Speciation and mobility of selected heavy metals including Cd, Pb and Fe were investigated in Kofe dumpsite soils of Jimma Town, Jimma, Ethiopia. To study vertical mobility of the metals, soil samples were collected at three depth profiles comprising surface soil (0-10 cm), subsoil (20-30 cm), and bottom soil (40-50 cm) using soil auger. Similarly, for horizontal mobility assessment, soil samples were collected from 5 m, 10 m and 15 m distances starting from the edge of the dumpsite in east, west, north and south directions. Control soil samples were also collected at the same depth profiles, from 200 m away from the dumpsite. The collected samples were air dried, sieved as well as ground before processing utilizing a Community Bureau of Reference ( BCR) sequential extraction procedure. The fraction of the target metals in the extracted samples were then determined by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS). The mobility factor (%MF) of the target metals was investigated in both vertical and horizontal variations and the obtained results showed that the target metals have exhibited both vertical and horizontal mobility. The texture, organic matter and pH of the soil samples were also analyzed for correlation study. Variation among obtained results, i.e., %MF and concentration of analytes, were evaluated using one way ANOVA at (P < 0.05). It was observed that Cd and Pb exhibited vertical mobility and thus could lead to pollution of the underground water. Similarly, the highest amount of Pb in the bioavailable fraction may also indicate its horizontal mobility and its high tendency to pollute surface water, sediment as well as agricultural products. Key Words: Speciation, Mobility, Sequential extraction, Heavy metals


This paper presents the prediction of air flow, humidity and temperature patterns in a co-current pilot plant spray dryer fitted with a pressure nozzle using a three dimensional model. The modelling was done with a Computational Fluid Dynamic package (Fluent 6.3), in which the gas phase is modelled as continuum using the Euler approach and the droplet/ particle phase is modelled by the Discrete Phase model (Lagrange approach).Good agreement was obtained with published experimental data where the CFD simulation correctly predicts a fast downward central flowing core and slow recirculation zones near the walls. In this work, the effects of the air flow pattern on droplets trajectories, residence time distribution of droplets and deposition of the droplets on the wall also were investigated where atomizing of maltodextrin solution was used.


A personal top ten list of literature about aging and the practice of geriatrics is offered. This is primarily directed at those completing their training in the care of older patients. While acknowledging the limitations of any such exercise, it is hoped that it will engender interest in prior work by and about older persons and their care. Those at the start of their careers in geriatrics are encouraged to read these and other primary contributions, make their own list of essential literature, and incorporate the lessons learned and the examples of prior practitioners into their professional practice.


Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Ethernet have been widely used in readout systems. These protocols are de facto standards and have been implemented on standard operating systems. However, some small devices, e.g., front-end devices and detectors, are not capable of employing these protocols because of hardware size limitations. This paper describes a TCP processor for Gigabit Ethernet with a circuit size suitable for implementing on a single Field Programmable Gate Array. The only peripheral device required is a single Ethernet Physical Layer Device. The hardware was implemented and its TCP throughput was measured. The throughputs in both directions simultaneously were at the upper limits of Gigabit Ethernet. The processor described here allows adoption of TCP/Ethernet in small devices that have hardware size limitations.


This guide has been prepared for students in FYS Transformations: Dr. Jekyll and You course. Use it to help you navigate the library and find information relevant to your assignment. Please speak to Christina Connor before reusing content from this guide.


A number of techniques have been proposed for state-based testing. One well-known technique (criterion) is to traverse the graph representing the state machine and generate a so-called transition tree, in an attempt to exercise round trip paths, i.e., paths that start and end in the same state without any other repeating state. Several hypotheses are made when one uses this criterion: exercising paths in the tree, which do not always trigger complete round trip paths, is equivalent to covering round-trip paths; different traversal algorithms are equivalent. In this paper we investigate whether these assumptions hold in practice, and if they do not, we investigate their consequences. Results also lead us to propose a new transition tree construction algorithm that results in higher efficiency and lower cost.


Abstract High rates of alcohol use have been documented within military personnel and spouses. However, scant research has investigated alcohol consumption behaviors in matched couples or nonclinical veteran samples. The manner in which couples influence one another's drinking remains unclear. The current study examined hazardous drinking scores and drinking behaviors in a sample of post-9/11 separated service members (most of whom were veterans) and active duty reservists and their spouse/partners; 260 military-connected couples participated in the Study for Employment Retention of Veterans (SERVe) and were recruited from 35 workplace organizations in the Pacific Northwest. Participants completed baseline and daily surveys on alcohol consumption over the span of 32 days. Among study highlights, Actor–Partner Interdependence Models (APIM) revealed actor effects for psychological distress predicting alcohol use variables. Significant partner effects were also revealed for hazardous drinking (AUDIT) scores predicting subsequent alcohol use, over and above actor (i.e., within-person) effects of those relationships. Higher levels of subsequent drinking frequency and quantity were evident among partners of veterans with higher hazardous drinking scores. Spouses with higher hazardous drinking scores were associated with veteran partners who drank more frequently. Results shed light on how military-connected couples, particularly those engaging in hazardous drinking, uniquely influence one another's alcohol consumption behaviors. Ultimately, findings highlight the importance of including spouses of veterans to elucidate the interplay of drinking behaviors within military-connected couples.


Distributed estimators for sensor networks are discussed. The considered problem is on how to track a noisy timevarying signal jointly with a network of sensor nodes. We present a recent scheme in which each node computes its estimate as a weighted sum of its own and its neighbors ' measurements and estimates. The weights are adaptively updated to minimize the variance of the estimation error. Theoretical and practical properties of the algorithm are illustrated. The results provide a tool to trade-off communication constraints, computing efforts and estimation quality.


This guide explains the most important facts about anatomy in an easy and understandable way and helps the horse owners to communicate with their veterinary surgeons. This is a user-friendly handbook, compact enough to keep around the yard or in the tack box that illustrates in a clear and comprehensive style the basic points of the anatomy of the horse: Why do you need to understand anatomy? Rider & veterinary jargon. What is where? The skeleton. The muscles. The circulation. How does a horse carry its rider? What does a horse need for breathing? What does a horse need for eating? What does a horse need for digestion? The lymph system. Reproductive system. The senses. How does a horse sleep? The author is a practising veterinary surgeon who specialises in equine medicine and owns two horses herself. * A colourfully illustrated and user-friedly introduction which avoids complex scientific talk and Latin captions. * 19th title in the Cadmos Horse Guide series - inexpensive full colour illustrated guides for the rider.


Possible chemical mechanisms for catalyzing O2 evolution from water in natural photosynthesis are summarized, based on the atomic and electronic structures of the inorganic core as revealed by spectroscopic and X-ray diffraction experiments and insights gained from inorganic complexes that achieve O–O bond formation. The thermodynamic and kinetic requirements for this multi-step reaction are reexamined, including the coupling of the individual electron-proton steps (PCET) and the O–O bond formation step. The four oxygen atoms at the corners of the proposed hetero-cubical Mn3CaO4 core (3 μ3-oxos and one μ4-oxo) can be distinguished by the number and types of chemical bonds to Ca2+ and Mn (geometries and orbital hybridization). Two of these μ3-oxos, postulated as substrates, are located at unique sites indicative of sp2
 + pπ hybridized orbitals. Both proposed substrate oxos are strongly hydrogen-bonded to different protein carboxylate residues, which are postulated as the initial proton transfer sites. Ca2+ is weakly bonded to these substrate oxos via non-directional ionic bonds that are postulated to provide stereochemical flexibility for the homolytic formation of the O–O bond. A previously postulated heterolytic pathway involving an electrophilic oxo and nucleophilic hydroxide species is reevaluated. We extend this mechanism by postulating roles for (bi)carbonate either in proton transfer or delivering the nucleophile for O2 formation.


The role of density-dependent processes in sea turtle populations remains largely unknown. This study quantified density-dependent and density-independent processes that underlie hatchling production in the green turtle nesting population at Tortuguero, Costa Rica, and estimated current mean hatchling output and potential carrying capacity of Tortuguero beach for hatchlings and nesting females. Density-dependent effects of nest destruction by nesting females and coatis were evaluated in the 2000 nesting season along the 28.8 km nesting beach. To quantify factors affecting hatchling production, the fates of nests were monitored in twelve 50 m long study plots. Density-dependent factors included nest destruction by nesting females and predation by coatis, whereas density-independent factors included beach erosion, beach flooding, and below-beach- surface destruction by crabs, ants, microbes, and plant roots. Calculations indicated that between 5 and 6 million hatchlings are currently produced, while a simulation model suggested that at carrying capacity, 6 to 10 times as many hatchlings could be produced by more than 600 000 nesting females. The current mean number of females nesting at Tortuguero is between 3 and 4% of the population that is estimated to nest at carrying capacity. This estimate is consistent with previous estimates that modern day populations of Caribbean green turtles represent only 3 to 7% of pre-exploitation levels. The hatchling production model is applicable to other beaches and sea turtle species, and provides a framework to evaluate recovery goals for sea turtles.


The endogenous opioid peptides have been implicated in the control of the suckling-induced PRL rise during lactation. This study examined the role of the endogenous opioid peptides in suppressing tuberoinfundibular dopaminergic neuronal activity during lactation. In the first experiment, lactating rats were constantly exposed to pups. Naloxone (NAL; 60 mg/kg x h; i.v.), an opioid receptor antagonist, or saline was infused for 12 h. Blood was collected before and at 2-h intervals during the infusion. NAL suppressed circulating PRL levels to less than 36% of control values at 4, 6, 8, and 12 h after the onset of the infusion. Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity in the stalk-median eminence and TH messenger RNA signal levels in the arcuate nucleus were determined at the end of the NAL infusion. TH activity and TH messenger RNA signal levels were increased 2.5- and 2.7-fold, respectively, after the 12-h NAL infusion. Even though the time spent with their pups was similar between the two groups, the pups in the NAL-treated group failed to gain weight during the 12-h NAL infusion period, whereas the control litters (8 pups) gained 5 g. In a second experiment, pups were removed from the dams before the 12-h NAL infusion and were returned after 11 h. Blood was collected before the infusion, at 3-h intervals during the pup separation period, and at 15-min intervals after reunion with the pups. Plasma PRL in control and NAL-treated rats was low (1-15 ng/ml) and similar during the separation period. The suckling-induced PRL surge in NAL-treated rats was markedly attenuated to 9-25% of control levels (350-650 ng/ml). After a 1-h suckling episode, TH activity in the stalk-median eminence of NAL-treated rats was 4.5-fold greater than controls. Litter weight gains were significantly less in NAL-treated rats during the 1-h suckling episode. These data indicate that the endogenous opioid peptides are an integral component for increasing PRL release in response to suckling and they act to decrease tuberoinfundibular dopaminergic neuronal activity during lactation, in part, by suppressing TH gene expression.


The online spreading of fake news (and misinformation in general) has been recently identified as a major issue threatening entire societies. Much of this spreading was enabled by new media formats, namely social networks and online media sites. Researchers and practitioners have been trying to answer this by characterizing the fake news and devising automated methods for detecting them. The detection methods had so far only limited success, mostly due to the complexity of the news content and context and lack of properly annotated datasets. One possible way to boost the efficiency of automated misinformation detection methods, is to imitate the detection work of humans. In a broader sense of dealing with fake news spreading, it is also important to understand the news consumption behavior of online users. In this paper, we present an eye-tracking study, in which we let 44 participants to casually read through a social media feed containing posts with news articles. Some of the presented articles were fake. In a second run, we asked the participants to decide on the truthfulness of these articles. We present the description of the study, characteristics of the resulting dataset (which we hereby publish) and several findings.


: The functional activity of the spleen cells, their ability to produce antibody-forming cells on the model of the adoptive transfer, activity of T-helper-cells and B-precursor-cells of antibody producers in the tumour growth induced by monkey SA7 (C8) adenovirus were studied. The inoculation of the tumourigenic virus to the newborn mice CBA, inhibit antibody formation in the system of adoptive transfer already in the latent period with a sharp inhibition at the terminal stages of carcinogenesis. The helper activity is suppressed earlier than the activity of B-precursors of antibody producers. The obtained data indicate a considerable immunodepressive action of monkey adenovirus SA7 (C8).


With the rapid growth of advanced digital technology, the use of mobile apps is of increasing interest as a means for providing continuous access to evidence-based digital interventions. Suicide is a socially taboo topic with approximately 800,000 people dying due to suicide every year. As suicidal ideation and suicide risk increase rapidly, gamified intervention is argued to have an important role in the future of mental health care provision and access to these mobile resources may save lives. However, due to the lack of published research to demonstrate that apps can be effective at reducing suicide behaviours, many developers are pushing ahead with apps for suicide prevention with unclear benefits and risks. In this communication piece, issues and challenges of digital interventions will be discussed, hence solution such as using attentional bias modification may be an option for future health care. Overall, the use of digitized gamified intervention holds great promise for a radically new approach to deliver prevention programs, thus overcoming barriers inherent in traditional therapeutic approaches.


Approximately 5% of 1500 original scientific presentations directly addressed nuclear medicine topics with prominent emphasis on pharmacological stress testing, myocardial viability studies and evaluation of newer technetium-based imaging agents. In addition, a mini-course and two evening 'fireside' panel discussions were entirely devoted to discussions on the newer nuclear imaging techniques underlining the relative importance of scintigraphy in investigative cardiology.


: It has been established that adaptation to intermittent hypoxia in altitude chamber considerably increases the capacity of hepatic macrophagal systems (MFS) to uptake Indian ink particles from the blood as well as immunoglobulin labelled with fluorescein isothiocyanate. There is simultaneous catabolism of labelled albumin in hepatic MFS. It has been suggested that the increased C3b-component of complement system in blood observed in adaptation to hypoxia plays a substantial role in the activation of hepatic MFS. The role of hepatic MFS activation in reducing the number of circulating immune complexes is emphasized as well as its role in therapeutic effect of adaptation in allergic diseases.


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To determine the thermal limit for normal spawning of Japanese whiting and to evaluate thermal effects on spawning in the normal temperature range, two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, the temperature of three experimental groups (Groups A, B and C) was increased from 25 to 28, 31 or 33°C, respectively. Subsequently, temperatures in all groups were decreased to 28°C. During the experimental period, the number of eggs, egg size, and hatching rate were monitored. According to the results, the upper thermal limit of normal spawning was considered to be 28–29°C, because the number of eggs and the hatching rate decreased at temperatures over 28°C. However, egg size tended to be reduced at 28°C, and was found to be strongly dependent on temperature. In Experiment 2, the number of eggs, egg size and time of spawning were compared between fish held at a constant temperature of 22°C (Group CT) and those held at increasing temperatures from 22 to 28°C (Group IT). Group IT spawned more in number and had smaller-sized eggs than did Group CT, while spawning was delayed in group IT. To identify the thermal effects on spawning of Japanese whiting, the mechanisms governing egg size must be determined.


Planar gradiometers (PGRAD) have particular advantages compared to solenoid receiver coils in magnetic induction tomography (MIT) for biological objects. A careful analysis of the sensitivity maps has to be carried out for perturbations within conducting objects in order to understand the performance of a PGRAD system and the corresponding implications for the inverse problem of MIT. We calculated and measured sensitivity maps for a single MIT-channel and a cylindrical tank (diameter 200 mm) with a spherical perturbation (diameter 50 mm) and with conductivities in the physiological range (0.4–0.8 S m−1). The excitation coil (EXC) was a solenoid (diameter 100 mm) with its axis perpendicular to the cylinder axis. As receiver a PGRAD was used. Calculations were carried out with a finite element model comparing the PGRAD and a solenoid receiver coil with its axis perpendicular to the excitation coil axis (SC90). The measured and simulated sensitivity maps agree satisfactorily within the limits of unavoidable systematic errors. In PGRAD the sensitivity is zero on the coil axis, exhibiting two local extrema near the receiver and a strong increase of the sensitivity with the distance from the coil axis. In SC90 the sensitivity map is morphologically very similar to that of the PGRAD. The maps are completely different from those known in EIT and may thus cause different implications for the inverse problem. The SC90 can, in principle, replace the mechanically and electrically more complicated PGRAD, however, the immunity to far sources of electromagnetic interference is worse, thus requiring magnetic shielding of the system.


NKX3.1 is a prostatic tumor suppressor gene located on chromosome 8p. Although most studies have shown that staining for NKX3.1 protein is positive in the majority of primary prostatic adenocarcinomas, it has been shown to be downregulated in many high-grade prostate cancers, and completely lost in the majority of metastatic prostate cancers (eg, in 65% to 78% of lesions). A recent study showed that NKX3.1 staining with a novel antibody was highly sensitive and specific for high-grade prostatic adenocarcinoma when compared with high-grade urothelial carcinoma. This raised the question that this antibody may perform better than earlier used antibodies in metastatic prostate tumors. However, the sensitivity and specificity for prostate carcinomas for this antibody in metastatic lesions was not determined. Although prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and prostatic-specific acid phosphatase (PSAP) are excellent tissue markers of prostate cancer, at times they may be expressed at low levels, focally, or not at all in poorly differentiated primary and metastatic prostatic adenocarcinomas. The purpose of this study was to determine the performance of NKX3.1 as a marker of metastatic adenocarcinoma of prostatic origin. Immunohistochemical staining against NKX3.1, PSA, and PSAP was carried out on a tissue microarray (TMA) (0.6-mm tissue cores) of hormone naïve metastatic prostate adenocarcinoma specimens from lymph nodes, bone, and soft tissue. To determine the specificity of NKX3.1 for prostatic adenocarcinoma, we used TMAs that contained cancers from various sites including the urinary bladder, breast, colon, salivary gland, stomach, pancreas, thyroid, and central nervous system, and standard paraffin sections of cancers from other sites including the adrenal cortex, kidney, liver, lung, and testis. Overall 349 nonprostatic tumors were evaluated. Any nuclear staining for NKX3.1 was considered positive and the percentage of cells with nuclear staining and their mean intensity level were assessed visually. Sensitivity was calculated by considering a case positive if any TMA core was positive. The sensitivity for identifying metastatic prostatic adenocarcinomas overall was 98.6% (68/69 cases positive) for NKX3.1, 94.2% (65/69 cores positive) for PSA, and 98.6% (68/69 cores positive) for PSAP. The specificity of NKX3.1 was 99.7% (1/349 nonprostatic tumors positive). The sole positive nonprostatic cancer case was an invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast. NKX3.1 seems to be a highly sensitive and specific tissue marker of metastatic prostatic adenocarcinoma. In the appropriate clinical setting, the addition of IHC staining for NKX3.1, along with other prostate-restricted markers, may prove to be a valuable adjunct to definitively determine prostatic origin in poorly differentiated metastatic carcinomas.


The Local Approach to fracture phenomena has been very successful in helping to transfer information derived from testing one geometry on a material (laboratory specimens) to the prediction of the crack growth performance of another (the structure). At least in its most pervasive manifestations, it depends upon constructing finite element models with a ruling element size that is appropriate for the physical scale of the dominant failure mechanism. Since these are primarily of the order of the material microstructure, there is a consequential very strong mesh gradient towards the region of Local Approach interest. When applied to structures of engineering interest, which can be large, the resultant finite element models become very big, sufficiently so that they cannot be run on many computers, if at all. When there is more than one material scale involved, the situation becomes impossible to resolve with conventional finite elements, except through the use of compromise local finite element sizes that blend the requirements from each micro-scale into a smeared cell at the finite element level. Such models have shown considerable success in predicting the performance of a range of components and structures by a number of research groups. Even so, the method is constrained by the excessive computational costs associated with modeling realistic structures, and by other concerns derived from its smearing of possibly incompatible underlying physical effects. CAFE modeling, the coupling of Cellular Automata at the microstructural scale(s) with finite elements that are scaled only for the strain gradients expected at the macro-scale in the structure, offers a way out of these potential problems. The structural level field quantities, held at the element Gauss points, are modified according to information coming from the Cellular Automata with which each Gauss point is associated. Suitable code representing fracture initiation and propagation at the micro-level generates changes incrementally to the Gauss point field variables, which are then brought to equilibrium by the FE modeler (whenever it is an implicit FE system). The method allows a natural representation of the multiple scale interactions typical of the fracture of low alloy steels in the transition region.Copyright © 2002 by ASME


RATIONALE: Proximal femur fracture is a frequent finding in elderly patients. Both the dynamic hip screw (DHS) and the proximal femur nail (PFN) are established implants. The aim of our study was to assess the perioperative morbidity in a sample of 112 patients with proximal femur fracture, operated on with either DHS or PFN. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data of 112 consecutive patients (59 DHS, 53 PFN), which consisted of 20 variables, were obtained. Nine variables were selected, which were considered to possess a potential impact on the complication rate. These variables were type of implant, sex, age, period between trauma and surgery, ASA classification, fracture classification of the ASIF, duration of surgery, blood loss, and antibiotics. They were transformed into dichotomous data to enable univariate statistical analysis and logistic regression. RESULTS: The ASA classification only was evaluated to have a predictive value as shown by the odds ratio of 2.23 (90 % confidence interval: 1.09 - 4.56). ASA 3 or 4 patients had an expected frequency, which was 2.2-fold increased as compared to patients classified as ASA 1 or 2, to suffer from perioperative complications. Using logistic regression, again the ASA classification only was shown to have a significant impact (p = 0.066, level of significance: p < 0.1) on the perioperative morbidity. CONCLUSION: As suggested by our results, neither the type of implant nor the other variables mentioned above had a significant impact on the resulting complication rate in our study sample. The ASA classification only was found to significantly increase the probability of an adverse event. This finding should be taken into account prior to initiating therapy.


The aim of the thesis has been to define the domains of control
structure specification and process station configuration in order to find a general
approach applicable to problems concerning the configuration of a process
control system or any similar system.
These findings are then used as the foundation for constructing a knowledge
based system capable of realizing a problem solving method pertaining to
the domain of configuring a specific computer system.


OBJECTIVE
To estimate the prevalence of gout and hyperuricemia based on the latest nationally representative sample of US men and women (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey [NHANES] 2007-2008).

METHODS
Using data from 5,707 participants in NHANES 2007-2008, we estimated the prevalence of gout and hyperuricemia. During home interviews for NHANES 2007-2008, all participants were asked about a history of health professional- or physician-diagnosed gout. Our primary definition of hyperuricemia was a serum urate level of >7.0 mg/dl for men and >5.7 mg/dl for women. We explored potential secular trends in these estimates and their possible explanations by comparing them with estimates based on 18,825 participants in NHANES-III (1988-1994).

RESULTS
The prevalence of gout among US adults in 2007-2008 was 3.9% (8.3 million individuals). The prevalence among men was 5.9% (6.1 million), and the prevalence among women was 2.0% (2.2 million). The mean serum urate levels were 6.14 mg/dl among men and 4.87 mg/dl among women, corresponding to hyperuricemia prevalences of 21.2% and 21.6%, respectively. These estimates were higher than those in NHANES-III, with differences of 1.2% in the prevalence of gout (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.6, 1.9), 0.15 mg/dl in the serum urate level (95% CI 0.07, 0.24), and 3.2% in the prevalence of hyperuricemia (95% CI 1.2, 5.2). These differences were substantially attenuated after adjusting for body mass index and/or hypertension.

CONCLUSION
These findings from nationally representative samples of US adults suggest that the prevalence of both gout and hyperuricemia remains substantial and may have increased over the past 2 decades, which is likely related to increasing frequencies of adiposity and hypertension.


Abstract—Enhanced tissue angiotensin (Ang) II levels have been reported in diabetes and might lead to cardiac dysfunction through oxidative stress. This study examined the effect of blocking the Ang II type 1 (AT1) receptor on high glucose–induced cardiac contractile dysfunction. Rat ventricular myocytes were maintained in normal- (NG, 5.5 mmol/L) or high- (HG, 25.5 mmol/L) glucose medium for 24 hours. Mechanical and intracellular Ca2+ properties were assessed as peak shortening (PS), time to PS (TPS), time to 90% relengthening (TR90), maximal velocity of shortening/relengthening (±dL/ dt), and intracellular Ca2+ decay (&tgr;). HG myocytes exhibited normal PS; decreased ±dL/ dt; and prolonged TPS, TR90, and &tgr;. Interestingly, the HG-induced abnormalities were prevented with the AT1 blocker L-158,809 (10 to 1000 nmol/L) but not the Janus kinase-2 (JAK2) inhibitor AG-490 (10 to 100 &mgr;mol/L). The only effect of AT1 blockade on NG myocytes was enhanced PS at 1000 nmol/L. AT1 antagonist-elicited cardiac protection against HG was nullified by the NADPH oxidase activator sodium dodecyl sulfate (80 &mgr;mol/L) and mimicked by the NADPH oxidase inhibitors diphenyleneiodonium (10 &mgr;mol/L) or apocynin (100 &mgr;mol/L). Western blot analysis confirmed that the protein abundance of NADPH oxidase subunit p47phox and the AT1 but not the AT2 receptor was enhanced in HG myocytes. In addition, the HG-induced increase of p47phox was prevented by L-158,809. Enhanced reactive oxygen species production observed in HG myocytes was prevented by AT1 blockade or NADPH oxidase inhibition. Collectively, our data suggest that local Ang II, acting via AT1 receptor–mediated NADPH oxidase activation, is involved in hyperglycemia-induced cardiomyocyte dysfunction, which might play a role in diabetic cardiomyopathy.


Abstract : The hydrogeologic characteristics of the unconsolidated glacial outwash sand and gravel deposits that compose the northeast portion of the alluvial aquifer at Louisville, Kentucky, indicate a prolific water-bearing formation with approximately 7 billion gallons of ground-water storage and an estimated sustainable yield of over 280 million gallons per day. This abundance of ground water and the need to properly develop and manage this resource has prompted many past investigations (since 1956), which have produced reports, maps, and data files covering a variety of topics relative to the movement, availability, and use of ground water in this area. These data have been compiled into a single report to assist in future development and use of the ground-water resources. Available ground-water data for the alluvial aquifer at Louisville, Kentucky, from Beargrass Creek to Harrods Creek, were compiled from the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System and the Kentucky Groundwater Data Repository. Data contained in these databases include ground-water well-construction details and historical groundwater levels, drillers logs, and water-quality information. Additional data and information were gathered from project files at the U.S. Geological Survey Kentucky Water Science Center and files at the Louisville Water Company. Information contained in these files included data from area pumping tests describing aquifer characteristics and ground-water flow. Data describing current conditions of the ground-water system in the northeast portion of the alluvial aquifer also are included. Ground-water levels from a network of observation wells show recent trends in the flow system, and information from the Kentucky Division of Water Groundwater Branch lists current permitted ground-water withdrawals in the area.


Attachment of the redox-active C(60)(H)PPh(2) group modulates the electronic structure of the Fe(2) core in [(μ-bdt)Fe(2)(CO)(5)(C(60)(H)PPh(2))]. The neutral complex is characterized by X-ray crystallography, IR, NMR spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. When it is reduced by one electron, the spectroscopic and density functional theory results indicate that the Fe(2) core is partially spin-populated. In the doubly reduced species, extensive electron communication occurs between the reduced fullerene unit and the Fe(2) centers as displayed in the spin-density plot. The results suggest that the [4Fe4S] cluster within the H cluster provides an essential role in terms of the electronic factor.


This paper presents a compact dual-band printed-circuit-board wire antenna for wireless communications applications. The proposed wire antenna in F-shape with a shorted parasitic element can offer two separate impedance bandwidth of about 0.8 GHz (2.3 GHz~3.1 GHz) and 2 GHz (4.1 GHz~6.1 GHz) for a return loss less than -10 dB. Moreover, the antenna remains compact in size, making it a good candidate for Bluetooth and wireless local area network (WLAN) operation in the 2.4 GHz band and 5.2/5.8 GHz band. Measured results, including return loss and Smith chart, are presented


Intensive livestock production systems lose their societal acceptance. This paper reports how farmers and consumers communicated with each other in focus group discussions. For our analysis, a mixed-methodsapproach was chosen. The heterogeneous focus group discussions with farmers and consumers were conducted in Germany. Before and after the discussions, participants assessed critical issues in animal husbandry on a short item battery. Results illustrate that both farmers and consumers have different knowledge, perceptions and visions about livestock production and animal welfare. Some of these differences remained after the discussions. However, there are also topics where a consensus between farmers and consumers could be achieved through the discussions.


This thesis takes account of east-west power differentials to explore Poles' experience of mobility and their positioning within EU and UK equality frameworks. Through a systematic content analysis of laws and legal discourse related to mobility and equality, I explore how the historical hierarchy positioning the west as superior and the east as unable to be fully 'European' can still be observed today in how EU and UK policies have pushed the eastern region and its nationals to the periphery of Europe and of whiteness. Whereas cleavage between EU ideals and EU citizens' actual experience of its policies has been attributed to the EU's limited competence, I propose that the EU project itself has been founded on and continues to propagate differentiation between the west and the east, at odds with the EU's fundamental rights narratives. Notably, EU rhetoric has imagined the EU project as a western endeavour. Unequal accession policies and post-accession transitional mobility restrictions had helped to support the creation of a social reality that enables Polish movers' racialisation and inequality, reinforced through the recently increasing willingness of EU institutions to limit workers' access to mobility. EU institutions have tended to overlook mobile Poles' experiences of inequality and exploitation, further naturalising their status as second-class EU citizens. The Racial Equality Directive has not accounted for them in its promulgation or interpretation, and has been especially unfit for protecting their rights. Similarly, movers have been absent from how equality is conceptualised in the UK. The Equality Act's ineffectiveness appears compounded when it comes to protecting the rights of Polish movers, as revealed through my review of employment tribunal cases. Through such othering and omissions, the west's relationship with the east has reproduced markers of coloniality. My research also suggests that critical race theory and critical whiteness studies frameworks should pay greater attention to contemporary transnational power dynamics and mobility. Only then can the concepts of racism and race begin to more accurately reflect the nuanced picture of micro-level racial and ethnic power relations in today's globalised world.


This paper uses stylized analytical and numerical general equilibrium models to evaluate the welfare impacts of alternative policies for reducing nitrogen run-off from agricultural production in an open economy while recognizing the presence of distortionary agricultural support subsidies and factor income taxes. The alternative policies examined here are a nitrogen run-off tax, a nitrogen run-off reduction subsidy, a tax on the production of agricultural goods, a "two-part" instrument - a combination of the second and the third policies, and land retirement. The paper uses an analytical model to express the welfare impacts of each policy into several components and compares these components across alternative policies. From the analytical model the paper concludes that all alternative policies, except land retirement, may generate a double dividend because they reduce the provision of distortionary agricultural support subsidies and because a part of the burden of these policies can be passed on to foreign consumers of agricultural products through the world market. The numerical results indicate that all policies, except for land retirement, generate some welfare gains at low levels of nitrogen reduction targets in the first and second best settings when nitrogen and other inputs are substitutable. Gains are higher in the second best setting. As the level of nitrogen reduction increases, all policies become costly and they impose net welfare costs. These costs are higher in the second best setting. The numerical results also indicate that the relative efficiency of alternative policies is sensitive to the level of nitrogen reduction target.


Objective To determine serologic characteristics, frequency, phenotype, paraneoplastic associations, and electrodiagnostic and histopathologic features accompanying contactin-1 autoimmunity. Methods Archived sera known to produce synaptic tissue-based immunofluorescence patterns were reevaluated, and contactin-1 specificity was confirmed by recombinant protein assays. Screening of 233 chronic/relapsing demyelinating neuropathies for additional cases was performed. Results We identified 10 contactin-1 IgG seropositive cases. Frequency of contactin-1 immunoglobulin (Ig) G among tested Mayo Clinic chronic/relapsing demyelinating neuropathies was 2%. Sensory predominant presentations (n = 9, 90%), neuropathic pain (n = 6, 60%), and subacute progression (n = 5, 50%) were commonly encountered among contactin-1 neuropathies. Two patients had chronic immune sensory polyradiculopathy-like phenotype at presentation. Electrodiagnostic studies were consistent with demyelination (slowed conduction velocities and/or prolonged distal latencies) without conduction block. Markedly elevated CSF protein (median 222 mg/dL, range 69–960 mg/dL), thickening/gadolinium enhancement of nerve roots (4/5), and subperineural edema on nerve biopsy (4/4) were other characteristic features. Three cases were diagnosed with paraneoplastic demyelinating neuropathies (thymoma, n = 1; breast cancer, n = 1; plasmacytoma, n = 1). Four of the 9 patients treated with IV immunoglobulin demonstrated initial clinical improvement, but the favorable response was sustained in only 1 case (median follow-up, 60 months). Sustained clinical stabilization or improvement was observed among 3 of the 6 cases in whom second-line therapies (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, and azathioprine) were used. Conclusion Contactin-1 IgG has a distinct sensory predominant presentation commonly associated with neuropathic pain, with demyelinating changes on electrophysiologic studies. A paraneoplastic cause should be considered. Testing of contactin-1 IgG among cases with similar presentations may guide immunotherapy selection, especially second-line immunotherapy consideration.


This paper explores how engaging in and with philosophy in the streets has unique and special potential for children doing philosophy both inside and outside the classroom. We highlight techniques drawn from research into the political, social and activist potential of street art, and we illustrate how to apply these techniques in a P4C context in what we call guerrilla philosophy. We argue that guerrilla philosophy is a pedagogically powerful method to philosophically engage students whose ages range from 11-13. In calling attention to the power of guerrilla philosophy to engage students philosophically, we are tacitly assuming a Deweyan philosophical approach (Dewey 1916, 1925, 1934), which emphasises (1) the importance of promoting civic-mindedness as a social value; (2) the reliance on imaginative, creative and experiential forms of learning as essential to education ; and (3) a vision of the classroom as an embodiment of the larger civic community to which we all belong and in which we all must cooperate and engage (Dewey 1916). This paper traces these three themes in Dewey's philosophical views of education and democracy, and considers how they are given a twenty-first century interpretation through street art, guerrilla philosophy and children's activism.


The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is extensively involved in various sustainable energy processes and systems, such as water splitting, fuel cells, and metal–air batteries. Towards superior OER performance, the wise integration of transition metal compounds with nanocarbon materials is a promising strategy. Herein, a mildly oxidized graphene/single-walled carbon nanotube hybrid was introduced to regulate and control the hybridization of nickel–iron layered double hydroxides into a nanocarbon scaffold. The oxygen functionalities and defects anchored the nucleation and in situ growth of dual-sized layered double hydroxides, leading to a hierarchical porous structure for smooth mass diffusion, intimate interfaces for rapid charge transfer, and efficiently utilized active sites. Attributed to the synergy of individual components and the unique structural features, the as-fabricated composites exhibited superior OER performance with a small onset overpotential (ca. 240 mV), a low overpotential required for 10 mA cm−2 (ca. 350 mV), and a decreased Tafel slope (ca. 54 mV dec−1) in 0.10 M KOH. This work provides a brilliant catalyst for water oxidation and more importantly, opens up new avenues for preparing nanocarbon-based multi-functional composites applicable in heterogeneous catalysis, energy conversion and storage, and so on.


Abstract Objective: Transplant tourism and proposals for regulated compensated donation are reactions to the global scarcity in kidneys. These areas raise unique ethical challenges in medical education and clinical practice. We aimed to elucidate the opinions of soon-to-be physicians on transplant tourism, and compensated donation. We investigated how these opinions are formed, if they are interrelated, and their impact on encounters with patients. Design and Methods: a 14 item survey was developed using cognitive interviewing techniques, and distributed to the graduating class at Linköping Medical University. Spearman's correlation coefficient and Pearson's chi-square test were employed to investigate significant associations. Results: The response rate was 43/47 (92%). The majority were strongly (64%), or somewhat (29%) against transplant tourism. Those with strong negative positions on transplant tourism were significantly (p<0.05) more likely to dissuade patients from pursuing it. More students expressed support for regulated compensation from a clinical perspective (34%) as compared with support from an ethical perspective (15%). Conclusions: The opinions of young physicians on transplant tourism are a significant indicator for their clinical approach. Young physicians balance competing ethical responsibilities such as respect for autonomy against concerns for kidney vendors in the developing world. Clinical and policy scenarios, similar to those used in this survey are useful tools for students to explore challenging ethical issues within their medical education, to provide appropriate guidance for patients and empower them through health education.


Background Blister packaging (mechanical repackaging of drugs in individual patient rations) in our setting involves a noteworthy number of partial tablets as they are common in patients´ medication regimens. Partial tablets are inserted manually, in a personnel and time consuming manner, via a tray adapter into the blister machine (Proud Model, Baxter). Dispensing them through cassettes is not recommended by the machine manufacturer and not implemented in the software settings due to difficulties with handling asymmetric parts by cassette rotors, danger of grinding and potentially higher dust formation. Purpose Our aim was (a) to increase productivity of blister packaging by implementing cassettes for the most frequently repackaged partial tablets: Trittico (trazodon) 150 mg (one-third), Dominal (prothipendyl) 80 mg (half), furosemid 1A 40 mg (half), Concor (bisoprolol) 5 mg (half) and Lasix (furosemide) 40 mg (half), with a total monthly repackaged volume of about 9200 tablets and (b) to validate this change showing consistent high quality of production. Material and methods We ordered cassettes for these 5 partial tablets from Baxter and programmed a workaround for the software limitation. A trial order was generated to test: the software adaptation and the interface with the prescription software and; correct blister filling with partial tablets (ie, functionality of the cassettes). We compared production time and visible dust formation before and after the change. Alterations in error rates due to blister misfillings were assessed from in-process controls and systematically examined customer complaints. Results Partial tablets in the trial order matched the prescription and were correctly repackaged. Visual inspection of the machine showed no increase in dust formation after implementation of the new cassettes. The average monthly repackaging time for approximately 78 000 blisters (175 000 tablets) could be reduced from 78 to 60 h. Blister production accelerated from 1000 to 1300 bags/h. Inaccurate blister fillings detected and corrected in internal visual blister controls increased from 0.11% to 0.21%. Misfillings reported by customers remained unchanged (on average 2/month). Conclusion Cassettes for partial tablets present a major improvement in our blister setting. Increased but still extremely low blister misfillings were compensated by our final controls. Therefore, consistent quality of the end product as well as higher efficiency and no increase in dust formation were established. No conflict of interest.


One hundred and twenty normal post juvenile catfish ( Clarias gariepinus ) of both sexes with a mean weight of 135.44±1.99 g and mean length of 28.32±0.844 cm were purchased from Osayi farm. They were kept in 60 l aquaria at 27.5±0.4 ◦C, pH 7.3, with 12:12 h photoperiod, well aerated, provided with external filtration and a layer of gravel on the bottom. Histopathological alteration in the brain tissues when the fish were exposed to various concentrations (18 mg/L, 32mg/L and 75 mg/L) of glyphosate for a period of 7 – 28 days revealed that glyphosate hervicide may be neurotozic to post juvenile African catfish C. gariepinus as characterized by severe degeneration of dark-stained purkinje neurons, oedema, vacuolar changes with empty spaces which appeared as moth eaten area and showed proliferation of glial cells. There is need for more research work on the histopathology of brain tissue of fish exposed to pesticide. Keywords : Histopathology; glyphosate herbicide; Clarias gariepinus


This thesis addresses the research question, how an infrastructure for digital object memories has to be designed. Primary goal of this thesis is to identify and develop components and processes of an architecture concept particularly suited to represent, manage, and use digital object memories. In order to leverage acceptance and deployment of this novel technology, the envisioned infrastructure has to include tools for integration of new systems, and for migration with existing systems. Special requirements to object memories result from the heterogeneity of data in so-called open-loop scenarios. On the one hand, it has to be flexible enough to handle different data types. On the other hand, a simple and structured data access is required. Depending on the application scenario, the latter one needs to be complemented with concepts for a rightsand role-based access and version control. First, this thesis provides a data model for structuring object memory data by means of meta data, which enables cross-domain data exchange in heterogeneous scenarios. Then, a software architecture concept will be introduced, which provides means of storing and accessing memory data, and integrates an activity component into object memories. Finally, the concept is completed by a toolset that enables developers to migrate existing datasets, to create new structures based on semantic information, and to support user interaction with this data by means of application-specific visualizations.


We have generated an experimental 'double-hit' model of chronic epilepsy to recapitulate the co-existence of abnormal cortical structure and frequently recurrent seizures as observed in human focal cortical dysplasia. We induced cortical malformations by exposing rats prenatally to methylazoxymethanol acetate and triggered status epilepticus and recurrent seizures in adult methylazoxymethanol acetate rats with pilocarpine. We studied the course of epilepsy and the long-term morphologic and molecular changes induced by the occurrence of status epilepticus and subsequent chronic epilepsy in the malformed methylazoxymethanol acetate exposed brain. Behavioural and electroencephalographic analyses showed that methylazoxymethanol acetate pilocarpine rats develop more severe epilepsy than naïve rats. Morphologic and molecular analyses demonstrated that status epilepticus and subsequent seizures, but not pilocarpine treatment per se, was capable of affecting both cortical architectural and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor abnormalities induced by methylazoxymethanol acetate. In particular, cortical thickness was further decreased and N-methyl-D-aspartate regulatory subunits were recruited at the postsynaptic membrane. In addition, methylazoxymethanol acetate pilocarpine rats showed abnormally large cortical pyramidal neurons with neurofilament over-expression. These neurons bear similarities to the hypertrophic/dysmorphic pyramidal neurons observed in acquired human focal cortical dysplasia. These data show that status epilepticus sets in motion a pathological process capable of significantly changing the cellular and molecular features of pre-existing experimental cortical malformations. They suggest that seizure recurrence in human focal cortical dysplasia might be an additional factor in establishing a pathological circuitry that favours chronic neuronal hyperexcitability.


A novel method for fast simulation of discharge, which uses a plasma fluid model, is proposed with a focus on the small space-charge variation in the calculation of electric field. A simple scalar equation is employed in the proposed method to calculate the electric field variation instead of solving Poisson's equation at every time step when the dielectric relaxation time is relatively large compared to the time step interval. We perform numerical simulations of surface dielectric-barrier-discharge at atmospheric pressure, which is utilized in developing an active flow control device referred to as a plasma actuator, and demonstrate significant reduction of solve count of the Poisson's equation throughout the simulation. The simulation result indicates that the CPU time required for the electric-field calculation becomes one order of magnitude smaller than that of the conventional approach within an error margin of one percent when several-10  kHz sinusoidal voltage is applied for the discharge. Moreover, a cost reduction of almost two orders of magnitude is achieved in the lower-frequency case with the same order of the error in the several-10  kHz case. Our approach enables large-scale discharge simulation and simulation of multi-physics phenomenon including the discharge physics with a practical computational cost.


Hydraulic fracturing is a procedure by which a fracture is initiated and propagates due to pressure (hydraulic loading) applied by a fluid introduced inside the fracture. In this study, we focus on a crack driven by an incompressible Newtonian fluid, injected at a constant rate into an elastic matrix. The injected fluid creates a radial fracture that propagates along a plane. We investigate this type of fracture both theoretically and experimentally. Our experimental apparatus uses a brittle and transparent polyacrylamide hydrogel matrix. Using this medium, we examine the rate of radial crack growth, fracture aperture, shape of the crack tip and internal fluid flow field. Our range of experimental parameters allows us to exhibit two distinct fracturing regimes, and the transition between these, in which the rate of radial crack propagation is dominated by either viscous flow within the fracture or the material toughness. Measurements of the profiles near the crack tip provide additional evidence of the viscosity-dominated and toughness-dominated regimes, and allow us to observe the transition from the viscous to the toughness regime as the crack propagates. Particle image velocimetry measurements show that the flow in the crack is radial, as expected in the viscous regime and in the early stages of the toughness regime. However, at later times in the toughness regime, circulation cells are observed in the flow within the crack that destroy the radial symmetry of the flow field.


Emerging technologies, such as robots, virtual homecare, and sensor technologies, have considerable potentials to transform healthand eldercare. These so-called welfare technologies (WTs) are expected to increase the quality of services, empower citizens, improve working conditions for professionals, and reduce costs for care providers. However, as this transformation this involves both technological development and radical changes in how these services are organized, many promising WTs fail to advance beyond the pilot stage and create value on a large scale. This paper reports the results of a longitudinal case study of the emergence of a service robot in primary healthcare, from project launch to testing, development, and evaluation. Seeking new ways of organizing emerging technologies, nine Danish municipalities and a consortium of four private companies launched a collaborative project, aiming to develop and implement the use of a drug-dispensing robot for patients living at home. The analysis traces how project managers respond to competing concerns on innovation strategy, testing, coordination, and user mobilization and how these critical decisions shape the project's trajectory. As such, the paper sheds new light on how to understand and manage competing concerns in the process of organizing emergent WTs.


»Wandlungen von Machtbeziehungen und Nachhinkeffekte des Habitus. Theoretische und empirische Ansätze für das 21. Jahrhundert«. The objectives of this HSR Special Issue is to provide a comparative discussion and further perspectives of the Sociology of Transformation at the macro-, meso-, and micro-sociological levels. We would like to pursue this perspective based on a problem-oriented and comparative approach to the concepts of Norbert Elias and Pierre Bourdieu. Despite all differences in their theoretical concepts such as habitus, social field, and figuration, these two sociologists share a great deal of similarities. Not only their critical reflections on the classical philosophy and their attempt to establish a theoretical-empirical science, but also their synthetic way of sociological reflections, distinguishes them from many of their contemporary sociologists. Both of them criticize the over-specialized approaches in their discipline and its dominant ethnocentric view limited to the present time based on experiences of some highly individualized societies. With the aid of the theoretical concepts of these both sociologists, the authors of this special issue deal with different topics and problems in their own field of sociology such as work, globalization, social conflicts, immigration, democratization, as well as education.


In a period of less than two decades, the World Wide Web has evolved into one of the most important sources of information and services. Due to the infancy of the Web and its rapid growth, our knowledge on how users interact with the Web is limited - knowledge which is likely to provide pointers for improvements in the design of Web sites and Web browsers. In this thesis, we aim to provide an integrative overview of theoretical insights and empirical findings, and to extend this body of knowledge with results from a number of user studies.


The track of human evolution and its cultural remnants set evergreen inquiry in the minds of every modern man. African continent has yielded rich evidences that proved crucial not only in establishing the identity of human ancestors but also the cultural evolutionary trends complementing with the biological evolution. The post-independent era of Eritrea with the prevailing peace became conducive to undertake the present geo-archaeological explorations in different environmental zones such as the Eastern Rift and the Danakil Depression, the central highlands and the western and southwestern lowlands. The explorations made in the Buyya region in Eritrea during 2002, provided rich collections of cultural artifacts including stone tools that marks technically improved the workmanship in tool making. A pastoral rock art examined at Adi Keih depicted the human figures with weapons like spears, shields and arrows, and a few hump-less cattle. The evidences obtained in this study suggest that the cultural ecology of various primitive communities of Eritrea existing today such as Kunama, Nara, Rashaida, Afar, Saho, Bilen, Hidareb, Tigre and Tigrinya can be understandable from the varied cultural paradigms developed over a period of time in response to the then prevailed local environment. Thus, this study adds more evidences to the understandings of early human colonization in relation to the cultural artifacts.


A scoring protocol based on implicit membrane-based scoring functions and a new protocol for optimizing the positioning of proteins inside the membrane was evaluated for its capacity to discriminate native-like states from misfolded decoys. A decoy set previously established by the Baker lab (Proteins: Struct., Funct., Genet. 2006, 62, 1010-1025) was used along with a second set that was generated to cover higher resolution models. The Implicit Membrane Model 1 (IMM1), IMM1 model with CHARMM 36 parameters (IMM1-p36), generalized Born with simple switching (GBSW), and heterogeneous dielectric generalized Born versions 2 (HDGBv2) and 3 (HDGBv3) were tested along with the new HDGB van der Waals (HDGBvdW) model that adds implicit van der Waals contributions to the solvation free energy. For comparison, scores were also calculated with the distance-scaled finite ideal-gas reference (DFIRE) scoring function. Z-scores for native state discrimination, energy vs root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) correlations, and the ability to select the most native-like structures as top-scoring decoys were evaluated to assess the performance of the scoring functions. Ranking of the decoys in the Baker set that were relatively far from the native state was challenging and dominated largely by packing interactions that were captured best by DFIRE with less benefit of the implicit membrane-based models. Accounting for the membrane environment was much more important in the second decoy set where especially the HDGB-based scoring functions performed very well in ranking decoys and providing significant correlations between scores and RMSD, which shows promise for improving membrane protein structure prediction and refinement applications. The new membrane structure scoring protocol was implemented in the MEMScore web server ( http://feiglab.org/memscore ).


Several African countries recorded their first cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in March 2020, the same month the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared it a global pandemic. Within three months the virus has spread throughout the continent. By 29 December the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention put the total number of COVID-19 cases in Africa at 2.6 million with 63 300 deaths recorded. Though there are no official statistics on the number of persons with disabilities in Africa who have tested positive for or succumbed to COVID-19, the Working Group on The Rights of Older Persons and People with Disabilities in Africa in its statement on International Day of Persons with Disabilities acknowledged the potential heightened vulnerability of persons with disabilities on the continent to the pandemic reiterating that many persons with disabilities have pre-existing health conditions that may make them more susceptible to contracting the virus and experiencing more severe symptoms, leading to elevated mortality rates. The discussion that follows focuses on aspects of the monitoring report related to gaps in the protection of right to health of persons with disabilities in Africa during the pandemic. The commentary will use the survey results to illustrate how the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa (African Disability Protocol), once in effect, may provide additional guidance to states in responding more effectively to the health needs of persons with disabilities during possible further 'surges' of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as future health care emergencies. It concludes with a call for African states to expediently ratify the African Disability Protocol so it can come into force.


BACKGROUND
Transvenous embolization is a developing concept for curative therapy of cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). The feasibility of this endovascular method has not been reported in children.

OBJECTIVE
To report our experience treating pediatric AVMs with the transvenous approach (TVA).

METHODS
A cohort of 7 pediatric patients (younger than 18 years of age) who underwent the TVA for cerebral AVMs between January 2012 and January 2014. The TVA was used alone or in conjunction with other arterial approaches in definitive embolization sessions. Patient demographics, AVM characteristics, clinical outcomes, and angiographic results were independently assessed. Pial arteriovenous fistulae and vein of Galen malformations were excluded. Control angiograms were obtained at 6 months, and curative treatment was determined by the anatomic obliteration of the nidus.

RESULTS
All patients had anatomic exclusion of the AVM. The mean size was 2 ± 0.6 cm, and hemorrhage was the most common presentation (100%, n = 7). Most AVMs were deeply placed (71%, n = 5), and a proximal approach to the nidus was achieved in all cases. Transvenous embolization alone was performed in 3 patients (43%), whereas combined arterial and venous embolization was required in 4 patients (57%). The mean follow-up period was 20.2 ± 10.5 months. There were no hemorrhagic or thromboembolic events, and venous infarction was not documented. No recurrence was documented.

CONCLUSION
This is the first report that demonstrates the feasibility of transvenous Onyx embolization of AVMs in the pediatric population. Such a technique may be considered in certain AVMs that meet anatomic criteria in which microsurgery and radiosurgery might not be indicated.


From the conception of HTA in the 1970s it has been argued that addressing ethical issues is an element of HTA, and many methods for integrating ethics in HTA have become available. However, despite almost 40 years with repeated intentions, only few HTA reports include ethical analysis. Why is this so? How come, ethics is a constituent part of HTA, there are many methods available, but ethics is rarely part of practical HTA work? This is the key question of this article and several reasons why ethics is not a part of HTA are identified. A) Ethicists are professional strangers in HTA. B) A common agreed methodology for integrating ethics is lacking. Ethics methodology appears to be C) deficient, D) insufficient, or E) unsuitable. F) Integrating ethics in HTA is neither efficient nor needed for successful HTA. G) Most moral issues are general, and are not specific to a given technology. H) All relevant ethical issues can be handled within other frameworks, e.g., within economics. I) Ethics can undermine or burst the foundation of HTA. Hence, there are many reasons why ethics is not an integrated part of HTA so many years after identifying ethics as constitutive to HTA. These reasons may all explain why it is so, but on closer scrutiny, they do not work as compelling arguments for not addressing ethical issues in HTA. Hence, the identified reasons may work well as explanations, but not as justifications. In order to move on from a situation of failure we can: Exclude ethics from definitions of HTA, and as a consequence, establish a separate kind of evaluation (Health Technology Evaluation – HTE). Take the existing definition seriously and actually integrate ethics in the performance of HTA practice. Amend, expand or change HTA so that ethics is more genuinely incorporated. Which of these options to choose is open for discussion, but we need to move away from a situation where we have a definition of HTA which does not correspond with HTA practice.


Distributed energy resources have become a key element towards a smarter grid. However, several significant challenges for real-time implementation have emerged, in particular control design and its integration with distribution systems. In this work, a fully distributed dynamic transactive control to coordinate distributed energy resources in a distribution system considering physical network constraints based on saddle-point dynamics with a predictive-sensitivity conditioning term is proposed. An alternative interconnection of dynamical systems in different timescale preserving stability and optimality is introduced. A stability result for saddle-point dynamics with predictive-sensitivity conditioning is presented. Finally, simulation results for a distribution network with distributed energy resources adopted from an IEEE 37-bus test feeder are implemented to validate numerically the proposed approach.


The relative value of prone and supine filming in excretory urography was prospectively evaluated in 100 unselected, adult, high-dose urograms. The supine radiographs were superior or equal to prone radiographs in all cases. Significant findings were limited to the supine radiographs in six cases. Findings were seen on both supine and prone radiographs, but the supine radiograph was clearly better in nine cases. Major urinary structures were shown to better advantage on supine films, and the prone film was subject to radiographer error in a higher number of cases.


Periurethral injections of pyrolyzed teflon are used for control of urinary incontinence. Here a case is reported in which teflon-particles have spread from periurethrally injected teflon to pulmonary tissue. Teflon embolization to the lungs from artificial heart valves has previously been reported. The differences between these two forms of teflon-embolization are discussed. The risk of carcinogenicity is discussed.


The refugee families face a complex transition due to the nature of the migration. This exposes them to vulnerability in cohesion and family function. Primary Health Care Nurses (PHCN) and Interpreters in Primary Health Care (PHC) play a vital role in their promotion of health because migrant health care is mainly carried out within PHC. The overall aim of this thesis was to reach a comprehensive understanding of involuntary migrant family health in order to facilitate a healthy transition for the aforementioned families in Sweden from a systems perspective. These findings are based on interviews representing 16 members from ten families from the Balkans, Kurdistan and Africa (study I), 34 PHCNs (study II & III) and ten Interpreters working within PHC and originating from the same countries as the families (study IV). This study was carried out in two municipalities in Sweden. Contextual analysis with reference to phenomenography was used in interpreting the data in studies I-III. A qualitative method and contextual analysis was used in study IV. The Neuman Systems Model was used to unravel environmental influences in all the four studies. The findings of study I & II illustrate the families' transition experience through four different family profiles respectively describing the families' wellbeing: A distressed family living under prolonged tension; a contented family who leads a satisfactory life; a frustrated family who cannot lead a fully satisfactory life and a dejected family who feels deserted (study I). Further, a mentally distressed family within the asylum-seeking process; an insecure family with immigrant status; a family with internal instability and being segregated from society; and a stable and well functioning family integrated in society (study II). Stress factors such as living in uncertainty, having traumas, change in family roles, frequent negative attitudes of the host country and social segregation was detrimental to the wellbeing of the family. In promoting their health, PHCNs approached the families through: an ethnocentric approach, an empathic and culturally relative approach, and a holistic approach enabling families to function well in their everyday life (study III). From the Interpreters' perspective, promoting health was to improve psychological wellbeing by: promoting positive thoughts of a future, promoting consideration of one's worth and promoting stability of the family unit. Social interactions within the host country together with the recognition and appreciation of the families' cultural values and beliefs, and competence and proper and elucidative information regarding the functioning of the host country, was considered necessary. Facilitating a healthy transition is possible within PHC. This can be done through cooperation of the family, with other health professionals, community and ethnic organisations. A model was developed in order to help the aforementioned. Competence in intercultural communication and family focused nursing is required. Adequate skills ought to be included in the education of nurses.


This paper reviews both theoretical and empirical literature on the relationship between board structure and firm value. Focusing on the theoretical literature it provides an overview of the dominant theories on the board structure –firm value debate. The review reveals that although agency and the resource dependency are the main theories, they do not provide a comprehensive explanation of the effect of board structure on firm value. Further, the empirical review shows that documented evidence does not provide conclusive results on the association between corporate governance, board structure and firm value. Additionally, the methodologies adopted in the reviewed empirical studies differ. Further, most of the studies are concentrated in developed and emerging economies while developing countries tend to be lagging behind. In view of the differences in methodologies and the inconclusive evidence, this paper concludes that the debate on the relationship between board structure and firm value is far from over. Consequently, the paper suggests that further studies need to be carried out using more advanced techniques and focusing on developing economies


The reactions of several nitro-aromatic substrates with the aliphatic amines, n- butylamine, pyrrolidine and piperidine in DMSO have been studied. Reaction of the amines with trinitroaromatic compounds, such as ethyl thiopicrate, phenyl thiopicrate and phenyl 2,4,6-trinitrophenyl ether, was shown to occur in two well separated processes. A rapid reaction, occuring at an unsubstituted ring position, resulted in the formation of a a-adduct; this was followed by a slower substitution reaction, resulting in the displacement of the 1-substituent to give the amino-substituted compound. Kinetic results show that in the formation of the σ-adduct, the rate determining step changes from nucleophilic attack by amine with n-butylamine to proton transfer from the zwitterionic intermediate with piperidine; with pyrrolidine the proton transfer step is partially rate limiting. The substitution reaction involving n-butylamine is not base catalysed indicating nucleophilic attack, the k(_1) step, is rate determining. However, the reactions with pyrrolidine and piperidine are subject to general base catalysis showing proton transfer is involved in the slow step. The rate limiting step is thought to be the proton transfer from the zwitterionic intermediate to base. A single substitution reaction was seen for the reaction of the less activated 1-substituted 2,4-dinitrophenyl and 1-substituted 2,4-dinitronaphthyl compounds. The rate limiting step again changes from nucleophilic attack with n-butylamine to proton transfer with pyrrolidine and piperidine. The uncatalysed, k(_2), pathway was detected during the reaction of the 1-substituted 2,4-dinitrophenyl compounds. Those were the least activated substrates studied and as the effectiveness of the base catalysed step relative to the uncatalysed decomposition of the intermediate decreases with decreasing activation of the substrate, detection of the uncatalysed step became possible. Kinetic and equilibrium studies were also made on the reaction of morpholine with several phenyl ethers. Results were compared with those for piperidine with the same substrates, the values of the kinetic and equilibrium constants were as expected considering morpholine has the same steric requirements as piperidine but is considerably less basic.


Studies of peculiarities of sublimation of frozen solutions in small concentrations are described. Threadlike structures were revealed, whose formation can be explained by the development of spiral dislocations and aggregations of solved structure molecules into monomeric sequences of considerable length (up to 10(11) links). Possible coordination of molecules during the arrangement of closely located sequences from different biomonomeres is discussed. A hypothesis about sublimation mechanism of the organization of primary structure of macromolecules of the living matter is substantiated. This mechanism explains the appearance of genetic code and stereohomogeneity.


Very little information is documented on Saint Thomas the Apostle, however the Gospel according to Saint John gives us a very good indication of his character. Saint Thomas was absent when Jesus appeared amongst his disciples the first time after His resurrection in the Upper Room. He would not accept as true, the numerous eye-witness reports concerning the risen Christ and stated that: "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe" (John 20:25). He is thus termed 'Doubting Thomas', and his doubt was a distinct failure to believe in things he had not personally witnessed but that were attested to by others. Thomas' primary significance thus arises from his position as a "doubter" and one lacking in requisite faith who found it necessary to have proof that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead. His doubt is important as it illustrates a profound denial of the Lord and a duplicity of the supremacy and indeed the very truth of what it means to possess proper faith. This paper argues that Thomas' doubt (and his behaviour during the crucifixion of Jesus) has an internal disposition side, in other words his personality traits and cognition, as well as the external environment (the situation, including the abnormality of it, the nature of the communication and the group [the disciples]). The latter is often left out in the criticism of Thomas, resulting in him being portrayed as the symbol of the unfaithful and doubting individual. His behaviour could thus be evaluated in accordance with the attribution theory. Thomas clearly affirms the depth of his belief in his missionary activities, in especially India.


Smart contracts on permissionless blockchains are exposed to inherent security risks due to interactions with untrusted entities. Static analyzers are essential for identifying security risks and avoiding millions of dollars worth of damage. We introduce Ethainter, a security analyzer checking information flow with data sanitization in smart contracts. Ethainter identifies composite attacks that involve an escalation of tainted information, through multiple transactions, leading to severe violations. The analysis scales to the entire blockchain, consisting of hundreds of thousands of unique smart contracts, deployed over millions of accounts. Ethainter is more precise than previous approaches, as we confirm by automatic exploit generation (e.g., destroying over 800 contracts on the Ropsten network) and by manual inspection, showing a very high precision of 82.5% valid warnings for end-to-end vulnerabilities. Ethainter's balance of precision and completeness offers significant advantages over other tools such as Securify, Securify2, and teEther.


Proceedings: AACR 106th Annual Meeting 2015; April 18-22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA

Animal models have been used to quantify the genomic and functional changes post-radiotherapy in brain tissue. However, in these models the effects of tumor presence during radiotherapy is not taken into account. We have recently measured significant genomic changes in the rat brain tissue that was occupied by the tumor post-radiotherapy compared to normal irradiated tissue. In our current work we are characterizing the long term functional changes caused by the presence of the tumor during radiotherapy.

Sprague Dawley male rats (7wks) were divided between three experimental groups: Sham implant, RT+sham implant, and RT+Tumor (C6-GFP tumor implant glioma). Hypofractionated irradiation (8-6Gy/day for 5 days) was localized to a 1cm strip of the cranium starting 5 days post implant, which resulted in a complete regression of the tumor and prolonged survival. The former tumor area was imaged 65 days post implant using a 9.4T Biospec MRI scanner (Bruker) with a 20cm bore using a quadrature rat brain array. 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) was performed in the former tumor/implant region using a STEAM sequence with the following parameters: TR = 2s/TE = 2.22ms/ # of averages = 512/ voxel size 56mm3. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was performed using a spin echo EPI sequence with a TR = 500ms, TE = 33.2ms, 2 repetitions, slice thickness = 12.8mm, b value = 800 s/mm2, 30 of directions, matrix size 128×256×16 giving a spatial resolution of 150×150×800mm. 1H MRS data was analyzed using LC Model and DTI was analyzed using Medinria. Intravital microscopy was also used to quantify blood brain-barrier (BBB) permeability and leukocyte activity.

1H-MRS revealed that both RT+sham implant and RT+C6-GFP tumor groups had a significant reduction in taurine levels (p <0.04) in the former tumor/implant area. However, the RT+C6-GFP tumor group had a significant increase in GABA levels (p = 0.02), which may indicate an effect on synaptic neurotransmission. Interestingly, myo-inositol levels ,which is associated with RT-induced brain damage, did not decrease significantly in either RT+sham implant or RT+tumor groups (p = 0.056 and p = 0.061, respectively). Fractional anisotropy (FA), which measures neuronal fiber density showed no significant changes when comparing RT+sham implant and RT+Tumor to sham. Using intravital imaging we also measured a significant increase in BBB permeability (p<0.05) in the RT+tumor implant compared to sham and an elevated level of leukocyte-endothelial adhesion.

In conclusion, using our tumor implant model to study the effect of radiation alone versus radiation combined with the presence of tumor, we have measured several functional changes post-radiotherapy. Our results indicate that radiation might be the most significant influence on neuronal fiber disruption and damage while tumor presence might play an important role in disrupting synaptic transmission as well as exasperating the inflammatory side effects of radiation.

Citation Format: Janice A. Zawaski, Omaima M. Sabek, Kelvin Wong, M. Waleed Gaber. Effects of glioma presence during radiotherapy on tissue damage. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 3321. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-3321


Purpose of the article: The objective of this study was to examine issues and challenges of gender equality in Nigeria in relation to the achievement of the desired sustainable development in the nation. Methodology: The study adopted survey research design. One hundred and sixty females were randomly selected from the State Secretariat, Ibadan as a sample population for the study. A set of self-structured questionnaire which had four sections were used as instrument for data collection. One hundred and forty properly filled questionnaire were analysed. Three hypotheses were generated and tested. Scientific aim: The study examined these three factors: socio-cultural factors, workplace discrimination and women participation in political activities in Nigeria to find out if there is equality between male and female genders in Nigeria that could translate to sustainable development in the nation. Findings: The study establishes that there is no equality between the genders; that women are discriminated against and they still play the second fiddle and that the inequality hinders the coveted sustainable development in the nation. Conclusion: It therefore recommends that the government and its agencies and employers of the workforce have the political will to include the female gender in the scheme of things and put them on the same level as their male counterparts for the achievement of development in the nation that will indeed be sustainable.


Problem statement: Gamma irradiation has been successfully used to prepare a spherical cadmium sulfide CdS/Poly Vinylpyrolidone (PVP) quantum dots nanoparticles with enhancement of their optical band gap energy and thermal properties at room temperature and under ambient pressure. Sodium thiosulfate was used as a sulfur source in an aqueous solution. The formation of lower band gap energy of CdS/PVP nanoparticles and thermal stability can be controlled by using different irradiation doses. TEM images showed that the CdS/PVP particle size tends to be smaller and with better distribution as irradiation dose increases. Approach: Gamma (?) irradiation offered many advantages for the preparation of metal nanoparticles by producing large number of hydrated electrons during ?-ray irradiation, which can reduce the metal ions to zero valiant metal particles. Results: CdS/PVP nanoparticles were successfully prepared in one-step by ?-irradiation technique in an aqueous system at room temperature and under ambient pressure. The particle size was found to be less than 10 nm based on the Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) that depended on the irradiation doses value, which showed a well distribution with a controlled size as doses change. The presence of PVP polymer was considered an important reason that influenced the shape and the distribution of those nanoparticles. The optical band gap energy of those nanoparticles was calculated by using the UV-VIS absorption spectra. Thermal analysis TGA showed that the composite had a higher degradation temperature than the PVP alone. A possible mechanism of the formation of cadmium sulfide by irradiation system was proposed. Conclusion: This result indicated that CdSO4 can effectively dope PVP and enhance the optical and thermal properties. In addition, ?-irradiation is an effective technique for preparing inorganic/organic nanocomposites.


Acute esophageal necrosis is a rare syndrome classically characterized by black distal esophagus with a complex pathophysiology that usually involves a combination of esophageal ischemia, gastroesophageal reflux and impaired mucosal reparative mechanisms. We retrospectively analyzed the main risk factors, clinical characteristics and outcome in all patients diagnosed with acute esophageal necrosis between January 2015 and December 2020 at our center. Ten patients were identified in a total of 26854 upper digestive endoscopies (0.04%). Most patients were male (8/10) and the mean age of presentation was 71.1 years. The most common presenting symptoms were melena and hematemesis and half the patients required red blood cell transfusion. The most common risk factors were hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, chronic kidney disease, peripheral artery disease, coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, heart failure and malignancy. Compromised hemodynamic state was the most common precipitating event in four patients. Other recognized precipitating events included surgical interventions, decompensated heart failure, gastrointestinal bleeding from gastric malignancy and methotrexate. Endoscopic findings revealed diffuse and circumferential black distal esophagus with abrupt transition at gastroesophageal junction and variable proximal extension at presentation. The 1-month mortality rate was 30%, mostly from severe underlying illness. In conclusion, acute esophageal necrosis is a rare cause of upper gastrointestinal bleeding that should be suspected in older patients with multiple comorbidities. Although associated with a high mortality rate, appropriate treatment may result in favorable outcome in most patients.


Existing cellular networks suffer from inflexible and expensive equipment, and complex control-plane protocols. To address these challenges, we present SoftCell, a scalable architecture for supporting fine-grained policies for mobile devices in cellular core networks. The SoftCell controller realizes high-level service polices by directing traffic over paths that traverse a sequence of middleboxes, optimized to the network conditions and user locations. To ensure scalability, the core switches forward traffic on hierarchical addresses (grouped by base station) and policy tags (identifying paths through middleboxes). This minimizes data-plane state in the core switches, and pushes all fine-grained state to software switches at the base stations. These access switches apply fine-grained rules, specified by the controller, to map all traffic to the appropriate addresses and tags. SoftCell guarantees that packets in the same connection traverse the same sequence of middleboxes in both directions, even in the presence of mobility. Our characterization of real LTE workloads, micro-benchmarks on our prototype controller, and large-scale simulations demonstrate that SoftCell improves the flexibility of cellular core networks, while enabling the use of inexpensive commodity switches and middleboxes.


With the rise in the number of people aged 65+ in New Zealand, it seems increasingly important that there is a supply of appropriate housing so they can remain in their communities and 'age in place' for as long as possible.  Evidence from both literature and statistics showed a mismatch between current and projected household characteristics and the existing housing supply in New Zealand. Therefore, this research investigated the potential for converting existing dwellings to address the housing shortfall and ageing in place in New Zealand. The aim was to make the selected houses both smaller and more age-friendly, as a means of achieving 'ageing in place' in well designed, and easy to heat and maintain homes.  Two New Zealand housing types were investigated (villa and state house). Using the New Zealand Lifemark 3-star standard, both were redesigned with different degrees of shared space. Three designs were produced for each house, ranging from subdivision (conversion to two smaller units), to having some shared spaces such as a guest bedroom, to private en-suite bedsitting-rooms and all living spaces shared. Using a mixed methods approach, the schemes were evaluated by client and expert participants in three steps.  1. The aim of the questionnaire-based survey was to obtain comments on the conversions, particularly regarding the levels of sharing. Following the two pilot surveys and subsequent revisions, a web and paper-based questionnaire survey was undertaken by 441 respondents aged 55-85.  2. To assess the designs and specifically whether they incorporated appropriate housing standards for people aged 55+, they were evaluated by five built environment and ageing population experts.  3. To probe the reasons behind the survey results, two rounds of client focus groups of 17 participants aged 55+ were conducted.  What was clear from the results, and which aligns with other studies, was that a high proportion of older people would prefer to age in place, either in their existing house or in a more suitable dwelling within their community. However, the cost of house conversions was perceived as problematic, as people felt that they would not be in a position to afford to do this, even if they could sell or let the new unit they would not occupy. On the other hand, the significant benefits of upgrading a house for older people include reduced energy bills through effective design strategies, such as thermal insulation and double-glazed windows, and incorporation of future-proof design features such as the installation of assistive devices like stair lifts.  Generally, schemes with higher degrees of sharing were not attractive to many respondents and those aged 75-85 were more likely to dislike these than the younger age groups. However, both expert and client groups agreed the acceptability of sharing depends on people's personal preferences, culture, and background. Findings from this research also show that having a spare multi-purpose room, a private deck and a good-sized dwelling with plenty of sunlight are features most people wanted.  This research suggests that people aged 55–85 have very specific housing needs when it comes to ageing in place. Therefore, to ensure their requirements are met and dwellings are usable, engaging potential users in the design process at an early stage is essential.


Human beings exhibit rapid learning when presented with a small number of images of a new object. A person can identify an object under a wide variety of visual conditions after having seen only a single example of that object. This ability can be partly explained by the application of previously learned statistical knowledge to a new setting. This thesis presents an approach to acquiring knowledge in one setting and using it in another. Specifically, we develop probability densities over common image changes. Given a single image of a new object and a model of change learned from a different object, we form a model of the new object that can be used for synthesis, classification, and other visual tasks.
We start by modeling spatial changes. We develop a framework for learning statistical knowledge of spatial transformations in one task and using that knowledge in a new task. By sharing a probability density over spatial transformations learned from a sample of handwritten letters, we develop a handwritten digit classifier that achieves 88.6% accuracy using only a single hand-picked training example from each class.
The classification scheme includes a new algorithm, congealing , for the joint alignment of a set of images using an entropy minimization criterion. We investigate properties of this algorithm and compare it to other methods of addressing spatial variability in images. We illustrate its application to binary images, gray-scale images, and a set of 3-D neonatal magnetic resonance brain volumes.
Next, we extend the method of change modeling from spatial transformations to color transformations. By measuring statistically common joint color changes of a scene in an office environment, and then applying standard statistical techniques such as principal components analysis, we develop a probabilistic model of color change. We show that these color changes, which we call color flows, can be shared effectively between certain types of scenes. That is, a probability density over color change developed by observing one scene can provide useful information about the variability of another scene. We demonstrate a variety of applications including image synthesis, image matching, and shadow detection. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)


The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) comprise citalopram, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, paroxetine, and sertraline and they differ from each other in chemical structure, by pharmacokinetic properties and, most importantly, with respect to enzyme-specific metabolism and interactions. Citalopram is administered as a racemic mixture. The drug is oxidated to desmethylcitalopram in the liver, partially by CYP2C19 and partially by CYP3A4. Fluoxetine is administered as a racemate of R- and S-fluoxetine. Both R- and S-fluoxetine are metabolized by CYP2D6 to the active metabolites R- and S-norfluoxetine. Fluvoxamine is metabolized to inactive metabolites by CYP1A2 and CYP2D6. Paroxetine is metabolized to inactive metabolites partially by CYP2D6, and accordingly the metabolism of paroxetine is dependent on the genetic polymorphism of CYP2D6. Sertraline is metabolized to desmethylsertraline, probably by CYP3A4. Several analytical methods have been described for all SSRIs. Most assays are based on separation by high-performance liquid chromatography or gas chromatography. Stereoselective methods for the analysis of racemic citalopram and fluoxetine have been published. The SSRIs are generally well tolerated and their therapeutic indices are large. In several studies there has not been found a clear relationship between clinical efficacy and plasma concentration, nor any threshold that defines toxic concentrations. The available data do not suggest that any benefit be obtained from routine monitoring of SSRI plasma levels. Therefore therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of the SSRIs may be useful mainly in situations where poor compliance is suspected and when therapeutic failure or toxic events are experienced at clinically relevant dosages. Further, in special populations, such as in elderly patients, poor metabolizers of sparteine (CYP2D6) or mephenytoin (CYP2C19), and patients with liver impairment, the measurement of plasma concentrations may be useful.


This study examines nodulation and some aspects of N2 fixation by Casuarina equisetifolia growing in Egypt. Plants examined were 2 to 10 years of age, and all were nodulated. Nodules varied from young meristematic lobes on lateral roots to clusters occasionally reaching 10 cm in diameter; they had the characteristic features of the Myrica/Casuarina type. Nodules became brown, woody and lost their N2-fixing activities in the late summer months. Acetylene reduction was used to assay nodule activity. Maximum rates of N2(C2H2) fixation were observed at 35 degrees C. Acetylene reduction by excised nodules was linear for 6 hours, then slowly declined and finally ceased after 10 hours. Variations in N2(C2H2) fixation rates due to season and time of day were also examined. Active fixation was recorded throughout different seasons of the year, except in the late summer months. Diurnal fluctuations showed that N2(C2H2) fixation was higher at night than during the day or afternoon. The results are discussed and compared to the findings of other investigators.


The presence of deliberate self-harm (DSH) among adolescents in Guanajuato State in 2003 was identified by sex, age, educational attainment, and health jurisdiction and the characteristics were described by sex according to number of times, age of only/first/last DSH, motive, method, purpose, and death wish. The sample design was stratified, by stage and by conglomerates. A total of 2,530 students from high school affiliated to the University of Guanajuato participated. The results showed that 3.1% of males and 10.7% of females had engaged in at least 1 episode of DSH; age of first DSH was 13 in both males and females; and age at last DSH was 13 in males and 14 in females. The characteristics of the DSH were also described.