An induced voltage EMF in the area of measuring single-phase flow rate in pipes has been used in many industrial areas. To measure the continuous phase velocity profile in multiphase flows where the continuous phase is an electrical conductor, Electrical capacitance and resistance tomography has been comprehensively investigated, except for continuous phase velocity profile measurement. This paper tries to design the numerical simulation model according to the basic electromagnetic induction law and to investigate the relationship between induced electric potential or potential drop and the velocity distribution of the conductive continuous phase in the flow. First, the 3-Dimenssion simulating module for EMF is built. Given the most simple velocity profile of the fluid in the pipe, the value of the induced potential difference between electrodes is obtained by simulation and theoretical computation according to J A Shercliff's weight function. The relative error is 6.066 . This proves that the simulation model is accurate enough to investigate the characteristic of the induced potential difference of EMF. Finally, the relationship between induced potential difference and the velocity profile is analysed in detail where the complicated velocity profile is expressed as vz = 1m/s when 0.022


This Essay begins by identifying the various kinds of partiality the Justices of the Supreme Court can have in the cases they decide. Although there is widespread recognition of the influence these biases might have, for the most part the Justices continue to write opinions as if they (and other judges) were entirely disinterested. This practice is often thought to be justified as a source of judicial legitimacy, but there are a number of reasons to doubt that a pretense of impersonality is actually important for maintaining respect for the Court. Consequently, the possibility has to be considered that the Justices should routinely acknowledge their interests. This Essay, however, assesses some exceptional categories of cases where the Justices have addressed the issue of partiality and concludes that judicial self-interest prevents candid or realistic appraisals of possible bias.


OBJECTIVES
We sought to improve upon the usefulness of artemisinins as anti-Toxoplasma agents by synthesizing new unsaturated, carba derivatives and then testing them for in vitro efficacy against three steps of the lytic cycle of Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites.

METHODS
Novel derivatives of ART were synthesized and then tested for in vitro antiparasitic activity using T. gondii tachyzoites constitutively expressing beta-galactosidase and human fibroblast host cells. Compounds were evaluated for parasite growth inhibition and cytotoxicity, inhibition of replication and inhibition of parasite invasion of host cells.

RESULTS
Five of the seven new derivatives, 3a-c, 3e and 3f, effectively inhibited T. gondii growth (IC50=1.0-4.4 microM); however, only three of these proved to be relatively non-cytotoxic (TD50>or=200 microM). The same five derivatives also inhibited tachyzoite replication, and attachment to and invasion of host cells as effectively as or better than the parent compound ART. In addition, one of the derivatives incapable of inhibiting growth, deoxy-3a, was found to inhibit parasite invasion.

CONCLUSIONS
These new artemisinin derivatives have the ability to inhibit multiple steps of T. gondii's lytic cycle. Synthetic unsaturated, carba derivatives of ART have potential as therapeutic agents for the prevention and treatment of toxoplasmosis in humans.


The 160 and 150 kDa proteins of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) are phosphorylated endogenously. The phosphorylation of both proteins has a marked requirement for Ca2+. Half-maximal and maximal phosphorylation was obtained at about 1 nM- and 1 microM-Ca2+ respectively, and a Hill coefficient of about 0.5 was calculated. The phosphorylation is also dependent on NaF as an inhibitor of the SR phosphoprotein phosphatase. The phosphorylation of these proteins is very rapid, and maximal phosphorylation is achieved in less than 15 s. The phosphorylation of the 160 kDa and 150 kDa polypeptides is completely inhibited by 5 mM-MgCl2 and by 75 microM-LaCl3, by very low concentrations of different detergents, and by preincubation of the SR for 2 min at 60 degrees C. The inhibition by Mg2+ is due to stimulation of ATP hydrolysis, thereby decreasing ATP concentration. Different phosphorylated peptides were obtained by digestion with protease V8 of the 160 kDa and 150 kDa protein bands, suggesting that the 160 kDa and 150 kDa proteins are distinct. The two phosphorylated proteins are present in different fractions and preparations of SR, with or without [3H]PN200-110 binding capacity. These and other results suggest that the phosphorylated SR proteins are distinct from the alpha 1 and alpha 2 subunits of the voltage-gated Ca2+ channel of the T-system membranes. Different inhibitors and activators of protein kinase C and calmodulin-dependent protein kinase have no effect on the endogenous phosphorylation of both polypeptides, suggesting that the phosphorylation is regulated solely by Ca2+. A possible regulatory function for this phosphorylation system is described in the accompanying paper [Gechtman. Orr & Shoshan-Barmatz (1991) Biochem. J. 276.97-102].


Since the turn of the century, the study of psychotic experiences in the general population has emerged as a major
paradigm in mental health research. We now know that
psychotic experiences are a relatively prevalent phenomenon, particularly in children and adolescents (1). They do not
occur randomly and are clustered with other psychopathology (2–4), poor functioning (5, 6), and suicidal thoughts
and behaviors (4, 7). A systematic review (3) has shown that
psychotic experiences in childhood and adolescence are
associated with a fourfold increased risk of a later psychotic
disorder but that evidence for longitudinal associations with
nonpsychotic disorders is sparse. Recent work has shown
that psychotic experiences by themselves appear to have low
predictive value and low sensitivity for predicting a later
psychotic disorder (8) and that a more nuanced approach
is needed to harness the predictive power of psychotic
experiences


A 57-year-old man presented with erythema and pain in the scrotum for 1 week, with pus exuding from the ruptured scrotum for 1 day. Physical examination showed an enlarged left scrotum, with a small area of ruptured skin, and yellowish-white discharge from the rupture was visible in the lower posterior part of the testes near the perineum, with slightly high local skin temperature, tenderness, and fluctuating sensation. The initial reproductive system ultrasound and pelvic CT were suggestive of inflammatory infection, which was confirmed by histology following two surgeries. The patient's condition did not show improvement for a long period of time, and repeat pelvic CT suggested multiple enlarged inguinal lymph nodes. Fine needle aspiration cytology suggested metastatic cancer. Histopathological examination and immunohistochemistry of the perineal scrotal area showed malignant mesothelioma, and whole-body PET-CT suggested pulmonary metastases and invasion into the surrounding tissues, such as the organs of the reproductive system. The patient received chemotherapy and immunotherapy, but the disease progressed rapidly, and he ultimately died of respiratory failure.


The authors discuss in brief the applications of commonly performed nuclear medicine procedures in humans with respect to veterinary applications. The discussion includes the investigation of pathologies unique to veterinary nuclear medicine or which are more common in animals than humans. Companion animals are living longer today due to advances in both veterinary and human medicine. The problem is, like humans, longevity brings higher incidence of old age morbidity. As a pet owner, one might be initially motivated to extend life expectancy which is followed by the realisation that one also demands quality of life for pets. Early detection through advanced diagnostic tools, like nuclear medicine scintigraphy, allows greater efficacy in veterinary disease. There are limited veterinary nuclear medicine facilities in Australia due to cost and demand. Not surprisingly then, the growth of veterinary nuclear medicine in Australia, and overseas, has been integrally coupled to evaluation of race horses. While these facilities are generally specifically designed for race horses, racing greyhounds, lame family horses and companion animals are being investigated more frequently. In Australia one can now obtain health insurance for pets, for example on home contents insurance policies. Lifestyle changes have seen greater pressure being placed on veterinarians to better prevent and manage serious illness in our pets and to give us a little more information than, for example, 'he's old now, it might be time to put him down'. The veterinarians, then, need access to advanced diagnostic tools to provide improved animal care, health management and answers for pet owners. (author abstract)


All herbicide treatments, Prefar, Frontier, Dual Magnum, Valor, and Prefar combined with Dual Magnum or Frontier caused less than 10% injury on cantaloupes. Frontier at 0.75 lb AI/A, Dual Magnum at 1.0 lb AI/A, Valor at 0.03 and 0.05 lb AI/A controlled weeds similar to Prefar. Prefar at 4.0 lb AI/A combined with Frontier controlled tumble pigweed (94%), narrowleaf lambsquarters (95%), Wright's groundcherry (97%), and horse purslane (94%). None of the preemergence herbicide treatments controlled purple nutsedge.


The result of the project, the Gryphon, is a helicopter concept designed for private use. The intention of the project has been to investigate how safe, personal airborne mobility could be an attractive transportation alternative in the future. As an aspirational concept the goal has been to inspire and show an exciting way to enjoy a modern, sustainable lifestyle close to nature without the need for conventional infrastructure.


We introduce a general framework for the description of the autonomous motion of closed surfaces which are diffeomorphic images of spheres. The governing surface motion laws are in general nonlocal and lead therefore to nonlocal evolution equations for a perturbation function on a fixed reference domain. Although this evolution equation is fully nonlinear, the invariance of the problem with respect to a certain class of reparametrizations and the corresponding chain rule allow a quasilincarization of the evolution equation. Hence, as far as short-time existence and uniqueness of the solution and stability of equilibria are concerned, the analysis of the problems is reduced to the study of their linearizations and the application of known techniques for quasilinear Cauchy problems. Using a priori estimates and Ga.lerkin approximations in Sobolev spaces, both parabolic and first-order hyperbolic equations can be treated. In the case of parabolic problems, the smoothing property of the evolution can be proved. This general approach can be applied to a broad class of moving boundary problems. We will briefly discuss lIele-Shaw flow and Stokes flow driven by surface tension as well as classical Hele-Shaw flow with advancing liquid boundary as examples for parabolic evolutions:


Herein, joint space-time multiplexing in a multi carrier multiple input multiple output (MIMO) system is considered. Previous results concerning the spatial multiplexing optimization are used to address the joint problem of carrier assignment and choice of beamforming weights in a multi user MIMO system. For practical reasons, the joint optimization is divided into two parts: subcarrier assignment based on beamformer characteristics to adjust the carrier load, followed by beamforming optimization with subcarrier reassignment. The goal is to minimize total downlink transmit power while keeping the fixed user data rates. The proposed multiplexing scheme is evaluated on a number of numerical examples.


Lyt-2 and Lyt-3 antigens are carried on separate disulfide-bonded subunits of the same cell surface macromolecules. These are present on thymocytes in a variety of multimeric forms consisting of disulfide- bonded dimers, tetramers, and hexamers of pairwise combinations of three subunits (30,000, 34,000, and 38,000 Mr). From reduced and alkylated Nonidet-P40 thymus extracts, a monoclonal anti-Lyt-3 precipitates only the 30,000 Mr subunit, but not the 30,000 Mr subunit. Almost all of the Lyt-2 and Lyt-3 subunits on the cell are covalently linked by disulfide bonds. However, small amounts of free Lyt-3 subunit was seen in some experiments. Similarly, small amounts of Lyt-2-3- material, consisting of dimers of the 38,000 and 34,000 Mr subunits were identified. Each of the three subunits migrated with a basic charge (pI greater than 8) on two-dimensional gels. Cytotoxic effector cells that are blocked by anti-Lyt-2 and anti-3 can be treated with trypsin and other arginine-specific proteases to remove these antigens. At low concentrations of these proteases, Lyt-3 antigens are selectively removed. After selective removal of Lyt-3 antigens, cytotoxic effector cells are still active and blocking of activity by anti-Lyt-3 is significantly reduced, whereas blocking of activity by anti-Lyt-2 is significantly increased. Neither Lyt-2 nor Lyt-3 is allelically excluded on thymocytes or T cells. These results suggested that the Lyt-2, Lyt-3 macromolecules are associated with but do not serve as the T cell antigen receptor.


ABSTRACT Serious juvenile offenders present high recidivism rates. Much research focus on the processes of desistance from crime in adult populations. However, much less is known about the processes of desistance of adolescents. This scoping review aimed to map available knowledge regarding processes of desistance from crime among serious juvenile offenders. Twenty-six quantitative and qualitative studies were analysed. Results indicate that individual, relational, and structural factors can either facilitate or hinder adolescents' attempts to move away from crime. During this transitional period, the role of case workers in assisting desistance appears to be essential. IMPLICATIONS A better understanding of how adolescent offenders come to move away from crime is essential to develop more humane and effective practices. Social workers can play a key role in assisting offenders to identify their strengths and goals for the future in order to help them gradually retake control of their life and become the person they aspire to be.


REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY
To identify pain-related behaviour in working donkeys in order to assist their owners and veterinarians to recognise and manage pain.

OBJECTIVES
To identify general and specific behaviours associated with pain or its relief using a trial with the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug meloxicam (Metacam).

STUDY DESIGN
Observer-blinded, placebo-controlled trial.

METHODS
Forty adult male working donkeys with common clinical abnormalities were randomly assigned to receive either a single loading dose of meloxicam (1.2 mg/kg bwt per os; n = 20) or a placebo (30 mg honey/250 ml water per os; n = 20). Observation of postural and event behaviours was undertaken at 2 pretreatment time points followed by 4 post treatment time points, using scan (instantaneous) and focal sampling.

RESULTS
In comparison to pretreatment baselines, donkeys receiving meloxicam were more alert post treatment than the placebo group. They were observed lying down less frequently (P = 0.007), with their eyes closed less frequently (P = 0.04) and having a high head carriage more frequently (P = 0.02). Dozing behaviour decreased after meloxicam compared with the pretreatment baseline (P = 0.03). Donkeys given meloxicam also showed more interest in their environment, turning to look at environmental stimuli more frequently (P = 0.05) than those in the placebo group post treatment. Neither the meloxicam nor the placebo group showed a significant post treatment improvement in lameness scores.

CONCLUSIONS
Working donkeys receiving meloxicam were more active and alert compared with their pretreatment behaviour, confirming the potential value of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in identifying behaviours indicative of pain in working donkeys. Behavioural assessment of pain in working donkeys in field clinic conditions will enable veterinary staff and owners to identify welfare issues promptly and monitor response to analgesia. The Summary is available in Chinese--see Supporting information.


A superconducting qubit (or quantum bit), which consists of a micrometer-sized loop with three Josephson junctions, has two persistent currents of opposite direction as its two states. The states of the qubit can be brought into quantum coherence to perform quantum computing. Classical bits can also be obtained from these superconducting loops, making it possible to base a classical computer architecture. We study a novel computing structure based on these Josephson Persistent Current (PC) Bits, starting from elementary logic gates to a Random Access Memory (RAM). The investigation shows that the Josephson PC Bit technology would not surpass semiconductor technology in term of the device density, while it is a promising candidate for unltra-fast memory, which can be integrated with other technologies. The classical computer might also serve as pre and post processor for the quantum computing performed in the heart of the array. The Josephson PC circuits, therefore, seems a good vehicle for the study of the quantum computer paradigm.


In this experiment UDP450 was used to prepare the CrAlTiN films with different Y contents deposited on Si(100) substrates. The thickness and structure of CrAlTiN films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that the thickness of CrAlTiN films increases with the increasing of Y contents in Al targets. Meanwhile, the structures of these films are column structures with the least changes. XPS and EDS results indicate that Al contents in the films also increased with the increasing of Y contents in Al targets. Voltages of Al targets were changed with the variation of Y contents in Al targets when CrAlTiN layers were formed. The current of Al targets was a constant during producing CrAlTiN layer. The original voltages of Al targets during forming CrAlTiN layers increased greatly with the increase of Y contents in Al targets. The results show that the collision probability between the neutral particles and positive ions increased in the vacuum chamber. This indicates that the sputtering yield of Al targets is increased at a higher voltage. Consequently, the growing speed of CrAlTiN film and the sputtering yield of Al targets are all improved with the addition of Y element.


Rearrangements are two measurable real-valued functions that have equal measure of pre-images of upper level sets. In this thesis, I will investigate several matters and problems relating to rearrangements: the relationship between assumptions on the measure space and desirable properties of the set of rearrangements, and the validity of rearrangement inequalities; generalising the Mountain Pass Lemma over rearrangements; and applying topological degree theory to boundary value problems involving rearrangements. From suppositions on the measure space, such as the measure space having finite measure and no atoms, it can proved that the set of rearrangements is contractible and locally contractible. The Mountain Pass Lemma over rearrangements can be generalised, so instead of considering continuous paths from the closed unit interval to the set of rearrangements; it will consider the continuous functions from the closed unit disc into the set of rearrangements. Topological degree theory is used to associate admissible triples of functions, sets and points with integers. These methods will be applied to a boundary value problem involving rearrangements, where the domain is almost equal to the union of balls, which has been studied using variational methods, providing new multiplicity results. The minimum number of solutions to this boundary value problem is found to be related exponentially to the number of balls contained in the domain.


Food allergy (FA) is an adverse immunologic response triggered by normally innocuous food protein antigens. FA can be broadly classified into those that are IgE mediated, those that are mediated by both IgE-dependent and IgE-independent pathways (mixed), and those that are not IgE mediated Immunoglobulin E. (IgE)-mediated reaction is characterized by rapid onset of symptoms involving respiratory, gastrointestinal, dermatologic and cardiovascular systems; mixed and non-IgE-mediated has a longer onset and manifests primary in the gastrointestinal tract and skin. The diagnosis of food allergy is based on clinical history, diagnostic testing (skin prick test and allergen-specific IgE levels in the serum), elimination diet and, oral food challenge. In recent years the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric FA have notably improved. In the diagnostic pathway of FA an important recent innovation is the CRD introduction. This resulted in the possibility of improving diagnostic accuracy through FA prediction severity and prognosis and thereby decreasing the OCF necessity. Recent studies emphasize the possibility of preventing FA through early introduction of food (peanuts and egg) to high-risk infants. FA management is based on avoidance of offending food and prompt treatment of allergic reaction. Currently under study are recently developed treatment approaches for FA management including specific OIT. (www.actabiomedica.it)


In various learning-based image restoration tasks, such as image denoising and image super-resolution, the degradation representations were widely used to model the degradation process and handle complicated degradation patterns. However, they are less explored in learning-based image deblurring as blur kernel estimation cannot perform well in real-world challenging cases. We argue that it is particularly necessary for image deblurring to model degradation representations since blurry patterns typically show much larger variations than noisy patterns or high-frequency textures.In this paper, we propose a framework to learn spatially adaptive degradation representations of blurry images. A novel joint image reblurring and deblurring learning process is presented to improve the expressiveness of degradation representations. To make learned degradation representations effective in reblurring and deblurring, we propose a Multi-Scale Degradation Injection Network (MSDI-Net) to integrate them into the neural networks. With the integration, MSDI-Net can handle various and complicated blurry patterns adaptively. Experiments on the GoPro and RealBlur datasets demonstrate that our proposed deblurring framework with the learned degradation representations outperforms state-of-the-art methods with appealing improvements. The code is released at https://github.com/dasongli1/Learning_degradation.


In this paper, we seek to understand the intrinsic reasons for the well-known phenomenon of heavy-tailed degree in the Internet AS graph and argue that in contrast to traditional models based on preferential attachment and centralized optimization, the Pareto degree of the Internet can be explained by the evolution of wealth associated with each ISP. The proposed topology model utilizes a simple multiplicative stochastic process that determines each ISP's wealth at different points in time and several ¿maintenance¿ rules that keep the degree of each node proportional to its wealth. Actual link formation is determined in a decentralized fashion based on random walks, where each ISP individually decides when and how to increase its degree. Simulations show that the proposed model, which we call Wealth-based Internet Topology (WIT), produces scale-free random graphs with tunable exponent ¿ and high clustering coefficients (between 0.35 and 0.5) that stay invariant as the size of the graph increases. This evolution closely mimics that of the Internet observed since 1997.


This article introduces the 16 articles appearing in the 2009 and 2010 volumes of Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy that were submitted in response to a call for papers on "The Social Psychology of the 2008 United States Presidential Election." The papers touch a wide array of election topics, comparing the backgrounds and values of voters and nonvoters, those voting for different candidates, and those who choose which candidates they support early vs. late during the campaign. These papers, together with several others on media representations of candidates, highlight the continuing presence of race in shaping political attitudes and preferences, and also emphasize the evolution of American prejudices in the election process, from overt rejection of individuals who are racially different, to qualified political support under certain circumstances. Other papers in the collection focus on the role of gender as well as race, and also on some of the many ways in which presidential elections reflect and shape the self-concepts of American voters.


BACKGROUND
It is known that physician mothers' breastfeeding behavior impacts their anticipatory guidance to their patients, which in turn influences patients' breastfeeding initiation and continuation. Therefore, studying physician mothers' breastfeeding behavior is important, as it impacts not only the well-being of themselves and their families, but eventually the well-being of their patients and patients' families. However, previous studies of breastfeeding among physician mothers in the United States have not explored their breastfeeding intentions. We therefore sought to explore infant feeding intentions of physician mothers.

METHODS
We report data gathered from 50 physician volunteers, mainly affiliated with Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD), using a questionnaire.

RESULTS
Consistent with previous physician studies, we found high breastfeeding initiation rates among our participants. However, the breastfeeding continuation rates of mothers in our study at 6 and 12 months were higher than those reported in previous physician studies. Our data showed that while physician mothers intended to breastfeed 64% of the infants for at least 12 months and while 97% of infants were breastfed at birth, only 41% continued to receive breastmilk at 12 months. This discrepancy suggests that work-related factors may influence physician mothers' breastfeeding behavior and might have a larger impact than these mothers' education and intentions on breastfeeding duration.

CONCLUSION
This finding supports implementing workplace strategies and programs to promote breastfeeding duration among physician mothers returning to work.


The present dissertation studies the conflictive development, construction, and re-definition of ethnicity in mid-colonial Peru. Its focus is on the problem of cultural and ethnic identity formation among Spaniards, Indians, and mestizos (mixed-bloods) in the colonial Andes, and the links and divisions among these groups present in specific intra-elite conflicts and cross-strata alliances. These issues are addressed through the analysis of the seminal violent events and the broader context of the 1665-68 alleged rebellion by the Salcedo brothers (Spanish miners), and their mestizo militia in the Laicacota miningdistrict of Southern Peru. A conflict between mining entrepreneurs of different Iberian origins, it was initially a Basque-Andalusian rivalry for the control of what was for a decade the richest mine in Peru. During the conflict, each faction relied on the support of local criollos (American-born Spaniards with roots in different Iberian regions), and of mestizos, whose rising numbers are explained here as an Indian strategy of 'de-corporatization.' These rising numbers, as is argued in this dissertation, were due to Indian laborers who, through their experience in cities and mining centers, became culturally hispanicized in a process of shifting identities. Considered to be culturally mestizo, as they became alienated from their original rural communities by an unstable process of non-biological mestizaje , they caused alarm among the authorities because of the disruptive consequences of this process for the colonial system, which rested precisely on the availability of coercible indigenous laborers living in agricultural communities. The Laicacota events transformed an intra-elite conflict into a South Andean crisis of governance, based in part on the mobilization of an unruly force of lower-class 'mestizos.' Its defeat allowed the maintenance of the colonial system in the Andes until the Bourbon Reforms of the second half of the eighteenth century. In a comparative view, this dissertation illuminates similar social and ethnic problems occurring in mid-colonial Mexico. Moreover, it helps to envision some of the largely ignored trans-Atlantic linkages of the Spanish Empire, through the connections between regional groups of rival Spaniards both in the Andes and Iberia.


A few household robots are on the market today. But, none of those could be confused with Rosie the Robot, the muliply capable robot on The Jetsons. That raises the question: As technology advances, what will it take for the promise of the home of the future—powered by intelligent domestic robots—to finally be realized?


The crystal structure of calmodulin (CaM; Mr 16, 700, 148 residues) from the ciliated protozoan Paramecium tetraurelia (PCaM) has been determined and refined using 1.8 Å resolution area detector data. The crystals are triclinic, space group P1, a = 29.66, b = 53.79, c = 25.49 Å, α = 92.84, β = 97.02, and γ = 88.54° with one molecule in the unit cell. Crystals of the mammalian CaM (MCaM; Babu et al., 1988) and Drosophila CaM (DCaM; Taylor et al., 1991) also belong to the same space group with very similar cell dimensions. All three CaMs have 148 residues, but there are 17 sequence changes between PCaM and MCaM and 16 changes between PCaM and DCaM. The initial difference in the molecular orientation between the PCaM and MCaM crystals was ≈ 7° as determined by the rotation function. The reoriented Paramecium model was extensively refitted using omit maps and refined using XPLOR. The R‐value for 11, 458 reflections with F>3σ is 0.21, and the model consists of protein atoms for residues 4–147, 4 calcium ions, and 71 solvent molecules. The root mean square (rms) deviations in the bond lengths and bond angles in the model from ideal values are 0.016 Å and 3°, respectively. The molecular orientation of the final PCaM model differs from MCaM by only 1.7°. The overall Paramecium CaM structure is very similar to the other calmodulin structures with a seven‐turn long central helix connecting the two terminal domains, each containing two Ca‐binding EF‐hand motifs. The rms deviation in the backbone N, Ca, C, and O atoms between PCaM and MCaM is 0.52 Å and between PCaM and DCaM is 0.85 Å. The long central helix regions differ, where the B‐factors are also high, particularly in PCaM and MCaM. Unlike the MCaM structure, with one kink at D80 in the middle of the linker region, and the DCaM structure, with two kinks at K75 and I85, in our PCaM structure there are no kinks in the helix; the distortion appears to be more gradually distributed over the entire helical region, which is bent with an apparent radius of curvature of 74.5(2) Å. The different distortions in the central helical region probably arise from its inherent mobility.


Clinical and prognostic significance of intravenous nitroglycerin infusions (INI) were studied in 127 patients with unstable angina pectoris. INI dose ranged from 25 to 800 micrograms/min (mean 198.2 +/- 21.8 micrograms/min), the duration varied from 2 h to 20 days (mean 5.2 days). Unfavorable effects occurred in 50 patients (39.3%): 18 patients developed myocardial infarction which was fatal in 10 cases, one died of circulatory insufficiency, transluminal angioplasty was performed in 6, aortocoronary shunting in 26. INI promoted stabilization of the disease in 77 patients (60.7%). They were discharged from the hospital to continue on maintenance therapy.


Hyperuricemia is the specific biochemical vulnerability of gout sufferers. However, hyperuricemia is much more frequent than gout. Gout also is more frequent in men; after menopause gout attacks become more frequent in women; psychosocial factors, like stressful life events, tension, and anxiety can trigger attacks of gout, which modern pharmacology can moderate and control.


A CSTR is an Continuously Stirred Tank Reactor with the main function of agitation and to achieve constant composition. It has an important role in chemical process plants. A CSTR has an higher degree of nonlinearity when compared with other chemical reactors, this is mainly due to the temperature variations that occur because of uncertainity in feed. Hence, temperature control is a strenuous task. The proposed work focusses on control of temperature in a jacketed chemical reactor, by effectively designing a internal model controller (IMC). The process is a open loop unstable system due to the effect of scale-up on the steady state and other dynamic characteristics. The proposed digital controller is capable of providing system stability, set point tracking and disturbance rejection. The simulation result shows the suitability of using the proposed controllers for control of the unstable CSTR process.


We find that the way we choose to represent data labels can have a profound effect on the quality of trained models. For example, training an image classifier to regress audio labels rather than traditional categorical probabilities produces a more reliable classification. This result is surprising, considering that audio labels are more complex than simpler numerical probabilities or text. We hypothesize that high dimensional, high entropy label representations are generally more useful because they provide a stronger error signal. We support this hypothesis with evidence from various label representations including constant matrices, spectrograms, shuffled spectrograms, Gaussian mixtures, and uniform random matrices of various dimensionalities. Our experiments reveal that high dimensional, high entropy labels achieve comparable accuracy to text (categorical) labels on the standard image classification task, but features learned through our label representations exhibit more robustness under various adversarial attacks and better effectiveness with a limited amount of training data. These results suggest that label representation may play a more important role than previously thought. The project website is at \url{https://www.creativemachineslab.com/label-representation.html}.


Dear Sir, We have some suggestions regarding the report of the Working Party on Rock Core Logging. The logarithmic scales for both strength and bedding plane spacing are welcome. Do, however, the arguments in favour of the proposed strength classification outweigh the practical advantages of a system based on equal divisions, when only slight modifications would be required for sub-divisions evenly spaced on a logarithmic scale? Use of adjectives such as weak, strong, close or wide can also lead to difficulties. The relationship between terms such as 'moderately weak' and 'moderately strong' may not be immediately obvious. When setting up a system for rock quality classification based on both strength and fracture spacing (Franklin, Broch and Walton, 1971) some of these difficulties are overcome. A common nomenclature (low, high etc.) was used for both axes and also for rock quality (Figure 1), terms such as 'low strength' and 'low fracture' spacing replacing terms such as 'weak', 'thin' and 'close'. There is little to be gained by differently classifying the spacing of joints, bedding planes or other types of structural discontinuity. Attention is drawn to the 'point load test' as an alternative to the 'uniaxial test' for strength classification. Results for the two types of test are closely correlated. The point load test, however, uses portable field apparatus and requires no specimen preparation.


The President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security suggests three plans for reforming Social Security. These plans divert various amounts of the payroll tax to a personal account if the worker chooses to participate in the account. In return, Social Security benefits are offset using accounts with real returns ranging from 2% to 3.5%. In addition, the second and third plans proposed by the Commission include features that are designed to balance the finances of the system by reducing the rate of growth of benefits relative to the levels prescribed under current law, to make the system more redistributive, and to make other changes. When "personal accounts " are mentioned, most people think of accounts that are in some sense separate and shielded from the uncertainties of the Social Security system. That is not the case for the personal accounts proposed by the Commission. Because the participating individual is not entitled to the principal in the account, participating in the account does not shield the individual from the political risks of being in the Social Security system. As a result, the reduction in political risk fostered by the Commission's proposals comes mainly from the improvement in the financial status of the system fostered by other provisions of the recommended plans. Measures to improve the benefits of low-income individuals, widows and widowers and to enhance the rewards to retirement all create incentive effects that are also discussed in the paper.


The corneal foreign body should be managed with great care, since there is a great potential for complications. Adequate magnification, exposure, anaesthesia, fixation and instrumentation are essential. Difficult problems and problems with recovery should be referred.


s 15th World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine s69 the participants had severe lack of knowledge regarding the basics in management of nuclear (69.3%), biological (72.4%), or chemical (98.7%) incidents. Training difficulties were experienced in the areas of radiation damages (by 93.3% of participants) and the differences in the effects of contamination (90.7%) between radiation exposure and of other agents, weaponization (99.1%), the ability to differentiate between biological warfare agents and common biological agents (86.7%), and the different chemical warfare agents (100%) and their effects (80.5%) in combination with treatment (84.0%) and contamination/decontamination (87.6%). The potential number of mass casualties following the use of NBC warfare agents could not be estimated by 182 participants (80.9%). Near the end of each course, different tabletop exercises were practiced. The average results of these exercises revealed: (1) 3.3% of the participants of each course were unable to launch correct early warning for the warfare agent used; (2) 4.1 % could not apply the proper treatment for a given warfare agent; (3) 2.7% were unable to decontaminate accordingly; and (4) procedures and algorithms regarding management and safety were not followed by 53% and 2.1%, respectively.


Objective: We explored post–Affordable Care Act hospital and skilled nursing facility (SNF) perspectives in discharge and admission practices. Method: Interviews were conducted with 138 administrative personnel in 16 hospitals and 25 SNFs in eight U.S. markets and qualitatively analyzed. Results: Hospitals may use prior referral rates and patients' geographic proximity to SNFs to guide discharges. SNFs with higher hospital referral rates often use licensed nurses to screen patients to admit more preferred patients. While SNFs with lower hospital referral rates use marketing strategies to increase admissions, these patients are often less preferred due to lower reimbursement or complex care needs. Conclusion: An unintended consequence of increased hospital-SNF integration may be greater disparity. SNFs with high hospital referral rates may admit well-reimbursed or less medically complex patients than SNFs with lower referral rates. Without policy remediation, SNFs with lower referral rates may thus care for more medically complex long-term care patients.


Background: Nature astaxanthin is mainly derived from Haematococcus pluvialis. H. pluvialis has four kinds of cell morphology. Based on sequential heterotrophy-dilution-photoinduction (SHDP) technology, photoinduction using non-motile cells as seeds could result in a higher astaxanthin production than that of using brown akinetes as photoinduction seeds. To have a comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon, transcriptome analysis was conducted in this study.Results: Though most of photosynthesis genes expression were down-regulated during the SHDP culture process. Comparing with the group using brown akinetes as photoinduction seeds, the genes expression involved in astaxanthin biosynthesis, lipid biosynthesis and photosynthesis were up-regulated in the non-motile cells group. Especially, chyb gene improving the conversion of β-carotene into astaxanthin was up-regulated by 2.6-fold. The acaca gene enhancing the carboxylation of acetyl-CoA to malonyl-CoA was up-regulated by 1.4-fold.Conclusions: Astaxanthin synthesis mechanism of non-motile cells with higher astaxanthin accumulation ability than brown akinetes was attributed to the up-regulation of astaxanthin metabolism, lipid metabolism and photosynthesis-related genes expression. The results are expected to guide the optimization of astaxanthin production in H. pluvialis by improving lipid content or photosynthesis.


Physicians excluded from hospitals by reason of exclusive contracts are increasingly challenging these arrangements under the antitrust laws. With the exception of the recent case of Hyde v. Jefferson Parish Hospital District No. 2, the cases reject antitrust attacks on exclusive contracts between hospitals and physicians.


This essay explores the ambiguities and contradictions that surround Virginia Woolf's use of the maternal in two of her seminal works written simultaneously at the peak of her career, Orlando and A Room of One's Own , both directed at unearthing our literary mothers from obscurity, and reserving a space for the woman writer in the history as well as in the future of literary production. Woolf's reaction to the nineteenth-century model of the woman as an eternal procreator, as well as to psychoanalytic definitions of the mother as both literally and metaphorically castrated, result in her associating biological mothering with textual stillbirth in her feminist agenda. And, while  Orlando  is involved in a dialectic relationship with the dominant psychoanalytic discourse of the early twentieth century, employing even the techniques of jokes (as recorded by Freud) in order to cancel some of the dominant theses around maternity, the biographer/narrator fails to imagine Orlando as a biological mother. Pregnancy and labour are appropriated in these two texts for the purpose of assigning a viable identity to the female creator, while Woolf's twentieth-century version of the maternal is, surprisingly, both reminiscent of the eighteenth-century notion of motherhood as an antagonistic relationship between mother and child, but also resonant of the male-centred and ancient-old idea that children of the brain are far more significant than children of the body.


This paper investigates the use of a one-stage cluster sampling design in estimating the population total. We focus on a special design where certain number of visits is being considered for estimating the population size and a weighted factor of / is introduced. In this study,we proposed a new estimator and compared it with some of the existing estimators in a one-stage sampling design. Eight (8) data sets were used to justify this paper and computation was done with software developed in Microsoft Visual C++ programming language. For all the populations considered, the bias and variance of our proposed estimator are the least among all estimators compared. All the estimated population totals are also found to fall within the computed confidence intervals for α = 5%. The coefficients of variations obtained for the estimated population totals using both illustrated and life data show that our newly proposed estimator has the least coefficient of variation. Therefore, our newly proposed estimator ( ) is recommended when considering a one-stage cluster sampling design.


Different studies have showed poor reading performance in the deaf compared to the hearing population. This has overshadowed the fact that a minority of deaf children learns to read successfully and reaches levels similar to their hearing peers. We analyze whether deaf people deploy the same cognitive and learning processes in reading as their hearing peers. For this purpose, we analyzed the relation between phonological processing, speechreading, vocabulary, reading speed, and accuracy with reading efficiency in a sample of deaf people and two control groups respectively matched on chronological age and reading level. The results indicate that deaf people's level of reading efficiency is lower than hearing people's of the same age, but that deafness status in itself is not a good predictor of reading level. The results do not support the idea that deaf people's reading is the result of different processes from the hearing population.


With any system of multivariate polynomial equations we can associate a system of multidimensional difference equations by interpreting the variables in the polynomial equations as shift operators working on a multidimensional time series. If the solution set of the system of multivariate polynomial equations is finite, including possible complex solutions, then the associated system of multidimensional difference equations has a finite dimensional solution set and one can describe the solution set as the outcomes of a finite dimensional state space system, a so-called state space realization of the system of multidimensional difference equations. Scalar solutions of the original system of polynomial equations coincide with the multi-poles of such a state-space realization, provided the state-space realization is minimal, i.e. has smallest possible state-space dimension. Each multi-pole is a multi-eigenvalue of the tuple of matrices representing the various shift operators. A multi-eigenvalue corresponds to a well-defined eigenspace. Here a special class of polynomials is considered for which the global minimization problem is solved by associating a multidimensional system to the first order conditions for minimization of the polynomial and solving for the first order conditions using the above method. The method leads to large eigenvalue problems. One way to solve them is by Jacobi-Davidson methods. For such methods one does not need to calculate the matrix that is involved explicitly, one only needs to specify the action of the linear operator on any given vector. Using the multidimensional system structure the action of the linear operator can be obtained by solving for certain elements of the multidimensional sequence that forms the solution of the system of difference equations given a sufficient number of initial values of the sequence.


Organizations have become especially vulnerable to security threats to their most important asset, information. As a result, information security (ISec) has become one of the most demanded skills of Information System (IS) graduates and therefore is of critical importance for ISec curriculum. However, there is still a big shortage in skilled ISec graduates that meet industry needs. Organizations are facing difficulties filling security analyst positions, and it is predicted there will be a global shortage of two million cyber security professionals by 2019. Previous research stresses that IS curriculum need to be redesigned to meet the business and industry needs and better prepare IS graduates for future careers (Lee and Han 2008; Tan et al 2018). This study provides a framework for how to use backwards course design to develop an Information Systems Security course that will align with industry needs. The proposed framework uses the three main stages of backwards course design including, identifying desired results, determining acceptable evidence, and planning learning experiences and instruction. In stage one, course educational outcomes and learning goals are redesigned to align with the industry needs. In stage two, all the course evaluations criteria and assessment methods are designed to support the updated learning objectives, and in stage three, instructional methods and learning activities are redesigned. We use the theoretical framework to redesign an IS security course at a medium sized business school in the southeastern United States to align with industry needs by incorporating the current and future security needs of US companies. To address the security industry needs, we research current security trends and needs, future security plans and needs, and required and preferred qualifications of job candidates by US security companies. Multiple interviews are done to survey IS security experts to examine the current and future industry needs. We will compile our research findings to create the outcomes and learning goals. Then we will develop our assessments and course actives to support the learning goals and outcomes. The final redesigned course along practical implications are presented.


Background: Several investigations on safe anesthesia in preeclamptic parturients show that general anesthesia has greater risk than spinal anesthesia. This study was conducted on preeclamptic parturients to show spinal anesthesia with slow acting drugs not only accompanying stable maternal hemodynamic but also can bypass difficult intubation and consecutive hypoxia. Materials and Methods: It was a randomized clinical trial study (RCT). After we received institutional ethics committee approval and informed patient consent, all preeclamptic parturients aged 18-40 yr and scheduled to undergo elective cesarean section, were randomly divided in two groups: general anesthesia with sodium thiopental 5 mg/kg and succinylcholine 1.5 mg/kg IV, and spinal anesthesia with marcaine 2mg plus epinephrine 0.2 mg CSF. Blood pressure was measured at 1 st , 5 th , 10 th & 15 th minutes and Apgar scores of 1 st and 5 th minutes were recorded. Data analysis was achieved using chi-square test and SPSS soft ware. Results: There was no significant difference regarding the age and body weight prior to study. IV fluid intake was greater in spinal than general anesthesia (P=0.026). There was no significant difference between desirable and undesirable apgar score of 5 th minute (P>0.05). Undesirable apgar score of first minute was greater in general than spinal anesthesia (P=0.004). At the first minute of anesthesia all blood pressures in the spinal anesthesia were desirable but 68.8% of them were desirable in general anesthesia. (P=0.0002). At 15 th minute in the spinal anesthesia only 85.4% of blood pressures were desirable but in general anesthesia all blood pressures were desirable. (P=0.0123) Conclusion: In preeclamptic parturients undergoing cesarean section spinal anesthesia with marcaine is safer than general anesthesia.


A tidal current turbine is a device for harnessing energy from tidal current. A group of tidal current turbines, distributed schematically at a site, is called a tidal turbine farm. A tidal turbine farm has to be located in a confined channel or a straight where consistent high-velocity tidal current flow is available for the cost-effectiveness concern. This narrow geographical condition poses challenges for turbine farm planners to distribute turbines strategically. Turbines' distribution in a farm affects power generation efficiency and the resultant tidal unit power cost. In this paper, we propose a procedure for predicting energy generation from a tidal turbine farm by investigating the optimal distribution of turbines at a given site. The objective of optimizing the turbines distribution is to maximize the power output efficiency. To fulfill this, we conducted a systematic analysis on power generation from a tidal turbine farm to identify the key factors affecting the optimal tidal turbines distribution with an emphasis on the turbines' hydrodynamics analysis and briefed the turbine working principle. As a companion paper to Li and Calisal (2007) which discusses the principle of a stand alone turbine, turbine configuration and interactions (i.e. angle of attack, turbine relative distance and turbine size) are extended here. The main assumption of this discussion is that vortex shedding impact is the dominant factor causing the turbine efficiency loss. Considering the turbine design principle, a simplified relationship between turbines distribution and turbine farm efficiency is formulated. Then, numerical simulation results are presented for a given site in British Columbia together with extended general solution.Copyright © 2007 by ASME


We examine the heterogeneity of experts in a credence goods setting. In our analytical model, clients are uncertain about how much effort experts need to provide to solve their problem, which is either simple or difficult. Experts have varying degrees of expertise. Less qualified experts are equally effective at solving simple problems but less effective at solving difficult ones. We show that clients pay a fee premium to more qualified experts, even for simple problems. This premium increases with the probability that the client has a difficult problem. We empirically test the model predictions in the context of partner industry expertise for the U.S. operations of the Big Four audit firms. We find, consistent with the model, a positive association between partner industry specialization and audit fees, even for simple audits, and a negative association between partner specialization and the client's probability of restatements only for difficult audits. The industry specialization premium is higher in industries with higher proportions of difficult audits. Consistent with credence good agency issues, the specialization premium for simple audits is mitigated when information asymmetry between client and auditor is lower.


Purpose: Acquired resistance to trastuzumab (Herceptin) is common in patients whose breast cancers show an initial response to the drug. The basis of this acquired resistance is unknown, hampering strategies to delay or treat such acquired resistance, due in part to the relative lack of appropriate in vivo tumorigenic models. Experimental Design: We derived an erbB-2–positive variant called 231-H2N, obtained by gene transfection from the highly tumorigenic erbB-2/HER2–negative human breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-231. Unlike MDA-MB-231, the 231-H2N variants was sensitive to trastuzumab both in vitro and especially in vivo, thus allowing selection of variant resistant to drug treatment in the latter situation after showing an initial response. Results: The growth of established orthotopic tumors in severe combined immunodeficient mice was blocked for 1 month by trastuzumab, after which rapid growth resumed. These relapsing tumors were found to maintain resistance to trastuzumab, both in vitro and in vivo. We evaluated various therapeutic strategies for two purposes: (a) to delay such tumor relapses or (b) to treat acquired trastuzumab resistance once it has occurred. With respect to the former, a daily oral low-dose metronomic cyclophosphamide regimen was found to be particularly effective. With respect to the latter, an anti–epidermal growth factor receptor antibody (cetuximab) was effective as was the anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) antibody bevacizumab, which was likely related to elevated levels of VEGF detected in trastuzumab-resistant tumors. Conclusions: Our results provide a possible additional rationale for combined biological therapy using drugs that target both erbB-2/HER2 and VEGF and also suggest the potential value of combining less toxic metronomic chemotherapy regimens not only with targeted antiangiogenic agents but also with other types of drug such as trastuzumab.


The study investigated the threshold level of human capital development that must be reached in order to enhance significant FDI in BRICS countries using Hansen's (1999) static panel threshold regression model. Although theory and majority of empirical studies concur that human capital development is an integral part of FDI locational advantages in the host country, recent literature shows that human capital development not only does it needs to be available but it has to reach a certain minimum level before significant FDI can be received by host countries. It is against this backdrop that the author investigated the minimum threshold level of human capital development that enhances significant FDI in BRICS countries. As expected, human capital development was found to have had a positive influence on FDI in BRICS countries. Moreover, levels of human capital development index above or equal the threshold level of 0.57 were found to have had a more positive and significant impact on FDI, consistent with the recent literature. It is therefore prudent for BRICS countries to put in place mechanisms that promote the growth of human capital development in order to benefit from FDI inflows.


In Sahelian Africa, rural centers have been hit by catastrophic floods for many years. In order to prevent the impact of flooding, the flood-prone areas and the settlement dynamics within them must be identified. The aim of this study is to ascertain the floodplain settlement dynamics in the Maouri valley (135 km2) in the municipality of Guéchémé, Niger. Through hydraulic modeling, the analysis identified the flood-prone areas according to three return periods. The dynamics of the settlements in these areas between 2009 and 2019 were identified through the photointerpretation of high-resolution satellite images and compared with those in the adjacent non-flood-prone areas. Spatial planning was applied to extract the main dynamics. The synergic application of these disciplines in a rural context represents a novelty in the research field. Since 2009, the results have shown a 52% increase of the built-up area and a 12% increase in the number of buildings, though the increase was higher in the flood-prone areas. The factors that transform floods into catastrophes were identified through perceptions gathered from the local communities. Three dynamics of the expansion and consolidation of buildings were observed. Specific flood risk prevention and preparation actions are proposed for each type of dynamic.


Nowadays there is an increasing of the emphasis on aesthetic, dentist have been concerned about providing aesthetics and functional removable partial dentures to their patients and this was make the mission more difficult because of the goal now is achieving optimal aesthetic of the denture - while maintaining retentive, stable, and conservative to the health of supporting tooth and supporting tissue. The traditional use of metal clasp like cobalt-chromium, gold, stainless-steel and titanium hampers esthetics because of its obvious display conflicts with patient's prosthetic confidentiality. Acetal resin (poly oxy methylene) may be used as alternative denture clasp material. This material was promoted primarily on the basis of its superior esthetic. Material and method: In this study, Acetal resin of Flexite and co-cr alloy of Wirocast companies were used. Four metal models of two premolars and two molars were surveyed to have 0.25mm and 0.5mm undercut depth for each one of the materials. eighty clasps were prepared and tested by testing machine to measure the load required to dislodge Acetal and co-cr clasps of 2mm. thickness (for premolar and molar). Tensile test were utilized for both Acetal resin and co-cr. tensile values will be used in special formula to calculate the amount of deflection. Results: The results of this study revealed that Acetal resin clasp of molar with 0.5mm undercut depth have the higher retentive force, and premolar with 0.25 mm undercut depth have the lowest retentive force as compared to co-cr. Also Acetal had lower values of the tensile strength as compared to co-cr alloy but it had higher deflection value than co-cr and it can withstand higher deflections than those of co-cr before having permanent deformation or fracture Conclusions: Acetal resin can be used with limitation as an alternative to co-cr alloy clasps in removable partial dentures.


BACKGROUND
Each year, 1 in 4 people over the age of 65 years of age will experience a fall. It is important to identify and address modifiable risk factors that are associated with falls in adults at high and low risk for falls.

HYPOTHESIS
Falls risk improves in both high-risk and low-risk participants with the implementation of Stay Active and Independent for Life (SAIL).

STUDY DESIGN
Cohort study.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE
Level 3.

METHODS
Seventy-eight older adults (age, 70.9 ± 5.1 years) were included in this study and categorized into high risk and low risk for falling based on the falls risk score from the Physiological Profile Assessment. High risk was defined as having a preintervention falls risk score >1, whereas low risk was defined as having a preintervention falls risk score <1. Both groups had the same 10-week intervention. A multivariate analysis of covariance was used to compare differences pre- and postintervention, using preintervention falls risk score as covariate.

RESULTS
Results showed that regardless of preintervention falls risk, participants showed significant improvements in right and left knee extensor strength and sit-to-stand after participation in the 10-week SAIL program. Also, noteworthy is that 15 participants who were considered at high risk for falling preintervention were considered low risk for falling postintervention.

CONCLUSION
The positive outcomes noted on modifiable risk factors suggest SAIL can be beneficial for decreasing falls risk in older adults, regardless of risk of falling, using a multifactorial exercise intervention. Our results also showed that it was possible for participants not only to improve falls risk but to improve to such a degree that they change from high risk to low risk of falling.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Our results demonstrated that SAIL was effective in improving overall fall risk after a 10-week intervention. Targeted community-based interventions for the aging population can bring physical health benefits that can decrease falls risk.


ABSTRACT Global policy transfer has become increasingly popular in recent years, and one recent example of such policy transfer is the England–China Teacher Exchange, which was initiated in 2014 with the explicit aim of raising attainment in maths in English primary schools by trialling concepts used in Shanghai schools, Shanghai rising to the top of the PISA rankings in 2009. However, as this paper will argue this is an overly simplistic attempt to transfer a policy between two wholly different contexts, the lack of success of the policy seen in the very limited impact on student attainment in the participating schools. Whilst such policy transfer has increasingly taken place in the context of isomorphism and global pressures to adopt policy from high performing education systems, it is argued that policy needs to be explicitly reconsidered in terms of the local context it is being imported into if it is to be embedded in an effective manner, as well as rooted firmly in research. It is also argued that the England–China Teacher Exchange reflects a broader ideological focus in coalition government policy on the marketisation of education alongside the PISA rankings, rather any wider consideration of how this particular policy would drive up standards.


Previous studies demonstrated spontaneous type 2 airway inflammation with eosinophilia juvenile Scnn1b-Tg mice with muco-obstructive lung disease. Interleukin-1 receptor (IL-1R) signaling has been implicated in allergen-driven airways disease, however, its role in eosinophilic inflammation in muco-obstructive lung disease remains unknown. In this study, we examined the role of IL-1R signaling in the development of airway eosinophilia and type 2 inflammation in juvenile Scnn1b-Tg mice. We determined effects of genetic deletion of Il1r1 on eosinophil counts, transcript levels of key type 2 cytokines, markers of eosinophil activation and apoptosis, and tissue morphology in lungs of Scnn1b-Tg mice at different time points during neonatal development. Further, we measured endothelial surface expression of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), an integrin involved in eosinophil transendothelial migration, and determined effects of eosinophil depletion using an anti-IL-5 antibody on lung morphology. Lack of IL-1R reduced airway eosinophilia and structural lung damage, but did not reduce levels of type 2 cytokines and associated eosinophil activation in Scnn1b-Tg mice. Structural lung damage in Scnn1b-Tg mice was also reduced by eosinophil depletion. Lack of IL-1R was associated with reduced expression of ICAM-1 on lung endothelial cells and reduced eosinophil counts in lungs from Scnn1b-Tg mice. We conclude that IL-1R signaling is implicated in airway eosinophilia independent of type 2 cytokines in juvenile Scnn1b-Tg mice. Our data suggest that IL-1R signaling may be relevant in the pathogenesis of eosinophilic airway inflammation in muco-obstructive lung diseases, which may, in part, be mediated by ICAM-1 dependent transmigration of eosinophils into the lungs.


Mediator, an evolutionarily conserved multi-protein complex consisting of about 30 subunits, is a key component of the polymerase II mediated gene transcription. Germline deletion of the Mediator subunit 1 (Med1) of the Mediator in mice results in mid-gestational embryonic lethality with developmental impairment of multiple organs including heart. Here we show that cardiomyocyte-specific deletion of Med1 in mice (csMed1-/-) during late gestational and early postnatal development by intercrossing Med1fl/fl mice to α-MyHC-Cre transgenic mice results in lethality within 10 days after weaning due to dilated cardiomyopathy-related ventricular dilation and heart failure. The csMed1-/- mouse heart manifests mitochondrial damage, increased apoptosis and interstitial fibrosis. Global gene expression analysis revealed that loss of Med1 in heart down-regulates more than 200 genes including Acadm, Cacna1s, Atp2a2, Ryr2, Pde1c, Pln, PGC1α, and PGC1β that are critical for calcium signaling, cardiac muscle contraction, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor regulated energy metabolism. Many genes essential for oxidative phosphorylation and proper mitochondrial function such as genes coding for the succinate dehydrogenase subunits of the mitochondrial complex II are also down-regulated in csMed1-/- heart contributing to myocardial injury. Data also showed up-regulation of about 180 genes including Tgfb2, Ace, Atf3, Ctgf, Angpt14, Col9a2, Wisp2, Nppa, Nppb, and Actn1 that are linked to cardiac muscle contraction, cardiac hypertrophy, cardiac fibrosis and myocardial injury. Furthermore, we demonstrate that cardiac specific deletion of Med1 in adult mice using tamoxifen-inducible Cre approach (TmcsMed1-/-), results in rapid development of cardiomyopathy and death within 4 weeks. We found that the key findings of the csMed1-/- studies described above are highly reproducible in TmcsMed1-/- mouse heart. Collectively, these observations suggest that Med1 plays a critical role in the maintenance of heart function impacting on multiple metabolic, compensatory and reparative pathways with a likely therapeutic potential in the management of heart failure.


What is a memory of the future? Is it a myth, a fiction of a severed arm, a post-human debate or a broken time machine? In an increasingly insecure future-world there is an urgency to consider and debate these questions. Memories of the Future : On Countervision addresses these concerns by speculating on the connections between memory and futurity in fields such as counter-histories, women's studies, science fiction, art and design, technology, philosophy and politics. Structured by three topics--'The Basis of Memories', 'The Re-conditioning of Time' and 'The Mechanical Future'--this book reveals how these subjects regenerate at the intersections of vision, counter-cultural production and the former present. The volume links the re-imaginings of memory into the present with topics such as the fever dream allegory of the adolescent social experience, soft technologies of future dress, reinventions of monetary exchange, rekindled subjectivities of school days, and technics and human progression. These countervisions argue against the homogenising status quo of the present in order to challenge the customs, traditions and conventions of the past and propositions of the future.


Introduction. Ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a common congenital heart disease (CHD). Spontaneous closure of the VSD may occur, depending on the type and size of defects. This study was conducted to determine the natural history of VSD in a group of Nigerian children. Subjects and methods. Sixty-one children diagnosed with VSD were prospectively studied at a tertiary centre in Nigeria until they were 2 years old. They had regular two-dimensional (2D) and Doppler echocardiography evaluations for the VSD size and closure. Results. Most (35 – 57.4%) of the patients were female, their mean age at presentation was 11.2±5.2 months, and the most common type of VSD was the perimembranous (39 – 63.9%). Almost half (28 – 45.9%) of the patients had spontaneous closure. The spontaneous closure rate was highest in muscular VSD (82.4%) and in small defects (95.0%). Incidental presence of a murmur, absence of heart failure and bronchopneumonia were good clinical predictors of closure. Only 3 (4.9%) patients had surgery abroad. There were 2 (3.3%) deaths from bronchopneumonia and bacterial endocarditis. Conclusion. Spontaneous closure readily occurs in small-sized defects and muscular VSDs. However, most patients with moderate to large VSDs are confined to long-term medical management, highlighting the need for indigenous surgical capacity in Nigeria.


The article examines a mathematical model for the system 'Railway Vehicle Wheel–Track' that allows examining the interaction between a wheel flat and a rail in the vertical plane. The dynamics of the railway track is described using the finite element method while that of the soil and vehicle is expressed applying discrete elements. The model is used for assessing physical and mechanical properties, the roughness of the wheel, rail surface and their geometry. The analysis of the dynamic system 'Railway Vehicle Wheel–Track' has been conducted. In accordance with the revised method, forces arising from contact between the wheel flat and the rail are possible to be determined in a more precise way. The article presents and analyses the results of a mathematical experiment on this system.


OBJECTIVE
economic evaluation is a fundamental criterion when deciding a drug's place in therapy. The MADRE method (Method for Assistance in making Decisions and Writing Drug Evaluation Reports) is widely used for drug evaluation. This method was developed by the GENESIS group of the Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacy (SEFH), including economic evaluation. We intend to improve the economic aspects of this method. As for the direction to take, we have to first analyze our previous experiences with the current methodology and propose necessary improvements.

METHOD
economic evaluation sections in collaboratively conducted drug evaluation reports (as the scientific society, SEFH) with the MADRE method were reviewed retrospectively.

RESULTS
thirty-two reports were reviewed, 87.5% of them included an economic evaluation conducted by authors and 65.6% contained published economic evaluations. In 90.6% of the reports, a Budget impact analysis was conducted. The cost per life year gained or per Quality Adjusted Life Year gained was present in 14 reports. Twenty-three reports received public comments regarding the need to improve the economic aspect. Main difficulties: low quality evidence in the target population, no comparative studies with a relevant comparator, non-final outcomes evaluated, no quality of life data, no fixed drug price available, dosing uncertainty, and different prices for the same drug.

CONCLUSIONS
proposed improvements: incorporating different forms of aid for non-drug costs, survival estimation and adapting published economic evaluations; establishing criteria for drug price selection, decision-making in conditions of uncertainty and poor quality evidence, dose calculation and cost-effectiveness thresholds depending on different situations.


Solid-state drives (SSDs) utilize parallel architectures to improve their IO throughput. Although log buffer based flash translation layers (FTLs) are widely employed in SSDs, little has been addressed on the issue of placing pages under a parallel architecture in such FTLs. In this letter, we evaluate three possible page placement policies and show that there is no best policy due to the tradeoff between the degree of parallelism and the garbage collection overhead. To achieve high performance SSDs, cross-layer optimization techniques involving the cooperation between the buffer management layer and the FTL are proposed in this letter to maximize the degree of parallelism while keeping a low garbage collection overhead. The basic idea is to let the FTL keep the garbage collection overhead low by eliminating high-cost cross-channel live page copying, while making the buffer management layer responsible for maximizing the degree of parallelism. Simulation results on five realistic or benchmark based workloads show that the proposed techniques reduce the response time of the SSD by up to 79%.


Ixodes scapularis ticks acquire several pathogens from reservoir animals and transmit them to humans. Development of an animal model to study acquisition/transmission dynamics of these pathogens into and from ticks, respectively, is challenging due to the fact that in nature ticks feed for a longer duration and on multiple vertebrate hosts. To understand the complex nature of pathogen acquisition/transmission, it is essential to set up a successful tick blood feeding method on a suitable vertebrate host. In this study, we provide evidence that murine model can be successfully used to study acquisition dynamics of Langat virus (LGTV), a member of tick-borne flaviviruses. Mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with LGTV that showed detectable viral loads in blood, skin, and other tissues including the brain. Both larval and nymphal ticks that were allowed to feed on the murine host successfully acquired LGTV loads. Also, we found that after molting, LGTV was transstadially transmitted from larval to nymphal stage. In addition, we noted that LGTV down-regulated IsSMase expression in all groups of ticks possibly for its survival in its vector host. Taken together, we provide evidence for the use of murine model to not only study acquisition dynamics of LGTV but also to study changes in tick gene expression during acquisition of arboviruses into ticks. Graphical Abstract Tick-borne virus acquisition study model.


INTRODUCTION
Our goal was to analyze the outcome between holmium laser and cold knife direct visual internal urethrotomy (DVIU) for short-segment bulbar urethral stricture.

METHODS
We conducted a prospective study comprised of 112 male patients seen from June 2013 to December 2014. Inclusion criterion was short-segment bulbar urethral stricture (≤1.5cm). Exclusion criteria were prior intervention/urethroplasty, pan-anterior urethral strictures, posterior stenosis, urinary tract infection, and those who lost to followup. Patients were divided into two groups; Group A (n=58) included cold knife DVIU and group B (n=54) included holmium laser endourethrotomy patients. Patient followup included uroflowmetry at postoperative Day 3, as well as at three months and six months.

RESULTS
Baseline demographics were comparable in both groups. A total of 107 patients met the inclusion criteria and five patients were excluded due to inadequate followup. Mean stricture length was 1.31 ± 0.252 cm (p=0.53) and 1.34 ± 0.251 cm in Groups A and B, respectively. Mean operating time in Group A was 16.3 ± 1.78 min and in Group B was 20.96 ± 2.23 min (p=0.0001). Five patients in Group A had bleeding after the procedure that was managed conservatively by applying perineal compression. Three patients in Group B had fluid extravasation postoperatively. Qmax (ml/s) was found to be statistically insignificant between the two groups at all followups.

CONCLUSIONS
Both holmium laser and cold knife urethrotomy are safe and equally effective in treating short-segment bulbar urethral strictures in terms of outcome and complication rate. However, holmium laser requires more expertise and is a costly alternative.


A new optimized highway earthwork allocation model from mass-haul diagram idea is built in this study. A mass-haul diagram is a kind of traditional manual method, but it is visualized and convenient for earthwork allocation. With it, the earth moving operations can be represented as discrete events systems, and an ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm is developed as a system to be equipped with the model. It was shown that the model developed in this study was effective and could increase earthwork allocation efficiency. The model can compute cut and fill quantities and generate the optimal earthmoving plan automatically.


Chromosomal mosaicism is when two (or more) cell lines with different chromosomal complements are found within one individual. Mosaicism can be found in all tissues but may also be confined to a specific tissue. During pregnancy the aberrant cell line, often with a trisomy, may be confined to the placenta. In prenatal diagnosis, more specifically in chorionic villus sampling, this can interfere with the results and may necessitate follow-up investigation with amniotic fluid cell culture. Confined placental mosaicism can have no visible effect whatsoever on foetal development, but can also lead to serious foetal problems, depending on the chromosome involved. Uniparental disomy in the diploid cell line of the mosaicism may also have a negative effect on the foetal phenotype. In the case of the reverse situation, where the normal diploid cell line is confined to the placenta and the foetus has trisomy 13 or 18, it has been suggested that the diploid cell line might play a role in intrauterine survival; a recent study by the present authors could not confirm this view.


Objective: The aims of this study were to assess stigma to others and self-stigma among outpatients with schizo-phrenia, their relatives, and patients with major depressive disorder and to examine the factors related to the stigmatization. Methods: Using the Self-Stigma Assessment Scale, 167 patients with schizophrenia, 45 relatives of the patients with schizophrenia and 86 patients with major depressive disorder were evaluated. The correlation between stigmatization to others and self-stigmatization and severity of illness, duration of illness, and demo-graphic characteristics were further examined for each group. Illness severity was evaluated using the clinical global impression scale. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between patients with schizo-phrenia and patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) with respect to stigmatization to others and self-stig-matization. Stigmatization to others was found to be higher in patients' relatives. Although there were no corre-lation between stigmatization and demographic and clinical characteristics among patients with schizophrenia and their relatives, there was a positive correlation between severity of illness and stigmatization to others and self-stigmatization among patients with MDD. There was also a positive correlation between the level of education and self-stigmatization among patients with MDD. Conclusion: Disabling nature of the illness and negative public atti- tudes to the patients might be causative factors for self-stigmatization in schizophrenia. Clinicians should take the stigmatization to others and self-stigmatization which could be seen both patients and their relatives into con-sideration when treating patients with schizophrenia and their relatives in order to prevent negative consequences of the stigma.


This paper discusses the interrelationship between business regulations and entrepreneurial activities. Most empirical studies find that business regulations have a negative effect on the amount of entrepreneurial activities in an economy. In addition, we argue that the regulatory quality and amount of business regulation may also be influenced by the amount of entrepreneurial activities in the society since policymakers and bureaucrats tend to respond to changing conditions in the society. In the empirical part of the paper, data for 23 OECD countries for the period 1972-2002 in order to elaborate on the interrelationship between entrepreneurship and the quality of business regulations. The empirical findings indicate that there is a positive relationship between entrepreneurship, and the quality of business regulations.


: Software reliability prediction gives a great opportunity to measure the software failure rate at any point throughout system test. A software reliability prediction model provides with the technique for improving reliability. Software reliability is very important factor for estimating overall system reliability, which depends on the individual component reliabilities. It differs from hardware reliability in that it reflects the design perfection. Main reason of software reliability problems is high complexity of software. Various approaches can be used to improve the reliability of software. We focus on software reliability model in this article, assuming that there is a time redundancy, the value of which (the number of repeated transmission of basic blocks) can be an optimization parameter. We consider given mathematical model in the assumption that in the system may occur not only irreversible failures, but also a failure that can be taken as self-repairing failures that significantly affect the reliability and accuracy of information transfer. Main task of the given paper is to find a time distribution function (DF) of instructions sequence transmission, which consists of random number of basic blocks. We consider the system software unreliable; the time between adjacent failures has exponential distribution. 5219


The informative character of staphylococcal persistence factors (antilysozyme and "anti-interferon" signs) as the indices of resident staphylococcal carrier state in the microecological monitoring of the aerial environment was determined. In areas, ecologically unfavorable with respect to the occurrence of diseases of respiratory organs and to the level of air pollution, staphylococcal strains with persistence factors were isolated from children 3 times as often as in areas with low levels of morbidity in respiratory diseases and environmental pollution. The background level resident staphylococcal carrier state was determined (8.1%), permitting the evaluation of the ecological loading and the mapping of the monitored territories.


OBJECTIVE
Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia following coronary artery bypass graft surgery. The relationship between impaired lung function and atrial fibrillation has been described previously. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic influence of small airway function on predicting postoperative atrial fibrillation undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG).

METHODS
We retrospectively analyzed 283 patients who underwent isolated CABG at our institution between January 2020 and August 2020. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to the development of postoperative atrial fibrillation. Demographic characteristics of the patients were recorded; spirometry was performed for each patient before surgery. Small airway function was determined by forced mid-expiratory flow (forced expiratory flow 25%-75%) values measured by spirometry. Propensity score matching was applied to ensure a balanced distribution of demographic data between the 2 groups.

RESULTS
The frequency of postoperative atrial fibrillation was 30.7% in our patient population. After propensity matching, forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity % [80.6 (73.8-87.8) vs. 76.3 (66.7-81.6), P = 0.006] and forced expiratory flow 25%-75% (87.4 ± 14.2 vs. 75.2 ± 15.8, P = 0.001) were significantly lower in postoperative atrial fibrillation group. In multivariate analysis, white blood cell count, left ventricular ejection fraction, cross-clamp time, and forced expiratory flow 25%-75% were found to be independent predictors of postoperative atrial fibrillation development after isolated CABG. In the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, forced expiratory flow 25%-75% with an optimal threshold value of 81% could detect the presence of postoperative atrial fibrillation with 63.8% sensitivity and 70.1% specificity.

CONCLUSION
Our study demonstrated that small airway obstruction, as indicated by forced expiratory flow 25%-75% in spirometry, can be a simple predictive tool for the development of postoperative atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing isolated CABG.


This thesis describes the experimental work undertaken to investigate the possibility of using oil lake residue to stabilise Sabkha soils in Kuwait. Sabkha is a problematic salt-encrusted soil deposited under arid conditions which cannot be used for construction in its natural condition. The oil lake residue being considered is the waste hydrocarbons resulting from the destruction of oil wells in Kuwait during the Gulf War, 1990. The oil lake residue covers an overall area of 24 km2, and represents an environmental hazard that needs to be eliminated. The experimental programme included laboratory and field testing of physical properties and strength, consolidation and leaching aspects of the natural and oil mixed Sabkha soils. A soil survey of a large area was undertaken to select representative soil samples. Sabkha soils from four main locations were selected for the detailed experimental testing. Oil residue was added to the Sabkha soils at different percentages ranging from 0% to 10%. The focus of the experimental work was towards physical and mechanical behaviours due to low clay (less than 0.5%) and organic (less than 2%) contents of the soil and high content of non-polar compounds (85%) in the oil residue. Results showed that the addition of oil residue reduced the friction between the soil particles in the range of 5% to 28% and the facilitated sliding over each other resulted in an increase in the density of the compacted Sabkha soils of between 2% to 8.5%. The UCS increased in the range of 34% to 504% of the natural values. The shear strength slightly increased with oil addition since the internal friction decreased and the cohesion intercept values increased in the range of 45% to 150%. The adsorbed oil residue on the cemented soil lumps acted as a waterproofing agent that reduced both salt dissolution by 56% of the natural soil and the long term coefficient of permeability in the range of 73% to 88%. Under soaked conditions, the improvement in strength properties were pronounced. The natural Sabkha soil disintegrated upon soaking while oil mixed Sabkha maintained its integrity. Yield stress increased in the range of 25% to 60% from the values of natural soils and compression index and collapsibility decreased in the stabilised Sabkha. Field testing on 5% stabilised compacted test beds revealed an additional increase in CBR and UCS above that of the laboratory results. Density and shear strength of field samples showed similar results as those obtained by laboratory testing. Leachability of oil from the 5% oil stabilised Sabkha soil measured in the laboratory under a hydraulic gradient of 40 was less than 1 mg/1, which can be considered very low. Leachability of oil residue in the field was undetectable. The main conclusion of the work is that the addition of 5% oil residue improved the performance of Sabkha soils especially under soaked conditions, which may result in its applications in the construction industry. These results are encouraging. However the acceptance of oil residue as a stabilising material necessitates further research and this future programme is briefly mentioned.


In recent years, Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior) throughout Europe has been severely impacted by a leaf and twig dieback caused by the hyphomycete Chalara fraxinea. The reasons for its current devastating outbreak, however, still remain unclear. Here, we report the presence of four Phytophthora taxa in declining ash stands in Poland and Denmark. Phytophthora cactorum, Phytophthora plurivora, Phytophthora taxon salixsoil and Phytophthora gonapodyides were isolated from rhizosphere soil samples and necrotic bark lesions on stems and roots of mature declining ash trees in four stands. The first three species proved to be aggressive to abscised roots, twigs and leaves of F. excelsior in inoculation experiments. Soil infestation tests also confirmed their pathogenicity towards fine and feeder roots of ash seedlings. Our results provide first evidence for an involvement of Phytophthora species as a contributing factor in current decline phenomena of F. excelsior across Europe. Specifically, they may act as a predisposing factor for trees subsequently infected by C. fraxinea. Phytophthora species from ash stands also proved to be aggressive towards a wide range of tree and shrub species commonly associated with F. excelsior in mixed stands. Although damage varied considerably depending on the Phytophthora species/isolate-host plant combination, these results show that many woody species may be a potential source for survival and inoculum build-up of soilborne Phytophthora spp. in ash stands and forest ecosystems in general.


Research conducted over the last few decades has revealed an association between induced abortion history and substance abuse. The experience of induced abortion may be associated with psychological discomfort in some women and substance use offers a convenient remedy for alleviating the negative emotions without the necessity of disclosing the source of the discomfort. On the other hand many characteristics related to the choice to abort are also systematically related to the likelihood of using substances (e.g. relationship difficulties pre-existing emotional problems a tendency to engage in risk-taking behavior etc.) and the correlations observed in the literature may be due to the presence of uncontrolled third variables. Therefore the general purpose of this review is to critically evaluate the available evidence linking induced abortion and substance abuse with sensitivity to the contextual complexity of both variables. Specific objectives include the following: 1) provision of an overview of substance use disorders in women 2) review of evidence for a causal model highlighting methodological deficiencies in the published literature 3) identification of process mechanisms (direct and indirect) through which induced abortion may enhance risk for substance abuse 4) provision of recommendations for further research and 5) consideration of practice implications of the available findings. (authors)


Important information is often generated at meetings but identifying, and retrieving that information after the meeting is not always simple. Automatically capturing such information and making it available for later retrieval has therefore become a topic of some interest. Most approaches to this problem have involved constructing specialized instrumented meeting rooms that allow a meeting to be captured in great detail. We propose an alternate approach that focuses on people's information retrieval needs and makes use of a light-weight data collection system that allows data acquisition on portable equipment, such as personal laptops. Issues that arise include the integration of information from different audio and video streams and optimum use of sparse computing resources. This paper describes our current development of a light-weight portable meeting recording infrastructure, as well as the use of streams of visual and audio information to derive structure from meetings. The goal is to make meeting contents easily accessible to people.


Postweaning management strategies that include an element of social enrichment may reduce weaning stress and improve welfare and productive performance. We analyzed the effect of postweaning handling strategies on welfare and production traits in lambs. After weaning, 36 lambs were assigned to 3 experimental groups with 12 lambs each (control [C], fattening with gentle human female contact [H], and fattening with 2 adult ewes [E]). The average daily gain (ADG) was estimated. Blood samples were taken, and infrared thermography was used to estimate stress variables. There were significant differences among treatments (in favor of alternative strategies) regarding production and stress variables (cortisol, glucose, and creatine kinase). The results suggest that the lambs handled gently during the fattening were less reactive and better able to modulate their physiological stress. The E group adapted better to acute stress than the C group but was less efficient in modulating chronic stress. Both treatments showed higher slaughter live weights and better ADGs compared with the control. The use of social enrichment at weaning, especially to establish a positive human–nonhuman animal bond, alleviates lamb weaning stress and improves welfare and performance.


Science journalists are mainly responsible for publicly communicating science, which, in turn, is a major indicator of the social development of democratic societies. The transmission of quality scientific information that is rigorously researched and understandable is therefore crucial, and demand for this kind of information from both governments and citizens is growing. We analyzed the academic profiles of a representative sample of practicing science journalists in Spain to clarify what training they had received and how they perceived the quality and scope of this training. Using an ethnographic methodology based on a survey, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with science journalists working for the main Spanish media (mainly printed press, audiovisual, Internet and news agencies), we analyze their academic backgrounds and collect information on their opinions and proposals. Our findings depict a complex and heterogeneous scenario and also reveal that most science journalists not only do not have any scientific training, but also do not even consider this to be necessary to exercise as science reporters. They also criticize the current system for training journalists and consider that the best way of learning the profession is by acquiring experience on the job.


Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddelli) have been killed annually since 1956 at Scott Base, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, to provide food for the resident husky dogs. Between 1970 and 1976 personnel of Antarctic Division, DSIR, killed 399 seals, recorded infonnation on their physical characteristics and collected jaws and reproductive organs (females only). Data made available to the Zoology Department, University of Canterbury, for analysis included 321 seal data-sheets, 186 lower jaws and 103 sets of female reproductive organs. The overall sex ratio of seals killed was 1: 1. Mean ages of males ranged from 6.75 years (1972) to 13 years (1975), with an overall mean of 10.4 years; mean ages of females ranged from 7.82 years (1973) to 12 years (1974) with an overall mean of 9.87 years. In the four seasons with adequate sample sizes (15 + animals) the proportion of animals 10 years and older in the samples ranged from 28% (1972) to 65.7% (1976). The mean body lengths of males declined from 260.63 cm in 1970 to 239.8 cm in 1976. Lengths of females fluctuated from year to year between values of 258.25 cm (1974) and 249.28 cm (1975). The thickness of subcutaneous fat on the chest of males in the years 1974-76 ranged from 4.43 cm to 5.16 cm; that of females varied from 4.98 cm to 5.78 cm. The overall pregnancy rate was 65%, with a range from 55% (1974) to 76.5% (1976). Comparison with data from seal kills in 1957, 1962-64 and 1966-68 (Stirling, 1971a) suggests that in the 1970-76 period the Weddell seal population of eastern McMurdo Sound was close to stability, but fluctuating slightly from year to year, probably in response to changes in availability of food and other resources.


The antireflection coating on an optical lens plays a key role not only in minimizing specular reflection but also in maximizing light transmission. Antireflective structures (ARS) found in the eyes of moths have the same role as conventional antireflection coating, and they also provide many intriguing features such as broadband coverage, self-antireflection, and strong water repellence. In particular, ARS on a highly flexible membrane can effectively deliver antireflective properties, which are rarely achieved by conventional hard coating. Herein, we report antireflective structures on a highly flexible elastomeric lens membrane for tunable endoscopic imaging applications. A thin antireflective membrane was fabricated using a large-area nanohole template and replica molding. The thin membrane increases light transmittance up to 96.8% in the visible region while enhancing the image contrast up to 56%, higher than that of a smooth membrane during lens deformation. This antireflective, tunable, liquid-filled lens offers new opportunities for compact endoscopic laparoscopy enabling maximum transmittance and variable zoom imaging in narrow and low-illumination environments.