Forecasts for oil demand are looking up, according to OPEC and the International Energy Agency as of mid-July. Will the optimistic views prove to be on target? We have learned how the market can shift or wildly careen, both historically and in the very recent past.
 Looking at the forecasts, which reflect a consensus of sorts, is encouraging for producers.
 OPEC's monthly report of 15 July projected global oil demand to reach nearly 100 million B/D next year, a level similar to pre-pandemic in 2019. The 2021 oil demand growth remains unchanged at 5.95 million B/D, or approximately 6.6%.
 Led by demand growth in the US, China, and India, a 3.4% increase is expected in 2022 to 99.86 million B/D and would average more than 100 million B/D in the second half of the year.
 "Solid expectations exist for global economic growth in 2022," OPEC said. "These include improved containment of COVID-19, particularly in emerging and developing countries, which are forecast to spur oil demand to reach pre-pandemic levels in 2022." If the actual recovery tracks with these predictions, OPEC can dial back further its record-level supply cuts made in 2020.
 The IEA points to the growth expected in global electricity demand as spurring fossil-fuel demand, including oil, coal, and natural gas. After falling by around 1% in 2020, electricity demand growth may approach 5% in 2021 and 4% in 2022. The Asia Pacific region will account for the majority of the increases. China, the world's largest consumer of electricity, leads the tally, accounting for more than 50% of the 2022 growth. India, the third largest, will account for 9% of the global electricity growth.
 Renewables are expected to be able to serve around half of the projected growth in global demand in 2021 and 2022. IEA wrote, "Renewable electricity generation continues to grow strongly—but cannot keep up with increasing demand. After expanding by 7% in 2020, electricity generation from renewables is forecast to increase by 8% in 2021 and by more than 6% in 2022."
 Fossil fuel-based electricity is set to cover 45% of additional demand in 2021 and 40% in 2022. After declining by 4.6% in 2020, coal-fired electricity generation will increase by nearly 5% in 2021, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. In 2022, it will grow another 3% and could reach an all-time high. Natural gas-generated electricity lags coal because it is less commonly used in the Asia Pacific and competes with renewables in the US and Europe. It is expected to increase globally by 1% in 2021 and by nearly 2% in 2022 after declining by 2% in 2020.
 The US Energy Information Administration published a global financial review last month of 91 oil and gas companies, most headquartered in the US, in the first quarter 2021. It indicated that companies are implementing their plans announced over the past year to reduce capital expenditures to pay down debt. Capital expenditure in 1Q2021 was reported as $48 billion, 28% lower than in 1Q2020 and the second- lowest amount for any quarter since 2016. Cash from operations in Q1 this year totaled $79 billion, 19% higher than in 1Q2020; about 76% of companies had positive free cash flow. Overall, the companies decreased debt by $16 billion in 1Q2021, and the long-term debt-to-equity ratio decreased to 54%.


Superposition of sigmoid function over a finite time interval is shown to be equivalent to the linear combination of the solutions of a linearly parameterized system of logistic differential equations. Due to the linearity with respect to the parameters of the system, it is possible to design an effective procedure for parameter adjustment. Stability properties of this procedure are analyzed.


Basing on the disadvantages of multi-ribbed slab in practice, a new high-strength steel fiber concrete (HSFC) composite multi-ribbed slab structure is introduced. Because adding steel fibers can improve the capacity of the concrete, it also can make some influence on the mechanic performance of HSFC multi-ribbed slab, such as elastic module, shear module, flexural rigidity, and torsion rigidity and so on. So by the analysis of the material and mechanic capacity and considering the influence of steel fiber, the formulas to calculate flexural rigidity, torsion rigidity, deflection and internal force of the new composite slab are given, in which the multi-ribbed slab is equivalent to orthotropic slab by the principle of stiffness coincidence. The study in this paper can provide some valuable theory references for further study and application of multi-ribbed slab.


BACKGROUND
The medicinal plant Myrtus communis L. (Myrtle) has been medicinal properties including antiinflammatory and wound healing in Persian Medicine.

OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to explore the wound healing potential of the local application of a gel containing aqueous extract of the plant berry in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats.

METHODS
Seven days after diabetes establishment, full-thickness excision skin wounds were made in normal and diabetic rats and treated groups received topical application of a gel containing 6% aqueous extract of myrtle berries for 3 weeks. The rate of wound healing and the level of epidermal and dermal maturation in the wound tissue were determined.

RESULTS
The results showed that after 3 and 7 days of wound injury, the gel significantly improved wound healing by accelerating epidermal and dermal maturation in diabetic rats with no significant effect in control group. However, the wounds of all groups almost completely healed after 3 weeks.

CONCLUSION
These results demonstrate that aqueous extract of myrtle possesses a definite wound healing potential in diabetic condition. Our present findings may suggest the use of topical myrtle berries aqueous extract gel 6% to treat and manage intractable diabetic wounds.


This paper describes the encoding of anticollision radio-frequency identification tags based on surface acoustic waves. The study is based on the tag model with specific topology, which allows us to receive a response signal with time–frequency information. This research considers the collision case for several passive tags. Therefore, the proposal is to analyze the possibility of using several distinctive signs like frequency and time. We consider the model of passive surface acoustic wave tag, which contains piezoelectric substrate, interdigital transducer, and consecutive orthogonal-frequency-coded structures, which are placed in time slots. Similar topology makes possible the reliability of increasing tag identification in the collision case.


Graded skew-commutative rings occur often in practice. Here are two examples: 1) The cohomology ring of a compact three-dimensional manifold. 2) The cohomology ring of the complement of a hyperplane arrangement (the Orlik-Solomon algebra). We present some applications of the homological theory of these graded skew-commutative rings. In particular we find compact oriented 3-manifolds without boundary for which the Hilbert series of the Yoneda Ext-algebra of the cohomology ring of the fundamental group is an explicit transcendental function. This is only possible for large first Betti numbers of the 3-manifold (bigger than -- or maybe equal to -- 11). We give also examples of 3-manifolds where the Ext-algebra of the cohomology ring of the fundamental group is not finitely generated


Reid Barbour's 2002 study takes a fresh look at English Protestant culture in the reign of Charles I (1625–1649). In the decades leading into the civil war and the execution of their monarch, English writers explored the experience of a Protestant life of holiness, looking at it in terms of heroic endeavours, worship, the social order, and the cosmos. Barbour examines sermons and theological treatises to argue that Caroline religious culture comprises a rich and extensive stocktaking of the conditions in which Protestantism was celebrated, undercut, and experienced. Barbour argues that this stocktaking was also carried out in unusual and sometimes quite secular contexts; in the masques, plays and poetry of the era as well as in scientific works and diaries. This broad-ranging study offers an extensive appraisal of crucial seventeenth-century themes, and will be of interest to historians as well as literary scholars of the period.


In this paper a method to improve the co-registration accuracy of two separate HySpex SWIR and VNIR cameras is proposed. The first step of the presented approach deals with the detection of point features from both scenes using the BRISK feature detector. After matching these features, the match coordinates in the VNIR scene are orthorectified and the resulting ground control points in the SWIR scene are filtered using a sensor-model based RANSAC. This implementation of RANSAC estimates the boresight angles of a scene by iteratively fitting the sensor-model to a subset of the matches. The boresight angles which can be applied to most of the remaining matches are then used to orthorectify the scene. Compared to previously used methods, the main advantages of this approach are the high robustness against outliers and the reduced runtime. The proposed methodology was evaluated using a test data set and it is shown in this work that the use of BRISK for feature detection followed by sensor-model based RANSAC significantly improves the co-registration accuracy of the imagery produced by the two HySpex sensors.


SIR,-In 1947 we published a paper' entitled " Studies on the Mechanism of the Fanconi Syndrome." The subject of the study was a man aged 34, presenting in 1945 with gross osteomalacia. He was found to have the full renal-tubular abnormalities usually associated with the name " Fanconi syndrome "-namely, renal tubular reabsorptive defects of phosphate, glucose, and aminoacid, with renal-tubular acidosis. He was also found to have severe cirrhosis, from which he died in early 1946, his bone disease having been largely controlled by treatment. We thought then that cirrhosis was an occasional association of " Fanconi syndrome," indeed we then speculated that the cirrhosis might have resulted from amino-acid depletion in consequence of the amino-aciduria.' (We do not believe this any longer.) Our subsequent clinical studies at University College Hospital have shown that cirrhosis is only consistently associated with a childhood form of the Fanconi syndrome, as in the case described by Baber.3 One of us (C. E. D.) began to get worried about the original case in an adult man, since no further similar " idiopathic " cases have since been seen or heard of in this age group. The postmortem material was no longer available, but a measured aliquot of the patient's 24-hour urine of 7 January 1946 has been traced in our cold room. It has been sent to Professor J. N. Cumings, who reports that it contained 45 jeg./100 ml. of copper, or 594 pig. in the 24-hour specimen. He adds that this grossly excessive excretion is "undoubtedly diagnostic of Wilson's disease if it cannot be explained by contamination." It would seem necessary to record now that the diagnosis of " idiopathic adult Fanconi syndrome with cirrhosis of the liver" probably no longer exists on the basis of present evidence. Any apparent case should therefore be carefully screened for causes of secondary renal tubular or of liver dysfunction such as myeloma, and heavy-metal poisoning-but especially for Wilson's disease, for which we now have excellent treatment.4 The existence of adult Fanconi syndrome without cirrhosis remains fully substantiated. -We are, etc., C. E. DENT. University College Hospital Medical School, London W.C.1. Royal Infirmary, J. M. STOWERS. Aberdeen.


We propose a simple and general online method to measure the search progress within the Branch-and-Bound algorithm, from which we estimate the size of the remaining search tree. We then show how this information can help solvers algorithmically at runtime by designing a restart strategy for MixedInteger Programming (MIP) solvers that decides whether to restart the search based on the current estimate of the number of remaining nodes in the tree. We refer to this type of algorithm as clairvoyant. Our clairvoyant restart strategy outperforms a state-of-the-art solver on a large set of publicly available MIP benchmark instances. It is implemented in the MIP solver SCIP and will be available in future releases.


Since the 19 century, the presentation of bovines with disproportionate muscle development have been associated with mutations that inhibit the action of the myostatin gene, it is referred to as double muscle mutation, which is common in some European Bos taurus breeds but it is not reported in buffaloes Bubalus bubalis. This study aims to evaluate if the phenotype observed in 6 young buffaloes with disproportionate muscle development has the same myostatin mutation reported in cattle. DNA was obtained from the blood of the animals of the Murrah breed. First, second and third exon was amplified end point PCR; the fragments were sequenced using capillary electrophoresis. Holstein cattle (Bos taurus) was used As control for normal phenotype. The results obtained from the comparison of the sequence of the myostatin gene show that the observed double-muscled phenotype did not show differences from normal controls. Interspecific variation was demonstrated by comparing exons two and three of the gene, finding 12 variations between the Bos taurus and Bubalus bubalis species in the evaluated fragments. It is necessary to study physiology, and the animals to explain the phenotype observed in buffaloes.


When the horseshoe crab is kept in constant darkness, the lateral eye produces larger electroretinographic and optic nerve responses at night than during the day. These circadian rhythms are mediated by synchronous bursts of efferent impulses in the optic nerve trunk. The endogenous efferent activity appears to increase both the gain and the quantum catch of the photoreceptors.


During the past 15 years, there has been a high level of direct government intervention in food grain marketing in Ethiopia. To maintain its strong hold on the grain market, the government established a compulsory delivery quota system for both producers and traders, with geographically uniform fixed prices with no seasonal variation. Licenced traders were .banned in surplus-producing regions, and grain movements between surplus and deficit regions were restricted. As a result of the government's direct intervention in the grain market, markets beca·me disrupted geographically. The integrated market systems were cut off, giving way to the creation of segmented markets. The prices in these segmented markets were uncorrelated and created distorted prices. The distorted prices in turn led to artificial shortages of food crops. Recognizing the social and economic problems associated with the government's marketing and pricing policies during the late 1970s and the 1980s, a free market system was adopted in February 1990. Since then, the market has experienced price fluctuations related to supply and demand.


Background: Rapidly growing mycobacterial species (RGM) are increasingly being recognized as the cause of various superficial and deep infections in humans. Two of the species most frequently isolated from clinical specimens are Mycobacterium abscessus and Mycobacterium fortuitum. Both species are associated with antibiotic resistances that may complicate therapy. This paper describes the pattern of resistance to five antibiotics commonly prescribed for RGM infections, in M. abscessus and M. fortuitum isolated from Malaysian patients. Methods: The bacterial strains studied were examined with Etest strips to determine their minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) toward amikacin, ciprofloxacin, clarithromycin, imipenem, and linezolid. Results: Among 51 M. abscessus isolates examined by the Etest, the overall MICs of ciprofloxacin, imipenem, amikacin, clarithromycin, and linezolid showed resistance rates of 33.3%, 31.4%, 2.0%, 5.9%, and 21.6%, to the five antibiotics, respectively. M. abscessus subspecies abscessus was more resistant than M. abscessus subsp. massilience to ciprofloxacin, imipenem, and linezolid but was more susceptible to clarithromycin and amikacin. M. fortuitum isolates were significantly less resistant than M. abscessus to ciprofloxacin (3.6%) and imipenem (7.1%) but more resistant to clarithromycin (42.9%) and linezolid (39.3%). Conclusion: A suitable combination therapy for Malaysian patients would be amikacin plus clarithromycin and ciprofloxacin, to cover infections by all three M. abscessus subspecies and M. fortuitum.


Mass balance studies using the input-output method as well as modelling studies require reliable knowledge of the regional distribution of accumulation rates. Since for the dating of ice samples have to be taken in the field either in snow pits or by drilling firn, respectively ice cores, there are only few sampling sites and thus accumulation rate data available from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheet.

Among the time series used for dating of ice cores are measurements of the dielectric properties of the firn and ice cores. Since radar also detects changes in dielectric properties, it is possible to link radar soundings to ice cores. The internal layering thus shows how representative the ice core is and tracing isochrones between two drill sites not only allows to test the dating of the ice cores based on independent measurements, but also provide an insight on the regional variations of the accumulation rate between the drill sites. The latter can be used to extend the data base for compiling data sets of the accumulation rate considerably prior to applying statistical tools for inter- and extrapolating the data for areal data sets.

The Alfred-Wegener-Institut (AWI) is operating amongst other instruments a high-frequency frequency modulated continuous wave radar system on board of its ski-equipped aircraft. Compared to ground-based measurements airborne soundings allow to map large areas in relatively short time. AWI mapped in 2010 and 2012 the internal structure of the Greenland ice sheet within the 2000 m contour line with a regional focus on the NEEM deep ice core drill site (N 77 30 / W 051 18). The flown profiles also reached the deep ice core drill site NGRIP and the shallow ice coring sites of AWI's North Greenland Traverse. By linking the isochrones detected the airborne frequency radar to ice cores, new data sets of the regional distribution of accumulation rates will be derived.


Grapevine Bois noir (BN) is a phytoplasma disease that is widespread in most viticultural regions of the world, and it can result in heavy reductions to yields and grape juice quality. At present, there is no effective strategy to reduce the incidence of BN-infected grapevines. However, phytoplasma-infected plants can recover through spontaneous or induced symptom remission. Five elicitors (chitosan, two glutathione-plus-oligosaccharine formulations, benzothiadiazole, and phosetyl-Al) were applied weekly to the canopy of BN-infected 'Chardonnay' grapevines from early May to late July. The best and most constant recovery inductions were obtained with benzothiadiazole and the two glutathione-plus-oligosaccharine formulations. The plants that recovered naturally or following the elicitors showed qualitative and quantitative parameters of production no different from healthy plants. In another vineyard, diseased plants showed reduced shoot length and production compared with healthy plants, and there were no negative effects on these parameters for grapevines sprayed with a glutathione-plus-oligosaccharine formulation. The application of resistance inducers promoted the recovery of BN-infected grapevines with no adverse effects on the plants. Therefore, grapevine can be used as a model species to test this innovative strategy to contain phytoplasma diseases.


This paper develops a dynamic framework in which macroeconomic liberalization and stabilization measures of the type recently seen in Latin America can be studied. The model is sufficiently general to cover both polar cases of a closed capital account and free private capital mobility, so the effects of liberalizing external asset trade can be studied. Capital-account liberalization leads to an initial period of real appreciation, but a long-run real depreciation; and the economy passes through alternating phases of boom and slump in the process. Devaluation is found to be nonneutral even in the long run and possibly contractionary in the short run. In contrast, a change in the rate of exchange depreciation is neutral, even with sticky prices, when capital is fully mobile. When capital is immobile, a disinflationary reduction inthe rate of exchange-rate crawl has effects that are the opposite of those arising from capital-account opening. The model suggests that capital-account liberalization, rather than disinflation, played a part in causing the massive real exchange-rate appreciation that accompanied recent Latin American programs of economic reform.


High concentration of family ownership in East Asia has led to agency conflicts between the majority and minority shareholders potentially affecting the company's dividend policy. This study aims to examine the effect of family ownership on dividend policy. This study also examined the role of board of independence as a moderator in strengthening the influence of family ownership on dividend policy. The result proves that family ownership negatively affects dividend policy but with the existence of board of independence, family ownership has positive effect on dividend policy. This study contributes to the theory of agency type II which discusses conflicts between majority shareholders by family and minority that can be eliminated by good corporate governance mechanisms.


The article analyzes the history of the concept of a "Slavic-Russian nation". The concept was first used by Zacharia Kopystenskij in 1624, but its wide occurrence starts in 1674, when Synopsis , the first printed history of Russia, was published in Kiev. In the book, "Slavic-Russian nation" refers to an ancient Slavic people, which preceded the "Russian nation" ( "rossiyskiy narod" ) of the time in which the book was written. Uniting "Slavs" and "Russians" ( "rossy" ) into one "Slavic-Russian nation", the author of Synopsis followed the idea which was proposed but not specifically defined by M. Stryjkovskij in his Chronicle (1582) and, later, by the Kievan intellectuals of the 1620s–30s. The construction of Synopsis was to prove that "Russians" ( "rossy" ) were united by both the common Slavic origin and the Church Slavonic language used by the Orthodox Slavic peoples. According to Synopsis , they were also supposed to be united by the Muscovite tsar's authority and the Orthodox religion. The whole conception made Synopsis very popular in Russia in the late 17th century and later. Earlier in the 17th-century literature of the Muscovite State, some authors also proposed ethno-genetic constructions based on Stryjkovskij's Chronicle and other Renaissance historiography. Independently from the Kievan literature, the word "Slavic-Russian" was invented (first appearance in the Legend about Sloven and Rus , 1630s). Both the Kievan and Muscovite constructions of a mythical "Slavic-Russian nation" aimed at making an "imagined" ethno-cultural nation. They contributed to forming a new Russian imperial identity in the Petrine epoch. However, the concept of a "Slavic-Russian nation" was not in demand in the political discourse of the Petrine Empire. It was sporadically used in the historical works of the 18th century (largely due to the influence of Synopsis ), but played no significant role in the proposed interpretations of Russian history. DOI: 10.31168/2305-6754.2020.9.2.9


As a result of an increased focus on climate policy and renewable energy sources, the share of intermittent power in the Nordic power system is growing. With a less predictable production, the interest for trading on the post-spot markets evolves. Producers desire to trade closer to the hour of operation in order to minimise uncertainty of production and demand. This thesis investigates how a Norwegian hydro power producer can maximise daily profit by trading on the post-spot markets. Bidding on the intraday market, Elbas, and the balancing market is modelled as a multistage stochastic mixed integer problem (SMIP) with continuous and binary variables. A comprehensive modelling framework is developed in order to model the market uncertainties. The framework creates realistic demand scenarios for the two markets and implements the model with an internal rolling horizon approach to describe how the bidding problem develops with a decreasing time horizon. The modelling framework is applied to a case study with realistic input data. A thorough market analysis of Elbas based on exclusive order depth data show that the Norwegian intraday market has very low liquidity. The results show that Elbas premiums normally are higher than the corresponding balancing market premiums, but the probability of a bid being accepted on Elbas is low. As a result of this, considering Elbas bidding does not impact the profit of the hydro power producer significantly. The test cases with higher available production capacity do however benefit more from Elbas trading. With the current market liquidity, Elbas bidding should be considered if it can be done efficiently. The profitability is however considered to increase with more market participants.


: The rate of colour change in the fish Clarias batrachus (L.) has been studied as a response from black to white background and vice versa. The 'Derived Ostwald Index (D.O.I.)' method proposed by Healey (1967) has been used to measure the melanophore responses of the fish. Observations show that the fish is quite sensitive to background responses. The rate of colour change is fast. The colour change is quite rapid in both, the paling and the darkening experiments in the beginning as compared to the later stages which are slow and gradual. The results indicate that the process of colour change is mainly under nervous control in the initial stages while in the later stages the chromatic response seems to be regulated mainly by hormone(s). The fish is better adapted on a white background (maximum paling 1.7 grades of D.O.I. scale in 10 hours) than on a black background (maximum darkening 6.35 grades of D.O.I. scale in 20 hours). It is suggested that chromatic control mechanisms in the fish include the sympathetic pigment-aggregating fibres constituting the nervous control and at least a pituitary principle, the melanophore-aggregating hormone (MAH) constituting the hormonal control.


Camera relocalization plays a vital role in many robotics and computer vision tasks, such as global localization, recovery from tracking failure, and loop closure detection. Recent random forests based methods directly predict 3D world locations for 2D image locations to guide the camera pose optimization. During training, each tree greedily splits the samples to minimize the spatial variance. However, these greedy splits often produce uneven sub-trees in training or incorrect 2D-3D correspondences in testing. To address these problems, we propose a sample-balanced objective to encourage equal numbers of samples in the left and right sub-trees, and a novel backtracking scheme to remedy the incorrect 2D-3D correspondence predictions. Furthermore, we extend the regression forests based methods to use local features in both training and testing stages for outdoor RGB-only applications. Experimental results on publicly available indoor and outdoor datasets demonstrate the efficacy of our approach, which shows superior or on-par accuracy with several state-of-the-art methods.


T-cell depletion (TCD) of the donor marrow graft has been shown to reduce the severity of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in patients with chronic-phase (CP) chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) undergoing HLA-identical sibling allogeneic marrow transplantation. However, there has been a corresponding reduction in the graft-versus-leukemia effect so that any decrease in GVHD-related mortality has been offset by an increased rate of disease relapse. Therapy of recurrent disease with donor leukocyte infusions (DLI) has been proven to be effective salvage therapy for the majority of patients who relapse after allogeneic BMT with CP CML. However, the overall impact of salvage DLI therapy on the survival of CP CML patients initially transplanted with TCD marrow grafts is not defined. To address this question, we have evaluated a clinical strategy of TCD followed by targeted adoptive immunotherapy with DLI in 25 CP CML patients undergoing allogeneic BMT from HLA-identical siblings. All patients received a standardized preparative regimen along with ex vivo TCD and posttransplant cyclosporine as GVHD prophylaxis. Durable engraftment was observed in all 25 patients. The incidence of grade II to IV acute GVHD was 8%. The cumulative incidence of transplant-related mortality (TRM) was 4%, and the 1-year probability of overall survival was 96%. The 3-year cumulative relapse incidence was 49%. All relapsed patients received DLI to reinduce remission. The total T-cell dose administered to these patients varied from 0.1 to 5.0 x 10(8) T cells/kg. Complete responses were observed in 12 of 14 patients, with 1 additional patient still too early to evaluate. Three patients died of GVHD after DLI, and 1 relapsed into blast crisis after a transient cytogenetic remission. Of the remaining 10 patients, 8 are in molecular remission, 1 is alive in relapse, and 1 is receiving DLI treatment. The median follow-up after infusion of surviving DLI patients in remission is 5.3 years. The probability of overall 5-year survival for the entire population is 80%, with a median follow-up of 6.4 years. We conclude that the clinical strategy of TCD followed by targeted adoptive immunotherapy with DLI for those patients with evidence of recurrent disease is a viable transplant strategy for CP CML, resulting in 80% survival and a low risk of acute GVHD and transplant-related mortality.


Background: Unlike petroleum-based synthetic plastics, biodegradable biopolymer generation from industrial residue is a key strategy to reduce costs in the production process, as well as in the waste management, since efficient industrial wastewater treatment could be costly. In this context, the present work describes the prospection and use of bacterial strains capable to bioconvert cassava starch by-product into biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). Results: The first step of this study was the bacterial competence screening which was conducted with 72 strains covering 21 Bacillus and related species. The microorganism growth in a medium with a starch substrate was measured by an innovative MTT assay, while the ability of the bacteria to secrete amylase and produce PHA was evaluated by the Nile Red Dye method. Based on growth and potential for PHA production, four isolates were selected and identified as Bacillus megaterium by 16S rRNA sequencing. When cultivated in hydrolyzed cassava starch by-product, maximum production reached 4.97 g dry biomass/L with 29.7% of Poly-(3-hydroxybutyrate) (characterized by FTIR). Conclusions: MTT assay proved to be a reliable methodology for monitoring bacterial growth in insoluble media. Selected amylolytic strains could be used as an alternative industrial process for biodegradable plastics production from starchy residues, reducing costs for biodegradable biopolymer production and wastewater treatment operations.


This article explores the history of the "Swartzentruber" and "Old Order Amish", the similarities and differences between them and if these have any bearing on dress and worship codes. Readers should note that "Swartzentruber" and "Old Order" will be referenced throughout, however, these are generalisations. This research is necessary, with previous scholarship focusing on dress, worship and the Division (1693) as separate entities. However, less has been tailored to the impact of the Division on dress and worship and how or if "Amish" applications are scripturally justified. The question that is raised is: "whether 17th-century 'literalist' hermeneutics can influence fundamental identity markers in the 21st century?"


Background: MYCN amplification with subsequent MYCN protein (MYCN-P) over-expression is a powerful indicator of a poor prognosis of neuroblastoma patients. Little is known regarding the prognostic significance of the homologous MYC protein (MYC-P) expression in this disease. Methods: Immunohistochemical study for MYCN-P and MYC-P expression was conducted using a total of 357 cases of neuroblastoma, undifferentiated (20) or poorly differentiated (337) subtype with available unstained slides. The cases were collected and reviewed during one-year period of 2009 at the COG (Children9s Oncology Group) Neuroblastoma Pathology Reference Laboratory. Relationship between these protein expressions and other prognostic markers [Clinical stage (stage 4, N=161 vs. non-stage 4, N=196); Age at diagnosis ( MYCN status (amplified, N=82 vs. non-amplified, N=272); International Neuroblastoma Pathology Classification (FH-favorable histology, N=176 vs. UH-unfavorable histology, N=181); MKI (mitosis-karyorrhexis index, Low, N=159; Intermediate, N=103 vs. High, N=81); and prominent nucleolar (PN) formation (+, N=110 vs. -, N=247)] were analyzed. Findings: Of 357 cases, there were 67 (19%) MYCN-P (+) tumors, 37 (10%) MYC-P (+) tumors, and only one (0.3%) tumor expressing both proteins. Both MYCN-P (+) and MYC-P (+) tumors were more likely diagnosed in older children with stage 4 disease. MYCN-P (+) tumors were associated with amplified MYCN and UH, and often had High MKI. MYC-P (+) tumors were also frequently UH but not associated with MYCN amplification, and more likely to have Low or Intermediate MKI. PN formation was significantly associated with either MYCN-P or MYC-P expression. FH patients without MYC-P/MYCN-P expressions exhibited the best survival (N=167, 89.7+/-5.5% 3-year EFS, 97.0+/-3.2% 3-year OS), followed by UH patients without MYC-P/MYCN-P expressions (N=84, 63.1+/-13.6% 3-year EFS, 83.5+/-9.4% 3-year OS). While MYCN-P (+) patients and MYC-P (+) patients had similar and significantly low (p Interpretation: In summary, about 30% of neuroblastoma cases in the undifferentiated and poorly differentiated subtypes expressed either MYCN protein (2/3 of the tumors) or MYC protein (1/3 of the tumors) in this series of cases. Those tumors were highly aggressive clinically: patients with MYC-protein expressing tumor had similarly low 3-year EFS and 3-year OS rate to those with MYCN-protein expressing tumor. MYCN-P expression was associated with MYCN amplification. In contrast, MYC-P expression was not associated with MYCN amplification, and its prognostic impact was independent from other standard prognostic factors in this disease. With the results of this report, we should move on to a prospective study of MYC-P expression as a new biomarker for high-risk neuroblastomas. Citation Format: Larry L. Wang, Risa Teshiba, Naohiko Ikegaki, Xao X. Tang, Arlene Naranjo, Wendy B. London, Michael D. Hogarty, Julie M. Gastier-Foster, A. Thomas Look, Julie R. Park, John M. Maris, Susan L. Cohn, Robert C. Seeger, Shahab Asgharzadeh, Hiroyuki Shimada. Immunohistochemical detection of MYCN protein and MYC protein identifies highly aggressive neuroblastomas. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Myc: From Biology to Therapy; Jan 7-10, 2015; La Jolla, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2015;13(10 Suppl):Abstract nr A37.


Although exposure to asbestos at work can give rise to incapacitating and often fatal diseases, there are significant obstacles for workers in claiming compensation for asbestos-related diseases. Such obstacles include the long latency of the disease, the need to establish causation many years after exposure, and the fact that individual workers may have been exposed to asbestos with multiple employers and/or in multiple jurisdictions. With the legacy of disease from past and present asbestos exposure expected to continue for some decades to come, there is a crucial need to address the obstacles to workers, and their families, receiving fair and adequate compensation. This article examines how asbestos-related diseases have been compensated in Australia, and how the Commonwealth, state and territory workers' compensation schemes might be reformed to facilitate compensation. The article clarifies the often conflicting interests of workers and employers (and their respective representatives), discusses alternative models for compensation in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, and explains options for national legislation, national uniformity or consistency in Australian schemes. The article evaluates alternative approaches with reference to the criteria of effectiveness, efficiency, equity and political acceptability, and proposes a strategy for reform based on uniform provisions specific to asbestos-related disease compensation.


We consider the Cauchy problem for quasilinear parabolic equations $u_t=\Delta\phi(u)+f(u)$, with the bounded non-negative initial data $u_0(x)$ ($u_0(x)\not\equiv0$), where $f(\xi)$ is a positive function in $\xi>0$ satisfying a blow-up condition $\int_1^{\infty}1/f(\xi)\,\mathrm{d}\xi<\infty$. We study blow-up of non-negative solutions with the least blow-up time, i.e. the time coinciding with the blow-up time of a solution of the corresponding ordinary differential equation $\mathrm{d} v/\mathrm{d} t=f(v)$ with the initial data $\|u_0\|_{L^{\infty}(\mathbb{R}^N)}>0$. Such a blow-up solution blows up at space infinity in some direction (directional blow-up) and this direction is called a blow-up direction. We give a sufficient condition on $u_0$ for directional blow-up. Moreover, we completely characterize blow-up directions by the profile of the initial data, which gives a sufficient and necessary condition on $u_0$ for blow-up with the least blow-up time, provided that $f(\xi)$ grows more rapidly than $\phi(\xi)$.


The Shefton Collection in Newcastle upon Tyne contains a fine array of Greek and Etruscan objects and takes its name from its founder Professor Brian Shefton (1919 – 2012). In spite of the importance of this collection it has not been widely published and remains something of a hidden gem. Brian Shefton was an insightful collector, as well as a distinguished scholar of Greek and Etruscan archaeology, and the 14 papers presented here reflect the broad scope of the collection; ranging across pottery, jewellery, terracottas and metalwork. The contributions, written by leading experts in the field, focus on specific objects or groups of objects in the Collection, providing new interpretations and bringing previously unpublished items to light. The history of the Shefton Collection is explored. Together these contributions provide a tribute to a remarkable individual who made a substantial and notable contribution to his discipline.


Infective endocarditis is one of the infectious pathologies whose incidence has not changed significantly in the last period. As for the etiology, most commonly isolated microorganism belong to the genus Staphylococcus spp. and Streptococcus spp., while other germs rarely identified are represented by enterococci, Salmonella spp., Klebsiella spp., the HACEK group or fungi. The symptoms are not typical, most often in the clinical examination fever is identified and the emergence of a new heart murmur or modifying of an existing one. In the majority of cases the treatment consists of antibiotic therapy in combination with surgical intervention. The evolution of patients is influenced by both their comorbidities and complications that can appear and also by the infective endocarditis' etiology.


Legionellae are gram-negative bacteria found in clean water sources worldwide. Infection with Legionella species presents as two distinct clinical forms; Legionnaires' Disease; characterized by pneumonia and Pontiac Fever; a flu-like illness, characterised by a high attack rate and absence of fatal complications. Cutaneous manifestations are very uncommon during Legionella infections. To our knowledge; only nine cases of legionellosis, presenting with skin rash have been reported in the literature. The striking point is, only two men in this nine cases of Legionella infections, had had Pontiac Fever. Here we present the third case of skin rash associated with Pontiac fever, reported in the literature to date.


The whole food system which involves agricultural production, food processing and packaging, distribution and retail as well as consumption requires inputs such as land, water, fertiliser, pesticides, herbicides and energy, which are responsible for environmental degradation. The main aim of this paper is to determine the size of the ecological footprint of grains consumption in Australia for evaluating the level of environmental sustainability. The ecological footprint methodology permits the monitoring of dominant threats to sustainability. One of the benefits of ecological footprint methodology is its capacity to distinguish between resources consumed and resources available and then reveal how ecologically sustainable those consumption patterns are. The study begins with an analysis of the ecological footprint of grain crops consumption, then analyses the biocapacity. The study concludes by making a comparison between ecological footprint and biocapacity and then assessing its sustainability of grain crops consumption. The paper uses both local and global yield data in terms of global hectare and local hectare respectively with inter-temporal time-series yield factors. This paper also uses production and consumption data on various grain crops. The refined method of determining the ecological footprint has provided a new assessment tool to gain insights into the environmental impacts of grain crops consumption. This method in this study had also highlighted the contribution of the EF as an indicator of environmental sustainability. Results indicate that the ecological footprint of grain consumption in Australia only exceeds biocapacity when the energy requirements of these crops are included in the evaluation. This study also reveals that that Australia's grain consumption is unsustainable at the national scale, and still below the world-average ecological appropriation level. The size of the revealed ecological footprint are responsible for the amount of the grain consumption, energy inputs, the size of the population, the degree of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) gas emissions, and the amount of other farm inputs. This paper highlights the environmental significance of the ecological footprint of grain crops consumption in Australia. This paper also reinforces how intensely a sustainable future depends on the reshaping of the Australian grain industry. Finally, this paper discusses some of the implications of the method presented here for future footprint calculations and environmental sustainability. If Australia wants to shift to a smarter, more sustainable agricultural future; it must strive to shift to lower impact products and services, to increase the efficiency of the production through reducing energy inputs.


Here we report the use of a pillaring strategy for the design and synthesis of three novel amide-functionalized metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), TMUs-22/-23/-24, isoreticular to the recently reported imine-functionalized TMU-6 and TMU-21 MOFs. An extensive study of their CO2 sorption properties and selectivity for CO2 over N2, from single gas sorption isotherms to breakthrough measurements, revealed that not only the incorporation of amide groups but also their accessibility is crucial to obtain enhanced CO2 sorption and CO2/N2 selectivity. Therefore, the MOF with more accessible amide groups (TMU-24) shows a CO2/N2 selectivity value of ca. 10 (as revealed by breakthrough experiments), which is ca. 500% and 700% of the selectivity values observed for the other amide-containing (TMU-22 and TMU-23) and imine-containing (TMU-6 and TMU-21) MOFs.


Background STI prevention and support services for MSM living with HIV in Guatemala are limited. The aim of this study was to collect information on STI risk among MSM living with HIV to inform the development of integrated prevention and care services for this population. Methods As part of a qualitative study with MSM in Guatemala City, nine MSM living with HIV were purposely selected and interviewed in March 2010. Interviews addressed STI-related risk behaviours, experiences with HIV/STI services, social network characteristics and life after HIV diagnosis. Participants were recruited through referral from NGO representatives, key informants, clinic staff and other participants. In-depth interviews were recorded and transcribed and field notes were incorporated into the transcriptions. After multiple readings of the transcripts, key themes were identified and a codebook was developed. Codes were applied using the qualitative software Atlas.ti. Data was further analysed using analytic memos and discussions with research team. Results Despite reporting HIV-related risk behaviours, including multiple, concurrent sexual partners, inconsistent condom use, and alcohol and drug use, most participants did not report an STI infection after their HIV diagnosis. Attitudes towards current HIV/AIDS treatment services tended to be favourable, especially among those who compared them to earlier treatment experiences, and participants described preferences for a one-stop venue for sexual health services. Participants were generally not familiar with STI services and identified several barriers to access including insufficient information on STI, lack of confidentiality and fear of stigma and discrimination from health workers. Many participants experienced a double burden of family rejection, first for their sexual orientation and then for their HIV diagnosis. In response to this alienation, participants created alternative networks of social support, frequently with other MSM or people with HIV, which provide moral support and motivation for treatment adherence. Conclusions STI prevention, diagnosis and treatment services among MSM with HIV in Guatemala should be strengthened. Prevention interventions should contemplate using social support networks as an additional communication channel for STI prevention and antiretroviral adherence messages. Confidential STI prevention, diagnosis and treatment services should be integrated into existing HIV/AIDS services.


Pannexin 1 channels located in the cell membrane are permeable to ions, metabolites, and signaling molecules. While the activity of these channels is known to be modulated by phosphorylation on T198, T308, and S206, the possible involvement of other putative phosphorylation sites remains unknown. Here, we describe that the activity of Panx1 channels induced by mechanical stretch is reduced by adenosine via a PKA-dependent pathway. The mechanical stretch-induced activity—measured by changes in DAPI uptake—of Panx1 channels expressed in HeLa cell transfectants was inhibited by adenosine or cAMP analogs that permeate the cell membrane. Moreover, inhibition of PKA but not PKC, p38 MAPK, Akt, or PKG prevented the effects of cAMP analogs, suggesting the involvement of Panx1 phosphorylation by PKA. Accordingly, alanine substitution of T302 or S328, two putative PKA phosphorylation sites, prevented the inhibitory effect of cAMP analogs. Moreover, phosphomimetic mutation of either T302 or S328 to aspartate prevented the mechanical stretch-induced activation of Panx1 channels. A molecular dynamics simulation revealed that T302 and S328 are located in the water–lipid interphase near the lateral tunnel of the intracellular region, suggesting that their phosphorylation could promote conformational changes in lateral tunnels. Thus, Panx1 phosphorylation via PKA could be modulated by G protein-coupled receptors associated with the Gs subunit.


This article examines an enduring context of 'passive revolution' in the making of modern Mexico by developing an account of the rise of neoliberalism during a period of structural change since the 1970s. It does so by analysing and understanding both the unfolding accumulation strategy and the hegemonic project of neoliberalism in Mexico since the 1970s as emblematic of the survival and reorganisation of capitalism through a period of state crisis. This is recognised as a strategy of 'passive revolution', the effects of which still leave an imprint on present development initiatives in Mexico. Therefore, through the notion of 'passive revolution', the article not only focuses on the recent past circumstances, but also on the present unfolding consequences, of neoliberal capitalist development in Mexico. This approach also leaves open the question of 'anti-passive revolution' strategies of resistance to neoliberalism.


Abstract : The objectives of this effort are: 1. Theoretical investigations of the vertical structure of mean currents, tidal flows, and low frequency (infragravity) oscillations on the inner shelf and inside the surf zone. This work expands on recent theoretical developments for shear instabilities that follow methodology developed for tidal flows on the continental shelf. Results will be compared with field data examined as part of the second objective. 2. Ongoing examination of the spatial and temporal variations in wave breaking patterns and its relationship to surface mean and oscillatory flow inside the surf zone. This objective will be accomplished using video-based field observations of wave breaking distributions (from timestack imagery) and surface flow measurements (from PIV analysis) obtained as part of the 2003 NCEX field experiment.


Falls are a major cause of injuries and deaths in older adults. Even when no injury occurs, about half of all older adults who fall are unable to get up without assistance. The extended period of lying on the floor often leads to medical complications, including muscle damage, dehydration, anxiety and fear of falling. Wearable sensor systems incorporating accelerometers and/or gyroscopes are designed to prevent long lies by automatically detecting and alerting care providers to the occurrence of a fall. Research groups have reported up to 100% accuracy in detecting falls in experimental settings. However, there is a lack of studies examining accuracy in the real-world setting. In this study, we examined the accuracy of a fall detection system based on real-world fall and non-fall data sets. Five young adults and 19 older adults went about their daily activities while wearing tri-axial accelerometers. Older adults experienced 10 unanticipated falls during the data collection. Approximately 400 hours of activities of daily living were recorded. We employed a machine learning algorithm, Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier, to identify falls and non-fall events. We found that our system was able to detect 8 out of the 10 falls in older adults using signals from a single accelerometer (waist or sternum). Furthermore, our system did not report any false alarm during approximately 28.5 hours of recorded data from young adults. However, with older adults, the false positive rate among individuals ranged from 0 to 0.3 false alarms per hour. While our system showed higher fall detection and substantially lower false positive rate than the existing fall detection systems, there is a need for continuous efforts to collect real-world data within the target population to perform fall validation studies for fall detection systems on bigger real-world fall and non-fall datasets.


Document Type Graduate Project Date of Degree Completion 2010 Degree Name Master of Education (MEd) Department Education Committee Chair Craig Hughes Second Committee Member T. McCain Third Committee Member D. Woodcock Abstract The purpose of this research project was to determine if the use of the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) model would impact native Spanish speaking first grade student's Spanish vocabulary. To accomplish this purpose, a review of selected literature was accomplished. Additionally, essential data was obtained and analyzed from which related generalizations, conclusions, and recommendations were formed. Forty-one native Spanish speaking students in a bilingual Spanish classroom attending the Marlow School District participated in this study. These students were both male and female children between the ages of six and seven years old. In the treatment group the teacher instructed twenty students reading using methods from Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol. In the control group the teacher instructed twenty-one students by following Hardcort Trofeos Spanish reading basil. All students were given a pre and post test using the Test de Vocabulario en Imagenes Peabody (TVIP). The fundamental research question on which the study focused was answered positively; indicating that student's in the treatment group Spanish vocabulary was positively impacted by the use of the SIOP model. Recommended Citation Hoff, Janelle J., "Impact of Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol on Students Spanish Vocabulary Development" (2010). All Graduate Projects. 96. https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/graduate_projects/96  Download


According to the National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS), over 1 million public charity nonprofits existed in the United States in 2009, funded by $1.4 trillion in revenues from contributions, gifts, and grants (22 percent); program service revenues, including government contracts and fees (67 percent) and other sources, including dues and special event income (11 percent) (NCCS, 2010). A large number of these organizations are human services nonprofits employing social workers and providing mental health, housing, and other types of basic direct services to clients needing assistance. These nonprofit organizations are facing financial conditions that are perhaps the worst in the last three decades. Federal funding for social services is expected to stay flat or decrease (Calmes, 2010). States are experiencing revenue shortfalls that average nearly 12 percent less in 2009 than in 2008 (Pew Center on the States, 2009). Foundation funding has fallen (Foundation Center, 2009). Finally, individual giving to organizations that work with the poor has decreased (Center on Philanthropy, 2009). The effects of these diminished funding streams are serious. Federal grants are much more competitive than before, states are delaying payments for long periods of time to nonprofits that provide services, and nonprofits are finding themselves eating up their cash reserves, leaving them vulnerable to going out of business. Only 18 percent of surveyed nonprofits expect to break even in 2010 (Nonprofit Finance Fund, 2010). Because each of the ways that nonprofit organizations have traditionally raised funds is becoming less productive, alternative means of raising funds should be explored. This article presents three techniques derived from for-profit Internet marketing efforts that are promising additions to current efforts by nonprofits. Internet marketing is an unknown area for most nonprofits, and nonprofits have not appeared as a topic at any of the sessions of the Internet Marketing Conference since its inception in 2000 (Internet Marketing Conference, 2010). Although the techniques discussed here are used by some businesses, even in the for-profit world there is considerable ignorance about the best approaches to Internet marketing. Here, affiliate marketing, online donations and memberships, and information products are defined and discussed in turn. AFFILIATE MARKETING Affiliate marketing is a process by which an organization drives traffic from its Web site to another organization's Web site to promote a product or service for a percentage of the sale price (Brown, 2008). It is vital that the product be of significant benefit to the individual buying it, else the nonprofit will get a black eye for lending its name to an inferior or useless product. Affiliate marketing is different from hosting advertisements on a Web site because the nonprofit can make a very strong link between its mission and the sale. (This should keep the nonprofit on the correct side of the unrelated business income tax, but it is wise to consult an experienced lawyer to be sure.) With Internet affiliate marketing, the organization is really advertising one or a few products at a time, not an entire commercial entity. Affiliate marketing is not the same as signing up as a member of a company's charitable donation network, as when a local grocery store chain provides an organization with a card that is scanned, with a certain percentage of the amount purchased going to the nonprofit. Agencies should sign up for such programs and promote them. But, in this situation, there is no clear connection between the nonprofit's mission and the grocery store. It is simply a way to receive corporate donations. A nonprofit can begin affiliate marketing in two ways: (1) by linking to a company (as in the grocery store example) and (2) by promoting specific products that are directly beneficial to the targeted audience. …


This paper attempts to clarify what it means to be open in ICT4D. The current uses and understandings of 'open' and 'openness' are problematic for at least two reasons. First, openness as an umbrella term covers a multiplicity of connotations, applications, and interpretations. There is no set of common theory with which to learn and compare across openness applications. Second, specific instances of openness are typically defined in universal legal and technical terms that, while often necessarily enablers for openness, are not sufficient for understanding the reality of openness in a development context. To address these challenges, this paper argues for placing ICT-enabled open practices at the center of theory and research on open applications in ICT4D. The open practices are: sharing, transparency, reuse, revise, remix, peer production, and crowd-sourcing. Being open in ICT4D is then defined as the strategic application of ICT-enabled openness practices (sharing, transparency, reuse, revision, remixing, crowdsourcing, and peer production) in ICT4D interventions/activities to help tackle a development problem. From a research and practice perspective, the paper argues that a focus on openness practices is beneficial because it: a) theoretically connects openness to development outcomes, b) is where practical learning and theorizing about open practices and their interactions in different contexts is possible, and c) makes comparison across different open applications possible.


This paper seeks to unify two major theories of moral judgment: Kohlbergs stage theory and Andersons moral information integration theory. Subjects were told about thoughts of actors in Kohlberg's classic altruistic Heinz dilemma and in a new egoistical dilemma. These actors's thoughts represented Kohlberg's stages I (Personal Risk) and IV (Societal Risk) and had three levels, High, Medium, and Low. They were presented singly and in a 3 x 3 integration design. Subjects judged how many months of prison the actor deserved. The data supported the averaging model of moral integration theory, whereas Kohlberg's theory has no way to handle the integration problem. Following this, subjects ranked statements related to Kohlberg's first four stages in a procedure similar to that of Rest (1975). Higher score went with larger effect of Societal Risk as predicted by Kohlberg's theory. But contrary to Kohlberg's theory, no age trends were found. Also strongly contrary to Kohlberg's theory, effects of Personal Risk (Stage I) and Societal Risk (Stage IV) correlated positively.


Background: Malignant lymphoma (ML) is a heterogeneous neoplasm with a wide range of etiological factors, pathological patterns, incidence rates, and outcomes. Most epidemiological studies have reported the incidence pattern of ML by simply dividing into 2 groups, Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) or non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). However, differences in the incidence pattern by cell-lineage or by cell-maturity have been rarely evaluated. The aim of this study was to characterize the incidence pattern of ML by cell-lineage and cell-maturity in Japanese population. Methods: This is a descriptive study based on regional cancer registry data. We obtained a dataset of anonymized 12,645 cases with ICD-O histology codes of ML diagnosed 1960–2012 from the Nagasaki Prefectural Cancer Registry. From those, we excluded 1,477 records because of codes other than ML, diagnosed before 1985, and possible relapse records of identical cases. Records based on ICD-O-1 or ICD-O-2 were substituted by the corresponding ICD-O-3 code. We also treated patients having multiple types of MLs at same diagnosis date as a single case of "composite/discordant lymphoma," and patients having multiple types of MLs at different diagnosis date as a single case based on the first lymphoma. We finally confirmed 11,118 patients of ML that occurred in 1985–2012. The overall age-adjusted incidence rate (per 100,000 population) during 1985–2012 was already reported to be 20.5 for men and 12.9 for women. Then we divided them into the following cell-lineage/maturity groups: precursor B (B1), mature B (B2), other B (B3), precursor T (T1), mature T/NK (T2), undetermined cell-lineage NHL (U), HL (H), and other lymphomas (O). Results: The median age at diagnosis of all patients was 69.7 years (interquartile range, 59.4–78.0 years) and male sex were 5,980 (53.8%). The frequency of B-cell lineage, T/NK-cell lineage, and Hodgkin lymphoma were 5,196 (46.7%), 3,257 (29.3%), and 209 (1.9%), respectively, with a significant sex difference (P<.0001). For B-cell maturity, B2 was predominant (84.8%), followed by B3 (14.4%) with a significant sex difference (P<.0001). In T-cell, T2 was predominant (99.4%). Conclusion: This preliminary analysis suggests a significant sex difference in the cell-lineage and cell-maturity of ML. Additional analysis to elucidate whether there are any differences in the incidence pattern by cell-lineage and by cell-maturity of ML between general population and Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors are underway.


In real-time wireless control systems, ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC) is critical for the connection between the remote controller and its control objective. Since both transmission delay and packet loss can lead to control performance loss, our goal is to optimize control performance by jointly considering control and URLLC constraints in this paper. To achieve this goal, we formulate an optimal problem to minimize control cost by optimizing the packet drop and wireless resource allocation. To solve the problem, we analyze the relationship between communication and control. Then, based on the relationship, we decompose the original problem into two subproblems: 1) an optimal packet-drop problem to minimize control cost and 2) an optimal resource allocation problem to minimize communication packet error. Finally, the corresponding solutions for each subproblem can be obtained. Compared with the traditional method only considering the communication aspect, the proposed packet-drop and resource allocation method shows remarkable performance gain in terms of control cost.


Melanie Klein's contribution to psycho-analysis is centered on her exploration into the early stages of the mental development of the child, which she began while a pupil of Karl Abraham. Taking as her starting point Freud's concept of free association, as used in the analysis of adults, she set herself the task of adapting this technique to the psycho-analytic treatment of children. From this was evolved her play technique whereby, though providing a situation in which a child could play "freely", she was able to interpret his play - that is, describe and explain to him the feelings and phantasies that seemed to be expressed within it.By means of this technique, Klein made a most significant contribution to psycho-analysis. Not only she showed that it is possible to achieve therapeutic results more fruitful than those usually achieved with adults; but she was also able to map out in greater detail than had ever before been possible the early stages of mental development.The psycho-analytic picture as illuminated by her work emphasizes two principal stages of normal development, which Klein called "positions". The first, issuing from the infant's unintegrated and violently conflicting attitude to the vital objects of this world, is marked by a persecutory anxiety which may retard or disrupt the integration of the infant's ego. In the second stage the infant begins to apprehend that the gratifying objects he needs and loves are but other aspects of the menacing and frustrating objects he hates. This discovery arouses concern for these objects, and he experiences depression. However, in so far as he can tolerate the depressive position, it gives rise to reparative impulses and a capacity for unselfish concern and protective love. The extent to which he achieves this normal outcome determines the stability of his health or his liability to illness. In Klein's view, two of Freud's great discoveries, the super-ego and the Oedipus complex, have their roots in these early periods of development.This is a milestone in Kleinian psycho-analysis, and includes contributions from among others Joan Riviere and W.R. Bion.


Objectives To examine the risk of bowel obstruction in older adults during treatment with extended-release nifedipine compared with patients treated with amlodipine. Design Retrospective cohort study using multiple linked healthcare databases. Setting Ontario, Canada from 1 April 1997 to 31 December 2010. Participants We identified patients aged 66 years and older who started treatment with Adalat XL, an extended-release nifedipine product employing a tablet delivery system associated with mechanical bowel obstruction. For comparison, we studied patients receiving amlodipine, a long-acting calcium channel blocker that does not utilise the same delivery system and has not been implicated as a cause of bowel obstruction. Propensity score matching was used to ensure similarity of patients receiving the two drugs. Primary outcome measure HR for the association between extended-release nifedipine relative to amlodipine and hospitalisation for bowel obstruction during therapy. Results Over the 13-year study period, we identified 103 657 patients treated with extended-release nifedipine and 204 733 patients treated with amlodipine. In these two groups, 591 (0.6%) and 1185 (0.6%) of patients were hospitalised for bowel obstruction, respectively. We found no difference in the risk of bowel obstruction among patients treated with extended-release nifedipine compared with amlodipine (HR 1.09, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.24). Conclusions Bowel obstruction during treatment with extended-release nidefipine is rare, and the risk is not appreciably greater than that during treatment with amlodipine.


Evolutionary biology and ecology have always been collaborative enterprises, benefitting enormously from active communication of ideas among traditional academic networks of peers. The Internet age, with its thriving online social networks, offers new tools that can help our current generation of biologists to collaborate, and communicate with the public, more effectively. Having a dynamic web presence, being part of an active blogging, Facebook, or Google+ community, and being a strategic tweeter can help your research, teaching, and service programs. Below we outline how to be a strategically savvy and active social media scientist, and discuss some of the pitfalls to avoid wasting time. We highlight some ecologists and evolutionary biologists who are active in social media to help you understand the many ways social media can help you in your academic life.


Meat and bone meal (MBM), when supplemented with tryptophan, is an excellent protein source for pigs. It is also a rich source of Ca and P, but some research has suggested that the bioavailability of P is variable. Three experiments were conducted to determine whether particle size, ash content, or processing pressure of MBM influences the bioavailability of P. Each experiment involved six replications of six treatments with individually penned pigs initially averaging 13 to 17 kg of BW. A low-P basal diet was fed with or without 0.1 or 0.2% added P (as-fed basis) from monosodium phosphate (MSP) or with three types of MBM added at levels that supplied 0.2% P (as-fed basis). The Ca level was 0.70%, and the lysine level was 0.95% in all diets. Pigs were allowed to consume their diets (meal form) on an ad libitum basis. At the end of the study, pigs were killed, and femurs and third and fourth metacarpals and metatarsals were removed for determination of breaking strength and ash content. Bone traits were regressed on added P intake for each P source, and slope-ratio procedures were used to estimate the bioavailability of P in MBM relative to that in MSP. In Exp. 1, a blended source of MBM ground to three particle sizes (amount that passed through 6-, 8-, or 12-mesh screens) was evaluated. In Exp. 2, low-ash MBM of porcine origin, high-ash MBM of bovine origin, and a 1:1 blend of the two sources were assessed. In Exp. 3, normally processed MBM was subjected to an additional 2.1 and 4.2 kg/cm2 of pressure for 20 min to determine whether excessive heat treatment would influence the bioavailability of P. Fineness of grind of MBM or processing pressure did not influence the relative bioavailability of P in this study; however, ash content of MBM affected P bioavailability. The relative availability of P in low-ash MBM of porcine origin (with composition typical of meat meal) was approximately 15 percentage units less than that in high-ash MBM of bovine origin. Overall, the bioavailability of P in MBM, relative to that in MSP, averaged 85%.


This paper deals with problems related to the capture of a tumbling satellite by a space robot. The minimization of the base attitude deviation after the contact with the target is discussed from the viewpoint of angular momentum distribution. A new capturing strategy utilizing bias momentum is introduced. By using the null space of the coupling inertia matrix we present a method for angular momentum redistribution while following a desired trajectory.


The article shows the history of paper money from the monetary aspect.The author gives a presentation of modern paper money in the Republic of Macedonia, which clearly shows that the use of this money has not become outdated in everyday life despite the existence of more modern means of payment.


This policy report aims to address the unique needs of a vulnerable population, namely LGBTI refugees, as well as advocate for the protection of universal human rights and equality within a local context. LGBTI individuals fleeing persecution of any kind and by any means deserve equal human rights protections. Achieving this goal will only be attained through greater awareness, enhanced cooperation and well-informed strategies coupled with multi-level policy changes and implementation. Another aim of this report is to provide policy recommendations to facilitate the mainstreaming of more inclusive practices. City governments, NGOs and citizens can also use this information to create more inclusive public policy and take direct action in their cities.


The adherence properties of non-fimbriate entero-invasive Escherichia coli O124 in the guinea pig intestinal tract were studied. Quantitative in-vitro determinations were done by incubating radiolabelled bacteria with suspensions of viable intestinal cells released by treating loops of the guinea pig intestine with solutions containing EDTA, dithiothreitol and citrate. Non-bound bacteria were separated from the intestinal cells on a Percoll gradient. Only cells released from the colon, especially from its transverse and descending regions, avidly adhered to E. coli O124 (68-79 bacteria/cell), whereas the attachment to ileal cells was negligible. The adherence process was Ca++ and temperature-dependent, had an optimal pH of 6.2 and was inhibited by fucose, glucose or mannose. Several pretreatment studies of the bacteria or the colonic cells showed that the adherence was mediated by a carbohydrate-binding protein (adhesin or lectin) on the colonic cells and not on the bacterial surface. Results of studies of in-vitro adherence to intestinal loops and to intact intestinal surfaces correlated well with the in-vitro findings. These results indicate that the adherence of entero-invasive E. coli O124 to the gut is similar to the attachment of Shigella flexneri and is quite different from that of enterotoxigenic E. coli.


In mergers and acquisitions (M&As), brands account for significant but heterogeneous proportions of overall transaction value. The marketing literature focuses on the drivers of financial value of brands when there is no change in the ownership of brands. However, in M&As, the value of brands also depends on how their new owners leverage them. This study identifies both the target and the acquirer firm characteristics that affect the value of a target firm's brands in M&As. The study uses audited measures of acquired brand value from Securities and Exchange Commission filings (made available as a result of recent statutory reporting requirements) along with data collected from diverse secondary sources. The empirical test of the model is based on 133 M&A transactions in which acquirers attribute value to target firms' brands. The results indicate that acquirer and target marketing capabilities and brand portfolio diversity have positive effects on a target firm's brand value. The positive impact of acquirer brand portfolio diversity and target marketing capability is lower when the M&A is synergistic than when it is nonsynergistic. The findings are robust to various model specifications, measures, endogeneity, and sample selection.


ABSTRACT Two methods of exploratory data analysis--a numerical classification system applied in conjunction with an ordination technique--were used to facilitate environmental interpretation of 61 Tonoloway Limestone samples from Pinto, Maryland. We suggest that the scheme of multivariate analysis presented here, because it involves nonparametric methods, is more applicable to typical geologic data than other strategies. In the Tonoloway Limestone 7 facies (clusters) were identified by Q-mode cluster analysis: (1) micrite, (2) micrite-dolomite, and (3) dolomite microfacies from the supratidal zone; (4) a micrite-peloid microfacies of the intertidal mud flat; (5) intraclast and (6) ooid-calcite cement microfacies representing a shallow-subtidal environment; and (7) a peloid-calcite cement micro acies from the deeper-subtidal environment. Multidimensional scaling illustrated interrelationships among the clusters and the gradational nature of samples; neither factor was observed by cluster analysis alone. Recognition of the gradational nature of samples then led to interpretations of three environmental gradients that were normal to the paleoshoreline. Hydrodynamic energy was low on both the tidal flat and offshore near wave base and systematically increased from both directions toward the shallow-subtidal environment. Petrographic fossil diversity was highest near wave base with a second, lesser peak on the intertidal mud flat; this variable decreased into the shallow-subtidal high-energy belt and also onto the supratidal mud flat. Dolomitization, apparently of two modes, was mo t pronounced in rocks of the schizohaline supratidal zone.


A life-threatening case of accidental strangulation caused by play-ground equipment (in this case a play house) is described. The new standardized recommendation about playground equipment had not been observed. Attention is drawn to this case in order to improve the safety of playground equipment.


Purpose It has been demonstrated that the use of noncoplanar beams in radiation therapy may Result in dose distributions that are comparable or better than standard coplanar beams [Pugachev, 2001]. A radiation therapy system designed with a noncoplanar beam geometry could allow for a full ring diagnostic quality imaging system to be placed around the patient. Additionally, if the noncoplanar beams were fixed in number and in their angle with respect to the patient's axial plane, then both treatment and imaging could be achieved concurrently without the need for moving parts, which could greatly reduce treatment times. For such a system to be designed, it is necessary to determine the appropriate number of beams and the beam angles to achieve optimal dose distributions. For simplicity, the beam angles are assumed to be equiangular in the patient's axial plane, and only the beam angle with respect to the axial plane are varied. This study aims to investigate the dose distributions produced by equiangular noncoplanar beams for multiple beam numbers and beam angles, and to compare these dose distributions with distributions achieved in coplanar volumetric arc therapy (VMAT). Methods Dose distributions produced by noncoplanar beams were calculated using the Varian Eclipse treatment planning system by varying the gantry, collimator, and couch angles to simulate the noncoplanar delivery method. Noncoplanar intensity-modulated (NC-IMRT) beams using 8, 12, and 16 beams with angles varying from 45 degrees to 54 with respect to the patient's axial plane were studied. Results The NC-IMRT beams produced dose distributions comparable to VMAT plans for a number of treatment sites, and were capable of meeting similar dose-volume histogram constraints. Conclusion This study has demonstrated that a noncoplanar beam delivery method with fixed beam numbers and beam angles is capable of delivering dose distributions comparable to VMAT plans currently in use.


Many gram-negative bacteria employ N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHL) to regulate diverse physiological processes in concert with cell population density (quorum sensing [QS]). In the plant pathogen Erwinia carotovora, the AHL synthesized via the carI/expI genes are responsible for regulating the production of secreted plant cell wall-degrading exoenzymes and the antibiotic carbapen-3-em carboxylic acid. We have previously shown that targeting the product of an AHL synthase gene (yenI) from Yersinia enterocolitica to the chloroplasts of transgenic tobacco plants caused the synthesis in planta of the cognate AHL signaling molecules N-(3-oxohexanoyl)-L-homoserine lactone (3-oxo-C6-HSL) and N-hexanoylhomoserine lactone (C6-HSL), which in turn, were able to complement a carI-QS mutant. In the present study, we demonstrate that transgenic potato plants containing the yenI gene are also able to express AHL and that the presence and level of these AHL in the plant increases susceptibility to infection by E. carotovora. Susceptibility is further affected by both the bacterial level and the plant tissue under investigation.


The National End of Life Care Strategy outlined the reforms necessary to improve the quality of life and dying in England. Information is power to those who want to improve care, and a compendium was commissioned to bring together available data sources on end of life, in one unique place. Methods A systematic review of routine data sources on end of life care. Resources were reviewed for their relevance, coverage, temporality and timeliness, completeness and representativeness. A web-based tool was launched on the NEoLCIN website. Results The measure, 'The percentage of all deaths that occur at home', has been adopted as a national indicator (N129). However, the complexity of death and the broad range of factors influencing decision making, mean this measure should be interpreted using a much wider range of data. To date 59 unique data sources have been identified held by 15 organisations, covering 14 topics. Data sources are available on service infrastructure, demography and disease trajectories. Service infrastructure sources include: hospice care (2), palliative care in hospitals (3), primary care (2), residential and nursing homes (8), social care (19), emergency hospital care (1) prison (1) and carers (5). Nine data sources can be used for the assessment of population change in terms of size, composition and health status. Eight data sources provide data on illness and disease progression, to further understand place and quality of death. Conclusion For the first time, data sources on end of life care have been assessed and are now available on one site.


: Physiological and hygienic investigations conducted in the underground structures and different types of above-ground ones made of natural sylvinite have provided evidence for the modes of their maintenance and methods for correcting the internal environment to enhance therapeutic effectiveness in patients.


OBJECTIVE: This study describes a forensic case of incinerated remains of a man that were identified using information found in his orthodontic records. METHODS: Incinerated remains of a man were found inside a car. After forensic crime scene investigation and postmortem and radiographic exams in the Forensic Department, forensic experts found that the victim had a fixed orthodontic appliance, supernumerary teeth in all quadrants, partially erupted third molars and amalgam restorations in some surfaces of several teeth. As the individual's soft tissues were substantially destroyed, identification using fingerprints was not the ideal choice. After orthodontic records were handed in by the family, his clinical chart, radiographs, intra- and extraoral photographs and impressions were analyzed, and these data were compared with previously collected information. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Forensic dentistry examination revealed 20 concordant points in specimen examination and orthodontic records, which enabled the establishment of a positive correlation between the cadaver under examination and the missing person and eliminated the need for further analyses (DNA tests) to identify the victim.


Over the last decade the number of students coming to university with a BTEC qualification has risen. As BTEC students are more likely to come from widening participation backgrounds, accepting students with a BTEC qualification has been instrumental in helping universities to broaden access to Higher Education. However, the poorer progression and retention of students attending university with a BTEC qualification is a key area of concern. The aim of this study was to explore the transition experience of Biosciences students entering university with a BTEC qualification in order to better target support for these students. Focus groups with current students who entered university with a BTEC qualification, and semi-structured interviews with teaching staff at feeder colleges, highlighted that the BTEC equipped students with many transferable skills relevant to university study. In particular it prepared students for time management, report writing, practical laboratory work and working independently. However, our findings suggest that further support is required in mathematics, chemistry, examination and revision techniques. We propose that instilling confidence, encouraging friendship groups, more transparent advertising and developing inclusive curricula may help to improve BTEC student retention and progression.


AimsThe objective of this study is to determine the effect of intravenous (i.v.) or oral N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in preventing contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in patients with moderate-to-severe renal insufficiency undergoing intra-arterial interventions. Materials and methodsWe studied 307 patients with estimated glomerular filtration rate of less than 60 ml/min/1.73 m2 undergoing an elective intra-arterial procedure. Patients were assigned randomly to three groups according to the prophylactic regimen used. In group 1, patients were administered an i.v. infusion of 0.9% saline (n=103); in group 2, patients were administered oral NAC in addition to an i.v. saline infusion (n=102); and in group 3, patients were administered i.v. NAC in addition to an i.v. saline infusion (n=102). Serum creatinine (SCr) and cystatin C levels were measured at baseline and 4, 24, and 48 h after the application of contrast media. The primary endpoint was defined as an increase in the SCr or cystatin C concentration of at least 0.5 mg/dl and/or of at least 25% from the baseline value at 48 h after administration of the contrast dye. ResultsThe overall incidence of SCr-based CIN was 11.1%: 6.8% in the saline group, 13.7% in the oral NAC group, and 12.7% in the i.v. NAC group (P=0.231). That of cystatin C-based CIN was 8.1%: 6.8% in the saline group, 6.9% in the oral NAC group, and 10.8% in the i.v. NAC group (P=0.491). ConclusionIn this study, there was no detectable benefit of either high-dose oral or i.v. NAC over an aggressive hydration protocol in patients with moderate-to-severe renal insufficiency.


Rural workfare programs guaranteeing work at above market wages are intended to provide security to the unemployed during the agricultural off-season and are an increasingly used feature of labor market policy in developing countries. In recent work, India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), the largest rural workfare program in the world, has been attributed with crowding out work, raising private sector wages and lowering rural-urban migration. However, the empirical literature is agnostic about the sign and magnitude of spillovers generated by the large scale program. This paper studies the spatial spillover effects of NREGS on migration, time allocation and casual wages in areas which did not receive the program over the study period. Standard economic theory predicts that wage differentials across labor markets linked by migration should lead to equalization of wages in a competitive equilibrium. This analysis exploits the plausibly exogenous variation in wage differentials introduced by the staggered rollout of NREGS across contiguous program and non-program districts. It then tests the hypothesis that the program generated labor market spillovers to non-program districts using a nationally representative employment survey. Our results show that on average, real wage for casual labor increased by 2.7% with every additional program neighbor in non-program districts. Additionally, the impact of having only program neighbors was estimated to be a 17.5% rise in real wage for casual labor in non-program districts, relative to districts without any NREGS neighbors. The effects on individual level labor supply, non-labor force participation and unemployment are not statistically significant. Together, these results provide empirical support for predicted effects from theory.


The museum building is sometimes called "the major artifact in the collection". The building envelope serves as the boundary between the indoor conditions and the outdoor conditions. Any difference between indoor and outdoor temperature or humidity produces stress on the envelope, in the same way that air changes within the museum environment can stress a museum artifact. Although building envelopes are designed to resist stress, excessively tight indoor control can be harmful to the envelope. In a well-controlled environment, a balance is achieved between the stresses on the envelope and those on the artifacts. This paper presents the standard methods for analyzing the hygrothermal performance of a building assembly and describes the limitations of those methods. Next the paper presents a review of psychrometrics - the science of air-water interactions. The psychrometric chart is used as the base for introducing the effects that are missing from standard building performance analysis: moisture content of materials, air convection, and time-dependent effects. Practical matters presented include: setting upper and lower humidity limits in the exhibition space; temperature and moisture distributions in a space and in a climate control zone; the winter and summer performance of mechanical equipment; instrumentation; and building monitoring. Finally, guidelines for climate control that are aimed at maintaining the museum building envelope are presented.


A series of psychophysical experiments have been carried
out to investigate the preferred subjective contrast of
displayed images. The contrast of the displayed images was
evaluated with the use of a gamma model which involved
cascading the gamma values of the individual components
of the imaging system. The preferred contrast was found to
be scene dependent and varied between 1.56 and 1.96
when images where viewed in total darkness. Probit
analysis on the distributions of preferred gamma values
showed that the probits of those scenes which had extremes
in contrast were outside the confidence limits of other more
representative scenes. The validity and implications of
applying the gamma model to determine the tone
reproduction of an imaging system has been investigated.


ABSTRACT Currently, effective control of optical purity by chiral separation of (S) and (R) enantiomers remains a relevant and highlighted task when designing new chiral organic materials in general, especially for self-assembling materials possessing synclinic and anticlinic smectic phases. An efficient methodology for accomplishing this task was developed and verified with a series of chiral fluorinated liquid-crystalline materials with lateral substitution on the molecular core. The self-assembling behaviour of new racemic materials was established. Upon cooling from the isotropic phase, all materials possessed orthogonal, synclinic and anticlinic smectic mesophases. The materials were available with four fluorine substitution patterns and in racemic and pure (R) and (S) enantiomer forms. Chiral high-performance liquid chromatography was accomplished using polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phases. All separations were performed in normal chromatographic mode, and the baseline separation of all enantiomer pairs was achieved using chiral stationary phases based on derivatised amylose and cellulose. The enantiomer elution order for racemic mixtures was verified by comparing their retention times with those of the respective pure (R) and (S) enantiomers. Interestingly, two materials demonstrated an unexpected switch in enantiomer elution order. This is very important information that is useful, for instance, for potential utilisation in preparative scale chiral chromatography. Graphical abstract


Abstract:This article examines an album of photographs of the ruins of Paris produced after the Commune, entitled Ruines de Paris: 1871. It argues that this album used the devastated landscape of Paris to repair the country's fractured national identity in the wake of the conflict. Ruines de Paris inserted the destroyed city into the iconographical tradition of architectural photography as a form of monument preservation, thereby reclaiming the city for the French patrimony. This attempt to assert control over the city's national meaning through photography, however, rested on a paradox. It required that viewers see not the Paris that actually was depicted in the photographs, but rather, the Paris that had been and could be. The ideological work of Ruines de Paris entailed a fundamental rupture in photography's relationship with reality. In the service of national identity, the photographic ruins of Paris deploy photography not as a referential but as an experiential medium, turning representational photography into abstraction in the process.


Multicrystalline silicon, which is among the most common materials for solar cells [3], contains extended defects like grain boundaries and dislocations and a high amount of metal impurities potentially reducing the solar cell efficiency [1,7].
In order to reduce the detrimental effect of metal impurities on the efficiency of multicrystalline solar cells, the metal impurities can be redistributed
into electrical inactive areas of the solar cell (gettering) [12] or at few large accumulation sites, e.g. at grain boundaries [16].
In this work the interaction of metal impurities with extended defects is investigated for the purpose of a better understanding of the underlying physical mechanisms, which is necessary to effectively redistribute the metal impurities.

Experimental investigations on the atomistic scale with a combination of in-situ EBIC/FIB and TEM are preformed on multicrystalline silicon samples intentionally contaminated with copper and iron.
 The combination method was developed in this work to investigate the distribution, the atomic structure and the chemical nature of selected extended recombination active defects at high resolution, but low necessary defect density [43,71]. Accumulation of copper at light elements like nitrogen and oxygen located at grain boundaries, and dislocation networks decorated with copper are identified to be the origin of recombination-active defects.

Simulations on the wafer scale of the redistribution of the iron concentration during temperature treatments and gettering processes in presence of grain boundaries are performed.
Simulations of gettering processes show that kinetics of phosphorus diffusion gettering and aluminium gettering are limited by the dissolution of precipitates at a low temperature regime. For high gettering temperatures aluminum gettering has the advantage of being only limited by the thermodynamic conditions, while phosphorus diffusion gettering is limited by the phosphorus indiffusion.
A comparison of simulations of the redistribution of iron during temperature treatments in presence of a grain boundary with experimental LBIC and PL measurements and simulations investigating the influence of segregation and precipitation as mechanisms of impurity accumulation at grain boundaries show that quantitative modeling with precipitation as mechanism of impurity accumulation at grain boundaries is possible, while segregation has only minor effects.
The simulations illustrate that grain boundaries can serve as sinks or sources for metal impurities depending on the temperature treatments.
A variation of grain size in the simulations imply that there is an optimal grain size in the range of two times the diffusional range to achieve
optimal diffusion lengths in solar cells.
The simulations show that for some temperature treatments, it is important to take the history of temperature treatments of the sample into account.
The comparison of simulations and LBIC/ PL measurements hint that especially for low iron concentrations and in the close vicinity of grain boundaries, interstitial iron is not the limiting factor for the diffusion length. As a result, other recombination processes, like the recombination activity of the grain boundary itself or recombination due to precipitates, have to be taken into account when calculating the interstitial iron concentration from LBIC/ PL measurements.


This article explores the political marginalisation of the Melbourne Jewish Council to Combat Fascism and Anti-Semitism during the Cold War. Attention is drawn to contending views about the nature of the Council's links with communism. By comparing the Council's response to two coinciding international events during 1952 and 1953 - the anti-Jewish show trials in Stalinist Eastern Europe, and the Rosenberg spy trial in the USA - evidence is derived confirming the dominance of communist influence within the Jewish Council at that time. In order, I examine the Australian Jewish political context in which the Council operated and its relations with the wider Jewish community prior to the Cold War; explore rival arguments concerning the Council's links with communism and the Australian Communist Party; examine the major features of Stalinist anti-Semitism and the Council's response to them; recount the Council's reaction to the Rosenberg Spy Trial and Doctors Plot; and conclude that the Council lost influence because it fell under the control of a pro-Soviet group unwilling to recognise and attack anti-Semitism on the political left.


Aldosterone binding was investigated along the nephron of adrenalectomized Wistar rats. Autoradiographs of microdissected tubular segments were performed on dry film after incubation with [3H]aldosterone [( 3H]A) at 2 X 10(-10), 2 X 10(-9), and 2 X 10(-8) M in the presence or absence of an excess unlabeled hormone. Competition studies were done with a 10 times excess A, dexamethasone (D), and estradiol in the presence of 2 X 10(-8) [3H]A. Specific nuclear labeling predominated in the cortical collecting tubule (CCT) and A specificity of the binding was assessed by the much better displacing potency of unlabeled A as compared with D. Labeling in the distal tubule (DCT) resembled that of CCT, but D was nearly as good a competitor as A. In the loop and medullary collecting tubule, labeling was lower, with mixed steroid specificity. No specific nuclear labeling was detectable in the proximal tubule. We conclude that the CCT and DCT present the highest binding capacity for aldosterone. Competition studies revealed that the CCT is probably the more specific mineralocorticoid target segment. In other segments beyond the pars recta (loop of Henle, medullary collecting tubule), aldosterone probably binds to both mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid binding sites. No major difference appeared between the profile of aldosterone binding along the rat tubule and the one previously described in the rabbit.