Scope
As is the case overseas, the wild fisheries of Australia are under increasing threat from the pressures of over-fishing, habitat destruction and water quality degradation. In addition, inshore fisheries that are dependant on freshwater flows to provide nutrient pulses and nursery habitats are also affected by changes in natural flow regimes as a result of water impoundment and extraction (Robins, Halliday et al. 2005). The barramundi (Lates calcarifer) is an important commercial fish species in Australia worth $8.8 million in 2004/05 (ABARE 2006), and supports valuable tourism and recreational fishing industries. Commercial catch displays a high degree of inter-annual variation; a characteristic that many fishers believe is the result of climate variability.

However, apart from rainfall and freshwater flow, previous studies of the barramundi have not examined the impacts from climate in any detail, and existing management strategies do not consider natural climate variability or climate change. This study examined the effects from long-term (biannual to decadal) and short-term (inter-annual) climate variability, extreme and threshold climate events, and anthropogenic climate, change on the commercial catch of wild barramundi in north-east Queensland. The possibility of incorporating climate parameters into the management of the fishery was also examined.

Methods
A life cycle model of the barramundi was developed to link climate parameters with the complex developmental stages of the species from spawning in the estuary through maturation in freshwater rivers. Fisheries and climate data were extracted from a variety of sources and compiled for analysis. A gamma distributed logarithm link function model was constructed to calculate total freshwater flow for those years when records were incomplete. Correlation analysis identified significant relationships between climate parameters and catch, and forward stepwise ridge regression was used to develop a model of barramundi catch using climate parameters as predictors. The impact of threshold events was determined by non-linear analysis and the effects of extreme events on barramundi habitat were qualified against MODIS satellite imagery.

A selection of climate change scenarios from a range of global climate models (GCMs), were run through the predictive model developed to determine the likely impacts of future anthropogenic climate change on the fishery.

Results
In the near-pristine Princess Charlotte Bay area, warm sea surface temperatures, high rainfall, increased freshwater flow and low evaporation (all measures of an extensive and productive nursery habitat) were significantly correlated with barramundi catch two years later as recorded by the CFISH logbook system. These results suggest that early barramundi survival is enhanced in these conditions. Catchability was significantly increased after high freshwater flow and rainfall events in the year of catch, a result that reinforced previous observations that mature fish in freshwater habitats are flushed into the commercial estuarine fishery. October – December rainfall and April – June flow showed non-linear asymptotic relationships and annual evaporation a quadratic relationship, with commercial catch two years later. Curves peaked at approximately 325 mm, 245 000 Ml and 2 000 mm respectively, a result that demonstrated that once these hydro-meteorological threshold events occurred, the response from the fishery was reversed and subsequent commercial barramundi catch reduced. A comparative analysis of data from the Fitzroy River area, a catchment and near shore area that has been highly modified by human intervention, showed only increased freshwater flow prior to the wet season enhanced subsequent barramundi catch. This result indicated that the anthropogenic changes to habitat either affected or masked the relationship between other climate variables and barramundi catch in the area.

Total long-term barramundi landings as recorded by the Queensland Fish Board for six regions along the north-east coast of Queensland showed a near decadal cycle. Correlation analyses returned significant relationships between catch and the January – March average L-index (a measure of the latitude of the subtropical ridge) two, three and four years prior to catch, and the Quasi-biennial Oscillation (QBO) three and four years prior to catch. These results suggest that each of these cycles affects climate in the north-east Queensland region and subsequent survival of barramundi in the early life cycle stages, and provides an opportunity to estimate catch a number of years in advance.

A forward stepwise ridge regression model was built to predict commercial barramundi catch in Princess Charlotte Bay. The model contained July – September rainfall and annual evaporation two years prior to catch and explained 62% of the variance in catch and had a cross validated predictive R2 of 59%. A second model also contained April – June flow in the year of catch (a measure of catchability). This second model explained 69% of the variance in catch and had a cross validated R2 of 61%, however, the improvement was not statistically significant. Using the nine global climate models in the OZCLIM program set for three initiating TAR SRES markers (A1B, A2 and B1), a suite of twelve climate change scenarios was generated for the years 2030 and 2070 for Princess Charlotte Bay. These scenarios were then run through the predictive barramundi model developed. Results indicated that due to a likely increase in annual evaporation, barramundi catch in the area will decrease for all future climate scenarios including those that show an increase in July – September rainfall. An analysis to calculate future sea surface temperatures using REEFCLIM indicated that, depending on the availability of suitable habitats, it is possible that the range of the species will extend further south by up to 800 km by the year 2070 as temperatures increase.

Conclusions
Results from this study indicate that a significant proportion of the variability seen in commercial barramundi catch in north-east Queensland is driven by variability in climate. Climate signals are significant at both short and long-term time frames and for some variables the impact is non-linear beyond a defined threshold. Anthropogenic changes to the fishery habitat alter or mask the relationship between climate and barramundi catch, and possibly affect the reproductive success of the species. The likely impact of future anthropogenic climate change will be a reduction in barramundi catch in areas where an increase in evaporation results in a subsequent decrease in shallow wetland habitats essential for early life cycle survival. This thesis provides supporting evidence for policy makers to improve significantly both the prediction of future barramundi catch and the sustainable management of the species by considering the impacts of climate variability and climate change on the species, and by incorporating climate variables into catch models.


A case of diffuse leiomyomatosis of the oesophagus is described. The patient presented with progressive dysphagia and severe loss of weight. Barium swallow revealed a massively dilated oesophagus. The patient was treated by oesophageal resection, but died 12 hours after the operation.


As the pollution from textile wastewater amount increases each year, discharge threshold values are reduced by regulations in order to limit receptor mass loading. This situation reveals the necessity of introducing innovative solutions instead of traditional systems in the treatment of textile wastewater. In the present study, we implemented dye removal by synthesized Fe/Cu bimetallic nanoparticles. Then, a multiple fuzzy-based model was applied in order to estimate colour removal. Initial colour concentration, pH, reaction time, Cu ratio on Fe/Cu nanoparticle, and Fe/Cu nanoparticle concentrations were selected as independent variables and fuzzified in an artificial intelligence-based approach. A mamdani-type fuzzy interface system was used. Input and output variables were designed with Gaussian membership functions. The predicted results gathered from fuzzy-logic system and the experimental results were compared with multiple regression approach. The regression coefficient was obtained as 0.992. According to multiple regression results, the most effective input variable was determined as the Cu ratio on Fe/Cu nanoparticle. The optimum conditions were also concluded via MathCad program. The highest removal efficiency was attained with 5% Cu ratio on Fe/Cu nanoparticle at 200 mg L−1 concentration. Furthermore, the prepared fuzzy-logic modelling demonstrated that the removal of dye by Fe/Cu nanoparticles is suitable for modelling.


: The clinical histories of 12 AIDS patients whose histoplasmosis diagnosis has been confirmed by histopathological studies were reviewed aimed at knowing the main clinical and microbiological aspects of the disseminated progressive histoplasmosis. In every case it appeared as a febrile and waste disease with an elevated hepatomegaly frequency and generalized adenopathies. More than 50% of the patients had anemia and an accelerated erythrocyte sedimentation. The chest X-ray showed pulmonary lesions in 50% of the patients, whereas, the abdominal ultrasound allowed to observe hepatomegaly and splenomegaly in 58.3 and 41.6% of the patients, respectively. A low sensitivity was found in the culture of different clinical specimens as well as in the antibody detection techniques. It is discussed the need to improve tha laboratory diagnosis methods, particularly those which make possible the antigen detection in a fast and specific way.


Since the introduction of new growth charts in the mid 1990s, there has been confusion about which charts should be used, with many districts using more than one version. Because of this uncertainty, an expert working party, the Growth Reference Review Group, was convened by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health to provide guidance on the validity and comparability of the different charts currently in use. This paper describes the technical background to the construction and evaluation of growth charts and outlines the group's findings on the validity of each growth reference in relation to contemporary British children. The group concluded that for most clinical purposes the UK90 reference is superior and for many measures is the only usable reference that can be recommended, while the original Tanner–Whitehouse and the Gairdner–Pearson charts are no longer reliable for use at any age. After the age of 2 the revised Buckler–Tanner references are still suitable for assessing height. There are presently no reliable head circumference reference charts for use beyond infancy. The group propose that apart from refinements of chart design and layout, the new UK90 reference should now be "frozen", with any future revisions only undertaken after careful planning and widespread consultation


To a crystallographic root system we associate a system of multivariate orthogonal polynomials diagonalizing an integrable system of discrete pseudo Laplacians on the Weyl chamber. We develop the time-dependent scattering theory for these discrete pseudo Laplacians and determine the corresponding wave operators and scattering operators in closed form. As an application, we describe the scattering behavior of certain hyperbolic Ruijsenaars-Schneider type lattice Calogero-Moser models associated with the Macdonald polynomials.


Since the end of World War II, the ongoing efforts aimed at criminal prosecution, restitution, and other forms of justice in the wake of the Holocaust have constituted one of the most significant episodes in the history of human rights and international law. As such, they have attracted sustained attention from historians and legal scholars. This edited collection substantially enlarges the topical and disciplinary scope of this burgeoning field, exploring such varied subjects as literary analysis of Hannah Arendt's work, the restitution case for Gustav Klimt's Beethoven Frieze, and the ritualistic aspects of criminal trials.


A flower-like NiO–SnO2 nanocomposite (NSNF) with electrochemical activity was synthesized by a solvothermal method. The morphology and composition of the NSNF have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The synthesized NSNF was immobilized onto the surface of an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode and exhibited highly non-enzymatic catalysis towards the oxidation of glucose. The effect of NaOH concentration on the oxidation performance of glucose was investigated. Under the optimum conditions, the catalytic current showed a linear relationship with the increase of glucose concentration in the range of 0.01–26 mM, with a detection limit of 1 μM. The excellent sensing performance can be attributed to the unique porous architecture of NSNF, which enhanced the electron transfer during the electrochemical sensing of glucose. The glucose sensor also had a high selectivity for glucose detection, which could effectively resist the interference from ascorbic acid (AA), uric acid (UA), citric acid (CA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and even other carbohydrates, such as fructose, sucrose and maltose. Finally, the glucose sensor was also used for glucose detection in real human serum samples and the results were satisfactory.


Mindfulness-Based Therapies (MBT) are more and more frequently used in the treatment of mental disorders. In the paper the efficacy of meditation programs in the treatment of a variety of mental health problems in diverse adult and adolescent populations and psychological and neurobiological mechanisms underlying these effects were analysed. Intervention studies data supports the efficacy of mindfulness interventions in the treatment of depression, anxiety and addictive disorders. It is proved that mindfulness interventions affect emotion regulation, attention regulation, body awareness and perspective of the self. The effect of mindfulness based interventions in the treatment of mental disorders is supported by scientific rationale of its mechanism of action, and the treatment efficacy data is promising. However, further verification of mindfulness interventions efficacy through a greater number prospective, randomized, controlled clinical research trials is required.


In this paper I analyze the contrast between the pre and postverbal subject positions in Spanish under the guidelines proposed in The Minimalist Program (Chomsky 1995). I will claim that preverbal subjects are Clitic Left Dislocated constructions, i.e. base-generated adjuncts to the maximal inflectional projection coindexed with an empty pronominal in argument position. As a result, sentences with preverbal subjects and sentences with postverbal subjects will be analyzed as the result of different numerations. In the former case there is a pro element in the numeration that is absent in the latter. I will then propose that the positions of subjects in Spanish interrogative sentences and relative clauses can be accounted for if we assume that there is covert I-to-C movement in Spanish. Left-dislocated constituents block I-to-C movement and render preverbal subjects in interrogative constructions ungrammatical. Since this type of movement is not present in relative clauses the left-dislocated constituents (preverbal subjects, for instance) are ruled in. This hypothesis also predicts that Wh-elements that are base-generated need not be licensed by covert I-to-C and therefore will allow the presence of preverbal subjects.


Stress is an unavoidable phenomenon which disturbs the physiological homeostasis. Noise is the highest encountered stressor that affects the well-being of mankind. Hippocampus, a region of the brain crucial for memory is highly influenced by stress and thereby deteriorates memory. Male albino Wistar rats of 11-12 weeks were used in this study. Nelumbo nucifera (NNE) 400 mg/kg body weight (BW) and its active principle Quercetin (QRCT) (40 mg/kg bw) were administered orally to the animals 10 days before noise stress exposure of (100dB 4h/d). Ability to retain information by Learning and spatial memory was assessed using eight-arm radial maze apparatus. It was observed that after noise stress exposure errors in working, reference memory and time period to move into all baited arms were increased; however, the drug pre-treated animals showed a decrease in all the above parameters. The observations in the present work have proved that NNE and QRCT groups were effective in ameliorating the noise stress-induced changes, but the active component quercetin group had a higher protective impact on the changes.


The Media learning that rely solely on writing tools such as books, paper, pencil or pen in the teaching-learning process led to the lack of communication between the lancaran parents or teachers with children or students. The letter Alif is a letter of the qur'an and is written using the Arabic alphabet. In this case the media learning must be more creative in applying learning methods in order to increase interest in learning at the age of toddlers especially learning to read to toddlers in order to supply the science before proceeding to further education. With the application of interactive animation is expected to benefit our children. Learning media presented certainly learn while playing with the aim of menumbuhan interest to learn and introduce information technology in the toddler-aged children.
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Keywords: Interactive Animation, Wit, Toddlers
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National levels of unemployment in Trinidad and Tobago have remained consistently high since the 1980s, because of the economic recession, subsequent structural adjustment arrangements and the diminution of traditional labour-intensive activities such as estate agriculture. Groups which had been dependent upon casual employment that was available in pre-recession times have been experiencing chronic unemployment. Combining extremely irregular casual employment with activity in the informal sector, they occupy a marginal and precarious position in the labour market. This study examines the way in which the characteristics and strategies of job-seekers differ in mainstream and in peripheral areas of the labour market. In analysis of the qualitative data, based on 45 in-depth interviews, Ragin's qualitative comparative procedures were used. This method of analysing qualitative data permitted scrutiny of different individuals' combinations of characteristics, and identification of those job search strategy components that led either to finding employment or to suffering long-term unemployment. The chronically unemployed showed a consistent lack of up-to-date knowledge of the labour market, whereas those who were successful in finding employment did have this type of information, through 'weak ties' based on family and previously established labour market links. The success in finding employment by individuals who lacked advanced secondary schooling and vocational training could be associated with their 'ties of merit' acquired from employment experience and a work record in the formal sector. The data suggest that while affiliation with the formal economy could strengthen an individual's position in the labour market, association with the informal sector did not seem to give any later advantages in finding employment.


This paper aims at obtaining diagnosis and prognosis information by searching similar images into a three-dimensional (3-D) CT image database of pulmonary nodules for which diagnosis is known. For this purpose, we propose an automatic method to retrieve nodule candidates with similar characteristics from the database. Each pulmonary nodule image is represented by the distribution pattern of CT density and 3-D curvature index. The nodule representation is then applied to a similarity measure such as a correlation coefficient. Our database is composed of 248 pulmonary nodules with associated clinical information. For each new case, we sort all the nodules of the database from most to less similar ones. Applying the retrieval method to our database, we present its feasibility to search the similar 3-D nodule images.


A mechanistic evaluation of gingival fluid is presented in an effort to identify the important physiologic variables that must be measured before one can define the exact mechanism(s) of gingival fluid production. This approach evaluates the Starling factors governing fluid distribution across capillaries by modifying these concepts to fit the unique structures, environment, and functional demands of tissues in and around the gingival sulcus. Many assumptions are made to simplify arguments and to approximate unknowns. Suggestions are made regarding techniques and experimental methods that might be employed to evaluate several important variables.

Gingival fluid production is viewed as the result of an increased rate of capillary transudation brought about by the release of mediators of inflammation. These agents are thought to cause both increased capillary pressure and increased leakage of plasma proteins into the interstitial fluid. It is postulated that the low compliance of gingival tissue and the high hydraulic conductance of sulcular epithelium result in this interstitial fluid moving from connective tissue into the sulcus.


The paper focuses on promoting open education and free educational resources. The dynamics of the changes that take place in the world are a challenge for all actors in the education system. Accepting and promoting the postmodern paradigm, based on humanism and constructivism, approaching education from the perspective of the learner and developing the education process from the perspective of the pedagogy focused on competences are just some of the new imperatives. All these realities require a resizing of the educational process and resources, but also of the purposes. Training systems must contribute to meeting the increasingly pressing need for continuous updating of knowledge and skills in the conditions of an increasingly expanded international labor market, while at the same time pursuing greater efficiency and equity. In this context, there is also widespread use, including in the education system, of technologies and information resources, as well as facilitating, through them, access and exchange of information. Electronic resources, online content and virtual educational spaces offer the latest, most diverse information and continuing education opportunities. In recent years, the issues directly related to open data / open educational resources are being widely addressed by the international educational community. At European level, a series of actions were carried out regarding the promotion of open data, in order to improve the quality and access to education, the European Commission elaborating a series of public policy documents that encourage the re-use of information in innovative ways and the design of educational materials under open licenses. Over the last decade, the supply of OER in the world has grown exponentially. However, while there is an increasing variety of subjects, OERs are typically produced in a limited number of languages (mainly in English), and used by certain sectors of education (especially higher education) and specific disciplines.


Recent studies have revealed that lipid droplets accumulate in neurons after brain injury and evoke lipotoxicity, damaging the neurons. However, how lipids are metabolized by spinal cord neurons after spinal cord injury remains unclear. Herein, we investigated lipid metabolism by spinal cord neurons after spinal cord injury and identified lipid-lowering compounds to treat spinal cord injury. We found that lipid droplets accumulated in perilesional spinal cord neurons after spinal cord injury in mice. Lipid droplet accumulation could be induced by myelin debris in HT22 cells. Myelin debris degradation by phospholipase led to massive free fatty acid production, which increased lipid droplet synthesis, β-oxidation, and oxidative phosphorylation. Excessive oxidative phosphorylation increased reactive oxygen species generation, which led to increased lipid peroxidation and HT22 cell apoptosis. Bromocriptine was identified as a lipid-lowering compound that inhibited phosphorylation of cytosolic phospholipase A2 by reducing the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 in the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway, thereby inhibiting myelin debris degradation by cytosolic phospholipase A2 and alleviating lipid droplet accumulation in myelin debris-treated HT22 cells. Motor function, lipid droplet accumulation in spinal cord neurons and neuronal survival were all improved in bromocriptine-treated mice after spinal cord injury. The results suggest that bromocriptine can protect neurons from lipotoxic damage after spinal cord injury via the extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2-cytosolic phospholipase A2 pathway.


Curious to reflect on the factors contributing to the internal decision-making processes of intuitive design, a reflective study was established to systematically examine and document the practice of intuition while performing an iterative aesthetic task. Autoethnographic techniques were used to document the reflective practices that occurred over numerous iterations spanning several weeks of activity. Our analysis concludes with a summary of reflections on how intuition informs judgment in design cognition. We examine four dimensions of intuition in design - efficiency, inspiration, curiosity, and insight - and the reflective and sensory inputs that drive intuitive speculation and impulse.


Background Cognitive impairments are well-established features of psychotic disorders and are present when individuals are at ultra-high risk for psychosis. However, few interventions target cognitive functioning in this population. Aims To investigate whether omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n−3 PUFA) supplementation improves cognitive functioning among individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis. Method Data (N = 225) from an international, multi-site, randomised controlled trial (NEURAPRO) were analysed. Participants were given omega-3 supplementation (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) or placebo over 6 months. Cognitive functioning was assessed with the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS). Mixed two-way analyses of variance were computed to compare the change in cognitive performance between omega-3 supplementation and placebo over 6 months. An additional biomarker analysis explored whether change in erythrocyte n−3 PUFA levels predicted change in cognitive performance. Results The placebo group showed a modest greater improvement over time than the omega-3 supplementation group for motor speed (ηp2 = 0.09) and BACS composite score (ηp2 = 0.21). After repeating the analyses without individuals who transitioned, motor speed was no longer significant (ηp2 = 0.02), but the composite score remained significant (ηp2 = 0.02). Change in erythrocyte n-3 PUFA levels did not predict change in cognitive performance over 6 months. Conclusions We found no evidence to support the use of omega-3 supplementation to improve cognitive functioning in ultra-high risk individuals. The biomarker analysis suggests that this finding is unlikely to be attributed to poor adherence or consumption of non-trial n−3 PUFAs.


BACKGROUND
Congenital hyperthyroidism can be a cause of failure to thrive, hyperactivity, developmental delay, and craniosynostosis during infancy. Most commonly, the condition occurs in the setting of maternal autoimmune thyroid disease. Rarely, congenital hyperthyroidism can also occur secondary to activating mutations within the thyrotropin (TSH) receptor.

PATIENT FINDINGS
A Hispanic male infant presented at age 6 months with severe thyrotoxicosis. At the time of presentation he was being evaluated for squamosal suture synostosis and he was noted to have significant developmental delays.

SUMMARY
The patient's thyrotoxicosis was initially treated with antithyroid medication, and he subsequently underwent craniosynostosis repair leading to neurodevelopmental improvement. DNA from the patient and his parents was submitted for mutational analysis of exons 9 and 10 of the TSH receptor. He was found to carry a monoallelic transition 1895C>T in exon 10 that resulted in the substitution of threonine at position 632 by isoleucine (T32I). This mutation resulted in constitutive activation of the TSH receptor. Neither parent carried this mutation indicating that the child has acquired a de novo germline mutation.

CONCLUSIONS
We report the first case of squamosal suture craniosynostosis in a patient with non-autoimmune hyperthyroidism. Squamosal suture craniosynotosis is rare, often has a subtle presentation, and should be considered in all patients with this condition because prompt treatment of hyperthyroidism and craniosynotosis repair can lead to normalization of neurodevelopment.


The People's Republic of China, commonly referred to as China, was formally established on October 1, 1949 under the rule of the Communist Party, and led by Mao Zedong. China, being one of the world's oldest civilizations, has a long and illustrious history that dates back well before 1949. Unfortunately, many of the ancient, deep rooted Confucius values still exist in China today. The P.R China is the most heavily populated country in the world. As of July 2012, the World Population Data Sheet estimates that China has over 1.34 billion people ("Current World Population"). There are more than 651 million women in China, which amounts to almost 20% of the women in the world. Women in China account for almost 10% of the world's total population. In a 2008 survey, more than 20,000 were asked the importance of gender equality, 76% felt that it was "very important" to the people of China (WorldPublicOpinion.org). Due to the incredible amount of women that live in China, gender equality as well as the overall treatment of women is critical to the successful economic development of not only China, but the rest of the world as well. Given the tremendous female population, no country has a greater influence on the world's female populous than China.


The paper analyzes the coupling of multi-disciplinary behaviors, including system dynamical behavior, combustion behavior and tribological behavior, of the cylinder liner-piston-rod-crank system in IC engine. Based on the state equation method, multi-disciplinary behavior coupling model of the Cylinder-Piston-Rod-Crank system is constructed and a multi-disciplinary behavior coupling analysis method in IC engine is presented on the basis of the state equation. With the coupling analysis model, the coupling effect of multi-disciplinary behaviors can be considered in the two sequential state calculations. By means of state calculation in time domain, the coupling effect of multi-disciplinary behaviors on life performance of IC engine can be predicted.


This paper looks at Billy Graham as a symbol for a platonized Christianity that gives birth to and maintains the social problem of mass incarceration. I suggest Kelly Brown Douglass's analytic of platonized Christianity provides a way of seeing Billy Graham as a symbol of this religious tradition. I unpack Billy Graham lying in state in a casket built by inmates as an intersectional symbolic representation of a platonized Christianity (Graham), politics (Capital Building), mass incarceration (casket), and the divinization of whiteness (Apotheosis of George Washington on the ceiling of the Rotunda). I draw upon selected sermonic moments of Graham propagating law and order rhetoric as a criticism of the strategy of civil disobedience during the civil rights movement. I argue Graham's embrace of law and order politics, helped lay the foundation for the social "solution" of mass incarceration, and his lying in state is a symbol of this legacy.


Constitutional theorists usually assume that minority-protective judicial review leads to outcomes more favorable to the protected minority and less favorable to the majority. Our analysis highlights an indirect effect of judicial review that complicates this conventional wisdom. Without judicial review, pro-majority and pro-minority leaders adopt different policies. Because judicial review limits the degree to which pro-majority leaders can adopt anti-minority policies, it becomes easier for pro-minority leaders to 'mimic' pro-majority leaders by adopting the most anti-minority policy that the judiciary would uphold. Furthermore, if judicial invalidation of anti-minority policies is probabilistic rather than certain, pro-majority leaders may propose even more extreme anti-minority policies in order to deter pro-minority leaders from mimicking. These effects can sometimes nullify, or even reverse, the assumed relationship between minority-protective judicial review and pro-minority outcomes. When such reversal occurs, majoritarian democrats should favor minority-protective judicial review, while those concerned with protecting unpopular minorities should oppose it.


Bacterial infections remain a major threat to the world community in terms of both morbidity and mortality. Indeed, bacterial infections are accountable for millions of fatalities around the globe. Additionally, these bacterial infections represent a notable burden, in particular, for children living in less-developed regions of the world. There are a numbers of classes of antibiotics for the treatment of these complicated and uncomplicated infections. But most of them are struggling with the current challenge of resistance. Obviously, resistance to current antibiotic is a global issue as greatly caused therapeutic outcome and patient compliance. The current researchers are looking towards natural product specially plant-based product for effective and long term solutions. In this regard, alkaloids represent a very important therapeutic class of natural products with clinical significance. The review describes the antibacterial profile of plant based alkaloids. Alkaloid acts as an emerging therapy for bacterial infections by inhibiting a broad range of gram positive and gram negative bacteria that were mostly resistant to current therapies. It was concluded that these alkaloids could be useful and effective therapeutic alternative to existing therapies that are extensively facing challenges of resistance. The current need is to focus on the clinical and safety aspects of these reported preclinical studies. Thus, it could be expected that plant alkaloids will be the popular drugs of future.


On the basis of simultaneous measurement of the rheosubcorticogram, polarogram, intracerebral pressure (ICP), ECoG and subcorticogram in patients with electrodes and sensors implanted in the brain, it was established that with the development of the seizure a rapidly reversible growth in the amplitude of deep rheoencephalogram, pO2 and ICP occurs beginning from the subclinical phase of epileptogenesis augmentation. According to the findings of deep rheoencephalography, the values of the tonic-elastic properties of the cerebral vessels undergo two-phase changes with the development of stable vasoparesis. The results of the study show that reactive hyperemia of the brain is the cause of the increased ICP; the cerebral perfusion pressure decreases in this case. A close correlation has been established between the values that were studied, particularly in the period of post-seizure coma.


DEFECTIVE KERNEL1 (DEK1), which consists of a membrane-spanning region (DEK1-MEM) and a calpain-like Cys proteinase region (DEK1-CALP), is essential for aleurone cell formation at the surface of maize (Zea mays) endosperm. Immunolocalization and FM4-64 dye incubation experiments showed that DEK1 and CRINKLY4 (CR4), a receptor kinase implicated in aleurone cell fate specification, colocalized to plasma membrane and endosomes. SUPERNUMERARY ALEURONE LAYER1 (SAL1), a negative regulator of aleurone cell fate encoding a class E vacuolar sorting protein, colocalized with DEK1 and CR4 in endosomes. Immunogold localization, dual-axis electron tomography, and diffusion of fluorescent dye tracers showed that young aleurone cells established symplastic subdomains through plasmodesmata of larger dimensions than those connecting starchy endosperm cells and that CR4 preferentially associated with plasmodesmata between aleurone cells. Genetic complementation experiments showed that DEK1-CALP failed to restore wild-type phenotypes in maize and Arabidopsis thaliana dek1 mutants, and DEK1-MEM also failed to restore wild-type phenotypes in Arabidopsis dek1-1 mutants. Instead, ectopic expression of DEK1-MEM under the control of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter gave a dominant negative phenotype. These data suggest a model for aleurone cell fate specification in which DEK1 perceives and/or transmits a positional signal, CR4 promotes the lateral movement of aleurone signaling molecules between aleurone cells, and SAL1 maintains the proper plasma membrane concentration of DEK1 and CR4 proteins via endosome-mediated recycling/degradation.


Significant increases in the cost of asphalt paving and increased awareness of the need for sustainable infrastructure in recent years have in turn increased the use of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) in the manufacture of hot-mix asphalt (HMA). The use of RAP reduces the overall cost of HMA and provides significant environmental benefits. Experience has shown, however, that the addition of RAP to HMA can have a negative effect on the low-temperature fracture characteristics of the pavement. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of RAP amounts on the low-temperature cracking performance of asphalt mixtures. Different percentages of RAP material, ranging from 0% to 50%, were studied. The embrittlement temperature of mixtures was determined with the use of an acoustic emissions technique. The disk-shaped compact tension [DC(T)] test was used to determine the fracture energy of asphalt mixtures. DC(T) fracture tests were conducted on two control mixtures with no RAP and mixtures that contained 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% RAP. Both control and RAP mixtures were manufactured with PG 64-22 and PG 58-28 as the virgin binders, which brought the total number of mixtures tested to 12. In addition to DC(T) fracture testing, indirect tensile testing was conducted on HMA specimens that contained 20% and 40% RAP. Test results clearly indicated the effects of the presence of RAP materials on the low-temperature performance of mixtures. This study demonstrates the benefit of performing fracture tests before RAP is added to the asphalt mixture, and it demonstrates the use of an acoustic emissions-based testing procedure to screen mixtures susceptible to cracking at low temperatures.


The nexus of minerals and energy becomes ever more important as the economic growth and development of countries in the global South accelerates and the needs of new energy technologies expand, while at the same time various important minerals are declining in grade and available reserves from conventional mining. Unconventional resources in the form of deep ocean deposits and urban ores are being widely examined, although exploitation is still limited. This paper examines some of the implications of the transition towards cleaner energy futures in parallel with the shifts through conventional ore decline and the uptake of unconventional mineral resources. Three energy scenarios, each with three levels of uptake of renewable energy, are assessed for the potential of critical minerals to restrict growth under 12 alternative mineral supply patterns. Under steady material intensities per unit of capacity, the study indicates that selenium, indium and tellurium could be barriers in the expansion of thin-film photovoltaics, while neodymium and dysprosium may delay the propagation of wind power. For fuel cells, no restrictions are observed.


ZnO thin films were deposited onto the glass substrates by spin coating method. Zinc acetate dihydrate, 2-methoxyethanol and monoethanolamine (MEA) were used as starting materials for the thin film preparation. Films were obtained by spin coating at 4000 rpm for 30 sec at room temperature and were annealed at different temperatures ranging from 200°C to 400°C. The effect of annealing temperature on the structural and optical properties of the ZnO thin films was investigated. Surface morphology of thin films was studied using atomic force microscope (AFM). The optical absorbance and transmittance measurements were recorded by using a single beam spectrophotometer in the wavelength range 300 nm to 900 nm. Evaluated optical band gap value agrees approximately with that of bulk ZnO. It is observed that band gap decreases as the annealing temperature is increased from 200°C to 400°C.


With the objective of creating a simulation model for the lifetime calculation of forged aerospace components it is necessary to clarify the damage mechanisms in the materials used. This has been researched for the Ni-base alloy Inconel 718 by varying the forging parameter effective plastic strain rate, which is realised by using three types of equipment: hydraulic press, screw press and hammer. Specimens processed at the screw press show the highest lifetime by keeping all other forging parameters unvaried. Micro structural investigations show that the amount and morphology of dominant as-large-as grains play a important role. This methodology is currently investigated for Ti-6Al-4V. Lifetime tests show that besides effective strain and anisotropy the influence of morphology is important. As soon as the model status allows lifetime analyses the thermo-mechanical process (forging and heat treatment) can be developed depending on the desired lifetime specifications in order to realise an interdisciplinary lifetime optimisation of forgings. A further aim is the use of basic coherences of safe-life and fail-safe approaches in the low and high cycle fatigue region in order to reasonable handle with flaws and defects at the edge layer.


ABSTRACT Estrogen-induced progression through G1 phase of the cell cycle is preceded by increased expression of the G1-phase regulatory proteins c-Myc and cyclin D1. To investigate the potential contribution of these proteins to estrogen action, we derived clonal MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines in which c-Myc or cyclin D1 was expressed under the control of the metal-inducible metallothionein promoter. Inducible expression of either c-Myc or cyclin D1 was sufficient for S-phase entry in cells previously arrested in G1 phase by pretreatment with ICI 182780, a potent estrogen antagonist. c-Myc expression was not accompanied by increased cyclin D1 expression or Cdk4 activation, nor was cyclin D1 induction accompanied by increases in c-Myc. Expression of c-Myc or cyclin D1 was sufficient to activate cyclin E-Cdk2 by promoting the formation of high-molecular-weight complexes lacking the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21, as has been described, following estrogen treatment. Interestingly, this was accompanied by an association between active cyclin E-Cdk2 complexes and hyperphosphorylated p130, identifying a previously undefined role for p130 in estrogen action. These data provide evidence for distinct c-Myc and cyclin D1 pathways in estrogen-induced mitogenesis which converge on or prior to the formation of active cyclin E-Cdk2-p130 complexes and loss of inactive cyclin E-Cdk2-p21 complexes, indicating a physiologically relevant role for the cyclin E binding motifs shared by p130 and p21.


Thymol is empirically used to relieve symptoms of respiratory diseases. It is a component of thyme herb extract, a terpene with antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidative activity. In the respiratory system it is known to modulate mucociliary transport, airway β2 receptors, and combined with ivy extract attenuates coughing in children with acute bronchitis. Thymol also acts on the transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily V, member 3 (TRPV3) channels which are expressed in the skin, tongue, and afferent somatosensory neurons. In the present study we the tested hypothesis that intranasal administration of thymol would modulate the cough reflex possibly by trigeminal/olfactory pathways. Eighteen healthy volunteers with normal lung function were tested for cough. Before and after nasal administration of thymol (0.025 ml, 10-3M) into both nostrils, urge-to-cough, cough threshold, cumulative and total count of coughs per provocation were estimated during standardized and validated capsaicin cough challenge. Nasal thymol challenges induced pleasant olfactory sensations and in 6 out of the 18 subjects also a transient (up to 2 min) mild cooling sensation. Cough threshold was not influenced when compared with intranasal saline and vehicle challenges (12.5 vs. 13.2 vs. 10.2μM of capsaicin to induce two or more coughs (C2), respectively, but the total count of coughs after nasal thymol challenge was significantly lower than that obtained after saline or vehicle (19 vs. 20 vs. 14 coughs/provocation, respectively; p


Screening of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection by molecular test is not routinely performed for the care of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients in most countries of Sub-Saharan Africa such as Benin. The aim of this study was to assess the extent of HCV infection in patients infected with HIV in Cotonou. This study was conducted from February to June 2017 on HIV infected patients from the National Reference Center for Research and Management of HIV infection in Cotonou.  Blood samples were collected from patients to detect anti-HCV antibody and HCV viral load. A total of 205 patients were tested, out of which 67.3% were females. Seroprevalence of anti-HCV antibody was 7.8% and HCV viral load was detectable in 3.4% of cases with a median of 2.200.000 IU/mL (6.3 Log10). Three out of seven patients (42.8%) had negative HCV serology with positive HCV RNA detection. In conclusion, the prevalence of HCV infection among HIV infected patients is not negligible in Cotonou. Universal access to molecular tests is needed in the country to detect HCV infection in these patients.

 Keywords: HCV, HIV, prevalence.


A typical way of learning power system operation is by modeling the system and simulating itsperformance. Convention requires development of mathematical algorithm and user interfaces ondedicated hardware and software platforms. It has the drawback of a heavy overhead ofdevelopment and learning time. In this paper, a novel approach is presented to provide aheterogeneous development platform for designing the power system analysis and simulationtools. Highlights of other market-available platforms like MATLAB, EMTP, EMTDC,PFLOW, PowerGraf, POWERWORLD and Ptolemy are summarized. Case studies are carriedout to illustrate the approach and its success in integrating various essential components.


Three trade policy changes underway and on the horizon have the prospect to alter global markets for japonica rice. This paper considers likely global market effects of expansion of access into the market in Japan and Korea, and reduced subsidy for japonica rice (among other crops) in the United States. We consider these policy changes in the context of a proposed Doha Development Agenda WTO agreement and one potential outcome of the proposed Free Trade Agreement between Korea and the United States (KUS-FTA). We use an equilibrium displacement model to ask how market prices, quantities and other aggregates change as a result of policy changes. The global model includes six aggregates in the world market, China, Korea, Japan, the United States, other exporters and other importers. Under the WTO scenario that U.S. subsidies decrease by 25 percent in addition to the full implementation of quota expansion in Korea and Japan, our results indicate that: 1) U.S. production falls by about 16 percent, and U.S. exports fall by about 51 percent, 2) the world price rises by about 1 percent, and 3) China's exports increase about 43 percent. If no WTO agreement occurs, there would be no expansion of Japan's imports and no reduction in U.S. rice subsidy even though Korea must still expand its WTO-multilateral quota. A KUS-FTA is likely to add a country-specific U.S. quota of another 4 percent of domestic consumption. In this case, world prices rise by only 0.3 percent. In general, world price effects are small and this is mainly due to the strong Chinese supply response. However, it is important to note that the associated changes in Chinese japonica rice production are at most about one percent of the Chinese baseline production. This implies the dominant role of China in the world japonica rice market.


The cellular origins of glomerulosclerosis involve activation of parietal epithelial cells (PECs) and progressive podocyte depletion. While mammalian target of rapamycin-mediated (mTOR-mediated) podocyte hypertrophy is recognized as an important signaling pathway in the context of glomerular disease, the role of podocyte hypertrophy as a compensatory mechanism preventing PEC activation and glomerulosclerosis remains poorly understood. In this study, we show that glomerular mTOR and PEC activation-related genes were both upregulated and intercorrelated in biopsies from patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and diabetic nephropathy, suggesting both compensatory and pathological roles. Advanced morphometric analyses in murine and human tissues identified podocyte hypertrophy as a compensatory mechanism aiming to regulate glomerular functional integrity in response to somatic growth, podocyte depletion, and even glomerulosclerosis - all of this in the absence of detectable podocyte regeneration. In mice, pharmacological inhibition of mTOR signaling during acute podocyte loss impaired hypertrophy of remaining podocytes, resulting in unexpected albuminuria, PEC activation, and glomerulosclerosis. Exacerbated and persistent podocyte hypertrophy enabled a vicious cycle of podocyte loss and PEC activation, suggesting a limit to its beneficial effects. In summary, our data highlight a critical protective role of mTOR-mediated podocyte hypertrophy following podocyte loss in order to preserve glomerular integrity, preventing PEC activation and glomerulosclerosis.


Therapy adherence in hypertension. the less-than-perfect adherence of patients with hypertension regarding their medical treatment has been well known for some time. on the side of the patients, ignorance with respect to the potential cardiovascular late sequelae of non-adherence and a (too) high number of drugs have been identified as important causes, while from the physician's side it has been noted that the information provided is not always optimal or does not reach the patient in the intended manner. Measures to improve adherence therefore include a better awareness training of the patients, an optimization of the treatment using as few drugs as possible as well as a better follow-up of the patient's blood pressure control. J Hyperton 2017; 21 (2): 43–7.


I study the implications of both international and intranational trade for welfare and the distribution of economic activity across sectors and regions within a country, as well as the relative importance of the underlying economic mechanisms, using a quantitative spatial general equilibrium model calibrated to the Brazilian economy. I find that the welfare gains from intranational trade (15.6%) are 4 times as large as those from international trade (3.9%). In the absence of labor migration within the country, the regional welfare gains from intranational trade (7.9%–33.9%) are 2.1 to 29.7 times as large as those from international trade (1%–6.5%). International trade reallocates economic activity from remote and less developed regions toward resource-rich areas, more developed coastal regions, and the free trade zone, without significantly a ff ecting the spatial concentration of economic activity. In contrast, intranational trade induces a considerably larger reallocation, away from the more developed coastal regions, making economic activity more geographically dispersed. The sectoral reallocation associated with intranational trade is substantially smaller than that associated with international trade, and the implications of the two types of trade for the sectoral composition of the economy are markedly di ff erent. The extent to which labor can move across regions within the country has dramatic implications for the spatial distribution of the welfare gains from trade, but a small impact on the aggregate welfare e ff ects. Sectoral linkages explain approximately half of the welfare gains and up to half of the spatial reallocation of economic activity associated with trade. The impact of trade on the sectoral composition of the economy depends crucially on how sectors relate to each other.


We introduce a stochastic model for the determination of phase noise in optoelectronic oscillators. After a short overview of the main results for the phase diffusion approach in autonomous oscillators, an extension is proposed for the case of optoelectronic oscillators where the microwave is a limit-cycle originated from a bifurcation induced by nonlinearity and time-delay. This Langevin approach based on stochastic calculus is also successfully confronted with experimental measurements.


Each "Communication Corner" essay is self-contained; however, they build on each other. For best results, before reading this essay and doing the exercise, go to the first essay "How an Ugly Duckling Became a Swan," then read each succeeding essay. A distinction is often made between creative writing (fiction) and expository writing(non-fiction). However, they are more alike than most people think. Creative writers can learn from expository writers, and vice versa.


The machine vision has been applied to a number of industrial applications for quality control and automations to improve the manufacturing processes. In this paper, the automation system using the machine vision is developed, which is applicable to the marking process in a steel production process line. The working environment is very harsh to workers so that the automatic system in the steel industry is required increasingly. The developed automatic marking system consists of several mechanical and electrical elements such as the laser position detecting sensor system for a structured laser beam which is projected to the billet in order to detect the geometry of the billet. An image processing algorithm has been developed to percept the two center positions of a camera and a billet, respectively, and to align two centers. A series of experiments has been conducted to investigate the performance of the proposed algorithm. The results show that two centers of the camera and the billet could be detected very well and differences between two center positions could be also decreased via the proposed tracking algorithm.


A Malaysian Aquaria, the Underwater World Langkawi (UWL), has brought in 14 African penguins ( Spheniscus demersus ) for their ex-situ conservation. Following The Penguin Husbandry Manual produced by the American Zoo Aquarium Association (AZA), the UWL has adopted the population as their management regime and, as a result, has successfully bred the population from a total of 14 individuals to 40 individuals. This study aims to evaluate the captive management of penguins at the UWL and increase the efficiency of the management regime at the UWL. Environmental data were collected in this study, including the size of the Enclosure 13, temperature, lighting, seawater quality, and feeding data. The results showed that the showcase areas fulfilled the minimum requirements of the penguin, and no significant difference was found between morning and the evening temperatures. However, it differed significantly from the six lighting spots, and the pool's water was within the comfort zones. The diet provided for the African penguins at UWL follows their requirements. However, the amount of food supplied to each penguin at UWL is low compared to the food intake of the same individual penguin in the wild. Overall, the management of UWL is excellent practice. However, some weaknesses need further improvement.


ABSTRACT Introduction: Hereditary periodic fevers (HPFs) are inherited errors of the innate immunity which, although individually uncommon, collectively have set up a novel emerging and developing chapter of pediatrics. Areas covered: A careful analysis and identification of diseases globally known as HPFs is essential to prompt an effective treatment and improve survival and quality of life of these children. This review provides a detailed summary of the main monogenic autoinflammatory disorders appearing with recurrent fevers in childhood with the final aim to help pediatricians in a correct recognition and discrimination of hereditary causes of fever. Expert opinion: Challenges associated with the management of monogenic autoinflammatory disorders in childhood have been increasingly tantalized by the different treatment options available and by the recently accessible genetic investigation techniques, which have led to identify a growing number of rare causes of periodic fevers. In addition, as new mechanisms underlying the regulation of innate immunity are discovered and more pathogenetic therapeutic approaches are adopted, the next decade promises a progress in the knowledge of HPFs and a potential genomically-based therapeutic approach. Actually, the inhibition of interleukin (IL)-1 represents the most incisive treatment for patients with HPFs who do not respond to standard therapies or for whom the administration of canonical drugs is unsuitable and characterized by secondary effects.


Understanding the internal workings of classes is a key prerequisite to maintaining an object-oriented software system. Unfortunately, classical editing and browsing tools offer mainly linear and textual views of classes and their implementation. These views fail to expose the semantic relationships between the internal parts of a class. We propose X-Ray views - a technique based on concept analysis - which reveal the internal relationships between groups of methods and attributes of a class. X-Ray views are composed of elementary collaborations between attributes and methods, and help the engineer to build a mental model of how a class works internally. In this paper we present X-Ray views, and illustrate the approach by applying it on the Smalltalk class UIBuilder.


Routine dissection of the gluteal region of a female cadaver revealed bilateral tendinous foramina that encircled portions of the right and left superior gluteal artery, nerve, and vein. These unique structures have not been previously described within the gluteus medius muscles. Clinicians should be mindful of this rare anatomical variation while performing surgical procedures in the gluteal region due to the increased risk of damaging the superior gluteal neurovascular bundle.


Long thought to be the glue responsible for holding sister chromatids together, cohesin has been found to be stickier than previously thought. Recent discoveries point to cohesin having a role in transcription regulation by mediating long-distance intra-chromosomal interactions.


The microaerophilic protozoan Giardia lamblia inhabits the upper small intestine mucosa of vertebrate hosts, where it is exposed to different concentrations of oxygen. Despite the fermentative metabolism, Giardia trophozoites consume O2 and produce oxygen free radicals and therefore mechanism for detoxification are required. Devoid of glutathione, Giardia express high concentrations of cystein-rich proteins (CRP, also known as variable surface protein or VSP), as an antioxidant defense. This mechanism involves redox cycling for maintenance of a reduced intracellular environment and protection from oxidative stress. In this regard, substances that interfere in the antioxidant response of this protozoan could comprise a powerful chemotherapeutic strategy for Giardia lamblia infection. Here, we analyzed the effects of DETC, a superoxide dismutase (SOD) inhibitor, on parasite proliferation, thiol expression, lipid peroxidation, free radicals detection and cell architecture. DETC inhibited parasite proliferation at levels similar to metronidazole and induced peroxidation of membrane, possibly by the increase of reactive species.Ultrastructural alteration were also observed. Since this protozoan is devoid of SOD, here present data indicate SOD-independ DETC effects. Thiol groups detection with the fluorescent probe o-phthaldialdehyde (OPA). Cells treated with DETC displayed washed out cytoplasm and structures indicative of autophagy. The peripheral vesicles also had an increased volume, presumably caused by homophilic fusion. Taken together these data indicate that DETC enhance the oxidative stress in Giardia trophozoites by reacting with thiol groups.


Objectives To facilitate clinical and translational research, imaging and non-imaging clinical data from multiple disparate systems must be aggregated for analysis. Study participant records from various sources are linked together and to patient records when possible to address research questions while ensuring patient privacy. This paper presents a novel tool that pseudonymizes participant identifiers (PIDs) using a researcher-driven automated process that takes advantage of application-programming interface (API) and the Perl Open-Source Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine Archive (POSDA) to further de-identify PIDs. The tool, on-demand cohort and API participant identifier pseudonymization (O-CAPP), employs a pseudonymization method based on the type of incoming research data. Methods For images, pseudonymization of PIDs is done using API calls that receive PIDs present in Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) headers and returns the pseudonymized identifiers. For non-imaging clinical research data, PIDs provided by study principal investigators (PIs) are pseudonymized using a nightly automated process. The pseudonymized PIDs (P-PIDs) along with other protected health information is further de-identified using POSDA. Results A sample of 250 PIDs pseudonymized by O-CAPP were selected and successfully validated. Of those, 125 PIDs that were pseudonymized by the nightly automated process were validated by multiple clinical trial investigators (CTIs). For the other 125, CTIs validated radiologic image pseudonymization by API request based on the provided PID and P-PID mappings. Conclusions We developed a novel approach of an on-demand pseudonymization process that will aide researchers in obtaining a comprehensive and holistic view of study participant data without compromising patient privacy.


An expert system is developed for evaluating failure potential of cut slopes and embankments. The fuzzy sets theory is used with the modified Monte Carlo simulation technique to obtain the Slope Failure Potential Index (SFPI) incorporating factors affecting slope stability, such as geology, topography, geomorphology, precipitation, vegetation and drainage conditions. The developed Cut Slopes and Embankments Expert System (CSEES) includes a classification system for evaluating failure potential of cut slopes and embankments, and a data bank on landslides in Jordan. The proposed classification system and slope failure-potential method proved to be successful for the areas that experienced landslides in the past. The expert system can be used directly for areas with the same geological formations as those areas in which landslides occurred in the past and can be used for areas with other geological formations by modifying the rock type or foundation-material type factor incorporated in the expert system.


Abstract
This chapter outlines some theoretical, historical and analytical themes covering national, trans-national and international trends in open education. It starts by looking at the social, economic and political drivers for education systems in general, and how openness has been used to widen access through attacking the iron triangle of education: access, quality and cost (open as a door). It then looks at the more recent technological and ideological developments that have aided openness (open as a book); including the central role that open licensing of digital materials (open as a right) has played in changing the social and economic drivers of education and in particular open educational resources. Next, it looks at the importance of open innovation, social innovation and communities of practice for open education (open as a relationship) and includes a comparison between the development of open source software and the development of open educational resources. It goes on to consider the impacts of all these on national and international policy (open as a border) before reviewing the social and economic role of open education from the perspectives of lifelong learners, students, educational institutions and educational publishers (open for business in the future). The chapter concludes by forecasting possible trends in open education for the next 15 years.


Usage of β-blockers (BB) for treatment of patients with cardiovascular diseases is discussed. Results of the basic clinical trials with BB (LIFE, ASCOT, etc.) are analyzed. The role of sympathetic system in different stages of cardiovascular continuum as well as forecast of BB clinical efficacy is surveyed. Author presents a review of data about selective β1-block-er, metoprolol succinate (Betalok ZОК), in patients with cardiovascular diseases.


Arthur Johnson doesn't look like a murderous psychopath; he is a mild-mannered man who has never known how to talk to women. Years of loneliness has warped his mind, turning his desire for a woman's love and respect into a pathological need for carefully controlled violence. Locked in the cellar of his building is the perfect willing victim, a woman who can be murdered over and over again, a woman who waits for Arthur every night...When a young scholar of psychopathic personalities moves in downstairs and Arthur's mannequin disappears, where will he turn to satisfy his urgent craving for violence? The crime novel that won Rendell the first of her six Gold Dagger awards, this is a haunting insight into the mind of a pathological criminal.


INTRODUCTION
Cholangioscopy is a test that allows the evaluation of the biliary epithelium. It is used for diagnosis and management of biliary diseases.

OBJECTIVES
Determine the success rate of complete removal of difficult stones with the use of laser lithotripsy through cholangioscopy as well as its complications. Determine the visual impression accuracy of bile duct injuries.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
This is a prospective and descriptive study. We included 39 patients between July 2016 and July 2017 with diagnosis of difficult stones in the biliary tract and indeterminate stenosis of the biliary tract that were submitted to cholangioscopy.

RESULTS
Success rate of complete removal of difficult stones was 65.3%, there was one complication. Two laser sessions were required in 4 of the 17 patients who obtained complete removal of the stones. The visual impression accuracy of lesions in the bile duct to determine malignancy coincided in all cases with the final diagnosis of the patient.

CONCLUSIONS
Laser lithotripsy allows a safe and effective treatment of the difficult stones of the bile duct. Precession of visual impression of lesions in the bile duct is very high.


This article investigates the codification of the average consumer concept in secondary legislation and its interpretation in the Court of Justice of the European Union(CJEU)'s case law, using doctrinal and empirical methods. We first identify all secondary legislation explicitly using the 'average consumer' in its wording and respective case law. We show that only the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD) developed significant case law and conducted a software supported systematic qualitative analysis of all UCPD average consumer case law to address five research questions: How is the average consumer test applied? How does the CJEU test the average consumer? How is the average consumer characterized? Who decides who the average consumer is (institutional dimension?) Is the 'average consumer' in the UCPD case law the same 'average consumer' as elsewhere? The results show that the 'average consumer' concept performs a distinct function in UCPD adjudication and has matured to a selfreferential 'average consumer' interpretation isolated from case law rendered in other areas. We argue that when the 'average consumer' serves as a constitutive feature in order to define what constitutes a misleading practice, a stronger mandate for the CJEU to interpret the concept can be warranted.


In this era of rapid change, people need to be helped through the grieving process at work. "By acknowledging and articulating what is involved, you facilitate people's movement through it ... successful people in growing organizations need to learn to move through the process as quickly and efficiently as possible and help others do the same." Morris Shectman, in Working Without a Net says, "Contrary to the old paradigm--which held that others don't have a right to know about your personal life--the new paradigm says that it's a necessity that they know." If people are to move through the grief that is caused by undesired change, they will have to tell some of their personal feelings. "Each stage of the process--shock and denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance--is functional ... when people go through the process in a healthy manner, they'll recycle through it in a diluted fashion." Leaders in the organization can help people start the process or move through it if they get stuck at a particular stage.


Abstract Apprenticeship completion rates have remained persistently low for decades in spite of broad agreement over the causes of non-completions. A possible factor missing from these explanations is climate, particularly in northern Australia where traditional trade apprentices are exposed to extreme conditions and exert themselves. We hypothesize that: the onset of hotter, more humid weather in northern Australia during the fourth quarter of the calendar year would be reflected by an increase in trades' apprenticeship withdrawals and cancellations. Using the entire National Apprentice and Trainee Collection, completion and attrition data were geographically categorized into north and south Australia. Statistical analyses identified a clear difference in trade occupation's cancellations and withdrawals. Regionally specific climate variables are briefly examined, further supporting the claim that heat stress appears a likely contributor. These cross-disciplinary findings have a broader significance as apprenticeship completions contribute to socio-economic growth and the public policy agenda of northern development.


Education is very important role in the development and the development of a region, especially in developing the potential of the resources of a region. Education which was expected to create human-human that is able to excavate and develop all the potential with the appropriate relevance to the potential of the area. In this case will be discussed how far the role of non-formal education institutions such as foreign language courses, computer skills and other support in the development potential of a region or regions of the support services, especially tourism in Central Aceh Regency. This study aims to determine the role of the existence of non-formal education institutions, especially the course of the services that support tourism in the Central Aceh Regency. The targets will be achieved in this research is to identify and analyze the characteristics of institutions in the course Kabupaten Aceh Tengah. Identify the characteristics and analysis services to support tourism in the Central Aceh Regency. Analyze the course of the institution with the services that support tourism in the Middle District of Aceh, to provide conclusions and recommendations. From the results of the analysis, it is known that institutions have a role in a high enough services to support tourism in the region of Aceh Tengah Regency is computer institute courses language courses and institutions.


Lipid exchange between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and peroxisomes is necessary for the synthesis and catabolism of lipids, the trafficking of cholesterol, and peroxisome biogenesis in mammalian cells. However, how lipids are exchanged between these two organelles is not understood. In this study, we report that the ER-resident VAMP-associated proteins A and B (VAPA and VAPB) interact with the peroxisomal membrane protein acyl-CoA binding domain containing 5 (ACBD5) and that this interaction is required to tether the two organelles together, thereby facilitating the lipid exchange between them. Depletion of either ACBD5 or VAP expression results in increased peroxisome mobility, suggesting that VAP–ACBD5 complex acts as the primary ER–peroxisome tether. We also demonstrate that tethering of peroxisomes to the ER is necessary for peroxisome growth, the synthesis of plasmalogen phospholipids, and the maintenance of cellular cholesterol levels. Collectively, our data highlight the importance of VAP–ACBD5–mediated contact between the ER and peroxisomes for organelle maintenance and lipid homeostasis.


Convolutional Neural Networks, or CNNs, are the state of the art for image classification, but typically come at the cost of a large memory footprint. This limits their usefulness in applications relying on embedded devices, where memory is often a scarce resource. Recently, there has been significant progress in the field of image classification on such memory-constrained devices, with novel contributions like the ProtoNN, Bonsai and FastGRNN algorithms. These have been shown to reach up to 98.2% accuracy on optical character recognition using MNIST-10, with a memory footprint as little as 6KB. However, their potential on more complex multi-class and multi-channel image classification has yet to be determined. In this paper, we compare CNNs with ProtoNN, Bonsai and FastGRNN when applied to 3-channel image classification using CIFAR-10. For our analysis, we use the existing Direct Convolution algorithm to implement the CNNs memory-optimally and propose new methods of adjusting the FastGRNN model to work with multi-channel images. We extend the evaluation of each algorithm to a memory size budget of 8KB, 16KB, 32KB, 64KB and 128KB to show quantitatively that Direct Convolution CNNs perform best for all chosen budgets, with a top performance of 65.7% accuracy at a memory footprint of 58.23KB.


Abstract On 11 February 2010, a partial dome collapse, the largest since 20 May 2006, occurred at Soufrière Hills Volcano (SHV), Montserrat. The collapse is also the largest generated on the northern flank of SHV since the eruption began in 1995. Approximately 50×106 m3 was removed from the dome, resulting in widespread pyroclastic density currents (PDCs). Mapping revealed a complex stratigraphy that varied widely across the northern and NE flanks, and reflected the complex evolution of the collapse. The deposits included a range of fine-grained ash-rich and pumice-rich units deposited by dilute PDCs, and several types of coarse-grained, blocky deposits from dense PDCs. Several previously unaffected areas, including Bugby Hole, Farm River Valley, the village of Harris and Trants, suffered significant damage to the natural and built environments. The collapse lasted 107 min but the bulk of the activity occurred in a 15 min period that included five of the six peaks in PDC generation and two Vulcanian explosions. Although powerful, the PDCs generated were not associated with a lateral blast. The likely cause was the piecemeal collapse of a series of large, unstable lobes that had been extruded on the northern flank of the pre-existing dome.


Abstract
Background: Cancers are among the top 10 causes of death worldwide. Melanoma is a skin cancer originated from mutations on melanocytes. Transformed melanocytes can migrate and invade tissues in a process called metastasis. When early diagnosed, melanoma is curable by surgical excision. However, when metastatic, cells are refractory to existing therapies and patient survival rates are low. New therapeutic interventions with effective results on melanoma cells that could increase long term patients' survival rates are needed. Over the past decade our group has been using cell-based models to determine highly diluted solutions effects. Several compounds have been tested on normal and tumor cells with promising results that could indicate the efficacy of homeopathy on selected cases.
Aims: To investigate Atropa belladonna 200 c (Bell200c) in vitro antitumor effects on B16-F10 metastatic murine melanoma cells and its toxicity on Balb/3T3 normal murine fibroblasts.
Methodology: Atropa belladonna 200c was produced and kindly donated by "Homeoterápica" compounding pharmacy (Curitiba, Brazil). Cells were treated for up to 72 hours. Assays to determine cytotoxicity, as well as functional and molecular cell patterns were carried out following standard protocols. Water treated cells were used as control group. All data were submitted to Shapiro-Wilk normality test followed by either Mann-Whitney or t-test. P value < 0.05 was considered significant.
Results and discussion: Cancer cells accelerated proliferation rates are often target for chemotherapeutic agents. Bell200c modulated cell cycle, leading to a decreased melanoma cell proliferation (44% less cells then control), and an increase in apoptotic cells number. If unspecific, those effects can lead to undesirable toxicity. Amazingly, no effects on fibroblast proliferation and death were observed. Melanoma cells malignancy was also affected, as the following tumor progression related features were modulated. Melanin production was higher in treated cells. N-cadherin and CD44 expression were statistically decreased. Clonogenic capacity was decreased by 35%. Here we have demonstrated Bell200c selective effects on melanoma cells with remarkable capacity of impairing metastatic melanoma characteristics.
Conclusion: Atropa belladonna has a prospective use in metastatic melanoma patients as a potential tumor progression regulator.
Keywords: in vitro testing, high dilution, B16-F10, melanoma.


This report describes the results of twelve months research involving the Hughes array co-processor. This work began with the testing and debugging of the existing system, continued with the development of software to interface the co-processor to a host machine and concluded with the implementation of a trajectory planning algorithm for redundant manipulators. A loader program has been developed which allows simple programs to be executed. A library of C-callable routines has also been created and this enables the fabrication of more complex systems which require a high level of interaction between the host and co-processor. Routines to perform square root, sine and cosine functions have been designed and these have been used successfully in the development of a trajectory planning algorithm. This algorithm uses the co-processor to compute in parallel a large number of forward kinematics solutions and by doing so is able to convert a cartesian space trajectory into a joint space path for a redundant manipulator. The performance of the processor has been analyzed and a number of recommendations have been made concerning future implementations. Comments University of Pennsylvania Department of Computer and Information Science Technical Report No. MSCIS-91-17. This technical report is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/cis_reports/487 The Huges Array Co-Processor and Its Application To Robotics MS-CIS-91-17 GRASP LAB 255


The research reported in this inquiry consists of the application of a previously validated learning environment questionnaire developed in a western context to a culturally diverse context, namely, the Pacific Islands. The Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) instrument was administered to intact classes of first and second year science students (n=257) at a regional university in the Pacific Islands, catering for a total of 12 ethnicities. The data reveal that the QTI instrument holds good reliability for all scales, and this may be due to the simple nature of the questions on the QTI. Surprisingly, there were few differences in perceptions of teacher-student interaction based on ethnicity, but substantial differences based on gender; females perceived their environment more favourably than males. The data for the QTI reveal that the students perceive their classrooms to be highly teacher dominated, consistent with previous naturalistic studies of secondary schools and exploratory studies at the tertiary level in Fiji. Since almost all the graduates from this institution become science teachers, a cycle is completed.


One of the most heavily debated questions in implicit social cognition is the extent to which implicit measures can be voluntarily controlled. The experiment reported here is the first to employ a novel strategy for intentionally controlling performance in the autobiographical Implicit Association Test (aIAT). Specifically, when explicitly instructed to do so, participants were able to speed up their responses in the incongruent blocks of the aIAT and thus influence the outcome of the test. This effect was larger when the experimental instruction was followed by practice in speeding responses than when the instruction was given alone. A process-dissociation analysis suggested that the effect was due to reductions in the ability of participants' automatic associations to influence responses when instructions to speed up were provided. This experiment provides new insight into the potential for strategic control in the performance of implicit measures and into the interplay between automatic and controlled processes underlying performance on implicit measures.


The term "magnetosphere" originated historically from early spacecraft measurements of plasma trapped by the magnetic field of earth and other planets. But over the years this concept has also been applied to the magnetically channeled wind outflows from magnetic stars. The review here describes the basic magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) approach used to model such stellar magnetospheres, with emphasis on the central competition between confinement by the magnetic field vs. expansion of the stellar wind outflow. A key result is that, for a star with a dipole surface field B∗, surface radius R∗, and asymptotic wind momentum Ṁv∞, this competition can be well characterized by a single "wind magnetic confinement parameter", η∗ ≡ B 2 ∗R 2 ∗/Ṁv∞. For large η∗, closed magnetic looops can confine parts of the wind up to an Alfvén radius RA ≈ η1/4R∗, leading to "magnetically confined wind shocks" that might produce the relatively hard X-ray emission seen in some magnetic stars. In rotating stars, RA also roughly characterizes the radius up to which material co-rotates with the underlying star. For the outflowing wind, the associated loss of angular momentum, can lead to spindown in the stellar rotation over a time much shorter than the star's evolutionary timescale. For confined material within RA but beyond the star's Keplerian corotation radius RK , the net centrifugal support against gravity can lead to a "rigidly rotating magnetosphere" composed of accumulating trapped wind. This can provide a natural explanation for the rotationally modulated Balmer line emission observed from magnetic Bp stars. Moreover, magnetic reconnection heating from episodic centrifugal breakout events might explain the occasional very hard X-ray flares seen from such stars. Overall, it seems clear that magnetic fields can play a strong role in confining and channeling such stellar wind outflows, providing a natural explanation for various observational signatures structure and variability in the winds and circumstellar envelopes of massive stars. 1 Bartol Research Institute, Department of Physics & Astrophysics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716 USA c © EDP Sciences 2008 DOI: (will be inserted later)


The center of the article deals with the future of the public and private health insurance system in Germany. It analyses therefore both the statutory fund system and the private health insurers. Particular emphasis is put on the Social Health Insurance Competition Strengthening Act 2007 according to which Private Health Insurances will be more affordable for lower income individuals by requiring private insurers to offer a basic benefit package at lower premiums. The idea of managed care has gained momentum in German discussions on health care reform over the past years. Managed care and stronger patient guidance are believed to improve quality of care and to control costs by increasing coordination and the efficient use of health care ressources. In this new environment the question of a possible privatization of the Statutory Fund System arises, a development the Dutch health care system just accomplished. The core idea is to build up non-profit-organisations with integrated care models on the basis of private law. The cons and pros of a new legal framework for the German health insurance system are carefully discussed. Whereas new forms of care may result in less choice for patients, they enable payers to contract selectively and to become players responsible for quality and efficiency of services.


This research paper explores the discursive construction of China and Tibet's national identity, and how it interrelates with China-Tibet relations. In contrast to studies suggesting a defining and determinant role of national identity on China-Tibet relations, this research paper argues that the collective identity of Tibet and China is a hegemonic and highly contested construction, and Tibet and China, therefore, should look beyond identity and search for an alternative approach to nation/state building without succumbing to either Chinese nationalism or Tibetan nationalism. Drawing on the work of some of the critical theorists, this research paper shows that it is bound to fail to build a political community based on a collective national identity. This research paper proposes that the authorities of Tibet and China should negotiate for future institutional reform of the Tibet Question by the recognition of the contingent identities of the multitude.


We are developing a spatial, multigear, multispecies population dynamics simulation model for tropical tunas in the Pacific Ocean. The model is age-structured to account for growth and gear selectivity. It includes a tuna movement model based on a diffusion–advection equation in which the advective term is proportional to the gradient of a habitat index. The monthly geographical distribution of recruitment is defined by assuming that spawning occurs in areas where sea surface temperature is above 25°C. During the first 3 months of their life, simulated tunas are transported by oceanic currents, after which movement is conditioned by gradients in the habitat index. Independent estimates of natural mortality rates and population size from large-scale tagging experiments carried out by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community are used in the simulations. The habitat index consists of components due to forage density and sea surface temperature, both of which are suspected to play major roles in determining tuna distribution. Because direct observations of forage are not available on a basin scale, we developed a submodel to simulate the surface tuna forage production (Lehodey et al., 1998). At present, only skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis; a surface tuna species caught by purse seine and by pole-and-line) is considered, at a 1°-square resolution and on a monthly climatological time series. Despite the simplicity of the model and the limitations of the data used, the simulation model is able to predict a distribution of skipjack catch rates, of the different fleets involved in the fishery, that is fairly consistent with observations.


Understanding the mechanism of transit of a nanoparticle (NP) through a biomimetic bilayer has been at the forfront of research for the design of efficient drug-delivery mechanisms, nanotechnology and biomedicine. Establishing a consistent picture of how the transit mechanism depends on the physiochemical property of a NP is critical to understanding what approach may be the most effective for nanomedicine design. In this study, using molecular simulation techniques, we have analyzed the key properties of a NP that may affect the mechanism of transit - the effect of size and hydrophobicity. By using a continuum model of a NP based on the Hamaker potential, we have created NP of tunable hydrophobic properties. The effect of hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and mixed properties of the NP is analyzed against a biomimetic bilayer - we show that this model can illustrate three distinct properties - where the hydrophilic type shows rupture of the bilayer, the hydrophobic type showing a entrapment of the NP around the hydrophobic tailgroups of the bilayer, and the mixed type showing a distinct, direct translocation type mechanism. Increasing the NP size shows different effects for each type of NP, and hence, may provide insight into the design of NPs with these types of mechanisms involved.


The title complexes (1a,b) were prepared in two steps by first reacting the hydrides [M2Cp2(μ-H)(μ-PCy2)(CO)4] with [NO](BF4) in the presence of Na2CO3 to give dinitrosyls [M2Cp2(μ-PCy2)(CO)2(NO)2](BF4), which were then fully decarbonylated upon reaction with NaNO2 at 323 K. An isomer of the Mo2 complex having a cisoid arrangement of the terminal ligands ( cis-1a) was prepared upon irradiation of toluene solutions of 1a with visible-UV light at 288 K. The structure of these trinitrosyl complexes was investigated using X-ray diffraction and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, these revealing a genuine pyramidalization of the bridging NO that might be associated in part to an increase of charge at the N atom and anticipated a weakening of the N-O bond upon reaction with bases or reducing reagents. Complexes 1a,b reacted with [FeCp2](BF4) to give first the radicals [M2Cp2(μ-PCy2)(μ-NO)(NO)2](BF4) according to CV experiments, which then underwent H-abstraction to yield the nitroxyl-bridged complexes [M2Cp2(μ-PCy2)(μ-κ1:η2-HNO)(NO)2](BF4), alternatively prepared upon protonation with HBF4·OEt2. The novel coordination mode of the nitroxyl ligand in these products was thermodynamically favored over its tautomeric hydroximido form, according to DFT calculations, and similar nitrosomethane-bridged cations [M2Cp2(μ-PCy2)( μ-κ1:η2-MeNO)(NO)2]+ were prepared by reacting 1a,b with CF3SO3Me or [Me3O]BF4. Complexes 1 reacted with M(Hg) (M = Zn, Na) in tetrahydrofuran to give the amido-bridged derivatives [M2Cp2(μ-PCy2)(μ-NH2)(NO)2] with retention of stereochemistry, a transformation also induced by using mild O atom scavengers such as CO and phosphites in the presence of water. In the absence of water, phosphites accomplished a deoxygenation of the bridging NO of the Mo2 complexes to yield the phosphoraniminato-bridged derivatives [Mo2Cp2(μ-PCy2){μ-NP(OR)3}(NO)2] (R = Et, Ph), also with retention of stereochemistry.


Sentiment analysis is a wide area with greatpotential and many research directions. One direction isstance detection, which is somewhat similar to sentimentanalysis. We supplement stance detection dataset withsentiment annotation and explore the similarities of thesetasks. We show that stance detection and sentimentanalysis can be mutually beneficial by using gold labelfor one task as features for the other task. We analysedthe presence of target entities for stance detection in thedataset. We outperform the state-of-the-art results forstance detection in Czech and set new state-of-the-artresults for the newly created sentiment analysis part ofthe extended dataset.


Research has been carried out at the University of Surrey to investigate the response of the relatively inexpensive photodiode-scintillator type gamma radiation detector. The results otained were compared with other published work in this field. The use of windowless photodiodes as direct semiconductor detectors for both alpha and X-ray / gamma ionising radiation was also studied. The work was carried out as a collaborative project with Vinten Analytical Systems Ltd. of Sandy in Bedfordshire. Results obtained by direct detection of Am-241 photons were particularly good using the inexpensive Hamamatsu S1223-01 photodiode (with a small active area of only 13.7mm2) providing excellent energy resolution for the gamma photons and the associated X-rays. The results obtained from the diode-scintillator format of detector compare well with published findings. Comparison of output pulses from gamma photons directly detected in the silicon photodiode (used as a stable reference) with the output from scintillation events provided an absolute method of calculating pulse size in terms of charge (in electron-hole pairs) generated in the photodiode. A reflector paint manufactured by Kodak based on barium sulphate was investigated as a substitute for the widely used yet bulky and inconvenient MgO powder. Manufacturer's literature indicate a reflectance significantly greater than for MgO powder. However, the results obtained when used in conjunction with CsI(Tl) were close to that obtained with MgO powder. Following initial work with 1cm2 diodes (Hamamatsu S1790-01, S1790-02 and S3590-01), even more compact and still less expensive detectors were developed using the small active area Hamamatsu S1223-01 type photodiodes. Unlike the majority of the diodes supplied by the manufacturers these have no protective coating over the active surface. The manufacture of these detectors involved the difficult task of coating the bare active surface of the diodes with a passive resin which would not. unduly affect the photodiodes characteristics. Although the performance of these detectors was not as good as for those constructed using the relatively large area photodiodes, they were of sufficient promise to encourage the development of compact and inexpensive readout electronics. Applications of the range of detectors and the associated readout electronics developed during the research period were also considered and are listed in broad categories below: (a) low cost educational demonstration systems (b) tomography systems where many detector arrays (often close together) and corresponding read-out electronics are required (c) gamma radiation monitors and assay applications (d) monitors for use in environments of high magnetic flux where conventional photomultiplier based detectors would be affected (e) gamma source verification for the well type ionisation chambers used in radiotherapy treatment. Information about the spectrum of the source being measured can be used to automatically select the scaling factor necessary to correct for the chamber response. Also, the purity of a source can be assessed where grow-in of gamma emitting daughters is a possibility in a personal dose meter to obtain spectroscopic information so that the effects of absorbed dose may be corrected for energy. Also, to assist in identifying the cause and location of a source of radiation in a working environment.


Background: (I) To describe the development and components of the automobile simulator driving behavior evaluation system developed by CRIR-Institut Nazareth et Louis-Braille; (II) to present the preliminary results of the content evaluation of the driving behavior evaluation grid. Methods: The evaluation system consists of five components: (I) the VS500M Car Simulator (Virage Simulation); (II) four VS500M driving scenarios, modified to minimize the occurrence of simulator sickness and expose subjects to commonly encountered driving situations on highways and city boulevards; (III) the Tobii Pro Glasses 2 eye tracking device; (IV) a car simulator driving behavior observation grid (DBOG); (V) a software application used during the behaviour evaluation phase, where synchronized video tracking, certain data from the simulator (e.g., speed) and the DBOG grid are presented. Initially, the expected safe driving behaviors were identified, including 235 of a visual nature, supported by literature data and consultation of the project steering committee and an expert in driving assessment. Driving behaviors were assessed in 22 subjects without visual impairment (mean age 55±20 years). Subsequently, the items were revised to determine their relevance based on their importance in terms of road safety or on the frequency with which behaviors were observed among participants. For analysis purpose, the items of the DBOG were grouped according to their content, by type of expected driving behavior (e.g., following a stop, look to the left and right before crossing the intersection) or element to be detected (e.g., pedestrians). Results: Some visual behaviors are difficult to observe with the eye tracker device because they are more dependent on peripheral than central vision. Others are rarely observed, possibly because they are little or not realized in daily life or the representation of reality on the simulator does not stimulate their adoption. On the other hand, the visual detection behaviors expected in a situation where safety can be compromised are mostly carried out (e.g., detection of oncoming vehicles, side mirror verification when changing lanes). Conclusions: This first phase of the study has made possible to better target the items to be kept in the car simulator driving behavior observation grid, and those that will have to be removed as they are too difficult to observe or too rarely adopted by the participants. Content validity and inter-rater reliability will be assessed from the simplified grid.