A NEW PHASE SPECIATION LEACHING PROCEDURE FOR THE DETERMINATION OF METALS IN OXIC AND ANOXIC SEDIMENTS Brandon R. Gipson Old Dominion University, 2012 Director: Dr. Gregory A. Cutter Toxic trace elements such as cadmium, lead, chromium, and arsenic released by human activities can accumulate in marine and estuarine sediments, where these metals are often sequestered until local environmental changes (e.g., redox, salinity, and/or pH) allow these elements to be reintroduced into the food web. In order to assess the extent of toxic trace element contamination in sediment, numerous leaching schemes have been developed that separate sediment-bound trace metals into operationally defined geochemical phases. These "phase speciation" leaching schemes are typically designed with the purpose of being used on either oxic or anoxic sediments. However, natural sediments often contain prominent redox boundaries; therefore, it is useful to develop a single phase speciation leaching scheme which can be used on both oxic and anoxic sediments. A six step leaching scheme was developed in order to separate sediment-bound trace elements into five operationally defined phases: exchangeable, oxide, acid volatile sulfide (AVS), organic, and pyrite. The efficacy of five of the six leaching steps (oxide, AVS, organic #1 and #2, and pyrite) was evaluated using standard reference sediments (NIST 2702 and BCR-701) and actual sediment samples. Overall, the results show that the six step leaching process compared well with other frequently utilized phase speciation leaching schemes ("Tessier" and "optimized BCR"). With the exception of some surface sediment oxides carrying over into the AVS phase, the leach AVS and pyrite results compared well with H2S generation sediment sulfide analysis methods. The organic phase extractions were about three times more effective (-60% removal efficiency) at removing labile organic material (e.g., proteins and humic and fulvic acids) in sediment than refractory organics (e.g., protokerogens) (~20% removal efficiency). The six step leach method was applied to bulk sediments obtained from three estuaries with differing geochemical environments (salinity and sediment C and S concentrations). The sediment phase speciation results for the major (Fe, Mn, and Ca) and trace metals (Cd, Pb, Cr, and As) of interest are similar to those reported by other workers for similar environments, with the majority of the trace metals being located in the oxide and organic


An efficient smoke detection algorithm on color video sequences obtained from a stationary camera is proposed. Our algorithm considers dynamic and static features of smoke and composed of basic steps: preprocessing; slowly moving areas and pixels segmentation in a current input frame based on adaptive background subtraction; merge slowly moving areas with pixels into blobs; classification of the blobs obtained before. We use adaptive background subtraction at a stage of moving detection. Moving blobs classification is based on optical flow calculation, Weber contrast analysis and takes into account primary direction of smoke propagation. Real video surveillance sequences are used for smoke detection with utilization our algorithm. A set of experimental results are presented in the paper.


Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is the most common type of urinary incontinence, and approximately 200 different methods have been described for its surgical management. A better understanding of the pathophysiology of SUI has led to the development of surgical therapies focused on creating a strong suburethral supportive layer and urethral resistance. The most important advantage of the pubovaginal sling (PVS) procedure is that it restores urethral resistance during stress maneuvers to prevent incontinence, while improving urethral coaptation at rest and allowing for spontaneous micturition. Various autologous, allograft, xenograft and synthetic materials have been used for the PVS. The autologous PVS procedure for the treatment of SUI offers the highest success rate and is the most commonly used PVS surgical method. Unlike xenograft and allograft materials, the autologous procedure does not result in a tissue reaction and is associated with a low rate of material-related complications.


The concept of photoinduced electron transfer has been explored for the development of polymeric transducers for optical ion-detection devices. For this purpose, a series of N-(9-anthrylmethyl)monoaza-18-crown-6 substituted poly(methacrylate)s were prepared, which differ in the chemical nature of the backbone. The fluorescent signaling in these systems is based on disturbances, upon complexation of K⊕, in the competition between de-excitation pathways of fluorescence and photoinduced electron transfer. The sensitivity and the ultimate enhancement of the fluorescence of these materials upon complexation of K⊕ were found to be strongly influenced by the chemical structure of the polymer backbone.


High-grade glial tumors are the most common primary brain tumor in adults. The current standard of care for high-grade glial tumors includes surgical resection followed by combination of radiation with temazolomide treatment and adjuvant temozolomide. The Macdonald Criteria are currently the most widely used guideline for assessing response to therapy in patients with high-grade glial tumors. These are based on the size of the contrast-enhancing lesion in MR imaging. Recently, nontumoral changes in enhancement have been found. It is now clear that evaluation of gadolinium enhancement alone is not adequate to characterize tumor regression or progression. MR diffusion, MR perfusion, MR spectroscopy, and PET imaging will be important adjuncts to traditional imaging for tumor assessment. We review MR imaging findings following high-grade tumor treatment.


Discrete-event dynamic systems (DEDs) permeate our world, being of great importance in modern manufacturing processes, transportation and various forms of computer and communications networking. Modeling and Control of Discrete-event Dynamic Systems begins with the mathematical basics required for the study of DEDs and moves on to present various tools used in their modeling and control. Among the instruments explained are many forms of Petri net, Grafcet (the sequential function chart), state charts, formal languages and max-plus algebra; all essential for control students to become proficient with DEDs and to make use of them in practical applications. In order to assist tutors with the use of this book in classes it contains fully-worked examples and end-of-chapter exercises with a pdf solutions manual available from springer.com. Realistic industrial examples of varying complexity illustrate the concepts and methods under discussion. Using them, readers will be able to understand DEDs quickly and to master the control methods to analyze and improve the performance of their systems. Final-year undergraduates and graduates embarking on further courses of study in control, manufacturing and process engineering, computer studies or operations research will find Modeling and Control of Discrete-event Dynamic Systems an invaluable companion to learning about the control of this increasingly important class of systems.


A set of ester and amide derivatives of some acidic NSAIDs, including ibuprofen, ketoprofen, and mefenamic acid (1-3), were synthesized and evaluated for their in vivo analgesic and antiinflammatory activity using the p-benzoquinone-induced writhing test and the carrageenan-induced paw edema model, respectively. Among the synthesized compounds, ester derivatives of ketoprofen showed especially potent analgesic and antiinflammatory activity as compared to the parent drug. In vitro chemical stability studies revealed that ester and amide derivatives were chemically stable in simulated gastric (pH 1.2) and intestinal fluids (pH 6.8). In 80% human plasma, the ester derivatives were found to be relatively stable against plasma esterases over periods of 24 h, indicating that the observed activity was not due to the parent NSAIDs. Most of the compounds were found to be nonulcerogenic under the tested conditions.


Atorvastatin is a member of the drug class known as statins, which are used to cure hypercholesterolemia. The statins inhibit HMG-CoA reductase, which catalyzes the rate-limiting step in hepatic cholesterol synthesis. Atorvastatin was launched by the Warner Lambert Co. under the trade name Lipitor in 1997. Since 2001, Lipitor has been the leading product in the global pharmaceutical sales reaching 13.6 billion USD in 2006. The review discusses various aspects of the drug. The main syntheses of atorvastatin, including the commercially used convergent synthesis, are shortly discussed. The review also covers polymorphism and some basic formulation data. The complex situation with the polymorphs and amorphous form is discussed in detail.


An investor's risk attitude is a stable characteristic, like a personality trait, but risk-taking behavior can change based on the investor's age, recent market events, and life experiences. These factors change investors' perceptions of the risks. Differences in risk tolerance between men and women or in different circumstances trace back to emotional as much as rational considerations. Financial advisers should consider all of these factors when advising clients and can use four simple steps to incorporate best practices: be aware, educate, nudge, and hand hold.
The term risk tolerance is defined and used in different ways. Whether risk tolerance is a stable characteristic of a given investor or also takes into account external circumstances (e.g., economic shocks or the domain of the decision) depends on how it is defined and measured. This brief focuses on a definition of risk tolerance prevalent in the practitioner community—namely, an investor's willingness to take perceived risk or the trade-off an investor is willing to make between the perceived risk and expected return of different investment choices. This definition derives from a psychological interpretation of the risk–return framework of classical portfolio theory. It treats risk tolerance as an attitude toward risk and decouples this pure attitudinal variable from the perceptions of risks and returns—psychological variables in their own right and distinct from the expected value and variance of the distribution of possible outcomes.
Defined in this way, risk tolerance may differ among investors as a function of socioeconomic and biological differences but (with the exception of a brief boost during adolescence) shows stability across an investor's lifespan, financial shocks, and other circumstances. Risk tolerance, in this sense, is the mediator that translates perceptions of risk and situational needs and constraints into decision and action.
The variables that change with market conditions and other circumstances are investors' perceptions of investment risks and expectations of return. In contrast to risk tolerance, which attaches to an individual and her biological makeup and personality, these variables change over time in response to changing external conditions. Therefore, an investor's risk-taking behavior (as revealed by her investment decisions) can look like it has changed, despite the stability in her risk tolerance. Perceived risks and expected returns are influenced by hopes and fears as much as by past returns and rational expectations and thus need to be assessed in their own right and possibly corrected.
Managing investor emotions through the ups and downs of financial markets is arguably a financial adviser's most important task. Calm times provide an opportunity to discuss and formulate an investment policy for each client that can be consulted when emotions are running high. Managing risk perceptions requires the financial adviser to act more like a therapist than a mechanic. It is above all about managing expectations and emotions and helping clients to better deal with emotions when it comes to financial decisions. The end result of this process might be a portfolio that is not "optimal" in the sense of modern portfolio theory, with its assumption of econs, but rather a portfolio that "satisfies" the human need for investments that can be handled in the presence of changing emotions and changing risk perceptions.


Empathy is often considered to be an important emotion for morality. In fact, many resesearchers argue that morality is impossible without empathy (Howe, 2013). In this research project, I argue against the widely held view that empathy is important for morality. I examine autistic individuals and psychopaths, both known for having an impairment in empathy, in order to show that empathy is not important for morality.I argue that although autistic individuals are deficient in empathy, they display moral behaviour, thus empathy cannot be the core of morality. I argue that while psychopaths are said to lack empathy, they are not wholly devoid of empathy. If it is the case that psychopaths do not fully lack empathy, then there must be more to morality than empathy. I also show that empathy can cause partiality, and thus cannot be the core of morality. In support of a sentimentalist framework of morality, I determine the emotions important for morality by conducting a systematic review of the studies on emotion and morality. I examine and analyze studies conducted on both negative and positive emotions. I conclude that disgust, anger, distress sympathy, elevation, and mirth are important emotions for morality.


New π-extended discotic liquid crystals based on heptacyclic triindole have been synthesized and their mesomorphic behaviour investigated. The synthesis of π-extended compounds was carried out by oxidative cyclodehydrogenation of differently substituted star-shaped hexaaryltriindoles to afford the planar derivatives with an extended core. Extending the conjugation in these materials results in a significant increase in the order and range of the mesophases. The influence of the peripherally attached groups in the mesomorphic and electronic properties offers a great opportunity to further tune the properties of these compounds intended to their incorporation in devices.


Over the last decade the construction industry in Malaysia has undergone many changes in order to compete in the age of globalization. High employment demand not
only felt by the construction sector, but all sectors of the economy. Although the construction industry is facing the problem of lack of employment from the local, but the
problem has been reduced by hiring foreign labour. In addition to lack of local employment, the construction sector is also facing problems related to local skill labour.
Therefore, this study aims to look more closely at the problem of a shortage of local skilled labour, especially investigate the factors that may contribute to the shortage of local skilled labour in the Malaysian construction industry and also provide recommendation for increasing participation of local skilled labour in the Malaysian construction industry. The method of the study involved a literature review and also an interview with the respondent which consists of industry key player among Malaysian
citizen that has been working in the construction industry involving engineers, contractors, project manager and others. In conclusion, the factors that may contribute to the shortage of local skilled labour are low assuredness of salary, poor career path, poor image of the industry and working environment and education level. On the other hand, the best ways to increase the participation of local skilled labour in the Malaysian construction industry are by commercialized the name of the skill training program,
implement specific training, especially for local youth in enhancing their skill levels, the government gives support for smaller companies to train the local workforce,
increasing the salary or wages of the local worker and last but not least minimizes the intake of foreign labor in the construction industry.


The objective of this research was to delineate age-based differences in specific thoracic injury diagnoses for seat belt restrained rear seat occupants and describe the associated injury causation in order to provide insight into how the load of the seat belt is transferred to occupants of various sizes. Using data from the Crash Investigation Research and Engineering Network (CIREN), 20 cases of rear seated, lap and shoulder belt restrained occupants with AIS2+ thoracic injuries in frontal crashes were reviewed. Seven were children and adolescents age 8-15 years, 5 were 16-24 years, 3 were 25-54 years, and 5 were 55+ years. Six of the seven 8-15 year olds sustained injuries to the lung in the form of pulmonary contusion or pneumothorax. Only three of the seven sustained a skeletal (sternum or rib) fracture; only one of these three involved multiple ribs bilaterally. In contrast, four of the five 16-24 year olds sustained at least one rib fracture - often multiple and bilateral. The adult cohort (25+ years) was involved in predominantly more minor crashes; however they all sustained complex rib fractures - seven of the eight involved multiple ribs, four of the eight were also bilateral. Belt compression - either from the shoulder belt or the lap belt - was identified as the primary cause of the thoracic injuries. Often, there was clear evidence of the location of belt loading from AIS 1 chest contusions or abrasions. These findings have implications for age-based thoracic injury criteria suggesting that that different metrics may be needed for different age groups.


Abstract. We present in a statistical study a comparison of thermospheric mass density enhancements (ρrel) with electron temperature (Te), small-scale field-aligned currents (SSFACs), and vertical ion velocity (Vz) at high latitudes around noon magnetic local time (MLT). Satellite data from CHAMP (CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload) and DMSP (Defense Meteorological Satellite Program) sampling the Northern Hemisphere during the years 2002–2005 are used. In a first step we investigate the distribution of the measured quantities in a magnetic latitude (MLat) versus MLT frame. All considered variables exhibit prominent peak amplitudes in the cusp region. A superposed epoch analysis was performed to examine causal relationship between the quantities. The occurrence of a thermospheric relative mass density anomaly, ρrel >1.2, in the cusp region is defining an event. The location of the density peak is taken as a reference latitude (Δ MLat = 0°). Interestingly, all the considered quantities, SSFACs, Te, and Vz are co-located with the density anomaly. The amplitudes of the peaks exhibit different characters of seasonal variation. The average relative density enhancement of the more prominent density peaks considered in this study amounts to 1.33 during all seasons. As expected, SSFACs are largest in summer with average amplitudes equal to 2.56 μA m−2, decaying to 2.00 μA m−2 in winter. The event related enhancements of Te and Vz are both largest in winter (Δ Te =730 K, Vz =136 m s−1) and smallest in summer (Δ Te = 377 K, Vz = 57 m s−1. Based on the similarity of the seasonal behaviour we suggest a close relationship between these two quantities. A correlation analysis supports a linear relation with a high coefficient greater than or equal to 0.93, irrespective of season. Our preferred explanation is that dayside reconnection fuels Joule heating of the thermosphere causing air upwelling and at the same time heating of the electron gas that pulls up ions along affected flux tubes.


Introduction: Nanotechnology is a developing technology whose use is increasing in different aspects. Among various nanostructures that are widely used, we can refer to titanium dioxide nanoparticles (Tio2-np), which are applied in water and wastewater treatment, antibacterial and antifungal substances, and self-cleaning surfaces; however, due to passing of the particles through placenta and blood–brain barrier, it may cause pathological damages in infants and affect the future generations' health. Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of administration of titanium dioxide nanoparticles during pregnancy on hematological parameters and lipid profile in the mice offspring. Materials and Methods: In this experiment, 30 female mice were divided into three groups, including the control group who received no substance, the solvent group who received drug carrier on the 3rd, 7th, 10th, and 14th days of pregnancy, and the treatment group who received subcutaneously 10 μL of titanium dioxide nanoparticles of 1 mg/mL concentration in the 3rd, 7th, 10th, and 14th days after mating. Afterwards, among the offspring of each group, 10 male and 10 female offspring were chosen to evaluate hematological parameters and lipid profile on the 42nd day. Results: The results demonstrated that offspring exposure to prenatal titanium dioxide particles (Tio2-NP) in the treatment group causes changes in hematological parameters and lipid profile levels in male and female offspring; however, changes were greater in female offspring. Conclusion: Since previous studies have shown that titanium dioxide nanoparticles have the ability to cross the placenta and blood–brain barrier. After passing the barriers, they cause damages to various organs including liver and kidney and also changes in gene expression levels in different parts of the body including brain and bones. In addition, they result in producing free radical in the body and developing disorders in globules production and lipid metabolism.


Background: Cancer is the major cause of death throughout the world. In the developing world, the rate of death increases due to old age and changes in the lifestyle of people. At present, the researchers from multidisciplinary areas are focusing on strategies to combat this disease. Several chemotherapeutic, cytotoxic and immunomodulatory drugs are being explored from natural sources like plants, insects and marine organisms. Alkaloids belonging to the phenanthroindolizidine class are an example of such phytochemicals isolated from natural sources and found to exhibit interesting pharmacological properties. These alkaloids are well known for their cytotoxic activity, due to the inhibition of protein and nucleic acid synthesis. Hence numerous approaches to synthesize the phenanthroindolizidines and their analogues have been reported. Method and findings: This review will hence provide an overview on the anti-cancer effects of Phenanthroindolizidine Alkaloids (PAs) reported from scientific and patent literature. The details of the mode of actions, study models, effective dosages, combination therapy and other pharmacological aspects of the alkaloid will be highlighted. Some of these alkaloids were found to possess anti-cancer activity by inhibiting the overexpression of COX-2 enzyme and NF-kB receptors, the deregulation of which is found to cause tumors. Further studies related to the in-silico docking studies confirm their interaction with COX-2 protein which is one of the important targets for treating inflammation based cancer.


Technology has been playing a central role in defense spending or arms-producing countries since World War II. Although there has been no major threat or conflict since the 1990s, defense R&D absorbs a large share of military expenditures, as well as public R&D. This technology-centric paradigm results from uncertainties surrounding defense matters and the need to avoid strategic surprises. However, one can wonder whether such a paradigm is still adapted to today's defense needs. This is a trend strongly driven by the supply side: defense firms have developed a business model that cannot survive without launching new programs, hence a high level of defense R&D. This explains both an overinvestment in technology, resulting in the development of unaffordable technologies or unsustainable performance targets, and the technology-centric model that defense firms favor in side markets like security.


103 patients (52 males, 51 females) suffered from ventricular septal defect associated with pulmonary hypertension were operated on under sardiopulmonary bypass from 1981-1995 at high altitude. The age of the patients ranged from 2 to 29 years. The ratio of pulmonary systemic arterial pressure was more than 0.91 (0.91 to 1.21). The defects were closed by using dacron patch. The operative mortality was 4.8% among the survivals. 98 patients were followed up for a period from 3 months to 3 years (mean 2.4 years). Excellent results were observed in 93 patients, and good in 4. There was a late death. On account of the improvement in surgical technique, myocardial protection and postoperative care, the result of operation was improved markedly.


A simple, reproducible model of fatal Pseudomonas aeruginosa sepsis in mice during immunosuppression was developed. Mice were rendered leukopenic (less than or equal to 800 leukocytes per mm3 of blood) for a period of 5 days by multiple injections of cyclophosphamide. Mice were challenged at the onset of leukopenia by instilling the bacteria onto a 0.5-mm incision made into the back. The mean lethal dose (LD50) for P. aeruginosa PA220 and M-2 was less than 20 bacteria. The mean time to death for these strains ranged from 46 to 59 h. Leukopenic mice were comparatively resistant when challenged with Klebsiella pneumoniae (LD50 = 1.5 x 10(6)) or Staphylococcus aureus (LD50 greater than 10(6)). Infection with P. aeruginosa was characterized by rapid bacterial multiplication in the skin at the site of infection, producing ecthyma gangrenosum. Bacteremia and colonization of the liver were pronounced 21 h postinfection. This model should prove to be a useful tool for studying the pathogenesis of P. aeruginosa infections under immunosuppressed conditions.


Corporate strategies often evolve from a complex and extensive corporate-wide planning process. Many stakeholders of the company are involved in this process, for instance corporate management, strategists, or business unit managers. So far, no paper that we are aware of has analysed the characteristics of the strategy process in connection with the role of management accountants in the strategy process. Therefore, it is the purpose of this paper to analyse if management accountants support, participate in and influence the strategic planning process and how they do it. A cross-sectional field study was undertaken to answer this research question, in which we interviewed 29 top management executives in 11 company groups in Germany. We found differing roles and intensities of management accountants' participation and influence in the planning process depending on the specific corporate context. Furthermore we divided the process into four phases: strategic analysis, strategy conception, strategy implementation, and control phase. By conducting a detailed examination of the characteristics of the corporate strategy process, including relevant participants, structure of information flows, or formal framework we were able to differentiate three different types of strategy processes: type one with only minor moderating management accounting participation; type two with major management accounting participation in later strategy process phases; and type three with a strong emphasis of management accounting on the control phase at the end of the strategy process. Depending on the process type management accountants have different formal tasks and objectives and therefore use varying tool sets, ranging from traditional cost accounting to general management instruments like portfolio analysis.


As both amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson's disease (PD) exhibit a variety of patterns of dysphagia, appropriate symptomatic treatment is provided after evaluation of swallowing function through videofluoroscopic examination of swallowing. In ALS, disease progression is rapid, therefore, respiratory function, swallowing function and nutritional status should be evaluated regularly. When the oral or pharyngeal stage of swallowing are affected early in dysphagia, adjusting swallowing volume and varying consistency can be beneficial in ALS. When all stages of swallowing are impaired in ALS, such complications as pneumonia, dehydration and malnutrition, are observed. In such patients, it is necessary to consider an alternative to oral dietary intake. In PD, dysphagia is not necessarily associated with severity of parkinsonism and can appear at any time during the course of the disease. Dysphagia in PD can occur at any stage of swallowing and frequently accompanies multiple abnormalities. In particular, aspiration is an important risk factor for pneumonia in PD. The effect of L-dopa treatment for dysphagia is often insufficient; however, this treatment remains the first choice because dysphagia is exacerbated during off state. Rehabilitation for dysphagia in PD has also some effect.


Much has been said about women's participation in the different fields of development, water resources being one of them. Both water resources management and gender issues are complex, and their analyses and solutions would necessarily reflect regional conditions, institutional views, societal practices, and cultural backgrounds. Historically, women have been primarily responsible for the provision and management of water at the household and community levels. However, their presence at the managerial and decision-making levels has been comparatively more recent. This paper summarizes the main findings and results of a workshop convened in Mexico City to analyse the contributions of women at the planning, management and decision-making levels.


Decision trees are a popular choice of explainable model, but just like neural networks, they suffer from adversarial examples. Existing algorithms for fitting decision trees robust against adversarial examples are greedy heuristics and lack approximation guarantees. In this paper we propose ROCT, a collection of methods to train decision trees that are optimally robust against user-specified attack models. We show that the min-max optimization problem that arises in adversarial learning can be solved using a single minimization formulation for decision trees with 0-1 loss. We propose such formulations in Mixed-Integer Linear Programming and Maximum Satisfiability, which widely available solvers can optimize. We also present a method that determines the upper bound on adversarial accuracy for any model using bipartite matching. Our experimental results demonstrate that the existing heuristics achieve close to optimal scores while ROCT achieves state-of-the-art scores.


For many years, U.S. policy toward undocumented immigrants has been bipolar – it has had aspects that simultaneously help and hinder their life chances. Access to higher education provides one example. An estimated 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school in the United States each year. Since 2001, a number of states have passed legislation designed to increase the college access rates of undocumented students via in-state resident tuition policies provided they meet basic graduation and residency requirements. Yet these state laws are a response to a 1996 federal law that was intended to bar the access of these students to public higher education. This paper assesses the recent political context in which undocumented immigrants have entered into the United States, their locations of residence, and estimations of where they are most likely to utilize public policies that encourage college enrollment. We conclude with comparisons of these populations by citizenship status and provide implications for the general educational mobility of Latinos in the United States.


Abstract Alkali-aggregate reactivity (AAR) is one of the major causes of damage in concrete. Potential susceptibility of aggregates to this reaction can be determined using several methods. This study compares gravel alkali reactivity results obtained from different tests conducted on coarse aggregates with complex petrography. The potential for the reactivity in the aggregates was revealed in the chemical test using treatment with sodium hydroxide. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to identify the reactive constituents. The expansion measured in the mortar bars test confirmed that the aggregate was potentially capable of alkali silica reactivity with consequent deleterious effect on concrete.


Research summary: We develop and test a set of hypotheses on investors' reactions to a specific form of impression management, public presentations of overall strategy by Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). Contrary to expectations from a "cheap talk" perspective, we suggest that such strategy presentations convey valuable information to investors, especially in conditions of heightened information asymmetry associated with varying types of new CEOs. Broad empirical support for our theoretical arguments is shown in a sample of strategy presentations carried out by NYSE and NASDAQ listed organizations over 10 years. Our research contributes to literature on new CEOs and impression management. We draw out implications both for management and for further research. Managerial summary: We examine the impact of public presentations on company strategy by Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) on company stock prices. Adjusting for market movements in general, on average stock prices rose by 1.6 percent following these strategy presentations. Strategy presentations received larger reactions the more the CEO was unfamiliar to investors. Thus, stock price gains for new CEOs in general were 5.3 percent; for external, within-industry new CEOs, they were 9.3 percent; and for external, outside-of-industry new CEOs, they were 12.4 percent. Given that only 40 percent of new CEOs present on strategy in their first 200 days post-appointment, we suggest that new CEOs pay more attention to this potential means of communicating, especially if they are unfamiliar to investors. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Current potato breeding approaches are hampered by several factors including costly seed tubers, tetrasomic inheritance and inbreeding depression. Genomic selection (GS) demonstrated interesting results regardless of the ploidy level, and can be harnessed to circumvent these problems. In this work, three GS models were evaluated using 50,107 informative SilicoDArT markers and 11 traits in two values for cultivation and use (VCU) potato trials. Two key breeding problems modelled included predicting the performance of (i) new and unphenotyped clones (cross-validation) and (ii) a VCU using another as training set (TS). GS models performed comparably. Cross-validation accuracy was high for D35, D45, DMW and BVAL, in ascending order. Prediction accuracies of the VCUs were highly correlated, but the best prediction was obtained for the smaller VCU using the bigger as TS. Cross-validation and VCU prediction accuracies were higher when bigger TSs were used. The findings herein indicate that GS can be attractively integrated in potato breeding, particularly in early clonal generations to predict and select for traits with low heritability which would otherwise require more testing years, environments and resources.


Achillea eriophora D.C. (Asteraceae), an endemic species in Iran, is used extensively in Iranian folk medicine to treat various ailments, including gastrointestinal disorders, skin inflammations and wound healing. The present study was aimed to investigate the effects of the methanolic extract of  A. eriophora leaves on the stimulation of human fibroblast cell proliferation and migration as two pivotal stages in wound healing process. Methanolic extract was prepared by maceration method. Total phenol and flavonoid contents were measured using spectrophotometry. Cytotoxic and proliferation effects of the extract were evaluated by MTT assay on human fibroblast cells. Moreover, migration of the treated cells was assessed by the closure of a denuded area, made by scratching on the confluent monolayer cultures.  The results of cytotoxicity assay indicated that the methanolic extract did not have any cytotoxic effect on fibroblast cells when used at concentrations up to 2 µg/mL. Human fibroblast proliferation was stimulated by low concentrations of the extract (0.1-0.8 µg/mL), and the highest level of proliferation was observed in the lowest treatment (0.1 µg/mL). Migration of the cells was induced by intermediate concentrations (1-30 µg/mL) of the extract and the most effective dose was estimated at 1 µg/mL. Due to the fact that lower concentration of the extract, which showed the best proliferation and migration stimulatory effects, were not toxic on the human fibroblast cells, the crude methanolic extract from the leaves of Achillea eriophora could be recommended as a potential source for improving the wound healing activity in skin.


Quasicontinuum simulation of nanometric cutting was conducted on single crystal copper to investigate the effect of crystal orientation and cutting direction on nature of deformation of this material. The model reduces the degrees of freedom in simulations of nanometric cutting process without sacrificing important physics. The simulation results show the crystal orientation and cutting direction have a significant effect on the nature of deformation of nanometric cutting process. In addition, the variations of strain energy of workpiece atoms in different crystal set-ups are investigated.


This open-label phase 2 study (CONTRALTO) assessed the safety and efficacy of BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax (VEN) plus rituximab (R), and VEN plus bendamustine (B) and R, versus BR alone in relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma. Patients in the chemotherapy-free arm (Arm A: VEN+R) received VEN 800 mg/d plus R 375 mg/m2 on days (D) 1, 8, 15, and 22 of cycle (C)1 and D1 of C4, C6, C8, C10, and C12. After a safety run-in with VEN 600 mg, patients in the chemotherapy-containing cohort were randomized to either VEN+BR (Arm B; VEN 800 mg/d for 1 year + 6 cycles BR [B 90 mg/m2 D1, 2 and R 375 mg/m2 D1]) or 6 cycles BR (Arm C). Overall, 163 patients were analyzed: 9 in safety run-in; 52, 51, and 51 in Arms A, B, and C, respectively. Complete metabolic/complete response rates were 17% (Arm A), 75% (Arm B), and 69% (Arm C). Of patients in Arm B, only 61% received ≥90% of the planned bendamustine dose versus 96% of patients in Arm C. More frequent hematologic toxicity resulted in more reduced dosing/treatment discontinuation in Arm B versus C. Rates of grade 3/4 adverse events were 51.9%, 93.9% and 60.0% in Arms A, B and C, respectively. VEN+BR led to increased toxicity and lower dose intensity of BR than in Arm C, but efficacy was similar. Optimizing dose and schedule to maintain BR dose intensity may improve efficacy and tolerability of VEN+BR, while VEN+R data warrant further study (NCT02187861; ClinicalTrials.gov).


Cattle feeders face a multitude of challenges when raising their product. There is constant morbidity and mortality biological risk inherent in livestock feeding, coupled with the risk of negative weather conditions, and highly variable input prices. However, the greatest risk typically facing the fed cattle industry is price risk. In order to mitigate output price risk, producers look to hedging in the futures market. Hedges can effectively reduce price and revenue risk, although basis risk remains. Hedging is normally thought of as a risk management strategy rather than an effort to garner huge futures market returns. The main aim of hedging is assumed to be the minimization of the variance of the return on the portfolio. Hedging becomes particularly important in the fed cattle industry because fed cattle are 'non-storable' both in a definition's sense, and a literal sense. An optimal hedge is a variance minimization tool. This paper uses an optimal hedge and a common 1:1 fed cattle price hedge using Texas cattle prices, over the 2010-2014 period to determine which hedge provides the most price protection. Additionally, the effects of different hedge lengths with regard to net price were estimated.


This guide is intended to help students taking Marketing Management (HFT 6596) with Professor Suh locate and access library resources to utilize in course assignments and projects.


Adoptive T cell therapy has been shown to stimulate anti-tumor response in multiple cancers, however these responses have not been robust or durable. In previous studies, indium-111 labeled T cells have functioned normally but were either not present at all sites of metastatic disease or not able to infiltrate the sites of disease. In breast cancer, adoptive HER2 targeted T cells were unable to penetrate visceral metastases. Previous work in our laboratory has demonstrated that HER2 vaccine-primed autologous adoptive T cells were safe and well tolerated. In this phase I study, HER2 positive breast cancer patients received three HER2 peptide vaccines before plasmapheresis and ex-vivo expansion of HER2 specific autologous T cells to evaluate the immune and clinical response to adoptive T cell therapy in breast cancer. In one patient, the trafficking of indium-111 labeled T cells was also evaluated using SPECT and PET imaging. An aliquot of 1×107 expanded T cells were labeled with 300 uCi of indium-111 and given with the third T cell infusion. Prior in vitro studies had demonstrated that labeled HER2 expanded T had similar viability (at 24 hours 97±1% viability with unlabeled cells and 90.9±1.1% viability with 480 uCI labeled cells) and interferon gamma release (263±8 pg/mL released in unlabeled cells and 208.5±11 released in 480 uCi labeled cells) as unlabeled HER2 expanded T cells when stimulated by IL2. SPECT imaging demonstrated that the T cells trafficked to all the metastatic sites of disease by 24 hours and completely infiltrated the tumor. The patient studied had metastases to her skull, left axilla, sternum, bilateral proximal humeri, and sacrum. The corrected indium-111 uptake at 24 hours varied from 2.27 counts per pixel in the R proximal humerus to 6.28 counts per pixel in the R sacrum and remained elevated at 48 hours (for example a continued 6.9 counts/pixel signal at the R sacrum). Concurrent PET CT imaging demonstrated FDG flare at 48 hours at all sites of metastatic disease including a 1.3 fold increase in the R proximal humerus and a 1.3 fold increase in the L proximal humerus signal over baseline scans. This increased FDG uptake had resolved 1 month after therapy. After this study, the patient had stable disease for 18 months. She had a robust response to each T cell infusion and the booster vaccines, including fevers, headaches, and increased pain at the sites of metastatic disease. These symptoms have been associated with a disease specific T cell response. This study demonstrates by a novel method of concurrent SPECT and PET imaging that the ex-vivo expanded HER2 specific T cells were able to traffic to and fully infiltrate all sites of metastatic disease causing an acute FDG-PET flare and prolonged stable disease in a HER2 positive breast cancer patient with bone-only metastatic disease. Further studies are now needed to confirm if this imaging method can be used universally in adoptive T cell studies. Citation Format: Sasha E. Stanton, Janet Eary, Edmond Marzbani, David Mankoff, Lupe Salazar, Doreen Higgins, Jessica Reichow, Yushe Dang, Mary L. Disis. HER2 specific adoptive T cells shown to localize and infiltrate all sites of disease using combined SPECT and PET imaging. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 3135. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-3135


Abstract 7 BABY HUG [Clinical Trials #NCT00006400], an NIH-NICHD sponsored randomized placebo-controlled trial showed that hydroxyurea (HU) administered to 9–18 month old children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) provides substantial clinical benefit. Benefits include a decrease in pain crises, acute chest syndrome events, need for transfusion and hospital admission; hematologic improvement include higher total and fetal hemoglobin concentration, larger red cell size, and lower WBC counts with toxicity limited to transient reduction in absolute neutrophil count (ANC) [Lancet 2011; 377:1663–72]. The parent or guardian of all 176 children who completed at least 18 months of randomized treatment were offered participation in an initial observational BABY HUG Follow-Up Study and 163 (93%) consented to participate. Clinical and laboratory data were collected every 6 months by structured abstraction of the medical record regarding use of clinically prescribed HU (dose escalation recommended), blood counts, clinical imaging, and sickle cell-related events. At the time of enrollment the family did not know their child9s randomized study treatment assignment; 133 (82%) initially chose clinical prescription of open-label HU. Acceptance of HU has remained high through 36 months of follow-up; during each 6 month data collection period 68–75% of participants reported having taken HU. Only 2 patients have left the study (due to relocation) and more than 93% of expected data have been collected. Preliminary analyses as of May 2011, including 417 patient years (pt-yrs) of follow up, demonstrate that in comparison to participants not taking HU, children who continue to take HU have statistically lower rates of pain crises requiring emergency department (ED) visits, episodic transfusions, and hospital admissions for any reason, including acute chest syndrome or febrile illness (see table). The substantial decrease in acute chest syndrome episodes is similar to the effect demonstrated with HU use in the randomized BABY HUG trial in younger infants and consistent with published trials detailing the benefit of HU therapy in older children and adults. The decrease in the rate of admission for febrile events in HU-treated patients is also comparable to that in the randomized trial, but the reason for this benefit is uncertain. There was no difference in hospitalization rates for painful events including dactylitis. Two patients in the non-HU group had a stroke. There were no differences between groups in the frequency of a palpable spleen or rate of acute splenic sequestration crises. Through 36 months of follow up children taking HU had persistently higher hemoglobin and MCV, and lower WBC and ANC than those not taking HU. Results of these analyses including growth and development assessments will enhance our understanding of the impact of HU use in children with SCA starting at a very young age. The accruing data from the BABY HUG Follow-Up Study demonstrate a continuation of the substantial benefits of early HU therapy with no discernable additional toxicities. Ongoing follow up of this cohort is essential to fully define these benefits as children grow, and to observe for late toxicity. Disclosures: Off Label Use: Hydroxyurea is not indicated for treatment of children with sickle cell disease. Use of this medication was for clinical indications and not mandated by this observational study.


This paper analyzes sheet transportation using the principle of electrostatic induction motors. This sheet transportation method has the capability of positioning and feeding dielectric sheets in processes and can be an interesting alternative to the existing mechanical conveyor. Although electrostatic sheet transportation was previously proposed based on a unique actuation model, it had limitations in surface resistivity of transported sheets. To break this limitation this paper utilizes another actuation principle namely electrostatic induction for conveying dielectric sheets. This study paper proposes an analytical model for actuation, in which the optimum driving frequency is analytically predicted; showing good agreement with the measured data.


The present paper provides in-depth analysis of SME access to capital markets among Eurozone countries. First, we detect the factors - at the firm and country level - that are able to influence the likelihood of SME access to market-based finance. Second, we construct an index of what we call "market suitability",, i.e., a score that can be measured at the dimensional, sectoral and national level, which provides the percentage of firms potentially fit for market-based finance. Our results highlight that a few Eurozone countries seem to have deployed the "potential" for capital market financing, while there exists a large percentage of unexploited potential for firms fit for market-based finance. It should also be highlighted that overall business conditions - measured by GDP growth, the degree of development of domestic financial markets, and the quality of the legal and judicial enforcement system - greatly influence a firm's market suitability. In the period under consideration (2000-2014), macro factors tended to reduce the likelihood of SME access to market-based finance in most countries in our sample


We present a search for the standard model Higgs boson using hadronically decaying tau leptons, in 1 fb(-1) of data collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron pp collider. We select two final states: tau+/- plus missing transverse energy and b jets, and tau+ tau- plus jets. These final states are sensitive to a combination of associated W/Z boson plus Higgs boson, vector boson fusion, and gluon-gluon fusion production processes. The observed ratio of the combined limit on the Higgs production cross section at the 95% C.L. to the standard model expectation is 29 for a Higgs boson mass of 115 GeV.


After the major loss of eelgrass habitats in the 1930s the snake pipefish Entelurus aequoreus was considered to be rare in the Wadden Sea (south-eastern North Sea, German Bight). We hypothesize that a sudden increase in pipefish abundance observed in the area since 2004 is related to new habitats provided by the introduced Japanese seaweed Sargassum muticum. SCUBA observations conducted near the Island of Sylt during July 2006 showed that approximately every second S. muticum thallus was inhabited by E. aequoreus, whereas no pipefish could be found on sedimentary areas dominating the Wadden Sea. In a field experiment, we removed thalli from a S. muticum bed and transplanted them to an unvegetated site and to the donor S. muticum bed, respec- tively. Nine days after the transplantation, abundances of pipefish per thallus were almost equally high within all transplanted S. muticum units at vegetated and originally unvegetated sites. Abun- dances of E. aequoreus in transplanted thalli did not significantly differ from those found in unaf- fected control thalli located in the donor S. muticum bed. To explain high pipefish densities within S. muticum beds we sampled the zooplankton community inside and outside the S. muticum bed and compared it with gut contents of pipefish. Zooplankton densities were significantly higher inside the S. muticum bed. Harpacticoid copepods were the dominant group associated with S. muticum and also represented the major prey of E. aequoreus. We conclude that stocks of E. aequoreus are pro- moted by S. muticum beds since they benefit from higher food supply during the spawning season, probably in addition to increased shelter by habitat complexity. Results of the present study suggest that introductions of habitat-forming species such as S. muticum may cause beneficial effects on abundance and diversity of native species.


On March 23, 2006, a full-scale test was conducted on a passenger rail train retrofitted with newly developed cab end and non-cab end crush zone designs. This test was conducted as part of a larger testing program to establish the degree of enhanced performance of alternative design strategies for passenger rail crashworthiness. The alternative design strategy is referred to as crash energy management (CEM), where the collision energy is absorbed in defined unoccupied locations throughout the train in a controlled progressive manner. By controlling the deformations at critical locations the CEM train is able to protect against two dangerous modes of deformation: override and large-scale lateral buckling. The CEM train impacted a standing locomotive-led train of equal mass at 31 mph on tangent track. The interactions at the colliding in Interface and between coupled interfaces performed as expected. Crush was pushed back to subsequent crush zones and the moving passenger train remained in-line and upright on the tracks with minimal vertical and lateral motions. The added complexity associated with this test over previous full-scale tests of the CEM design was the need to control the interactions at the colliding interface. between the two very different engaging geometries. The cab end crush zone performed as intended because the locomotive coupler pushed underneath the cab car buffer beam, and the deformable anti-climber engaged the uneven geometry of the locomotive anti-climber and short hood. Space was preserved for the operator as the cab end crush zone collapsed. The coupled interfaces performed as predicted by the analysis and previous testing. The conventional interlocking anti-climbers engaged after the pushback couplers triggered and absorbed the prescribed amount of energy. Load was transferred through the integrated end frame, and progressive controlled collapsed was contained to the energy absorbers at the roof and floor level. The results of this full-scale test have clearly demonstrated the significant enhancement in safety for passengers and crew members involved in a push mode collision with a standing locomotive train.Copyright © 2006 by ASME


Synopsis Extensive new conodont collections from the Crawford Group, the oldest succession in the Southern Uplands of Scotland, support the previously documented biostratigraphical ages for the included formations. The Raven Gill Formation is lower Whitlandian, Arenig (comparable in age to the Dounans Limestone in the Highland Border Complex) and the Kirkton Formation is latest Llandeilian-Aurelucian, Llanvirn to Caradoc in age. It is concluded that there is a significant stratigraphical gap within the Crawford Group. The restricted and probably fault-bounded nature of the Raven Gill outcrops suggests that these may represent olistoliths within a mélange of Llandeilian-Aurelucian age. The chert-bearing succession of the Northern Belt of the Southern Uplands thus represents the juxtaposed sedimentary records of two entirely separate basins – the oldest pre-dates the Grampian assembly of the Laurentian margin, and the younger, the Northern Belt Basin sensu stricto, entirely post-dates this event.


This report analyses and compares European Union (EU) law, with a focus on the Employment Equality Directive and related case law, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), in the wider context of international human rights law, to establish how they address disability equality and non-discrimination. The report identifies particular areas where the approaches of the UN and the EU to disability equality and non-discrimination law are compatible, and it also identifies the areas where compatibility appears to be lacking.

In December 2010, the EU became a party to the CRPD, with the Convention coming into force for the EU in January 2011. The conclusion of the CRPD means that the EU is now bound by the obligations of the Convention to the extent of its competences. This includes an obligation on the EU not to act in a manner which is incompatible with the Convention and an obligation on the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to interpret EU legislation, including the Employment Equality Directive, which prohibits discrimination on the ground of disability, in a manner which is compatible with the CRPD as far as possible. Disability equality and combating discrimination are areas of shared competence. This means that the EU shares responsibility for complying with the CRPD with its 28 Member States, all of which have now ratified the Convention.

Section I of the report explores the principle of equality and non-discrimination in UN human rights conventions, with a particular focus on the obligations found in the CRPD. Section II of the report explores how the EU addresses disability equality and non-discrimination in primary EU law (the Treaties) and in secondary legislation (mainly the Employment Equality Directive). Section III of the report compares the requirements and standards inherent in the EU and UN legal frameworks.


Abstract Successive governments in Pakistan responded differently to the role of private sector in the educational development of this country. From 1947 till 1971, private sector was very much active in the promotion of education in the country. But it was also criticized on several grounds, some of these allegations include: Low status  of Teachers Low academic standards Unequal distribution of educational facilities among various sections of the society i.e. between male and female and urban and rural areas; More emphasis on liberal arts subjects as compared to scientific and technical programs Keeping in view of these factors, Educational Policy of 1972 recommended the nationalization of private schools and a complete ban was imposed on the establishment of new schools in the private sector. After a period of seven years, the educational policy of 1979 again recommended the establishment of new schools in the private sector. At present, a large number of institutions from primary to university level are working in this country in the private sector.


Nanotopographical features are found to have significant effects on bone behavior. In the present study, nanoporous aluminas with different pore sizes (20, 100 and 200 nm in diameter), were evaluated for their osteoinductive and drug eluting properties. W20-17 marrow stromal cells were seeded on nanoporous alumina with and without the addition of BMP-2. Although cell proliferation was not affected by pore size, osteogenic differentiation was 200 nm as compared to 20 and 100 nm pores induced higher alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) and osteocalcin expression levels, thus indicating osteoblastic differentiation. Cell morphology revealed that cells cultured on 20 nm pores adopted a rounded shape, while larger pores (200 nm) elicited an elongated morphology. Furthermore, ALP expression levels were consistently higher on BMP-2 loaded nanoporous alumina surfaces compared to unloaded surfaces, indicating that not only is nanoporous alumina osteoinductive, but also has the potential to be used as a drug eluting bone-implant coating.


PURPOSE
The efficacy and safety of conivaptan administered via 30-minute i.v. infusion to patients with euvolemic or hypervolemic hyponatremia were evaluated.

METHODS
Hospitalized adults with a baseline serum sodium concentration (SSC) of 115-130 meq/L and euvolemia or hypervolemia on clinical evaluation were randomized to receive conivaptan hydrochloride 20 mg once or twice daily or placebo via 30-minute i.v. infusion. The primary efficacy measure was the change in SSC from baseline to 48 hours.

RESULTS
A total of 49 patients received one of the three treatment regimens. Conivaptan once and twice daily produced significant least-squares mean changes from baseline in SSC at 48 hours of 3.46 meq/L (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.75-5.18 meq/L) and 6.22 meq/L (95% CI, 4.34-8.10 meq/L), respectively (p = 0.028 between conivaptan-treated groups). These changes were significantly greater compared with those in the placebo group at hour 4 (p = 0.049) and at all time points onward of hour 28 (p ≤ 0.019) for the once-daily regimen and at all time points for the twice-daily regimen (p = 0.045 at hour 4, then p ≤ 0.010). Both conivaptan regimens were more efficacious than placebo in all secondary efficacy outcomes. Conivaptan was generally well tolerated, with infusion-site reactions being the most common adverse effects (AEs).

CONCLUSION
Conivaptan hydrochloride 20 mg, administered once or twice daily via 30-minute i.v. infusion, significantly increased SSCs over 48 hours in patients with euvolemic or hypervolemic hyponatremia when compared with placebo. Common AEs were similar to those seen with continuous conivaptan infusions.


AbstractThis article is presented as a companion to the American Academy of Neurology guideline update on the use of botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) for the treatment of blepharospasm, cervical dystonia, adult spasticity, and headache. Whereas the guideline update provides clarity on the efficacy of different BoNT-branded preparations for the 4 listed indications, this companion piece identifies ambiguities in the evidence for efficacy among various brand names for a given clinical indication, their dosing equivalencies, as well as different clinical indications. This article provides guidance and background information to reduce obstacles for third party payment, especially when uncertainties exist and levels of evidence are lower.


V-shaped spray interceptors are a novel concept of spray deflection on planing craft. Conventional spray rails are positioned longitudinally on the bottom of the hull and detach the spray from hull deflecting it towards the sides or slightly down and aftward. The V-shaped spray interceptors, on the other hand, are located in the spray area forward of the stagnation line such that they would deflect the oncoming spray down and aftward, thereby producing a reaction force that reduces the total resistance. An experimental study reported that the V-shaped spray interceptors to reduce the total resistance at low planing speed by up to 4%. This paper features a numerical comparison of two planing craft, one equipped with a conventional setup of longitudinal spray rails and the other with a V-shaped spray interceptor. Both configurations were simulated in calm water conditions and were free to pitch and heave in a speed range of Fr∇ = 1.776 to 3.108. The numerical model was analyzed for grid sensitivity and numerical results were compared with experimental results. The two concepts were compared in terms of total resistance, lift, running position and wetted surface area. Conventional spray rails were shown to account for up to 5.6% of total lift and up to 6.5% of total resistance. The V-shaped spray interceptor was shown to reduce the total resistance by up to 8%. Since the V-shaped spray interceptor was located in the spray area forward of the stagnation line, it deflected the oncoming spray thereby producing a horizontal reaction force (-1.5% of RTM) in the direction of the craft's motion. The rest of differences in the total resistance of the hulls equipped with the conventional spray rails and the V-shaped spray rails was due to absence of the resistance of the absent spray rails.


Triiodothyronine (T3) transport through the mammalian erythrocyte membrane is mediated by a transport system related to the aromatic amino acid transport system T. The T3-binding component of this transport system could be photolabeled with [125I]T3 as a 52-kD protein, and subsequently solubilized with non-ionic detergents. Upon purification by ion-exchange chromatography, the photolabeled 52-kD protein solubilized with octylglucoside (OG) resolved into several peaks, suggesting charge heterogeneity of labeled proteins. The saturable [125I]T3 binding to rat erythrocyte membranes was completely inhibited by non-ionic detergents at concentrations about 20 times lower than those that solubilized membrane. Therefore, detergent-free proteoliposomes were generated from the detergent-soluble extracts by treatment with a polystyrene adsorbent. Proteoliposomes prepared from OG-soluble extract contained the highest specific activity of T3 binding. The Kd of the T3 binding sites (4.5 nmol/l) and the competitive inhibition constant of tryptophan (120 mumol/l) were similar to those for native membranes. The photolabeling of the 52-kD protein in these proteoliposomes was prevented by tryptophan and T4, but not by leucine or the D-isomer of T3, corresponding to the transport specificity of system T. The 52-kD protein solubilized with OG from native membranes was partially purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The 52-kD protein was detected by photoaffinity labeling in the purified fraction only after addition of erythrocyte membrane phospholipids to generate proteoliposomes. This indicates that the association of 52-kD protein with phospholipids is critical for T3 binding.


The nature of, indications for, and aims of amputation and prosthetic rehabilitation are described. The influence of those procedures on patients' physical, psychological and social states are examined over time. Psychological theories of the coping techniques of surgical patients are used to develop an understanding of the influence of patients' pre-surgical characteristics on their post-operative rehabilitation. The Roehampton Functional Assessment Scale has been developed and validated on three separate samples of primary lower-limb amputees. The developmental sample consisted of 121 patients, the reliability sample of 50 amputees and the validity sample of 25 patients. The 10-point Body Barrier Test, Family Environment Scale, General Health Questionnaire, Multidimensional Health Locus of Control, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Roehampton Functional Assessment Scale were used to assess patients' pre- and post-operative physical, psychological and social parameters. 109 patients were assessed before their amputation, whom were re-assessed six months after amputation, and 27 followed-up at eighteen months or more after their operation. The results indicated that patients' psychological profiles differed at each assessment stage, and the changes observed were not always in the same direction. Patients appeared to suffer from worse physical symptoms, sleep disturbances, State Anxiety and body-image before their amputation than after, while still functioning independently from their family environment. At the first post-operative assessment, amputees wore found to fare better than at any other assessment stage. Nevertheless, inter-personal difficulties, indicated by reduced Individuality scores, became evident at this stage. At the final stage, amputees appeared to continue physically and psychologically functioning on levels similar to the previous stage, except for significantly increased Trait Anxiety scores. The three pre-operative variables accounting for most of the variance in the first post-operative assessment variables were Trait Anxiety, Anxiety and Dysphoria and Sleep Disturbances [the later two are subscales of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)]; while for the second post-operative assessment the variables were State Anxiety, Somatic Symptoms (a subscale of the GHQ) and Chance Locus of Control. Male and non-vascular patients and those with below-the-knee amputations achieved the best physical rehabilitation and lowest levels of psychopathological disturbances at both re-assessment stages. Additionally, younger patients were found to do better that older amputees at the first post-operative assessment. This clear age difference was not maintained at their second post-operative assessment. Explanations of the possible relationships of the results obtained and a comparison with the results of previous research studies are provided. Clinical applications and recommendations for future research are also included.


Intelligent switch is capacitive touch sensor which senses the touch. This type of switches takes body capacitance as a input in order to turn ON or OFF the devices which is connected to it and also the regulation of it. The devices controlled are bulb, fan, motor and other electronic appliances. This touch switches are needed in order to overcome the disadvantages of mechanical switches like wear and tare, limited operations, sparks etc. The capacitive touch sense pad which consists of one or more sense buttons. When the person touches the touch pad it takes the body capacitance and that analog signal is converted to digital signal in order to make compatible for the MSP430G2553 microcontroller to operate. This microcontroller contains pin oscillator and PWM which is used to turn ON or OFF and regulation of the particular devices respectively. Finally, the capacitive touch sensor are used to replace the mechanical switches thus providing high reliability, shock proof, trendy looks etc. The regulation of the devices which is connected to these switches can also be done using the same switches. Here regulation means light intensity control in the in bulb, speed control in the case of motor etc. Thus it reduces the power consumption and improves the quality of life.


ABSTRACT Bad student behaviour is argued to be one of the major challenges for schools today. In response to the challenge, there is a strong body of literature aiming at fixing student behaviour. In this paper, we look into professional knowledge discourses regarding 'bad student behaviour,' focusing on one national context, Finland, to explore how disturbing behaviour is discursively established in the professional literature for teachers seeking help with challenging student incidents. We analyse expert sources that are readily available for Finnish teachers (n = 19), looking at what fields of science are represented, whose voice is represented, how the problem is defined, and where it is located. We conclude that the professional discourse about disturbing behaviour in Finland places the problem on the individual child or family while also silencing the individuals in question and portraying them as deficient. Furthermore, the sources produce a decontextualised notion of behaviour and describe it as either acceptable or unacceptable, completely overlooking any societal, historical or cultural aspects of behaviour or other mitigating circumstances. The findings resonate with research findings from other international contexts.


This book describes how diversity and dissent strengthened the black community.In the 1910s, both W. E. B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington praised the black community in Durham, North Carolina, for its exceptional race progress. Migration, urbanization, and industrialization had turned black Durham from a post - Civil War liberation community into the "capital of the black middle class." African Americans owned and operated mills, factories, churches, schools, and an array of retail services, shops, community organizations, and race institutions. Using interviews, narratives, and family stories, Leslie Brown animates the history of this remarkable city from emancipation to the civil rights era, as freed people and their descendants struggled among themselves and with whites to give meaning to black freedom.Brown paints Durham in the Jim Crow era as a place of dynamic change where despite common aspirations, gender and class conflicts emerged. Placing African American women at the center of the story, Brown describes how black Durham's multiple constituencies experienced a range of social conditions. Shifting the historical perspective away from seeing solidarity as essential to effective struggle or viewing dissent as a measure of weakness, Brown demonstrates that friction among African Americans generated rather than depleted energy, sparking many activist initiatives on behalf of the black community.


Industries that have different structures in Europe than in America can teach useful lessons about industrial evolution. Despite similar initial histories, European professional sports leagues adopted team promotion and relegation, which facilitates much easier entry than is possible in North America, where leagues themselves create new franchises to sell to investors. By contrasting the histories of the English Football League and the National Baseball League, we show that their structures arose from differences in geographic compactness, the entertainment level of games, and territorial monopolies. As the evolution becomes more understandable, the persistence of the intercontinental difference becomes more problematic.


The present study antimicrobial activity of skin mucus of fish some cultivable fish species namely Catlacatla,Labeorohita, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix and Ctenopharyngodonidella against pathogenic bacterial strains viz. Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi and fungal species viz Candida albicans, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus niger. Skin mucus of fish species were collected by skin scarping method. Antimicrobial activity of mucus extract was carried out by disk diffusion method and measured in terms of zone of inhibition in mm, where as antibiotic Ampicillin and griseofulvin were taken as standard. In the present study, skin of mucus of all the fish species showed antimicrobial activity against the tested microbial pathogens. Moreover, the mucus of fish possesses antimicrobial agents which could be used to formulate new drugs for the therapy of infectious diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms.


Podcasting is becoming a well established technology in Higher Education (HE). However, most applications tend to use staff-developed content to provide material to supplement lectures. The use of learner-generated podcasts and its impact on the learning of both student producers and listeners are under researched. This paper reports on a pilot study of student-created podcasts. The podcasts were developed by a group of medical students at the University of Leicester who chose to study a genetic module in their second year. The content of the podcasts was entirely generated by students. Their topics covered a range of ethical issues surrounding genetics. Five student-developed podcasts were made available in early 2007 for other medical students to access through the Medical School Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). The study focused on the impact of these student-developed podcasts on student producers' learning. It demonstrated how podcasting can empower learners and help them become more active and independent learners, and how student developed podcasts can promote engagement and motivation for learning, improve cognitive learning and develop transferable team-working skills among student producers. This paper offers an example of student-generated podcasts from practice and insights on how this practice might be expanded and transferred to other learning contexts with HE sectors.


We tested hypotheses about how estuarine fish assemblages respond to habitat degradation and then integrated these responses into an overall index, the Estuarine Biotic Integrity Index (EBI), which summarized observed changes. Fish assemblages (based on trawl catches) and habitat quality were measured monthly or biweekly at nine sites in two estuaries from March 1988 to June 1990. Submerged aquatic vegetation habitats were classified as low or medium quality based on year-round measurements of chemical and physical characteristics (phytoplankton blooms; macroalgae; dissolved oxygen; nutrients; dredged channels). We tested 15 metrics and selected 8 for inclusion in the EBI: total number of species, dominance, fish abundance (number or biomass), number of nursery species, number of estuarine spawning species, number of resident species, proportion of benthic-associated fishes, and proportion abnormal or diseased. Fish assemblages in low-quality sites had lower number of species, density, biomass, and dominance compared with medium-quality sites. Fish abundance peaked in July and August, and was lowest in January to March. The seasonal cycle in low-quality sites was damped compared with medium-quality sites. Abundances of fishes using estuaries as a spawning and nursery area and of benthic species were lower in low-quality sites compared to medium-quality sites. The individual metrics and the overall index correlated with habitat degradation. The EBI based on biomass did not do better than the EBI based on number, indicating that the extra effort to obtain biomass may not be warranted. We suggest the EBI is a useful indicator of estuarine ecosystem status because it reflects the relationship between anthropogenic alterations in estuarine ecosystems and the status of higher trophic levels.


The clinical characteristics and the responses to oral 4-aminoquinoline therapy of 150 malarious children presenting consecutively were investigated in an endemic area. At presentation, the 75 children who subsequently developed pruritus were significantly older and had significantly higher body temperatures than the 75 children who did not develop pruritus. There were no other significant differences in clinical presentation between the two groups. In children with pruritus, there was no correlation between age, weight, presenting body temperature, duration of illness or presenting peripheral parasite density and duration of pruritus. Responses to oral antimalarial drugs were similar in both groups. There was no correlation between indices of therapeutic response and the duration of pruritus. Analysis of the disposition kinetics of parasitaemia and of the hepatomegaly associated with malaria, using a non-compartmental model similar to that used in characterizing drug disposition, showed that the two groups had similar half-lives of parasitaemia (t1/2pd), volumes of blood completely cleared of parasites per unit time (CLBpd) and ratios of parasite-clearance time to t1/2pd, and similar values for the corresponding parameters derived from hepatomegaly resolution. There was no apparent relationship between the indices of parasite- or hepatomegaly-disposition kinetics and the duration of pruritus.


Cloud microphysical parameterizations in atmospheric models describe the formation and evolution of clouds and precipitation, a central weather and climate process. Cloud-associated latent heating is a primary driver of large and small-scale circulations throughout the global atmosphere, and clouds have important interactions with atmospheric radiation. Clouds are ubiquitous, diverse, and can change rapidly. In this work, we build the first emulator of an entire cloud microphysical parameterization, including fast phase changes. The emulator performs well in offline and online (i.e. when coupled to the rest of the atmospheric model) tests, but shows some developing biases in Antarctica. Sensitivity tests demonstrate that these successes require careful modeling of the mixed discrete-continuous output as well as the input-output structure of the underlying code and physical process.


Allergic asthma is associated with a pulmonary recruitment of Th type 2 cells, basophils, and eosinophils, mainly linked to chemokine production. CCL18 is a chemokine preferentially expressed in the lung, secreted by APCs, induced by Th2-type cytokines, and only present in humans. Therefore, CCL18 may be involved in allergic asthma. PBMC from asthmatics allergic to house dust mite cultured in the presence of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus 1 (Der p 1) allergen secreted CCL18, 48 and 72 h after stimulation, whereas those from healthy donors did not. Part of CCL18 was directly derived from Der p 1-stimulated plasmacytoid dendritic cells, whereas the other part was linked to monocyte activation by IL-4 and IL-13 produced by Der p 1-stimulated T cells. In bronchoalveolar lavages from untreated asthmatic allergic patients, CCL18 was highly increased compared with controls. Functionally, CCL18 preferentially attracted in vitro-polarized Th2 cells and basophils, but not eosinophils and Th1 cells, and induced basophil histamine and intracellular calcium release. These data show a new function for CCL18, i.e., the recruitment of Th2 cells and basophils, and suggest that CCL18 may play a predominant role in allergic asthma.


A method for simulation of solar energy devices connected to a building has been proposed. The solutions of one dimensional heat conduction and heat transport equations are obtained both with the new method as well as traditional method used for design and optimisation of solar energy devices. The proposed method has improved the accuracy of a traditional method by considering additional heat exchange paths of conduction and radiation so as to accurately predict mass flow rate through solar energy devices. The direct matrix inversion with a control volume finite difference procedure has been adopted in the proposed method. A discretisation procedure for location of composite surface and fluid nodes in the control volumes has been developed for obtaining the temperature solutions. The accuracy of the proposed method is a function of magnitude and number of heat transport and conjugate heat exchange conductance terms of conduction, convection and radiation. The proposed method has been validated with numerical and experimental results obtained for a full scale configuration of a solar panel energy device connected to a building.


Knowledge and visualization of detailed pressure information can play a vital role in multimodal sensing of human movement. We have designed a high-resolution pressure sensing floor prototype with a sensor density of one sensor per square centimeter that can provide real-time information about the location of the performer on the floor as well as the amount of pressure being exerted on the floor. Hardware and software have been developed for detecting, collecting, transmitting and rendering a graphical representation of the pressure data gathered from the sensors. This prototype can be easily reconfigured to cover large floor areas, and will integrate closely with video, audio and motionbased sensing technologies to facilitate robust multimodal sensing. In our demonstrations, we show that the system accurately captures and transmits pressure information, and we illustrate how this will form a basis for a variety of applications including use in rehabilitation, virtual reality, entertainment, and children activity centers.


The performance of dipole and bowtie nanoantennas coupled to a photonic crystal waveguide is analyzed by numerical simulations as a function of the antenna length. The antennas showed two resonances spectrally far apart from each other: one of them corresponds to the main antenna resonance and the other one to the allowed modes in the bandgap of the photonic crystal substrate. It is worth noting that the dipole shows a substrate resonance close to the lower edge of the bandgap and the bowtie shows a substrate resonance at the upper end of the bandgap. The results also show a nonlinear scaling between the resonant wavelength and the length of the antennas, this could be attributed to the coupling of the antenna resonance and the absorption resonance of the substrate material.


The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of some H(1)-antagonists on the sleep-wake cycle in sleep-disturbed rats in comparison with those of nitrazepam. Electrodes were chronically implanted into the frontal cortex and the dorsal neck muscle of rats for the electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyogram (EMG), respectively. EEG and EMG were recorded with an electroencephalograph. SleepSign ver. 2.0 was used for EEG and EMG analysis. The total times of waking, non-rapid eye movement (non-REM), and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep were measured from 10:00 to 16:00. Nitrazepam showed a significant decrease in sleep latency, total waking time, and delta activity and an increase in the total non-REM sleep time. A significant decrease in the sleep latency was observed with diphenhydramine, chlorpheniramine, and cyproheptadine. Cyproheptadine also caused a significant decrease in the total waking time and increases in total non-REM sleep time, REM sleep time, slow wave sleep, and delta activity, although no remarkable effects were observed with diphenhydramine and chlorpheniramine. In conclusion, cyproheptadine can be useful as a hypnotic, having not only sleep inducing-effects, but also sleep quantity- and quality-increasing effects.


Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are associated with physiological abnormalities, which are likely to contribute to the core symptoms of the condition. Wearable technologies can provide data in a semi-naturalistic setting, overcoming the limitations given by the constrained situations in which physiological signals are usually acquired. In this study an integrated system based on wearable technologies for the acquisition and analysis of neurophysiological and autonomic parameters during treatment is proposed and an application on five children with ASD is presented. Signals were acquired during a therapeutic session based on an imitation protocol in ASD children. Data were analyzed with the aim of extracting quantitative EEG (QEEG) features from EEG signals as well as heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) from ECG. The system allowed evidencing changes in neurophysiological and autonomic response from the state of disengagement to the state of engagement of the children, evidencing a cognitive involvement in the children in the tasks proposed. The high grade of acceptability of the monitoring platform is promising for further development and implementation of the tool. In particular if the results of this feasibility study would be confirmed in a larger sample of subjects, the system proposed could be adopted in more naturalistic paradigms that allow real world stimuli to be incorporated into EEG/psychophysiological studies for the monitoring of the effect of the treatment and for the implementation of more individualized therapeutic programs.


This study analyzes the effect of all-day (AD) primary school programs on maternal labor supply. To account for AD school selectivity and selection into AD primary school programs I estimate bivariate probit models. To identify these models I exploit variation in the allocation of investments to AD primary schools across time and counties. This variation results from the public investment program "Future Education and Care" (IZBB) which was introduced by the German federal government in 2003. My results indicate for mothers with primary school-aged children in Germany (excluding Bavaria) a significantly positive effect of AD primary school programs on labor supply at the extensive margin. On average, mothers who make use of AD primary school programs are 26 ppts more likely to be employed than mothers who do not make use of these programs. This large effect is robust to alternative specifications and estimation methods and mainly concentrated in states with AD primary school student shares of up to 20%. On the contrary, there is no evidence for an impact of these programs on maternal labor supply at the intensive margin (full-time vs. part-time).


Understanding how to undertake Kaupapa Māori research can be a challenge for emerging health researchers. Unless emerging researchers have exposure to Kaupapa Māori theory or senior Māori health research expertise, the challenge of undertaking Kaupapa Māori research within health research contexts can seem daunting, and for some, too difficult to attempt. This article summarizes what an Indigenous positioning means to me as a health researcher, medical practitioner, academic and Māori community member, and why it is more than just a methodological approach. The theoretical basis of Kaupapa Māori—what it is, how it emerged and what it means for my own research practice—is explored. How Kaupapa Māori interacts with Pacific research methodologies, particularly when health research involves both Māori and Pacific participants, is discussed. It is hoped that this article will assist emerging researchers (both Indigenous and non-Indigenous) to embrace Indigenous-appropriate research approaches within their own work.


The Wiener Filter (WF) technique enables the reconstruction of density and velocity fields from observed radial peculiar velocities. This paper aims at identifying the optimal design of peculiar velocity surveys within the WF framework. The prime goal is to test the dependence of the quality of the reconstruction on the distribution and nature of data points. Mock datasets, extending to 250 Mpc/h, are drawn from a constrained simulation that mimics the local Universe to produce realistic mock catalogs. Reconstructed fields obtained with these mocks are compared to the reference simulation. Comparisons, including residual distributions, cell-to-cell and bulk velocities, imply that the presence of field data points is essential to properly measure the flows. The fields reconstructed from mocks that consist only of galaxy cluster data points exhibit poor quality bulk velocities. In addition, the quality of the reconstruction depends strongly on the grouping of individual data points into single points to suppress virial motions in high density regions. Conversely, the presence of a Zone of Avoidance hardly affects the reconstruction. For a given number of data points, a uniform sample does not score any better than a sample with decreasing number of data points with the distance. The best reconstructions are obtained with a grouped survey containing field galaxies: Assuming no error, they differ from the simulated field by less than 100 km/s up to the extreme edge of the catalogs or up to a distance of three times the mean distance of data points for non-uniform catalogs. The overall conclusions hold when errors are added.


Objective: Anemia is the most common nutritional deficiency disorder in the world. The prevalence of anemia in pregnancy varies considerably because of differences in socioeconomic conditions, lifestyles and health seeking behaviors across different cultures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of anemia among pregnant women in western part of Nepal. Method : A hospital based study was carried out in Nepalgunj Medical College, Kohalpur, Banke Nepal to determine prevalence of anemia among pregnant women. A total of 512 pregnant (15-45 years old) were included in this study. Cyanmethaemoglobin method was used to determine the hemoglobin level. The study took place from January 2012 to December 2012. Statistical analyses were carried out by applying percentage and words excel 2007. Results : Out of five hundred twelve pregnant women, 210 (41.02%) pregnant women were anemic and 302 pregnant women were non anemic (58.98%). Also, among these anemic pregnant women, majority (67.14 %) of these women were mildly anemic, whereas 28.57% were moderately and 4.29% were severely anemic . Conclusion: Prevalence of anemia was higher in the pregnant women at the second trimester (51.1%) and also at the 20-35 years age group (62.79%).


: Twenty male alcoholics aged 29 to 69 years (mean 45.80 + SD 10.97) were compared with controls for serum zinc, copper, and ceruloplasmin levels. The serum zinc level of the alcoholic patients was significantly lower than that of the control group (t = 3.3005, p less than 0.005). The serum copper and ceruloplasmin levels of the alcoholics tended to be higher than those of the controls, but the difference was not statistically significant. A significantly positive correlation between serum zinc and albumin levels (r = 5.41, p less than 0.01) was also found. The nutritional state of the alcoholics may not be an adequate explanation for their low serum zinc level. It is suggested that further research on alcohol as a toxic agent might focus on trace element-containing enzymatic defects in brain peptides and hormones to promote fuller understanding of the psychopathology associated with alcohol abuse.


As the human-centered product design has been emphasized as one of differentiated marketing factors, the products developed with the factors related to human characteristics are on an upward trend. Current development for the human-centered products is based on PPP(Product Performance Program) and UD(Universal Design) cases, but the products often results in being highly expensive so that a few of customers benefit from them. To achieve less expensive UD products, the initial stage of the product development needs to include value engineering (VE) that provides analysis tools for UD functions and their costs. This study presents UD development process integrated with VE.


The aim of this article is to explore the phenomenon of PISA – the Programme for International Student Assessment. The PISA study is a unique initiative in the contemporary educational world. Initiated in 2000 by OECD, currently it includes 65 countries and territories from all over the world. We decided to identify the multiple aspects, or, speaking metaphorically, the many faces of PISA, which carry different messages and are subject to different value judgements by various interest groups. In our publication, we discuss ten different aspects of PISA. PISA can be perceived as a symbol of globalisation, as a manifestation of neoliberal ideology in education, as a methodological controversy, as a research database, a benchmark, a league table, as promotion, as punishment, as business, and, finally, as policymaking. We conclude that the key actors of an educational domain should use various aspects of PISA survey in a more skillfull and selective way for achieving their goals and securing their interests.


Dypsis onilahensis, commonly known as sibara palm, is a palm tree with enormous ornamental potential. Commercial propagation occurs through seeds, but few studies have evaluated the factors that affect the germination process of this species. Thus, we aimed at evaluating the effects of seed size and substrate on D. onilahensis germination. We used a completely randomized experimental design and a 2 x 3 factorial scheme with two seed sizes (> 15 mm and < 15 mm in diameter) and three substrate types (sand, Plantmax®, and vermiculite), with four replications of 15 seeds. We analyzed germination percentage (G%), number of germinated seeds (NGS), and germination speed index (GSI). Data underwent variance analysis, and means were compared by the Tukey test at 5% probability. Germination began 73 days after sowing. Seed size had no effect on germination. Among substrates, vermiculite showed the best results for GSI, NGS, and G%, followed by sand and then by Plantmax®. Our study provides the first data on factors that affect the germination of this palm tree species.


An ambitious idea to slow the HIV/AIDS epidemic is gaining traction: Test everyone for the virus and immediately start all HIV-infected people on treatment. But the test-and-treat scheme has epidemic modelers battling it out, with some insisting it9s feasible, both financially and practically, and others denouncing it as a pipe dream and warning that it could increase drug resistance. At the 17th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, two groups presented some of the firmest data yet to support the concept.


In the U.S. healthcare system, telehealth is increasingly present and demands ethical assessment. On the one hand, telehealth increases access to healthcare services for some at-risk populations (e.g., people suffering from mental illness and addictions) and in specific contexts (e.g., rural). On the other hand, telehealth widens the digital divide and can lead to overuse of services. Furthermore, because it is still unclear how telehealth influences trust between patients and primary care clinicians, connecting relationship science and human communication research can inform critical reasoning. Finally, healthcare policy is advancing toward the wide adoption of telehealth. Hence, it is urgent to address these ethical issues and invest in further research.


Methods for the production of and screening for monoclonal antibodies (MAB) to Salmonella antigens have been optimized. Schemes for immunization of animals have been developed for various Salmonella antigens. Prolonged (up to 6 months) immunization is needed to obtain antibodies in high titers to 0-antigen, short (up to 1 month) to obtain antigens to K-antigen. Affinity purification is desirable if MAB to bacterial antigens from ascitic fluid are used. Study of the kinetics of MAB binding to antigens helps appreciably accelerate enzyme immunoassay. Microplates manufactured by Medpolimer National Research Institute (St. Petersburg) may be recommended as the solid phase. Glutaraldehyde treatment of the plates to improve their adsorption capacity is not recommended.


This article examines the use of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to choose a priority for different purposes which have been used in fishery optimal management in the Sea of Oman. There are several stakeholder groups in the multi-objective planning methods. In this study, the AHP is used to determine the preferences (weight) of stakeholder groups for each of the objectives in the fisheries industry. This method is a multicriteria analysis system which is suitable for including the inconsistent opinion of different groups involved in the management. Based on the results, biological targets received higher weights compared to other targets with regard to stakeholder groups. Especially, the minimization of by catch was found to be the most important objective.


Anorexia nervosa (AN) is one of several neuropsychiatric disorders that are increasingly tackled experimentally using stereotactic neurosurgery (deep brain stimulation and ablative procedures). We analyze all 27 such cases published between 1990 and 2014. The majority of the patients benefitted significantly from neurosurgical treatments, in terms of both weight restoration and psychiatric morbidity. A remission of AN was reported in 61% of patients treated with DBS and 100% of patients treated with ablative surgery. Unfortunately, information on side effects is insufficient, and after DBS, severe side effects occurred in some cases. Altogether, the risk–benefit evaluation is positive, particularly for ablative stereotactic procedures. However, fundamental ethical issues are raised. We discuss whether neurosurgery can be justified for treating psychiatric disorders of the will that are seemingly self-inflicted, such as addiction or AN, and where cultural factors contribute significantly to their development. We suggest that although psychosocial factors determine the onset of AN, this is not a legitimate argument for banning neurosurgical treatments, since in AN, a vicious circle develops that deeply affects the brain, undermines the will, and prevents ceasing the self-destructive behavior. Three confounding issues provide ethical challenges for research in neurosurgery for AN: first, a scarce information base regarding risks and benefits of the intervention; second, doubtful capabilities for autonomous decision making; and third, the minor age of many patients. We recommend protective measures to ensure that stereotactic neurosurgery research can proceed with respect for the patients' autonomy and orientation to the beneficence principle.