The microstructure of polycrystalline polar ice is affected by many recrystallization processes, which can occur simultaneously as well as in succession. The size and shape of individual grains, the orientation of c-axes and the occurrence of sub-grain boundaries are all influenced by a number of agents, including stress, strain, impurity content, and temperature within the ice.
To interpret the structures found in ice core data with respect to the generating deformation mechanisms, it is necessary to better understand the feedback between microstructure and rheology of the ice. A better knowledge of ice rheology is also required for improving macroscopic ice flow models and producing realistic projections of the mass balance of ice sheets.
The analysis of microstructural data of deep ice cores within the last decades contributed significantly to the understanding of recrystallization processes. The review paper by Faria et al. (in preparation) revisits some historic results: The analysis of grain sizes and c-axis orientation distributions with depth of the Byrd deep ice core, Antarctica, suggested that microstructural evolution could be characterized by three main depth ranges of the ice core, defined by their predominant recrystallization regimes. A generalization of these results gave rise to the tripartite paradigm of polar ice microstructure, also called the "three-stage model":
(1) In the upper part Normal Grain Growth (NGG) dominates the evolution of the microstructure, leading to
steady increase of the average grain size with age/depth. (2) In the central part the NGG is balanced by rotation recrystallization (sometimes also called "polygonisation"), which describes splitting of grains along sub-grain boundaries and consequently leads to a stationary average grain size. (3) In the lower (and warmer) parts of the ice core strain-induced boundary migration including nucleation of new grains was thought to be the dominant factor, resulting in larger average grain sizes and a bulk anisotropy often characterized by multiple maxima in the c-axis orientation distribution.
However, some information from ice cores reported in the literature and recent studies show that this three-stage model is not always valid (Faria et al. in preparation). For example, data from the EDML ice core indicate that here dynamic recrystallization is equally present at all depths starting from firn depth on. This has been observed in studies on subgrain boundary occurrence and grain shape analysis as well as classical grain size curves (Kipfstuhl et al. 2009; Weikusat et al., 2009).
Here we will discuss these issues and present a qualitative analysis of these relations.

Faria, S.H. et al.: The microstructure of polar ice. J. Struct. Geol., MicroDICE Special Issue, in preparation.
Kipfstuhl, S. et al.: Evidence of dynamic recrystallization in polar firn, J. Geophys. Res., 2009, 114, B05204
Weikusat, I. et al.: Subgrain boundaries and related microstructural features in EPICA-Dronning Maud
Land (EDML) deep ice core, J. Glaciol., 2009, 55, 461-472


OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the results of the INtubate-SURfactant-Extubate (INSURE) method in the treatment of respiratory distress syndrome in premature infants at Bac Ninh obstetric pediatric hospital from March to September 2017. METHODS: A descriptive study was conducted on 50 preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome. The infants were treated with INSURE method . RESULTS: Of the 50 infants, 29 (58.0%) were male. All of infants, 49 (98.0%) gestational age under 32 weeks, of which 56.0% was less than 30 weeks. The infants birth weight less than 1500 grams accounted for 78.0%, of which 28.0% under 1000 grams. Only 40.0% of mothers were injected with corticosteroid before giving birth. The most common symptoms are cyanosis , apnea neoatorum > 10 seconds; lower temperature. X.ray III is 92.0%. All infants were pumped pulsed surfactant before 6 hours, intubated endotracheal tube and was removed within 50 minutes. There were 13 children (26.0%) had to have mechanical ventilation, the highest rate of reintroduction in infants birth weight less than 1000 grams. The rate of SpO2 increased, the FiO2 and Siverman index decreased and remained stable significantly after 6 hours of treatment. The complication rate was 4.0%. Treatment outcomes were only associated with birth weight (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: INtubate-SURfactant-Extubate is effective methods in treatment of infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).


Corticosteroid values in response to brief confinement in a transport cage were compared between rhesus, bonnet, and crabeating macaques before and after they were trained to enter the cage. Behavioral data were collected to assess performance during training. Species differences were found both in training measures and in corticosteroid response to confinement in the transport cage after training. Bonnets took longer to train than rhesus or crabeaters. Rhesus showed the smallest adrenocortical response to cage confinement after training and crabeaters the greatest, suggesting that this group habituated more slowly to confinement than the other two groups. The results have implications for choice of experimental subject species and for management and husbandry of laboratory primates.


The treatment of osteogenesis imperfecta with magnesium is theoreticaly sound, but usually works in a few individuals. There are greater expectations with calcitonin, which reduces the overall osteolysis. The treatment of fractures should, whenever possible, be concervative. Internal fixation by plates is not indicated, because the plate should span from metaphysis to metyphysis, which leads to a softeming of the underlying cortex. Because of the weak bone, srews do not hold well. For operative treatment of the lower limb, the Kt~ntscher nail is the fixation of choice, as well as for treatment of deformity by multiple fragmentation. Rapidly progressive scoliosis should be treated operatively from 9 years of age on.


Least absolute deviation (LAD) optimization model, also called the unconstrained minimum L/sub 1/-norm optimization model, has found extensive applications in linear parameter estimations. L/sub 1/-norm model is superior to L/sub p/-norm (p>1) models in non-Gaussian noise environments or even in chaos, especially for signals that contain sharp transitions (such as biomedical signals with spiky series or motion artifacts) or chaotic dynamic processes. However, its implementation is more difficult due to discontinuous derivatives, especially compared with the least-squares model (L/sub 2/-norm). In this paper, neural implementation of LAD optimization model is presented, where a new neural network is constructed and its performance in LAD optimization is evaluated theoretically and experimentally. Then, the application of the proposed LAD neural network (LADNN) to time delay estimation (TDE) is presented. In TDE, a given signal is modeled using the moving average (MA) model. The MA parameters are estimated by using the LADNN and the time delay corresponds to the time index at which the MA coefficients have a peak. Compared with higher order spectra (HOS)-based TDE methods, the LADNN-based method is free of the assumption that the signal is non-Gaussian and the noises are Gaussian, which is closer to real situations. Experiments under three different noise environments, Gaussian, non-Gaussian and chaotic, are conducted to compare the proposed TDE method with the existing HOS-based method.


Introduction: In response to the increasing complexity of care for patients with bleeding disorders, we established new clinical teams for our hemophilia treatment center (HTC). Aims: We undertook a quality improvement project to improve the coordination and communication with our patients by establishing primary assignments of clinical staff to individual patients (primary teams). Methods: A quality improvement project group was formed that established the goals and assignment of primary teams. Patients were surveyed for their knowledge of their primary teams as well as their ability to schedule and contact their primary providers. As a measure of the effects on clinical staff, a balancing survey was also conducted among providers impacted by the clinical assignment of teams. Results: Our results demonstrate improvements across both coordination and communication as reported by patients. Additionally, the assignment of primary teams was met with high satisfaction and improvement in coordination and communication as reported by the clinical staff members of the HTC. Conclusions: Initiation of a quality improvement project and the creation of a primary team system were feasible at a large HTC and resulted in improvements in both patient-reported and staff-reported outcomes of coordination and communication of care.


Abstract Deliberations over the COVID-19 pandemic's long-term effects on the global balance of power have spurred a large and rancorous debate, including speculation about a shift in the definition of national security and prescriptions about where it should focus. That argument will no doubt continue. But we argue that one consequence is already evident: the United States has spent the last seventy years portraying itself as a security provider in all key domains—for many an intrinsic component of its status as a global leader. One reasonable broad conclusion from the US struggle with COVID-19 is that it has further forfeited its broad leadership position on the basis of its behaviour. Yet that, although possibly true, would only portray one element of the story. The more profound insight exposed by COVID-19 is of a new reality: in a world where both naturogenic and anthropogenic threats pose immense national security challenges, decades of mistaken assumptions and policy choices have created a new environment, one where the United States has been redefined as a security consumer, at least in terms of international public health issues associated with the spread of deadly infectious diseases.


Random set theory is a fascinating branch of mathematics that amalgamates techniques from topology, convex geometry, and probability theory. Social scientists routinely conduct empirical work with data and modelling assumptions that reveal a set to which the parameter of interest belongs, but not its exact value. Random set theory provides a coherent mathematical framework to conduct identification analysis and statistical inference in this setting and has become a fundamental tool in econometrics and finance. This is the first book dedicated to the use of the theory in econometrics, written to be accessible for readers without a background in pure mathematics. Molchanov and Molinari define the basics of the theory and illustrate the mathematical concepts by their application in the analysis of econometric models. The book includes sets of exercises to accompany each chapter as well as examples to help readers apply the theory effectively.


Governing Medical Knowledge Commons makes three claims: first, evidence matters to innovation policymaking; second, evidence shows that self-governing knowledge commons support effective innovation without prioritizing traditional intellectual property rights; and third, knowledge commons can succeed in the critical fields of medicine and health. The editors' knowledge commons framework adapts Elinor Ostrom's groundbreaking research on natural resource commons to the distinctive attributes of knowledge and information, providing a systematic means for accumulating evidence about how knowledge commons succeed. The editors' previous volume, Governing Knowledge Commons, demonstrated the framework's power through case studies in a diverse range of areas. Governing Medical Knowledge Commons provides fifteen new case studies of knowledge commons in which researchers, medical professionals, and patients generate, improve, and share innovations, offering readers a practical introduction to the knowledge commons framework and a synthesis of conclusions and lessons.


In 1946, the governor-elect of Georgia died, sparking a constitutional battle that brought a state government to its knees and a state supreme court to the height of its power. As two armies drew up on the streets of Atlanta, fights erupted in the executive offices and two men stood head to head in a battle for the vacant governor's seat. Into this fray, however, came the rule of law in the form of the state courts, and what may have swelled into an armed conflict of unseen proportions in twentieth century American politics ended with the stirring strike of the state supreme court's gavel.While the war over the executive powers ended without a single gunshot, the staggering battles that took place in the state court system provide a fascinating glimpse at Southern legal and political history in the mid-twentieth century. This article not only explores a court struggling to define itself as a legitimate independent branch of government, but also examines attorneys and judges laying the groundwork for an originalist argument that would become a major constitutional movement decades later. Through all this, the article discusses not only the history of a magnificent case, but also the evolution of legal institutions and ideas in the mid-1900s.


Introduction: The purpose of this research is to compare general cognitive functions, memory, depression level and daily living activities which are sensitive tests and/or scales on patients with ATD, depression, patients under physical therapy and rehabilitation (PMR) and healthy elderly participants. Materials and Method: The data have been collected from totally 160 elderly adults, 110 patients (52 ATD, 21 Depression, 37 PMR) and 50 healthy elderly adults. In this study Standardized Mini Mental State Exam (SMMSE), Enhanced Cued Recall Test (ECRT), Geriartic Depression Scale (GDÖ) and Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ) has been applied in elderley groups. Results: Impact on test and/or scale scores of groups of variables (ATD, Depression, PMR, and Control Group) was examined by one-way MANCOVA (Multi-Variate Analysis of Co-Variance) (age is a control variable). According to MANCOVA results, the main effect of group variable is significant on SMMSE, ECRT, GDS and FAQ scores. Conclusion: The results show that, SMMSE, ECRT, GDS and FAQ have differentiated ATD, PMR, depression and control groups successfully.


Recently, speaker adaptation of neural TTS models received significant interest, and several studies focusing on this topic have been published. All of them explore an adaptation of an initial multi-speaker model trained on a corpus containing from tens to hundreds of individual speaker voices.In this work we focus on a challenging task of TTS voice conversion where an initial system is trained on a single-speaker data and then need to be adapted to a variety of external speaker voices. The TTS voice conversion setup represents a very important use case. Transcribed multi-speaker datasets might be unavailable for many languages while any TTS technology provider is expected to have at least one suitable single-speaker dataset per supported language.We present a neural TTS system comprising separate prosody generator and synthesizer DNN models. The system is trained on a high quality proprietary male speaker dataset. We show that the system models can be converted to a variety of external male and female ordinary voices and an extremely expressive artist's voice and present crowd-base subjective evaluation results.


Mononuclear phagocytes such as monocytes, tissue-specific macrophages and dendritic cells are primary actors in both innate and adaptive immunity, as well as tissue homoeostasis. They have key roles in a range of physiological and pathological processes, so any strategy targeting these cells will have wide-ranging impact. These phagocytes can be parasitized by intracellular bacteria, turning them from housekeepers to hiding places and favouring chronic and/or disseminated infection. One of the most infamous is the bacteria that cause tuberculosis, which is the most pandemic and one of the deadliest disease with one third of the world's population infected, and 1.8 million deaths worldwide in 2015. Here we demonstrate the effective targeting and intracellular delivery of antibiotics to both circulating monocytes and resident macrophages, using pH sensitive nanoscopic polymersomes made of poly(2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl phosphorylcholine)-co-poly(2-(di-isopropylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PMPC-PDPA). Polymersome selectivity to mononuclear phagocytes is demonstrated and ascribed to the polymerised phosphorylcholine motifs affinity toward scavenger receptors. Finally, we demonstrate the successful exploitation of this targeting for the effective eradication of intracellular bacteria that cause tuberculosis Mycobacterium tuberculosis as well as other intracellular parasites including the Mycobacterium bovis, Mycobacterium marinum and the most common bacteria associated with antibiotic resistance, the Staphylococcus aureus.


The ultrastructure of old neovascular preretinal membranes was examined in both eyes of a patient with proiiferative diabetic retinopathy treated, in one eye with photocoagulation. Membranes in both eyes consisted of a matrix rich in mature collagen surrounding viable new vessels and "ghost vessels." Viable vessels of different calibers frequently showed endothelial fenestrae bridged by diaphragms. Occasionally tight, junctions between endothelial cells appeared, altered. Fenestrae and incompetent junctions may account for the characteristic 'leakiness' of newly formed vessels.


Satisfying customers are one of the factors that are being given priority by many service organizations. This project paper mainly, focusing on the level of customer's satisfaction towards network and counter services provided by TMTOUCH Malacca. The objective of this research is to identify whether customers are satisfied with the service network and counter services provided and to look for their main problem in using the service TMTOUCH management is aware that customer service comes first as TMTOUCH, mission is to provide total customer satisfaction with excellent services and superior products through smart partnership delivered by professionals of high Integrity in a dynamic and caring organization".

In order to gain the relevant data, 50 questionnaires were distributed. The target Customers for this project were the people who •entered TMTOUCH premises to do transaction. Simple random sampling method was used in this survey beside that, The data were obtained from printed media, Internets, library, journal, newspapers and also from an interview with TMTOUCH personnel.

The data that had been collected were analyzed using the SPSS program. The analysis. includes a frequency distribution for variable produced a table of frequency counts percentages and cumulative percentages for the entire value associated with the variable. The answers collected were also determined by examining mean and cross-tabulation. There are a few recommendations to TMTOUCH Malacca in delivering high quality of customer service to their customers. Hopefully TMTOUCH is aware that customer service comes first in a service industry like what TMTQUCH is in.


This thesis proposes a novel set of generic and compact biologically plausible VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) neural circuits, suitable for implementing a parallel VLSI network that closely resembles the function of a small-scale neocortical network. The proposed circuits include a cortical neuron, two different long-term plastic synapses and four different short-term plastic synapses. These circuits operate in accelerated-time, where the time scale of neural responses is approximately three to four orders of magnitude faster than the biological-time scale of the neuronal activities, providing higher computational throughput in computing neural dynamics. Further, a novel biological-time cortical neuron circuit with similar dynamics as of the accelerated-time neuron is proposed to demonstrate the feasibility of migrating accelerated-time circuits into biological-time circuits. The fabricated accelerated-time VLSI neuron circuit is capable of replicating distinct firing patterns such as regular spiking, fast spiking, chattering and intrinsic bursting, by tuning two external voltages. It reproduces biologically plausible action potentials. This neuron circuit is compact and enables implementation of many neurons in a single silicon chip. The circuit consumes extremely low energy per spike (8pJ). Incorporating this neuron circuit in a neural network facilitates diverse non-linear neuron responses, which is an important aspect in neural processing. Two of the proposed long term plastic synapse circuits include spike-time dependent plasticity (STDP) synapse, and dopamine modulated STDP synapse. The short-term plastic synapses include excitatory depressing, inhibitory facilitating, inhibitory depressing, and excitatory facilitating synapses. Many neural parameters of short- and long- term synapses can be modified independently using externally controlled tuning voltages to obtain distinct synaptic properties. Having diverse synaptic dynamics in a network facilitates richer network behaviours such as learning, memory, stability and dynamic gain control, inherent in a biological neural network. To prove the concept in VLSI, different combinations of these accelerated-time neural circuits are fabricated in three integrated circuits (ICs) using a standard 0.35 �m CMOS technology. Using first two ICs, functions of cortical neuron and STDP synapses have been experimentally verified. The third IC, the Cortical Neural Layer (CNL) Chip is designed and fabricated to facilitate cortical network emulations. This IC implements neural circuits with a similar composition to the cortical layer of the neocortex. The CNL chip comprises 120 cortical neurons and 7 560 synapses. Many of these CNL chips can be combined together to form a six-layered VLSI neocortical network to validate the network dynamics and to perform neural processing of small-scale cortical networks. The proposed neuromorphic systems can be used as a simulation acceleration platform to explore the processing principles of biological brains and also move towards realising low power, real-time intelligent computing devices and control systems.


The debate over arrays vs. single-point recording continues. In
college (in the 1980s) we learnt that arrays can suppress certain
forms of seismic noise and that the array itself acted as a multiplier
to our stacking fold with regard to random noise. To understand the
impact of arrays on our seismic data we need to challenge these
fundamental truths about array behaviour and look more closely at
what is taking place when we sum sensor responses from multiple
receivers spread over an area. There is a great wealth of published
material available on this topic with many experimental results from
the field. However, the materials derived from these works never
seem to result in an industry-wide conclusion which answers the
question 'is an array better or worse than a single point sensor?'.
The default is often to continue on with arrays in acquisition since it
has always been done that way in the past. With the introduction of
very high channel count systems and very dense acquisition geometries
it seems apparent that continued use of arrays must be under
threat. This article hopes to challenge some of the fundamental
assumptions about array behaviour.


This work investigates the effect of a multifunctional diesel fuel additive package used with RapeSeed Oil (RSO) as a fuel in a DI heavy duty diesel engine. The effects on fuel injectors' cleanliness were assessed. The aim was to maintain combustion performance and preventing the deterioration of exhaust emissions associated with injector deposit build up. Two scenarios were investigated: the effect of deposit clean-up by a high dose of the additive package; and the effect of deposit prevention using a moderate dose of the additive package. Engine combustion performance and emissions were compared for each case against use of RSO without any additive. The engine used was a 6 cylinder, turbocharged, intercooled Perkins Phaser Engine, fitted with an oxidation catalyst and meeting the Euro II emissions limits. The tests were conducted under steady state conditions of 23kW and 47kW power output at an engine speed of 1500 rpm. The in-cylinder pressure, gaseous and particulate exhaust emissions were measured. The injectors were inspected using SEM (Scanning Electronic Microscopy). The results show that the use of the multifunctional fuel additive package reduces the ignition delay (ID), increases the premixed combustion duration (PCD) and improves the combustion stability. The multifunctional fuel additive package also reduced the deposit build up on the fuel injectors and prevented the deterioration of engine-out particulate, CO and hydrocarbon emissions


What is the hallmark of success in human–agent interaction? In animation and robotics, many have concentrated on the looks of the agent — whether the appearance is realistic or lifelike. We present an alternative benchmark that lies in the dyad and not the agent alone: Does the agent's behavior evoke intersubjectivity from the user? That is, in both conscious and unconscious communication, do users react to behaviorally realistic agents in the same way they react to other humans? Do users appear to attribute similar thoughts and actions? We discuss why we distinguish between appearance and behavior, why we use the benchmark of intersubjectivity, our methodology for applying this benchmark to embodied conversational agents (ECAs), and why we believe this benchmark should be applied to human–robot interaction.


Wind-turbine wakes have negative effects on wind-farm performance. They are associated with: (a) the velocity deficit, which reduces the generated power of downwind turbines; and (b) the turbulence level, which increases the fatigue loads on downwind turbines. Controlling the yaw angle of turbines can potentially improve the performance of wind farms by deflecting the wake away from downwind turbines. However, yawed conditions induce unsteady loads on turbine blades which affect the generated power quality and fatigue life. To better understand these effects, the blade element momentum (BEM) theory, which is modified to take into account the unsteadiness of yawed conditions, is used in the present work. The comparison between the BEM results and the wind-tunnel measurements of a yawed model turbine in the uniform flow shows reasonable agreement for yaw angles smaller than 30 degrees. Special emphasis is placed on the use of BEM to investigate the difference between the effect of positive and negative yaw angles on the performance of turbines in uniform and boundary-layer flows. In general, it is found that for a yawed turbine in uniform flows, the thrust force and the generated power corresponding with each turbine blade vary as the blade rotates. This variation is, however, similar for both positive and negative yaw angles with just a shift in time with respect to each other. On the other hand, it is found that turbines in boundarylayer flows do not behave in the same way for positive and negative yaw angles. Although the time-averaged thrust force and generated power are approximately the same for positive and negative yaw angles, the variation of forces acting on blades is lower in one of these cases compared to the other one. In fact, the rotational direction of turbine blades determines which case introduces smoother variation of forces acting on blades. This finding is of great importance to increase the life-time of turbines working in yawed conditions.


The North-Eastern region produces the bulk of India's ornamental fish exports but remains unattended for developing market opportunities. Several agribusiness opportunities can be explored through systematic collection and selling of native ornamental fish (wild catch) as well as rearing of exotic ornamental fish species (captive breeding) suitable in the region. In view of these, the present study has analysed the economic (social perspective) and financial (private perspective) viabilities of development of ornamental fisheries in the North-Eastern region. It has been concluded that the agribusiness opportunities can be realized at every stage, namely, production, marketing and conservation of ornamental fishes. The ornamental fish production in the NE region has been observed to be financially as well as economically viable and investment-friendly. With the initiatives by the government such as providing incentive to establish ornamental fish production unit, considerable private investment can be attracted to this industry, which would generate additional employment opportunities in this area. The concerted efforts of the government as well as key institutions can increase the ornamental fish production substantially in the region, which in turn, can gain a larger share in the world market. Public-private partnership can be encouraged through establishment of ornamental fish production units in different parts of the NE region to make the ornamental fishery sector more vibrant and remunerative.


The scalp refers to the skin layers and subcutaneous tissue that cover the cranium and is comprised of five layers: skin, dense connective tissue, epicranial aponeurosis, loose areolar connective tissue, and the periosteum. The first three layers move as one unit as they are tightly bound together. The veins of the scalp are present within the dense connective tissue, which also contains nerves and arteries, and the loose areolar connective tissue, which also contains emissary veins that connect to the diploic veins of the skull and the intracranial venous sinuses. The venous drainage of the scalp divides into superficial and deep. The superficial veins of the scalp, starting anteriorly and moving posteriorly, are the supratrochlear and supraorbital veins, respectively, the superficial temporal veins and its branches, the posterior auricular vein, and the occipital vein and its branches. The deep venous drainage is via the pterygoid venous plexus.


Trip generation, parking demand, modal split and travel activity related to different land uses are fundamental information for transportation planning and land use planning, now and in the future. While trip generation related to residential, business, tourism, recreation, industry and rural activities has been investigated, these areas have not always been surveyed or analysed consistently or reported in sufficient detail to provide transportation professionals with a robust assessment for planning and design purposes. This investigation sought to establish whether trip making and parking demand were similar between similar land uses in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The conclusion is that travel patterns over a wide range of land uses, and especially those related to retail shopping centre activities, are similar in both countries. The analysis includes retail, service stations, restaurants, fast food, business parks, manufacturing, warehousing, medical centres, preschools and residential activities. Many characteristics are shared. It showed that New Zealand vehicle trip generation rates are marginally higher than the UK's for most sites. However, more surveys are required in New Zealand to give more useful data. Ongoing and parallel surveys in both countries would have good value, as would exchange of information between transportation professionals. (a)


Some social aspects of pro gramming are illuminated through analogies with similar aspects of mathematics and natural languages. The split between pure and applied mathematics is found similarly in programming. The development of natural languages toward flexionless, word-order based language types speaks for programming language design based on general, abstract constructs. By analogy with incidents of the history of artificial, auxiliary languages it is suggested that Fortran and Cobol will remain dominant for a long time to come. The most promising avenues for further work of wide influence are seen to be high quality program literature (i.e. programs) of general utility and studies of questions related to program style.


This special session aims to explore, discuss, and deconstruct different dualisms in engineering and engineering education. A broad range of dualisms, such as the rational/emotional, technical/social, and theoretical/practical have strongly influenced engineering education and practice since the 17th century. Engineering education researchers have for a long time raised concerns that these dualisms may deter engineers from taking environmental and social concerns into account when designing new technology, and that they may contribute to excluding certain groups of students from striving to become engineers. Still, the dualisms persist and continue to frustrate engineering educators' efforts to teach subjects such as human-centered design, holistic problem solving, and sustainability thinking. In this session, we will explore how these dualisms manifest in participants' classrooms and how they could be challenged. Specifically, participants will engage in collaborative discussions to explore the impacts of dualisms in engineering classrooms. The session will be of particular interest to engineering educators who wish to create more inclusive learning environments where students engage with holistic approaches to engineering.


In today's environment of digital transformation, industries deal with large volumes of data and uncertainties in data requirements. Companies shift towards shared resources to reduce costs associated with exponential data growth and data volume volatility. Cloud technology services (CTS) offer digital infrastructure and software that multiple businesses share. Companies adopt a rental model for their data storage and processing needs rather than investing in capital infrastructure. CTS companies try to scale operations without accruing large debt. This research explores the relative operating expenses and capital expenditures in the business model of companies that use CTS.  Our research analyzes annual reports for 25 CTS consumers across five sectors. We collected data from the footnotes and management's comments within 10-Ks about operational expenses (opex) and capital expenditures (capex). Analysis of ratios in opex, capex and assets against revenues provides a comparative picture of growth in revenue to operational expenses and assets growth. What-if analysis illustrates potential additional income generated as a result of adopting CTS versus traditional infrastructure. Predictable expenses result from the rental model for data services, which leads to smoother earnings and a lower variance in management's revenue projections. Our research indicates lower asset growth and higher opex growth for CTS companies.


Both metformin and gliclazide have been used extensively in the management of type II diabetes mellitus. Metformin and gliclazide overdose can lead to severe hypoglycaemia refractory to intravenous (IV) dextrose rescue therapy. A 21-year-old man complained of vomiting and felt dizzy after four hours of taking 70 tablets of Metformin 500 mg and 40 tablets of Gliclazide 80 mg. He had major depressive disorder and wanted to commit suicide. He was given IV Dextrose 50% 50 cc immediately. Octreotide had been used successfully to reverse the refractory hypoglycaemia caused by gliclazide overdose. Unfortunately, he developed severe lactic acidosis with acute kidney injury. Dialysis had been done by continuous venovenous haemodiafiltrationa and intravenous sodium bicarbonate 8.4% infusion was given. However, the patient succumbed due to the severe lactic acidosis and kidney failure despite of urgent dialysis. Octreotide infusion helps in preventing refractory hypoglycaemia secondary to sulfonylurea overdose by inhibit calcium-mediated insulin release. Metformin overdose causes severe lactic acidosis due to conversion of glucose to lactate. Sodium bicarbonate therapy in metformin induced lactic acidosis is also controversial. Though sulfonylurea and metformin are the most commonly-prescribed anti-hypoglycaemic agents, thus during prescribing everyone has to be careful about the overdoses and side effects of these drugs.Keywords: metformin, gliclazide, poisoning, octreotide


University foundations programs are offered by the majority of universities across Australia. These programs provide professional learning to support academics with learning and teaching in higher education. A subsequent challenge is that of sustaining and expanding the professional learning opportunities by developing individual and organisational capacity in learning and teaching. This paper reports on the case study of a Foundations Alumni Project at one metropolitan university. Reflective practice, inherent in the Participatory Action Research approach framing this project, provided the data to inform the answer to sustaining and expanding professional learning horizons: a foundations alumni network. The case-based process leading to the establishment of a network is outlined, together with the challenges encountered. Challenges included establishing an effective communications strategy and the lack of recognition of participation in workload models. The development of practical strategies, informed by the literature, and their role in growing and supporting such a network are discussed.


Primary isolated dystonia is a hyperkinetic movement disorder whereby involuntary muscle contractions cause twisted and abnormal postures. Dystonia of the cervical spine and upper limb may present as sustained muscle contractions or task-specific activity when using the hand or upper limb. There is little understanding of the pathophysiology underlying dystonia and this presents a challenge for clinicians and researchers alike. Emerging evidence that the cerebellum is involved in the pathophysiology of dystonia using network models presents the intriguing concept that the cerebellum could provide a novel target for non-invasive brain stimulation. Non-invasive stimulation to increase cerebellar excitability improved aspects of handwriting and circle drawing in a small cohort of people with focal hand and cervical dystonia. Mechanisms underlying the improvement in function are unknown, but putative pathways may involve the red nucleus and/or the cervical propriospinal system. Furthermore, recent understanding that the cerebellum has both motor and cognitive functions suggests that non-invasive cerebellar stimulation may improve both motor and non-motor aspects of dystonia. We propose a combination of motor and non-motor tasks that challenge cerebellar function may be combined with cerebellar non-invasive brain stimulation in the treatment of focal dystonia. Better understanding of how the cerebellum contributes to dystonia may be gained by using network models such as our putative circuits involving red nucleus and/or the cervical propriospinal system. Finally, novel treatment interventions encompassing both motor and non-motor functions of the cerebellum may prove effective for neurological disorders that exhibit cerebellar dysfunction.


We prove that among all compact homogeneous spaces for an effective transitive action of a Lie group whose Levi subgroup has no compact simple factors, the seven-dimensional flat torus is the only one that admits an invariant torsion-free $\text{G}_{2(2)}$-structure.


This paper presents a study of the strength enhancement under impact loading of metallic cellular materials as well as sandwich panels with cellular core. It begins with a review of likely causes responsible for the strength enhancement of cellular materials. A testing method using 60mm diameter Nylon Hopkinson pressure bars is used to investigate the rate sensitivity of various metallic cellular materials. In order to identify the factor responsible for the strength enhancement of those materials, an experimental analysis is performed on a model structure which is a square tube made of rate insensitive materials. Significant enhancement is experimentally observed under impact loading, whereas the crushing mode is nearly the same under both static and impact loading. Finally, an inversed perforation test on sandwich panels with an instrumented pressure bar is also presented. Such a new testing setup provides piercing force time history measurement, generally inaccessible. Testing results show a notable enhancement of piercing forces, even though the skin aluminum plates and the foam cores are nearly rate insensitive.


The emergence of -omics technologies has allowed the collection of vast amounts of data on biological systems. Although, the pace of such collection has been exponential, the impact of these data remains small on many critical biomedical applications such as drug development. Limited resources, high costs, and low hit-to-lead ratio have led researchers to search for more cost effective methodologies. A possible alternative is to incorporate computational methods of potential drug target prediction early during drug discovery workflow. Computational methods based on systems approaches have the advantage of taking into account the global properties of a molecule not limited to its sequence, structure or function. Machine learning techniques are powerful tools that can extract relevant information from massive and noisy data sets. In recent years the scientific community has explored the combined power of these fields to propose increasingly accurate and low cost methods to propose interesting drug targets. In this mini-review, we describe promising approaches based on the simultaneous use of systems biology and machine learning to access gene and protein druggability. Moreover, we discuss the state-of-the-art of this emerging and interdisciplinary field, discussing data sources, algorithms and the performance of the different methodologies. Finally, we indicate interesting avenues of research and some remaining open challenges.


Nearly all industries exhibit geographic concentration. Most theories of the location of industry explain the persistence of these production centers as the result of economic efficiency. This article argues instead that heterogeneity in entrepreneurial opportunities, rather than differential performance, maintains geographic concentration. Entrepreneurs need exposure to existing organizations in the industry to acquire tacit knowledge, obtain important social ties, and build self‐confidence. Thus, the current geographic distribution of production places important constraints on entrepreneurial activity. Due to these constraints, new foundings tend to reify the existing geographic distribution of production. Empirical evidence from the shoe industry supports this thesis.


The shift of African literature from oral performances and traditions to written texts was a result of the colonial discourse. Therefore, African literature can be divided into a pre-colonial literature dominated mainly by folk poetry recited by the masses and post-colonial fiction adopted greatly by the elite. Written literature refreshes its themes with borrowed oral traditions drawn from people's lives and folk songs relevant to a history peppered by a story-telling traits, riddles, and proverbs. Accordingly, the following question is raised: in what ways does the Algerian novel provide a critical approach towards a 'genuine' intellectual decolonization? Using the history of the Algerian literature as a reference, it is noteworthy assuming the following hypothesis: the Algerian novel contributes to a far extent in the liberation of the Algerian mind. Through using a content analysis and research synthesis approaches, this study highlights whether the Algerian novel can contribute fully in the intellectual freedom of the Algerian elite. Initial findings of this paper showed that witnessing to a 'Différend ' tackled by Jean-François Lyotard and referred to by Abd el Kader Aoudjit's book the Algerian Novel and the Colonial Discourse provides a new reading towards the matter. This analysis advocated before by Mouloud Feraoun and Kateb Yacine, who claimed for 'name, land and differentiation' .Thus, the pertinent recommendation drawn from this study is that 'being different' from the colonizer means a step forward to 'being intellectually liberated.'


Making profits in wartime: corporate profits, inequality, and GDP in Germany during the First World War. This article reconsiders, and rejects, Kocka's (1973) hypothesis that a strong income redistribution from workers to capital owners occurred in Germany during the First World War. A small number of firms profited from the war, but the majority experienced a decline in real income, similar to the decline in workers' real wages. This finding also has important implications for the political history of the Weimar Republic. The authors also use their figures to improve German GDP estimates for the war period, since their sample makes it possible to estimate private service sector development. Economic indicators were worse for the war year of 1917 than previously believed.


Antibiotic sensitivity discs were prepared from tablets of erythromycin, chloramphenicol, ampicillin, clindamycin gentamicin and kanamycin. Susceptibility of some clinical isolates which included Escherichia coli,Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella Group D , Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Group A Streptococcus and type culture of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27953 was investigated. Zones of inhibition were compared with those obtained from commercial antibiotic discs. Results obtained showed that discs prepared locally from antibiotic tablets, performed comparably with commercially obtained discs. There was no significant statistical difference between the two tested discs. We therefore recommend that antibiotic sensitivity discs can be prepared locally from antibiotic tablets and be used forroutine laboratory susceptibility testing, hence saving scarce foreign exchange required for importation of commercial discs. Key words: Locally prepared, Antibiotic, Substitute, Commercial disc (Global Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences: 2003 9 (4): 453-456)


Maspin (SerpinB5) is an epithelial-specific tumor suppressor gene product that displays context-dependent cellular functions. Maspin-deficient mouse models created to date have not definitively established maspin functions critical for cancer suppression. In this study, we generated a mouse strain in which exon 4 of the Maspin gene was deleted, confirming its essential role in development but also enabling a breeding scheme to bypass embryonic lethality. Phenotypic characterization of this viable strain established that maspin deficiency was associated with a reduction in maximum body weight and a variety of context-dependent epithelial abnormalities. Specifically, maspin-deficient mice exhibited pulmonary adenocarcinoma, myoepithelial hyperplasia of the mammary gland, hyperplasia of luminal cells of dorsolateral and anterior prostate, and atrophy of luminal cells of ventral prostate and stratum spinosum of epidermis. These cancer phenotypes were accompanied by increased inflammatory stroma. These mice also displayed the autoimmune disorder alopecia aerate. Overall, our findings defined context-specific tumor suppressor roles for maspin in a clinically relevant model to study maspin functions in cancer and other pathologies. Cancer Res; 77(4); 886-96. ©2017 AACR.


This paper presents some results and a small follow-up investigation from an MRI study of vowels [3], in which classical distance-to-area equations [5] were evaluated for implementation in sagittal view articulatory modelling. It was shown that an articulatorily more detailed application of the conversion rules improved the accuracy of the predicted areas, but that this increased realism failed to improve acoustic performance, if midline derivation and vocal tract termination points were kept the same. These results are discussed in relation to articulatory modelling in linguistic research. Work funded by the NIH (R01DC02014) and Stockholm University (SU617023001).


The challenges that sub-Saharan Africa has faced in the post-colonial period have come to characterise the way the region is perceived. These narratives are especially evident in the various ways children's lives are discussed, leading to a particular focus on childhoods in difficult circumstances or at the margins. This has eclipsed the mundanities of everyday life for many children whose lives are not characterised by 'lacks'. This article seeks to move beyond an overwhelming focus on childhoods defined by what they lack by illustrating the multitude of childhoods which exist in the continent.


The phenomenon of solubilization of nonionic surfactant TritonX-100 has been studied through the influence of additive Chloramine-T in aqueous medium by measuring the ultrasonic velocity of the pure surfactant and with Chloramine-T. The ultrasonic velocity of pure surfactant as well as mixed system was found to be increased with increase in temperature. By keeping the surfactant concentration equal to its CMC, for mixed system the CMC found to be increased with the addition of Chloramine-T. This is mainly due to increased micelle concentrations. The CMC for pure or mixed system found to be decreased with increase in temperature. The influence of additive Chloramine-T on the CMC and acoustical parameters of nonionic surfactnat is a clear indication that the phenomenon of micellization is associated with the different micelles coalescing. The CMC of pure and mixed system decreases with increase in temperature. This decrease in CMC may be due to change in free energy of the system with increase in temperature. Findings of the present work support to the probable evidence of electrolyte surfactant interactions in aqueous medium.


By means of tensile and compression creep testing and SEM, TEM observation, an investigation has been made into the microstructure evolution of a single crystal nickel base superalloy during tensile / compression creep. Results show that the cubic γ′ phase in the superalloy is transformed into the N-type meshlike structure along the direction vertical to stress axis during tensile creep. The cubic γ′ phase is transformed into the P-type structure along the direction parallel to stress axis during compression creep. An obvious asymmetry strain of the alloy occurs during tensile and compression creep, the formation of the needle-like γ′ rafts during compression creep is a main reason of the alloy displaying a smaller strain. During compressive creep, the deformation feature of the alloy is the <110> and (1/3) <112> super dislocations shearing into the γ′ rafts. The deformation mechanism of the alloy, in the stage state of tensile creep, is dislocation climb over the γ′ rafts.


Farm-to-school (FTS) programs have become more widely adopted in recent years because of their potential to mitigate childhood obesity, as well as their economic development and educational benefits. As a result of FTS programs' diverse purposes and grassroots nature, the types of activities they encompass vary considerably from program to program and no systematic measures of impact have emerged. Furthermore, FTS programs launched in colder climate regions may be particularly challenging due to a shorter growing season and narrower range and volume of available products. In this exploratory study, we set out to learn more about the factors that lead to increased procurement of local food in FTS programs. To do this we analyze the results of three recent studies of the impact of FTS programming on school purchases of locally produced foods in Vermont, conducted in 2012 and 2013. The results of a census of FTS programs in Vermont and an evaluation of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snacks program indicate that price subsidies do not necessarily increase local food procurement in Vermont, while a study of FTS programs working with food hubs in Vermont suggests that social capital in the form of viable partnerships and relationship-building holds promise for increasing the procurement of local food. Implications for FTS programming and future research are discussed.


Despite incessant to and fro motion of their eyes, persons with congenital nystagmus rarely report illusory motion of the visual world (oscillopsia). To determine whether insensitivity to retinal image motion prevents oscillopsia, thresholds for detecting horizontal and vertical oscillatory motion of a luminous dot target were measured in subjects with congenital idiopathic nystagmus and compared to normals. Thresholds for unreferenced and referenced oscillatory motion were elevated substantially in subjects with nystagmus over the range of motion frequencies tested (0.25-12 Hz), particularly for motion parallel to nystagmus eye movements. However, motion thresholds were increased comparably in normal subjects when the target underwent continuous sinusoidal or ramp motion to simulate the retinal image motion that occurs with nystagmus eye movements. These results indicate that sensitivity to motion in persons with congenital nystagmus is similar to normal as long as the ongoing motion of the retinal image, produced by the eye movements, is taken into account. Therefore, insensitivity to motion does not explain the lack of reported oscillopsia in subjects with congenital nystagmus. Perceptual adaptation is suggested as a possible mechanism that contributes to the prevention of oscillopsia.


Azole-based antifungal agents constitute one of the important classes of antifungal drugs. Hence, in the present work, 12 new benzimidazole-thiazole derivatives 3a–3l were synthesized to evaluate their anticandidal activity against C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. krusei, and C. parapsilopsis. The structures of the newly synthesized compounds 3a–3l were confirmed by IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and ESI-MS spectroscopic methods. ADME parameters of synthesized compounds 3a–3l were predicted by an in-slico study and it was determined that all synthesized compounds may have a good pharmacokinetic profile. In the anticandidal activity studies, compounds 3c and 3d were found to be the most active compounds against all Candida species. In addition, cytoxicity studies showed that these compounds are nontoxic with a IC50 value higher than 500 µg/mL. The effect of compounds 3c and 3d on the ergosterol level of C. albicans was determined by an LC-MS-MS method. It was observed that both compounds cause a decrease in the ergosterol level. A molecular docking study including binding modes of 3c to lanosterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51), a key enzyme in ergosterol biosynthesis, was performed to elucidate the mechanism of the antifungal action. The docking studies revealed that there is a strong interaction between CYP51 and the most active compound 3c.


The growing use of body-worn cameras (BWCs) in law enforcement poses ethical and privacy threats to be considered by policy makers. Law enforcement adoption of surveillance technology often outpaces the laws and regulations that would ensure their appropriate use, and the negative consequences are rarely anticipated, particularly as they relate to privacy concerns. To date, the BWC policy narrative in the United States frames the technology as a method to increase transparency in police–community interactions and build legitimacy. However, irrespective of how noble the original intent, technologies tend to morph from beneficence to overt control in the absence of countervailing friction. This article critiques the increased transparency brought about by BWCs to broadly explore the impact of increased exposure on victims, and concludes by proposing ethical policy principles to limit the harms the new technology could pose to vulnerable victims of domestic and sexual violence.


The research titled career skills and entrepreneurship for students by collaborative project-based learning management model aimed to study the results of learning management to develop students to have career skills and entrepreneurship by collaborative project-based pedagogy. The population consisted of 15 undergraduates who were teacher students at the Business Education Program, the Faculty of Education, Chiang Mai University, Thailand. This group of students had to attend an internship at schools after enrolling in this course in, and they had to teach career subjects at schools. The instruments used for data collection consisted of a lesson plan for the self-employment course, a behavior observation form, a journal form after teaching, student products from assignment tasks, students' reflections in a journal, an in-depth interview, a focus group, and a questionnaire to gauge the level of satisfaction of students, writing and presenting reflections on students' learning, and projects evaluation. The research separated students into three groups upon their interests, each group was composed of 5 students volunteer, they learned better in a small group. Students learned the theory of the self-employment program and the principles of project work step by step. After that, students studied field trips for data collection from career surveys and entrepreneurs' interviews, and a special lecture from an entrepreneur, students conducted self-employment projects for selling products both on-site and online, then analyzed the results presented, to listen to suggestions for improvement, and developed knowledge and skills on the self-employment program. Data were analyzed by using content analysis, statistical calculation, and percentage, and were presented in the form of a description and table. The findings showed the results of the collaborative project-based learning to train students to have career skills and entrepreneurship and conduct projects for selling products successfully. The students had a change in their attitudes, behaviors, knowledge, career skills, and experiences in conducting self-employment projects, and their satisfaction with collaborative project-based learning showed at the highest level (100%). Students were satisfied with the project-based learning at the highest level (90%). and especially the opportunity to gain knowledge and experiences from conducting self-employ programs at the highest level (95%).


The rapid increase in the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide is one of the most pressing problems facing our planet. This challenge has motivated the development of different strategies not only in the reduction of CO2 concentrations via green energy alternatives but also in the capture and conversion of CO2 into value-added products. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are a relatively new class of porous materials with unique structural characteristics such as high surface areas, chemical tunability and stability, and have been extensively studied as promising materials to address this challenge. This comprehensive review identifies the specific structural and chemical properties of MOFs that result in advanced CO2 capture capacities and fairly encouraging catalytic CO2 conversion behaviour. More importantly, we describe an interconnection among the unique properties of MOFs and the engineering aspects of these intriguing materials towards CO2 capture and conversion processes.


This article describes healed cranial injuries in the Altai Mountains pastoralists of the Early Iron Age, the increased prevalence of which may testify to interpersonal violence aimed rather at injuring than killing the opponent. Skulls of more than 500 adults from burials of the Pazyryk (5th to 3rd century BC) and Bulan-Koba (2nd century BC to 5th century AD) cultures have been analyzed. On the world scale, the level of nonlethal violence among the Altai Mountains pastoralists was moderate (25.5 % in males and 9.1 % in females). The frequencies, however, differ between the southern and northern Pazyryk populations (males, 35.7 % vs. 15.3 %, respectively; females, 16.7 % vs. 5.6 %) and between the early and late periods of Bulan-Koba (males, 32.7 % vs. 22.1 %; females, 10.0 % vs. 6.3 %, respectively). The high prevalence of injuries among the Pazyryk people from the high-altitude valleys of the Southeastern and Southern Altai might indicate scramble for limited resources under a harsh climate, whereas the high frequency among the early Bulan-Koba pastoralists could have resulted from an infl ow of migrants. In the Xiongnu-Sarmatian period, as compared to the Scythian period, repeated injuries became more frequent among males. Interpersonal violence among the Altai Mountains pastoralists involved mainly blows to the face, but in the Bulan-Koba males blows on the head were more random. Healed face injuries in women were likely associated with domestic violence.


IN the UK, Streptococcus dysgalactiae is the most common cause of infectious arthritis (joint ill) in lambs aged up to four weeks (Watkins and Sharp 1998). Relatively little is known about the disease and much of this is limited to Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency – Weybridge (AHVLA - Weybridge) and Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) reports (eg Anon 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011a, b, c). The aims of this paper are to describe the characteristics of affected flocks in England and Wales, the application of treatment regimens and the antimicrobial resistance status of ovine S dysgalactiae isolates.

Affected flocks were defined as having at least 2 per cent of lambs showing clinical signs consistent with joint ill from which S dysgalactiae was isolated from joint fluid from at least one lamb. During 2008, 2009 and 2010, affected flocks in England and Wales were identified via the AHVLA - Weybridge database or direct notification from veterinary surgeons or flock owners who had been encouraged to participate via rural press, word of mouth and during conference attendance.

A questionnaire containing 50 questions on the general attributes of the flock, management practices during lambing and lamb disease history was administered to flock owners via post, telephone interview or farm visit. In addition, those flocks which were identified at the time of a disease outbreak were visited and …


The actual nutrition of the Omsk University students aged 18-27 years, was studied with the use of the method of the analysis of the frequency of food consumption. There is done quantitative assessment of nutrient consumption related to the fat component of food. There is described the qualitative composition of lipids and its effect on indices of the nutritional status assessed with the use of somatometric, bioelectric impedance and laboratory methods. The nutrition of students is established to be irrational, unbalanced on the lipid component and creates conditions for the formation of diseases with alimentary dietary risk factors. Traditional indices of nutritional status (BMI, W/HR) at this are within the boundaries of normal values, but the composition of the body under the influence of an excess of animal fats with a deficiency of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids is altering that can be diagnosed with the aid of bioimpedance measuring method. There are established correlation relations between the parameters ofconsumption of dietary lipids and indices of the nutritional status in young adults.


Background/Aims: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a key mediator of angiogenesis, plays a key role in physiological processes and is a major contributor to several diseases including cancer and psoriasis. Anti-VEGF therapies are widely used as cancer and ophthalmological treatments. There is some evidence that VEGF blockade may have utility in the management of psoriasis, although their potential has been largely unexplored. We hypothesized that a human skin organ culture could provide a stable ex vivo model in which the cutaneous microvascular network could be studied and experimentally manipulated. Methods: Punch biopsies (3 mm) of skin, donated by healthy individuals (39–72 years old, n = 5), were incubated with monoclonal antibody (mAb) to human VEGF (bevacizumab) at doses based on data from animal and clinical studies. After 3-day culture, cell death and proliferation as well as vascular endothelial cell changes were assessed using quantitative immunohistomorphometry. Results: Anti-VEGF mAb at 0.8 mg/mL induced a significant increase in cleaved caspase-3 expression in CD31+ cells (p < 0.05). None of the doses tested increased TUNEL or decreased Ki-67 expression in the basal layer of the epidermis, confirming the model's viability. In addition, the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay showed no increase in LDH activity in treated samples compared to untreated control. The highest anti-VEGF mAb dose (0.8 mg/mL) induced an increase in TUNEL expression in the upper epidermis, which did not correlate with caspase-3 immunoreactivity. Further investigation revealed that anti-VEGF mAb did not change the expression of markers of terminal differentiation such as keratin 10, filaggrin, and involucrin, suggesting that VEGF depletion does not affect keratinocyte terminal differentiation. In contrast to the control group, levels of VEGF protein were undetectable in the culture supernatant of samples treated with 0.8 mg/mL of anti-VEGF mAb, suggesting sufficient dose. Conclusion: Our pilot study provides the first evidence that anti-VEGF therapy promotes endothelial cell apoptosis in human skin ex vivo. Our pragmatic human skin organ culture assay offers a valuable tool for future preclinical endothelial cell and translational microvascular network/anti-angiogenesis research in human skin.


Copper catalysts were simply fabricated through surface modification of superparamagnetic iron nanoparticles with indoline-2,3-dione(isatin)-Schiff-base and interaction with Cu from low-cost commercially available starting materials. Catalysts were characterized using atomic absorption spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, vibrating sample magnetometry, UV/Vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. These catalysts showed high efficiency for phosphine-free Mizoroki--Heck and Suzuki--Miyaura cross-coupling reactions with good diversity and generality. The catalysts could be easily recovered and reused several times without a significant loss in their catalytic activity and stability.


In environmental valuation studies with stated preference methods researchers often provide descriptions of status quo conditions which may differ from those perceived by respondents. Ignoring this difference in utility baselines may affect the way attributes are attended to in choice tasks and further affect the magnitude of utility changes and hence bias the implied estimates of benefits from the proposed environmental policies. We investigate this issue using data from a choice experiment on a community's willingness to pay for water quality improvements in streams. About 60% of respondents perceived the description of the quality of water in streams to be better than the one we provided in our scenario. Our results show some differences in serial attribute non-attendance between respondents who were provided with our baseline description of the status quo and those who used their own perceived baselines. The results further reveal some differences in attribute non-attendance in the two split samples within respondents who used their own descriptions of the status quo conditions. Generally we note that non-attendance to cost was higher in respondents who reported lower levels of water quality than those who perceived water quality to be higher. However, we find mixed results in terms of the willingness to pay for water quality improvements.


In this study, 3470 livers of beef cattle slaughtered by the Ankara Meat and Fish Company were inspected. In these animals, 82 livers had telangiectasis, and the incidence of lesions was 2.3%. They were characterized grossly by single or multiple red-brown foci, generally 1 to 5 mm in diameter, and occasionally larger. They were located on the parietal surface of the lobus dexter or rarely scattered throughout the organ. Microscopically, dilated sinusoids filled with erythrocytes were observed in initial lesions; the distortion, atrophy and necrosis of hepatocytic cordons were seen in advanced cases. There was no correlation between liver abscesses and telangiectasis.


ABSTRACT Purpose: This paper addresses to the research gap on the role played by a brand in creating value for business customers through the adoption of reverse channels by presenting a research agenda in the form of a conceptual framework. The research agenda discussed in this paper is based on the argument that a brand provides an assurance of the quality and functional capability of the products to new users of old products, delivers rational benefits to business customers, and strengthens the customer base of manufacturers. Methodology/approach: A systematic literature review was conducted to develop propositions to develop deep insights into the role of a brand in creating value for business customers through the adoption of reverse channels. Findings: Based on an extensive review of the literature, this study suggests that a brand can enhance customer equity, growth of the business customer and profits of the business customer by increasing in its efforts to influence the adoption of reverse-channels. Furthermore, the study proposes that an increase in the intention of a manufacturer to take on innovation in sustainability initiatives in its reverse logistics-based business process can increase the probability of the adoption of an approach towards reverse logistics. Research implications: This research extends the arguments made in innovation in sustainability initiatives theory by linking its three dimensions, i.e. economic, social and environmental, to reverse logistics and channel activities, as a function of a closed-loop supply chain. Practical implications: Synthesis of various theories discussed in this paper provides a theoretical toolbox that can guide manufacturers of brands to create value by generating profits and enhancing the growth of industrial firms. Originality/value/contribution: Using a systematic review of the literature, this study contributes to the area of research by developing a novel theoretical understanding of the role of a brand in creating value for business customers through the adoption of reverse channels.


In this paper, we outline a baseline DSGE model which enables a straightforward analysis of wage bargaining between firms and households/unions in a model with both staggered prices and wages. Relying on empirical evidence, we assume that prices can be changed whenever wages are changed. This feature of the model greatly reduces the complexity of the price and wage setting decisions; specifically it removes complicated interdependencies between current and future price and wage decisions. In an application of the model we study the interaction between labor-market institutions and monetary policy choices, and the consequences for welfare outcomes. Specifically, we focus on the relative bargaining power of unions. We find that, for a standard specification of the monetary policy rule, welfare is substantially affected by the degree of relative bargaining power, but that this effect can be neutralized by optimal discretionary policy.


Assessment task design influences the elicitation of targeted linguistic and communicative demands by creating the conditions under which the task is performed. Through the task design, plausible language use contexts are also created. In this study, I examined the role of pragmatic variables in role-play design to ensure the context validity of assessment of interactional competence. Using conversation analysis (CA), I qualitatively analyzed high-level L2 English learners' performances elicited from five role-plays that measure pragmatic abilities in interaction. I examined how the learners oriented to the pragmatic variables embedded in the role-plays. The elicited role-play performances shared action sequences (e.g., opening) and generic interactional features. However, the learners utilized sequential organizations and grammatical resources differently to accomplish context-specific actions. For example, the length of turns tended to be longer and sequential organizations were more extended when the learners were engaged in the role-plays of formal pragmatic functions with an interlocutor with more social distance. The learners utilized diverse grammatical formats in a non-uniform manner specific to sequential positions of pragmatic actions. I discuss the importance of assessment task design for context validity and eliciting evidence of interactional competence. Further, I argue how CA's analytical attention to real-time details of interaction captures the evidence of interactional competence.


ABSTRACT Proteorhodopsin (PR), a photoactive proton pump containing retinal, is present in approximately half of all bacteria in the ocean, but its physiological role is still unclear, since very few strains carrying the PR gene have been cultured. The aim of this work was to characterize PR diversity in a North Sea water sample, cultivate a strain representative of North Sea PR clusters, and study the effects of light and carbon concentration on the expression of the PR gene. A total of 117 PR sequences, of which 101 were unique, were obtained from a clone library of PCR-amplified PR gene fragments. Of the North Sea PRs, 97% were green light absorbing, as inferred from the amino acid at position 105; 67% of the PR protein fragments showed closest similarity to PRs from Alphaproteobacteria, 4% showed closest similarity to PRs from Gammaproteobacteria, and 29% showed closest similarity to PRs from "Bacteroidetes"/Flavobacteria. The dominant PR cluster (comprising 18% of all PRs) showed a high degree of similarity to the PR from the cultivated Roseobacter strain HTCC2255. The relative abundances of the North Sea PR clusters were confirmed by quantitative PCR. They were detected in metagenomic fragments from coastal oceans worldwide with various degrees of abundance. Several hundred bacterial strains from the North Sea water sample were cultivated on oligocarbophilic media. By screening with degenerate primers, two strains carrying the PR gene were identified. Their 16S rRNA gene sequences were identical and affiliated with a Bacteroidetes subcluster from the North Sea. The PR sequence of isolate PRO95 was completed by chromosomal walking. It was 76% identical to that of Dokdonia donghaensis MED134 and was functional, as indicated by the signature amino acids. PRO95 expressed its PR gene in liquid media containing between 9.7 and 121 mM carbon, both in the light and in the dark. Growth was not enhanced by light. Thus, the detection of the physiological role of PR may require more sensitive methods.


thetist considered that difficult intubation was likely'. Nine patients exhibited Mallampati scores of 111 and IV at pre-operative assessment. Inhalational induction was utilised in only one patient, presumably from this group, yet in their conclusion they state that every quinsy anaesthetic should be approached as a potentially difficult intubation. This conclusion tends to contradict their preference for using intravenous induction. As we know and teach trainees, inhalational induction is usually the safest approach when managing potentially difficult airway problems.


While peptide antagonists for the gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (BB2R), neuromedin B receptor (BB1R), and bombesin (BB) receptor subtype-3 (BRS-3) exist, there is a need to develop non-peptide small molecule inhibitors for all three BBR. The BB agonist (BA)1 binds with high affinity to the BB1R, BB2R, and BRS-3. In this communication, small molecule BBR antagonists were evaluated using human lung cancer cells. AM-37 and ST-36 inhibited binding to human BB1R, BB2R, and BRS-3 with similar affinity (Ki = 1.4–10.8 µM). AM-13 and AM-14 were approximately an order of magnitude less potent than AM-37 and ST-36. The ability of BA1 to elevate cytosolic Ca2+ in human lung cancer cells transfected with BB1R, BB2R, and BRS-3 was antagonized by AM-37 and ST-36. BA1 increased tyrosine phosphorylation of the EGFR and ERK in lung cancer cells, which was blocked by AM-37 and ST-36. AM-37 and ST-36 reduced the growth of lung cancer cells that have BBR. The results indicate that AM-37 and ST-36 function as small molecule BB receptor antagonists.


This thesis examines the lives of Alessandra Strozzi and Lucrezia de'Medici of Florence. The fifteenth-century in Italy saw women's power declining, and patrician women used letter writing to enter the public sphere and exert power. This study analyzes socially constructed emotional themes in women's correspondence which is in concert with scholars like Barbara Rosenwein in that it seeks to instead situate emotions in specific historical contexts. For Alessandra, we see how she successfully employs the emotions of guilt and shame to manipulate her sons into behaving properly, as these emotions were closely connected to Italian culture. Second, in the patronage letters written to Lucrezia by potential clients, we see the use of motherly emotions by clients in hopes that Lucrezia will essentially fill a mother's role, helping them with their hardships. Even though client's letters represent a "fictive" mother/child relationship, they are a testament to Lucrezia's power as a mother.


Groundwater systems have been notoriously difficult to map with high degrees of accuracy. As a result, not only have traditional geophysical methods proven inaccurate for groundwater characterization work, but they are often costly in terms of time, money, and environmental trauma. This paper describes a unique application of magnetometric resistivity or MMR (Edwards and Nabighian, 1991) for groundwater mapping and modeling, which is high-speed, accurate, minimally invasive, and cost effective. This method has now been deployed at many different sites all over the United States and in other countries like Canada, England, Peru, Sri Lanka, and Argentina. In 2007, the method was employed at 17 dams; some are large well-known structures in the United States. Through two case histories, this paper will assess the effectiveness of this methodology.


The theoretical model is suggested which describes micromechanisms of plastic deformation in bimodal metal-graphene composite consisting of large grains embedded into nanocrystalline/ultrafine-grained metal-matrix reinforced by graphene inclusions. In the framework of the model, lattice dislocation slip and grain boundary sliding has occurred in nanocrystalline/ultrafine-grained matrix, and lattice dislocation slip and migration of twin boundaries are realized in large grains with a nanotwinned structure providing the plastic deformation of bimodal metal-graphene composite. With this assumption, the yield stress of nanotwinned bimodal metal-graphene composite was calculated.


Education in the world of science has one purpose: to bring scientists to the level of understanding in their field of specialization that would allow for the successful dissemination of research in an internationally reputable journal. However, success does not depend exclusively on the volumes of literature that are studied, but most importantly, on the collaborative relationships that are established and on the concerted efforts made, within an ethical framework, that would be able to lead to the successful publication of those results in a peer-reviewed journal. International writing collaboration – the focus of this short discussion – is one solution to success in scientific publishing by introducing new measures of overcoming ethical hurdles, and with constant re-evaluation and re-adjustment of that collaboration, global competitiveness is possible, thus advancing science.


Nyctanthes arbortristis Linn. (Oleaceae) which has been used as an antiepileptic remedy in tribal people of India (Orissa and Bihar) along with its use in Ayurveda, Sidha and Unani systems of medicine was evaluated for anticonvulsant activity against experimental seizures. The leaves ethanolic and aqueous extracts of N. arbortristis protected mice against tonic convulsions induced by maximal electroshock and especially by pentylenetetrazole. Neurotoxicity (sedation and motor impairment) of the extract was assessed by the rota rod test. Preliminary phytochemical analysis showed the presence of alkaloids, tannic acid, flavonoids, iridoid glucosides and Desramnosylverbascoside in the extracts. The acceptable acute toxicity of the extracts recommends further studies to determine the mechanism(s) and compound(s) involved in the anticonvulsant activity. *Correspondence for Author:


We report on the high efficiency tunnel-injected ultraviolet light emitting diodes (UV LEDs) emitting at 287 nm. Deep UV LED performance has been limited by the severe internal light absorption in the p-type contact layers and low electrical injection efficiency due to poor p-type conduction. In this work, a polarization engineered Al0.65Ga0.35N/In0.2Ga0.8N tunnel junction layer is adopted for non-equilibrium hole injection to replace the conventionally used direct p-type contact. A reverse-graded AlGaN contact layer is further introduced to realize a low resistance contact to the top n-AlGaN layer. This led to the demonstration of a low tunnel junction resistance of 1.9 × 10−3 Ω cm2 obtained at 1 kA/cm2. Light emission at 287 nm with an on-wafer peak external quantum efficiency of 2.8% and a wall-plug efficiency of 1.1% was achieved. The measured power density at 1 kA/cm2 was 54.4 W/cm2, confirming the efficient hole injection through interband tunneling. With the benefits of the minimized internal absor...


The genome of the trypanosomatid protozoan genus Leishmania has been shown to undergo a number of changes relevant to drug resistance and virulence, such as gene amplification, chromosomal rearrangement, and variation in ploidy. Experimental approaches to the study of genomic changes have in some cases been limited by the fact that Leishmania cells are asexual diploids, as are some other trypanosomatids, pathogenic fungi, and cultured mammalian cells. Here we report upon a system which permits the measurement of several types of genomic change occurring at the dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (DHFR-TS) locus. First, we show that DHFR-TS can function as a positive/negative marker. We used selection against DHFR-TS on a heterozygous line (+/HYG) to generate colonies exhibiting both loss of heterozygosity and structural mutations in DHFR-TS, permitting the first measurement of mutation frequencies in this parasite. Loss of heterozygosity occurred at a frequency ranging from 10(-4) to 10(-6) and was elevated 24-fold by treatment with gamma-irradiation, while the frequency of other events was less than 10(-6) and was increased more than 1,000-fold by nitrosoguanidine treatment. The frequency of loss of heterozygosity relative to other processes such as mutation and gene replacement has important implications for genetic variability in natural Leishmania populations and the generation of both targeted and random mutations. We also developed a protocol for null targeting of diploid cells, in which transfection of a DHFR-TS deletion construct into Leishmania cells followed by negative selection yielded parasites lacking DHFR-TS or foreign sequences. The null-targeting method can be applied to any diploid cell, at any locus for which a negative selection exists. Such marker-free auxotrophic Leishmania cells show potential as an attenuated vaccine, and the methods developed here provide a new approach for manipulating and characterizing the plasticity of the Leishmania genome.


This paper discusses the issues involved in family support, and describes the family room initiative implemented at Galbraith Elementary school in the 1996-97 school year. A series of three focus groups were held with staff, students, and parents involved in the program. Each group discussed five key areas in the project which included how and why people became involved in the program, examples of parental and community interaction, how the project changed parenting skills, what additional community resources were being utilized, and how the program could improve. The findings from this research indicate that parent advocacy, staff ability to communicate with parents, and a sense of place for parents in the school are enhanced by


C3H/HeJBir is a substrain of C3H/HeJ mice that was generated by selective breeding for the phenotype of spontaneous colitis. These mice show increased B cell and T cell reactivity to antigens of the enteric bacterial flora. CD4+ T cells from this strain cause colitis, when activated by enteric bacterial antigens and transferred to histocompatible severe combined immunodeficient recipients. The expression of the disease phenotype of spontaneous colitis is greatly influenced by housing conditions and probably requires an immunostimulatory enteric flora. This strain seems to carry multiple susceptibility genes for colitis as does the parental C3H/HeJ strain; the genes involved are being mapped. This strain represents a high susceptibility phenotype for colitis that is providing insight into the interactions among immune, environmental and genetic factors that can result in IBD.


We present the nonpolarizing resonance properties of two types of one-dimensional (1D) guided-mode resonance (GMR) gratings consisting of the sinusoidal-profile grating substrate and the conformal dielectric thin films. The optimization with respect to the grating height and the phase of the conformal graded-index layer is important for the design of nonpolarizing type-I GMR gratings. The thin films design of the conformal step-index multilayer and the optimization with respect to the grating height are of two critical steps to obtain the nonpolarizing type-II GMR gratings. Both of the two types of nonpolarizing GMR gratings can be designed to support single-mode resonance and multimode resonance under normal incidence.


Nudix hydrolases are a family of proteins defined by a conserved amino-acid sequence GX(5)-EX(7)REUXEEXGU, where U is a hydrophobic residue. These enzymes are widely distributed among all classes of organisms and catalyze, with varying degrees of substrate specificity, the hydrolysis of a variety of nucleoside diphosphate derivatives: nucleoside di- and triphosphates and their oxidized forms, dinucleoside polyphosphates, nucleotide sugars, NADH, coenzyme A and the mRNA cap. Nudix proteins are postulated to control the cellular concentration of these compounds. The genome of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana contains 29 genes coding for putative Nudix hydrolases. Recently, several Arabidopsis Nudix genes have been cloned and their products characterized. This review summarizes current knowledge on these plant enzymes and discusses their possible cellular functions.


The investigation on joining of SiC to SiC has been conducted for some years. It is essential that the mechanical and thermal properties of the joints should meet the requirements of engineering. In view of the fact that the ternary carbide Ti3SiC2 has shown unique mechanical and thermal properties, it is promising to join SiC to SiC using ternary carbide Ti3SiC2 as filler (welding compound), and this is the subject to deal with in this paper. The joining of SiC to SiC has been successfully realized by hot pressing reaction joining process using Ti3SiC2 powder as filler. The optimized technological parameters have been obtained by orthogonal experiments, under which the achieved weld strength is higher than that of the welding base material SiC ceramic. Ti3SiC2 is stable up to 1200oC in Ar atmosphere with an external pressure. At the joining temperatures of 1300~ 1600oC the main phases of the interface are Ti3SiC2, TiC and TiSi2. The mechanism of bonding at the interface is interdiffusion and chemical reaction.


We focus on the epi layer carrier concentration variation effects to improve the current – voltage (I-V) characteristics of an n-GaN schottky diode. The carrier concentration of 1×10 15cm-3, 1×1016 cm−3, 1×1017 cm−3 were employed. The simulated current was obtained by forward biasing the device of up to 2Volt at room temperature using Pt electrode. The study was conducted by using Atlas/Blaze using various models such as Consrh (Concentration Dependent Shockley Read Hall), Cvt (Lombardi Model), Fermi (Fermi Dirac), Bgn (Bandgap Narrowing), Conmob (Concentration Dependent Mobility), Auger (Auger). We found that as the concentration increases the value of forward current also increase linearly when biased at maximum of 2 volts. The reverse bias characteristics at the same concentration of the simulated diode up to 100Volt were also determined. We found that at low carrier concentration the reverse leakage current is minimum and breakdown voltage is maximum. As the carrier concentration increases there is a linear relationship between reverse leakage current and epi layer doping carrier concentration. By analyzing the forward and reverse characteristics we conclude that in forward bias for low carrier concentration the diode shows schottky rectifying behavior while for higher carrier concentration the diode shows ohmic behavior. For higher carrier concentration there is a linear relationship between carrier concentration (n) and forward current. The reverse leakage current is minimum approaching an ideal value at n≤1×1015cm-3 and breakdown voltage is maximum at these values of concentration. Increasing the concentration from n≤1×1015cm-3 the value of reverse leakage current is approaching to the maximum value as a result breakdown voltage decreases. We conclude that for n-GaN schottky diode the ideal schottky rectifying behavior of I-V characteristics is obtained at carrier concentration of n≤ 1×1015cm-3 for the simulated diodes at different carrier concentration.


Optical fibers play a key role in many different fields of science and technology. For many of these applications it is of outmost importance to precisely know and control their radius. In this manuscript, we demonstrate a novel technique to determine the local radius variation of a 30 micrometer diameter silica fiber with sub-Angstrom precision over more than half a millimeter in a single shot, by imaging the mode structure of the fiber's whispering gallery modes (WGMs). We show that in these WGMs the speed of light propagating along the fiber axis is strongly reduced, which enables us to determine the fiber radius with significantly enhanced precision, far beyond the diffraction limit. By exciting several different axial modes at different probing fiber positions, we verify the precision and reproducibility of our method and demonstrate that we can achieve a precision better than 0.3 Angstrom. The demonstrated method can be generalized to other experimental situations where slow light occurs and, thus, has a large range of potential applications in the realms of precision metrology and optical sensing.


Although hexoses glucose and fructose serve as important energy sources of food, up to now, there is little information about hexose transporters in birds' intestinal epithelium during their first postnatal week. The aim of the investigation was to carry out an immunohistochemical study of integral membrane proteins glucose transporter-2 and -5 (GLUT-2 and GLUT-5) on intestinal epithelial cells of ostrich chicks during their first postnatal week.
The material from duodenum and ileum was collected from 9 female ostriches (Struthio camelus var. Domesticus) divided into three age groups, three birds in each group: chicks immediately after hatching, 3-day-old ostriches and 7-day-old chicks. The material was fixed in 10% formalin, embedded into paraffin, slices 7μm thick were cut followed by immunohistochemical staining with polyclonal primary antibodies Rabbit anti- GLUT-2 and Rabbit anti-GLUT-5, carried out according to the manufacturer's guidelines (IHC kit, Abcam, UK).
Immunohistochemical localization of GLUT-2 and -5 in the intestinal epithelial cells in ostriches of different age groups was determined. In the groups of chicks after hatching and 3-day-old ostriches, enterocytes in duodenal epithelium were mostly unstained and goblet cells stained weakly for both antibodies. Weak staining of enterocytes and goblet cells was also noted in the ileal epithelium of the chick after hatching. Moderate staining of goblet cells was noted in the 3-day-old chicks' ileal epithelium. In 7-day-old ostriches, the expression of both antibodies was weak in duodenal but moderate in ileal epithelial cells.
The pattern of immunohistochemical expression of GLUT-2 and GLUT-5 in ostriches' intestinal epithelial cells confirms our hypothesis that the intestinal tract of ostriches after hatching is not yet entirely capable of transportation of hexoses and showed that it is completing gradually during the first postnatal week.


First described in 2009 in Japan, the emerging multidrug-resistant fungal pathogen Candida auris is becoming a worldwide public health threat that has been attracting considerable attention due to its rapid and widespread emergence over the past decade. The reasons behind the recent emergence of this fungus remain a mystery to date. Genetic analyses indicate that this fungal pathogen emerged simultaneously in several different continents, where 5 genetically distinct clades of C. auris were isolated from distinct geographical locations. Although C. auris belongs to the CTG clade (its constituent species translate the CTG codon as serine instead of leucine, as in the standard code), C. auris is a haploid fungal species that is more closely related to the haploid and often multidrug-resistant species Candida haemulonii and Candida lusitaniae and is distantly related to the diploid and clinically common fungal pathogens Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis. Infections and outbreaks caused by C. auris in hospitals settings have been rising over the past several years. Difficulty in its identification, multidrug resistance properties, evolution of virulence factors, associated high mortality rates in patients, and long-term survival on surfaces in the environment make C. auris particularly problematic in clinical settings. Here, we review progress made over the past decade on the biological and clinical aspects of C. auris. Future efforts should be directed toward understanding the mechanistic details of its biology, epidemiology, antifungal resistance, and pathogenesis with a goal of developing novel tools and methods for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of C. auris infections.


OBJECTIVE
To localize alpha2beta1 and alpha3beta1 integrins in the cell membrane of peritoneal mesothelium in vivo and in vitro.

DESIGN
Descriptive study using confocal and two-photon laser-scanning microscopy.

SETTING
University-based laboratory.

PATIENT(S)
Women without endometriosis undergoing surgery for benign conditions.

INTERVENTION(S)
None.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)
Peritoneal biopsies (n = 9) and mesothelial monolayer cultures (n = 4) were incubated with antibodies to the alpha2 and alpha3 subunits and to the intact alpha2beta1 and alpha3beta1 integrins. Specimens were examined with laser-scanning microscopy.

RESULT(S)
The alpha2 and alpha3 subunits and the intact alpha2beta1 and alpha3beta1 integrins were identified at the base of the mesothelial cells (i.e., toward the basement membrane). There was also expression of the alpha2 and alpha3 subunits and the intact alpha2beta1 and alpha3beta1 integrins at the cell surface (i.e., toward the peritoneal cavity).

CONCLUSION(S)
The resolution of the confocal and two-photon laser-scanning microscope enabled localization of integrins in mesothelial cells. The presence of alpha2beta1 (collagen-laminin receptor) and alpha3beta1 integrins (collagen-laminin-fibronectin receptor) at the base of mesothelial cells suggests a role for these molecules in adhesion to the basement membrane. The presence of these molecules at the cell surface suggests a potential locus for cell adhesion in such processes as endometriosis and cancer metastasis.


PURPOSE To investigate the effect of accelerated aging on surface properties of glazed CAD/CAM resin blocks using a 2D surface profilometer and a 3D non-contact optical profilometer. MATERIALS AND METHODS Three types of CAD/CAM resin restorative materials, LAVA Ultimate (3M ESPE, St Paul, MN, USA), VITA Enamic (Vita Zahnfabrik H. Rauter, Bad Säckingen, Germany), and Cerasmart (GC Corparation, Tokyo, Japan) were used for this study. CAD/CAM blocks were cut in 3-mm thickness slabs and divided into three groups; Group 1: control group (specimens polished with 600 grit SCI paper); Group 2: specimens sandblasted, silanized, and glazed with Optiglaze Color (GC); Group 3: glazed specimens subjected to 5000 thermocycles (n=15). The surface roughness (Ra and Rz) was evaluated using a profilometer and a 3D scanning instrument. Data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA and Tukey's post-hoc test (P<.05). RESULTS LAVA, VITA, and Cerasmart exhibited statistically similar Ra and Rz values for each group (P>.05). For VITA and Cerasmart, the specimens in Group 1 exhibited significantly higher Ra values than Group 2 (P<.05). Group 1 (0.502 Ra), Group 2 (0.384 Ra), and Group 3 (0.431 Ra) exhibited statistically similar Ra values for LAVA (P=.062). After 5000 thermocycles, surface roughness values did not change significantly for glazed LAVA, VITA, and Cerasmart (P>.05). CONCLUSION Glaze material Optiglaze Color makes CAD/CAM resin surfaces smooth and glazed CAD/CAM surfaces seem resistant to deterioration under 5000 thermocycles.


As the new administration moved beyond its first year in office, Obama's politics of hope increasingly has been transformed into a politics of accommodation. To many of his supporters, his quest for pragmatism and realism has become a weakness rather than a strength. By focusing on those areas where Obama grounded his own sense of possibility, Giroux critically investigates the well-being and future of young people, including the necessity to overcome racial injustices, the importance of abiding by the promise of a democracy to come, and the indisputable value of education in democracy. Giroux shows why considerations provide the ethical and political foundations for enabling hope to live up to its promises, while making civic responsibility and education central to a movement that takes democracy seriously.