Insulin resistance associated with glucocorticoid treatment may be alleviated by inhibiting the synthesis of ceramides or their effectors. Using glucocorticoids without insulin resistance Inflammation can be reduced with chronic glucocorticoid treatment, which unfortunately is associated with the development of insulin resistance. Glucocorticoids induce the production of the secreted protein Angptl4 and of ceramides, a family of lipid mediators. Chen et al. showed that Angptl4 was necessary to induce the expression of genes encoding factors involved in ceramide synthesis in the livers of glucocorticoid-treated mice. Furthermore, Angptl4 was required to stimulate the activity of two downstream effectors of ceramides: PP2A and PKCζ. These results suggest that inhibiting this pathway may alleviate the insulin resistance that occurs with chronic glucocorticoid treatment. Chronic glucocorticoid exposure is associated with the development of insulin resistance. We showed that glucocorticoid-induced insulin resistance was attenuated upon ablation of Angptl4, a glucocorticoid target gene encoding the secreted protein angiopoietin-like 4, which mediates glucocorticoid-induced lipolysis in white adipose tissue. Through metabolomic profiling, we revealed that glucocorticoid treatment increased hepatic ceramide concentrations by inducing enzymes in the ceramide synthetic pathway in an Angptl4-dependent manner. Angptl4 was also required for glucocorticoids to stimulate the activities of the downstream effectors of ceramide, protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) and protein kinase Cζ (PKCζ). We further showed that knockdown of PP2A or inhibition of PKCζ or ceramide synthesis prevented glucocorticoid-induced glucose intolerance in wild-type mice. Moreover, the inhibition of PKCζ or ceramide synthesis did not further improve glucose tolerance in Angptl4−/− mice, suggesting that these molecules were major downstream effectors of Angptl4. Overall, our study demonstrates the key role of Angptl4 in glucocorticoid-augmented hepatic ceramide production that induces whole-body insulin resistance.


Abstract Children with hemophilia are an enhanced risk of modifiable cardiovascular and metabolic abnormalities. There is currently no nutritional guideline to prevent or manage cardiometabolic risk factors in these patients. Therefore, the present study sought to investigate the effect of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet on cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors among children with hemophilia. In this parallel randomized clinical trial, 40 children (all male) with hemophilia were randomly allocated to the DASH group (n = 20) or control group (n = 20) for 10 weeks. The intervention group received the DASH diet (50%–55% of energy from carbohydrate, 27%–30% of energy from fat and 16%–18% energy from protein), and the control group received nutritional recommendations based on healthy eating practices. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fasting blood sugar (FBS), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low‐density lipoprotein (LDL), and high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) were measured at the beginning and end of the study. Serum vitamin C was measured as a biomarker of compliance with the DASH diet. Study was registered at IRCT.ir (IRCT20130903014551N6). A significant increase in serum vitamin C in the DASH diet group was observed compared to the control group (p = .001), indicating good compliance with the DASH diet. There was a significant reduction in SBP (−0.48 mmHg), DBP (−0.48 mmHg), FBS (−5.86 mg/dl), TC (−16.07 mg/dl), TG (−17.21 mg/dl), and LDL‐C (−9.79 mg/dl), and a significant increase in HDL‐C (3.39 mg/dl), in the DASH diet group compared with the control group. Adherence to the DASH diet in children with hemophilia yielded beneficial effects in blood pressure, lipid profiles, and FBS.


Objectives This study examines the contents of official communication from United States governors' offices related to the COVID-19 pandemic to assess patterns in communication and to determine if they correlate with trends for COVID cases and deaths. Methods We collected text data for all COVID-19 related press releases between March 1 and December 31, 2020 from the US governors' office websites in all 50 states. An automated parsing and sentiment analyzer assessed descriptive statistics and trends in tone, including positivity and negativity. Results We included a total of 7,720 press releases in this study. We found that both positive and negative sentiments were homogenous across states at the beginning of the pandemic but became heterogeneous as the pandemic evolved. The same trend applied to the frequency and tone of press releases. Sentiments across states were overall positive with a small level of negativity. We observed a reactive official communication to the evolution of the number of COVID-19 cases rather than responsive or preventive. Conclusions The findings of both positivity and negativity in press communications suggest that the effect of discounted importance was present in official communications. Our findings support a state-dependent optimal communication frequency and tone, agreeing with the curvilinear communication model of organizational theory and implying that feedback cycles between government officials and public response should be shortened to rapidly maximize communication efficacy during the pandemic. Future research should identify and evaluate the drivers of the large differences in communication tone across states and validate the reactive characteristics of COVID-19 official communications.


The asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) is the transfer mode recommended for B-ISDN by CCITT. In this paper, we propose a self-routing fault-tolerant switching architecture for ATM networks. The proposed architecture uses subswitches and extra links to provide many alternative paths, and hence can tolerate multiple faults. Analytical results show that the number of redundant paths increases exponentially as the size of the network increases. A simulation model is developed to study both the reliability and She performance of the proposed architecture. Reliability analysis shows that this architecture has a much higher fault tolerance than the fault-tolerant ATM networks found in the literature. In addition, the extra paths can be used to route cells when internal cell contention occurs in switching elements. Simulation results also indicate that the proposed architecture maintains a high throughput with acceptable cell delay time, even when the number of faulty components increases.


OBJECTIVE
Perceptions of the legitimacy of a society's legal system help explain individual responses to courts and legal actors. Normative considerations such as fair and respectful treatment as well as social identification have demonstrated the ability to enhance perceived legal legitimacy and future cooperation. Veterans treatment courts (VTCs) are a rapidly disseminating and understudied intervention. Their targeting of a socially esteemed group presents an interesting venue to explore normative theories of justice. The present study tested a modified version of Tyler's theory of procedural justice in this setting.

HYPOTHESES
We hypothesized that procedural justice, social bonds, and receipt of gratitude for military service would be positively associated with veteran identity and legal legitimacy. We further hypothesized that participants' identification as veterans would mediate the relationships between the three independent variables and legitimacy.

METHOD
A cross-sectional survey design was used with a convenience sample (N = 191) of participants in two VTCs. Analyses controlled for race, ethnicity, recidivism risk, and combat exposure.

RESULTS
Perceptions of procedural justice, social bonds, and receipt of gratitude were positively associated with veteran identity and perceptions of legal legitimacy. Further, veteran identity was found to be a significant mediator between the first three constructs and legal legitimacy.

CONCLUSIONS
The results support the importance of procedural justice in explaining perceptions of legal legitimacy in a novel context that is rapidly proliferating and understudied and has unique social identity considerations. The addition of gratitude and veteran identity to Tyler's model raises implications for VTC practice and further inquiry. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).


This paper is concerned with the numerical solution of symmetric large‐scale Lyapunov equations with low‐rank right‐hand sides and coefficient matrices depending on a parameter. Specifically, we consider the situation when the parameter dependence is sufficiently smooth, and the aim is to compute solutions for many different parameter samples. On the basis of existing results for Lyapunov equations and parameter‐dependent linear systems, we prove that the tensor containing all solution samples typically allows for an excellent low multilinear rank approximation. Stacking all sampled equations into one huge linear system, this fact can be exploited by combining the preconditioned CG method with low‐rank truncation. Our approach is flexible enough to allow for a variety of preconditioners based, for example, on the sign function iteration or the alternating direction implicit method. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


INTRODUCTION
Childhood cancer survivors (CCS) are at risk for radiotherapy (RT) late effects, including second malignancies. Optimal screening for differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) in CCS post-RT remains controversial. We assessed the outcome of thyroid ultrasound (US) surveillance in CCS exposed to RT.

METHODS
306 CCS were surveilled with thyroid US between 2002-2021. Surveillance was dependent on age at the time of primary diagnosis, interval from receipt of RT, and individual provider. Thyroid US, clinicopathologic features, and outcomes were described. Cutpoints of CCS RT age associated with varying risk of nodule presentation were explored. The selected cutpoints were used to define age categories, which were then used to compare thyroid nodule-related outcomes. Risk factors for thyroid nodule(s) were evaluated using multivariate logistic regression (odds ratio [OR] [95% confidence interval]).

RESULTS
The most common CCS diagnoses were leukemia (32%), CNS tumor (26%), and neuroblastoma (18%). Patients received TBI (45%) and/or RT to craniospinal (44%), chest (11%), and neck regions (6%). About 49% (n = 150) of patients had thyroid nodule(s). Forty-four patients underwent surgery, and 28 had DTC: 19 with American Thyroid Association (ATA) low-risk classification, 2 with ATA intermediate-risk, and 7 with ATA high-risk disease. Age cutpoint analyses identified cutpoints 3 and 10; hence, ≤3, >3 to ≤10, and >10 years were used. Of the 9 patients with intermediate- or high-risk disease, 8 were ≤10 years and 1 was >10 years at the time of RT. Female sex (OR = 1.62 [1.13-2.12] p = 0.054) and greater interval between RT and first US (OR = 1.10 [1.04-1.16] p = 0.001) were independent risk factors for nodule presentation.

CONCLUSIONS
Thyroid US surveillance may be beneficial for CCS exposed to RT at younger ages (≤10 years) for earlier detection of DTC, prior to developing advanced metastatic disease.


The Clendening Lectures on the history and philosophy of medicine have been notable for their scholarly character and their wide sweep over a number of aspects of medical history. In these two lectures Ralph Major, who has contributed so conspicuously to American medical history, tackles the wonderfully different subjects of "Disease and Destiny" on the one hand and "Logan Clendening," to honor whose memory the lectureship was endowed, on the other. In the first lecture Dr. Major compresses his erudition in medical history into 21 pages, selecting examples of human destiny as it was swept along or warped under the influence of some great epidemic or disease. The Black Death, the plague of Athens, the malarial blight of Rome, and the cerebral vascular disease of Lenin are examples. Plagues which came near annihilating whole nations certainly turned and bent the history of whole peoples in various directions. The most striking


1Musculoskeletal Tumor Center, Peking University, People's Hospital, Beijing, 100044, People's Republic of China; 2Department of Medicine, OrigiMed, Shanghai, 201114, People's Republic of China Objective: The limited understanding of correlation between genomic features and biological behaviors has impeded the therapeutic breakthrough in osteosarcoma (OS). This study aimed to reveal the correlation of mutational and evolutionary traits with clinical outcomes. Methods: We applied a case-based targeted and whole exome sequencing of eleven matched primary, recurrent and metastatic samples from three OS patients characterized by different clinical behaviors in local recurrence or systematic progression pattern. Results: Extensive OS-associated driver genes were detected including TP53, RB1, NF1, PTEN, SPEN, CDKN2A. Oncogenic signaling pathways including cell cycle, TP53, MYC, Notch, WNT, RTK-RAS and PI3K were determined. MYC amplification was observed in the patient with shortest disease-free interval. Linear, branched or mixed evolutionary models were constructed in the three OS cases. A branched evolution with limited root mutation was detected in patient with shorter survival interval. ADAM17 mutation and HEY1 amplification were identified in OS happening dedifferentiation. Signatures 21 associated with microsatellite instability (MSI) was identified in OS patient with extra-pulmonary metastases. Conclusion: OS was characterized by complex genomic alterations. MYC aberration, limited root mutations, and a branched evolutionary model were observed in OS patient with relatively aggressive course. Extra-pulmonary metastases of OS might attribute to distinct mutational process pertaining to MSI. Further research in a larger number of people is needed to confirm these findings.


In this talk I report on a series of studies that attempt to characterize the role of language and nonverbal behavior in relationship-building and rapport in humans, and then to use the results to implement virtual humans capable of rapport with their users. In particular, we are implementing virtual survey interviewers that can use rapport to elicit truthful responses, and virtual direction-giving agents that behave differently as they give directions over the lifetime of use. We are implementing virtual peers that can engage in collaborative learning with children within different dialect communities, virtual peers that can scaffold the learning of rapport behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder, and virtual peers that can be used to assess the social skills deficits of children with autism spectrum disorder so as to better plan their treatment. The goal of the research program is to better understand linguistic and nonverbal coordination devices from the utterance level to the relationship level --- how they work in humans, how they can be modeled in virtual humans, and how virtual humans can be implemented to help humans have productive and satisfying relationships, with machines and with one another, over long periods of time.


Objective: To evaluate the clinical presentation and the factors of prognostic importance in the management of exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Subjects and Methods: One hundred and four patients who were hospitalized because of exacerbation of COPD between 1996 and 2000 were selected for further evaluation. Only patients who fulfilled the American Thoracic Society criteria for diagnosis of COPD were included. The factors examined included age, clinical features, duration of symptoms of exacerbation, severity of underlying disease, comorbid diseases, level of consciousness, previous hospitalization, intubation and assisted ventilation, hypercapnia, degree of acidemia and complications. Results: Seventy-four of 104 (71%) hospitalized patients reviewed met the inclusion criteria for COPD. The mean age was 63.68 ± 12.6 years. There was a male:female ratio of 3:1. Fifty-eight patients (78%) had a baseline FEV1 <50% before hospitalization and 45 (64%) had previous hospitalization. Comorbid disease was found in 50% of the cases, while 78% had acidemia and 70% hypercapnia. Fourteen (19%) died on admission. Risk factors identified included severity of disease (p < 0.05); presence of comorbid disease (p < 0.01); acidemia (p < 0.0001); hypercapnia (p < 0.0001); previous hospitalization (p < 0.01), and assisted ventilation (p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study revealed that the presence of comorbid disease, acidemia, previous hospitalization and assisted ventilation significantly contributed to mortality in patients with exacerbation of COPD.


The effects of SiC fiber shape, aspect ratio and loading direction on the deformation behavior of SiC fiber reinforced Al matrix composites were studied by finite element method using axisymmetric unit cell model. The results showed that the addition of reinforcements will cause constraint on the plastic flow of ductile matrix, and thus result in no-uniform stress distribution. The reinforcement shape has a pronounced effect on the overall plastic deformation of the metal matrix composites. The loading condition will cause different failure mechanisms of composites. Under tensile loading, the stress-bearing ability in the plastic region is increased with the fiber aspect ratio due to the increase in the interface between the reinforcement and matrix and the decrease in the inter-particle space.


This work presents research results on a novel analytical model of electromagnetic system coupling through small size holes. The key problem regarding the coupling of two cavities through an aperture in separating screen of finite thickness without making assumption on smallness of any parameters is considered. We are the first to calculate on the base of rigorous electromagnetic approach the coupling coefficients of the cylindrical cavities within the limit of small aperture and infinitely thin separating screen. The numeric results of electromagnetic characteristic dependencies that have been impossible to perform on the base of previous models are given.


In this paper, we present an analytical framework to design system parameters for load-balancing multiuser spectrum decision schemes in cognitive radio (CR) networks. Unlike the non-load-balancing methods that multiple secondary users may contend for the same channel, the considered load-balancing schemes can distribute the traffic loads of secondary users to multiple channels. Based on the preemptive resume priority (PRP) M/G/1 queueing theory, a spectrum decision analytical model is proposed to evaluate the effects of multiple interruptions from the primary user during each link connection, the sensing errors (i.e., missed detection and false alarm) of the secondary users, and the heterogeneous channel capacity. With the objective of minimizing the overall system time of the secondary users, we derive the optimal number of candidate channels and the optimal channel selection probability for the sensing-based and the probability-based spectrum decision schemes, respectively. We find that the probability-based scheme can yield a shorter overall system time compared to the sensing-based scheme when the traffic loads of the secondary users is light, whereas the sensing-based scheme performs better in the condition of heavy traffic loads. If the secondary users can intelligently adopt the best spectrum decision scheme according to sensing time and traffic conditions, the overall system time can be improved by 50% compared to the existing methods.


Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most frequent among a broad spectrum of neurologic etiologies of саmptocormia. Camptocormia (CC) is characterized by an abnormal posture with involuntary forward flexion of the trunk, which appears in erect position, increases during prolonged standing or walking, and abates in supine position. CC leads to malposition, increasing postural instability and risk of falling. Treatment of CC in PD includes adjustment of antiparkinsonian medication, injections of botulinum toxin and orthopedical interventions. In this study, CC occurred in sitting position in 62.9% patients and in vertical position in 30% patients, however it disappeared in all patients in a dorsal position. CC was observed throughout the day in 77.1% patients. In 78.6% of PD patients with CC, the pose changed and encouraged with the various factors including weariness and stress; 37.1% patients used a walking stick; 5.7% used a walking aid. CC was accompanied with the painful syndrome in the majority of patients (88.6%). Moreover, 66% of patients had a history of vertebrogenic disorders. The association between CC and the start of dopaminergic treatment was found in 25.7% of patients.


The surveillance of host body tissues by immune cells is central for mediating their defense function. In vivo imaging technologies have been used to quantitatively characterize target cell scanning and migration of lymphocytes within lymph nodes (LNs). The translation of these quantitative insights into a predictive understanding of immune system functioning in response to various perturbations critically depends on computational tools linking the individual immune cell properties with the emergent behavior of the immune system. By choosing the Newtonian second law for the governing equations, we developed a broadly applicable mathematical model linking individual and coordinated T-cell behaviors. The spatial cell dynamics is described by a superposition of autonomous locomotion, intercellular interaction, and viscous damping processes. The model is calibrated using in vivo data on T-cell motility metrics in LNs such as the translational speeds, turning angle speeds, and meandering indices. The model is applied to predict the impact of T-cell motility on protection against HIV infection, i.e., to estimate the threshold frequency of HIV-specific cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) that is required to detect productively infected cells before the release of viral particles starts. With this, it provides guidance for HIV vaccine studies allowing for the migration of cells in fibrotic LNs.


ABSTRACT Questions, just like plain declarative sentences, can give rise to multiple interpretations. As discussed by Spector & Egré (2015), among others, questions embedded under know are ambiguous between weakly exhaustive (WE), intermediate exhaustive (IE), and strongly exhaustive (SE) interpretations (for experimental evidence of this ambiguity, see Cremers & Chemla 2016). These three interpretations are related in terms of strength. The SE reading entails both the IE and WE readings, and the IE reading entails the WE reading. Certain proposals derive the stronger readings from weaker ones through the same process of enrichment that underlies scalar implicatures, in particular through comparison with alternatives (Klinedinst & Rothschild 2011). Given previous developmental studies of scalar implicatures that suggest children typically perform this enrichment less often than adults do (Noveck 2001; Chierchia et al. 2001; Papafragou & Musolino 2003, among many others), such proposals lead us to expect that children may initially prefer weak readings of embedded questions. The present study revealed that 5-year-olds were sensitive to the multiple readings of questions embedded under savoir 'know.' Compared to adults, however, children were more tolerant of weak readings. These findings relate scalar implicatures and exhaustive readings of embedded questions from a developmental perspective and are consistent with a close connection between the two: in both cases, children are sensitive to the various possible interpretations but favor the weaker one more than adults do.


Protein kinase C, the major phorbol ester receptor, was purified from bovine brain and through the use of oligonucleotide probes based on partial amino acid sequence, complementary DNA clones were derived from bovine brain complementary DNA libraries. Thus, the complete amino acid sequence of bovine protein kinase C was determined, revealing a domain structure. At the amino terminal is a cysteine-rich domain with an internal duplication; a putative calcium-binding domain follows, and there is at the carboxyl terminal a domain that shows substantial homology, but not identity, to sequences of other protein kinase.


Wines contain a large array of phenolic compounds, belonging to non-flavonoids, flavonoids and phenolic-protein-polysaccharide complexes. Phenolics in wine are responsible for wine color, astringency, and bitterness. This study evaluates phenolic composition of commercial and experimental wines derived from bunch (Vitis vinifera) and muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia) grapes to determine compositional differences in phenolics. HPLC analysis of wines showed that majority of phenolic compounds eluted during the first 30 min. Of the red wines tested, Château Cabrieres Chateauneuf de Pape (Rhone) showed the simplest phenolics profile while Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera-California) showed the most complex profile. The phenolics composition of red and white wines varied greatly. Some white wines from bunch grape were devoid of any phenolics. Among muscadine white wines, some contained large number of phenolic compounds while the others showed smaller number of phenolic compounds. These data suggested that both the red and white wines contained a complex mixture of phenolic compounds whose content and composition varied by brand suggesting that the wine processing technique greatly influences phenolics composition of wines than color of the wine. Muscadine red wines were quite distinct than that of the bunch grapes, indicating that grape chemistry has a greater influence on wine phenolic composition.


Background: Scars can cause pain, long-term physical dysfunction, and psychological harm. Botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) is one treatment choice for scars, but further evidence is needed to confirm its efficacy. Methods: This systematic review included randomized controlled trials that investigated the effectiveness of BoNT-A on scars. The mean and standard deviation for the Vancouver Scar Scale, Stony Brook Scar Evaluation Scale, visual analog scale for appearance evaluation, visual analog scale for scar pain evaluation, and scar width were extracted for subgroup analysis. Results: Twenty-one randomized controlled trials were included. The BoNT-A group had a lower Vancouver Scar Scale score than the saline group (standardized mean difference, −0.73; 95 percent CI, −1.12 to −0.35; p = 0.0002) but a higher score than the steroid group (standardized mean difference, 0.85; 95 percent CI, 0.27 to 1.43; p = 0.004). The BoNT-A group exhibited a higher Stony Brook Scar Evaluation Scale grade than the saline group (standardized mean difference, 1.42; 95 percent CI, 0.83 to 2.00; p < 0.00001). The visual analog scale for appearance evaluation revealed higher scores in the BoNT-A group than in the saline group (standardized mean difference, 1.14; 95 percent CI, 0.69 to 1.60; p < 0.00001). As for pain evaluation, the BoNT-A group had a lower visual analog scale score than the steroid group (standardized mean difference, −2.57; 95 percent CI, −4.40 to −0.74; p = 0.006). Furthermore, scar width was significantly shorter in the BoNT-A group than in the control group (standardized mean difference, −1.11; 95 percent CI, −1.38 to −0.83; p < 0.00001). Conclusions: BoNT-A is more effective in treating scars than saline, although steroids may exhibit higher potency. Therefore, it can be considered an alternative in patients not amenable to steroid treatment. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, II.


By fitting the empirical pseudopotential band structure data using piecewise pol ynomials, an analytical band model of ZnS is presented for thin-film electrolumi nescent devices. The density of states and scattering rates are calculated using the above model. As compared with the results from the full band model, we have shown that our model, which takes less time, has the same precision as that obt ained from the full band model. Using Monte Carlo method, we simulated the field -dependent electron occupation functions of 1st and 2nd bands, electron energy d istribution functions under four-electron fields and the dependence of electron energy on time with or without impact ionization. This shows that the inter-vall ey scattering, inter-band scattering and impact ionization are important for tra nsporting electrons among valleys. Another important result is that the effect o f impact ionization on current multiplication and electron energy distribution i s also discussed.


This article analyses the strategic dynamics of the Sino-Japanese relationship and argues that the potential for confrontation between China and Japan has been exaggerated. There is an underlying tendency in much of the literature to treat the emergence of rivalry between China and Japan since the end of the cold war as synonymous with an inevitable drift towards bilateral strategic confrontation. This article argues that Beijing and Tokyo are better placed to manage the strategic dimension of their bilateral relationship than many analysts have been willing to acknowledge thus far. To test this argument, the article examines two prominent case studies that lie at the heart of the contemporary and future Sino-Japanese bilateral strategic relationship: the territorial dispute over the East China Sea and Japan's virtual nuclear weapons capability.


BACKGROUND
Point-of-care blood gas analysis plays an integral role in the management of critically ill and injured patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). While the use of specially manufactured syringes containing electrolyte-balanced dried heparin is recommended when processing these specimens, alternatives including manually self-prepared syringes washed with liquid heparin or heparin vacutainers are still often used.

OBJECTIVES
To assess the effect of two concentrations of liquid heparin and the use of heparin vacutainers on the reliability of blood gas analysis results compared with the recommended standard of dried heparin syringes in the ED setting.

METHODS
Blood samples were drawn from 54 patients attending a tertiary-level hospital ED. Individual samples were distributed equally among each of four different collection devices: a dried heparin syringe, self-prepared syringes washed separately with 1 000 IU/mL and 5 000 IU/mL liquid heparin, and a heparin vacutainer. Results obtained from the standard dried heparin syringes were compared with those from the other three methods.

RESULTS
For both the liquid heparin cohorts, partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2), potassium (K+), sodium (Na+), ionised calcium (iCa2+) and haemoglobin had >20% of results falling beyond the total allowable error. iCa2+ and K+ results were most affected in the 5 000 IU/mL cohort and iCa2+ and Na+ in the 1 000 IU/ml cohort. pCO2, pH and iCa2+ were the most significantly affected in the heparin vacutainer cohort.

CONCLUSIONS
Use of liquid heparin can result in significant negative bias in the majority of blood gas analytes, especially electrolytes. Heparin vacutainer use can result in unacceptable variations in the respiratory analytes. While standard dried heparin syringes may not always be available, it is of vital importance that practitioners be aware of these biases and limitations when using substitutes.


The present study investigates the effects of dietary supplementation with feed supplements (prebiotics and probiotics) on pig performance, the feed conversion ratio and some haematological parameters. The research was conducted on hybrid pigs [(Yorkshire A— Landrace) A— Duroc] in a farm from SAƒlaj County, Romania. Pigs of 11 weeks (n = 200) were divided into 4 equal groups: a group fed with the probiotic, a prebiotic-fed group, a control group and a synbiotic (pre- and probiotic) treated group. The control group was fed with a feed without the specified additives. Probiotic treated group was fed the same feedstuff but containing the additive Beta Plus® Ultra (Biochem)( 5.12x1012 CFU / kg - Bacillus subtilis DSM 5750, 5.12x1012UFC / kg - Bacillus licheniformis (DSM 5749 ) and 921 g of betaine), in an amount of 1 kg / tonne of feed.  Prebiotic group had added to the feed an extract derived from the cell wall of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (TechnoMos® - Biochem) in a dose of 250 g / ton of feed. The weight of 25 pigs in each compartment was recorded 9 times (over 85 days). Animal health was evaluated via clinical, haematological, and parasitological examinations. 5 rectal swabs were collected on day 11 and day 77 and faeces samples were taken in day 77 from each investigated group. Growth rate, feed consumption and some haematological parameters were measured. The body weight, average total weight gain and feed conversion rate increase by the dietary inclusion of the both pre and probiotic (pEƒ0.05). In the compartment treated with prebiotic the weight of the pigs has increased by 1030 g/day compared with 982 g/day value recorded in the control group. The average feed consumption was 3.21 kg/day in the control group while the group treated with prebiotic was only 2.99 kg/day. Feed conversion rate for all treated groups were lower than the one of control. Haematological parameters varied in physiological limits of species. Conclusion: These products show promising effects as an alternative for antibiotics in order to eliminate the use of these drugs as growth-promoting additives.


This paper examines the care of uninsured patients in general internists' private practices. More than two-thirds of internists provide at least some charity care, usually to their existing patients who have become uninsured. They appear to be filling a need for people who are moving between coverage, by helping bridge coverage intervals. Approximately two-thirds of all internists accommodate uninsured patients by reducing the charge or creating a payment plan, with internists who are practice owners much more likely to do so. This care to the uninsured is important, especially with growing unemployment rates, because the safety net would not be able to absorb these patients.


An experimental study aimed at understanding the interactions between exopolymers exuded by microorganisms and clays, particularly kaolinite, is described. Two biopolymers–-xanthan gum, an anionic bacterial extracellular polysaccharide, and guar gum, a neutrally charged plant polysaccharide–-were used as exopolymer analogs. Liquid limits of a kaolinite clay were measured, with varied biopolymer concentrations and background cations (Ca2+, Na+, or K+) in the pore fluid, to study the influence of exopolymers on clay behavior. Results indicate that the liquid limit of kaolinite generally increases with the biopolymer concentration of the pore fluid as a result of increased viscosity, and the background cation present in the pore fluid alters the liquid limit. Five types of active nanoscale interactions between clay particles, cations, and biopolymers were adopted to interpret the results: biopolymer-induced aggregation of clay particles tends to decrease the liquid limit; polymer cross-linking caused by divalent cations significantly increases the biopolymer solution viscosity and hence the liquid limit; the formation of a clay–polymer interconnected network via cation bridging and hydrogen bonds increases the liquid limit; a reduction in the thickness of the electric double layer on the clay surface decreases the liquid limit; and preferred adsorption of monovalent cations over biopolymer molecules decreases the liquid limit. The variations in the liquid limit reflect the macroscopic response of these interactions competing with each other at the nanoscale. Engineering implications also are discussed on the basis of the experimental results and the clay–biopolymer interactions.


Given the interest in productivity and rankings of institutions and individuals in the marketing discipline, the importance of the method used for determining these rankings has been underemphasized. This article provides an overview of individual and institutional research productivity using four methods and reveals the impact of each method on relative rankings. Individual and institutional publication productivity in the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research and Marketing Science from 1987 through 1996 are assessed. Publication productivity is reported by institution, author and positional rank.


Background: Bladder cancer (BC) is one of the most common urological malignancies. It is the fourth most common cancer in men and eighth most common malignancy in women of the western world. As per the Indian cancer registry, BC constitutes the ninth most common malignancy and accounts for an overall 3.9% of all cancer cases. Aim: to determine the etiological of urinary bladder carcinoma patients. Material and methods: This Prospective observational study was done in the Department of Surgery, Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College and Hospital, Gaya, Bihar for 24 months. 200 patients with a diagnosis of bladder cancer were included in the study. Clinical details including history of hematuria, smoking, daily fluid intake, dietary history, symptoms of urinary tract infection (UTI), loss of weight/appetite, past medical history and blood tests including hemogram, renal function tests, liver function tests, imaging like ultrasonography of kidney, ureter, urinary bladder (USG KUB), Cystoscopy and guided biopsy, contrast enhanced computed tomography of kidney, ureter, urinary bladder (CECT KUB) (if needed) and chest X-ray (CXR) was done in all the patients as per the standard protocol in the department of surgery. Results: The mean age of presentation of carcinoma urinary bladder was 54.26 years. The male to female ratio was 4:1. The mean age of presentation of carcinoma urinary bladder was 54.26 years (29-84 years) with the maximum number of patients being in the age group of 60-70 years followed by below 40 years. 90% of the patients of carcinoma urinary bladder in our study were non-smokers. History of UTI was present in only 25.5% of the patients of carcinoma urinary bladder. Maximum number of patients of carcinoma urinary bladder belonged to A+ blood group followed by B+ and the least number of patients belonged to Oblood group. The maximum number of patients of carcinoma urinary bladder was labourers by occupation followed by farmers and housewife in females' subset. As shown in the table the maximum number of patients of carcinoma urinary bladder was Hindus followed by Muslim. Conclusion: the majority of the patients turned out to be non-smokers and A +ve blood group in contrast to the strong predilection of smoking and bladder cancer.


We present a joint 3D pose and focal length estimation approach for object categories in the wild. In contrast to previous methods that predict 3D poses independently of the focal length or assume a constant focal length, we explicitly estimate and integrate the focal length into the 3D pose estimation. For this purpose, we combine deep learning techniques and geometric algorithms in a two-stage approach: First, we estimate an initial focal length and establish 2D-3D correspondences from a single RGB image using a deep network. Second, we recover 3D poses and refine the focal length by minimizing the reprojection error of the predicted correspondences. In this way, we exploit the geometric prior given by the focal length for 3D pose estimation. This results in two advantages: First, we achieve significantly improved 3D translation and 3D pose accuracy compared to existing methods. Second, our approach finds a geometric consensus between the individual projection parameters, which is required for precise 2D-3D alignment. We evaluate our proposed approach on three challenging real-world datasets (Pix3D, Comp, and Stanford) with different object categories and significantly outperform the state-of-the-art by up to 20% absolute in multiple different metrics.


Dendritic cells (DCs) can release microvesicles, but the latter's numbers, size, and fate are unclear. Fluorescently labeled DCs were visualized by laser-scanning microscopy. Using a Surpass algorithm, we were able to identify and quantify per cell several hundred microvesicles released from the surface of stimulated DCs. We show that most of these microvesicles are not of endocytic origin but result from budding of the plasma membrane, hence their name, exovesicle. Using a double vital staining, we show that exovesicles isolated from activated DCs can fuse with the membrane of resting DCs, thereby allowing them to present alloantigens to lymphocytes. We concluded that, within a few hours from their release, exovesicles may amplify local or distant adaptive immunological response.


An easy and simple two-step reaction is employed to synthesise a new type of ligand-protected (homocysteine-protected) gold-coated iron oxide nanoparticle (homocys-Au-Fe3O4). Fe3O4 nanoparticles are used as the central core to prepare homocys-Au-Fe3O4 in aqueous state without precipitation and aggregation of nanoparticles. Fe3O4 nanoparticles are initially prepared and subsequently coated with Au layers under hot citrate reduction of HAuCl4. The citrate monolayer of the nanoparticles is then ready for place-exchange with homocysteine molecules to produce the well dispersed homocys-Au-Fe3O4 nanoparticles. These homocys-Au-Fe3O4 nanoparticles have been fully characterised by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, visible absorption spectroscopy, magnetic susceptibility measurements, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, atomic absorption spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The homocys-Au-Fe3O4 nanoparticles show good paramagnetic properties and are coated with ultra-thin layers of gold atoms (∼0.5 nm) having an average diameter of ca. 12 nm. These magnetic nanoparticles are well dispersed in water and stable at physiological pH without precipitation. The visible absorption spectrum of homocys-Au-Fe3O4 can be altered by pH. These nanoparticles are aggregated in an acidic environment but dissociated at high pH conditions in a reversible manner. This article has provided important insights into the design of new water-soluble magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical, analytical and catalytic applications.


Software developers are key players in the security ecosystem as they produce code that runs on millions of devices. Yet we continue to see insecure code being developed and deployed on a regular basis despite the existence of support infrastructures, tools, and research into common errors. This work provides a systematised overview of the relatively new field of Developer-Centred Security which aims to understand the context in which developers produce security-relevant code as well as provide tools and processes that that better support both developers and secure code production. We report here on a systematic literature review of 49 publications on security studies with software developer participants. We provide an overview of both the types of methodologies currently being used as well as the current research in the area. Finally, we also provide recommendations for future work in Developer-Centred Security.


"Insurgents and terrorists retain the resources and capabilities to sustain and even increase current level of violence through the next year.'' This was the secret Pentagon assessment sent to the White House in May 2006. The forecast of a more violent 2007 in Iraq contradicted the repeated optimistic statements of President Bush, including one, two days earlier, when he said we were at a ''turning point" that history would mark as the time "the forces of terror began their long retreat." State of Denial examines how the Bush administration avoided telling the truth about Iraq to the public, to Congress, and often to themselves. Two days after the May report, the Pentagon told Congress, in a report required by law, that the "appeal and motivation for continued violent action will begin to wane in early 2007." In this detailed inside story of a war-torn White House, Bob Woodward reveals how White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, with the indirect support of other high officials, tried for 18 months to get Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld replaced. The president and Vice President Cheney refused. At the beginning of Bush's second term, Stephen Hadley, who replaced Condoleezza Rice as national security adviser, gave the administration a 'D minus' on implementing its policies. A secret report to the new Secretary of State Rice from her counselor stated that, nearly two years after the invasion, Iraq was a "failed state." The book reveals that at the urging of Cheney and Rumsfeld, the most frequent outside visitor and Iraq adviser to President Bush is former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who, haunted still by the loss in Vietnam, emerges as a hidden and potent voice. Woodward reveals that the secretary of defense himself believes that the system of coordination among departments and agencies is broken, and in a secret May 1, 2006 memo Rumsfeld stated, that "the current system of government makes competence next to impossible." State of Denial answers the core questions: What happened after the invasion of Iraq? Why? How does Bush make decisions and manage a war that he chose to define his presidency? And is there an achievable plan for victory?


This study aims to check the association between overweight and obesity and sociodemographic, behavioral and clinical factors in menopausal women. A cross-sectional study of a sample of 253 menopausal women who answered questions about socioeconomic and demographic factors, health in general, eating habits and behaviors. Body-mass index (BMI) was used to assess participant nutritional status. The Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) was used to assess quality of life. To assess sexual performance we used SQ-F (Sexual Quotient, Female Version). We used bivariate analysis and hierarchical multiple regression to identify the factors associated with being overweight during menopause. Using BMI we found that 30.8% of the sample was overweight and 35.2% obese, totaling 66% overweight women in the sample. In the multiple analysis, not owning a home, the severity of symptoms using MRS, use of continuous use medication and having been on any type of diet were associated with being overweight or obese. Nutritional intervention for weight control and changing behaviors could produce considerable benefits in terms of the health and quality of life of menopausal women.


he enigmatic films of David Lynch have been interpreted from a variety of perspectives. Among these we can find Lynch the postmodernist ironist, Lynch the transgressive neoconservative, and Lynch the visionary explorer of the unconscious. Martha P. Nochimson's recent study, for example, presents an eloquent case for regarding Lynch as a Jungian 'surfer of the waves of the collective unconscious', whose films combine the intuitive embracing of subconscious Life Energy with a celebration of the creative power of Hollywood mythology. [1] For Nochimson, Lynch's transformation of the masculine action hero into intuitive 'boundary crosser' shows the redemptive quality of his cinematic vision, which we experience sensuously rather than comprehend rationally.


The influence of Nano- CaCO3 on the mechanical property of PALC was studied in the paper. And the mechanism of Nano- CaCO3 modified cement-based materials was also discussed by means of X-ray diffraction and SEM. The results shows that the PALC with 2% of added Nano-CaCO3 by weight of cement has an optimum splitting strength, in which the increase of splitting strength are about 15.2%,20.4% and 19.7% at 3days,7days and 28 days. The reasons for causing the above results are because Nano-CaCO3's filling effect of micro-particle, surface effect of nano-particles as well as micro-nucleus effect.


The present paper deals with the investigation, at conceptual level, of the performance of short–medium-range aircraft with hydrogen propulsion. The attention is focused on the relationship between figures of merit related to transport capability, such as passenger capacity and flight range, and the parameters which drive the design of liquid hydrogen tanks and their integration with a given aircraft geometry. The reference aircraft chosen for such purpose is a box-wing short–medium-range airplane, the object of study within a previous European research project called PARSIFAL, capable of cutting the fuel consumption per passenger-kilometre up to 22%. By adopting a retrofitting approach, non-integral pressure vessels are sized to fit into the fuselage of the reference aircraft, under the assumption that the main aerodynamic, flight mechanic, and structural characteristics are not affected. A parametric model is introduced to generate a wide variety of fuselage-tank cross-section layouts, from a single tank with the maximum diameter compatible with a catwalk corridor to multiple tanks located in the cargo deck, and an assessment workflow is implemented to perform the structural sizing of the tanks and analyse their thermodynamic behaviour during the mission. This latter is simulated with a time-marching approach that couples the fuel request from engines with the thermodynamics of the hydrogen in the tanks, which is constantly subject to evaporation and, depending on the internal pressure, vented-out in gas form. Each model is presented in detail in the paper and results are provided through sensitivity analyses to both the technologic parameters of the tanks and the geometric parameters influencing their integration. The guidelines resulting from the analyses indicate that light materials, such as the aluminium alloy AA2219 for tanks' structures and polystyrene foam for the insulation, should be selected. Preferred values are also indicted for the aspect ratios of the vessel components, i.e., central tube and endcaps, as well as suggestions for the integration layout to be adopted depending on the desired trade-off between passenger capacity, as for the case of multiple tanks in the cargo deck, and achievable flight ranges, as for the single tank in the section.


The origin of silicic magma in basalt-dominated oceanic settings is fundamental to our understanding of magmatic processes and formation of the earliest continental crust. Particularly significant is magma-crust interaction that can modify the composition of magma and the dynamics of volcanism. This thesis investigates silicic magma genesis on different scales in two ocean island settings. First, volcanic products from a series of voluminous Neogene silicic centres in northeast Iceland are investigated using rock and mineral geochemistry, U-Pb geochronology, and oxygen isotope analysis. Second, interfacial processes of magma-crust interaction are investigated using geochemistry and 3D X-ray computed microtomography on crustal xenoliths from the 2011-12 El Hierro eruption, Canary Islands.The results from northeast Iceland constrain a rapid outburst of silicic magmatism driven by a flare of the Iceland plume and/or by formation of a new rift zone, causing large volume injection of basaltic magma into hydrated basaltic crust. This promoted crustal recycling by partial melting of the hydrothermally altered Icelandic crust, thereby producing mixed-origin silicic melt pockets that reflect the heterogeneous nature of the crustal protolith with respect to oxygen isotopes. In particular, a previously unrecognised high-δ18O end-member on Iceland was documented, which implies potentially complex multi-component assimilation histories for magmas ascending through the Icelandic crust. Common geochemical traits between Icelandic and Hadean zircon populations strengthen the concept of Iceland as an analogue for early Earth, implying that crustal recycling in emergent rifts was pivotal in generating Earth's earliest continental silicic crust.Crustal xenoliths from the El Hierro 2011-2012 eruption underline the role of partial melting and assimilation of pre-island sedimentary layers in the early shield-building phase of ocean islands. This phenomenon may contribute to the formation of evolved magmas, and importantly, the release of volatiles from the xenoliths may be sufficient to increase the volatile load of the magma and temporarily alter the character and intensity of an eruption.This thesis sheds new light on the generation of silicic magma in basalt-dominated oceanic settings and emphasises the relevance of magma-crust interaction for magma evolution, silicic crust formation, and eruption style from early Earth to present.


Video games and simulators commonly use very detailed textures, whose cumulative size is often larger than the GPU memory. Textures may be loaded progressively, but dynamically loading and transferring this large amount of data in GPU memory results in loading delays and poor performance. Therefore, managing texture memory has become an important issue. While this problem has been (partly) addressed early for the specific case of terrain rendering, there is no generic texture management system for arbitrary meshes. We propose such a system, implemented on today's GPUs, which unifies classical solutions aimed at reducing memory transfer: progressive loading, texture compression, and caching strategies. For this, we introduce a new algorithm -- running on GPU -- to solve the major difficulty of detecting which parts of the texture are required for rendering. Our system is based on three components manipulating a tile pool which stores texture data in GPU memory. First, the Texture Load Map determines at every frame the appropriate list of texture tiles (i.e. location and MIP-map level) to render from the current viewpoint. Second, the Texture Cache manages the tile pool. Finally, the Texture Producer loads and decodes required texture tiles asynchronously in the tile pool. Decoding of compressed texture data is implemented on GPU to minimize texture transfer. The Texture Producer can also generate procedural textures. Our system is transparent to the user, and the only parameter that must be supplied at runtime is the current viewpoint. No modifications of the mesh are required. We demonstrate our system on large scenes displayed in real time. We show that it achieves interactive frame rates even in low-memory low-bandwidth situations.


Alison Kerr is a graduate student at The University of Tulsa. She is pursuing a doctoral degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. Her research interests include training development and evaluation as explored across a variety of academic disciplines and organizational settings. She is currently assisting on a number of training projects aimed at developing engineering students on relevant non-technical professional skills including ethical practice and presentation.


The aim of this study was to identify groups of users according to their degree of satisfaction with geriatric care services and determine the primary factors associated with satisfaction. This was a cross-sectional study of 181 people enrolled in 36 modules pertaining to the State Workers Social Security Institute (ISSSTE) in Mexico. Degree of satisfaction was measured according to the following three areas: general characteristics of services offered, friendliness of staff and infrastructure. A cluster analysis was performed to identify groups of users according to their level of satisfaction, and an ordinal logistic regression model was used to determine the associated factors. Fifty-three percent were satisfied with the services, 34.3% were fairly satisfied and 12.7% were dissatisfied. The main characteristics associated with a greater degree of satisfaction were being female, older and the head of household. The health system must address this growing population and ensure the development of quality care to meet their needs.


Three-dimensional bioprinting is a rapidly growing field attempting to recreate functional tissues for medical and pharmaceutical purposes. Development of functional tissue requires deposition of multiple biomaterials encapsulating multiple cell types i.e. bio-ink necessitating switching ability between bio-inks. Existing systems use more than one print head to achieve this complex interchangeable deposition, which decreases efficiency, structural integrity, and accuracy. In this research, we developed a nozzle system capable of switching between multiple bio-inks with continuous deposition ensuring the minimum transition distance so that precise deposition transitioning can be achieved. Finally, the effect of rheological properties of different bio-material compositions on the transition distance is investigated by fabricating the sample scaffolds.


Collaborative groups, by their very nature, involve the interactions of many participants which can vary in time, place, culture, knowledge, and ability. The design of collaborative technology for work groups must occur in conjunction with the users while avoiding the dangers of technology-centered product development. This paper focuses on applying a group-centered approach to the development of Computer-Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW) products. This approach emphasizes the importance of team members" participation in the design process such that the resulting technology is centered around the users" needs and capabilities. By allowing collaborative groups to elaborate on real issues related to their actual work context, and to suggest specific ways to improve their work, a group-centered approach to the design of CSCW systems can be realized. The utilization of the Advanced Knowledge And Design Acquisition Methodology (AKADAM), consisting of concept mapping and design storyboarding techniques, was suggested as a basis for achieving this level of team participation. The concept mapping technique elicited insights into the collaboration process, identified problem areas, and generated suggestions for improving group work. With the aid of the design storyboarding technique, these suggestions for improvement can be directly translated into CSCW tools.


Fatigue and creep crack growth experiments in sand asphalt specimens have been performed in four-point beading and center cracked tensile setups. Specimen thickness, frequency, and R values were varied. Most of the tests were constant load experiments, but a constant ΔK experiment was also performed. It was found that Paris law matches the results. Specimen thickness does not affect the results. Results of tests at different frequencies can be reduced to a single scatter band by plotting da/dt(= f · da/dN) instead of da/dN versus ΔK. Different R values can be brought together by a parabolic crack closure relation. It is concluded that the dominant cause of crack growth in this type of asphalt, under the investigated circumstances, is creep.


This study presented a case study of Pearl River Delta(PRD) region. Using basic data of land use and transport network, the extraction of land use information and the analysis of transport network accessibility were performed to comprehensively analyze the land use and transport accessibility of PRD region. Moreover, suggestions on the optimization of regional spatial structure were also made. By this empirical process, the combination of accessibility with land use factors in regional spatial planning was investigated.


Building adaptive reuse is an important global topic. In the context of sustainable development and the effects of climate change caused by previous disregard for our environment, adaptive reuse has significant implications. This paper aims to examine how the construction industry can reposition itself to increase focus on the revitalization of existing buildings as an alternative to demolition and replacement. The paper reports on current research undertaken in Australia as part of a nationally-funded program in collaboration with industry, proposes a new model for early identification of adaptive reuse potential, tests this model with case study data, and looks at the social advantage from making better use of what we already have. The paper proposes that adaptive reuse needs to be planned at the outset, and if this is done wisely and routinely, it will provide a means of realizing sustainability objectives without reducing investment levels or economic viability for the industry. In fact, adaptive reuse is the future of the construction industry. KeywordsBuilding adaptive reuse; Sustainability; Obsolescence; Refurbishment potential; Construction industry


In this paper we present a series of models for the deep-water cycle on super-Earths experiencing plate tectonics. The deep-water cycle can be modeled through parameterized convection models coupled with a volatile recycling model. The convection of the silicate mantle is linked to the volatile cycle through the water-dependent viscosity. Important differences in surface water content are found for different parameterizations of convection. Surface oceans are smaller and more persistent for single layer convection, rather than convection by boundary layer instability. Smaller planets have initially larger oceans but also return that water to the mantle more rapidly than larger planets. Super-Earths may therefore be less habitable in their early years than smaller planets, but their habitability (assuming stable surface conditions) will persist much longer.


Abstract The logic of Conditional Beliefs (CDL) has been introduced by Board, Baltag, and Smets to reason about knowledge and revisable beliefs in a multi-agent setting. In this article both the semantics and the proof theory for this logic are studied. First, a natural semantics for CDL is defined in terms of neighbourhood models, a multi-agent generalisation of Lewis' spheres models, and it is shown that the axiomatization of CDL is sound and complete with respect to this semantics. Second, it is shown that the neighbourhood semantics is equivalent to the original one defined in terms of plausibility models, by means of a direct correspondence between the two types of models. On the basis of neighbourhood semantics, a labelled sequent calculus for CDL is obtained. The calculus has strong proof-theoretic properties, in particular admissibility of contraction and cut, and it provides a decision procedure for the logic. Furthermore, its semantic completeness is used to obtain a constructive proof of the finite model property of the logic. Finally, it is shown that other doxastic operators can be easily captured within neighbourhood semantics. This fact provides further evidence of the naturalness of neighbourhood semantics for the analysis of epistemic/doxastic notions.


This article analyzes how the political and economic transformation of Ottoman Egypt at the turn of the nineteenth century impacted relationships between humans and dogs. Dogs were integral and essential social actors in Egypt for millennia, but in the decades around 1800 they came to be set apart from society as useless and dangerous sources of pollution, disease, and annoyance. Thus, for the first time in Egypt's history, large-scale dog eradication campaigns were carried out in Cairo and the countryside. Violence was not the only strategy for dealing with this changing role of dogs in Egypt. Another that began to develop in the early nineteenth century but that would only fully emerge later was the phenomenon of interspecies affective relations. In addition to offering a history of human-dog relations in Ottoman Egypt, Mikhail's article also considers the seeming contradiction of the contemporaneous emergence of human violence and affection toward dogs.


Squeeze film dampers (SFDs) aid to attenuate vibrations in compressors and turbines while traversing critical speeds. In actual applications, gas ingestion from the environment may lead to the formation of a foamy lubricant that degrades the rotor/bearing system dynamic performance. Impact and imbalance response tests conducted on a rigid rotor supported on SFDs, and aimed to emulate the pervasive effect of air ingestion into the damper film lands, are reported. Two types of squeeze film damper support the test rotor, one is a conventional cylindrical design with a squirrel cage-type elastic support, and the other is a compact four-pad damper with integral wire EDM elastic supports. Both dampers have identical diameter and radial clearance. Controlled (air in oil) mixtures ranging from pure oil to all air conditions are supplied to the SFDs, and measurements of the transient rotor response to calibrated impact loads are conducted. System damping coefficients, identified from acceleration/load transfer functions, decrease steadily as the air content in the mixture increases. However, measurements of the rotor synchronous imbalance response conducted with a lubricant bubbly mixture (50% air volume) show little difference with test results obtained with pure lubricant supplied to the dampers. The experimental results show that air entrainment is process and device-dependent, and that small amounts of lubricant enable the effective action of SFDs when the rotor traverses a critical speed.


Spatial variability of ground motion may be explained by local soil conditions; it is the so-called "site effects". Site effects are responsible for increasing duration and important amplification of strong ground motion during earthquakes and must be considered as a key parameter in local seismic hazard assessment. French West Indies are prone to strong site effects because of a particular geology, characterized by soft soil deposits and strong alteration of volcanic deposits. In this framework, and considering that French West Indies are considered as a high seismicity level zone in the French building code, part of seismic hazard mitigation policy consists in technical studies to perform identification and mapping of zones characterized by homogeneous seismic response and quantification of associated ground motion. It is the aim of seismic microzonations. In this presentation, we will expose the methodology used on the scale of municipalities for mapping homogeneous seismic areas, based on a study of geological and geotechnical conditions and some geophysical testings. Then, a study of vulnerability of buildings allows to estimate the probability of damage on various sectors for a scenario of risk corresponding to the seismic microzonation.


The objective of this study was to evaluate the anatomical features of the tarsal flexor tendon sheath in bovines and the relevant therapeutic modalities of septic tenosynovitis. In order to define the normalanatomy of the tendon sheath, 26 clinically and radiologically normal specimens were evaluated using contrast radiography. A communication between the tarsocrural joint and the tendon sheath was seen in five of the 26 specimens (19%). For the treatment of septic tenosynovitis of the tarsal flexor tendon sheath at the bovine tarsus, a possible communication between the tendon sheath and the tarsocrural joint - underlining earlier findings - should be considered. Tenosynovitis of the tarsal flexor tendon sheath was seen in 16 out of 963 cases of lameness (1.7%) not associated with the digit. Ten of these animals had concurrent septic tarsitis. Of the 16 cattle affected with tenosynovitis, 10 were not treated because of a poor prognosis. Six animals were treated, by through-and-through lavage with gentamicin-Ringers solution (3/6), tendovaginotomy (2/6) or resection of the tendon (1/6). Clinical follow-up examination of the six animals(mean 26 months, range 6-48 months) showed healthy individuals with noresidual lameness (4) or slight lameness (2) on the affected leg. The cow treated with tendon resection developed a flexural limb deformitybut could be kept on slatted floors two years postoperatively.


Human resources management is one of the management functions, dealing with people as the essential resource of the organization. This function aims at the most efficient usage of employees in order to realize both organizational and individual goals. Nowadays high significance is attributed to human resources management, since the human factor is the resource that determines the success of an organization. The results of a company are in proportion with the knowledge and talent of the people on its payroll. Human talent and knowledge can be utilized to the greatest extent in case management is able to motivate employees to meet not only the necessary requirements but also to achieve the highest possible results. Human resources management consists of several fields of activities, among which the following are the most important: analysis, planning and assessment of the scope of activities, human resources planning, workforce supply, performance assessment, motivation, developing human resources, labour relations, labour safety, HEM information system. Our studies cover a few fields within human resources management. Our research has been carried out at organizations in HajdAo-Bihar County. The study is based on questionnaires, which have been processed by computers and evaluated using statistical methods.


Abstract. The current study focuses on the estimation of cloud-free Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) using the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) observations obtained from Sentinel-1 (A and B) sensor. South-West Summer Monsoon over the Indian sub-continent lasts for four months (mid-June to mid-October). During this time, optical remote sensing observations are affected by dense cloud cover. Therefore, there is a need for methodology to estimate state of vegetation during the cloud cover. The crops considered in this study are Paddy (Rice) from Punjab and Haryana, whereas Cotton, Turmeric, and Banana from Andhra Pradesh, India. We have considered, observations of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 sensors with the same overpass day and non-cloudy pixels for each crop. We used Google Earth Engine to extract surface reflectance for the Sentinel-2 and Ground Range Detected (GRD) backscatter for Sentinel-1. The Red and NIR bands of Sentinel 2 were used to estimate NDVI. Sentinel-1 based VV, and VH backscatter was used for estimation of Normalized Ratio Procedure between Bands (NRPB). Regression analysis was performed by using NDVI as an independent variable, and VV, VH, NRPB, and radar incidence angle as dependant variables. We evaluated the performance of Linear regression with tuned Support Vector Regression (SVR) as well as tuned Random Forest Regression (RFR) using the independent data. Results showed that the RFR produced the lowest RMSE for all the crops in the study. The average RMSE using the RFR was 0.08, 0.09, 0.11, and 0.10 for Rice, Cotton, Banana, and Turmeric, respectively. Similarly, we have obtained R2 values of 0.79, 0.76, 0.69, and 0.71 for the same crops using the RFR. A model with 80 trees produced the best results for Rice and Cotton, whereas the model with 90 trees produced the best results for Banana and Turmeric. Analysis with NDVI threshold of 0.25 showed improved R2 and RMSE. We found that for grown crop canopy, SAR based NDVI estimates are reasonably matching with the optical NDVI. A good agreement was observed between the actual and estimated NDVI using the tuned RFR model.


During the last couple of decades the demand for good quality water in sufficient quantity has increased. The administration is now aware that water is not a commercial product; that hydrological management needs to be implemented to promote respect for the environment and a sustainable use of this natural resource. Consequently, directives have been developed to ensure the good status of water regarding quality and quantity. The Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/CE) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (Directive 2008/56/CE) set frameworks to protect water and the environments connected to it. They establish requirements for avoiding new emissions of pollutants, reducing the current pollution. Organic contaminants include a wide range of families. Some are grouped under the name persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Stockholm Convention describes POPs as persistent in the environment, bioaccummulable, with potential for long-range transport and with adverse effects on human health and the environment. By mid 2017, the Stockholm Convention included polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and hexabromocylcododecane (HBCD). There are still emerging organic compounds. Even though they are not persistent, some are considered pseudo-persistent contaminants as they are used in big quantities and they have a biological effect. That makes them always present in the environment and a possible threat. Pyrethroids are an example. Contaminants reach the sea in wastewater, spills or runoff water, transported in rivers or through atmospheric deposition. Other products can be applied directly on one's body or are deliberatedly introduced in the environment, like pesticides. There is still another way of transport for POPs, which can be transported long distances in the air to colder areas or areas with cold periods, like the Arctic. The present thesis will focus on the descriptors of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive saying that concentrations of contaminants should be low enough not to produce pollution effects and contaminants in seafood cannot exceed the regulated limits. The occurrence and behavious of the following compounds is analysed: well known and studied POPs, legacy flame retardants (FRs) (PBDEs and HBCD), along with emerging contaminants, new FRs (dechloranes and three brominated FRs and pseudo-persistent pyrethroid insecticides. FRs are applied to materials to increase their fire resistance. The classic ones are persistent, they are easily released to the environment and can be found in all kind of environmental matrices. Pyrethroids seem ideal because, at first, they were believed not to bioaccumulate. However, they have toxic effects and are used in big quantities. In this thesis the behaviour in the marine environment of classic flame retardants is compared to emerging flame retardants and pyrethroids. The matrices used in the analyses are marine mammals from the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Antarctica on one side and seafood on the other. With these impact on both biota and humans will be assessed. Dechloranes outstood with occurrences similar to PBDEs? and HBCD?s, with potential for long-range transport and increasing levels through time. They could be a candidate to be listed in the Stockholm Convention. Brominated emerging flame retardants in general were not detected or non-quantifiable. They must be monitored to see if they remain like this. Finally, the occurrence of pyrethroids, pseudo-persistent contaminants, seemed to be linked to their use. An excessive use might make them as dangerous as POPs. Regarding seafood safety, a PBDE congener might pose a threat, but new factors such as the effects of cooking and the bioaccessibility of ingested contaminants need to be studied to make better risk assessments.


Highly efficient data computation and transmission are necessary to implement the high-performance analysis of real-time neural signals. In a previous study, a zero-crossing feature (ZCF) was proposed as a computationally efficient spike feature that enabled enhanced data transmission efficiency. In this paper, a real-time neural signal sensing and spike sorting system using a modified ZCF is presented. In the system developed, the ZCF extraction algorithm is modified to improve spike sorting accuracy. The data transmission efficiency is highly enhanced by the use of a minimized data set size. The size of the data set is reduced by 90.7% as compared with the raw data transmission. In an in vivo experiment using spinal nerves of a Sprague–Dawley rat, neural signals were successfully detected and amplified with a maximum gain of 85.1 dB and a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 19.7 dB. This experimental result shows that the neural spikes were more accurately detected and classified with the modified ZCF extraction algorithm as compared with the original algorithm. From these results, it is expected that this system can be effectively used for high-performance real-time neural signal analysis.


Genetic fingerprinting of 18 different isolates of Staphylococcus aureus from Nigeria using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was carried out. Ten out of 100 Operon primers showed polymorphism among the isolates tested generating 88 bands, 51 of which were polymorphic with sizes ranging between 200 and 3,000 bp. All the isolates were classified completely into two major groups (Sa-1 and Sa-2) with twelve different subgroups. Sa-1 group originated from human while isolates from plant and animal origins formed the Sa-2 group. The twelve different subgroups suggest adaptation of S. aureus in the different host cells. This indicates possible relationship between host origin and genetic variation among S. aureus isolates. The DNA fingerprint defined for each race of S. aureus could be useful in epidemiological studies, medical diagnosis and the identification of new strains and their origins.
(African Journal of Biotechnology: 2003 2(8): 246-250)


This paper attempts to provide some answers to a number of related questions: Has the EMS reduced (real or nominal, bilateral or effective) exchange rate volatility? If so, has this been at the expense of increased interest rate volatility? How important have capital controls been for the operation of the EMS? Has the exchange rate mechanism reduced the volatility of unanticipated exchange rate changes? Has the EMS been effective in making Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) currencies close substitutes? What have been the implications of the EMS for the longer-run stabilisation of real exchange rates? Because of the uncertainty surrounding the statistical distributions of changes in asset prices in general and exchange rates in particular, an innovative theme of the paper is the use of non-parametri c or semi-non-para metric econometric and statistical procedures wherever possible. Briefly, we conclude that the EMS has reduced the volatility of both exchange rates and interest rates', that capital controls probably have been important in its operation and that it has reduced the conditional volatility of exchange rates. We attribute many of these findings to the enhanced credibility of the exchange rate policies of ERM member countries. Some of our findings, however, namely that ERM member currencies do not appear to be perfect substitutes and that there is evidence of long-run misalignment within the EMS, do indicate that the EMS may indeed still be in its early days in terms of some of its longer-term his paper attempts to provide some answers to a number of related A questions: Has the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) of the European Monetary System (EMS) reduced (real or nominal, bilateral or effective) exchange rate volatility? If so, has this been at the expense of increased interest rate volatility? How important have capital controls been for the operation


We consider customer service chat CSC systems where customers can receive real time service from agents using an instant messaging IM application over the Internet. A unique feature of these systems is that agents can serve multiple customers simultaneously. The number of customers that an agent is serving determines the rate at which each customer assigned to that agent receives service. We consider the staffing problem in CSC systems with impatient customers where the objective is to minimize the number of agents while providing a certain service level. The service level is measured in terms of the proportion of customers who abandon the system in the long run. First we propose effective routing policies based on a static planning LP, both for the cases when the arrival rate is observable and for when the rate is unobservable. We show that these routing policies minimize the proportion of abandoning customers in the long run asymptotically for large systems. We also prove that the staffing solution obtained from a staffing LP, when used with the proposed routing policies, is asymptotically optimal. We illustrate the effectiveness of our solution procedure in systems with small to large sizes via numerical and simulation experiments.


Introduction Cystic changes in the lung due to congenital/perinatal cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection have been reported in a few cases in the literature. In this case report, we presented a preterm infant with congenital CMV infection developed lung cysts during her clinical follow-up. Case A female neonate was delivered by caesarean section at 35 gestational week due to fetal distress. Her birthweight was 1870 g (10-50th percentile) and Apgar scores 7 and 9, first and fifth minutes, respectively. She was transferred to our intensive care unit because of the prematurity and ventriculomegaly. It was reported that fetal ultrasonography revealed bowel hyperechogenicity at the 18th week of gestation. The serologic examination was negative for CMV IgM. Fetal magnetic resonance imaging was normal and fetal karyotype was 46, XX. The lateral ventricles were observed to be dilated in the repeated ultrasonography performed at 34th week. On physical examination she was well-appearing, there was no abnormality except for hepatosplenomegaly (3 cm below costal margin) and bilateral chorioretinitis. She failed auditory-brainstem-response test. Cranial ultrasonography performed after birth revealed bilateral ventriculomegaly and germinal matrix haemorrhage. Complete blood count showed thrombocytopenia. CMV IgM was reactive and CMV PCR was positive (7.60E+4 cp/mL) in serologic examination. Chest radiography was normal. Intravenous ganciclovir therapy was initiated to the patient at the dose of 12 mg/kg/day due to symptomatic congenital CMV infection. At the postnatal 20th day, a cystic lesion was detected in the basal part of the left lung on the abdomen radiography performed for nutrition intolerance and abdominal distension. Thoracic computed tomography revealed pulmonary cavitary lesions, the largest of them was located in the left lower lobe posterior basal segment. No signs of respiratory distress were detected during this period, infection parameters and blood culture were negative. Cystic lesions in the lung regressed during her clinical follow-up. She was discharged with oral valganciclovir treatment when she was 55 days old. Conclusion It should be kept in mind that congenital CMV infection may cause lung cysts.


We address the controversial issue of the structural stability of Li7La3Zr2O12 garnets, focusing on the mechanisms that result in the transformation from tetragonal to cubic symmetry. We show that undoped tetragonal Li7La3Zr2O12 not exposed to humidity at any moment undergoes a reversible phase transition to cubic symmetry at Tc x 645 C that we ascribe to lithium dynamic effects. On the other hand, a close correlation has been found between the appearance of a cubic phase between 100 and 200 C in X-ray diffractograms and the presence of water, either in the atmosphere in which experiments are performed or already in the starting material. The natures of the high and lowtemperature cubic garnets are totally different: the one found above the phase transition does not involve any change in the stoichiometry, whereas the cubic phase formed at low temperature is a hydrated, lithium defective phase, due to the combined effect of water insertion into the garnet structure and the H/Li exchange mechanism. Differences in the actual compositions of the samples depending on their thermal history are corroborated by TG-MS experiments. Chemical reactions and phases formed along the thermal evolution are elucidated with the help of Raman spectroscopy.


Objectives:To compare a laparoscopic (totally extraperitoneal patch (TEP)) and an open technique (Lichtenstein) for inguinal hernia repair regarding recurrence rate and possible risk factors for recurrence. Summary Background Data:Laparoscopic hernia repair has been introduced as an alternative to open repair. Short-term follow-up suggests benefits for those patients operated with a laparoscopic approach compared with open techniques; ie, less postoperative pain and a shorter convalescence period. Long-term results, however, are less well known. Methods:The study was conducted as a multicenter randomized trial with a 5-year follow-up. A total of 1512 men aged 30 to 70 years, with a primary unilateral inguinal hernia, were randomized to either TEP or Lichtenstein repair. Results:Overall, 665 patients in the TEP group and 705 patients in the Lichtenstein group were evaluable. The cumulative recurrence rate was 3.5% in the TEP group and 1.2% in the Lichtenstein group (P = 0.008). Test for heterogeneity revealed significant differences between individual surgeons. The exclusion of 1 surgeon, who was responsible for 33% (7 of 21) of all recurrences in the TEP group, lowered the cumulative recurrence rate to 2.4% in this group, which was not statistically different from that of the Lichtenstein group. Conclusions:The recurrence rate for both TEP and Lichtenstein repair was low. A higher cumulative recurrence rate in the TEP group was seen at 5 years. Further analysis revealed that this could be attributable to incorrect surgical technique.


Abstract Ellagic acid, a putative anticarcinogenic compound, was detected in plants of raayhaw (Crataegus spp.), false strawberry (Duchesnea indica), strawberry (Fragaria spp.), black currant (Ribes nigrum), thomless blackberry (Rubus subgenus Eubatus), red raspberry (Rubus subgenus Idaeobatus) and cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon). Large differences in ellagic acid contents have been found among species and cultivars and also among tissues. Ellagic acid content in plant tissues is also affected by environmental factors and shows a seasonal variation in strawberry leaves. A decrease in ellagic acid content of leaves was associated with seasonal decreases in photoperiod and temperature from September to December. Ellagic acid content in the leaves of red raspberry infected with orange rust showed more than a three-fold increase compared to healthy leaves.


Although the etiology of maldescended testes is multifactorial, dysfunction of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis should be considered as the most important factor. The hormonal treatment with Gn-RH on its own or followed by hCG can provoke testicular descent and should be applied at 10th month of life. Failure, partial or transient success needs orchidopexy within the first two years of life to prevent infertility. If a concomitant hernia or a true ectopia is encountered, if patients are seen at an adolescent age and if the testes are truly cryptorchid, surgery is the treatment of choice.


Traditional helical gear stress analysis techniques such as AGMA and ISO standards provides very often over-dimensioned gear pairs with bulky design. Therefore, it is required to optimize the gear pair design using latest techniques like finite element analysis. Stress analysis technique chosen to investigate the feasibility of dimensional optimization of a gear was Finite Element Analysis platform ANSYS 12.1. ISO 6336 standards and Hertz contact theory neglect friction between contact teeth. This work reflects coefficient of friction between contact teeth using FEA predicts more accurate results for contact stress. In this work, case hardened steel helical gear is optimised for optimum tooth root stress level subsequently to reduce the face width of gears with other geometrical parameters unaffected. Efforts has been carried out to verify contact stress value using Lagrange multiplier algorithm of optimised helical gear pair. Subproblem approximation method was implemented for searching of optimal solution of design variable. Optimized gear pair was manufactured and experimentally investigated for actual stresses and strains, as per loading condition mention in the rules of TED. Percentage saving in the material for optimised gear pair also been included in this work.


This thesis will introduce the work of Francois Laruelle and that of Anne-Francoise Schmid, it will then examine the relevance of each to art-making and how their 'thought as practice' resonates with ,y own processes of creative production. I will seek to demonstrate a kind of intersecting yet enclosed circularity between philosophy and contemporary art and to propose hypotheses, models and methods that, rather than simply propose an exit, engage in strategies that seek a non-entry into the contemporary art-philosophy orbit, and move of their own volitions on their own courses through time and space. In turn, reflecting on its educational context as Ph.D research within the field of fine art this project concludes itself by looking towards the ways in which this theory of non-entity might be integrated into approaches to fine art education, through the development of workshops both within and without standard institutional frameworks.

This Ph.D project will perform three primary tasks:

1. Through the development of a theory of collective intimacy within art practice, it will attempt to introduce an applied version of non-philosophy and non-epistemology, as relevant to the development of a new approach to exhibition-making, and to contextualize this within contemporary art practice and discourse.

2. It will present the processes and results of a series of practice-based investigations, carried out through video and object-making and also through workshops which I developed as part of my research, contextualizing these both within contemporary art discourse and within the emergent field of non-philosophical scholarship.

3. It will develop and present a set of diagrams that form the basis of a new approach and practice of collaborative production based on individual research, art-making and work produced in workshops.

The object of these tasks is largely to do with making a space for an art practice that works with non-philosophy, with clay and video and with other artists to produce itself. To make a space for this practice is to ask what kind of room such work needs, what materials it engages and how it is itself made material through its various processes of actualization.


Poly(A) polymerases are centrally involved in the process of mRNA 3' end formation in eukaryotes. In animals and yeast, this enzyme works as part of a large multimeric complex to add polyadenylate tracts to the 3' ends of precursor RNAs in the nucleus. Plant nuclear enzymes remain largely uncharacterized. In this report, we describe an initial analysis of plant nuclear poly(A) polymerases (nPAPs). An enzyme purified from pea nuclear extracts possesses many features that are seen with the enzymes from yeast and mammals. However, the pea enzyme possesses the ability to polyadenylate RNAs that are associated with polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNP), a chloroplast-localized enzyme involved in RNA turnover. Similar behavior is not seen with the yeast poly(A) polymerase (PAP). A fusion protein consisting of glutathione-S-transferase and the active domain of an Arabidopsis-encoded nuclear poly(A) polymerase was also able to utilize PNP, indicating that the activity of the pea enzyme was due to an interaction between the pea nPAP and PNP, and not to other factors that might copurify with the pea enzyme. These results suggest the existence, in plant nuclei, of factors related to PNP, and an interaction between such factors and poly(A) polymerases.


We unravel some subtleties involving the definition of sphere angular momentum charges in AdSq × S spacetimes, or equivalently, R-symmetry charges in the dual boundary CFT. In the AdS3 context, it is known that charges can be generated by coordinate transformations, even though the underlying theory is diffeomorphism invariant. This is the bulk version of spectral flow in the boundary CFT. We trace this behavior back to special properties of the p-form field strength supporting the solution, and derive the explicit formulas for angular momentum charges. This analysis also reveals the higher dimensional origin of three dimensional Chern-Simons terms and of chiral anomalies in the boundary theory.


Globally, more than 5.5 million people are bitten by venomous snakes per year, leading to
125,000 deaths and 4 times as many amputations. The problem is most prevalent in Sub-
Saharan Africa in rural communities.
Current antivenoms are obtained from immunised horse blood and are, therefore, not
compatible with the human immune system. The antivenoms cause severe side effects (incl.
serum sickness and death) in up to 81% of patients due to their immunogenicity.
Additionally, current antivenoms lack efficacy and it is estimated that more than 99% of the
antibodies and other proteins in antisera are non-specific and have no therapeutic effect on
the snake venom. Hence, large quantities of antisera are needed for administration to the
patient in order to deliver enough of the 1% potent antibodies.
By using recombinant biopharmaceutical technology, we will replace current antivenoms
with a more financially and ecologically sustainable alternative, based on recombinant
humanised antibodies that specifically target the medically relevant toxins in snake venoms.
This targeted therapy has the potential to be more efficacious and much safer, since
humanised antibodies are compatible with the human immune system. Furthermore, using
cost-competitive fermentation as the production method completely eliminates the need for
production animals which substantially lowers the cost of production, and, in turn, reducing
the cost of care by 90%. In Africa alone this will provide over 750 million people with access
to antivenom; a drastic improvement compared to the current 10 million. Seeing this in a
green perspective, our proposed solution has the potential to reduce production waste by
97% and to cut production time down to 4% of the current requirement.


Shortly after I qualified I drove in a small car from London to Cornwall to take up a locum post. It took 10 h at an average speed of 30 mph, there were no motorways and little traffic. Now, there are many faster cars, roads are busier and more dangerous, and there is a greater need to ensure that those who drive are fit to do so. We also have an ageing population, with many drivers now into their 80s and 90s. Many older drivers have driven for years and expect to continue because of the independence driving offers. For some older people driving is critical to their quality of life and their ability to maintain connections with others. However, they are driving cars that are faster and in conditions that are potentially more hazardous to the driver and the public than before.

Driving depends on minimum physical and mental functions, and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)1 …


Public Health Significance Approximately 36% of women in the United States will experience Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in her lifetime. Reproductive Coercion (RC), a component of IPV, involves birth control sabotage, male partner attempts to impregnate a woman against her wishes, as well as controlling the outcomes of a pregnancy, and is experienced by 9% of women in the US. Reproductive coercion increases risk for unintended pregnancies, meaning pregnancies that are mistimed, unwanted or unplanned. Women experiencing IPV are more likely to have used emergency contraception (EC) to prevent pregnancy, but studies to date have not examined the need for EC among women seeking shelter for IPV. This pilot study assessed the acceptability and feasibility of offering EC to women during IPV shelter intake.
Methods Shelter staff received training on reproductive coercion (RC) and EC. Surveys were administered before, immediately after, and three months after training. Surveys assessed staff perceptions and comfort level offering EC to clients. During a six-week period, clients were asked about RC and pregnancy tests and EC were offered during shelter intake. Clients completed a survey to assess their satisfaction with having these resources available.
Results On a scale of 1 to 4, with 4 being very helpful, on average, women rated the helpfulness of knowing that EC was available as a 3.16. Between the training and the administration of the post-training survey, shelter staff increased their distribution of safety cards explaining the impact of violence on women's health from 0% to 86% of staff reporting 'all of the time.' Assessment of clients' health concerns as part of shelter intake increased from 50% to 86% of staff assessing 'all of the time.' Staff reported an increase in asking clients about EC, referring clients to family planning services, and assessing for RC, from 0% to 43% selecting 'all of the time.'
Conclusion Shelter staff were able to adopt a routine practice of assessing women for RC and reported an increased comfort level regarding EC. Offering pregnancy testing and EC in shelter was met with great acceptance among both shelter staff and clients.


Angiogenesis is the process of formation of new blood vessels from existing ones (in this it differs from vasculogenesis, the de novo formation of blood vessels in the embryo). With the exception of the female reproductive tract, healthy mature human tissues do not display angiogenesis to any significant extent, except in response to trauma. In the ovary and uterus, on the other hand, extensive vascular remodelling and formation of new vessels occurs on a regular cyclical basis and forms the bedrock of preparations for the implantation of the early embryo. Research into normal human fertility and its regulation is likely therefore to benefit from an elucidation of the processes involved in angiogenesis. In addition, pathological conditions relating to the reproductive tract appear in some cases to involve aberrant angiogenesis, and future research may lead to new therapeutic measures that may become effective treatments for these conditions. Finally, female reproductive biology provides a unique window into angiogenesis, and knowledge derived from this area is likely to add substantially to our knowledge of this major physiological and pathological process.