: Background: Breast cancer (BC) is considered the most malignant and central cancer-related death among women worldwide. There is an essential need to discover new methods for developing noninvasive and low-cost diagnoses. The present study examines the expression of KCNJ3 which acts as a biomarker for detecting BC in the saliva of BC patients compared to controls. Methods: The mRNA expression level of KCNJ3 has been evaluated. Forty-three unstimulated whole saliva samples from BC patients and forty-three salivary samples from healthy controls were collected. The mRNA level was measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Furthermore, the protein-protein interaction network in which KCNJ3 is involved was obtained. In silico analysis was applied to predict the possible molecular mechanisms of KCNJ3 in BC development. Results: Differentially expressed KCNJ3 was statistically significant between BC patients and controls (p<0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of KCNJ3 mRNA in BC detection were 76.74% and 94.95%, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis of KCNJ3 mRNA revealed that Area under the curve (AUC) was 0.923 (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.866-0.979). AUCs of ROC curve analysis were 0.743 (95% CI: 0.536-0.951), 0.685 (95% CI: 0.445-0.925), and 0.583(95% CI: 0.343-0.823) for differentiation stage I from stage III, stage I to stage II and finally stage II from stage III, respectively. Furthermore, the GABAergic synapse signaling pathway was suggested as a potential pathway involved in BC development. Conclusion: Salivary levels of KCNJ3 could be considered a potential diagnostic biomarker with high sensitivity and specificity for BC detection.


In three experiments (N = 56, 99, and 225) we showed that racial phenotypicality bias characterizes educational expectations for Chilean mestizo students: Participants displayed more positive educational expectations for light complexioned than for dark complexioned high school students. In Study 1, with male high school target students, the relation between racial phenotypic appearance and educational expectations was mediated by differences in perceived competence. Study 2 suggests that the gender of the target student did not influence the occurrence of racial phenotypicality bias. Study 3 showed that racial phenotypicality bias occurs in both university students and high school teachers' judgements. Although socio-economic (SES) background of the target student partially explained the effects of racial phenotypic appearance (especially in teachers), the latter exerted an additional and independent influence on educational expectations. These results underline the fact that effects of racial phenotypicality bias should not be overlooked in the educational domain. As mediational analyses suggested, these effects only partly occur because of stereotypical associations between racial phenotypic appearance and SES background, but also because of stereotypical associations between racial phenotypic appearance and attributed competence.


This thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Social Science in Economics of East West University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.


The rapid rate of environmental change in the Arctic alters the exchange of water, carbon, and energy fluxes between the land surface and the atmosphere with global impacts on ecosystems and climate. This thesis investigates the effect of mixed satellite signals on land cover mapping and on the estimation of latent heat fluxes, QE, and land surface temperature (LST) in three Arctic tundra environments in the Lena Delta (Siberia, Russia), on Bathurst Island (Canadian High Arctic), and the Barrow Peninsula (Alaska, USA). Land cover maps were derived from optical and radar remote sensing data with resolutions of 4m or better to decompose satellite mixed pixels with resolutions of 17m (CHRIS/PROBA) and 30m (Landsat5-TM). Downscaling
land/water cover via Landsat surface albedo increased the total water surface area of the Lena Delta from 13% to 20%. Ponds, i. e., water bodies with a surface area smaller than 10^4 m, made over 95% of the total number of water bodies at all sites. Water body size-distributions deviated from a power law function for
ponds and very large lakes which could only be detected with high-resolution water body mapping. Maximum spatial differences of up to 22 W/m^2 for QE and 10°C for LST were associated with fair weather perios dominated by high net radiation and little precipitation. Uncertainties of �35% would arise in Landsat-based QE mapping, and of �30% in MODIS-based LST mapping when subpixel land cover heterogeneities are not considered.
Results of this thesis highlight the importance of integrating detailed field studies with multi-scale remote sensing data to determine fine-scale spatial differences in energy fluxes over larger areas in Arctic tundra landscapes. Land cover maps with spatial resolutions of 2m or better are necessary to ensure the quality and representativeness of land cover statistics. This thesis proposes to compile improved subpixel land cover statistics in different Arctic ecosytems to facilitate upscaling of the surface energy balance as well as carbon fluxes to larger-scale grids. This is a crucial task regarding the great uncertainty associated
with the global estimation of feedbacks between the Arctic surface and the atmosphere under a changing climate.


Background : Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a harmful traditional practice that is deeply rooted in Africa. It has been outlawed in Bayelsa state of Nigeria but there is evidence that its performance by traditional circumcisers and health professionals continues. Aim : The study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of FGM among doctors and nurses/midwives practising in public secondary and tertiary hospitals in Bayelsa state. Methods : One hundred and ninety seven (197) structured questionnaires were administered to all available doctors and nurses/midwives in the study hospitals for self-completion. Epi-Info version 3.5.1 was used to analyse data. Results : All the respondents were aware of FGM. A higher proportion of nurses/midwives than doctors had ever been asked and had ever treated patients with complications of FGM. More than 90% of respondents said it was not a good practice. Out of the 70 female respondents, 19 (27.1%) said they were circumcised. Only one nurse/midwife admitted to performing FGM presently. Conclusion : Doctors and nurses/midwives practicing in the study hospitals were well aware of FGM and were favourably disposed towards its elimination. Efforts should be made to reinforce this position.

 Keywords : Female genital mutilation, knowledge, attitude, practice, doctors, nurses/midwives


Freshwater scarcity is already an urgent problem in some areas but may increase significantly in the future. To assess future developments, we need to understand how future population growth, agricultural production patterns, energy use, economic development, and climate change may impact the global freshwater cycle. Integrated models provide opportunities for quantitative assessment. In this paper, we further integrate models of hydrology and economics, using the models IMAGE and LPJmL, with explicit accounting for (1) electricity, industry, and municipal and irrigation water use; (2) intersectoral water allocation rules at the 0.5° × 0.5°grid scale; and (3) withdrawal, consumption, and return flows. With the integration between hydrology and economy we are able to understand competition dynamics between the different freshwater users at the basin and grid scale. We run model projections for three Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), more efficient water use, and no expansion of irrigated areas to understand the competition dynamics of these different allocation mechanisms. We conclude that (1) global water withdrawal is projected to increase by 12% in SSP‐1, 26% in SSP‐2, and 29% in SSP‐3 during 2010–2050; (2) water deficits (demand minus allocated water) for nonagricultural uses are small in 2010 but become significant around 2050; (3) interannual variability of precipitation results in variability of water deficits; (4) water use efficiency improvements reduce water withdrawal but have little impact on water deficits; and (5) priority rules at the local level have a large effect on water deficits, whereas limiting the expansion of irrigation has virtually no effect.


Abstract The novel hydrophilic back-extraction agent TS-BTPhen (3,3ʹ,3ʺ,3ʹʺ-[3-(1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-diyl)-1,2,4-triazine-5,5,6,6-tetrayl]tetrabenzenesulfonic acid) was tested for its selectivity towards Am(III) over Cm(III) and Eu(III) with a TODGA (N,N,Nʹ,Nʹ-tetraoctyldiglycolamide) based solvent. Batch experiments were carried out using TS-BTPhen dissolved in aqueous nitric acid solution with tracers of 152Eu, 241Am and 244Cm. A significant increase of the separation factor for Cm over Am from SFCm/Am = 1.6 up to SFCm/Am = 3.3 was observed compared to the use of a TODGA-nitric acid system alone. Furthermore, stripping was possible at high nitric acid concentrations (0.6-0.7 mol/L) resulting in a low sensitivity to acidity changes. The influence of the TS-BTPhen concentration was analyzed. A slope of -2 was expected taking into account literature stoichiometries of the lipophilic analogue CyMe4BTPhen. However, a slope of -1 was found. Batch stripping kinetics showed fast kinetics for the trivalent actinides. As an alternative organic ligand the methylated TODGA derivate Me-TODGA (2-methyl-N,N,Nʹ,Nʹ-tetraoctyldiglycolamide) was tested in combination with the hydrophilic TS-BTPhen. The Am(III) separation was achieved at even higher nitric acid concentrations compared to TODGA.


The ancient hydrographical network and geomorphological framework of the fluvial and coastal plain encompassed between the Livenza and Piave Rivers in the mainland of Venice (Northeastern Italy) were reconstructed, based on historical maps, georeferenced, and overlaid on available geomorphological maps and aerial photographs. A selection of 59 maps was accurately analyzed (32 from the sixteenth century, 31 from the seventeenth century, and 6 from the eighteenth century). They were selected by author, commitment, date, and scale, from among more than 1000 maps edited by Savi e Esecutori alle Acque (the 'hydrographical' service during the Republic of Venice) in the 16th and seventeenth century. The most representatives (7 from the sixteenth century and 6 from the seventeenth century) were georeferenced and redrawn. Finally, four 1:50.000 maps were created, picturing the ancient morphology and hydrographical network in the years 1550, 1600, 1650, and 1700, covering an area of about 130 square kilometers. Geographical information was compared with historical documents and geological, geomorphological, and geochronological data. Further comparison of geodetic maps from the eighteenth to the twenty-first century produced new maps with important information on the paleogeographical and environmental framework across two centuries, and particularly on the artificial diversion projects performed by the Venetian Republic, their effectiveness, and the geomorphological changes both related to human intervention and recent climatic changes.


This study was conducted to determine heavy metal (lead – Pb and cadmium – Cd) contamination of White Karaman sheep raised in Centrum (industrial area) and Özalp (rural area) districts of Van province in Turkey. Pb and Cd concentrations of blood serum and wool samples were measured with an ICP-OES device at Scientific Research and Implementation Center of Van Yuzuncu Yil University. It was observed that the sheep raised in the Central district of Van had higher levels of Pb and Cd in the blood serum and wool than those of the sheep Özalp district (p < 0.001). However, Pb and Cd levels of the sheep were still below the acceptable limits in both districts of Van province. Present findings revealed that pastures of both districts of Van province were safe with regard to food safety and environmental pollution with heavy metals.


The Metis project brings together a global virtual team for the collective creation of an advocacy advertainment film for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This team includes computer and human scientists, artists, NGO officers, students, global Olympics volunteers and industrial partners from Europe, Africa, China and North America. The ambitious scope of Metis demands a technology for cooperation that can address the intercultural mediation of creative and innovative processes and that is highly adaptive to unstable contexts and unpredictable situations. As is suggested by its motto: 'Shooting the film while building the camera', Metis envisages the development of such a technology and infrastructure for cooperation as part of the concurrent responsibility of the global virtual team. This paper reviews the progress of the Metis project to date, with specific reference to the broad challenges being faced in deploying current technologies for computer-supported collaborative working and learning (CSCW/CSCL). These challenges, which stem from the diversity of the cultures, contexts and processes for creation, communication and production represented in Metis, relate yet more broadly and generally to topical issues concerning eAdoption worldwide. The paper discusses the prospects for addressing these issues with reference to the future emerging technology of Empirical Modelling.


A strategy is presented for enhancing the middle-down analysis of higher mass peptides recovered from complex protein mixtures. Following a 30-min digestion of multiple myeloma cell lysate by an acid cleavage reaction that is selective for aspartic acid, a 3000 Da membrane filter is used to bifurcate the peptide product mixture, and the heavier fraction is subjected to collisional activation with precursor selection that excludes charge states below +4. Filtration and charge state selection are shown to provide significant increases in the number of peptides identified in the mass range above 3000 Da and in information about protein sequences.


As a promising solution to increase usages of the underutilized spectrum, Cognitive Radio Network (CRN) systems face many new practical challenges. Spectrum sensing and associated controlling algorithms are crucial tools toward dynamic spectrum management. Exploring the spatial diversity, distributed cooperative spectrum sensing can effectively overcome the hidden primary user issue. The performance of the distributed sensing scheme is not only affected by wireless channels but also by the number of CRs. However, CRs join and leave CRN at will and thus the performance of cooperative sensing is varying accordingly. In this paper, we study the impact of CR dynamic activities on cooperative spectrum sensing. Closed form expressions for the dynamic performance of distributed energy-based cooperative spectrum sensing are derived. These closed form expressions are analytical tractable and provide a feasible framework to apply optimization techniques for system design parameters to efficiently guarantee the global optimality without computationally costly exhaustive search. This efficient real-time performance evaluation capability is critical for CRN to perform quick online adaptation, especially because CRN is operated in dynamic scenarios which consist of the wireless links, the primary users' activities, and CR dynamics.


The role of HIV infection on the pathognomomic of HIV infections is not clearly understood. The aim of the current study was to determine the epidemiology of IPI and predisposing factors among HIV/AIDS patients in Bungoma County Hospital. This study was a cross-sectional study on 240 HIV(+ve) and 60 HIV(-ve) individuals. Stool samples were observed for intestinal parasites. Differences in prevalence and intensity of parasites were analyzed using Pearson Chi-square test. Factors causing observed differences in the prevalence and intensity of the parasites were analyzed using Chi-square test to identify significant factors responsible for observed prevalence. Significantly (χ2 = 23.764, df = 1, p = 0.002) higher prevalence of IPI occurred among HIV/AIDS patients (33.4%) compared to in HIV-ve patients (19.3%). Protozoan and helminthic parasites were the main parasites identified. Age, levels of education, income levels, smoking and drinking habits as well as dietary habits contributed significantly (p < 0.05 to increased prevalence of Intestinal parasitic infection among the HIV/AIDS patients. The study demonstrate that infection with HIV exacerbate intestinal parasitic infections (IPI). It is recommended that routine examination of stool samples for parasites would significantly benefit HIV infected and uninfected individuals by contributing to reduce morbidity.


Abstract This study explores how academics who expanded their teaching-only positions to include research view their (re)constructed academic identity. Participants worked in a higher professional education institution of applied research and teaching, comparable with so-called new universities. The aim is to increase our understanding of variations in academic identity and to be better able to support academics' 'role making' within and across different worlds of practice. Data from semi-structured interviews with 18 academics at a Dutch new university were analysed using a grounded theory approach. This revealed six well-rounded academic identities reflecting participants' personal scholarly objectives: the 'continuous learner', 'disciplinary expert', 'skilled researcher', 'evidence-based teacher', 'guardian of the research work process' and 'liaison officer'. The researcher role served to promote the overall development of participants' identities. The 'disciplinary expert' matured through participation in the academic world and research activities. Participants discovered what 'being' and 'becoming' a researcher in the new university might entail, and contributed to the professions' knowledge base. Participants learned to apply various research-based teaching approaches. As brokers, they linked research projects to practices in meaningful ways. The six identities embodied an emergent power in creating and preserving a complete academic profession. Participants' accounts showed tensions inherent in an extended role portfolio and constraints in 'role making' given inconsistencies between the university's espoused research mission and the one in use. These imply challenges for university managers in aligning policies and practices, and scaffolding academics' attempts to integrate their academic roles in different worlds of practice.


Tourism has become a global phenomenon in the last 50 years. Better and faster means of transport and communications have resulted in a massive movement of people. Today tourism with its rapid growth rate is not only a big business but is also the world's fastest growing industry next to petroleum. It represents the largest segment of invisible international trade and earnings. Tourism can be a small enterprise or a multi-million project, both labour intensive and capital intensive activity. Tourism industry besides exchange of ideas also generates foreign exchange. Thus, tourism industry is of paramount concern for India's economy as it is a major source of foreign exchange earnings and it can help cored adverse trade balances and regional imbalances and create employment opportunities to give a direct stimulus to the socioeconomic development of backward areas in our country. Puducherry is a fast growing region with development in industrial sector, agricultural sector and also tourism sector. Religious Tourism is developing in this region since last few years and attracting many tourists which emerged as one or the major sources of incomes to the government exchequer. The basic materials for tourism industry are culture, heritages, activities, Programmes, habitat, monuments and sculptures, etc. which Puducherry possesses abundantly and can be exploited for the betterment of the economy. On the above backdrop, present study was undertaken to evaluate the growth of tourism industry and its impact on the overall growth of the union territory. Day to Day Puducherry Religious Tourism destinations are improved and its development as well as availability or added some extra facilities in regular/ seasonal times.


Some highlights from the Jernkontoret Research with focus on the modeling work of the lost decade are presented. First the concept of a fundamental mathematical model is discussed. Thereafter, a short review of growth and separation models based on fundamental modeling of ladles is presented. Then, recent modeling efforts within Jernkontoret's Research are highlighted.


In the course of investigations of the twilight-effect of the D-lines of sodium 14 spectra were photographed on March 1, 1941, showing the strong aurora on this evening. The spectra prove unambiguously that the twilight-effect occures completely undisturbed and independent of the aurora observed at the same time; i.e. the layers normally emitting the D-lines in the night-sky are not affected by the aurora. The auroral spectrum does not contain the D-lines. Thus the aurora took place above the layer emitting the D-lines in the night-sky. Occasional observations of the D-lines in auroras of higher layers indicate that in such cases the sodium was of extraterrestrial origin.


Yarn unwinding from stationary packages has an important role in many textile processes. In order to achieve high unwinding velocity that can lead to increased production rate, it is necessary to develop packages with a suitable geometry, dimensions, and winding type. The optimal design of the package leads to an optimal form of the balloon and low and uniform tension at high unwinding speed. In this work I will show a simple mathematical model which can be used for simulating the unwinding process. Using experimental values I will find a relation between the angular velocity of the yarn around the axis and the tension. This will allow me to calculate the oscillations of the tension in the yarn during the unwinding from packages of different geometries and with different winding angles. I will find an optimal design for a package of a new generation.


Pig-to-human xenotransplantation has been proposed as a possible solution to the world shortage of organ donors. Additionally, cell/tissue xenotransplantation shows promise in the treatment of patients with diabetes, neuronal and eye diseases. At present, barriers to xenotransplantation still include graft rejection, physiological compatibility issues and the threat posed by zoonoses. In this article, the current information from recent publications in the field of porcine zoonoses and xenotransplantation is presented. Pathogens of concern including herpesviruses, endogenous retroviruses and hepatitis E virus are known and risk reduction measures against these in xenotranplantation settings are described. Unidentified pathogens pose a separate risk that may not be identified until clinical trials take place and risks vary depending on the diseases, operation practices and graft production processes including geographical factors. Currently, a number of clinical trials are underway using encapsulated porcine islets, which may alter the perceived risks of pathogen transfer.

Key Concepts:

Prevention of pathogen transfer in xenotransplantation.

The risk of porcine zoonoses is one that should be minimised before xenotransplantation is carried out in human trials.

The use of techniques such as encapsulation in cellular xenotransplantation could be used to potentially protect against pathogen transfer.

Donor animals used in xenotransplantation should come from specific pathogen-free herds which have been screened and tested negative for known and potentially zoonotic viruses, such as Swine influenza, hepatitis E, porcine cytomegalovirus and porcine lymphotropic viruses.

Porcine endogenous retroviruses cannot be eliminated from donor herds and although their zoonotic potential remains unknown, steps should be taken to minimise the possibility of zoonoses by selecting donor pigs with low PERV copy number and absence of known dangerous PERV subtype and loci.

The possibility of unknown zoonotic viruses emerging poses a constant threat. To counteract this a high surveillance and investigatory approach is required, using the most advanced molecular techniques available.

Keywords:

xenotransplantation;
zoonosis;
virus;
PERV;
herpesvirus;
unknown viruses;
safety


Technology influences how people using the computer in their daily activity think and behave. Knowledge is more accessible than ever thanks to the internet. Its true potential however has only just started being noticed. WEB2.0, live web, hyperlink, 2.0 software, active web, writing and reading web. Internet has become a global, active, connected computer, allowing everyone not only to contribute, but also to change the nature of information.
The strong impact caused by the avalanche of new technologies on the formal educational system required the latter's adaptation to this context by renouncing the paradigm of "teacher-centred learning" and by "providing learning and training opportunities or educational programmes through electronic means" specific to the use of information technology in the classroom activity, long-known generically as computer assisted training (CAT). CAT turned into e-learning (m-learning), developed and now covers an ample set of applications and processes, as well as the web-based learning, virtual classes or online collaboration, content distribution, etc. Under the new conditions, the Teacher becomes a Mentor, the student's partner in the latter's learning activity.
This work shows to which extent the teaching staff and the students, respectively, developed the 15 dimensions of the technical competence required for integrating the new web2.0 technologies in the professional and personal activity. The level analysis resulting from this research (sample: 350 higher-education teachers, 250 students and 60 employers) shows that every competence contributes differently to the elaboration/conclusion of a personal teaching style by using innovative working strategies. The models incorporating conceptual maps, the modern means of communication, viewing and relating via m-learning and the new web2.0 technologies increase the degree of new information sensitivity and reception, they increase the stimulation, imagination and enthusiasm indexes by changing the Teacher-Student relations, increase the involvement level in the student's collective activities and they render the educational process effective.


Objective: The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of the change in the bone densitometer reference database on the prevalence of osteoporosis and the identification of vertebral fractures (VFs) in postmenopausal Moroccan women. Methods: 328 post-menopausal women were recruited. Bone mineral density (BMD) and lateral Vertebral Fracture Assessment (VFA) images were obtained using a Bone densitometer. VFs were defined using a combination of Genant semi quantitative approach and morphometry. The discriminative performance of Morocco, Europe, Middle East and USA reference database to identify osteoporosis and prevalent VFs was assessed by evaluating the areas under the ROC curve (AUC), and calculating sensitivity, specificity, positive, negative predictive value and positive likelihood ratio. A stepwise conditional binary regression analysis was reported in the order to assess the risk of occurrence of vertebral fractures for all bone reference databases. Results: the mean age was 65 ± 6.5 (50 to 84) years. Vertebral fractures were identified in 84 (25.6%). Using the Moroccan database, 144 women (43.9%) were identified with osteoporosis at any site. According the European, Middle Eastern and American reference databases, osteoporosis prevalence at any site was 138 (42%), 137 (41.7%) and 132 (40.2%); respectively (p=0.01). The highest AUC was observed for Moroccan lumbar spine reference database which had also the best sensitivity and specificity balance (65.5% - 63.8%) and the highest positive predictive value and the positive likelihood ratio (38.5-1.8). The stepwise conditional binary regression analysis showed that Moroccan (OR [CI 95%] = 5.8 [1.2 – 27.8]) and, at a lower odds, European (OR [CI 95%] = 2.7 [1.3 – 5.7]) database were independently able to predict prevalent vertebral fractures. Conclusion: The Moroccan reference database with the elevated prevalence of osteoporosis noted can better identify subjects at highest risk of osteoporotic VFs.


Biocatalysis has emerged as an important tool in the industrial synthesis of bulk chemicals, pharmaceutical and agrochemical intermediates, active pharmaceuticals, and food ingredients. However, the number and diversity of the applications are modest, perhaps in part because of perceived or real limitations of biocatalysts, such as limited enzyme availability, substrate scope, and operational stability. Recent scientific breakthroughs in genomics, directed enzyme evolution, and the exploitation of biodiversity should help to overcome these limitations. As a result, we expect many new industrial applications of biocatalysis to be realized, from single-step enzymatic conversions to customized multistep microbial synthesis by means of metabolic pathway engineering.


Growing pressure on the packaging design to enhance the environmental and logistics performance of a packaging system stresses the packaging designers to search new design strategies that not only fulfill logistics requirements in the supply chain, but also reduce the CO2emissions during the packaging life cycle.This thesis focuses on the packaging design process and suggests some improvements by considering its logistics performance and CO2emissions. A Green packaging development model was proposed for corrugated box design to explore the inter-dependencies that exist among compressive strength, waste and CO2emissions.The verification of the proposed model unveils the significance of a holistic view of the packaging system in the packaging design process and reveals the importance of packaging design decisions on the logistics performance and CO2 emissions. The thesis finally concluded that the packaging logistics performance should be considered in a packaging design process to explore the Green packaging design solution.


Introduction : Patient and family participation is when the views and experiences of patients and family are sought and taken into account in healthcare changes. Participation leads to improvements for health systems and services, patients and clinicians. However, the best way to involve patients and family members has not been identified. This study aims to establish preferences for the level of intensity and implementation of participation in healthcare design and delivery. Methods : Separate three-round Delphi Technique Experiments (DTEs) were conducted with a panel of 31 participants from an outpatient psychiatry service and a panel of 28 participants from an outpatient type 2 diabetes service, both in Ireland. Each panel included patients, family members and clinicians. Consensus was achieved when at least 65% of the panel were in agreement and there was less than a 15% change in opinions between rounds. Results : Consensus was achieved in 60/65 questions in the psychiatry DTE and 60/64 questions in the diabetes DTE. Patient participation at all times was supported by the psychiatry panel (73% n=22/30) while the diabetes panel agreed on patient participation as problems arise (83% n=24/29). Family involvement in discussions was supported by 66% (n=23/35) of the psychiatry panel and 72% (n=18/25) of the diabetes panel. Patients 'voting' on changes was supported by 87% (n=27/31) of the psychiatry panel and 72% (n=21/29) of the diabetes panel. Both panels agreed on representation through patient and family representatives with factors such as ability to dedicate time considered during selection and personal experiences, discussions with other patients and family members and pre-identified priorities taken into account when providing input. Strong consensus was reached on the need for training to be provided to all stakeholders, including clinical. Discussions : This is the first time patients, family members and clinicians are included together in the identification of the intensity and implementation of participation. The inclusion of these groups is essential for the development of long-lasting sustainable participation. This study is the first to focus on family participation establishing the preferred level of intensity and method of family participation. Given the role of family members in care and management of chronic illnesses identification of their role within services is key. Conclusions : Patients, family members and clinicians agreed on patients having a vote in changes and family being involved in discussions. Training needs to be provided to all stakeholder groups.  Lessons learned : Consensus between key stakeholder groups in participation can be achieved. There is support for participation at all times in psychiatry but only as problems arise in diabetes. Greater intensity patient participation is supported with preference for patients having a vote in changes and family only being involved in discussions about changes. Limitations : Higher levels of education have been associated with support for participation. Both panels in this research are highly educated due to the inclusion of clinicians. Suggestions for future research : Develop and test an intervention to encourage participation based on the preferences indicated in this research. Conduct DTEs in a broader range of services to establish if similar patterns emerge.


This work presents results on calcium accumulation capacity of chemically skinned multifiber preparations of aortic smooth, skeletal and ventricular muscle of the rat. The suppression of the plasma membrane functions as a permeability barrier to ions, allowed to expose the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) to 45Ca-EGTA buffers and to measure the amount of 45Ca accumulated by the preparations in a 30-min period at room temperature. The 45Ca loaded was attributed to the activity of the SR calcium pump since it was dependent on pCa values of the incubation media and enhanced by K oxalate. This method allowed to discriminate calcium accumulation capacity of SR in the different muscle types. 45Ca accumulated in the absence of K oxalate amounted to 5.16 +/- 0.08, 7.02 +/- 0.38 and 2.59 +/- 0.15 mumoles Ca2+/g fiber protein in aortic smooth, skeletal and ventricular muscle preparations, respectively. The values obtained in the presence of 10 mM K oxalate indicated the following increasing order of calcium accumulation capacities: skeletal greater than ventricular greater than or equal to aortic smooth muscle. Taking into account the protein content of each muscle type, the calculated amount of calcium accumulated by the SR exceeds that necessary to elicit full contractile activation.


This paper addresses the problem of photometric stereo, in both calibrated and uncalibrated scenarios, for non-Lambertian surfaces based on deep learning. We first introduce a fully convolutional deep network for calibrated photometric stereo, which we call PS-FCN. Unlike traditional approaches that adopt simplified reflectance models to make the problem tractable, our method directly learns the mapping from reflectance observations to surface normal, and is able to handle surfaces with general and unknown isotropic reflectance. At test time, PS-FCN takes an arbitrary number of images and their associated light directions as input and predicts a surface normal map of the scene in a fast feed-forward pass. To deal with the uncalibrated scenario where light directions are unknown, we introduce a new convolutional network, named LCNet, to estimate light directions from input images. The estimated light directions and the input images are then fed to PS-FCN to determine the surface normals. Our method does not require a pre-defined set of light directions and can handle multiple images in an order-agnostic manner. Thorough evaluation of our approach on both synthetic and real datasets shows that it outperforms state-of-the-art methods in both calibrated and uncalibrated scenarios.


A two-temperature magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model, which evolves the electron and ion temperatures separately, is implemented in the PSI-Tet code and used to model plasma dynamics in the HIT-SI experiment. When compared with single-temperature Hall-MHD, the two-temperature Hall-MHD model demonstrates improved qualitative agreement with experimental measurements, including: far-infrared interferometry, ion Doppler spectroscopy, Thomson scattering, and magnetic probe measurements. The two-temperature model is utilized for HIT-SI simulations in both the PSI-Tet and NIMROD codes at a number of different injector frequencies in the 14.5-68.5 kHz range. At all frequencies the two-temperature models result in increased toroidal current, lower chord-averaged density, and symmetrization of the current centroid, relative to single-temperature simulations. Both codes produce higher average temperatures and toroidal currents as the injector frequency is increased. Power balance and heat fluxes to the wall are calculated for the two-temperature PSI-Tet model and indicate considerable viscous and compressive heating, particularly at high injector frequency. Parameter scans are also presented for the artificial diffusivity, and Dirichlet wall temperature and density. Artificial diffusivity and the density boundary condition both significantly modify the plasma density profiles, leading to larger average temperatures, higher toroidal current, and increased relative density fluctuations at low diffusivity and low wall density. High power, low density simulations at 14.5 kHz achieve sufficiently high gain (G = 5) to generate significant volumes of closed flux lasting 1-2 injector periods.


The pathogenesis of infectious bursal disease (IBD) in chickens neonatally chemically bursectomized (CB) by cyclophosphamide and subsequently inoculated with various numbers of bursal cells was examined. CB chickens inoculated with at least 62.5 X 10(6) bursal cells were as susceptible to IBD clinical manifestations (as determined by gross and microscopic evaluation of bursal tissues, virus recovery from spleen, and antibody titer) as intact chickens following inoculation with virus at 5 weeks of age. In contrast, CB chickens inoculated with 2.5 X 10(6) or fewer bursal cells were refractory to the IBD clinical manifestations compared with intact chickens or CB chickens inoculated with 62.5 X 10(6) or more bursal cells. Results from this study suggest that the availability of a large number of bursal cells is an essential factor in the development of IBD.


BACKGROUND
The gold standard for the diagnosis of cholera is stool culture, but this requires laboratory facilities and takes at least 24 hours. A rapid diagnostic test (RDT) that can be used by minimally trained staff at treatment centers could potentially improve the reporting and management of cholera outbreaks.

METHODS
We evaluated the Crystal VC™ RDT under field conditions in Zanzibar in 2009. Patients presenting to treatment centers with watery diarrhea provided a stool sample for rapid diagnostic testing. Results were compared to stool culture performed in a reference laboratory. We assessed the overall performance of the RDT and evaluated whether previous intake of antibiotics, intravenous fluids, location of testing, and skill level of the technician affected the RDT results.

RESULTS
We included stool samples from 624 patients. Compared to culture, the overall sensitivity of the RDT was 93.1% (95%CI: 88.7 to 96.2%), specificity was 49.2% (95%CI: 44.3 to 54.1%), the positive predictive value was 47.0% (95%CI: 42.1 to 52.0%) and the negative predictive value was 93.6% (95%CI: 89.6 to 96.5%). The overall false positivity rate was 50.8% (213/419); fieldworkers frequently misread very faint test lines as positive.

CONCLUSION
The observed sensitivity of the Crystal VC RDT evaluated was similar compared to earlier versions, while specificity was poorer. The current version of the RDT could potentially be used as a screening tool in the field. Because of the high proportion of false positive results when field workers test stool specimens, positive results will need to be confirmed with stool culture.


The response of yields to the actual water (effective rainfall) used by cassava, was the main area of study of this project. A twenty data point (20 years) was processed using CROPWAT 8.0 model using fixed percentage (80%) method, the model was used to run the 20 years daily rainfall data collected from NIMET (Nigeria Meteorological Agency) Oyo State from 1994 to 2013 (20 years) while the cassava yield was collected from FAOSTAT website. The rainfall pattern for the annual period of cultivation for cassava was determined through the planting and dates of the crop. The results of the annual water productivity values show that there was a very low water productivity of 0.9kg/m3 in 2012 while 2013 recorded the highest water productivity of 2.2 kg/m3. The early planting of cassava after rainfall started in the month of March which contributed to the high yield recorded in 2010, 2011 and 2013. The poor performance of cassava in 2012 could be due to the following; the variety used, the soil type, the plant's age at harvest, and the rainfall intensity and distribution during that particular year. The trend of the results was used to determine the alternative cost of water if the farm would be fully irrigated. It was gathered that 7000 litres of untreated water would be supplied to any farthest location at ₦12,000. Therefore, the cost was determined based on the yield and the water used annually.


Abstract Fault Detection and Identification (FDI) problems often have to take into account the interference of nuisance parameters in the elaboration of decision processes. There are many works addressing cases in which nuisance parameters interfere in a linear and additive way, most of them in a deterministic framework. The main contribution of the paper is to propose a fully statistical methodology for dealing with non-linear nuisance parameters. The results obtained allow an analysis of the risks (in terms of non-detection and false alarm probabilities) attached to a statistical test designed for such non-linear models. The developed method is applied to the integrity monitoring of GNSS train navigation and some simulations demonstrate the worthiness of this approach.


Plastic pollution in the terrestrial environment is emerging as another significant manmade threat to ecosystem function and health. Plastic contamination can range from the macro-to-nano scale, and environmental impacts are evident at each level. Although significant knowledge gaps remain regarding the interactions between the natural environment and nano- and micro-plastics (NMPs), there is an increasing body of evidence concerning detrimental effects on a wide range of taxa. The surface properties of NMPs lead to the adsorption of heavy metals, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, antibiotics and other persistent organic pollutants, which, therefore, can result in their co-migration in the terrestrial environment. Although airborne and dietary transmission routes of NMPs have been observed, their effects to human health are still not fully understood, which is of concern to the scientific community. This state-of-the-art review paper firstly examines available evidence for, and knowledge of, various sources of NMP contamination to the terrestrial environment. Attention then focuses on (i) the biological processes from source to soils and plants, (ii) potential impacts of NMPs on soil and subsurface ecosystems, (iii) trophic interactions and function, and (iv) implications for environmental and human health. The paper concludes by identifying knowledge gaps and presents recommendations on prioritised research needs.


Author(s): Calvo, Richard Yee | Abstract: BACKGROUND : The San Diego trauma population is aging over time and older trauma patients represent a vulnerable population at risk for mortality and severe morbidity. Reductions in validity of the prognostic metrics may be improved by evaluating chronic diseases, but there is minimal evidence to support this. Few studies have evaluated mortality after trauma center discharge, and none have evaluated mortality in the context of discharge as a competing risk. METHODS : Three studies were performed to evaluate chronic conditions on trauma-related outcomes as part of historical cohort study on blunt- injured patients age ≥55 years admitted between 01/2006-12 /2012. The first evaluated chronic conditions on in- hospital mortality (with a competing event) and hospital length of stay (HLOS). The second evaluated chronic conditions and mortality after trauma center discharge. In the third study, a chronic disease-based prognostic model for trauma-related mortality was constructed and compared to other leading metrics. RESULTS : There were 4653 unique patients who met all criteria for inclusion. Of 40 conditions, 23 were associated with in-hospital mortality. HLOS was associated with 32 of 40 conditions. Of 4442 survivors, 938 died within two years of discharge. Patients discharged to care facilities showed worse survival within the first 30 days (early-term mortality). Injury-related variables were associated only with early- term mortality, while chronic conditions were associated with two-year mortality after discharge. The model development procedure identified twelve conditions for inclusion. Model tests showed moderate performance for mortality and ours was superior versus other chronic disease metrics. Validation showed moderate performance of our model that did not significantly differ from other chronic disease metrics. Injury metrics, overall, were poor at predicting mortality. CONCLUSION : Chronic conditions vary in their relationship with mortality by time. In older trauma populations, chronic conditions show stronger associations with mortality than injury-related measures. Discharges to care facilities are valid competing events to in-hospital mortality and should be accounted for when assessing the quality of trauma care. Our developed model performed well with twelve variables compared to others with far more. Results can be used to inform patients and care providers of the risks outside the realm of injury


Return on Ideas is a practical guide to getting more from the resources you put into your innovation process. David Nichols clearly shows why current innovation funnel models stifle rather than encourage new ideas, and offers a new methodology, rocketing, to tackle the problem.The first book to look in detail at innovation as a business-driving imperative, Return on Ideas provides the tools, techniques and processes to actually upgrade the way you tackle innovation, illustrated with examples from innovative companies such as Yo! Sushi, Apple, Vodafone, Unilever, PG, Danone, Amex and Ben Jerrys as well as unconventional sources such as theatre and comedy.Author: Nichols, David S. S. Publisher: Wiley Illustration: N Language: ENG Title: Return on Ideas: A Practical Guide to Making Innovation Pay Pages: 00280 (Encrypted PDF) On Sale: 2008-05-23 SKU-13/ISBN: 9780470028575 Category: Business & Economics : Sales & Selling General


This guide is a starting point for research in the multidisciplinary field of global studies. It includes resources with transnational and international concerns and offers socioeconomic, political, cultural, health and environmental perspectives.


The rapid advancement in information and computer technology (ICT) has contributed to massive development of new pedagogies for the enhancement of teaching and learning across all fields of education, at all levels, including tertiary chemistry education. For the most part, the worldwide web (WWW) has afforded chemistry educators vast opportunities to improve their teaching practices towards better student learning experience. From a static traditional text-based content delivery, chemistry educators nowadays may take advantage of a dynamic, learner-centered, multimodal instruction that caters to 21st century learners. A wide range of learning resources for chemistry education in various media formats have been made available through the internet and can be harnessed not only for content delivery but for assessment as well. To maximise the benefits of these affordances, an appropriate instructional design is however imperative. This paper discusses various educational models such as resource-based learning (RBL), technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) and universal design for learning (UDL) which may serve as foundations for an innovative instructional design for use in the delivery of an undergraduate chemistry course/unit in blended learning mode. The use of web-based open educational resources (OERs) in the field of chemistry will likewise be discussed in this paper.


Gas sensors are used for fire detection, detection of gas in different spaces, i.e. in transportation of sensitive materials. Marine and navy applications are therefore very important. Model of a thin film conducting polymer gas sensor is described. There are two types of gas sensors' model: with alternative current and with direct current. MatLab program package has been used for gas sensor simulation. Results of simulation are compared with the published experimental data. Simulation results are satisfactory close to experimentally obtained characteristics of gas species. The results show how to identify different gas species by using dielectric properties of thin polymer film. This is possible because every gas species have different resonant frequency. Different resonant frequency causes changes in model parameters


[1] The presence of valley networks (VN) on Mars suggests that early Mars was warmer and wetter than present. However, detailed geomorphic analyses of individual networks have not led to a consensus regarding their origin. An additional line of evidence can be provided by the global pattern of dissection on Mars, but the currently available global map of VN, compiled from Viking images, is incomplete and outdated. We created an updated map of VN by using a computer algorithm that parses topographic data and recognizes valleys by their morphologic signature. This computer-generated map was visually inspected and edited to produce the final updated map of VN. The new map shows an increase in total VN length by a factor of 2.3. A global map of dissection density, D, derived from the new VN map, shows that the most highly dissected region forms a belt located between the equator and mid-southern latitudes. The most prominent regions of high values of D are the northern Terra Cimmeria and the Margaritifer Terra where D reaches the value of 0.12 km−1 over extended areas. The average value of D is 0.062 km−1, only 2.6 times lower than the terrestrial value of D as measured in the same fashion. These relatively high values of dissection density over extensive regions of the planet point toward precipitation-fed runoff erosion as the primary mechanism of valley formation. Assuming a warm and wet early Mars, peculiarity of the global pattern of dissection is interpreted in the terms of climate controlling factors influenced by the topographic dichotomy.


This essay treats the growth and development of Charles S. Peirce's three categories, particularly studying the qualities of Peirce's Firstness , a basic formula of "airy-nothingness" (CP: 6.455) serving as fragment to Secondness and Thirdness . The categories of feeling, willing, and knowing are not separate entities but work in interaction within the three interpretants. Interpretants are triadomaniac elements through the adopted, revised, or changed habits of belief. In works of art, the first glance of Firstness arouses the spontaneous responses of musement , expressing emotions without the struggle and resistance of factual Secondness, and not yet involving logical Thirdness. The essential qualities of a loose or vague word, color, or sound give the fugitive meanings in Firstness. The flavor, brush, timbre, color, point, line, tone or touch of the First qualities of an aesthetic object is too small a base to build the logic of aesthetic judgment. The genesis art is explained by Peirce's undegeneracy growing into group and individual interpretants and building into the passages and whole forms of double and single forms of degeneracy . The survey of the flash of Firstness is exemplified in a variety of artworks in language, music, sculpture, painting, and film. This analysis is a preliminary aid to further studies of primary Firstness in the arts.


ABSTRACT Authigenic, complexly polyhedral limpid dolomite was discovered lining halite cubes and hoppers in Permian shallow-marine and sabkha deposits. When dissolved out of the halite the dolomite is crystal-clear and exhibits a variety of crystallographic forms, from the simple unit rhomb to complex vicinal facets. The dolomite is significantly depleted in 18O relative to other dolomite from the Permian basin. Bromide analyses indicate that the halite is recycled. Two hypothesis are proposed to account for the petrographic and geochemical properties of the halite-dolomite couplet. The first argues that the halite and dolomite precipitated cogenetically from a mixed solution of marine brine and meteoric runoff. The second hypothesis suggests that the dolomite formed some time later also from a mixed solution, probably by metasomatic replacement of the halite.


Fracking has revolutionized international oil and gas markets practically overnight, but its impact on local public finance and governance have largely been overlooked. While operating under federal and state constraints, the key ongoing policy question is whether and to what extent local governments can – and should – have the power to manage the industry's effects on their communities. This IMFG Paper explores the fiscal health risks associated with the industry, its local revenue generation implications, and what local governments can do to address the spatial and temporal mismatches between the two. As the industry expands internationally, including to Canada, lessons from the United States can inform future regulatory response in other places.


There have been substantial changes in the nutritional management of many diseases in the last 20 years, which have been accompanied by a growing recognition of its importance. Many of the changes in clinical nutrition have been associated with the introduction of standards, clinical audit and the implementation of evidence-based practice, which has led to a re-evaluation of some established dietary interventions using a hierarchy-of-evidence approach. Although there are few randomised controlled trials on which to base such work, the examination of other, often less-robust, evidence has led to some traditional dietary interventions being modified. Examples in gastroenterology include the use of low-fat diets in gall bladder disease and the restriction of protein in hepatic encephalopathy, where the current evidence suggests that neither should be used routinely in clinical practice. Where therapeutic dietary restrictions are required, as with low-Na diets in ascites, there is very little information on how these restrictions influence total nutrient intake and, if intake is impaired, how the detrimental effects of an inadequate intake should be balanced with the therapeutic effects of restriction. Studies are required to ensure that nutritional interventions are not only effective but also free from undesirable side effects. The mode and timing of the delivery of nutritional support has also been re-evaluated and the benefits of early enteral feeding have been recognised. The delivery of dietary advice is a new area that is being considered, with practitioners in clinical nutrition using behaviour-change skills to facilitate optimum nutrition rather than simply providing patients with advice. For such developments to continue in clinical nutrition it is essential that all practice should be systematically evaluated and, where necessary, modified in the light of sound current research findings, and that gaps in our present knowledge base are identified and addressed.


Using two network theories, material semiotics and social network analysis, this literature review explores the research of e-assessment within the context of globalization between 2008 and 2012. The of three concepts in the cultural theory of globalization; differenitalism, convergence and hybridization are used in this review to look for evidence in citation networks of how research on e-assessment is globally shared. An interest in e-assessment is clearly a global phenomenon yet there are certain regions where the production or consumption of literature on e-assessment is more evident. The majority of research output belongs to British and Taiwanese authors published in the British Journal of Educational Technology and Computers & Education. However, just as striking is almost complete absence of publications on e-assessment from India and South American and African countries. Social network analysis (SNA) tools were used, employing SNA concepts such as degrees and edges, to observe features in the global transfer of research on e-assessment. While technologies may make it easier to communicate and be a key element in globalization. 90% of published research communication remained between the US, Taiwan and the UK. While Taiwan had a high in-degree rate with the UK and the US, less that 3% of directed edges were between the US and UK, separated by their respective 'psychometric epistemology' and 'expert judgement' approaches towards e-assessment. Assumptions that the American-English higher education systems are part of an imagined community seem to be contradicted by both a reliance of some research communities on their own resources as well as very few edges between the US and UK. Employing the notion of aggregated relationality, SNA techniques were used with tools to map the socio-technical cartography of entities by deploying or redeploying their attributes. This study also reflected on the methodological issues related to using social network analysis . A problem associated with this approach is, to paraphrase John Law, is to 'distort into clarity' the practices of e-assessment. Conscious of the risk of being seduced by the elegance of network visualisations an a discussion of the 'black boxing' that takes place before and during this kind of analysis is made.


The intellectual and the popular: Irving Howe and John Waters, Susan Sontag and Ethel Rosenberg, Dwight MacDonald and Bill Cosby, Amiri Baraka and Mick Jagger, Andrea Dworkin and Grace Jones, Andy Warhol and Lenny Bruce. All feature in Andrew Ross's lively history and critique of modern American culture. Andrew Ross examines how and why the cultural authority of modern intellectuals is bound up with the changing face of popular taste in America. He argues that the making of "taste" is hardly an aesthetic activity, but rather an exercise in cultural power, policing and carefully redefining social relations between classes.


Background: Glaucoma has been declared to be the second most common cause of blindness in adults in India. Glaucoma was undetected in more than 90 % of individuals identified in the population studies. Aim& Objective: The aim of this study is to compare the non contact tonometer (the NIDEK NT 510) with the Goldmann applanation tonometer (GAT) and to determine the intraocular pressure readi ngs in healthy and glaucomatous population. Methodology: This is a Hospital based conducted at tertiary care centre of banaskantha and patan district of Gujarat Results: Demographic profile of the study showed that males 157 (54%) were more than the females 132 (45.67%) in the normal individual. In glaucoma patients males 91 (67.91%) were more than the females 43 (32.08%). In our study there was linear correlation between age and IOP in both eyes. Higher IOP was found in both > 50 years age group depending on the instrument used. In our study, in normal patients the IOP mean±SD values of both NCT and GAT was 16.15±4.46 and 15.87±4.58. From these results, IOP readings taken by NCT and GAT readings were found to be in 12-20 mm Hg in normal group. From the above results, these studies revealed that there were no significant differences in IOP readings taken by both NCT and GAT in normal and glaucoma individual. In the present study, intraocular (IOP) recorded by NCT is slightly higher than the GAT. Conclusion: From these studies we conclude that both the instruments important for measurement of IOP readings for early diagnosis of Glaucoma. There was a significant difference between the two tonometers if the IOP readings more than 21 mmHg. There was no significant variation in readings of IOP were taken NCT and GAT at <10 and 10-20 mmHg.


This paper reports the design, implementation and evaluation of a discipline specific online report writing resource for undergraduate science and engineering students, known as "Write Reports in Science and Engineering" (WRiSE). The aim of the ALTC funded project was to provide a free opensource resource on discipline specific writing and to assess the impact of this online learning and teaching environment on students" report writing. WRiSE was developed over two and a half years by a cross-institutional and cross-disciplinary collaborative team made up of subject specialists, learning advisors and eLearning specialists. Conceptual design was informed by Constructivist Learning Theory and genre pedagogy in the Systemic Functional Linguistics tradition. The resource contains nine modules from seven disciplines. Each module has a "Help with Report Writing" section which details the structure, conventions and technical language for each report type, as well as a "Help with Understanding Content" section which contains exercises on key concepts related to the report. The site also contains audio files which address the process of report writing and lecturers" expectations. Evaluations showed that WRiSE users attained higher marks than non-users in their report assignments. Users also rated WRiSE highly for: developing understanding of the report writing requirements in their discipline; increasing awareness of strengths and weaknesses in their report writing; and, for deciding what changes to make to their report. WRiSE works best when integrated into the curriculum and when it is consistently promoted and demonstrated by lectures, tutors and learning advisors.


A fast calculation tool for state-dependent capacitance of power distribution network is proposed. The proposed method achieves linear time-complexity, which can be more than four orders magnitude faster than a conventional SPICE-based capacitance calculation. Large circuits that have been unanalyzable with the conventional method become analyzable for more comprehensive exploration of capacitance variation. The capacitance obtained with the proposed method agrees SPICE-based method completely (up to 5 digits), and time-linearity is confirmed through numerical experiments on various circuits. The proposed tool facilitates to study capacitance variation, which is necessary to build an accurate macro model of an LSI.


Feed-forward networks are widely used in cross-modal applications to bridge modalities by mapping distributed vectors of one modality to the other, or to a shared space. The predicted vectors are then used to perform e.g., retrieval or labeling. Thus, the success of the whole system relies on the ability of the mapping to make the neighborhood structure (i.e., the pairwise similarities) of the predicted vectors akin to that of the target vectors. However, whether this is achieved has not been investigated yet. Here, we propose a new similarity measure and two ad hoc experiments to shed light on this issue. In three cross-modal benchmarks we learn a large number of language-to-vision and vision-to-language neural network mappings (up to five layers) using a rich diversity of image and text features and loss functions. Our results reveal that, surprisingly, the neighborhood structure of the predicted vectors consistently resembles more that of the input vectors than that of the target vectors. In a second experiment, we further show that untrained nets do not significantly disrupt the neighborhood (i.e., semantic) structure of the input vectors.


Abstract Anonymous is notoriously elusive as the movement takes on radically different guises, constantly mutates, and traverses national borders and ideological divides. Since Anonymous is difficult to grasp with conventional social movement theory, this paper uses insights from complexity theory to analyze the movement's evolution in general and its dynamics of power in particular. While participants in Anonymous radically reject hierarchy and leadership, dominant groups emerged at various points in the movement's evolution. This paper aims to explain how such dominant groups emerge and concentrate power and how they subsequently dissolve and lose power. Drawing on ethnographic research as well as secondary sources, it identifies mechanisms of power concentration and diffusion within nominally horizontalist movements.


This paper deals with the effects of pH, electrolyte concentration, and exchangeable Na percentage (ESP) on electrophoretic mobility (EM)/zeta potential (ζp) of clay particles and hydraulic conductivity (HC) of the claylsand mixtures. The soils taken from Japan and Kazakhstan were used for obtaining clay fractions. For EM determinations, clay suspensions were prepared at a concentration of 4 g of clay per 100 mL of distilled water (DW) or electrolyte solution. The electrophoretic mobilities were measured using Burton apparatus with water-cooling system and converted into ζp. For HC measurements, claylsand mixtures were designated 16:84. Columns of these mixtures were prepared by packing 120 g of mixtures into 50-mm diameter plastic cylinders to a bulk density of about 1.4 g cm -3 . Results showed clearly that the mobility was very sensitive to the ion valence adsorbed on the clay. The negative electrophoretic mobilities of homoionic Na-Ariake soil (AS) clay and Na-Kzyl-Orda soil (KS) clay were 2.13 × 10 -8 and 2.14 × 10 -8 m 2 s -1 V -1 ,respectively, whereas Ca clays flocculated. The ζp values of AS clay and KS clay, as a function of the ESP, varied between -12.83 and -26.84 mV, and -5.68 and -27.00 mV, respectively, at ESP > 30. Although the smectitic AS clay was less sensitive than the micaceous KS clay to pH changes during electrophoresis experiment, its HC also was affected by pH changes. Decreased pH from 7 to 5 could easily result in two to three times high HC values for both clay/sand mixtures. The EM of both soil clays was similar at pH 10 to 12, and exchangeable Na percentages 90 to 100. Sharp increases in EM and decreases in HC of AS clay were observed at exchangeable Na percentages 50 and 60, respectively. Similar trends related to EM were also obtained for the KS clay. However, salt concentration of the suspension solution did not have consistent effect on the EM values. This behavior of the clays was consistent with HC observation. The results indicated that HC of the clay/sand mixtures could be correlated to ζp. The saturated HC of the mixtures was found to change as an exponential function of the ζp of clay particles.


Congenital splenic cysts are rare entities wich are not frequently diagnosed in prenatal sonographies and there is only a few literature wich report these medical cases. The aim of this article is to introduce this sonographic discovery and study whether there are impacts for the newborn, association with cormosomopathy or fetal pathology. We describe two medical cases of fetal splenic cysts wich were diagnosed in our service by ultrasonography at 29 and 32 weeks of gestation, their antenatal monitoring and postnatal evolution. Besides theses, it is made a review of this entity in medical literature, examination about the: etiology, prenatal diagnosis, prenatal and postnatal following and complications. In conclusion, the congenital splenic cyst has a good prognosis with an spontaneous postnatal resolution in the majority of the cases. No association was observed between cromosopathy or fetal pathology with the examined cases.


Isobaric labeling has rapidly become a predominant strategy for proteome‐wide abundance measurements. Coupled to mass spectrometry, sample multiplexing techniques using isobaric labeling are unparalleled for profiling proteins and posttranslational modifications across multiple samples in a single experiment. Here, I highlight aspects of isobaric labeling in the context of expanding the breadth of multiplexing, improving quantitative accuracy and proteome depth, and developing a wide range of diverse applications. I underscore two facets that enhance quantitative accuracy and reproducibility, specifically the availability of quality control standards for isobaric labeling experiments and the evolution of data acquisition methods. I also emphasize the necessity for standardized methodologies, particularly for emerging high‐throughput workflows. Future developments in sample multiplexing will further strengthen the importance of isobaric labeling for comprehensive proteome profiling.


In this lecture Justice Breyer examines three classical criticisms of constitutional judicial review. Those criticisms say that a grant to unelected judges of the power to set aside legislation as contrary to a written constitution leads to judicial decision-making that is (a) undemocratic, (b) subjective, and impractical. Justice Breyer describes features of the constitutional decision-making that do not dictate results in individual cases, but none the less hold the judges' 'subjective' will in check. He also describes necessary judicial efforts to focus upon considerations of administrative practicality. The description seeks, not to refute the criticisms in their entirety, but to help evaluate the extent to which those criticisms militate against the adoption of a system of constitutional judicial review.


FeSiB metallic glass laminate is a state-of-the-art structure for improving the magnetic performance of magnetic core. Extreme strength and hardness due to the amorphous matrix challenge its grinding process with severe tool wear and pronounced delamination. An amount of heat generated during grinding process brings a considerable problem in material crystallization, resulting in an increased magnetic deterioration. In this work, grinding data is presented for grind wheel wear, cutting force and surface quality when routing 8 mm thick FeSiB metallic glass laminate using electroplated CBN grinding points. Grinding experiments were carried out with grinding speeds of 0.5 and 1.5 m/s to investigate the formation of delamination. Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and electron back scattered diffraction pattern (EBSD) analyses were conducted to inspect the delamination between the metallic foil layers and detailed microstructure of machined surface, respectively. The relation between the cutting force and delamination was discussed associated with the identification of crystallization condition of machined surface. As a result, plastic deformation between the layers is the primary reason for the inter-laminate circuit short. Load-displacement curve from nano indenter indicated the strain hardening level near machined surface increased with cutting speed.


20-(S)-Camptothecin (CAM), a plant alkaloid, was tested against 13 human cancer xenograft lines carried by immunodeficient (nude) mice. The drug, formulated in 20% intralipid and given i.m., was more effective than any other clinically available drug tested. It was found that: (a) CAM, at nontoxic doses, suppressed growth and induced regression of cancer of the colon (3 lines), lung (4 lines), breast (2 lines), stomach (1 line), ovary (1 line), and malignant melanoma (2 lines); (b) the drug was equally effective administered i.m. or p.o. Both routes are significantly better than i.v. administration; (c) CAM is substantially more effective and less toxic than its sodium salt, which was unsuccessfully tested in cancer patients. CAM should be further tested against responsive cancers as a drug which is easy to isolate and formulate for large-scale studies.


BACKGROUND
Combined kidney-pancreas transplantation (CKPT) with its associated euglycemia has been shown to prevent or reduce recurrent diabetic nephropathy in the renal allograft. There has been no evaluation of residual native kidney function after CKPT. The purpose of this study was to determine whether native kidney function may be present in diabetic recipients years after CKPT.

METHODS
Between 1986 and 1992, 37 patients with type 1 insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus with renal failure underwent CKPT. In each case, a single native nephrectomy was performed. We studied 16 patients who had continuing renal and pancreas function more than 4 years after CKPT. Fourteen diabetics with a functioning renal allograft but no pancreas function were used as a control group. Simultaneous renal scans (technetium-99m diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid) of the native and transplanted kidneys were obtained with a dual-head scintillation camera. Total glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was determined from the rate of clearance of the tracer from the extracellular space measured for 2 hr with an ambulatory renal monitor.

RESULTS
The study groups had similar pretransplant characteristics. At the time of the study, the mean serum creatinine level was not significantly different in the CKPT and control groups (1.7+/-0.7 vs. 1.5+/-0.3 mg/dl, respectively). In the CKPT and control groups, total GFRs were 70.1+/-33 vs. 72.1+/-16.5 ml/min (NS), allograft GFRs were 63+/-34.2 vs. 70.4+/-16 ml/min (NS), and native kidney GFRs were 7.1+/-7.2 vs. 1.7+/-1.9 ml/min (P < 0.05), respectively. In both groups, there was a significant correlation between total GFR and allograft GFR (P < 0.001), but not between total GFR and native kidney GFR. Significant single native kidney GFR (more than 8 ml/min) was found in 7/16 (44%) patients in the CKPT group, but in none of the controls.

CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that residual native kidney function can be present and contribute moderately to total GFR after CKPT. Euglycemia after CKPT may have a protective role in native kidneys.


The purpose of this program is to involve dental hygiene (DH) students in school-based oral health programs under the general supervision of a dentist. Third and fourth-year baccalaureate DH students have participated in the Dental Sealant Grant Program (DSGP). Presently, fourth-year students are assigned to the DSGP as part of a Rural Health course; thus, providing them with a practical service-learning opportunity, and filling a gap in the present workforce to meet the oral health needs within several rural communities. The program has had a history of providing preventive oral health services to the community; however, past problems encountered were restrictive supervision laws and difficulty obtaining dental personnel including licensed dental hygienists and dentists. DH students provide sealants and oral hygiene education to children eligible for free/reduced lunch and/or Medicaid. Previous to the signing of general supervision (GS) into law in August 2004, the DH students had been supervised by licensed DH faculty, including a supervising dentist, leading to an increase in manpower, hours of operation, and production. Prior to general supervision, the DSGP recorded 319 exams and 738 sealants within a 4-year timeframe (spring 2001 through summer 2004). Data represents 7, 16-week (N=112) semesters that averaged 40 exams and 92 sealants. However, after GS, the DSGP recorded 307 exams and 617 sealants in a shorter time period (fall 2004 to spring 2005) for 2, 16-week semesters (N=32) that averaged 153 exams and 309 sealants. Although the DSGP has been a part of the DH program9s community outreach to school sites and church-sponsored summer lunch initiatives, it is only in its second year as a course rotation site. Further evaluation of the DH students9 learning experiences and an analysis of caries experiences among grade school children will become integral components of this program.


Repairing tears in the nuclear envelope The nuclear envelope segregates genomic DNA from the cytoplasm and regulates protein trafficking between the cytosol and the nucleus. Maintaining nuclear envelope integrity during interphase is considered crucial. However, Raab et al. and Denais et al. show that migrating immune and cancer cells experience frequent and transitory nuclear envelope ruptures when they move through tight spaces (see the Perspective by Burke). The nuclear envelope reseals rapidly during interphase, assisted by components of the ESCRT III membrane-remodeling machinery. Science, this issue pp. 359 and 353; see also p. 295 When cells migrate, they stress their nuclear envelopes and need to guard against leakage of the nuclear contents. [Also see Perspective by Burke] In eukaryotic cells, the nuclear envelope separates the genomic DNA from the cytoplasmic space and regulates protein trafficking between the two compartments. This barrier is only transiently dissolved during mitosis. Here, we found that it also opened at high frequency in migrating mammalian cells during interphase, which allowed nuclear proteins to leak out and cytoplasmic proteins to leak in. This transient opening was caused by nuclear deformation and was rapidly repaired in an ESCRT (endosomal sorting complexes required for transport)–dependent manner. DNA double-strand breaks coincided with nuclear envelope opening events. As a consequence, survival of cells migrating through confining environments depended on efficient nuclear envelope and DNA repair machineries. Nuclear envelope opening in migrating leukocytes could have potentially important consequences for normal and pathological immune responses.


This paper considers how low income indicators can be related to the Minimum Income Standard. It starts by looking at evidence that having a low income is associated with negative outcomes, and considers below what thresholds relative to MIS households face increased risks. It finds that while the evidence points to no single threshold, MIS can be used to create two useful types of indicator. One is to count the number of people in households a certain amount below MIS at which the association between lower income and greater risk of deprivation appears to plateau. The other is an indicator of the "depth" of low income, in terms of the proportion of people below MIS times the percentage of MIS that they fall short. The paper describes a method of estimating these indicators for all households, and presents initial results.


Background Children's Association Scotland (CHAS) is Scotland's only children's hospice organisation and has two hospices: Rachel House in Kinross and Robin House in Balloch. In addition there is a CHAS at Home service. Aim: The aim of the project was to ensure that a consistent high standard of care was given to all children and young people at the end of life by developing a Paediatric End of Life Care Pathway (PEoLCP). Methods A multi-disciplinary working group was established at Robin House. A review of literature was undertaken, and findings recommended a care pathway approach to support the delivery of a good quality of care during the end stages of life. Existing care pathways were also reviewed however, these were not appropriate to the paediatric setting. The group then identified the main presenting symptoms and care requirements for children and young adults at the end of life and developed a pathway specifically to address these. This incorporated elements from the Rainbow Children's Hospice Guidelines (2011). Findings The PEoLCP was piloted and reviewed in Robin House. The feedback concluded that using a PEoLCP helped the care staff provide proactive rather than reactive care. As a valuable 'one-stop' document it improves communication between disciplines, ensuring a holistic approach to care for the child and their family. It is now in use throughout CHAS. It is for the multidisciplinary team. Conclusions and Recommendations This pathway could be used in any setting for the care of children and young people at end of life. CHAS has recommended that the Scottish Children's and Young People's Palliative Care Executive (SCYPPEx) consider its use throughout Scotland. References: Jassal, S.S. (2011) Basic Symptom Control in Paediatric Palliative Care. The Rainbow Children's Hospice Guidelines 8th Edition (online) ACT: www.act.org.uk accessed 19 July 2011.


OBJECTIVE
Primary central nervous system germ cell tumors are rare neoplasms usually located in the pineal and/or suprasellar region. Pure germinomas do not usually secrete beta-human chorionic gonadotropin hormone (beta-HCG) or alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and diagnosis is made a few weeks or months after beginning of symptoms.

CASE
Here we report a case of a pure germinoma in a 20 year-old woman presenting as a sellar mass with suprasellar extension, abnormal serum beta-HCG and a long history of polyuria and polydipsia (4 years), that was initially diagnosed as a pituitary macroadenoma.

CONCLUSION
This presentation highlights the importance of thinking in alternative diagnosis to pituitary adenoma when diabetes insipidus is the initial symptom.


In answer set programming, knowledge involving sets of objects collectively is naturally represented by aggregates, which are rewritten into simpler forms known as monotone aggregates by current implementations. However, there is a complexity gap between general and monotone aggregates. In this paper, this gap is filled by means of a polynomial, faithful, and modular translation function, which can introduce disjunction in rule heads. The translation function is now part of the recent version 4.5 of the grounder GRINGO. This paper focuses on the key points of the translation function, and in particular on the mapping from nonconvex sums to monotone sums.


We propose a new approach for I/O scheduling that performs on-line simulation of the underlying disk. When simulation is integrated within a system, three key challenges must be addressed: first, the simulator must be portable across the full range of devices; second, all configuration must be automatic; third, the computation and memory overheads must be low. Our simulator, the Disk Mimic, achieves these goals by building a table-based model of the disk as it observes the times for previous requests. We show that a shortest-mimicked-time-first (SMTF) scheduler performs nearly as well as an approach with perfect knowledge of the underlying device and that it is superior to traditional scheduling algorithms such as C-LOOK and SSTF; our results hold as the seek and ro-tational characteristics of the disk are varied.


Thermal error modeling method is an important field of thermal error compensation on NC machine tools, it is also a key for improving the machining accuracy of machine tools. The accuracy of the model directly affects the quality of thermal error compensation. On the basis of multiple linear regression (MLR) model, this paper proposes an autoregressive distributed lag (ADL) model of thermal error and establishes an accurate ADL model by stepwise regression analysis. The ADL model of thermal error is established with measured data, it proved the ADL model is available and has a high accuracy on predicting thermal error by comparing with MLR models.


Many machine-learning algorithms learn rules of behavior from individual end users, such as task-oriented desktop organizers and handwriting recognizers. These rules form a "program" that tells the computer what to do when future inputs arrive. Little research has explored how an end user can debug these programs when they make mistakes. We present our progress toward enabling end users to debug these learned programs via a Natural Programming methodology. We began with a formative study exploring how users reason about and correct a text-classification program. From the results, we derived and prototyped a concept based on "explanatory debugging", then empirically evaluated it. Our results contribute methods for exposing a learned program's logic to end users and for eliciting user corrections to improve the program's predictions.


We are pleased to publish this supplementary issue of Environmental Health and Toxicology, where we have eight articles related to the research achievement of the "Research group of green chemistry management technology."

Since the European REACH (Registration, Evaluation Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) program was initiated in June 2007, several countries including Japan, China, Taiwan, and Turkey, have adopted similar chemical management systems and strengthened the regulation of chemicals. In Korea, the Act on the Registration and Evaluation, etc. of Chemical Substances (K-REACH) was enforced in January 2015 after a long struggle over disagreement between stakeholders, and finally, a more systematic regulation on chemical substances could be started.

The research group, which has been financially supported by the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute and Ministry of Environment since May 2011, has been dedicated to developing essential technology for governmental green chemistry management policies and its extended application to domestic chemical industries.

The fundamental purpose of the research group is to establish an execution-base for K-REACH The specific goals are (1) the establishment of database of toxicity information for chemicals, which should be registered by law, (2) the development of socioeconomic assessment methods for designation as restricted substances, (3) the development of prediction methods for chemical toxicity and management system, which are essential components to execute the K-REACH (4) the establishment of a database for substitute chemicals, (5) the development of assessment methods for green chemistry technology, and (6) the development of substitute chemicals for perfluorooctanesultonic acid, which are aimed to support domestic chemical industries.

The research projects will be continued until March 2017, and the results are expected to be used by national institutes and domestic chemical industries that adhere to the requirement of stricter applications of green chemistry principles.


The design of Long Span Bridges involves complex analysis of the interaction between fluid and bluff body (Fluid Structure Interaction). In the past, the aerodynamic characteristics needed for the design of long span bridge deck sections have been obtained via wind tunnel tests. Recent advances in turbulence modeling, computational fluid dynamics and the increasing affordability of computers have made numerical modeling of these complex studies possible. Much research has been carried out on the applicability of CFD in the study of bluff body aerodynamics, and less relating to long span bridges. Unfortunately, due to computational costs and sometimes lack of complete details from the wind tunnel test results, these studies have been limited in scope; usually the work is 2-dimensional and often limited to the basic section without the parapets and equipment that are part of the super structure. Also, some experimental work has been done on shaped bluff body sections, such as rectangular cylinders, which has provided useful but limited application to a bridge deck section. The work described in this theses consist of modeling and simulation of the sectional wind tunnel test of the Carquinez Strait bridge in California, a real long span bridge deck section. The modeling incorporates the often ignored but important details such as parapets, barriers and most importantly, the effects of the shape of different edge details on aerodynamic characteristics such as lift, drag and moment coefficients, as well as the flow pattern created by the different edge details in the shedding of vortices in their wakes. The simulations were carried out using the kappa-o based Shear Stress Transport RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes) turbulence model at an average wind velocity of 3.2 m/s with angles of attack of +/-10°. The basic deck section of the Carquinez Strait Bridge is of trapezoidal box girder with sharp edge detail type, this cross section was modified by modifying the edge detail and replacing it with three different types of details; a round edge detail, an oval and a triangular shaped edge type. Additional studies include the removal of the barrier, parapet and equipment to see their effect and the roles played by them in the aerodynamic static force response and the flow physics. Two grid types were explored to determine the most accurate; tetrahedral and hexahedral dominated meshes. Next, determining the appropriate RANS turbulence model, from the matrix of grid and turbulence model emerges the numerical simulation. Once the wind tunnel test results were corrected for errors, the results from numerical modeling compares very well with the static wind tunnel test, thereby validating the choice of turbulence model and grid type, and demonstrating the viability of CFD in long span bridge design. The results of the fluid flow around the differently modified edge details shows how the mechanics of vortex induced vibration develops off of the recirculating air underside the exterior web at the trailing edge, because of the variation in the velocity of air in this region due to the different edge details, it is reasonable to make deductions on stability. In the simulations where the parapets, barriers and equipments are removed off of the deck sections, the response are markedly different, revealing that they are critical and as important as the edge detail chosen during the preliminary design.


Thin films of the normal paraffins tetracosane (C24H30), triacontane (C30H62) and tetratriacontane (C34H70) have been examined by electron diffraction when deposited on stainless steel, copper or collodion. Both the reflexion and the transmission techniques have been employed. The results of rubbing the films have been ascertained, and the orientations observed have been explained in terms of the crystal structure of the normal paraffins. Films of the three paraffins have been heated upon stainless steel and upon copper surfaces, and curves derived relating the temperature at which the ordered film structure breaks down, to the film thickness. These results suggest that this temperature corresponds in the case of a monolayer to a transition of the film structure from a condensed to an expanded type.


This work aims to prepare sustained release buccal mucoadhesive lyophilized chitosan sponges of buspirone hydrochloride (BH) to improve its systemic bioavailability. Chitosan sponges were prepared using simple casting/freeze-drying technique according to 32 factorial design where chitosan grade was set at three levels (low, medium, and high molecular weight), and concentration of chitosan solution at three levels (0.5, 1, and 2%). Mucoadhesion force, ex vivo mucoadhesion time, percent BH released after 8 h (Q8h), and time for release of 50% BH (T50%) were chosen as dependent variables. Additional BH cup and core buccal chitosan sponge were prepared to achieve uni-directional BH release toward the buccal mucosa. Sponges were evaluated in terms of drug content, surface pH, scanning electron microscopy, swelling index, mucoadhesion strength, ex vivo mucoadhesion time, and in vitro drug release. Cup and core sponge (HCH 0.5E) were able to adhere to the buccal mucosa for 8 h. It showed Q8h of 68.89% and exhibited a uni-directional drug release profile following Higuchi diffusion model.


Fragrance materials are widely used in household and personal care products in applications that can lead to emissions into the aquatic environment. Assessing the potential of fragrance materials to bioaccumulate in fish in in vivo laboratory studies requires a reliable analytical method for determining the concentrations of chemical substances in fish tissue. Here, we present an analytical method for simultaneously measuring a group of model chemicals that are representative of chemicals found in fragrance materials in rainbow trout. This method involves ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) followed by enrichment of the fragrance ingredients using a purge & trap system. Nine fragrance ingredients including semi-volatile and volatile compounds were selected as model substances for method development. Homogenised whole rainbow trout subsamples were spiked with these nine model fragrance ingredients, hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and 2,2′,5,5′-tetrachlorobiphenyl (PCB52). The targeted chemicals were extracted from the fish tissue using acetonitrile in an ultrasonic bath; after solvent exchange to hexane, they were extracted into the gas phase by heating the samples and purging with nitrogen and trapped on a solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge. Finally, these chemicals were eluted with hexane from the SPE column and analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The proposed method has been evaluated for blanks, spiked recoveries and precision, which are all acceptable. We believe that the method presented here is generally applicable for analysis of acid-sensitive volatile and semi-volatile organic chemicals in fish and provides the basis to conduct in vivo bioaccumulation studies of fragrance materials.


Rethinking education with cognitive maps

The Romanian education captures electronic models (ideea map, mind map, mind tools, concept map, cognitive models, tools for the mind) on a daily basis which it transforms into real teaching-learning-assessment tools because they proved they can develop creativity, can stimulate the introvert students, can help the faster retaining of information, can communicate thinking essences, can generate new mental connections. Thus, this study, which is based on an ampler research, also synthesizes along with the learning theories which support the new technologies the electronic models which incorporate cognitive diagrams, conceptual maps, graphics, animated elements,SmartArt, ecuations, symbols, spreadsheets, hyperlink. Having an integrative structure which is easier to memorize, they will enhance the sensitivity level of receiving the new information, will increase the stimulation, imagination and enthusiasm indices, will redefine the teacher-student relation. The newly implemented techniques - taking into account the recommendations of the practitioners in the field - may increase the level of involvement in the collective activities, may improve the educational process "globally". Then the article presents the stages of drawing up a cognitive map (mode of conception, layout, colouring, mode of selecting the image and key words used etc.), with application in the mathematical activities within the primary and pre-school education. Therefore, the following are of great importance: mode of conception, mode of integration at the level of the class and the mode of using the cognitive maps.
Therefore, the following are of great importance: mode of conception, mode of integration at the level of the class and the mode of using the cognitive maps.


MWCNTs first functionalized by using two steps covalent functionalization process. Functionalized MWCNTs coated with copper by using electroless coating process. Three different groups of Cu/MWCNTs nanocomposites with (0.1, 0.5, 1, 2, 3 wt% MWCNTs) were prepared by means of powder technology. The first group contains multiwalled carbon nanotubes as received (Cu/MWCNTs), second group contains functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (Cu/FMWCNTs) while the third group contains coated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (Cu/CMWCNTs). Comparison between these samples show that the coating of MWCNTs was remarkably improve hardness and wear resistance of copper nanocomposite. The improvement in mechanical properties is due to the enhancement in both adhesion with matrix and dispersion ability of MWCNTs. SEM, XRD, FTIR were used to characterize of coating process and Cu/MWCNTs nanocomposites.


During the C20th, the Member States of the European Union developed their own models of social justice in private law. Each model is inherently linked to national culture and tradition. However, all models have a common thread, which is the use of the law by the (social welfare) state as a means to protect the weaker party against the stronger party. Since the adoption of the Single European Act in 1986, the European Union has assumed a social outlook which has gradually developed over time eventually taking shape in the Lisbon Treaty and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Since the adoption of the SEA, more particularly the White Paper on the Completion of the Internal Market,[1] the European Union adopted a huge set of secondary law means which influence either directly (consumer, labour, anti-discrimination and business law directives) or indirectly (directives meant to liberalise markets, e.g. telecommunication, postal services, energy - electricity and gas, transport, health care) private law matters. This new regulatory private law is governed by a different philosophy, one which cannot be brought into line with the understanding of social justice as enshrined in labour or later the consumer movement and one which is challenging national models of social justice in private law. I call the EU model of justice access justice/Zugangsgerechtigkeit (justice through access, not access to justice), i.e. that it is for the European Union to grant access justice to those who are excluded from the market or to those who face difficulties in making use of the market freedoms. European private law rules have to make sure that the weaker parties have and maintain access to the market - and to the European society insofar as this exists.