Biodiversity of ecosystems is an important driver for the supply of ecosystem services to people. Soils often have a larger biodiversity per unit surface area than what can be observed aboveground. Here, we present what is to our knowledge, the most extensive literature-based keyword assessment of the existing information about the relationships between belowground biodiversity and ecosystem services in European forests. The belowground diversity of plant roots, fungi, prokaryota, soil fauna, and protists was evaluated in relation to the supply of Provisioning, Regulating, Cultural, and Supporting Services. The soil biota were divided into 14 subgroups and the ecosystem services into 37 separate services. Out of the 518 possible combinations of biotic groups and ecosystem services, no published study was found for 374 combinations (72%). Of the remaining 144 combinations (28%) where relationships were found, the large majority (87%) showed a positive relationship between biodiversity of a belowground biotic group and an associated ecosystem service. We concluded that (1) soil biodiversity is generally positively related to ecosystem services in European forests; (2) the links between soil biodiversity and Cultural or Supporting services are better documented than those relating to Provisioning and Regulating services; (3) there is a huge knowledge gap for most possible combinations of soil biota and ecosystem services regarding how a more biodiverse soil biota is associated with a given ecosystem service. Given the drastically increasing societal demand for knowledge of the role of biodiversity in the functioning of ecosystems and the supply of ecosystem services, we strongly encourage the scientific community to conduct well-designed studies incorporating the belowground diversity and the functions and services associated with this diversity.


Carbon dioxide sequestration in aquifers is seen as a potential climate change mitigation technique. One physical mechanism by which this could occur is capillary trapping of discrete pore-scale CO2 bubbles (referred to as ganglia) in the pore space. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques were used to quantify the spatial distribution and pore environment of such CO2 entrapment in a model porous medium (random glass bead packing). 3D images revealed a relatively macroscopically homogeneous CO2 entrapment, even though the image resolution is insufficient to resolve individual CO2 ganglia. Quantification of the pore environment of the CO2 ganglia was achieved using NMR displacement propagators (displacement probability distributions), acquired both before and after CO2 entrapment. Lattice Boltzmann (LB) simulations were used to facilitate interpretation of the propagator statistics by considering various pore environments in which CO2 could become trapped. Comparison with the experimental data suggests that CO2 is preferentially entrapped in comparatively larger pores. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2011


In march 2001 and fourteen years later in march 2015, destructive acts were carried out against some of our most revered and treasured religious sites. These cultural heritages were demolished in modern iconoclastic acts by extremist groups in Afghanistan and Iraq. This essay examines the demolition of the two statues depicting the Buddha as well as the events in Iraq during 2015. Specifically the destruction of the museum of Mosul, the ancient city of Nimrud as well as other sites of cultural heritages. The acts were carried out by two groups who in very different ways revere their actions as connected to the sacred. On the one hand this was done to communicate devotion towards the divine. The other action was done in order to destroy the sacred of the perceived enemy as well as to enhance the iconoclastic groups' own theocracy. The two groups have a sense of historical connection with similar acts of iconoclastic destructions. Historical events will be discussed in relation to their modern counterparts. This essay attempts to locate the theoretical core of these events and tries to explain why they might be regarded as emanating from the theocratic functional systems' need to restore and reproduce itself. I will also, like the responsible groups themselves, set the actions in relation to the relevant international context as well as the historical parallels of iconoclasm. The tendencies to regard these matters as a destructive act based upon absolute reverence to the divine are the most frequent reactions usually brought to the surface regarding these actions. This essay describes the relevant context regarding the destruction of these religious monuments and determines what type of binary codes these actions revolves around. I also add a possible environment of the recipient, which can either be profane or transcendent. The conclusion is that the events in Bamiyan, March 2001, are best viewed as instrumental orientations of actions where the greater goal is the purpose of the act. The environment which the actors attempts to communicate with is the international community and therefore the profane. The events in Mosul/Nimrud on the other hand might more accurately be described as expressive actions where the purpose of the actions are fulfilled by the act itself. The environment which the act attempts to communicate with is in this case a divine entity and therefore the sacred.


This thesis deals with the conversation between the interpretations of Paul's letters and modern European thought. It is a narrative of an oft-neglected relationship; but, more than that, it tries to push this negotiation further than where it is now. Thus, in this project, I intend to play with the many possibilities that poststructuralist theory provides for alternative interpretations of biblical texts, and to uncover the ways that the Bible can offer new solutions to the challenges of modern thought. My study will focus on three issues: power, religion, and gender. I believe that the debates around these three topics have been crucial to the European self-definition. Besides, Paul has been present in the European discourse on politics, law, and sexuality. His letters have been interpreted only based on a certain kind of normativity at the expense of many alternative readings. The reception of Paul, in turn, provided some ground for further discussions on European identity.
In chapter one, I draw on the complications of physical portraits of Paul to indicate the problems in offering a finalized clear picture of his message. Obsession with portraying the Apostle is not dissimilar to the recurrent reference to him in the works of European intellectuals since the Enlightenment. Paul has thus been involved in the construction of European identity. This does not mean that he has always conformed to what Europe wants. Rather, he has challenged the binary identities that European normativity has built. It is precisely in these moments that the arbitrariness of European discourse is betrayed. Relying on Judith Butler's theories on gender normativity, I try to
spot the ways that identity was established through the reiteration of modern categories that may be far from what the text says. In the following chapters, I investigate three passages that signal Paul's challenge to modern normative identities.
In the next chapter, I deal with the interpretation of Romans 13, where Paul tells the Roman Church to be subjected to political authorities. This chapter has troubled the interpreters because it is far from what is expected from Paul – promotion of justice in face of brutal regimes. I demonstrate that the readers of Romans 13 lost touch with Paul's ethos soon after his death. Relying on Hans Blumenberg's description of ―secularization by eschatology‖ at the time of the composition of the New Testament toward the end of the first century CE – i.e. the relegation of the end matters to the transcendental –, I argue that Paul was preaching in the context of what I call the ―daily messianic‖. My formulation of the ―daily messianic‖ consists of what continental philosophers, from Martin Heidegger to Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, and Giorgio Agamben see as a rupture within the worldly (i.e. ―secular‖) matters. This mode, which had subsumed Paul's discourse, was permeated by ―care‖ and ―anxiety; it was beyond calculation or metaphysical description; it was where the distinction between the body and the soul did not make sense; and it was directed toward justice. When the expectation of the parousia lost its immediacy, imminence, and immanence, Paul's words lost their messianic significance. No wonder, then, that with very few exceptions like the Jewish philosopher Jacob Taubes, the interpreters have read first and last parts of the chapter (vv. 1-7 on political subjection and vv. 11-14 on eschatology respectively) separately.
In chapter three, I discuss the Incident at Antioch (Gal 2:12-14), where, according to Paul's report, Peter led others to Judaize while he could not do that himself all the time. The interpretation of this passage has been fraught with presuppositions regarding Paul's attitude toward Judaism. I show that the nineteenth century Protestant readings of Paul influenced philosophers, like Nietzsche and Freud, so that the supersession of ―guilt-inducing‖ Judaism by Christianity gave way to the supersession of ―guilt-ridden religion‖ by modernity. This picture has not changed substantially, as I argue, whether for biblical scholars (even the New Perspective theologians) or for the philosophers of the ―turn to religion‖ – Alain Badiou, Slavoj Žižek, or Jacques Derrida. In my alternative interpretation, I emphasize that because Paul's radical Jewishness has often been neglected, he has been taken as some sort of ―Lutheran Jewish‖ man. Read this way, the conflict between Paul and Peter is like any everyday argument between two rabbis. Paul mentions the story, however, in order to establish his authority as a true apostle.
The fourth chapter is about the reception of 1 Corinthians 11:5-16, on women's veiling during prayer and prophecy. My survey of the reinterpretations of the passage in modern times shows that Paul's veiling injunction has often been construed to subdue the categories that at different points in history could not constitute the standard European identity. It has been assumed that the veil belonged to the ―Jewish‖, the ecstatic ―Greek‖, the exotic ―Oriental‖, or that it has been instituted to silence ―liberationist‖ women or to foreclose the possibility of homosexuality (or cross-dressing). In this manner, the veil has been forcefully discarded from the European stage. No wonder, then, that its resurgence functions as a threat to some European states.
In this chapter, with the help of poststructuralists, I question some of the assumptions about the veil, femininity, subjectivity, and the ethnic other. According to my alternative interpretation, there is no need to reinterpret Paul's commandments by othering certain groups or by projecting the encounter between West and its others to the Corinthian correspondence. Paul might have used the veil as a means for integrating women into the church by their inclusion in the ―masculine‖ order.
In conclusion, in response to the claim that modern Europe emerged as a gradual parting of ways between biblical scholarship and secular philosophy, I argue in my work that the conversation between the two has persisted, despite its fluxes throughout history. When this mutual relationship is acknowledged, it can even be pushed to its limits to, on the one hand, read the Bible through the possibilities that poststructuralist theory provides and, on the other, make informed interventions in continental philosophy.


Considerable amounts of data indicate that the thickness of the gouge zone for brittle faults increases linearly with total slip. This implies that gouge is produced continuously and at a steady rate as faulting progresses. A simple model of wear which accounts for gouge formation predicts a constant thickness/slip ratio for a given rock type and normal stress. The model is compared with measurements of gouge production in friction-sliding experiments, and there is satisfactory agreement. Natural faults have higher wear rates than found in the experiments, probably because of their greater roughness. Estimates are also made of the fraction of the energy of faulting that goes into gouge production, and it is found to be 10 −3 –10 −4 of the frictional work in both the experimental and natural cases. The model predicts that fault zones should thicken with depth in simple cases.


The diagnosis of acute brain injury in the acute care setting is based on neurological examina‐ tion and neuroimaging tools such as computed tomography (CT) scanning and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, there are limitations to both CT and MRI scanning. The lack of objective, noninvasive and readily accessible clinical tools to detect injury has left clinicians with uncertainty about how to best identify and treat these conditions. It is also very difficult for patients and their families who struggle to better understand the deficits they deal with on a daily basis. There have been many studies exploring many promising biomarkers during the last decade. Despite the large number of published studies there is still a lack of any Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved biomarkers for brain injury in adults and children. Given all of these researches, there is now an important need to validate and introduce them into the clinical setting. This chapter reviews commonly studied biomarkers for acute brain injury in humans, with an emphasis on traumatic brain injury and stroke.


A topical task for the secondary and higher schools in the Digital Age is to find innovative methods and approaches in the educational process. The objective of the paper is to present the experience of interaction between the Vernadsky State Geological Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences and educational specialists, as well as to discuss further ways to actualize this trend in studying natural sciences in the secondary and higher schools. The museum has created all the necessary conditions to work with the young generation in the new environment, the key factors being a well-developed communication environment and technical facilities, as well as sustainable professional relations with the academic and teaching community of higher educational institutions of mining and geological profile. Specific examples of innovative techniques and methods of work are presented that include research and educational projects and programs, on-line video lectures, teleconferences with participation of the leading scientists of the Russian Academy of Sciences, researchers and engineers, work with schoolchildren in the "Club of Young Geologists", participation of its members in a variety of city and national competitions both in real time and on-line. The accumulated experience of using digital technologies in the educational process indicates the prospects of the created developments.


This paper creates a philosophical structure for classifying methods which estimate origin-destination matrices using link counts. It is claimed that the motivation for doing so is to help real-life transport planners use matrix estimation methods effectively, especially in terms of trading-off observational data with prior subjective input (typically referred to as 'professional judgement'). The paper lists a number of applications that require such methods, differentiating between relatively simple and highly complex applications. It is argued that a sound philosophical perspective is particularly important for estimating trip matrices in the latter type of application. As a result of this argument, a classification structure is built up through using concepts of realism, subjectivity, empiricism and rationalism. Emphasis is put on the fact that, in typical transport planning applications, none of these concepts is useful in its extreme form. The structure is then used to make a review of methods for estimating trip matrices using link counts, covering material published over the past 30 years. The paper concludes by making recommendations, both philosophical and methodological, concerning both practical applications and further research.


Almost 200 million people worldwide are found to be affected by Diabetes mellitus (DM). DM is a metabolic disorder which occurs due to reduced insulin action and/or insulin secretion in the body. Reduced or inactive insulin results in imbalanced food metabolism. With the progression of disease, pathological changes like nephropathy, retinopathy and cardiovascular complications start occurring in the body. DM is mainly categorized into 2 types: type 1 DM and type 2 DM. Type 1 is generally treated through insulin replacement therapy. Type 2 DM is treated with oral hypoglycemics. Oral hypoglycemics are classified into 5 types: sulfonylureas, biguanides, α-glucosidase inhibitors, meglitinide analogues and thiazolidinediones. Conventional dosage forms of most of these drugs bear some drawbacks such as frequent dosing, short half live, and low bioavailability. Therefore, to alleviate the drawbacks associated with conventional dosage forms, efforts have been made in the area of novel and controlled drug delivery system for oral hypoglycemics. Present review highlights various novel and controlled drug delivery systems that have been investigated by different researchers for achieving sustained and controlled drug delivery of oral hypoglycemics and for overcoming the limitations related with the conventional dosage forms of oral hypoglycemics.


Nothing More than Freedom explores the long and complex legal history of Black freedom in the United States. From the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 until the end of Reconstruction in 1877, supreme courts in former slave states decided approximately 700 lawsuits associated with the struggle for Black freedom and equal citizenship. This litigation – the majority through private law – triggered questions about American liberty and reassessed the nation's legal and political order following the Civil War. Judicial decisions set the terms of debates about racial identity, civil rights, and national belonging, and established that slavery, as a legal institution and social practice, remained actionable in American law well after its ostensible demise. The verdicts determined how unresolved facets of slavery would undercut ongoing efforts for abolition and the realization of equality. Insightful and compelling, this work makes an important intervention in the history of post-Civil War law.


P2P SIP (peer to peer session initiation protocol) systems have emerged as a new trend in multimedia realm due to their abilities to overcome the shortcomings of conventional SIP systems. Most of P2P SIP systems were implemented using Chord, a Distributed Hash Table (DHT) based routing algorithm which can provide scalability and reliability. Previous studies on P2P SIP systems did not address node heterogeneity, location information and mobility issues all together. For node heterogeneity, nodes with different capabilities (processing power, storage and bandwidth) should be treated suitably. For location information, the signaling latency is correlated with the distance between end users. This will influence call setup latency greatly. As to mobility, the node churn property will involve additional messages to maintain a stable DHT-based network and increases call setup latency. To conquer these problems, we propose a hierarchical social network-based P2P SIP system. The social network property can increase routing efficiency when calling friends. In addition, the proposed hybrid (structured/ unstructured) overlay is more resilient to cope with node churn. Simulation results show that our approach can improve 32% call setup latency with non-buddies and reduce 63% maintenance cost in comparison with the conventional Chord-based approach. In addition, we improve lookup efficiency from O(logN) to O(1) when making calls with buddies, where N is the number of nodes in a DHT-based network.


This article argues that school social capital is crucial for school effectiveness, but it has been disregarded in the traditional school administrative theory. Therefore, this article tries to illustrate the significance of school social capital to school effectiveness. School social capital is defined as the social resources embedded in internal and external school social networks. According to the existing literature, if schools possess more socially embedded resources, the overall school performance will be better. Thus, managing school social capital is important for school to strive for effectiveness. It is suggested that schools can manage school social capital through (a) maintaining the possessed social resources by expressive action and cultural intervention, and (b) acquiring additional social resources by instrumental action and the balance of loosely coupled system and tightly coupled system of school social networks. However, there is no specific theory explaining school social capital and its relationship to school effectiveness. Therefore, it will be contributive to the development of a theory of school social capital.


Immunosuppressive drugs are used in renal transplantation to prevent and treat rejection and their use has traditionally been limited to urologists trained in transplant surgery. However, there are other urologic conditions for which these drugs have proven efficacy. Since transplant surgery has become a small niche subspecialty within urology, most urologists are unfamiliar and uncomfortable with their use. This review will focus on the use of Cyclosporine (CyA), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors in urology outside of solid organ transplant. This includes the treatment of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) with CyA as well as the role of CyA in eosinophilic cystitis (EC) and the treatment of retroperitoneal fibrosis (RF) with MMF. Also included is the utilization of mTOR inhibitors in both advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and in patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) associated angiomyolipoma (AML). Available clinical data on mTOR inhibition in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is also briefly presented. Specific attention is given to the indications for each agent, the available evidence surrounding their use, and the most common adverse events (AEs) and their subsequent management.


Steam explosion has been proposed for a wide range of lignocellulosic applications, including fractionation of biomass, pre-treatment of biomass for ethanol production, or as an alternative to conventional mechanical pulping. Nevertheless, a steam explosion process could also be used as pretreatment before chemical pulping, expecting a reduction in cooking time due to the open structure of the exploded chips. Thus, to evaluate the effect of steam explosion as a pretreatment in the kraft pulping of Eucalyptus globulus, steam exploded chips and control chips were subjected to kraft cookings. Steam exploded chips provided pulps with reductions of kappa number by up to 70% with no significant change in viscosity. Therefore, the cooking time could be shortened by 60%, increasing the productivity and obtaining pulps with similar delignification degree to those of the control pulp. Furthermore, not only the production rate could be increased, but also most of the hemicelluloses could be recovered before pulping and converted to a value-added product. Finally, although exploded pulp had inferior mechanical strength, the optical properties, which are more important in eucalyptus pulps, were found to be better.


This first survey obtained background information and opinions/experiences on participating drivers about railroad crossings. A total of 752 professional drivers representing 34 companies participated in the survey. Drivers gave an average effectiveness rating of 4.7 for crossing gates, 4.5 for flashing lights, 3.5 for clanging bell, 3.3 for train horn, 3.1 for crossbuck signs, and 3.0 for advance warning signs (5 means very high and 1 means very low). About 47% of the drivers said that railroad crossings present a significant driving hazard above normal driving conditions, but 46% said they do not. Seventy four percent of the drivers said that most railroad crossings are adequately protected/have adequate safety warning devices. However, 22% said that the crossings need more protection/more warning devices. The perception of hazards does not depend on the frequency of crossing railroad tracks or the number of times the drivers stop at the crossings. The perception of hazards does not influence the rating of the effectiveness of the warning devices. However, the perception of hazards influences the drivers' views on the current standard of railroad grade crossing devices. The precautions drivers take when crossing the tracks are influenced by their perception of hazards and the adequacy of the current standard of warning devices. Drivers who thought crossings needed more protective warning devices rely on the train horn and advance warning signs more than other groups of drivers. Their view of the current standard of railroad warning devices also depends on the type of vehicle they drive. A higher proportion of the drivers in the group that thinks that railroad crossings need more protection drove a bus most frequently.


Abstract Selenium is an essential trace element due to its incorporation into selenoproteins with important biological functions. However, at high doses it is toxic. Selenium toxicity is generally attributed to the induction of oxidative stress. However, it has become apparent that the mode of action of seleno-compounds varies, depending on its chemical form and speciation. Recent studies in various eukaryotic systems, in particular the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae, provide new insights on the cytotoxic mechanisms of selenomethionine and selenocysteine. This review first summarizes current knowledge on reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced genotoxicity of inorganic selenium species. Then, we discuss recent advances on our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of selenocysteine and selenomethionine cytotoxicity. We present evidences indicating that both oxidative stress and ROS-independent mechanisms contribute to selenoamino acids cytotoxicity. These latter mechanisms include disruption of protein homeostasis by selenocysteine misincorporation in proteins and/or reaction of selenols with protein thiols.


Measures of growth and skeletal isotopic ratios in the Caribbean coral Montastraea annularis are fundamental to many studies of paleoceanography, environmental degradation, and global climate change. This taxon is shown to consist of at least three sibling species in shallow waters. The two most commonly studied of these show highly significant differences in growth rate and oxygen isotopic ratios, parameters routinely used to estimate past climatic conditions; unusual coloration in the third may have confused research on coral bleaching. Interpretation or comparison of past and current studies can be jeopardized by ignoring these species boundaries.


Introduction:
 The ARUBA Trial (2014) concluded that medical management alone is superior to medical management plus interventional therapy in the management of unruptured brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVMs). This sparked considerable controversy among involved healthcare providers.

 Hypothesis:
 We hypothesize that the publication of ARUBA impacted the volume and type of bAVMs treated in a large tertiary care center.

 Methods:
 This was a retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database of bAVMs treated at Stanford Hospital and Clinics from January 2012 through July 2015. The study period was divided into three phases: the 'pre-ARUBA phase', consisting of the 17 months prior to the presentation of ARUBA Trial Results at the XXII European Stroke Conference (ESC) (Jan 1, 2012 - May 31, 2013), the 'transition phase', consisting of the 8 months between ESC XXII and the ARUBA publication in Lancet (June 1, 2013 - Feb 15, 2014), and the 'post-ARUBA phase', or the 17 months following the Lancet publication (Feb 16, 2014 - July 31, 2015).

 Results:
 Thirty patients were treated in the 'pre-ARUBA phase' (1.8/month), 23 in the 'transition phase' (2.7/month) and 37 in the 'post-ARUBA phase' (2.2/month). The percentage of treated bAVMs that were not ruptured at the time of presentation was 40%, 57%, and 46% in these study phases, respectively (chi-square statistic=5.96, p=0.05), and the mean S-M for each phase was 2.6, 3.0 and 2.4, respectively. The percentage of patients undergoing surgery as a component of their treatment regimen was 60% in both the pre- and post-ARUBA phases, whereas the percentage undergoing CyberKnife radiosurgery was 23% and 22%, respectively. There is no difference in the percentage of patients treated with each modality in the pre- and post-ARUBA phases (chi-square statistic=0.41, p=0.94).

 Conclusions:
 The volume and type (ruptured vs. unruptured, S-M Grade) of bAVMs treated at one large neurosurgery referral center has been relatively unchanged in the period of time leading up to and following ARUBA. Furthermore, there has been no change in the frequency of the various treatment modalities throughout the period in study. Additional research is necessary to more thoroughly characterize the impact of ARUBA on the treatment patterns of bAVMS.


Colloidal heteronanocrystals (HNCs) can be regarded as solution-grown inorganic–organic hybrid nanomaterials, since they consist of inorganic nanoparticles that are coated with a layer of organic ligand molecules. The hybrid nature of these nanostructures provides great flexibility in engineering their physical and chemical properties. The inorganic particles are heterostructured, i.e. they comprise two (or more) different materials joined together, what gives them remarkable and unique properties that can be controlled by the composition, size and shape of each component of the HNC. The interaction between the inorganic component and the organic ligand molecules allows the size and shape of the HNCs to be controlled and gives rise to novel properties. Moreover, the organic surfactant layer opens up the possibility of surface chemistry manipulation, making it possible to tailor a number of properties. These features have turned colloidal HNCs into promising materials for a number of applications, spurring a growing interest on the investigation of their preparation and properties. This critical review provides an overview of recent developments in this rapidly expanding field, with emphasis on semiconductor HNCs (e.g., quantum dots and quantum rods). In addition to defining the state of the art and highlighting the key issues in the field, this review addresses the fundamental physical and chemical principles needed to understand the properties and preparation of colloidal HNCs (283 references).


The present study aimed to assess the effect of polymorphisms in the tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) promoter (A/A, A/G and G/G) and exons (T/T, T/C and C/C) on immune function and reproductive performance in dairy cows. The occurrence of the first postpartum ovulation within 3 weeks in the cows with the TNF-α promoter A/G and G/G genotypes was higher than in the A/A group. Among the different TNF-α exon genotypes, the occurrence of early first postpartum ovulation was higher in the T/C and C/C genotype groups than in the T/T group. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the TNF-α gene did not affect the rate of artificial insemination (AI) or duration from parturition to next conception (days open). The apoptosis rate of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) did not differ among the TNF-α promoter genotypes, but the PMN transmigration rate was significantly higher for the A/A and A/G genotypes than for the G/G genotype. Interleukin 8 (IL-8) mRNA expression in PMNs and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) before culture was significantly higher for the A/A genotype compared with the G/G genotype. There were no significant differences between the genotypes in the mRNA expression of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in PMNs and PBMCs before and 4 h after culture. IL-8 and IL-1β production by PBMCs cultured for 4 h was significantly higher for the animals with the A/A genotype than for those with the G/G genotype. On the other hand, no significant difference was observed in IL-8 and IL-1β production by PMNs among different TNF-α genotypes. Taken together, these results suggest that SNP in the TNF-α gene affects immune function and reproductive performance in dairy cows.


Motivation: Phylogenies are increasingly used in all fields of medical and biological research. Moreover, because of the next-generation sequencing revolution, datasets used for conducting phylogenetic analyses grow at an unprecedented pace. RAxML (Randomized Axelerated Maximum Likelihood) is a popular program for phylogenetic analyses of large datasets under maximum likelihood. Since the last RAxML paper in 2006, it has been continuously maintained and extended to accommodate the increasingly growing input datasets and to serve the needs of the user community. Results: I present some of the most notable new features and extensions of RAxML, such as a substantial extension of substitution models and supported data types, the introduction of SSE3, AVX and AVX2 vector intrinsics, techniques for reducing the memory requirements of the code and a plethora of operations for conducting post-analyses on sets of trees. In addition, an up-to-date 50-page user manual covering all new RAxML options is available. Availability and implementation: The code is available under GNU GPL at https://github.com/stamatak/standard-RAxML. Contact: email@example.com Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.


In late years, the necessity of high Knudsen number flows, such as highly rarefied gas flows with large mean free path and gaseous flows around nanodevices with small characteristic length have increased significantly, especially in fields of researches on space technology, surface science, fabrication of thin film for semi-conductor and so on. In this paper, we describe mainly the optical diagnostic techniques for the high Knudsen number flows, such as laser induced fluorescence (LIF), resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) and pressure sensitive molecular film (PSMF), and our experimental results obtained by the use of the techniques, i.e., applications of LIF to visualization of flow field structures including complicated shock wave system and to a measurement of rotational temperature, establishment of a REMPI system and its application to detection of rotational nonequilibrium in highly rarefied gas flows, and development of the suitable PSMF for low density and micro-scale gas flows.


The Czech Republic and Sweden have historically been prominent producers and exporters of arms. The end of the Cold War has, however, changed the global patterns of arms trade. The aim of this thesis is to compare the trends in arms exports of the two countries in the years 1993-2012. The method involves a combination of a quantitative analysis aimed at examining how arms exports correlate to national product and military expenditure, and a qualitative analysis for an in-depth examination of the different sectors that the exports were composed of. The results show weak or non-existent correlations between the arms exports and the mentioned macroeconomic variables, with a general upward-pointing trend for Sweden and a general downward-pointing trend for the Czech Republic. Analysis by sector suggests that the Czech defense industry suffered greatly from the turbulent period that followed the end of the Cold War, thus also negatively affecting the country's exports. The Swedish defense industry has not been affected to the same extent and the exports seem actually to have benefitted from reductions in the size of the armed forces. The fact that the export trends have been very volatile and do not show much correlation to economic variables suggests a certain degree of unpredictability, both due to external events and to the inconsistency of defense policy.


Abstract Japanese female undergraduates ( N = 258) read a vignette depicting social-sexual behavior toward a woman at work and indicated their perceptions of the incident, the coping responses expected from the target, and their own sex-role attitudes and social self-esteem. Three contextual variables (actor status, actor-target familiarity, and the sexuality of body touching) were manipulated in the vignette. Hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that women having liberal sex-role attitudes perceived the behavior to be more inappropriate and expected more assertive coping responses of the target than women having conservative sex-role attitudes, and that women having low social self-esteem perceived the behavior to be more sexually intimidating than women having high social self-esteem. Only the sexuality of body touching influenced women′s perceptions. Similarities and differences in the perceptions of Japanese and American women are discussed.


Reuse of wastewater in agriculture is a common feature in the developing world. While this strategy might contribute to the livelihood of farming communities, there are health risks associated with the management and reuse of wastewater and faecal sludge. We visualise here an assessment of health risks along the major wastewater channel in Kampala, Uganda. The visualization brings to bear the context of wastewater reuse activities in the Nakivubo wetlands and emphasises interconnections to disease transmission pathways. The contextual features are complemented with findings from environmental sampling and a cross-sectional epidemiological survey in selected exposure groups. Our documentation can serve as a case study for a step-by-step implementation of risk assessment and management as described in the World Health Organization's 2006 guidelines for the safe use of wastewater, greywater and excreta in light of the forthcoming sanitation safety planning approach.


Latin America has the most unbalanced distribution of resources of all regions in the world. This review defines a set of common elements characterizing social structures on this continent, suggests some approaches for analysis and theorizing, and supports the integration of regional studies into broader discussions of stratification. An overview of the situation on the continent as a whole, including a short discussion of the relationship between poverty and inequality, allows to address some concerns with data availability. We then devote a section each to class, gender, and race, and conclude by identifying three critical factors that explain Latin American inequality: its position within a global economic system, internal colonialism with maintenance of racial categories, and the underdevelopment of state structures.


Objective: To assess the quality of the pharmacological control of hypertension. Design: A cross-sectional study. Subjects: Primary health care centers-registered hypertensive patients. Setting: Primary health care centers in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. Methods: Data was recorded, using a structured questionnaire, through direct interviewing of patients, and from their medical records. It included demographic characteristics, hypertension related, and doctors'-related variables; and patients' utilization of other health facilities and whether they had other chronic diseases. Results: The proportion of patients with controlled hypertension was 37%. It was significantly increased with age below 55 years, with non-Saudis, duration of treatment shorter than 5 years; and with the use of monotherapy. Doctors' care-related variables did not show significant variation with the number of controlled patients which may imply that the quality of follow-up might not be adequate. Conclusions: The proportion of controlled patients cared for in the PHC centers is low. The factors associated with control were age, and the use of a single antihypertensive drug. The study questions the quality of follow-up of patients by the PHC physicians.


Large deep learning models have achieved state-of-the-art performance across various natural language processing (NLP) tasks and demonstrated remarkable few-shot learning performance. However, training them is often challenging and resource-intensive. In this paper, we study an ef-ficient approach to train language models using few-shot learners. We show that, by leveraging the fast learning nature of few-shot learners, one can train language models efficiently in a stage-wise manner. Our main insight is that stacking a good few-shot learner on a good small language model provides a good initializer for a larger language model. Using this insight and building upon progressive stacking approaches, we develop novel approaches for training such networks in a stagewise manner. Furthermore, we also provide a theoretical framework and accompanying empirical studies to support our insights, thereby creating a theoretical foundation for progressive stacking. Finally, we provide empirical results to demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in reducing the training time of few-shot learners.


The origin of New Zealand's paediatric intensive care medicine lay in the formal establishment of Auckland Hospital's Central Respiratory Unit within the hospital's Infectious Diseases Unit (December 1958). It was initially established for the care of critically ill children, chiefly with airway and respiratory disorders or tetanus. Senior Specialist Anaesthetist Matthew Spence soon took charge, his first annual report (1960) briefly describing six children among 19 admissions and another six consulted on elsewhere. Rapid build-up of paediatric admissions-36 in 1963 becoming 104 in 1969-is detailed through Dr Spence's admirable annual reports for that period, which also provide the evidence of his organisational brilliance and personal commitment to development of the unit. Treatment for children, approximately a third of all admissions, soon included management of brain swelling from meningitis, intractable convulsions, traumatic brain injury, etc. Critically ill children were occasionally flown into Auckland; others were cared for regionally as further intensive care units developed throughout New Zealand. Successive additions to medical staffing gradually resulted in four full-time intensivists after Dr Spence's retirement in 1983. Dr James Judson computerised record-keeping from 1984 and developed a large database, containing details of children with numbers approaching 2000. At the end of 1991, the (now) Department of Critical Care Medicine completed its paediatric role over three decades, with care of children passing to a paediatric intensive care unit in the new Auckland paediatric hospital (soon to be called "Starship"). Regional intensive care units still make a substantial contribution to paediatric intensive care countrywide.


We conduct a meta-analysis (MA) of around 100 studies valuing species and nature conservation in Asia and Oceania, using both revealed and stated preferences methods. Dividing our dataset into two levels of heterogeneity in terms of good characteristics (species vs. nature conservation more generally) and valuation methods, we show that the degree of regularity and conformity with theory and empirical expectations is higher for the more homogenous dataset of contingent valuation of species. For example, we find that willingness to pay (WTP) for preservation of mammals tends to be higher than other species and that WTP for species preservation increases with income (elasticity below one). For the full dataset we find that marine habitats are valued significantly higher than other habitat types in the region. Despite some encouraging results, more research is required to answer the question of how homogenous is homogenous enough in MA, especially when moving towards using MA for benefit transfer and policy use.


Thermal magnetic noise in magnetoresistive read heads was studied extensively in recent years. It is believed that thermal magnetic noise is becoming the dominant noise source in read heads for hard-disk drive applications. Most previous work concentrated on magnetic white noise from free layers. This work shows that magnetic noise from a synthetic antiferromagnet can be comparable to that from a free layer in tunneling read heads for current and future hard-disk drives. An analytical model is established for thermal magnetic noise based on the single domain particle assumption. The model agrees well with results from a full micromagnetic model. This indicates that magnetic thermal fluctuations in current tunneling heads are close to being coherent.


Argentina's once strong money and banking system deteriorated in the 1920s and was devastated by the Great Depression. Gold convertibility was suspended in December 1929, even before the crisis seriously damaged the core economies. Commonly, these events are seen as being driven by external real shocks associated with the World Depression, despite the puzzle of the timing. We argue for an alternative, or complementary, explanation of the crisis that focuses on the inside-outside money relationship in a system of fractional-reserve banking and gold-standard rules. This internal explanation for the crisis involves no timing puzzle. The tension between internal and external convertibility can be felt when banks fall into bad times, and an internal drain can feed an external drain. Such was the case after financial fragility appeared in the 1914-27 suspension. Resumption in 1927 was probably unsustainable due to the problems of the financial system, and a dynamic model illustrates the point well. The resolution of the crisis required Lender-of-Last-Resort actions by the state, discharged at first by the state bank. When the state bank became insolvent, the currency board started bailing out the system using high-powered money. Thus came about the demise of the currency board and the creation of a central bank in 1935, an institution that had no pretense of a nominal-anchor commitment device and no ceiling on Lender-of-Last-Resort actions - innovations with painful long-run consequences for inflation performance and financial-sector health. The parallels with recent developing-country crises, not least the current Argentine dilemma, are remarkable, and the implications for the institutional design of monetary and banking systems are considered.


Context
Controversy over the efficacy of homeopathic medicine is rooted in the view that its methodology is implausible.

Objective
The study intended to explore the postintervention results for a randomly selected group of patients in an actual practice.

Design
The study was a retrospective review of the charts of patients receiving homeopathy, performed as a pilot study.

Setting
The study took place at a part-time, urban practice in the Mid-Atlantic USA with an area population of about 600 000.

Participants
The charts of 53 patients were randomly sampled for later abstraction and were included in the study. They were admitted between August 2010 and June 2014 for first-time visits and took part in at least one follow-up visit during the six months after the intervention.

Outcome Measures
A standardized tool was used to abstract the data from patients' charts. After exclusions and losses to follow-up, data from 40 charts were analyzed. The actual number of visits after the initial visit that was included in the analysis varied from one to five. The current status of up to five diagnoses or problems were tracked for each patient and each visit as was the number of allopathic medications in use and the overall trajectory based on classical homeopathic analysis, evaluating whether the patient was better, worse, or unchanged overall.

Results
The charts of 27 patients demonstrated overall improvement; the charts of 12 patients demonstrated no overall change or a worsening of problems or symptoms. The difference between the improved and the nonimproved groups of participants postintervention were significant (P = .0026). Data also demonstrated a significant reduction in the use of allopathic medication and an increase in the number of improved individual conditions or diagnoses (P < .05).

Conclusions
The current study of the treatment experience of 40 persons with a variety of medical conditions found that a majority of patients, when their charts were analyzed according to specific criteria, experienced improvements while undergoing classical homeopathic treatment. The reasons for these improvements can't be determined from available data, but the results do pose important questions about how humans heal. While other factors might account for this result, it's difficult to fully dismiss the idea that homeopathic medicine may have had some impact on observed results.


STUDY OBJECTIVES
Coordinated specialty care (CSC) is widely accepted as an evidence-based treatment for first episode psychosis (FEP). The NAVIGATE intervention from the Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode Early Treatment Program (RAISE-ETP) study is a CSC intervention which offers a suite of evidence-based treatments shown to improve engagement and clinical outcomes, especially in those with shorter duration of untreated psychosis (DUP). Coincident with the publication of this study, legislation was passed by the United States Congress in 2014-15 to fund CSC for FEP via a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) block grant set-aside for each state. In Michigan (MI) the management of this grant was delegated to Network180, the community mental health authority in Kent County, with the goal of making CSC more widely available to the 10 million people in MI. Limited research describes the outcomes of implementation of CSC into community practices with no published accounts evaluating the use of the NAVIGATE intervention in a naturalistic setting. We describe the outcomes of NAVIGATE implementation in the state of MI.

METHODS
In 2014, 3 centers in MI were selected and trained to provide NAVIGATE CSC for FEP. In 2016 a 4th center was added, and 2 existing centers were expanded to provide additional access to NAVIGATE. Inclusion: age 18-31, served in 1 of 4 FEP centers in MI. Data collection began in 2015 for basic demographics, global illness (CGI q3 mo), hospital/ED use and work/school (SURF q3 mo) and was expanded in 2016 to include further demographics, diagnosis, DUP, vital signs; and in 2018 for clinical symptoms with the modified Colorado Symptom Inventory (mCSI q6 mo), reported via an online portal. This analysis used data until 12/31/19. Mixed effects models adjusted by age, sex and race were used to account for correlated data within patients.

RESULTS
N=283 had useable demographic information and were included in the analysis. Age at enrollment was 21.6 ± 3.0 yrs; 74.2% male; 53.4% Caucasian, 34.6% African American; 12.9 ± 1.7 yrs of education (N=195). 18 mo retention was 67% with no difference by sex or race. CGI scores decreased 20% from baseline (BL) to 18 mo (BL=3.5, N=134; 15-18 mo=2.8, N=60). Service utilization via the SURF was measured at BL (N=172) and 18 mo (N=72): psychiatric hospitalizations occurred in 37% at BL and 6% at 18 mo (p<0.01); ER visits occurred in 40% at BL and 13% at 18 mo (p<0.01). 44% were working or in school at BL and 68% at 18 mo (p<0.01). 21% were on antipsychotics (AP) at BL (N=178) and 85% at 18 mo (N=13) with 8% and 54% on long acting injectable-AP at BL and 18 mo, respectively. Limitations include missing data and lack of a control group.

CONCLUSION
The implementation of the NAVIGATE CSC program for FEP in MI resulted in meaningful clinical improvement for enrollees. Further support could make this evidence-based intervention available to more people with FEP.

FUNDING
Supported by funds from the SAMHSA Medicaid State Block Grant set-aside awarded to Network180 (Achtyes, Kempema). The funders had no role in the design of the study, the analysis or the decision to publish the results.


Abstract:The category of "punitive expedition" has attracted surprisingly little analysis, possibly reflecting widespread consensus on its content and application. But how does "punishment," and especially the invariably collective punishment of a military operation, become naturalized as a colonial or imperial action? Under what conditions does that punishment take the form of an expedition and what specific events or qualities render an expedition punitive? What are punitive expeditions for? This article interrogates both the label and the idea of the punitive expedition, sketching a genealogy of usage and describing the broad outlines of the moral economy and strategic contexts for the deployment of a form of imperial violence that is fundamentally spectacular, exemplary and tutelary.


Abstract Objectives: Food insecurity, limited or uncertain access to adequate nutrition, is an increasingly recognized determinant of health outcomes and is often associated with having obesity. It is unclear, however, if this association persists in elderly populations. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 2868 participants' aged 65+ years from the Health and Retirement Study. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess associations between food insecurity and body mass index, demographic characteristics, psychiatric history, and medical history. Results: Participants with overweight/obesity had a higher prevalence of food insecurity than leaner counterparts, however, weight status was not a significant predictor of food insecurity after multivariate adjustment. Instead, mental illness, current smoking status, and non-White race were all independently associated with food insecurity. Discussion: Beyond financial status, health care providers are encouraged to use these characteristics to identify elderly patients that may be at risk of food insecurity.


A carrot (Daucus carota, L.) genomic clone (DcPRP1) was isolated on the basis of its homology to previously described cDNAs encoding a wound-inducible, proline-rich cell wall protein. DNA sequence analysis showed that DcPRP1 contains a single open-reading frame encoding a 235-amino acid protein that is colinear with that predicted from the cDNA sequence with the exception of four amino acids at the N terminus and a 60-nucleotide insertion present within the genomic clone. Genomic Southern hybridization analysis showed that the cloned sequence hybridized with a single restriction enzyme fragment using several restriction enzymes. Primer extension and northern hybridization analysis indicated that the expression of DcPRP1 is developmentally regulated and linked to the formation of storage roots, where this gene is expressed at high levels after wounding. The level of DcPRP1 mRNA was greatest in tissue immediately adjacent to the wound site. Treatment of unwounded carrot storage roots with 10 [mu]M 2,4-dichlorophenoxy-acetic acid, indoleacetic acid, or naphthalene-1-acetic acid also resulted in the accumulation of DcPRP1 transcripts to a level equal to that seen in wounded tissue.


In this report, we investigate the impact of industrial relations and social dialogue on the quality of employment, and subsequently, on the quality of services provided in the public sector in Czechia since 2000, with a special emphasis given to the changes and developments in the postcrisis period. Industrial relations in the Czech public sector are marked by fragmentation and the absence of collective bargaining in the majority of public sector domains. Despite the high level of decentralization, wage setting and provisions for working conditions, have remained centralized with the unilateral decision of the government. In the analysis we applied a multidisciplinary and multi-level governance perspective using available data, documents and semi-structured interviews to support the evidence. The analysis focused on the three subsectors of the public sector, namely healthcare (with a focus on hospitals), primary education and municipalities (with a focus on pre-primary education). This approach allowed mapping sectoral differences within the public sector in the social dialogue outcomes. Our results suggest that the impact of the crisis on public sector employment remained limited. The Czech government implemented simple budget cuts that were set in motion only at the central government level. The limited impact of the crisis in the education and healthcare sector is linked to the mobilization and protest activities of the trade unions in this period. In both sectors, low wages were used as the main argument to prevent budget cuts. As a result, the crisis has strengthened the position of trade unions and has exercised their mobilization potential, but was not sufficient to institutionalize collective bargaining in the public sector, as since the crisis period, only one sector's collective agreement has been concluded..


This work reports for the first time the development of enhanced-conductivity, graphene-doped photo-patternable hybrid organic-inorganic ionogels and the effect of the subsequent materials condensation on the conductivity and mechanical stability of three-dimensional microstructures fabricated by multi-photon polymerisation (MPP). Ionogels were based on photocurable silicon/zirconium hybrid sol–gel materials and phosphonium (trihexyltetradecylphosphonium dicyanamide) [P6,6,6,14][DCA] ionic liquid (IL). To optimise the dispersion of graphene within the ionogel matrices, aqueous solutions of graphene were prepared, as opposed to the conventional graphene powder approach, and employed as catalysts of hydrolysis and condensation reactions occurring in the sol–gel process. Ionogels were prepared via a two step process by varying the hydrolysis degree from 25 to 50%, IL content between 0–50 w/w%, and the inorganic modifier (zirconate complex) concentration from 30 to 60 mol.% against the photocurable ormosil and they were characterised via Raman, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy. MPP was performed on the hybrid ionogels, resulting in three-dimensional microstructures that were characterised using scanning electron microscopy. It is clearly demonstrated that the molecular formulation of the ionogels, including the concentration of graphene and the zirconate network modifier, plays a critical role in the conductivity of the ionogels and influences the resulting mechanical stability of the fabricated three-dimensional microstructures. This work aims to establish for the first time the relationship between the molecular design and condensation of materials in the physico-chemistry and dynamic of ionogels.


: The results of the use of emergency laparoscopy in 78 patients are presented. Of 25 patients with clinical signs of acute ileus (AI), the diagnosis was confirmed in 12, of 42 with suspected AI--in 14. In 11 cases, AI was a laparoscopic finding. In 18% of the cases, no changes in the internal organs were revealed at investigation, in 30.8%--the other diseases of the abdominal organs were diagnosed. In 6 patients, AI was dynamic, in 8--strangulative, in 23--obstructive. Laparoscopic investigation performed in 94.9% of cases permitted to establish the accurate diagnosis.


The economic crisis induced by COVID - 19 (Coronavirus) could be long, deep, and pervasive when viewed through amigration lens. Lockdowns, travel bans, and social distancing have brought global economic activities to a near standstill. Host countries face additional challenges in many sectors, such as health and agriculture, that depend on the availability of migrant workers. Migrants face the risk of contagion and also the possible loss of employment, wages, and health insurance coverage. This Migration and Development Brief provides a prognosis of how these events might affect global trends in international economic migration and remittances in 2020 and 2021. Considering that migrants tend to be concentrated in urban economic centers (cities), and are vulnerable to infection by the coronavirus, there is a need to include migrants in efforts to fight thecoronavirus. Migrant remittances provide an economic lifeline to poor households in many countries; a reduction in remittance flows could increase poverty and reduce households' access to much‐needed health services. The crisis could exacerbate xenophobic, discriminatory treatment of migrants, which calls for greater vigilance against such practices. This Brief is largely focused on international migrants, but governments should not ignore the plight of internal migrants. The magnitude of internal migration is about two - and - a - half times that of international migration. Lockdowns, loss of employment, and social distancing prompted a chaotic and painful process of mass return for internal migrants in India and many countries in Latin America. Thus, the COVID‐19 (Coronavirus) containment measures might have contributed to spreading the epidemic. Governments need to address the challenges facing internal migrants by including them in health services and cashtransfer and other social programs, and protecting them from discrimination.


Malaria remains one of the chief causes of mortality among young children in sub‐Saharan Africa. Verbal autopsies for cases of childhood mortality in Bagamoyo District, Tanzania demonstrated that degedege, a locally defined illness of children characterized by fever and convulsions, is frequently treated by traditional healers. To investigate this further, an ethnographic study was carried out in one village that included in‐depth interviews with 14 traditional healers and 3 focus groups with parents. Parents and traditional healers were unanimous in their conviction that degedege requires traditional treatments, at least initially, and that these treatments are effective. While traditional healers do refer cases that are not improving to the District Hospital, this frequently occurs late in the course of the illness, after one or more stages of traditional treatments. The prognosis will thus be poor for those children who are suffering from severe malaria. Consideration should be given to enlisting the support of traditional healers in efforts to improve treatment for severe malaria, including teaching them how to distinguish febrile convulsions from cases of severe malaria.


In this thesis we discuss two aspects of quantum gravity and break it up in the following way. In part I, we discuss a scalar field theory living in de Sitter space-time. We may describe the infinite past or future as being boundaries of this space-time and, on these boundaries we construct a field theory. It has been shown by Strominger that there exists a correspondence between the bulk de Sitter space-time and the field theory living in the infinite past [1]. This may be described as a holographic principle, where information in the bulk de Sitter space-time corresponds to information contained in the boundary field theory. We discuss the correspondence in two dimensions where the field theory is represented by a quantum mechanical model with conformal symmetry. We build up the quantum mechanical model and construct its Hamiltonian along with its energy eigenstates. Next, we study the correspondence for a three dimensional asymptotic de Sitter space. By approaching the boundary of the space-time the symmetry is enhanced for the corresponding field theory. These symmetries are generated by charges dictated by Noether's theorem. We explicitly calculate the generators of these symmetries and show they satisfy the Virasoro algebra with a central extension which helps to create a full picture of the correspondence. In part II, we focus on the ramifications of perturbed black holes in asymptotically anti-de Sitter space-time. By perturbing a black hole, it vibrates in characteristic modes much like the ringing of a bell. These modes are known as quasi-normal modes. We will show that by applying the appropriate boundary conditions, the quasi-normal frequencies are quantized. We calculate the quasi-normal frequencies in four and five dimensions perturbatively for various types of perturbations. Understanding these modes may help in understanding the holographic principle, and can give insight into the intrinsic parameters of the black holes. It is important to understand the characteristic modes and corresponding characteristic frequencies of these black holes in order to hopefully compare to experimental results from future gravitational wave detectors.


Primary bladder neck obstruction (PBNO) is a functional obstruction caused by abnormal opening of the bladder neck during the voiding phase of micturition. PBNO may present with a variety of symptoms including voiding symptoms (slow urinary stream, intermittent stream, incomplete emptying), storage symptoms (frequency, urgency, urgency incontinence, nocturia), and/or pelvic pain and discomfort. The diagnosis of PBNO can be made with videourodynamic testing, which demonstrates elevated voiding pressures with low flow, and fluoroscopic imaging demonstrating obstruction at the level of the bladder neck. Treatment options include conservative management with watchful waiting, pharmacologic management, and surgical intervention. In this article, we review the etiology, presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of PBNO in men, women, and children.


The new mineral adranosite-(Fe), ideally (NH4)4NaFe2(SO4)4Cl(OH)2, is the Fe3+-analogue of adranosite. It was found on a pyroclastic breccia in two different fumaroles at "La Fossa" crater of Vulcano, Aeolian Islands, Italy, and corresponds to an anthropogenic product previously observed in a burning coal dump at the Anna mine, near Aachen, Germany. The mineral is tetragonal, space group I 41/ acd (no. 142), with a = 18.261(2), c = 11.562(1) A, V = 3855.5(7) A3 (single-crystal data), and Z = 8. The six strongest reflections in the X-ray powder diffraction pattern are [ dobs in A ( I )( hkl )]: 9.134(100)(020), 4.569(83)(040), 3.047(79)(152), 6.462(36)(220), 3.232(29)(251), and 2.891(11)(004). The average chemical composition of the holotype is (wt.%): Na2O 5.01, Fe2O3 15.77, Al2O3 5.11, K2O 0.82, (NH4)2O 15.76, SO3 50.96, Cl 3.71, H2O 2.75, –O=Cl−0.84, total 99.05; the corresponding empirical formula is: [(NH4)3.89K0.11]∑4.00Na1.04[Fe1.27Al0.64]∑1.91S4.10O16.40Cl0.67(OH)1.96. Adranosite-(Fe) forms aggregates of pale yellow acicular crystals up to 1 mm in length, the most common forms most probably being {100}, {110}, and {111}. The measured density is 2.18(1) g/cm3, and the calculated density is 2.195 g/cm3. Adranosite-(Fe) is uniaxial (−) with ω=1.58(1), ɛ=1.57(1) (λ = 589 nm). Using single-crystal X-ray diffraction data from the holotype, the structure was refined to a final R ( F )= 0.0415 for 670 independent observed reflections [ I > 2(σ( I )]. Adranosite-(Fe) is isostructural with its Al-analogue adranosite and contains NaO4Cl2 square tetragonal bipyramids, linked through their opposite Cl corners and helicoidal chains with composition [FeO4(OH)2SO4] n , both extending along [001]. The framework resulting from the sharing of the sulfate ions between the different chains displays cages in which the nine-coordinated hydrogen-bonded NH4+ ions are hosted.


Coastal marshes and seagrass beds store millions of tons of carbon in their sediments and sequester carbon at higher per-area rates than most terrestrial ecosystems. There is substantial interest in this "blue carbon" as a carbon mitigation strategy, despite the major threat that sea level rise (SLR) poses to these habitats. Many projections of habitat and carbon change with SLR emphasize the potential for inland marsh migration and increased rates of marsh carbon sequestration, but do not consider carbon fluxes associated with habitat conversion. We integrated existing data and models to develop a spatial model for predicting habitat and carbon changes due to SLR in six mid-Atlantic U.S. states likely to face coastal habitat loss over the next century due to low tidal ranges and sediment supply. Our primary model projection, using an intermediate SLR scenario (1.2 m SLR by 2104), predicts loss of 83% of existing coastal marshes and 26% of existing seagrasses in the study area. In addition, 270,000 hectares of forest and forested wetlands in low-lying coastal areas will convert to coastal marshes. These SLR-driven habitat changes cause the study area to shift from a carbon sink to a source in our primary model projection. Given the many uncertainties about the habitat and carbon changes represented in our model, we also identified the parameters and assumptions that most strongly affected the model results to inform future research needs. These included: land availability for inland marsh migration, the baseline extent and location of coastal marshes, proportion of stored carbon emitted from lost habitats (coastal marsh sediments or terrestrial biomass carbon), and methane emissions from freshwater habitats. The study area switched from a net carbon sink to a net carbon source under SLR for all but three model runs; in those runs, net carbon sequestration declined by 57–99%.


The objectives of this work was to know the dental caries prevalence and treatment need, besides the distribution of the dental caries in a population of 12 year-old teenagers with high incidence of dental caries. 309 adolescents of public schools of Indaiatuba, Sao Paulo State, in 2004, were examined. They were selected by process systematic random and the exams followed the World Health Organization criteria. The percentile of school caries free was of 38.8%. Among the adolescents examined, 36.6% (n=113) presented dental caries. DMFT was of 2.50 (IC95%=2.07-2.93). The decayed component was the highest (61.0%). The coefficient of Gini was 0.602 and SiC value was of 5.97 (IC95%=5.32-6.62); in this group especially, 74.7% (n=74) presented dental caries activity in the moment of the exam. Thus, it can be concluded that the adolescents of this city presented low dental caries experience; however, their needs were not assisted, once most of DMFT was formed of the decayed component at 12 years old. In the group SiC, it was verified that this came quite high, being recommended actions addressed to this specific group of adolescents.


America may be one of the wealthiest countries in the world, but its citizens rank near the bottom in health status. Americans have lower life expectancy, more infant mortalities and higher adolescent death rates than most other advanced industrial nations--and even some developing countries. Though Americans are famous for tolerating great inequality in wealth, the gross inequities in the health system are less well recognized. In Healthy, Wealthy and Fair, a distinguished group of health policy experts chart the stark disparities in health and wealth in the United States. The authors explain how the inequities arise, why they persist, and what makes them worse. Growing income inequality, high poverty rates, and inadequate health care coverage: all three trends help account for the U.S.'s health troubles. The corrosive effects of market ideology and government stalemate, the contributors argue, have also proved a powerful obstacle to effective and more egalitarian solutions. A clarion call for a populist uprising to end the stalemate over health reform, Healthy, Wealthy, and Fair outlines concrete policy proposals for reform--tapping bold new ideas as well as incremental changes to existing programs. This important work will be indispensable to all those who care about our people's health, inequality, and American democracy. Available in OSO:


Enhanced hydrolysis rates for the cleavage of bis(4-nitrophenyl)phosphate (BNPP), a model phosphodiester, may be achieved by using appropriately designed ditopic receptors containing the known phosphate-binding nucleus, sapphyrin, attached covalently to suitably oriented polyhydroxyl subunits. Evidence for the interaction between sapphyrin and BNPP comes from solid-state X-ray diffraction analysis of a diprotonated dihydroxylated sapphyrin-BNPP complex and from solution-phase (31)P NMR spectroscopic binding studies. The sapphyrins described in this paper may have a role to play as oligonucleotide cleavage agents.


The characteristics of the paramagnetic centers of the main cationic isozyme of peanut peroxidase are analyzed using electron paramagnetic resonance. Two main paramagnetic species have been detected. The EPR spectrum of the native cationic peanut peroxidase shows features which correspond to those of high spin ferric heme iron. A second paramagnetic center has been identified as manganese (Mn2+). The EPR spectra of the reduced enzyme and its fluoride, cyano, carbon monoxide, thiolate and hydroxy derivatives have been studied. The signal attributed to Mn(II) disappeared after dialysis against 50 mM EDTA, which removed the Mn ions, as it was confirmed by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The disappearance of the Mn signal after the formation of the cyano, thiolate and hydroxy complexes suggest a transfer of electrons from the Mn(II) ions. The significance of manganese in the catalytic cycle of cationic peanut peroxidase discussed.


Shifts in the frequency of atmospheric circulation patterns throughout the year can characterize seasonality and provide a means to evaluate the ability of atmosphere‐ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs) to reproduce key dynamical structures influencing regional climate. However, the identified characteristics of these patterns can depend on the clustering method used, the physical properties of the model generating the circulation fields, and even their spatial scale. Using two statistical clustering methods, a mixture model and a hierarchical method, we show that these factors can result in distinctly different atmospheric patterns characterizing seasonal circulation over eastern North America based on NCEP and ERA‐40 geopotential height and sea level pressure (SLP) fields. Consistency is improved through constraining the number of clusters at each level to 4 or 5, and using the mixture model method. In general, this method tends to produce more consistent results across the various datasets and is more sensitive to day‐to‐day variations in pattern frequencies than the traditional hierarchical method. Applying the mixture method to PCM and CCSM3 simulations reveals some clear differences relative to reanalysis‐based patterns. In particular, the AOGCMs do not reproduce the observed duration and/or location of summer, with seasonal shifts (PCM) and summer extensions (CCSM) that are strongest at lower levels. However, taking into account the uncertainty introduced by the different factors, these AOGCMs do successfully capture many of the observed large‐scale drivers of seasonality. These results lend support to circulation‐based downscaling, but also highlight some systematic model biases, and hence the ongoing potential for improvements in model parameterization and dynamics. Copyright © 2006 Royal Meteorological Society


Author(s): Tsadka, Maayan | Advisor(s): Kim, Hi Kyung | Abstract: Persistence, Resistance, ResonanceMaayan TsadkaAbstract Sound cannot travel in a vacuum, physically or socially. The ways in which sound operates are a result of acoustic properties, and the ways by which it is considered to be music are a result of social constructions. Therefore, music is always political, regardless of its content: the way it is performed and composed; the choice of instrumentation, notation, tuning; the medium of its distribution; its inherent hierarchy and power dynamics, and more. My compositional praxis makes me less interested in defining a relationship between music and politics than I am in erasing--or at least blurring--the borders between them. In this paper I discuss the aesthetics of resonance and echo in their metaphorical, physical, social, and musical manifestations. Also discussed is a political aesthetic of resonance, manifested through protest chants. I transcribe and analyze common protest chants from around the world, categorizing and unifying them as universal crowd-mobilizing rhythms. These ideas are explored musically in three pieces. Sumud: Rhetoric of Resistance in Three Movements, for two pianos and two percussion players, is a musical interpretation of the political/social concept of sumud, an Arabic word that literally means "steadfastness" and represents Palestinian non-violent resistance. The piece is based on common protest rhythms and uses the acoustic properties inherent to the instruments. The second piece, Three Piano Studies, extends some of the musical ideas and techniques used in Sumud, and explores the acoustic properties and resonance of the piano. The final set of pieces is part of my Critical Mess Music Project. These are site-specific musical works that attempt to blur the boundaries between audience, performers and composer, in part by including people without traditional musical training in the process of music making. These pieces use the natural structure and resonance of an environment, in this case, locations on the UCSC campus, and offer an active form of musical consumption and experience. The three pieces draw lines connecting different aspects of persistence, resistance, and resonance.


In recent years, there has been a growing interest in detective literature among the youngest readers. The appeal of this type of literature is confirmed not only by a kind of "publication overproduction" observable in the segment of books for children and young adults, but also by reader rankings. The latter also show two significant trends: firstly — the declining age of the youngest readers who choose detective stories, secondly — girls are beginning to prevail among the young recipients of this literature.
The goal of the article is to seek an answer to the question why young girls increasingly often choose detective literature and what makes it attractive from the reception perspective. The example which is the focus of attention is the mystery-type trilogy written by American author Karen Karbo about the adventures of an eccentric teenager Minerva Clark. The series consists of the following volumes: Minerva Clark Gets a Clue, Minerva Clark Goes to the Dogs, and Minerva Clark Gives Up the Ghost, all of which can be categorized as classical detective stories.
The latest detective fiction for young girls, which readily utilizes gender and feminist topics, features more and more characters of brave and independent female amateur detectives. Minerva Clark has joined this colorful gallery of characters, who appeared in the twentieth-century literature thanks to Miss Marple novels authored by Agatha Christie. The literary character of Minerva Clark arouses associations with another fictional character meant for female teenage readers — Nancy Drew, the titular hero of American novels Nancy Drew Mystery Series, published in the USA since the 1930s.
Minerva Clark has become part of the contemporary discourse on femininity and the role of gender in popular culture. The popularity of the trilogy in question as well as the whole trend of detective stories for girls can be explained in several ways. Apart from the feminine topic repertoire, the literary factors are of significance: suspense-keeping stories, captivating plots, young people's slang, and most of all — humor, highly thought of by the young audience. In Karen Karbo's series we are dealing with verbal-intellectual and situational comedy as well as that of characters. The content-related comedy-making factors in the trilogy about Minerva Clark also include humorous narration (play on words), situational scenes, and a happy ending. Books about female teenage detectives such as Minerva evoke a substantial response among their gender also because they are written with present-day girls and their needs in mind.


Recent developments within the topic of biomaterials has taken hold of researchers due to the mounting concern of current environmental pollution as well as scarcity resources. Amongst all compatible biomaterials, polycaprolactone (PCL) is deemed to be a great potential biomaterial, especially to the tissue engineering sector, due to its advantages, including its biocompatibility and low bioactivity exhibition. The commercialization of PCL is deemed as infant technology despite of all its advantages. This contributed to the disadvantages of PCL, including expensive, toxic, and complex. Therefore, the shift towards the utilization of PCL as an alternative biomaterial in the development of biocomposites has been exponentially increased in recent years. PCL-based biocomposites are unique and versatile technology equipped with several importance features. In addition, the understanding on the properties of PCL and its blend is vital as it is influenced by the application of biocomposites. The superior characteristics of PCL-based green and hybrid biocomposites has expanded their applications, such as in the biomedical field, as well as in tissue engineering and medical implants. Thus, this review is aimed to critically discuss the characteristics of PCL-based biocomposites, which cover each mechanical and thermal properties and their importance towards several applications. The emergence of nanomaterials as reinforcement agent in PCL-based biocomposites was also a tackled issue within this review. On the whole, recent developments of PCL as a potential biomaterial in recent applications is reviewed.


Strand board can be manufactured from sawmill residues, branches, and crown wood left in the forest. The thickness swelling of these residues is quite different from that of mature wood and can have a negative effect on the physical and strength properties of strand board. A mixture of these materials and pressing conditions can be optimized by assessing thickness swelling of wood strands after pressing. Individual wood strands conditioned to 12% moisture content were hot-pressed at 105 °C to 50% of their original thickness and conditioned at 20 °C and 33%, 100%, and 0% relative humidity for 72 hours to determine their thickness swelling. A mechanical model consisting of springs and dashpots was superimposed on a stress relaxation curve to determine strain components with a view to predict thickness swelling. The data were interpreted by analysis of variance in conjunction with Fisher's protected least significant difference method. The results showed a good agreement between measured and predicted thickness swelling of both juvenile and mature wood.


Abstract Calopteryx maculata has become a model system for studying behaviour and reproduction in odonates. Its iridescent coloration is thought to be important in intraspecific interactions but no study has yet measured coloration in a quantitative manner. In a recent study, Fitzstephens & Getty (2000. Animal Behaviour 60: 851-855) showed that lipld levels predict coloration as determined by Munsell chips, such that fat males were blue and lean males were green. In this study we quantified color in C. maculata with a spectrometer to test the prediction of Fitzstephens & Getty (2000) using quantitative measures. We found that body size, but not lipid levels, correlates with color. In our study, larger males were green and smaller males blue. Territorial males did not differ from non-territorial males in color, size, or lipid levels. Coloration thus predicts size in male C. maculata, but the significance of this in intraspecific interactions remains unclear.


Retinal image segmentation is essential for diagnosing various problems occurs in eye. Retinal image segment is one of the critical issues because these images contain very small nerves and some artifacts present in it. This paper proposes an automatic morphological watershed segmentation and region growing method to change the representation of an image into something that is more meaningful and easier to analyze the interested object. There are several methods that intend to perform segmentation, but it is difficult to adapt easily and detect the very small nerves accurately. To resolve this problem, this paper aims to present an adaptable automatic morphological watershed segmentation and region growing method that can be applied to any type of retinal images which is exactly diagnosed even with the small changes that occur in the image. This proposed method is based in a model of morph function which applies the morphological watershed operator to a gray scale image. Morphological segment technique is used to segment the image and selecting the specific image objects, thinning the object to found the root nerves. After using a morphological watershed operation to expose the basic elements within an image, it is often useful to extract and analyze specific information about those image elements. The region growing segmentation performs region growing for a given image region within the array that are connected to neighboring region pixels and that fall within provided constraints[7].


Graph Contrastive Learning (GCL), learning the node representations by augmenting graphs, has attracted considerable attentions. Despite the proliferation of various graph augmentation strategies, some fundamental questions still remain unclear: what information is essentially encoded into the learned representations by GCL? Are there some general graph augmentation rules behind different augmentations? If so, what are they and what insights can they bring? In this paper, we answer these questions by establishing the connection between GCL and graph spectrum. By an experimental investigation in spectral domain, we firstly find the General grAph augMEntation (GAME) rule for GCL, i.e., the difference of the high-frequency parts between two augmented graphs should be larger than that of low-frequency parts. This rule reveals the fundamental principle to revisit the current graph augmentations and design new effective graph augmentations. Then we theoretically prove that GCL is able to learn the invariance information by contrastive invariance theorem, together with our GAME rule, for the first time, we uncover that the learned representations by GCL essentially encode the low-frequency information, which explains why GCL works. Guided by this rule, we propose a spectral graph contrastive learning module (SpCo), which is a general and GCL-friendly plug-in. We combine it with different existing GCL models, and extensive experiments well demonstrate that it can further improve the performances of a wide variety of different GCL methods.


Rotational moulding or rotomoulding is a manufacturing process best suited for producing one-piece, hollow plastic products. The raw materials can be in powder or liquid form with linear polyethylene of varying densities being dominant worldwide. Due to the modest material properties of polyethylene, reinforcement in various forms have been incorporated within the rotomoulded components to improve the performance of these products. With the abundance and eco-friendliness of natural fibre resources, this study has focused on the use of sisal and woodfibres along with linear medium density polyethylene (LMDPE) powder to produce rotomoulded composite components. Tensile and impact properties of the rotomoulded natural fibre-reinforced composites have been determined as a function of fibre content.


Abstract A novel method utilizing crystallographic orientation and mineral chemistry data, based on large-scale electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and microbeam analysis, quantifies the proportion of relict igneous and neoblastic minerals forming variably deformed high-grade orthogneiss. The Cretaceous orthogneiss from Fiordland, New Zealand, comprises intermediate omphacite granulite interlayered with basic eclogite, which was metamorphosed and deformed at T ≈ 850 °C and P ≈ 1.8 GPa after protolith cooling. Detailed mapping of microstructural and physiochemical relations in two strain profiles through subtly distinct intermediate protoliths indicates that up to 32% of the orthogneiss mineralogy is igneous, with the remainder being metamorphic. Domains dominated by igneous minerals occur preferentially in strain shadows to eclogite pods. Distinct metamorphic stages can be identified by texture and chemistry and were at least partially controlled by strain magnitude. At the grain-scale, the coupling of metamorphism and crystal plastic deformation appears to have permitted efficient transformation of an originally igneous assemblage. The effective distinction between igneous and metamorphic paragenesis and their links to deformation history enables greater clarity in interpretations of the makeup of the crust and their causal influence on lithospheric scale processes.


Professor Nana Sinkam is Director of the Joint Agricultural Division of the Economic Commission for Africa and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Africa is a major recipient of foreign aid for rural development and has become highly dependent on it. By contrast, foreign investment in all sectors, including the rural sector, has been deterred by indecisive governments and a persistently growing and debilitating debt. This situation could be reversed, and African development progressed, if donors and recipients were to change their attitudes and priorities to make aid more effective and investment more attractive.

It is time to adopt a new approach. That approach must start from a recognition by donors that Africa is suffering not from a temporary problem of liquidity, but from bankruptcy; and the new approach must place the debtors' ability to pay above the claims of the creditors. African governments must not be put in a position where 'credit worthiness' can be achieved only by deepening the poverty of their citizens, and by jeopardizing prospects for recovery.

As we have seen, much of what currently passes for discussions on 'debt rescheduling' in the Paris Club is, in fact, a mere pantomime bearing little relation to the real needs of debtor countries. I believe that industrialized countries should agree to the cancellation of between 90% and 100% of all non-concessional debt, rather than the smaller amount contracted before an arbitrary' cut-off date.

By making aid flows conditional on 'good governance', Western governments have given highly welcome impetus to movements for democracy: some countries to which aid flows have been suspended or restricted have been forced to adopt more democratic practices. However, donors, frequently continue to turn a blind eye to dictatorial tendencies where commercial interests are involved. In short, donors need to review their motives for aid: aid may be of little use to recipient countries (although it may be of value to their leaders) if the motive for aid is solely or mainly the pursuance of self interest. As OXFAM has remarked, there is a stark contrast between the urgency with which Western governments have responded to the financial problems of Eastern Europe and Russia, and their long neglect of Africa's far deeper problems.

I also believe that in poverty-orientated projects it would be worthwhile for donors, to the extent possible, to employ the services of NGOs, especially those with deeper roots in the country concerned, as well as, perhaps, the services of local experts. I also believe that too much technical assistance (which accounts for a quarter of all aid to sub-Saharan Africa) is spent on the costs of the 100,000 or so donor consultants in the region, and not enough on employing Africans. The World Bank has estimated that savings of up to 50% could be achieved through greater use of indigenous consultants.

Recipient governments also have obligations to development and the alleviation of poverty, and they should try to design long-range strategies based on actual development priorities. They cannot serve their peoples if they are infatuated with prestigious projects and with the most sophisticated but irrelevant technologies. They should also minimize their expenditure on non-developmental items, such as the build-up of armed forces. And where they exist, idle military plants, trucks and personnel could be used for development purposes, so helping to reduce the enormous costs to the national budget of military maintenance.

African governments could also further the meagre progress that has so far been made in rural development and food self-sufficiency by improving the lot of rural women. African women undertake the bulk of agricultural labour and produce an estimated 70% of sub-Saharan Africa's staple foods. Yet, while women are the most important smallholder producers, they are also the most neglected.

They are systematically denied access to productive resources and, in many countries, customary practices do not allow women to own land. Lacking legal title, having few savings and typically producing staple foods on a small-scale, women have little access to institutional credit. Government action could effect changes in women's status, enhance their productivity, make more effective use of aid and benefit the country's development.

Rural development cannot succeed, and aid funds cannot be used effectively, unless donors and recipient governments work closely together. At present, there is also a lack of coordination of aid activities, which should be addressed. The presence of a multiplicity of donors within the same sector of the recipient's economy places a heavy burden on local administrative capacities and results in competing claims on scarce resources. This is particularly the case in Africa. It is understood that the costs of inadequate coordination far outweigh the potential benefits that donors and recipients might perceive. A centralized mechanism for aid coordination in recipient countries is needed.

The Policy dialogues between donors and recipients must be more collaborative. The donor should have significant country knowledge and experience and the recipient should be prepared to fully participate not just in the implementation, but also in the preparation, of assistance programmes. The capacity of sub-Saharan Africa in proposing policy alternatives, analyzing them jointly with donors and negotiating may not at present be sufficient, but donors should be prepared to assist recipients to improve their capabilities.

Combating poverty and improving wealth distribution are the main challenges for the emerging new African democracies as it should be for donors also. Certainly African leaders can have no doubt what African farmers want. The onus is on them to work with donors to get the economy moving and get money to their forgotten citizens: the rural poor.

The views expressed are the personal opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect that of the ECA or the FAO of which he is a senior member of staff.


The issue of sustainable tourism development is discussed in numerous academic publications and official documents. Nevertheless practical implications of this concept are very rare in tourist destinations in Bulgaria. Sustainable tourism development can be shortly described as a development where the resulting economic and social changes lead to a decrease in the need for environmental protection. Quite a few publications try to identify the factors for destinations' sustainable tourism development. The present research is an attempt to view sustainability as a result of various impacts tourism exerts on the destinations. It can be accepted that positive tourism impacts enhance sustainable tourism development while negative ones can be blamed for the unsustainability of tourist destinations. In their turn tourism impacts are subject to numerous regional and local factors making their monitoring and evaluation extremely difficult but nevertheless indispensable. The present study focuses on three main factors for tourism impacts in destinations in Bulgaria. The three factors investigated are: level of tourism development, stage of tourism development life cycle and prevailing tourism type. But how do we measure tourism impacts and how do me compare them? The impacts in those destinations are evaluated by the local population. This is a way in which all impacts can be compared since they are measured by one and the same indicator – the values they receive from the local population. 5 000 questionnaires are distributed and 4 397 are processed. One of the most interesting findings shows that the least sustainability can be expected in highly seasonal destinations no matter of the level or the stage of their tourism development It was found out that all three investigated factors are of great importance for the differentiation of local residents' attitude towards tourism, for their perception of tourism impacts and for overall tourism sustainability in general.


A one-pot synthesis of α,β-unsaturated esters from unactivated esters and aldehydes using strong bases, such as sodium alkoxide and potassium tert-butoxide, was reported. However, the ionic liquid (IL) catalyzed probase method for producing α,β-unsaturated esters was not reported until now. In this work, a series of ILs with fluoride anions were firstly prepared and used as catalysts in combination with the probase N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl) acetamide (BSA) for the α,β-unsaturated esters synthesis. This process could also be promoted through the introduction of another IL with Lewis acid sites. The yield and selectivity of the product could reach up to 84.2% and 95.0%, respectively, when [Bmim]F was used in combination with [Bmim]Cl/AlCl3 (the molar fraction of AlCl3 is 0.67). The mechanism investigation through GC-MS indicates that BSA would convert into onium amide, which acted as a strong base for α-H abstraction, with the catalysis of [Bmim]F. Meanwhile, [Bmim]Cl/AlCl3 played an important role in the condensation step between enolates and aldehydes. On the basis of mechanism insights, kinetic and thermodynamic studies were also carried out for a better understanding of this new route.