The main purpose of this study was to synthesize a new set of naphthoquinone-based ruthenium(II) arene complexes and to develop an understanding of their mode of action. This study systematically reviews the steps of synthesis, aiming to provide a simplified approach using microwave irradiation. The chemical structures and the physicochemical properties of this novel group of compounds were examined by 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, HPLC-MS and supporting DFT calculations. Several aspects of the biological activity were investigated in vitro, including short- and long-term cytotoxicity tests, cellular accumulation studies, detection of reactive oxygen species generation, apoptosis induction and NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) activity as well as cell cycle analysis in A549, CH1/PA-1, and SW480 cancer cells. Furthermore, the DNA interaction ability was studied in a cell-free assay. A positive correlation was found between cytotoxicity, lipophilicity and cellular accumulation of the tested complexes, and the results offer some important insights into the effects of the arene. The most obvious finding to emerge from this study is that the usually very chemosensitive CH1/PA-1 teratocarcinoma cells showed resistance to these phthiocol-based organometallics in comparison to the usually less chemosensitive SW480 colon carcinoma cells, which pilot experiments suggest as being related to NQO1 activity.


The history of Huaxia (Chinese: , a historical concept representing the Chinese nation and civi-lization) is full of wars. Various weapons were developed that are suitable for ground combat with horse-drawn vehicles. The weapon Ge (Chinese: ) was already used before 221 BC (before the Qin Dynasty, ca. 221–206 BC), and disappeared in around 25 AD (at the end of Western Han Dynasty). In most other regions in the world, this type of weapon has hardly been used. The weapon axe was used in the ancient wars (in the same period) outside Ancient China (also called the Middle King-dom), such as in Mesopotamia (the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system). However, the weapon axe is different from Ge, although there seem some similarities. This article provides an in-depth study and analysis of the reasons for the historic use of this unique weapon Ge, of its development in Ancient China, and of its influence on (military and civil) culture.


The role of innate immunity factors in the pathogens of ACS is not well studied, although there is evidence in the literature about their impact on the course of cardiovascular diseases. Mannose-binding lectin (MBL)--one of the key factors of the humoral innate immune system that activates one of complement activation pathways. The literature suggests an ambiguous, complex role of MBL, which can in different clinical situations either improve the prognosis of patients, or be a risk factor for complications. MBL could potentially be relevant to all main links in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction: inflammation, thrombosis, apoptosis, and so on. At different stages of atherogenesis, including the formation and destabilization of the atherosclerotic plaque, thrombosis, MBL may have a significant impact. The review analyzes currently available literature on the impact of MBL on atherosclerosis, ischemic heart disease and acute coronary syndrome. Moreover, in the review there is data on the role of MBL in physiological reactions in innate immunity, gene structure of MBL2 and possible mutations leading to deficiency of MBL in blood, and the role of MBL in the pathogenesis of various diseases.


Detailed information is given on farm business profits during 1987-91 among the various U.S. production regions, production special ;ties, and farm sizes. The report uses recent data to show the ... ide income variance IIIIICIng farms, a third of which are not profitable, and shows the major part played by larger and more specialized farms in the total production of U.S. agriculture. Average returns on assets including capital gains are determined for farms of the various regions, production specialties, and farm sizes. Farm incomes are compared against the returns of U.S. Treasury bills on the same value of capital investment.


Dispersion games are the generalization of the <i>anticoordination game</i> to arbitrary numbers of agents and actions. In these games agents prefer outcomes in which the agents are maximally dispersed over the set of possible actions. This class of games models a large number of natural problems, including load balancing in computer science, niche selection in economics, and division of roles within a team in robotics. Our work consists of two main contributions. First, we formally define and characterize some interesting classes of dispersion games. Second, we present several learning strategies that agents can use in these games, including traditional learning rules from game theory and artificial intelligence, as well as some special purpose strategies. We then evaluate analytically and empirically the performance of each of these strategies.


Information technology (IT) professionals face markedly different kinds of challenges in developing countries from the ones in developed countries. Based on the research literature and our fourteen years of fieldwork in Iringa, Tanzania, we have identified eight groups of technical characteristics of IT work that significantly affect the work of IT service management professionals in that particular developing country context. Those groups are climate conditions on the site, physical security on the site, characteristics of premises, characteristics of rooms, quality of electricity, local area network, peripherals, and ICT users. Even though the characteristics of IT work in developing countries are a challenge for any IT professional, they all can be overcome with appropriate education and preparation. However, scarcity of capable IT professionals who can effectively manage IT systems is an issue in East Africa. Although the situation is widely acknowledged, there are no reports of educational initiatives to address this issue. We show that without a broad understanding of environmental effects, physical security, power-related issues, and characteristics of premises for ICT equipment, IT professionals cannot maintain ICT services of organizations on a sufficient level. Our identified solutions to practical challenges lead us to conclude that IT service management education must include some topics from the fields of electrical engineering and civil engineering in the IT curriculum. Those topics prepare students to overcome context-specific challenges in their future working milieu. Besides technical topics, organizational support for IT work plays a central role in the self-sustainability of ICT services. Hence, IT professionals should be able to advocate other members of an organization. Advocacy work demands good management and communication skills and strong commitment to IT professionalism. Education for IT service management has to recognize these issues and emphasis, in its curriculum design, the role of management and leadership skills in a culturally sensitive way.


OBJECTIVE
Flutamide (FLU) is a non-steroidal antiandrogen drug approved for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. While this indication limits the use to male patients, FLU is widely prescribed to women, off-label, for the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome (POCS) related hirsutism and acne. According to the literature, its assumption is associated with a higher incidence of adverse events in women than in male patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A literature search was conducted in main databases targeting unwilling FLU effects in hepatic and reproductive function. References in the selected paper were also considered as an additional source of data. Human- and animal-based studies were separately considered.

RESULTS
Twenty-three human-based studies were evaluated: ten were case reports, six were retrospective studies, four were prospective, two were surveillance studies, while the last was an observational study. Nine animal-based studies were also evaluated.

CONCLUSIONS
Scientific contributions highlight that FLU is responsible for specific hepatotoxic profiles in the female gender. From the ethical point of view, off-label prescribing of FLU in women is not only substantially unlawful, but also, without major safeguards being granted, a potential source of liability for prescribers.


»Gefangen im Übergang. Die britische Ölpolitik im Angesicht der drohenden Krise 1967-1973«. This paper examines the challenges faced by British policy makers in years preceding the 1973 oil crisis. Despite an acute appreciation of the impending changes to the structure of the international oil industry, British officials were unable to formulate new policies to mitigate the impact of this changing situation. The inability or unwillingness of policy makers to act stemmed from three interconnected factors: the Government's desire to transition away from its reliance on its two domestically-based oil companies, BP and Shell, for oil policy information and advice, Government confusion over how best to utilize the newfound resources of the North Sea, and a lack of clear lines of authority within the Government regarding oil policy decision-making.


This paper shows preliminary results for polymer nanocomposites consisting of "hairy" silica particles with grafted polystyrene in polystyrene matrices of controlled molecular weight and polydispersity. The goal of the work is to tailor the degree of wetting / interaction between the particles and polymer by controlling the graft density and molecular weight of the grafted polymer. This is providing an opportunity to study the properties of the interface region and to control the bulk composite properties. We have found that the predictions for flat brushes are qualitatively, but not quantitatively, applicable and that the highly curved surfaces of nanoparticles present several challenges for the design of nanoparticle interfaces. The talk will present more complete results in this system and provide an overview of other work in our group using tailored interfaces to control nanocomposite properties.


Early prediction for ischemic stroke (IS) outcome is a major challenge since it may help to optimize treatment program and  to make  it more  personalized. Since  T cells with  regulatory activity  are involved  in different  pathophysiological processes  in brain  stroke,  including inflammation, immune suppression, brain damage  and  repair, the  study  of T cells as potential biomarkers has essential  importance. The  present  work aimed to study the circulating T cell subsets with phenotype of type 1 T helper cells (Th1) and regulatory T cells (Treg), and their  ratio during  the acute  phase of IS, depending on stroke severity, inflammatory response  and 3-month outcome (according to modified Rankin scale, mRs).  Patients and methods. The study included 61 patients with a newly diagnosed IS (severity according to NIHSS ≥ 5), in the first 24-48 h after stroke onset, and 20 age/sex-related healthy  donors. Laboratory examination included assessment of leukocytosis, neutrophillymphocyte ratio  (NLR) and CRP  concentration. Mononuclear cells were isolated  from peripheral blood  to study T cell subsets. Th1 and Tregs were measured by FACS  analysis as CD4 + IFNγ + and CD4 + CD25 hi T cells, respectively. During the first 24-48 h after stroke, the patients had elevated values of leukocyte counts, NLR and CRP. Higher  levels of these parameters in severe stroke compared with mild stroke, as well as direct correlation of NIHSS with  NLR  and  CRP  evidenced that  the  stroke  severity  was associated with  more  pronounced inflammatory response. Patients were also characterized by a significant  decrease in CD4 + IFNγ + Th1  cells, an  increase  in CD4 + CD25 hi Treg, and  a marked  decrease in Th1/Treg ratio.  Furthermore, in patients with NIHSS ≥ 8 (moderate and severe stroke), the percentage of CD4 + IFNγ + T cells was in direct  correlation, and the number of CD4 + CD25 hi T cells was inversely related to CRP  and NLR  values. The changes of T cell subsets were more  pronounced in patients with  a favorable  3-month outcome (mRs  > 3). As a result,  the  patients with poor outcome (mRs  ≤ 3) had higher  CD4 + IFNγ + T cell proportion, lower CD4 + CD25 hi T cell percentage and  4-fold  higher  CD4 + IFNγ + /CD4 + CD25 hi  ratio  compared with opposing  group.  ROC  analysis  revealed  a "good" quality of prognosis  based on evaluation of the CD4 + IFNγ + /CD4+CD25 hi ratio as a monopredictor of adverse outcome (AUC  = 0.75) and "very good"  quality  of prognosis  when the indicated ratio was combined with  NIHSS scale  (AUC  = 0.82).  The  data  obtained suggest  that  a decrease of Th1/Тreg ratio,  due  to  a decrease in CD4+IFNγ+  and increased CD4 + CD25 hi T cell counts  during the acute  phase of ischemic stroke is a compensatory reaction directed at inhibition of inflammatory response, and has a prognostic significance as early predictor of the outcome at 3 months.


The impact of effective factors on healthcare expenditure will be appeared in the public health. Providing health services, such as health centers, is an effective factor in controlling the. Given the high potential of medical knowledge in our country, the existence of equipped health centers can lead policy makers and economic actors to health tourism industry. Therefore, examining the effective factors on health expenditures can be a new perspective for experts. Thus, this study compares the Spatial Error Model (SEM), Mixed Regression - Spatial Autoregressive Model (MR-SAR), and Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) with consideration of their geographical spatial dependency, in order to identify the most appropriate model that can explain the effective variables on per capita healthcare expenditures during 1995-2014. The results indicate that per capita income and life expectancy have positive impacts on per capita healthcare expenditures and the effects of foreign aid and population on per capita healthcare expenditures are negative. Moreover, the impact of spatial dependency on healthcare expenditures has been confirmed and the Spatial Durbin Model has been selected as the best model.


Retinal ganglion cell axons provide the only link between the light sensitive and photon transducing neural retina and visual centers of the brain. Retinal ganglion cell axon degeneration occurs in a number of blinding diseases and the ability to stimulate axon regeneration from surviving ganglion cells could provide the anatomic substrate for restoration of vision. OTX2 is a homeoprotein transcription factor expressed in the retina and previous studies showed that, in response to stress, exogenous OTX2 increases the in vitro and in vivo survival of retinal ganglion cells. The present results show that, in addition to promoting adult retinal ganglion cell survival, OTX2 also stimulates the regeneration of their axons in vitro and in vivo. This dual activity of OTX2 on retinal ganglion cell survival and regeneration is of potential interest for degenerative diseases affecting this cell type.


Here Horace gives warning to an adversary of his powers of literary attack, comparing himself with the great iambists Archilochus ('Lycambae spretus infido gener') and Hipponax ('acer hostis Bupalo'). The general sense of the last two lines seems clear: 'If someone attacks me (gifted as I am with the weapons of the iambist), shall I weep like a mere boy?', i.e. 'Am I not to take revenge?'


New features of natural disasters have been observed over the last several years. The factors that influence the disasters' formation mechanisms, regularity of occurrence and main characteristics have been revealed to be more complicated and diverse in nature than previously thought. As the uncertainty involved increases, the variables need to be examined further. This article discusses the importance and the shortage of multivariate analysis of natural disasters and presents a method to estimate the joint probability of the return periods and perform a risk analysis. Severe dust storms from 1990 to 2008 in Inner Mongolia were used as a case study to test this new methodology, as they are normal and recurring climatic phenomena on Earth. Based on the 79 investigated events and according to the dust storm definition with bivariate, the joint probability distribution of severe dust storms was established using the observed data of maximum wind speed and duration. The joint return periods of severe dust storms were calculated, and the relevant risk was analyzed according to the joint probability. The copula function is able to simulate severe dust storm disasters accurately. The joint return periods generated are closer to those observed in reality than the univariate return periods and thus have more value in severe dust storm disaster mitigation, strategy making, program design, and improvement of risk management. This research may prove useful in risk‐based decision making. The exploration of multivariate analysis methods can also lay the foundation for further applications in natural disaster risk analysis.


The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 (SARS-CoV-2-S) helps
the virus attach to and infect human cells. With various
computational methods applied in this work, the accessibility of its RBD to
ACE2, its key residues for stronger binding to ACE2 than the SARS-CoV spike
(SARS-CoV-S), the origin of the stronger binding, and its potential sites for
drug and antibody design were explored. It was found that the SARS-CoV-2-S
could bind ACE2 with an RBD-angle ranging from 52.2º to 84.8º, which demonstrated
that the RBD does not need to fully open to bind ACE2. Free energy calculation
by an MM/GBSA approach not only revealed much stronger binding of SARS-CoV-2-S
to ACE2 (ΔG=-21.7~-29.9 kcal/mol)
than SARS-CoV-S (ΔG=-10.2~-16.4
kcal/mol) at different RBD-angles but also demonstrated that the binding becomes
increasingly stronger as the RBD-angle increases. In comparison with the experimental
results, the free energy decomposition disclosed more key residues interacting strongly
with ACE2 than with the SARS-CoV-S, among which the Q493 might be the decisive
residue variation (-5.84 kcal/mol) to the strong binding. With the mutation of
all 18 different residues of SARS-CoV-S on the spike-ACE2 interface to the
corresponding residues of SARS-CoV-2-S, it was found that the mutated
SARS-CoV-S has almost the same binding affinity as SARS-CoV-2-S to ACE2,
demonstrating that the remaining mutations outside the spike-ACE2 interface have
little effect on its binding affinity to ACE2. Simulation of the conformational change pathway
from "down" to "up" states disclosed 5 potential
ligand-binding pockets correlated to the conformational change. Taking
together the key residues, accessible RBD-angle and pocket correlation, potential sites for
drug and antibody design were proposed, which should be helpful for
interpreting the high infectiousness of SARS-CoV-2 and for developing a cure.


Submersible motor is of lathy subsection structure of stator and rotor and the leakage reactance in subsection impact on motor performance. Three-dimensional finite element mathematic model of submersible motor magnetic isolated segment used to calculate leakage reactance corresponding to the leakage magnetic field in it is established in this paper. Simulation prototype is designed. The accuracy and feasibility of the method described here is directly verified by example comparison. This leakage reactance has bigger influence to performance parameter of the motor and must be taken into account in the design of submersible motor for the future.


According to mesh reconstruction problem of point cloud models with similar topological structure, a mesh reconstruction algorithm of point cloud model is presented based on deformable template and local ICP algorithm. Firstly, point cloud model and template model are aligned in the least squares sense by human-computer interaction. Use the set of point cloud to construct k-d tree and search correspondence of vertices of template model in the point cloud model. Then, the set of correspondence Φ, between two models, is built. For any point Vi of template model, the transformation Ti of each point Vi is computed based on a local supporting neighborhood Vi : Nk(Vi) around Vi. For computation of Ti, we consider only the local correspondence that is inside the local supporting neighborhood Nk of Vi :Φ| Nk(Vi). In the iterative course of deformation, reduce local supporting neighborhood of each vertex Vi gradually to make it accurately approach point cloud model step by step. When the error between two of them is less than a given value, current template model can be taken as the reconstruction model of point cloud. It's proved by example that the model we get can satisfy engineering request.


In this study we discuss the use of the simplex method to solve allocation problems whose flow matrices are doubly stochastic. Although these problems can be solved via a 0-1 integer programming method, H.W. Kuhn [4] suggested the use of linear programming in addition to the Hungarian method. Specifically, we use the Birkhoff's theorem to prove that the simplex method enables solving these problems. We also provide insights how to obtain a partition that includes a particular unit.


Broadband spectrum is observed in 1060nm InGaAs/GaAs thyristor-lasers with two different structures PiNiN and PNiN. In this paper, we experimentally investigate and compare the performance of these two structures. The experimental results show that the PiNiN structure thyristor-laser with a reversed tunneling junction and two active regions, achieves a high power emitting with 790 mW and spectral range of ~51nm.


Analysis of nucleic acids from grapevine tissues by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis demonstrated the presence of two bands of circular RNA. The smaller RNA contained about 300 nucleotide residues and was identified as hop stunt viroid by nucleotide sequencing. The larger RNA band was a mixture of species and contained similar amounts of two components, referred to as RNA 1a and RNA 1b, and in addition a trace amount of citrus exocortis viroid (CEV) which became detectable only after inoculation of the mixture to tomato. The identity of CEV was determined by probe hybridization and nucleotide sequencing. Both RNAs 1a and 1b are distinct from CEV and have estimated sizes larger than those of CEV and other viroids reported so far. RNA 1a preparations were infectious in cucumber and in tomato and the recovered viroid had unique properties. We have provisionally named this viroid Australian grapevine viroid. Evidence for the autonomous replication of RNA 1b was not obtained.


Tunnel field-effect transistor (TFET) is considered to have superior device performance compared with DG-metal-oxide-semiconductor FET in terms of reduced off-state current and lower subthreshold swing. However, performance of a device solely depends on the accuracy in the fabrication process. This work presents a systematic methodology in small-signal-radio-frequency (RF) and linearity domain to analyse the effect of variation in lateral straggle caused by the variation tilt angle during ion implantation process. From previously published researches, it is intuitively established fact that the accurate evaluation of intrinsic components and estimation of linearity in short channel devices is crucial to access the range of application of the device. In this work, the authors have investigated the RF intrinsic parameter performances of a silicon double gate TFET having variation in lateral straggle from 1 to 5 nm. This study includes the analysis of non-quasi-static RF bias-dependent parameters such as intrinsic capacitances (
 C
 gs
, C
 gd
), gate-to-drain intrinsic resistance (
 R
 gd
) and intrinsic time delay (
 τ
). Similarly, the device linearity and reliability are investigated here in terms of higher-order transconductances (
 g
 m2
 and g
 m3
), VIP
 2
, VIP
 3
, IMD
 3
, IIP
 3
 and 1 dB compression point.


One of the promising applications with superconducting technology for hydrogen utilization is a sensor with a magnesium-diboride (MgB2) superconductor to detect the position of boundary between the liquid hydrogen and the evaporated gas stored in a Dewar vessel. In our previous experiment for the level sensor, the normal zone has been automatically developed and therefore any energy input with the heater has not been required for normal operation. Although the physical mechanism for such a property of the MgB2 wire has not been clarified yet, the deliberate application might lead to the realization of a simpler superconducting level sensor without heater system. In the present study, the automatic development of normal zone with increasing a transport current is evaluated for samples consisting of three kinds of MgB2 wires with CuNi sheath and different diameters immersed in liquid helium. The influences of the repeats of current excitation and heat cycle on the normal zone development are discussed experimentally. The aim of this paper is to confirm the suitability of MgB2 wire in a heater free level sensor application. This could lead to even more optimized design of the liquid hydrogen level sensor and the removal of extra heater input.


Abstract While the histories of opinion polling and the news media have been closely intertwined ever since the invention of polling, the question as to whether the media's reporting on opinion polls should be considered as detrimental or beneficial from a democratic perspective is still open and contested. The purpose of this paper is thus to investigate the publication of opinion polls in the Swedish media during the last three election campaigns, with a focus on how the media used opinion polls and whether or not the media, at the end of the day, mainly used opinion polls to give voice to the people – or to the media and the journalists themselves. Among other things, the results suggest that more often than not, polls serve as vox media rather than vox populi.


First described from the Mascarenes (Rodrigues Island, Indian Ocean), Olifantiella gorandiana Riaux-Gobin was later observed from several other oceanic basins. We here examine the morphology of this taxon from a scraping of a juvenile green turtle Chelonia mydas Linnaeus, named 'G5-Manahere', from Moorea Island (Society Archipelago, South Pacific). In this sample, a great range of morphologies, not previously described for the species, were encountered, demonstrating a high degree of polymorphism with regard to valve shape and also stria pattern. These morphological differences appear to be associated with size, as smaller cells become more rounded. The fine structure (e.g., stria density and pattern) may also be associated with changes in shape. These specimens may all belong to the same and unique taxon: Olifantiella gorandiana. This high degree of polymorphism is described, and put into the context of the constraining epizoic conditions. This study permits furthers the description of the fine structure of O. gorandiana, using focused ion beam (FIB) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques.


Heavy metal contamination in rivers downstream from mining operations is an important environmental concern due to the potential release of metals that affect water quality. The downstream transport of particulate bound metals and their subsequent storage in alluvial deposits is of particular concern because they may pose a significant threat to the quality of agricultural crops grown on floodplains. This study examines the downstream transport and storage of contaminated sediment derived from three mining centers in southern Bolivia: the Abaroa, the Chilcobija, and the Tatasi - Portugalete District. It also examines the consequences of erosion of mine tailings impounded within a small river valley at the Abaroa Mine site. Trace metal concentrations (including lead, zinc, and antimony) within the bed sediments of a bedrock constrained channel located immediately downstream of the Abaroa Mine gradually decrease downstream until reaching the Rio Chilco, where concentrations abruptly decrease. Metal concentrations within the bed sediments are similar to background concentrations within approximately 30 km of the Abaroa Mine.However, Pb and Zn concentrations locally increase farther downstream along the Rio Tupiza - San Juan del Oro as a result of the influx of mining debris from polymetallic mining operations within the Rio Tatasi basin and, to a lesser degree, the Rio Chilcobija. Downstream of the tributaries Rio Abaroa, and Rio Tatasi, Pb, Zn, and Sb concentrations decrease gradually until reaching concentrations similar to local background.The spatial distribution of metals in floodplain deposits differs from site to site. In floodplains closest to the mines such as FF-1 and FF-2, relatively elevated metal concentrations were found at sites located near the channel separated 10 and 35 m,whereas lower concentrations occurred at distances greater than 50 m from the channel. The opposite trend was observed in floodplain FF-3, and in the floodplain farthest downstream the difference in metal content was negligible. However, it is difficult to define a particular trend due to the small variations among and within the sites.Vertically, most of the floodplains exhibit the highest concentrations at the surface. Highly variable concentrations exist at greater depths, although the lowest metal concentrations were often at the base of the core. This spatial pattern suggests that sediments contaminated by Pb, Zn, and Sb have been deposited on the floodplain over the past several decades. Concentrations of heavy metals in floodplain deposits are higher than in channel bed sediments. Grain size data demonstrate that silt and clay is more abundant in floodplain deposits (~50%) than in channel sediments (~15%). These differences imply that differences in heavy metal concentrations are due to variations in the abundance of chemically reactive, fine sediments within the deposits. Locally, soil concentrations in floodplain soils exceed Dutch, Canadian, and German guideline values for agricultural use. In fact, the German guidelines are locally exceeded by two orders of magnitude. These data indicate that additional studies related to the accumulation of heavy metals within agricultural products should be conducted to more fully assess the potential impacts of metal contamination on human health.Impacts on human health and the environment caused by the Abar6a dam failure were apparently limited, as indicated by rapid downstream reduction in metal concentrations. The continuous inputs of sediments stored within the floodplain deposits during bank erosion may be a more important source of metals for the rivers.


British Journal of Midwifery • July 2015 • Vol 23, No 7 New figures out last month reporting the small decline in the percentage of women smoking at the time of birth make for an encouraging read. The latest Statistics on Women's Smoking Status at Time of Delivery, England from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) show that just over one in 10 babies are born to mothers who smoke—11.4% of women were recorded as smokers at the time of giving birth in 2014–2015 (HSCIC, 2015); this time last year this figure was 12% (HSCIC, 2014). Every midwife and health professional knows the dangers that smoking during pregnancy has on an unborn baby, and these figures show that the public health message is getting through, albeit very slowly. Although 11.4% is a relatively small percentage, it still represents 70 880 maternities—70 880 too many! The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE, 2010) has recommended that all pregnant women are carbon monoxide (CO) tested at their booking appointment. The aim of this is to identify those most at risk and to ensure that advice is targeted to those individuals who need it most. Although this seems untrusting of women and may affect the important midwife–woman relationship, O'Connell and Duaso (page 484) found that the women's reactions in their study were generally positive to CO monitoring. This is good news as evidence has suggested that women who smoke during pregnancy are reluctant to discuss their addiction with their midwives and often fail to admit to smoking when asked during their initial antenatal appointment (Owen and McNeill, 2001). Unfortunately the HSCIC report, once again, highlighted a significant regional variation in smoking prevalence among Clinical Commissioning Groups, from 2.1% in NHS Central London (Westminster) to 27.2% in NHS Blackpool. These regional variations are a cause for concern and correlate with deprivation. It is well known that people living in poverty are more likely to smoke (Office for National Statistics, 2014), thus it is imperative that stop smoking messages are targeted to those who need them most. The Government must support public health efforts and target resources in areas where rates are still high to help pregnant women and their families quit smoking. Ensuring that all women are routinely CO monitored, and hiring more smoking cessation midwives in these areas, will certainly help bridge this inequality gap and will save the NHS money in the long-term. BJM


This paper is a postprint of a paper submitted to and accepted for publication in journal Electronics Letters and is subject to Institution of Engineering and Technology Copyright. The copy of record is available at IET Digital Library"


Although virtually all gene networks are predicted to be controlled by miRNAs, the contribution of this important layer of gene regulation to tissue homeostasis in adult animals remains unclear. Gain and loss of function experiments have provided key insights into the specific function of individual miRNAs, but effective genetic tools to study the functional consequences of global inhibition of miRNA activity in vivo are lacking. Here we report the generation and characterization of a genetically engineered mouse strain in which miRNA-mediated gene repression can be reversibly inhibited without affecting miRNA biogenesis or abundance. We demonstrate the usefulness of this strategy by investigating the consequences of acute inhibition of miRNA function in adult animals. We find that different tissues and organs respond differently to global loss of miRNA function. While miRNA-mediated gene repression is essential for the homeostasis of the heart and the skeletal muscle, it is largely dispensable in the majority of other organs. Even in tissues where it is not required for homeostasis, such as the intestine and hematopoietic system, miRNA activity can become essential during regeneration following acute injury. These data support a model where many metazoan tissues primarily rely on miRNA function to respond to potentially pathogenic events.


Objectives and Background The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) recently published its care pathway for anaphylaxis incorporating an algorithm with the stages of ideal care and a set of competences required to diagnose, treat and optimally manage anaphylaxis. In order to assess current practice we investigated the quality of documented assessment and treatment of paediatric allergies in Accident and Emergency (A&E). Methods Retrospective case review of children presenting with allergic reactions to A&E at two large teaching hospitals during 1 year. Results Total number of cases included was 187 (96 hospital A, 15% severe, 91 hospital B, 12% severe). Urticaria, angiooedema and pruritus were the main presenting symptoms. Enquiry of previous allergies was not recorded in 31%/38% (A/B) of cases. Recording of ABCD assessment of all and the most severe reactions (systemic symptoms) varied between hospitals (Abstract 030 table 1). Types of medications used were similar with antihistamines (55%/67% A/B), steroids (26%/38% A/B) and bronchodilators (4% both) being the main treatments. Number of admissions (to paediatric assessment unit and wards) differed 16%/5% (A/B). Both hospitals had low recorded referral rates to allergy clinic (8%/11% A/B) and allergen avoidance advice (8%/12% A/B). Medication on discharge was given to 29%/59% (A/B), mainly antihistamines. Conclusion The RCPCH care pathway sets best practice. While we reviewed written notes which may not fully reflect actual consultations, current practice would appear to be falling significantly short of the ideal care proposed.


As the transcript of the author's 9 October 2009 keynote at the 10th International F. Scott Fitzgerald Society Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, this essay examines Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald's relationship to "Nickel City," a site that between 1932 and 1935 found the pair struggling with some of the darkest years of their marriage, with mental illness, and with their artistic competitiveness over their lives together. This period witnessed the completion of Tender Is the Night after a nine-year struggle as well as of the final book Fitzgerald published in his lifetime, the short story collection Taps at Reveille. It is also the timeframe in which Zelda published her only novel, Save Me the Waltz. That the Baltimore years marked the couple's last effort to establish a home together—first in a house known as La Paix on a family estate owned by future biographer Andrew Turnbull, then at 1307 Park Avenue in Bolton Hill, not far from a monument to Fitzgerald's ancestor and namesake Francis Scott Key—is oddly poignant given the city's reputation as "nickel city," a nickname reputedly given to it for its supposed cheapness compared to Washington, DC Fitzgerald himself was the gilded man who attempted to cover up his own sense of diminished value in the 1930s. As such he identified with Baltimore. As he told one interviewer, "I belong here, where everything is civilized and gay and rotted and polite."


Strategies targeting cross-talk between immunosuppressive renal dendritic cells (DCs) and T regulatory cells (Tregs) may be effective in treating cisplatin (CDDP)-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). Galectin 3 (Gal-3), expressed on renal DCs, is known as a crucial regulator of immune response in the kidneys. In this study, we investigated the role of Gal-3 for DCs-mediated expansion of Tregs in the attenuation of CDDP-induced AKI. Methods: AKI was induced in CDDP-treated wild type (WT) C57BL/6 and Gal-3 deficient (Gal-3-/-) mice. Biochemical, histological analysis, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunohistochemistry, real-time PCR, magnetic cell sorting, flow cytometry and intracellular staining of renal-infiltrated immune cells were used to determine the differences between CDDP-treated WT and Gal-3-/- mice. Newly synthesized selective inhibitor of Gal-3 (Davanat) was used for pharmacological inhibition of Gal-3. Recombinant Gal-3 was used to demonstrate the effects of exogenously administered soluble Gal-3 on AKI progression. Pam3CSK4 was used for activation of Toll-like receptor (TLR)-2 in DCs. Cyclophosphamide or anti-CD25 antibody were used for the depletion of Tregs. 1-Methyl Tryptophan (1-MT) was used for pharmacological inhibition of Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase-1 (IDO1) in TLR-2-primed DCs which were afterwards used in passive transfer experiments. Results: CDDP-induced nephrotoxicity was significantly more aggravated in Gal-3-/- mice. Significantly reduced number of immunosuppressive TLR-2 and IDO1-expressing renal DCs, lower serum levels of KYN, decreased presence of IL-10-producing Tregs and significantly higher number of inflammatory IFN-γ and IL-17-producing neutrophils, Th1 and Th17 cells were observed in the CDDP-injured kidneys of Gal-3-/- mice. Pharmacological inhibitor of Gal-3 aggravated CDDP-induced AKI in WT animals while recombinant Gal-3 attenuated renal injury and inflammation in CDDP-treated Gal-3-/- mice. CDDP-induced apoptosis, driven by Bax and caspase-3, was aggravated in Gal-3-/- animals and in WT mice that received Gal-3 inhibitor (CDDP+Davanat-treated mice). Recombinant Gal-3 managed to completely attenuate CDDP-induced apoptosis in CDDP-injured kidneys of Gal-3-/- mice. Genetic deletion as well as pharmacological inhibition of Gal-3 in renal DCs remarkably reduced TLR-2-dependent activation of IDO1/KYN pathway in these cells diminishing their capacity to prevent transdifferentiation of Tregs in inflammatory Th1 and Th17 cells. Additionally, Tregs generated by Gal-3 deficient DCs were not able to suppress production of IFN-γ and IL-17 in activated neutrophils. TLR-2-primed DCs significantly enhanced capacity of Tregs for attenuation of CDDP-induced AKI and inflammation and expression of Gal-3 on TLR-2-primed DCs was crucially important for their capacity to enhance nephroprotective and immunosuppressive properties of Tregs. Adoptive transfer of TLR-2-primed WTDCs significantly expanded Tregs in the kidneys of CDDP-treated WT and Gal-3-/- recipients resulting in the suppression of IFN-γ and IL-17-driven inflammation and alleviation of AKI. Importantly, this phenomenon was not observed in CDDP-treated WT and Gal-3-/- recipients of TLR-2-primed Gal-3-/-DCs. Gal-3-dependent nephroprotective and immunosuppressive effects of renal DCs was due to the IDO1-induced expansion of renal Tregs since either inhibition of IDO1 activity in TLR-2-primed DCs or depletion of Tregs completely diminished DCs-mediated attenuation of CDDP-induced AKI. Conclusions: Gal-3 protects from CDDP-induced AKI by promoting TLR-2-dependent activation of IDO1/KYN pathway in renal DCs resulting in increased expansion of immunosuppressive Tregs in injured kidneys. Activation of Gal-3:TLR-2:IDO1 pathway in renal DCs should be further explored as new therapeutic approach for DC-based immunosuppression of inflammatory renal diseases.


To the Editor: Benjamin makes a number of points in his letter,' most of which were answered by FurnivaJ.2 However, he also states that "reduced recurrence is not a useful aim in cancer treatment if it does not improve survival or reduce mortality". This is a very narrow view of cancer therapy by any modality. It fails to take into account the enormous individual benefits from achieving local control even if survival is not influenced. This is particularly true in head and neck and pelvic cancers, for which failure to achieve local control can bring many months, if not years, of additional suffering to the individual patient. I believe this concept of cancer as a systemic disease from the start is dangerous as it applies only to a proportion of cancers. Many cancers can be and are controlled and cured despite local and regional nodal spread at initial presentation. This has come about with better integrated local therapies. I believe this train of thought has arisen from consideration of breast cancer as a model for all cancers. Devaluation of the importance of local control will disadvantage our patients with cancer.


Global agricultural and food systems face the challenge of feeding a growing world population in the face of finite and diminishing resources. To guide the redesign of agricultural systems, farmers and policymakers are increasingly turning to agroecology. Organic agriculture has historically integrated agroecological practices within its regulatory framework; however, questions remain as to the extent to which organic farmers are maintaining and expanding agroecological practices. In this paper, we will address convergences and divergences of agroecological and organic practices. Using cover cropping as a model agroecological practice, we conduct a preliminary assessment on the degree to which organic vegetable farms in Wisconsin, USA are integrating agroecological concepts into their farm management, drawing upon the results of a 2013 cover cropping practice survey. The survey data demonstrates varying degrees of complexity and diversity in cover cropping practices, potentially illustrating the desire of organic farmers to promote a high degree of agroecosystem services. Farmers' integration of cover crop diversity and complexity was not correlated to farm size or revenue. These results offer preliminary evidence that Wisconsin's organic vegetable farmers are integrating agroecological practices on their farms, even as growth in the organic market continues to occur.


In Tunisia, like in the other countries of the Mediterranean, tomato is ranked among the important vegetables in the economic sphere. Tunisia ranks as the first consumer of this vegetable in the world. However, tomatoes are exposed to multiple environmental stresses. In particular, salinity is the most stressful limiting factor to productivity. Salt tolerance of the tomato is susceptible to be ameliorated by genetic and physiologic ways. Salicylic acid (SA), a plant phenolic, is now considered as a hormone-like endogenous regulator, and its role in the defense mechanisms against biotic and abiotic stressors has been well documented. So, the aim of this study was to investigate the impact of exogenous application of SA (0.01 mM) on growth, nutritional behavior, and some metabolic parameters (total chlorophyll, soluble sugars, proline, and proteins) of tomato plants cv. Moneymaker exposed to NaCl (100 mM). Our results showed that the application of 0.01 mM SA to tomato plants via root drenching attenuate the depressive effect of salinity on plants. This amelioration results in stimulation of growth and development of plant. Under stress conditions, SA-treated plants exhibited more accumulation of photosynthetic pigments and K(+) contents. Thus, SA induces an increase in soluble sugars in roots and leaves; also, we noted the increase of proteins only in roots. Overall, the adverse effects of salt stress tomato plants were alleviated by the exogenous application of SA at vegetative stage, which upregulated nutrition and the accumulation of some organic solutes and osmoprotectors such sugars, proline, and proteins. So salicylic acid can be greatly used to enhance salt tolerance of tomato plants.


Shi, Xuan-Zheng, and Sushil K. Sarna. Differential inflammatory modulation of canine ileal longitudinal and circular muscle cells. Am. J. Physiol. 277 (Gastrointest. Liver Physiol. 40): G341–G350, 1999.—The aim of this study was to identify the subtypes of muscarinic receptors that mediate in vivo and in vitro canine ileal longitudinal muscle contractions and whether their role is modulated by inflammation. Previous studies have reported that circular muscle contractions are suppressed in ileal inflammation induced by mucosal exposure to ethanol and acetic acid. We found that inflammation had no significant effect on in vivo and in vitro spontaneous or muscarinic receptor-mediated contractions of the longitudinal muscle. The longitudinal muscle contractions were mediated primarily by the M3 receptor subtype. However, the IC50 of the M2 receptor antagonist methoctramine was only 10 times greater than that of the M3 receptor antagonist 4-DAMP in the longitudinal muscle, whereas it was 224 times greater in the circular muscle. M2 receptor-coupled decrease of intracellular cAMP occurred in the longitudinal but not in the circular muscle from the normal ileum. Inflammation did not alter this coupling in the longitudinal muscle but established it in the circular muscle. In conclusion, M2 receptors may play a greater role in the mediation of longitudinal muscle contractions than circular muscle contractions. Inflammation does not alter the contractility or the relative role of muscarinic receptor subtypes in longitudinal muscle cells. However, it modulates the M2 receptor coupling to adenylate cyclase in the circular muscle.


The trial of the worst ever medical fraud case in the United States has ended with a Michigan oncologist, who made false diagnoses and unnecessarily treated hundreds of patients, receiving 45 years in federal prison.

Farid Fata, 50, told healthy patients that they had cancer, then gave them massive doses of chemotherapy to maximize his profit.1 He also gave chemotherapy to terminally ill patients whom he took from hospices, offering them the hope of cure to entice them into treatment. The number of patients identified has reached 553. Many were injured permanently by the huge doses of anticancer drugs they received, and an unspecified number died in his care.

Fata pleaded guilty last September to 13 counts of healthcare fraud, two counts of money laundering, and one count of conspiring to pay and receive kickbacks. He billed patients and insurance companies for $34.7m (£22.3m; €31m), receiving $17.6m, for work he later admitted was unnecessary.

Fata founded Michigan Hematology and Oncology Centers, the state's largest private cancer practice at the time of his arrest. His scam lasted five years from 2009, prosecutors said, until he was reported to the authorities by his office manager, George Karadsheh. Karadsheh told ABC Nightline that he grew suspicious because staff kept leaving the practice. Finally one oncologist, on quitting, told him that it was because Fata was administering chemotherapy to healthy patients.

"He also pointed out that patients who were receiving chemotherapy without disease were receiving it to the very last day of life," Karadsheh said. …


Chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS) of the lower limb is part of a group of overuse lower limb injuries with common presenting features. It is commonly diagnosed by the measurement of raised intramuscular pressures in the lower limb. The pathophysiology of the condition is poorly understood, and the criteria used to make the diagnosis are based on small sample sizes of symptomatic patients. We carried out a systematic review to compare intramuscular pressures in the anterior compartment of healthy subjects with commonly used criteria for CECS. Thirty‐eight studies were included. With the exception of relaxation pressure, the current criteria for diagnosing CECS, considered to be the gold standard, overlap the range found in normal healthy subjects. Several studies reported mean pressures that would prompt a positive diagnosis for CECS, despite none of the subjects reporting any symptoms. The intramuscular pressure at all time points has also shown to vary in relation to a number of other factors other than the presence of CECS. Taken together, these data have major implications on the ability to use these published criteria for diagnosis and question the underlying pathophysiology. Clinicians are recommended to use protocol‐specific upper confidence limits to guide the diagnosis following a failed conservative management.


BACKGROUND/AIM
This study aimed to investigate the impact of blood pressure and sex on heart-vessel coupling in patients with essential hypertension via ultrasound.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We studied 76 patients with essential hypertension (48 males and 28 females) and 65 healthy controls (33 males and 32 females). Coupling parameters were obtained using ultrasound technology combined with brachial artery blood pressure measurement.

RESULTS
The Ea and Ees were higher in the hypertension group than in the control group (P < 0.01), with no statistically significant difference in Ea/Ees between the two groups (P >0.05). After subjects were classified by sex, the Ea and Ees of males and females in the hypertension group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01), while the Ea/Ees was lower in hypertensive females than in control females (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
In female patients with essential hypertension, heart-vessel coupling was easily damaged, and systolic blood pressure was associated with heart-vessel coupling damage to some extent.


A complete photovoltaic cell was fabricated using only a handheld airbrush, dilute solutions of CdSe and CdTe nanorods, commercially available silver paint, and transparent-conducting-electrode-coated glass. Produced and stored under ambient conditions, these fully functioning solar cells are stable for months. As a heterojunction cell, the migration of carriers within the CdTe and CdSe layers is polarity-dependent, which directly contributes to the photoinduced voltaic cell response observed. The suitability of a handheld airbrush to create high-quality films by varying solution concentration, air pressure, and nanorod surface functionalization was explored. Notably, ultrasmooth surfaces comparable to spin-coated quality films can be formed from 20 to 500 nm thickness, with continuous, uninterrupted optical domains such that strong light diffraction is observed. While current estimated efficiency is low (<0.01%), this method demonstrates the potential of solar cells that can be incorporated into a variety of devices of unconventional size or design.


Improved and innovative enrichment/isolation techniques that yield to relevant isolates representing the true diversity of environmental microbial communities would significantly advance exploring the physiology of ecologically important taxa in ecosystems. Traditionally, either simple organic carbon (C) or yeast extract is used as C source in culture medium for microbial enrichment/isolation in laboratory. In natural environment, however, microbial population and evolution are greatly influenced by the property and composition of natural organic C. In this study, 8 types of organic C sources were fed to intrinsic groundwater microbes collected at Oak Ridge Reservation Field Research Center (ORR-FRC) background site for a 30-day incubation period to investigate the response of indigenous bacterial communities to different C sources. The tested C sources included simple organic C (glucose, acetate, benzoate, oleic acid, and cellulose) that are either traditionally used as C source in bacterial culture medium or present in natural environments; naturally occurring undefined complex C (bacterial cell lysate and sediment-derived natural organic matter (NOM)); as well as vitamin mixture which is a commonly used ingredient in culture medium. Our results clearly indicate that natural complex C substrates served better in enriching diverse bacteria compared to other C sources. Microcosms amended with small organic C (glucose, acetate, benzoate, or oleic acid) showed significantly lower biodiversity than control groups, dominated by only a few phyla of bacteria such as Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes which are commonly isolated and already have diverse representative isolates, while those amended with natural complex C (cell lysate or NOM) displayed significantly higher biodiversity than control groups, in which three phyla (Verrucomicrobia, Planctomycetes, and Armatimonadetes) that are poorly represented in published culture collections were abundantly enriched. Further isolation of pure bacterial strains from complex C-amended enrichments led to 51 species representing 4 phyla, 13 orders. Furthermore, 5 isolates with low similarities to published strains were considered to be novel. Results from this study will aid in the design of better cultivation and isolation strategy for maximize the diversity of organisms recovered from subsurface environment.


Abstract The supercritical water process is an attractive method for the decomposition of hazardous organic wastes and for the upgrading of low quality hydrocarbon resources. However, corrosion of reactors or heat exchangers is a major problem in industrial applications. It is important to select suitable structural materials, which are compatible with the supercritical water environment of each particular process, to ensure the long term integrity of the reactor components. The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the corrosion behaviour of candidate corrosion-resistant alloys in supercritical water environments under reducing atmospheres and to improve understanding of the corrosion mechanism. Four kinds of Ni-base alloys, Alloy 625, Alloy C-276, Ni–45Cr–1Mo (MC alloy) and Ni–19Cr–19Mo (MAT 21) and a Type 316 stainless steel were used in the present study. A parametric study was carried out to investigate the influences of environmental variables such as temperature, anion content, pH and the hydrogen partial pressure, on the corrosion rate and corrosion morphology of the alloys. A static autoclave was used in the present study. The exposure time was 50 h, the applied pressure was 25 MPa and the test temperature was 400°C. The susceptibility of the alloys to stress corrosion cracking was also evaluated by the slow constant strain rate technique. The corrosion rate of Type 316 stainless steel was always higher than that of any of the Ni-base alloys in supercritical water containing NaOH. While the weight change of Type 316 stainless steel was small in deionised water, the weight gain significantly increased with increasing NaOH concentrations. In a reducing atmosphere containing NaOH, the weight loss increased with increasing hydrogen partial pressure. In supercritical water under a reducing atmosphere containing NaOH, Ni-base alloys containing both Cr and Mo, such as Alloy C-276 and MAT 21, would be more resistant to corrosion than Ni–Cr binary alloys. Stress corrosion cracking did not occur in deionised water at 400°C/25 MPa. With 0·001 mol L−1 HCl or 0·01 mol L−1 NaOH, cracking occurred in Type 316 stainless steel. With 0·001 mol L−1 HCl or NaOH, cracking occurred in Alloy C-276. With 0·01 mol L−1 HCl or NaOH, cracking occurred in Alloy 625. The cracking susceptibility of Ni-base alloys in supercritical water containing either HCl or NaOH decreased as their Cr content increased.


Objective: The aim of this pilot study was to determine the effect of music by Mozart on heel prick procedural pain in premature infants. Background: Painful procedures are routinely performed in the setting of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Pain may exert short- and long-term deleterious effects on premature babies. Many non-pharmacological interventions have been proven efficacious for blunting neonatal pain. Study design: Randomized, controlled trial. Methods: The study was carried out in the NICU of the "G. Rummo" Hospital in Benevento, Italy. The sample consisted of 42 preterm infants, with no hearing loss or significant cerebral lesions on cranial ultrasound. They were randomized to receive heel lance during a music condition or a no-music control condition. We set strict criteria for selecting and delivering the music. Baseline and postprocedural heart rate and transcutaneous oxygen saturation were manually recorded. The Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP) score was used to measure the behavioral response to prick. An unpaired t-test was performed for the intergroup comparisons. Results: There were significant differences between groups on heart rate increase, oxygen saturation reduction and PIPP score following the procedure. Conclusions: Listening to Mozart music during heel prick is a simple and inexpensive tool for pain alleviating in preterm stable neonates.


We propose an f(T) teleparallel gravity theory including a torsional infrared (IR) correction. We show that the governing Friedmann's equations of a spatially flat universe include a phantom-like effective dark energy term sourced by the torsion IR correction. As has been suggested, this phantom phase does indeed act to reconcile the tension between local and global measurements of the current Hubble value H0. The resulting cosmological model predicts an electron scattering optical depth τe ≈ 0.058 at reionization redshift zre ∼ 8.1, in agreement with observations. The predictions are, however, in contradiction with baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurements, particularly the distance indicators. We argue that this is the case with any model with a phantom dark energy model that has effects significant enough at redshifts z ≲ 2 as to be currently observable, the reason being that such a scenario introduces systematic differences in terms of distance estimates in relation to the standard model; e.g., if the angular diameter distance to the recombination era is to be kept constant while H0 is increased in the context of a phantom scenario, the distances there are systematically overestimated to all objects at redshifts smaller than recombination. But no such discrepancies exist between ΛCDM predictions and current data for z ≲ 2.


Abstract : Forecast verification involves the assessing the quality of a set of forecasts. There are many different methods of measuring the quality of a set of forecasts, and this study examines two; the measures-oriented approach and the distributions-oriented approach. It is argued that the distributions-oriented approach offers a more comprehensive look at the set of forecasts and observations and the relationships between them. This approach also highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the forecasting system so that improvements can be made in specific areas. This study evaluates the forecasts made during VORTEX '94. The forecasts included experimental probabilistic forecasts for the VORTEX forecast area as well as probability contour forecasts. These forecasts were evaluated by looking at the conditional distribution of the forecast given the event, p(f x), the conditional distribution of the event given the forecast, p(x f), as well as the marginal distributions of forecasts, p(f), and observations, p(x). It is only through looking at these distributions of forecasts and observations that the true quality of a set of forecasts can be evaluated.


AIMS OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study was to describe adolescent subjective well-being and realized values, and to examine the relationships between socio-demographic variables, realized values and subjective well-being from the adolescent perspective.

RATIONALE
Adolescent subjective well-being was conceptualized by means of four different dimensions: satisfaction, ill-being, knowledge and activities related to well-being. The values were operationalized by eight core ideas from which a principal components analysis identified 10 factors representing the realized values.

DESIGN
Data were gained by self-report questionnaires from 245 adolescents from 7th and 9th grades, with a mean age of 14 years, in 13 secondary schools in southern Finland. The data were analysed statistically.

FINDINGS
According to the findings, most of the respondents were satisfied with life. However, one out of 10 did not experience the joy of life. There was no statistically significant difference in global satisfaction between girls and boys. Total ill-being among the adolescents was rare, but one out of four participants had fairly often worried about money and 17% were frequently unusually tired. Girls and pupils from the 9th class experienced more ill-being than boys and pupils from the 7th class. The findings suggest that certain values such as personal equilibrium, safe family relations, and family type are predictors of adolescent global subjective well-being.

CONCLUSIONS
While assessing and promoting adolescent well-being it is important to pay special attention to the realization of values in life and not merely to appreciation of things. Implications for practice include the need to create opportunities for the realization of values when adolescents require health care services.


ABSTRACT:It was only after the Six-Day War of 1967 that the Western Wall took on a new political and practical status, when, for the first time in its history, the site and the surrounding plaza came under Jewish and Israeli authority and became accessible to anyone wishing to visit or worship there. The vast quantity of visitors expected at the Western Wall was one of the main factors that hastened the decision to destroy the Mughrebi Quarter, extending to the west of the Western Wall, and build a wide, open plaza. From the moment the open space near the Western Wall was formed, it was considered temporary. A public debate over its permanent design surfaced. We examine the detailed ideas and architectural plans created for the plaza's design. In conducting this examination, we learn about the controversy that existed over the site's character: would it become a purely religious site or would it assume national and cultural roles as well? We postulate that the various plans and ideas for the plaza's design proposed during the first decade after the Six-Day War embodied the tension that was created in Israel during that time, as religious feeling faced off against national sentiment, and as those who saw the Western Wall solely as a place of prayer and reflection squared off against those who valued its historical and national significance.


Aims and Background: The baricity of the solutions used for spinal anesthesia significantly affects the distribution and dissemination of local anesthetics into the spinal space. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of hyperbaric and isobaric bupivacaine for spinal anesthesia in cesarean section. Materials and Methods: This was a randomized double blind clinical trial on sixty patients (18-40 years old) with ASA I-II, who were candidate for elective cesarean section. Spinal anesthesia was applied by isobaric bupivacaine in the first group and hyperbaric bupivacaine in the second group. The data including hemodynamic parameters of the patients, oxygen saturation level, sensory and motor block levels, and consumption of ephedrine and complications of spinal anesthesia were all recorded. Statistical analysis by using SPSS software was applied using T-test, Chi-square test, and repeated ANOVA. P values<0.05 were considered significant. Findings: Patients in both groups were almost similar regarding demographic values and the duration of surgery. Among the other recorded variables only the duration of analgesia and the frequency of nausea and vomiting was considerably higherin the isobaric group compared with the hyperbaric one (P<0.001 , P= 0.001 respectively). There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding the other variables. conclusions: Isobaric bupivacaine had the same effectiveness as hyperbaric type for spinal anesthesia, and it even had a longer duration of analgesia. However the higher incidence of nausea and vomiting with isobaric type must be taken into account.


It is widely reported that children who are homeless are victimized by overwhelming challenges like poverty and ill-advised policy decisions, such as underfunding the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. This act is the only federal legislation devoted to this marginalized group. Children who are homeless, however, should not be characterized as single-dimensional and hapless victims solely defined by this unwanted status. This kind of deficiency-thinking leads to presumptions, generalizations, and a narrow ascribing of not just their abilities, but their full humanity as well. Deficit-thinking may cause human service providers to try and 'fix and manage' children who are homeless, instead of building on their interests, gifts, and talents. Viewing children who are homeless as multi-dimensional and unfinished, with "hopes, dreams, and aspirations...passions and commitments... [and] skills, abilities, and capacities..." 1 should be the reality for the more than one million children who are homeless. This manuscript provides a richer understanding for the multi-dimensional lives of children who are homeless. Interviews conducted with key stakeholders and surveys completed by children staying at an emergency homeless shelter located in a Midwestern mid-size city inform preliminary ethnographic findings presented here. Generated from a two-year communityand shelter-based activity program these findings push back against a narrowing social construction of children who are homeless, as do several studies investigating this idea. A more holistic narrative that illustrates multidimensional children who act on varied interests, gifts, and talents are suggested.


Pacific small island states (PSIS) currently experience harsh impacts of a changing climate: sea level rise, saltwater intrusion, internal migration and displacement. Are adaptation strategies based upon island-centric principles more successful than those originating from a more continental point of view? This research examined the principles of island-centric thinking using an island-centric lens by which to determine 'successful' climate adaptation planning. The findings illustrate a statistically significant relationship between PSIS that have higher nissological (island-centric) levels displayed within their climate change action plans (CCAPs) and CCAPs that were found to be more successful. In other words, highly nissological states are forecasted to be more successful in planning for the current and future impacts of climate change than those with lower nissological scores. In total, nissology explains approximately 28.37% of a PSIS9s success. The policy relevance is rooted in the unique cultural, geographical, and social aspects of islands. Findings are applicable to other islands as well countries that share islander-based qualities. The methodological and quantitative-based areas of the study assist in forming policy-relevant determinations for island societies based on the climate-related parameters and metrics tested and evaluated herein.


Image segmentation is maybe one of the most fundamental topics in image processing. Among numerous methods for segmentation, blind (bottom-up) algorithms, which are based on intrinsic image features, e.g. intensity, colour and texture, have been used extensively. However, there are some situations such as poor image contrast, noise, and also occlusion that result in failure for blind segmentation methods. Therefore, prior knowledge of the object of interest must be involved in the segmentation approaches. For this purpose, in this work, a novel integrated algorithm is proposed, which is a combination of bottom-up (blind) and top-down (including shape prior) segmentation algorithms. In our approach, after a colour space transformation, an energy function based on non-linear diffusion of colour components and directional derivatives, is defined. After that, some distance maps of the object of interest are generated from binary images that contain the training shapes of the object. Finally, the energy function minimization is done by evolving a level set function, which is set up by the distance maps. The results show our region-based segmentation algorithm robustness against noise and occlusion.


Controlling electric loads to deliver power system services presents a number of interesting challenges. For example, changes in electricity consumption of Commercial and Industrial (C&I) facilities are usually estimated using counterfactual baseline models, and model uncertainty makes it difficult to precisely quantify control responsiveness. Moreover, C&I facilities exhibit variability in their response. This paper seeks to understand baseline model error and demand-side variability in responses to open-loop control signals (i.e. dynamic prices). Using a regression-based baseline model, we define several Demand Response (DR) parameters, which characterize changes in electricity use on DR days, and then present a method for computing the error associated with DR parameter estimates. In addition to analyzing the magnitude of DR parameter error, we develop a metric to determine how much observed DR parameter variability is attributable to real event-to-event variability versus simply baseline model error. Using data from 38 C&I facilities that participated in an automated DR program in California, we find that DR parameter errors are large. For most facilities, observed DR parameter variability is likely explained by baseline model error, not real DR parameter variability; however, a number of facilities exhibit real DR parameter variability. In some cases, the aggregate population of C&I facilities exhibits real DR parameter variability, resulting in implications for the system operator with respect to both resource planning and system stability.


Analytical magnetic force microscopy has been applied to investigate the relationship between the soft magnetic underlayer and the microscopic magnetization structures of double layered perpendicular media. The magnetization structures of the CoCrPtTa perpendicular media with Co-Nb-Zr, Co-Ta-Zr, Fe-Ta-C, and Fe-Al-Si soft magnetic underlayers are compared. The medium with Co-Ta-Zr underlayer shows low medium noise and high resolution characteristics at high recording densities. The magnetization irregularities of perpendicular media are strongly affected by the soft magnetic underlayer material.


This paper deals with the robust two-degree-of-freedom multivariable control system using H/sub /spl infin// optimization method which can achieve the robust stability and the robust performance property simultaneously. The feedback controller is designed using H/sub /spl infin// optimization method for mixed sensitivity function. The feedforward controller is designed using H/sub 2/ optimization method to minimize the error of both the transfer function of the optimal model and the overall transfer function. The feedback controller can obtain the robust stability property. The feedforward controller can obtain the robust performance property under modelling error. The robust two-degree-of-freedom multivariable control system is applied to the nonlinear multivariable boiler-turbine system. The boiler turbine system is analyzed at various operation points. The validity of the proposed method is verified in comparison with the LQG/LTR design method.


The cytokine hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) protects epithelial and cancer cells against DNA-damaging agents via a pathway involving signaling from c-Met --> phosphatidylinositol-3- kinase --> c-Akt. However, the downstream alterations in gene expression resulting from this pathway have not been established. On the basis of cDNA microarray and semiquantitative RT-PCR assays, we found that MDA-MB-453 human breast cancer cells preincubated with HGF/SF and then exposed to Adriamycin (ADR), a DNA topoisomerase II inhibitor, exhibit an altered pattern of gene expression, as compared with cells treated with ADR only. [HGF/SF+ADR]-treated cells showed altered expression of genes involved in the DNA damage response, cell cycle regulation, signal transduction, metabolism, and development. Some of these alterations suggest mechanisms by which HGF/SF may exert its protective activity, e.g., up-regulation of polycystic kidney disease-1 (a survival-promoting component of cadherin-catenin complexes), down-regulation of 51C (an inositol polyphosphate-5-phosphatase), and down-regulation of TOPBP1 (a topoisomerase IIB binding protein). We showed that enforced expression of the cdc42-interacting protein CIP4, a cytoskeleton-associated protein for which expression was decreased in [HGF/SF+ADR]-treated cells, inhibited HGF/SF-mediated protection against ADR. The cDNA microarray approach may open up new avenues for investigation of the DNA damage response and its regulation by HGF/SF.


Recent improvements in instrumentation and data mining have made it possible to investigate the effects of various stressors on primary and secondary metabolisms. In this study, in order to study mechanisms of pathogenesis and identify the pathogenesis-related metabolic pathways, changes in metabolic profiles resulting from a compatible interaction between canola cultivar (Hyola 401) and (anamorph Phoma lingam ) (Phkv102 isolate) were investigated by GC-MS chromatography using the polar fraction of plant extract. Under completely controlled conditions, 14 days after planting, when cotyledons were completely unfolded, the plants were inoculated by 10 7 spores per ml suspensions and water (control) by drop-wound method, respectively. The tissue samples were taken 48 hours after inoculation and were shock frozen immediately. Metabolites were extracted using methanol as solvent, identified and quantified with GC-MS and subjected to statistical analyses. Results indicated that 70 metabolites showed significant difference over their controls at P ≤ 0.05 , which is caused by changes in 28 metabolic pathways. Infection of canola cultivar Hyola 401 to P. lingam resulted in change in pathways related to the host cell wall, phenolic compounds, alkaloids and terpenoids biosyntesis, energy generator, hormone biosynthesis, signal transduction.The abundance of a number of sugars was also decreased, suggesting the crucial role of these carbohydrates in pathogenesis in an incompatible interaction of P. lingam and a susceptible cultivar.


Adhesive bonded single lap joints are used extensively in the manufacture of automobile structures. However, the joints involve many factors such as the overlap, the adherend thickness, the adherend yield strength etc. Therefore, strength prediction is a controversial issue. In order to quantify the effects of various variables, Latin Hypercube method was used to design the tests of simulation in the present study. The failure load predictive equation involving the factors of the overlap, the adherend thickness, the adherend yield strength, the adhesive thickness, the test speed and the adhesive toughness were achieved. The tests of single lap joints in tension load were carried on; while the results form experiments and formula were compared to verify its validation for strength prediction.


The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is currently designing highway bridge structures using the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges, and it is expected that the agency will transition to the use of the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications before 2007. This is a two-volume report that documents the findings of a TxDOT-sponsored research project to evaluate the impact of the Load and Resistance Factor (LRFD) Specifications on the design of typical Texas bridges as compared to the Standard Specifications. The objectives of this portion of the project are to evaluate the current LRFD Specifications to assess the calibration of the code with respect to typical Texas prestressed bridge girders, to perform a critical review of the major changes when transitioning to LRFD design, and to recommend guidelines to assist TxDOT in implementing the LRFD Specifications. A parametric study for AASHTO Type IV, Type C, and Texas U54 girders was conducted using span length, girder spacing, and strand diameter as the major parameters that are varied. Based on the results obtained from the parametric study, two critical areas were identified where significant changes in design results were observed when comparing Standard and LRFD designs. The critical areas are the transverse shear requirements and interface shear requirements, and these are further investigated. In addition, limitations in the LRFD Specifications, such as those for the percentage of debonded strands and use of the LRFD live load distribution factor formulas, were identified as restrictions that would impact TxDOT bridge girder designs, and these issues are further assessed. The results of the parametric study, along with critical design issues that were identified and related recommendations, are summarized in Volume 1 of this report. Detailed design examples for an AASHTO Type IV girder and a Texas U54 girder using both the AASHTO Standard Specifications and AASHTO LRFD Specifications were also developed and compared. Volume 2 of this report contains these examples.


A soybean crop can obtain up to 50 to 75% of its nitrogen (N) requirements from the air when the biological fixation is effectively established (Pedersen, 2007). The overall objective of this project was to quantify the response to inoculation for soybean in a field without previous history of this crop. Following this rationale, a field study was conducted during the 2015 growing season at Ottawa (east central Kansas). The treatments consisted in five different N management approaches: non-inoculated, inoculated × 1, inoculated × 2, inoculated × 3 and non-inoculated but fertilized with 300 lb N per acre as the main N source. The study was planted in an area without soybean history, the grain yield ranged from 26 to 29 bushels per acre. Greater yields were recorded when a double inoculation rate was applied (× 2), while lowest yield was related to the non-inoculated scenario. However, statistically, treatments did not present any significant yield difference. In summary, further research will be performed to be more conclusive as related to the best management approach for N in soybeans when first planted in fields without previous history of this crop.


Chitin is an essential structural polysaccharide component of the cell walls and septa of fungi. Recent reports have suggested that Candida cells can resist killing by echinocandins by up-regulation of chitin synthesis thereby sustaining cell wall integrity both in vitro and in vivo (Lee et al. 2012). This increase in chitin content seen in C. albicans cells that are less susceptible to caspofungin is coordinated simultaneously by the PKC, Ca2+/calcineurin and HOG pathways (Munro et al. 2007, Walker et al. 2008). However, when echinocandins are removed, the chitin content quickly returns to basal levels, suggesting that elevated chitin cell wall content represents a fitness cost. We show here that those cells that die in the presence of caspofungin often have supra-normal chitin levels rather than low chitin levels, and therefore that having too much chitin in the cell wall may be detrimental for viability. Chitin content may therefore need to be clamped at levels that enable cells to survive cell wall stresses but are not so high that they negatively affect cell viability.


We observe ground-state polariton condensation in a two dimensional GaAs/AlAs semiconductor microcavity under non resonant pulsed optical excitation. We resolve the formation of a polariton condensate by studying the spatial, angular, coherence, energy and transient dynamics of polariton photoluminescence. For high excitation densities we also observe a transition from the weak- to the strong-coupling regime in the time-domain and resolve the build-up of a coherent polariton state.


The statistical information, in general, can be visually presented in the three basic forms: statistical information in text (text for short), statistical graph, and statistical graph with text (i.e. the combination of graph and text). The impact of the different forms on people's understanding of the statistical information is still unclear. To address this issue, this study using eye-tracking investigated the reading efficiency (reading time), reading effect (accuracy) and mental workload (pupil diameter) during 36 subjects reading the statistical information presented in any of the three forms. The results showed that: (1) the reading time: the statistical graph was significantly shorter than the text and statistical graph with text, which suggests that the reading efficiency of statistical graph is higher than other forms; (2) the accuracy: there were no significant differences among the three forms, which suggests that there are no significant difference on the reading effect; (3) the pupil diameter: both statistical graph and statistical graph with text were significantly smaller than the text, which reveals that the statistical graph and statistical graph with text in mental workload are significantly lower than the text. The findings also provide the evidences for the reason why people prefer the statistical information presented in the form of the statistical graph with text.


This article provides a general accelerated recursive integration method for pricing American options based on stochastic volatility and double jump processes. Our proposed model is a generalization of the recursive integral representation method. American option prices can be evaluated by the sum of a corresponding European option price and an early exercise premium integral. Numerical results show that our proposed method is efficient and accuracy in pricing American options with stochastic volatility and double jump processes. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 36:887–901, 2016


Contrastive learning is a self-supervised representation learning method that achieves milestone performance in various classification tasks. However, due to its unsupervised fashion, it suffers from the false negative sample problem: randomly drawn negative samples that are assumed to have a different label but actually have the same label as the anchor. This deteriorates the performance of contrastive learning as it contradicts the motivation of contrasting semantically similar and dissimilar pairs. This raised the attention and the importance of finding legitimate negative samples, which should be addressed by distinguishing between 1) true vs. false negatives; 2) easy vs. hard negatives. However, previous works were limited to the statistical approach to handle false negative and hard negative samples with hyperparameters tuning. In this paper, we go beyond the statistical approach and explore the connection between hard negative samples and data bias. We introduce a novel debiased contrastive learning method to explore hard negatives by relative difficulty referencing the bias amplifying counterpart. We propose triplet loss for training a biased encoder that focuses more on easy negative samples. We theoretically show that the triplet loss amplifies the bias in self-supervised representation learning. Finally, we empirically show the proposed method improves downstream classification performance.


Discospondylitis is an infection of intervertebral discs, associated end plates, and adjacent vertebral bodies causing destruction and proliferation. A 10-year-old intact female Rhodesian Ridgeback dog was referred to the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, Seoul National University with paraparesis and severe pain at T13-L1 region for one week duration. The treatment with PDS for one week by referring veterinarian showed no clinical improvement. At time of presentation, clinical signs of the patient included depression, vaginal discharge, and fever. In T-L spine radiography, osteolytic change was found between caudal endplate of T13 and cranial endplate of L1. The affected vertebral bodies were shortened and intervertebral disc space was widened. In abdominal radiography, a dilated soft tissue opacity tubular structure was found in mid-caudal abdomen. The abdominal ultrasonography revealed the uterus dilated with echogenic fluid. The CT findings showed concentric lysis of T13-L1 endplates. The dog was diagnosed as diskospondylitis at T13-L1 and pyometra. Urine and blood were cultured, and Staphylococcus (S.) intermedius was identified. The patient had surgical treatment for pyometra but died for septicemia.


The protagonists in James Baldwin's 1957 short story
 "Sonny's Blues" are constantly smiling and laughing. The
 story's narrator notices these gestures and utilizes them to grasp at
 clarity when clarity seems out of reach. This article examines the
 narrator's focus on this duo of facial expressions which reliably denote
 positive emotion. The relationship we maintain between our smiles and our
 laughter structures many of the narrator's interactions with the
 story's hero. More though, this relationship between smiles, laughter,
 and a kind of joy resembles the relationship Baldwin has
 described between the blues and the world this genre of music depicts.


This paper debates a project of qualification of Health Communitarian Agents (HCA) for Harm Reduction (HR) actions in seven municipal districts of Rio Grande do Sul. Sixty one HCA were interviewed in 10 Health Centers (HC). Guided questionnaires were applied, followed by focal groups. It was verified a sensitization effect and the comprehension of HR proposal for the majority of HCA in the aspects: increased knowledge, overcoming prejudice related to drug users and HIV seropositivity, as well as HR importance to STD/AIDS prevention. Difficulties of HR actions implantation were related to the lack of interest and/or financial support of HC. The importance of the qualification was related to the increase drug user's proximity to the HC and also to the amplification of HR actions in the Health System. However, just the qualifying of HCA does not guarantee the continuity of the actions, it is also necessary to sensitize all the HC team and managers. Key –words: Harm Reduction; Health Communitarian Agent; Evaluation. Resumen


An accurate modeling of reactive flows in fractured porous media is a key ingredient to obtain reliable numerical simulations of several industrial and environmental applications. For some values of the physical parameters we can observe the formation of a narrow region or layer around the fractures where chemical reactions are focused. Here the transported solute may precipitate and form a salt, or vice-versa. This phenomenon has been observed and reported in real outcrops. By changing its physical properties this layer might substantially alter the global flow response of the system and thus the actual transport of solute: the problem is thus non-linear and fully coupled. The aim of this work is to propose a new mathematical model for reactive flow in fractured porous media, by approximating both the fracture and these surrounding layers via a reduced model. In particular, our main goal is to describe the layer thickness evolution with a new mathematical model, and compare it to a fully resolved equidimensional model for validation. As concerns numerical approximation we extend an operator splitting scheme in time to solve sequentially, at each time step, each physical process thus avoiding the need for a non-linear monolithic solver, which might be challenging due to the non-smoothness of the reaction rate. We consider bi- and tridimensional numerical test cases to asses the accuracy and benefit of the proposed model in realistic scenarios.


The sewer system is a service that is expected to function without interruptions. Continuous assessment, maintenance and rehabilitation are the key to maintaining a required level of service at an acceptable cost. An appropriate and cost effective prioritisation scheme for periodical surveys could be built based on failure data collected by sewerage companies over time. Such a scheme could be achieved using data-driven modelling techniques jointly with engineering knowledge of the failure mechanisms. This paper presents a descriptive analysis performed on a real database containing collapse and blockage incident records for a large sewer system in the UK. Starting from a statistical study of both failure types, the most important variables are identified and a classification scheme is suggested. Then, using a hybrid modelling technique, evolutionary polynomial regression, two different formulas for blockage events and collapse failures are obtained and their engineering interpretation is offered.


This paper presents a framework for discussing community consultation in the context of the Inter-American Development Bank's projects and offers suggestions on the opportunities, risks, costs, methods, and techniques of community consultation. After discussing some of the links between consultation, development, equity, civil society and the current IDB policy framework, the paper analyzes the terms "consultation", "participation", "community" and "stakeholder" in relation to each other and to the development process. It will discuss reasons for promoting community consultation and identify opportunities for doing so in the context of the project cycle. Emphasis is made on: (1) community consultation rather than the broader concept of community participation; (2) consultation with communities targeted by Bank projects as opposed to all the stakeholders involved; and (3) consultation at the project design and execution level, rather than at the policy and country programming stage.


For local public health teams, commissioning services that work and are cost effective is important. Having ways of evaluating and assessing their cost effectiveness is invaluable. Health economics and public health have a natural kinship as they both take a population approach to maximising health. The aim of this investigation is to give examples of how a mixed methods approach can be used. This thesis gives three case studies where public health commissioned services for alcohol, tobacco and drug addiction in the North West of England have been evaluated for their cost effectiveness using a mix of economic evaluation techniques combined with elements of realist evaluation and equity impact analysis. These mixed methods evaluation techniques involve engaging with stakeholders to develop a common understanding of outcomes and assumptions in reaching a common understanding of the causal mechanisms that make an intervention work. This thesis outlines how the results of these evaluations were useful in informing strategy and the commissioning process and how they may be used more in the future. There were some novel analyses including matching up crime data and putting a cost on these crimes for people in contact with a drugs test on arrest programme, which found that costs were lower after the drug intervention. The researcher found that there was not a significant change in admissions post-detoxification which indicates that perhaps inpatient residential detoxification has only a limited effect on long term health prospects. This thesis has shown that economic evaluation and realist evaluation methods pose some challenges but can be carried out at a local level as a way of looking at public health interventions through a more complex lens.


Le Corbusier's Hands offers a poetic and personal portrait of Le Corbusier--a nuanced portrayal that is in contrast to the popular image of Le Corbusier the aloof modernist. The author knew Le Corbusier intimately for thirty years, first as his draftsman and main assistant, later as his colleague and personal friend. In this book, written in the mid-1980s, Wogenscky remembers his mentor in a series of revealing personal statements and evocative reflections unlike anything that exists in the vast literature on Le Corbusier.Wogenscky draws a portrait in swift, deft strokes--50 short chapters, one leading to the next, one memory of Le Corbusier opening into another. Appearing and reappearing like a leitmotif are Le Corbusier's hands--touching, taking, drawing, offering, closing, opening, grasping, releasing: "It was his hands that revealed him...They spoke all his feelings, all the vibrations of his inner life that his face tried to conceal." Wogenscky writes about Le Corbusier's work, including the famous design of the chapel at Ronchamp, his ideas for high-density Units d'Habitation linked to the center of a "Radiant City," and his "Modulor" system for defining proportions--which Wogenscky compares to a piano tuner's finding the exact relation between sounds. He remembers the day Picasso spent with Le Corbusier at the Marseilles building site--"All day long they outdid one another in a show of modesty," he observes in amazement. He adds, speaking for himself and the others present, "We were inside a double energy field." And Wogenscky writes about Le Corbusier more personally. "I have spent years trying to understand what went on in his mind and in his hand," he tells us. With Le Corbusier's Hands, Wogenscky gives us a unique record of an enigmatic genius.


Athenaeus (AD ca. 170-ca. 230), a Greek of Naucratis in Egypt, lived in Rome and wrote a historical work now lost. Of the fifteen books of his surviving "Deipnosophists" ('Sophists at Dinner'), the first two and parts of the third, eleventh, and fifteenth exist only in summary, the rest apparently complete. In it he pretends to tell a friend about a banquet at a scholar's house whither the learned guests brought extracts from poetry for recitation and discussion. Much of the matter however concerns the food provided and accessories. One learns about cooks, strange dishes, wines, menu cards, and countless other matters. Athenaeus was an antiquarian. The whole work, which mentions nearly eight hundred writers and two thousand five hundred writings, is a large treasury of information not only about table matters but also music, dances, games, and all sorts of literary subjects. And it abounds in quotations, mostly made direct by Athenaeus himself, from authors whose writings have not survived. The Loeb Classical Library edition of "The Deipnosophists" is in seven volumes. There is a comprehensive index in the final volume.


Abstract Tallgrass prairie sites subjected to 10 y of annual burning, mowing, nitrogen (N) fertilization or phosphorus (P) fertilization and untreated reference sites were studied to examine effects of these management practices on arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis. Spring burning of native prairie field plots significantly reduced AM fungal species diversity, while increasing spore abundance. This increase in total spore number was due to a general increase in most of the 17 fungal species present. In general, the management treatments had larger effects on the richness component of diversity than on the evenness of AM species abundances. Burning and mowing had no significant effects on AM fungal colonization of roots or extraradical mycorrhizal hyphae (EMH) development. However, nitrogen fertilization significantly increased root colonization and EMH development, and P amendment decreased EMH development. There was no significant effect of fertilizer amendment on AM spore abundance, fungal species diversity or richness, but N and P fertilization decreased fungal species evenness. Effects of management practices on AM fungi may be mediated through changes in soil resources or microclimate or through changes in their host plants. These effects on AM symbiosis and community structure are important because AM fungi strongly influence the growth, demography, competitive relationships, relative abundances and diversity of plants in grassland communities.