In this essay, encouraged by the critical examination of mathematics education and mathematics teacher education at the Privilege and Oppression in the Mathematics Preparation of Teacher Educators Conference, the author asks the question: What do I do from a position of power and privilege to interrupt oppression and enable everyone the opportunity and expectation of success in mathematics and life? The author proposes a response with agape (pronounced ägäp?), or unconditional love. Starting with the question What would it mean to teach mathematics as an act of unconditional love? the author theorizes an ideal relationship between students and mathematics that is functional, communal, critical, and inspirational, generated from wanting to teach mathematics as agape.


The UK Military Aviation Authority (MAA) became aware of the international efforts of the SAE G-11 SHM technical committee. The Committee's first work was a published Aerospace Recommended Practice paper for civil transport aircraft. The Committee has planned an international military version of the paper. Since the military requirements can vary between nations, the MAA suggested that a UKspecific paper could take benefit from existing work and provide a good opportunity for peer reviews. Therefore, a Military Aircraft Structural Airworthiness Advisory Group paper, MASAAG Paper 123, was written and included contents covering the UK military perspective. MASAAG Paper 123 provides guidance on best practice processes required to integrate a matured SHM technology/system into UK military aircraft. This paper provides an overview of the UK perspective, which is detailed in MASAAG Paper 123. doi: 10.12783/SHM2015/337


Nadir point plays an important role in multi-objective optimization because of its importance in estimating the range of objective values corresponding to desired Pareto-optimal solutions and also in using many classical interactive optimization techniques. Since this point corresponds to the worst Pareto-optimal solution of each objective, the task of estimating the nadir point necessitates information about the whole Pareto optimal frontier and is reported to be a difficult task using classical means. In this paper, for the first time, we have proposed a couple of modifications to an existing evolutionary multi-objective optimization procedure to focus its search towards the extreme objective values front-wise. On two to 20-objective optimization problems, both proposed procedures are found to be capable of finding a near nadir point quickly and reliably. Simulation results are interesting and should encourage further studies and applications in estimating the nadir point, a process which should lead to a better interactive procedure of finding and arriving at a desired Pareto-optimal solution.


SUMMARY We present the case of a patient proceeding from the jungle of Peru with diagnosis of infection for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) with respiratory symptoms, fever and a chest X-ray with milliary pattern. Because Tuberculosis is a prevalent disease in our country and the most frequent in patients with HIV, he received antituberculous treatment. Nevertheless, the historical information of having been in endemic zone of mycosis in some moment of his life, associated with laboratory examinations, allowed the diagnosis of Disseminated histoplasmosis, as product of the reactivation of a latent infection that appears when the level of immunity gets depressed like in infected patients by the HIV. The history of diseases, trips and previous residences is a fundamental information to establish a good approximation diagnosis in patients with HIV (Rev Med Hered 2005;16:218-222).


Press, Incorporated, 2004, 0198700563, 9780198700562, 342 pages. Animals often exhibit intriguing and captivating patterns of behavior, from migration and homing, to communication. But how is this behavior controlled? This new textbook introduces undergraduate students and other readers to the fascinating field of neuroethology--the study of the neurobiological processes underlying animal behavior. Written in a lively, easy to read style, and assuming no background knowledge of animal behavior or neurobiology, this book introduces the key concepts and ideas which underpin the subject, and describes many of the key findings that have helped us to understand this intricate and elegant subject. Beginning with a look at the history of the study of behavior, from Aristotle to recent breakthroughs and predictions for the future, the book then reviews the ethological and neurobiological concepts that constitute the essential tools of behavioral neurobiology, before moving on to the field of neuroethology itself. In each chapter, the text not only describes the major findings in each area, but also describes the approaches used to obtain these results. Many chapters contain a detailed case study describing the research performed. A key feature of the text is the number of excellent learning aids included. Each chapter ends with a summary of key points, exercises and suggestions for further reading. Boxes are used both to provide relevant physical and chemical background information and to add additional historical interest by describing the life and work of eminent neuroethologists..


Introduction I. Prior Bad Acts Admissibility and the Incentives It Creates A. Origins of the Bar Against Prior Bad Acts Evidence and Its Exceptions B. Modern Jurisprudence and the Bar Against Prior Bad Acts Evidence 1. Huddleston v. United States C. Situating the Bar Against Prior Bad Acts Evidence Among the Rules of Evidence: A Story of Prejudice 1. Limiting Prejudice Is at the Roots of Many Rules of Evidence, and Is Effectuated Through Witness Preparation 2. The Bar Against Prior Bad Acts Evidence: Limiting Prejudice D. Courts Divided Along Fears of Undue Prejudice: Huddleston Leniency Versus Higher Standards E. Higher Standards of Proof of Commission Require Greater Amounts of Detail by Witnesses II. The Risk of False Memories and Misinformation A. Witness Preparation: Foundation of Trial Preparation and Potential Source of Falsehood 1. Witness Preparation Is Fundamental to Litigation 2. The Ethics of Witness Preparation B. Risks of Witness Preparation in Creating False Testimony 1. Analysis from Legal Scholarship: The Risks of Even Careful Witness Preparation 2. Psychological Research on Memory and Witnesses: Reason for Concern About False Testimony and More Questions III. Adopting Huddleston to Reduce the Risk of Prejudice A. The Minimal Benefits Requiring a Higher Standard of Proof of Prior Bad Acts B. The Risk of False Testimony Created by Requiring Greater Specificity by Witnesses C. Witness Preparation and the Rules of Evidence: Is Adopting Huddleston the Best Solution to a Difficult Problem? Conclusion INTRODUCTION A prosecutor is handed a complaint charging harassment and a harrowed woman follows him into his office. The charges stem from an ex-boyfriend repeatedly making threatening calls to her over a recent weekend. She saved a voicemail where her ex-boyfriend said he expected to see her at a funeral. She then explains that two weeks earlier, he showed up at her door uninvited, called her names, and threatened her life before leaving when she threatened to call the police. On more than a dozen other instances over the past six months, she says he followed her by car, called and hung up, or waited outside her house. She can't give exact dates, and adds that when they were dating a year earlier, her ex-boyfriend hit her but she never reported it. The prosecutor knows that the defendant is entitled to a jury trial on the harassment charge, reducing that charge is not an option, and it is a weak case. Having spoken with defense counsel, he knows that the defendant is not interested in taking any plea that would involve an order of protection for the complainant, and that he can't rightly plead the case without securing an order of protection. The case needs to go to trial, and yet it will require a Herculean feat to convince a jury to convict a man of harassment on the sole basis of a few phone calls and an ambiguous voicemail. In order to convict the defendant, the prosecutor will need to show the jury evidence of the defendant's prior uncharged conduct towards the complainant to explain their relationship and the hostility of the phone calls. The People will be unable to prove the defendant's intent to terrorize without evidence of his prior phone calls and conduct towards the complainant. The complainant's memory is unclear, however, and she does not provide specific details or dates for the defendant's prior conduct. The prosecutor informs the complainant of the prospects at trial. He knows that the credibility, detail and likelihood of the prior conduct will determine whether the prior bad acts evidence will be admitted in his jurisdiction. (1) Whether the prior bad acts are clear and particularized may therefore decide the case before it is even begun. …


Boron carbon nitride (BCN) is a new type of super-hard material with excellent properties, and is very suitable for use as a wear-resistant protective coating and solid lubricant. In this report, we prepared BCN films on YG8 cemented carbide substrate by magnetron sputtering. The structure and composition of the films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The adhesiveness of the films was studied by scratch test. Results from these analyses show that BCN films deposited on the YG8 substrate has good adhesion properties. We also demonstrated that target power and substrate bias have a great impact on the adhesiveness of the films, and reasonable process parameters can improve the adhesiveness of the films.


AIM
Vertebroplasty (VP) and kyphoplasty (KP) are minimally invasive methods for the treatment of vertebral compression fractures (VCF). In this study, we aimed to present our experience with VP and KP performed under local anesthesia and percutaneously.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Between 2002 and 2008, 91 patients (total 112 vertebrae) with VCF due to osteoporosis, tumor and trauma underwent VP or KP. After radiological and routine evaluations, all patients were operated under local anesthesia. Mean operation time was 20 minutes per vertebrae. We never stopped the operation because of intolerance of any patient and all of them were discharged on the day of operation or the next day except one.

RESULTS
All patients had severe back pain. Mean preoperative Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score for pain was 8.3 and the mean postoperative value was 2.7. Mean anterior wall and mid-vertebral body heights increased by 32% and 43%, respectively. The mean kyphotic angle decreased from 15.4 to 11.2. Cement leakage was observed in 4 patients and one of them underwent an open operation (decompression and stabilization) because of cement leakage to the epidural space. There was no other complication.

CONCLUSION
Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty are safe, effective and minimally invasive procedures. Elderly patients can thefore avoid the potential complications of general surgery and be mobilized and discharged early.


Mouse peritoneal macrophages activated in vivo by the injection of Corynebacterium parvum release larger amounts of superoxide anion (O2-) than macrophages from control mice when stimulated with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). The biochemical bases for this enhanced response of activated macrophages have been investigated by studying the expression and function of receptors for the stimulant, and the activity of the enzyme NADPH oxidase which is responsible for the production of O2- in leucocytes. Studies of binding of phorbol dibutyrate, an agent closely related to PMA, showed that the affinity constants (Kds) and the number of binding sites were the same in resident and activated peritoneal macrophages. The activity of the NADPH oxidase was, however, different in the two macrophage populations which differ in their capacity to release O2-. NADPH oxidase activity was studied in macrophage monolayers after lysis with deoxycholate. The main features of this activity were as follows: stimulation of macrophages with PMA or zymosan caused an increase in NADPH-dependent O2- production; NADPH oxidase activity in the lysates followed the same dose-response curve for different concentrations of PMA as O2- release by intact macrophages; O2- release by intact macrophages could be fully accounted for by NADPH-dependent O2- production by macrophage lysates; activity was strictly substrate-specific, in that NADH could not substitute for NADPH; after stimulation with PMA or zymosan, NADPH oxidase activity was higher in lysates of C. parvum-activated macrophages than in lysates of resident macrophages; NADPH oxidase activities of activated and resident macrophages differed markedly in their kinetic parameters. The NADPH oxidase of macrophages activated by C. parvum or trehalose dimycolate of mycobacterial origin displayed a five to seven times lower Km compared to the enzyme in resident macrophages.


This thesis aims to explore the optimal choice of retirement system for the Palestinian case motivated primarily by the problems of high poverty rate and the noticeably low coverage rate of social security.Accordingly, the first chapter focused on the environmental analysis of the Palestinian case. The second chapter focused on the literature review of social security. The third chapter explores the access rate to social security systems in each aspect of social security by socioeconomic characteristics. While, fourth chapter present an econometric analysis about the decision to participate at the pension system. Finally, chapter five presents and discusses guidelines for an optimal alternative pension reform followed by a projection test for proposed parameters of DB scheme using PROST model (World Bank) in several scenarios. The results determined the most important characteristics that increase the probability to participate to a pension system. Further, the projection shows the proper contribution rates in each unemployment scenario and its impact on the balance of the system and adequacy of income given the specific situation of females in Palestine.


If any man has drunk a little too deeply from the cup of physical pleasure; if he has spent too much time at his desk that should have been spent asleep ; if his fine spirits have become temporarily dulled; if he finds the air too damp, the minutes too slow, and the atmosphere too heavy to withstand; if he is obsessed by a fixed idea which bars him from any freedom of thought: if he is any of these poor creatures, we say, let him be given a good pint of amber-flavoured chocolate and marvels will be performed" — Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755–1826) Scientifically proven to be a mood elevator due to its ability to promote serotonin in the brain, chocolate is popular for it s aphrodisiac, relaxing, euphoric and stimulating characteristics. Renowned as a universally craved food, a majority of chocolate cravers, or chocoholics, have failed to find any close substitutes that can replace this divine invention (Parker, Parker and Brotchie, 2006). Chocolate holds the ability to transcend beyond merely a food, stimulating irrational behavioural tendencies within people even turning them into addicts. The history of chocolate dates back to approximately 600 AD when the cocoa beans were discovered in the lowlands of south Yucatan in the Maya. It was initially consumed as a beverage known as chocolate only by the emperors until it was developed as edible chocolate. Chocolate had an unpleasant taste and its transformation to a desirable flavour is an interesting historical mystery. Chemically, chocolate is composed of cocoa mass, cocoa butter and added sugar. Cocoa mass forms the base product which is obtained by processing the cocoa bean while cocoa butter is the natural fat fro m the cocoa bean which melts at room temperature to provide the creamy "melt in the mouth" sensation. Sugar was added as a primary ingredient by Europeans to appeal to their palate when chocolate was introduced from America (Parker, Parker and Brotchie, 2006). The present day chocolate industry is a mature and vibrant one consistently generating sales


Data derives from the downhole depth-shifting and correlation of multiple core and logging datasets. Splicer and Sagan are the tools used to depth-shift and correlate the input datasets. A custom tool, SplicerIntegrator, is used to record the affine and splice lookup tables in the central database.


Over the past few years there has been a clear trend regarding demand for office space in the central business district, CDB. The rent level is far greater there than in any other area, and vacancy is very low compared to other submarkets. People tend to prefer greater office location over salary and the office location works as a status symbol. Over the past few years companies have started to rearrange their offices, both interior wise and location wise. Some larger firms have moved their headquarters and offices from the central to prime suburbs, and many more are following this strategy. This study examines, by comparing different sub markets in Stockholm with similar submarkets in Boston, how the commercial real estate market in Stockholm will develop and what movements to expect in the office market. Are Stockholm's sub markets following the Boston sub markets footsteps?Stockholm is growing rapidly both economically and population wise. Access to land in the city is limited and the boundaries of the inner city are pushed outwards. To the meet the demand in the inner city a common trend the past few years has been to reconstruct and convert office space to housing. Former industrial premises that earlier where converted to offices are now reconstructed as housing. Another trend has been to exploit and develop new areas outside the city to meet today's demand. Problems occur when the majority of offices operate within the city, pushing the demand for transportation and increasing the density of 2commuting. Since the commuting hours are becoming greater the demand for adjacent work places and offices may increase.The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate how the trends for office locations in Stockholm may change. In addition to that a comparison to the office market in Boston will be made. The areas that are defined in the study are Solna, Sundbyberg and Stockholm City in Sweden and Cambridge, Seaport and Downtown in Boston, USA.Every office market and sub market is unique in many ways which always needs to be in the back of the head of the reader when looking at this report. Boston and Stockholm are both premier cities when it comes to center of education and being a hub for tech start-ups and financial giants and are both following the general ups and downs of the economy.The conclusion drawn from this study is that each market are following the same trend but varies in initial levels and relative to each other. Regarding the rent level, Solna and Sundbyberg will, unlike Cambridge and Seaport, most likely not exceed the rent level in CBD and also not fall below in vacancy rate. The sub markets in each country differs a lot but Solna and Sundbyberg will most likely follow Cambridge and Seaport in both increasing rent levels and decreasing vacancy rates thanks to continuous increase in popularity - A big partition factor between the two Cities.


Basil leaves (Ocimum Americanum Linn) are commonly known to contain phenol and flavonoid compounds which can act as antimicrobial and antioxidants. In general, the bioactive compound can be obtained by conventional extraction method, maceration. To increase the amount of bioactive compounds which can be extracted, it is necessary to conduct pre-treatment using Pulsed Electric Field (PEF). PEF has an advantage in increasing the compound transfer contained in cells to be extracted from the plant tissues via electroporation mechanisms, without causing significant temperature changes. This study aims to determine the effect of electric field strength variations (2, 3, and 4 kV/cm) and duration of pre-treatment (1, 2, and 3 minutes) to total phenol and flavonoid content of basil leaf ( Ocimum Americanum Linn ) extract. The result of statistical analysis using two-way ANOVA informs that electric field strength variation, pre-treatment duration, and interaction of both variables simultaneously affect the total level of phenols and flavonoids. The combined treatment of 3 kV/cm and the two-minute pre-treatment duration results in the highest total phenol and flavonoid level, i.e. 115.203 ± 1.115 mg GAE/g extract and 75.816 ± 0.723 mg QE/g extract respectively. The extraction utilizing PEF treatment also exhibits higher levels of phenol and flavonoid than those of control treatment.


Repeated, once daily morphine treatment (14 days) as well as chronic morphine administration (6 days) caused a rebound reduction in the electrically evoked release of [3H]dopamine from superfused rat striatal slices 1 day after the last subcutaneous injection. Interestingly, whereas [3H]dopamine release remained significantly reduced for at least 3 weeks following morphine withdrawal in chronically treated (tolerant/dependent) rats, neurotransmitter release from dopaminergic nerve terminals gradually increased above control values following cessation of repeated morphine administration. Postsynaptically, dopamine D1 receptor-stimulated adenylate cyclase appeared to be sensitized 1-3 days but was unchanged 3 weeks after chronic morphine treatment. In contrast, such an enhanced postsynaptic dopamine D1 receptor efficacy did not occur 1-3 days following repeated morphine administration, but appeared to develop slowly resulting in a profound increase of dopamine-sensitive adenylate cyclase 3 weeks after the last injection. The inhibitory effect of dynorphin A-(1-13) on [3H]dopamine release, as well as that of [Met5]enkephalin on dopamine D1 receptor-stimulated adenylate cyclase appeared to be unchanged subsequent to repeated or chronic morphine treatment. These data indicate that, long after cessation of drug treatment, chronic morphine treatment causes a reduction whereas repeated morphine administration gradually induces an enhancement of opioid receptor-regulated dopaminergic neurotransmission due to local adaptive changes within the rat striatum. Such distinct long-lasting alterations of dopaminergic neurotransmission induced by different temporal patterns of morphine administration in projection areas of mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons may be related to the enduring effects of drug abuse such as behavioural sensitization and drug craving.


About sixty years ago Frank and Evans showed, by entropy measurements, that when a "non‐polar molecule dissolves in water it modifies the water structure in the direction of greater 'cristallinity', the water builds a microscopic iceberg around it" Now, we propose the "concept of ice‐like‐water capture": a lowering of organized ice‐like water promotes aggregation (loss of solubility) of the filaggrin/keratin1/keratin10 associations through their hydrophobic patches. The capture of ice‐like water may be performed by the glucoceramides‐rich bilayers in stratum granulosum. Probably, the same process aggregates the proteins of corneocytes envelope as well as corneodesmosomes proteins. According to the "concept of ice‐like‐water capture", to regulate the keratinization, it is not total water that must be added to the stratum corneum, but ice‐like water that must be removed from stratum granulosum. Both petrolatum (lipophilic ingredient) and glycerol (hydrophilic ingredient) would capture the ice‐like water, most probably after combination with the lipid bilayers of stratum corneum. Moisturizing cream, when organized in secondary droplets is likely to perform the same action. Measurements by near‐infrared reflectance spectroscopy of the skin show that petrolatum; glycerol and/or moisturizing cream enhance the quantity of bulk water (1890–1897 nm band). As the ice‐like water is the complement of bulk water, the enhanced bulk water let presume an ice‐like water lessening. Some desynchronization (late or forward) of the keratinization/differentiation which confer the somatosensory problems associated with "dry and flaky skin" may be linked to an excess or lack of ice‐like. For instance, the winter xerosis, very common by chilling weather, could be explained by an increase of ice‐like water driven by the fall of the temperature.


Galectin-3, a β-galactoside binding lectin, has been demonstrated to play a key role(s) in cell to extracellular matrix interaction. The precise mechanism by which it modulates cellular adhesion is presently unclear and warrants further studies. We hereby report that galectin-3 mediates the endocytosis of β-1 integrins in a lactose-dependent manner. Interestingly we observed that galectin-3 was also rapidly internalized by the cells via the same pathway and the internalization was completely blocked by lactose. The endocytosis process was temperature dependent and was inhibited by filipin but not chlorpromazine. The endocytosis of galectin-3 and β-1 integrins by the cells was accompanied by rapid cell spreading due to cytoskeletal reorganization. The data suggest a novel mechanism by which galectin-3 and β-1 integrins are internalized into breast carcinoma cells via a cavaleolae-like pathway of endocytosis.


This chapter discusses the value to professional teachers of being able to relate teaching to pedagogical thinking as well as to broader social and philosophical perspectives. The text focuses on some of the challenges that are faced by music education in schools. Those who are about to face these challenges have been trained within the music teacher education system, so that these issues are also directly relevant to music teacher education. The challenges vary from country to country, according to their different educational systems and conditions. However, there are generic and basic music educational challenges that are common to most countries.In the early sections of this chapter we explore: (i) music teaching as a profession; (ii) the professionalization of the job; and (iii) professional knowledge in the sense of a critical and reflective approach to teaching. Following this are three sections which gradually develop the arguments of earlier sections from a general perspective to a more specific one. It is important for professional educators to be able to relate their teaching to theoretical and philosophical considerations in order to be able to participate in the general debate on education. Moreover, at a more specific music educational level, such knowledge is crucial in order to be able to make informed choices and decisions; this is important both for the status and legitimacy of the subject and for music educational practice.My goal is to suggest ways for music teachers to face current and future challenges by connecting aspects of the central arguments in this book.


Definite referring expressions have been studied almost exclusively with respect to their ability to uniquely identify objects. Based on examples of NPs with the drawn from naturally occurring texts, I argue that definite referring expressions serve other functions, as well — they indicate the prominence of a referent, the referent's status as a role function (rather than an individual) or the viewpoint from which the referent is presented. All of this information contributes to the construction of discourse referents and is therefore part of the speech act of referring. In general, speakers do not talk about objects in a neutral fashion, but rather attempt to induce addressees to accept them into the discourse under different guises. Thus, the notion of a successful reference cannot be restricted to cases in which an object is uniquely identified.


Vascular wilt of oil palm caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. elaeidis (Foe) is a devastating disease in West and Central Africa. As the oil palm industry in South East Asia is still expanding, so is the oil palm germplasm collection through the importation of seed and pollen from Africa, the centre of diversity for Elaeis guineensis. There is a risk of inadvertent spread of the disease on contaminated seed or pollen. Regular re-evaluation of the reaction of currently grown palm genotypes towards Foe is clearly required for biosecurity. This study has demonstrated that four Malaysian oil palm progenies, three in current or recent commercial use, are highly susceptible to infection by at least one of two African isolates of Foe, representing different countries, aggressiveness and Vegetative Compatibility Groups. Symptoms and reduction of palm growth generally reflected the extent and intensity of systemic colonization by Foe. Progeny PK 5463 expressed partial resistance to Foe isolate F3, but not to isolate 16F as palms displayed significantly milder symptoms and supported less widespread vascular colonization than with 16F. This relatively incompatible interaction was used to study expression of potential defence-related genes, during root infection when compared to a susceptible palm-isolate combination. The only significant response was an early up-regulation of chitinase in resistant palms. The research revealed at least one progeny-isolate differential interaction, and the associated resistance expression suggests a component of tolerance, because colonization by Foe was systemic in both compatible and incompatible combinations


Abstract From an archaeological perspective, warfare is a difficult issue to deal with in part due to its variability and in part because its material manifestation is not easily recognizable. However, a growing number of researchers argue that warfare often alters existing settlement patterns and settlements established amidst violence are regularly provided with human-made defensive barriers, named fortifications. Indeed, fortifications have been regarded as one of the most obvious indicators of violent conflict and are archaeologically highly visible. Here I present conclusive evidence to demonstrate that very early during the Early Intermediate Period (ca. 50 B.C.–A.D. 250) the first fortified settlements emerged in the Acari Valley of the Peruvian south-coast region. In addition to the fortifications, the layout of these settlements was carefully designed to obstruct invaders as well as to discourage potential attacks. In contrast to the evidence discussed here, similar evidence has not been reported for the valleys north of Acari, such as the Rio Grande and Ica valleys, in the heartland of the Nasca culture, thus making the Acari Valley the location of the earliest fortified settlements of the entire south-coast region.


Background: Asymmetry of various bilateral gait parameters is an important characteristic of quality of post-stroke hemiparetic gait. Persistent gait asymmetry has a negative impact on energy cost of locomotion, balance control, muscular-skeletal health and activity level of hemiparetic patients and, therefore, it needs to be addressed during rehabilitation post-stroke. Despite potential benefits, quantitative analysis of gait asymmetry is still not routinely used in many hospitals and rehabilitation institutions in developing countries due to the high cost involved in setting a gait laboratory. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of the footprint and Symmetry Index (SI) methods for the assessment of gait asymmetry in hemiparetic post-stroke patients with the goal of achieving recommendations regarding physical rehabilitation. Methods: The study was conducted at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi. A total of 36 post-stroke patients who had survived six months or more after a unilateral stroke participated in the study. The non-disabled control group was matched with the hemiparetic group by age, sex and anthropometric characteristics. Step length and foot rotation angle of the participants were recorded using the footprint method. Results: Results showed that steps on the paretic side were significantly longer and foot rotation angle was wider than those on the non-paretic side ( p <0.005 and p <0.01, respectively). Compare to the controls, patients had significantly shorter steps on both sides ( p <0.05 and p <0.001, respectively) while the values of foot rotation angle were only higher on the affected side ( p <0.001).  The mean values of step length and foot rotation angle SI in the patients were significantly higher than in the controls ( p <0.001). Based on the magnitude of the SI, most of post-stroke patients were classified as asymmetric. Conclusion: Overall, the study demonstrated asymmetry of step length and foot rotation angle during walking of post-stroke hemiparetic individuals and highlighted the potential of the footprint and SI methods as objective and easy to apply tools suitable for the assessment of symmetry of spatial gait parameters in clinical and rehabilitation settings. The results also emphasized the need for rehabilitation interventions designed specifically to improve the spatial symmetry of post-stroke hemiparetic gait.


Background : The aim of this study was to investigate the circumstances surrounding unintentional injuries of children and the appropriateness of the first aid provided by caregivers. Materials and Methods : This prospective study included children with aged range 0-12 years, who presented with an unintentional injury at the Trauma Unit of a hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, over a 3 month period. Caregivers were interviewed about the circumstances of the injury and the first aid provided. Experts classified the first aid as appropriate, appropriate but incomplete, or inappropriate. Results: A total of 313 children were included with a median age of 3.75 years. The most common causes of injury were falls (39.6%, n = 124), burns (23.9%, n = 75) and motor vehicle crashes (10.5%, n = 33). More than a quarter of the children (27.2%, n = 81) had been left under the supervision of another child below the age of 12. When the injury occurred, 7.1% (n = 22) of the children were unattended. First aid was provided in 43.1% (n = 134) of the cases. More than half of these interventions (53%, n = 72) were inappropriate or appropriate but incomplete. Conclusions: Especially young children are at risk for unintentional injuries. Lack of appropriate supervision increases this risk. Prevention education of parents and children may help to protect children from injuries. First-aid training should also be more accessible to civilians as both the providing of as well as the quality of first-aid provided lacked in the majority of cases.


The evidence-based approach is a means to improve the quality, safety and cost-effectiveness of the public sector as a whole, not only the health service. But to be successful, the evidence-based approach needs to be restricted to the stage of the policy process where it really can make a contribution; namely in the choice of intervention. In the policy process phase that precedes the choice of intervention, i.e. the problem formulation phase, there can by definition be no " evidence " available, since no controlled trials can ever prove that one problem is bigger than another. Further, the policy process phase following the choice of intervention, i.e. the implementation phase, is to date still restricted to research of weaker design and the policy makers need to consider input from many different sources also here. A pragmatic approach, focusing the choice of intervention phase of the policy process, has proved successful in the dissemination of an evidence-based policy for parenting support in Sweden.


M igraine, and a number of other primary headache and functional pain disorders are more common in women. Clinicians for decades have recognized the predilection for migraine attacks to fluctuate with changes in the female reproductive life-cycle including menarche, menstruation, pregnancy, periand post-menopausal phases, and with the addition of exogenous estrogen as occurs with oral contraceptive pills and estrogen replacement therapies. There is a large body of scientific evidence emerging that is beginning to unravel the mechanisms underlying the effect of sex steroid hormones, and their normal fluctuation, on nociception, both at the level of the peripheral sensory afferent and central pain pathways. This collection of studies illustrates the important influence of sex hormones and the normal estrous cycle on nociceptive mechanisms at all levels of the neuraxis, from the peripheral trigeminal afferent to the spinal dorsal horn and brain. These studies have begun to clarify the basic mechanisms underlying the interplay between sex hormones, pain, and migraine and provide potential selective targets for future therapies.


ABSTRACT 2020 has been a year of cascading crises for us all. The COVID-19 pandemic threatened to eclipse the longer term crisis of global climate change. Australia's Black Summer of unprecedented bushfires in 2019-20 and Vanuatu's experience of Tropical Cyclone Harold in April 2020 were both signs of the increasing severity of 'natural' disasters due to anthropogenic climate change. Combining personal and political reflections on these two disasters, this essay analyses how the discourse of 'resilience' can deflect blame from the ultimate causes of climate change in increased greenhouse gas emissions and from those countries and corporations who are primarily responsible for the climate crisis. In both Australia and Vanuatu, it interrogates where resilience is located: in government and corporate systems of disaster preparedness and infrastructure and/or the communities and people who are suffering disasters of increasing severity and frequency. Per capita, Australia is one of the most polluting countries in the world and its current retrograde policies on climate change and energy perpetuate both climate crisis and injustice, whereby those in the Pacific who contribute the least to climate change suffer the most. Global inequalities are both cause and consequence of climate change. Fighting climate change must entail fighting against inequalities to achieve climate justice.


The purpose of this study is to investigate: How do learner variables, including language proficiency, motivation, effort ,and family background affect college students' ESL vocabulary strategy use? Subjects in this study were around 450 first grade students at Fooyin University. Results of the study showed that the variable that had greatest effect on learners' vocabulary strategy use was motivation. Another important factor affecting vocabulary strategy use was family background, including family involvement and years of study. Results of the study suggested that, teachers' encouragement to the students for adopting the most useful and effective vocabulary learning approaches will definitely have a positive effect on students' learning motivation and language performance.


Governments do not have enough resources to make anti-poverty programs available to everyone in many African countries. Targeting the poorest populations could increase the efficiency of available program resources. Anti-poverty programs could target either households or geographical areas. This study compares the potential poverty reduction impact of these two approaches in Uganda. The impact of various policy changes on the poverty rate in Uganda is simulated using the estimated parameters of an econometric model of household consumption. The policies examined are family-planning, increased primary school attendance, increased secondary school attendance, expansion of formal employment and micro-enterprise expansion. The results reveal gains in poverty rate reduction from program targeting as compared to randomly allocating finite program resources to a sub-sample of the population. Furthermore, geographical targeting is shown to be more effective than household targeting for most of the six policies examined in the study.


This Article considers the role of luck in judicial outcomes, stemming from differences in the moral and legal views and reasoning of the judges who decide them. It suggests that luck is ineliminable from a system of positive law and that although it poses important moral problems of unpredictability, arbitrariness, and unfairness, it is not easily remediable. It is certainly not remediable by replacing a system of positive law with a system of adjudication addressing moral issues directly. Nor is it remediable by insisting on integrity as a feature of judicial decision-making.


markdownabstractThis meta-analysis reviews the intrasector heterogeneity of productivity spillovers from foreign direct investment (FDI) in 31 developing countries through a larger more comprehensive data set. We investigate how the inconsistencies in the reported spillover findings are affected by publication bias, characteristics of the data, estimation techniques, and empirical specification, analyzing 1450 spillover estimates from 69 empirical studies published in 1986–2013.
Our findings suggest that reported FDI spillover estimates are affected by publication bias. In combination with model misspecification of the primary studies, the bias overstates the genuine underlying meta-effect, but the meta-effect remains economically and statistically significant.
Our results emphasize that spillovers and their sign largely depend systematically on specification characteristics of the primary studies and publication bias. Publication bias is not caused by "best practice" choices.
Future research needs to cover more developing countries and to investigate not only whether spillovers occur, but also to explore inside the black box of how spillovers actually emerge.


The Coastal Region Training Center (RTC) for the Georgia Adopt A Stream (AAS) Program was established at Savannah State University in 1996 to promote and serve AAS activities along the coast and in southeast Georgia. The Coastal RTC serves as a regional information and technical resource, and it conducts water quality monitoring training workshops for AAS volunteer groups. The Center conducts visual, chemical, and biological monitoring training programs on campus and in local communities throughout this region. Since 2000, the number of water quality training workshops has increased from 20 per year to more than 50 per year; and the number of workshop participants has increased from fewer than 200 to more than 1500 per year. Besides producing increased monitoring and data acquisition in the region, this increased activity and interest in water quality has enhanced education and local partnerships regarding water quality issues.


Objective Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represents a burden on patients and health systems. Roflumilast, an oral, selective phosphodiesterase-4-inhibitor reduces exacerbations and improves lung function in severe/very severe COPD patients with a history of exacerbations. This study aimed to estimate the lifetime cost and outcomes of roflumilast added-on to commonly used COPD regimens in Switzerland. Methods A Markov cohort model was developed to simulate COPD progression in patients with disease states of severe, very severe COPD, and death. The exacerbation rate was assumed to be two per year in severe COPD. COPD progression rates were drawn from the published literature. Efficacy was expressed as relative ratios of exacerbation rates associated with roflumilast, derived from a mixed-treatment comparison. A cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted for roflumilast added to long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMA), long-acting β2-agonist/ inhaled corticosteroids (LABA/ICS), and LAMA + LABA/ICS. The analysis was conducted from the Swiss payer perspective, with costs and outcomes discounted at 2.5% annually. Parameter uncertainties were explored in one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses. Results In each of the comparator regimens mean life expectancy was 9.28 years and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained were 6.19. Mean estimated lifetime costs per patient in the comparator arms were CHF 83,364 (LAMA), CHF 88,161 (LABA/ICS), and CHF 95,564 (LAMA + LABA/ICS) respectively. Adding roflumilast resulted in a mean cost per patient per lifetime of CHF 86,754 (LAMA + roflumilast), CHF 91,470 (LABA/ICS + roflumilast), and CHF 99,364 (LAMA + LABA/ICS + roflumilast), respectively. Life-expectancy and quality-adjusted life-expectancy were 9.63 years and 6.47 QALYs (LAMA + roflumilast), 9.64 years and 6.48 QALYs (LABA/ICS + roflumilast), and 9.63 years and 6.47 QALYs (LAMA + LABA/ ICS + roflumilast). Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were CHF 12,313, CHF 11,456, and CHF 13,671 per QALY when roflumilast was added to the three regimens. Conclusion Treatment with roflumilast is estimated to reduce the health and economic burden of COPD exacerbations and represent a cost-effective treatment option for patients with frequent exacerbations in Switzerland.


Many transition and developing economies have reduced direct public involvement in the production and trade of seed and other agricultural inputs. This trend creates opportunities for farmers to realize improved access to inputs, including technology from international private research. Unfortunately, input regulations often derail these opportunities by blocking private entry and the introduction of private technology. This study looks at the experience in Bangladesh, India, Turkey, and Zimbabwe to see whether regulations make a difference in agriculture and input industries in developing economies. In all countries, companies and farmers responded to regulatory reforms by introducing and adopting more new technology and by expanding the production, trade, and use of inputs. The increased use of private technology has brought higher yields and incomes, allowing farmers and consumers to reach higher levels of welfare. These results challenge governments to open their regulatory systems to allow market ent...


We report the case of a 7-year-old boy who presented with a 1-month history of neck pain, left-sided torticollis, and no neurological deficit. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed an expansile lesion in the axis, with epidural and prevertebral soft tissue components. Histopathologic examination of the biopsy specimen revealed primary vertebral Ewing sarcoma. This is the first case of primary vertebral Ewing sarcoma that has presented with torticollis. It is essential for physicians to be familiar with this condition and the associated imaging findings because early diagnosis of such cases is the key to better prognosis.


Abstract Riboswitches are RNA sequences that regulate gene expression by undergoing structural changes upon the specific binding of cellular metabolites. Crystal structures of purine-sensing riboswitches have revealed an intricate network of interactions surrounding the ligand in the bound complex. The mechanistic details about how the aptamer folding pathway is involved in the formation of the metabolite binding site have been previously shown to be highly important for the riboswitch regulatory activity. Here, a combination of single-molecule FRET and SHAPE assays have been used to characterize the folding pathway of the adenine riboswitch from Vibrio vulnificus. Experimental evidences suggest a folding process characterized by the presence of a structural intermediate involved in ligand recognition. This intermediate state acts as an open conformation to ensure ligand accessibility to the aptamer and folds into a structure nearly identical to the ligand-bound complex through a series of structural changes. This study demonstrates that the add riboswitch relies on the folding of a structural intermediate that pre-organizes the aptamer global structure and the ligand binding site to allow efficient metabolite sensing and riboswitch genetic regulation.


In order to spheroidize -Nb5Si3 strengthening phase embedded in Nb matrix for attaining a good room temperature toughness of Nb-Si alloy, the authors have proposed a microstructure control technique by combining eutectic and eutectoid reactions. Nb3Si intermetallic compound formed during solidification is a key phase for the microstructure control, but its stability is very sensitive to the alloying elements. Nb3Si disappears by adding as small as 3 at% of W and Mo, while these elements are very effective for the solid solution strengthening of Nb phase. For a further alloy development, establishment of an alloy design concept based on the control of phase stability of Nb3Si is needed. Similarly to ferrous alloys such as stainless steels where Cr and Ni are added to control the stability of bcc phase and fcc phase, two alloying elements (one is a stabilizing element and the other is a destabilizing element for Nb3Si phase) are added to a Nb-Si binary master alloy and their microstructure is investigated using SEM. The stabilizing element Ta is found to enlarge the composition area where Nb3Si exists even with the destabilizing element Mo, and it is confirmed that the phase stability concept is useful for designing Nb-Si based alloys.


Transfer Learning (TL) aims to transfer knowledge acquired in one problem, the source problem, onto another problem, the target problem, dispensing with the bottom-up construction of the target model. Due to its relevance, TL has gained significant interest in the Machine Learning (ML) community since it paves the way to devise intelligent learning models that can easily be tailored to many different applications. As it is natural in a fast evolving area, a wide variety of TL methods, settings and nomenclature have been proposed so far. However, a wide range of works have been reporting different names for the same concepts. This concept and terminology mixture contribute however to obscure the TL field, hindering its proper consideration. In this paper we present a review of the literature on the majority of classification TL methods, and also a distribution-based categorization of TL with a common nomenclature suitable to classification problems. Under this perspective three main TL categories are presented, discussed and illustrated with examples.


Changes in oxygen levels, due to the environment or disease initiates a plethora of acute and chronic responses in the body to enable optimal physiological adaptation to overcome impaired oxygen delivery. Homeostatic regulation mechanisms in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems rapidly act to maintain oxygen supply to sustain normal metabolism; prolonged exposure to a low oxygen tension initiates changes in gene expression. In control of many of these responses is a transcription factor (hypoxia-inducible factor, HIF). Among other responses it induces changes in erythropoiesis, glycolysis and angiogenesis. This study primarily aimed to elucidate the conditions of hypoxia, local or systemic, which would initiate capillary growth in different tissues, and determine whether manipulation of the pathway (by HIF stabilisation) would enhance this response. A systemic response to hypoxia led to increased capillarity in the heart and diaphragm, and in both the local and systemic models changes in vascularity varied with degree of hypoxia, though manipulation of the HIF pathway had no effect. HIF upregulation under conditions of normoxia with muscle overload, also failed to show effects of manipulation of the HIF pathway. Therefore, ablation of individual enzymes controlling levels of HIF was utilised. A number of genes associated with angiogenesis and protein remodelling were upregulated, as seen with gene arrays, though histological evidence for the former was poor, suggesting a delay in gene expression and translation into downstream effects. We examined whether changes in plasma EPO expression were predictive of sickness upon ascent to altitude, and whether leukocytes could be used as a circulating indicator of HIF-mediated gene expression. EPO was enhanced in all subjects following exposure to hypoxia, and it may be one marker for AMS, but individual variation in gene responses to hypoxia suggests leukocytes may not be a viable indicator of the circulating systemic response to hypoxia. This study emphasises the complexity of the HIF pathway, highlighting the multitude of its effects both on a molecular and physiological level.


In the Rio Ranchería watershed of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, between 500 and 1500 m, savanna vegetation is interspersed with moist forests. The savannas are composed of native savanna grasses like Aristida adscensionis L., Arundinella sp., Panicum olyroides Kunth, and Schyzachyrium microstachyum (Desv.) Roseng., Arrill & Izag and the African Melinis minutiflora P. Beauv. There is also Curatella americana L. and Byrsonima crassifolia (L.) H.B.K., two typical tree species of the neotropical savannas. Although moist forest patches occur more often on lower slopes and narrow valley bottoms, they can also be found on mid‐ and upper‐slopes and less often on ridges. Thus, these forest patches are not gallery forests as are found throughout the neotropics, but the result of deforestation and fractionation of a continuous forest. A comparison of soil profiles between the savannas and remnant forest patches on the same slope, showed the disappearance of the A and B horizons (approx. 50 cm) under savanna vegetation. The sharp difference between the savanna and forest soils at the Rio Ranchería does not appear to be due to a change in soil water status along a toposequence or differences in the underlying bedrock. We hypothesize that the savannas of the Rio Ranchería watershed, are the result of deforestation and land practices on infertile soils derived from granite. The savannization process was likely initiated by Amerindians by means of the frequent use of fire or clearing lands for the cultivation of maize. The introduction of cattle by Spaniards (c. 1530) and the frequent use of fire to maintain grazing fields, contributed to further degradation of the habitat. While some tropical landscapes recovered their forest cover when human pressure was removed approximately 500 years ago, areas such as the Rio Ranchería watershed have suffered permanent damage. The savannas of this region are likely to remain unless fire is suppressed and soil restoration practices implemented.


Due to the fact that poverty appears to mean different things to different people in different parts of the world (Karelis, 2007), a large number of interventions and solutions arise in the struggle against poverty. One possible solution that has grown rapidly in popularity and scope in recent decades is the area of microcredit. Looking more closely to the concept of microcredit, it can be concluded that studies found contradictory results about the effectiveness of microcredit on reducing poverty. For instance, some microloan borrowers create high performing businesses while others fail and, in turn, create low performing businesses. This study investigates why only a small minority of borrowers, who take microloans in developing countries, is able to create high performing businesses. In addition, the primary purpose of this study is to find out which concepts have an influence on the degree of business performance of borrowers who take a microloan. Based on this purpose, the following research question is formulated: Why is only a small minority of borrowers, who take microloans in developing countries, able to create high performing businesses?

Earlier research discussed the effectuation theory, which is used as an overall classification in this research. This theory assumes that an entrepreneur begins with three categories of means – their own traits, tastes and abilities; the knowledge corridors they are in; and the social networks they are a part of. On the basis of this classification a theoretical framework is written, eight propositions were formulated and a conceptual framework was composed. In order to answer the research question, twenty respondents were divided into two groups – ten borrowers who create high performing businesses and ten borrowers who create low performing businesses – and interviews were conducted. Besides documents, received from UMO staff, were analyzed and a daily diary was kept to write down all relevant observations made. Subsequently, the data was analyzed qualitative as well as quantitative. Five specific findings emerged from the qualitative data analysis. On the other hand, quantitative data analysis transformed the interview answers into a six point Likert scale and data was analyzed with the help of SPSS Statistics 17.0.

The findings of this study, taking qualitative and quantitative together, demonstrate that future orientation of the borrower has a (significant) positive influence on the business performance of the borrower. These findings suggest that business performance of North Ghanaian women borrowers can be improved by developing a clear future orientation, consisting of understanding the risk that microloans present, having a clear vision and clear ideas to achieve this vision and having the ability to clearly discuss the terms of the loans.

In a practical point of view, this study might inspire microcredit organizations to give more specific training to their microcredit borrowers to obtain future orientation. On the other hand, in a theoretical point of view, this study contributes to the modest research done about the businesses that borrowers start with microloans. At the same time it contributes to previous research by focussing on performance of women-owned businesses in developing countries. This study might inspire researchers to investigate the influence of other people, business and environmental factors on the business performance of the borrower.


Underwater wireless sensor network is an emerging wireless networking technology (UWSN). UWSN has various applications for example it can be used for monitoring seismic activities, underwater animal, pipeline etc. UWSN face challenges in their MAC later operations. Different energy efficient MAC protocols have been proposed for underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSN) to overcome the problem of propagation delays which is inherent in underwater acoustic networks. In this paper, we study the energy efficient MAC protocols including EE-MACU, R-MAC and T-Lohi. We classify UWSN MAC protocols into two broad categories contention free and contention based and we further categorize contention based protocol. We analyze and compare key UWSN MAC protocols based on certain parameters and suggest their suitability in various scenarios.


This study was designed to determine metabolic and physical performance responses to in gestion of pre-exercise meals with different macronutrient and fiber profiles. Twelve physically active sub jects (6 males and 6 females) were used to investigate the metabolic and physical performance consequences of consuming pre-exercise meals consisting of oat, corn, or wheat cereals. A fasting trial served as the control, and all subjects received each treatment in a Latin-square design. Blood samples were drawn before and 85 min after meal ingestion, during 90 min of cy cling exercise (60% VO2pMk),after a 6.4 km perfor mance ride, and during 60 min of recovery. Expired air samples were collected to determine nutrient utiliza tion. Resting carbohydrate oxidation rates and plasma insulin concentrations after oat ingestion were less than after wheat, and corn and wheat ingestion, re spectively (P < 0.05). During exercise, the change in plasma glucose from pre-exercise was greater after consuming wheat and corn compared with oat (P < 0.05), and it was inversely related to pre-exercise plasma insulin concentration (r = -0.55, P= 0.0001). Plasma free fatty acid concentrations were inversely related to plasma lactate concentrations (r = -0.58, P = 0.0001). Free fatty acid concentrations and fat oxidation were greater in fasting trials than all others, but performance ride times did not differ among treat ments. Plasma branched-chain amino acid concentra tions resembled their respective meal profiles through out exercise, the performance ride, and recovery. These results indicate that pre-exercise meal composi tion can influence glucose homeostasis during early exercise and plasma branched-chain amino acid con centrations over a substantial range of metabolic de mands. J. Nutr. 126: 1372-1381, 1996.


Abstract To assess the impact of habitat disturbance on birds in the Yuksom–Dzongri trekking corridor in western Sikkim, India, the relationships between bird community attributes—including migratory groups and feeding guilds—and vegetation variables were examined. Birds were observed in 19 100-m-long transects, 3 times per season per transect, for 2 seasons from 1997 to 1998 and 1998 to 1999, in an area where forests are subject to various degrees of pressure from human disturbances. Closed canopy forests with relatively undisturbed habitat showed significant variation in habitat attributes, suggesting complexity of habitat structure. Bird species richness and diversity were significantly related to moderately disturbed habitats represented by Principal Component Analysis (PCA), where vegetation heterogeneity (vertical stratification and species composition) was greater. Analysis by migratory groups did not show an interpretable relationship with the habitats, except for the seasonal movements of migratory groups when correlated with altitudinal gradient along the corridor. However, feeding guilds showed significant relationships when correlated with different habitat types. Guilds such as insectivores showed a significant positive relationship with relatively undisturbed habitat, whereas nectarivores and granivores were associated with disturbed habitat. Such relationships have the potential to help assess bird communities and their habitat preferences. Long-term monitoring at landscape level is necessary to understand the dynamics of habitat use patterns by bird communities in relation to spatial and temporal changes.


Reductions in pancreatic β cell endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+ levels are associated with the development of ER stress and impaired proinsulin processing in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The SERCA pump transports Ca2+ into the ER lumen in order to maintain a steep Ca2+ gradient between the ER and cytosol. SERCA2 activity and expression are reduced in diabetes, however, the relationship between SERCA2 and proinsulin processing remains incompletely understood. To this end, we developed mice with β cell specific deletion of SERCA2 (βS2KO mice) and S2KO INS1 cells. βS2KO mice exhibited glucose intolerance and reduced insulin secretion in response to glucose without evidence of impaired insulin sensitivity. Islets from βS2KO mice had significantly reduced ER Ca2+ levels and impaired glucose-induced Ca2+ oscillations, while serum proinsulin/insulin (PI/I) ratios and whole pancreas PI/I content were elevated. Immunoblot analysis of βS2KO islets and S2KO INS-1 cells revealed reduced total levels of the proinsulin processing enzymes, PC1/3, PC2 and CPE, and increased levels of proPC2. Restoration of SERCA2b via adenoviral transduction in S2KO INS1 cells was sufficient to restore PC1/3 and PC2 maturation and enzyme activity. Brefeldin A treatment in INS1 cells recapitulated the impairments in PC1/3 and PC2 maturation observed in S2KO INS1 cells, suggesting a disturbance in protein trafficking between the ER and Golgi. Trafficking assays were next performed using a vesicular stomatitis virus G (VSVG) protein construct and revealed a significantly slower rate of VSVG movement from the ER to the Golgi in S2KO INS1 cells. Taken together, these data indicate that loss of SERCA2 activity and impairments in ER Ca2+ lead to reduced proinsulin processing via altered protein trafficking through the β cell secretory pathway. Disclosure H. Iida: None. T. Kono: None. X. Tong: None. I. Lindberg: None. C. Evans-Molina: None.


Recently, a fuel cell with low voltage and high current output characteristics is remarkable for new generation system. It needs both a DC-DC step-up converter and DC-AC inverter to be used in fuel cell generation system. Therefor, this paper, consists of an isolated DC-DC converter to boost the fuel cell voltage 380[VDC] and a PWM inverter with LC filter to convent the DC voltage to single phase 220[VAC]. Expressly, a tarred inductor filter with freewheeling diode is newly implemented in the output filter of the proposed high frequency isolated ZVZCS PWM DC-DC converter to suppress circulating current under the wide output voltage regulation range, thus to eliminate the switching and transformer turn-on/off over-short voltage or transient phenomena. Besides the efficiency of 93-9[%]is obtained over the wide output voltage regulation ranges and load variations.


The term multiracial can no longer portray the belief of majoring races include Malay, Chinese, and Indian as quite numbers of 'additional-colors' flooding here in Malaysia and the impact had nevertheless to cover certain scopes from industries, services or other 'inverbal' benefits. Due to this notion, Malaysian industries depend heavily on foreign workers and in results, Malaysia has imported a large number of foreign workers which resulted in workforce diversity in the service industry like the hospitality industry. This study is undertaken to investigate the relationship between workforce diversity with regard to cultural value diversity that effect multicultural teamwork performance among the local and foreign workers. A total of 150 local and foreign employees from casual ethnic restaurants in Petaling district had participated in this study. Data were collected through self-administered survey questionnaires. Through gathered data, this study shows that the cultural value diversity dimensions namely collectivism, determinism and doing orientation were proved to have positive effect to multicultural teamwork performance (r= .467, p< 0.01). Referring to the empirical analysis results, 'collectivism value' has the highest standardized beta coefficient (β = .36, p = .000) and determined as the strongest predictor of multicultural teamwork performance. As to accomplish this study and fulfill the objectives, several positive and negative scrutinizes were excavated. To date, this study exposed the effects of cultural value diversity on multicultural teamwork performance in Malaysia. This study has verified the relationship between cultural value diversity dimensions and multicultural teamwork performance. Therefore, this study provides empirical evidence for the organization in managing the teamwork performance when it contends with cultural differences.


The CyberKnife system uses Synchrony Motion Tracking to compensate for respiratory motion. This complex radiotherapy system needs independent performance verification to assure safe treatments. In this work, the RADPOS 4D dosimetry system is used to verify CyberKnife's motion tracking and delivered dose. RADPOS motion measurements are compared with Synchrony log files containing internal metal fiducial positions determined using orthogonal kV x-ray imaging, and external LED marker positions determined using a stereoscopic camera system. RADPOS dose measurements are compared with radiochromic film measurements and treatment planning system calculations. The standard deviation of the differences between RADPOS and LED measurements or RADPOS and fiducial measurements were <1 mm along all directions of motion. Percent comparisons between the treatment planning system, RADPOS, and film dose values were mostly within 2 standard deviations of experimental uncertainties. This work demonstrates that RADPOS is a useful tool for the independent quality assurance of CyberKnife treatments.


Over the last decades Internet traffic has grown dramatically. Besides the number of transfers, data sizes have risen as well. Traditional transfer protocols do not adapt to this evolution. Large-scale computational applications running on expensive parallel computers produce large amounts of data which often have to be transferred to weaker machines at the clients' premises. As parallel computers are frequently charged by the minute, it is indispensable to minimize the transfer time after computation succeeded to keep down costs. Consequently, the economic focus lies on minimizing the time to move away all data from the parallel computer whereas the actual time to arrival remains less (but still) important. This paper describes the design and implementation of a new transfer protocol, the Fast Send Protocol (FSP), which employs striping to intermediate nodes in order to minimize sending time and to utilize the sender's resources to a high extent.


In 1984, John Hughes wrote a seminal paper titled, "Why Functional Programming Matters," in which he eloquently explained the value of pure and lazy functional programming. Due to the increasing importance of the Web and the introduction of many-core machines, in the quarter of a century since the paper was written, the problems associated with imperative languages and their side effects have become increasingly evident. This talk argues that fundamentalist functional programming-that is, radically eliminating all side effects from programming languages, including strict evaluation-is what it takes to conquer the concurrency and parallelism dragon. Programmers must embrace pure, lazy functional programming "all the way"-with all effects apparent in the type system of the host language using monads. A radical paradigm shift is the answer, but does that mean that all current programmers will be lost along the way? Fortunately not! By design, LINQ is based on monadic principles, and the success of LINQ proves that the world does not fear the monads.


Using the linear-response method, we investigate the phonon properties of β-cristobalite crystal under electronic excitation effect. We find that the transverse-acoustic phonon frequency becomes imaginary as the electron temperature is increased, which means that the lattice of β-cristobalite becomes unstable under intense laser irradiation. In addition, for the optic phonon mode, the LO(H)–TO(H) splitting disappears when the electronic temperature reaches a certain value,corresponding to the whole transverse-acoustic phonon branches becoming negative. It means that the electronic excitation destroys the macroscopic electric field of β-cristobalite. Based on the calculated phonon band structures, some thermodynamic properties are calculated as a function of temperature at different electronic temperatures. These investigations provide evidence that non-thermal melting takes place during a femtosecond pulse laser interaction with β-cristobalite.


MicroRNA-191 (miR-191) is reported to be overexpressed in colorectal carcinoma (CRC), but the role of miR-191 in CRC progress remained unclear. This study demonstrated that High miR-191 expression was associated with clinical stage, lymph node metastasis, liver metastasis and depth of tumor invasion. Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that patients with high miR-191 expression had a poor overall survival. Moreover, multivariate analysis showed that miR-191 was an independent prognostic factor in patients with CRC. Furthermore, we found that tissue inhibitor of metalloprotease 3 (TIMP3) was a direct target of miR-191 in colorectal cancer SW620 cells. TIMP3 downregulation mediated by miR-191 activated matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and thus promoted invasiveness of cancer cells. Anti-miR-191 could attenuate the invasiveness, suppress proliferation and induce apoptosis by restoring TIMP3 expression. Our results suggested that miR-191 might be a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target in patients with colorectal cancer.


This paper presents the mechatronic design of the Gyrolift chair, a new type of wheelchair associated with a personal transporter and equipped with a verticalization system. The verticalization system is designed to help users to reach a standing posture. This module allows disabled people to move from the seated position to the standing position. Thanks to this system people can stand safely and interact with objects in the environment that cannot be reached from the seated postion. The major contribution of this research is the design of a mechatronic system, defined by the morphology of the user, to enable suitable verticalization. A biomechanical model is also detailed to define morphological trajectories for the embedded verticalisation system. Experiments were carried out to evaluate and validate the system.


Agave sisalana Perrine (family: Agavaceae), popularly known as Sisal is a commercially used fibre yielding plant. This herbaceous plant occupies sixth place among fibre plants, representing 2% of the world's production of plant fibre. Approximately 240.7 tonnes of sisal is globally produced. Sisal industry in India is largely unorganised. Sisal is mainly grown in arid and semi-arid regions across the various states in the country. Processing of the sisal leaves for fibre production generates vast quantity of juice which remains underutilized and thus can have negative environmental impact from its disposal. Research programmes driven by societal demand, aiming at evaluation of the agricultural / forestry byproducts in possible value-added applications, have increased significantly during the last decade. The chemical analysis of the juice was undertaken to find its possible utilization. The contents of water, ash, crude protein, total soluble sugars and inulin were determined. The potential of the juice for production of inulin was revealed. Inulin is widely used in functional foods for its health promoting properties. Storage of the juice at 4o C showed a considerable reduction in the inulin content and therefore, the use of fresh juice was suggested.


: Work passion plays an important role in workplace and individual life, and receives increasing concern. However, theoretical understanding, systematic reviews, and integrative models of research on work passion are lacking. In this article, we reviewed the existing research on work passion and presented a theoretical model systematically. The concept of work passion can be understood in three aspects according to different levels of specificity in study scope: in general level, in organizational field, and in specific entrepreneurial work context. This term includes three factors: affect, cognition and intention. Four main models related to work passion were discussed: the Dualistic Model of Passion, Conceptual Model of Employee Work Passion, Conceptual Model of the Experience of Entrepreneurial Passion, and Conceptual model of passion contagion. The empirical studies explore the work passion in source, outcomes, and influence mechanism. At last, we built on extant models and fragmented work to propose an integrative model of work passion, which could provide a systematic idea to work passion study.


Differential Privacy (DP) has become a gold standard in privacy-preserving data analysis. While it provides one of the most rigorous notions of privacy, there are many settings where its applicability is limited. Our main contribution is in augmenting differential privacy with {\em Flexible Accuracy}, which allows small distortions in the input (e.g., dropping outliers) before measuring accuracy of the output, allowing one to extend DP mechanisms to high-sensitivity functions. We present mechanisms that can help in achieving this notion for functions that had no meaningful differentially private mechanisms previously. In particular, we illustrate an application to differentially private histograms, which in turn yields mechanisms for revealing the support of a dataset or the extremal values in the data. Analyses of our constructions exploit new versatile composition theorems that facilitate modular design. All the above extensions use our new definitional framework, which is in terms of"lossy Wasserstein distance"-- a 2-parameter error measure for distributions. This may be of independent interest.


The authors deal with the notions of equivalence and appropriateness, and describe the divergence characteristics of categories under translation. Equivalence is considered as the quantitative correspondence of source text (ST) to target text (TT), while appropriateness is mentioned as the qualitative correspondence. Equivalent translation is seen in the sense of quantitative correspondence of source text and target text and their means of expression. The authors conclude that the quantitative comparison of ST and TT proves the fact of their prior nonequivalence, and sum up that it is connected with the so-called form of language and its means density. The article deals with the statement that translation might be formed among language groups that lexicalize the contents in a different way. The terms "translation" and "search for an equivalent" are differenciated. Naturalism or translation symmetry is defined as the cases of excessive attention of translators to formal part of their work; it is widely spread in the practice of translation. The terms "meaning" and "content" are mentioned in the following focus: meaning objectifies extralinguistic reality of the unit or text, content specifies intralinguistic one. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n27p1601


Objectives This study aimed to document the distribution of PFT outcomes among adult Omani patients. There is limited information regarding the distribution of pulmonary diseases (PD) in Oman. Pulmonary function test (PFT) outcome patterns could indicate an indirect distribution of PD. Methods This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from January to December 2015 at a tertiary hospital in Oman. A total of 1,118 adults referred for PFTs during this period were included. Results There were 605 (54.1%) female and 513 (45.9%) male patients. The mean age of the patients was 47.11 ± 18.1 years. Most patients underwent spirometry with reversibility (36.8%) or full lung function testing with reversibility (29.7%). Among the 1,064 patients with conclusive PFT outcomes, 39.9% had normal findings, 26.1% had obstructive defects, 19.6% demonstrated restrictive defects and 10.6% had mixed obstructive/restrictive defects. Conclusion This study generated important preliminary data regarding PFT outcomes (defects) in Omani patients.


With electric light accounting for about a quarter of the total energy used in U.S. office buildings (CBECS 2003), there is the potential for substantial energy savings through effective daylight design. However, the generic solar radiation and daylight control calculations in commonly used energy analysis software may be too crude to accurately account for the performance benefits of daylight design in buildings. Additionally, energy analysis tools do not address visual comfort and glare concerns which are critical to the success of a daylight design. Using currently available analysis tools, there is the potential to merge daylight and energy analysis to assess the effectiveness of daylight design strategies while accurately gauging the potential lighting energy savings. This integrated approach described in this paper entails a three step process using the analysis programs DAYSIM (Reinhart 2001, www.daysim.com), DOE-2.2 (www.doe2.com) and evalglare (Wienold 2004) to estimate energy performance and glare potential in buildings. This paper presents initial application of and results from an office building project that utilized an integrated daylight and energy analyses process. Results from the integrated process are compared against the conventional daylighting control calculation method in DOE-2.2, and the results show a meaningful difference in estimated energy savings between the two calculation methods. This paper also presents the results of a glare probability analysis of one office space.


Abstract With continued population growth and increasing use of fresh groundwater resources, protection of this valuable resource is critical. A cost effective means to assess risk of groundwater contamination potential will provide a useful tool to protect these resources. Integrating geospatial methods offers a means to quantify the risk of contaminant potential in cost effective and spatially explicit ways. This research was designed to compare the ability of intrinsic (DRASTIC) and specific (Attenuation Factor; AF) vulnerability models to indicate groundwater vulnerability areas by comparing model results to the presence of pesticides from groundwater sample datasets. A logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between the environmental variables and the presence or absence of pesticides within regions of varying vulnerability. According to the DRASTIC model, more than 20% of the study area is very highly vulnerable. Approximately 30% is very highly vulnerable according to the AF model. When groundwater concentrations of individual pesticides were compared to model predictions, the results were mixed. Model predictability improved when concentrations of the group of similar pesticides were compared to model results. Compared to the DRASTIC model, the AF model more accurately predicts the distribution of the number of contaminated wells within each vulnerability class.


The sensitivity of the near-surface weather variables and small-scale convection to soil moisture for Western Kentucky was investigated with the aide of the MM5 Penn State/NCAR mesoscale atmospheric model for three different synoptic conditions in June 2006. The model was initialized with FNL reanalysis from NCEP containing soil moisture data calculated with the Noah land surface model. Dry and wet experiments were performed in order to find the influence of soil moisture specification on boundary layer atmospheric variables. Dry experiments showed less available atmospheric moisture (between 2 and 6 g kg-1) at near-surface levels during all synoptic events consistent with slightly deeper boundary layers, higher lifting condensation levels and a larger Bowen ratio. As expected, precipitation rates were generally smaller than those of the control simulation. However, during a moderately strong synoptic event in early June, the dry experiments displayed larger precipitation rates compared to the control experiment (up to 5 mm in 3 hr) as the soil volumetric fraction was decreased from 0.05 to 0.15 (m3 m-3) with respect to the control simulation. Precipitation rates in wet experiments were also modulated by characteristics of synoptic conditions. In early June, precipitation rates slightly were larger than the control run (from 0.2 mm 3 h-1 to 1.4 mm 3 h-1) while in the other periods precipitation was reduced significantly. Both dry and wet anomaly experiments experienced reduced precipitation for different reasons. It was found, lifting condensation level, CAPE and low Bowen ratio were not sensitive markers of changes in soil moisture. Equivalent potential temperature was a better indicator of precipitation changes among all experiments. The controlling factor in these responses was the soil moisture content forcing vertical velocities. Thermodynamic conditions such as local stability played a less substantial role in controlling the precipitation processes. It was found that the response of planetary boundary layer variables under a variety of soil moisture conditions can be modified due to degree of synoptic forcing. Weak-to-moderate forcing favored convection while strong synoptic forcing tended to suppress it under dry soil moisture conditions. Wetter soils did not produce a response in horizontal wind fields as large as under the drier soils.


This paper addresses the community detection problem as one of the significant problems in the field of social network analysis. The goal of the community detection problem is to find sub-graphs of a network where they have high density of within-group connections, while they have a lower density of between-group connections. Due to high practical usage of community detection in scientific fields, many researchers developed different algorithms to meet various scientific requirements. However, single-objective optimization algorithms may fail to detect high quality communities of complex networks. In this paper, a novel multi-objective Multi-agent Optimization Algorithm, named the MAOA is proposed to detect communities of complex networks. The MAOA aims to optimize modularity and community score as objective functions, simultaneously. In the proposed algorithm, each feasible solution is considered as an agent and the MAOA organizes agents in multiple groups. The MAOA uses new search operators based on social, autonomous and selflearning behaviors of agents. Moreover, the MAOA uses the weighted sum method (WSM) in finding the global best agent and leader agent of each group. The Pareto solutions obtained by the MAOA is evaluated in terms of several performance measures. The results of the proposed method are compared with the outputs of three meta-heuristics. Experiments results based on five real-world networks show that the MAOA is more efficient in finding better communities than other methods.


This paper investigates numerically the influence of detached square vortex generator (VGs) on the heat transfer and pressure drop inside a square duct. Reynolds number is fixed at 5000. The geometrical parameters in this investigation are: i) The blocking ratios are 0.1, 0.15 and 0.2), ii) Vortex generator numbers are 1, 2, and 3), iii) Attack angles are 0, 30, and 45, iv) The aspect ratios are 1, 1.5 and 2. The numerical simulation is carried out using ANSYS FLUENT 15 . The results show that the rectangular vortex generators have a positive influence on heat transfer as a result of the augmentation in turbulence level. The maximum enhancement in average heat transfer could reach 40%. The heat transfer is found to increase with the blocking ratio. The heat transfer enhanced by 17% for one VG and 28% for 3 VGs for blocking ratio = 0.2. The VGs at angle value of 45° produce the highest heat transfer enhancement. The aspect ratio is found to have an adverse effect on heat transfer rate. Cite this article as: Mustafa J. A, Fadhil A K, Hamad F A. Numerical investigation of the heat transfer enhancement inside a square duct with rectangular vortex generators. J Ther Eng 2022;8(1):1–13.


Polyploidy poses several problems for parentage analysis. We present a new polysomic inheritance model for parentage analysis based on genotypes or allelic phenotypes to solve these problems. The effects of five factors are simultaneously accommodated in this model: (i) double-reduction, (ii) null alleles, (iii) negative amplification, (iv) genotyping errors and (v) self-fertilization. To solve genotyping ambiguity (unknown allele dosage), we developed a new method to establish the likelihood formulas for allelic phenotype data and to simultaneously include the effects of our five chosen factors. We then evaluated and compared the performance of our new method with three established methods by using both simulated data and empirical data from the cultivated blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum). We also developed and compared the performance of two additional estimators to estimate the geno-typing error rate and the sample rate. We make our new methods freely available in the software package polygene, at http://github.com/huangkang1987/polygene.


Network Management (NM) is concerned with reducing complexity and managing cost. The traditional NM tools and techniques are based on the Open System Interconnection (OSI) NM model. However, several drawbacks have been identified when managing a network using traditional NM tools (Sarkar & Verma, 2001). Network security is a major issue when managing a network. Even though the technology assists to reduce security risks, unless properly managed, the security measures may not do the job as expected. The State Model (SM) diagram is a new method, which may assists in managing the network. This new method may provide functionality not currently offered by current NM tools. Furthermore it may be possible to integrate the SM with NM tools. SM diagrams integrate relevant output from devices with protocol finite state information by means of tables. The diagrams are modu]ar and hierarchical thereby providing top down decomposition by means of levelling. Furthermore, their modular, hierarchical characteristics allow technical detail to be introduced in an integrated and controlled manner. The State Model Diagrams were evaluated as a network management tool by twenty participants. The results clearly demonstrated that these diagrams could be of value not only as a NM tool but also as a tool for network security management.


The problem of magneto-hydrodynamic flow and heat transfer of an electrically conducting non-Newtonian power-law fluid past a non-linearly stretching surface in the presence of a transverse magnetic field is considered. The stretching velocity, the temperature and the transverse magnetic field are assumed to vary in a power-law with the distance from the origin. The flow is induced due to an infinite elastic sheet which is stretched in its own plane. The governing equations are reduced to non-linear ordinary differential equations by means of similarity transformations. These equations are then solved numerically by an implicit finite-difference scheme known as Keller-Box method. The numerical solution is found to be dependent on several governing parameters, including the magnetic field parameter, power-law index, velocity exponent parameter, temperature exponent parameter, Modified Prandtl number and heat source/sink parameter. A systematic study is carried out to illustrate the effects of these parameters on the fluid velocity and the temperature distribution in the boundary layer. The results for the local skin-friction coefficient and the local Nusselt number are tabulated and discussed. The results obtained reveal many interesting behaviors that warrant further study on the equations related to non-Newtonian fluid phenomena.


The total reaction cross section is an essential quantity in particle and heavy-ion transport codes when determining the mean free path of a transported particle. Many transport codes determine the distance a particle is transported before it collides with the target or is stopped in the target material, with the Monte Carlo (MC) method using semiempirical parametrization models for the total reaction cross sections. In order to improve the well-known Kox and Shen models of total reaction cross sections and allow the models to be used at energies below 30 MeV/nucleon, we propose a modified parametrization of the transparency parameter. We also report that the Kox and Shen models have a projectile-target asymmetry and should be used so that the lighter nucleus is always treated as the projectile.


An investigation into the usage of the term "policy" suggests that the term is elusive owing to the very many ways it is used to refer to a highly diverse set of phenomena. This paper reviews conceptions explicated in education policy literature to provide conceptual insights into the meaning of the term and an understanding of the dynamics of the policy process. The traditional problem-solving definition views policy fundamentally as a thing, a guide and a document of some sort, containing a page or flips of pages indicating policy choices reached by policy makers and which policy implementers or actors are to follow in dealing with a recognised problem of concern, and is thus criticised for two main reasons. Firstly, the view is criticised for neglecting the socio-cultural dynamism of policy processes. Secondly, it is criticised for its implicit over-determinism. The process model pays attention to the social agency of the policy process and is thus criticised for not focusing on policymaking, but on understanding actor interactions within the process. Based on these explorations, and in gauging a working definition of policy, the paper adopts a theoretical eclecticism approach whereby education policy is conceptualised as neither the product of policy making nor a process, but both. Significantly, policy in this context is conceptualised as referring fundamentally to the exercise of power and the language that is used to legitimate the process.


Fatigue cracking is a primary form of distress in hot-mix asphalt. The long-term nature of fatigue due to repeated loading and aging and its required tie to pavement structure present challenges in terms of evaluating mixture resistance. This project focused on comparing stiffness and fatigue life output from two recently developed approaches that use repeated direct tension tests: the Modified Calibrated Mechanistic with Surface Energy (CMSE*) approach and the Push-Pull Viscoelastic Continuum Damage (PP-VECD) approach. The CMSE* and the PP-VECD approaches were applied to both laboratory and field specimens for two mixtures, one from SH 24 in the Paris (PAR) District and one from US 277 in the Laredo (LRD) District of the Texas Department of Transportation, and the results were compared. Both approaches can be used to characterize mixture fatigue resistance with relatively low variability. Based on stiffness, both approaches predict better resistance (lower stiffness) for the PAR mixture based on laboratory results but that the mixtures would have equivalent resistance based on field results for the CMSE* approach. There was also good agreement between laboratory and field specimens for the LRD mixture. The two approaches define fatigue failure in different ways, and thus the rankings of mixture resistance may be different. For the CMSE* approach, the stiffer LRD mixture based on laboratory specimens results in a longer fatigue life, while for the PP-VECD approach, this mixture results in a shorter fatigue life. In addition, the PP-VECD approach outputs significantly lower fatigue lives than the CMSE* approach does due to differences in the analysis including critical strain values and accumulation of damage. The CMSE* approach only requires a single test sequence, and thus fewer resources in terms of specimens and time are needed. However, the PP-VECD approach is more user friendly in terms of the analysis, and some of the required inputs (E*) can be used to evaluate mixture resistance to other distresses. Field specimens can be tested and analyzed using both approaches. Ultimately, the laboratory approach used should tie to field performance.


Pursuing accurate and robust recognizers has been a long-lasting goal for scene text recognition (STR) researchers. Recently, attention-based methods have demonstrated their effectiveness and achieved impressive results on public benchmarks. The attention mechanism enables models to recognize scene text with severe visual distortions by leveraging contextual information. However, recent studies revealed that the implicit over-reliance of context leads to catastrophic out-of-vocabulary performance. On the contrary to the superior accuracy of the seen text, models are prone to misrecognize unseen text even with good image quality. We propose a novel framework, Context-based contrastive learning (ConCLR), to alleviate this issue. Our proposed method first generates characters with different contexts via simple image concatenation operations and then optimizes contrastive loss on their embeddings. By pulling together clusters of identical characters within various contexts and pushing apart clusters of different characters in embedding space, ConCLR suppresses the side-effect of overfitting to specific contexts and learns a more robust representation. Experiments show that ConCLR significantly improves out-of-vocabulary generalization and achieves state-of-the-art performance on public benchmarks together with attention-based recognizers.


This work describes an innovative approach to preparation of the highly controlled drug delivery materials that involves a self-assembly process at the molecular level based upon the silicified L3 phase silicates and thermoresponsive PNIPAm integrated L3 phase silicates. The materials designed by the integration of thermosensitive polymer have been prepared and demonstrated for the highly controlled drug releasing system over a longer period of time due to their high degree of continuity and contigunity in 3-D interconnected porous structure. This approach is suitable for long term drug delivery systems with constant release in hard tissue engineering due to nanodiffusion mechanism. The structural characterization was achieved by TEM, SEM, SAXD, solid-state 29Si NMR, and BET.


We start off this paper with a brief introduction to modeling Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS) amongst sharing, injecting drug users (IDUs). Then we describe the
mathematical model which we shall use which extends an existing
model of the spread of HIV and AIDS amongst IDUs by
incorporating loss of HIV infectivity over time. This is followed by
the derivation of a key epidemiological parameter, the basic
reproduction number $sf(R)_0$. Next we give some analytical equilibrium,
local and global stability results. We show that if $sf(R)_0 \le 1$ then
the disease will always die out. For $sf(R)_0 > 1$ there is the
disease-free equilibrium (DFE) and a unique endemic equilibrium. The
DFE is unstable. An approximation argument
shows that we expect the endemic equilibrium to be locally stable. We next discuss a more
realistic version of the model, relaxing the assumption that the number
of addicts remains constant and obtain some results for this model.
The subsequent section gives simulations for both models confirming that if $sf(R)_0 \le 1$ then
the disease will die out and if $sf(R)_0 > 1$ then if it is initially present the disease will tend
to the unique endemic equilibrium. The simulation results are compared with the original model with no
loss of HIV infectivity. Next the implications of these results for control strategies are considered. A
brief summary concludes the paper.