To protect occupants during a rollover event, restraint control modules with integrated Rollover Sensing (RoSe) function have been developed. These devices are able to trigger belt tensioners and curtain airbags if the vehicle's roll angle and roll rate indicate that the vehicle is going to tip over. Especially in the case of tripped rollovers, however, the optimum deployment time for curtain airbags is before the vehicle has build up a significant roll angle. To cope with this challenge the advanced rollover sensing function from Bosch uses the lateral velocity of the vehicle as additional input to its deployment decision. Based on a new crash test setup developed by Dekra the performance benefit of this advanced rollover sensing system can be shown under realistic circumstances. The test does not only cover the rollover phase but also the skidding phase before the vehicle passes onto the soil and rolls over. First tests have been performed to investigate both the repeatability of the movement and the behaviour of the vehicle during such tests. To steer the car, an optically controlled guidance is used combined with a time-based activation of the steering without braking. The vehicle with rightwards steered front wheels runs for a short time on a µ-split path. Several sensors are used to measure the relevant kinematics (velocity, acceleration, yaw-, roll- and pitch-rate). Additionally the movement is filmed by several high-speed cameras.


The utility of genetic measures for kinship reconstruction in polysomic species is not well evaluated. We developed a framework to test hypotheses about estimating breeding population size indirectly from collections of outmigrating green sturgeon juveniles. We evaluated a polysomic dataset, in allelic frequency and phenotypic formats, from green sturgeon to describe the relationship among known progeny from experimental families. The distributions of relatedness values for kin classes were used for reconstructing green sturgeon pedigrees from juveniles of unknown relationship. We compared three rarefaction functions that described the relationship between the number of kin groups and number of samples in a pedigree to estimate the annual abundance of spawners contributing to the threatened green sturgeon Southern Distinct Population Segment in the upper Sacramento River. Results suggested the estimated abundance of breeding green sturgeon remained roughly constant in the upper Sacramento River over a 5‐year period, ranging from 10 to 28 individuals depending on the year and rarefaction method. These results demonstrate an empirical understanding for the distribution of relatedness values among individuals is a benefit for assessing pedigree reconstruction methods and identifying misclassification rates. Monitoring of rare species using these indirect methods is feasible and can provide insight into breeding and ontogenetic behaviour. While this framework was developed for specific application to studying fish populations in a riverscape, the framework could be advanced to improve genetic estimation of breeding population size and to identify important breeding habitats of rare species when combined with finer‐scaled sampling of offspring.


Facilities Management (FM) is very frequently described as, "an integrated approach to
operating, maintaining, improving and adapting the buildings and infrastructure of an
organisation in order to create an environment that strongly supports the primary objectives of
that organisation". The practical and strategic relevance of FM to organisations in all sectors of
the economy is now increasingly recognised. Accordingly, organisations seek to improve their
competitiveness by introducing a core business philosophy and restructuring to release senior
management time and improve effectiveness. Managements have begun to realise that for
organisations to benefit from their enormous investment in facilities, they have to begin
managing them actively and creatively with commitment and a broader vision. Formulation of
techniques that are capable of assessing "facilities performance" in terms of quality, cost and
effectiveness, is therefore critical for "Organisational" and "FM" advancements. Research has
emphasised that there is a clear need to measure FM performance which would integrate both
the business and facilities domains. Accordingly, this paper summarises a literature review of
current leading-edge performance measurement and management practices within facilities
management organisations and conceptual models of performance measurement and
management from other industries. Accordingly, the paper identifies the directions to develop
performance measurement systems in FM with specific links to measure facilities relationships
with those of the core business.


Since a power network control system constitutes a large-scale computer network, intricate functions of software such as processing synchronization and data transmission among the constituent computers are required for improvement of system performance and efficiency. Methods for the support of overall large-scale system design are still scarce. Conventional text-oriented tools are insufficient to design, construct, and maintain large and complicated systems. As a means for solving this problem, an analytical method has been designed based on computer graphics visualization of static structural data and execution trace data of a software application's functional units. Prototyping tools for the development of software, enabling the direct manipulation of graphical elements through user-machine interfaces based on virtual reality technology, have been developed.<<ETX>>


One of the most prominent characteristics of multilateral organizations is that they do not "spring forth full blown"; they grow. Although this is well known, relatively few attempts have been made to explain it at a general level or to explore its implications. In this paper we show why states that desire to create a multilateral organization or agreement might be attracted to a strategy that involves admitting potential members sequentially based on their preferences. Such a "sequential construction" strategy can generate an unusual kind of structure-induced equilibrium that dramatically mitigates the breadth-depth trade-off and increases the level of cooperation a multilateral is able to attain. We evaluate these claims with data drawn from the history of the European Union and twenty environmental multilaterals.


This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of distribution channels in all cooperative efforts "Brosem Agro Industries". To achieve these objectives, analytical methods used are simple linear regression method.
Expected number of agencies contributed significantly to the volume of sales at department cooperative effort "Brosem Agro Industries" Batu Simple linear regression analysis used to determine the contribution to the volume of sales agents .. T test was conducted to see the significance of the influence of independent variables on the dependent variable individually.
Based on this research indicates that the variable distribution channels significantly influence the volume of cider sales. The result of the influence of the volume of sales distribution channels shown by coefficient of determination (r2) is 0.973, meaning that 97.3% variation (increase or decrease) the volume of cider sales are influenced by the variable distribution channels.
The results showed that the distribution channel that carried by department cooperative effort "Brosem Agro Industries" effective. From calculations carried out by assessing all factors that exist in the distribution channel, it is obtained the result that the most effective distribution channels is done through wholesalers and retailers that potential.
Keywords: Effectiveness of distribution, distribution of potential distributors.


Friction Surfacing is an advanced surface modification method, so it is of great importance to study figuration mechanism of deposit in friction surfacing process for controlling deposit's quality. By friction surfacing, consumable-rod of 1Cr18Ni9Ti (321)was surfaced on the substrate of mild steel (1020) by different process parameters (rotation speed, force and traverse speed). The effects of process parameters on deposit's figuration are discussed. Experiments show that deposit's width and thickness decrease linearly with increasing consumable-rod rotation speed; deposit's width increases and its thickness decreases with increasing force. If traverse speed between substrate and consumable-rod increases, deposit's thickness and width decrease simultaneously. According to conservation of mass, the material transferring & figuration rules in friction surfacing were analyzed, which explains the experimental results as well. So, figuration control methods of deposit in friction surfacing are set up. In practice, process parameters must be chosen properly to ensure good figuration. Only if process parameters are inside the feasible area, material can transfer fluently and deposit with good figuration could be got.


Degassed magmatic water was potentially the major source of surficial water on Mars. We measured Li, B, and Be abundances and Li isotope profiles in pyroxenes, olivines, and maskelynite from four compositionally different shergottites—Shergotty, QUE 94201, LAR 06319, and Tissint—using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). All three light lithophile elements (LLE) are incompatible: Li and B are soluble in H2O‐rich fluids, whereas Be is insoluble. In the analyzed shergottites, Li concentration decreases and Be concentration increases from cores to rims in pyroxenes. However, B concentrations do not vary consistently with Li and Be abundances, except in QUE 94201 pyroxenes. Additionally, abundances of these three elements in olivines show a normal igneous‐fractionation trend consistent with the crystallization of olivine before magma ascent and degassing. We expect that kinetic effects would lead to fractionation of 6Li in the vapor phase compared to 7Li during degassing. The Li isotope profiles, with increasing δ7Li from cores to rims, as well as Li and B profiles indicate possible degassing of hydrous fluids only for the depleted shergottite QUE 94201, as also supported by degassing models. Conversely, Shergotty, LAR 06319, and Tissint appear to have been affected by postcrystallization diffusion, based on their LLE and Li isotope profiles, accompanied by diffusion models. This process may represent an overlay on a degassing pattern. The LLE profiles and isotope profiles in QUE 94201 support the hypothesis that degassing of some basaltic shergottite magmas provided water to the Martian surface, although evidence may be obscured by subsolidus diffusion processes.


Photoacoustic imaging is a recent, rapidly growing imaging technique. It has the unique ability to provide images in soft tissues in the optically diffusive regime with both optical absorption contrast and ultrasound resolution. One of the photoacoustic imaging modalities is called acoustic-resolution photoacoustic microscopy. It is aiming at resolution from a few microns to 100 microns over depths up to a centimeter. In this work, a photoacoustic microscope using a mechanically scanned single element focused transducer is described. The following characteristics of our microscope are studied: image contrast, signal-to-noise ratio, resolution and acquisition time, and imaging depth. Images are made at different optical wavelength ranging from 532nm to the near-infrared of the therapeutic window. This set-up is intended to image tumor model on small animals.


It has become increasingly clear that river channel sediment dynamics must be taken into account within British flood risk management because changes in channel morphology resulting from sediment transfer can have an impact on channel flood capacity. It is also recognised that an understanding of catchment-scale sediment dynamics is desirable with respect to many other aspects of river management. However, despite this recognition, application of existing approaches that account for coarse sediment dynamics has been limited within British river management.
Based on these considerations, this study aims to develop and substantiate a new approach that quantitatively accounts for catchment-scale coarse sediment dynamics in British rivers. These research efforts contribute to the activity of the Flood Risk Management Research Consortium (http://www.floodrisk.org.uk/)
A review of the availability and accuracy of data sources useful to considerations of coarse sediment dynamics reveals that only discharge, channel slope, and channel width can be represented widely at the catchment-scale. As a result, none of the approaches currently available to account for coarse sediment dynamics were found to be both scientifically robust and practically applicable at the catchment-scale. This leads to the conclusion that the most suitable approach to account for coarse sediment dynamics at the catchment-scale in British rivers is a reach-based sediment balance model, using no more than slope, width and discharge data.
A new reach-based sediment balance model, ST:REAM (Sediment Transport: Reach Equilibrium Assessment Method), is developed. It has several unique features including: representation of the entire catchment network; automatic delineation of the catchment network into functional reaches using a zonation algorithm; application of a new general formula for the prediction of bed surface material transport rate; and adoption of an assumption that makes it unnecessary to collect bed material size data. The outputs from ST:REAM are in the form of predicted Capacity Supply Ratios which compare the annual mass of sediment predicted to enter a reach with the annual mass of sediment predicted to leave it.
Initial assessment of ST:REAM using two test catchments shows that it can produce a reasonable representation of observed, broad-scale sediment dynamics. The accuracy of its predictions decreases when attempting to incorporate downstream variability in bed material size into the model, and scale issues are encountered when attempting to increase the resolution at which reaches are identified by the zonation algorithm.
ST:REAM has many potential applications within river management, but it is of most value when providing a broad-scale picture of predicted reach sediment balances throughout the drainage network. As well as the practical applications of ST:REAM, the research contained within this thesis has important theoretical implications, relating both to the insights it provides on catchment-scale sediment dynamics in particular and methodological and foundational developments in the field of sediment studies more generally.

Online version lacks Appendices, which were submitted on CD-ROM accompanying printed version.


This Synthesis highlights a series of recent studies that has systematically interrogated age-related deficits in cold-induced skin vasoconstriction. In response to cold stress, a reflex increase in sympathetic nervous system activity mediates reductions in skin blood flow. Reflex vasoconstriction during cold exposure is markedly impaired in aged skin, contributing to the relative inability of healthy older adults to maintain core temperature during mild cold stress in the absence of appropriate behavioral thermoregulation. This compromised reflex cutaneous vasoconstriction in healthy aging can occur as a result of functional deficits at multiple points along the efferent sympathetic reflex axis, including blunted sympathetic outflow directed to the skin vasculature, reduced presynaptic neurotransmitter synthesis and/or release, and altered end-organ responsiveness at several loci, in addition to potential alterations in afferent thermoreceptor function. Arguments have been made that the relative inability of aged skin to appropriately constrict is due to the aging cutaneous arterioles themselves, whereas other data point to the neural circuitry controlling those vessels. The argument presented herein provides strong evidence for impaired efferent sympathetic control of the peripheral cutaneous vasculature during whole body cold exposure as the primary mechanism responsible for attenuated vasoconstriction.


The evolution of the Black Sea temperature, salinity and circulation, from large scale to mesoscale, is studied using a data-driven primitive equation simulation. The data are drawn from (i) a basin-wide hydrographic survey, CoMSBlack'92, obtained in the Summer of 1992; (ii) wind stress derived from wind analyses of the Sevastopol MSIA/URHI Office; (iii) climatological heat fluxes; and (iv) climatological river outflows. The primitive equation model is from the Harvard Ocean Prediction System. The simulation is used to examine the evolution of the circulation at mesoscale resolution, its dominant variabilities and dependencies in the summer period. The large-scale upper layer circulation over the deep portion of the basin is generally cyclonic with a system of anticyclonic eddies evolving in its periphery. The edge of the cyclonic circulation is dominated by an inertial jet: the Rim Current. As the Rim Current transverses the edge of the deep basin, the meandering and secondary circulation associated to the jet varies according to internal dynamics and interactions with the bottom topography and shelf water circulation. The relatively broad northwestern shelf is found to be mostly wind driven with a buoyancy-driven coastal current and interacting with the quasi-stationary Crimea and Kaliakra anticyclones. The seasonal thermocline is strengthened during this period and a zonal large-scale temperature gradient with warmer/colder sea-surface temperatures in the east/west is driven by the observed weak/strong winds. Some of the major circulation elements are partially verified using qualitative comparisons with the Summer of 1992 data and historical data; both in situ, and infrared and color remotely sensed data. The Rim Current meander shape and propagation parameters, eddy size and distribution, and the generation of rapid surface bound jets are found to be in good agreement with observations. The simulation shows two previously unobserved events: an anticyclonic eddy is shed near Sinop; and the anticyclones moving north along the Caucasian coast are formed and shed from the Batumi eddy. Imprints of these events are found in the historical record.


The rapid development of social media(such as live streaming, short videos, Vlogs, etc.)has attracted scholars' attention to the theory of para-social interaction. Different from traditional media, social media provides new research ideas and content for exploring this kind of interaction between social media personae and consumers due to its characteristics of instant communication, interactivity, novelty of content, media personalization and social media scenario.Through literature reviews, this paper summarizes the psychological mechanism of para-social interaction in social media. Para-social interaction is distinguished from real social interaction by how it is influenced by social media. Media personae's characteristics, consumers' characteristics, and social platform characteristics, all of which are the main influencing factors of consumers' para-social interaction engagement. According to the Elaboration Likelihood Model(ELM), para-social interaction can stimulate consumers' cognition of media personae's self-disclosure and their perceived social presence through the central route and the peripheral route respectively, so as to improve the authenticity and accessibility of media personae perceived by consumers, and ultimately affect the para-social relationship between consumers and media personae. According to Skinner's theory of reinforcement and previous studies, this paper also demonstrates that para-social interaction and para-social relationship will be continuously strengthened each other in a circular way, where para-social interaction drives the formation of para-social relationships, which will in turn motivate more para-social interaction. With each cycle of reinforcement between PSI and PSR, the para-social relationship between consumers and media personae rises to a higher level, presenting a spiral-upgrading state. Last but not least, when consumers and media personae establish the para-social relationship through para-social interaction, consumers tend to believe in media personas(source credibility), and further believe in the brands recommended by media personae(brand credibility), resulting in more marketing effectiveness(purchase intention and positive word-of-mouth). Meanwhile, the influence of para-social relationships on source credibility may be moderated by the congruence between media personae and brands.In a word, both cyclic reinforcement mechanism and dual processing routes constitute the psychological mechanism of para-social interaction, which ultimately promotes more marketing effectiveness. Finally, this paper puts forward the marketing strategies to enterprises and the directions for future research.This paper makes two main contributions: On the one hand, it makes theoretical contributions through exploring the psychological mechanism of para-social interaction; on the other hand, it provides guidance for enterprises to effectively use social media, select and manage media personae, and promote enterprises to generate economic benefits.


AIMS
To delineate common epilepsy features associated with the presence of glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantibodies (GAD65-Ab).

METHODS
Three consecutive cases of GAD65-Ab encephalitis patients, followed in our neurological department, were investigated with regards to clinical semiology and EEG.

RESULTS
These patients presented new-onset subtle ictal clinical features. Patients 1 and 2 described prolonged and transitory feelings of "déjà vu - déjà vécu" and a "dreamy state". Patient 3 was admitted for subsequent transient aphasia events followed by paroxysmal behavioural disturbances. Epileptic origin of the symptoms was confirmed using either a standard EEG (observation of temporal status epilepticus in one case) or a prolonged EEG (focal epileptiform activity during an asymptomatic period for two patients). All patients suffered from clinical focal status epilepticus. Patients 1 and 2 presented with temporo-mesial seizures in agreement with the definition for limbic encephalitis, whereas Patient 3 presented with neocortical (lateral temporal and frontal lobe) seizures arguing for a non-limbic encephalitis. A high level of GAD65-Ab was found in cerebral spinal fluid, confirming a diagnosis of epilepsy associated with GAD65-Ab encephalitis.

CONCLUSION
Encephalitis seems to be a frequent neurological syndrome associated with GAD65-Ab disorders. Epilepsy may be more frequent and severe than currently suggested, as ictal semiology may be subtle for these outpatients in whom standard EEG is commonly falsely reassuring. Subtle focal status epilepticus is a particular semiology of the GAD65-Ab encephalitis spectrum.


Considerable progress has been made in many aspects of osteogenesis imperfecta. The international Sillence classification of osteogenesis imperfecta is being expanded to include a greater range of subgroups of patients. Attempts are being made to identify the genes causing forms of osteogenesis imperfecta and related syndromes that are not caused by mutations of the Type I collagen genes. In medium-term studies, bisphosphonate treatment has been shown to be the first method of treatment to improve the clinical course of the disease significantly. Somatic cell therapy, using allogeneic bone marrow and mesenchymal stromal cell transplantation, are in their early phases of development for use in humans with osteogenesis imperfecta. Somatic gene therapy, which aims to inactivate the mutation, is being evaluated in laboratory and animal studies.


Summary 1. Little consensus has been reached as to general features of spatial variation in beta diversity, a fundamental component of species diversity. This could reflect a genuine lack of simple gradients in beta diversity, or a lack of agreement as to just what constitutes beta diversity. Unfortunately, a large number of approaches have been applied to the investigation of variation in beta diversity, which potentially makes comparisons of the findings difficult. 2. We review 24 measures of beta diversity for presence/absence data (the most frequent form of data to which such measures are applied) that have been employed in the literature, express many of them for the first time in common terms, and compare some of their basic properties. 3. Four groups of measures are distinguished, with a fundamental distinction arising between 'broad sense' measures incorporating differences in composition attributable to species richness gradients, and 'narrow sense' measures that focus on compositional differences independent of such gradients. On a number of occasions on which the former have been employed in the literature the latter may have been more appropriate, and there are many situations in which consideration of both kinds of measures would be valuable. 4. We particularly recommend (i) considering beta diversity measures in terms of matching/mismatching components (usually denoted a , b and c ) and thereby identifying the contribution of different sources of variation in species composition, and (ii) the use of ternary plots to express the relationship between the values of these measures and of the components, and as a way of understanding patterns in beta diversity.


Recently, the development of smart materials and structures (SMS), at the levels of micro and nanoscale, has grown rapidly due to the requirement of an increasing safety margin of all infrastructure, biomedical and engineering (automotive, aerospace and marine) elements. The name 'smart' means that a structure (or a material) should be able to respond to environmental changes or external impacts to keep it in a safe condition, without substantially changing its original functionalities. Embedding sensor and actuator technology is one of the most popular topics of all SMS disciplines, because these sensors and actuators are very small and do not influence the mechanical, thermal and geometrical properties of the host structures. Ideally, these sensors and actuators are also connected to the central system (commonly called the 'brain') to analyze the condition and control the necessary reaction of the structures. Recent research on SMS has been mainly focused on embedding tiny sensors and actuators into advanced composite materials. The main reason is because advanced composites have been widely adopted for building large life-concerned structures, like airplanes (both Airbus A380 and Boeing 787). A large portion of their structures are made by carbon and glass fiber composites. Most of the rotor blades of helicopters are also made of advanced composites in order to reduce their weight and keep sufficient strength to maintain their stiffness. However, these structures are subject to many uncertain influences, such as excitation by unpredictable incoming wind with a frequency close to the natural frequency of the structures, for example, blade?vortex interaction. As a result, abnormal vibration and noise may be induced that is severely harmful to the structures. In this special issue, several types of smart materials and devices that are used for ensuring the safety of structures are introduced. It includes: piezoelectric sensors and actuators, nanoconductive particles, shape memory alloys and magneto-rheological elastomers for advanced composite applications. The editors would like to express their sincere appreciation and thanks to all the authors for their scientific contribution to this special issue on 'Smart Composite Materials' for Smart Materials and Structures. We convey our gratitude to all the reviewers for their time and dedication. We applaud IOP Publishing for their support and encouragement of this special issue and the staff for their special attention and timely response.


Abstract The aqueous dissolution of irradiated and unirradiated uranium-thorium dioxide, (U,Th)O2, fuel pellets in Yucca Mountain well water has been investigated. Whole and crushed pellets were reacted at 25 and 90°C for periods of up to 195 days. The fuel dissolution was measured by analyzing the concentrations of soluble uranium, thorium, and important fission products (137Cs, 99Tc, 237Np, 239Pu, 240Pu, and 241Am) in the well water. The surface-area-normalized fractional uranium release rates for unirradiated crushed uranium dioxide (UO2) pellets were 10 to 40 times higher than the values for (U,Th)O2 fuel. Similarly, the dissolution rates of irradiated (U,Th)O2 pellets with compositions ranging from 2.0 to 5.2% UO2 were at least two orders of magnitude lower than reported literature values for pure UO2. These results demonstrate an advantage of (U,Th)O2 over UO2 in terms of matrix dissolution in groundwater and suggest that (U,Th)O2 fuel is a more stable long-term waste form than conventional UO2 fuel.


microRNA-210 (miR-210) is upregulated in hypoxia, but its function in cardiomyocytes and its regulation in response to hypoxia are not well characterized. The purpose of this study was to identify upstream regulators of miR-210, as well as to characterize miR-210's function in cardiomyocytes. We first showed miR-210 is upregulated through both hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-dependent and -independent pathways, since aryl hydrocarbon nuclear translocator (ARNT) knockout mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF), lacking intact HIF signaling, still displayed increased miR-210 levels in hypoxia. To determine the mechanism for HIF-independent regulation of miR-210, we focused on p53 and protein kinase B (Akt). Overexpression of p53 in wild-type MEFs induced miR-210, whereas p53 overexpression in ARNT knockout MEFs did not, suggesting p53 regulates miR-210 in a HIF-dependent mechanism. Akt inhibition reduced miR-210 induction by hypoxia, whereas Akt overexpression increased miR-210 levels in both wild-type and ARNT knockout MEFs, indicating Akt regulation of miR-210 is HIF-independent. We then studied the effects of miR-210 in cardiomyocytes. Overexpression of miR-210 reduced cell death in response to oxidative stress and reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production both at baseline and after treatment with antimycin A. Furthermore, downregulation of miR-210 increased ROS after hypoxia-reoxygenation. To determine a mechanism for the cytoprotective effects of miR-210, we focused on the predicted target, apoptosis-inducing factor, mitochondrion-associated 3 (AIFM3), known to induce cell death. Although miR-210 reduced AIFM3 levels, overexpression of AIFM3 in the presence of miR-210 overexpression did not reduce cellular viability either at baseline or after hydrogen peroxide treatment, suggesting AIFM3 does not mediate miR-210's cytoprotective effects. Furthermore, HIF-3α, a negative regulator of HIF signaling, is targeted by miR-210, but miR-210 does not modulate HIF activity. In conclusion, we demonstrate a novel role for p53 and Akt in regulating miR-210 and demonstrate that, in cardiomyocytes, miR-210 exerts cytoprotective effects, potentially by reducing mitochondrial ROS production.


This paper explores the impact of intercollegiate athletic performance on tuition rates. A number of recent studies have examined the advertising effect generated by participation in intercollegiate sports. These studies have attempted to ascertain whether athletic performance improves student quality, graduation rates, and state appropriations. Only one previous paper examines the impact of intercollegiate athletics on tuition, and it found a positive impact on out-of-state tuition rates from participation in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. In this paper, we find that athletic performance as measured by win-loss records in football and basketball impacts both in-state and out-of-state tuition rates, though it appears that the effects are largely confined to members of the six major power conferences.


Is comeniology a science? This question becomes the guiding thought of my contem-plations. I conduct the analysis of John A. Comenius's concept according to the selected scientific criteria: logical order, levels of theory, explanatory power, heuristic power, degree of persuasion and degree of justification, power of prediction, language and methods. I accept the image of a man as a triad involving spirit (immortal part connected with the spiritual world), soul (rational part considering the free will given by the Creator) and body (animal part and the part of the soul capable of perceiving sensory stimuli). In my article I am searching for a proper in-terpretation of Comenius' concept of a free man that was based on observation and experience.


In four conditioned taste aversion experiments with rats as subjects, the effects of extinguished or pre-exposed flavors on retardation and summation tests was compared. Experiment 1 showed that when steps were taken to ensure similar exposure to the target flavor in all conditions, acquisition after pre-exposure and reacquisition after extinction proceeded at a similar rate and was slower than acquisition in a new stimulus control condition. In Experiment 2, reacquisition occurring 2 days after extinction was again slower than acquisition to a new stimulus, but this retardation disappeared when extinction and reacquisition were separated by a 21 days interval. Experiment 3 showed that both an extinguished and a pre-exposed flavor produced a similar summation effect, attenuating the aversion to a previously conditioned flavor. Finally, Experiment 4 showed that this attenuation was also produced by a new flavor. These results suggest, first, that retarded acquisition after extinction of a conditioned taste aversion might be the result of latent inhibition produced by extended experience with the flavor during extinction and, second, that attenuation of aversion to a test excitor on a summation test might not reflect any specific learning process but be simply due to stimulus generalization decrement. In the terminology of associative learning, extinction is the process by


Transition to flowering was induced in the shoot apical meristem of Sinapis alba (mustard), a long-day species, by subjecting vegetative plants to a single 22-h long day. The ultrastructural changes occurring in the meristematic cells during the complete morphogenetic switch were investigated by quantitative methods. The earliest detectable changes are seen 18 h after the start of the inductive long day. One of these changes is the replacement of the large vacuoles of the cells of vegetative meristems by an increased number of smaller vacuoles in the cells of meristems of plants induced to flower (evoked meristems). The other earliest change is an increase in size of the chondriome. Remarkably enough both changes have in common that they lead to an increase in membrane area and are thus concerned with increased membrane synthesis. In this respect this very early effect of the leaf-generated floral stimulus is very similar to that produced by various animal and plant hormones in their respective target tissues. The large rise in chondriome size is paralleled by an increase in succinic dehydrogenase activity. Both changes certainly reflect a rise in cellular respiratory activity which produces the necessary energy supply for the morphogenetic switch. As the size of the plastidome does not change during the transition to flowering, the plastidome:chondriome ratio decreases markedly. The size of the cytoplasmic matrix is greater in cells of evoked meristems than in cells of vegetative meristems. A first size maximum is reached at 26 h after the start of the long day and a second at 54 h. These 2 maxima occur just prior to 2 mitotic waves culminating respectively at 26-30 and 62 h. The increases in amount of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and dictyosome number that are found in evoked meristems collected just prior to or at the time of the second mitotic wave are also probably related to the mitotic activation of the tissue. As the size of the vacuolar apparatus considered as a whole does not change at all and the size of the cytoplasmic matrix increases, the vacuoles : cytoplasm ratio decreases in evoked meristems collected following 26 h after the start of the long day. Also, there is an unexpected decrease in the nucleus : cytoplasm ratio in the cells of evoked meristems after 46 h.


Abstract Framatome ANP, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and the University of Florida are cooperating on the U.S. Department of Energy Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI) project 2001-0124 to design, assemble, execute, analyze, and document a series of critical experiments to validate reactor physics and criticality safety codes for the analysis of commercial power reactor fuels consisting of UO2 with 235U enrichments ≥5 wt%. The experiments will be conducted at the SNL Pulsed Reactor Facility. Framatome ANP and SNL produced two series of conceptual experiment designs based on typical parameters, such as fuel-to-moderator ratios, that meet the programmatic requirements of this project within the given restraints on available materials and facilities. ORNL used the Tools for Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis Methodology Implementation (TSUNAMI) to assess, from a detailed physics-based perspective, the similarity of the experiment designs to the commercial systems they are intended to validate. Based on the results of the TSUNAMI analysis, one series of experiments was found to be preferable to the other and will provide significant new data for the validation of reactor physics and criticality safety codes.


Abstract Large NNW-trending slot canyons cut into, but generally not entirely through, the approximately 600 m-thick Jurassic Navajo Sandstone at Zion National Park (ZNP). These canyons sit immediately above, and parallel to, joint zones and exhibit a regular spacing (c. 450 m). The joint zones, in particular, consist of vertical and steeply dipping joints that tend to dip towards the axis of the canyon. These regularly spaced, joint-localized canyons are confined to the Navajo, suggesting a stress-shadow origin for their configuration; however, this explanation does not predict closely spaced joints in joint zones at each canyon. To explain the development of the joint zones, we treat the canyons themselves as cracks. Early, widely-spaced, NNW-trending joints propagated into the top of the Navajo, and later preferential erosion along these joints initiated the pattern of canyons with a cross-sectional profile consistent with blunt edge cracks spaced at about 450 m. Analogous to edge cracks, the canyons subsequently concentrated tensile stress at their tips while subjected to regional extension. Concentration of canyon-tip tensile stress was sufficient to drive steeply dipping secondary joints, reflecting principal stress rotation in a process zone ahead of the canyon tip. Joint density in each joint zone increases as a consequence of a gravity-induced shear traction that drives vertical wing cracks from the tips of steeply dipping secondary joints. Exfoliation jointing along canyon walls also contributes to the widening of canyons. The perferential erosion of slot canyons follows the joint zones, and thus, a feedback loop is set up between the growth of secondary jointing in the canyon-tip stress concentration and the downward erosion of the canyon.


Globally, commercially exploited fish species are coming under more and more pressure as the population of humans grow. Protein from the sea has traditionally been available to coastal communities throughout history. In modern times however, traditional artisanal fisheries have been replaced by commercial fishing industries. It is estimated by some authorities that these modern fisheries have led to decreases in pre-exploitation biomass of desirable species of up to 90%. As desirable species decline, secondary species become more valuable and subject to exploitation. An issue with this exploitation is that management decisions of fish stocks are often based on political or commercial concerns rather than sound science focussed on preserving stocks, and ultimately, fishing industries. To investigate phylogenetic and phylogeographic relationships of fish, kahawai (Arripis trutta) was used as a proxy species. A. trutta is one of only four members of the genus Arripis, which in turn is the sole member of the family Arripidae. It was found that a single, highly connected population of A. trutta inhabit New Zealand waters, and approximately 15 migrants per generation make the journey between New Zealand and Australia, genetically linking these populations. A phylogeny of A. trutta was resolved using mitochondrial DNA, and while COX1 data supported the hypothesis that A. trutta forms a monophyletic clade within the Stromateoids (medusa fish, squaretails and drift fish) and the Scombrids (tuna, mackerel and their allies) suggesting a common ancestor, other data collected during the investigation does not support this hypothesis.


Abstract New cell lines from embryos of Ephestia kuehniella were recently developed. Primary cultures were initiated in September 2002 from 2 to 4 day old eggs in either modified TC-100 or ExCell 400 medium. From these initial cultures, one, originally isolated in the Ex-Cell medium, produced sufficient cell growth to allow subcultivation and eventually led to the establishment of two cell strains, one that forms multicellular vesicles in suspension and one consisting of tightly attached epithelial-like cells. The strains were compared to an extract from E. kuehniella eggs by isozyme analysis and shown to be from the same species. Both strains were inoculated with various insect viruses, including nucleopolyhedroviruses from Autographa californica, Anagrapha falcifera, Anticarsa gemmatalis, Galleria mellonella, Heliothis armigera, Helicoverpa zea, Lymantria dispar, Plutella xylostella, and Rachoplusia ou. Both strains were highly susceptible to most of the nucleopolyhedroviruses (with the exception of the viruses from Helicoverpa zea and Lymantria dispar which did not show cytopathology to either cell strain) with large numbers of occlusion bodies produced in most of the inoculated cells. Our results suggest these new lines can be useful in biocontrol research. NPV nucleopolyhedrovirus, the prefix M or S refers to multiple or single nucleocapsids Ek-x4T an attached cell line from E. kuehniella Ek-x4V a vesicular cell line from E. kuehniella


Two species of Dolichomitus Smith, 1877 emerged from the trunks of Juglans mandshurica Maxim. in Kuandian and Benxi Manzu Autonomous Counties, Liaoning, in the Palaearctic part of China. One new species, D. juglanse Sheng #38; Li sp. nov., reared from Menesia flavotecta Heyden, 1886 and Mesosa myops (Dalman, 1817) (Cerambycidae), is described and illustrated. A key to the species of Dolichomitus known from China is provided.


Thoc1 encodes a protein (Thoc1) that interacts with the retinoblastoma protein (Rb). Thoc1 functions in an evolutionary conserved protein complex called THO that is involved in nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle (RNP) formation. Loss of THO function compromises the packaging of nascent RNA, which causes defects in transcription, RNA processing and mRNA export. In mice, Thoc1 is required for embryonic development. It is currently unknown whether Thoc1 is required in adult mice for normal tissue homeostasis. We hypothesize that different tissues will vary in their dependence on Thoc1, possibly based on their proliferative potential. To test this hypothesis, we conditionally deleted Thoc1 in adult mice in a wide variety of tissues using the Tamoxifen/CreER recombination system, and assessed the consequences on tissue homeostasis. Thoc1 F/F :Rosa26CreER +/− (test) and Thoc1 +/+ :Rosa26CreER +/− (control) adult mice were treated with 2 mg/day Tamoxifen for 6 days. Slowly proliferating (liver, kidney, colon) and rapidly proliferating (small intestinal (S.I.)) tissue were collected 24 hours after the last treatment. Histological analysis shows Thoc1 loss disrupts the architecture of the small intestine (S.I.) but does not affect the other tissues examined. The functional unit of the S.I. is the crypt-villus axis. S.I. crypts contain rapidly proliferating stem and progenitor cells that continuously feed the differentiated, non-proliferative villus epithelium. The crypts proliferate so rapidly that the entire S.I. epithelium is replaced every three to five days. Interestingly, Thoc1 loss only causes apoptosis in the S.I. crypts, suggesting disruption of villi architecture following Thoc1 loss is a result of altered crypt function, not a direct effect of Thoc1 loss. Supporting this, the crypts of mice in which Thoc1 has been deleted also have a loss of cell proliferation. While the colon and S.I. have similar tissue architecture, the colon9s rate of turnover is much slower. Therefore, it is not surprising the colon is not affected by Thoc1 loss. These findings support the hypothesis that tissues with a high cell proliferative potential require Thoc1. To explore this further, we examined how Thoc1 deletion would affect the highly proliferative hematopoietic system using the same test and control mice as previously listed. Further supporting the hypothesis, Thoc1 loss decreases the number of lymphocytes in the blood, but does not affect spleen and thymus (slowly proliferating tissues) histology. The results of this study suggest highly proliferative tissues that turnover rapidly require Thoc1, most likely to support the gene expression and cell growth necessary for rapid cell division. This hypothesis is significant as it predicts cancer cells will be more sensitive to Thoc1 loss than normal cells, a prediction verified by preliminary results in our lab. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1850. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-1850


This study focuses on the labour cost competitiveness of the paper and pulp industry in China and Finland in particular, using the corresponding German, the US and Estonian industries as a point of comparison in the early 2000s. This study deepens the analysis of the earlier study of the cost competitiveness of the manufacturing industries in the same group of countries. Separate studies focusing on the labour cost competitiveness are carried out in a parallel manner on the chemical industries and metal industries. The results of these three sector studies deepen the knowledge about the change of competitiveness and its level. Large unit labour cost differences in a common currency were obviously a key factor behind exceptionally rapidly changing international production and trade structures in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Chinese paper and pulp industry grew by about a quarter per year in 2000-2007 as the average annual growth of the value added of world manufacturing volume was only 3 per cent in 2000-2006. Nominal wages as such do not imply good international competitiveness. Chinese wages are, however, low even if their low labour productivity is taken into account and costs per unit of production are compared in a common currency. The relative levels of the Chinese unit labour costs vis-a-vis Germany, using the unit value ratios (UVR) to make the production volumes comparable, were estimated to be about 9 per cent in the paper and pulp industry. The ratio has even declined in the early 2000s and has stayed relatively stable after that until 2007. Improving labour productivity in China had compensated for the effects of rapidly rising wages and an appreciating Renminbi. The outlook of the paper and pulp industry, like the economy in general, is clouded by the difficult global financial crisis, which strongly restricts export possibilities and dampens also the domestic markets of industry. On the other hand, the stimulus packages of the government support the demand for paper and pulp products.


The term public pedagogy first appeared in 1894 and has been widely deployed as a theoretical construct in education research to focus on processes and sites of education beyond formal schooling, with a proliferation of its use by feminist and critical theorists occurring since the mid-1990s. This integrative literature review provides the first synthesis of public pedagogy research through a thematic analysis of a sample of 420 publications. Finding that the public pedagogy construct is often undertheorized and ambiguously presented in education research literature, the study identifies five primary categories of extant public pedagogy research: (a) citizenship within and beyond schools, (b) popular culture and everyday life, (c) informal institutions and public spaces, (d) dominant cultural discourses, and (e) public intellectualism and social activism. These categories provide researchers with a conceptual framework for investigating public pedagogy and for locating future scholarship. The study identifies the need for theoretical specificity in research that employs the public pedagogy construct and for empirical studies that investigate the processes of public pedagogy, particularly in terms of the learner's perspective.


Emerging evidence supports the health-promoting ability of a special microbial-fermented Fuzhuan brick tea. Epigallocatechin gallate was identified as a dominant flavonoid of Fuzhuan tea aqueous extract (FTE). Mice were treated with 30% high fructose (HF) water feeding alone or in combination with administration of FTE at 400 mg per kg bw for 13 weeks. FTE caused strong inhibition against the elevation of liver weight, serum enzymatic (aspartate aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase) activities and hepatic inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-a and tumor necrosis factor-b) formation, as well as dyslipidemia (total cholesterol, total triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol) in HF-fed mice (p < 0.05). Hepatic malonaldehyde formation was lowered, while superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities were enhanced by FTE treatment, relative to HF-fed mice (p < 0.05), and histopathological evaluation confirmed the protection. As revealed by 16S rDNA gene sequencing, FTE notably increased abundance of Bacteroidetes and Lactobacillus, but reduced population of Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Tenericutes in HF feeding mice. These findings suggest that FTE exerts a hepatoprotective effect by modifying hepatic oxidative stress, inflammatory response and gut microbiota dysfunction.


Abstract : Development work on far infrared transmitting fiber optics is reported. Effort during the third quarter has been concentrated on the following: 1) additional samples of glass were evaluated in fiber draws; 2) techniques were developed to demonstrate the presence of the coating glass on a coated fiber; and 3) transmission profiles and radiation pattern measurements were recorded for two types of coated fibers. The results are included in this report. Furthermore, effort on the development of techniques for fabricating short flexible light pipes was continued and several successful samples have been made using uncoated fibers. Two glass combinations have been used to produce short lengths of good quality coated fibers. Devitrification is still a problem, producing some seeds in long lengths of fiber, but additional draws are scheduled with these glasses in an attempt to minimize this defect. The optical evaluation equipment has proved to be satisfactory for the measurements required and the characteristic curve concept has been demonstrated. Light pipe fabrication techniques have been developed and appear to be satisfactory for the production of short flexible components. (Author)


We recently reported pentacene-based organic thin film transistors (TFTs) with field-effect mobility and on/off current ratio comparable to hydrogenated amorphous silicon devices. However, these devices had large threshold voltage (typically >+20 V; that is, the devices are on at zero gate bias) and large subthreshold slope (typically >5 V/decade), which makes application in low-voltage circuits problematic. We have now fabricated pentacene-based TFTs with field-effect mobility as large as 1.5 cm/sup 2//V-s, low threshold voltage, and subthreshold slope as low as 1.6 V/decade.


We present the 3D real-space clustering power spectrum of a sample of ∼600 000 luminous red galaxies measured by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, using photometric redshifts. These galaxies are old, elliptical systems with strong 4000-A breaks, and have accurate photometric redshifts with an average error of Δz= 0.03. This sample of galaxies ranges from redshift z= 0.2 to 0.6 over 3528 deg2 of the sky, probing a volume of 1.5 h−3 Gpc3, making it the largest volume ever used for galaxy clustering measurements. We measure the angular clustering power spectrum in eight redshift slices and use well-calibrated redshift distributions to combine these into a high-precision 3D real-space power spectrum from k= 0.005 to k= 1 h Mpc−1. We detect power on gigaparsec scales, beyond the turnover in the matter power spectrum, at a ∼2σ significance for k < 0.01 h Mpc−1, increasing to 5.5σ for k < 0.02 h Mpc−1. This detection of power is on scales significantly larger than those accessible to current spectroscopic redshift surveys. We also find evidence for baryonic oscillations, both in the power spectrum, as well as in fits to the baryon density, at a 2.5 σ confidence level. The large volume and resulting small statistical errors on the power spectrum allow us to constrain both the amplitude and the scale dependence of the galaxy bias in cosmological fits. The statistical power of these data to constrain cosmology is ∼1.7 times better than previous clustering analyses. Varying the matter density and baryon fraction, we find ΩM= 0.30 ± 0.03, and Ωb/ΩM= 0.18 ± 0.04, for a fixed Hubble constant of 70 km s−1 Mpc−1 and a scale-invariant spectrum of initial perturbations. The detection of baryonic oscillations also allows us to measure the comoving distance to z= 0.5; we find a best-fitting distance of 1.73 ± 0.12 Gpc, corresponding to a 6.5 per cent error on the distance. These results demonstrate the ability to make precise clustering measurements with photometric surveys.


ABSTRACT
Intravenous pulse corticosteroids is an alternative method of corticosteroids delivery, which proved to be safe with rapid and potent efficacy. It is an effective treatment of alopecia areata, but not for the totalis, universalis or ophiasis types, for which no effective therapy is available yet. Recently, it has been confirmed that oral and intravenous pulse methylprednisolone MP have comparable efficacy. Here, we report a 9-year-old Saudi boy with alopecia universalis who was treated with MP sodium succinate 15 mg/kg ideal body weight orally for 3 consecutive days bimonthly for 12 sessions. Complete hair regrowth was obtained without toxic effects. When the interval was increased to 4 weeks, he showed partial relapse. So, 2 more pulses were given with an interval of 3 weeks in between. This maintained his regrown hair for a year without treatment.


The paper analyzes the effect of two climate variables (precipitation and temperature) on the growth and vitality of trees in the pure Norway spruce stand in the National Park ''Kopaonik''. The samples were taken during 2016 year. By using modern dendrochronological methods we found the declining growth trends in the period from 1980 to 2015, while the climate elements created a growing trend in the same period. Significant Pearson correlation between climatic elements and growth established for some months. Bearing in mind that the growth in this period from 1980 to 2015 year decreases, and the temperature and precipitation increases, it can be said that the adverse temperature effect is not fully expressed because there was enough precipitation. Further research evaluation should include more climatic elements and identify potential cause drying of Norway spruce in this National park.


In Escherichia coli, initiation of chromosomal replication is activated by a nucleoprotein complex formed primarily between the DnaA protein and oriC (replication origin) DNA. After replicational initiation, this complex has to be inactivated in order to repress the appearance of initiation events until the next scheduled round of initiation. Studies of the mechanisms responsible for this repression have recently revealed direct coupling between these mechanisms and key elements of the replication process, suggesting that feedback‐type regulatory loops exist between the factors implicated in initiation and the elements yielded by the replication process. The loading of the ring‐shaped β‐subunit of DNA polymerase III onto DNA plays a key role in the inactivation of the DnaA protein. Duplication of oriC DNA results in hemimethylated DNA, which is inert for reinitiation. Titration of large amounts of DnaA protein to a non‐oriC locus can repress untimely initiations, and timely duplication of this locus is required for this repression in rapidly growing cells. All these systems functionally complement one another to ensure the maintenance of the interinitiation interval between two normal DNA replication cycles. The mechanisms that link the replication cycle to the progression of the cell cycle are also discussed.


Inclusion of forage legumes in diet may improve tropical ruminant systems productivity and sustainability. However, it is not well stablished which chemical components more impact their nutritional value. The relationship between chemical composition and in vitro fermentation of tropical forage legume was evaluated with the objective of obtaining indicators of their nutritional value. Samples of Crotalaria spectabilis, Cajanus cajan, Macrotyloma axillare, Mucuna aterrina, Stylosantis sp. and Canavalia ensiformis, cut from plants at growth age between 47 to 110 days, were analysed. Total gas production showed negative correlation (P<0.05) with total N (R=-0.51), acid detergent fibre (ADF, R=-0.62) and acid detergent lignin (ADL, R=-0.65), and positive correlation with non-fibre carbohydrates (NFC, R=0.70). Gas production rate was negatively related (P<0.05) to NDF (R=-0.73), ADF (R=-0.62) and ADL (R=-0.74). Ammonia concentration in the incubation medium was positively related (P<0.05) to total (R=0.74) and soluble (R=0.56) N, and negatively related to NFC (R=-0.81). The level of bacterial adhesion on residue of incubation was negatively related (P<0.05) to cell wall components, mainly to ADL (R=-0.57). The inclusion of polyehtylene glycol increased both gas volume and gas production rate whereas decreased ammonia concentration (P<0.05). In conclusion, even at low concentrations tannins impact the in vitro fermentation of tropical legumes. However, among the analyzed chemical components, the ADL was the best indicator of the nutritional value of the tropical forage legumes.


The Valhalla Wilderness Program: A Model for Alternative Education and Its Effect on Girls' Self-Esteem, is a two credit project designed to measure the impact the program had on self-esteem in females aged 14 to 15 years of age, at WE Graham School in Slocan British Columbia during the 2000 2001 school year. The rationale for this study is to explain how the girls in the program, view themselves and their sense of self-efficacy before and after the grade 9 program at WE Graham SchooL This will be accomplished by examining pre and post data using standardized, norm referenced self-esteem inventories as well as a Focus Group Interview. Administration of the pre and post assessment tools will take place in December 2000 and the postassessment will take place six months later in June 2001. The standardized assessment tools are the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory and the Student Self Concept Scale. The Focus Group Interview will consist of six questions about the Wilderness Program and how it affects the way the girls view themselves and their abilities over the course of six months in the program.


: Health education is of great relevance in developing communities as it is a means of improving the health level which is an integral part of the overall socioeconomic development. It must be undertaken in conjunction with health services which should involve consumer participation at an early stage. Its focus is on changing behavior in respect to healthful living both at the individual and community levels. Health education subjects in developing communities include maternal and child health (MCH), nutrition, family planning and infectious diseases. Every member in the health team must be a health educator. Personal methods, especially when used by indigenous community health workers, are best suited to induce health behavior change in developing communities. Mass media as a rule is less suited for this, although radio can inform large segments of the population.


This thesis investigates the institution-centred and society-centred perspectives on generalized trust. Using advanced statistical techniques, I first assess some central implications of the two approaches employing observational data. In particular, I begin by suggesting that the scarcity of different goods in a region (lack of personal security and jobs) negatively affects our propensity to trust strangers, as we are less likely to believe that the state will fulfil its obligations. A Multilevel Structural Equation analysis of data from the European Social Survey 2010 and EUROSTAT confirms hypotheses put forward, suggesting that institutional trust has indeed a strong intervening function. Subsequently, moving to the society-centred perspective, I consider two main theoretical mechanisms (namely, the Bridging and Spillover effects) to explain why we consistently observe that interactions with people we know lead us to trust people we do not know. Using the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey 2000, I find support for the Spillover effect. However, findings are less convincing in respect to the Bridging mechanism.

Finally, I focus on the Spillover effect and propose a novel design to accurately evaluate its causal validity. In this sense, I conduct an experiment where subjects play a series of Trust Games with anonymous others and are able to report their games' experience to their social links. Changing the average number of links among subjects, I check if in communities characterized by a higher overall density of social ties, network-based reputation systems foster trusting behaviours with strangers. Evidence supports the validity of the Spillover effect, encouraging further research on the topic.


Abstract:
 Early life history information on the federally endangered winged mapleleaf (Quadrula fragosa (Conrad, 1835)) mussel is needed by natural resource managers to improve conservation and propagation programs. We conducted four studies to obtain some of this information. First, we observed Q. fragosa in the St. Croix River, Wisconsin between 1997–2010 and found females brood larvae (glochidia) for a unique period, between 8 September to 8 October at water temperatures ranging between 15–21 °C Second, we tested 67 fish species and Necturus maculosus for their ability to transform glochidia into juveniles. Nearly 30,000 juvenile Q. fragosa were produced, but only on Ictalurus furcatus and I. punctatus. Unlike most mussel species, Q. fragosa glochidia grew 3 to 4-fold while attached. Third, using scanning electron microscopy we were able to distinguish Q. fragosa glochidia height and length from six other mussel species that also produce small glochidia (<120 µm in height). Finally, we recovered 535 juveniles from 15 naturally infested fish species to determine if any were Q. fragosa based on glochidia morphology. We identified one juvenile from an I. punctatus as a Q. fragosa. To improve conservation efforts we suggest monitoring not only Q. fragosa beds but also associated Ictalurus populations, whose ranges may extend beyond mussel populations.


This paper describes a beamforming network well adapted to produce evenly distributed multiple-beam coverage over a full 360° angular range in azimuth. This structure is very simple, flexible, and compatible with low-cost manufacturing processes such as printed technology. The proposed design is based on balanced power dividers and combiners arranged in such a way to feed a sector of a circular array antenna with Gaussian amplitude distribution and in-phase signals. The first characteristic provides control on the radiation pattern shape, including main lobe shape and sidelobe level, while the second ensures stable beam pointing over a wide frequency range. The proposed azimuth beamforming network is described, and a specific design in microstrip technology is presented with a center frequency at 6 GHz. Simulation results are supported by the measurement of several prototypes. In particular, two designs including the circular array antenna are compared to investigate the impact of the circular array antenna radius on radiation patterns. Despite the assumptions, good correlation is found between simulation and measurement results, thus confirming the properties of the proposed beamforming network concept. Integration of phase controls in the feeding network and its impact on the overall antenna efficiency are also discussed.


BACKGROUND
Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is frequently treated with ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) surgery. However, VPS implantation can lead to overdrainage and complications such as headaches, hygroma, and subdural hematoma due to a siphon effect in an upright position. Gravitational valves prevent overdrainage through position-dependent adjustment of valve resistance. Flow-regulated valves that increase resistance in presence of high cerebrospinal fluid flow may provide similar protection against overdrainage and present an alternative to gravitational valves.

OBJECTIVE
To compare gravitational and flow-regulated shunt valves in patients with symptomatic NPH.

METHODS
We performed a retrospective analysis of 97 patients suffering from NPH who underwent VPS implantation with a gravitational or a flow-regulated valve. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of hygroma or subdural hematoma. Secondary endpoints were neurological outcome (Kiefer score, Stein and Langfitt score, and NPH recovery rate), frequency of valve adjustments, and reoperations.

RESULTS
No significant differences in the occurrence of hygroma and subdural hematoma (11.4% for flow-regulated valves vs 5.7% for gravitational valves, P = .462) or response to treatment (77.3% vs 81.1%, P = .802) were found. Patients with flow-regulated valves required fewer valve adjustments (1.12 vs 2.02, P < .001) to reach their optimal neurological outcome and underwent fewer surgical revisions (11.4% vs 28.3%, P = .047).

CONCLUSION
Our data suggest that shunt therapy in NPH patients with a flow-regulated instead of a gravitational valve is safe and effective with a comparable clinical outcome and risk of overdrainage complications. Moreover, patients with flow-regulated valves may need fewer valve adjustments and reoperations.


measured were unaffected by increase in absorbed lead". It is clear that the intellectual functions include memory because he had written previously, "The tasks provided measurements of watchkeeping, vigilance, and attentive functions, sensory-perceptual functions, intellectual (memory) functions, and time-sharing functions". Repko has nothing to say about lethargy. In fact, the only changes which Repko finally claimed were due to lead were in auditory functioning, tremor and eyehand coordination and muscle strength. It would appear that on this question of the early symptoms of lead intoxication being neuropsychiatric in nature, Pollock and Ibels are left without any support whatsoever. My own interpretation of their findings on this score would be that these symptoms in their cases were generated by suggestion and cured by the placebo of chelation therapy. My second question concerns the recommendation of the use of chelation-provoked urinary lead concentrations in preference to blood lead concentrations in the diagnosis of lead toxicity. The latter have been recognized as a valid indicator of toxicity for many years and are backed by a wealth of information. The information that is available about the validity of the chelation-provoked urinary lead concentration is scanty. It has the further disadvantages that the test is so much less convenient and that it carries a significant element of risk. It would be a pity if the article by Pollock and Ibels encouraged the use of this as a diagnostic test. A.J. Christophers, DP" Senior Associate University of Melbourne Department of Pharmacology Grattan Street Parkville, VIC 3052 I. Pollock CA, Ibels LS. Lead intoxication in paint removal workers on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Med J Aust 1986; 145: 635-639. 2. Repko JD, Morgan BB, Nicholson J. Behavioral effects of occupational exposure to lead. Washington, DC: US Department of Health, Education and Welfare, 1975. (Publication no. (NIOSH) 75-164.) In reply: We would like to reiterate that the earliest symptoms of lead toxicity are neuropsychiatric in nature and are often subtle symptoms that are encountered frequently by the medical profession. However, in patients with occupational exposure to lead, it is extremely important to exclude lead intoxication as a cause of such symptoms if more severe sequelae are to be avoided. Many studies, including that of Repko et aI., have shown intellectual and behavioural dysfunction to be sensitive markers of lead neurotoxicity. 1 The subject is further reviewed by Grandjearr' and Wada and Ohi." Cullen et aI. reported that 81070 of patients with excess burdens of lead complained of non-specific symptoms of fatigue and irritability and cite improvement in these symptoms with chelation therapy. 4 Similarly Jeyaratnam et aI. reported significantly more somatic complaints including poor memory, poor concentration, anxiety, depression and headache in patients who were exposed to lead compared with workers who were not so exposed.s Although no formal psychometric testing was performed in the six patients who were reported, the extent of their complaints was sufficient to seriously impair their life-styles and improved markedly' after treatment with chelation therapy. An abundance of literature supports the viewthat prolonged minor elevations in the body load of lead causes neurotoxicity and, as the subsequent course of the neurotoxicity is unknown, we would advocate strenuously the assessment of patients for lead intoxication if exposure to lead is evident. We would agree with Dr Christophers that elevations in blood lead levels indicate toxicity, but we would argue that significant toxicity can occur in the presence of normal blood lead levels due to the metabolism and preferential distribution of lead to soft tissues and bones. Therefore, blood lead levels are not a sensitive enough indicator of lead toxicity and we would recommend the use of a calcium-EDTA chelation test in situations in which lead toxicity is reasonably suspected. The test, which was used initially by Emmerson and Thiele," has been extensively reviewed elsewhere." This test is perhaps "less convenient" but we would suggest more so for the treating physician than for the patient, for whom the "inconvenience" of establishing the diagnosis of lead intoxication and subsequent treatment avoids much more serious complications, such as chronic renal failure. We would disagree that the use of calcium-EDTA chelation therapy carries a significant element of risk as there is a substantial amount of literature to support the safety of this therapy (MJA, January 19, 1987)." Thus, we reiterate that in the setting of occupational exposure to lead, neuropsychiatric symptoms cannot be ignored and the establishment of the presence of lead intoxication by means of the calcium-EDTA chelation test should be employed.


Abstract Background: The physical exertion in the game of rugby is intense and depends on the playing position. This study hypothesized that peculiarities of body composition are important and should be properly interpreted in order to improve fitness and particularly in order to reduce the risk of injuries. Purpose: The aim of the present paper is to highlight the importance of body composition evaluation and to underline the usefulness of the data thus obtained for both training individualization and sports injuries risk reduction. Material and Methods: Thirty seven senior male rugby players from the former Romanian national team were assessed on body composition using a segmental multi-frequency bio-impedance analyzer InBody 720 (The Body Composition Analyzer – South Korea). We compared the results from both the preseason and the regular season 2012 with the international norms for elite players and we categorized the data by playing positions. Results: We have analyzed the amount of lean mass on each limb (kg), body water content (l), percentage of body fat, bone mineral and protein content (kg). We observed that the number of injuries is directly correlated to high levels of body fat percentage, low lean mass, and edema scores. Conclusions: The risk of injury can be identified among elite rugby players not only by using fitness tests, but also by using a simple and objective test of body composition. These results show how important it is to monitor the level of body fat, lean muscle mass and muscular development in order to modify nutrition and food habits, individualize trainings and thus reduce the number of injuries.


【Magnetic properties of electrical steel are, in general. measured by using Epstein frame or single sheet tester (SST). These methods, however, require very strict regulation of a specimen in its size and shape. thus, can not be easily applied to various types of specimen. On the other hand, a ring-test method, which measures only the isotropic properties, can be easily applied to most cases because it requires a toroidal-type specimen of arbitrary size. This method, especially, is considered as an unique available method for a bulk-type specimen. In this paper, a ring-test method is developed, and applied to the measurement of magnetic properties of a bulk-type electrical steel with a toroidal-type specimen. In the measurement, the magnetic properties and iron losses are measured and compared with each other at the both sinusoidal magnetic flux density and sinusoidal magnetic field intensity conditions under 0.2Hz and 60Hz alternating magnetic fields excitation. Through experimental measurements, a sinusoidal magnetic flux density condition is proven appropriate for the measurement of magnetic properties, including iron loss characteristics, of electrical steels.】


Though they are related, the price, cost, consumption and value of children are not the same. This paper explores two aspects of the relationship between these concepts. Even if we restrict attention to the domain of commodity consumption, the cost of children is not the same as children's consumption. In this context, the cost of children to their parents is often described with a consumer equivalence scale. It is shown here that, under reasonable assumptions, children's consumption of market goods is less than the 'equivalent income' of the household, but more than the 'cost of children'. Expenditure costs, however, are only part of the cost of children. This paper uses a variant of the 'adult goods' method to estimate the full costs of children, including both expenditure and time costs. Adult personal time (comprising pure leisure, sleep and other personal care) is used as the adult good. Preliminary estimates using Australian data suggest a very large cost of children. The paper discusses the limitations of the estimation approach and considers the broader welfare implications of these costs.


ObjectiveIn order to track progress towards TB goals, we investigated the legal framework for disease surveillance, specifically policy changes for TB surveillance in Mongolia during the MDGs and the SDGs era.IntroductionMongolia is one of countries in the WHO Western Pacific Region with a high TB burden. The National Stop TB Strategy 2010-2015 implemented and developed strong surveillance and response system in the country. However, new TB incidence and deaths have not decreased significantly.Political commitment is critical for effective TB surveillance and that commitment can be demonstrated by a country's legal framework, which governs the practice of prevention and control. Therefore, this study is aimed at investigating the legal underpinnings for disease surveillance to help identify what policy changes have occurred in Tuberculosis surveillance.MethodsWe conducted a literature review that included government strategy, programme guidelines and procedures, to examine the overall disease surveillance system in Mongolia, and used a framework analysis to investigate operation of the TB surveillance system (CDC 2001 guideline). First, nine of core functions and six of support functions for the TB surveillance system were placed on the Y axis, and the national TB strategies, programme, guidelines and procedures were placed on the X axis. Next, the strategies, programme, guidelines and procedures were unpacked and allocated to cells based on whether they were consistent with the essential functions of the surveillance system. These data points were then used to develop a matrix to enable understanding of correspondence and changes between the legal documents during MDGs to SDGs.ResultsResult 1. Mongolia has an Emerging Disease Surveillance and Response unit and A National Centre for Communicable Disease responsible for implementing the International Health Regulations in the country. The legal framework for the surveillance system was updated regularly and overall, 11 legal instruments were identified.Result 2. However, currently there is no specific national TB strategy since 2015. Recently, National Programme of Prevention and Control on Communicable disease 2017-2020 and Guidelines for TB Care 2017 were approved. The result of framework analysis shows that during MDGs era, the legal documents had weaknesses that were related to "feedback" from the core and "training and resources" from the support functions. On other hand, the weaknesses of the legal documents for SDGs were related to "outbreak preparedness and response" from the core and "training and supervision" from the support functions.ConclusionsThere is an urgency to update the legal framework to enable a comprehensive strategy specifically for TB surveillance nationwide. Also, additional studies should be done continuously and should incorporate other parts of the assessment, including co-ordination, laboratories,to help determine the factors that influence the overall structure of Tuberculosis surveillance in the country.


The occurrence of a large-cell lymphoma (LCL) concurrent with or subsequent to lymphocytic predominance Hodgkin's disease (LPHD) is well documented. Given the well-characterized B-cell nature of the Reed-Sternberg cell variants in LPHD, there may be a clonal relationship between the LPHD and the associated B-cell LCL. In this study, we adapted a highly sensitive, clonospecific assay to test whether the clone comprising the LCL exists in the corresponding LPHD tumor. Nine cases meeting the histologic criteria of nodular LPHD and B-cell LCL were identified, reviewed, and studied. Initially, clonality of both lesions was assessed using consensus primers to conserved regions in the IgH variable (frame-work III) and joining region genes in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. The PCR assay detected a clonal B-cell population in five of the LCLs, whereas analysis of eight cases of LPHD did not detect a dominant clone. Clonal products from the LCL were then sequenced, and clonospecific oligonucleotides were designed from the unique nucleotide sequence encoding the complementarity-determining region-III. These were then used as primers and/or probes in sensitive PCR-based assays on the corresponding LPHD tumors. In two cases, the clonospecific assay showed that the LPHD and LCL shared a common clone that was further confirmed by sequence analysis. This finding provides genotypic evidence that, at least in some cases, the LCL represents a clonal progression of LPHD.


Objectives: To explore whether or not the implementation of a holistic meal and ambiance concept has the potential to increase the meal enjoyment and/or influence food intake of the elderly in nursing homes who already eat in a social setting. Design: In a longitudinal design two groups of subjects (comparison group & experimental group) participated in a 12-week study encompassing an 8-week intervention. In the first four weeks, all residents consumed their normal main meals in the usual setting. In the following eight weeks, the intervention was applied to the experimental group (n=28). The comparison group (n=40) received no intervention. Both groups were interviewed twice (in week 4 and 12). Setting: Real-life setting (Dutch nursing homes). Subjects: Sixty-eight long-term nursing home residents with primarily somatic disorders. Results: The total amount of energy intake for the main meal showed no significant difference between the experimental and comparison group. However, in the experimental group a significant higher intake of vegetables, starch and applesauce and a lower intake of sauce was observed as well as an increased duration of the meal. The meal enjoyment was improved for the items time spent at the table and satisfaction with the amount of food. Conclusions: Within 8 weeks of intervention, duration of the meal, meal enjoyment and to a lesser extent food intake of nursing home residents can already be influenced. These influences were already achieved in a relative short time, which is promising for the long term.


Abstract Brucellosis is a common infection of children in Iran. Considering the prevalence of complications in children, early diagnosis and treatment are crucial for prevention of morbidity and mortality. We retrospectively (1996–2005) studied all children who were diagnosed with brucellosis in one of the largest referral pediatric hospitals in Tehran, Iran. Inclusion criteria were positive Wright test (≥ 1/80 in Iranian population) and 2-mercaptoethanol (≥ 1/20) or isolation of brucella in sterile body fluids. Clinical manifestations, serologic, radiologic and other laboratory findings were analyzed. Data were evaluated on medical reports of 54 children with brucellosis during 1996–2005. The clinical manifestations varied: fever in 40 patients (72%), arthralgia in 27 (50%), hepatosplenomegaly in 18 (32%) and gastrointestinal involvement in 17 (31%). One third of patients had anemia and 25 of them (46%) had low mean corpuscular volume values. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate was more than 20 in 34 (75%) of examined patients. Wright was performed in all patients, 26 (48%) of whom had titers equal or more than 1/320. Coombs Wright was 1/320 in 18 (33%), and 2-mercaptoethanol was positive in all patients (≥ 1/20). Common antibiotic regimens were co-trimoxazole plus rifampin, co-trimoxazole plus streptomycin and co-trimoxazole plus rifampin and gentamicin. Brucellosis presents with variable manifestations, so diagnosis may be difficult, resulting in delay of treatment. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment by more effective combinations will be useful for decreasing the rate of morbidity, mortality and relapse.


The aim of this research was to explore the experiences of Early Career Casual Teachers (ECCTs) and how their professional identities are negotiated and constructed in multiple communities of practice. Early career teachers are increasingly beginning their teaching careers in casual employment (Bita, 2015; Bryan, 2015; K. Jenkins, 2013) and despite the increasing number of ECCTs, there is limited research regarding their experiences. The fragmented nature of casual teaching may also constrain negotiation and construction of a professional identity (Pietsch & Williamson, 2007).

This qualitative study was longitudinal in design and used a case study method. Participants were early career teachers who had been employed as day-to-day casual teachers, commonly referred to as "relief teachers" in Australia. There were two phases of the research conducted over an eighteen-month period. The first exploratory phase consisted of focus group discussions with ECCTs, and the second phase followed the journeys of six early career casual teachers gathering data through interviews and reflective tasks. Wenger's (1998) communities of practice framework was adapted and used to investigate ECCTs' experiences and professional identity negotiation and construction.

Relationships and engagement were found to be critical in the complex negotiation and construction of professional identity. Access to both school and professional communities was a major challenge reported by ECCTs. For some, prior engagement with a school community provided brokerage into the school community, and for others sustained engagement with a school community provided access to formal professional communities. In addition, developing strong relationships with students, colleagues and parents assisted ECCTs to develop deep connections with a school community and contributed to a sense of belonging. Professional identity was constructed through integration of personal and professional identity and was negotiated through experiences in both school and professional communities.

The research findings provide new insights for universities, education departments, professional authorities and schools in their endeavours to assist ECCTs as they negotiate and construct their professional identity, potentially enhancing commitment to the teaching profession.


Introduction: Exfoliated buccal epithelial cells serve as an ideal site for an assessment of genotoxic events. Exfoliative cytology is economical and minimally invasive, its specificity and sensitivity of over 95% makes it an ideal diagnostic tool for mass screening purposes. An assessment of micronuclei in buccal epithelial cells gives a fair idea about the genotoxic events occurring in the oral cavity. Subjects and Methods : A case controlled study was performed on 300 participants. The participants were divided into four broad categories according to their pattern of consumption of smokeless tobacco. Thereafter they were subdivided in to various age groups. The distribution was done equally with 60 participants in each broad category. Results: The results in our study show that young adults consume the packaged form of smokeless tobacco while adults above 50 consumed tobacco leaves. Oral lesions were more common in young adults. Cellular alterations in the form of micronuclei were observed to have progressively increased from the control group to tobacco to gutkha users and the frequency of micronuclei was found to be highest in the oral lesions group. Conclusion: Certain lifestyle factors, such as consumption of smokeless tobacco are one of the major factors causing oral lesions. Frequency of micronuclei was assessed in exfoliated buccal epithelial cells. Maximum number of micronuclei was found in the oral lesion group. The age group with maximum cellular alterations was between 30-40 years. Hence we conclude that an assessment of micronuclei can be used as a biomarker for mass screening purposes since it is economical and a non- invasive procedure.


Current laboratory‐based approaches for predicting metal toxicity in sediments exhibit a number of limitations. The most important are (1) a lack of sufficient equilibration resulting in unrealistically low pH values or unnaturally high porewater metal concentrations and (2) an inadequate test design regarding the metal concentrations selected for spiking. The present study illustrates that by explicitly accounting for these limitations, one obtains reliable and environmentally realistic toxicity data, thus advancing the metal risk assessments of sediments. To this end, a toxicity test design with natural sediments was developed in which the administered metal concentrations were selected to comprise a range of the difference between the molar concentration of simultaneously extracted metals and acid volatile sulfides (SEM‐AVS) closely surrounding zero. In addition, the test design presented includes a 35‐ or 40‐d equilibration period with overlying water renewal during which conductivity, pH, and metal concentrations in the overlying water are monitored. This allows toxicity testing to start after equilibrium for these parameters has been reached. This test design was applied to Ephoron virgo (Olivier, 1791), Gammarus pulex (Linnaeus, 1758), and Lumbriculus variegatus (Mueller, 1774) exposed to Zn and Pb. These tests indicated that the general concept of absence of toxicity when SEM‐AVS < 0 could not be rejected. However, the onset of Zn toxicity occurred at lower concentrations than generally assumed. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2013;32:1048–1059. © 2013 SETAC


Less than a week after the Roberts Court issued its decision in National Federation of Independent Business v Sebelius, Jeffrey Toobin, writing in The New Yorker, compared the first part of Chief Justice John Roberts's opinion, in which he found that the Commerce Clause did not authorize Congress to enact the "individual mandate" section of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires all individuals to buy health insurance, with an Ayn Rand screed, noting that the pivotal sections of the argument were long on libertarian rhetoric but short on citations of authority. Roberts held (although "held" might be stating it too strongly) that the Commerce Clause does not authorize Congress to regulate the inactivity of individuals — the "act" of not buying health insurance — even if that inactivity impacts interstate commerce. Rather, the Clause only authorizes congressional regulation where there is some activity of a commercial nature there to be regulated. Injecting a dose of libertarian and individualist thinking more typically associated with the Lochner-era's substantive due process jurisprudence into Commerce Clause reasoning, Roberts argued that the inactivity of not buying insurance is tantamount to doing nothing, and doing nothing cannot be characterized as commercial activity even if it has a commercial impact.


The challenges of packaging SiC power devices for high temperatures include high operating temperature, wide thermal cycle range, high currents and high voltages. This paper describes ongoing research to develop suitable materials and processes for packaging SiC power devices. Ohmic and Schottky contacts must be protected from oxidation at elevated temperatures. TaSi2:N2 is an effective oxidation barrier, protecting the contacts when exposed to 350 oC in air. For package substrates, silicon nitride ceramics with a thick brazed copper foil are used. A nickel/thick gold or nickel/thick silver surface finish is plated onto the copper foil; depending on the die attach brazing process. With the nickel/thick gold finish, gold-tin eutectic has demonstrated no degradation in die shear strength after 2000 hours at 350 oC or after 500 hours at 400 oC. Work is currently underway with nickel/thick silver and gold-silicon eutectic die attach. No degradation in shear strength has been observed with this system after 100 hours at 400 oC. Gold wire (250 µm) bonding has been demonstrated on both substrate and SiC metallizations. An initial decrease in strength is observed due to annealing of the gold wire, but shear and pull strengths remain high. Polyimide has been used to increase the dc breakdown strength of a test pattern by a factor of ~3x at 300 oC compared to no passivation. The breakdown strength increased with storage in air at 300 oC through 1000 hours.


STUDY DESIGN
Retrospective analysis of an administrative dataset.

OBJECTIVE
This study aims to investigate changing practice over a six-year period in the use of repeated lumbar facet joint injections/medial branch blocks in England.

METHODS
Patient data were extracted from the Hospital Episodes Statistics database for the period 1st April 2015 to 31st March 2021 for the index lumbar injection and for repeat lumbar injections performed within one year of the first. The exposure of interest was two injections within 180 days or three within one year. Patients aged <17 years and where the body site was listed as cervical, thoracic or sacral were excluded.

RESULTS
Data were available for 134,249 patients of which, 8,922 (6.6%) had either two injections within 180 days or three injections within one year. First injections fell from 42,511 in 2015/16 to 13,368 in 2019/20 as did the number of repeat injections: 4,018 to 424 for the same period. If all years had the same carbon footprint as 2019/20, 2.8 kilotons of CO2e would have been saved over the five years, enough to power 2,575 average UK homes for 1 year. The financial cost of injections decreased from £27.6 million in 2015/16 to £7.9 million in 2019/20.

CONCLUSIONS
The number of patients having repeated lumbar injections has decreased over time but has not been eliminated. More work is needed to educate patients and clinicians regarding alternative and more effective treatments.


Abstract. The Polar Cap (PC) index is a controversial topic within the IAGA scientific community. Since 1997 discussions of the validity of the index to be endorsed as an official IAGA index have ensued. The article: "The PC index: review of methods", written by two members of the IAGA PC index committee, H. McCreadie and M. Menvielle, holds a critical review of some aspects of the methods used to derive PC index values. However, a number of incorrect statements and factual errors have been found and shall be called attention to and discussed in this commentary. Further critical comments concern the Corrigendum issued by the same authors and published in Ann. Geophys., 29, 813–814, 2011.


The pathology of congenital hypertrophic pyloric stenosis is definitely known. The pathologic physiology is still a matter of dispute. Some believe that the symptoms are due to the mechanical obstruction of the tumor itself. Others hold that spasm is responsible for the manifestations of this condition. Both factors probably are operative. Whatever view is held, the picture of pyloric stenosis is easily explained. Narrowing of the pylours, anatomic, spastic, or both, obstructs the passage of food from the stomach. All the symptoms may be referred to that single fact. In order to force the contents beyond the pylorus, gastric peristalsis is exaggerated. This proceeds until the waves show through the abdominal wall running from cardia to pylorus. Visibility of the contractions is enhanced by the diminished tone and atrophy of the musculature of the abdominal wall, due to the virtual starvation which accompanies the condition. The pyloric tumor may be


Despite JavaScript runtime's lack of conventional threads, the presence of asynchrony creates a real potential for concurrency errors. These concerns have lead to investigations of race conditions in the Web context. However, focusing on races does not produce actionable error reports that would at the end of the day appeal to developers and cause them to fix possible underlying problems.
 In this paper, we advocate for the notion of observable races, focusing on concurrency conditions that lead to visually apparent glitches caused by non-determinism within the runtime scheduler on the network. We propose and investigate ways to find observable races via systematically exploring possible network schedules and shepherding the scheduler towards correct executions. We propose crowd-sourcing both to spot when different schedules lead to visually broken sites and also to determine under what environment conditions (OS, browser, network speed) these schedules may in fact happen in practice for some fraction of the users.


Fragile X syndrome is the most frequent form of familial mental retardation. The disease is caused by the absence of the function of the FMR1 gene product (FMRP). FMRP is a mRNA binding protein but the mechanism by which FMRP inactivation leads to the cognitive deficits in fragile X patients is still unknown. There is no effective specific treatment for the disease. The genetics of the fragile X syndrome suggest that gene therapy may eventually be able to provide a cure for the disease. However several different approaches are also being investigated by many different research laboratories. The search for an effective therapy for fragile X patients will be facilitated by a better understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease. This requires research into many different areas of biology including protein replacement therapy, gene reactivation, transcriptional regulation, neuronal activity enhancement and neuroprotection, nutritional intervention, regulation of neurotransmission and synapse regeneration. All these approaches can be investigated using animal models of the fragile X syndrome, before being used to develop effective treatment for fragile X patients. Although there is still no cure for the fragile X syndrome, the symptoms of the disease can be treated using an integrated approach where the different interventions are supported by a specific team. All of these approaches are providing new insights into both the treatment of fragile X patients and our understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease. Until a cure is found, an integrated approach to intervention is the best way to minimise or avoid some of the manifestations associated with the fragile X syndrome.