Distillation system using direct solar energy, often called solar still, has been considered as the environmentally friendly system in utilizing solar energy. In this study, double slope solar still has been fabricated with galvanis basin for the test solution and also the addition of fresnel lens solar collector. The issues to be discussed include how much the average distilled water (distilant) can be produced from the system, so that the result can be compared to the theoretically distilant for obtaining an efficiency of the distillation system that has been fabricated. In distilant composition testing, salinity testing performed in both test solution (NaCl solution) and distilant, so it can be seen the reduction in salinity in the distillation process on the system. The measurement was conducted in May 2014, the average solar irradiation was recorded in the range 309.4 574.4 Watt/m 2 and a system efficiency is obtained around 68,2%. In salinity testing, the result showed that the salinity of distilant decreased by 96.42% compared to the test solution.


Karen's parents have always argued, and lately they've been getting worse. But when her father announces that they're going to get divorced, it seems as if Karen's whole world will fall apart. Her brother, Jeff, blames their mum. Her kid sister, Amy, asks impossible questions and is scared that everyone she loves is going to leave. Karen just wants her parents to get back together. Gradually, she learns that this isn't going to happen -- and realizes that divorce is not the end of the world.


Colorectal cancer (CRC) is among the top three cancers worldwide in terms of incidence and associated mortality. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is responsible for more than 880,000 deaths annually. The number of of CRC cases worldwide continues to increase, posing a serious threat to human health. Surgery and chemotherapy are the first treatments for CRC patients. The majority of CRC patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, as symptoms are usually not apparent and difficult to diagnose in the early stage. The prognosis of metastatic CRC (mCRC) has long been unsatisfactory. Targeted drugs therapy, which targeting at specific genes and proteins, is a new treatment approach to CRC. Cetuximab is one of the most widely studied targeted drugs. By competitively binding to the epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR), cetuximab inhibits the EGF and binding of the EGF ligand to the EGFR, thereby inhibiting tumor cell growth, invasion, and metastasis and inducing tumor cell apoptosis. The curative effect of cetuximab as a treatment for many kinds of tumors, especially mCRC, has been confirmed. Cetuximab combined with chemotherapy or monotherapy is used as first-line treatment in patients with RAS(rat sarcoma,Ras) wild-type mCRC. However, adverse drug reactions (ADRs) associated with the clinical application of cetuximab are attracting increasing attention, with numerous studies reporting adverse effects of cetuximab on the gastrointestinal system, with these effects having adverse consequences for the prognosis of CRC. In this review, we focus mainly on gastrointestinal disasters on cetuximab treatment for mCRC from three areas: the intestinal mucosal barrier (IMB), gut microbiota (GM)-host immune balance, and bacterial metabolites short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and the impact of these effects on the prognosis of mCRC. We also make suggestions aimed at aiding oncological understanding of cetuximab as a treatment for mCRC. Keywords: Bacterial metabolites, cetuximab, colorectal cancer, gut microbiota-host immune balance, gastrointestinal disasters


The structural, optical, magnetic, and electrical properties of sol–gel-derived Ti1−xFexO2 (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.05) nanoparticles were investigated. Rietveld refinement of the X-ray diffraction data and TEM measurements were carried out to analyze the crystalline structure and quality of all the samples. Raman spectroscopy revealed a decrease in intensity and broadening of the characteristics peaks of Fe-doped TiO2 with respect to those of the pristine sample, which signifies a structural distortion of the lattices. FT-IR, UV-vis, and PL spectroscopy were used to investigate the optical properties. Magnetic measurements showed a weak ferromagnetism at room temperature in both the pristine and Fe-doped TiO2 (x = 0, 0.02, and 0.05) nanoparticles. Temperature-dependent resistivity measurements showed the semiconducting nature of the samples and revealed that the thermally activated conduction (Arrhenius) mechanism is valid in the high-temperature region, whereas Mott variable range hopping (VRH) mechanism is valid in the low-temperature region. Dielectric properties of the samples were studied as a function of temperature in the frequency range of 1 kHz to 1 MHz.


Equations developed for isoperibolic electrochemical calorimetry were tested for the electrolysis of D2O in an open calorimetric cell. The derivatives of these equations gave correct values within the experimental error range for the important rate of change of the cell temperature with time (dT/dt). In addition, these calorimetric equations were also tested directly in determining the enthalpy change (ΔH) for the D2O electrolysis reaction. The mean experimental value at 298.15 K was ΔH = 294.4 ± 0.3 kJ/mole. This compares favorably (within 0.10%) with the literature value of ΔH = 294.600 kJ/mole. The accuracy of these ΔH measurements could be even further improved by more accurate cell voltage and cell temperature measurement.


This paper uses data from the British National Child Development Study to investigate the relationship between social interaction and participation in the stock market through holding stocks and/or shares at the individual level. In accordance with the existing literature, the results reveal that a positive relationship exists between social interaction and stock market participation, when both are measured concurrently. Furthermore, this relationship prevails across a range of measures of social interaction and social capital. In addition, we make a potentially important contribution to the existing literature by exploiting the panel nature of the data in order to explore the robustness of the cross-sectional findings. We find that the positive relationship between stock market participation and social interaction prevails within a fixed effects logit framework, which controls for time invariant unobserved effects.


The seven human APOBEC3 enzymes (APOBEC3A through H, excluding E) are host restriction factors. Most of the APOBEC3 enzymes can restrict HIV-1 replication with different efficiencies. The HIV-1 Vif protein combats APOBEC3-mediated restriction by inducing ubiquitination and degradation in the proteasome. APOBEC3F and APOBEC3G can hetero-oligomerize, which increases their restriction capacity and resistance to Vif. Here we determined if APOBEC3C, APOBEC3F, or APOBEC3G could hetero-oligomerize with APOBEC3H haplotype I. APOBEC3H haplotype I has a short half-life in cells due to ubiquitination and degradation by host proteins, but is also resistant to Vif. We hypothesized that hetero-oligomerization with APOBEC3H haplotype I may result in less Vif-mediated degradation of the interacting APOBEC3 and stabilize APOBEC3H haplotype I, resulting in more efficient HIV-1 restriction. Although we found that all three APOBEC3s could interact with APOBEC3H haplotype I, only APOBEC3F affected APOBEC3H haplotype I by surprisingly accelerating its proteasomal degradation. However, this increased APOBEC3F levels in cells and virions in the absence or presence of Vif and enabled APOBEC3F-mediated restriction of HIV-1 in the presence of Vif. Altogether, the data suggest that APOBEC3 enzymes can co-regulate each other at the protein level and that they cooperate to ensure HIV-1 inactivation rather than evolution.


New COCORP deep seismic reflection profiles from the Montana plains between the Rocky Mountains and the Williston basin image the crystalline continental basement of the Archean Wyoming cratonic province on a regional scale. The crust is, in general, reflective throughout its entire thickness. West of the Williston basin, the crust-mantle boundary is at the base of the reflective zone and is not marked by the presence of any distinctive reflections. The lowermost crust beneath the Williston basin is, in contrast, characterized by a prominent, laterally extensive zone of relatively high-amplitude reflections. If, as the spatial correlation suggest, the anomalously reflective lower crustal zone is causally related to the subsidence of the basin, then the data place constraints in addition to those of the sedimentary record on physical models for the evolution of the Williston basin.


Ectopic thyroid tissue (ETT) is a rare entity and a challenging differential diagnosis. This is a report of a case of a mediastinal mass that was found to be an ectopic mediastinal thyroid tissue, in a 77-year-old woman who was admitted to our hospital for breast cancer management. The mediastinal mass was identified in the postsurgical computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest and was suspected as mediastinal lymph node metastasis. A CT-guided percutaneous transthoracic punch biopsy (CT-TPB) proved to be an adequate diagnostic tool to exclude malignancy and provide a definite diagnosis of the mediastinal mass. We find that CT-guided punch biopsy as a useful diagnostic alternative enabling histopathological specimens to be obtained from mediastinal masses and lymph nodes suspected of malignancy.


This article discusses accommodation supporting geotourism in Batur Geotourism Site in Bangli Regency, Bali Province in Indonesia. The purpose of the study is to identify the type and standard of accommodation available in Batur. It used a qualitative approach using a combination of interview and observation as data collection techniques. Interviews were carried out with a total of 30 respondents consisting of: the lodging providers, community members and community leaders, which were conducted at the location of each property in the tourist destination of Batur. The results showed that there were four types on accommodation available in Batur, such as: homestay, villa/guest-house, two – three-star hotel, and boutique hotel. It is expected that the results of the study could be used as a reference by geotourism stakeholders in providing accommodation services, especially for the overnight-visitors in Batur. Academically, the implication of the research results enriches the existing studies on tourism, especially those associated with accommodation on Geotourism.


A techno-economic analysis was completed to compare the use of Hollow Fiber Membrane Modules (HFMM) with the more conventional structured packing columns as the absorber in amine-based CO2capture systems for power plants. In order to simulate the operation of industrial scale HFMMsystems, a two-dimensional model was developed and validated based on results of a laboratory scale HFMM. After successful experiments and validation of the model, a pilot scaleHFMMwas constructed and simulated with the same model. The results of the simulations, from both sizes of HFMM, were used to assess the feasibility of further up-scaling to a HFMM system to capture the CO2from an 800 MWe power plant. The system requirements – membrane fiber length, total contact surface area, and module volume – were determined from simulations and used for an economic comparison with structured packing columns. Results showed that a significant cost reduction of at least 50% is required to make HFMM competitive with structured packing columns. Several factors for the design of industrial scale HFMMrequire further investigation, such as the optimal aspect ratio (module length/diameter), membrane lifetime, and casing material and shape, in addition to the need to reduce the overall cost. However,HFMMwere also shown to have the advantages of having a higher contact surface area per unit volume and modular scale-up, key factors for applications requiring limited footprints or flexibility in configuration.


This thesis consists of five essays on labor market dynamics.Essay I examines job tenure in Sweden over the period from the late 1960s and up to the end of the century. We investigate job tenure over time and how it varies across different labor force categories. On average, men have stayed with the same employer for about ten years and women for seven and a half years. While this average is rather unchanged for men during the period, it has increased for women. We find that the average actual tenure for full-time workers has remained stable over time, but has increased for part-time workers. Information on actual job tenure is used to derive the distribution of eventual tenure, i.e., the sum of actual tenure and projected remaining time in the same firm. Some aspects of job tenure in 1991 are also compared to other OECD countries. Essay II examines the determinants of quits, layoffs and job duration by means of survival analysis applied to Swedish household survey data from the mid-1980s and mid-1990s. We find marked age and tenure effects, especially during the 1980s. The estimated models are used to characterize waiting times until a worker quits or is laid off. We find a decrease in the incidence of overall job separations between the two observation periods. Moreover, when analyzing separations by reason, we find evidence of a shift from quits towards involuntary job loss during the early 1990s.Essay III (with Kenneth Carling and Bertil Holmlund) investigates the effects of unemployment insurance on the duration of unemployment spells. In June 1995, the Swedish parliament decided to cut the replacement rate in unemployment insurance from 80 percent to 75 percent, a change that took effect on January 1, 1996. This paper examines how this change affected job finding rates among unemployed insured individuals. To identify the effect of the policy we exploit a quasi-experimental feature of the benefit cut: only a fraction of the unemployed was affected by the reduction in replacement rates. We compare the evolution of job finding rates before and after the reform among those affected and those not affected. Our estimates suggest that the reform caused an increase in the transition rate of roughly 10 percent. There is also evidence of anticipatory behavior among the unemployed; the effects of the reform seem to operate several months before its actual implementation in January 1996.Essay IV (with Bertil Holmlund) presents an aggregate "flow portrait" of the Swedish labor market by using time series data on labor force transitions between employment, unemployment and out-of-the-labor force. We are particularly concerned with the cyclical and dynamic characteristics of the flows and the implied dynamics of the stocks. Transition rate models are estimated and used to simulate the labor market responses to an adverse macroeconomic shock. We find, inter alia, that an adverse shock triggers an increase in the level of inflows to unemployment that is followed by a rise in the level of outflows, i.e., both inflows and outflows are markedly countercyclical. The rise in nonparticipation observed during the 1990s is partly a cyclical phenomenon but there is in addition a trend rise in exit rates to nonparticipation from both employment and unemployment. Analogously, the substantial increase in temporary (fixed-term) employment observed over the decade is in part a result of the recession but there also seem to be more structural forces involved that may survive under favorable labor market conditions. Essay V (with Fredrik Andersson) studies the determinants of plant closure in Swedish Manufacturing using linked employer-employee data. From our theoretical framework we derive and empirically test hypothesis regarding the linkages between the probability of plant failure and: 1) industry specific characteristics of production and product demand; 2) local labor market conditions and 3) plant-specific sources of heterogeneity, including the importance of insider mechanisms in wage determination, plant specific human capital, selection mechanisms and technology vintage effects. Our results suggest that all these factors are important determinants of plant closures.


Psoriatic disease is associated with increased cardiovascular risk through mechanisms of inflammation and oxidative stress.

 We aimed to investigate endothelial glycocalyx, coronary microcirculatory function and flow-mediated dilation in patients with plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

 In 311 patients (mean age: 52±12 years) with psoriatic disease (185 with plaque psoriasis and 126 with psoriatic arthritis) and 150 controls with similar age, sex and atherosclerotic risk factors, we assessed: (1) Perfused boundary region (PBR) of the sublingual microvessels with a diameter 5–25μm using Sidestream Dark Field camera (Microscan, Glycocheck). Increased PBR indicates impaired glycocalyx integrity. (2) Coronary flow reserve (CFR) in the distal left anterior descending coronary artery, (3) Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery, and (4) LV global longitudinal strain (GLS) using speckle-tracking echocardiography.

 Compared with controls, patients with psoriatic disease had higher PBR (2.14±0.29 versus 1.78±0.25μm, p<0.001) and lower CFR (2.86±0.93 versus 3.39±0.68, p<0.001), FMD (6.97±3.9 versus 9.1±2.1, p<0.001) and GLS (−17.4±3.8 versus −21.9±1.5%, p<0.001). There was not significant difference between the two study groups (plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis) in PBR (2.14±0.28 versus 2.14±0.31μm, p=0.990) and GLS (−17.2±3.9 versus −17.6±3.8%, p=0.297). Patients with psoriatic arthritis had more impaired CFR (2.75±0.85 versus 2.96±0.99, p=0.045) and FMD (5.45±3.2 versus 7.76±4, p=0.003) compared to patients with plaque psoriasis.

 Patients with psoriatic disease have impaired endothelial, vascular and myocardial function compared with controls. Coronary microcirculatory function and flow-mediated dilation are more affected in psoriatic arthritis compared with plaque psoriasis.

 Type of funding sources: None.


Performing a series of simulations of asteroid impacts using the SAGE code, the authors attempt to estimate the effect of tsunamis and other important environmental events. The code they developed treats multiple fluids with different equations of state and different constitutive models for material strength. The adaptive mesh can refine based on a number of criteria including gradients in physical conditions or material properties. The code uses MPI for portability among many parallel-processing platforms, but hides much of this interface in a library that gives the programmer maximum flexibility. The authors' ocean impact simulations have as a goal the estimation of impact-generated tsunami events as a function of the size and energy of the projectile, partly to aid further studies of potential threats from modest-sized Earth-crossing asteroids. The authors also present a preliminary report on a simulation of the impact that created the Chicxulub crater in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, widely believed to be responsible for the mass extinctions at the end of the Cretaceous period. They also report on progress in developing better constitutive models for the geological materials involved in this impact and in cratering processes in general.


Maintaining a balance between practical solutions and the theoretical considerations involved in HPLC analysis, this volume uses real-life examples likely to be found within a forensic science laboratory to explain HPLC from a forensic science perspective. Focusing on reverse phase HPLC mode of separation, each chapter includes a key point summary, a series of questions (where appropriate) and a list of books and journal articles to give further insight into the topics covered. The text is appropriate for first time users as well as those pursuing post-graduate study or in the early stages of their forensic analysis career.


In this paper, full bottom dielectric isolation (BDI) is first demonstrated on horizontally stacked Nanosheet device structures with Lmetal 12 nm. The comparison of full BDI scheme vs punch through stopper (PTS) scheme has been systematically studied. By comparing off-state leakage current, short channel behavior and effective capacitance (Ceff) for both schemes, we show that BDI could potentially provide: 1) good immunity of sub-channel leakage due to process variation (from parasitic "fat-Fin" which is unique in Nanosheet structure); 2) power-performance co-optimization.


Hazelnuts ( Corylus L.) are the source of one of the globally most important nut crops. Despite their economic and cultural importance, taxonomic knowledge is poor, even the number of species is equivocal. Weak morphological differentiation, the inconsistent taxonomic treatment of horticultural selections and cultivars, and uncritical regional treatments generated a multitude of names. The situation is further complicated by an ancient history of use (at least 10 400 years), trade (at least 4000 years) and domestication (at least 2000 years). Here, we present an annotated checklist of the taxa in the genus Corylus based on an extensive literature review, electronic database research, and visits to some European herbaria. Full citations are given for all names, typifications are provided for the majority of them. Cultivars are listed if described under the rules of the ICN. We designate lectotypes and neotypes for 28 names, and discuss the identity of enigmatic C. maxima Mill., a taxon not known from the wild.


Trade unions have repeatedly been challenged by neoliberal programmes implemented within Member States of the European Union (EU) and at the European level. The twenty-seven country chapters at the core of this book chart the features of the neoliberal challenge in the EU Member States and the measures implemented by unions in their attempts to adapt to changed circumstances since 2000. It is clear that union activity, either independently or in conjunction with allies, will be at the centre of revitalization campaigns if the pieces left from the neoliberal challenges are to be picked up and wielded into a coherent response.
This book offers a comprehensive comparative overview of the development, structure, and policies of national trade union movements in the EU. It presents an in-depth analysis of the challenges facing these organizations and their strategic and policy responses from 2000 to 2020.


Objective This study evaluated the resistance to cyclic fatigue and the torsional strength of Prima One Gold® and WaveOne Gold® reciprocating systems. Methods Cyclic fatigue was tested in an artificial canal with 60º curvature, a 5 mm radius of curvature at 22°C (n=10) and 36.5°C (n=10). The torsional strength test followed ISO 3630-1, measuring torque and deflection angle until fracture (n=10). The t-test was used to compare the two groups, and the significance level was set at 5%. Results The Prima One Gold group presented greater resistance to cyclic fatigue at room temperature (P=0.001) and body temperature (P<0.001). For the torsional resistance test, the Prima One Gold group had a lower maximum torque value (P=0.029), despite having a greater deflection angle (P<0.001). Conclusion The Prima One Gold group showed greater resistance to cyclic fatigue regardless of temperature and a greater deflection angle. The WaveOne Gold group showed a greater maximum torque value than the Prima One Gold group.


Entrepreneurs are now internationalising, and many more are likely to internationalise in the future. Yet, most small firms expand in an opportunistic fashion, because entrepreneurs seldom have the time and resources to gather reliable data about opportunities in foreign countries. Leo-Paul Dana has conducted extensive international field research with a view to compiling key information on the business environment throughout Pacific Asia. Thus, the book is not just another "how to" guide. It reflects what is happening in an important region of our global economy. With this book, businessmen and business analysts, investors, academics and business students will gain invaluable insights into the conditions and opportunities for enterprise in these countries in this region.


Objective. Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune chronic fibrotic disorder. Urotensin II (U-II) is predominantly a vasoactive peptide with fibrotic and prothrombotic features. Like endothelin-1 (ET-1), U-II could play an important role in SSc pathogenesis. We evaluated the possible role of the U-II gene polymorphisms (Thr21Met and Ser89Asn) in the genetic susceptibility to SSc in a Turkish population. Methods.A total of 189 patients with SSc and 205 healthy controls were enrolled in our study. We analyzed the genotype and allele frequencies of the U-II (UTS2) gene polymorphisms Thr21Met and Ser89Asn in patients with SSc and in controls. Results.We found that the Thr21Met polymorphism of the UTS2 gene was markedly associated with the risk of developing SSc (p < 0.0001), but there was no relationship between the Ser89Asn polymorphism and SSc (p > 0.05). Two haplotypes (MS and TS) were markedly associated with SSc (p < 0.05). There were significant associations between the genotype and allele frequencies of UTS2 gene Thr21Met polymorphism and cases with diffuse or limited SSc, systemic or lung involvement, finger flexion deformity, pitting scars at the fingertips, positive anticentromere, or positive antitopoisomerase 1 antibody groups. Conclusion. Our study shows the association between Thr21Met, but not Ser89Asn, in the UTS2 gene and SSc. The results strongly suggest that this single-nucleotide polymorphism may be an important risk factor in the development of SSc, and a powerful indicator of severe skin and lung involvement in patients with SSc. (First Release Nov 1 2011; J Rheumatol 2012;39:106–11; doi:10.3899/jrheum.110509)


In the 1970s motion picture studios increased their use of blind bidding and non-refundable guarantees in an attempt to reduce the risks associated with producing a small number of large budget films. However, theater owners claimed that blind bidding and guarantees shifted risk to them and increased the likelihood of bankruptcy, since they were required to bid for the right to exhibit a movie without seeing it first. In response to the lobbying of theater owners, twenty-four states passed laws between 1978 and 1984 that banned blind bidding, while seven states also banned non-refundable guarantees. This paper provides the first empirical analysis of the conflicting claims made by theater owners and movie studios about the impact of these laws on the survival rates of independent theaters, admission prices, and delays in the release of movies. We find that the laws were not only ineffective in keeping theater owners at risk of bankruptcy from exiting the market; they may have been even detrimental to those theater owners converting theaters to multiplexes at that time.


Objectives: To assess use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) by HIV positive pregnant women in London since 1994 and the risk of congenital abnormalities associated with multidrug exposure during the first trimester of pregnancy. Methods: Retrospective multicentre study of medical, obstetric, and paediatric notes of all mother-infant pairs, where the mother was known to be HIV infected before delivery, using a standardised proforma. Results: In this study of 195 mother-infant pairs, use of ART during any stage of pregnancy increased from 33.3% in 1994 to 92.5% in 1999 (p=0.01, trend). First trimester exposure increased from 0% in 1994 to 27.5% in 1999 (p=0.00045, trend). Congenital malformations were observed in nine infants (4.6%). Compared with infants not exposed to ART or folate antagonists during the first trimester (n=148), exposure to both ART and folate antagonists during the first trimester (n=13) was associated with an increased risk of congenital abnormalities (4% v 23.1%; OR 7.10, 95% CI 1.5, 34.2). No malformations were observed in the 34 children exposed to either ART or folate antagonists alone during the first trimester. Conclusion: An increasing number of HIV infected women conceived while on ART. Although there is no evidence of teratogenicity caused by ART if given alone during the first trimester, exposure to the combination of ART and folate antagonists was associated with a significantly higher risk of congenital abnormalities in this cohort.


OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to determine rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients' preferences for validated health state scenarios depicting glucocorticoid adverse events, predictors of these preferences, and psychometric properties of different preference techniques in this population.

METHODS
Preferences were elicited by rating scale and time trade-off methods. Time trade-offs included trading current health for either time spent alive in an adverse health state for chronic conditions (time trade-off) or time spent in a sleeplike state for acute conditions (sleep trade-off).

RESULTS
A total of 107 subjects with long-standing RA participated in the preference interviews. Mean preference values (rating scale/trade-off) were lowest for serious fracture adverse events, including hip fracture requiring a nursing home stay (0.55+/-0.22/0.76+/-0.36) and vertebral fracture with chronic pain (0.59+/-0.23/0.67+/-0.35), and highest for cataracts (0.84 + 0.17/0.96 0.09) and wrist fracture (0.82+/-0.18/0.81+/-0.29). Rating scales had a stronger correlation (r= 0.88) with physician ranking of scenarios than trade-off methods (r = 0.31). All methods were feasible and demonstrated good reliability, while rating scale method showed better construct validity than trade-off techniques.

CONCLUSION
Relative to their current health, RA patients assigned low preference values to many glucocorticoid adverse events, particularly those associated with chronic fracture outcomes. Results varied with the preference measure used, indicating that methodological attributes of preference determinations must be considered in clinical decision making.


The application of lasers in clinical dental practice is becoming increasingly popular, because of the painless, time-saving, and easy-handling treatment of teeth. However, it is still not clear what really happens with the atomic structure of hydroxyapatite under laser irradiation. To study this issue, different spatial areas of laser-treated human enamel and synthetic hydroxyapatite were investigated by Raman and attenuated total reflectance infrared micro-spectroscopy. The laser-treatment parameters were close to those used in clinical practice. The spectra were collected from spatial areas showing different laser-induced morphological alteration. Inside the laser crater anhydrous calcium phosphate phases are formed, as the degree of structural transformation depends on the applied laser power. In the periphery of the laser spot an exchange of CO3 2- to CO2 occurs. When higher laser power is applied, an exchange of molecular groups embedded in hydroxyapatite was detected. In addition, the enhancement of the IR absorption typical for grain-surface OH groups suggests a decrease in the long-range order of apatite crystallites in the periphery of the laser spot. Comparison of spectroscopic data on laser- and thermallytreated enamel reveals that inside and in the vicinity of the laser impact region the temperature can reach 1100 K and 700K, respectively. The utilization of super-pulse rather than continuous-wave irradiation mode results in a higher degree of structural alteration and inhomogeneity.


Purpose: Shared Reality Theory (SRT) stipulates that humans are relationally and epistemologically motivated to create a shared reality about a target referent with others. Furthermore, a shared reality with significant others is argued to be a verification of worthwhile goals and the means to achieve them. It may therefore be argued that SRT holds potential for studying the reciprocity in the coach-athlete relationship and understand what makes the co-operation effective. The purpose of the present study is to investigate how and to which extent the coach and athlete share reality about performance development.
Design: Six female elite junior swimmers (Mage=14.8 years) and their head coach were interviewed using semi-structured interviews (Mtime=39.9 minutes). A thematic analysis was applied on the transcripts.
Results: The coach reported a sincere wish of coaching in adherence to the athletes' interests. However, as he coached several athletes, it was difficult to know the different athletes' interests without athletes conveying them. Thus, an important finding was the importance of honesty and directedness from the athletes when communicating with their coach, together with athletes taking initiative to communication. Athletes who reported this behavior achieved to a greater extent a shared reality with their coach about performance development.
Conclusion: A shared reality in a coach-athlete relationship occurs when the coach and athlete have agreed on which goals to pursue and the means to reach them, and when there is a common understanding on why the goals and means are as they are. To achieve this, honest communication is key.Acknowledgments: Dr. Bard Erlend Solstad, Dr. Camilla J. Knight, & Dr. Pierre-Nicolas Lemyre.


The concerns for education sustainability have prompted debates, brainstorming, dialogues and legislations world over. The outcome of these endeavors has, in a way, favored the reduction of 'unemployment and unemployables' syndromes and engendered sustainability in the face of economic development forces. These syndromes have been linked to curriculum issues and educational pedagogic processes. The Nigerian education policy (NPE) stakeholders need to consider the upsurge of some other policy statements and intentions by other interest groups; which include the education strategic Plan for tertiary institution in Nigeria (ESP), 'education for all' (EFA), Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Vision 20:2020, and Decades on Education for Sustainable Development (DESD2005-2014). This study performed critical evaluation and appraisal of development issues as highlighted in the policy statements. The analysis showed that the status quo of education curriculum is yet to have an ideology of its own when compared to the index of educational sustainability globally. Further to this, some hindrances impinging on the policy-curriculum's realization were identified.These were identified and discussed along with suggestions and legal proposals which may aid the Vocational and Technical Education (VTE)-Dieted Policy-curriculum implementation and development


Low power impulse radio-ultra wide band(IRUWB) receivers have potential application in the area of wireless sensor networks. In this paper the possibility of super-regenerative receivers for pulse detection is demonstrated. The super-regenerative receiver is implemented in a 0.18 mum CMOS process for a 500 MHz bandwidth (-3 dB) centered at 3.8 GHz. The receiver is operating at 1.5 V and consumes a peak current of 7.5 mA. The receiver shows a 16.5 mV amplitude difference between the presence and absence of a pulse at an average received power of -91.3 dBm at a pulse repetition rate of 1 MHz.


Abstract Objective This study aimed to develop predictive models of three aspects of psychotherapists' acceptance of telepsychotherapy (TPT) during the COVID‐19 pandemic, attitudes towards TPT technology, concerns about using TPT technology and intention to use TPT technology in the future. Method Therapists (n = 795) responded to a survey about their TPT experiences during the pandemic, including quality of the therapeutic relationship, professional self‐doubt, vicarious trauma and TPT acceptance. Regression decision tree machine learning analyses were used to build prediction models for each of three aspects of TPT acceptance in a training subset of the data and subsequently tested in the remaining subset of the total sample. Results Attitudes towards TPT were most positive for therapists who reported a neutral or strong online working alliance with their patients, especially if they experienced little professional self‐doubt and were younger than 40 years old. Therapists who were most concerned about TPT were those who reported higher levels of professional self‐doubt, particularly if they also reported vicarious trauma experiences. Therapists who reported low working alliance with their patients were least likely to use TPT in the future. Performance metrics for the decision trees indicated that these three models held up well in an out‐of‐sample dataset. Conclusions Therapists' professional self‐doubt and the quality of their working alliance with their online patients appear to be the most pertinent factors associated with therapists' acceptance of TPT technology during COVID‐19 and should be addressed in future training and research.


In the max-log-MAP decoding algorithm, the branch metrics are modified by weighting a-priori values by a suitable scaling factor, resulting in a significant BER improvement. Using integer arithmetic and proper hardware management, an efficient implementation of a turbo decoder based on the modified form of max-log-MAP algorithm is proposed. All internal metrics are represented and operated on integers, avoiding complex calculation seen in floating and fixed-point arithmetic. The turbo decoder is implemented by a careful manipulation of the hardware with a single decoder structure without any interleaving and de-interleaving delay, resulting high data throughput with very low FPGA resource utilization. The final FPGA design consumes approximately 695 mW to achieve throughput of more than 1 Mbps with eight iterations. With channel inputs of only 3 bits (8 levels), the integer version of turbo decoder results in less than 0.5 dB loss of E/sub b//N/sub o/ from the optimal floating point turbo decoder.


In this study, an attempt has been made to optimize cutting parameters (cutting speed, depth of cut, and feed rate) in conventional turning operations. A Taguchi orthogonal array (L933) was used in surface roughness optimization of a solid round bar of mild steel material. The experimental runs were randomized; two skilled machinists were involved in the turning operation using the same machining parameters. ANOVA analysis was performed to identify the percentage contribution of the factors affecting surface roughness during machining. The optimal cutting combination was determined by using the signal-to-noise ratio and the following results were obtained; speed (level 2) = 55.m/min, depth of cut (level 3) = 0.08mm, and feed rate (levels 3) = at 0.08mm/rev. A prediction of surface roughness was carried out using the optimal setting followed by a confirmatory test on the lathe. The result shows that the confirmatory runs compared favourably (96.44%) with the predicted surface roughness.


The strength of a dynamic language is also its weakness: run-time flexibility comes at the cost of compile-time predictability. Many of the hallmarks of dynamic languages such as closures, continuations, various forms of reflection, and a lack of static types make many programmers rejoice, while compiler writers, tool developers, and verification engineers lament. The dynamism of these features simply confounds statically reasoning about programs that use them. Consequently, static analyses for dynamic languages are few, far between, and seldom sound. The "abstracting abstract machines" (AAM) approach to constructing static analyses has recently been proposed as a method to ameliorate the difficulty of designing analyses for such language features. The approach, so called because it derives a function for the sound and computable approximation of program behavior starting from the abstract machine semantics of a language, provides a viable approach to dynamic language analysis since all that is required is a machine description of the interpreter. The AAM recipe as originally described produces finite state abstractions: the behavior of a program is approximated as a finite state machine. Such a model is inherently imprecise when it comes to reasoning about the control stack of the interpreter: a finite state machine cannot faithfully represent a stack. Recent advances have shown that higher-order programs can be approximated with pushdown systems. However, such models, founded in automata theory, either breakdown or require significant engineering in the face of dynamic language features that inspect or modify the control stack. In this paper, we tackle the problem of bringing pushdown flow analysis to the domain of dynamic language features. We revise the abstracting abstract machines technique to target the stronger computational model of pushdown systems. In place of automata theory, we use only abstract machines and memoization. As case studies, we show the technique applies to a language with closures, garbage collection, stack-inspection, and first-class composable continuations.


We disclosed the occurrences of myelitis with atopic diathesis preferentially affecting the cervical spinal cord in Japan. Recent nationwide survey revealed that this condition occurs throughout Japan. The characteristic features are: (1) young to middle-aged adults with atopic diathesis are affected, (2) stepwise progression and fluctuation of the symptoms are frequent, (3) paresthesia and dysesthesia are the initial and predominant symptoms while severe motor weakness is rare, (4) CSF abnormalities are infrequent and mild, (5) hyperIgEaemia and mite antigen-specific IgE are present in most cases and eosinophilia is present in about half cases, (6) cervical spinal cord is affected most frequently by clinical symptomatology and on MRI. In this condition, plasma exchange is beneficial in about 80% while corticosteroids are effective only in 50%. The spinal cord biopsy specimens demonstrated its neuropathology to be eosinophilic myelitis involving myelin as well as axon. We also found that Hirayama disease is associated with airway allergy such as allergic rhinitis and atopic asthma. In children, poliomyelitis-like illness after acute asthma attacks is well known as Hopkins syndrome. These findings strongly suggest a link between atopic diathesis and spinal cord damage.


The ability to automatically analyze bird vocalizations would provide major assistance to zoologists in their behavioral and ecological studies. Revisions of taxonomy need to be made in cases where a population of species has evolved or diversified enough to be treated as a new unique species. Bird vocalizations are an important facet of the review process as song has a major influence in mate choice, hence why zoologists tend to study distinguishable songs when analyzing populations. This thesis presents a method to quantify differences in bird vocalizations, inspired by dialect difference assessment from speech processing. The use of different codebooks is introduced. Reference to how easily pairs can be separated using Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) classifiers with Mel-frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCCs) is also presented. As endangered populations will inevitably have small datasets, machine learning approaches may be hard to train. A forensics inspired pitch contour difference measure works with approximately 200 samples per population. An improved pitch tracker for bird vocalizations, called YIN-bird, is also introduced. Carefully tuned parameters improve pitch tracking with YIN (a commonly used pitch tracking tool in the speech community), but optimal parameters can change quickly even within one song. YIN-bird, a modified version of YIN which exploits spectrogram properties to automatically set a minimum Fundamental Frequency (F0) parameter for YIN, is presented. Gross pitch errors on whistles and trills are reduced by up to 4% on a ground truth dataset of synthetic bird song with known pitch which is an improvement. This dataset was evaluated by expert listeners and described as "sounding like original & can hardly tell it is synthetic". A qualitative analysis of complex bird vocalizations is also presented. Work then focuses on techniques to automatically extract acoustic features commonly used by zoologists. Signal processing techniques are employed to automate the extraction of the acoustic features: maximum, minimum and peak frequency, and bandwidth. YIN-bird and sine-tracking, a feature extraction method successfully applied to bird classification previously, are the automatic methods employed. The performance of automatic methods is compared to the manual method currently used by zoologists. Results are compared to a major study on species delimitation in the zoology domain. Both methods are well suited to this task, and demonstrate the strong potential to begin to automate the task of acoustic comparison of bird species. The thesis then addresses the automatic segmentation of bird recordings into target and nontarget regions using a speaker diarization approach. Standard approaches to automatic bird species identification are inspired by speaker verification methods, and tend to use all available bird vocalizations in a sample. Zoologists however will first tend to isolate important parts of a vocalization, discarding less discerning elements. Thus the automation of such segmentation work is highly desirable. The first stage is to segment target vocalizations from field recordings which is performed automatically in this thesis. Birds are typically recorded in their natural environment with many competing signals present. A speaker diarization approach to segmenting such recordings into target/non-target events is presented. This diarization approach uses Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) Hierarchical Agglomerative Clustering (HAC) from the LIUM toolkit. MFCCs are used as features. The classification error is reduced from 19.20% to 15.01% when comparing the proposed system to a HMM-based segmentation as a baseline. A discussion of


RNA interference (RNAi) is a sequence-specific, post-transcriptional gene             silencing mechanism in animals and plants, which is mediated by double-stranded             RNA (dsRNA). There has recently been an increasing interest in harnessing the             gene silencing activity of dsRNA to develop novel drugs for the treatment of various             diseases, such as cancer, neurological disorders, age-related macular degeneration             and viral infections. Small interfering RNA (siRNA)-based drugs have distinct             advantages over conventional small molecule or protein-based drugs, including             high specificity, higher potency and reduced toxicity. However, there are several             technical obstacles to overcome before siRNA-based drugs reach the clinic. Delivery             of siRNA to the target tissues and stability in the serum remain a major challenge             and are the main focus of current research and development efforts. This review             focused primarily on the progress made in developing RNAi as therapeutics for             cancer and the challenges associated with its clinical development. Use of ligands             recognizing cell-specific receptors to achieve tumor-specific delivery of siRNA,             methods for enhanced siRNA delivery, improving the bioavailability and pharmacokinetic             properties of siRNA and reducing the off-target effects and non-specific gene             silencing are discussed in the light of current evidence.


Abstract Schafer, D. W. and Gilbert, E. S. Some Statistical Implications of Dose Uncertainty in Radiation Dose–Response Analyses. Radiat. Res. 166, 303–312 (2006). Statistical dose–response analyses in radiation epidemiology can produce misleading results if they fail to account for radiation dose uncertainties. While dosimetries may differ substantially depending on the ways in which the subjects were exposed, the statistical problems typically involve a predominantly linear dose–response curve, multiple sources of uncertainty, and uncertainty magnitudes that are best characterized as proportional rather than additive. We discuss some basic statistical issues in this setting, including the bias and shape distortion induced by classical and Berkson uncertainties, the effect of uncertain dose-prediction model parameters on estimated dose–response curves, and some notes on statistical methods for dose–response estimation in the presence of radiation dose uncertainties.


In phylogenetics, a set of gene trees is often summarized by a consensus tree, such as the majority consensus, which is based on the set of all splits that are present in more than 50% of the input trees. A "consensus network" is obtained by lowering the threshold and considering all splits that are contained in 10% of the trees, say, and then computing the corresponding splits network. By construction and in practice, a consensus network usually shows the majority tree, extended by a number of rectangles that represent local rearrangements around internal nodes of the consensus tree. This may lead to the false conclusion that the input trees do not differ in a significant way because "even a phylogenetic network" does not display any large discrepancies. To harness the full potential of a phylogenetic network, we introduce the new concept of an anti-consensus network that aims at representing the largest interesting discrepancies found in a set of gene trees. We provide an efficient algorithm for computing an anti-consensus and illustrate its application using a set of gene trees from species and strains in the genus Kosakonia.


Amikacin (A), gentamicin (G), and tobramycin (T) were added to eight different total nutrient admixtures (TNA) with varying concentrations of dextrose, amino acid, and fat emulsion to determine drug and emulsion stability. All TNA were prepared aseptically and stored at room temperature under normal room lighting for 12 hr before drug addition. One volume of each drug was added to an equal volume of each of the eight TNAs to simulate 1:1 piggyback contact volumes. Samples were left at room temperature for 6 hr. Drug concentrations were analyzed by fluorescence polarization immunoassay. TNA/drug admixtures were pH tested and visually inspected before and after centrifugation in microhematocrit tubes, noting signs of emulsion stability at 1 and 6 hr. Emulsion particle size was determined at 1 and 6 hr using interference contrast microscopy. All three drugs retained their immunoreactivity in all TNAs for at least 6 hr. G and T were stable in all eight TNAs for at least 6 hr with no significant effect on emulsion particle size or stability after centrifugation. A was incompatible with all eight TNAs, resulting in visual breaking of all emulsions within 1 hr. Therefore, G and T, but not A, can be administered via piggyback method with the eight TNAs tested if the infusion is completed within 6 hr.


To examine the influence of the barrier quality in fully epitaxial Fe/MgO/Fe(001) magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs), we propose to use Fe-V alloys as magnetic electrodes. This leads to a reduced misfit with MgO. We actually observe, by high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM) and local strain measurements, that the misfit dislocations density in the MgO barrier is lower when it is grown on Fe-V(001). This improvement of the crystalline quality of the MgO barrier actually leads to a significant increase of the tunnel magneto-resistance (TMR), despite the loss of spin polarization (SP) in these alloys, which was measured by spin-polarized X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (SR-XPS).


International passenger aviation has increased threefold in the last 25 years and is predicted to continue a similar rapid expansion over the next 25 years. While bringing considerable economic benefits, growth of the aviation sector is also likely to lead to greater adverse social and environmental impacts. To address this, sustainable aviation policy is framed as a 'balanced strategy'. While this emphasizes the economic benefits of the aviation sector, it also aims to address the environmental and social impacts that may arise from its expansion. Other groups disagree with this interpretation of sustainable aviation, and there is little rapprochement between environmental NGOs and the aviation sector. Sustainable aviation policy is therefore contested, and different groups are attempting to reframe it to suit their own objectives. A categorization exercise supported by rhetorical, stylistic and thematic analysis was used to identify and explore the environmental discourses that are competing to construct policy for sustainable aviation. The analysis revealed that the discourse category of ecological modernization with an emphasis on environmental technology and management is dominant, that government and aviation sector attempts to achieve discursive closure through the rhetoric of 'balance' are failing and that sustainable aviation remains a rich discursive battleground. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.


The capability approach constitutes a significant contribution to social theory but its potential is diminished by its insufficient treatment of the social construction of meaning. Social meanings enable people to make value judgements about what they will do and be, and also to evaluate how satisfied they are about what they are able to achieve. From this viewpoint, a person's state of wellbeing must be understood as being socially and psychologically co-constituted in specific social and cultural contexts. In this light, the telos of 'living well' which is at the heart of Sen's version of the capability approach is inadequate and must be modified to a telos of 'living well together' which includes consideration of the social structures and institutions which enable people to pursue individual freedoms in relation to others. The policy significance of the capability approach can be further strengthened by paying greater consideration to the political economy of policy decision-making processes and the ways in which conflicts and distributions of power are institutionalized.


From the formation of Rodinia at the end of the Mesoproterozoic to the commencement of Pangea breakup at the end of the Paleozoic, the South China craton fi rst formed and then occupied a position adjacent to Western Australia and northern India. Early Neoproterozoic suprasubduction zone magmatic arc-backarc assemblages in the craton range in age from ca. 1000 Ma to 820 Ma and display a sequential northwest decrease in age. These relations suggest formation and closure of arc systems through southeast-directed subduction, resulting in progressive northwestward accretion onto the periphery of an already assembled Rodinia. Siliciclastic units within an early Paleozoic succession that transgresses across the craton were derived from the southeast and include detritus from beyond the current limits of the craton. Detrital zircon age spectra require an East Gondwana source and are very similar to the Tethyan Himalaya and younger Paleozoic successions from Western Australia, suggesting derivation from a common source and by inference accumulation in linked basins along the northern margin of Gondwana, a situation that continued until rifting and breakup of the craton in the late Paleozoic.


In order to investigate the impact of collective neutrino oscillations (CNO) on the neutrino signal from a nearby supernova, we perform 3-flavor neutrino oscillation simulations employing the multiangle effect. The background hydrodynamic model is based on the neutrino hydrodynamic simulation of a 8.8 \Msun progenitor star. We find that CNO commences after some 100 ms post bounce. Before this, CNO is suppressed by matter-induced decoherence. In the inverted mass hierarchy, the spectrum of $\bar{\nu}_e$ becomes softer after the onset of CNO. To evaluate the detectability of this modification, we define a hardness ratio between the number of high energy neutrino events and low energy neutrino events adopting a fixed critical energy. We show that Hyper-Kamiokande (HK) can distinguish the effect of CNO for supernova distances out to $\sim 10$ kpc. On the other hand, for the normal mass hierarchy, the spectrum of $\nu_e$ becomes softer after the onset of CNO, and we show that DUNE can distinguish this feature for supernova distances out to $\sim 10$ kpc. More work is necessary to optimize the best value of critical energy for maximum sensitivity. We also show that if the spectrum of $\bar{\nu}_e$ in HK becomes softer due to CNO, the spectrum of $\nu_e$ in DUNE becomes harder, and vice versa. This synergistic observations in $\bar{\nu}_e$ and $\nu_e$, by HK and DUNE respectively, will be an intriguing opportunity to test the occurrence of CNO.


In order to assess the specificity of the leishmanin skin test in Chagas disease patients without clinical history of leishmaniasis, present or former. A sample of 102 persons infected with Trypanosoma cruzi (14 acute cases with parasitological diagnosis and 88 chronic cases) through the demonstration of IgG antibodies by ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) were evaluated with leishmanin soluble antigen which contained Leishmania (Viannia) peruviana concentration of 25-30 ug/mL. Only five people showed cutaneous hypersensitivity reaction to the application of the antigen between hours 48 and 72. The Leishmanin skin test evaluated was negative in 97 people infected with T. cruzi, thus specificity of 95.1% was achieved. In conclusion, the intradermal Montenegro test is a simple and effective diagnostic tool that also could be used to discriminate infections by Leishmania or T. cruzi, in Peruvian geographic areas where both parasites are present.


The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has emerged as an alarming disease since December 2019, claiming the lives of thousands across the world to date. This pandemic has burdened healthcare systems all over the world due to its heavy death toll. Researchers are actively working on effective treatment strategies, the scope of vaccination and the production of more medical equipment to tackle this crisis. However, it is important to note that the management of patients with malignancy also needs to be prioritized during such times. Some urological malignancies need early diagnosis and treatment while the diagnosis and treatment of several others can be safely delayed. Hence, we searched MEDLINE for evidence on the optimal management of urological cancers during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Studies published from December 2019 to April 2020 were included in the review. Guidelines formulated by international and national urological societies were also included. This review aims to summarize the present evidence on effective triage and safe management of urological cancers amid COVID-19 pandemic to ensure efficient usage of healthcare resources during these unprecedented times.


................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iv CONTRIBUTORS AND FUNDING SOURCES .......................................................................... v NOMENCLATURE ...................................................................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................. viii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... xi LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... xiv


Spatial and temporal trends in stream chemistry have been used to provide insights into the scale dependencies of streamflow generation processes in small catchments. However, these scale dependencies have not been thoroughly investigated at large watershed scales (defined as drainage areas greater than 1000 km2). Quantifying these scale dependencies is critical to understanding how large watersheds will respond to future perturbations; e.g., the long‐term streamflow response to climate change and/or changes in land‐cover and land‐use. Here we investigate the spatial and temporal scaling relationships of all dominant streamflow generation processes in a large alpine watershed in the southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Observations in the watershed indicate that dominant streamflow processes are spatially and temporally variable. The relative strengths of dominant streamflow mechanisms vary as a function of internal watershed structure (i.e., spatial variability in topographic relief, soil development, groundwater flowpath development, and stream network structure) and external forcing such as timing and character of precipitation. This behavior coupled with previous observations that streamflow from the watershed contained a significant component of basin‐scale groundwater, suggests that similar large watersheds may have internal buffering, at least initially, against rapid change.


of Year-by-Year Budget Asks and Concerns [7] "Leave Behinds" These are one page (double sided) summaries with talking points used during DPS FRS Congressional Visits. Below are links to the pdfs. July 2020 [8] February 2020 [9] June 2018 [10] Action Alerts [11] These are calls to action that the DPS puts out to its members regarding urgent issues Example Talking Points about Planetary Science [12] Example Congressional Letter Regarding FY201X NASA Budget [13]


Nonadiabatic dynamical processes such as proton-coupled electron transfer and excited state intramolecular proton transfer have been the subject of much research. One of the promising theoretical methods to describe these processes is the nuclear-electronic orbital (NEO) approach. This approach inherently accounts for nuclear quantum effects within quantum chemistry calculations, and it has recently been extended to directly simulate nonadiabatic processes with the development of real-time NEO methods. These processes can also be significantly dependent on the surrounding chemical environment, however, and capturing the effects of the environment is often necessary for analyzing experimentally relevant systems. This work couples the NEO density functional theory and real-time time-dependent density functional theory approaches with solvation through the polarizable continuum model. The effects of this coupling are investigated for ground state properties, solvent-dependent vibrational frequencies, and direct excited state intramolecular proton transfer dynamics.


This study explores how kindergarten spaces and materiality can be vital for children's exploration of participation and how the physical environment enables children to interact and position themselves in play and meaning making. Methodologically this study is based on ethnographic fieldwork with two groups of 2- to 5-year-old children in two Norwegian kindergartens. Place, space and materiality are analysed through a theoretical framework based on socio-cultural perspectives of learning and meaning making, aspects of power relations in play supported by Corsaro's concept of children's power-sharing relations and Bourdieu's reflections on social fields as fields of force. The main findings of this study describe how kindergarten children create meaning and play within and outside of pedagogically staged spaces, and how materiality creates power relations and interplay with the actors involved.


Meta-learning models, or models that learn to learn, have been a long-desired target for their ability to quickly solve new tasks. Traditional meta-learning methods can require expensive inner and outer loops, thus there is demand for algorithms that discover strong learners without explicitly searching for them. We draw parallels to the study of evolvable genomes in evolutionary systems -- genomes with a strong capacity to adapt -- and propose that meta-learning and adaptive evolvability optimize for the same objective: high performance after a set of learning iterations. We argue that population-based evolutionary systems with non-static fitness landscapes naturally bias towards high-evolvability genomes, and therefore optimize for populations with strong learning ability. We demonstrate this claim with a simple evolutionary algorithm, Population-Based Meta Learning (PBML), that consistently discovers genomes which display higher rates of improvement over generations, and can rapidly adapt to solve sparse fitness and robotic control tasks.


Hydrogen can provide a viable source of energy that can covers the world's energy requirement in the next coming years. One of the major keys to wholly develop hydrogen energy is to provide a safe, cost efficient and compacted type of hydrogen storage. Geological reserves are considered a suitable space for hydrogen storage. In this research, we are trying to examine if there was any technical potential for hydrogen storage based on Oman's geology by Identifying geological deposit in Oman that can be used for hydrogen storage and analyzing salt deposits for hydrogen storage suitability. By overviewing the possible underground hydrogen methods and based on Oman's geology, deep aquifers were not suitable for hydrogen storage; due to the lack of large sedimentary basin, no experience for similar projects and the risks associated with surrounding environment. Depleted reservoir needs more study for deployment; there are no experiences of such projects for UHS. Salt basins are good candidate for underground storage; due to the large salt basin in Oman, salt caverns are known to successfully contain hydrogen and the guaranteed safety of the storage. Analysing the technical potential salt deposits was based on a good depth dome, salt thickness and salt dome size. The main findings illustrate that, two salt domes (Qarn Shamah and Qarn Alam) were offering a good potential of estimated working gas volume of hydrogen around 90 m3 hydrogen (0.2 TWh). Nevertheless, more future work is needed to confirm the geotechnical feasibility of salt domes in terms of internal complex structure, chemical composition and purity of salt.


A sequence of experimental steps was perfected to produce high-impact modified polypropylene (PP), and to study the influence of particle morphology and rubber content on the reaction kinetics, especially in terms of mass transfer limitations. It was found that after a critical copolymer content at approximately 40% (with respect to total weight), it was impossible to obtain high reaction rates. This is thought to be the result of a fundamental change in particle morphology attributed to the presence of a soft EPR copolymer phase in the micropores. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 82: 1047–1060, 2001


Simulations of isolated giant molecular clouds (GMCs) are an important tool for studying the dynamics of star formation, but their turbulent initial conditions (ICs) are uncertain. Most simulations have either initialized a velocity field with a prescribed power spectrum on a smooth density field (failing to model the full structure of turbulence) or"stirred"turbulence with periodic boundary conditions (which may not model real GMC boundary conditions). We develop and test a new GMC simulation setup (called TURBSPHERE) that combines advantages of both approaches: we continuously stir an isolated cloud to model the energy cascade from larger scales, and use a static potential to confine the gas. The resulting cloud and surrounding envelope achieve a quasi-equilibrium state with the desired hallmarks of supersonic ISM turbulence (e.g. density PDF and a $\sim k^{-2}$ velocity power spectrum), whose bulk properties can be tuned as desired. We use the final stirred state as initial conditions for star formation simulations with self-gravity, both with and without continued driving and protostellar jet feedback, respectively. We then disentangle the respective effects of the turbulent cascade, simulation geometry, external driving, and gravity/MHD boundary conditions on the resulting star formation. Without external driving, the new setup obtains results similar to previous simple spherical cloud setups, but external driving can suppress star formation considerably in the new setup. Periodic box simulations with the same dimensions and turbulence parameters form stars significantly slower, highlighting the importance of boundary conditions and the presence or absence of a global collapse mode in the results of star formation calculations.


During sunny conditions, surface temperatures on masonry façades can rise to over 40°C above the ambient temperatures. Conventional wall designs minimize the benefits of this solar heat through the use of thermal insulation. However, air that is drawn from the outdoors, between the façade and sheathing, can be used to recover heat from the masonry. The system, which utilizes a dynamic buffer zone (DBZ), acts as a solar air collector. This system can provide an effective way to preheat ventilation air at little to no extra cost, while not compromising the architectural features of the masonry wall system. A numerical model was developed to predict the amount of heat recovery possible using a DBZ. The numerical model was verified by comparing results with a commercial computational fluid dynamics software package and by conducting laboratory experiments. Preliminary results indicate that the DBZ as a solar air collector can achieve as high as 33% daily solar efficiency and seasonal solar efficiencies of up to 27%. Since this system is low-cost, yet effective, it may offer designers an opportunity to build more sustainable masonry wall systems.


A Gut Feeling Special immune controls are necessary in the gut to prevent the immune system from reacting to the commensal microbiota and to food antigens. Dendritic cells (DCs) are important for maintaining gut tolerance because they help to keep T cells in an unresponsive state. However, in other environments, DCs activate T cells. What signals determine whether DCs induce T cell tolerance or activation? Manicassamy et al. (p. 849; see the Perspective by Mellman and Clausen) found that β-catenin–dependent signaling is required for maintaining DC-mediated gut tolerance in mice. Wnt ligands were expressed in the gut, and β-catenin signaling was activated in DCs in the small and large intestines but not in the spleen. When β-catenin was specifically deleted from DCs in mice, the frequency of regulatory T cells and anti-inflammatory cytokines was reduced, whereas the frequency of pro-inflammatory T helper 1 and T helper 17 cells and their associated cytokines was increased. Mice lacking β-catenin in dendritic cells also exhibited enhanced susceptibility in a mouse model of colitis. Gut-specific signaling pathways regulate immune cell–mediated tolerance in the intestine. Dendritic cells (DCs) play a vital role in initiating robust immunity against pathogens as well as maintaining immunological tolerance to self antigens. However, the intracellular signaling networks that program DCs to become tolerogenic remain unknown. We report here that the Wnt–β-catenin signaling in intestinal dendritic cells regulates the balance between inflammatory versus regulatory responses in the gut. β-catenin in intestinal dendritic cells was required for the expression of anti-inflammatory mediators such as retinoic acid–metabolizing enzymes, interleukin-10, and transforming growth factor–β, and the stimulation of regulatory T cell induction while suppressing inflammatory effector T cells. Furthermore, ablation of β-catenin expression in DCs enhanced inflammatory responses and disease in a mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease. Thus, β-catenin signaling programs DCs to a tolerogenic state, limiting the inflammatory response.


The tragic events of September 11th have caused drastic effects on many aspects of society. Academics in the fields of computational and information science have been called upon to help enhance the government's ability to fight terrorism and other crimes. Keeping in mind the special characteristics of crimes and security-related data, data mining techniques can contribute in six areas of research: information sharing and collaboration, security association mining, classification and clustering, intelligence text mining, spatial and temporal crime pattern mining, and criminal/terrorist network analysis. Grounded on social network analysis (SNA) research, criminal network analysis and terrorist network analysis have been shown to be most promising for public safety and homeland security. Based on the University of Arizona's highly successful COPLINK and Dark Web projects, we will discuss relevant SNA for "dark networks" (criminal and terrorist networks). Selected techniques, examples, and case studies will be presented based on gang/narcotic networks, US extremist networks, Al Qaeda member networks, and international Jihadist web site and forum networks. Unique homeland security challenges and future directions will also be presented.


Alendronate (4-amino-1-hydroxybutylidene-1,1-bisphosphonate), an antiosteolytic agent, is currently under investigation in the treatment of a variety of bone disorders. Earlier studies from this laboratory have demonstrated that systemically administered drug was rapidly taken up by bone tissue or excreted by the kidneys. Approximately 60 to 70% of the dose was taken up by the bone, and 30 to 40% was excreted in the urine. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of dose, sex, and age on the disposition kinetics of alendronate using rats as an animal model. No evidence of saturation of drug uptake by the bone was observed in young rats when small, repetitive doses of alendronate were administered every 3 days for 21 days (total 35 mg/kg iv). However, less than proportional uptake by the bone was observed in young rats when single iv doses exceeded 10 mg/kg. Overall, a 500-fold increase in dose resulted in a 350-fold increase in drug concentration in bone. Nonlinear uptake of alendronate by bone was accompanied by simultaneous accumulation in noncalcified tissues at high doses. Less than 1% of the dose was found in noncalcified tissues at 24 hr after low doses (1 mg/kg iv), and 25% after high doses (30 mg/kg iv). Following iv administration, uptake of alendronate by the bone was lower in senescent rats than in young rats by a factor of 2 to 3. Bone uptake was lower in female rats than in male rats by about 30 to 40%, but this sex difference was only observed at low doses and in young rats.


Two distinct, but overlapping, networks that operate at the same time, space, and frequency is considered. The first network consists of n randomly distributed primary users, which form an ad hoc network. The second network again consists of m randomly distributed ad hoc secondary users or cognitive users. The primary users have priority access to the spectrum and do not need to change their communication protocol in the presence of the secondary users. The secondary users, however, need to adjust their protocol based on knowledge about the locations of the primary users to bring little loss to the primary network's throughput. By introducing preservation regions around primary receivers, a modified multihop routing protocol is proposed for the cognitive users. Assuming m=nβ with β >; 1, it is shown that the secondary network achieves almost the same throughput scaling law as a stand-alone network while the primary network throughput is subject to only a vanishingly small fractional loss. Specifically, the primary network achieves the sum throughput of order n1/2 and, for any δ >; 0, the secondary network achieves the sum throughput of order m1/2-δ with an arbitrarily small fraction of outage. Thus, almost all secondary source-destination pairs can communicate at a rate of order m-1/2-δ.


Context. Jets with velocities higher than 200 km s 1 are often observed in the X-ray spectral range in the solar atmosphere, however, very few such objects are observed in the EUV range. Aims. We report on an eruptive event observed in the south-west side of a sunspot, within active region, AR0554, in a range of spectral lines formed in the transition region and corona. Methods. The main data were time-series observations obtained with the Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer (CDS), in addition to images from the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) and Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. Additional high resolution images from the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) were also used. Results. The event brightened a loop connecting the sunspot and a bright-point structure, triggering both a high-speed o w in the loop and a transient, low-speed ambient o w into the sunspot. The energy released is quickly conducted to the chromosphere, as deduced from the TRACE 1600 ¯ images and the light curve of Hei 522 ¯ as seen by CDS. The results from our multi-wavelength study further indicates that the e ect of the eruptive event may have reached temperatures higher than 2 10 6 K. Relative Doppler velocities of over 300 km s 1 were detected in the transition region line, Ov 629¯. Conclusions. The multi-wavelength analysis indicates that the event is likely due to fast magnetic reconnection in the transition region. The velocities detected are consistent with the results obtained by the evaporation jet model.


This paper presents a beamforming technique using a probabilistic characterization of the direction of arrival (DOA). The underlying distribution of the desired signal DOA can be known a priori or can be completely random with a finite support. The beamforming processor iteratively computes the "a posteriori" probabilities for each assumed DOA and weights each optimum beamformer steered at the assumed direction to arrive at a composite weight vector. The theoretical background is derived and simulations are carried out to illustrate the effectiveness and robustness of this novel beamformer. Finally, an application to diversity processing in CDMA systems is briefly discussed.


In this chapter, the problem of flight vehicle performance is described. Performance parameters, such as lift-to-drag ratio, maximum and minimum level flight speed, speeds for the best rate of climb, steepest climb, maximum range and endurance, and most economical climb are described using graphical methods, such as drag polar, Zhukovsky curves with combination of analytical derivations. The approach of graphical description of flight vehicle performance allows to understand the physical basics of the aerodynamic properties of flight vehicles easier and to develop deeper connectivity between their interpretations. In addition, flight envelope and operational limits are discussed using both analytical and graphical methods for better understanding.


Wahabuddin Ra'ees[1]
Abstract:
Classical jurists have rigorously studied siyar (the foreign policy of the Islamic state), describing the nature of the principles and norms that influenced the formulation of siyar. On the basis of these principles and norms, the jurists formulated rulings to describe the nature of the relationship of the Islamic state with others. This study examines the relationship between the principles and norms that influenced siyar and the maqasid approach (higher purposes) of shari'ah. This study first presents a conceptual analysis of siyar. Second, it discusses the approach of maqasid of shari'ah. Third, it explores selected juridical rulings that describe the nature of siyar. Fourth, this study, building on an analysis of selected juridical rulings, suggests that siyar was guided by some general principles and norms. Finally, the study examines the relationship between the principles that governed siyar and the approach of maqasid of shari'ah. The study concludes that the aim of both siyar and maqasid of sharia'h was/is to establish a moral order. The genesis of this positive relationship between the maqasid of shari'ah and the principles and norms that guided siyar is found in the unity of the source of knowledge or the principle of Divine Unity (al Tawhid).

[1] Dr. Wahabuddin Ra'ees is Associate Professor in  the Department of Political Science of International Islamic University Malaysia: Email: email@example.com.


Use of unmanned aerial systems (UASs) in agriculture has risen in the past decade. These systems are key to modernizing agriculture. UASs collect and elucidate data previously difficult to obtain and used to help increase agricultural efficiency and production. Typical commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) UASs are limited by small payloads and short flight times. Such limits inhibit their ability to provide abundant data at multiple spatiotemporal scales. In this paper, we describe the design and construction of the tethered aircraft unmanned system (TAUS), which is a novel power-over-tether UAS leveraging the physical presence of the tether to launch multiple sensors along the tether at multiple altitudes. With power from a ground station, the TAUS can acquire continuous data for several hours . The system is used to sense atmospheric conditions and temperature gradients across altitude. The development of the prototyped system is presented, along with the results of field experiments. The influence that power losses across the tether have on the sensors' abilities to accurately sense is discussed. We demonstrate a 6-hour continuous flight at an altitude of 50 feet, and a 1-hour flight at sunset to acquire the gradually decreasing atmospheric temperature from an array of 6 sensors. An empirical evaluation of the system's performance found that the prototype successively demonstrated proof of concept by considerably increasing flight times and throughput by simultaneously acquiring data from the sensor array. The TAUS will be improved by integrating performance-monitoring circuitry, elevated levels of algorithm-based autonomy, and multivariable sensors.


Conodonts are important index fossils for supra‐regional correlation especially in the Triassic. However, early Carnian conodonts are comparatively poorly known in South China. In this study, conodont biostratigraphy and taxonomy are investigated at three sections in the provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou. Two genera and 23 species are identified, including 4 new species: Quadralella (Q.) postica sp. nov., Q. robusta sp. nov., Q. wignalli sp. nov. and Q. yongningensis sp. nov. Five conodont zones are recognized. They are, in ascending order, the Paragondolella foliata Zone, Q. polygnathiformis Zone, Q. praelindae Zone, Q. aff. auriformis Zone and Q. robusta Zone. Conodonts are reasonably diverse and abundant in the upper Zhuganpo Formation (Julian 1) but decrease sharply in both species richness and diversity towards the Wayao Formation (Julian 2 and younger). It is most likely that this change was caused by climate warming and marine anoxia during the Carnian Humid Episode.


Flood risk management is the process of data and information gathering, risk analysis and evaluation, appraisal of options, and making, implementing and reviewing decisions to reduce, control, accept or redistribute the flood risks. It is a continuous process of analysis, adjustment and adaptation of policies and actions taken to reduce the flood risk. Preventive measures and timely, reasonable flood risk prevention measures can help reduce the risk of floods and caused damages. In addition, protection against floods is primarily necessary for populated areas, especially when it comes to densely populated areas, since floods may affect a large number of citizens and their property thereby causing enormous material damage not only to the inhabitants of these territories but also to business infrastructure, respectively, it can result in significant material and socioeconomic losses. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the flood risk management theoretical and practical aspects, identify the potential impact of floods on natural and socioeconomic environment, as well as to show the usefulness of flood risk reduction measures. To reach this aim, the following tasks must be fulfilled: to give the definitions of flooding and flood risk and briefly characterise the flooding and flood risk in Latvia; to study and characterize the flood risk management legal and institutional aspects; to carry out an analytical overview of the flood risk assessment on right bank of the Daugava River in Riga; to carry out a cost-benefit analysis of flood risk prevention measures on the right bank of the Daugava in Riga. Keywords: flood risk, flood risk management, flood defence, risk governance Article DOI: http://doi.org/10.15544/RD.2017.173


We present Geollery, an interactive mixed reality social media platform for creating, sharing, and exploring geotagged information. Geollery introduces a real-time pipeline to progressively render an interactive mirrored world with three-dimensional (3D) buildings, internal user-generated content, and external geotagged social media. This mirrored world allows users to see, chat, and collaborate with remote participants with the same spatial context in an immersive virtual environment. We describe the system architecture of Geollery, its key interactive capabilities, and our design decisions. Finally, we conduct a user study with 20 participants to qualitatively compare Geollery with another social media system, Social Street View. Based on the participants' responses, we discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each system and derive key insights for designing an interactive mirrored world with geotagged social media. User feedback from our study reveals several use cases for Geollery including travel planning, virtual meetings, and family gathering.


The birthweight and mortality in hospital was recorded of 567 low birth weight (LBW, < or = 2000 g) infants born/admitted during a 7 years period in Agogo Hospital situated in the rainforest area of Ghana. One hundred and fifty-two (26.8%) of these children died in hospital; 87 (57%) of them in the first 48 hours. The average length of stay in hospital of the surviving children was 11.6 days. The death rate varied from 8.4% in the 1,751 to 2,000 g group to 83.3% in infants with a birth weight < or = 1000 g. The proportion LBW children to the total newborn population was 5.5%; the proportion of extreme LBW (< or = 1000 g) to the total number LBW infants was 7.3%. The results are compared with figures from other countries, many of them with a more westernized infrastructure. In our setting, no sophisticated equipment and expensive intensive care provisions were available. This descriptive study was carried out to establish the survival rate in the neonatal period during the primary stay in hospital with low-cost conservative care. Dedicated staff members, who underwent only a simple training programme, and mothers participating in the care for their children contributed to the relatively favourable outcome.


Finding out that a child has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can put an enormous strain on families, and the quality of support offered by professionals at this time can make a huge difference to how they adjust to the news. This book comprehensively sets out the type of support that is most beneficial to families immediately following an ASD diagnosis, and will equip professionals with the information and tools they need to best provide that support. The authors provide all of the key information professionals supporting families at the time of an ASD diagnosis need to know about the diagnostic criteria of ASD, key characteristics, aetiology, prevalence, and prognosis, and explain how to pass on accurate and meaningful information to families, and how to build effective family-professional partnerships. Drawing on extensive research and interviews with 50 families of children with ASD, they provide strategies for helping families understand the options and make informed choices about early intervention programs, set realistic goals, develop effective parenting strategies that build upon the strengths and capacities of the child, and strengthen family support networks. This is an essential resource for any professional involved in supporting families at the time of, or immediately following, an ASD diagnosis, including psychologists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, general medical practitioners, and educators.


The contents of this thesis are concerned with the implementation
of parallel algorithms for solving partial differential equations
(POEs) by the Alternative Group EXplicit (AGE) method and an
investigation into the numerical inversion of the Laplace transform
on the Balance 8000 MIMO system.
Parallel computer architectures are introduced with different
types of existing parallel computers including the Data-Flow computer
and VLSI technology which are described from both the hardware and
implementation points of view. The main characteristics of the Sequent
parallel computer system at Loughborough University is presented, and
performance indicators, i.e., the speed-up and efficiency factors are
defined for the measurement of parallelism in the system. Basic ideas
of programming such computers are also outlined.....


We present 3D virtual pancreatography (VP), a novel visualization procedure and application for non-invasive diagnosis and classification of pancreatic lesions, the precursors of pancreatic cancer. Currently, non-invasive screening of patients is performed through visual inspection of 2D axis-aligned CT images, though the relevant features are often not clearly visible nor automatically detected. VP is an end-to-end visual diagnosis system that includes: A machine learning based automatic segmentation of the pancreatic gland and the lesions, a semi-automatic approach to extract the primary pancreatic duct, a machine learning based automatic classification of lesions into four prominent types, and specialized 3D and 2D exploratory visualizations of the pancreas, lesions and surrounding anatomy. We combine volume rendering with pancreas- and lesion-centric visualizations and measurements for effective diagnosis. We designed VP through close collaboration and feedback from expert radiologists, and evaluated it on multiple real-world CT datasets with various pancreatic lesions and case studies examined by the expert radiologists.


BACKGROUND
The prevalence of severe early childhood caries (sECC) is high in developing nations like India. It has local as well as systemic manifestations.

AIMS
This study evaluated the influence of sECC and its management on growth parameters and quality of life (QoL) of preschool children from low socioeconomic status families.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
100 preschool children (50 with sECC and 50 with no dental caries; mean age 5.42 ± 0.74 years) from low socioeconomic status were studied. QoL; Decayed, extracted and filled teeth (def) index; Height (Ht); Weight (Wt); Head circumference (HC); Mid arm circumference (MAC); and, Body Mass Index (BMI) were recorded at baseline and compared after six months of dental rehabilitation. The test group included children with sECC having def > 6 and at least one pulpally involved tooth.The control group children did not have DC (def =0). Both the groups were age, gender and socioeconomic status matched.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
Statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) v.11.0 computer software. Chi-square test, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Fisher's exact and paired t tests were performed for comparing the groups at baseline and six month recall visit.

RESULTS
Baseline measurements showed that 46% of children with sECC had Wt below 3rd percentile (underweight; mean 15.49 ± 1.87Kg) which was less than the controls (mean Wt 16.34 ± 1.46 kg). They also complained of pain (40%), avoidance of hard food (24%), noticed Wt loss (18%) and sleep disturbances (12%). After 6 months of dental rehabilitation, there was a significant improvement in their Wt (P= 0.002) and QoL.

CONCLUSIONS
sECC negatively influenced the Wt and QoL of children. Awareness, education of parents and facilitation of oral health services may help in improving their Wt and QoL.


Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial effectiveness of probiotics lactobacilli group and Bifidobacterium against Enterococcus faecalis and Candida albicans in both planktonic stage and biofilm stage. Materials and Methods: Phase 1 of the study was conducted by agar well diffusion method. About 0.5 ml of test pathogen culture was inoculated on 20 ml of molten agar and allowed to solidify. 4–5 circular wells of diameter 8–10 mm were punched in each poured plates and 150 μl of diluted test samples were added to the wells. Phase 2 was deferred antagonism test, wherein purified culture of pathogen strain was streaked at right angle to the original producer growth and incubated at 37°C for 24 h. Zone of inhibition was measured for both the phases. Phase 3 biofilm stage evaluation was conducted by mixing 9 ml of 30% poloxamer 407 and De Man, Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) broth in a test tube with 500 μl of either pathogen, together with 500 μl of test probiotic strains and incubated (37°C, 48 h), followed by serially diluting the mixture by 1 ml into 9 ml sterile saline till 108 dilutions for evaluation of colony-forming unit/ml counts. Controls were endodontic pathogens in 30% poloxamer with MRS broth and no probiotics. Results: Results were evaluated and statistically analysed using one-way analysis of variance and unpaired t-test. In the planktonic stage, probiotics showed inhibitory activity against endodontic pathogens with valid statistical significance (P < 0.05), while there was no activity by deferred antagonism method. In biofilm stage, all three probiotics showed growth reduction for E. faecalis, while lactobacilli group showed reduction in C. albicans colonies. Conclusion: This preliminary study suggested that probiotics are effective for preventing the growth of endodontic pathogens in vitro. Poloxamer could be utilised as an ideal delivery vehicle for probiotics.


Female, 55 year old with history of long standing hypertension and diabetes, came to ER in a hospital with decreased consciousness. The pulse was irregular and ECG showed recurrent Ventricular Tachycardia (VT). After immediate intervention, she was finally survived and admitted to Intensive coronary care Unit (ICCU). Cardiac troponin was positive. She was considered to have acute coronary syndrome. The Brain CT showed ischemic lesion. During hospitalization, coronary angiography was performed. It showed left dominant coronary artery and very small right coronary artery (RCA) with no RCA ostial at the aorta. There was 50% stenosis in Left Descending Artery (LAD) and 30% in Left Circumflex (LCX). Total occlusion caused by thrombus at the RCA ostial was suspected. The cardiac MSCT was then performed to confirm the result. The MSCT showed no ostial of RCA at aorta and suspected total occlusion in proximal RCA. The RCA arises from LCX and its vessel was small in diameter less than 2 mm.


This article deals with developments in rival images of peace as they appear in Israeli political journalism, vis-à-vis seven critical events that took place between 1967 and 2001. Peace has become one of the dominant symbols of the Jewish-Israeli national narrative. Investigation of its image as a value reveals two rival symbolic representations: one, `true peace', presents peace as a means to an end within a particularistic nationalist agenda, based upon ethnocentric values; the second, `humanistic peace', which is embodied in the `vision of the new Middle East', unfolds an eschatological narrative in which peace takes pride of place as the supreme value. The development of these rival representations is described as the product of a continuous reciprocal process between the symbolic images and the collective narratives on the one hand, and political events on the other. Both `true peace' and the `vision of the new Middle East' were forced to come to grips with political realities that were perceived as contradicting the symbolic system inherent in each of these representations, and in the metanarrative that gave birth to them. The article concludes with a discussion on the influence of the current violent conflict between Israelis and Palestinians on the developments of the images of peace.


We analyzed 71 clinical and environmental Cryptococcus gattii strains that had been isolated before or after the advent of azole antifungals to determine their level of heteroresistance to fluconazole (LHF). All strains of C. gattii manifested heteroresistance, with LHFs that ranged between 4 (cid:1) g/ml and 32 (cid:1) g/ml. A considerably higher proportion of the C. gattii strains (86%) than Cryptococcus neoformans strains (46%) exhibited LHFs that were > 16 (cid:1) g/ml. No significant correlation was observed between the molecular type or serotypes of strains and their respective LHF. The strains which expressed a higher LHF were also more resistant to xenobiotics than the strains with a low LHF, and the level of resistance to xenobiotics was significantly higher than that reported for C. neoformans . The heteroresistant subpopulation, whose level of drug resistance had been raised in a stepwise manner to 64 (cid:1) g/ml, reverted to the original LHF upon daily transfers in drug-free medium. Importantly, the strains with high LHFs were significantly more virulent than those with low LHFs. Since all the clinical isolates that had not been exposed to azole drugs as well as the environmental strains manifested heteroresistance to fluconazole, heteroresistance