This paper analyzes state of the art of the research regarding the education and career development of ICT graduates based on a comprehensive literature review. Analysis presented in this paper includes 155 papers in two research areas – one related to the education of ICT graduates (101 papers) and the other to their career development (54 papers). The most prestigious papers, most influential journals and groupings of authors in the abovementioned fields are identified by using the citation analysis and Social Network Analysis (SNA). Results show that the most influential papers related to ICT career are research papers dealing with ICT job skills requirements, and related to ICT education are ICT association's related reports and recommendations on curriculum development. In general, results show that there is a lack of cross-fertilization of knowledge in both areas which means that the mixing of ideas that can lead to better research results is missing.


Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) has been widely used as a photocatalyst in many environmental and energy applications due to its efficient photoactivity, high stability, low cost, and safety to the environment and humans. However, its large band gap energy, ca. 3.2 eV limits its absorption of solar radiation to the UV light range which accounts for only about 5% of the solar spectrum. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity of TiO 2 is also limited by the rapid recombination of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs. When used in water treatment applications, TiO 2 has a poor affinity toward organic pollutants, espe - cially hydrophobic organic pollutants. Several strategies have been employed to reduce its band gap energy, its electron-hole recombination rates as well as enhance its absorp - tion of organic pollutants. In this chapter, we review some of the most recent works that have employed the doping, decoration, and structural modification of TiO 2 particles for applications in photocatalysis. Additionally, we discuss the effectiveness of these dop ants and/or modifiers in enhancing TiO 2 photoactivity as well as some perspective on the future of TiO 2 photocatalysis.


: The article covers general principles of health care for workers in various industries associated with contact to dust containing asbestos. The authors present main requirements of legal papers basing concepts that determine role of employers, trade unions, workers and medical officers in creation and maintenance of safe work conditions, in establishment of prophylactic, therapeutic and rehabilitation measures.


Abstract The LifeWave Ultra-Wideband RF sensor (LWUWBS) is a monitoring solution for a variety of physiologic assessment applications, including maternal fetal monitoring in both the antepartum and intrapartum periods. The system uses extremely low power radio frequency (RF) ultra-wide band (UWB) signals to provide continuous fetal heart rate and contractions monitoring during labor and delivery. Even with the incorporation of three very conservative assumptions, (1) concentration of the RF energy in 1 cm3, (2) minimal (2.5 cm) maternal tissue attenuation of fetal exposure, and (3) absence of normal thermoregulatory compensation, the maternal whole body spatial-averaged specific absorption rate (WBSAR) would be 34,000 times below the FCC public exposure limit of 0.08 W kg−1 and, at 8 wk or more gestation, the peak spatial-averaged specific absorption rate (PSSAR) in the fetus would be more than 160 times below the localized exposure limit of 1.6 mW g−1. Even when using very conservative assumptions, an analysis of the LWUWBS's impact on tissue heating is a factor of 7 lower than what is allowed for fetal ultrasound and at least a factor of 650 compared to fetal MRI. The actual transmitted power levels of the LWUWBS are well below all Federal safety standards, and the potential for tissue heating is substantially lower than associated with current ultrasonic fetal monitors and MRI.


The goals of this study are: 1) to determine the relative importance of spatial factors in explaining household wealth; 2) to identify the spatial characteristics of the chronically poorest, the consistently well off, and households escaping from poverty as well as descending into poverty; 3) to determine effects of compound disadvantages on the likelihood of chronic poverty; and 4) to assess the evidence of spatial poverty traps (SPTs). Quantitative analysis is conducted using panel data collected from 1275 households, each surveyed four times with a structured questionnaire over an 11 year period from 1997 to 2007. We identified four distinct groups. The chronically poor are defined as households remaining consistently in the bottom third (tercile) of households ranked by wealth in each of the four survey years. Roughly 12.9% of the nationwide sample was found to be chronically poor. The consistently non-poor are defined as households consistently in the upper tercile of households ranked by wealth, and this group formed 16.2% of the total sample. The third and fourth groups were those households found to have risen from poverty (starting in the bottom tercile and ending in the top tercile, the ascending) and those who were in the top asset tercile in 1997 and fell to the bottom tercile by 2007 (the declining). Relatively few households in the sample were in either the upwardly mobile category (3.8%) or the downwardly mobile category (3.6%).


Scholars have long known that the Egyptian Ptolemaic monarchy underwent a transformation between 323 and 30 BC. The queens of that dynasty started as subordinates of the kings but ended as their superiors. Exactly when and how this change occurred has proven problematic for modern scholars. R.A. Hazzard argues that this change was put in motion by Ptolemy II, who glorified his sister ArsinoT and made acceptable a civilian style of kingship based on piety towards his real and mythical ancestors. Ptolemy's support and elevation of his sister inspired the queens of the line to assert themselves at the expense of their male associates. The process culminated in the absolute rule of Kleopatra VII after 47 BC. Hazzard presents a clear argument based on the numismatic, epigraphical, papyrological, literary, and historical sources.


There is considerable current interest in the chemistry of low coordinate main group elements the extensive development of which was highlighted at last year's Euchem Conference Psiblocs in Paris-Palaiseau (August 1988). This area has been stimulated by the isolation of low coordination compounds stabilised by the use of bulky groups, for example, Supermes, mes (see Chapters 3 and 4). Following the synthesis of 1,3,5 tris-trifluoromethyl benzene (ArB) by R.D. Chambers et al. (Chapter 1), and the facilities available to synthesise this material it seemed very worthwhile to study the influence of this substituent on low coordinate main group species. As a result, this group has been incorporated into phosphines, diphosphenes, phosphaalkenes, antimony and boron derivatives. Its involvement in other systems, for example borinium and phosphoranide species, and its incorporation into the cation associated with halo and pseudohalo borate anions, have also been examined. In particular, the low coordination chemistry of phosphorus has involved the synthesis, isolation and full characterisation of the new diphosphene (19) fprepared independently by Edelmann et al.]t and the unsymmetrical diphosphene (20) (Figure C1). The 2,6-bis(trifluoromethylphenyl) substituenthas been employed by Escudie et al.+


The small GTP-binding protein RhoA becomes inactivated by hydrolyzing bound GTP to GDP through its intrinsic GTPase activity which is further stimulated by a family of Rho GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs). Here we have compared the kinetics of interaction between recombinant RhoA and the RhoGAP domains of p190, p50RhoGAP, Bcr, and 3BP-1. The intrinsic rate of GTP hydrolysis by RhoA is relatively slow when compared to other Rho-family GTPases such as Cdc42 or Rac1 with a rate constant of 0.022 min-1, which can be further stimulated at least 4000-fold by p190 or p50RhoGAP. The RhoGAP domains of Bcr and 3BP-1, which were thought to be inactive toward RhoA, are also found capable of stimulating the GTPase activity of RhoA in a dose-dependent manner. The supreme catalytic activities of p190 and p50RhoGAP toward RhoA reside mostly in their lower Km values (1.79 and 2.83 microM, respectively) which correlate well with their binding affinity for GMP-PNP-bound RhoA (2.18 and 2. 47 microM, respectively), in contrast with Bcr and 3BP-1 which interact with the activated RhoA with much higher Km (89 microM). However, the mechanisms of catalysis by p190 and p50RhoGAP are distinct in at least three aspects: (1) p50RhoGAP displays an effect of product inhibition by binding to the GDP-bound form of RhoA with a Kd of 6 microM in comparison with the Kd for p190 of 33 microM; (2) the Km of p190 increases drastically upon the increase of salt and Mg2+ concentrations, conditions under which only modest changes of Km for p50RhoGAP are observed; and (3) p50RhoGAP remains partially active toward the effector domain mutants of RhoA, Y34K, and T37A, whereas p190 is completely inactive toward Y34K and T37A. These results suggest that there exists a unique mechanism of functional interaction between RhoA and individual RhoGAP which involves distinct structural determinants of the small G-protein to cause the apparent differences in kinetic properties.


The electrodynamic loudspeaker is a strongly nonlinear system. The main causes of nonlinearity are the nonlinear stiffness of the suspensions and the nonuniform distribution of the magnetic flux density along the air gap in the magnetic circuit. A third cause, the nonlinear voice-coil inductance is often underestimated. The electrical impedance of the voice-coil in the low frequency range is considered usually as a pure resistance, and the influence of its inductance is neglected : this is a reason of the underestimation of its nonlinearity. The voicecoil inductance depends on both the displacement of the voice-coil and the current intensity flowing through it. Additionally, the reluctance force proportional to the square of the current appears in the mechanical part of the system and depends on the voice-coil displacement too. This paper studies the influence of the voice-coil nonlinearity. The differential equation system has been derived and is solved using numerical methods. The harmonic distortions as well as the intermodulation ones have been computed. The results show that the influence of the voice-coil nonlinearity is significant – particularly for intermodulation distortions. This influence is weaker than the influence of the force factor nonlinearity, but stronger than the influence of the suspensions nonlinearity. The influence of the different terms in the nonlinear differential equation system is also tested.


Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation time distributions can provide detailed information about the moisture in wood. In this paper, the bound water content and pore size distributions in swollen cell wall of two kinds of softwoods (Pinus sylvestris and Cunninghamia lanceolata) and three kinds of hardwoods (Populus sp., Fraxinus excelsior L., and Ochroma lagopus) were determined by NMR cryoporometry. The total bound water content of swollen cell wall almost exceeds 35%, based on dry mass, which is obviously higher than the fiber saturation point (FSP) (appr. 30%) measured by the extrapolation method. The bound water content of different species is consistent with the hypothesis that with the decrease of basic density, the more bound water could be contained in wood. The proportion of the pore diameter smaller than 1.59 nm is higher than 70%, and the proportion of the pore diameter larger than 4 nm is no more than 10%.


The present Red Sea deep-sea benthos appears impoverished with respect to the adjacent Indian mother-ocean as a result of severe filters, represented by an extremely shallow sill, high salinity, and high temperature. Today, the Red Sea basin hosts a still poorly known deep-water coral fauna of Indian Ocean affinity. During the Pleistocene, conditions were at times suitable as proven by the findings of last glacial corals (Javania insignis Duncan, 1876, and Trochocyathus virgatus sensu Marenzeller, 1907 (not Alcock, 1902), and, possibly, Guynia annulata Duncan, 1872) from seamounts in the north-central part of the basin. A subfossil J. insignis from the Coral Sea peak has been U-series-dated at 26,590 ± 120 yrs. This represents the first documentation regarding the presence of deep-water corals in the Red Sea during the late Pleistocene and predates the postulated basin-wide extinction of normal marine biota that took place at the Last Glacial Maximum.


A surgical site infection is an infection that occurs after surgery in the part of the body where the surgery took place. Surgical site infections can sometimes be superficial infections involving the skin only. Other surgical site infections are more serious and can involve tissues under the skin, organs, or implanted material. CDC provides guidelines and tools to the healthcare community to help end surgical site infections and resources to help the public understand these infections and take measures to safeguard their own health when possible.


Confinement and wall effects are known to affect the kinematics and propulsive characteristics of swimming microorganisms. When a solid body is dragged through a viscous fluid at constant velocity, the presence of a wall increases fluid drag, and thus the net force required to maintain speed has to increase. In contrast, recent optical trapping experiments have revealed that the propulsive force generated by human spermatozoa is decreased by the presence of boundaries. Here, we use a series of simple models to analytically elucidate the propulsive effects of a solid boundary on passively actuated filaments and model flagella. For passive flexible filaments actuated periodically at one end, the presence of the wall is shown to increase the propulsive forces generated by the filaments in the case of displacement-driven actuation, while it decreases the force in the case of force-driven actuation. In the case of active filaments as models for eukaryotic flagella, we demonstrate that the manner in which a solid wall affects propulsion cannot be known a priori, but is instead a nontrivial function of the flagellum frequency, wavelength, its material characteristics, the manner in which the molecular motors self-organize to produce oscillations (prescribed activity model or self-organized axonemal beating model), and the boundary conditions applied experimentally to the tethered flagellum. In particular, we show that in some cases, the increase in fluid friction induced by the wall can lead to a change in the waveform expressed by the flagella, which results in a decrease in their propulsive force.


Objectives: This project aimed to investigate effects of purvalanol A on imatinib-sensitive and -insensitive chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) cell lines, and normal white blood cells.
Methods: Imatinib-sensitive (LAMA-84) and –insensitive (KCL-22) CML cell lines and human neutrophils and PBMCs were incubated with imatinib, and purvalanol A. Cell apoptosis was measured using flow cytometry and the expression of proteins was measured by Western blotting. Mcl-1 mRNA expression was quantified using real-time PCR.
Results: The CDK2 inhibitor, purvalanol A, induced cell death in both CML cell lines. In the KCL-22 cell line, purvalanol A treatment resulted in a rapid (≤1 h) decrease in levels of the anti-apoptotic protein, Mcl-1. This decrease in Mcl-1 was mediated by a decrease in mRNA and a marked acceleration in the rate of turnover of the protein (half-life decreased from ~3 h in control cells to ~1.5 h in drug-treated cells). Purvalanol A also induced cell death in LAMA-84 cell line, although it was not as potent and cell death occurred in the absence of a decrease in Mcl-1, suggesting different signalling pathways in these two lines and hence different capacity to alter Mcl-1 stability. Furthermore, purvalanol A also increased Mcl-1 turnover rate and phosphorylated p38-MAPK activity in neutrophils and in KCL-22 cells. In addition, the p38 MAPK inhibitor, BIRB796, decreased apoptosis and prevented the decrease in Mcl-1 expression induced by purvalanol A in both CML cell lines and neutrophils.
Conclusions: The development of drug resistance in patients with CML results in a continuing need to develop new ways to treat patients that become refractory to tyrosine kinase inhibitors. The results of this study indicate that purvalanol A might provide an adjunct to TKIs in the therapy of CML. This study shows that the effects of purvalanol A on induction of cell death in KCL-22 cell line are independent of the effects of this drug on cell cycle kinetics, but instead point to a direct or indirect effect on post-translational modifications of Mcl-1 that enhance its turnover rate.


Electrochemical investigations of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) have been conducted in a Ca2+-containing dimethyl sulfoxide electrolyte. While the ORR appears irreversible, the introduction of a tetrabutylammonium perchlorate (TBAClO4) co-salt in excess concentrations results in the gradual appearance of a quasi-reversible OER process. Combining the results of systematic cyclic voltammetry investigations, the degree of reversibility depends on the ion pair competition between Ca2+ and TBA+ cations to interact with generated superoxide (O2−). When TBA+ is in larger concentrations, and large reductive overpotentials are applied, a quasi-reversible OER peak emerges with repeated cycling (characteristic of formulations without Ca2+ cations). In situ Raman microscopy and rotating ring-disc electrode (RRDE) experiments revealed more about the nature of species formed at the electrode surface and indicated the progressive evolution of a charge storage mechanism based upon trapped interfacial redox. The first electrochemical step involves generation of O2−, followed primarily by partial passivation of the surface by CaxOy product formation (the dominant initial reaction). Once this product matrix develops, the subsequent formation of TBA+--O2− is contained within the CaxOy product interlayer at the electrode surface and, consequently, undergoes a facile oxidation reaction to regenerate O2.


In this work we study the effects of field space curvature on scalar field perturbations around an arbitrary background field trajectory evolving in time. Non-trivial imprints of the 'heavy' directions on the low energy dynamics arise when the vacuum manifold of the potential does not coincide with the span of geodesics defined by the sigma model metric of the full theory. When the kinetic energy is small compared to the potential energy, the field traverses a curve close to the vacuum manifold of the potential. The curvature of the path followed by the fields can still have a profound influence on the perturbations as modes parallel to the trajectory mix with those normal to it if the trajectory turns sharply enough. We analyze the dynamical mixing between these non-decoupled degrees of freedom and deduce its non-trivial contribution to the low energy effective theory for the light modes. We also discuss the consequences of this mixing for various scenarios where multiple scalar fields play a vital role, such as inflation and low-energy compactifications of string theory.


Forty-one patients with a nephrotic syndrome and biopsy-proven membranous nephropathy were administered a 3 to 6-month course of cyclosporine (CsA;4 to 5 mg/kg per day). Differential solute clearances were used to evaluate glomerular function, before and after therapy. CsA lowered median proteinuria by 56%, from 7.3 to 3.2 g/24 h (P < 0.0001). Corresponding mean increments in serum albumin, immunoglobulin G, and oncotic pressure values were 31, 32, and 26%, respectively (all P < 0.0001). Arterial pressure, GFR, and renal plasma flow remained constant, but CsA restored the dextran-sieving curve toward normal, lowering the computed fraction of shunt-like pores by 25% (P < 0.05). In 14 instances, a cross-over design was used to randomly assign patients to 3 months of CsA versus 3 months of enalapril (10 to 30 mg daily), separated by a 1-month washout interval. Although enalapril lowered arterial pressure by 8 mm Hg (P < 0.01), it had no effect on proteinuria, plasma protein composition, filtration dynamics, or dextran sieving (all P = not significant). CsA dependence of proteinuria, indicated by relapsing nephrosis after CsA withdrawal, required additional courses of CsA to maintain proteinuria subnephrotic in most patients. In six patients with declining GFR during prolonged CsA treatment, a repeat biopsy showed more prominent immune deposits and a thicker glomerular basement membrane than at baseline. It was concluded that: (1) CsA lowers proteinuria in MN in part, by enhancing barrier size-selectivity; (2) lack of comparable efficacy of enalapril suggests that the antiproteinuric effect of CsA is related to its immuno-suppressive rather than glomerulodepressor properties; but (3) judged by repeat biopsy, CsA does not prevent continuing autoantibody formation in this disorder.


The exploration and colonisation of the Pacific is a remarkable episode of human prehistory. Early sea-going explorers had no prior knowledge of Pacific geography, no documents to record their route, no metal, no instruments for measuring time and none for exploration. Forty years of modern archaeology, experimental voyages in rafts, and computer simulations of voyages have produced an enormous range of literature on this controversial and mysterious subject. This book represents a major advance in knowledge of the settlement of the Pacific by suggesting that exploration was rapid and purposeful, undertaken systematically, and that navigation methods progressively improved. Using an innovative model to establish a detailed theory of navigation, Geoffrey Irwin claims that rather than sailing randomly downwind in search of the unknown, Pacific Islanders expanded settlement by the cautious strategy of exploring upwind, so as to ease their safe return. The author has tested this hypothesis against the chronological data from archaeological investigation, with a computer simulation of demographic and exploration patterns and by sailing throughout the region himself.


(1) Background: Vaccination of horses and sheep against Borna disease (BD) was common in endemic areas of Germany in the 20th century but was abandoned in the early 1990s. The recent occurrence of fatal cases of human encephalitis due to Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) has rekindled the interest in vaccination. (2) Methods: The full genomes of the BD live vaccine viruses "Dessau" and "Giessen" were sequenced and analyzed for the first time. All vaccination experiments followed a proof-of-concept approach. Dose-titration infection experiments were performed in rabbits, based on both cell culture- and brain-derived viruses at various doses. Inactivated vaccines against BD were produced from concentrated cell culture supernatants and investigated in rabbits and horses. The BoDV-1 live vaccine "Dessau" was administered to horses and antibody profiles were determined. (3) Results: The BD live vaccine viruses "Dessau" and "Giessen" belong to clusters 3 and 4 of BoDV-1. Whereas the "Giessen" virus does not differ substantially from field viruses, the "Dessau" virus shows striking differences in the M gene and the N-terminal part of the G gene. Rabbits infected with high doses of cell-cultured virus developed neutralizing antibodies and were protected from disease, whereas rabbits infected with low doses of cell-cultured virus, or with brain-derived virus did not. Inactivated vaccines were administered to rabbits and horses, following pre-defined vaccination schemes consisting of three vaccine doses of either adjuvanted or nonadjuvanted inactivated virus. Their immunogenicity and protective efficacy were compared to the BD live vaccine "Dessau". Seventy per cent of horses vaccinated with the BD live vaccine "Dessau" developed neutralizing antibodies after vaccination. (4) Conclusion: Despite a complex evasion of immunological responses by bornaviruses, some vaccination approaches can protect against clinical disease. For optimal effectiveness, vaccines should be administered at high doses, following vaccination schemes consisting of three vaccine doses as basic immunization. Further investigations are necessary in order to investigate and improve protection against infection and to avoid side effects.


The steady increase of computing power at lower and lower cost enables molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the process of protein folding with an explicit treatment of water molecules. Such simulations are typically done with well known computational chemistry codes like CHARMM. Desktop grids such as the United Devices MetaProcessor are highly attractive platforms, since scavenging for unused machines on Intra- and Internet delivers compute power that is almost free. However, the predominant programming paradigm for current desktop grids is pure task parallelism and might not fit the needs for protein folding simulations with explicit water molecules. A short overall turn-around time of a simulation remains highly important for research productivity, but the need for an accurate model and long simulation time-scales leads to tasks that are too large for optimal scheduling on a desktop grid. To address this problem, we introduce a combination of task- and data parallelism as a well suitable computing paradigm for protein folding investigations on grid platforms. As a proof of concept, we design and implement a simple system for protein folding simulations based on the notion of combined task and data parallelism with clustered workers. Clustered workers are machines grouped into small clusters according to network and CPU performance criteria and act as super-nodes within a desktop grid, permitting the utilization of data parallelism in addition to the task parallelism. We integrate our new paradigm into the existing software environment of the United Devices MetaProcessor. For a test protein, we reach a better quality of the folding calculations than we reached using just task parallelism on distributed systems.


The article proposes an evolutionary psychobiological model of the development of neurosis – the disease of adaptation. Evolutionary and pathogenic mechanisms of neurosis progress, its stages, and outcomes are revealed. The role of the biological ground in the origin and clinical evidence of neurosis is revealed. The methods for treatment of neurosis – as an adaptation disease are proposed. The social character of the disease is emphasized.


This paper presents the possible solutions of daily
circulations in terms of the transport ensuring the daily
performance of vehicles and staffing. It is focused on the
determination of these vehicles as the daily circulation
optimal variant as well. It appears that the analysis of the
transport solution is the first step to determine the
successful optimal solution of the transport performance
volume. Subsequently, the transport solution must be tested
from an economic point of view.


In 2008, Herta Müller composed her reaction to reading her secret police surveillance file: Cristina und ihre Attrappe oder Was (nicht) in den Akten der Securitate steht. Müller focuses in particular on the gaps it features, the redacted parts, or the ones she believes were redacted, as further proof that the Romanian secret police has censured itself by erasing incriminating evidence. Her own reading of the file, as well as the title of her text, begs the question of what exactly is in her file. In this article, I engage with some of Müller's claims in Cristina about the missing parts. As I will show, some aspects are just veiled and need to be uncovered, while others can be found in unexpected parts of the file. By reading and comparing information in both Müller's and the novelist Richard Wagner's files, a broader picture emerges, especially when including the wiretapped conversations, which allow their own voices to transpire, albeit in a mediated way. (VG; in German)


The formation and development of hygiene in the country is associated with activity of many prominent scientists-hygienists, and among them a place of honor justly belongs to Alexei Petrovich Dobroslavin--PhD, full professor, State Councillor, who in October 2012 would have been 170 years since the birth. He is the founder of the science of domestic hygiene and self-discipline. Hygienist talented researcher, a pioneer of military hygiene in Russia and known public figure, in 18 years of activity of A. P. Dobroslavin performed herculean research, educational, social, and practical work. Creatively continuing and developing the noble humanist traditions and ideas of professor A. P. Dobroslavin and he created the original and largest school of russian hygienists, modern military hygiene adds and multiplies them in order to preserve and promote the health of population and military.


Masculinities scholarship is an essential piece of feminist analysis and of critical equality analysis. It requires that we "ask the man question" to further unravel inequalities. This symposium marks one of several movements toward examining and considering what masculinities scholarship can offer. In this introduction, I suggest a framework of masculinities analysis and describe its relationship to feminist theory. First, I consider why we should ask the "man question," and how we should ask it. Second, I explore how masculinities analysis might be useful in our examination of the "man question." Masculinities work can be used to understand more clearly how male privilege and dominance are constructed. It can make us see harms suffered by boys and men that we have largely ignored. It may also reinforce and strengthen the commitment to antiessentialism in feminist theory. Exposing the complexities and multiplicity of masculinities leads toward understanding intersectional and multiple forms of discrimination more clearly. In this way, it is analogous to noticing that the issues and positions of all women are not the same and include instances of women subordinating women.


Whispering gallery mode resonances in liquid droplets and microspheres have attracted considerable attention due to their potential uses in a range of sensing and technological applications. We describe a whispering gallery mode sensor in which standard optical fibre is used as the whispering gallery mode resonator. The sensor is characterised in terms of the response of the whispering gallery mode spectrum to changes in resonator size, refractive index of the surrounding medium, and temperature, and its measurement capabilities are demonstrated through application to high-precision fibre geometry profiling and the detection of unlabelled biochemical species. The prototype sensor is capable of detecting unlabelled biomolecular species in attomole quantities.


Abstract What enables success for students studying in the humanities can be a contested space; dependent not only on the view taken on the content and purpose of specific subjects, but also on the nature of teaching and learning. This paper examines the process of redeveloping an elective unit in a Tertiary Enabling Programme to prepare students for study in undergraduate humanities areas. The research involved consulting with academics from different disciplines in a regional university and analysing their views on what enhances student success. These discussions are reviewed in light of literature on best practice in teaching and learning for foundation and first-year university students, particularly exploring Pierre Bourdieu's notion of extending 'cultural capital' while expanding 'habitus' to emerge confidently into the field of academic life. We conclude that fostering students' awareness of personal perspective on historical and contemporary events, alongside encouraging awareness of the constructed nature of meaning in particular events is central to developing the kind of thinking valued by lecturers in humanities subjects.


The contribution of environmental factors is important as we consider reasons that underlie differential susceptibility to influenza virus. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activation by the pollutant dioxin during influenza virus infection decreases survival, which correlates with a 4-fold increase in pulmonary IFN- (cid:1) levels. We report here that the majority of IFN- (cid:1) -producing cells in the lung are neutrophils and macrophages not lymphocytes, and elevated IFN- (cid:1) is associated with increased pulmonary inducible NO synthase (iNOS) levels. Moreover, we show that even in the absence of dioxin, infection with influenza virus elicits IFN- (cid:1) production by B cells, (cid:1)(cid:2) T cells, CD11c (cid:3) cells, macrophages and neutrophils, as well as CD3 (cid:3) and NK1.1 (cid:3) cells in the lung. Bone marrow chimeric mice reveal that AhR-mediated events external to hemopoietic cells direct dioxin-enhanced IFN- (cid:1) production. We also show that AhR-mediated increases in IFN- (cid:1) are dependent upon iNOS, but elevated iNOS in lung epithelial cells is not driven by AhR-dependent signals from bone marrow-derived cells. Thus, the lung contains important targets of AhR regulation, which likely influence a novel iNOS-mediated mechanism that controls IFN- (cid:1) production by phagocytic cells. This suggests that AhR activation changes the response of lung parenchymal cells, such that regulatory pathways in the lung are cued to respond inappropriately during infection. These findings also imply that environmental factors may contribute to differential susceptibility to influenza virus and other respiratory pathogens. The Journal of Immunology,


The high velocity spraying experiments for preparing WC-Co ceramic coatings were carried out by using an electro-thermal explosion directional spraying device. The transient parameters of both the discharge circuit and the voltage applied to the WC-Co sheet were measured. Velocity of the shock wave in the explosive spraying nozzle was approximately measured and that was described with a one-directional piston model. The velocity of molten particles of WC-Co ceramics was estimated to be about 3162m/s. The microstructures and micro-hardness of the WC-Co coating, the interface between the coating and substrate were analyzed in details. The visible WC grain diameter of the coating ranges from 70 to 350nm, and the average value is 195nm. A metallurgical bonding layer with a thickness of about 1 was found at the interface. The values of micro-hardness of the coating are 1-1.4 times of the original one, and the micro-hardness near the interface is much higher than that of the substrate


Nacre coatings were deposited on Ti6Al4V substrates by electrophoretic technique, and subsequently converted into apatite coatings with hierarchical porous structures by treatment with a phosphate buffer solution. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and N(2) adsorption-desorption isotherms. The results show that the nacre coatings are converted into the plate-like apatite coatings via a dissolution-precipitation reaction, while the organic components of the nacre are reserved. The mesopores with pore size of 4.4 nm are formed within the plate-like structure, and the macropores are formed among the plate-like structure. Simulated body fluid (SBF) immersion tests reveal that the apatite coatings have a good in vitro bioactivity. Bone-like apatite crystals are formed on the surfaces of the apatite coatings after soaking in SBF for 12 h, and fill up the macropores on the coatings with increasing the soaking time. In addition, XPS indicates that a TiO(x) layer and PO(4) (3-) ions appear on the substrate surfaces by pretreatment with a H(3)PO(4)/HF solution. The TiO(x) layer and PO(4) (3-) ions can induce the formation of apatite crystals, resulting in a composition gradient from the oxide layer to the external apatite layer.


This paper explores the potential methods for evaluating a healing system for asphalt pavements. The healing system under investigation involves compartmented calcium-alginate fibres encapsulating an asphalt binder healing agent (rejuvenator). This system presents a novel method of incorporating rejuvenators into asphalt pavement mixtures. The compartmented fibres are used to distribute the rejuvenator throughout the pavement mixture, thereby overcoming some of the problems associated with alternate asphalt pavement healing methods, i.e., spherical capsules and hollow fibres. The asphalt healing efficiency methods to be evaluated in this paper include: (i) standard test methods for asphalt pavements, such as the Indirect Tensile Strength test and the 4 Point Bending Fatigue test; and (ii) alternative fracture tests such as the Semi Circular Bend test. The study employs fracture theory in order to evaluate the efficiency of the damage repair. The research findings demonstrate that including compartmented calcium-alginate fibres encapsulating a rejuvenator into an asphalt pavement mix does not significantly improve the healing properties of the asphalt pavement. Nevertheless, the findings indicate that, with further enhancement, compartmented calcium alginate fibres may present a promising new approach for the development of self-healing asphalt pavement systems. Additionally, the test results indicate that the 4 point bend fatigue test is the most suitable test for evaluating the performance of self healing asphalt pavements.


It is a well-known fact that poor nutrition is widespread among the elderly. Nutritional evaluation is a part of the total assessment of the aging patient. Clinical issues relating to protein and calorie deficiencies are discussed, as are various aspects of diagnosis. A rational approach to management is also presented.


A double input capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detector (DIC(4)D) device which gets higher sensitivity has been described in this paper. The detector consists of two input electrodes and one output electrode. When two alternating current (AC) voltages with the same amplitude and different phases are imposed on each input electrode, the equivalent resistance of the output electrode is reduced because of the interference of the two signals with different phase angles. For a capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detector (C(4)D), the ratio of the response of KCl solution to that of distilled water is 1.6. However, for DIC(4)D, the ratio is 1.55 at a phase difference of 0° and increases to 1.8 at the phase difference of 170°, respectively. For C(4)D, the response of KCl solution is a linear function of the logarithm of concentrations from 10(-5) M to 10(-2) M, and the slope is 5.58. However, the slope of the response increases to 7.13 in DIC(4)D, and the limit of detection (LOD) of DIC(4)D is estimated to be 5 × 10(-8) M. The slope of the three-way DIC(4)D is increased to 69.78. A flow injection device is employed for the evaluation of the applicability of DIC(4)D with the same range, and good reproducibility is confirmed through flow injection of the same solution 10 times. The relative standard deviation (RSD) is 0.7%, which demonstrates a promising application to capillary electrophoresis (CE).


[1] We present a model for the growth of frazil ice crystals and their accumulation as marine ice at the base of Antarctic ice shelves. The model describes the flow of buoyant water upward along the ice shelf base and includes the differential growth of a range of crystal sizes. Frazil ice formation starts when the rising plume becomes supercooled. Initially, the majority of crystals have a radius of similar to0.3 mm and concentrations are below 0.1 g/L. Depending on the ice shelf slope, which controls the plume speed, frazil crystals increase in size and number. Typically, crystals up to 1.0 mm in radius are kept in suspension, and concentrations reach a maximum of 0.4 g/L. The frazil ice in suspension decreases the plume density and thus increases the plume speed. Larger crystals precipitate upward onto the ice shelf base first, with smaller crystals following as the plume slows down. In this way, marine ice is formed at rates of up to 4 m/yr in some places, consistent with areas of observed basal accumulation on Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf. The plume continues below the ice shelf as long as it is buoyant. If the plume reaches the ice front, its rapid rise produces high supercooling and the ice crystals attain a radius of several millimeters before reaching the surface. Similar ice crystals have been trawled at depth north of Antarctic ice shelves, but otherwise no observations exist to verify these first predictions of ice crystal sizes and volumes.


Tumors arise from normal cells of the body through genetic mutation. Although such genetic mutation often leads to the expression of abnormal antigens, the immune system fails to respond effectively to these antigens; that is, it is tolerant of these antigens. This acquired state of tolerance must be overcome for cancer immunotherapy to succeed. Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) is one molecular mechanism that contributes to tumor-induced tolerance. IDO helps create a tolerogenic milieu in the tumor and the tumor-draining lymph nodes, both by direct suppression of T cells and enhancement of local Treg-mediated immunosuppression. It can also function as an antagonist to other activators of antitumor immunity. Therefore, strategies to block IDO might enhance the effectiveness of tumor immunotherapy.


© Corinna Riva 2010. In this survey of the burial and settlement evidence of late Iron Age Etruria, Corinna Riva offers a new reading of the socio-political transformations that led to the formation of urban centres in Tyrrhenian Central Italy. Through a close examination of burial ritual and the material culture associated with it, Riva traces the transformations of seventh-century elite funerary practices and the structuring of political power around these practices in Etruria, arguing that the tomb became the locus for the articulation of new forms of political authority at urban centres. Challenging established views that deem contact with eastern Mediterranean regions crucial to these developments, Riva offers a radically new interpretation of the so-called Orientalizing material culture, taking a long-term perspective on local changes and east-west contact across the Mediterranean.


The traditional view that Old World fruit bats (Megachiroptera) and insect bats (Microchiroptera) are closely related has been challenged by claims that Megachiroptera are the sister group to flying lemurs (Dermoptera) or Primates. We found that the specialized muscles of the rostral part of the wing in Microchiroptera and Megachiroptera receive double innervation by both the facial nerve and cervical spinal nerves, suggesting that bats are monophyletic. Innervation by the facial nerve also occurs in Dermoptera and suggests that bats and Dermoptera share a common ancestor that had wings.


Role of agriculture has been a matter of debate among development economist. Agriculture has been a major contributor in national income and employment in South Asian economies but its share in the national GDP has been declining over time. This study examines the relevance of declining agriculture due to structural transformation in economic growth of four South Asian countries namely India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. To analyze the long-run relationship between agriculture and economic growth, an empirical model based on Augmented Neoclassical Solow-Swan model is developed. Johansen and Juselius (1990) maximum likelihood technique based on VAR model and Granger causality test has been employed to analyze long run and short run causal relations between agriculture and economic growth respectively. Results show that in all four South Asian countries, agriculture has long-run association with economic growth and it is an important driver of economic growth. Short-run analysis indicates that agriculture stimulates economic growth in all South Asian countries except Bangladesh. Neglect of agriculture and excessive focus on industrialization may retard growth both in short and long run.


The properties of a pseudodeep hologram are studied. This new term refers here to an inclined thin hologram on which a one-dimensional line object is recorded by a sagittal system of beams. In this case the reconstructed image is read out only within the line corresponding to the object. It is shown that, similar to a deep 3-D hologram, the pseudodeep hologram has high angular and spectral selectivity. A simple graphic method for the construction of the images restored by the pseudodeep hologram is presented. A reference-free hologram has been recorded with the help of such a system. When reading out such a hologram for a part of the object recorded on it, the associative image of the object as a whole was reconstructed. The possibilities of using the pseudodeep hologram for performing different operations are considered, including heteroassociative readout of information by the keys associated with it, recognition of pages of information when illuminating the hologram by the objective wave, and multiple recording of information in the same region of the photographic material. In conclusion, the associative memory scheme in which the information pages are recorded on separate stripes of the pseudodeep hologram with the use of different reference sources as the keys associated with these pages has been considered. The retrieval of the pages is performed by illuminating the entire surface of the hologram with one of the reference sources.


An annual and lumped water balance assessment of a water distribution network is recommended by the International Water Association as a first step and prerequisite for improving the performance of the network by minimizing real/physical water losses, burst incidents, water theft, nonrevenue water, and energy consumption, among others. The current work suggests a modeling approach for developing the water balance of a network spatio-temporarily, in hour time-scale and neighborhood granularity. It exploits already established key performance indicators and introduces some new ones to highlight the potential in improving the management of a water distribution network when having a detailed spatio-temporal supervision, especially when the spatial and temporal conditions are variable. The methodology is applied in a seasonally touristic and hilly case study. Additionally, a pressure management scheme is applied to further exploit the potential of such a toolkit. For the investigated case study, the town of Skiathos, the annual real losses are estimated equal to 50.9–52.2% of the system input volume, while apparent losses are estimated to be about 5.6–6.6%. Losses depict intense seasonal variability. Real losses range from 38.8–39.6% in summer months to 63.3–64.7% in winter months, while apparent losses range from 8.4–9.3% in summer to 1.3–2.5% in winter. Annual water theft is estimated to be at least 3.6% of system input volume. Spatial variability, which is linked to the elevation and the different urban land uses is proven to play a significant role in the neighborhoods' water balances and various key performance indicators are suggested and applied for the pressure control scheme. The annual potential savings due to the applied scheme rise up to 51,300 m3 for leakage and 53,730 m3 for pressure-driven demand.


Works of art and culture are sold by many means. These include transactions between dealers and their customers, auctions with open outcry, internet auctions, and even, occasionally, sealed bid auctions. However, the standard procedure for establishing art valuations for the most expensive works is still most commonly the English auction, where prices ascend in open bidding. This paper describes how art auctions really work, along with the state of competition between auction houses. For expensive art, competition is dominated by the duopoly of Christie's and Sotheby's. The paper proceeds to describe various interesting features of art auctions, including the declining price anomaly, whether or not auctioneers provide accurate information, and anchoring effects in art auctions. The public auction system provides a valuable method for setting and determining values; it is probable that the inability of auctioneers to capture a significant part of the benefits of the information they produce leads to less use of the auction system than is optimal for society.


With the benefit of 20 years' hindsight of error-test process associated with our research: territorial intelligence; we shall try, by this contribution, to suggest a theoretical frame of "territorial intelligence" as a faculty of collective intelligence on a territory or as a result of a common representation. In order to illustrate and explain the theoretical framework that we are suggesting in this paper, we will conceptualize from our experience in company and also in research, in France and abroad. This specific integration of theoretical and experimental components is a promising model to overcome the obsolete subdivision between "theory" and "practice". Today, European and French laws dealing with national and regional development are increasing: intercommunity projects, the question of agreements between State and Regions, etc. What does have to do with technical and administrative laws? We don't say that we have the fully answer to this question, however, we can give some requirements and characteristics of body's socio-territorial progress. These political bodies are seems to be in line with politics and economics, under a council or a government's member leadership. In fact, these units have organized themselves around both, the same experience and the same culture; based on an historical continuation. This work is intended to get a new network organization. In this paper we would like to contribute not only to a better knowledge of local actor's links but also to give appropriate answers to these questions. That is why we named this paper "Territorial intelligence: a network concept & an info-communication framework process"


Abstract The EFSA Panel on Plant Health performed a pest categorisation of Bagrada hilaris (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) for the EU territory. B. hilaris, known as the bagrada bug or painted bug, is a polyphagous pest feeding on at least 25 plant families including several economically important brassica crops such as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. Other economically important hosts suffering impacts include beans (Fabaceae), wheat and maize (Poaceae). Young plants are particularly vulnerable to adults and nymphs feeding on tender leaves and growing points, which can cause yield losses. B. hilaris occurs in Africa and Asia and has spread to North America (USA and Mexico) and South America (Chile) where there are multiple generations per year. It is not widely distributed in the EU but has been established in Malta and on the Italian island of Pantelleria, south west of Sicily, since the 1970s where it is an economically important pest of capers. The reasons why it has not spread further within southern Europe are unknown. B. hilaris is not a regulated pest in the EU. It could further enter and spread within the EU via the import and movement of host plants or as a hitchhiking species forming aggregations in conveyances and amongst non‐plant traded goods. Host availability and climate suitability suggest that, in addition to Malta and Pantelleria, southern areas of the EU around the Mediterranean would also be suitable for B. hilaris establishment. The introduction of B. hilaris to other Mediterranean areas of the EU would likely cause impacts in a range of crops, particularly brassicas. Measures to prevent entry and spread are available. B. hilaris satisfies all of the criteria that are within the remit of EFSA to assess for it to be regarded as a potential Union quarantine pest.


The Q&A series offers the best preparation for tackling exam questions. Each chapter includes typical questions, diagram problem and essay answer plans, suggested answers, notes of caution, tips on obtaining extra marks, the key debates on each topic, and suggestions on further reading. This chapter presents issues relating to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. The sample questions given here deal with issues such as the extent to which the UK has moved from a system of Cabinet government to a system of Prime Ministerial government; collective ministerial responsibility; and how the convention of individual ministerial responsibility operates in relation to departmental error.


In the context of rising competition and concerns for reducing costs, employers increasingly use reduced load work arrangements (i.e., RLWAs) as part of their HR practices. In this research, drawing from social information processing (SIP) theory, we introduced two novel elements to explore how and when the influence of RLWAs unfold: employees' perceived job autonomy as a mechanism and the role of RLWA normativeness as a social context and boundary condition. Using a large and representative data set (the WERS, 2011), our findings supported our hypotheses. This research sheds lights on the mixed findings regarding the effects of RLWAs on employee outcomes and questions the assumptions of an invariance social context by introducing and supporting the role of normativeness of the use of RLWA in a workplace. From a practical perspective, caution is needed in implementing RLWAs differentially in a workplace as the presumed effects of RLWAs might disappear in a context where it is seen as a norm.


Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common among patients hospitalised with COVID-19, and associated with worse prognosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology, risk factors and outcomes of AKI in patients with COVID-19 in a large UK tertiary centre. Methods: We analysed data of consecutive adults admitted with a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 across two sites of a hospital in London, UK, from 1st January to 13th May 2020. Results: Of the 1248 inpatients included, 487 (39%) experienced AKI (51% stage 1, 13% stage 2,and 36% stage 3). The weekly AKI incidence rate gradually increased to peak at week 5 (3.12 cases/100 patient-days), before reducing to its nadir (0.83 cases/100 patient-days) at the end the study period (week 10). Among AKI survivors, 84.0% had recovered renal function to pre-admission levels before discharge and none required on-going renal replacement therapy (RRT). Pre-existing renal impairment [odds ratio (OR) 3.05, 95%CI 2.24-4,18; p<0.0001], and inpatient diuretic use (OR 1.79, 95%CI 1.27-2.53; p<0.005) were independently associated with a higher risk for AKI. AKI was a strong predictor of 30-day mortality with an increasing risk across AKI stages [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 1.59 (95%CI 1.19-2.13) for stage 1; p<0.005, 2.71(95%CI 1.82-4.05); p<0.001for stage 2 and 2.99 (95%CI 2.17-4.11); p<0.001for stage 3]. One third of AKI3 survivors (30.7%), had newly established renal impairment at 3 to 6 months. Conclusions: This large UK cohort demonstrated a high AKI incidence with a changing pattern over time and was associated with increased mortality even at stage 1. Inpatient diuretic use was linked to a higher AKI risk. One third of survivors with AKI3 exhibited newly established renal impairment already at 3-6 months.


This study was designed to identify and localize defects in renal microvascular function during the hyperfiltration stage of diabetes mellitus. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected intravenously with 65 mg/kg streptozotocin (IDDM rats) or vehicle (sham rats). IDDM rats received insulin (3 U.kg-1.day-1) via an osmotic minipump; sham rats received diluent. During the ensuing 2-wk period, blood glucose levels averaged 89 +/- 2 mg/dl in 33 sham rats and 290 +/- 13 mg/dl in 37 IDDM rats. At the end of this period, inulin clearance was elevated in eight IDDM rats (1.43 +/- 0.17 ml.min-1.g kidney wt-1) compared with six sham rats (0.78 +/- 0.05 ml.min-1.g kidney wt-1). The remaining animals served as tissue donors for study of the renal microvasculature using the in vitro blood-perfused juxtamedullary nephron technique. Kidneys from sham and IDDM rats were perfused with homologous blood at a renal arterial pressure of 110 mmHg. Juxtamedullary single-nephron glomerular filtration rate was higher in IDDM rats (41.5 +/- 5.4 nl/min) than in sham rats (25.4 +/- 2.4 nl/min). Afferent arteriolar inside diameter was greater in IDDM rats (34 +/- 2 microns) than in sham rats (22 +/- 1 microns); however, efferent arteriolar diameter did not differ between groups. The afferent arteriolar vasoconstrictor response to norepinephrine (NE) was attenuated in IDDM rats, relative to sham rats, over a wide range of NE concentrations. In contrast, NE evoked similar degrees of efferent vasoconstriction in IDDM and sham rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


As the safety in the food supply becomes critical, the demand for a rapid, low-volume, and sensitive microbial detection device has dramatically increased. A biosensor based on an electrochemical sandwich immunoassay using polyaniline has been developed for detecting foodborne pathogens, such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7. The biosensor is comprised of two types of proteins: capture protein and reporter protein. The capture protein is immobilized on a pad between two electrodes, while the reporter protein is attached to conductive polymers. After adding the sample, the target protein binds to the reporter protein and forms a sandwich complex with the capture protein. The conductive polymer that is attached to the reporter protein serves as a messenger, reporting the amount of target protein captured in the form of an electrical signal. The architecture of the biosensor utilizes a lateral flow format, which allows the liquid sample to move from one pad to another by capillary action. Experiments to evaluate the best construction materials, the optimal polyaniline and antibody concentrations, and the distance between electrodes are highlighted in this paper. Results show that the biosensor could detect approximately 7.8/spl times/10/sup 1/ colony forming unit per milliliter of E. coli O157:H7 in 10 min.


A yellows disease of strawberry plants was identified in propagation beds in New Zealand. Affected plants were flatter to the ground, showed purpling of older leaves, reduced leaf size, yellowing of younger leaves, and sometimes plant death. A phytoplasma was observed in the phloem of affected plants. The 16S rRNA gene of the phytoplasma was amplified by polymerase chain reaction from symptomatic plants and from one asymptomatic plant, but not from 36 other asymptomatic plants. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene showed that the phytoplasma is closely related or identical to the phytoplasma associated with the yellow leaf disease of New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax).


There is a significant amount of research in the field of metaphor, but not so much
in the use of this resource by a particular socio-professional group, and very few
works have included the views and opinions of the correspondent users -this paper
moves one step forward in that direction. Based on a major pragmatics research on
metaphors in the field of architecture aimed at the design of a course of English
for students of Architecture in Spain, the following paper analyses the results of a
survey to find out how English architects refer to city and building as two basic
categories in their working environment. The main objective is to find out how
important the use of metaphors for architects is in order to communicate ideas and
concepts about their projects. The conclusions are based on an empirical study
carried out in five macro-architectural practices1 in London City through the use of
a focused cognitive questionnaire handed out in situ. The analysis shows that
unconscious and continuous use of metaphors when referring to the basic
categories of building and city constitute a powerful basis for communication at
work, transmitting concepts and ideas according to a common cognitive map.
Finally, the importance of contextual background and its implications in the use of
technical English among European architects is pointed out


The need to assist the rural small ruminant farmers in the proper feeding of their animals brought about the formulation and recommendation of value-added cassava-based diet(s) which the low income rural farmers can adopt for the feeding of their West African Dwarf (WAD) goats. This was premised on the observation of the common practice of uninhibited feeding of goats on wastes of cassava (Manihot esculenta) in the cassava producing parts of the Nigeria, where cassava is a staple food and its peels are largely wasted. Value-added cassava diets were formulated with graded levels of cassava wastes, cowpea haulms, bone meal, sulphur and salt. Each ration was fed to an experimental and a control group of WAD goats for 16 weeks and the pathological effects monitored. There were progressive increases in the blood residual cyanide concentration values of the groups of goats fed formulated diets. No clinical manifestation of cyanide poisoning was observed in any of the goats treated with VAC diets but histology showed dilation of the tubular lumens, the most severe was observed in goats fed diet 4. VAC diets 1, 2 and 3 are recommended for goat feeding in rural communities due to minimal toxicity which can be minimised by incorporation of elemental sulphur or addition of sulphur-rich plants into the diets.Keywords: Antioxidant, Cyanide, Cassava-based diet, Goats, Rural farmers, Sulphur


By-Franklin, Mayer J., Ed.; And Others Proceedings of the Conference on Increasing Opportunities for Mexican American Students in Higher Education (Los Angeles Harbor College, California, May 15-17, 1969). California State Coll., Long Beach. . Spons Agency-Office of Education (DHEW), Washington, D.C. Pub Date May 69 Note-67p, Available from-United Mexican American Students (UMAS), California State College, Long Beach, California 90801, EDRS Price MF 40.50 HC-$3.45 Descriptors-Bilingualism, College Admission, *Conference Reports, Counseling, Cultural Awareness, Disadvantaged Youth, *Educational Opportunities, Educational Problems, Equal Eciocation, Federal Programs, Financial Support, *Higher Education, *Mexican Americans, *School Holding Power, Sensitivity Training, Testing, Workshops The conference was conducted in order to propose solutions to the problems that confront the Mexican American student in higher education in areas of recruitment, retention, and financial assistance. Colleges and universities from 5 Southwestern states sent teams (student, faculty member, administrator, iunior college representative, high school counselor, and representative Of the Mexican American . community) to participate in the conference. The conference proceedings present: the keynote address given by Armando Rodriguez, Chief of Mexican American /Vfairs Unit in the U. S. Office of Education; selected remarks by various participants; and an address by Philip Montez, Regional Director, Los Angeles, United States Civil Rights Commission. Suggestions taken from the general session, the problems and issues discussed in the wOrkshops, and the resolutions passed by the conference are given. Selected remarks from the closing address given by Father Henry J. Casso, Vicar of Urban Affairs, San Antonio, Texas, conclude the report. (CM) RC 003 568


Examples of repeated destructive behavior abound throughout the history of human societies. This paper examines the role of social memory — a society's vicarious beliefs about the past — in creating and perpetuating destructive conflicts. We examine whether such behavior is consistent with the theory of rational strategic behavior. We analyze an infinite-horizon model in which two countries face off each period in an extended Prisoner's Dilemma game in which an additional possibility of mutually destructive "all out war" yields catastrophic consequence for both sides. Each country is inhabited by a dynastic sequence of individuals who care about future individuals in the same country, and can communicate with the next generation of their countrymen using private messages. The two countries' actions in each period also produce physical evidence; a sequence of informative but imperfect public signals that can be observed by all current and future individuals. We find that, provided the future is sufficiently important for all individuals, regardless of the precision of physical evidence from the past there is an equilibrium of the model in which the two countries' social memory is systematically wrong, and in which the two countries engage in all out war with arbitrarily high frequency. Surprisingly, we find that degrading the quality of information that individuals have about current decisions may "improve" social memory so that it can no longer be systematically wrong. This in turn ensures that arbitrarily frequent all out wars cannot take place. JEL Classification: C72, C79, D80, D83, D89.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the theoretical concept of socially responsible pedagogy because it applies to teaching information literacy.

Design/methodology/approach
At Weber State University, two librarians use a socially responsible pedagogical approach, combining critical information literacy and visual literacy to teach an undergraduate information literacy course.

Findings
Initial results suggest that the course design and the authors' approach to socially responsible pedagogy are largely successful based on students' application of course material to a signature assignment in the course.

Research limitations/implications
Data are limited because this approach was only used for two semesters. The authors are aware that a socially responsible information literacy classroom needs quality assessment to help make instructional decisions, evaluate teaching strategies and assist with ongoing student learning. Additional semesters of using this instructional approach will allow for reflection and critical inquiry into the theories and teaching strategies that currently inform instruction. Early implications of using this method of instructional design reflect students' deep understanding of the importance of information literacy because they explore social justice topics.

Practical implications
The practical implications of this research reveal a theoretical framework for teaching critical information literacy, called socially responsible pedagogy. The theory looks at teaching based on the "spirit" of the course, which is the promotion of equality. It also looks at "the art" of designing an information literacy course, incorporating socially responsible pedagogy, culturally responsive teaching and critical information literacy. This study also looks at "the science" of assessment and offers suggestions on how one might go about assessing a socially responsible information literacy class. Moreover, the authors examine how visual literacy helps teach information literacy concepts in the course as students put together a signature assignment that meets both information literacy course objectives and general education outcomes.

Social implications
This general review of the theoretical concept of socially responsible pedagogy is limited to two semesters of information literacy instruction. In researching these topics, students situate themselves within a diverse worldview and work to promote awareness and advocacy through group presentations.

Originality/value
While librarians are exploring critical librarianship and social justice, many are not using socially responsible pedagogy combined with other social theories and images to help students work through the research process and develop information literacy skills.


Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes(URANS) and Large Eddy Simulation(LES) simulation of an axial flow fan are calculated upon same conditions and computational grids in order to study aeroacoustic noise of an axial flow fan numerically. Results of computed pelformance and predicted noise are compared with those of measurement. Both performances show accurate results with a significant difference of less than 5%. However, noise of LES result is more close to measured noise qualitatively than URANS. Levels of tonal noises of both LES and URANS are quite similar with those of measured at BPF(Blade Passing Frequency) in sound spectrum. However, as leading edge separation and tip vortex shedding phenomena of LES are showed more clearly than those of URANS, sound level of broadband noise of LES corresponds better than that of URANS, especially.


In this paper, we propose the use of prefix visibility at the interdomain level as an early symptom of anomalous events in the Internet. We focus on detecting anomalies which, despite their significant impact on the routing system, remain concealed from state of the art tools. We design a machine learning system to winnow the prefixes with unintended limited visibility - symptomatic of anomalous events - from the prefixes with intended limited visibility - resulting from legitimate routing operations. We train a winnowing algorithm with ground-truth data on 20,000 operational limited visibility prefixes (LVPs) already classified by the operators of the origin networks. The ground-truth was collected using the BGP Visibility Scanner, a tool we developed to provide operators with a multi-angle view on the efficacy of their routing policies. We build a dataset with the pre-classified prefixes and the features describing their visibility status dynamics. We further use this dataset to derive a boosted decision tree which winnows unintended LVPs with an accuracy of 95%.


Pressure ulcers in hospitalized patients represent a significant challenge to the health professionals who care for these patients. This challenge extends to the health care system as a whole because of the staggering costs associated with pressure ulcer resolution. Although the relative benefits of various treatment methods have long been debated, intervention before ulcer formation clearly stands as the most efficacious approach to this problem. The Braden Scale for Predicting Pressure Sore Risk, a recently developed paper tool, was evaluated in our acute care medical unit for its ability to predict pressure ulcer occurrence. The sensitivity of the Braden Scale in this evaluation was much lower than that reported in other published studies. The Braden Scale was less effective than the nurse judgment prediction method, the current prevailing prediction method at this institution. The gravity of these results, however, is unclear because of the questionable incidence of ulcers in this study, which may be artificially high due to permissive criteria used in the identification of stage 1 ulcers. We determined that the lack of unequivocally defined criteria for the identification of stage 1 ulcers may contribute to variance between studies. We also found that intervention measures were used only 27% of the time after the identification of patients at risk.


In this study, it is understood that Turkey is developing rapidly, the increasing need for accommodation due to migration from the village to the city and the distorted structure in the cities, and the urban transformation efforts carried out in order to overcome this skewed construction necessitated the reorganization of the environment and the place. Urban transformation, which brings about significant changes in social life, causes positive / negative effects especially on the social life of women. In this context, the historical process of urban transformation in Turkey and in the world has been analyzed and discussed from the perspective of environment and women's issues. In this context, it is aimed to analyze the reflections of the new place and the surrounding area, which are the result of urban transformation, on the social life of women, by interviewing face to face with the women living in Etimesgut in the city of Ankara and having experienced the process of urban transformation. In this framework, it is aimed to produce suggestions on spatial planning and environmental regulations that take into account the needs of women in urban life. The fact that women spend more time in domestic life, that women play an active role in neighborhood culture, requires that women be treated as a special category in every kind of urban transformation project and the possible effects on women should be examined. At the end of the work; It has been determined that women are not included in decision-making mechanisms in urban transformation projects carried out in Etimesgut region, that the lifestyles and needs of women are not adequately taken into account when domestic and environmental regulations are being made and that urban transformations have more intense and different effects on women.


OBJECTIVE
The study examined behavioral treatment effects of classical sensory integration therapy.

METHOD
This study used a prospective longitudinal, single-subject ABAB design. The participant was a boy, age 3 years and 5 months, with average nonverbal intellectual skills, delayed communication skills, and sensory modulation disorder. Difficulties with modulating sensory input and delayed communication skills affected his occupational performance in preschool. Behavioral data were collected in the preschool by teachers who were blind to the type and timing of sensory integration therapy.

RESULTS
Improvement in behavior regulation was observed, including increased engagement and decreased aggression, less need for intense teacher direction, and decreased mouthing of objects.

CONCLUSION
Classical sensory integration therapy may be associated with improved self-regulatory behaviors.


Cull cows (N = 48) of similar age from Angus and Hereford breed types were assigned to one of four feeding periods (0, 28, 56 or 84 d) and subdivided into two groups, one implanted with Synovex-H and a non-implanted control. Cows were fed a high energy diet and slaughtered at the end of each feeding period. Average daily gain and feed efficiency were evaluated on each animal during the trial. The following carcass traits were evaluated: USDA yield and quality grade characteristics, boning yield, muscle weights, bone weights, pH and Warner-Bratzler shear force of the longissimus muscle. The left side of each carcass was boned and proximate analysis was determined. No significant implant effects were encountered for any of the traits evaluated; therefore, data were pooled and evaluated by feeding period only. Carcass weight and boneless forequarter and hindquarter tissue weights increased significantly between each feeding period; percent kidney, pelvic and heart fat (KPH) and yield grade did not differ (P greater than .05) until d 56 and 84, respectively. Quality grade and marbling scores improved (P less than .05) between 28 and 56 d of feeding. Biceps femoris weight changed during the 84-d experiment from 4.1 kg on d 0 to 5.3 kg on d 84 (P less than .05). Proximate analysis of the boneless tissue indicated an increase (P less than .05) in extractable fat of approximately 6% for each feeding period (6.3% fat on d 0 to 25.4% on d 84).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


The increased demand of low-latency and spectrally efficient wireless transmissions requires accurate performance prediction mechanisms. A widely used performance prediction method for coded multicarrier transmissions applying iteratively decoded error correction codes is based on the employment of the mean mutual information of the coded bit. A precise knowledge at the transmitter site of the log likelihood ratios distribution at the receiver facilitates the accurate performance prediction and unambiguous modeling of the decoder's behavior in a multiphase transmission. This paper proposes an analytical method to characterize the distribution of the received bits log likelihood ratios using a limited number of parameters. The paper also evaluates the accuracy provided by the proposed theoretical method by comparing its results to the ones obtained from measurements. The performance evaluation shows that the proposed method provides good accuracies both for transmissions over Gaussian and frequency-selective channels.


The Cologne Cathedral, the largest Gothic church in northern Europe and a World Heritage Site since 1996, is located in the heart of Cologne, a city of one million inhabitants in western Germany. Some 150 m from the Cologne central train station and 350 m from the Rhine River, one of the busiest waterways in Europe, and right next to a busy street and a high‐use parking garage, it receives manifold ground motions of anthropogenic origin. However, when the constant daily stream of tourists, about six million annually, ceases in the evening hours after the church is closed to the public or during church services, the building becomes an oasis of silence despite its location right in the city center. Since 2006, the cathedral is equipped with five permanent strong‐motion stations which are part of a strong‐motion network covering the Lower Rhine Embayment (Hinzen and Fleischer, 2007). All stations use Epi sensor accelerometers and record continuously at 250 samples per second. Set up of stations and measurement examples from the cathedral have been given in detail by Hinzen et al. (2012).

On 9 December 2012, a new subway line of the Kolner Verkehrsbetriebe (KVB) went into operation. It utilizes a tube that runs in proximity to the cathedral and, right from the start of its operation, vibrations and solid‐borne sound became sensible, mainly in the northeastern part of the large building (ground floor 7914  m2) and in the choir. In early January 2013 this fact became public and caused a media storm including reporting in the German evening news and newspaper articles in Russia and China before any countermeasures could be taken. This negative publicity was extreme. One reason was that during the construction of a new subway line in 2004 the 44 m tall tower of the St. Johann Baptist church, 1.38 km …


A failure investigation of a welded waste heat boiler steel shell that developed transverse cracks was carried out in 1996 to determine the cause of failure as well as propose measures to be adopted to prevent similar failures occurring in the future. The boiler had been in service for several years before two cracks across two traversing circumferential welds were discovered on the underside during routine inspection. Chemical and metallographic analyses indicated that the boiler plate was made from a conventional C-Min steel and that it was certainly suitable for the purpose. The boiler interior showed massive deposition of a calcareous sludge on the walls and tube bundles. This was attributed to an excessive use of sodium orthophosphate to reduce the hardness of the boiler feed water. The high levels of Na+ and PO 43- ions found in both the sludge and boiler feed water analyses were taken as confirmatory evidence. Feed water quality monitored data for the period January 1994 to October 1995 showed pH values that were in excess of 12.4, a figure much higher than the recommended pH range 8 to 11. The high pH is thought to have been responsible for the occurrence of cracking as a result of caustic embrittlement. This point of view is supported by the observation of intergranular separation in the microstructures adjacent to the crack paths. Journal of Applied Science in Southern Africa Vol.5, No.1 pp. 9-24


Abstract A rapid temperature increase in the 1980-90s has been accompanied by dramatic and unprecedented changes in the biota and communities of the Ligurian Sea. This review uses existing historical series (a few of which have been purposely updated) to assess extent and consequences of such changes. A number of warm-water species, previously absent or occasional in the comparatively cold Ligurian Sea, has recently established thanks to warmer winters. Occurrence among them of invasive alien species is causing concern because of their capacity of outcompeting autochthonous species. Summer heatwaves, on the other hand, caused mass mortalities in marine organisms, some of which found refuge at depth. New marine diseases appeared, as well as other dysfunctions such as the formation of mucilage aggregates that suffocated and entangled benthic organisms. Human pressures have combined with climate change to cause phase shifts (i.e., abrupt variations in species composition and community structure) in different habitats, such as the pelagic environment, seagrass meadows, rocky reefs, and marine caves. These phase shifts implied biotic homogenization, reduction of diversity, and dominance by invasive aliens, and may be detrimental to the resilience of Ligurian Sea ecosystems. Another phase of rapid warming has possibly started in the 2010s and there are clues pointing to a further series of biological changes, but data are too scarce to date for proper assessment. Only well addressed long-term studies will help understanding the future dynamics of Ligurian Sea ecosystems and their possibilities of recovery.


Lamins are the key components of the nuclear lamina and by virtue of their interactions with chromatin and binding partners act as regulators of cell proliferation and differentiation. Of late, the diverse roles of lamins in cellular processes have made them the topic of intense debate for their role in cancer progression. The observations about aberrant localization or misexpression of the nuclear lamins in cancerous tissues have often led to the speculative role of lamins as a cancer risk biomarker. Here we discuss the involvement of lamins in several cancer subtypes and their potential role in predicting the tumor progression.


Abstract. Circulation of hoax and fake news in the last two years has stollen public attention. The President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo (2017) said that hoax is one of the nation's threats that can be caused disintegration. Based on the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, there was 3,356 hoax spreads in social media around August 2018 to September 2019. To fight against the spread of hoax and fake news, the government has published several policies. One of them is strengthening the role of the state civil apparatus (ASN) through the Social Media Synergy of the State Apparatus (SIMAN) that was started on 2017 and has redeclared in 2019. Through this paper, the author will elaborate furthermore about what is the role of this policy and how is the implementation of strengthening the ASN capabilities to stop the spread of hoax and fake news. This study was conducted with a qualitative method through literature studies and in-depth interviews with the relevant stakeholders in the Ministry of Coordinator in Politic, Law, and Security and at the Ministry of Communication and Information. This research is expected to be able to provide an overview of the policies and also to be a guide for the state civil apparatus and related parties in determining relevant programs according to this Policy


This study documents the work women do to provision for themselves and others. It charts the contours of this work and examines associated responsibilities. The concept of provisioning informed interviews with 100 women. The diversity and range of women's work were surfaced by selecting women from six community groups, marginalized by income, race, and age, in two Canadian provinces. Findings summarize the types of provisioning activities and strategies women use to meet their responsibilities. Because the latter flow through pathways of relationships, negotiating the boundaries of their provisioning responsibilities shapes women's daily work and possibilities for engaging in civil society.


Plants can prime their innate immune system after perception of certain environmental signals (Conrath et al. 2006). This defence state allows plants to respond faster and stronger to future attacks by microbes or insects. Priming is a long-lasting defence mechanism in plants, which was recently found to be transmittable to following plant generations (Slaughter et al. 2012, Luna et al. 2012, Rasmann et al. 2012). Long-lasting defence priming can, therefore, be regarded as a form of immunological memory in plants. Previously, we demonstrated that disease-exposed Arabidopsis produce progeny with enhanced resistance against biotrophic pathogens (Luna et al. 2012). This transgenerational resistance is based on priming of SA-inducible defence genes and an enrichment of chromatin marks associated with a permissive state of transcription at the promoter regions of these primed genes. Although histone modifications can have a long-lasting impact on gene expression (Vaillant & Paszkowski 2007), there is no convincing evidence that they can be transmitted through meiosis directly (Pecinka & Scheid 2012). In contrast, there is ample evidence for meiotic transmission of DNA methylation patterns, which is closely related to histone modifications (Law & Jacobsen 2010). Recently, we identified an allele of the NRPD2 gene in a forward mutant screen designed to reveal factors regulating immunity in Arabidopsis (Lopez et al. 2011). NRPD2 encodes the second largest subunit of the plant-specific RNA Polymerases IV and V, which are crucial for the RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) pathway (Onodera et al. 2005). We discovered that RdDM defective mutants displayed enhanced disease resistance towards biotrophic pathogens, which was based on priming of expression of SA-dependent genes and an enrichment of positive chromatin marks at the promoter regions of these genes. It has been reported previously that infection by P. syringae causes large-scale DNA hypomethylation in Arabidopsis (Pavetet al. 2006, Dowen et al. 2012). We therefore hypothesized that a proportion of this hypo-methylated DNA may be transmitted to the next generation, where it guides trans-acting chromatin remodelers to relax the chromatin associated with priming-responsive defence genes. Indeed, experiments with the various RdDM mutants revealed similar defence priming phenotypes as those expressed by the progenies from P. syringae-infected wild-type plants (Luna et al., 2012; Luna & Ton, 2012). Together, these results strongly suggest that transgenerational defence priming is transmitted through hypomethylated regulatory genes. Further experiments are needed to elucidate the exact role of DNA methylation in transgenerational priming. These experiments aim to (i) address the trans-acting mechanisms by which SA-dependent defence genes become transcriptionally primed in progenies from diseased plants and (ii) identify the stable epialleles responsible for transmission and maintenance of transgenerational priming in following generations. For example, we will subject progenies to methylation-sensitive AFLP analysis in order to obtain a global impression of the extent of differentially methylated DNA regions (DMRs). Moreover, we will take advantage of publically available methylome data from recently published studies (Dowen et al. 2012, Stroud et al. 2013) to identify candidate DMRs controlling transgenerational priming. To verify the role of these regions, we will design methylation-sensitive, quantitative PCR markers to measure the degree and transgenerational consistency of differential methylation in each candidate region. These markers will also be used to study within-generation responses in systemic plant parts following localized pathogen inoculation. Finally, we will create an epigenetic mapping population of Arabidopsis progeny lines, in order to confirm causal relationships between transgenerational priming phenotypes and meta-stable DMRs. Priming boosts the responsiveness of plant innate immunity system in a cost-efficient manner because it prepares the plant to respond more efficiently to future attacks without a direct activation of costly defense mechanisms (Van Hulten et al. 2006). For these reasons, priming creates opportunities to improve integrated pest and disease management schemes for agricultural crops. Moreover, the project will address the fundamental question of how plants can acquire long-term adaptation of their immune system to hostile environmental conditions.


One of the most significant changes that occurred in U.S. higher education in the second half of the twentieth century was the advent of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary programs and departments in Black Studies, Women's Studies, Chicano Studies, and for other ethnic minority groups. (1) One of the unique aspects of this important educational change was that in many places these programs arose as a result of protests and demands coming from the students themselves. Emerging out of social protest movements of the 1960s and 1970s, these new programs changed the face of U.S. higher education and also informed the educational changes that occurred at colleges and universities in other parts of the world as well. (2) Students, who in the early 1960s played a significant role in the nonviolent direct action protests associated with the Civil Rights Movement, soon turned their attention and energies to the social and educational conditions on college campuses and demanded significant change. The connections between the emergence of the "Free Speech Movement" in Berkeley, California, and the various campaigns for "student rights" and the Civil Rights Movement were direct. Many students who had been active in the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and other civil rights groups joined with the members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) to bring about the end to parietal regulations ("in loco parentis" rules), greater choice in courses of study, the end of university participation in military research, as well as the hiring of women and minority faculty members and creation of women's and ethnic studies programs. (3) The recent scholarly research on gender and the social protest movements of the 1960s, however, has added important qualifications and contradictions to the story as previously told and understood. In particular, the research on the contributions of African American women to the Civil Rights, Women's Liberation, and Black Power movements has raised a number of important issues about the emergence of Black Studies and Women's Studies programs that have yet to be fully explained. (4) In this essay I will explore some of the reasons why black nationalists in Black Studies programs and radical feminists in the Women's Studies movement initially ignored the experiences of African American women and rendered them invisible. I will also examine some of the responses of African American feminists to the racist practices they encountered in the women's movement in general, and to their "invisibility" in the Women's Studies curricula in the late 1960s and 1970s in particular. (5) BLACK POWER, WOMEN'S LIBERATION, AND AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN Sara Evans' Personal Politics: The Roots of Women's Liberation in the Civil Rights Movement and the New Left, published in 1979, was one of the first works to make explicit the connections between the Civil Rights and Women's Liberation movements. While some feminist critics have pointed to the continuities between the campaigns for "women's rights" following World War II and the emergence of the Women's Liberation Movement, Evans documented the disillusionment on the part of women who had been active in civil rights campaigns with the overt sexism they experienced in New Left groups and their increasing demands for "women's liberation." (6) While black and white women assumed prominent roles in the antiwar movement and campus protests, they used these experiences to further the cause of women's liberation. Aileen Hernandez, former union official and member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, civil rights activists Pauli Murray, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Flo Kennedy, and politician Shirley Chisholm we re among the African American women who served as founding members of the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1966. (7) Beginning in 1967 Black Studies programs and departments were formed at many colleges and universities and were considered the academic structures that emerged from the various movements for "Black Power. …


Bluetooth provides communication between devices via radio frequency with a range of around 10 meters. The Bluetooth specification includes a set of adopted and fundamental protocols. Baseband is a fundamental protocol that is responsible for the connection establishment among a master and up to seven slave devices. This paper describes a model of the Baseband connection establishment protocol and presents the analysis approach and results. The protocol is modeled using Colored Petri Nets. The model provides a clear, unambiguous and precise definition of the considered features of the baseband protocol, which is missing in the current protocol specification. The model is analyzed for a set of general properties, such as correct termination, and a set of Baseband protocol's specific properties defined in this paper. Some of the properties are checked by querying the occurrence graph, and the others are verified using a CTL-like temporal logic. The results show that the Baseband model satisfies the defined properties.


INTRODUCTION
Sclerostin is a glycoprotein known as a negative regulator of bone formation, predominantly expressed by mature  osteocytes. There is no causative evidence information on the role of sclerostin in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in humans.

AIM
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum sclerostin levels and oxidative status and biochemical parameters in T2DM patients and healthy people.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
This cross-sectional study, conducted in a clinical trial center, included 45 subjects with T2DM and 45 subjects as controls.

RESULTS
Serum sclerostin, total oxidative status (TOS), albumin, and ferritin levels were significantly higher in T2DM patients than in the control group (p<0.05). Total antioxidant status (TAS) was significantly higher in the control group (p<0.05). There was a weak positive correlation between sclerostin and TOS (r=0.23, p=0.03) and a weak negative correlation between sclerostin and TAS (r=-0.28, p=0.03).

CONCLUSIONS
We have demonstrated that serum sclerostin levels increase in patients with T2DM and that the increased sclerostin levels are associated with oxidative stress.


According to the requirement of the measuring impedance changes of biosensor caused by the specific binding of antibody and antigen, we designed an impedance measurement system for the biosensor which is able to work well within the range of frequency between 20Hz–100MHz. Besides of this, fast measurement, high accuracy, small size, and simple calibration are also needed. In this paper, the principle of impedance measurement and the circuit design methods were discussed, also the schematic diagrams of the system was showed. Finally the system was simulated by Multisim10 software. The results showed that the system could meet the need to measure impedance parameters within the wide frequency band with some satisfactory accuracy. Lay a good foundation for made of the test system and for the research of impedance data processing for the biosensor.


Abstract Multiple sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, characterised mainly as an autoimmune neurodegenerative disorder. Its cause is unknown but multifactorial; however, some studies suggest that oxidative stress may be one of the sources, or a consequence of the disease, from loss of oxidant/antioxidant balance. This review studies glutathione, one of the most important agents of the endogenous antioxidant defence system, protecting cells from damage caused by oxidative stress. It evaluates glutathione and the enzymes glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase in various forms and stages of the disease. Analysis of a literature search suggests that the scientific community is not unanimous in its views, so more studies are required of patients with different forms of the disease and its manifestations, taking into account that the body functions as a whole and reacts in a compensatory manner. It would seem imperative to achieve a consensus on the pathogenesis responsible for severe disability, and explore sensitive biomarkers of its progression and indicators of oxidative stress. It is also important to promote the development of new therapies, with more studies on other substances such as acrolein, lipoic acid and dimethyl fumarate. Clarification of the mechanisms involved in oxidative stress, in different forms of multiple sclerosis, could result in improvements in the monitoring and prognosis of the disease, with subsequent increases in a patient's quality of life.


The paper considers informational processes occurring within and between the body's functional systems. Informational demand-supply relations are constructed by the holographic principle. The apparatuses of outcome acceptors act as holographic informational screens in the functional systems. A concept of the non-specific informational syndrome of disintegration of different functional systems upon extreme exposures of human beings is formulated. Principles in non-drug rehabilitation of broken inter- and intrasystemic informational bonds are outlined.


The problem of binary hypothesis testing in a wireless sensor network is considered where observation of the sensors are quantized using identical binary quantizers and encrypted before transmission using a simple probabilistic cipher. The authorized or ally fusion center (AFC) is aware of the encryption process and the encryption parameters, whereas the unauthorized or third party fusion centers (TPFC) are unaware of the encryption parameters. The optimal threshold is evaluated for fixed values of the encryption parameters and numerical results are presented on the error probabilities of the two fusion centers. It is shown that by appropriate selection of the encryption parameters it is possible to degrade the performance of the TPFC significantly compared to that of AFC.