This paper presents an ethnographic study of conceptualizations of nodding syndrome (NS) in Uganda. NS is a poorly understood condition characterized by repetitive nodding of the head, mental retardation and stunted growth, which affects thousands of children in northern Uganda, South Sudan and Tanzania. Although extensive research for causative agents has been conducted, no convincing single cause has been reported. This study establishes an understanding of different representations of NS and argues that the episodes of head nodding are related to the socio-political body in which they are manifested. Three interwoven approaches towards NS take main stage whereby the syndrome is presented as a biomedical, spiritual and/or political problem. The conceptualizations are linked to different notions of healing and affected families combine various forms of therapy. Through the examination of different narratives, this study disrupts the idea of a singular perspective on illness and pleads for a focus on motion and plurality.


The dynamics of proton transfer within a variety of substituted benzophenone-triethylamine triplet contact radical ion pairs are examined in the solvents acetonitrile and dimethylformamide. The correlation of the proton-transfer rate constants with DeltaG reveals an inverted region. The kinetic deuterium isotope effects are also examined. The solvent and isotope dependence of the transfer processes are analyzed within the context of the Lee-Hynes model for nonadiabatic proton transfer. Theoretical analysis of the experimental data suggests that the reaction path for proton/deuteron transfer involves tunneling, and the origin of the inverted region is attributed to a curved tunneling path.


Background Socioeconomic status is associated with differences in risk factors of cardiovascular disease and increased risks of cardiovascular disease and mortality. However, it is unclear whether an association exists between cardiovascular disease and income, a common measure of socioeconomic status, among patients with hypertension. Methods and Results This population‐based longitudinal study comprised 479 359 patients aged ≥19 years diagnosed with essential hypertension. Participants were categorized by income and blood pressure levels. Primary end point was all‐cause and cardiovascular mortality and secondary end points were cardiovascular events, a composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, and stroke. Low income was significantly associated with high all‐cause (hazard ratio [HR], 1.26; 95% CI, 1.23–1.29, lowest versus highest income) and cardiovascular mortality (HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.25–1.38) as well as cardiovascular events (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.05–1.10) in patients with hypertension after adjusting for age, sex, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity, fasting glucose, total cholesterol, and the use of aspirin or statins. In each blood pressure category, low‐income levels were associated with high all‐cause and cardiovascular mortality and cardiovascular events. The excess risks of all‐cause and cardiovascular mortality and cardiovascular events associated with uncontrolled blood pressure were more prominent in the lowest income group. Conclusions Low income and uncontrolled blood pressure are associated with increased all‐cause and cardiovascular mortality and cardiovascular events in patients with hypertension. These findings suggest that income is an important aspect of social determinants of health that has an impact on cardiovascular outcomes in the care of hypertension.


Icelandic women have through the years earned less occupational and supplemental pensions and depended more than men do on the basic pension of social security. Although women's labour market participation has increased, the gender pay gap, unpaid labour in homes, and women's fewer working hours in paid labour results in the extension of the labour market gender discrimination into old age. The structure of Icelandic pension funds is fundamentally male biased because of its tight connection to employment, despite the absence of direct discrimination factors. The article provides an overview of implications for a more women friendly pension system; based on multi-national research; the analysis of the Icelandic pension system, and statistical information on older women and men's economic situation in Iceland. Adequate basic pension, elimination of labour market gender discrimination, and males taking greater responsibility for care- and housework, are some of the key issues in creating a more gender equal pension system. Sharing of pensions between spouses, the responsibility of pension-funds and companies, and possibilities of care credit systems to promote gender equality are also discussed.


PURPOSE
The objectives of this study were to evaluate the micro-tensile bond strength (μTBS) of five contemporary universal adhesives to dentin after 24 hours and thermocycling (TC), to measure their degrees of conversion (DC) and to test the correlation between μTBS and DC.

METHODS AND MATERIALS
Four commercially available universal adhesives, Prime&Bond universal (PBU), Ecosite Bond (EB), G-Premio Bond (GPB), and Clearfil Universal Bond Quick (UBQ), and one experimental adhesive, UBQ without an amide monomer (UBQ-A), were used in this study. For the μTBS test, midcoronal dentin of 50 human molars was exposed, ground using 600-grit SiC paper, and the adhesives were applied according to the manufacturers' instructions. After resin-composite buildup and 24-hour water storage, one-half of the specimens were subjected to 15,000 thermal cycles. The specimens were sectioned into beams and stressed in tension at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min until failure. The DC of adhesives applied to dentin was evaluated using attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy immediately after light-curing. All data were statistically analyzed at a significance level of 0.05.

RESULTS
The highest μTBSs were obtained with UBQ, UBQ-A, and PBU, which were not significantly different from each other both after 24 hours and TC. The μTBS of GPB was lower compared with the aforementioned adhesives, but significantly only after TC, and the lowest μTBSs were obtained with EB. TC did not affect the μTBSs of UBQ, UBQ-A, and PBU significantly, but a significant decrease was observed with GPB and EB. The highest DC was obtained with PBU and UBQ, followed by 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-rich adhesives UBQ-A and EB, which exhibited significantly lower DCs. The DC of GPB could not be determined because the reference peak at 1608 cm-1 was not detected in its spectra. A significant positive correlation was shown between μTBS and DC after 24 hours (r=0.716) and TC (r=0.856).

CONCLUSION
μTBS and DC were positively correlated, more markedly after TC, which suggests that DC may be an important factor for bond durability.


Background It is unclear whether the association between Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and violence is explained by ADHD symptoms or co-existing psychopathology. We investigated associations of ADHD and its symptom domains of hyperactivity and inattention, among individuals reporting violence in the UK population. Methods We report data from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (2007), a representative sample of the household population of England. A randomly selected sample of 7,369 completed the Adult Self-Report Scale for ADHD and the self-reported violence module, including repetition, injury, minor violence, victims and location of incidents. All models were weighted to account for non-response and carefully adjusted for demography and clinical predictors of violence: antisocial personality, substance misuse and anxiety disorders. Results ADHD was moderately associated with violence after adjustments (OR 1.75, p = .01). Hyperactivity, but not inattention was associated with several indicators of violence in the domestic context (OR 1.16, p = .03). Mild and moderate ADHD symptoms were significantly associated with violence repetition, but not severe ADHD where the association was explained by co-existing disorders. Stratified analyses further indicated that most violence reports are associated with co-occurring psychopathology. Conclusions The direct effect of ADHD on violence is only moderate at the population level, driven by hyperactivity, and involving intimate partners and close persons. Because violence associated with severe ADHD is explained by co-existing psychopathology, interventions should primarily target co-existing disorders.


After certification, teachers do not often receive systematic support in their learning and hence mainly depend on informal learning opportunities at work. The present study addresses the question of if and how supervision makes a difference to teacher learning. In a longitudinal mixed-method study, the learning of one teacher is documented in a year in which she had no systematic support but had to adjust herself to an educational innovation. The authors also studied this teacher in a consecutive year in which she did receive individual supervision. During supervision, the teacher became aware of beliefs and patterns that had previously inhibited her from change. This awareness precipitated significant changes in her beliefs and classroom behavior as well as the way she learned. The findings suggest that professional learning will take place only if a teacher is supported in learning how to deal effectively with personal factors involved in the learning process.


A n important aspect of inspection planning involves determining camera poses based on some cri ter ion. W e seek to find camera poses where the effects of displacement and quantization errors are minimal . The mean squared error as formulated, including all dependencies, and minimized to determine an optimal camera pose that satisfies the sensor constraints of resolution, focus, field-of-view, and visibility. Dimensional tolerances for line entities are also formulated and exploited to determine the acceptability of a given camera pose for all entities observed.


In this work we combine two research threads from Vision/ Graphics and Natural Language Processing to formulate an image generation task conditioned on attributes in a multi-turn setting. By multiturn, we mean the image is generated in a series of steps of user-specified conditioning information. Our proposed approach is practically useful and offers insights into neural interpretability. We introduce a framework that includes a novel training algorithm as well as model improvements built for the multi-turn setting. We demonstrate that this framework generates a sequence of images that match the given conditioning information and that this task is useful for more detailed benchmarking and analysis of conditional image generation methods.


A recent Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decision on an issue of first impression suggests that requests for reasonable accommodation of religious practices or observances are generally not protected conduct within the scope of § 704, Title VII's antiretaliation provision. The court reasoned that such a request fell did not fall within the "opposition" clause of the provision since it did not "oppose" anything the employee could have reasonably believed was discriminatory.

This counterintuitive holding has the potential to frustrate Title VII's command that employers reasonably accommodate believers by suggesting to employees that requests for accommodation are perilous. It is true that Supreme Court precedent protects an employee when the accommodation must be granted because it is reasonable and not an undue hardship on the employer. In such cases, retaliating against the employee is viewed as core religious discrimination, prohibited under § 703, and so there is no need to invoke § 704.

But what if the accommodation is not legally required under Title VII? That is a very common scenario given the Supreme Court's longstanding and extraordinarily narrow reading of the duty of accommodation under the statute. And if the Eighth Circuit's view were to be generally adopted, employers would seem to be largely free not merely to deny the request but also take adverse employment actions against those foolish enough to ask for it.

This Article analyses the complicated interaction between the accommodation command of § 703 and the retaliation prohibition of § 704. In the process it rejects the "no harm, no foul" argument sometimes made, which is that denying employment or firing a worker who seeks an "unreasonable accommodation" is not actionable because the worker will not perform the job requirements in any event. Such a view is predicated on a false notion that employees can seek accommodations only when they are faced with the choice between their religion and their job. In many cases, believers seek accommodations when their religion encourages (or discourages) but does not mandate (or prohibit) the conduct in question, a point that is often unappreciated.

The Article concludes that the Eighth Circuit is wrong in its reading of § 704 as applied to requests for accommodation. Further, it argues that, regardless of the correct reading of that provision, taking adverse action against a worker whose accommodation request was legitimately denied may violate § 703's prohibition of status discrimination, a question not answered by the Eighth Circuit.


Styrofoam has been widely used as an insulator and inpackaging. The disposal of these products creates environmental pollution because of their nondegradable nature. In this paper, a new formulation for recycling waster styrofoam which used for binder is introduced. Some additives, such as rosin resin, phenolic resin, isocyanate and dibutyl phthalate was reacted with styrofoam to produce high performance adhesive. Influences of reaction parameters, such as temperature, time, and additives amount was investigated by orthogonal experiment. Experimental results showed that the amount of rosin and phenolic resin is the biggest influence factor on the reaction. The optimized formulation was rosin (8-10) %, phenolic resin (8-10) %, isocyanate 10%, BPO 2%, DBP 10%. Under the optimum conditions, peel strength of obtained binder reaches 1.056 kN/m, which is higher than that of commerical milky glue.


A new sliding mode control approach for induction motor drives is presented. The control algorithm is based on the model of an induction motor in a frame rotating synchronously with the stator current vector. As with the indirect vector control of induction motor, the method allows rotor flux and torque to be controlled by two independent control variables. The distinct advantage of the proposed method lies in its insensitivity to motor parameter variations. Since the control law is represented in a set of inequalities instead of equalities, as the motor parameters change, the stability of the sliding mode and the feature of independent control of the flux and torque will not be destroyed as long as the corresponding inequalities hold. Experiment results have verified the advantages of the method.


Tissue engineering combines the principles of biology, engineering and medicine to create biological substitutes of native tissues, with an overall objective to restore normal tissue function. It is thought that the factors regulating tissue development in vivo (genetic, molecular and physical) can also direct cell fate and tissue assembly in vitro. In light of this paradigm, tissue engineering can be viewed as an effort of "imitating nature". We first discuss biophysical regulation during cardiac development and the factors of interest for application in tissue engineering of the myocardium. Then we focus on the biomimetic approach to cardiac tissue engineering which involves the use of culture systems designed to recapitulate some aspects of the actual in vivo environment. To mimic cell signaling in native myocardium, subpopulations of neonatal rat heart cells were cultured at a physiologically high cell density in three-dimensional polymer scaffolds. To mimic the capillary network, highly porous elastomer scaffolds with arrays of parallel channels were perfused with culture medium. To mimic oxygen supply by hemoglobin, culture medium was supplemented with an oxygen carrier. To enhance electromechanical coupling, tissue constructs were induced to contract by applying electrical signals mimicking those in native heart. Over only eight days of cultivation, the biomimetic approach resulted in tissue constructs which contained electromechanically coupled cells expressing cardiac differentiation markers and cardiac-like ultrastructure and contracting synchronously in response to electrical stimulation. Ongoing studies are aimed at extending this approach to tissue engineering of functional cardiac grafts based on human cells.


For pt. I see ibid. vol.45, p.2448-61, 1999. We proved in pt.I that two specific constructions of multihypothesis sequential tests, which we refer to as multihypothesis sequential probability ratio tests (MSPRTs), are asymptotically optimal as the decision risks (or error probabilities) go to zero. The MSPRTs asymptotically minimize not only the expected sample size but also any positive moment of the stopping time distribution, under very general statistical models for the observations. In this paper, based on nonlinear renewal theory we find accurate asymptotic approximations (up to a vanishing term) for the expected sample size that take into account the "overshoot" over the boundaries of decision statistics. The approximations are derived for the scenario where the hypotheses are simple, the observations are independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) according to one of the underlying distributions, and the decision risks go to zero. Simulation results for practical examples show that these approximations are fairly accurate not only for large but also for moderate sample sizes. The asymptotic results given here complete the analysis initiated by Baum and Veeravalli (1994), where first-order asymptotics were obtained for the expected sample size under a specific restriction on the Kullback-Leibler distances between the hypotheses.


The clinical importance of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) in breast cancer is now clearly established, given that expression of this tumor marker is used to guide therapy and as a prognostic indicator. Despite its now routine evaluation in breast cancer patients, population-based data are lacking because information on HER2 status is not routinely collected in the majority of population-based cancer registries. We assessed the feasibility of collecting HER2 data and its completeness in three registries in the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program. Among a sample of invasive first primary breast cancer patients diagnosed between June and December 2007, HER2 tests had been done on 96.5% (n = 522), and test results were available for 95.2% (n = 515) of patients. The majority of HER2 tests were performed by immunohistochemistry alone (50.9%), 35.3% by both immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and 11.8% of tests by FISH alone. As a result of these findings, SEER registries will collect HER2 data on all invasive breast cancer patients as an optional data element for those diagnosed in 2009 and HER2 will likely be a required data element for these patients in 2010. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 19(1); 144–7


The crucial role of platelets in primary hemostasis and repair of injured endothelium is well established, as is their role in atherothrombosis. No other single cell type is responsible for as much morbidity and mortality, since death from ischemic heart disease or stroke is by far the leading cause of death worldwide. There is no doubt that our understanding of atherothrombosis has guided current antithrombotic strategies that have dramatically reduced ischemic complications and cardiovascular mortality within the last decades. Yet the rate of ischemic complications after optimal revascularization therapy remains disappointingly high. There is still a strong need for new and smart antiplatelet drugs. The ideal antithrombotic drug would spare physiological platelet function, hemostasis and vascular repair in order to avoid bleeding complications, but would exclusively target the pathological atherothrombotic process. As platelet activity might be determined early in the bone marrow, this review starts with insights into the birth of platelets, describes the essential and primary role of platelets in hemostasis with new evidence in signaling cascades, and closes with the deleterious role of platelets in atherosclerosis and atherothrombosis, with a focus on acute coronary syndromes.


Metabolomics is the holistic qualification and quantification of metabolites in vivo. Metabolomics explores the relative relationship between metabolites and physiological or pathological changes. Its characteristics of integrity, high throughput and the 'end of the end' has a prominent advantage in the study of the Chinese medicine overall efficacy and the mechanisms of multitarget effects. The present article briefly summarizes research regarding single-component Chinese medicine efficacy and functional mechanisms based on the science and techology of metabolomics.


Objective: To evaluate the concentration of essential trace elements in herniated lumbar intervertebral disc in relationship with age of patients and stages of lumbar degenerative disc disease.
Material and methods: Prospective observational study. The specimens of the lumbar disc herniations were obtained from patients who underwent conventional transforaminal endoscopic discectomy. The instrumental neutron activation analysis was applied to determine the concentration of microelements in alumbar disc herniations. Statistical analyses performed by descriptive statistics and Student's t-tests. The level of significance was set to p < 0.05.
Results: A total of 44 patients who underwent transforaminal endoscopic lumbar discectomy , of these 16 (38.09%) patients had lumbar disc herniation at the level of L3-L4, whereas 28 (62.01%) patinets had lumbar disc herniation at the level of L4-L5. The instrumental neutron activation analysis was demonstrated that the mean concentrations of essential trace elements such as Au, Br, Cr, Hg, Hf, Ni, Sc, Fe, and Co were declined by aging and progression the degenerative-destructive process, at the same time the content of other trace elements such as K, Se, Zn, Mn, Zn, Cl and Ca were increased, while the concentrations of Ag and La were relatively constant (all p values<.001).
Conclusion: This study revealed that the significant differences in the trace element concentrations in lumbar herniated discs between different age groups of patients, as well as the different stages of lumbar degenerative disc disease.


This paper studies the role of the yen/dollar exchange rate in the Bank of Japan's monetary policy reaction function. In contrast to prior estimations of reaction functions based on the Taylor-rule, we allow for regime shifts by estimating rolling coefficients from January 1974 to March 1999. The results show a temporary impact of the exchange rate on monetary policy around 1978/79 and a persistently increasing impact of the yen/dollar exchange rate after 1986. The ris ing importance of the yen/dollar exchange rate for Japanese monetary policy is in line with increasing efforts to stabilize the yen/dollar exchange rate by foreign exchange intervention after March 1999, when the nominal interest rate reached the zero boundary.


This article presents an interview with Masatoshi Takeichi, who is best known for his discovery of cadherins, which are of fundamental importance in the mechanisms of intercellular recognition and adhesion. He was the first to recognize that cell-cell adhesion involves two distinct mechanisms calcium-dependent and calcium-independent and to identify molecular bases for each. He named the molecule responsible for calcium-dependent adhesion 'cadherin', and went on to identify a group of related molecules, now known to form the core of what are collectively referred to as the cadherin family. These molecules are differentially expressed by tissue type and developmental stage, and function by allowing cells with compatible cadherins to recognize and bind to each other. His recent work focuses on the role of cadherins in neural network formation and cadherin-mediated controls of morphogenetic cell behavior. In addition to his ongoing research into cell adhesion and tissue patterning, he serves as director of the RIKEN Kobe Institute and Center for Developmental Biology (Kobe, Japan), one of the world's largest research institutes dedicated entirely to the study of the mechanisms of development and regeneration. He has received the Keio Medical Prize, the Ross Harrison Prize (International Society of Developmental Biologists) and been named a member of the Japan Academy in recognition of his scientific achievements.


The World Health Organization has decreed the new Coronavirus as a worldwide threat. This new virus causes COVID-19 with a threatening mortality rate and a high risk of contamination. Initially, the outbreaks began in China, then Iran, Italy, South Korea and now are present in all continents. Since only attitudes such as Hand-washing and quarantine can help in controlling this epidemic disease, these pieces of information need to be clearly spread on the whole society, including minorities such as the deaf community. Therefore, in this work, we briefly compared three signs about this virus currently in use in Brazil by the deaf community, focused on some linguistics characteristics (e.g. meaning ad concepts). Our results showed that it is important for taking care of the information delivery for the whole society including minorities such as the deaf community to avoid possible linguistic impairments about serious threats such as coronavirus.


In the era of modern technology and information development, the automotive industry is expanding, and the demand for talents in the automotive industry is getting richer and richer. Faced with the continuous promotion of the "new four" in the automotive industry, universities need to make corresponding adjustments to the current problems and future trends of the industry development in the education and teaching courses of vehicle engineering, and consider how to cultivate comprehensive talents who can promote the development of the industry in the flood of the new era. Based on this, this paper focuses on the new requirements of the automotive industry for the comprehensive quality of talents, takes the needs of the industry as the guide, reconstructs the new mechanism of combining industry-university-research, carries out joint training of school and enterprise, builds a research-oriented and open engineering practice teaching system, establishes a part-time teaching team with engineering background, strengthens students' engineering ability, innovation ability and team cooperation ability, and realizes the docking of talents cultivated by school and talents demanded by enterprise. To establish a new mode of training talents in vehicle engineering.


Abstract Two short‐period seismometers were permanently installed at depths of 26 and 383 m beneath the Eden Park stadium in central Auckland in October 2008 and incorporated into the Auckland Volcano Seismic Network in 2011. These borehole seismometers were temporarily augmented by a surface sensor to characterize the site response at this location. Despite the borehole installations, seismic monitoring is challenging in this urban environment due to high anthropogenic noise that superimposes the Earth's signal. We analyze the power spectral density of continuous noise records over long and short time periods to quantify the reduction in noise with depth and the effect of temporal noise variations on the detection capabilities for earthquakes and volcanic tremor. We identify natural and anthropogenic noise sources that temporarily elevate noise levels by 10–15 dB using records from the Rugby World Cup matches held at the Eden Park stadium and by comparing records of daytime versus nighttime periods and windy versus calm days. Characterization of these noise sources shows that the frequency ranges of traffic and train noise at this site overlap (1–35 Hz and 8–35 Hz, respectively), however they exhibit distinct maxima at peak frequencies of 7 and 26 Hz. Modeling of the structure beneath the stadium shows that the noise spectrum generated by the nearby train excites frequencies within the topmost Waitemata sequences that get efficiently trapped in the low‐velocity waveguide beneath the ∼20  m thick basalt layer at the surface. Although the shallow borehole sensor generally shows a noise improvement of ≤5  dB in comparison to the surface sensor, it exhibits higher noise levels in the 8–35 Hz frequency range due to the trapped noise waves. Wind causes increased microseismic noise at 0.1–1 Hz that is coherent at all depth levels and shows the most pronounced time variation. Online Material: Figures of earthquake and quarry blast locations, spectrogram, and coherency.


MGMT methylation status represents a powerful prognostic factor in newly diagnosed glioblastoma (GBM). Recently, its role in recurrent tumors has also been suggested; however, few data investigating the stability of this biomarker during the clinical course of the disease are available. In this study, we evaluated the rate of change of MGMT methylation status between diagnosis and first recurrence in patients who received tumor resection for recurrent GBM. We included patients who received temozolomide concurrent with and adjuvant to radiotherapy after diagnosis of GBM and had a second surgery performed at least 3 months after radiotherapy completion. Other eligibility criteria were age ≥18 years and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0-2. We evaluated the MGMT methylation status by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction. From our institutional data warehouse, 295 patients with recurrent GBM who underwent second surgery were evaluated. MGMT methylation status at both first and second surgery was available for 108 patients. MGMT was methylated in both surgeries in 38 patients (35.2%), while it was unmethylated in 43 patients (39.8%). We found a significant concordance between the first and the second MGMT methylation assessments (K = 0.500, p < .001), MGMT methylation being stable in 75% of the cases. MGMT methylation presents relative stability during the clinical course of GBM. The Oncologist 2017;22:1-6Implications for Practice:MGMT methylation is a prognostic factor in newly diagnosed glioblastoma. In this study, we evaluated the rate of change of MGMT methylation during the clinical course of the disease, and we found a significant concordance between the first and the second MGMT methylation assessments, with MGMT methylation being stable in 75% of the cases. Thus, re-testing this biomarker at recurrence does not provide further information for clinicians. MGMT methylation at first surgery, extent of resection at second surgery, and time between first and second surgery are significantly correlated with overall survival. Age and extent of resection are correlated with post-progression survival. © AlphaMed Press 2017. Format: Abstract 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 5 8 9 10 11 8 3 2 3 12 Author information Full text links Role of MGMT Methylation Status at Time of Diagnosis and Recurren... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28275120?dopt=Abstract 1 di 2 27/03/2017 15.16


The Commissioner of Official Languages presents the evolution of linguistic rights from the time of Confederation up to the period of the Quiet Revolution in Quebec. This survey dwells upon guarantees granted to linguistic minorities in Canada. At the Federal level of government, the author describes the consequences of the Royal Commission of Enquiry on Bilingualism and Biculturalism : The Official Languages Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. At the provincial level of government, he draws up an overall account of the factual integration of these laws. His observations lead him to conclude that Canada will never be a homogeneous country with regard to linguistic rights and that minority aid systems are deficient. As a solution, the author underscores the timeliness of Federal-provincial arrangements with a view to creating specific development projects for official language minorities in accordance with local needs, but founded upon a common basis.


As part of the Flora of Espírito Santo project, it is presented the taxonomic treatment of Dennstaedtiaceae, with keys, descriptions, illustrations, and list of specimens examined. In this state (and adjacent areas of Minas Gerais), eleven taxa of Dennstaedtiaceae were found: Blotiella lindeniana, Dennstaedtia cicutaria, Dennstaedtia cornuta, Dennstaedtia globulifera, Histiopteris incisa, Hypolepis acantha, Hypolepis mitis, Hypolepis rigescens var. rigescens, Hypolepis rugosula subsp. pradoana, Pteridium arachnoideum subsp. arachnoideum, and Pteridium arachnoideum subsp. campestre. Most of these taxa are widespread along the Neotropics, but three (or four) are endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest: Hypolepis acantha, Hypolepis mitis, and Hypolepis rugosula subsp. pradoana (and possibly Dennstaedtia cornuta). Key-words: Dennstaedtia, Hypolepis, large ferns, Pteridium, Southeastern Brazil.


: We present the first privacy-preserving approach for stress detection from wrist-worn wearables based on the Time-Series Classification Transformer (TSCT) architecture and incorporating Differential Privacy (DP) to ensure provable privacy guarantees. The non-private baseline results prove the TSCT to be an effective model for the given task. Our DP experiments then show that the private models suffer from reduced utility but can still be used for reliable stress detection depending on the application. Our proposed approach has potential applications in smart health, where it can be used to monitor smartwatch users' stress levels without compromising their privacy and provide timely interventions or suggestions to prevent adverse health outcomes. Another primary contribution is our evaluation, which studies and shows negative effects of DP regarding model training. The results of this work provide perspectives for future research and applications whenever the fields of stress detection and data privacy intervene.


The Barbados accretionary prism is the only commercially hydrocarbon producing prism in the world. However, the offshore region is still underexplored and only one well has been drilled. Due to this there is poor understanding of reservoir and source rock distribution. In order to better the evolution of the prism and the petroleum system elements, a recently acquired regional 2D seismic data by Multi Client Geophysical (MCG) is interpreted. Based on the tectonic setting, three main geological provinces are recognized: The Barbados accretionary prism; the Barbados ridge; and the Tobago forearc basin. The Barbados accretionary prism is the active part of the prism which is further subdivided into the northern extensional sub-province and the southern compressional sub-province. The Barbados ridge corresponds to an outer-arc high of forearc region. The ridge consists of a lower Paleocene to Oligocene older accretionary prism and an upper and younger prism cover of Plio-Pleistocene sediments. The Barbados ridge is backthrusted over the Tobago forearc basin which created an imbricate fan of thrust faults by deforming the forearc basin strata. Deformation in the study area is divided into five normal fault families and three thrust fault families based on the origin and mechanism of formation. Five megasequences have been defined bounded by unconformities and/or correlative conformities. Interpretation of facies is based on seismic character and correlation with onshore Barbados. Megasequence-1 is of Late Cretaceous to Paleocene age and is deposited as growth strata in half grabens during the early stage of formation of the prism, and is draped by distal turbidites. Megasequence-2 is of Eocene to Oligocene age and is deposited as deep marine turbidites, sourced by the proto-Maracaibo delta in northwestern South America. Megasequence-3 is of Miocene age and is deposited in wide range of environments. Fan deltas to linked turbidites sourced from the Barbados ridge deposited in the Tobago Basin while mass transport complexes delivered from the South deposited in the Barbados accretionary prism. Megasequence-4 is of Pliocene age and consists of deep marine fine grained sediments. Megasequence-5 is of Pleistocene age and consists of ponded turbidites sourced from Orinoco delta deposited in mud withdrawal minibasins. A four stage model is presented for the tectonostratigraphic evolution of the area. First stage is characterized by formation of the Barbados accretionary prism. It developed as a single univergent prism with structural style similar to the present day zone of initial accretion. In the second stage: the accretionary prism is divided into two parts. The older western part of the prism became the zone of stabilization due to uplift and intrusion of the Lesser Antilles Arc. Third stage is characterized by backthrusting of the accretionary prism over the forearc basin and sub-division of the prism into the present day four zones. Furthermore, a subducting seamount uplifted and emerged the Barbados Island. Fourth stage is characterized by renewed compression and associated shale tectonics in the zone of supra-complex basins. The deformation zone broaden and imbricate fan of thrust faults develop at the boundary between the Tobago forearc basin and the Barbados ridge.


Title of Document: THE EFFECTS OF WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS ON A COMMERCIAL FISHERY: EVIDENCE FROMTHEMARYLAND BLUE CRAB FISHERY Sarah Ball, Ph.D., 2014 Directed By: Associate Professor Doug Lipton, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics Developing and implementing total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) is a costly and controversial process. However, there are many potential benefits, such as improvements to commercial fisheries. A two-stage model is developed to estimate the benefits of the Chesapeake Bay TMDL on the Maryland blue crab fishery. In the first stage, a bio-economic model links water quality to stock and harvest and various hypotheses on this link are tested. In the second stage, a model of fisherman behavior links the effects of changes in water quality on stock and harvest to fisherman behavior, such as fishing, location, and effort decisions. A number of simulations are then run to predict the effects of the TMDL on the Maryland blue crab fishery. The simulations predict that the TMDL is likely to have a small, if not insignificant, effect on the fishery. This result is in part explained by the fact that the current level of water quality in the Chesapeake Bay is suitable for the blue crabs. THE EFFECTS OF WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS ON A COMMERCIAL FISHERY: EVIDENCE FROM THE MARYLAND BLUE CRAB FISHERY


Universal Design was first applied by architects to make buildings more accessible and useable to people with disabilities. Taken a step further into the law school classroom, Universal Design offers law professors an exciting opportunity to bridge the law school learning gap and accommodate a greater variety of law students. A good Universal Design of instruction in the law school classroom benefits not only student with disabilities, but other diverse groups including part-time law students, ESL law students, and law students with diverse learning styles. Designing law instruction for the new universe of law students seems daunting. But this article suggests that one possible way to approach the universe of today's law students is through the application of universal design of instruction to teaching at the law school. In this article, the need for a fresh approach to law school teaching is identified. Finally, some suggestions to meet the needs of students with diverse characteristics and learning styles are made, applying the principles of universal design. The article will be most helpful to law teachers seeking to help law students with disabilities, ESL students, part-time law students, and law students with diverse learning preferences and styles. In reality, that includes all law students. It will also help law students and educators who advocate for change.


Advertising in responsive websites is a quite new phenomenon and has therefore, previously not been a target for any mayor research. Todays society, where new technological innovations persistantly supersede others must be seen as a possible changer for how companies advertise to this society. This paper sheds light on many of the difficulties connected with advertising for responsive websites, but also possibilities and advices for the future. Through a litterature review and a focus group with respondents from a large communication agency in Umea, insights, implications, solutions and thoughts both connected to specific websites but also around advertising for the future as a whole is presented. This paper can work as a subject of discussion, when designing responsive websites with advertising in mind or as a starter for future research.


Distributed collector solar fields are spatially distributed engineering systems, which aim at collecting and storing energy from solar radiation. They are formed by mirrors which concentrate direct incident sun light in a pipe where a fluid, able to accumulate thermic energy, flows. From the control point of view, the objective considered here consists of making the outlet oil temperature to track a reference signal by manipulating the oil flow, in the possible presence of fast disturbances caused by passing clouds. Although this plant may be successfully controlled by methods assuming it to be modeled as a "black box" lumped parameter system, the point of view advocated in this paper is that explicit consideration of its distributed character leads to an increased control performance. In this respect, the contributions of this paper are twofold: First, a controller relying on variable sampling is developed. This is derived from the partial differential equation describing the oil temperature evolution in time and space on the field and has the effect of linearizing the plant model. Second, the resulting performance is illustrated by means of experiments performed in an actual solar field. The experiments reported show that it is possible to make fast temperature setpoint changes, with reduced overshoot. The ideas presented are applicable to other types of industrial processes, involving transport phenomena.


Eight infants aged 2-4 months suffering from gastroenteritis associated with enteropathic Escherichia coli were treated with rifampicin. Seven of them had serotype 0125: B15 and the eighth had serotype 0126: B16. One of them had septicaemia due to E. coli 0125: B15. Five cases were initially treated with antibiotics and chemotherapeutic agents to which E. coli was shown to be sensitive but without results. Rifampicin was effective in curing gastrointestinal signs and eradicating the bacilli in seven of eight infants. The drug was given in a dose of 15-25 mg/kg/ day divided into two equal parts, for 7 days in most of the cases. No untoward side effects were observed clinically in any of the cases. Our experience should encourage the use of this agent in controlling outbreaks of gastroenteritis caused by enteropathic E. coli.


We address the recovery of object-level 3D descriptions of some classes of curved-axis generalized cylinders. For this, the first part of the paper analyzes the projective properties of two common generic shapes, planar right constant generalized cylinders (PRCGCs) and circular planar right generalized cylinders (circular PRGCs). The properties we analyze include new geometric invariant and quasi-invariant properties of the orthographic projection of the above shapes and a useful classification of their structural properties as functions of their pose. The second part of the paper describes an implemented system which detects and recovers PRCGCs and circular PRGCs from an intensity image in the presence of noise, surface markings, shadows, and partial occlusion. The methods exploit the projective properties to hypothesize and verify relevant curved-axis objects, thus explicitly using the three-dimensionality of the objects and of the desired descriptions. This work extends past work on the recovery of volumetric shapes from an intensity image by addressing new primitives, deriving new properties and by developing a system that recovers them from an intensity image. We demonstrate our method on several real intensity images.


Abstract : This report is a summary of data collected in the Western Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico during the spring of 1979. Vertical profiles through most of the water column were obtained for the following parameters: conductivity, temperature, salinity, nephelometry, total suspended matter, dissolved and particulate organic carbon, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), chlorophyll and phaeopigments, nutrients (nitrate, ammonium, phosphate, silicate), dissolved oxygen and dissolved reduced gases (methane and nitrous oxide). Results are presented as: (1) tables of measured and derived parameters; and (2) depth profiles of unnormalized values, normalized values, and normalized rates of change. Descriptions of the collection and analytical procedures are also given. (Author)


Objective: For evaluation of safety and effectiveness of instrumentation in treatment of spondylodiscitis cases, taking into consideration the clinico-radiological outcome. Material and Method: In a retrospective case series study, patients of spondylodiscitis were operated between 2015 and 2019 in Armed Force Hospital Southern Region, Saudi Arabia. The data of the 30 patients who had suffered from spondylodiscitis have been analyzed and studied. Results: 30 patients with spondylodiscitis were included. Male to female ratio 2.3:1 and the mean age in our study was 50 ± 2 years. Predisposing risk factors in these cases were found in 22 patients (73.3%). The mean duration of follow up was 7 ± 1 months. The mean VAS score was 8 ± 1 before surgery and 2 ± 1 at end of follow up with a markedly significant p-value (<0.001). The mean Barthel index was 45 ± 16 (range, 10 -70) before surgery and 90 ± 18 (range, 65-100) at end of follow up period with a highly significant pvalue (<0.001). J Spine Res Surg 2020; 2 (4): 115-129 DOI: 10. 26502/fjsrs0022 Journal of Spine Research and Surgery 116 Conclusion: Spinal instrumentation is an effective and safe method in the treatment of spondylodiscitis in selected patients.


We present a new model of development of children's performance on the balance-scale task, one of the most common benchmarks for computational modeling of development. Knowledge-based cascade-correlation (KBCC) networks progress through all four stages seen in children, ending with a genuine torque rule that can solve problems only solvable by comparing torques. A key element in the model is injection of a neurally-implemented torque rule into the recruitment pool of KBCC networks, mimicking the explicit teaching of torque in secondary-school science classrooms.


The effects of CaCl2, GA3, and H2O2 priming on Isatis indigotica Fort. seed germination characteristics, seedling growth parameters, and antioxidant enzyme activities under salt stress were investigated. NaCl had an adverse effect on the germination and seedling performance of I. indigotica. However, these three priming agents alleviated salt stress by increasing the germination percentage, improving seed vigor, accelerating germination velocity, and establishing strong seedlings. The optimal concentrations were 15 g/L for CaCl2, 0.2 g/L for GA3, and 40 mm for H2O2. Seed priming treatments enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes in seedlings, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT), under a salt environment, which reduced the oxidative injury caused by salt. Seed priming is a promising technique that can enhance the ability of I. indigotica seed germination when salt is present.


Twitter has received much attention recently. An important characteristic of Twitter is its real-time nature. We investigate the real-time interaction of events such as earthquakes in Twitter and propose an algorithm to monitor tweets and to detect a target event. To detect a target event, we devise a classifier of tweets based on features such as the keywords in a tweet, the number of words, and their context. Subsequently, we produce a probabilistic spatiotemporal model for the target event that can find the center of the event location. We regard each Twitter user as a sensor and apply particle filtering, which are widely used for location estimation. The particle filter works better than other comparable methods for estimating the locations of target events. As an application, we develop an earthquake reporting system for use in Japan. Because of the numerous earthquakes and the large number of Twitter users throughout the country, we can detect an earthquake with high probability (93 percent of earthquakes of Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) seismic intensity scale 3 or more are detected) merely by monitoring tweets. Our system detects earthquakes promptly and notification is delivered much faster than JMA broadcast announcements.


Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) has become a major cause of human mortality today. World Health Organization (WHO) recorded more than 7 million people died from CHD in the whole world in 2002. This figure is expected to rise to 11 million people by 2020. In Indonesia, cases of CHD more often because of the rapid changes in lifestyle. Although there is no epidemiological data must, morbidity / death seemed likely to increase. National Health Survey of 2001 showed three of the 1000 Indonesian population suffer CHD.
Soybean is a food that has a high Phytosterol content and rich in fiber and low in fat, so it is beneficial for heart health and good for daily consumption.
This study aims to determine the influence of formula and wheat flour in the manufacture of soy flour on fat cookies and Phytosterol cookies. Used this kind of research is quasi experiment, the research aimed to obtain informat ion that is an estimate of the information can be obtained by actual experiment in a state that is not possible to control and / or memnipulasikan all relevant variables. Research design that used the Complete Random Design with 6 treatments of flour formulas: soy flour (80%: 20%), (60%:
40%), (40%: 60%), (80%: 20%) and flour formula and the formula 100% 100% soy flour.
Based on the results of variance analysis, note that there is significant influence between the provision of soy flour in the manufacture of cookies on total fat, Phytosterol, and fiber. The existence of significant influence of provision of soy flour with a total fat content, Phytosterol, and fiber indicated by the value of cookies Fhitung> Ftabel. And the best treatment is cookies with soy flour formula 100%, ie cookies with a total fat content and have the lowest levels of Phytosterol and highest fiber, respectively were 4.43%, 57.76 mg/100gr, and 6.24 %. for the organoleptic properties of tested using 1-way anava Same Subject (SS) obtained the conclusion that the color gives a real difference, while the taste, texture, and smell is no different.


Movement is one of the most fundamental demographic variables affecting the distrib- ution and abundance of populations, but movement patterns for exploited populations of coral reef fish have not been studied extensively. Obtaining movement data for many species by means of tra- ditional tagging methods can be difficult because of high tagging-induced mortality and low recap- ture rates. We used an age-structured population dynamics model parameterised using data from dif- ferent regions to explore potential movement patterns for the red throat emperor Lethrinus miniatus, an exploited coral reef fish species for which traditional tagging studies have been unsuccessful. The model used a Gaussian function to describe the proportion of fish of a given age moving to or from 1 of 3 regions (Townsville, Mackay and Storm Cay) of the Great Barrier Reef. The model was fitted with and without movement to empirical age frequency data from each region over a 5 yr period (1995 to 1999). Including movement in the model led to significantly better fits to the data and revealed dis- crete movement patterns within each region. The model predicted net immigration to the Townsville region and net emigration from the Mackay and Storm Cay regions. We present alternative hypo- theses about migration patterns of L. miniatus and highlight the importance of determining the scales at which movement in larger, exploited coral reef fishes occurs.


Immunotoxins (monoclonal antibodies chemically coupled to peptide toxins) and fusion toxins (peptide ligands fused genetically to peptide toxins) have been used to treat a variety of malignancies over the last 20 years. Problems with normal tissue toxicities (vascular leak syndrome, hepatotoxicity, and neurotoxicities), poor penetration to tumor interstitum, and humoral immune responses have limited clinical efficacy. Higher response rates were observed with systemic therapy of leukemias and lymphomas and regional therapy of primary brain tumors. Ongoing studies are examining the role of targeted toxins in combination with chemoradiotherapy and in minimal residual disease settings.


Traditionally, the key policy issues for the agricultural and food sector have focused on prices and quantities. For example, one of the major stated purposes of the 1990 farm bill is "to ensure consumers an abundance of food and fiber at reasonable prices." Now, however, assuring the quality of the food supply is taking on greater importance. Quality assurance encompasses the management (and often reduction) of foodborne human health risks arising from multiple sources: microbiological pathogens (e.g., E. coli), nutritional risks (e.g., too much fat in the diet), pesticide and animal drug residues, and naturally occurring and environmental toxicants. Quality assurance is set also in the context that consumption of some foods may help in disease prevention. Consumers' increased awareness of relationships between food safety, diet, and personal health have led them to make quality characteristics more central to their food choices. Producers and processors have a stake in providing safer and higher quality products in order to attract these consumers, to protect themselves from possible liability attached to inferior quality products, and to comply with government regulations. Meanwhile, introduction of new production and processing technologies as well as increases in international trade are altering the mix of foods whose quality must be assured.


Global tactical asset allocation (GTAA) strategies across a broad range of asset classes are explored in this article. In contrast to market timing for single asset classes and tactical allocation across similar assets, this topic has received little attention in the existing literature. The main finding documented in this article is that momentum and value strategies applied to GTAA across 12 asset classes deliver statistically and economically significant abnormal returns. For a long top-quartile and short bottom-quartile portfolio based on a combination of momentum and value signals, the authors report a return of 12% per annum over the 1986–2007 period. Performance is stable over time, is also present in an out-of-sample period, and is sufficiently high to overcome transaction costs in practice. The return cannot be explained by potential structural biases toward asset classes with high risk premiums, nor by the Fama–French and Carhart hedge factors. The authors argue that financial markets may be macroinefficient due to insufficient "smart money" being available to arbitrage away mispricing effects.


Abstract. A general purpose LS model for GaAs, GaN and SiC FET devices was developed and evaluated with DC, S, and Large Signal measurements (LS). The FET model is generalized and extended with new feature in order to improve the management of harmonics, provide a more physical treatment of the dispersion as well as delay and model other specific effects in these devices. The model was implemented in a commercial CAD tool and exhibit good overall accuracy.


Abstract The ecological significance of species diversity within agroecosystems has become a point of interest in recent years. Although the time and spatial scale at which diversity is measured may influence the interpretation of its functional importance, little research has been conducted on methodological approaches to assess the number and relative abundance of agricultural plant species. In this study, we (1) evaluated the applicability of the species-area curve to examine plant species richness and α and β diversity in conventional no-tillage and organically managed spring wheat systems, and (2) assessed temporal changes in plant species richness across systems. Measurements were obtained at three times during two growing seasons in experimental plots and at three times during one growing season on commercial farms in Montana. In accordance with previous studies, management system affected species richness and diversity. In eight of nine studied cases, we detected a positive relationship between species richness and sampled area. In these eight cases, intercepts (α diversity) were higher for the organic systems than for the conventional no-tillage systems. Slopes (β diversity) were higher for the organic system in six of nine cases studied. Species richness declined as the season progressed for both systems, with the organic systems consistently having more species than the conventional no-tillage systems. Despite differences in the species composition and between the experimental plots and commercial farm field size, the patterns of species richness and α and β diversity were relatively constant, suggesting that the processes responsible for the assembly of plant communities in agroecosystems of the Northern Great Plains are similar at a range of spatial scales. Nomenclature: Wheat, Triticum aestivum L.


We study the mutual trapping of two dipole-mode light beams in a medium with a nonlocal anisotropic saturable nonlinearity. It is shown that the incoherent attraction of perpendicularly aligned dipole-mode beams leads to the stabilization of their composite structure. Our numerical analysis gives a stationary solution that is stable only with respect to small amplitude modulations. The coupled solitary structure disintegrates in a well-defined way when the numerical perturbations or the experimental propagation length exceeds a certain limit. In this case a new and more robust, multicomponent solitary transverse light structure consisting of two dipole-mode vector solitons will be generated.


Urine samples were collected from 71 urostomy patients over a period 2 years. E. coli was the most stable (stability index 88%) followed by Pr. Mirabilis (72%), Ent. faecalis (55%) and Kleb. pneumoniae (52.5%). Perianal swabs were obtained from 6 patients with Pr. mirabilis urinary infections and 3 of these produced Pr. mirabilis on culture. Urostomy strains of Pr. mirabilis had higher protease, urease and swarming abilities than strains from other sources. The mannose resistant haemagglutination assay revealed that all the 20 urostomy isolates and 15 of the environmental isolates of Pr. mirabilis were positive for MR/P fimbriae. Examination of the sensitivity of Pr. mirabilis isolates to antiseptics revealed that the minimum inhibitory concentration of chlorhexidine ranged from 50-800microg/ml compared to 0.1-0.3microg/ml for triclosan. All urostomy isolates were sensitive to ampicillin, amoxicillin, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin and cefadroxyl. Resistance was confined to trimethoprim (17/30) and nitrofurantoin (30/30). Analysis of the sensitivity of all the Pr. mirabilis isolates revealed an association between resistance to chlorhexidine and the multiplicity of drug resistance. Isolates of Pr. mirabilis from four sources, typed using Dienes typing and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), resulted in many different types. Both methods showed that urostomy isolates of Pr. mirabilis were all distinct strains. Cross-infection, therefore, between urostomy patients is rare. Antibody-coated bacteria were found in all the urine samples tested. Serum antibodies to all the isolates tested were high (typically =1:1024). The results of the endotoxin assays indicated that particularly in patients infected with Pr. mirabilis, bacterial lysis and release of endotoxin is occurring in conduit urine.


This study investigates whether there are differences in quality of life—i.e., psychosomatic complaints and life satisfaction—between schoolchildren with and without a chronically ill or disabled parent at home. It also examines the role played by the intensity of tasks, life circumstances, and social support at home and school. In 2017, a Dutch representative sample of adolescents aged between 12 and 16 (from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study) completed a questionnaire about illness of family members, tasks at home, life circumstances and characteristics, social support, psychosomatic complaints and life satisfaction. In total, 5470 schoolchildren who did not have a parent with a chronic illness and 652 who did have a parent with a chronic illness were selected (average age 13.9). Stepwise multilevel logistic regression analyses in STATA were used. Schoolchildren with an ill parent had more psychosomatic complaints and lower life satisfaction than their counterparts without an ill parent, even when controlling for extra task hours, specific life circumstances and characteristics (e.g., more likely to be growing up in a single-parent family or stepfamily and more likely to be female), and lower perceived support. These aspects are also predictors of a lower quality of life. Professionals should address these aspects of the life of schoolchildren with a sick parent in such a way that they are facilitated to make a successful transition to adulthood.


Health promotion moves beyond changing the health-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of individuals and covers a wide range of social and environmental interventions. Nepal has also introduced health promotion policies targeting health education, information and communication. Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs), who are responsible for delivering primary care maternity services, especially in birthing centres located in rural areas of Nepal, also have an important role to play in the promotion of women's health during pregnancy, intra-partum and post-partum. However, in the present context, health promotion provided by ANMs in Nepal is confined mostly to health education and behavioural-change communication. There are a range of health promotion activities relevant to maternity care and midwifery that ANMs can practice even in low-technology rural birthing centres. Such health promotion offers an opportunity to move away from a very medical and behavioural model to a more empowering one in order to prevent health problems in a cost-effective way.


Competent and committed teachers are demand of today's revolutionary era to increase the effectiveness of educational institutions. We live in a high tech and high demanding age. There are sudden challenges in all walks of life, including education. This study was conducted to explore the professional commitment of teachers (teacher educators) working in Govt. Colleges for Elementary Teacher Institutions in Punjab. Three hundred and twenty teacher-educators (200 males and 120 females) were selected through proportionate random sampling from the population of 540 teacher educators. To collect data a questionnaire, Professional Commitment Questionnaire for teacher educators (PCQ-TE) was developed. The descriptive and inferential statistics i.e. t-test and ANOVA were applied for data analysis. The results revealed that the commitment towards the teaching profession increases with the increase of experience. Female teachers were more committed as compared to male teachers. Keeping in view the findings of the study, it was recommended that the social and financial status of male teachers' educators should be enhanced for increasing their commitment level. There should be proper provision of resources and training regarding professional development of rural teachers.


AbstractA Travelling Salesman Problem in a three-dimensional spatial domain js associated with a sclieduling problem encountered in a flexible manufacturing cell including a computer-controlled punching machine. The heuristic recently proposed by Bartholdi and Platzman, which uses a space-filling curve as a quick way to organize a tour of a set of locations to visit in a unit square, is tested and generalized to the spatial domain describing the punch operations. A new recursive procedure is proposed for the construction of open space-filling curves in the unit cube and in a parallelopiped. Numerical experimentations show that the 3-dimensional space-filling curve heuristic becomes attractive when the number of punches executed by each tool is relatively small and when the turret rotation speed is relatively high.


Relations between excitation foci and their complexes in the cerebral cortex were studied in acute experiments on cats. Excitatory foci were produced by application of solutions of strychnine, penicillin and acetylcholine with prozerine in different concentrations. Two main types of interrelations were established: the determinant and the dominant ones. It was shown that a powerful excitation focus may enhance and synchronize the activity in weaker foci, integrate them in a single functional complex and determine the pattern of its activity (determinant relationships). It may also suppress the activity of previously created foci (dominant relations). The latter form of interrelations was observed either in the transitional stage during formation of the complex or it had an independent meaning. Such types of functional interrelations were observed both between separate foci and their complexes.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effect of lung protective ventilation strategy on pulmonary inflammatory response in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

METHODS
The ARDS rabbit model was duplicated by saline alveolar-lavage. The rabbits were divided into six groups: (1) normal control group (N group); (2) ARDS group (M group); (3) low-volume with best end-expiratory pressure (PEEP, A group) group: tidal volume (V(T)) 6 ml/kg, PEEP 2 cm H(2)O greater than the pressure of lower inflection point in pressure-volume curve (P(LIP)); (4) normal-volume with best PEEP group (B group): V(T) 6 ml/kg, and PEEP P(LIP) + 2 cm H(2)O; (5) low-volume with high PEEP group (C group): V(T) 6 ml/kg, and PEEP 15 cm H(2)O; and (6) high-volume with zero PEEP group (D group): V(T) 20 ml/kg. Lung wet/dry weight ratios (W/D) were recorded to evaluate lung injury. After 4 h of ventilation, lung homogenates were prepared to detect nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activity by electrophoretic mobility gel shift assay (EMSA), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and their mRNA expression by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Myeloperoxidase (MPO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in lung homogenates were also assessed.

RESULTS
After 4 h ventilation, W/D in A group (5.6 +/- 1.1) were significantly lower than those in B group, C group and D group (6.6 +/- 0.8, 6.6 +/- 1.0, 6.9 +/- 1.0, all P < 0.05). But there was no difference between A group and M group (5.8 +/- 0.5). NF-kappaB activity was the highest in D group, and that in A group was 331 +/- 113, which was decreased significantly as compared with B, C and D groups (455 +/- 63, 478 +/- 74, 645 +/- 162, all P < 0.05). The mRNA expression of TNF-alpha and IL-10 and their concentrations in lung homogenates in A group were lower than those in B, C and D groups. In A group, the concentrations of MPO and MDA in lung homogenates were significantly lower than those in B, C and D groups.

CONCLUSION
Lung protective ventilation strategy can inhibit lung inflammation and may improve lung injury in ARDS, but low tidal volume with high PEEP may increase lung inflammation.


The comparison of chemical abundances in the neutral gas of galaxies to photospheric abundances of old and young stars, ionized gas abundances, and abundances in galactic halos can trace the chemical enrichment of the universe through cosmic times. In particular, our understanding of chemical enrichment through spectroscopic observations of damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs) relies on corrections for depletion of metals from the gas to the dust phase. These corrections must be determined in the nearby universe, where both gas-phase abundances and photospheric abundances of young stars recently formed out of the interstellar medium can be measured. Multi-object high-resolution (R>50,000) ultraviolet (970-2400 A) and optical (300-600 nm) spectroscopy toward massive stars in local volume galaxies (D < 15 Mpc) covering a wide range of metallicities (a few % solar to solar) and morphological types will provide the abundance and depletion measurements needed to obtain a detailed and comprehensive characterization of the lifecycle of metals in neutral gas and dust in galaxies, thereby observationally addressing important questions about chemical enrichment and galaxy evolution.


BACKGROUND
Heatstroke in dogs is often fatal and is associated with a high prevalence of secondary complications. Peripheral nucleated red blood cells (NRBC) occur in dogs with heatstroke, but their association with complications and the outcome is unclear.

HYPOTHESIS
Peripheral NRBC are common in dogs with heatstroke and have prognostic significance.

ANIMALS
Forty client-owned dogs with naturally occurring heatstroke.

METHODS
Prospective, observational study. Dogs were followed from presentation to discharge or death. Serum biochemistry and coagulation tests were performed at presentation. CBC and evaluation of peripheral blood smears were performed at presentation and every 12 hours. The relative and the absolute NRBC numbers were calculated.

RESULTS
Presence of NRBC was observed in 36/40 (90%) of the dogs at presentation. Median relative and absolute NRBC were 24 cells/100 leukocytes (range 0-124) and 1.48 x 10(3)/microL (range 0.0-19.6 x 10(3)/microL), respectively. Both were significantly higher in nonsurvivors (22) versus survivors (18) and in dogs with secondary renal failure and DIC versus those without these complications. Receiver operator curve analysis of relative NRBC at presentation as a predictor of death had an area under curve of 0.92. A cut-off point of 18 NRBC/100 leukocytes corresponded to a sensitivity and specificity of 91 and 88% for death.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE
Relative and absolute numbers of peripheral NRBC are clinically useful, correlate with the secondary complications, and are sensitive and specific markers of death in dogs with heatstroke, although they should never be used as a sole prognostic indicator nor should they replace clinical assessment.


BACKGROUND
Adults with cochlear implants (CIs) are usually implanted unilaterally. To preserve binaural advantages, a noninvasive method involves maintaining the hearing aid (HA) on the contralateral ear; the choice of HA for this purpose is therefore crucial. In recent years, the use of frequency transposition has gained a renewed interest in clinical practice. This type of processing records information from the high-frequency region and conveys it to a low-frequency region where there is still some residual hearing.

PURPOSE
To conduct an investigation and examine whether adults with unilateral CI derive benefits from a HA utilizing linear frequency transposition (LFT) on the contralateral ear.

RESEARCH DESIGN
A two-period, single-blind, repeated-measures crossover design was conducted to examine the combination of LFT in conjunction with a CI. Speech recognition tests were performed in quiet and in noise with LFT either activated or deactivated. The Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Questionnaire (SSQ) was used to measure subjective benefit.

STUDY SAMPLE
The participants were nine frequent bimodal users, five males and four females, with a moderate to profound high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss in the nonimplanted ear.

INTERVENTION
The current study was conducted using the Widex Mind440 power (m4-19) behind-the-ear HA. The participants acted as their own control in a total of seven conditions: (1) bimodal with own HA, (2) CI only, (3) own HA alone, (4) bimodal new HA LFT-off, (5) new HA LFT-off, (6) bimodal new HA LFT-on, and (7) new HA LFT-on.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Monosyllabic words in quiet and the Swedish version of Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) were used as speech test materials. Stimuli were presented in sound field at a speech level of 65 dB sound pressure level (SPL) via a loudspeaker at a distance of 1 m from the participant in a sound-treated room. The SSQ was administered in each session evaluating the three bimodal conditions. SPSS software was used for statistical analyses. General linear model (GLM) analysis of variance for repeated measures was performed and followed with Bonferroni-adjusted post hoc pairwise comparisons.

RESULTS
Participants performed better with CI only than with HA alone, and the bimodal conditions were superior to the CI alone. No significant differences (p > .05) were observed when comparing the LFT-on with LFT-off regardless of whether the use of CI was included in the different listening conditions in objective and subjective measurements.

CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest an advantage for CI patients with a HA in the opposite ear, and that the LFT neither degraded nor enhanced speech performance in conjunction with a CI in quiet or in noise in comparison to when it was deactivated.


1. Cultural Relativism, Eurocentrism and Marx's Asiatic Mode of Production 2. The Anti-Imperialist Reaction and the Marxist Pre-emption of Economic Imperialism Theory 3. Policies and Politics in the Struggle for the Third World 4. The Marxist Response to Western Developmentalism 5. The Overthrow of the Orthodoxies and the Progress of the West


The controlled solution self-assembly of an amphiphilic perylene diimide (PDI), with a hydrophobic perylene core and hydrophilic imide substituents with polydisperse oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) tethers is presented. It was possible, by a seeded-growth mechanism, to form colloidally stable, one-dimensional fibres with controllable lengths (from 400 to 1700 nm) and low dispersities (1.19-1.29) via a living supramolecular polymerisation process. Under the solvent conditions used, it was found that molecularly dissolved material (unimer) was present in samples of the fibre-like supramolecular assemblies. The free unimer may be present in a conformationally derived kinetically trapped state and/or may represent a more soluble PDI fraction with longer hydrophilic tethers. Significantly, it was also possible to form segmented supramolecular block copolymers by the addition of PDI unimer to chemically distinct PDI seeds, yielding fibres with controlled lengths. These results represent a significant advance in the ability to form PDI-based supramolecular polymers with precisely controlled lengths and architectures.


An updated checklist of manta and devil rays (family Mobulidae) occurring in waters of the Azores archipelago is given based on new data from underwater images and on the re-evaluation of previous citations for the region. There are, at least, three species of mobulids occurring in the region, possibly four: giant manta Manta birostris; Chilean devil ray Mobula tarapacana; and one or both of the giant devil ray Mobula mobular/spinetail devil ray Mobula japanica species complex. These findings have direct implications for the known ranges of all these species and for the conservation of their North Atlantic populations.


Nonpoint source pollution of groundwater by nitrates from agricultural activity is a persistent problem for which developing effective policy approaches has proven difficult. There is little empirical information on forms of governance or regime attributes that effectively and sustainably address agricultural nonpoint source pollution of groundwater. Nebraska's Natural Resource District (NRD) system is a rare example of a groundwater governance regime that is putting programmes in place that are likely to generate sustainable groundwater quality outcomes. We focus on three groundwater nitrate management programmes in the state that collectively represent the broader NRD system. The research shows that four elements of Nebraska's groundwater governance regime are fundamental to its success in addressing groundwater nitrates: 1) the local nature of governance, which builds trust among stakeholders; 2) the significant authority granted to the local districts by the state, allowing for the development of locally tailored solutions; 3) the collaborative governance approach, which allows potential scale imbalances to be overcome; and 4) the taxing authority granted to NRDs, which enables them to fund locally tailored management solutions. We find that these aspects of the NRD system have created conditions that enable adaptive, collaborative governance that positions the state well to address emerging groundwater quality challenges. We present aspects of the governance regime that are generalisable to other American states as efforts to address nitrate pollution in groundwater increase.


The presence of cancer of the lymphatic system is often determined by analyzing samples from the blood or bone marrow. A team led by Prof. Dr. Peter Krawitz from the University of Bonn had already shown in 2020 that artificial intelligence can help with the diagnosis of such lymphomas and leukemias. The technology fully uses the potential of all measurement values and increases the speed as well as the objectivity of the analyses compared to established processes. The method has now been further developed so that even smaller laboratories can benefit from this freely accessible machine learning method—an important step towards clinical practice. The study has now been published in the journal Patterns.


The purpose of this classroom action research (CAR) is to aim to find out whether there is an increase in learning outcomes in the subject of Citizenship Education students using cooperative learning strategies. This research is a classroom action research study involving 30 students of class X Accounting SMKN 2 Tanimbar Selatan consisting of 5 women and 20 men. Some of the variables investigated in this study are as follows (1) input variables which include students, lesson material, learning resources, (2) the variable process of organizing teaching and learning activities, such as teaching and learning interactions, student questioning skills, student learning methods, and (3) output variables such as student curiosity, students' ability to apply knowledge, student learning motivation, student learning outcomes, student attitudes towards learning experiences through improvement activities. There are four stages carried out in carrying out this research activity, namely: the stages of planning, implementation of actions, observation and interpretation as well as analysis and reflection. This research was conducted in two research cycles. From the results of the action in the first cycle, it was found that the average value of students was 78.67 with the highest score of 90 and the lowest value of 65 and completeness of learning only reached 77% or 23 students out of 30 students, still below the established completeness of 85% of students unfinished learning 23% or 7 students out of 30 students. Thus the next learning cycle still needs to be designed. Results in Cycle II the average value of students 81.00 with the highest value of 95 and the lowest value of 70 and completeness of learning has only reached 87% or 26 students out of 30 students, already above the mastery that has been set that is 85% of students who have not finished learning 13 % or 4 students out of 30 students. Thus there is no need to design further learning cycles. The results showed that the use of cooperative learning strategies in fact can improve learning outcomes in subjects Citizenship Education in class X Accounting for SMKN 2 Tanimbar Selatan 2018/2019


BACKGROUNDS
The aim of the study was to evaluate the serum levels of 18 selected parameters in monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, and the initial, asymptomatic phase of multiple myeloma, also from the point of view of the potential contribution to the differentiation of these two units.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The analyzed 119-patient group consisted of 59 individuals with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and 60 patients with multiple myeloma assessed at the time of diagnosis before the start of the treatment. For the evaluation of serum levels we used radioenzyme assay (thymidine kinase), immunoradiometry (IGF-1), enzyme immunoassay (osteocalcin, osteoprotegerin, ICTP), electrochemiluminiscence (PINP), quantitative sandwich enzyme immunoassay (MIP-1 alpha and MIP-1 beta, IL-17, osteopontin, HGF, VEGF, angiogenin, endostatin, syndecan-1/CD138), and for the assessment of serum levels of free light chains kappa and lambda, the Freelite system. Statistical evaluation was done using the Pearson chi-quadrat test and the U-test according to Mann-Whitney (p < 0.05).

RESULTS
Statistically significant differences between monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and multiple myeloma were found in the case of serum levels of thymidine kinase (0.0002), ICTP (0.001), MIP-1 alpha (0.002), osteopontin (<0.0001), HGF (< 0.0001), syndecan-1 (<0.0001), and the kappa/lambda ratio (0.0002), while lower significance was found in the case of angiogenin (0.031) and endostatin (0.011). Statistically non-significant differences between multiple myeloma and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance were within the serum levels of IGF-1, osteocalcin, bALP, PINP, OPG, MIP-1 beta, IL-17, parathormon and VEGF.

CONCLUSION
Statistical analysis revealed significant differences between monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and multiple myeloma in 9 of the 18 evaluated parameters. However, due to the significant overlapping of the measured values, none of the parameters is unambiguously able to distinguish between the units. A certain contribution in the discrimination of multiple myeloma from monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance was found in markedly increased serum levels of thymidine kinase, MIP-1 alpha, osteopontin, HGF and significant pathology of the kappa/lambda index.


Thermal contact resistance is one of key technologies for heat transfer of high power light emitting diodes (LED) packaging. In this paper, based on the resistance network model of LED packaging, a 3-D finite element simulation model (FEM) is established and thermal transient testing experiments are also performed by Thermal Transient tester (T3Ster). Experiment date indicates thermal contact resistance for 48% of the total thermal resistance. The thermal interface material (TIM) layer of high power LED packaging is studied to analysis thermal contact resistance which impacts on thermal performance of LED packaging. The total thermal resistance and the thermal resistance of TIM layer are separately calculated from simulation and experiment. To the resistance of TIM layer, the result of experiment is only a 1% error compared to the result of FEM simulation. Therefore, The FEM simulation and experiment are mutually validated. In order to thoroughly study on thermal contact resistance, based on the principle of structure function, thermal resistance of three different types of TIM layer between metal core printed circuit board (MCPCB) and aluminum heat sink are measured and compared. Experiment results indicate that the quality of interface affects the thermal contact resistance to a great extent.


This paper presents the design of a low swing transceiver for chip-to-chip communication in 2.5-D integrated systems using a passive interposer. High speed and low power operation is achieved through a new dynamic low swing tunable transmitter (DLST-TX) and inverter-based tunable receiver (INVT-RX) circuits. The novelty of the proposed solution lies in the digital trimming for PVT corners and random parameter variability allowing significant reduction of the voltage swing down to 120 mV with single ended signaling. The compensation method has negligible impact on the circuit performance and silicon area, not typically achievable by device geometry scaling. The proof-of-concept transceiver is implemented in a 65 nm CMOS technology and exhibits up to 4∗ higher energy efficiency at 1 Gb/s speed for 2.5 mm long chip-to-chip interconnect, as compared to state-of-the-art full swing communication schemes operating under the same conditions. The transceiver is suitable for parallel interfaces in 2.5-D integrated systems.


We investigated possible motivations for sound symbolism in spatial demonstratives within 101 areally and genetically diverse languages. Six different predictions were formulated on the basis of factors such as (a) semiotic ground (iconic, indexical or combined), (b) speaker-centered, hearer-centered or both and (c) applicable to vowels, consonants or both. Each one of these six predictions resulted in different expected scales of phonemes on the proximal-distal dimension. Languages which conformed to these scales were regarded as motivated (according to a particular prediction). Languages which opposed it were treated as reverse, and if neither was the case, as neutral. The results showed significant motivated/reverse and motivated/neutral ratios only for the prediction based on vowel-frequency, motivated by a combination of iconic and indexical factors, and marginal support for the other predictions concerning vowels. The two predictions based on an assumed link between preverbal vocal pointing and demonstratives also found some, if weaker, support. The only prediction that was completely unsupported concerned the frequency of consonants. The conclusions are that a number of factors combine to motivate sound symbolism in spatial deixis, which appears to involve vowels more than consonants.


Detecting humans in images and videos has emerged as an essential aspect of intelligent video systems that solve pedestrian detection, tracking, crowd counting, etc. It has many real-life applications varying from visual surveillance and sports to autonomous driving. Despite achieving high performance, the single camera-based detection methods are susceptible to occlusions caused by humans, which drastically degrades the performance where crowd density is very high. Therefore multi-camera setup becomes necessary, which incorporates multiple camera views for detections by computing precise 3D locations that can be visualized and transformed to Top View also termed as Bird's Eye View (BEV) representation and thus permits better occlusion reasoning in crowded scenes. The thesis, therefore, presents a multi-camera approach that globally aggregates the multi-view cues for detection and alleviates the impact of occlusions in a crowded environment. But it was still primarily unknown how satisfactorily the multi-view detectors generalize to unseen data. In different camera setups, this becomes critical because a practical multi-view detector should be usable in scenarios such as i) when the model trained with few camera views is deployed, and one of the cameras fails during testing/inference or when we add more camera views to the existing setup, ii) when we change the camera positions in the same environment and finally iii) when deploying the system on the unseen environment; an ideal multi-camera setup system should be adaptable to such changing conditions. While recent works using deep learning have made significant advances in the field, they have overlooked the generalization aspect, which makes them impractical for real-world deployment. We formalized three critical forms of generalization and outlined the experiments to evaluate them: generalization with i) a varying number of cameras, ii) varying camera positions, and finally, iii) to new scenes. We discover that existing state-of-the-art models show poor generalization by overfitting to a single scene and camera configuration. To address the concerns: (a) we generated a novel Generalized MVD (GMVD) dataset, assimilating diverse scenes with changing daytime, camera configurations, varying number of cameras, and (b) we discuss the properties essential to bring generalization to MVD and developed a barebones model to incorporate them. We performed a series of experiments on the WildTrack, MultiViewX, and the GMVD datasets to motivate the necessity to evaluate the generalization abilities of MVD methods and to demonstrate the efficacy of the developed approach.


OBJECTIVE
The growth of Malawian preschool children from different socioeconomic groups was examined to determine the relevance of the NCHS/WHO growth reference data for assessing child nutritional status in Malawi.

DESIGN
The study involved a comparison of anthropometric data from three cross-sectional surveys of preschool children over 24 months of age.

SETTING
Malawi, Central Africa.

SUBJECTS
Anthropometric measurements were taken on high income Malawian children (n = 380) during a census of affluent preschools in the country's three major urban centres. Comparative data were obtained from two existing sample surveys of low income urban children (n = 225) and rural village children (n = 667).

RESULTS
The distribution of weight-for-age Z-scores (HAZ) for the high income children 24-35 months of age closely resembled the NCHS/WHO child reference population (mean HAZ = -0.21; SD = 1.05). After this age HAZ decreased to a mean value of -0.58 between 60 and 71 months. Large differences in growth were observed between children from different socioeconomic groups. Regression analysis showed that at 24 months the high income children were, on average, 6.6 cm taller than the low income urban children (P < 0.001), and 9.2 cm taller than the rural children (P < 0.001). By 59 months of age these differences increased to 9.6 cm and 11.1 cm, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
Although some questions remain regarding the growth potential of Malawian children, the results suggest the NCHS/WHO reference data are relevant for Malawi and the high levels of child stunting found in the country are due to environmental not genetic factors.


Whereas much is known about the biodiversity of prokaryotes and macroorganisms in the deep sea, knowledge on the biodiversity of protists remains very limited. Molecular studies have changed our view of marine environments and have revealed an astonishing number of previously unknown eukaryotic organisms. Morphological findings have shown that at least some widely dis- tributed nanoflagellates can also be found in the deep sea. Whether these flagellates have contact with populations from other habitats is still uncertain. We performed a molecular comparison of strains isolated from deep-sea sediments (>5000 m depth) and surface waters on the basis of their small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA). Sequences of Rhynchomonas nasuta, Amastigomonas debruynei, Ancyromonas sigmoides, Cafeteria roenbergensis and Caecitellus parvulus were analysed, and 2 contrasting results obtained. Firstly, we found nearly identical genotypes within 1 morphospecies (C. roenbergensis), and secondly, quite different genotypes within certain morpho- species (R. nasuta, A. sigmoides and C. parvulus). In addition, high genetic distances between the dif- ferent strains of A. sigmoides and C. parvulus indicate that these morphospecies should be divided into different at least genetically distinguishable species. In contrast, some heterotrophic nanoflagel- lates must indeed be regarded as being cosmopolitan. According to the low genetic distances between isolates of R. nasuta, A. debruynei and C. roenbergensis as well as between our isolates of A. sigmoides from deep-sea and surface waters, exchanges between these habitats and also on a global scale might be possible. In summary, our results show that 3 morphospecies obviously contain several cryptic species, while some of the investigated genotypes occur in both deep-sea as well as in surface waters.


The results of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) represent one of the most important contributions to the understanding of the risk factors for asthma and its natural history in young adult population. ECRHS has documented up to tenfold regional differences in the prevalence of respiratory symptoms, asthma, atopic sensitisation and bronchial responsiveness: the UK, the USA, Australia and New Zealand had the highest rates. The ECRHS data highlighted the importance of childhood exposure on atopic sensitisation, showing that factors associated with exposure to micro-organisms in childhood reduce the likelihood to be atopic in adulthood. Local results documented the presence of an increasing trend in asthma and allergy from rural to urban sites. The association found between the use of gas cooking with subjective and objective markers of respiratory morbidity in women, raised the hypothesis that exposure to indoor pollutants, such as NO2, could increase the susceptibility for asthma. ECRHS data also allowed a retrospective analysis of asthma occurrence, pointing out that the incidence has increased in the last generations. Furthermore, the analysis of asthma incidence by sex and age suggested a potential role of airway calibre, in addition to hormonal factors, in explaining the greater susceptibility to asthma in women than in men after the age of fifteen.


The objective of the present work is the evaluation of the contents of inorganic particles in the mechanical and tribological behavior of polymeric matrix composites. In order to control easily the production of the specimens, a polyester resin was used as matrix and silica particles were added as inorganic filler. The volumetric particle content was ranged from 0 to 46%. In order to understand the influence of the inorganic load was evaluated the mechanical and tribological behaviors for several percentage of particle content was evaluated. There are several applications of inorganic fillers where their volume percentage is important, namely in dentistry. In posterior restorative resin materials, the particles percentage in volume goes up to 50 or more. In most cases spherical and irregular shaped fillers are dispersed randomly. In the studied composites the filler has irregular shape therefore the connection between the matrix and the particles is more effective. Function of the shape, concentration degree and particle size of the filler the composite mechanical properties vary greatly. All of these factors influence the mechanical properties of the particlereinforced composite, namely: wear resistance, hardness, flexural modulus, flexure strength and toughness The morphology of the failure surfaces was observed by scanning electron microscopy and the results were widely discussed.


Bacterial susceptibility to various cephalosporins of nine of the most frequently isolated organisms were analyzed for the five-year period 1980 to 1984. The disk diffusion susceptibility to cephalosporins of 1,640,031 strains of bacteria isolated from 242 hospitals in the United States were compared. No significant change has occurred in the susceptibility of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Haemophilus influenzae, or Streptococcus faecalis for this period; Enterobacter aerogenes showed a slight decrease in susceptibility to moxalactam, cephalothin, cefoxitin and cefamandole. Slight increases in susceptibility were observed with Pseudomonas aeruginosa to cefotaxime and moxalactam and for Bacteroides fragilis to cefoxitin and cefamandole. Staphylococcus aureus showed slight decreases in susceptibility to cefoperazone and ceftizoxime and slight increase to moxalactam.


Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the progressive deposition of β-amyloid (Aβ) within the brain parenchyma and its subsequent accumulation into senile plaques. Pathogenesis of the disease is associated with perturbations in Aβ homeostasis and the inefficient clearance of these soluble and insoluble peptides from the brain. Microglia have been reported to mediate the clearance of fibrillar Aβ (fAβ) through receptor-mediated phagocytosis; however, their participation in clearance of soluble Aβ peptides (sAβ) is largely unknown. We report that microglia internalize sAβ from the extracellular milieu through a nonsaturable, fluid phase macropinocytic mechanism that is distinct from phagocytosis and receptor-mediated endocytosis both in vitro and in vivo. The uptake of sAβ is dependent on both actin and tubulin dynamics and does not involve clathrin assembly, coated vesicles or membrane cholesterol. Upon internalization, fluorescently labeled sAβ colocalizes to pinocytic vesicles. Microglia rapidly traffic these soluble peptides into late endolysosomal compartments where they are subject to degradation. Additionally, we demonstrate that the uptake of sAβ and fAβ occurs largely through distinct mechanisms and upon internalization are segregated into separate subcellular vesicular compartments. Significantly, we found that upon proteolytic degradation of fluorescently labeled sAβ, the fluorescent chromophore is retained by the microglial cell. These studies identify an important mechanism through which microglial cells participate in the maintenance of Aβ homeostasis, through their capacity to constitutively clear sAβ peptides from the brain.