textabstractSince the introduction of coronary balloon angioplasty
in the clinical arena, percutaneous catheter-
based interventions are perfornled with coronary
angiographic guidance, depicting the lumen
of an entire coronary artery in certain angiographicviews.
Subsequently, quantitative coronary angiography
was developed as an instnullent for off-line
quantitative analysis of the acute and long-tenn
effects of catheter-based and phanl1acological
approaches on atherosclerotic lesions and on lesion
recurrence following angioplasty. Despite
some inherent limitations, tills analysis method
became generally accepted for on-line guidance
of balloon angioplasty and alternative catheterbased
techniques.
Thereafter, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)
was introduced as a new imaging method that
provided deeper insights into the pathology of
coronary artery disease by defining vessel wall
geometry and the major components of the atherosclerotic
plaque. Although invasive, IVUS is
safe and allows in vivo a more comprehensive
assessment of the plaque than the 'luminal silhouette'
furnished by coronary angiography. as it
provides transmural cross-sectional inlaging of
coronary arteries and allows diameter and area
measurements of both lumen and atherosclerotic
plaque. These measurements can be used for
guidance of interventional procedures and for research
purposes.
Nevertheless, conventional IVUS is a planar
technique, which displays only a single site of
the coronary vessel at a time. However, threedimensional
(3D) reconstruction of sequences of
IVUS images, acquired with defined sample
spacing, allows to overcome this limitation.


A Gold Neutral Beam Probe (GNBP) has been investigated from an active diagnostic point of view, and found to be the best way to measure potentials of the barrier and central cell plasmas in the GAMMA 10 tandem mirror. The thermal barrier potential was determined directly by the simultaneous measurements of the on-axis space potentials at both of these locations. Two-dimensional space potentials were obtained by adjusting the energy of the probing beams so that measurements were made along different chords through the plasma cross-section. A newly developed diagnostic device, a cylindrical End-Loss Energy Component Analyzer (ELECA), was also used to measure the plug potential, and was suitable for determining the distribution functions of end-loss ions. This diagnostic can also be useful as a compact energy analyzer for a beam probe diagnostic. >


Drugstores are the health establishments where medications are dispensed, which is why sanitary surveillance is justified as a means of intervention. The health department uses various technologies to control risk in drugstores. In this study we used the theory of the process of work in health as a benchmark in order to describe and analyze the strengths and difficulties encountered in sanitary surveillance in drugstores in Salvador. Case study methodological strategy was adopted, the analytical categories being facilitating factors and difficulties inherent to technicians, drugstore, sanitary surveillance service and the social environment. Data were collected through direct observation techniques and semi-structured interviews, and the findings were assessed using content analysis. The body of information was processed and categorized using QSR N VIVO software. It was revealed that the nature of the facilitating factors and difficulties found in surveillance activities of drugstores indicate the need for urgent change within the scope of services and the sanitary culture in the country. It also stresses the possibilities of offering a quality service for the protection of health, in a setting conducive to the development of sanitary surveillance and the process of decentralization of these actions.


The purpose of this study is to analyze performance based on competency using Balance Scorecard which is measured by four perspectives : College Financial perspective, customer perspective (which divided into three parts : students, stakeholders and graduates), college internal perspective, and learning and growth process perspective. It is expected that this research would lead into development process of the college, and find out the weaknesses or strengths of college organization which would give impact to the increase of college's performance.
This is a quantitative descriptive research. Total amount of population in this research is 208 people, which consists of students from grade 5 of business administrative. The population is chosen in consideration that they have experienced the longest term of learning process. Samples are taken from 4 classes which includes 106 students. Graduates are chosen from those who have been graduates and have at least 3 years working experience, that make 102 people, meanwhile employers are represented by 33 lecturers in Banjarmasin State Polytechnic, and stakeholders are chosen from both government institution and non government institution that makes 27 institutions. Those institutions are chosen by graduates recommendation.
The result of reliability test of college financial perspective, customer perspective, university internal perspective and innovation and learning process perspective shows the value more than 0.6 alpha cronbach and it makes all of variables reliable. The average score of financial perspective is 3.514 and it shows that financial condition of the college is in good state, The average score of customer perspective is 2.947 which gives fair condition, the average score of stakeholders perspective is 3.418 that is in good state, and the average score of graduates is showing good state as shown in 3.119 point. College internal process perspective has the average score of 2.753 point and shows fair condition. Learning and growth perspectives average score is 2.929, shows fair condition.

Keywords : Balanced Scorecard, Financial Perspective, Customer Perspective, Internal Process Perspective, Learning and Growth Perspective, College Performance


Study Design. Retrospective analysis of breast cancer patients with metastatic epidural spinal cord compression (MESCC) undergoing surgery and radiation therapy. Objective. To assess feasibility and clinical outcome of multidisciplinary approach in breast cancer patients with MESCC. Summary of Background Data. Studies so far published in the setting of surgery and/or radiotherapy in the management of MESCC usually included many malignancies, without considering the different primary histology. However, when looking at prognostic variables of this therapy, histological type comes out as a major determinant of outcome. Methods. Twenty-three patients with symptomatic MESCC from breast cancer treated between January 2004 and April 2009 were included in this analysis. Twenty-six surgical procedures followed by radiotherapy were performed. Clinical outcome and local recurrence was evaluated by modified visual analog scale for pain, Frankel scale for neurologic deficit, and magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography scans. Twenty-three cases (88.4%) had back pain before treatment with a visual analog scale score 6 or greater; neurologic deficit (FS A-D) was present in 19 cases (65.5%). Results. Complete remission of pain, lasting until death or progression of disease in another skeletal site, was obtained in 25/26 cases (96.1%). All patients had complete recovery of neurologic deficit. No major morbidity occurred. No patients had recurrence in the site of treatment. Median survival was 36 months (range, 3–60) and overall survival at one, three, and five years was 70%, 42%, and 34%, respectively. Conclusion. We provided evidence of surgery and radiotherapy to be feasible with limited morbidity. Clinical outcome has been highly satisfactory in terms of pain and local disease control. The discussion of each case within a multidisciplinary team is of central importance in defining the most appropriate therapeutic approach.


Desmoids are benign tumours originating from connective tissue.
Their uncontrolled growth can threaten organ function,
especially in the abdominal location, when presenting as mesenteric
fibromatosis. There have been only a few case reports of
the coexistence of mesenteric fibromatosis and Crohn's disease.
All of them were in adults, mostly with potential risk factors for
desmoid tumours including female sex, oestrogen intake and
abdominal surgery.
We present, to our knowledge, the first paediatric case of the
coexistence of both conditions. A 15 -year -old boy was operated
on due to an obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract. Preoperative
radiological examination suggested a tumour causing intussusception.
Intraoperatively, a tumour and a significant length
of infiltrated ileum were resected. Histopathological examination
confirmed a desmoid tumour in the course of mesenteric
fibromatosis and Crohn's disease. The patient has been treated
pharmacologically since.
Further research is needed to explain their origin and simultaneous
appearance in children.


As Andean glaciers rapidly retreat due to climate change, the balance of groundwater and glacial meltwater contributions to stream discharge in tropical, proglacial watersheds will change, potentially increasing vulnerability of water resources. The Shullcas River Watershed, near Huancayo, Peru, is fed only partly by the rapidly receding Huaytapallana glaciers (<20% of dry season flow). To potentially increase recharge and therefore increase groundwater derived baseflow, the government and not‐for‐profit organizations have installed trenches along large swaths of hillslope in the Shullcas Watershed. Our study focuses on a nonglacierized subcatchment of the Shullcas River Watershed and has 2 objectives: (a) create a model of the Shullcas groundwater system and assess the controls on stream discharge and (b) investigate the impact of the infiltration trenches on recharge and baseflow. We first collected hydrologic data from the field including a year‐long hydrograph (2015–2016), meteorological data (2011–2016), and infiltration measurements. We use a recharge model to evaluate the impact of trenched hillslopes on infiltration and runoff processes. Finally, we use a 3‐dimensional groundwater model, calibrated to the measured dry season baseflow, to determine the impact of trenching on the catchment. Simulations show that trenched hillslopes receive approximately 3.5% more recharge, relative to precipitation, compared with unaltered hillslopes. The groundwater model indicates that because the groundwater flow system is fast and shallow, incorporating trenched hillslopes (~2% of study subcatchment area) only slightly increases baseflow in the dry season. Furthermore, the location of trenching is an important consideration: Trenching higher in the catchment (further from the river) and in flatter terrain provides more baseflow during the dry season. The results of this study may have important implications for Andean landscape management and water resources.


Semiotic environment in the functional sense has dual effect on the subject: on the one hand, it directs and constrains the subject through collective semiotic forms (social representations), on the other hand—it provides symbolic resources for subject's selfdeterminative activity. This duality may be presented as a tension between systemic power and semiotic potency. Heterogeneity of semiosphere and multiplicity of subject's relations to the environment are the prerequisites to the phenomenon of cognitive polyphasia. It is possible to differentiate two forms of cognitive polyphasia: positional polyphasia and intra-positional polyphasia. In both forms of polyphasia the main challenges for a researcher are: 1) to describe and explain the effects of interaction of plural forms of knowledge in different contexts and 2) to explain the choice among the potential representational possibilities by a subject in his or her particular relationships with the environment. The social representation theory and the dialogical self theory can be used complementarily for solving these problems. Empirical illustrations are drawn from a study of trajectories of successive acculturation described in biographical interviews of elderly people. Variation of macro-contexts (different levels of normative pressure, monological vs heterodoxic/dialogical context) and specific social suggestions interact with semiotically potent subjects. Various strategies have been applied for coordinating incompatible representations and for maintaining the sense of agency in different contextual conditions. Both positional and intra-positional polyphasia is creatively used for regulating relations with the environment.


The world community has been changed irrevocably by the highly infectious and mutating SARSCoV-2 virus that causes the COVID-19 disease The necessary research output on COVID-19 has been revolutionary, especially in the medical and biomedical sciences, where the search for a vaccine is essential for the world to have a semblance of normality in the era of COVID-19 Much of the advanced research has been distributed in the leading medical journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), where the latest medical research is distributed on a daily basis, and where comments can also be published The purpose of this paper is to provide a critique of 110 interesting and highly topical research papers that have been published in JAMA, mostly within the past two months The diverse topics include: treating influenza and COVID-19 simultaneously, dealing with a second wave of COVID-19 in Beijing, honesty is best for known and unknown GAWI and WIST, unreliability of asymptomatic COVID-19 testing outcomes for children, the effectiveness of flu vaccines, acute anxiety during COVID-19, MAID as an end of life option, longer-term effects of corticosteroids on the mortality of critically ill COVID-19 patients, isolation, loneliness and psychological distress during COVID-19, the selection of volunteers for COVID-19 vaccine trials, the mental health of children and adolescents during COVID-19, fertility preservation through hormonal intervention for transgender adolescents, safe, effective and affordable COVID-19 vaccines, essential requirements for acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine, ischemic stroke rates from COVID-19 and influenza, mandatory COVID-19 vaccination of children, COVID-19 asymptomatic children and adults, Who Dares Wins (Qui Audet Adipiscitur), even against COVID-19, global health security index and responses to COVID-19, quality of life and dying, immunity from COVID-19, whom to trust or not to trust regarding COVID-19, the value of health care for cancer patients, previous medical research bodes well for a COVID-19 vaccine, you cannot fight COVID-19 alone, causality between hypertension and COVID-19, coffee consumption and metastatic colorectal cancer, improving statistical analysis of health policies on children and adolescents, COVID-19 does not respect anyone, politics diminishes the integrity and reputation of healthcare agencies, primary, secondary and tertiary cancers in the lung, health care should include everyone, especially for COVID-19, prioritizing access to COVID-19 vaccines, further questions about COVID-19 vaccines, estimating direct and indirect excess deaths from COVID-19, herd immunity for COVID-19, daily eyeglass wear and COVID-19 infection, using anything that prevents the spread of COVID-19, deferral of care for serious non-COVID-19 conditions, society's united fight against depression and suicide, the positive outcomes in delaying low-risk thyroid cancer treatment during COVID-19, the likely future toll from COVID-19, excluding older persons from vaccine and clinical trials for COVID-19, peaceful miracles make the moment, dealing with COVID-19 science denial and conspiracy theories, masking and testing should be mandatory for COVID-19, journal reputation is established by scientific creativity and destroyed by political interference, impact and importance of medical research on COVID-19, support for COVID-19 long haulers, possible reinfection and long term recovery from COVID-19, Wabi-Sabi and the beauty of imperfection, good, better and best testing for COVID-19, surgical technical skill and long-term cancer survival, prior negative recovery from RT-PCR test results for COVID-19, age, frailty, and postoperative surgical outcomes, all journals should have diversity in the editorial and peer review process, an encompassing digital open access journal - JAMA Health Forum, righting inequities through otolaryngology in a COVID-19 normal America, resilient mental health in older adults under COVID-19, preventing suicides in a COVID-19 normal world, and COVID-19, voluntary art cipation in cancer clinical trials, herd immunity and COVID-19, psychological distress of US adults under COVID-19, repurposing drugs for COVID-19, same data + different models = different results, how do surges in COVID-19 affect healthcare spending?, causality between sedentary behavior and cancer mortality, overdose cardiac arrests and emergency medicine during COVID-19, COVID-19 asymptomatic children versus adults, why is care for serious non-COVID-19 conditions seemingly deferred?, confidentiality in a world of COVID-19 and fake news, mental healthcare data disrupted by COVID-19, do N95 face masks protect against COVID-19?, the necessity of face masks during COVID-19, nurses in COVID-19 vaccine trials, eye protection for COVID-19 ventilated patients, and healthcare access, social needs, unemployment insurance during COVID-19, pre-eminent experts evaluate the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, the effects of current vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 mutations, unbearable suffering needs to be respected, varied public attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccine mandates, enanthems, exanthems, and COVID-19, a wish list for a COVID-19 new year, critical statistical rigour before and during COVID-19, accepting vaccines is essential against COVID-19, and social distancing, health behaviour, cancer outcomes during COVID-19, readmission and death from COVID-19 after hospital discharge, beneficial lessons from COVID-19, estimating racial disparities in COVID-19 testing, paying people to be vaccinated against COVID-19, COVID-19 mutations and vaccines, mandatory vaccinations against COVID-19, allergic reactions to the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, neutralization of monoclonal antibodies for COVID-19, pricing teledermatology during COVID-19, and SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 are spreading virtually everywhere, transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 by children, addressing racial and ethnic health disparities during COVID-19, race and medical research during and after COVID-19, adherence to nonpharmaceutical interventions during COVID-19, further unanswered questions for cancer patients during COVID-19, how are children affected by COVID-19, is the California variant another COVID-19 escaped mutant?, tracking escaped mutants of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, optimal timing separation and strength of prime and booster shots, confounding errors in response to COVID-19, durability and duration of approved vaccines against escaped mutants, and hospital mortality and hospice discharge of COVID-19 patients depend on population size © 2021 Hindawi Limited All rights reserved


Background : In 2014, work-related musculoskeletal disorders reached approximately 365,000 cases in the United States (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015), highlighting the ongoing need to reduce ergonomic risk in the workplace. To optimize the match between task demands and worker capacity, designers are challenged with several tradeoffs including which body part is more important and how to address worker variability in anthropometrics and capacity. Adjustable design is a classic approach to fit a target population, in contrast to design for the average or extreme. However, adding adjustability can require capital investments, and as such typically requires convincing financial justification. While adjustability may have financial benefits as a result of reducing injury risks, impacts on performance may be more directly related to these benefits. Purpose : The purpose of this study was to explore if a causal relationship exist between the level of adjustability, as a variable amendable to design, and both productivity and quality. Methods : To simulate a drilling task common in aircraft manufacturing, we built a mock fuselage (Figure 1) that is "scaled-world" representation of the actual work. The simulated fuselage included upper, middle and lower rungs on each side, each with six holes. Adjustability level was the only variable manipulated in the experiment, and it had three levels. In the no adjustability condition (None), the midline of the fuselage was set at mean elbow height, while in the some adjustability condition (Some) it was set at mean shoulder height and two stools were provided (and intended to allow "better" reaches for the higher and lower rungs). In the high adjustability condition (High), participants were allowed to rotate the fuselage about its long axis and to choose its elevation. A commercial drill was used (Figure 2), with a load cell attached to a simulated bit. The size of the probe and holes were chosen to mimic targeted quality requirements, such that any deviation more than ±2° was considered "error". Audible tones were used to indicate achievement of required force level, errors, and completion of a hole. Productivity was defined by fuselage completion time, with two metrics derived to quantify quality: the total number of errors and the number of defective (i.e., at least one error) holes in a fuselage. Results and Discussion : We expected that increasing workstation adjustability will improve both productivity and quality. However, the results suggest that the influence of increasing workstation adjustability depended on the specific level of that added adjustability. High adjustability significantly improved both quality and productivity. Yet, despite the expectation that Some adjustability would reduce postural extremes, this condition reduced productivity (both metrics) and did not have a significant influence on either quality metric. Conclusion : Generally, the results support the existence of a causal relationship between enhanced adjustability and improved performance. However, the noted inconsistent influence of adjustability on performance highlights the need to test the efficacy of adjustability prior to its actual implementation. Future work is recommended that more successfully and systematically varies the extent of workstation adjustability. Finally, we are currently analyzing ergonomic risk aspects of the experiment to study the association between performance and ergonomic risk, a relationship critical to financially justify ergonomic interventions.


The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the future ground-based observatory for gamma-ray astronomy at very high energies. The atmosphere is an integral part of every Cherenkov telescope. Different atmospheric conditions, such as clouds, can reduce the fraction of Cherenkov photons produced in air showers that reach ground-based telescopes, which may affect the performance. Decreased sensitivity of the telescopes may lead to misconstructed energies and spectra. This study presents the impact of various atmospheric conditions on CTA performance. The atmospheric transmission in a cloudy atmosphere in the wavelength range from 203 nm to 1000 nm was simulated for different cloud bases and different optical depths using the MODerate resolution atmospheric TRANsmission (MODTRAN) code. MODTRAN output files were used as inputs for generic Monte Carlo simulations. The analysis was performed using the MAGIC Analysis and Reconstruction Software (MARS) adapted for CTA. As expected, the effects of clouds are most evident at low energies, near the energy threshold. Even in the presence of dense clouds, high-energy gamma rays may still trigger the telescopes if the first interaction occurs lower in the atmosphere, below the cloud base. A method to analyze very high-energy data obtained in the presence of clouds is presented. The systematic uncertainties of the method are evaluated. These studies help to gain more precise knowledge about the CTA response to cloudy conditions and give insights on how to proceed with data obtained in such conditions. This may prove crucial for alert-based observations and time-critical studies of transient phenomena.


: In order to study the specificity of serum antibodies to separate subunits of diphtheria toxin, SDS-electrophoresis of diphtheria toxin preliminary disintegrated on the subunits via trypsin treatment was performed, followed by immunoblotting assay. 86 blood serum samples of children with diphtheria carriers of toxigenic and non-toxigenic strains of Corynebacterium diphtheriae as well as children with other infectious diseases similar to diphtheria in their clinical manifestation, and healthy ones immunized with DTP-vaccine were tested. A special computer program was written and applied for results processing and assumption. The data obtained showed that there were particular differences in frequency of predominating the antibodies to one or another subunit of diphtheria toxin among various groups of the children. We consider that the different specificity of antibodies of sick children and children-carriers is capable to predetermine the different course of infectious process.


Autonomous navigation is seen as a vital tool in harnessing the enormous potential of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and small robotic vehicles for both military and civilian use. Even though, laser based scanning solutions for simultaneous location and mapping (SLAM) is considered as the most reliable for depth estimation, they are not feasible for use in UAV and land-based small vehicles due to their physical size and weight. Stereovision is considered as the best approach for any autonomous navigation solution as stereo rigs are considered to be lightweight and inexpensive. However, stereoscopy which estimates the depth information through pairs of stereo images can still be computationally expensive and unreliable. This is mainly due to some of the algorithms used in successful stereovision solutions require high computational requirements that cannot be met by small robotic vehicles. In our research, we implement a feature-based stereovision solution using moment invariants as a metric to find corresponding regions in image pairs that will reduce the computational complexity and improve the accuracy of the disparity measures that will be significant for the use in UAVs and in small robotic vehicles.


Natural resource scientists and managers increasingly recognize traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) for its potential contribution to contemporary natural resource management (NRM) and, through this, to more resilient social-ecological systems. In practice, however, inadequate cross-cultural means to organize and communicate TEK can limit its effective inclusion in management decisions. Indigenous seasonal knowledge involving temporal knowledge of biota, landscapes, weather, seasonal cycles, and their links with culture and land uses is one type of TEK relevant to this issue. We reviewed the literature on Australian Aboriginal seasonal knowledge to characterize contemporary and potential applications to NRM. This knowledge was often documented through cross-cultural collaboration in the form of ecological calendars. Our analysis revealed a variety of basic and applied environmental information in Aboriginal seasonal descriptions and calendars that can contribute directly to NRM. Documented applications have been limited to date, but include fire management, inclusion as general material in NRM plans, and interpretative information about environments. Emerging applications include water management and climate change monitoring. Importantly, seasonal knowledge can also contribute indirectly to NRM outcomes by providing an organizing framework for the recovery, retention, and cross- cultural communication of TEK and linking to its broader cultural and cosmological contexts. We conclude that by facilitating the combination of experiential with experimental knowledge and fostering complementarity of different knowledge systems, Aboriginal seasonal knowledge can increasingly contribute to more resilient social-ecological outcomes in NRM. Nevertheless, the seasonal framework should augment, rather than override, other approaches to cross-cultural NRM such as those with spatial and/or social-ecological emphasis.


While most studies on person recognition examine the face alone, recent studies have shown evidence for the contribution of the body and gait to person recognition beyond the face. Nevertheless, little is known on whether person recognition can be performed based on the body alone. In this study, we examined two sources of information that may enhance body-based person recognition: body motion and whole person context. Body motion has been shown to contribute to person recognition especially when facial information is unclear. Additionally, generating whole person context, by attaching faceless heads to bodies, has been shown to activate face processing mechanisms and may therefore enhance body-based person recognition. To assess body-based person recognition, participants performed a sequential matching task in which they studied a video of a person walking followed by a headless image of the same or different identity. The role of body motion was examined by comparing recognition from dynamic vs. static headless bodies. The role of whole person context was examined by comparing bodies with and without faceless heads. Our findings show that body motion contributed to body-based person recognition, and person recognition from the body alone was better in dynamic vs. static displays. In addition, whole person context contributed to body-based person recognition when recognition was performed in static displays. Overall these findings show that recognizing people based on their body alone is challenging but can be performed under certain circumstances that enhance the processing of the body when seeing the whole person.


In 1989 Ganster and Reilly [6] introduced and studied the notion of LC-continuous functions via the concept of locally closed sets. In this paper we consider a stronger form of LC-continuity called contra-continuity. We call a function f:(X,τ)→(Y,σ) contra-continuous if the preimage of every open set is closed. A space (X,τ) is called strongly S-closed if it has a finite dense subset or equivalently if every cover of (X,τ) by closed sets has a finite subcover. We prove that contra-continuous images of strongly S-closed spaces are compact as well as that contra-continuous, β-continuous images of S-closed spaces are also compact. We show that every strongly S-closed space satisfies FCC and hence is nearly compact.


A DNA sequence, IE-gen1 (3.1 kb), was isolated from the pathogenic strain of E. histolytica NIH-200. IE-gen1 was identified by the subtractive hybridization of a genomic library to a cDNA probe prepared from NIH-200 trophozoites. The IE-gen1 probe specifically detected pathogenic E. histolytica in slot blots of genomic DNA and Northern blots, but not other Entamoeba species and additional human parasites. This genomic probe could detect with complete specificity DNA from about 10(3) organisms. The IE-gen1 probe could be related to highly specialized loci in pathogenic E. histolytica, and is likely to be a valuable DNA reagent for clinical diagnosis and epidemiological investigations.


Arctic snow cover is important to life on Earth from the microscale soil microarthropod population, to reindeer at the local scale and even the global scale through its impact on the global climate. There is a consensus that global warming will be enhanced towards the Arctic. This will influence the hydrology and snow cover in these regions, which in turn will provide a feedback to climate. There is still a lack of knowledge regarding the impacts to polar hydrology and snow cover; the gaps are even larger with respect to feedback mechanisms.The objective of this study has been to improve the understanding and description of the dynamic processes of an Arctic snow cover. Here, the Arctic climate is studied from the first snow fall to the end of ablation in a series of nine publications grouped into three topics: "Snow Distribution", "Snowmelt and Energy Balance" and "Measurement Methods". The research is based on measurements and observations of climate, snow properties and snow distribution during the period 1992 to 2000 on the tundra in the vicinity of Ny-Alesund at 78°55'N, 11°56'E at Svalbard, Norway.Improvement of existing snowmelt models has been achieved by the implementation of energy balance calculations and improved description of the snow cover. Ground Penetrating Radar systems as a tool for snow surveying have been improved and used to measure and describe snow distributions over large areas. A snow drift model (SnowTran-3D) has been successfully tested for different scales and topography and was improved to better handle settling of the snow cover due to aging and melting.


Horizontal gene transfer is now recognized as an important mechanism of evolution. Several methods to detect horizontally transferred genes have been suggested. These methods are based on either nucleotide composition or the failure to find a similar gene in closely related species. Genes that evolve vertically between closely related species can be divided into those that retain homologous chromosomal positions (positional orthologs) and those that do not. By comparing open reading frames in the Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi genomes, we identified 2,728 positional orthologs since these species split 100 MYA. A group of 1,144 novel E. coli genes were unusually diverged from their S. typhi counterparts. These novel genes included those that had been horizontally transferred into E. coli, as well as members of gene pairs that had been rearranged or deleted. Positional orthologs were used to investigate compositional methods of identifying horizontally transferred genes. A large number of E. coli genes with normal nucleotide composition have no apparent ortholog in S. typhi, and many genes of atypical composition do, in fact, have positional orthologs. A phylogenetic approach was employed to confirm selected examples of horizontal transmission among the novel groups of genes. Our analysis of 80 E. coli genes determined that a number of genes previously classified as horizontally transferred based on base composition and codon bias were native, and genes previously classified as native appeared to be horizontally transferred. Hence, atypical nucleotide composition alone is not a reliable indicator of horizontal transmission.


70% Nylon 6 fiber and 30% low melting polyester fiber were manufactured into nonwoven fabrics, after which the nonwoven fabrics and Nylon 66 grids were needle-punched and heat-treated, forming the Nonwoven/ Nylon 66 grid composite fabrics. The optimum parameter for heat treatment was 150°C for 5 minutes, improving the mechanical property of the composite fabrics. Subsequently, with a fixed pick-up ratio of 200%, two waterborne PU resin (SE-5030 and SE-5070) with 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 wt% of cross-linking agent were used, offering the impregnation for Nonwoven/ Nylon 66 composite fabrics. After impregnation, the Nonwoven/ Nylon 66 grid composite fabrics were measured with drop tower stab testing, quasistatic stab testing and tensile strength testing. SE-5030 contributed greater tensile strength to the composite fabrics (1129.5 N in cross machine direction (CD) and of 816.4 N in machine direction(MD)); however, SE-5070 offered the composite fabrics the optimum stab-resistance strength of 69.9 N.


Lead free Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 (NBT) and (Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3)1-x(CaTiO3)x (NBT-CT) piezoelectric ceramics with the perovskite structure were studied. The NBT and NBT-CT samples were synthesized using a solid-state reaction method and characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and dielectric measurements for several compositions (x = 0, 0.07, 0.15) at room temperature. The XRD analysis showed a stabilization of a rhombohedral phase at a low concentration of Ca (0 < x <0.15), whereas Raman spectra reveal a strong modification for the sample with x = 0.15. The dielectric properties of these ceramics were studied by measuring impedance in the 79-451K temperature range for unpoled and field cooling with an electric field (FC) conditions.


Two new species of Diplocirrus Haase, 1915 are described from the southern Irish Sea and South Africa. Diplocirrus stopbowitzi sp. nov., identified from several surveys around the Irish Sea in recent years, favors coarser sediments than D. glaucus (Malmgren, 1867), the only other species of Diplocirrus identified from the area. It is morphologically closest to D. capensis Day, 1961 from South Africa, due to a combination of characters (multiarticulated, hooked neurochaetae, cephalic cage absent) that have previously been considered unique to D. capensis within the genus. The other new species, D. incognitus, is described from material identified by Day as D. capensis and deposited in the Natural History Museum, London. In appearance, it approaches D. glaucus but differs most noticeably in the relative size of adherent sediment particles and in the length of papillae clustered around the notochaetae. The two new species exhibit characters that bridge the gap between D. capensis, previously considered anomalous, and the other members of the genus. The significance of hooked neurochaetae is discussed following the discovery of such chaetae on specimens of D. glaucus and D. hirsutus. Diplocirrus glaucus, D. capensis, and the two new species each possess the same two branchial forms: stout, cuneiform with longitudinal ciliated ridges and cirriform with transverse ciliated rings. Comparisons are also made with the morphologically similar genera Bradiella Rullier, 1965 and Diversibranchius Buzhinskaja, 1994.


This paper studies the emerging wireless energy harvesting algorithm dedicated for machine type communication (MTC) in a typical cellular network where one transmitter (e.g. the base station, a hybrid access point) with constant power supply communicates with a set of users (e.g. wearable devices, sensors). In the downlink direction, the information transmission and power transfer are conducted simultaneously by the base station. Since MTC only transmits several bits control signal in the downlink direction, the received signal power can be split into two parts at the receiver side. One is used for information decoding and the other part is used for energy harvesting. Since we assume that the users are without power supply or battery, the uplink transmission power is totally from the energy harvesting. Then, the users are able to transmit their measured or collected data to the base station in the uplink direction. Game theory is used in this paper to exploit the optimal ratio for energy harvesting of each user since power splitting scheme is adopted. The results show that this proposed algorithm is capable of modifying dynamically to achieve the prescribed target downlink decoding signal-to-noise plus interference ratio (SINR) which ensures the high reliability of MTC while maximizing the uplink throughput.


Objectives How inflammatory signalling contributes to osteoarthritis (OA) susceptibility is undetermined. An allele encoding a hyperactive form of the Receptor Interacting Protein Kinase 2 (RIPK2) proinflammatory signalling intermediate has been associated with familial OA. To test whether altered nucleotide-binding oligomerisation domain (NOD)/RIPK2 pathway activity causes heightened OA susceptibility, we investigated whether variants affecting additional pathway components are associated with familial OA. To determine whether the Ripk2104Asp disease allele is sufficient to account for the familial phenotype, we determined the effect of the allele on mice. Methods Genomic analysis of 150 independent families with dominant inheritance of OA affecting diverse joints was used to identify coding variants that segregated strictly with occurrence of OA. Genome editing was used to introduce the OA-associated RIPK2 (p.Asn104Asp) allele into the genome of inbred mice. The consequences of the Ripk2104Asp disease allele on physiology and OA susceptibility in mice were measured by histology, immunohistochemistry, serum cytokine levels and gene expression. Results We identified six novel variants affecting components of the NOD/RIPK2 inflammatory signalling pathway that are associated with familial OA affecting the hand, shoulder or foot. The Ripk2104Asp allele acts dominantly to alter basal physiology and response to trauma in the mouse knee. Whereas the knees of uninjured Ripk2Asp104 mice appear normal histologically, the joints exhibit a set of marked gene expression changes reminiscent of overt OA. Although the Ripk2104Asp mice lack evidence of chronically elevated systemic inflammation, they do exhibit significantly increased susceptibility to post-traumatic OA (PTOA). Conclusions Two types of data support the hypothesis that altered NOD/RIPK2 signalling confers susceptibility to OA.


Introduction From the aspect of flavour, dairy products range from milk through mildlyflavoured butter and yoghourt to the highly-flavoured cheeses. Bland products such as milk and cream have little flavour of their own and most of the flavour problems associated with such products are those caused by the presence of undesirable offflavours. These undesirable flavours can arise from feedstuffs eaten by the cow, be produced by staling or induced at various stages in the handling or processing. Since flavours are caused by trace components, sour milk will differ nutritionally very little from fresh milk, even though the flavour may be objectionable. The flavours of the various strong cheeses are produced as a result of a series of operations during manufacture, followed by storage under conditions which encourage the growth of bacteria. The importance of flavour is demonstrated by the differing prices of Cheddar cheeses with the same gross chemical composition and texture but with differing flavours. As for other foods, flavour is a complex sensation with contributions from odour, taste and texture, Texture or 'mouth-feel' is relatively more important for bland products where the main flavour consideration is that there shall be practically no odour. Odour and taste are difficult to separate since they are linked together physiologically. Milk collected from a farm is rejected if any undesirable odour can be detected by the nose and a cheese grader assesses the flavour of cheese solely from its odour. When we consider the possible use of physical and chemical methods for flavour assessment, we are impressed by both the sensitivity and the selectivity of the nose. A human nose can detect a few hundred molecules of an odorous compound which may be present only at the parts per million level in the presence of the major non-odorous constituents of the food. Table I shows the detectability limits for three different chemical compounds and demonstrates large differences between the values for the nose and for two different detectors frequently used in gas chromatographs. The gas-chromatograph data were obtained by hlrs 1-1. Robinson in our


A new pattern matching method, the partly hidden Markov model, is proposed and applied to speech recognition. The hidden Markov model, which is widely used for speech recognition, can deal with only piecewise stationary stochastic process. We solved this problem by introducing the modified second order Markov model, in which the first state is hidden and the second one is observable. In this model, not only the feature parameter observations but also the state transitions are dependent on the previous feature observation. Therefore, even the complicated transient can be modeled precisely. Some simulation experiments showed the high potential of the proposed model. From the results of the word recognition test is was observed that the error rate was reduced by 39% compared with the normal HMM.


The mechanisms by which multipotent progenitor cells are directed to alternative cell identities during the histogenesis of the vertebrate central nervous system are likely to involve several different types of signaling systems. Recent evidence indicates that 9-cis retinoic acid, which acts through members of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of receptors, directs progenitor cells to the rod photoreceptor cell fate. We now report that another effector of this family of receptors, thyroid hormone, induces an increase in the number of cone photoreceptors that develop in embryonic rat retinal cultures, and that combinations of 9-cis retinoic acid and triiodothyronine cause isolated progenitor cells to differentiate as either rods or cones, depending on the relative concentrations of the ligands. These results implicate thyroid hormone in CNS cell fate determination, and suggest that different photoreceptor phenotypes may be modulated through the formation of thyroid/retinoid receptor heterodimers.


An unusual case of recurrent infected pseudoaneurysm seven years following carotid endarterectomy is described. The initial pseudoaneurysm was treated with resection and Dacron patch angioplasty. Recurrence one year later was caused by infection of the patch. Treatment with resection and autologous saphenous vein patch angioplasty resulted in cure. Pseudoaneurysm formation after carotid endarterectomy is unusual and can generally be traced to technical factors. Of the fifty reported cases, only seven (14%) resulted from or were associated with local infection. Avoidance of prosthetic patch material may help prevent this complication. If it does occur, management should include precise angiographic diagnosis, vascular control through previously unoperated areas, complete debridement of all necrotic and infected pseudocapsule, and, if necessary, reconstruction with autologous vein.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Many data suggest that the density of mast cells (MC) is strongly correlated with the extent of both normal and pathologic angiogenesis, such as the vessel formation that occurs in chronic inflammatory diseases and tumors. We have previously demonstrated that isolated MC and their secretory granules, but not degranulated MC, induce an angiogenic response in the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay.

DESIGN AND METHODS
The aim of this study was to investigate whether pre-treatment of MC with an anti-angiogenic molecule, namely recombinant human interferon-alpha2a (rhIFN-alpha2a), reduced the angiogenic activity of their conditioned media (CM) in the CAM assay.

RESULTS
Our data indicate that rhIFN-alpha2a at 500-1000 IU is able to reduce the angiogenic activity of CM significantly. When MC were treated with rhIFN-alpha2a at 25-250 IU they retained their angiogenic activity. Addition of anti-fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) antibodies (but not anti-vascular endothelial growth factor) substantially reduced the angiogenic activity of CM treated with sub-optimal concentrations of rhIFN-alpha2a.

INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS
FGF-2 may be the main angiogenic factor secreted by MC and higher concentrations of rhIFN-alpha2a possibly inhibit angiogenesis by blocking the actions of FGF-2 produced by MC. Finally, the morphologic features of MC treated with rhIFN-alpha2a, characterized by an atypical secretory pathway, are compatible with a slow release of the angiogenic cytokines stored in MC granules.


Abstract An integral bridge (IB) is one in which the abutments are cast monolithically with the deck to form a rigid frame structure. When the geometry and conditions do not allow for designing straight IBs, skewed IBs (SIBs) are designed. Current bridge design specifications are mainly developed for regular jointed bridges. Thus, provisions for SIBs have not been included in these specifications yet. Consequently, to determine live load effects in SIB components, many practicing engineers built a three-dimensional (3D) finite element model (FEM). In this study, various multiple design truck loading patterns are investigated to determine the most critical loading pattern producing the maximum live load effects in SIB components. The results of the analyses reveal that in the case of SIBs, different truck loading patterns arise when compared to bridges with no skew. Trucks that are placed diagonally across the width of the bridge are observed to produce the most unfavorable live load effects in bridge components.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the efficacy of a novel therapy (proteases) in an animal model of rheumatoid arthritis, and to investigate the mechanisms of arthritogenesis.

METHODS
We induced progressive arthritis in male DBA/1 mice by immunization and boosting with Type II collagen; groups of mice were treated orally twice daily with either ibuprofen or proteases, or were left untreated. After 2 weeks, joints were scored for clinical, radiographic, and histologic changes. In addition, we measured serum levels of IgG anti-collagen II, the glycosylation of circulating total and anti-collagen II IgG, and cytokine production by lymphocytes isolated from lymph nodes.

RESULTS
Amelioration of joint inflammation, and accentuation of a prototypical Th2 cytokine (interleukin 5) were similar in the ibuprofen and protease treatment groups. However, protease treatment protects and preserves articular cartilage, normalizes the sialylation of IgG and anti-collagen antibody, and fully restores Th1 (interferon-gamma) synthesis, distinct from ibuprofen.

CONCLUSION
Protease therapy has antiinflammatory efficacy in the early (inflammatory) phase of collagen induced arthritis, similar to ibuprofen. The immunomodulatory effects of proteases, not seen with ibuprofen, may underlie a correction of aberrant IgG glycosylation and/or contribute to the increased capacity of protease to delay or forestall erosive and destructive arthritis or ankylosis. Similar effects may apply to spontaneous RA in humans.


The American Civil War (1861–65) produced staggering numbers of casualties, including from what to this day remains the bloodiest one-day battle (Antietam) in the country9s history. Most combatants were young, many still teenagers, or at most in their early twenties, a fact repeatedly and poignantly acknowledged in the poetry and prose of Walt Whitman. The Civil War was the first to be extensively photographed, which brought the realities of its extreme violence into sharp relief throughout the country on both sides of the conflict. Battlefield photographers often focused their cameras on the wounded and dead; some shot close-up corpse studies of young and often notably handsome men, whose physical beauty—likewise acknowledged by Whitman—increased the affective impact of the tragedy. The youth of Civil War soldiers was likewise reflected in thousands of popular ballads produced by Union and Confederate composers and marketed for home-front consumption. Ballads evoking the bond between a mother and her soldier son are especially common. Two such songs, lamentations, by the highly successful northern composer George W. Root are typical: "Just before the Battle, Mother" (1863) and "The Vacant Chair" (1861), the former voiced by a young soldier fearing that he will shortly be killed, and the latter remembering a boy who has fallen. Songs of this sort, explicitly sentimental and folklike, were sometimes critically disparaged even during the war years, though their general popularity (and the popularity of many other songs of this sort)—even to this day—remains considerable. The apparent, guileless sincerity of lamentation ballads develops from a resemblance to the lullaby, a genre evoking the tightest of all human bonds, that between the mother and child. These songs, too easily dismissed as mawkish and cliche-ridden, stay with us for deep-seated social and cultural reasons.


Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) affect the efficiency of cellular uptake of a wide range of cell penetrating peptides (CPPs). GAGs have been proposed to cluster with CPPs at the cell surface before uptake but little is known about the formation or stability of CPP-GAG clusters. Here we apply a combination of heparin affinity chromatography, dynamic light scattering, and fluorescence spectroscopy to characterize the formation, stability, and size of the clusters formed between CPPs and heparin. Under conditions similar to those used in cell uptake experiments the CPP, penetratin (Antp), was observed to form significantly more stable clusters with heparin than the CPP TAT, despite TAT showing a comparable affinity for heparin. This difference in cluster stability may explain the origins of the preferred cell uptake pathways followed by Antp and TAT, and may be an important parameter for optimizing the efficiency of designed CPP delivery vectors.


Gallstone induced colonic ileus is a rare disease. An enormous gallstone was found as the cause of ileus in a previously healthy ninety year-old man. A laparotomy was carried out, and a gallstone measuring 6 x 8 cm was removed from the sigmoideum in a normal looking colon. The stone had been wedged at the ligament of Told after having formed a fistula from the gallbladder to the colon. The fistula was left untouched and the patient was discharged after making a full recovery. A year later the patient developed icterus. Ultrasound examination revealed choledocus stones, which were removed by ERCP papillotomy.


One aspect of grading table eggs is shell checks or cracks. Currently, USDA voluntary regulations require that humans grade a representative sample of all eggs processed. However, as processing plants and packing facilities continue to increase their volume and throughput, human graders are having difficulty matching the pace of the machines. Additionally, some plants also have a problem with micro-cracks that the graders often miss because they are very small and hard to see immediately post-processing but grow and become readily apparent before they reach market. An imaging system was developed to help the grader detect these small micro-cracks. The imaging system utilized one image captured at atmospheric pressure and a second at a slight negative pressure to enhance the crack and make detection much easier. A simple image processing algorithm was then applied to the ratio of these two images and the resulting image, containing both cracked and/or intact eggs were color-coded to simplify identification. The imaging system was capable of imaging 15 eggs in about 3/4 second and the algorithm processing took about another 10 seconds. These times could easily be reduced with a dedicated, multi-threaded computer program. In analyzing 1000 eggs, the system was 99.6% accurate overall with only 0.3% false positives compared to 94.2% accurate overall for the human graders with 1.2% false positives. An international patent on the system was filed and further automation of the system is needed.


This article explores Schlatter's doctrine of the Trinity in the light of the contemporary debate, focusing on the relation of the economic and the ontological Trinity. It is shown that Schlatter relates God's triune being and God's trinitarian action through the notion of love – where God's love ad extra as well as ad intra is oriented toward the particular in such a way as to enable true otherness. It will be argued, moreover, that Schlatter's contribution to the contemporary trinitarian debate lies in propounding an applied trinitarian theology which is faithful to its object. When God in himself and in relation to creation is oriented toward and actively seeks the other, then theology cannot talk about God's being apart from the actuality of his actions in this world.


This paper examines how and why firm internal labor markets (FILMs) are related to employees' organizational commitment (OC) Membership in a FILM might be expected to enhance one's OC for several reasons: FILMs are assumed to be associated with greater promotion opportunities, earnings, firm-specific skills, and autonomy; and less likely to be related to unionization. We measure these concepts and examine their role in linking FILMs and OC Our analysis is based on two nationally representative samples of employees and work organizations in Norway and the United States We find that FILMs are only weakly related or unrelated to OC in both Norway and the United States.


Op18 (also termed prosolin/stathmin) is a highly conserved 18-kD cytosolic phosphoprotein expressed in low levels in mature resting G0 lymphocytes, but induced in late G1 and S phases after entry into the cell cycle. In addition to its induction in normal proliferating lymphocytes, Op18 has been found to occur at high levels in acute leukemias and in neuroendocrine tissue. The presence and rapid phosphorylation of Op18 after stimulation of proliferating cells correlates with subsequent functional responses of the cells, and, therefore, Op18 has been suggested to play a key role in signal transduction. The pattern of expression of Op18 during lymphoid development is of interest in view of its high levels of expression in acute leukemias, representing cells arrested at an immature stage, thus raising the possibility that Op18 may be regulated differently in mature and immature lymphoid cells. We report here that immature human thymocytes bearing the cortical double positive phenotype (CD4+CD8+) constitutively express high levels of Op18 protein. In contrast, in mature single positive thymocytes (CD3+CD4+ or CD3+CD8+), Op18 protein is expressed at a lower level, comparable to that seen in peripheral blood T cells. Cell cycle analysis demonstrated that most of the cells in the double positive thymocyte population expressing high levels of Op18 were noncycling and arrested in G0. Furthermore, there was no correlation between Op18 levels and the proportion of cycling cells in double positive thymocyte populations isolated from different thymuses. Interestingly, although Op18 protein levels did not increase any further after mitogenic stimulation of double positive thymocytes, an increase in Op18 phosphorylation was observed, thus coupling of Op18 phosphorylation to cell activation remained intact. Our results show that during lymphoid maturation Op18 expression is uncoupled from cell proliferation. These data also suggest that the ordered expression of proliferation-associated genes seen in mature T cells may be disrupted during T cell maturation.


ABSTRACT Shyne Anand, P.S.; Balasubramanian, C.P.; Francis, B.; Panigrahi, A.; Aravind, R.; Das, R.; Sudheer, N.S.; Rajamanickam, S., and Vijayan., K.K., 2019. Reproductive performance of wild brooders of Indian white shrimp, Penaeus indicus: Potential and challenges for selective breeding program. In: Jithendran, K.P.; Saraswathy, R.; Balasubramanian, C.P.; Kumaraguru Vasagam, K.P.; Jayasankar, V.; Raghavan, R.; Alavandi, S.V., and Vijayan, K.K. (eds.), BRAQCON 2019: World Brackishwater Aquaculture Conference. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 86, pp. 65-72. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Indian white shrimp, Penaeus indicus, has been identified as a national priority species for domestication and genetic improvement. Although breeding and farming of this species has been studied before the inception of commercial shrimp farming in India, reproductive and hatchery performance of this species on a mass scale has not been addressed so far. To evaluate the reproductive performance of wild P. indicus brooders, a total of 2164 brooders from the broodstock fishery along the Indian east coast were used. The experiment was carried out in two phases; in trial 1, brooders from Odisha, Kanyakumari, as well as Chennai, were used, whereas, in trial 2 brooders from Chennai coast alone was used. Only 16-32% of eyestalk ablated animals spawned successfully, whereas remaining stock was found to be nonresponsive to eyestalk ablation. Ablated females had a latency period of 7-10 days with 2-3 times spawning per brooder. The average fecundity of wild spawner was 220000±56000. Eggs per gram body weight for wild and ablated spawners were 8126±3502 and 1481±863, respectively. The egg hatchability was 80% for wild spawners whereas ablated spawners recorded 50-70% hatchability. During larval rearing cycle a lack of synchronized moulting was noticed during protozoea to mysis conversion (91.5% protozoea and 8.5% mysis 1), and mysis 3 to postlarvae (PL) conversion (30-50% of mysis 3 in PL1/PL2 stage). The study provides a deeper understanding of the reproductive performance of wild broodstock of native P. indicus, which can be used as a reference database for future breeding programs.


A concurrency control algorithm for replicated, secure, multilevel databases is presented. Multiversion and replicated databases can avoid starvation problems without introducing indirect channels by maintaining stable copies of old low-level data values for use by high-level transactions. The algorithm presented improves on two comparable techniques, a direct multiversion approach of T. F. Keefe and W. T. Tsai and the full replication scheme of S. Jajodia and B. Kogan (both in Proc. 1990 IEEE Symp. on Res. In Security & Privacy, May 1990). In the latter, each security level has a container that holds a copy of all lower-level data. It is shown that only a constant number of old copies (two, as it turns out) must be maintained. The correctness of the algorithm is argued, and it is demonstrated that the algorithm is free of indirect channels and starvation.<<ETX>>


3D finite element models of magnetic suspended control moment gyroscope structure are established by general finite element analysis software. Initial modal analysis scheme of the MS-CMG structure, in which the frame and gyro-chamber are analyzed separately, is described. A new modal analysis scheme that the MS-CMG is analyzed as a whole structure is presented. The connection between the gyro-chamber and frame is realized by defining a revolution pairs. The numerical predictions from two modal analysis schemes show obvious difference. The new scheme is more reliable since it simulates the real wok status of MS-CMG.


INTRODUCTION The aim of the European Union's rural development policy is to promote multifunctional development of rural areas. The policy addresses not only farms, but also the entire rural environment. The concept of multifunctional development has been fostered in response to the numerous problems experienced by rural areas. The key challenges to rural growth include low incomes generated by farm owners, high unemployment, in particular in areas that were once dominated by State Agricultural Farms, and social exclusion of rural inhabitants. In an attempt to limit migration from rural to urban areas, multifunctional development promotes non-agricultural activities in the countryside, including business, tourism, agritourism, forestry and residential construction. Multifunctional development is not a new concept in Poland. The need for restructuring measures in the countryside was particularly dire when the market transformation processed commenced in 1989. The majority of State Agricultural Farms were closed down, but most employees were unable to embrace the change. Many of them still inhabit rural areas and struggle with unemployment. The concept of multifunctional development creates various opportunities for improving the livelihoods of rural families. This idea inspires researchers to identify factors that affect entrepreneurial behaviors of rural inhabitants. The concept of multifunctional development surfaced in response to the depopulation of the Polish countryside. Young and educated people are increasingly likely to search for employment opportunities in the cities. The discussed approach was also designed to decrease high unemployment rates among rural residents who are reluctant to search for new jobs in urban areas. The papers were compiled into a monograph to promote the concept of multifunctional development of rural areas and the ensuing opportunities for non-farm activities in the field of tourism, services and small-scale production. The publication has been structured to address the key functions of rural areas. The first part discusses determinants of multifunctional development of rural areas. The second part contains papers dedicated to agriculture, animal production and farm effectiveness. It also concerns economic functions. It describes investments and their role in the multifunctional development of rural areas, enterprise growth in the countryside, knowledge management and the diffusion of innovations in farming and food processing businesses in rural areas. Moreover, it is devoted to environmental functions with special emphasis on the development of agritourism and rural tourism. The last part addresses the EU and its significance for the multifunctional development of rural areas. Piotr Borawski


Medical decisions often involve tradeoff among competing criteria. For example, patients with third-party health insurance are primarily concerned about maximizing their quality-adjusted lifespan, since the majority of the cost burden typically falls on the third-party payer. On the other hand, third-party payers are incented to minimize total healthcare-related costs. Therefore, third-party payers must weigh the short-term cost of treatment against the long-term benefits of avoiding more costly health outcomes associated with disease progression and adverse events. The goal of the societal perspective is to achieve a reasonable balance among these competing criteria of quality-adjusted lifespan and costs. Treatment of diabetes provides a good example of the need to apply multicriteria decision-making models to treatment decisions. Chronic diseases such as diabetes are associated with high medical costs and a large number of available treatment options. In this paper, we use a Markov decision process (MDP) to show how decision-maker perspectives can influence medical treatment decisions related to cardiovascular risk management in patients with type 2 diabetes. We compare optimal treatment decisions from three different perspectives: societal, patient, and third-party payer. We further formulate an inverse MDP model to estimate the implied monetary value of a year of life, from the societal perspective, according to current U.S. treatment guidelines.


Abstraet--Sepiolite from Mara (Zaragoza, Spain) and palygorskite from Attapulgus (Georgia, USA) were activated by treatment at different concentrations with solutions of boiling HC1 under reflux conditions. The natural and treated solids were characterized by mineralogical, chemical and textural analyses. Acid attack resulted in a progressive dissolution of the octahedral layer of these silicates. Silica contents increased and octahedral cations (A1, Mg and Fe) decreased with the intensity of the acid attack. In both cases, fibrous free silica was obtained. The sepiolite was destroyed more rapidly than palygorskite under the conditions used because of its magnesic composition and the larger size of its structural microchannels. The maximum increase in specific surface area was obtained for sepiolite at 3 N and for palygorskite at 9 N. Cleaning and disaggregation of the particles and the increase in the number of micropores were responsible for this increase in specific surface area. Key Words--Acid Attack, Activation of Clays, Fibrous Silica, Palygorskite, Sepiolite.


Starting from the well-evidenced fact that banks with shareholder-focussed corporate governance fared worse in the financial crisis than those without, this paper considers various initiatives and proposals to re-orient board rules in relation to banks. The paper considers three type change. First, increased influence over board composition and behaviour without granting new rights of board representation to any group of persons. In this section we look at influence for the general public interest in bank stability via an increased role for bank supervisors in the selection and monitoring of bank directors and significant bank executives, and at an increased role for long-term creditors, in particular bondholders. The former is partly already in place and for the latter we suggest ways in which changes could be made, mainly via contract. Second, we look at influence via board representation, mainly for creditors but also for the public interest. We are sceptical about the scale of the benefits such representation is likely to afford and point out some of the costs of these proposals. Finally, we look at enhanced liability, whether regulatory, criminal or civil. There are many proposals for change in this area, some very far-reaching. We doubt the benefits of enhanced criminal liability, but think that more enforcement effort, especially in the regulatory field, but also as to civil liability, would yield positive results.


Operating criteria for power systems, such as the (N - 1)-criterion, are often based on evaluating whether the system is vulnerable to a specific set of contingencies. Therefore, a major part of power system security is concerned with establishing regions in parameter space where the system is vulnerable to specific contingencies. In this article we exploit the possibility of using Monte Carlo simulations to build an approximation of the region, in parameter space, where the power system will remain stable following a given contingency.


Background. The presence of common risk factors suggests that there is a relationship between osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease, possibly via dyslipidemia and inflammation. We investigated the relationships among the lipid profile, the inflammation marker high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), bone turnover markers, and bone mineral density (BMD) to assess the correlation between osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease and identify factors predicting osteoporosis. Methods. The study included 759 Korean women older than 20 years of age. The BMD, serum lipid profile, and levels of hsCRP, cross-linked C-terminal peptide (CTX), and osteocalcin were measured. We compared the serum biomarkers between groups with normal and low BMD and assessed the correlations between the levels of bone turnover markers and the lipid profile and hsCRP level. Results. The concentrations of CTX, osteocalcin, and total cholesterol were significantly higher in the low BMD group than in the normal BMD group in premenopausal women group. However, hsCRP was not correlated with these parameters. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that TC (OR, 1.647; 95% CI, 1.190–2.279) and osteocalcin (OR, 1.044; 95% CI, 1.002–1.088) had an increased risk of low BMD in premenopausal women. Conclusions. These results indicate that total cholesterol concentration is correlated with the levels of bone turnover markers, suggesting that it might predict osteoporosis in premenopausal women.


The anterior maxilla is the most traumatized region during childhood. Posttraumatic complications occasionally lead to tooth loss as well as the need for future implants. Unfortunately, it is contraindicated to place dental implants during childhood. A waiting period of approximately 8 to 10 years before completion of growth is required. For this patient to become a candidate for future dental implants, it is necessary to ensure the continuous growth and to preserve the dimensions of the alveolar process until growth has ceased from time of injury until joint maturation. To achieve these goals, it is essential to coordinate the treatment sequence at the time of trauma. After loss of a traumatized anterior permanent maxillary incisor in young adults, treatment options are limited: orthodontic closure of the gap and reshaping the adjacent teeth, or tooth extraction and maintaining the gap with a temporary restoration. Orthodontic space closure has limited indications and requires prosthetic restoration of at least 2 teeth. Extraction and temporary restoration will usually lead to bone augmentation before implantation. Other possible treatment options include orthodontic extrusion of the root remnant (in cases of untreatable root fracture or complicated crown-root fracture) and a temporary crown to serve the patient until the completion of growth and development, autogenous tooth transplantation, intentional extraction and immediate tooth replantation, distraction osteogenesis, and decoronation. Because general rules do not apply, individual treatment plans are necessary.


This study employs a stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and technical inefficiency effects model to predict the technical efficiency of 3,168 Thai manufacturing and exporting SMEs, analyze their returns to scale and key factors impacting on their technical efficiency. Analysis of cross-sectional data from a 2007 census of Thai manufacturing SMEs indicates that their average technical efficiency is approximately 69.72 percent, signifying a moderate level of technical inefficiency which is reducing potential output. With respect to each group of manufacturing and exporting SMEs, SMEs exporting to East Asia have a level of technical efficiency of 0.7081, followed by SMEs exporting to ASEAN (0.7038), North & South America (0.7005), OCEANIA (0.6979), South Asia (0.6828), Europe (0.6764), and Middle East & Africa (0.6679). Thai manufacturing and exporting SMEs extensively rely on labour rather than capital to increase their output, including almost all exporting SME groups, except those exporting to North & South America. Furthermore, the production of Thai manufacturing and exporting firms exhibit decreasing returns to scale (0.8837), including the production of SMEs exporting to ASEAN (0.9027), East Asia (0.9200), South Asia (0.7935), Europe (0.6487), North & South America (0.52118), and Middle East & Africa (0.7672). The production of Thai manufacturing SMEs exporting to Oceania, however, has increasing returns to scale (1.1965). The inefficiency effects model reveals that firm size, firm age, foreign ownership, location and government assistance are firm-specific factors that significantly affect the technical inefficiency of production. Finally, evidence-based policies are also provided to facilitate improvement in the technical efficiency performance of Thai manufacturing and exporting SMEs.


Background: Double-hit lymphoma (DHL) is a rare high-grade B-cell lymphoma characterized by MYC and Bcl-2 or Bcl-6 gene translocations. The treatment of DHL remains a substantial clinical challenge due to remarkably undesirable outcomes. Innovative drugs or combination treatment strategies need to be developed to improve the prognosis of DHL patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the combination treatment of a novel Aurora kinase A (Aurka) inhibitor, named alisertib (MLN8237) and a selective Bcl-2 inhibitor, named ABT-199 in vitro, and to explore the underlying mechanisms in human DHL cell lines.
 Methods: Cell proliferation was assessed using MTS assay in DHL cells treated with alisertib and ABT-199. Synergistic effects between two drugs were analyzed based on combination index (CI) values. Cell cycle and apoptosis were detected through flow cytometry. The expression of drug-targeted proteins, cell-cycle proteins as well as apoptosis-related proteins were detected by Western blot.
 Results: Alisertib and ABT-199 alone exhibited a relatively modest cytotoxicity in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, but the combination treatment produced stronger antitumor efficacy and synergistically suppressed the DHL cell growth. Otherwise, the combination treatment between alisertib and ABT-199 arrested the cell cycle in the G2/M phase at respectively lower concentrations (2/5 IC50), while the higher concentrations (3/5 IC50) resulted in a striking increase of cell apoptosis. Further studies demonstrated that both alisertib and ABT-199 downregulated the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) and cyclin B1, but upregulated the p21 and p53 expression. The combination treatment enhanced the expression of cell intrinsic apoptotic proteins, including cleaved Poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) and caspase-3. In addition, the combination treatment almost completely inhibited the expression of drug-targeted proteins, including MYC and Aurka phosphorylation. However, alisertib and ABT-199 did not alter the Bcl-2 expression.
 Conclusions: Alisertib and ABT-199 had synergistic effects on the inhibition of cell viability, induction of cell G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis in DHL cells. The underlying mechanism of synergism was associated with the p53/p21 and cell intrinsic apoptotic pathways. Our findings suggested that co-targeting Aurka and Bcl-2 might be a potentially therapeutic strategy for DHL lymphoma.


BACKGROUND
Schools play a significant role in adolescent sexual health (SH) promotion. Although adolescents' SH has improved, growing challenges still exist in some areas. Previous studies have noted a lack of knowledge about SH promotion implementation in school environments. The purpose of this review is to describe the contents, methods, and outcomes of adolescent SH promotion in school environments.

METHODS
Three databases (Cinahl, ERIC, Medline) were searched for peer-reviewed articles published in 2011 to 2022, to identify SH promotion in school environments for adolescents aged 12 to 19 years old. After critical appraisal, inductive content analysis was conducted.

RESULTS
After screening, 25 studies from 8 countries were included. Sexually transmitted diseases and contraception were emphasized in the contents of the methods. Five SH promotion methods were identified: traditional, virtual, interactive, practical skills supporting, and creative. The outcomes were advancement in SH abilities, changes in sexual behavior, and the strengthening of sexual identity.

CONCLUSIONS
The contents mostly considered negative consequences of sexual behavior, whereas positive aspects were less discussed. Traditional methods were emphasized, yet positive outcomes were identified regardless of the method. SH promotion should aim to better support adolescents' sexual identity reinforcement.


Titanium-coated surfaces are prone to tiny defects such as very small cracks, which are not easily observable by the naked eye or optical microscopy. In this study, two new thresholding methods, namely contrast-adjusted Otsu's method and contrast-adjusted median-based Otsu's method, are proposed for automated defect detection system for titanium-coated aluminum surfaces. The two proposed methods were compared with four existing thresholding techniques in terms of accuracy and speed of defect detections for images of 700, 900, and 1000 dpi obtained using high-resolution scanning. Experimental results have shown that the proposed contrast-adjusting methods have performance similar to minimum error thresholding (MET) and are generally better than Otsu's method.


The fields of pediatric palliative care (PPC) and pediatric medical ethics (PME) overlap substantially, owing to a variety of historical, cultural, and social factors. This entwined relationship provides opportunities for leveraging the strong communication skills of both sets of providers, as well as the potential for resource sharing and research collaboration. At the same time, the personal and professional relationships between PPC and PME present challenges, including potential conflict with colleagues, perceived or actual bias toward a palliative care perspective in resolving ethical problems, potential delay or underuse of PME services, and a potential undervaluing of the medical expertise required for PPC consultation. We recommend that these challenges be managed by: (1) clearly defining and communicating clinical roles of PPC and PME staff, (2) developing questions that may prompt PPC and PME teams to request consultation from the other service, (3) developing explicit recusal criteria for PPC providers who also provide PME consultation, (4) ensuring that PPC and PME services remain organizationally distinct, and (5) developing well-defined and broad scopes of practice. Overall, the rich relationship between PPC and PME offers substantial opportunities to better serve patients and families facing difficult decisions. Pediatrics 2014;133:S1–S7 AUTHORS: Chris Feudtner, MD, PhD, MPHabc and Pamela G. Nathanson, MBEa aThe Department of Medical Ethics, and bThe Pediatric Advanced Care Team, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and cPerelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania


This thesis reports on work undertaken to understand the effects, due to wear, on the performance of abradable honeycomb labyrinth seals. The phenomena studied are aerodynamic in nature and include compressible flow, turbulent flow, recirculation and separation at a range of pressure ratios from 1.20 up to 3.50. Four primary methods of investigation were used: experimental, numerical using CFD, numerical using theoretical derivations and numerical using established labyrinth seal specific computer codes. Effects of seal clearance, pressure ratio and tooth to groove location have been investigated with overall performance and inter-seal pressure distribution recorded experimentally and numerically for comparison. Worn experimental results, when compared to their unworn equivalent, recorded large increases in mass flow of up to 50% when the labyrinth teeth are located centrally in the groove. Significant performance enhancements were achieved through offsetting the teeth with respect to the groove, particularly in an upstream sense. There was a marked deterioration with the labyrinth teeth located at the groove exit. Inter-seal pressure distributions showed that the first and final teeth did most of the work achieving significantly larger pressure drops which goes against current seal understanding of increasing pressure drop through the seal. Numerical work was undertaken to further investigate these effects. However, due to the complex 3-D geometry of an abradable honeycomb labyrinth seal a 2-D simplification technique was developed to speed up the investigative process. Using this technique CFD was found capable of replicating the experimental data regarding overall seal performance and inter-seal pressure distributions. The pressure on the final tooth proved to be the hardest experimental data to recreate using CFD, particularly at high pressure ratios when shocks are likely to form. Further numerical work was undertaken using computer codes and theoretical derivations. This work proved that the understanding of the seal loss coefficients used by both methods was not adequate for the current study with the experimental data recreated least successfully. Suggestions are given for enhancement of seal design, including axial location and seal computational routines, which will limit the impact of a 1.5% increase in operational cost that is likely to accrue from seal deterioration.


How can you engage and motivate students to learn to code in a more meaningful way to achieve better academic performance? We conducted an experimental study to propose a novel approach to learn to code through a gamified online system by creating meaningful interactions. Through the quantitative data collected in two countries with 159 students (experimental and control group) that was supported by interviews with 20 students, we found the student's performance is significantly improved in the experimental condition, but also that failure rates are much lower. We also identified a curvilinear relationship between mentorship support and the learning process. Our findings offer new insights on the importance of creating an environment that provides and drives engagement and motivation to support the learning experience. It is clear that motivation drives learning and learning is achieved only if it is really meaningful.


The structure of optical dispersive shock waves in nematic liquid crystals is investigated as the power of the optical beam is varied, with six regimes identified, which complements previous work pertinent to low power beams only. It is found that the dispersive shock wave structure depends critically on the input beam power. In addition, it is known that nematic dispersive shock waves are resonant and the structure of this resonance is also critically dependent on the beam power. Whitham modulation theory is used to find solutions for the six regimes with the existence intervals for each identified. These dispersive shock wave solutions are compared with full numerical solutions of the nematic equations, and excellent agreement is found.


This paper focuses on the observation that giving core spiritual and cultural values the attention and appreciation they deserve may function as a more effective source of social cohesion and resilience than the recognition of universal human rights, whether or not enforced, by the government or a liberal majority. The Amsterdam Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies has succeeded in creating a unique academic micro-society with its joint training of Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Orthodox, Muslim, Protestant, and Humanist religious professionals. Starting from the fundamental values of each secular or religious tradition – such as self-purification, egalitarian and universal tolerance, man created in the image of God, muḥākāt Allah (making Allah's qualities of justice, mercy, and forgiveness one's own) or human dignity – future experts in world view and prospective religious leaders within the global society in all its diversity are taught to conduct a respectful multi-faith dialogue, with training in introspection, (interfaith) encounter, connection, and ensuring safety and trust. Given its pivotal role in the assimilation, emancipation, and integration of ethnic and other minorities and its contribution to a more resilient society, the faculty's programme receives increasing appreciation and funding from the government and from other non-academic parties.


The purpose of this study was to explore challenges and strategies facing teachers and pupils in the process of teaching and learning of reading Kiswahili language to
standard I and II pupils in public primary schools. This study was a case study, employed qualitative and quantitative approaches. The study was conducted within
10 out of 34 wards and 10 out of 140 public primary schools in Kinondoni municipality. The sample of 160 respondents was involved including 90 teachers, 60 pupils and 10 parents. Furthermore, the study employed random, purposive and convenience sampling techniques in the selection of the respondents. The questionnaires were self administered to the selected teachers and the interviews were administered to the pupils and parents. The documentary review and
observation were as well used. The study findings revealed the following challenges: poor in-service training to standard I and II teachers, poor incentive to teachers,
overcrowded classrooms and poor availability of T/L facilities. Challenges revealed on pupils' side were: pupils not reading Kiswahili language at home and not having
Kiswahili texts of their own. Strategies which were employed were the use of language of dialogue and pictures and writing's symbols, while other strategies used
were the word method, sentence and storytelling method. The study recommends that the government should establish mechanism to ensure that standard I and II teachers
are provided with in-service training, provide motivation to teachers; build more classrooms and employ more teachers; make available the necessary teaching and learning materials including textbooks and class libraries, also to introduce monitoring and evaluation system as a follow up mechanism to the implementation of programs in progress.


It is clear from Lhomme et al. (2014) that aspects of the explanation of the Matt–Shuttleworth approach can generate confusion. Presumably this is because the description in Shuttleworth (2006) was not sufficiently explicit and simple. This paper explains the logic behind the Matt–Shuttleworth approach clearly, simply and concisely. It shows how the Matt–Shuttleworth can be implemented using a few simple equations and provides access to ancillary calculation resources that can be used for such implementation. If the crop water requirement community decided that it is preferable to use the Penman–Monteith equation to estimate crop water requirements directly for all crops, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization could now update Irrigation and Drainage Paper 56 using the Matt–Shuttleworth approach by deriving tabulated values of surface resistance from Table 12 of Allen et al. (1998), with the estimation of crop evaporation then being directly made in a one-step calculation using an equation similar to that already recommended by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization for calculating reference crop evaporation.


The Australian spotted jellyfish Phyllorhiza punctata has been reported from several locations in the Mediterranean, but the present report is the first record from Turkish waters. Juveniles of the Erythrean alien shrimp scad, Alepes djedaba, were observed nestling among its tentacles. Possible vectors are mentioned.


Four new multidentate N-donor ligands L1–L4
have been prepared which contain a combination of pyridyl and thiazolyl donor
units. The syntheses of these ligands are facile and high-yielding, being
based on reaction of an α-bromoacetyl unit with a thioamide to form
the thiazolyl ring. The extended linear sequence of ortho-linked
N-donor heterocycles (four for L1, six for L2; five
for L3; and six for L4) is reminiscent of the well-known
linear oligopyridines, although these new ligands are much easier to make
and have significantly different geometric coordination properties because
the presence of the five-membered thiazolyl rings results in natural breaks
of the ligand backbone into distinct bidentate or terdentate domains. Thus,
the tetradentate ligand L1 partitions into two bidentate domains
to give dinuclear triple helicates [M2(L1)3]4+
with six-coordinate first-row transition metal dications (M = Co,
Cu, Zn). The hexadentate ligand L2 partitions into two terdentate
domains to give dinuclear double helicates [M2(L2)2]4+
with six-coordinate metal ions (M = Cu, Zn). In the double
helicate [Cu2(L3)2]4+ the pentadentate
ligand L3 only uses its two terminal bidentate binding sites, resulting
in four-coordinate Cu(II) centres and a non-coordinated pyridyl
residue in the centre of each of the two ligand strands. These pendant pyridyl
residues are directed towards each other to give a potentially two-coordinate
cavity between the metal ions in the centre of the helicate. Similarly, in
the double helicate [Cu2(L4)2]4+
the metal ions are only four-coordinate, with each ligand having its central
bipyridyl unit un-coordinated. This results in a potentially four-coordinate
cavity between the two metal ions in the centre of the helicate. These easy-to-prepare
ligands offer a great deal of scope for the development of multinuclear helicates.


In invertebrates, defensins were found in arthropods and in the mussels. Here, we report for the first time the identification and characterization of a defensin (Cg-Def) from an oyster. Cg-def mRNA was isolated from Crassostrea gigas mantle using an expressed sequence tag approach. To gain insight into potential roles of Cg-Def in oyster immunity, we produced the recombinant peptide in Escherichia coli, characterized its antimicrobial activities, determined its solution structure by NMR spectroscopy, and quantified its gene expression in vivo following bacterial challenge of oysters. Recombinant Cg-Def was active in vitro against Gram-positive bacteria but showed no or limited activities against Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. The activity of Cg-Def was retained in vitro at a salt concentration similar to that of seawater. The Cg-Def structure shares the so-called cystine-stabilized α-β motif (CS-αβ) with arthropod defensins but is characterized by the presence of an additional disulfide bond, as previously observed in the mussel defensin (MGD-1). Nevertheless, despite a similar global fold, the Cg-Def and MGD-1 structures mainly differ by the size of their loops and by the presence of two aspartic residues in Cg-Def. Distribution of Cg-def mRNA in various oyster tissues revealed that Cg-def is mainly expressed in mantle edge where it was detected by mass spectrometry analyses. Furthermore, we observed that the Cg-def messenger concentration was unchanged after bacterial challenge. Our results suggest that Cg-def gene is continuously expressed in the mantle and would play a key role in oyster by providing a first line of defense against pathogen colonization.


Recently, case-control studies have suggested an association between the polymorphic CAG repeat in the neuronal potassium channel gene hSKCa3 and an increased susceptibility to schizophrenia, with larger repeats being overrepresented in schizophrenic patients. Therefore, we have examined the CAG repeat polymorphism in hSKCa3 and four adjacent microsatellite markers in 12 multiplex schizophrenia families. On performing the extended transmission/disequilibrium test (ETDT), neither allele-wise (P = 0.67) nor genotype-wise (P = 0.071) analysis yielded evidence to support linkage disequilibrium between schizophrenia and the hSKCa3 CAG repeat alleles. No significant results were produced performing parametric and non-parametric linkage analysis between schizophrenia and hSKCa3, as well as the four microsatellite markers. Thus, our study does not support the involvement of hSKCa3 in schizophrenia. Furthermore, we refined the physical localization on chromosome 1q21.3 using linkage analysis. No recombination was seen between markers D1S2624 and D1S1600 and the polymorphic CAG repeat in hSKCa3. LOD scores of 19.44 and 12.97, respectively, were obtained at a recombination fraction of 0.00.


School choice is a growing movement, and public school districts are faced with the challenge of preventing declines in student enrollment.  In response, school districts must work to retain enrolled students and at the same time, attract new students. This qualitative study focused on developing an understanding of the factors that influence parents' decisions to enroll their child(ren) in a chosen school, that is, a school which differs from that assigned to the student, also known as school choice.  This case study examined data from the perspectives and experiences of parents and public school district leaders. Results suggest that school leaders need to ensure they build good relationships with parents and keep a positive school culture where customer service is valued and held to the highest standards.  In essence, school leaders must maintain strong partnerships with their families to attract and retain student enrollment. The results from this study equip school leaders with valuable information for strategic planning to address declines in student enrollment.


The lamin B receptor (LBR) is an integral protein of inner nuclear membrane whose nucleoplasmic amino-terminal domain contributes to the attachment of the membrane to chromatin. Here we analyzed the interactions of a recombinant GST protein containing the amino-terminal domain of the protein with in vitro reconstituted nucleosomes and short DNA fragments. Data show that the LBR amino-terminal domain (AT) binds linker DNA but does not interact with the nucleosome core. Titration and competition studies revealed that the interaction between LBR AT and DNA is saturable, of high affinity (K(D) approximately 4 nM), independent of DNA sequence, and enhanced by DNA curvature and supercoiling. In this respect, LBR amino-terminal domain binding to nucleosomes is similar to that of histone H1 and non histone proteins HMG1/2 which both bind preferentially to linker DNA and present a significant affinity for DNA secondary structures.


The related single phases, composites of TiB2/Cu and doped with Fe or Mo series were calculated by the density function and discrete variational method (DFT-DVM) to study the relation among electronic structure, chemical bond and properties. When Fe or Mo is doped into composite, the ionic and covalent bond become stronger, and the interaction between Cu and TiB2 phases also becomes stronger. The influence of doping Mo is more obvious than that of doping Fe. The results are consistent with the experiment that additives of Mo and Fe can improve preparation of TiB2/Cu composite, and effect of additive of Mo is more obvious than that of Fe.


Differential loading patterns during game-based participation may produce or exacerbate strength imbalances between the lower limbs. It is currently unknown whether such imbalances are functionally beneficial or detrimental to performance. This study assessed the influence of lower limb strength and lean mass symmetry on kicking accuracy in Australian Football. Thirty-one Australian footballers were required to perform a kicking assessment, producing ten drop punt kicks over twenty metres to a player target. Athletes were subsequently separated into accurate (n = 15) and inaccurate (n = 16) groups, with lower-body lean mass assessed using whole body DXA scans, and lower-body strength assessed using an isometric protocol. Accurate kickers demonstrated significantly higher relative lean mass (~8% to 16%; p = 0. 001 to 0.004) and significantly lower relative fat mass (~21% to 40%; p = 0.001 to 0.024) than inaccurate kickers. Accurate kickers did not contain any significant difference in lean mass or unilateral strength between lower limbs. Inaccurate kickers displayed significant asymmetry in lean mass (~3%; p ≤ 0.003), producing significant imbalances in strength (~8%; p ≤ 0.002) highlighting a deficiency in their support leg. Greater relative strength and improved lower limb symmetry in strength and muscularity could increase the capacity of an athlete to be technically proficient in favour of greater accuracy. Key PointsStrength deficits in the support leg may lead to inaccurate kicking outcomes.An asymmetry of 3% in lean mass generated an 8% imbalance in leg strength.Greater levels of relative lower-body strength and muscle mass are associated with improved kicking accuracy performance.