a specific limit matrix c . This limit is the relative-entropy nearest solution to W among all matrices of prescribed row marginals r and column marginals c. We prove this known fact by a novel strategy that contributes a pure algorithmic intuition. Then we focus on the symmetric setting: W = W T and r = c. Since IPF inherently generates non-symmetric matrices, we introduce two symmetrized variants of IPF. We prove convergence for both of them. Further, we give a novel characterization for the existence of c W in terms of expansion properties of the undirected weighted graph represented by W . Finally, we show how our results contribute to recent work in machine learning.


A waveband-selective diffraction device, possessing dynamic and reversible light manipulation of its waveband-selectivity within a wide spectral range (∼140 nm), was developed by micro-patterning of a photoresponsive self-organized helical liquid crystal superstructure. Distinct from a conventional liquid crystal diffraction device, applied in a wide band from ultraviolet to near infrared wherein the diffracting light is due to the alternate phase modulation caused by the difference on liquid crystal arrangement, herein, the diffraction was mainly induced by an alternate transmittance/reflectance (i.e., amplitude) modulation to an incident light with a certain wavelength located in a selective reflection band of a binary patterned helical liquid crystal layer, producing diffraction both on the transmission and reflection sides of the sample. The waveband-selectivity was determined and manipulated by appropriately controlling the reflection band of the patterned helical liquid crystals. A prominent advantage compared to the majority of other liquid crystal polymer based devices is the electric responsiveness of such a device in addition to its photoresponsiveness. Moreover, an excellent light reconfiguration, exhibiting an erasing of the grating, followed by a rewriting of a Fresnel zone plate was achieved.


We have modelled the stellar and nebular continua and emission-line intensity ratios of massive stellar populations in the Antennae galaxy using high resolution and self-consistent libraries of model H ii regions around central clusters of ageing stars. The model libraries are constructed using the stellar population synthesis code, starburst99, and photoionization model, and cloudy. The Geneva and PARSEC stellar evolutionary models are plugged into starburst99 to allow comparison between the two models. Using a spectrum-fitting methodology that allows the spectral features in the stellar and nebular continua [e.g. Wolf–Rayet (WR) features, Paschen jump], and emission-line diagnostics to constrain the models, we apply the libraries to the high-resolution Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer spectra of the starbursting regions in the Antennae galaxy. Through this approach, we were able to model the continuum emission from WR stars and extract stellar and gas metallicities, ages, electron temperatures, and densities of starbursts by exploiting the full spectrum. From the application to the Antennae galaxy, we find that (1) the starbursts in the Antennae galaxy are characterized by stellar and gas metallicities of around solar, (2) the star-forming gas in starbursts in the Western loop of NGC 4038 appears to be more enriched, albeit slightly, than the rest of galaxy, (3) the youngest starbursts are found across the overlap region and over parts of the western-loop, though in comparison, the regions in the western-loop appear to be at a slightly later stage in star formation than the overlap region, and (4) the results obtained from fitting the Geneva and Parsec models are largely consistent.


Despite requirements for Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training, little is known about how much this training actually influences the thinking and behaviors of participants. Interview-based qualitative research methods were used to study the reactions of Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows to what was taught in an RCR course. For trainees with limited prior RCR experience, or who agreed with what was taught, it was relatively easy to influence their attitudes and how they thought they would use the new information in the future. However, if their prior experiences or existing knowledge conflicted with what was taught they resisted and often rejected new ideas that were presented. Interviews also revealed the tremendously complex process trainees must undergo trying to resolve or integrate all of the different perspectives they receive on RCR from other sources. These results revealed the importance of viewing RCR training from the perspective of learning theory and how prior knowledge influences what people learn. The results also support the need for periodic rather than one-time RCR training to counter the often conflicting views and practices young scientists experience in real-life research settings.


The thesis brings together two important themes within Geography and
Development Studies. First, post-colonial analyses of social identity and difference;
secondly, the relationship between social identity and the 'new' historiography of South
Africa. These themes raise important intellectual and practical questions central to rethinking
the relationship between the developed and underdeveloped worlds. During the
apartheid era political and cultural relations between core and periphery were (are)
integral to the fragmentation of South African society and space. Apartheid discourse
constantly manipulated social and cultural differences and divisions. These divisions
were epitomised by the enforced racial and ethnic partition associated with the
Bantustans. By focusing on one Bantustan, namely Bophuthatswana, the thesis shows
that complex identities and interests also emerged within these territories. Under the
guise of independence various marginal groups sought power and influence through
vigorous efforts to create and promote a new national identity. A range of issues are
used to identify and emphasise the intersection of two major discourses, ethno-nationalism
and modernisation. These serve to illustrate the complex interplay of local
and regional characteristics alongside more general processes associated with the
changing nature of apartheid. By reference to the creation of the national capital,
Mmabatho, the thesis demonstrates the shortcomings and contradictions of this nation-building
exercise and of the modernist discourses on which it was based.


Solar spectro-polarimetry is a powerful tool to investigate the physical processes occurring in the solar atmosphere. The different states of polarization and wavelengths have in fact encoded the information about the thermodynamic state of the solar plasma and the interacting magnetic field. In particular, the radiative transfer theory allows us to invert the spectro-polarimetric data to obtain the physical parameters of the different atmospheric layers and, in particular, of the photosphere. In this work, we present a comparison between two methods used to analyze spectro-polarimetric data: the classical Center of Gravity method in the weak field approximation and an inversion code that solves numerically the radiative transfer equation. The Center of Gravity method returns reliable values for the magnetic field and for the line-of-sight velocity in those regions where the weak field approximation is valid (field strength below 400 G), while the inversion code is able to return the stratification of many physical parameters in the layers where the spectral line used for the inversion is formed.


As one of the most successful application of image analysis and understanding A Face recognition has recently gained significant attention. Basically there are two main reasons for such a trend (a) the first is wide range of commercial & law enforcement applications (b) the availability of feasible technologies. Among the diverse contents of multimedia face objects are preferably more important. For ex: a security system that is able to automatically track human objects and report their ID's. However the 2D images of 3D face can dramatically change due to lighting and viewing variation. Face recognition in uncontrolled environment is hindered by variation in illumination, pose, expression & occlusion of faces. Many practical face recognition systems are affected by these variations. One way to increase the robustness to illumination, pose expression and occlusions is to use 3D facial images. In this paper we will be able to understand how we are developing from 2D to 3D face recognition technology with a complete overview of face recognition technology.


The traditional approach for increasing yield in large memory arrays has been to eliminate all hard errors using repair mechanisms. However, the cost of these mechanisms can become prohibitive for cheaper memories, which have higher error rates. Instead of completely repairing faulty cells, this paper introduces new approximate memory repair mechanisms that only partially repair both CMOS DRAMs and STT-MRAMs. By combining redundant repair with unequal protection, such as skewing the limited spare elements available for repairing faults towards the k most significant bits, and a hybrid bit-shuffling and redundant repair scheme, the new mechanisms maintain excellent output quality while substantially reducing the cost of the repair mechanism, particularly for increasingly important cluster faults.


The Ottoman Empire was in the process of disintegration in the 19 century. The non-Muslim nations living in the Balkan geography under the Ottoman rule began to rebel with the influence of nationalist thoughts. The Bulgarians started to gain power in the process with the support of the Russia and took important steps towards independence. According to the Treaty of San Stefano signed after the Ottoman-Russian War of 1877-1878, it was envisaged to establish a large independent Bulgarian Kingdom. In the face of this development, which would allow Russia to reach its goal of landing on the warm seas through Bulgaria and to have absolute advantage over the Balkans, the Great Powers particularly Britain, intervened and a new treaty was made in Berlin. With the Treaty of Berlin, an Autonomous Bulgarian Principality, whose borders were narrowed was established and the Eastern Rumelia Province under the Ottoman rule was formed. The Bulgarians rebelled in Plovdiv with an attempt to weaken Ottoman influence in Eastern Rumelia in order to put the region under the rule of the Bulgarian Principality. There were conflicts in the region and the events were closely followed by the foreign press. As a matter of fact, it was seen that the events of Eastern Rumelia were followed in all dimensions by the American press and the newspapers mostly include news and comments in favor of the Bulgarians. This is also important that it indicates the political and economic interest of the United States towards the Ottoman geography.


Particle therapy is an advanced cancer therapy that uses a feature known as the Bragg peak, in which particle beams suddenly lose their energy near the end of their range. The Bragg peak enables particle beams to damage tumors effectively. To achieve precise therapy, the demand for accurate and quantitative imaging of the beam irradiation region or dosage during therapy has increased. The most common method of particle range verification is imaging of annihilation gamma rays by positron emission tomography. Not only 511-keV gamma rays but also prompt gamma rays are generated during therapy; therefore, the Compton camera is expected to be used as an on-line monitor for particle therapy, as it can image these gamma rays in real time. Proton therapy, one of the most common particle therapies, uses a proton beam of approximately 200 MeV, which has a range of ∼ 25 cm in water. As gamma rays are emitted along the path of the proton beam, quantitative evaluation of the reconstructed images of diffuse sources becomes crucial, but it is far from being fully developed for Compton camera imaging at present. In this study, we first quantitatively evaluated reconstructed Compton camera images of uniformly distributed diffuse sources, and then confirmed that our Compton camera obtained 3 %(1 σ) and 5 %(1 σ) uniformity for line and plane sources, respectively. Based on this quantitative study, we demonstrated on-line gamma imaging during proton irradiation. Through these studies, we show that the Compton camera is suitable for future use as an on-line monitor for particle therapy.


This thesis is submitted as a requirement of the Doctor of Clinical Psychology degree at the School of Psychology at Birmingham University and is comprised of two volumes; a research and, a clinical volume.
Volume I: Research
The research volume contains a literature review and an empirical paper. The literature review is a review of the literature into mental health problems in individuals over the age of 16 with a neurodevelopmental syndrome (Angelmans, Cri-du-chat, Cornelia de Lange, Fragile X, Prader-willi, Smith-Magenis and Williams syndromes). Each of these syndromes is associated with specific cognitive and behavioural characteristics that are risk factors for mental health. Despite this, the psychological features of these syndromes are largely unknown. This literature review seeks to assess the prevalence and descriptions of symptoms of mental health disorders within these syndromes to assist with early identification and treatment.
The empirical paper is a 10 year longitudinal study into fourteen individuals with Smith-Magenis Syndrome (SMS); a neurodevelopmental disorder first described in 1982. This syndrome is associated with high sociability, moderate/severe intellectual disabilities and high levels of challenging behaviour and sleep disturbances. The behavioural characteristics and communicative abilities of participants were compared between 2003/2004 and 2014/2015 to determine how the support needs of these individuals have changed over time. This study attempts to answer the question; what happens to individuals with SMS as they become adults, and, what the resulting impact is upon their quality of life.
Volume II: Clinical Component
The Clinical Component consists of five clinical practice reports. The first clinical practice report is of a young girl with trichotillomania, formulated from the behavioural and systemic models. The second clinical practice report is a service evaluation of a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), using the CORE quantitative tool and a semi-structured interview to make recommendations on how client satisfaction could be improved. The third clinical practice report is a case study of a young woman who had a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and anxiety, and who engaged in self-injurious behaviour. Her presenting issues are formulated using a psychodynamic formulation and the intervention used is described and evaluated. The fourth clinical practice report is a forensic single case experimental design study of a man with an intellectual disability who was engaging in risky behaviours. The assessment process, formulation and intervention are described and evaluated. The final clinical practice report is a neuropsychological report of an elderly lady who was presenting with symptoms of dementia. The dementia assessment process and formulation is described with recommendations given around intervention.


Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate CD4 cell counts, lipid profile, and oral manifestations in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients and their correlation with seronegative controls. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional, hospital-based study, there were three groups of subjects: group A consisting of 500 healthy patients (controls), group B composed of 500 HIV-infected patients, and group C comprised of 500 AIDS patients based on their CD4 cell counts. CD4 cell counts were assessed using the CyFlow counter. Lipid profile was evaluated with the Erba EM 360 analyzer. Results: The results were statistically significant for CD4 cell counts (P<0.001). The levels of total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) were significantly decreased while triglycerides (TGs) and very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDLs) were significantly increased in AIDS patients compared to the controls and HIV-infected patients. Various results were obtained regarding oral manifestations with different levels of significance. Conclusion: CD4 cell counts, TC, LDLs, TGs, and VLDLs were significantly changed in HIV-infected and AIDS patients compared to the controls.


1919 Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge (Sapindaceae) is found in the Inner Mongolia region of China. The plant has been used as folk medicine for various diseases. To determine its effect on anti-tumor activity, cancer cell lines derived from 12 different human organs were exposed to the plant extract and their growth properties analyzed with MTT assay. Among the cells studied, OVCAR-3 (derived from ovarian carcinoma) cells were found to be the most sensitive for growth inhibition. The active ingredient was then purified with two times C18 column chromatography. Six active compounds were identified. The IC50 value of the purified products is approximately 1.5 - 4.5 ug/ml. Their chemical structures were determined with NMR (H, C13, HMQC, HMBC, NOESY, HOHAHA) and MS (MALDI-TOF) spectroscopy analysis. These compounds are: Xanifolia-Y1: 3-O-[β-D-galactopyranosyl-(1→2)]-α-L-arabinofuranosyl-(1→3)-β-D-glucuronopyranosyl-21-O-(3,4-diangeloyl)-α-L-rhamnophyranosyl-22-O-acetyl-3β,16α, 21β, 22α, 28-pentahydroxyolean-12-ene. Xanifolia-Y2: 3-O-[β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)]-α-L-arabinofuranosyl-(1→3)-β-D-glucuronopyranosyl-21,22-O-diangeloyl-3β, 15α, 16α, 21β, 22α, 24β, 28-heptahydroxyolean-12-ene. Xanifolia-Y3: 3-O-[β-D-galactopyranosyl-(1→2)]-α-L-arabinofuranosyl-(1→3)-β-D-glucuronopyranosyl-21,22-O-diangeloyl-3β, 15α, 16α, 21β, 22α, 28-hexahydroxyolean-12-ene. Xanifolia-Y8: 3-O-[β-glucopyranosyl (1→2)]-α-arabinofuranosyl (1→3)-β-glucuronopyranosyl-21, 22-O-diangeloyl-3β, 16α, 21β, 22α, 24β, 28-hexahydroxyolean-12-ene. Xanifolia-Y9: 3-O-[β-galactopyranosyl (1→2)]-α-arabinofuranosyl (1→3)-β-glucuronopyranosyl-21-O-(3,4-diangeloyl)-α-rhamnopyranosyl-28-O-acetyl-3β, 16α, 21β, 22α, 28-pentahydroxyolean-12-ene. Xanifoli-Y10: 3-O-[β-galactopyranosyl (1→2)]-α-arabinofuranosyl (1→3)-β-glucuronopyranosyl-21, 22-O-diangeloyl-3β, 16α, 21β, 22α, 28-pentahydroxyolean-12-ene. These active compounds belong to a family of oleanene triterpenoidal saponin. Four of them (Xanifolia Y2, Y3, Y8 and Y10) have a trisaccharide chain attached at C3 of the aglycone and two angeloyl groups are acylated at C21 and C22. Other two (Xanifolia Y1 and Y9) have a trisaccharide chain at C-3 and a monosaccharide at C21 where two angeloyl groups are acylated at C3 and C4 positions. A common feature among these compounds is the presence of the diangeloyl group. To study the structure-function relationship, a compound with a similar structure toY3 but with only one angeloyl group at C22 was investigated. It was found that it has 1/10 of the Y3 activity. Removal of both angeloyl groups from C21 and C22 of Y3 completely abolishes its activity. Results indicate that diangeloyl groups in these compounds are important for anti-tumor activity.


Abstract 1721 Introduction: LE-MON-5 is a multicenter German phase-II study to verify the safety of monotherapy with lenalidomide (LEN) in MDS patients (pts) with IPSS low or Int-1 and isolated del(5q). We report our cytogenetic results after a monitoring period of sixteen months since start of the trial. Methods: For sequential and frequent survey of LEN-treated pts we applied FISH on enriched CD34+ stem cells from peripheral blood (CD34+ pb) every 2–3 months using a panel of 8 to 13 probes. Karyotyping and FISH on bone marrow aspirates was performed at initial screening and every six months. The median number of analyzed metaphases was 25 (4–30) and FISH analyzing was based on 200 interphase nuclei. Results: We have already screened 94 pts and could confirm isolated del(5q) in 76 (81%). Due to our cytogenetic results demonstrating additional changes in 18/94 (19%) pts, these were registered as screening failures and thus excluded from the study. Until now cytogenetic follow-up data for 40 pts is available. After a median follow-up of 9 months (2–16 months) we have observed a significant impact of LEN on the reduction of the clone size (p 50% reduction of 5q- clone size within two months. In the second group, the slow responders, we observed >50% reduction of clone size in 9/40 (22.5%) after > two months. However, two pts showed an increase of 5q- clone after 12 and 13 months respectively after initial response in the sense of a relapse. In the third group, the non responders, (11/34 (27.5%)) we could not observe any cytogenetic response during the as yet limited observation period. In six cases (15%) we detected a reduction of the 5q- clone during follow-up, but the emergence of additional aberrations were also observed such as: 1. trisomy 8 in 6.7% of metaphases after 8 months and is reduced to 3.6% after 12 months, 2. trisomy 4 in 6.7% of metaphases after 6 months and is disappeared after 12 months, followed by emergence of trisomy 8 in 8% of interphase cells, 3. finally, two cases showed loss of Y-chromosome after 4 months in 6% and 19% of CD34+ pb cells, respectively. In CD34+ pb cells of another case, trisomy 8 was detectable after two months in 3.5% of cells. All these new secondary abnormalities occurred in cells with normal chromosomes 5 and were slightly above or below our laboratory thresholds (3 times standard variation). In only one case, a new abnormality emerged in the 5q- clone: In this case additional del(20q) occurred after 2 months in 46% of CD34+ pb cells. In this case no reduction of 5q- cells after 4 months of treatment was observed. However, FISH analysis after 6 months of treatment showed a 14% reduction for both aberrations. To date we could not identify any pts who acquired complex anomalies while treated with LEN. Conclusion: FISH analysis of CD34+ pb cells allows a reliable frequent and relevant genetic monitoring of treatment response to LEN. Our results confirm the positive and rapid effects of LEN on clones with del(5q): Thus, already after 2 months, we could observe up to 90% reduction in the 5q- clone size in 35% of pts. In general, remission rates increased with duration of therapy. We suspect that trisomy 4, 8 and Y-loss are fluctuant "mini clones" without any clinical relevance. Inclusion of additional pts and prolonged observation period will help us to better evaluate the clinical response to LEN. Disclosures: Off Label Use: lenalidomide for MDS del(5q) provided by Celgene for this clinical study. Germing: Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Braulke: Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding. Schanz: Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding. Giagounidis: Celgene: Honoraria. Gotze: Celgene: Honoraria. Haase: Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding.


Let $H$ be a $4$-uniform hypergraph on $n$ vertices. The transversal number $\tau(H)$ of $H$ is the minimum number of vertices that intersect every edge. The result in [J. Combin. Theory Ser. B 50 (1990), 129—133] by Lai and Chang implies that $\tau(H) \le 7n/18$ when $H$ is $3$-regular. The main result in [Combinatorica 27 (2007), 473—487] by Thomasse and Yeo implies an improved bound of $\tau(H) \le 8n/21$. We provide a further improvement and prove that $\tau(H) \le 3n/8$, which is best possible due to a hypergraph of order eight. More generally, we show that if $H$ is a $4$-uniform hypergraph on $n$ vertices and $m$ edges with maximum degree $\Delta(H) \le 3$, then $\tau(H) \le n/4 + m/6$, which proves a known conjecture. We show that an easy corollary of our main result is that if $H$ is a $4$-uniform hypergraph with $n$ vertices and $n$ edges, then $\tau(H) \le \frac{3}{7}n$, which was the main result of the Thomasse-Yeo paper [Combinatorica 27 (2007), 473—487].


Among the diverse new generation biomass yielding species, green algae are the most promising organisms. Compared to biomass production of other organisms, production of algae is less laborious, quite fast, and more economical. Moreover, eutrophicated waters get naturally purified in the cultivation process of algae. Algal biomass from monoculture of specific species, which are rich in carbohydrates, proteins and lipids, is considered a good source of diverse bio-products and feed-stock for food, feeds and bio-fuels. Quantity and quality of algal biomass for specific products depend on the species and strains as well as environmental conditions of cultivation. In this connection, biomass productivity and oil-yield of a local strain of Chlorococcum humicola (Nageli) Rabenhorst was assessed in Bold's Basal Medium. Long-term storage capacity of the alga was tried by entrapping the algal cells in sodium alginate beads, which showed viability up to 14 months. Estimation of total carbohydrate, protein, lipid and chemical characterization of oil as well as the feasibility of its conversion to biodiesel revealed the industrial potential of this local strain as a source of food and biofuel. Fatty acid profiling of the extracted oil showed that 70% are mono-saturated and 12.2 % are nutritionally important polyunsaturated fatty acids. The oil could be effectively trans-esterified to methyl esters and the conversion was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. Further standardization of the mass production of the alga in natural environmental conditions for biomass and oil is progressing to optimize its value as globally competent food, nutraceutical and biofuel resource.


Pharmacological resistance is the decreased susceptibility of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to antiviral drugs without evidence of genotypic or phenotypic resistance. It may be caused by a decreased activation of drugs and/or decreased drug penetration into compartments where viral replication occurs. Several issues related to drug activation and penetration into body compartments in light of pharmacological resistance are discussed in this paper. The affinity of antiviral drugs for the multidrug transporter P-glycoprotein (Pgp) and the potential clinical significance of research in this area are also presented.


On 25 October 2017, the European Court of Justice ruled in the Polbud-case that a cross-border conversion is permitted on the basis of the freedom of establishment, even if the converted company does not conduct any economic activities in the new home Member State. On 25 April 2018, the European Commission proposed new company law rules to enable companies to make best of business opportunities in the EU's Single Market and to ensure that cross-border conversions, mergers and divisions are accompanied by adequate safeguards against abuse. This directive explicitly refers to the Polbud-case. In this article the Polbud-judgment is discussed in the broader context of cross-border conversions. Furthermore, the proposal of the European Commission is discussed and the antitax abuse provision thereof.


Abstract Background Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty (RSA) has become increasingly utilized in the surgical management for a growing number of indications in increasingly younger and active populations. The complication of Acromial Stress Fracture (ASF) has been described in various patient groups after RSA. Patients who experience ASF after RSA report worse clinical outcomes. Biomechanical studies and some clinical studies have implicated the degree of lateralization and distalization of the humerus as factors associated with development of ASF. Most prior studies utilize scalar or linear methods to measure humeral position following RSA. These scalar measurements do not account for the relative effects of variances in patient stature. Lateralization Shoulder Angle (LSA) and Distalization Shoulder Angle (DSA) are angular methods that have been described as a reproducible assessment of humeral position while controlling for variance in patient stature. Methods A case-control study was performed where cases of ASF after RSA were identified after a retrospective review of all reverse shoulder arthroplasty cases at a single institution using a single implant type. A 1:3 case-control matching scheme was implemented based on age and gender. All surgeries were performed by one of 4 fellowship-trained Shoulder and Elbow surgeons. Preoperative and Postoperative radiographs were assessed and humeral position was measured using LSA and DSA. A Mixed Linear model was utilized to test the difference in means between cases and controls. Results Between January 2012 and December 2015, 689 patients underwent primary RSA. 29 patients (4.2%) sustained acromial stress fracture. Acromial stress fracture occurred at a mean of 7.6 months after surgery (range 1.0-36.8 months). According to the Levy classification, 19 were type 1 fractures, 9 were type 2 and 1 was type 3. An additional 24 patients (3.5%) patients were noted to have experience an acromial stress reaction without evidence for fracture. Mean change in LSA (from preoperative to postoperative) was -19.78 o (SE 2.82) in cases (net medialization) and -12.18 o (SE 1.63) in controls (P= .02). The mean change in DSA was 36.40 o (SE 2.09) in cases and 31.82° (SE 1.21) in controls (P= .06) Conclusion Higher preoperative LSA (humeral lateralization) and greater decrease of LSA (greater net medialization) after surgery were noted to have an association with ASF. Humeral position after RSA as measured by DSA was not associated with radiographically evident ASF in this case-control study controlling for age and gender. Level of Evidence Level III


CONTEXT. Previous research has found that exposure to violence in the home, community, and electronic media are associated with children's and adolescents' normative expectations concerning the use of violence and with other indicators of the violent behaviors by youth. OBJECTIVE. Our purpose with this study was to examine the relationships between the frequency that high school students reported watching wrestling on television and engaging in date fighting, weapon carrying, and other fighting behaviors. DESIGN. The initial analysis consisted of a cross-sectional study of a simple random sample of high school students, which was followed by a longitudinal analysis of these students over a 6- to 7-month period. SETTING. The setting was all public high schools in 1 city/county system. PARTICIPANTS. We used a simple random sample (N = 2228) of students. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES. The primary outcome variables included the frequency of date fighting during the previous 12 months and alcohol or other drug involvement associated with the last date fight. RESULTS. There were significant correlations between frequency of watching wrestling on television during the previous 2 weeks and engaging in date fighting, fighting in general, and weapon carrying for both males and females, although the relationships were stronger among females than among males. The frequency of watching wrestling was highest among students reporting date fighting when either the victim or perpetrator had been drinking alcohol or using illegal drugs. When analyzed using logistic regression, the strongest relationships were observed between the frequency of watching wrestling and date-fight perpetration among females in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. These findings persisted after adjusting for multiple other factors. CONCLUSIONS. For males and females, the frequency of watching wrestling was highest among students who fought with their dates when alcohol or other drugs were involved. The association between watching wrestling and date fighting was stronger among females than males. The relationship between watching wrestling on television and being the perpetrator of dating violence was also stronger among females and remained consistent over a 6- to 7-month time period.


The goal of the SunPy project is to facilitate and promote the use and development of community-led, free, and open source data analysis software for solar physics based on the scientific Python environment. The project achieves this goal by developing and maintaining the sunpy core package and supporting an ecosystem of affiliated packages. This paper describes the first official stable release (version 1.0) of the core package, as well as the project organization and infrastructure. This paper concludes with a discussion of the future of the SunPy project.


We observe the proliferation of vortices in the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless regime on a twodimensional array of Josephson-coupled Bose-Einstein condensates. As long as the Josephson (tunneling) energy J exceeds the thermal energy T , the array is vortex-free. With decreasing J/T , vortices appear in the system in ever greater numbers. We confirm thermal activation as the vortex formation mechanism and obtain information on the size of bound vortex pairs as J/T is varied.


An enzyme immunoassay technique based on the direct detection of Chlamydia trachomatis antigen in urethral or cervical swabs was used for the rapid diagnosis of chlamydial genital infection. Urethral and cervical samples from 140 patients were tested in parallel by enzyme immunoassay and cell culture using iodine staining. The direct test had a sensitivity of 92-5% and specificity of 97*2% when compared with the cell culture system. The enzyme immunoassay technique provides a rapid and simple method for diagnosing chlamydial genital infection and may be performed on a large number of samples in laboratories which do not have tissue culture facilities or a trained microscopist.


The study was performed on 4 groups of male Wistar rats, receiving p.o. through 3 months every day: 1). Sodium nitrite in dose 30 mg/kg b.w. x day (0.2 LD50); 2). Cupric chloride in dose 4.67 mg/kg b.w. x day (0.03 LD50); 3 ). Cupric chloride and sodium nitrite in amounts as above, and 4). Control group--received dest. water. The activity of alanine aminotransferase (AlAT), aspartate aminotransferase (AspAT), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGTP-ase) and creatinine and urea level in blood plasma were determined 24 hours after the last application of compounds. There was showed, that every day rats' intoxication with sodium nitrate during 90 days caused the significant increase of gamma-glutamyltransferase activity and decrease of urea level in the blood plasma. Subchronic exposure to copper and copper with sodium nitrate causes no effect on biochemical parameters were studied.


Abstract: Solar energy is a clean, easily accessible and abundantly available alternative energy source in nature. Getting solar energy from nature is very beneficial for power generation. Using a fixed Photovoltaic panels extract maximum energy only during 12 noon to 2 PM in Nigeria which results in less energy efficiency. Therefore, the need to improve the energy efficiency of PV solar panel through building a solar tracking system cannot be over-emphasized. Photovoltaic panels must be perpendicular with the sun in order to get maximum energy. The methodology employed in this work includes the implementation of an Arduino based solar tracking system. Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) are used to sense the intensity of sunlight and hence the PV solar panel is adjusted accordingly to track maximum energy. The mechanism uses servo motor to control the movement of the solar panel. The microcontroller is used to control the servo motor based on signals received from the LDRs. The result of this work has clearly shown that the tracking solar panel produces more energy compared to a fixed panel.


The use of marginal quality water for plant production in Europe is analysed. The implications of using marginal quality water on plant, health and environment are reviewed. The status of current European research is outlined. On the basis of current experience, it can be concluded that marginal quality water can be safely used for plant production, provided certain precautions are taken to protect health and the environment.


This paper presents a literature review in the aspect of the phenomenon of occurrence of bacterial biofilm on internal surfaces of pipelines. The aim of the paper was to highlight the risks for water consumers resulting from the presence of biofilm in tap water pipelines, as well as the difficulties in water quality maintenance for the production plants. The paper addresses the many aspects of the presence of biofilm structures in water supply networks, as responses of biofilm to stress, highly specific environmental conditions in pipelines or potential strategies of biofilm removal. Stress conditions occurring in water supply networks as a result of water disinfection at water production plants and constant presence of a disinfectant in pipelines affect the development, variability, and biodiversity of biological films. The presence of biofilm resistant to the applied disinfectants in the water distribution network can threaten the health of water consumers, particularly when the biological membrane is inhabited by pathogenic forms. Various molecular mechanisms characteristic of biofilms permit the survival of microorganisms in water supply networks. They include among others phenomena of horizontal gene transfer or efflux pumps. The flexibility of bacterial genomes makes it difficult to eliminate microbiological films, rendering the applied disinfectants ineffective. Moreover, the removal of biofilm is much more difficult than the removal of planktonic cells. This paper also includes an insight into bacterial biodiversity in tap water systems reported in last years worldwide. As it is necessary to continuously search for new strategies of elimination of biological film present on the inner surface of pipelines in water supply networks, some new strategies proposed in the literature were also pointed out.


Not afraid to generalise, Gurr is also happy among details. He notes the absence of toilet facilities and the stink of tobacco in the indoor theatres, the proximity of alternative afternoon entertainment at theatre or brothel and, in a particularly stimulating section, the unlikely evolution of the word 'audience' to describe a 'company' of 'playgoers' or 'spectators'. Finally, in open demonstration of his cards-on-the-table approach, he provides one Appendix listing in alphabetical order the 162 real people known to have attended theatrical performances over his 75-year period and a second quoting in chronological order 205 mostly-brief references to playgoing. University of Exeter PETER THOMSON


Dyslexia research has made dramatic progress since the mid-1980s. Once discounted as a "middle-class myth," dyslexia is now the subject of a complex -- and confusing -- body of theoretical and empirical research. In Dyslexia, Learning, and the Brain, leading dyslexia researchers Roderick Nicolson and Angela Fawcett provide a uniquely broad and coherent analysis of dyslexia theory. Unlike most dyslexia research, which addresses the question "what is the cause of the reading disability called dyslexia?" the authors' work has addressed the deeper question of "what is the cause of the learning disability that manifests as reading problems?" This perspective allows them to place dyslexia research within the much broader disciplines of cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience and has led to a rich framework, including two established leading theories, the automatization deficit account (1990) and the cerebellar deficit hypothesis (2001). Nicolson and Fawcett show that extensive evidence has accumulated to support these two theories and that they may be seen as subsuming the established phonological deficit account and sensory processing accounts. Moving to the explanatory level of neural systems, they argue that all these disorders reflect problems in some component of the procedural learning system, a multiregion system including major components of cortical and subcortical regions. The authors' answer to the fundamental question "what is dyslexia?" offers a challenge and motivation for research throughout the learning disabilities, laying the foundations for future progress.


ABSTRACT Background: Parents' experiences transitioning their children from neonatal to developmental/rehabilitation services (DRS) are unknown. Methods: A qualitative descriptive approach was used, including interviews with 18 parents (13 mothers and 5 fathers) of children born preterm and diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP), located in a large urban center in Canada. Interview data underwent thematic analysis. Results: Parents' experiences with transition to DRS were a whole new world with three key themes: Wanting to know what to expect, feeling supported in their transition, and getting there emotionally and physically. Transition broke an emotional bond with neonatal services while parents were simultaneously entering DRS, experiencing their child's CP diagnosis, and reliving prior emotional trauma. Conclusions: The findings reveal a cumulative emotional burden for parents in the first 3 years of life; a known critical period for parenting and early childhood development. Early transition interventions should consider including enhanced supports and services for parents.


We study the propagation of spatial solitons in nematic liquid crystals, using the self-similar method. Analytical solutions in the form of self-similar solitons are obtained exactly. We confirm the stability of these solutions by direct numerical simulation, and find that the stable spatial solitons can exist in various forms, such as Gaussian solitons, radially symmetric solitons, multipole solitons, and soliton vortices.


There has been a rapid increase in the use of thyristor controlled reactor (TCR) in the power system. TCRs cause to take place nonsinusoidal components in energy systems because of using power electronic elements within the TCRs. Any one of harmonic components of nonsinusoidal quantities can cause resonance in the system. In this paper, TCR's are studied for various working conditions and also as a harmonic source. In addition, system stability is studied in the case of nonsinusoidal quantities in the system.


The 2007 Zambia Demographic Health Survey (ZDHS) HIV/AIDS data was used to investigate the attitude of people to HIV/AIDS patients in Zambia using the generalized additive mixed model. The model was used to simultaneously measure the fixed, nonlinear and random effects. The fixed effects of categorical covariates were modelled using the diffuse prior, P-spline with second-order random walk for the nonlinear effect of continuous variable while the exchangeable normal priors were used for the random effects of the district. The Binomial distribution was used to handle the dichotomous nature of the three dependent variables considered. The dependent variables are stigmatization towards relative sick with HIV/AIDS, teacher who has HIV/AIDS but is not sick and a food vendor who has HIV/AIDS. We found that the people who seem to be responsible for discriminatory attitude towards PLWHA in Zambia are predominantly those who stay in the Southern and Lusaka provinces, the urban areas, who are from at least the middle class wealth index, elite, age 20 and who either are married/living together with partner.


Taking stock of the global and national movement of administrative reforms since the 1980s, this chapter provides a comparative perspective on how European bureaucratic states have been differently transformed under a central tension: the reinforcement of steering and control versus the devolution of powers and increased autonomy granted to organizations implementing public policies. Steering and devolution have come in a great variety of reform initiatives in national contexts according to three modes (political, organizational, managerial) and the chapter illustrates how they have been differently combined in European states. Neo-managerial reforms have 'moulded' the process of state restructuring in Europe, resulting in contradictory trends of fragmentation and rebureaucratization while making administrative reforms a major political issue.


We study the coherence of the near-infrared and X-ray background fluctuations and the X-ray spectral properties of the sources producing it. We use data from multiple Spitzer and Chandra surveys, including the UDS/SXDF surveys, the Hubble Deep Field North, the EGS/AEGIS field, the Chandra Deep Field South, and the COSMOS surveys, comprising ∼2275 Spitzer/IRAC hours and ∼16 Ms of Chandra data collected over a total area of ∼1 deg2. We report an overall ∼5σ detection of a cross-power signal on large angular scales >20″ between the 3.6 and 4.5 μm and the X-ray bands, with the IR versus [1–2] keV signal detected at 5.2σ. The [0.5–1] and [2–4] keV bands are correlated with the infrared wavelengths at a ∼1–3σ significance level. The hardest X-ray band ([4–7] keV) alone is not significantly correlated with any infrared wavelengths due to poor photon and sampling statistics. We study the X-ray spectral energy distribution of the cross-power signal. We find that its shape is consistent with a variety of source populations of accreting compact objects, such as local unabsorbed active galactic nuclei or high-z absorbed sources. We cannot exclude that the excess fluctuations are produced by more than one population. Because of poor statistics, the current relatively broad photometric bands employed here do not allow distinguishing the exact nature of these compact objects or if a fraction of the fluctuations have instead a local origin.


We have been collaborating on ways to improve how we involve stakeholders in projects. Here, we summarize the approach we've been taking to discover the right stakeholders and maintain their involvement. All the projects that we work on seem to have one thing in common: developers are concerned about the difficulty of involving the right stakeholders to discover, specify, and test requirements. We ran the stakeholder concerns survey to better understand what people mean when they say, "We have a problem with our stakeholders." We asked each participant to choose one stakeholder concern that causes the biggest problem in his or her environment. The objective was to discover which concerns are the most frequent and where we should focus our improvement efforts. Missing stakeholders result in missing requirements and escalating project costs. Once we've analyzed our project using a combination of onion models and stakeholder analysis templates, our project sociology modes become a tool for monitoring the continuing involvement of the appropriate stakeholders and dealing with changes.


Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is one of the most frequently encountered neoplasms with high morbidity and mortality. Activation of the programmed death protein 1/ programmed death ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) pathway results in tumor immune evasion by suppressing the activity of T cells. The correlation of PD-L1 with clinicopathological features, lymph node metastasis and prognosis is less clear. The aim of present work was to study the relationship between PD-L1 and clinicopathological features and prognosis of CRC patients. Three hundred and eighty-six patients were included in this study. Serum PD-L1 was measured by ELISA, and PD-L1 on tumor cells was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Pretreatment levels of PD-L1 were significantly elevated in CRC patient sera compared to healthy donors ( P <0.001). The mean value of PD-L1 in healthy donors, CRC with non-lymph node metastasis, and CRC with lymph node metastasis were 229.22±54.7pg/mL, 400.77±66.3pg/ mL, and 414.29±59.1pg/mL, respectively. The positive rate of PD-L1 in metastatic lymph node was higher than in primary tumor ( P <0.001). PD-L1 negative patients had higher five-year survival rate than PD-L1 positive patients (68.57% vs 46.98%, P =0.012). The univariate analysis indicated that tumor differentiation, lymph node metastasis, and PD-L1 were correlated with five-year survival rate of CRC patients (all P < 0.018). Multivariate analysis showed that lymph node metastasis and PD-L1 were independent prognostic factors (all P < 0.008). Our study demonstrates that PD-L1 negative patients have better five-year survival rate, and PD-L1 and lymph node metastasis are independent prognostic factors in CRC patients.


This study is based on the suble motor of abnormal motor, the cause because the method of use of teachers in teaching less attractive and strategis. As for this research aims to improve the fine motor skiils of children with slime games. This type of research is classroom action research subjects using group be as many as fifteen children, of which nine and six girls. This research was conducted in kindergarden M. Nur Ikhlas Padang Timur in semester II of the 2018/2019 academic year. The technique used is operation and documentation, then it is processed with a percentage technique. As for this study as many 2 cycles, each held 3 meetings. In cycle 2 if the results have reached the minimum regulatory criteria. From the results of the study and discussion, conclusions can be drawn, namely: 1) Through the game slime can improve the motorcycle capability of the child's child in TK M.Nur ikhlas east padang district. 2) The Slime game, children can squeeze the Slime well, children can form Slime, children can print Slime and children are able to form Slime with various shapes according to the wishes of the children so as to improve the child's fine motor skills. 3) Improve children's fine motor skills in the game Slime by forming can make children more creative in learning. The results of the study showed an increase in Cycle I obtained, there was an increase in fine motor abilities of children, although not yet optimal. In Cycle II the researchers made improvements, so as to obtain maximum results and achieve the Minimum Requirements Kroiteria. This proves that the game Slime, can improve the fine motor skills of children in kindergarten M. Nur Ikhlas, East Padang.Keywords: Early Childhood, Motor Fine, Slime Game


The advent of oil in the GCC countries has led their governments to assume an ever-increasing role in the economy and to build comprehensive welfare states, based largely on the provision of employment in the public sector and the generous supply of social services and heavily subsidized utilities, to their citizens. Moreover, an intricate web of regulatory and restrictive rules and regulations has come into existence over time, resulting in a private sector that is not competitive, is not outward-looking and is generally rent-seeking. The aim of this paper is to investigate the challenges that are preventing Kuwait from succeeding in diversifying its economy and developing a competitive private sector and the pre-requisite enabling environment, thereby reducing its dependence on the oil sector. Results of the analysis carried out in this study reveal that developing the role of private sector in the economic transformation of Kuwait could be achieved through a three interconnected strategies: improving the enabling environment for business to free private sector investors from existing regulations and red tape, developing new markets and opportunities through the creation of new investment opportunities, and ensuring competitiveness and integration with the regional and world economies.


Coal has been at the forefront of mankindi?½s drive to improve his quality of life and also for sustainable development, from the Industrial Revolution onwards. The international coal industry today is large, with some 3,7 billion tons being produced and consumed in 1997. South Africa is an important participant in the coal industry, selling some 220 million tons in 1997 of which 64 million tons were exported. It is the second-largest thermal coal exporting country in the world. Despite the size of the world coal industry, it is not immune to change. The address examines growth projections for the industry and the change drivers that will impact on it in the future. Environmental pressures, the most important of which being the climate change debate, the Kyoto Protocol arising from this debate and the development of clean coal technologies, to reduce the impact of coal production and usage on the environment are considered. Other major change drivers considered are competition from other sources of energy and that between coal producers, the deregulation of the electric power industry, corporate restructuring and for the South African producer, legislative reform. The declining (real term) coal price, the consequent squeeze on margins and the need for producers to actively contain costs is covered. Technology has, in the past, been the driver behind the growth and change of the South African coal industry and its future role in ensuring that coal is the fuel of choice for continued improvement in standards of living and economic development is addressed.


It is shown that weakly supplemented modules need not be closed under extension (i.e. if U and M/U are weakly supplemented then M need not be weakly supplemented). We prove that, if U has a weak supplement in M then M is weakly supplemented. For a commutative ring R, we prove that R is semilocal if and only if every direct product of simple R-modules is weakly supplemented.


Abstract Objective To examine the relation between the normal range of serum aminotransferase concentration and mortality from liver disease. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Korea Medical Insurance Corporation study with eight years' follow up. Participants 94 533 men and 47 522 women aged 35-59 years. Main outcome measure Mortality from liver diseases according to death certificate. Results There was a positive association between the aminotransferase concentration, even within normal range (35-40 IU/l), and mortality from liver disease. Compared with the concentration < 20 IU/l, the adjusted relative risks for an aspartate aminotransferase concentration of 20-29 IU/l and 30-39 IU/l were 2.5 (95% confidence interval 2.0 to 3.0) and 8.0 (6.6 to 9.8) in men and 3.3 (1.7 to 6.4) and 18.2 (8.1 to 40.4) in women, respectively, The corresponding risks for alanine aminotransferase were 2.9 (2.4 to 3.5) and 9.5 (7.9 to 11.5) in men and 3.8 (1.9 to 7.7) and 6.6 (1.5 to 25.6) in women, respectively. According to receiver operating characteristic curves the best cut-off values for the prediction of liver disease in men were 31 IU/l for aspartate aminotransferase and 30 IU/l for alanine aminotransferase. Conclusion People with slightly increased aminotransferase activity, but still within the normal range, should be closely observed and further investigated for liver diseases.


Lower limb bones or lower limb component related to the torso with pelvic ankle interference can be fractured. Fractures can be detected automatically take advantage x-ray images performed using feature extraction methods. Feature Extraction helpful to know existence and location of fracture with x-ray images. This research apply Gray Level Co-Occurrence Matrix (GLCM) and K-Means Clustering Algorithm to analyze texture of lower extremity bones or lower limb bones x-ray images especially on the lower leg bones (cruris) consisting of two long bones (tibia) and leg bone (fibula), as well as the kneecap bone (patella). The GLCM feature extraction process yields an image characteristic with four parameters, i.e. Contrast, Correlation, Energy, and Homogeneity done before clustering steps for identification of fractured or non-fractured (normal) bones. The results accuracy texture analysis of lower extremity bones x-ray images using GLCM Feature Extraction Method and K-Means Clustering Algorithm is 80 percent.


The problem of single-channel audio source separation is to recover (separate) multiple audio sources that are mixed in a single-channel audio signal (e.g. people talking over each other). Some of the best performing single-channel source separation methods utilize downsampling to either make the separation process faster or make the neural networks bigger and increase accuracy. The problem concerning downsampling is that it usually results in information loss. In this paper, we tackle this problem by introducing SFSRNet which contains a super-resolution (SR) network. The SR network is trained to reconstruct the missing information in the upper frequencies of the audio signal by operating on the spectrograms of the output audio source estimations and the input audio mixture. Any separation method where the length of the sequence is a bottleneck in speed and memory can be made faster or more accurate by using the SR network.
Based on the WSJ0-2mix benchmark where estimations of the audio signal of two speakers need to be extracted from the mixture, in our experiments our proposed SFSRNet reaches a scale-invariant signal-to-noise-ratio improvement (SI-SNRi) of 24.0 dB outperforming the state-of-the-art solution SepFormer which reaches an SI-SNRi of 22.3 dB.


This paper presents some ways in which young people of a migrant background in Sweden handle their marginalisation at a time of transition from school to higher education. The stories of two young men are discussed, who develop opposing strategies to cope with the double bind created by a society that promotes meritocracy but acts on the basis of racialised exclusionary practices. One is forced into the position of 'immigrant' while wanting to be recognised as Swede. The other has more possibilities to be recognised as Swedish but chooses to define himself as 'immigrant' and to understand his experiences through a political analysis of racism in Swedish society. While the conflict in which the former finds himself leads to a state of paralysis, the later is able to de-individualise his position and thus to integrate his different belongings. It is argued that while the celebration of hybridity and multicultural capabilities is crucial, it is also important to recognise how marginalisation and discrimination hamper young people's capacity to act.


Despite the Government's intervention of an intensive electrification program in South Africa, which has resulted in more than 87% of households being connected to the grid, a majority of low-income households still depend on solid fuel (coal and wood) as a primary source of energy, especially on the central Highveld. In informal settlements, combustion of coal is done in inefficient self-fabricated braziers, colloquially known as imbaulas. Emissions from domestic coal combustion result in elevated household and ambient air pollution levels that often exceed national air quality limits. Continued dependence on coal combustion exposes households to copious amounts of health-damaging pollutants. Despite the health significance of coal-burning emissions from informal braziers, there is still a dearth of emissions data from these devices. Consequently, evaluating the emission characteristics of these devices and to determine the resultant emission factors is needed. The effects of ignition methods and ventilation rates on particulate and gaseous emission from coal-burning braziers are reported in literature. However, to date there are no studies carried out to investigate the influence of the size of coal pieces on brazier emission performance. In this paper, we report on controlled combustion experiments carried out to investigate systematically, influences of coal particle size on gaseous and condensed matter (smoke) emissions from informal residential coal combustion braziers. Results presented are averages of three identical burn-cycles of duration three hours or fuel burn-out, whichever was the soonest.


SUMMARY: Pseudomonas syringae pathovar syringae R32 expresses phage-|6-specific pili that function as adhesins anchoring bacterial cells to the surface of plants. Phage-resistant piliated and non-piliated mutants were compared to the wild-type strain with regards to pellicle formation and performance during different phases of epiphytic colonization of bush bean. The degree of piliation did not affect the ability of the strains to grow on the undisturbed plant surface. The presence of pili did, however, correlate strongly with the efficiency of the strains to initiate colonization from a liquid inoculation suspension if unadsorbed bacteria were removed by rinsing. During early colonization, wild-type bacteria became virtually resistant to displacement by rinsing within 1 d after inoculation, whereas non-piliated mutant bacteria became only partly resistant within 3 d. Piliated cells formed a pellicle on the surface of stationary liquid cultures whereas non-piliated mutant strains did not. A mechanism similar to pellicle formation may be functional on the plant surface, explaining in part the difference in resistance to removal by rinsing.


Combined dynamic clinical, psychological and pedagogical examination of 140 blind-and-deaf children revealed oligophrenia in 43 cases. Polymorphism and peculiar clinical manifestations in blind-and-deaf children with oligophrenia were demonstrated. A classification of oligophrenia in children with severe disorders of vision and hearing is proposed.


This article analyses evangelical identity politics and more generally religious competition in contemporary Mexico through a specific focus on the construction, dissemination and imagination of space. The imagination and occupation of a particular space determines the specific identity of its followers. Since the identity–space construct is primarily anchored in the political, religious, economic and funerary contexts in most societies, these four rubrics are woven together to assess of the evangelical Christian space–identity construct. The paper furthers research on religious space creation, dissemination and demarcation amongst evangelical Christians in Mexico, and it emphasises the extent to which the strategies of spatial expansion can lead to rigorous intra-faith competition and conflict.


This paper extends the Ramsey model's normative analysis to issues of generational welfare and intergenerational transfers. A planner, who maximizes the discounted welfare of an endless stream of generations, is intrinsically biased against larger cohorts, which are more costly to provide utility. Imperfect production substitutability produces a market bias against baby booms as well, lowering their lifetime income. The market bias, however, tends to be greater than that of the planner, who provides the baby boom cohort with more favourable lifetime transfers. Intuitively, the baby boom benefits from temporarily reduced elderly dependency, allowing greater lifetime consumption relative to lifetime income. Declining population growth leads to rising elderly dependency, which the planner supports with increasing intergenerational transfers. Secularly rising social security taxes, and declining lifetime returns, with a baby boom cohort receiving more favourable treatment than their heavily burdened successors, are consistent with the wishes of a social planner in an environment with declining population growth.


Abstract : Engineers have recognized that failure of the building envelope is one mechanism that can lead to severe damage of structures during windstorms. The building envelope consists of the roof, doorways, windows, and cladding components that form the exterior wall system of a building. Failure of the building envelope results in internal pressurization of the structure which may lead to structural failure. For this reason, engineers have begun to focus on ways to make the building envelope resistant to the effects of severe windstorms. Window glass is one type of cladding material. Of the threats posed by a windstorm, the major threat to window glass consists of windborne debris. ASTM E1886, ASTM E1996, and SSTD 12-99 address the issue of resistance to windborne missile impacts. This thesis concludes that a simple statement of an object's kinetic energy upon impact by itself cannot serve to predict the outcome of the impact. Conservation of angular momentum occurs during a missile impact on window glass. Finally, energy is lost during a missile impact on window glass.


Recently, a series of endo-type B polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (PPAP) derivatives with high antimicrobial activities were chemically synthesized. One of the derivatives, PPAP 23, which showed high antimicrobial activity and low cytotoxicity, was chosen for further investigation of its bactericidal profiles and mode of action. PPAP 23 showed a better efficacy in killing methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and decreasing the metabolic activity of 5-day-old biofilm cells than vancomycin. Moreover, S. aureus did not appear to develop resistance against PPAP 23. The antimicrobial mechanism of PPAP 23 was investigated by RNA-seq combined with phenotypic and biochemical approaches. RNA-seq suggested that PPAP 23 signaled iron overload to the bacterial cells because genes involved in iron transport were downregulated and iron storage gene was upregulated by PPAP 23. PPAP 23 affected the membrane integrity but did not induce pore formation; it inhibited bacterial respiration. PPAP 23 preferentially inhibited Fe–S cluster enzymes; it has a mild iron chelating activity and supplementation of exogenous iron attenuated its antimicrobial activity. PPAP 23 was more effective in inhibiting the growth of S. aureus under iron-restricted condition. The crystal structure of a benzylated analog of PPAP 23 showed a highly defined octahedral coordination of three PPAP ligands around a Fe (3+) core. This suggests that PPAPs are generally capable of iron chelation and are able to form defined stable complexes. PPAP 23 was found to induce reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress. Fluorescence microscopic analysis showed that PPAP 23 caused an enlargement of the bacterial cells, perturbed the membrane, and dislocated the nucleoid. Taken together, we postulate that PPAP 23 interacts with the cytoplasmic membrane with its hydrophobic pocket and interferes with the iron metabolism to exert its antimicrobial activity in Staphylococcus aureus.


The use of molecular techniques to detect Yersinia pestis has enabled remarkable progress in the provision of necessary information on the occurrence of plague. In Tanzania, despite the long history of plague, DNA confirmation on the presence of Y. pestis in human specimens has not been done. This study was conducted in Mbulu district in Northern Tanzania where plague outbreaks have recently been reported. Nine human bubo specimens were investigated for Y. pestis plasminogen activator gene by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and two were found to be positive. The two positive amplicons, together with three previously obtained PCR positive rodent samples, were sequenced using a 3130 genetic analyzer and then compared with those available in GenBank by basic local alignment search tool (BLAST). All sequences obtained from both human and rodent samples showed 99% sequence similarity to Y. pestis plasmid pPCP1, detected from ancient DNA, confirming the presence of Y. pestis in humans that possibly sourced from rodents in Tanzania.

 Key words: Yersinia pestis, human plague, molecular detection, Tanzania.


Telemedicine is being used across OECD countries to deliver health care in a wide range of specialties, for numerous conditions and through varied means. A growing body of evidence suggests that care delivered via telemedicine can be both safe and effective, in some cases with better outcomes than conventional face-to-face care. Telemedicine services can also be cost-effective in different settings and contexts. However, despite these benefits, these services still represent a small fraction of all health care activity and spending. Important barriers to wider use remain, with providers and patients facing regulatory uncertainty, patchy financing and reimbursement, and vague governance. Due to inequalities in health and digital literacy, patients that most stand to benefit are also often those that are least able to access and make use of telemedicine. Telemedicine has the potential to improve effectiveness, efficiency and equity in health care, but can also introduce new risks and amplify existing inequalities.


The question we raise here is whether what is culturally established for a given genre in the brick and mortar world applies equally on the World Wide Web. Can we effectively use the styles of one genre to design the site of another genre? Are we wedded to the culturally established attributes of the real world when designing for the Web? We compared users' performance and preference for shoppingvs. news-styled sites. We found that on the whole users liked the "shopping" layout better than the news layout, even when viewing news content. This was especially surprising in light of the fact that our users had so much more experience with news sites over shopping sites. This perhaps shows how popular the shopping style is in our culture. People chose News as Shopping as their favorite site, even though it was difficult to use. People who preferred News as Shopping did better on both News as Shopping and News as News, than those who preferred News as News. This suggests a potential relationship between performance on the World Wide Web and preference for the shopping style.