Six genes encode proteins with acyl-CoA-binding domains in Arabidopsis thaliana. They are the small 10-kDa cytosolic acyl-CoA-binding protein (ACBP), membrane-associated ACBP1 and ACBP2, extracellularly-targeted ACBP3, and kelch-motif containing ACBP4 and ACBP5. Here, the interaction of ACBP4 with an A. thaliana ethylene-responsive element binding protein (AtEBP), identified in a yeast two-hybrid screen, was confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation. The subcellular localization of ACBP4 and AtEBP, was addressed using an ACBP4:DsRed red fluorescent protein fusion and a green fluorescent protein (GFP):AtEBP fusion. Transient expression of these autofluoresence-tagged proteins in agroinfiltrated tobacco leaves, followed by confocal laser scanning microscopy, indicated their co-localization predominantly at the cytosol which was confirmed by FRET analysis. Immuno-electron microscopy on Arabidopsis sections not only localized ACBP4 to the cytosol but also to the periphery of the nucleus upon closer examination, perhaps as a result of its interaction with AtEBP. Furthermore, the expression of ACBP4 and AtEBP in Northern blot analyses was induced by the ethylene precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid, methyl jasmonate treatments, and Botrytis cinerea infection, suggesting that the interaction of ACBP4 and AtEBP may be related to AtEBP-mediated defence possibly via ethylene and/or jasmonate signalling.


Abstract. The Earth Observation Center (EOC) of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) realizes operational processors for DESIS (DLR Earth Sensing Imaging Spectrometer) and EnMAP (Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program) high-resolution imaging spectroscopy remote sensing satellite missions. DESIS is planned to be launched in 2018 and EnMAP in 2020. The developmental (namely schedule, deployment, and team) and functional (namely processing levels, algorithms in processors, and archiving approaches) similarities and differences of the fully-automatic processors are analyzed. The processing chains generate high-quality standardized image products for users at different levels taking characterization and calibration data into account. EOC has long lasting experiences with the airborne and spaceborne acquisition, processing, and analysis of hyperspectral image data. It turns out that both activities strongly benefit from each other.


AIM
To evaluate the clinical impact of the use of the Caiman® articulating energy device in advanced ovarian cancer (AOC) including rectosigmoid resection [e.g. modified posterior exenteration (MPE)].

PATIENTS AND METHODS
This was a prospective single-institution observational study with women undergoing MPE where all soft-tissue dissections and vessel ligations were performed using the Caiman® device. Intraoperative and postoperative surgical data were collected. Bladder function after nerve-sparing surgery was analyzed before and 6 months after surgery.

RESULTS
Forty patients were registered in the study. The median time for specimen removal using Caiman® was 86 min (range=70-120 min). Major vessel ligation was successful in all patients with a median of a single (range=1-4) Caiman® application to seal major vessels. No intraoperative or postoperative complications or bladder dysfunctions associated with the use of Caiman® were noted.

CONCLUSION
Caiman® can be safely used in AOC surgery and may save time through faster dissection. However, comparative studies with other energy devices are needed to confirm this finding.


Barley marketing, like a number of other commodities in Australia, is subject to the requirements of the Hilmer reforms. Approaches to the analysis of the possiblederegulation of barely marketing are considered. Emphasis is placed on the use of a spatial equilibrium model designed to assess the consequences of different degrees of market power exerted over the export and domestic markets and econometric techniques designed to assess the extent that prices in different export markets differe from what might be expected without exerting market power. Results are obtained which illustrate the fact that rents can be extracted from markets if market power can be exerted and they also provide information on the distribution of the rents. It is also observed that the Japanese import policy has a significant impact on the ability of Australia to extract price premiums.


Sixty-four patients with a biopsy diagnosis of colorectal cancer with liver metastases were treated with 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (FUDR) infusions. In a pilot study, the first 20 patients were given hepatic artery infusions of FUDR by implanted pumps. The remaining 44 patients were then randomized prospectively to compare the effectiveness of continuous hepatic artery and intravenous infusion of FUDR (IA/IV group; 21 patients) with hepatic artery infusion alone (IA group; 23 patients). A continuous 14-day infusion regimen of FUDR was applied each month. The dosage was 0.2 mg/kg/d of FUDR for the IA group and 0.3 mg/kg/d for the IA/IV group. The complete and partial response rates were each 50% in the pilot study and 52% and 48% in the IA and IA/IV randomized groups, respectively. Drug toxicities in the 64 patients included gastroenteritis (21%), chemical hepatitis (57%), and biliary sclerosis (25%). There was no difference in the toxicity of FUDR in the two randomized groups (P > 0.1). Extrahepatic spread of cancer during therapy was found in 61% (n = 14) of the IA group and 33% (n = 7) of the IA/IV group. There was no difference in survival between the randomized groups. The 64 patients were categorized into the following two groups according to their response to therapy: (1) responders (patients with complete or partial remission In = 321) or nonresponders (patients with stable disease or progression of metastases In = 321). The median survival time was 31 months for responders and 16 months for nonresponders (P < 0.0001). Intraarterial FUDR infusion provided control of liver metastases. The combination of intraarterial and intravenous therapy seemed to prevent extrahepatic spread during therapy in most of the patients, Survival appeared to be significantly prolonged in patients with a regression of metastases. Cancer 64:379-387. 1989.


Synaptic scaling has been proposed as a form of plasticity that may contribute to drug addiction but it has not been previously demonstrated in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a critical region for addiction. Here we demonstrate bidirectional synaptic scaling in postnatal rat NAc neurons that were co‐cultured with prefrontal cortical neurons to restore excitatory input. Prolonged activity blockade (1–3 days) with an AMPA receptor antagonist increased cell surface (synaptic and extrasynaptic) glutamate receptor 1 (GluR1) and GluR2 but not GluR3, as well as GluR1/2 co‐localization on the cell surface and total GluR1 and GluR2 protein levels. A prolonged increase in activity (bicuculline, 48 h) produced opposite effects. These results suggest that GluR1/2‐containing AMPA receptors undergo synaptic scaling in NAc neurons. GluR1 and GluR2 surface expression was also increased by tetrodotoxin alone or in combination with an N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptor or AMPA receptor antagonist but not by the l‐type Ca2+ channel antagonist nifedipine. A cobalt‐quenching assay confirmed the immunocytochemical results indicating that synaptic scaling after activity blockade did not involve a change in abundance of GluR2‐lacking AMPA receptors. Increased AMPA receptor surface expression after activity blockade required protein synthesis and was occluded by inhibition of the ubiquitin‐proteasome system. Repeated dopamine (DA) treatment, which leads to upregulation of surface GluR1 and GluR2, occluded activity blockade‐induced synaptic scaling. These latter results indicate an interaction between cellular mechanisms involved in synaptic scaling and adaptive mechanisms triggered by repeated DA receptor stimulation, suggesting that synaptic scaling may not function normally after exposure to DA‐releasing drugs such as cocaine.


To explore the influence mechanism of product attribute characteristics contained in online reviews on users' purchase decisions can provide decision-making basis for the improvement of products and services of e-commerce enterprises. Based on the previous empirical research and management practice, we put forward the hypothesis that each product attribute in e-commerce online reviews affects product sales, and use the method of panel data modeling to explore the influence mechanism and degree of each product attribute in online reviews on product demand. The results show that there are significant differences in the influence mechanism and degree of different attributes on product demand. In apparel e-commerce, users pay most attention to the size attribute characteristics of products. This study can guide e-commerce enterprises to improve their products and services. Keyword: Online review, demand forecasting, panel data modeling


Søren Ventegodt, Tyge Dahl Hermansen, Isack Kandel and Joav Merrick Quality of Life Research Center, Classensgade 11C, 1 sal, DK-2100 Copenhagen O, Denmark; Research Clinic for Holistic Medicine and Nordic School of Holistic Medicine, Copenhagen, Denmark; Scandinavian Foundation for Holistic Medicine, Sandvika, Norway; Interuniversity College, Graz, Austria; 6 Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Behavioral Sciences, Ariel University Center of Samaria, Ariel, Israel; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Office of the Medical Director, Division for Mental Retardation, Ministry of Social Affairs, Jerusalem, Israel and Kentucky Children's Hospital, University of Kentucky, Lexington, United States


Although certain gold [Au(I)] compounds have been used effectively in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis for some years, the molecular basis for such therapeutic action has been unclear. One possible mechanism of the action of Au(I) compounds is that they protect unsaturated membrane lipids and proteins against oxidative degradation caused by activated phagocytes that are not properly regulated. In this study it has been shown that superoxide ion (O-2.), a product of activated phagocytes, can be oxidized to electronically excited singlet oxygen (O1(2)delta g), an agent that is capable of peroxidation of unsaturated fatty acid derivatives. It has also been shown that antiarthritic Au(I) compounds are effective deactivators of O1(2)delta g with quenching constants on the order of 10(7) M-1 sec-1.


Over the last two decades there has been increasing interest among naval ship designers to adopt design style elements, standards and practices from commercial shipbuilding. Notable among this is a transition from the highly complex structural styles prevalent during the Cold War to simpler, more readily produced structure. It is generally presumed that this will reduce ship procurement costs, but may also have an effect on operational characteristics, including vulnerability to hostile action. Many naval weapon systems employ shock from underwater explosions as their damaging mechanism. In severe cases shock can cause catastrophic loss of watertight integrity, but in even moderate cases of shock the resulting acceleration environment inside the ship can damage or destroy vital equipment. The research presented in this thesis attempted to quantify the effect of adopting simpler structural styles upon this damaging acceleration environment. A number of different frigate structural models were specifically designed, using different structural styles but to meet the same design strength criteria. These models were subjected to simulated underwater explosions using Fluid Structure Interaction Finite Element Analysis techniques and the resulting motions at likely equipment mounting points computed. Results are presented in the form of comparative shock response spectra and also compared against existing shock response prediction techniques. This thesis concludes that the adoption of certain simplified structural styles in warships can lead to significantly elevated shock response motions, compared to those expected from a ship with a more typical naval structural style. In particular, the adoption of reducing the number of stiffeners, or adopting lower cost stiffener profiles, may result in motions increased by a degree significant enough that they should be taken into account when specifying the shock tolerance or mounting arrangements for on-board equipment.


This thesis is focused on the development of a prototype membrane medical device for
the treatment of oedema and lymphoedema via interosmolar fluid removal. These
medical disorders disrupt body fluid regulation causing excess fluid to accumulate in
the body's tissues resulting in swelling of affected areas and can severely impact
quality of life of affected patients.
The device concept was based on a US patent (No. 8,211,053 B2) licensed to
BioInteractions Ltd which proposes, but does not exemplify, an implantable medical
device based on a semipermeable membrane compartment containing trapped
osmotic solutes which can act as a draw solution for the abnormally accumulated fluid
in the tissues surrounding the device, allowing the fluid to be drained from the body.
Following extensive literature research and consultation with experts in the field
(detailed in Chapter 1) it became apparent that alongside the oedema fluid,
accumulated plasma proteins would also require removal to prevent oedema reforming
as a result of protein oncotic pressure. To accommodate this, a design modification
was proposed; employing porous membranes to enable to removal of proteins
alongside the fluid. This adaptation necessarily affected the draw solution selection
limiting the options to high molecular weight species which could be retained by the
porous membrane.
Alongside this clinically-oriented project, a secondary project involved the development
of thin-film composite membranes using novel coatings based on hydrophilic poly-ylids
as well as investigations into a new solvent resistant support membrane.
Chapter 2 focused on investigating the forward osmosis process using a novel
combination of porous ultrafiltration membranes and high molecular weight polymer
and polyelectrolyte draw solutions. The best-performing draw solution and membrane
was found to be 225K sodium polyacrylate and a 50K MWCO polyethersulfone (PES)
UF membrane which were then further studied to determine model oedema fluid
removal performance, membrane fouling properties, osmotic pressure characteristics
and protein transport.
Chapter 3 involved the synthesis and characterisation of novel hydrophilic poly-ylids
derived from the interfacial polycondensation of 1,1'-diamino-4,4'-bipyridinium with
aromatic di-sulfonyl chlorides and di-isocyanates. These poly-ylids were then used to
fabricate thin-film composite nanofiltration membranes, alongside a number of previously reported acid chloride based poly-ylids for comparison, which were then
analysed in terms of their flux and salt rejection properties. Additionally investigations
into pH effects, surface morphology and biocompatibility were carried out.
Chapter 4 describes the development of solvent resistant thin-film composite
membranes based on poly-ylids synthesised in Chapter 3, in combination with a novel
polyetherketone support membranes. This system enabled the fabrication of
nanofiltration membranes using monomers that were incompatible with a traditional
PES membrane support. The membranes were analysed as described in Chapter 3
and were found to have reasonable flux and salt rejection properties. Additionally,
initial biocompatibility testing found that all three PEK TFC poly-ylid membranes were
able to reduce protein adhesion relative to an uncoated PEK support membrane.
Chapter 5 details the design, fabrication and testing of two generations of device
prototypes using both an in vitro and ex vivo model, both developed specifically for the
project. This chapter provides proof-of-concept for the device, as fluid removal was
successfully demonstrated using a second generation prototype tested in an ex vivo
perfused limb.


New distributed dynamic channel assignment algorithms for a multihop packet radio network are introduced. The algorithms ensure conflict-free transmissions by the nodes of the network. The basic idea of the algorithms is to split the shared channel into a control segment and a transmission segment. The control segment is used to avoid conflicts among nodes and to increase the utilization of the transmission segment. It is shown how these algorithms can be used in order to determine time-division multiple access (TDMA) cycles with spatial reuse of the channel. >


When considering the legal provisions, Sri Lanka processes a sound legal framework for conservation of  ecologically sensitive, biodiversity rich areas, whether it falls in a state land or otherwise. However, being one of the most densely populated countries, ever growing human populations and their needs create a "formal" socio-political pressure for opening up pristine habitats for development. In the "informal" frontier this creates issues such as encroachment, garbage disposal, illegal and unsustainable resource extraction etc. Sanctuaries, being a mix of private and state lands, with unclear boundaries, are much more vulnerable for development pressure compared to other National Reserves despite their richness in biodiversity and importance in ecological services. Management plans are considered to be the documents providing directions for Protected Area managers. In Sri Lanka, Management Plan Preparation was mandated by the FFPO. Hence Management Plans have the status of a legal document. However Management Plans are not available for all the PAs in Sri Lanka. In fact, existing ones are considered to be out dated. However in general the conventional management planning approaches fail to provide sound management strategies in dynamic environments. All the sanctuaries in Sri Lanka do not have approved management plans. Proposed Strategic Conservation approach provides a conceptual framework for analysis of the conservation propensity and development propensity of biodiversity rich, sensitive and threatened areas. Using the proposed approach, possible strategies could be grouped in to four clusters and implemented in the light of eight capability roles that an agency can perform. It could be used as a complementary or supplementary approach to the conventional management planning in order to address specific problems faced by PAs such as Sanctuaries. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/jepsl.v2i2.6331 Journal of Environmental Professionals Sri Lanka, Vol. 2 No. 2 2013, 66-76


The challenge of reconciling social, economic and ecological objectives in the pricing of park entry fees in developing countries often translates into the undervaluation of the recreational services and various adverse effects. This paper asks whether a more market-oriented pricing mechanism that reflects visitors' preferences and willingness to pay would better contribute to a more sustainable provision of park amenities than an administered price in the face of government budget constraints. With information collected from 477 visitors, the results – based on a double-bounded contingent valuation – show a mean willingness to pay of more than three times the actual entry fees. An increase in the latter so as to match visitors' willingness to pay, as well as various policies that effectively exploit the heterogeneity in individual valuations, could lead to an even greater increase in the generated revenues and definitely help meet the challenge of adequately pricing the park amenities.


Objective: to describe the profile of cases of tuberculosis and diabetes comorbidity in Brazil. Methods: this is a descriptive study with data from the Brazilian Information System for Notifiable Diseases – tuberculosis (Sinan-TB) and from the System of Registration and Monitoring of Hypertension and Diabetes Mellitus (Hiperdia), from 2007 to 2011; probabilistic linkage was carried out with Reclink software. Results: 24,443 cases of comorbidity were found, including 3,181 cases not registered on Sinan-TB; of the total number of recovered cases, mostly were males (57.2%), aged 40-59 years (52.3%), black/brown-skinned (68.4%), with five to eight years of schooling (78.4%), with no regular use of alcohol (86.5%) and negative serology for the HIV virus (91.8%). Conclusion: the cases found had similar profile to those registered on Sinan-TB and the probabilistic linkage of data from different information systems enabled the detection of cases not captured by surveillance.


Objective Our goal was to evaluate contrast-enhanced MRI using an endorectal coil in detecting and staging prostate carcinoma. Materials and Methods Sixty patients with clinically suspected prostate carcinoma were examined by T1-weighted contrast-enhanced endorectal coil MRI at 1.5 T. Results were compared with T2-weighted images in all cases and with histologic findings following radical prostatectomy in 28 patients. Results Prostate carcinomas showed no consistent pattern of contrast enhancement. In 27 patients, the tumor enhanced less than the surrounding prostatic tissue; in 10 patients, enhancement was heterogeneous; and in 23 cases, the lesion was hyperintense compared with normal glandular tissue. With respect to tumor delineation, contrast-enhanced sequences were superior to T2-weighted images in 1 case only; in 24 patients, the tumor could not be delineated at all. However, contrast-enhanced sequences provided a higher diagnostic confidence in delineating the seminal vesicles, prostate capsule, and neurovascular bundle in nine, six, and three cases, respectively. In the operated patients, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity for staging advanced disease were comparable for both sequences. Conclusion The T2-weighted sequences remain mandatory for delineation of prostate carcinoma. Contrast-enhanced T1-weighted sequences do not improve overall staging accuracy and therefore are not warranted routinely, but should be considered in cases requiring clearer delineation of the prostate capsule and/or seminal vesicles. Index Terms Prostate, neoplasms—Cancer, staging—Magnetic resonance imaging, techniques.


The Asian crisis, currently on global tour, has given everyone a reason to reconsider their positions on capital control and prudential banking and supervision. Once an incentive for attracting foreign investments, hassle-free capital inflows and outflows and weak banking supervision and regulation have proven to be a mistake. Capital flows, prone to reversals, distort the prices of foreign currency and wreak havoc on financial and non-financial institutions strapped with dollar-denominated loans. Banking institutions, which on a daily basis deal with the risks of liquidity and unstable exchange rates, can hold the economy hostage. It is vital that they undergo strict supervision and regulation to determine if they are capable of handling the risks they are taking. However, the existing bias leans towards accepting capital inflows without control and preventing a crisis by paying closer attention to financial intermediaries. The author insists that they go hand in hand. To avoid another global crisis, both prudential supervision and regulation and capital controls, the extent of which is determined by a country's culture, institutions and bureaucracy, and development model, must be taken seriously. Asia is learning this the hard way.


The authors study the legitimacy of the establishment and work of the International Criminal Court (ICC) from the perspective of African countries. They point out that African countries initially supported the idea of creating the ICC and actively participated in its establishment and development. However, after the Court initiated investigations regarding the current President of Sudan Omar Al-Bashir and other African leaders (current President of Kenia Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, its Vice-President William Samoei Ruto, former Head of the Great Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Muammar Gaddafi, the ex-President of Cote d'Ivoire Laurent Gbagbo, and others), the ICC began to lose its legitimacy in the eyes of most African leaders, who started to perceive it as a political instrument of Western countries. As a result, the African Union in its Resolutions (13 (XIII), 987 (XXIX), 952 (XXVIII) and others) called on African countries to stop cooperating with the ICC concerning warrants for the arrest of current officials and, finally, to totally withdraw from the Rome Statute of the ICC of 1998 because it believed that the Court is selective in its persecution of Africans only. Following this, three African countries (Burundi, the South African Republic and Gambia) announced in 2016 that they intend to withdraw from the Rome Statute. However, the South African Republic and Gambia did not do this due to internal political situation and pressure from the Western countries, and only Burundi withdrew from the 1998 Rome Statute on October 27, 2017. Besides, the African Union initiated the establishment of the International Criminal Chamber within its regional court — the African Court of Justice and Human Rights (Malabo Protocol of 2014); the authors believe it to be the reaction of the African countries to the activities of the ICC. Based on their research, the authors suggest reforming the International Criminal Court to ensure its independence and impartiality in fighting international crimes and impunity, as well as developing regional criminal justice in Africa.


OBJECTIVE--To determine the anatomical variability of the oval fossa in cases of atrial septal defect and to find out which factors might make such defects suitable or unsuitable for closure by umbrella or clamshell devices. DESIGN--100 specimens with defects of the atrial septum within the oval fossa were studied, especially the position of the defects within the fossa; the area of the defect in relation to the total area of the oval fossa; the shape of the rims and flap valve of the oval fossa; and the anatomical variability in the eustachian and thebesian valves. RESULTS--The oval fossa was displaced to the mouth of the inferior caval vein in four cases; displaced to the mouth of superior caval vein in two cases; placed on the middle of the interatrial wall in 43; or placed slightly towards the inferior caval vein in 51. Because of their shape 29 of the hearts were considered to be unsuitable for transcatheter closure of the defect. This was because the defect was too large (16 hearts); the oval fossa was displaced to the mouth of the inferior caval vein (four hearts) or to the superior caval vein (two hearts); lacked its anterior rim (two hearts); lacked the posteroinferior rim (one heart); because a thick eustachian valve was displaced posteriorly forming a false posteroinferior rim (one heart); or because the strand of insertion of the floor of the oval fossa was too distant from the left atrial aspect (three hearts). CONCLUSION--68 hearts appeared to be ideal candidates for transcatheter closure; 3 would probably have been suitable; but 29 were unsuitable. These morphological variations might explain why the procedure has been unsuccessful in so many cases. Patients should be screened before any attempt is made at transcatheter closure.


We consider several estimation and learning problems that networked agents face when making decisions given their uncertainty about an unknown variable. Our methods are designed to efficiently deal with heterogeneity in both size and quality of the observed data, as well as heterogeneity over time (intermittence). The goal of the studied aggregation schemes is to efficiently combine the observed data that is spread over time and across several network nodes, accounting for all the network heterogeneities. Moreover, we require no form of coordination beyond the local neighborhood of every network agent or sensor node. The three problems that we consider are (i) maximum likelihood estimation of the unknown given initial data sets, (ii) learning the true model parameter from streams of data that the agents receive intermittently over time, and (iii) minimum variance estimation of a complete sufficient statistic from several data points that the networked agents collect over time. In each case, we rely on an aggregation scheme to combine the observations of all agents; moreover, when the agents receive streams of data over time, we modify the update rules to accommodate the most recent observations. In every case, we demonstrate the efficiency of our algorithms by proving convergence to the globally efficient estimators given the observations of all agents. We supplement these results by investigating the rate of convergence and providing finite-time performance guarantees.


The soluble form of the syndecan-1 heparan sulfate proteoglycan acts as a tumor suppressor molecule that inhibits growth and induces apoptosis of some cancer cell lines in vitro. Analogs of syndecan-1 were produced by carbodiimide (EDAC) conjugation of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains to a protein scaffold, thereby generating synthetic proteoglycans that were evaluated for anticancer properties. Surprisingly, when analyzing activities of the controls, we discovered that EDAC modified GAG chains inhibit myeloma cell viability even in the absence of protein. Here, we describe the production and the activities of these novel molecules called neoglycans. The GAG chains heparin and chondroitin sulfate (CS) were exposed to EDAC to generate the neoglycans neoheparin and neoCS, respectively. Heparin and CS in the absence of EDAC modification have no effect or a slight growth promoting effect on cancer and normal cell lines. However, neoheparin and neoCS substantially reduce cell viability by induction of apoptosis of myeloma and breast cancer cells in vitro. NeoCS when injected directly into breast tumors growing in nude mice reduces or abolishes their growth without causing apparent toxicity to the adjacent normal tissue. The neoglycans need not be continuously present in cell cultures because a short pulse exposure is sufficient to reduce cell viability. NeoCS fractions purified by size exclusion chromatography reduce myeloma cell viability, confirming the specificity of neoglycan activity. Collectively, the results of this study demonstrate the anticancer activities of this new class of GAG chain-based molecules and provide the foundation for future development of neoglycans as novel therapeutic agents.


Implementing curriculum that is inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) people has the potential to create an equitable learning environment. In order to learn more about students' experiences of LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum, 26 high school students with diverse racial/ethnic, sexual, and gender identities were recruited from the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) Network in California. Students participated in focus groups conducted by telephone by GSA staff, sharing their experiences of LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum in school. Qualitative coding methods, including grounded theory, were used to identify themes and interpret students' responses. Data revealed that LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum was most often taught in social sciences and humanities courses as stand-alone lessons. LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum rarely met standards of social justice education, though opportunities for critical conversations about systemic oppression regularly emerged. For instance, teachers often failed to intervene in LGBTQ bullying and missed teachable moments conducive to inclusive curriculum. Some students learned positive LGBTQ lessons and highlighted the ways such curriculum reflected their identities and created a supportive school climate. Implications for equitable education are discussed.


E. J. Murray writes: The presence of fissures in clayey soils is rightly identified by the authors as being of major significance to the performance of clays as low permeability barriers in landfill. The hydraulic radius type of permeability equation, such as the Kozeny—Carman equation (see Murray 1995) may be used to demonstrate that the permeability is inversely proportional to the number of void openings. Thus, for a soil of given porosity, a small number of large voids, such as represented by fissures, leads to a greater permeability than a large number of small voids, as where permeability is controlled solely by inter-particle flow. The identification of 'clod' size as being a major factor in the presence of discontinuities or fissures goes a long way to explaining why there are often large discrepancies between in situ permeabilities and the lower values obtained from laboratory prepared samples. In this respect, it is considered important to recognize the role of the plastic limit as an indicator of whether a clayey soil, at a given moisture content, is (a) likely to have a fissured structure due to desiccation, and (b) whether it can be moulded by compaction to eliminate discontinuities such as between clods. (a) The plastic limit of a clay is the moisture content at which it stops behaving as a plastic material and starts behaving as a brittle material. At this moisture content, in accordance with the plastic limit test method, cracks start to appear in thin threads (3 mm) of


Thyroid gland diseases are frequent in pregnant women. In the Czech Republic, there is not a screening for this disease. Our objective was to evaluate the initial cost of the study of screening of thyroid gland disease in pregnant women. Methods: We used simple statistical methods for comparing the cost of the study (examination of TSH and TPOAb) with the costs and efficiency when TSH- only or TPOAb-only screening would be performed. Screening of TSH only is 2.7 times cost- effective than screening of TPOAb. Screening of TSH only may lead to miss 77 patients with TPOAb positive results and screening of TPOAb only may lead to miss 77 patients with TSH positive results. Discussion: To achieve better sensitivity, it is necessary to perform screening of TSH and TPOAb together.


The work on thermo-chemical conversion of biomass was initiated at the Institute with the financial support from the Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology in 1981. During the first five years, one of the key question addressed was: Can a 3.7 kWe gasifier be built to produce engine consistent quality gas from woody biomass – even though small systems are prone to unfavorable thermal conditions? Studies showed that this question could be answered in the positive. The period 1985-90 was characterized by the demonstration of the possibility of new technologies that emerged from innovations in the laboratory. Soon there was a need to address requests for medium capacity systems. An automated 100-kWe gasifier with data acquisition system was set up at Port Blair. This system operated from 1990 led to several modifications and improved versions. The period 1990 – 1995, was studded with 'crossing several milestones' related to 'technology improvement' and device longevity. The problems addressed during this period related to enhancing reactor life using ceramics. These efforts led to emergence of landmark reactor technology – rammed mass technology and hard high allumina tile face. The period of 1995 to 2000 was characterized by great interest from the Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources (MNES) and some interest from international groups, broadening the biomass feedstock types, adaptation to various type of engines, etc. The principal questions addressed were: Can feed stock range be enhanced to include other agro residues and urban solid waste. Can turbo-charged engines be run on producer gas without any technical problems? Can the issues related to gas engines be understood and technology elements built here. These led improving the scientific base. In doing so, many scientific questions were tackled. This period was also characterized by scientific developments involving, (a) modeling of combustion of individual biomass in specific geometric like sphere, (b) reactor as thermo-chemical device, (c) reactor design, (d) producer gas as a combustible medium, (e) physics of flame propagation vis-à-vis smooth burning in a high compression engines, heat balance and combustion in CI and SI engines has led to better science and engineering. This vast experience has enabled evolving, designing; field-testing and installing a large number of open top reburn gasification systems from 3 kW – 1 MWe. Technological improvements on the reactor were accompanied by improvements in the gasifier subsystems also. Manufacturing process also has been examined to ensure good quality assurance. These studies have led to, a. interpreting gasification process as a two staged combustion process b. using a staged conversion process to achieve clean combustion-(high efficiency and low pollutant emission) c. adapting technology to low grade fuels like, agro wastes (sugar cane trash, agro residues), weeds (ipomea with high alkaline ash) and poorly segregated urban solid wastes.


Mammals commonly avoid mating with maternal kin, probably as a result of selection for inbreeding avoidance. Mating with paternal kin should be selected against for the same reason. However, identifying paternal kin may be more difficult than identifying maternal kin in species where the mother mates with more than one male. Selection should nonetheless favour a mechanism of paternal kin recognition that allows the same level of discrimination among paternal as among maternal kin, but the hypothesis that paternal kin avoid each other as mates is largely untested in large mammals such as primates. Here I report that among wild baboons, Papio cynocephalus, paternal siblings exhibited lower levels of affiliative and sexual behaviour during sexual consortships than non-kin, although paternal siblings were not significantly less likely to consort than non-kin. I also examined age proximity as a possible social cue of paternal relatedness, because age cohorts are likely to be paternal sibships. Pairs born within two years of each other were less likely to engage in sexual consortships than pairs born at greater intervals, and were less affiliative and sexual when they did consort. Age proximity may thus be an important social cue for paternal relatedness, and phenotype matching based on shared paternal traits may play a role as well.


Ubiquitin-specific protease 2 (USP2) participates in glucose metabolism in peripheral tissues such as the liver and skeletal muscles. However, the glucoregulatory role of USP2 in the CNS is not well known. In this study, we focus on USP2 in the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH), which has dominant control over systemic glucose homeostasis. ISH, using a Usp2-specific probe, showed that Usp2 mRNA is present in VMH neurons, as well as other glucoregulatory nuclei, in the hypothalamus of male mice. Administration of a USP2-selective inhibitor ML364 (20 ng/head), into the VMH elicited a rapid increase in the circulating glucose level in male mice, suggesting USP2 has a suppressive role on glucose mobilization. ML364 treatment also increased serum norepinephrine concentration, whereas it negligibly affected serum levels of insulin and corticosterone. ML364 perturbated mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation in neural SH-SY5Y cells and subsequently promoted the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Consistent with these findings, hypothalamic ML364 treatment stimulated AMPKα phosphorylation in the VMH. Inhibition of hypothalamic AMPK prevented ML364 from increasing serum norepinephrine and blood glucose. Removal of ROS restored the ML364-evoked mitochondrial dysfunction in SH-SY5Y cells and impeded the ML364-induced hypothalamic AMPKα phosphorylation as well as prevented the elevation of serum norepinephrine and blood glucose levels in male mice. These results indicate hypothalamic USP2 attenuates perturbations in blood glucose levels by modifying the ROS–AMPK–sympathetic nerve axis. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Under normal conditions (excluding hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia), blood glucose levels are maintained at a constant level. In this study, we used a mouse model to identify a hypothalamic protease controlling blood glucose levels. Pharmacological inhibition of USP2 in the VMH caused a deviation in blood glucose levels under a nonstressed condition, indicating that USP2 determines the set point of the blood glucose level. Modification of sympathetic nervous activity accounts for the USP2-mediated glucoregulation. Mechanistically, USP2 mitigates the accumulation of ROS in the VMH, resulting in attenuation of the phosphorylation of AMPK. Based on these findings, we uncovered a novel glucoregulatory axis consisting of hypothalamic USP2, ROS, AMPK, and the sympathetic nervous system.


The classical Darcy law is generalized by regarding the water flow as a function of a noninteger order derivative of the piezometric head. This generalized law and the law of conservation of mass are then used to derive a new equation for groundwater flow. Two methods including Frobenius and Adomian decomposition method are used to obtain an asymptotic analytical solution to the generalized groundwater flow equation. The solution obtained via Frobenius method is valid in the vicinity of the borehole. This solution is in perfect agreement with the data observed from the pumping test performed by the institute for groundwater study on one of their boreholes settled on the test site of the University of the Free State. The test consisted of the pumping of the borehole at the constant discharge rate and monitoring the piezometric head for 350 minutes. Numerical solutions obtained via Adomian method are compared with the Barker generalized radial flow model for which a fractal dimension for the flow is assumed. Proposition for uncertainties in groundwater studies was given.


Abstract Glacier retreat as a consequence of climate change influences freshwater ecosystems in manifold ways, yet the physical and chemical bases of these effects are poorly studied. Here, we characterize how water temperature differs between alpine lakes with and without direct glacier influence on seasonal and diurnal timescales. Using high temporal resolution monitoring of temperature in 4 lakes located in a catchment influenced by glacier retreat, we reported unexpectedly high surface temperatures, even in proglacial lakes located 2600 m a.s.l. Cold glacier meltwater and low nighttime air temperatures caused a distinct diurnal pattern of water temperature in the water column of glacier-influenced lakes. Precipitation onto glacier surfaces apparently leads to rapid cooling of the glacier-fed lakes and disrupts the thermal stratification with several mixing events during the summer. Taken together, these mechanisms contribute to the unique seasonal and diurnal dynamics of glacier-influenced lakes that contrast with the typical dimictic pattern of clear alpine lakes and represent an example of discontinuous cold polymictic lake type. This work contributes to the basic description of how climate and meteorology affect the physical properties of an increasingly common lake type.


The unsteady problem of a rigid body impact onto a floating plate is studied. Both the plate and the water are at rest before impact. The plate motion is caused by the impact force transmitted to the plate through an elastic layer with viscous damping on the top of the plate. The hydrodynamic force is calculated by using the second-order model of plate impact by Iafrati and Korobkin (2011). The present study is concerned with the deceleration experienced by a rigid body during its collision with a floating object. The problem is studied also by a fully-nonlinear computational-fluid-dynamics method. The elastic layer is treated with a moving body-fitted grid, the impacting body with an immersed boundary method, and a discrete-element method is used for the contact-force model. The presence of the elastic layer between the impacting bod- ies may lead to multiple bouncing of them, if the bodies are relatively light, before their interaction is settled and they continue to penetrate together into the water. The present study is motivated by ship slamming in icy waters, and by the effect of ice conditions on conventional free-fall lifeboats.


Abstract Glioma is the most common primary cancer in the central nervous system. Despite advances in surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy over the past decades, the prognosis of glioblastoma patients remains poor. We aim to identify robust gene signatures to better understand the complex molecular mechanisms and to discover potential novel molecular biomarkers for glioma. By exploring GSE16011, GSE4290 and GSE50161 data in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, we screened out 380 differentially expressed genes between non-tumor and glioma tissues, and further selected 30 hub genes through the Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE) plug-in in Cytoscape. In addition, LMNB1 and DLGAP5 were selected for further analyses due to their high expression in gliomas and were verified by using our cohort. Our study confirmed that LMNB1 and DLGAP5 were up-regulated in gliomas, and patients with high expression of LMNB1 or DLGAP5 had poor survival rate. Furthermore, silence of LMNB1 and DLGAP5 inhibited the proliferation of glioma cells. Together, LMNB1 and DLGAP5 were two potentially novel molecular biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of glioma.


In this paper, we propose a novel method for applying image analysis techniques, such as saliency map generation and face detection, to the creation of compelling image layouts. The layouts are designed to maximize the use of available real estate by permitting images to partially occlude one another or extend beyond the boundaries of the window, while retaining the majority of visual interest within the photo and deliberately avoiding objectionable visual incongruities. Optimal layouts are chosen from a candidate set through the calculation of a cost function called the occlusion cost. The basic form of the occlusion cost is applied to candidate layout sets where the sizes of the images are fixed with respect to the window. The area-compensated form of the occlusion cost permits a more general solution by relaxing the fixed-size constraint, and allowing each image to scale with respect to both the frame and the other images. Finally, a number of results for laying out one or two images within a frame are presented.


Heart rate variability is an important tool for cardiac diagnosis. In this work, the band analysis of Very Low Frequency (VLF) is performed using Wavelet Packet Transform (WPT) on VTA (Ventricular Tachyarrhythmia) Patients. In order to determine the performance of Daubechies Wavelets, the energy value of each nodes is computed using db4, db8, db12, db16 and db20 WPTs. The energy characteristic of main VLF band is estimated from sub-bands using Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network and dominant sub-bands of VLF are obtained. The dominant band is determined and the performance of Daubechies Wavelets is compared in VLF band.


The capillary electrophoresis (CE) is commonly use methods for separation and determination of different types of analytes. Another less common CE application is the study of interactions. CE based affinity interaction studies take advantages of native state of interacting partners without immobilization or labelling. The typical injection volumes in some CE analyses for the affinity studies are more than 10%. In several special CE applications, such as enzymatic or derivatization reactions, the large volumes of sample and reagents are mixed directly in the capillary. So, capillary serves as mixing and/or reacting cell and separation column at the same time. This leads to the even smaller sample consumption besides full automation of the assays. Developing an effective way of mixing reactants inside the limited space of a capillary is a challenging task preventing the wider practical implementation of this otherwise attractive concept. The main objective of this study was to test the TDLFP methodological approach of sample preparation for CE affinity application.


A fountain pen probe has been developed to extend the scope of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) experiments to dry surfaces. The fountain pen is fabricated by UV-photoablation of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film and consists on one side of one microchannel for flowing an electrolyte solution to the open tip, integrating a reference/counter electrode and on the other side a carbon track. The exposed tip of the track forms the working electrode located close to the microchannel outlet. The fountain pen can operate in a pointillist mode where a nanolitre droplet at the bottom of the probe connects it to a well-defined surface area to study locally the substrate, but can also operate in a scanning mode leaving a linear wet track of solution behind it to monitor the surface activity. The electrochemical characterization of the proposed fountain pen probe was performed by cyclic voltammetry, approach curves and lateral line scans over insulating and conductive substrates, showing that the flow rate and the probe-substrate distance have a major influence on its electrochemical behavior. An SECM image of a gold on glass EPFL logo is presented as a proof-of-concept that fountain pen probes can be employed for the detection of surface activity when scanning in a contact regime.


Despite its widely acknowledged importance, the information security policy has not, to date, been the subject of explicit, empirical scrutiny, in the academic literature. To help fill this gap an exploratory research project was initiated that sought to investigate the uptake, content, dissemination and impact of information security policies. To this end, a questionnaire was mailed to senior IS executives, in large UK-based organizations, and 208 valid responses were received. The results of this research have indicated that whilst policies are now fairly common, at least amongst our sample, there is still a high degree of variety in terms of their content and dissemination.


Sigmund Freud's relations with four significant figures in his life are traced: Ernst Brücke, Josef Breuer, Wilhelm Fliess, and Carl G. Jung. In each of these relationships, Freud was confronted with the dilemma of wanting to describe people in what is obviously a teleological fashion while simultaneously meeting the strictures of natural-science reductions to the nontelic. Freud initially fell back on a dialectical theory, but later substituted libido theory as a concession to biological reductionism. Strangely enough, in depolarizing libido as the 'power behind the sexual drive' Freud lost the opportunity to portray the clear teleology his theory calls for.


The notion that human beings have rights as humans is part of the contemporary world and its pol itics . With respect to human rights , the United Nations (UN) plays a major role in promoting, protecting, and expanding internationally accepted rights through establishing several comprehensive agreements and mechanisms since 1945. Thus, on a global level, human rights and the violations thereof have become a legitimate concern of international society. However, there is a difference between declaring and practising human rights. Consequently, political changes have occurred all over the world in recent years where several repressive regimes have been replaced with democratic or semi-democratic governments. In the process, these regimes are confronted with the question of justice and that accountability is due after atrocity. The widely held belief is that crimes against humanity must be addressed and perpetrators have to be called to account, while justice has to be determined. The article will focus on what is understood by "human rights" and how the UN went about to guarantee human rights and el iminate the violations thereof by implementing a network of human rights instruments and mechanisms. The article will also indicate that, in practice, there are certain difficulties with the enforcement of these UN Conventions. The different options to be considered by countries in dealing with a violent legacy will be examined to explain why many transitional societies prefer to establish a truth commission.


Abstract The objective of this work is firstly an ecobiological study, which aims to determine whether salinity is favorable for a good reproduction rate of cysts in the Artemia salina L., a species known for its use in aquaculture. Secondly, a short-term test of ammonium sulfate toxicity on its vitality is carried out as its environment is permanently subjected to sulphate-laden waste. The work consists of subjecting the species to different salinities in order to produce a good yield in cysts, which once recovered, hatching and breeding is maintained until individuals reach the adult stage. A toxicological study using toxicity test (CL50) is then conducted to study the resistance of these adults with various concentrations of ammonium sulphate. The results obtained from the ecobiological study show a mean similar to the natural environment (p > 0.05) with a favorable concentration for the reproduction of the species at a salinity of about 75 g dm−3. The toxicity test indicates a CL50 equal to 75 mg dm−3 after 24 hours. It is obvious that Artemia salina L. can be cultivated by controlling its reproduction by varying the salinity rate for its use during different seasons of the year, thus ammonium sulphate from waste is considered as a limiting factor.


Bilingual Glossary of library terms with definitions. For Librarians helping Spanish speakers or for Spanish speakers learning English. Glosario bilingue de terminos bibliograficos con definiciones.


A form of cystic lung, characterized by numerous, widespread and usually small cavities, is a wellrecognized though apparently uncommon condition, which, according to earlier accounts, occurred especially in children (Sharkey, 1894; Tooth, 1897; Fletcher, 1901; Bernstein, 1905). Such lungs were described by Fowler and Godlee (1898) as having a worm-eaten or honeycomb appearance. Sharkey and Fletcher both believed that the cystic change developed acutely and the condition was generally interpreted as bronchiectasis, bronchiolectasis, or broken-down bronchopneumonic abscesses, thereby implying an acquired origin. To this diffuse form of cystic disease Oswald and Parkinson (1949) also applied the term honeycomb lung and they attempted to establish the nature of the disease process from observations on 16 instances including both children and adults. Having reviewed the literature, these authors concluded that honeycomb lung was probably an acquired inflammatory condition of diverse and often uncertain aetiology, but they were unable to exclude a developmental origin in some instances. Nine of Oswald and Parkinson's cases came to necropsy, and lungs from five, together with the case previously reported by Eernstein (1905), were selected by Cunningham and Parkinson (1950) for pathological investigation. These six cases were chosen because they appeared to have distinct histological features suggesting that they represented stages of the same granulomatous process ending in extensive pulmonary fibrosis and cyst formation. Three other examples of honeycomb lung examined by Cunningham and Parkinson were excluded from their report, since the histological characteristics, though not specified, were different, again suggesting multiple causation for honeycomb lung. Descriptions of honeycomb lung under other terms may, in the past, have obscured its frequency. For instance, Sandoz (1907) described foetal bronchiectasis in twin sisters, aged 18, in whom the anatomical and histological features were identical with those of honeycomb lung as given, below, while von Stossel (1937) and Rubenstein, Gutstein, and Lepow (1955) each reported two cases of this condition in adults as muscular cirrhosis of the lungs. Furthermore, it seems likely that the cases described by Mallory (1948) as granulomatous pneumonitis were also examples of honeycomb lurg. I have had the opportunity to study many cases of honeycomb lung, but, in addition to the diffuse form, have repeatedly encountered cases in which the disease affected only parts of the lung. Furthermore, the fibrocystic change was occasionally restricted to small circumscribed areas in the secondary lobules of the lung. The disease process, however, appeared to be the same irrespective of the extent and distribution of the changes. To elucidate further the pathogenesis of honeycomb lung its pathological anatomy was investigated by means of serial sections and the histology examined in detail.


Summary Various parameterizations have been suggested to simplify inversions of first arrivals, or P − waves, in orthorhombic anisotropic media, but the number and type of retrievable parameters have not been decisively determined. We show that only six parameters can be retrieved from the dynamic linearized inversion of P − waves. These parameters are different from the six parameters needed to describe the kinematics of P − waves. Reflection-based radiation patterns from the P − P scattered waves are remapped into the spectral domain to allow for our resolution analysis based on the effective angle of illumination concept. Singular value decomposition of the spectral sensitivities from various azimuths, offset coverage scenarios, and data bandwidths allows us to quantify the resolution of different parameter-izations, taking into account the signal-to-noise ratio in a given experiment. According to our singular value analysis, when the primary goal of inversion is determining the velocity of the P − waves, gradually adding anisotropy of lower orders (isotropic, vertically transver-sally isotropic, orthorhombic) in hierarchical parameterization is the best choice. Hierarchical parametrization reduces the tradeoff between the parameters and makes gradual introduction of lower anisotropy orders straightforward. When all the anisotropic parameters affecting P − wave propagation need to be retrieved simultaneously, the classic parameterization of or-thorhombic medium with elastic stiffness matrix coefficients and density is a better choice for inversion. We provide estimates of the number and set of parameters that can be retrieved from surface seismic data in different acquisition scenarios. To set up an inversion process, the singular values determine the number of parameters that can be inverted and the resolution matrices from the parameterizations can be used to ascertain the set of parameters that can be resolved.


Determination of vertebrate left-right body asymmetry requires immotile cilia that sense fluid flow generated by nearby motile cilia. Although the human body shows left-right (L-R) mirror symmetry when viewed externally, the placement and patterning of the internal organs and associated vasculature are strikingly asymmetrical. In the mammalian early embryo, L-R symmetry is broken by the action of rotating cilia—small hair-like protrusions on the surface of cells—in a pit-like structure called the node (see the figure).These cilia generate a unidirectional flow of fluid across the node from right to left (1). This nodal flow breaks L-R symmetry by driving asymmetries in gene expression and Ca2+ signaling in cells at the periphery of the node. On page 226 of this issue, Yoshiba et al. (2) reveal a mechanism by which the mouse embryo senses nodal flow.


Integrative and naturalistic philosophy of mind can both learn from and contribute to the contemporary cognitive sciences of dreaming. Two related phenomena concerning self-representation in dreams demonstrate the need to bring disparate fields together. In most dreams, the protagonist or dream self who experiences and actively participates in dream events is or represents the dreamer: but in an intriguing minority of cases, self-representation in dreams is displaced, disrupted, or even absent. Working from dream reports in established databanks, we examine two key forms of polymorphism of self-representation: dreams (or dream episodes) in which I take an external visuospatial perspective on myself, and those in which I take someone else's perspective on events. In remembering my past experiences or imagining future or possible experiences when awake, I sometimes see myself from an external or 'observer' perspective. By relating the issue of perspective in dreams to established research traditions in the study of memory and imagery, and noting the flexibility of perspective in dreams, we identify new lines of enquiry. In other dreams, the dreamer does not appear to figure at all, and the first person perspective on dream events is occupied by someone else, some other person or character. We call these puzzling cases 'vicarious dreams' and assess some potential ways to make sense of them. Questions about self-representation and perspectives in dreams are intriguing in their own right and pose empirical and conceptual problems about the nature of self-representation with implications beyond the case of dreaming.


This paper considers a high-speed interconnect with a multidimensional topology. The paper is devoted to the optimization of fragmentation resulting from sequential allocation of computing nodes in a supercomputer provided that network traffic from different user's tasks should not overlap. This paper is the continuation of resources fragmentation optimization work. In this work, the method for scheduling tasks based on the policy of choosing the first suitable task (First-Fit) in a certain task window has been added to the accounting for fragmentation when choosing nodes. A set of different computer systems with three-dimensional and four-dimensional topologies was considered. The minimum system size is 32 computing nodes, and the maximum is 144 . A synthetic queue of tasks is set for each system. The parameters of the synthetic queues are close to real ones and are based on data received from the Desmos cluster equipped with Angara interconnect. The average utilization of the resources of the computer system and the average waiting time for the tasks in the queue is chosen as a method quality criterion. Various sizes of task windows have been evalauated. The study showed that the increase of the resources utilization for the proposed method averaged 7 \% compared to the base method, and the average time spent in queue was reduced by 36 . 6 \% .


This paper studies distributional effects of environmental policies in Swedish coastal environments, in monetary and environmental quality terms, for different dimensions: income, gender, age, non-users vs. users, distance, familiarity, and origin (if people have a Swedish background or not). The study area is widely used for different recreational activities and has a mix of different visitors. The data come from a choice experiment study. The results indicate that latent class modelling can be used to identify how monetary preferences vary between different groups of respondents, and largely confirm the limited existing knowledge from the previous research on distributional effects of environmental policies. However, the previous literature on distributional effects related to background is very limited, making it hard to draw comparisons. The results in our paper also show that the distributional effects differ depending on the environmental amenity. These results are of policy relevance since coastal environments are important for people's well-being and associated with positive health effects.


ABSTRACT Histone-like nucleoid structuring (H-NS) and H-NS-like proteins serve as global gene silencers and work with antagonistic transcriptional activators (counter-silencers) to properly coordinate the expression of virulence genes in pathogenic bacteria. In Brucella, MucR has been proposed as a novel H-NS-like gene silencer, but direct experimental evidence is lacking. Here, we show that MucR serves as an H-NS-like silencer of the Brucella abortus genes encoding the polar autotransporter adhesins BtaE and BmaC, the c-di-GMP-specific phosphodiesterase BpdB, and the quorum-sensing regulator BabR. We also demonstrate that the MarR-type transcriptional activator MdrA can displace MucR from the btaE promoter, supporting the existence of MucR counter-silencers in Brucella. Moreover, our chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-seq analysis identified 546 MucR enrichment peaks along the genome, including in the promoters of the genes encoding the Type IV secretion machinery and effectors and the quorum-sensing regulator VjbR. Importantly, MucR ChIP-seq peaks overlap with the previously described binding sites for the transcriptional activators VjbR, BvrR, and CtrA suggesting that these regulators serve as MucR counter-silencers and work in concert with MucR to coordinate virulence gene expression in Brucella. In addition, using chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C), we show that like H-NS in Escherichia coli, MucR alters the global structure of the Brucella nucleoid. Finally, a copy of the E. coli hns rescues the distinctive growth defect and elevated btaE expression of a B. abortus mucR mutant. Together, these findings solidify the role of MucR as a novel type of H-NS-like protein and suggest that MucR's gene-silencing properties play a key role in virulence in Brucella. IMPORTANCE Histone-like nucleoid structuring (H-NS) and H-NS-like proteins coordinate host-associated behaviors in many pathogenic bacteria, often through forming silencer/counter-silencer pairs with signal-responsive transcriptional activators to tightly control gene expression. Brucella and related bacteria do not encode H-NS or homologs of known H-NS-like proteins, and it is unclear if they have other proteins that perform analogous functions during pathogenesis. In this work, we provide compelling evidence for the role of MucR as a novel H-NS-like protein in Brucella. We show that MucR possesses many of the known functions attributed to H-NS and H-NS-like proteins, including the formation of silencer/counter-silencer pairs to control virulence gene expression and global structuring of the nucleoid. These results uncover a new role for MucR as a nucleoid structuring protein and support the importance of temporal control of gene expression in Brucella and related bacteria. Histone-like nucleoid structuring (H-NS) and H-NS-like proteins coordinate host-associated behaviors in many pathogenic bacteria, often through forming silencer/counter-silencer pairs with signal-responsive transcriptional activators to tightly control gene expression. Brucella and related bacteria do not encode H-NS or homologs of known H-NS-like proteins, and it is unclear if they have other proteins that perform analogous functions during pathogenesis. In this work, we provide compelling evidence for the role of MucR as a novel H-NS-like protein in Brucella. We show that MucR possesses many of the known functions attributed to H-NS and H-NS-like proteins, including the formation of silencer/counter-silencer pairs to control virulence gene expression and global structuring of the nucleoid. These results uncover a new role for MucR as a nucleoid structuring protein and support the importance of temporal control of gene expression in Brucella and related bacteria.


Introducing n right-handed neutrinos to the Standard Model yields, in general, massive active neutrinos. We give explicit parametrizations for the involved mixing and coupling matrices in terms of physical parameters for both the top-down and the bottom-up approach, for arbitrary n. Bounds on the complex mixing angles in the bottom-up approach from perturbativity of the Yukawa couplings to charged lepton flavor violation are discussed. As a novel illustration of possible effects from n 6= 3, we extend the neutrino anarchy framework to arbitrary n; we show that while the anarchic mixing angles are insensitive to the number of singlets, the observed ratios of neutrino masses prefer small n for the simplest linear measure.


This paper assesses the modern and traditional sports of the Soviet Union shortly before its collapse in 1991. The case study is the Central Asian republic of Uzbekistan under the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU, established 1917). Central Asia is a crucial historical case because it was a Muslim-majority region that Moscow wished to transform. The study is interdisciplinary and contains primary and secondary sources from the Cold War era. The research question asks: What did the implementation and impact of Soviet sport look like in Uzbekistan under Mikhail Gorbachev (CPSU leader from March 1985 to December 1991). Uzbekistan's sportspeople, facilities, Spartakiad ranking of 1983, Olympic athletes, and traditional sports are the


Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) have generated considerable enthusiasm in the transportation community as a potential means to improve roadway safety, reduce congestion, enhance the mobility of people and goods, and reduce energy consumption and vehicle emissions. In order to estimate these potential benefits, new and improved analytical techniques and simulation models are being developed for ITS. In terms of environmental effects, the University of California, Riverside, College of Engineering-Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) has developed a comprehensive modal emissions and energy consumption (CME/EC) model that can be directly used for ITS evaluation. In this project, an examination was performed on the key interface issues between the detailed CME/EC model and other ITS simulation models and analytical techniques developed within the California PATH program. Methodologies for integrating various ITS transportation models/data sets with the CME/EC model were established. These integration issues are not trivial; many ITS simulation models and analytical techniques inherently have different levels of aggregation and detail (e.g., both in time and across various vehicle fleets). Much of the work performed focused on integrating the CME/EC model with PARAMICS. PARAMICS is used throughout CALTRANS and the PATH program for various ITS studies. After successfully completing this integration, two case studies were carried out using this PARAMICS/CME-EC tool. The first case study examined the emissions impact of HOT lanes along the SR-91 corridor in Southern California. The other case study examined the emissions impact associated redesignating uphill lanes on I-60 near Riverside, California. By completing these case studies, the integrated transportation/emissions model was thoroughly debugged. These case studies can serve as examples as how to apply this new tool for creating microscale emission inventories. In this report, background material is first provided on the Comprehensive Modal Emissions/Energy Consumption (CME/EC) model and ITS traffic simulation modeling efforts in the California PATH program. This is followed by a description of the integration methodology between CME/EC and PARAMICS. In the last part of the report, two separate case studies are described, where analyses with the integrated models were carried out.


This paper analyses the impact of competition among downstream firms on a supplier's investment and on her incentive to vertically integrate. We argue that tougher competition decreases the downstream industry profit, but improved the supplier's negotiation position. In particular, the supplier is better off encouraging competition when the downstream firms have a high bargaining power. Whether vertical integration occurs with a concentrated or a competitive downstream market depends on the demand and cost curves, the impact of investment and the bargaining game. The possibility of vertical integration may be a barrier to entry and may trigger strategic horizontal spin-offs or mergers.


This study is located within the context of the English education system but seeks to examine parallels with pan – European approaches to teacher education. The paper resides in the work of two universities in the North-West of England, both of which is involved in initial and post graduate teacher education. The aim of the study is to capture the perceptions of two groups of students in each University, drawn equally from prospective and serving teachers. The focus of the research derives from a suggested polarization of approach in the nature and practice of teacher education. Erixon-Arreman (2005) charts this continuum, describing the political differences between approaches that aim to make teacher education a research-based field, and approaches that aim to raise the professionalism of teacher education by government-led measures . The research does not seek to challenge these political differences; rather it seeks to investigate the congruence or otherwise in the perceptions of the respondents, between government designed competencies, and a broader definition of competence developed through experientially moderated practice. It is suggested that these perceptions might over-ride the suggested continuum, in that competence measured through defined standards in initial teacher training becomes subsumed by a competency in the experienced practitioner that more closely resembles 'the ability of a person to fulfill a role effectively' (Hager & Butler, 1996: 369); that is, as Erixon–Arreman, 2005) suggests, a move from the instrumental approach espoused by the UK Government to the more research based model that holds sway in much of the rest of Europe. We would also argue that it is difficult to encompass the entire range of demands that make up the complicated role described by Hager and Butler (ibid) and to enshrine them in a narrow set of competencies or 'Standards.' It is suggested that the perceptions of respondents, even at the initial teacher training stage, reflect an internal dichotomy, embracing teacher training as required by the competence led modality, but also demonstrating an increasing acceptance and awareness of the broader aspects implicit in teacher education. As King (2004) asserts, it can be suggested that teacher education 'implies added critical reflection, the ability to use research to improve practice and a desire to link practice with theory' (2004:197). The imminent introduction of a Masters in Teaching and Learning in England, which is seen as likely to embody the standards agenda, suggests an alternative perspective.


The following is a letter from Frances Elvira Alexander Owens (1879–1965) of Webster, NC, to her son, Samuel Owens (1918–1995), who was then serving in the U.S. Navy. At the time of the letter's original posting, Samuel Owens was aboard a submarine tender, the USS Canopus. When the U.S. entered WWII, the Canopus was stationed in Manila Bay. On December 29, 1941, a Japanese bomb penetrated several decks of the ship and exploded on the propeller shaft, rendering the Canopus immobile. The crew abandoned the ship during the day, using ropes to rig the ship askance until nightfall so that it appeared to the Japanese to be derelict. The Canopus serviced its last submarine the week of April 1 (USS Canopus Part I). On April 9, 1941, the ship was scuttled, or intentionally sunk, to keep its valuable equipment out of enemy hands (USS Canopus Part II).


Logic synthesis and hardware implementation of fuzzy controllers are introduced in this paper. The logic synthesis reduces the fuzzy controller to a set of Boolean equations. A software is specially developed for this purpose. The hardware implementation is carried out using field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). A speed of over 50 M FLIPS is achieved. The speed is independent of the number of rules of the fuzzy controller. >


Crab (crab) is one of the fishery products that is generally perishable. This is likely due to poor handling that decreases the quality. This research aims to determine factors that can affect the quality of crab and recommend a priority strategy most appropriate to apply quality control on crab handling at PT Tonga Tiur Putra in expanding its business. The present research uses AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) method. Three decision-makers in PT. Tonga Tiur Putra were taken as respondents. Analysis factor reveals that factor affecting the quality of crab meat is transportation. The proper alternative to control the quality of crab is human resource training.


To investigate the possible effects of long commuting time and extensive overtime on daytime cardiac autonomic activity, the short-term heart rate variability (HRV) both at supine rest and at standing rest of 223 male white-collar workers in the Tokyo Megalopolis was examined. Workers with a one-way commute of 90 min or more exhibited decreased vagal activity at supine rest and increased sympathetic activity regardless of posture, and those doing overtime of 60 h/month or more exhibited decreased vagal activity and increased sympathetic activity at standing rest. These findings suggest that chronic stress or fatigue resulting from long commuting time or extensive overtime caused these individuals to be in a sympathodominant state. Although these shifts in autonomic activities are not direct indicators of disease, it can be hypothesized that they can induce cardiovascular abnormalities or dysfunctions related to the onset of heart disease. Assessment of the daily and weekly variations in HRV as a function of daily life activities (such as working, commuting, sleeping, and exercising) among workers in Asia-Pacific urban areas might be one way of studying the possible effects of long commuting time, and extensive overtime, on health.


This paper presents a new blind approach of image Steganalysis based on contourlet transform and non linear support vector machine. Properties of Contourlet transform are used to extract features of images, and non linear support vector machine is used to classify the stego and cover images. The important aspect of this paper is that, it uses the minimum number of features in the transform domain and gives a better accuracy than many of the existing stegananlysis methods. The efficiency of the proposed method is demonstrated through experimental results. Also its performance is compared with the state of the art wavelet based steganalyzer (WBS), Feature based steganalyzer (FBS) and Contourlet based steganalyzer (WBS). Finally, the results show that the proposed method is very efficient in terms of its detection accuracy and computational cost.


This brief presents a design method of a millimeter-wave CMOS radiation oscillator for broadband short-range communication. An above-chip patch antenna is proposed for the radiation oscillator. The proposed antenna has a balanced port, which makes it suitable for the direct connection of CMOS cross-coupling transistors. The properties of the antenna are analyzed by an electromagnetic field solver, and, in particular, the input resistance is discussed in detail, so that the condition of millimeter-wave oscillation is satisfied even by CMOS FETs having gains lower than GaAs FETs. Furthermore, on/off-keying modulation can be carried out using switch transistors, and two switching techniques are used to realize a large data rate. A performance of 500 Mb/s and a total efficiency of 0.12, which includes both the antenna and the circuit efficiencies, are confirmed by circuit simulation


ABSTRACT Early assessment of dosing requirements should be an integral part of developability assessments for a discovery program. If a very high dose is required to achieve the desired pharmacological effect, it may not be clinically feasible or commercially desirable to develop the biotherapeutic for the selected target unless extra measures are taken to develop a high concentration formulation or maximize yield during manufacturing. A quantitative understanding of the impact of target selection, biotherapeutic format, and optimal drug properties on potential dosing requirements to achieve efficacy can affect many early decisions. Early prediction of dosing requirements for biotherapeutics, as opposed to small molecules, is possible due to a strong influence of target biology on pharmacokinetics and dosing. Mechanistic pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) models leverage knowledge and competitor data available at an early stage of drug development, including biophysics of the target(s) and disease physiology, to rationally inform drug design criteria. Here we review how mathematical mechanistic PK/PD modeling can and has been applied to guide early drug development decisions.


RFID tags are renowned for their versatility and low cost. In recent years, applications making use of them are growing in number and maturity level, but still lack in combining both communication and sensing optimal performance. The present work shows how to use a two-port RFID grid (e.g. a couplet of electromagnetically coupled RFID tags) as a general transducer of sensor information, able to transform a variation of the impedance of a load to which it is connected into a remotely-readable phase variation: in such a way, the tags are effectively turned into a wireless interface for the variable load sensor and are moreover able to provide constant antenna matching and hence stable read range.


. The objective of this paper was to characterize the lipidic profile of the Rhomboideus muscle (humpback) present in the Nelore breed, and compare it to the Longissimis dorsi muscle (tenderloin). Male animals with 24 months of age, raised in pasture were slaughtered in a regional slaughterhouse and the Longissimus dorsi (LD) and Rhomboideus (RH) muscles were excised from the remaining of the carcass and analyzed after 24 hours refrigeration. Moisture, protein and total lipids were quantified and the fatty acid profile was analyzed. The results obtained show significant differences (p < 0.05) in the characterization between the muscles analyzed in relation to their composition. Most of the fatty acids detected were monounsaturated (MUFA), with the oleic acid (C18:1n-9) being the fatty acid with the largest amount present, with the value of 48.11% for the RH muscle and 45.58% for LD . For saturated fatty acids (SFA), palmitic acid (C16:0) were quantified in largest quantity with 25.67 and 25.19% content for RH and LD muscles, respectively. Regarding saturation, RH muscle has greater quantity of MUFA, 56.46%, but lower PUFA/SFA ratio, with 0.081.


Purpose of this paper:
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the need for collaborative risk management in supply
networks with visibility of risks across firms in the network, to outline the possible benefits
and challenges firms in the network can expect to face from such a collaborative approach
and to understand the characteristics of
supply networks which will make such a collaborative approach appropriate. Thus, the research questions addressed in this research are as follows:
1) Is there a need to ensure visibility of risks across firms in a supply network and to develop
a collaborative process to manage risks in the network?
2) What are the benefits and challenges associated with such a collaborative approach?
3) How do the supply network characteristics influence the need for ensuring visibility of risks and for developing a collaborative process to manage risks in a supply network?
Design/methodology/approach:
The objectives of the research are achieved by conducting review of supply networks, supply
chain risk management, supply chain collaboration and information sharing literature coupled
with secondary data analysis and case studies.
Findings:
This research underscores the need for collaborative risk management for managing risks in a supply network and proposes that the appropriateness of a collaborative approach will
depend on the specific roles of the focal firm and the suppliers, the degree of network dynamics (Harland et al., 2001), the degree of balance in the buyer-supplier and supplier-supplier relationships (Choi and Wu, 2009) and the extent of endogeneous and exogeneous uncertainties faced by network firms (Trkman and McCormack, 2009).
Value:
There are limited studies on assessment, analysis and management of risks at the supply network level. The existing literature do not provide guidance on how companies in a supply network can develop common understanding of the risks and reach a mutual agreement of mitigating those risks. It is also unclear whether visibility of risks across member firms and using a collaborative approach for managing risks in the supply network utilizing the better visibility can help manage risks better in a network. This research addresses the above gaps through an analysis of the literature and secondary cases and develop propositions for further
empirical analysis.
Research limitations/implications (if applicable):
The research is carried out considering specific databases and journals. Further research needs to be done using a systematic literature review and also to validate the propositions through empirical research.
Practical implications (if applicable):
This research underscores the need for collaborative risk management for managing risks in a network. At the same time the research pointed out contextual factors which have an impact on the benefits of a collaborative risk management approach. Thus, firms within a network need to assess the suitability of the approach and should refrain from either following a purely internal risk assessment and mitigation or making it completely collaborative.


Spectral decomposition is a standard tool in seismic interpretation to highlight variations in layer thicknesses (e.g., in sand channels and turbidites). This is done by examining changes in peak frequencies in extracted horizon slices (Partyka et al., 1999). Variations in peak frequencies occur due to constructive interference between reflections from the top and bottom of a layer, with lower peak frequencies indicating thicker layers.


The aim of this study was to quantify response to a soccer-specific intermittent (INT) treadmill protocol based on notational analysis of match-play. Ten male semiprofessional football players (age 24.7 ± 4.4 yr, body mass 77.1 ± 8.3 kg, VO2max 63.0 ± 4.8 ml·kg·min−1) completed the 90 minute INT protocol and a steady-state (SS) protocol eliciting the same distance covered. Physiological (heart rate [HR], ratings of perceived exertion [RPE], blood lactate concentration, salivary cortisol concentration) and mechanical (electromyography [EMG] of biceps femoris and rectus femoris) responses were obtained at 15 minute intervals throughout each protocol. The physiological and mechanical responses were typically greater during the INT protocol than during the SS protocol, tending to increase as a function of exercise duration. The INT activity profile induces cumulative mechanical load on the musculoskeletal system. The increased incidence of injury toward the latter stages of match-play is attributed to compromised movement mechanics, rather than physiological strain.


The three roles of a higher education institution are teaching, research and community service. The objective of the article is to analyse how a university regional college can implement the task of community service via its curriculum development. The theoretical base lies on the positions of internationally recognised scientists of education policy as well as OECD definitions and clarifications that are compared to the cases of the regional colleges (in Narva and Kuressaare) of two universities (respectively University of Tartu and Tallinn University of Technology).The set task enables to study as a whole such components as the content and design of curricula, teaching and assessment methods, extracurricular activities, topics and supervision of students' research works, cooperation with partners. A comprehensive approach is a precondition of a well-functioning curriculum, with community service being the unifying aspect.The results of current study are applicable in case of the analysed curricula and colleges, they partly applicable in case of any other similar curricula and units. Prerequisites of the colleges' network evolvement, holistic impact and compliance with the region-specific needs is a significant topic the additional study of which has already begun.


The article substantiates the relevance of a sociological approach to the study of young students' interests in social networks. The authors analyze the results of a study involving young students who use the thematic communication repertoire in the Vkontakte network's social groups. The study applies IT methods for processing and analyzing biographical data, analysis and statistics methods, and machine learning. The sample consists of 171,972 unique participants who joined the network's social groups.  The authors draw up a rating of groups on various topics based on the number of group participants, present the results of the analysis of student thematic repertoire and reveal the interests of the group participants.  The article describes general and specific directions of student interests in different universities, explores the features of interactions between the participants in popular groups, and defines gender differences and various cognitive orientations depending on the place of studies. The authors provide insight into the nature of the cognitive orientation of student interests and the possibilities to influence the interests through certain content, and the weak student activity in the "corporate" social groups of the universities.


We present the open-source Bayesian Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (BART) retrieval package, which produces estimates and uncertainties for an atmosphere's thermal profile and chemical abundances from observations. Several BART components are also stand-alone packages, including the parallel Multi-Core Markov-chain Monte Carlo (MC3), which implements several Bayesian samplers; a line-by-line radiative-transfer model, transit; a code that calculates Thermochemical Equilibrium Abundances (TEA), and a test suite for verifying radiative-transfer and retrieval codes, BARTTest. The codes are in Python and C. BART and TEA are under a Reproducible Research (RR) license, which requires reviewed-paper authors to publish a compendium of all inputs, codes, and outputs supporting the paper's scientific claims. BART and TEA produce the compendium's content. Otherwise, these codes are under permissive open-source terms, as are MC3 and BARTTest, for any purpose. This paper presents an overview of the code, BARTTest, and an application to eclipse data for exoplanet HD 189733b. Appendices address RR methodology for accelerating science, a reporting checklist for retrieval papers, the spectral resolution required for synthetic tests, and a derivation of the effective sample size required to estimate any Bayesian posterior distribution to a given precision, which determines how many iterations to run. Paper II, by Cubillos et al., presents the underlying radiative-transfer scheme and an application to transit data for exoplanet HAT-P-11b. Paper III, by Blecic et al., discusses the initialization and post-processing routines, with an application to eclipse data for exoplanet WASP-43b. We invite the community to use and improve BART and its components at http://GitHub.com/ExOSPORTS/BART/.


To provide experimental and theoretical basis for the clinical application of Puerarin in acute alcohol poisoning, 30 Wistar rats were randomized into 3 groups as follows: (1) Group A (control) underwent normal sodium (N.S.) peritoneal injection (i.p.) and intragastric administration (i.g.); (2) Group B (alcohol) underwent an equivalent dosage of N.S. i.p. and 40% ethanol (8000 mg/kg. d).ig for 5 days; (3) Group C (Puerarin) underwent Puerarin 200 mg/kg. d. ip, and an equivalent dosage of ethanol for 5 days. The left lobes of livers were sampled, and the levels of MDA, SOD and GPX in plasma and liver homogenate were detected. The level of MDA in plasma and liver homogenate in the alcohol group was obviously higher than that in the control group (p < 0.05, respectively), while that in the Puerarin group was significantly lower than in the alcohol group (p < 0.05, respectively). The levels of SOD and GPX were opposite to that of MDA. Under a light microscope, the livers of the rats in the alcohol group showed unclear structure of hepatic lobules, stiffness of hepatic sinusoids, diffused lipid degeneration of hepatic cells, cellular swelling, and focal necrosis, while the structure remained clear in the Puerarin group. Under the electron microscope, lipid degeneration, cell organ decrease, enlargement of endoplasmic reticulum, reduced quantity of hepatins and swelling of mitochondria were observed in cells of the model group. However, the pathologistic changes were slight in the Puerarin group. In conclusion, Puerarin may have the function of inhibiting the oxidative stress induced by acute alcoholism.


Environmental conservation concerns have led to research and development regarding biodegradable materials from biopolymers, leading to new formulations for edible films and coatings for preserving the quality of fresh fruit and vegetables. Determining fruit skin surface properties for a given coating solution has led to predicting coating efficiency. Wetting was studied by considering spreading, adhesion and cohesion and measuring the contact angle, thus optimising the coating formulation in terms of biopolymer, plasticiser, surfactant, antimicrobial and antioxidant concentration. This work reviews the equations for determining fruit surface properties by using polar and dispersive interaction calculations and by determining the contact angle.


This study was focused on the development and characterization of a wound dressing for pH monitoring based on a sodium alginate (SA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibrous mat including anthocyanins extracted from black carrot (BC). The pH-sensitive mat was prepared through the electrospinning method. The crosslinking of the nanofibrous mat was carried out using glutaraldehyde (GA). The functionalized PVA/SA/BC nanofibrous mat was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The colors of the nanofibrous mat resulting from pH changes were evaluated using a digital camera. The images were processed using Adobe Photoshop software, CS5 version, and analyzed through RGB and CIELAB. When the dried nanofibrous mat with a light pink color was immersed in buffer solutions at different pHs, the color of the nanofibrous mat ranged from red (in acidic medium) to blue (in neutral medium) and then to black-green (in basic medium). The response time and temperature stability of the nanofibrous mat were also investigated. It was concluded that the developed pH-sensing composite nanofibrous mat could be successfully used as wound dressing for monitoring healing.


During the period 2015-2016, a total of 1490 haemocultures were tested, 24.4% of which were positive. Among the 363 isolated microbial agents, 224 (62% or 15% of all) were considered clinically significant with equal distribution of Gram-positive (48.2%) and Gram-negative bacteria (47.8%). This finding differs from Europeanand US practice where Gram positive bacteria are dominant. Fungi were isolated in 4%. The etiological structure was as follows:Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus – 20.1%, E. coli - 14.3%, Enterococcus spp. - 14.3%, Klebsiella spp. - 11.2%, S. aureus - 10.3%, Acinetobacter baumannii - 9.4%, Enterobacter spp. - 5.8%, P. aeruginosa – 4.9%. A trend toward increase of Klebsiella spp, E.coli, S. aureus и Candida spp. and decrease of coagulase-negative Staphylococci, Enterococcus spp. and Acinetobacter baumannii was observed. Regarding "ESKAPE" pathogens – we had a similar rate of Enterococci, and lower rates for the rest compared to USA practice, but in contrast to European data we had lower rate of S. aureus, similar rates of Enterobacter and P. aeruginosa, and higher rates of Enterococci, Klebsiella and Acinetobacter. Multidrug resistance was found in 11% of Gram positive and 47% of Gram negative flora. Resistance rates were similar to the European, but higher in Gram negative and lower in Gram positive when compared to USA. Owing to failure of the other approaches we introduced a stronger stewardship and restrictive policy regarding prescription of antibiotics.


The interest of researchers on the research of solar technology have increased tremendously from year to year due to a serious pollution to the environment caused by the emission of coal and fuels. Evacuated tube solar collector (ETSC) gain interest by the researchers because it have a lower heat loss and can achieve higher temperature compared to flat plate solar collector (FPSC). Implementing nanofluid to the ETSC have increased from years to years because nanofluid can enhance the performance and increase the efficiency of the solar collector as they have a higher thermal conductivity compared with distilled water. A mean diameter of 25nm (10-9m) of cerium (IV) oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles were used in this research of study. The stability of the nanofluid was tested by using the sedimentation method. It is the most common and cost saving method. The CeO2 nanofluid can stable up to 28 days. Three different concentration of nanofluid were synthesized comprising of 0.02%, 0.04% and 0.06% volume concentration respectively. This research of study were carried out at University of Malaya (UM). The experiment was conducted at sunny day from 0900 morning to 1800 evening. The thermal efficiency of the solar collector were carried out by using different flow rates that are 0.5L/min, 1.0L/min and 1.5L/min. The inlet temperature, outlet temperature, ambient temperature, solar radiation and etc. were recorded throughout the experiment for analysis of the performance of ETSC. The collector showed the highest efficiency of 73.46% with the use of 0.06% CeO2 nanofluid, which is 27.63% higher compared to the distilled water at volumetric flow rates of 1.5L/min. From the experiment, we can concluded that the higher concentration of the nanofluid, the higher heat gain, the higher solar efficiency of the solar collector can achieved.


We study implications of persistence of shocks in total factor productivity (TFP) growth under Bayesian framework for a set of African countries over the period 1970-2003. Contrary to convention, we find that stochastic unit root is present for most of the African countries and that there is time-varying dependence structure in the underlying processes. The implication of our finding is that the persistence process governing TFP series is non-linear, stationary for some period and (mildly) explosive for others pointing to the fact that linear policy rules to counteract stochastic shocks in TFP may not prove useful. The repeat of TFP cycles is traced to this behaviour.