We introduce a hybrid deterministic/stochastic optimization modeling framework to identify minimal sets of enzyme levels and enzyme regulatory structures to meet significant overproduction requirements using large-scale kinetic models of microbial metabolism and essential protein machinery. Specifically, a simulated annealing algorithm is used to navigate through the discrete space of enzyme levels and regulatory structures, while a sequential quadratic programming method is utilized to identify optimal enzyme levels and regulatory kinetic parameters. The framework is demonstrated on a large-scale and chemically-detailed kinetic model of central metabolism in Escherichia coli (wild-type strain W3110) for the optimization of the glucose uptake through the phosphotransferase system (PTS) and serine biosynthesis. Computational results show that by optimally modulating enzyme levels and carefully altering enzyme regulatory properties, a stable 8fold increase in the PTS uptake rate and a stable 22-fold increase in serine biosynthesis can be achieved. Importantly, substantial improvements in the targeted fluxes can be predicted by manipulating only small subsets of enzyme levels and regulatory structures. For example, the modulation of only three enzyme levels leads to a flux increase, which is almost 50% of the best predictions, and the manipulation of only six enzyme levels already leads to a flux increase of 80% of the best predictions. Remarkably, by optimally modulating 10 enzyme levels, the total central metabolism's enzyme overexpression capability is reached and any further increase in the targeted fluxes can be only possible if the pathway regulation is additionally altered, though at the expense of the loss of the pathway's steady state stability properties (i.e., no steady state can exist or oscillatory regimes may be encountered). The developed framework has also demonstrated a strong synergism between the redesign of control architectures for tightly regulated reaction steps (e.g., phosphofructokinase) and the overexpression of those enzymes which lack any type of regulatory properties (e.g., glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase). Although the nonlinear optimization predictions are found in a good agreement with Metabolic Control Analysis (MCA) and large control coefficients can be indicative of the corresponding "rate limiting" enzymes and critical feedback regulatory parameters, the non-linear stable optimization predictions could not be found from the MCA alone. The proposed optimization framework thus provides a new versatile modeling strategy and computational tool for systematic optimal elucidation of minimal sets of controlling enzymes and their critical regulatory properties with broad implication in biotechnological studies. Optimal Selection of Enzyme Subsets and Regulations 3


Through a comparison on the community support for the elderly at home(SSEH) carried out in three communities in Beijing in recent years this paper aims to analyze the conditions both of hardware and software in communities, then summarize the features of supporting system for the elderly at home. The research approaches consist of case study and Comparative method. The conclusions are as follows: 1) According to traditional and practical situation of each community the SSEH appears diversification in form and leading subjects, which could be divided into three main types: government-lead community-lead and market-lead; 2) Three type SSEHs develop different multi-actor and multi-level network regarding integration of various elderly-related resources within community respectively.


Large-scale and high-resolution monitoring systems are ideal for many visual surveillance applications. However, existing approaches have insufficient resolution and low frame rate per second, or have high complexity and cost. We take inspiration from the human visual system and propose a multi-resolution design, e-Fovea, which provides peripheral vision with a steerable fovea that is in higher resolution. In this paper, we firstly present two user studies, with a total of 36 participants, to compare e-Fovea to two existing multi-resolution visual monitoring designs. The user study results show that for visual monitoring tasks, our e-Fovea design with steerable focus is significantly faster than existing approaches and preferred by users. We then present our design and implementation of e-Fovea, which combines both multi-resolution camera input and multi-resolution steerable projector output. Finally, we present our deployment of e-Fovea in three installations to demonstrate its feasibility.


In what sense is Catholic social teaching theological? Undoubtedly theology is a resource for ethical reflection but it can also be an outcome of it. This dissertation explores the theological contribution of post-Vatican II papal social encyclicals on development. Particular historical challenges and also specific worldviews adopted by the popes shape ethical reasoning and political priorities for action, but they do more. They stimulate theological thinking by making options among diverse theological frameworks, favoring certain concepts or symbols and downplaying others, and thus, they contribute to entering the mystery of God's salvific love and allowing it to seize us. Chapter one offers some guidelines for a theological reading of social encyclicals. Vatican II with its "principle of pastorality" works as a compass. Karl Rahner, whose theology is always at the same time anthropology and Christology, is a privileged partner for the investigation. The history of half a century of debates on theories of development is the background. Chapters two to four analyze successively Paul VI's Populorum progressio (PP), John Paul II's Sollicitudo rei socialis (SRS), and Benedict XVI's Caritas in veritate (CiV) by retrieving elements of context, highlighting the theological meaning of their methodological options, and exploring their insights about the mystery of being human and the mystery of "Jesus Christ for us." In the 1960s, PP develops a theology which highlights incarnation and God's grace at work in this world (neo-Thomist framework). Twenty years later, when early hopes about development have faded, SRS pursues this lead but also rebalances it with a greater concern for sin and redemption brought by Christ in the world (Augustinian framework). It also incorporates categories put forward by Latin American liberation theology such as structures of sin, liberation, and option for the poor which stress the structural dimension of sin and grace (Liberationist framework). At the dawn of the 21 century and showing concerns for growing secularization in Western countries, CiV insists on God's transcendence (Augustinian framework) while still showing traces of the two other theological frameworks because of his addressing challenges of global justice. The final chapter offers three guidelines for theology which arise from the recognition of the theological nature of the church's social teaching. (1) Without losing sight of its transcendental origin, theology ought to begin within history and with human experience. (2) A Christian anthropology ought to manifest the unity of the personal and social dimensions of being human which calls for both personal conversion and structural change. (3) Christologies can articulate approaches from above and from below in a variety of ways but the inescapability of the latter needs to be stressed in connection with taking seriously the option for the poor.


A comprehensive numerical simulation system is proposed for solving the problem of steel corrosion in concrete related to deterioration of reinforced concrete structures in an environment contaminated by chloride ions. The distribution of the corrosion amount and the corrosion rate along the reinforced bar were calculated based on macro-cell circuit models consisting of micro-cell circuits. The models were quantified according to the results of exposure experiments under two environments, one under cyclic wetting and drying in a laboratory and the other in a splash zone located offshore. The comparisons on time-dependent half-cell potential, corrosion location and corrosion amount indicate qualitative coincidence between the experimental and numerical simulation results. In addition, based on the proposed system, numerical simulation of the macro-cell corrosion circuit between patched area and not-yet-patched area is reasonably achieved.


Medical diagnosis sometimes involves detecting subtle indications of a disease or condition amongst a background of diverse healthy individuals. The amount of information that is available for discovering such indications for mammography is large and has been growing at an exponential rate, due to population wide screening programmes. In order to analyse this information data mining techniques have been utilised by various researchers. A question that arises is: do flexible data mining techniques have comparable accuracy to dedicated classification techniques for medical diagnostic processes? This research compares a model-based data mining technique with a neural network classification technique and the improvements possible using an ensemble approach. A publicly available breast cancer benchmark database is used to determine the utility of the techniques and compare the accuracies obtained.


The Tax protein of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) trans activates the 21-bp enhancer of HTLV-1. A sequence of more than two copies of the 21-bp enhancer is efficiently activated by Tax, but one copy is not activated extensively. Another sequence (TRE-2, positions -163 to -117) adjacent to the 21-bp enhancer in the long terminal repeat of HTLV-1 can enhance a single copy of the 21-bp enhancer activity in trans activation by Tax. This sequence contains motifs related to the Ets- and NF-kappa B-binding sequences, but mutations at these sites indicated that neither is responsive to cooperation with the 21-bp enhancer. A deletion mutation of TRE-2 identified 25 bases at positions -158 to -134 (TRE-2S) as an essential sequence, and TRE-2S was sufficient to give maximum cooperation with one copy of the 21-bp enhancer in trans activation by Tax protein. Using TRE-2S as a probe, we screened a cDNA library of HUT102 cells by the Southwestern (DNA-protein) procedure and isolated two cDNA clones, THP-1 and -2. These two clones encode TRE-2S-binding proteins, and they differ by only an extra 17 amino acids in THP-2. Both THP proteins contain five zinc finger motifs which are strikingly similar to those of the GLI family, an amplified gene product in glyoma cells. The binding site of THP-1 and -2 was GAACCACCCA in TRE-2S, which is highly homologous to the GLI-binding site. These results suggest that binding of THP to TRE-2S may be involved in cooperation with one copy of the 21-bp enhancer in responding to Tax trans activation.


The work presents 47 coins discovered during the period of 2011 – 2014 at the Palace Centre – East site in Pliska. The numismatic collection contains mainly anonymous Byzantine folles: three pieces of class A I (970-976) (Cat. NN 4-6); 26 pieces of class A 2 (976-1030/35) (Cat. NN 7-33); 10 pieces of class B (1030/35-1045) (Cat. NN 36-45); and one piece of class D (1050-1060) (Cat. N 46). Two Roman coins were also found at the site – one of Leo VI (886-912) (Cat. N 3) and a fourre of Basil II (976-1025) (Cat. N 34) as well as an akce of Selim II (1512-1520) (Cat. N 47). Thirteen of the coins were found inside dug-out structures, and the rest of them appeared within various stratigraphic layers between the residential spaces.
The archaeological study of the coins from the Palace Centre – East site involves all planigraphic, stratigraphic and quantitative analysis of the artifacts as well as laboratory analysis of particular coins. The stratigraphic coordination of the coins has allowed us to distinguish three time horizons (fig. 3). The first horizon produced one coin of Leo VI (886-912) (Cat. N 3). The second time horizon begins from the level of the first registration of anonymous Byzantine folles of class A 2. The following chronological limit marks the level of the folles of class B. The upper chronological limit of the site terminates in the anonymous Byzantine folles of class D. The chronological distribution of the various versions of folles class A 2 has been also traced (Pl. 1). Further on some intriguing examples among the coins have been considered. One of them is a cast imitation of a follis class A 2 (Cat. 7). Still another case presents two coins stacked to each other as one of them displays traces of textile (fig. 4).
One of the most interesting finds is a fourre (fig. 5), a nomisma – tetarteron of Basil II (976-1025), Constantinople, type F (1005-1025). A
chemical – technological study of the metal shows that the coin has been made of a copper-tin core with a silver-tin intermediate layer applied thereto and finally gilded. Sometime later the coin was secondary pierced and probably served as a medallion.
The stratigraphic analysis of the coins and their correlation with the cultural layers gives us grounds to clarify the dynamics of accumulation of cultural deposits. It was different. The rate of accumulation of the cultural layer within the earlier horizon was about 2-3 mm per year. Within the second horizon the accumulation was running about 5 mm per year, and within the third horizon – 9 mm per year. Determination of the step of growth of the cultural layers is among the major innovations in the application of the stratigraphic method which extends the possibilities for more precise micro-stratigraphic dating.
Data from the surveyed sector confirmes that the regular occurrence of coins in Pliska began in the final third of the 10th c. The appearance of anonymous folles and amphora fragments marks stratigraphically the beginning of the Byzantine presence. We can relate the discovered Roman coins and single Late Antiquity artifacts also to the Byzantine period in Pliska.
The cases of badly worn out coins sometimes even damaged, with broken peripheries as well as the overstrucked coins indicate a long-term use of some of the pieces. It refers mainly to the folles of class A 1 and A 2, while the folles of class B and D are much better preserved for perhaps being shortly in circulation. The number of coins coming from the stratigraphic levels from the first half of the 11th c. is the greatest, showing a well expressed peak about 1040s (fig. 6). At the same time we register also a sharp increase in the amount of amphorae. The growth of artifacts is probably due to the massive Pechenegs' raids during 1030s and 1040s and the concentration of Byzantine military units and administration at that time in Pliska.


The single-cell assay for transposase accessible chromatin (scATAC) is an invaluable asset to profile the epigenomic landscape of heterogeneous cells populations in complex tissue and organ systems. However, the lack of tools that enable the use of scATAC data to discriminate between malignant and non-malignant cells has prevented the widespread application of this technique to clinical tumor samples. Here we describe Copy-scAT, a new computational tool that uses scATAC data to infer both large-scale and focal copy number alterations. Copy-scAT can call both clonal and subclonal copy number changes, allowing identification of cancer cells and cell populations that putatively constitute the tumor microenvironment. Copy-scAT therefore enables downstream chromatin accessibility studies that focus on malignant or non-malignant cell populations in clinical samples that are profiled by scATAC.


S-100 protein is a heterogeneous fraction of dimeric polypeptides (alpha and beta subunits) that can exist in different combination forms within the various tissues. Concerning the S-100 protein immunodetection within lymphoid tissue, the heterogeneity of the S-100 antigen, the tissue quality (frozen or paraffin-embedded after treatment with different fixatives) and the treatment of the tissue with different immunostaining methods and antibodies of different nature, all make for inconsistent results obtained in the immunohistological studies reported in the literature. Most of the S-100-positive cells of the lymphoreticular system are dendritic cells involved in the immune response (interdigitating reticulum cells, Langerhans cells, and follicular dendritic reticulum cells), other S-100-positive cells belonging to the mononuclear/phagocytic system. S-100 protein immunostaining may be used as a helpful immunohistological diagnostic clue to certain malignancies of the immune system (follicular center cell lymphomas) on the basis of their specifically related dendritic cell microenvironment. In addition to monoclonal antibodies for the immunophenotypic characterization of dendritic cells and macrophages and to enzyme reactions, the combined use of anti-S-100 antibodies specific for each of the S-100 protein subunits, tested with sensitive procedures, would be a very useful tool in the attempt to classify the proliferative disorders of dendritic cells and macrophages.


Contemporary accounts indicate that in addition to her other skills, Marianne Moore was a formidable talker. It also seems that she could be encouraged, or dared, to display this talent. Two anecdotes suggest her ability and her friends' reactions to it. Elizabeth Bishop relates the first: A friend has told me of attending a party for writers and artists at which she introduced a painter to Marianne by saying, "Miss Moore has the most interesting vocabulary of anyone I know." Marianne showed signs of pleasure at this, and within a minute offhandedly but accurately used in a sentence a word I no longer remember that means an addiction, in animals, to licking the luminous numbers off the dials of clocks and watches. (153) Miss Moore's "interesting" acquaintance with a surprising range of information is the subject of the second anecdote, told by Alfred Kreymborg: Never having found [Moore] at a loss on any subject whatsoever, I wanted to give myself the pleasure of at least once hearing her stumped about something [so] I invited her to a ball game at the Polo Grounds.... The "L" was jammed... Marianne was totally oblivious to the discomfiture anyone else would have felt and, in answer to a question of mine, paraded whole battalions of perfectly marshaled ideas into long columns of balanced periods which no lurching... or pushing... disturbed.... Well, I got her safely to her seat and sat down beside her.... I... touched her arm and, indicating a man in the pitcher's box winding up with the movement Matty's so famous for... I quickly turned to her with: "Do you happen to know the gentleman who threw that strike?" "I've never seen him before," she admitted, "but I take it it must be Mr. Mathewson." I could only gasp, "Why?" "I've read his instructive book on the art of pitching ... and it's a pleasure . . . to note how unerringly his execution supports his theories." (qtd. in Molesworth 164) These anecdotes show the double edge of Moore's conversational brilliance. If at Bishop's "party for writers and artists" it nets Moore the flattering recognition of her peers, in Kreymborg's story it functions more aggressively: her "battalions" of ideas and "columns" of periods sound like the talk of someone who is out of her element but in no mood to surrender to unfamiliarity. The nature of what is at stake in Moore's facility with verbal thrust and parry is the subject of "To Be Liked by You Would Be a Calamity:" "Attack is more piquant than concord," but when You tell me frankly that you would like to feel My flesh beneath your feet, I'm all abroad; I can but put my weapon up, and Bow you out. Gesticulation--it is half the language. Let unsheathed gesticulation be the steel Your courtesy must meet, Since in your hearing words are mute, which to my senses Are a shout. (Observations 52) Here Moore puts her conversational weapon up after realizing that her boorish antagonist is fighting with much cruder tools. Encountering his naked belligerence in the form of a wish to feel her "flesh beneath [his] feet," [1] she resorts to mute gesture as the only dignified response. Her triumph in this encounter is twofold. On the one hand, she has shown her opponent the door and kept her self-possession. On the other, she has emphasized the keenness of her verbal sword by declining to use it against an unworthy foe. In this way she excludes her attacker not only from her own company but also, implicitly, from the company of all people skillful, tactful, and alert enough to engage in real conversation. [2] Thus the poem articulates what the anecdotes suggest: for Moore conversation is as much a mixture of elan, defiance, and aggression as it is a socially cohesive practice. This side of Moore's interest in conversation tends to get lost when critics focus on the contemporary resonances of the term and thereby obscure the tensions that it reveals when Moore uses it in regard to poetr y. …


Tourmaline from the St. Byron lobe of the Land's End granite, SW England, was assessed by macroscopic, optical and quantitative microanalytical methods. In total, seven types of tourmaline were distinguished. The seven types reflect different crystallisation environments and stages in the magmatic-hydrothermal transition. Types 1-3 are interpreted to represent a gradual transition from tourmaline crystallising from a silicate melt to precipitation from magmatic aqueous fluids. Types 5-7 crystallised at subsolidus conditions from a different fluid generation than types 1-3. These fluids may be magmatic or mixed with other fluids (e.g., meteoric or formation waters). The Sn-mineralisation in the area is mostly related to the latter fluid generation, and the mineralising potential is reflected by the tourmaline composition.


Hand hygiene is among the most important factors of infection control in healthcare settings. Healthcare workers are the primary source of hospital-acquired infection. We assessed the current state of hand hygiene knowledge, perception, and practice among the healthcare workers in Qassim, Saudi Arabia. In this cross-sectional study, we used the hand hygiene knowledge and perception questionnaire developed by the World Health Organization. Knowledge and perceptions were classified into good (80–100%), moderate (60–79%), and poor (<60% score). The majority of the healthcare workers had moderate knowledge (57.8%) and perception (73.4%) of hand hygiene. Males were less likely to have moderate/good knowledge compared to females (OR: 0.52, p < 0.05). Private healthcare workers were less likely (OR: 0.33, p < 0.01) to have moderate/good perceptions compared to the government healthcare workers. Healthcare workers who received training on hand hygiene were more likely to have good/moderate perception (OR: 3.2, p < 0.05) and to routinely use alcohol-based hand rubs (OR: 3.8, p < 0.05) than the ones without such training. Physicians are more likely (OR: 4.9, p < 0.05) to routinely use alcohol-based hand rubs than technicians. Our research highlighted gaps in hand hygiene knowledge, perception and practice among healthcare workers in Qassim, Saudi Arabia and the importance of training in this regard.


This work details the histologic findings in 84 liver biopsy specimens from 28 patients with progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC), who met the clinical criteria of early onset of chronic unremitting cholestasis, exclusion of any known metabolic or anatomic etiology, and low serum γ‐glutamyl transpeptidase (GGTP) values. Hepato‐canalicular cholestasis and disruption of the liver cell plate arrangement were early, uniform findings, and giant cell transformation was found in 56% of initial biopsies. Duct loss was a prominent finding; 70% of patients had ductal paucity, and many had abnormal bile duct epithelium, suggesting degeneration. Fibrosis was seen in the samples from 16 patients, including bridging fibrosis in specimens obtained from six patients during the first 2 years of life. Proliferating ductules at the margins of portal tracts increased as fibrosis progressed and were especially prominent in end‐stage histology. Cirrhosis developed in nine of these patients and had a characteristic histologic pattern, consisting of biliary cirrhosis with diffuse stellate lobular fibrosis associated with severe cholestasis and pseudoacinar transformation. Mallory hyalin and hepatocellular carcinoma were observed in materials from some patients with advanced cirrhosis. The constellation of histologic findings in PFIC forms a recognizable pattern, and the liver histology appears to have a predictable progression. Key Words: Familial cholestasis—Byler disease—Giant cell hepatitis—Ductal paucity—Cirrhosis—Hepatocellular carcinoma.


How El Niño Affects Energy Consumption: A Study at National and Regional Levels. (August 2007) Kathleen Jo Collins, B.S., Ball State University; M.S., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. R. Saravanan El Niño is typically viewed as an episode of destructive weather anomalies that can last from a few months to several years. The majority of research looks at the negative impacts of this event. However, not all impacts of El Niño are necessarily bad. This study outlines areas of the United States that are most highly impacted by anomalous temperature and rainfall during El Niño years and determines whether these anomalies affect energy consumption. These effects will be examined on both a national and regional scale. Areas of the northwestern and southeastern United States exhibit anomalous temperatures during El Niño years. The southern US and Great Plains area receives positive anomalous precipitation during El Niño years while an area of the east central US experiences negative anomalous precipitation. Natural gas consumption in the northwestern US is reduced by the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). During an ENSO event consumers actually save money because less is spent on natural gas for home heating purposes. Hydroelectricity may also be affected by ENSO in the


To improve the bioavailability of curcumin numerous approaches were attempted, which included complexation with metal ions. In the present study, a metal ion complex of cobalt(II) with curcumin was synthesized and screened for in vitro antibacterial activity in comparison with curcumin on seven bacterial strains, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi, Shigella flexneri, Proteus vulgaris and Staphylococcus aureus. The cobalt curcumin complex was effective against all strains tested and the activity was greater than that exhibited by curcumin. Comparison of the inhibitory activity with the macrolide antibiotic azithromycin revealed that cobalt curcumin complex was as active as the antibiotic. The cobalt curcumin complex could be a suitable candidate for further in vivo investigations. This is the first report of antibacterial activity of cobalt curcumin complex against all the bacterial strains tested except Escherichia coli.


In this paper, we combine a novel Sequential Graph Coloring Heuristic Algorithm (SGCHA) with a non-systematic method based on a cultural algorithm to solve the graph coloring problem (GCP). The GCP involves finding the minimum number of colors for coloring the graph vertices such that adjacent vertices have distinct colors. In our solving approach, we first use an estimator which is implemented with SGCHA to predict the minimum colors. Then, in the non-systematic part which has been designed using cultural algorithms, we improve the prediction. Various components of the cultural algorithm have been implemented to solve the GCP with a self adaptive behavior in an efficient manner. As a result of utilizing the SGCHA and a cultural algorithm, the proposed method is capable of finding the solution in a very efficient running time. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has a high performance in time and quality of the solution returned for solving graph coloring instances taken from DIMACS website. The quality of the solution is measured here by comparing the returned solution with the optimal one.


For economic geographers interest in the role of knowledge in economic activities and a 'knowledge economy' raises questions about how geography enables (and disables) learning and whether the production of tacit knowledge has exclusively local or multiple overlapping geographies. This thesis engages with this debate and considers its relevance to the geographies of tacit knowledge production (learning) in the employees of global advertising and law professional service firms operating in London and New York City. It begins by critically engaging with theories of knowledge, learning and their geographies to develop a spatially sensitive approach to examine learning. Such an analysis is then applied in order to understand the geographies of knowledge production in global advertising and law firms. Three themes are addressed. First, why is tacit knowledge important in the work of these firms? Second, what are the key practices involved in producing such knowledge? Third, what are the geographies of these practices and how important is the local scale (the communities within London and New York) and the global scale (the communities stretched between offices of the global firms studied) for knowledge production. Research findings from semistructured interviews highlight the multiple geographies of learning in the firms studied at both local and global scales. This is enabled by a number of 'embedding' forces that 'smooth' the learning process and that have multiple geographies themselves. It is therefore argued that a relational and topological analysis that traces the learning networks across space most usefully provides insights into the geographies of knowledge production. This reveals that the 'networks and spaces of learning' are fluid and transcend spatial scales when suitable constructed.


In today's cost-constrained health care delivery environment, hospitals are recognizing the need to optimize their care operations to improve the efficiency, efficacy, and service quality of primary health care providers, particularly the medical staff and nursing services, which comprise about 50% of the hospital's total personnel. Because health care institutions are in the business of caring for patients (not for accounts or departments), and because health care delivery largely is a personnel-intensive information industry, operations optimization is supported best by information systems that fully integrate all information concerning the patient. The goal of this is to simplify the job duties of direct care providers. The benefits of an integrated, patient-centered approach include demonstrable improvements in over-all patient care quality and staff satisfaction as well as a significant reduction in costs.


While recent scholarship has – for the past two decades – endeavoured to transcend initial reservations about memoirs of Holocaust survivors, the difficulty with some of these memoirs – namely their authors' implicit complicity in unethical medical research and in the Nazi Holocaust in general – remains however problematic. To address this thorny issue, this article considers the memoirs of a Jewish inmate doctor, Miklos Nyiszli, who worked with and for SS medical officers in Auschwitz, and his Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account. His memoirs can help us understand wider truths about the "bond of complicity" that, according to Primo Levi, existed between perpetrators and victims in the Nazi concentration camp.


This work describes the research and development of a cryogenic pump that is intended for the fuel supply of aircraft engines using advanced low temperature fuel. The basic design is that of 4‐pole reluctance motor. The rotor is constructed from soft iron and BSCCO/Ag laminated material; the latter developed by the All‐Russian Scientific Research Institute of Inorganic Materials. The motor was integrated with a centrifugal cryogenic pump for the cryogenic fuel supply system, developed by the TUPOLEV Company. The results of theoretical modelling and experimental investigations are presented.


The study presents an algorithm, ParSCAPE, for model-independent extraction of peak positions and intensities from atomic pair distribution functions (PDFs). It provides a statistically motivated method for determining parsimony of extracted peak models using the information-theoretic Akaike information criterion (AIC) applied to plausible models generated within an iterative framework of clustering and chi-square fitting. All parameters the algorithm uses are in principle known or estimable from experiment, though careful judgment must be applied when estimating the PDF baseline of nanostructured materials. ParSCAPE has been implemented in the Python program SrMise. Algorithm performance is examined on synchrotron X-ray PDFs of 16 bulk crystals and two nanoparticles using AIC-based multimodeling techniques, and particularly the impact of experimental uncertainties on extracted models. It is quite resistant to misidentification of spurious peaks coming from noise and termination effects, even in the absence of a constraining structural model. Structure solution from automatically extracted peaks using the Liga algorithm is demonstrated for 14 crystals and for C60. Special attention is given to the information content of the PDF, theory and practice of the AIC, as well as the algorithm's limitations.


Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are one of most investigated nanomaterials for lung cancer diagnosis and therapy (theragnosis). For imaging purposes, GNPs are often tagged with fluorescent probes, but unfortunately the associated plasmon resonance effect leads to fluorescence self-quenching, thus precluding accurate localization. In this study, biocompatible GNPs targeted with a laminin fragment were successfully engineered using fluorescent oligo-oxazolines produced in supercritical carbon dioxide. The architecture and properties of the POxylated constructs were fully characterized and confocal laser scanning microscopy measurements demonstrated a higher cellular uptake into A549 lung cancer cells through an active targeting mechanism.


Background : Cholangiocarcinoma, the cancer of biliary epithelium, is highly prevalent in Northeast Thailand and is associated with the liver fluke, Opisthorchis viverrini , infection and the consumption of carcinogen contaminated daily food. Diagnosis of this cancer is practically based on clinical and utrasonography. However, several markers can be used in conjunction with the standard procedure to increase diagnosis accuracy including biliary cytology as described in carcinoma of other pancreatobiliary diseases. On the basis of cancer cells can be exfoliated into the bile and they can be detected by routine Papanicolaou staining. In endemic areas of cholangiocarcinoma and opisthorchiasis, there is no report about biliary cytology and percentage of positive malignant cells presented in the bile, here we examined biliary cytology of the gallbladder and/or hepatic bile to clarify its usefulness potential for using in diagnosis. Objective : To study biliary cytology and examine Opisthorchis -ova in the gallbladder/hepatic bile in patients with cholangiocarcinoma in Northeast Thailand. Patients and Methods : Aspirated gallbladder and/or hepatic bile from 100 histological proven cholangiocarcinoma cases who admitted to Srinagarind Hospital during December 1996 to July 1998 were studied. Four Papanicolaou's stained smears per bile sample per case were examined for the presence of malignant or atypical cells and O. viverrini ova. Positive specimens for malignancy contained singly, numerous malignant cells and/or in three dimensional clusters. Liver fluke positive cases contained ova with distinct bilaminar walls and prominent shoulder. Results : Overall, the positivity for malignant cells and O. viverrini ova was 51 % (51/100) and 27 % (27/100), respectively. Five cases were suspicious for malignancy. Paired gallbladder and hepatic bile specimens were obtained in 32 cases. Of these, the positivity for cancer cells was significantly higher in the hepatic bile than in the gallbladder bile (c 2 -test, p<.01). Five cases with gallstone were negative for malignant cells. Conclusion : The results indicate that cancer cells are frequently detected in the bile, particularly in hepatic bile from patients with cholangiocarcinoma. This study implicates the potential application of biliary cytology in diagnosis of this cancer, i.e. in the bile from ERCP or duodenal drainage which is less invasive, in conjunction with other investigations in endemic areas.


In this article there were proposed author's definitions for "testimonies verification" and "capability to perceive". It was emphasized that testimonies verification is the way for determination the objective truth of fact or statement of a person relating to the circumstances of criminal offence.

A possibility to perceive – is the process of formulation of holistic subject subjective of criminal offence. It was pointed, that the process of perception is interrelated with such psychological cognitive processes of personality as aesthesia, memory, ideation, imagination and speech. That's why, the certainty of information relating to the circumstances of criminal offence is conditioned by the ability of personality not only to perceive, but to: 1) feel; 2) order perceived objectively; 3) memorize, keep and reproduce perceived objectively; 4) form the subject's image or phenomenon that is not being perceived at the moment, but it had been perceived before; 5) explain objectively that is subjectively perceived.

There were concretized by the author the primary tasks of investigator for testimony verification during certain stages of interrogation (preparatory, principal and final). It was mentioned, that the primary tasks on the preparatory stage are: 1) to research the circumstances of forensic offence; 2) to collect the data about the personality of witness that is about: a) the character of relations with suspect and victim; b) his reputation; c) the presence of chronic psychological disease, natural or acquired abnormalities of the development of perception bodies; d) his individual and psychological characteristics (type of character, peculiarities of psychological perceptional processes, level of intellectual development) and etc.; 3) the composition of questions' list, that will provide the testimonies verification.

It was determined, that testimonies verification during interrogation may take place by means of testimonies comparison with available facts and methods of audiovisual psychodiagnostics.

On final stage (after interrogation) investigator`s tasks are the: 1) comparison of testimonies with other persons` evidences; 2) estimation of testimonies and determination their gaps and inaccuracies; 3) preparation of clarifying questions to the witness (on necessity); 4) collection of additional information, that concretizes and clarify the circumstances of criminal offence.

It was accentuated that verification's method appliance is uninterrupted process, that comprises almost all investigative (inquiry) actions. That's why, investigator should be aware of its essence and peculiarities of its appliance.

Key words: verification, testimonies, witness, investigator, task, criminal offence.


The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) and the Big Bang Observer (BBO) require angular sensing in their gravitational reference sensor (GRS), telescope pointing, and spacecraft control. The conventional angular sensing schemes utilize simple geometric reflections as the sensing mechanism. We propose and demonstrate the use of grating diffraction orders as angular sensing signal beams. The grating angular sensor can be far more sensitive than a simple reflection scheme for two reasons. First, the diffractive angles can vary more than the incident angle when the grating rotates. The grating thus magnifies the variation of the input angle. Second, the cross section of the diffracted beam is compressed by the oblique projection, resulting in a higher energy density. These two favorable effects become more pronounce for a normal incidence beam to diffract at grazing angles. We have conducted a preliminary experiment and demonstrated an angular sensitivity below 10 nanoradians per root hertz over a short working distance, meeting the Space Technology 7 (ST-7) GRS and LISA requirements for proof mass angular sensing. Our proposed grating-based angular measurement does not introduce additional optical elements between the sensed surface and the photodiode. Thus, it eliminates measurement uncertainty due to in-path optics. The proposed grating sensor can be generalized to build an integrated sensor for both angular and displacement sensing.


Introduction: Wilms tumor is one of the most common renal tumors in children. This type of tumor - accounting for 6 percent of tumors in children – shows a good prognosis if treated in time. This study is to investigate the clinical and pathologic findings as well as response to treatment in Iranian children with Wilms tumor treated at Besat hospital of Hamadan (2005-2009). Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study all the 24 children – with confirmed diagnosis of Wilms tumor (by biopsy) treated at hematology ward (Hamadan Besat Hospital) from 2005 to 2009 – were followed up by monthly examination and 3-monthly Para-clinical evaluations after treatment. Results: Patients were at 3 stages of the disease phase at the time of diagnosis. Two patients had unfavorable histology. The most common clinical finding was abdominal mass. 2-year survival of the patients in stages 1 and 2, and stages 3 and 4 was 100% and 83%, respectively. Out of the total number of the patients, 4 cases referred with the recurrence of the tumor (16.7%). Two of them were expired. Conclusion: The findings of the present study showed that the survival rate observed in this study was better than other studies in this field.


This paper presents the designing of path planning system in an environment contains a set of static polygon obstacles localized and distributed randomly by using differential drive mobile robot. In this paper the designed algorithm (two dimensional path planning algorithm) is proposed in order of investigate the path planning of mobile robot with free collision using the visibility binary tree algorithm. The suggested algorithm is compared with the virtual circles tangents algorithm in the time of arrival and the longest of the path to the target. The aim of this paper is to get an algorithm has better performance than the other algorithms and get less time of arrival and shortest path with free collision.


Summary
The 32000 mol. wt. non-structural protein (P3) of alfalfa mosaic virus (AlMV) has previously been shown to accumulate in the cell wall fraction of tobacco leaves infected with AlMV. We now report the ultrastructural location of this protein. P3 was visualized immunocytochemically in the middle lamella of the walls of those parenchymal or epidermal cells which had just been reached by the infection front and in which viral multiplication had just begun. P3 was not found when AlMV had accumulated to high levels in infected cells. These findings support the concept that P3 is involved in the spread of viral infection from cell to cell, i.e. is the transport factor of AlMV.


Learning the structure of a graphical model is a fundamental problem and it is used extensively to infer the relationship between random variables. In many real world applications, we usually have some prior knowledge about the underlying graph structure, such as degree distribution and block structure. In this paper, we propose a novel generative model for describing the block structure in general exponential families, and optimize it by an Expectation-Maximization(EM) algorithm with variational Bayes. Experimental results show that our method performs well on both synthetic and real data. Furthermore, our method can predict overlapping block structure of a graphical model in general exponential families.


Abstract Concentrations of some metals were determined in muscle tissue of five marine fish species (Engraulis encrasicolus, Sarda sarda, Mullus barbatus, Trachurus mediterraneus, and Merlangius merlangus) caught from the Eastern Black Sea coast of Turkey in 2017. Heavy metals were analyzed by using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry after the muscle tissues of fish were digested by acids. The metal accumulation differences between species were investigated statistically. The levels of aluminum, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, lead, and zinc in the muscles of fish were 3.27, 0.12, 0.27, 2.04, 9.97, 1.00, 0.95, and 10.65 µg/g, respectively. The highest levels of aluminum, cadmium, chromium, and manganese were detected in E. encrasicolus; the highest levels of lead and zinc were accumulated in T. mediterraneus and the highest concentration of iron and copper was found in S. sarda. The average lead concentration values were found to be above the limit values determined by national and international standards due to anthropogenic inputs such as mining activities and agricultural wastes. In addition, potential risks associated with human consumption were evaluated using quality indices such as estimated daily intake and target hazard ratio. According to these indexes, a potential risk in terms of human health has not been identified due to consuming fish tissues.


The present report analyzes two cases of homozygotic familiar hypercholesterolemia. An actualization on the etiopathogenesis, the poor short term prognosis and the bad results obtained with the conservative therapy are discussed. The different surgical approaches excluding liver transplantation are reviewed. Both cases underwent staged portocaval shunts and ileal exclusions afterwards. Short and intermediate results are exposed.


The accurate assessment of available pasture is critical in the dairy industry to permit producers to allocate feed on a per head basis as part of the intensive management of grazing rotations. Fulkerson et al. (2005) showed that precise daily allocation of feed to milking cows grazing perennial pastures could lead to about a 10% increase in milk production and deliver significant financial benefits to producers. However, very few producers invest the time or resources necessary to monitor pastures on a regular basis in a way that would allow them to accurately budget feed resources. Edirisinghe et al. (2000) described the Feed-On-Offer (FOO) model for predicting pasture biomass of extensively-grazed annual pastures from satellite-derived Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data. Edirisinghe et al. (2004) reviewed the accuracy of the predictions from the FOO model and concluded that paddocks-scale predictions of FOO for annual pastures in Western Australia were of sufficient accuracy to meet farmers' requirement s for general feed budgeting decision-making.

This paper presents preliminary results of analyses of the accuracy of FOO predicted for intensively-grazed pastures. Validation of FOO predictions was carried out at 3 sites between July and September 2005; Vasse RS, W.A. (annual ryegrass), Ellinbank RS, Victoria (perennial ryegrass) and Camden, N.S.W. (perennial ryegrass). Satellite NDVI data were obtained from 2 high-resolution sensors; Ikonos (4m pixels) and SPOT-5 (10m pixels). NDVI is calculated as ((red band – NIR band) / (red band + NIR band)), where 'red band' and 'NIR band' are the reflectance values of the red and near-infrared (NIR) spectral bands of the satellite imagery. Ground data were collected using a rising plate meter (RPM) and pasture cuts to ground level, and the data were analysed in a GIS environment.


Obtaining FeNO levels routinely in clinical practice adds to the burden of asthma care and resource utilisation. On the other hand, routine use of FeNO levels to guide therapy may improve asthma control and reduce exacerbations and hospitalisations related to asthma. The objective of this Cochrane review was to evaluate the efficacy of tailoring asthma therapy based on FeNO levels, in comparison with not using FeNO (i.e. management based on clinical symptoms and/or asthma guidelines), for asthma related outcomes in children. In our original review, we found that the use of FeNO strategy did not confer any benefit. Methods: The Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), the Cochrane Airways Collaborative Review Group Specialised Trials Register, MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL databases were searched by the Cochrane Airways Group. The latest search was performed in January 2016. All RCT9s comparing adjustment of asthma medications based on FeNO levels with clinical symptoms were eligible to be included. Results of searches were reviewed against pre-determined criteria for inclusion. Results: Nine studies were included. Three studies reported significant reduction in asthma exacerbations when treatment was based on FeNO levels in comparison to clinical symptoms and 6 did not. Combining all studies, 1426 participants were randomised and 1370 completed the trial. The meta-analyses using GIV showed that use of FeNO for guiding treatment significantly reduced asthma exacerbations OR 0.63 (95% CI 0.49 to 0.83). Conclusion: Tailoring asthma medications based on FeNO levels (compared with primarily on clinical symptoms) decreases the frequency of asthma exacerbations in children.


BACKGROUND
This overview comments on clinical trials and meta-analyses from the literature on the treatment of diabetic feet.

METHODS
For the literature review, the MEDLINE database (PUBMED) was searched under the key words "diabetic foot". Publications of the last three years (2012 to 2014) were extracted.

RESULTS
For patients with diabetic feet, both endovascular (ER) and open (OR) revascularisation techniques are possible. There are not sufficient data to demonstrate whether open bypass surgery or endovascular interventions are more effective in these patients. However, registries show that ER has now in terms of quantity become the preferred method. Angiosome-targeted revascularisation has to be considered in these situations. For the local treatment of a diabetic foot ulcer a variety of dressings are available, the evidence for their recommendation is low. Dressing cost and the wound management properties, e.g. exudate management therefore can influence the choice of dressing. There is no evidence that more expensive dressings as compared to basic dressings offer advantages in terms of healing. In plantar diabetic foot ulcers, non-removable off-loading devices regardless of type are more likely to result in ulcer healing than removable off-loading devices, presumably, because patient compliance with off-loading is facilitated. Meaningful pressure-relieving interventions for treating diabetic foot ulcers also include Achilles tendon lengthening, a plantar fascia release and percutaneous flexor tenotomy. The value of a standardised treatment protocol carried out by a specialist team could be proven in large registries based on decreasing amputation rates.

CONCLUSION
This survey reveals a significant disparity between the large number of treatment recommendations and their evidence. For the future, therefore it is imperative to implement nationwide register surveys with respect to treatment and outcome of these patients.


At present the only cure for food allergy is to avoid eating the food responsible for the allergy. Thus, food allergy or food hypersensitivity is a disease that is not only of concern to the individual who is affected but also to those involved directly and indirectly in supplying andpreparing food for the food-allergic individual, and its impact on society should be evaluated on this basis. It is generally assumed that questionnaire-based studies vastly overestimate the prevalence of food hypersensitivity. The reported perceived prevalence of food hypersensitivity varies from 3.24% to 34.9%, which may be explained partly by the difference in reporting lifetime prevalence compared with point prevalence. However, of more importance is the apparent inverse correlation between response rate and prevalence (the higher the response rate, the lower the perceived prevalence). The three most-recent prevalence studies on food hypersensitivity (one on perceived food hypersensitivity and two on confirmed food hypersensitivity) all report estimates for prevalence of approximately 3%, but their criteria for including subjects as being positive are not identical, although they do overlap. Furthermore, because of differences in methodology there is no definitive information to indicate whether the prevalence of food allergy is increasing. However, the high prevalence of pollen-related food allergy in younger adults in the population suggests that the increase in pollen allergy is also being accompanied by an increase in pollen-related food allergy.


Urinary incontinence in children, whether occurring during the day or night, is a very distressing condition not only for the child but also for their parents. Over a decade ago, children in many societies were still just expected to be able to achieve urinary continence as they grew older and by the time they started school. Little emphasis had been placed on the problem of persistent wetting and so many a times these children and their parents just kept the problem to themselves. However, increasing interest and research in this area has highlighted the possible social and psychological impact that the condition may have on the child and thus raising awareness among families and clinicians. Our increasing knowledge and understanding of the topic, including the spectrum of possible underlying voiding dysfunctions, has also led to profound changes in its management strategy, which now often involves a multidisciplinary approach and targeted therapy. This article discusses the local prevalence, problems and management of non- neurogenic urinary incontinence from a surgeon's perspective.


Rail inspection is commonly carried out by ultrasonic techniques that involve a pitch-catch or pulse-echo scheme to detect internal flaws. This method is usually implemented by Rolling Search Units (RSUs) whose maximum test speed is ~ 20-30 mph. These inspections must be carried out by specialized test vehicles requiring careful scheduling to minimize unavoidable disruptions to normal train traffic operations. This paper will present the concept and to-date results from a radically new ultrasonic testing method for rails. This technique exploits the natural wheel excitations of the rail and extracts a stable ultrasonic Transfer Function (Green's function) of the rail by utilizing pairs of (air-coupled) ultrasonic transducers. Hence the sensing head is completely non-contact and it does not require an active or controlled ultrasonic excitation. The key to this concept is a special signal processing that is applied to the received signals to eliminate or minimize the effect of the (uncontrolled) wheel excitation. Importantly, this method only works if the wheels excite a significant amount of ultrasonic energy at the appropriate frequencies (~ between 20 kHz and 100 kHz). Current studies are aimed at understanding the operational limitations of the method. Results from two field tests conducted at the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) in Pueblo, CO, at testing speeds as high as 80 mph, will be shown to highlight the potential for this "high risk – high reward" approach. The "high reward" derives from (a) the possibility to inspect the rail at speeds of regular revenue traffic or higher, which would enable a new concept of "smart train" that performs inspections seamlessly during regular operations, and (b) the opportunity for great redundancy given the multiple passes of trains over the same track, naturally resulting in an improved probability of detection for any flaw that may be present. While this high-speed mode of testing is not likely to replace conventional ultrasonic inspection, at least at the current stage, it would constitute an important tool in the hands of railroads and regulatory agencies to increase the safety of rail transportation and the efficiency of rail maintenance operations.


INTRODUCTION: Early sexual debut (ESD) is known to have negative health impacts on a female adolescent's future. There are multiple factors that can lead to ESD. Greater knowledge about ESD risks could provide robust ways to combat subsequent effects in daughters of teenage mothers, including early pregnancy. AIMS: This study seeks to answer the following questions: (1) is being the daughter of a teenage mother a risk factor to ESD? (2) Does race/ethnicity or any other factors increase the likelihood of the daughter of a teenage mother having an ESD? (3) What are the predictor factors associated with ESD by race/ethnicity? METHODS: National Survey of Family Growth data was used. Descriptive statistics were conducted. Univariate and multivariable analysis was conducted using logistic regression. Stepwise logistic regression method was performed to determine predictor variables of ESD by race/ethnicity. RESULTS: Women whose mothers were teen mothers were 1.76 times as likely to experience ESD compared women whose mothers were not teen mothers. African American women are 81% more likely to experience ESD compared to non-Hispanic White women. History of smoking (AOR=2.55), alcohol use (AOR=1.79), and drug use (AOR=1.84) were each associated with increased odds of ESD. Women who were not raised by their mother were 2.54 times as likely to experience ESD compared to women who were raised by both parents. CONCLUSION: Being the daughter of a teenage mother is a risk factor for ESD. Early sexual education for mothers and their daughters may help to reduce ESD. Future research needs to address all the multidimensional factors associated with adolescents' sexual health.


Barrett 's esophagus is a metaplasia of the epithelium of the lower esophagus from a normal squamous appearance to a columnar appearance more typically found in the stomach. It is normally caused by prolonged gastric reflux. While Barrett's esophagus is not usually the direct cause of adverse symptoms, it does put a person at greater risk for developing esophageal adenocarcinoma, one of the least treatable cancers


The US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) currently evaluates construction alternatives for the Arrowrock Dam's future. The process presents a uniquely complex situation as policy, public, and private interests converge. The fear of flooding and availability of irrigation water have deeply influenced the economics through which federal agencies justified building dams in the early 20 th century. However, the current political, economic, and environmental stakeholders grapple to fulfill their interests. Furthermore, major policies such as the National Environmental Protection Act, Endangered Species Act, and state protections on the upper tributaries of the Boise River convolute the final decision set for 2017.


I have benefitted enormously from reading the Responses, and I am grateful to all of the commentators for entering into this conversation with me. There is much in each of the seven Responses to which I would like to reply-sometimes to agree, sometimes to disagree, sometimes to elaborate, sometimes just to express puzzlement. Unfortunately, though, my time and space are extremely limited. Given those limitations, I will first reply generally to Marc Galanter and Thomas Palay, Michael Kelly, Howard Lesnick, Stephen Pepper, and Michael Traynor, all of whom seem to be at least somewhat sympathetic to the underlying theme of my Article. I will then reply to Mary McLaughlin, the only commentator who is broadly unsympathetic to my underlying theme and who disagrees with me on a wide range of issues. Finally, I will reply to Kathleen Hull, who strongly disputes the evidence upon which I have relied in arguing that lawyers are unhappy. I. Much traditional scholarship on legal ethics aims to inform rather than to inspire. Typically, it dissects a problem of professional responsibility-broad or narrow-and then proposes a solution of some kind. If the book or article is successful, it may result in the legal profession being regulated differently, but it is unlikely to inspire any attorney to behave differently. I respect this scholarship. Protecting vulnerable clients from unscrupulous lawyers by improving regulation is unquestionably a worthy goal. But it is not the goal of my Article. In my view, whether law is practiced ethically depends not primarily on how well lawyers are regulated, but on the millions of actions taken by lawyers that fall far below the radar of the profession's regulators. This conduct cannot be changed by tinkering with rules, but only by influencing the moral compass or professional self-conception that guides individual attorneys. In writing my Article, I have tried to inspire at least a few lawyers-particularly those who are at the outset of their careers-to ask hard questions of themselves: Why do I want to be a lawyer? What do I want to spend the next forty years doing? What will "success" mean for me? What will be the costs of such "success"-not only for me, but for those I care about? When my days draw to a close, and I look back on my life, what will I see? As Lesnick has captured so beautifully, lawyers, like all human beings, are extraordinarily reluctant to engage in this type of introspection.1 There is much that "render[s] such a self-examination problematic."2 Most fundamentally, to confront these questions is to confront the question, "Who am I?"-a question aptly characterized by Kelly as "large, ancient, profound, and unnerving."3 To confront these questions is to stare, uncomfortably, into what Lesnick calls "the existential abyss."4 I knew that if my Article was to have any chance of pushing law students and lawyers toward this type of introspection I would have to engage both their intellects and their emotions. Much of my Article consists of a description of empirical evidence about the legal profession, and I have tried, in those sections, to be thorough and fair so as to make a compelling empirical case that something is amiss. Assessing what is amiss-and why it is amiss-and what can be done to fix it-are necessarily more speculative endeavors, as I conceded.5 I have tried, in the normative parts of my Article, not only to convince the reader of the merit of my viewpoint, but to provoke in the reader a reaction. Without such a reaction, there is little chance the reader will undertake the introspection I hope to inspire. In order to engage the reader's attention and emotions-in order to, in Kelly's words, "demand[ ] a response"6-I have occasionally used sarcasm and slang and humor and personal experience and, yes, hyperbole. Sometimes a story about a barbeque can convey a point more effectively than abstract and bloodless academic discourse-and the story has a much greater chance of "sticking" long after the reader has forgotten its author. …


Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) constitute a group of priority pollutants which are of increasing environmental concern because of their adverse effects on humans, animals, and plants. Soils and sediments generally serve as a sink for PAHs, which leads to the accumulation of PAHs at contaminated sites. In the last decade, bioremediation has been frequently used for the clean-up of such contaminated sites. However, despite the common use and cost-effectiveness of bioremediation, it is generally observed that a residual fraction remains undegraded even when optimal biodegradation conditions have been provided. In many cases the recalcitrance of this residual fraction is caused by a limited bioavailability of PAHs. The present thesis focuses on the development of simple and rapid laboratory methods for the prediction of PAH bioavailability. As an integrated part of this study, it was aimed to expand the current knowledge on the structure of amorphous and condensed soil/sediment organic matter (SOM) domains. It is believed that PAHs sorbed in amorphous domains are readily bioavailable, while PAHs sorbed in condensed domains are poorly bioavailable. Three different methods were investigated for the prediction of PAH bioavailability: persulfate oxidation, cyclodextrin extraction, and surfactant extraction. Persulfate oxidation appeared to be a good and rapid method for the prediction of PAH bioavailability. It was demonstrated that a 3 hour oxidation at 70 o C was sufficient for the removal of all bioavailable PAHs. The oxidation method was successfully validated in a study with 14 historically contaminated soil and sediment samples. Cyclodextrin extraction and surfactant extraction were investigated in a study with two sediment samples, using hydroxypropyl-b-cyclodextrin and Triton X-100 (surfactant) as model compounds. It was demonstrated that hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin extracted primarily readily bioavailable PAHs, while Triton X-100 extracted both readily and poorly bioavailable PAHs. Moreover, hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin did not affect the biodegradation of PAHs, while Triton X-100 enhanced the degradation of low molecular weight PAHs. Altogether, it may be concluded that persulfate oxidation currently provides the most rapid validated method for the prediction of PAH bioavailability in soils and sediments. To study the composition of amorphous and condensed SOM domains, two different approaches were followed: (i) samples were subjected to persulfate oxidation to remove amorphous SOM, before and after which the composition of SOM was studied by thermogravimetric analysis, pyrolysis-GC/MS, and CPMAS 13C-NMR; (ii) samples were split in two parts, one part was bioremediated to remove bioavailable PAHs, and both the bioremediated and non-bioremediated part were subjected to 9 different chemical treatments with a known effect on SOM structure. Before and after chemical treatment PAH concentrations and PAH bioavailability were measured. The two approaches led to the following general conclusions on the structure of amorphous and condensed SOM domains: (1) Condensed SOM is less polar than amorphous SOM. (2) Labile components like carbohydrates, peptides, fatty acids, and free alkanes are likely to be associated with the amorphous SOM domain. (3) There is no clear relationship between aromaticity and the degree of SOM condensation. (4) Condensed SOM is situated in the humin fraction, indicating that it has a relatively high C content, a relatively low O content, and a relatively high degree of polymerization. (5) Humic and fulvic acids are primarily associated with amorphous SOM. (6) Coal and soot are specific condensed facies with a high affinity for PAHs. Apart from these general characteristics it appeared that the composition of the SOM domains was highly sample specific.


In this paper, an intelligent adaptive controller is designed to position the yaw and pitch angles of a twin rotor MIMO system (TRMS) in two degrees of freedom, based on fuzzy logic. The control objective is to make the TRMS move quickly and accurately to the desired attitudes. Gradient descent algorithm has been used for updating parameters of fuzzy controller in order to increase its robustness against external disturbances and changes of system parameters. Experimental results is compared with the PID controller to show the effectiveness of the proposed method, especially when it encounters system uncertainties and external disturbances.


This study analyzes the regional process of dependency and changes of endogenous self-organizations in a depopulated remote area of Japan, via the case of Namiai village, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Namiai village lost almost half of its population during the period 1952 to 1995. As a result, the population of the village was reduced to 778 persons in 1995, with the aged ratio (over 65 years old) being almost 30%.Since the 1960s, in an attempt to counteract depopulation, Namiai village has implemented a pioneering and grass-roots resort development. As a result of grass-roots efforts, tourists in this village have increased from 80 thousand persons in 1967 to currently 300 thousand persons. This rise in tourism is related to an increase in employment and income. At its peak, more than 100 persons were employed by the resort-related facilities, where the total population was less than 800 persons. Rapid depopulation was thus curtailed.As the tourist industry grew, however, it fell under the control of the logic of capital. This in turn prevented the voluntary involvement of residents. From the 1970s, the Central Government of Japan started to implement financial transfers to local governments on a large scale. As a result, with subsidies from the Central government the village government was able to continue investing in the resort development. In other words, the village government didn't need to negotiate with the residents on their policies. But at times these policies opposed the wishes of the residents who needed more investment in education, helth and other public services for themselves rather than for tourists. And the village government no longer needed to organize people for the community mobilization. As a result the foundation of the village government changed from the community to the Central government.In the meantime, with the increase in public investment, only the construction sector could continue growing rapidly. Finally, the owners of construction companies appeared as a new political elite, with the result that unnecessary public construction by subsidy increased. In short, the resort development of Namiai village deteriorated to a situation of dependency. This was due to an over-emphasis on economic aspects such as employment while ignoring social aspects such as organizing the development actors.The institutional intervention resulted in two conflicting phenomena -the strengthening of the financial autonomy of municipal governments and the weakening of self-reliance capabilities. As a result, most of the traditionally endogenous organizations of a community have been disorganized or reorganized under the leadership of the municipal government. The endogenous self-organizations thus changed roles to pseudo-organizations of the local government.


Real-world haptics is being studied not only for improving feedback on real-world haptic information in teleoperation but also for developing key technologies for future human support. For the remote operating of systems at distant places, haptic information is required in addition to visual information. The haptic information around a work environment can be the floor reaction force, which can be obtained using a movement-type haptic device. The floor reaction force from the environment that the mobile haptic device touches is fed back accurately to the operator.First, this paper proposes a general force-reflecting-type multilateral control. Second, this paper extends the control to feedback control of the floor reaction force by using force-reflecting-type multilateral control and a novel haptic device employing a biped robot with a slave system. The position response of a master system is transformed to a leg tip position command for the biped-type haptic device. In addition, the floor reaction force determined by the biped-type haptic device is fed back to the master system. The proposed method can determine the force feedback to the sole of the foot, which is not possible with a conventional stationary system. As a result, the floor reaction force from a large area can be obtained, and the operability of the control system is improved by using the proposed system.


The last two years have been characterized by impressive growth of installation. At present, according to GSE, the total power installed and operating amount to about 13 GW. Estimated PV-related labour places added to induced jobs amounted to 50.000 units. Only by paying serious attention to quality of training, the skills of the employers in the photovoltaic industry can raise, the companies will be able to improve the quality of professional services and meet the need of further professionalization of the staff. Since 2011 the Italian certification and qualification system has been regulated by Legislative Decree 28/2011 implementing the RES Directive 2009/28/EC. In order to be qualified as professionals, the installers of PV systems need to attend to training programs in compliance with the criteria foreseen in Annex IV. According to the 28/2011 Decree, the Italian certification learning programs will be managed by regional administrations, supported by ENEA the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Developmentensuring the homogeneous patterns and high quality content. ENEA, thanks to its experience in training and for its qualified participation in working groups and in several European projects on renewable energy, has been developing a qualification scheme for RES installers of RES, including PV installers since 2007. Mesos, which is ENEA's spin off and skilled training provider, has already experienced the ENEA model, providing successfully accredited courses for the qualification of PV installers. By passing final examination, the "certified installers" will be inserted in a national register by ENEA. The ENEA model is a voluntary certification scheme much appreciated by end-users and training providers. Should the regional certification systems have accepted it, a unique certification scheme at national level would be created and single regional certification system avoided. The paper will show in details how ENEA is planning to fulfill with requirements foreseen on art. 15 of the Italian Leg. Decree 28/2011 by the end of December 2012.


THE CONSENSUS OF OPHTHALMOLOGISTS seems to be that resection of the levator is the operation of choice for all cases of blepharoptosis where the levator muscle is active. Of the 26 operations (1) designed to shorten this muscle, the Blaskovics operation seems to be the most popular. Surgeons who prefer to utilize the superior rectus or the frontalis muscle for all types of ptosis as a primary procedure do so because the Blaskovics procedure seems complicated or because no one seems to know just how much levator tissue to excise in each case. The purpose of this article is to present a simplified procedure for shortening the levator palpebrae muscle, to demonstrate what types of ptosis are most suitable for this procedure and to suggest a simple rule for determining how much levator tissue should be excised in a given case.


The goal of this project was to redesign an experimental prototype and apply its design features to a different and only tangentially related model. In testing the transferability of a very specific technology across domains we hoped to illustrate how the redeployment of digital design can create affordances for the designer and user alike. The original prototype is an online system for playing back the text of a script [1] intended to support directors in blocking plays, actors in learning their lines, and students in studying plays [2]. This system, "Watching the Script," provides an important educational mid-point between the static printed page and the staged or cinematic play. From this initial prototype, we repurposed the design for use by sports teams, and in particular, American football teams. The new design is intended to support coaches in designing plays, football players in learning them, and fans in watching stylized reenactments of games. Although a number of software packages provide these groups with the opportunity to play virtual games or view existing plays, our prototype extends functionality in several uncharted directions. Much as a student of drama might replay an entire script, our "Digital Playbook" provides the ability to replay an entire football game from kick-off to touch-down. The "Digital Playbook" can also review sports plays in multiple ways: following a single player, selecting parts of the field, or viewing only offense or only defense. This mirrors its previous use in "Watching the Script," where actors could isolate their part to learn their lines, or directors could replay all the action in a given location. By identifying, and exploring parallel design functions across domains, the evolution of "Watching the Script" to "The Digital Playbook" illustrates how the considerable time, effort, and money spent creating a prototype can, with some thought to the essential needs of the wildly different fields, be recouped through its repurposing. Moreover, by playing with some of the elements of functionality demanded by the original, the designer and user can discover some delightful new ways of looking at their own project, which an independent design might not have offered. We ourselves found that football is a kind of theatre, the text is the play, and 'the play is the thing.'


Stroke, which is seen nowadays frequently, is the rapidly developing loss of brain functions due to a disturbance in the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain. The main reason for the stroke is the emboli which are particles bigger than red blood cells. Emboli can be detected by Doppler ultrasound. Embolic Doppler ultrasound signals are short duration transient like signals. These signals can be obtained from in-phase and quadrature-phase parts of the quadrature Doppler signals as forward and reverse signals by using the phase relationship between in-phase and quadrature-phase signals. Discrete wavelet transform is one of the methods used for analyzing these signals. A desired property in discrete wavelet transform is phase shift-invariance which can not be provided by ordinary discrete wavelet transform. To overcome this disadvantage dual-tree complex wavelet transform was introduced. But Doppler signals are dual channel signals and dual-tree complex wavelet transform must be applied twice. Therefore complexity of the transform increases. In this work, a new transform method reducing computational complexity is introduced.


Developing sustainable efforts to address the psychosocial consequences of complex emergencies is often a challenge. There is a limit to what humanitarian efforts can achieve, even with the best of intentions. Locally based tertiary education programmes are needed to provide conceptual frameworks and to develop and sustain professional psychosocial support programmes both during and after the emergency. In Afghanistan, over 30 years of armed conflict and its sequelae have placed an extraordinary emotional strain on every member of the population, affecting not only individuals but also families and communities. The Ministry of Higher Education has therefore taken the initiative to develop two new academic programmes in counselling psychology in its public university system. These programmes are designed to prepare a new generation of academics who can come to understand the specific Afghan context of psychosocial suffering and prepare appropriate interventions to support transformation on an individual and communal level. They are also poised to educate a new generation of qualified practitioners to serve individuals, families, communities and the society itself. In this article, the authors describe a partnership programme with the two universities designed to provide external support for their efforts.


This research aimed at studying the effect of sulfate attack on the compressive concrete strength with various percentages of recycled aggregate replacements (0%, 30%, 60% and 100%). Water cement ratio (0.42) are used, MgSO4 solution was used with two concentration (6% and 9 %) to represent the effect of sulfate attack on the concrete compressive strength. The experimental tests focused on physical properties of recycled aggregate; density, unit weight, sieve analysis, Los Angles test and specific gravity. Tests have also been performed on 108 concrete cubes samples at 7 days, 14 days and 28 days for compressive strength. The results of compressive strength at 28 days using (0%, 30%, 60% and 100%) recycled aggregate are (330, 280, 266 and 244) Kg/cm2 respectively, with reduction in compressive strength was (15.2%, 19.4% and 26%) for replacement ratio (30%, 60% and 100%) respectively. MgSO4 solution has an effect on compressive strength after 90 days of immersion in 6% and 9% concentrated of MgSO4 solution. The results of this study show that the reduction in compressive strength using recycled aggregate is more sensitive against the sulfate attack compared with natural aggregate.


We present a new metric that uses the spectral curvature (SC) above 10 keV to identify Compton-thick active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in low-quality Swift/Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) X-ray data. Using NuSTAR, we observe nine high SC-selected AGNs. We find that high-sensitivity spectra show that the majority are Compton-thick (78% or 7/9) and the remaining two are nearly Compton-thick (NH ≃ (5–8) × 1023 cm−2 ). We find that the SCBAT and SCNuSTAR measurements are consistent, suggesting that this technique can be applied to future telescopes. We tested the SC method on well-known Compton-thick AGNs and found that it is much more effective than broadband ratios (e.g., 100% using SC versus 20% using 8–24 keV/3–8 keV). Our results suggest that using the >10 keV emission may be the only way to identify this population since only two sources show Compton-thick levels of excess in the Balmer decrement corrected [O iii] to observed X-ray emission ratio ( ) and WISE colors do not identify most of them as AGNs. Based on this small sample, we find that a higher fraction of these AGNs are in the final merger stage (<10 kpc) than typical BAT AGNs. Additionally, these nine obscured AGNs have, on average, ≈4× higher accretion rates than other BAT-detected AGNs ( compared to ). The robustness of SC at identifying Compton-thick AGNs implies that a higher fraction of nearby AGNs may be Compton-thick (≈22%) and the sum of black hole growth in Compton-thick AGNs (Eddington ratio times population percentage) is nearly as large as mildly obscured and unobscured AGNs.


Date Palm (Phoenix dactulifera L.) is mono-cotyledon, dioceses with long life which could be of high economic importance. Assigning the granule giver and the genetic distance between the male and female cultivars are the most important goal of this research. This research was carried out at the Biotechnology laboratory of agriculture research center in Hormozgan province in order do analysis the genetic diversity of 14 male and 26 female cultivars of Date palm by using the indicators of microsatellite. DNA was extracted from young leaves via Sambrock CTAB procedure (1998) with little modification and DNA amplification was carried out using 10 microsatellite primer pairs. PCR products were separated on a 8% un-denatured acrylamide gel containing 7M Urea and were stained by silver staining method. Gels were scored based on ether the presence or absence of the bands and the polymorphism information content (PIC) for each SSR marker was determined. PIC was 0.63 forHQ542225 primer to 0.85 for HQ542208 primer with a mean value of 0.77. Number of alleles varied between 5-9 and total of 76 alleles were identified with an average of 7.6 alleles per locus. Genetic relationships among cultivars were represented by a Dendrogram based on the Nei's Genetic similarity coefficient and Neighbor1 joining method which was considered for cluster analysis. Cluster analysis divided the 40 Date palm cultivars in three major groups. The cultivars were classified into different groups by using geographical distribution. The highest similarity coefficient value was observed between Khanizi and Almehtary. The minim similarity was obtained between Abonarenjaand and other cultivars. Result showed that those SSR markers are useful tools for genetic diversity finger printing of Date palm.


A breakfast cereal is a food made from more or less processed grains often but not always eaten with the first meal of the day. Cereal flakes are cheapest source of energy and protein in human diet. For the present study the mixture of flakes such as (rice flakes, oats flakes, corn flakes and wheat flakes), groundnut and chocolate chips are selected and used to prepare Ready To Eat (RTE) breakfast bar and analyzed the physiochemical properties and nutritive value of the raw flakes and developed breakfast bar and determining the optimal levels of mixture flakes, groundnuts and chocolate chips using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was applied for optimization, the multiple regression was used to get optimum levels and it was found that desirable values of weight (25.23g), diameter (4.12cm), width (1.15cm), calorie (423.1kcal), protein (8.65g), fat (14.14g), carbohydrate (51.4g) and over all acceptability (8.31) for a 100g was obtained with the corresponding optimum condition of 24g of mixture flakes, 11g of groundnut, 8g of chocolate chips and 48g of the rest of the breakfast bar ingredients. Hence it is concluded that RSM was used successfully to optimize the level of mixture flakes, groundnut and chocolate chips for the development of Ready to Eat (RTE) breakfast bar.


Abstract Palaeoenvironmental records from the Northern Plains of North America attest to an extended period of Middle Holocene warming and drying, making this a useful region and period for research on long-term human response to marked climate change. However, archaeological perspectives on human–environment interaction during this episode have remained preoccupied with a refugial model that incorporates limited latitude for dynamic human adaptation. In part, this situation reflects the challenging geomorphological and typological obstacles faced by those studying this period. However, this paper argues that our failure to develop new perspectives also reflects a longstanding and continued conservatism that casts Northern Plains lifeways as inflexible and unchanging, rather than dynamic and adaptable.


A speed of central information processing (CIP) and its correlation with individual-typological properties of high mental activity (HMA): by functional mobility (FMNP) and by force (FNP) of nervous processes were investigated. It was found statistically significant distinctions between the indexes of CIP in the examined groups with different levels of FMNP and FNP. Persons with the high level of FMNP and FNP were characterized by high indexes of CIP as compared with persons with low levels of typological properties of HMA. We assume that the index of speed of CIP can be used as informative indicator of properties of information processing. The index of CIP in combination with individual-typological properties of HMA will increase the possibility of analysis of experimental material.


Transgender and gender-expansive (TGE) youth endure stark disparities in health and wellbeing compared to their cisgender peers. A key social determinant of health for TGE adolescents and emerging adults is gender affirmation, which encompasses multidimensional validations of an individual's lived gender. Lacking available resources for one's gender affirmation, TGE young people may engage in high-risk maladaptive coping behaviors, linked to their disproportionately high HIV-acquisition risk. A range of innovative mobile technologies are guided by the Gender-Affirmative Framework to promote the health of TGE communities, including through HIV prevention and care continuum outcomes. The aim of this review was to examine key features of existing mobile technologies that can be leveraged to advance the field of TGE-responsive mHealth. We systematically searched scientific records, gray literature, and the iOS and Android app distribution services. To be eligible, platforms and interventions needed to be tailored exclusively to a TGE user base, incorporate gender-affirming features, and be optimized for or adaptive to mobile technologies. Eligible interventions (N=24) were compared on evidence of utility, core functionalities, and dimensions of gender affirmation. Smartphone applications (apps) and webapps (n=16) were the most common delivery modality. Many interventions (n=9) aimed to address HIV-related outcomes and integrated gender-affirmative features. The most common gender-affirmative features originated in fields of human-computer interactions and informatics, or were crowdfunded by TGE developers. HIV-focused interventions incorporated evidence-based health behavior change strategies and utilized rigorous evaluation methods. Across modalities and disciplines, behavioral self-monitoring and access to HIV prevention services were the most frequent features. Over two-thirds of the interventions reviewed aimed to provide medical gender affirmation (e.g, provided guidance on obtaining medically sanctioned hormone therapies, or safely practicing non-medical options such as chest-binding) or psychological gender affirmation (e.g, provided linkage to mental health counseling). Our results show that mHealth and other technology-mediated interventions offer a diverse range of both evidence-based and innovative features; however, many have not been rigorously evaluated in a randomized controlled trial to support TGE users. A continuing commitment to evidence-based health behavior change strategies, exemplified by the HIV-focused interventions included in this review, is essential to advancing gender-affirmative mHealth. The unique and highly innovative features of platforms originating outside the fields of HIV prevention and care suggest new directions for TGE-responsive mHealth, and the need for more conscientious models of knowledge exchange with investigators across scientific disciplines, private-sector developers, and potential users.


The aim of the study is to analyze the author's system of ethical and ecological education of the personality of Vasyl Sukhomlynskyi, to characterize the creative heritage of the scientist, to single out literary works for children with a moral and ecological content. Leading in the pedagogical legacy, in particular the literary work, of the outstanding Ukrainian scientist V. Sukhomlynskyi is the problem of moral education, which was the author's pedagogical system and found a practical embodiment in the Pavlysh secondary school, which the innovative teacher headed for almost thirty years. The conceptual provisions of the author's system of moral education of V. Sukhomlynskyi about the unity of moral education and nature conservation are important, especially nowadays, when the preservation of the Carpathian Mountains is gaining national importance, and the problems of ecological education of the individual are becoming an important condition for sustainable development in its global dimension. This problem sounds in a new way under the conditions of Russia's invasion of the territory of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, which caused the destruction of ecosystems, natural resources, chemical pollution of territories, waters, etc. Therefore, the problem of ecological education of children and youth is becoming actualized, they should become active ecologists-saviors of native nature and the environment, accordingly, teachers should develop a set of environmental measures of nature conservation content, develop a new philosophy of the formation of ecological culture of the individual throughout life, give ecological education of the individual a new sound, in particular practice oriented direction. It is proven that in this process it is possible to use the creative achievements of V. Sukhomlynskyi, whose literary works for children are an effective means of forming ethical and ecological education of children and adults. Each fairy tale or story with an environmental content offers the reader an invaluable moral lesson. These works are a moral code, a table book that you need to read every day in order to build your relationship with nature properly, to protect it, to take care of all living things, they are a kind of pedagogical commandments on how to be a person and, under today's conditions, to grow into an effective environmentalist in order to preserve not only nature, but also Ukraine.
Keywords: V. Sukhomlynskyi, author's system, teacher-innovator, ethical and ecological education, literary works for children, ecological education, New Ukrainian school.


The conserved metabolites, oleic acid (18:1), a major monounsaturated fatty acid (FA), and glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) are obligatory precursors of glycerolipid biosynthesis in plants. In Arabidopsis, the SSI2-encoded SACPD is the major isoform that contributes to 18:1 biosynthesis. Signaling induced upon reduction in oleic acid (18:1) levels not only upregulates salicylic acid (SA)-mediated responses but also inhibits jasmonic acid (JA)- inducible defenses. I examined the transcription profile of ssi2 plants and identified two transcription factors, WRKY50 and WRKY51. Although the ssi2 wrky50 and ssi2 wrky51 plants were constitutively upregulated in SA-derived signaling, they were restored in JAdependent defense signaling. Not only did these plants show JA-inducible PDF1.2 expression, but they were also restored for basal resistance to the necrotrophic pathogen, Botrytis cinerea. Overall, my results show that the WRKY50 and WRKY51 proteins mediate both SA- and low 18:1-dependent repression of JA signaling in Arabidopsis plants.
My studies also show that cellular G3P levels are important for plant defense to necrotrophic pathogens. I showed that G3P levels are induced in Arabidopsis in response to the necrotrophic fungal pathogen B. cinerea. G3P-dependant induction of basal defense is not via the activities of other defense-related hormones such as SA, JA or the phytoalexin camalexin. Arabidopsis mutants unable to accumulate G3P (gly1, gli1) showed enhanced susceptibility to B. cinerea.
Previous studies in our lab identified acyl-carrier protein 4 (ACP4), a component of FA and lipid biosynthesis, as an important regulator of plant systemic immunity. ACP4 mutant plants were defective in systemic acquired resistance (SAR) because they contained a defective cuticle. I further investigated the role of the plant cuticle in SAR by studying the involvement of long-chain acyl-CoA synthetases (LACS), a gene family involved in long-chain FA and cuticle biosynthesis, in SAR. In all, eight lacs mutants (lacs1, lacs2, lacs3, lacs4, lacs6, lacs7, lacs8, lacs9) were isolated and characterized. Six mutants were compromised in SAR. Together, my studies show that the various LACS isoforms contribute differentially to both cuticle formation and systemic immunity in Arabidopsis.


In producing an oral narrative such as a fairy tale, the content can be expressed in numerous forms. The lexical items depicting the agents, the objects, and the activities which make up the story, the syntactic structures, and the type of speech produced can vary. Narratives produced by persons with aphasia (PWA) reveal features that are intact and others that are indicative of impaired language processing. Thus, long-term analysis of narratives produced by PWAs provides a unique opportunity to examine the evolution of the predominant symptoms affecting narrative production. Initially due to the severity of language impairment, symptoms may overlap and mask specific deficits which are initially difficult to separate from one another and/or required features may be omitted and substituted.

The aim of this single case study is to characterize the changes in the use of direct and reported speech in the (re-)telling of the fairy tale 'Cinderella' over time in the context of the overall language recovery process. The main question addressed is to what extent the availability of specific structures influences narrative production: Is there a tendency for direct speech to be correctly, differentially used by TH in his production of the fairy tale 'Cinderella' at various stages of language recovery in contrast to describing the succession of events not using direct speech?


In recent years, with the continuous development of the network, the network society has been built up. To develop a more perfect and more powerful network society, a communication between members of this society is indispensable. The communication between human users is very common. There are already many means of communication between human users, for example, MSN, Mail, Skype, Twitter, etc. Business processes can also communicate with external services. Since the advent of Web Services, this kind of communication becomes platform-independent and flexible. However, how to integrate an automating business process with human users remains to be studied. There are multiple ways how human users communicate electronically, for example via Mail, Skype, ICQ message, and SMS. The main task of this work is to implement such communication channels. To provide a flexible integration between human users and business processes these communication channels will be implemented via Web Services. This work proposes concepts of two communication channels: Mail and Skype. Getting a request, processing a request, sending a message, and receiving a message are basic functions. As a very important component a database has been added to store all information. To prove these concepts, they have been put in practice as part of this work. Two Web Services have been developed in this work: Mail Service and Skype Service. In the very end, a set of test cases illustrates the capabilities of Mail Service and Skype Service.