Slowing is a common feature of ageing, yet a direct relationship between neural slowing and brain atrophy is yet to be established in healthy humans. We combine magnetoencephalographic (MEG) measures of neural processing speed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of white- and gray-matter in a large (N=617, 18-88yrs), population-derived cohort (www.cam-can.org) to investigate the relationship between age-related structural differences and VEF and AEF delay across two different tasks. Using a novel technique, we show that VEFs exhibit a constant delay, whereas AEPs exhibit delay that accumulates over time. Visual delay is mediated by white-matter microstructure in the optic radiation, presumably reflecting increased transmission time, whereas auditory delay is mediated by gray-matter differences in auditory cortex, presumably reflecting less efficient local processing. Our results demonstrate that age has dissociable effects on neural processing speed, and that these effects relate to different types of brain atrophy.


As a wide spectrum of the human activity rapidly transitions to a digital environment, the need for secure and efficient communication intensifies. The currently used public key distribution cryptosystems, such as the Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) protocol, source their security from the computational difficulty of certain mathematical problems. While widely successful, the security these cryptosystems offer remains heuristic and the development of Quantum computers may render them obsolete. The security that Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) guarantees, stems not from the mathematical complexity of the encryption algorithms but from the laws of Quantum Physics. Implementations of QKD protocols, however, rely on imperfect instruments and devices for information encoding, transmission and detection. Device imperfections limit the rate of information exchange and introduce vulnerabilities which can be exploited by a potential eavesdropper. This work explores practical aspects of QKD as it matures beyond proof-of-principle experiments, focusing on the Measurement Device Independent QKD, a novel Quantum Communication protocol that offers an exceptional balance between security and efficiency. At the heart of the MDI-QKD lies the Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interference which characterizes the indistinguishability of the photon states that the communicating parties independently send. This study examines the HOM interference in a realistic lab environment and concludes that exceptional interference visibility can be achieved using typical commercially available optical devices and detectors, further demonstrating the applicability of the MDI-QKD protocol. An important limiting factor for every Quantum Communication protocol is the transmission medium. Fiber based optical networks suffer significant losses that prohibit Quantum Communication beyond metropolitan scales. While Free Space communication is an attractive alternative for long distance communication, is susceptible to losses due to the atmospheric Turbulence of the channel. As a means to improve the key generation efficiency, this work examines and experimentally demonstrates the Prefixed-Threshold Real Time Selection (P-RTS) scheme, which improves the free-space communication efficiency by rejecting detections that occur while the channel transmittance drops below a predetermined threshold.


Increasing societal expectations regarding responsible business conduct as well as an increasingly fierce enforcement environment are placing integrity and compliance highly on the list of management priorities. However, although many companies are investing serious efforts into compliance programs and are increasing the headcount within their compliance organizations it seems to be striking that severe ethical breakdowns still happen on a very regular basis. The reason may well be that strongly relying on classical elements of compliance programs to prevent misconduct such as establishing numerous policies, strengthening awareness training and increasing monitoring mechanisms works like trying to win the Tour de France with flat tires. Typically, structural causes are the driving forces behind systemic misconduct. These include; unbalanced incentives systems that determine bonuses, salary increases or career progression without any consideration of moral behaviors; a lack of responsible leadership; or a climate in which speaking-up is not an accepted practice but instead, represents a career risk that could lead to repercussions. Therefore, we suggest that in the interest of further preventing and reducing cases of misconduct a more analytic and less ideology driven discussion about the real and systemic root causes of integrity issues needs to take place. Unethical conduct should not just be viewed as lack of integrity or lack of certain character qualities of some individual employees. Such a perspective does not recognize the complexity of most corporate integrity or compliance issues. Research has shown that the apparent frequency of ethical misconduct is being caused by organizational factors that create enormous psychological pressures on individuals. This then leads to situations where even managers who are considered highly moral deviate from everyday ethical norms. People that constantly claim that compliance failures are mainly caused by the ethical misconduct of individuals – let's call tem bad apples – and simplistically refer to the lack of personal integrity seem to confuse the real root causes. They may generate some kind of moral alarm but are not helpful in terms of finding systematic and sustainable solutions to the problem. In this chapter we describe how dynamic integrity management processes can be integrated into the "game-changing" organizational systems in order to avoid negative conduct. Further, we will build a road map of how integrity management can actively drive positive effects on firm performance and we describe how integrity management can be used dynamically as a strategic tool that creates positive effects on firm performance.


Real-Time Elastography (RTE) is a new imaging modality that monitors tissue strain during applied stress. The aim of this thesis was to validate if RTE was a reliable modality to reflect pathologically induced differences in elasticity or tissue hardness and to interrogate if assessment of elastic changes by RTE could be used as a diagnostic tool in clinical practice. Particularly, we focused on the ability of RTE to differentiate between benign and malignant disease in intestinal and pancreatic lesions. Two validation studies were performed using a tissue-mimicking phantom containing inclusions with different size, depth and defined elastic properties. We evaluated the influence of different parameter settings on image quality, and intraand interobserver variation was also assessed. Furthermore, we examined the impact of different size and depth of selected calculation areas in strain ratio (SR) measurements. In a sub-study on resected bowel specimens, elastograms were compared with histology in order to verify the ability to differentiate between benign and malignant disease and study mechanisms leading to changes in elastic properties. In a clinical study on focal pancreatic lesions, RTE was performed using endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS). In the evaluation of strain images from human tissue we applied a previously published visual categorical score (VCS), a visual analogue scale (VAS) and SR. The validation studies confirmed RTE's ability to assess elastic properties in vitro with fair to good interand intraobsever agreement. The level of dynamic range influenced image quality but had no impact on SR measurements. On the other hand, we found that the reference areas' distance from the US transducer but not the size influenced significantly on SR measurements. In resected bowel lesions, no significant strain difference was found between stenotic lesions caused by Crohn's disease and adenocarcinomas. EUS-based RTE of pancreatic lesions showed significant strain difference between the entities of benign and malignant lesions, but the variation within the entities was substantial.


The need to change the paradigm of music education, which primarily relies on performing and listening to music, implies a more systematic introduction of activities that would enable the direct involvement of children in the exploration of sounds and the creation of their own music. By analysing the curricula and textbooks for music education in Montenegrin primary schools, as well as examining the attitudes of teachers about the realisation of musical creativity in teaching practice, it was found that these activities are not given enough attention. In order to introduce innovations in practice, an action research study was conducted, during 2017/2018 school year with 30 fifth grade pupils in one primary school, belonging to the Southern region of Montenegro. The obtained results, based on the qualitative findings, showed the connection between the categories that make up musical creativity in the classroom: acquiring musical knowledge, developing musical skills, encouraging problem solving, developing critical thinking, supporting collaborative creativity, motivation and integrative teaching. Hopefully, the conducted research will contribute to a wide range of understanding of musical creativity in the classroom context, as one of the leading topics of contemporary music pedagogy.


BACKGROUND
Knowledge of predominant pathogens and their association with outcome are of importance for the management of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI). As antibiotic therapy is indicated in pneumonia and not in acute bronchitis, a predictor of pneumonia is needed.

AIM
To describe the aetiology and outcome of LRTI in adults with pneumonic and adults with non-pneumonic LRTI treated in general practice and to identify predictors of radiographic pneumonia.

DESIGN OF STUDY
Prospective, observational study.

SETTING
Forty-two general practices and an outpatient clinic at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Odense University Hospital, Denmark.

METHOD
A total of 364 adults diagnosed with community-acquired LRTI by their GP were studied with chest radiography, vital signs, biochemical markers of inflammation (C-reactive protein [CRP] and leukocyte count), and microbiological examinations. Primary outcome measure was hospitalisation within 4 weeks.

RESULTS
Pneumonia was radiographically verified in 48 of 364 patients (13%). Bacterial infection was seen more often in patients with pneumonia (33% versus 17%, P<0.001), and viral infection more often in non-pneumonic patients (26% versus 13%, P<0.05). Hospitalisation was more common in patients with pneumonia compared to non-pneumonic patients (19 versus 3%, P<0.001); and in patients with pneumococcal infection compared with patients without pneumococcal infection (26 versus 4%, P = 0.001). The positive predictive value of GPs' diagnosis of pneumonia was low (0.23), but the vital signs, CRP, and leukocyte count had comparably low positive predictive values (0.23-0.30).

CONCLUSION
Streptococcus pneumoniae was the most common bacterial pathogen. The risk of hospitalisation was highest among patients with pneumonia or pneumococcal infection; this emphasises the importance of coverage of S. pneumoniae when treatment is indicated. CRP should not be introduced for diagnosis of radiographic pneumonia in general practice before its use has been investigated in prospective, controlled intervention trials using CRP-guided treatment algorithms.


Due to the environmental and economic impacts of diesel fuel based on petroleum, several studies have been done to find an alternative source of energy. Biodiesel is considered one of these alternative sources. It is a renewable source of energy produced from vegetable oils and animal fats. There are two main reaction routes used to produce biodiesel (fatty acid methyl esters). Transesterification reaction is the first route used to convert triglycerides to fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), while hydrolysis followed by esterification reactions are the second route employed to convert triglycerides to free fatty acids (FFA) and then further converted to FAMEs. The traditional method used to produce FAMEs is the catalytic method, such as acid and alkali-catalyzed. However, a common drawback of these two methods is they are very sensitive to the presence of water. The free-catalytic method (supercritical methanol method) was, also, developed to generate FAMEs. The major drawback in this method is the severe conditions, of temperature and pressure used to produce FAMEs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the one-step catalytic free method at subcritical conditions using soybean oil (SBO), methanol (MeOH), and water (H2O) as reactants. Two system configurations were investigated, continuous and batch systems. A variety of conditions were tested, such as reaction time, temperature, and molar ratio (SBO:MeOH:H2O). Furthermore, a kinetic model described by four reactions (transesterification, hydrolysis, esterification, and degradation) was developed depending on current and previous studies done to produce FAMEs. Theoretical results of this model showed a sufficient agreement with experimental results due to obtaining an accepted standard error of estimate (3.86 and 6), which can indicate how much experimental and theoretical results are different, in both batch and continuous systems, respectively. This model showed that the optimum biodiesel yield values are ((83% and 55%) in batch and continuous systems, respectively, which occurred under subcritical conditions and 1:39:22 molar ratio of SBO:MeOH:H2O. Also, the effects of degradation reactions were explained in this work. In general, the results in this study establish a strong understanding about all the reactions which happened in a one-step sub-critical method.


The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of head teacher in monitoring teaching and learning in public primary schools in Mpanda District. Specific objectives to this study were; to assess perception of the stakeholders on the head teacher's position at school level, to examine the extent to which head teachers may be engaged in improving teaching process to analyze how HTs are able to monitor pupils learning process in a school, to explore the recent trends and the changing roles of the HTs in a school settings. A case study and descriptive survey design were a total sample of 77 participants including HTs, teachers, education officers, ward education coordinators, ward executive officers, school committee/ parents and pupils at primary school were consulted. The primary data was collected using structured questionnaires for head teachers, teachers, and school committee/parents while Interview was used for Education officers, Ward Executive Officers, Ward Education Coordinators and Village/ Street Executive Officers and finally, focused group discussion for primary pupils. Consequently, both qualitative and quantitative data were collected. The study revealed that most head teachers were not fully conversant with head teachers roles and responsibilities. They were not well equipped with theories and principles of leadership. The researcher concluded that soon after head teacher appointment should have leadership seminars for capacity building to make them effective in leading particularly in teaching and learning process hence efficiency schools could be determined.


This paper presents Joshua, a system which provides syntactically uniform access to heterogeneously implemented knowledge bases. Its power comes from the observation that there is a Protocol of Inference consisting of a small set of abstract actions, each of which can be implemented in many ways. We use the object-oriented programming facilities of Flavors to control the choice of implementation. A statement is an instance of a class identified with its predicate. The steps of the protocol are implemented by methods inherited from the classes. Inheritance of protocol methods is a compile-time operation, leading to very fine-grained control with little run-time cost.

Joshua has two major advantages: First, a Joshua programmer can easily change his program to use more efficient data structures without changing the rule set or other knowledge-level structures. We show how we thus sped up one application by a factor of 3. Second, it is straightforward to build an interface which incorporates an existing tool into Joshua, without modifying the tool. We show how a different TMS, implemented for another system, was thus Interfaced to Joshua.


Organic farming has rapidly grown in Switzerland in the past years. It is now well established in agriculture and accepted by consumers. However, recent developments show declining growth rates. This raises the question of the future that can be expected for organic farming in Switzerland. Future trends and potentials of organic farming in Switzerland made subject of two diploma theses in which prospects of the dairy and livestock sector and the fruit and vegetable sector were analysed. With a linear optimization model (farm level), taking into account probable future conditions, the development of supply was estimated. The future evolution of consumer demand was assessed by the means of a qualitative analysis. The analysis of supply and demand showed that there will be structural changes and that a future growth of the organic market is questionable. The problem does not mainly lie in the expected trend of consumer demand but rather in the development of the supply of organic products in Switzerland. In contrast to alternative production systems, organic farming is more labour-intensive, which results in higher per unit production costs. Due to the increasing abolishing of protective measures in the agricultural sector, product prices will continue to decrease. Therefore it is questionable if domestic demand for organic products can be fully met by local production.


Through the history of Electrical Engineering education, vectorial and phasorial diagrams have been used as a fundamental learning tool. At present, computational power has replaced them by long data lists, the result of solving equation systems by means of numerical methods. In this sense, diagrams have been shifted to an academic background and although theoretically explained, they are not used in a practical way within specific examples. This fact may be against the understanding of the complex behavior of the electrical power systems by students. This article proposes a modification of the classical Perrine-Baum diagram construction to allowing both a more practical representation and a better understanding of the behavior of a high-voltage electric line under different levels of load. This modification allows, at the same time, the forecast of the obsolescence of this behavior and line's loading capacity. Complementary, we evaluate the impact of this tool in the learning process showing comparative undergraduate results during three academic years


Precast concrete bridge rail systems offer several advantages over traditional cast-in-place rail designs, including reduced construction time and costs, installation in a wide range of environmental conditions, easier maintenance and repair, improved railing quality, and greater flexibility for aesthetic treatments. The objective of this project was to develop a precast concrete bridge rail system that met the TL-4 impact safety standards provided in MASH. The design criteria for the new bridge rail system included criteria for barrier geometry, provisions for open and closed rail options, constructability, weight limitations, segment length, design impact loads, connection of barrier segments, and connection to the bridge deck among other factors. The research effort proceeded in several phases. First, the research focused on determining the overall concept for the new bridge rail system in terms of the rail configuration and geometry as well as the required barrier reinforcement. Next, design concepts for the joints connecting adjacent rail segments were designed and subjected to dynamic component testing in order to select a design capable of meeting design criteria for the precast bridge rail system. After selection of an appropriate rail joint, the researchers developed connection details for the attachment of the rail to the bridge deck. Once the design of the various precast bridge rail components was completed, a complete set of CAD details for the prototype precast concrete bridge rail system were completed. Following the design effort, recommendations were made regarding the full-scale testing required to implement the new, precast concrete bridge rail system.


The basic principle, methodology, and experimental results for frequency-swept microwave imaging of continuous shape conducting and discrete line objects in a bistatic scattering arrangement are presented. The theoretical analysis is developed under the assumptions of plane wave illumination and physical optics approximation. The measurement system and calibration procedures are implemented based on plane wave spectrum analysis. Images of three different types of scattering objects reconstructed from the experimental data obtained in the frequency range 7.5-12.5 GHz are shown to be in good agreement with the scattering object geometries. The results demonstrate that this bistatic frequency-swept microwave imaging system has potential as a cost-effective tool for remote sensing, imaging radar, and nondestructive evaluation. >


Can predicting an article's success change science? [Also see Report by Wang et al.] The massive growth of global research activity in recent years has spurred studies exploring how productive this expansion has been and what the future may hold. Although the creativity and serendipity of individual discoveries will remain difficult to model, quantitative research has revealed regularities in the rates of discovery and the outcome of published findings over time (1). Some of these studies demonstrate that innovation has been decreasing, which may reflect the output of a scientific enterprise whose system of input has supported the pursuit of research focused on "low-hanging fruit" (2). Coincident with this decline has been the recent global recession, a circumstance that called for accountability of economic and social returns from public investments in research (3). There is now a great demand for insight into how the system of science works. On page 127 of this issue, Wang et al. (4) offer one approach to assess, and perhaps even augment, scientific productivity.


OBJECTIVE To examine the extent to which older people's self assessments of general health, physical health, and mental health predict functional decline and mortality. DESIGN The study uses population-based secondary data from the US Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA). PARTICIPANTS A total of 7527 persons aged 70 years or above living in the community. METHODS Eight different measures on self reported general, physical, and mental health were used. Change in functional status was measured using a composite index of ADLs and IADLs over a period of six years. Duration of survival was calculated over a period of seven years. Adjusting for age and gender, multiple logistic regression was used in analysing functional decline, and Cox proportional hazard model, for mortality. Then all of the self assessed health measures were incorporated into the final model—controlling for baseline sociodemographic characteristics, functional status, disease/conditions, and use of health and social services—to assess the independent contribution of each measure in predicting future health outcomes. MAIN RESULTS Overall, older people's self assessed general, physical, and mental health were predictive of functional decline and mortality. In multivariate analyses, older people who assessed their global health, self care ability, and physical activity less favourably were more likely to experience poor health outcomes. Gender disparity, however, was observed with poor global health affecting functional decline in men only. Self care ability was predictive of functioning in women only, whereas it was predictive of mortality in men only. CONCLUSIONS Self assessed global health, as well as, specific dimensions of health act as significant, independent predictors of functioning and mortality in a community dwelling older people.


Biologist have long assumed that the oceans are just too vast--and their inhabitants too prolific and widespread--for humans to threaten many marine species with extinction. But the conventional wisdom about ocean extinctions is, itself, now under threat. A small but growing number of scientists say that widespread extinctions could soon take place.


Background/context The aim of this presentation is to present a project at the University of Brighton to examine the association between the use of video technology, employing sporting feedback applications and student practice preparing for Simulated OSCE'S. This method of assessment is often stressful for students. Studies revealed a general tendency to worry, perceived cognitive control of attention, demographic variables, and performance anxiety related specifically to OSCE.1 Harrison et al .2 found students that received electronic audio feedback found comments useful and 68% reported changing the way they perform skills as a result. Also reporting that they valued its highly personalised, relevant nature and found it much more useful than written feedback. According to Nichol and Macfarlane-Dick3 Feedback and Feed forward should be systematically embedded into curriculum practices. Description of innovation or topic It is anticipated by using mobile devices to record and enhance feedback to students during OSCE practice and Simulation may improve the quality of feedback to students. Creating a more flexible and dynamic learning environment. We will present how using sports coaching applications, which initially record the students practice then recorded annotated feedback from lecturers and peers. This may provide students with feedback to progress, whilst identifying areas for support. Improvements/outcomes Link between the use of formative video feedback and student success. Examine whether students find this method useful and become standard practice. Embed and improve, formative feedback in the curriculum identifying further research. Take home messages Emerging technologies have opened up opportunities to embrace new methods to enhance feedback for students. This can be achieved in a more fluidic and effective fashion. Sometimes by embracing non clinical applications and thinking outside the box we can improve the students experience in a cost effective fashion. References O'Carroll PJ, Fisher P. Metacognitions, worry and attentional control in predicting OSCE performance test anxiety', Med Edu 2013;47(6):562–568 Harrison CJ, Molyneux AJ, Blackwell S, Wass VJ. 'How we give personalised audio feedback after summative OSCEs', Med Teach 2015;37(4): 323–326 Nicol DJ, Macfarlane‐Dick D. Formative assessment and self‐regulated learning: a model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Studies in Higher Education 2006;31(2):199–218


Due to more complex and severe design restrictions, more effective and faster finite element analyses are demanded. There are several ways to compute FE analysis efficiently: parallel computing, fast iterative or direct solvers, adaptive analysis and so on. One of the most effective analysis ways is the combination of adaptive analysis and multigrid iterative solver, because an adaptive analysis requires several meshes with difference resolutions and multigrid solver utilizes such meshes to accelerate its computation. However, convergence of multigrid solver is largely affected by initial shape of each element. An effective mesh improvement method is proposed here. It is the combination of mesh coarsening and refinement. A good mesh can be obtained by the method to be applied to an initial mesh, and better convergence is achieved by the improved initial mesh.


The quest for the world's remaining natural resources has intensified markedly in recent years. A salient and controversial point of debate in this context has become the extent to and ways in which old colonial relations are argued to live on in a new global "resource colonialism". Although Sweden is rarely thought of as a colonial power, Swedish actors are currently very active when it comes to resource exploitation in many parts of the world. As a small, neutral country with an excellent international reputation and virtually without enemies, we argue that Sweden has been able to mobilize the international resource system to its benefit much more effectively than many other European countries. This paper takes an historical perspective on the present by exploring the origins of Swedish interests and activities in the colonial resource arena from around 1880 to 1945. More precisely, we analyze and compare Swedish natural resource interests in three colonial arenas: Africa, Caucasia and the Arctic. In the case of Africa, we explore Sweden's virtually unknown - but highly active - participation at the Berlin conference in 1884-85. In the Caucasus case, we reinterpret the Nobel brothers crucial role in creating Baku's oil industry as a salient example of Swedish involvement in Russian resource colonialism. In the Arctic, we explore the connections between state and private interests in coal mining in Spitsbergen. An essential research issue concerns the extent to which it is possible to discern a common Swedish 'style' with regard to the country's interests and activities in colonial areas.


Although the use of psychoactive substances seems to be a growing problem among clients of intellectual disability services (IDS) in the Netherlands, rates of such substance use are unknown, and it is unclear how the services deal with substance-related problems. This study explored the perspectives of staff with respect to the occurrence of substance use and abuse, as well as users' profiles, and service organization policies regarding substance use. A semi-structured questionnaire asked staff to comment on lifetime, current, and problematic substance use among their clients, provide illustrative case reports, and describe policies within their service regarding substance-related problems. Data from 39 IDS were included. Estimations of occurrence of substance use varied greatly across services. Alcohol was reported to be used most often but at lower rates than reported in the general population. Cannabis and other drugs were reported to be used relatively often when compared with the rates noted in the general population. Case reports on 86 substance users were analyzed, and subgroups of users were identified, including younger clients who used both cannabis and alcohol, and older clients with mild ID who used only alcohol. Psychiatric comorbidity and lack of daytime activities were highly prevalent among users. Of the interventions the services reported using to address abuse, psychosocial and restrictive measures were rated as most effective and collaboration with addiction facilities and rewarding abstinence as least effective. Most services reported to have inadequate expertise with substance use. According to respondents, users with both borderline and mild ID used substances, but there were different patterns of use across age groups and level of ID. Respondents noted that substance users face a number of psychosocial problems but that they were poorly equipped to meet the users' needs and to affect functional policies. The authors concluded that the low effectiveness of mainstream addiction treatment or consultation suggests that there is a need for more cross-system collaboration to address this problem.


BACKGROUND
Far lateral lumbar disc herniation (FLLDH) accounts for 2.6% to 11.7% of all lumbar herniated discs. Numerous surgical approaches have been described for treating this condition. The purpose of this study was to evaluate minimally invasive surgical techniques for the treatment of FLLDH.

METHODS
From June 2000 to March 2006, 52 patients with FLLDH were treated with minimally invasive procedures. All patients were assessed by anteroposterior and lateral roentgenography and computed tomography (CT). Some patients underwent myelography, discography, and magnetic resonance imaging. Procedures performed included Yeung Endoscopy Spine System (YESS) (n = 25), METRx MicroDiscectomy System (n = 13), and X-tube (n = 14). Patients were followed up for a mean of 13.5 months. Clinical outcomes were assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS) and Nakai criteria.

RESULTS
All 3 procedures significantly improved radiating leg symptoms (P < 0.005). After surgery, 84.0%, 84.6%, and 92.8% of patients in the YESS, METRx, and X-tube groups had excellent or good outcomes. There were no statistically significant differences of VAS scores between the groups. The YESS procedure was associated with the shortest operation time, simplest anesthesia, and least trauma compared with the other 2 procedures, especially for type I herniations. The METRx procedure was the most suitable for type II herniations and posterior endoscopic facetectomy. Posterior lumbar interbody fusion and unilateral pedicle screw instrumentation with X-tube was the most suitable for herniations combined with degenerative lumbar instability (type III).

CONCLUSION
Minimally invasive strategies and options should be determined with reference to the type of FLLDH.


Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways. It is characterized by an inflammation of the airways causing dysfunction. Asthma is associated with widespread airflow obstruction and increase in airway responsiveness to a variety of stimuli. An asthma attack is accompanied by wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness and coughing. The anti-asthmatic and anti-cough activities of the essential oils and 1,8-cineole on rats were assessed. These activities were induced and challenged with histamine and acetylcholine using an ultrasonic nebulizer for asthma and exposure to ammonia for coughs. Anti-inflammatory activities of the essential oils and 1,8-cineole were determined using the cotton pellet granuloma test. Muscle contraction studies where carried out using the vascular reactivity on aortic smooth muscle. The oils exhibited concentration dependent anti-asthma and anti-cough activities. Significantly, 1,8-cineole isolated and purified from the essential oil showed a concentration dependent anti-inflammatory, anti-cough and anti-asthma activity and The essential oils showed vasorelaxant activity. The ability of the essential oils and 1,8-cineole to directly dilate smooth muscle and relieve the stress of bronchial contraction and obstruction of the airways passage validates the use of Eucalyptus grandis as an anti-asthmatic and anti-cough agent. It is concluded that the essential oils have the potential to be used as an anti-asthma and anti-cough therapy. This study also justifies its use by traditional healers in the treatment of asthma and coughs in Zulu folklore medicine.


Head and neck cancer accounted for 3.3% of incident malignancies and 2.0% of cancer-deaths in the US in 2009, the majority of which are squamous in origin. Thus, there is a need for novel biomarkers for early detection and prognosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). MicroRNA-137 plays a role in cell cycle control through negative regulation of Cdk6, and has been reported to undergo promoter methylation in oral squamous cell carcinoma. Oral rinse is a non-invasive mode of DNA collection, which may have some utility in detection of promoter methylation. The primary goals of this research were to determine if miR-137 promoter methylation occurs in all SCCHN, including pharyngeal and laryngeal tumors, and whether it is detectable in oral rinse samples; and to assess miR-137 promoter methylation as an etiologic and prognostic biomarker for SCCHN. DNA was extracted from oral rinses from 99 SCCHN patients and 99 cancer-free control subjects and from tumor tissue of 67 SCCHN patients; paired oral rinses and tumor tissue was available for 64 of the SCCHN patients. Promoter methylation status of miR-137 was determined by methylation-specific PCR. We identified a strong association between miR-137 promoter methylation detected in oral rinses and SCCHN (OR = 4.80, 95% CI: 1.23-18.82). There was a strong positive association between female gender and miR-137 promoter methylation in oral rinse from SCCHN patients (OR = 5.30, 95% CI: 1.20-23.44) and an inverse association with body mass index (OR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.77-0.99). Promoter methylation of miR-137 in tumor tissue was associated with poorer overall survival (HR = 3.68, 95% CI: 1.01-13.38). In spite of its low sensitivity (21.2%), miR-137 methylation detected in oral rinse may have future value in methylation panels for early diagnosis of SCCHN due to its high specificity (97.0%) and occurrence in early stage disease; and its detection in tumor tissue has promise as a prognostic marker. The identification of novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for SCCHN such as miR-137 promoter methylation will significantly impact public health through the reduction of morbidity and mortality that occurs as a result of this disease.


This paper presents the R package gRapHD for efficient selection of high-dimensional undirected graphical models. The package provides tools for selecting trees, forests, and decomposable models minimizing information criteria such as AIC or BIC, and for displaying the independence graphs of the models. It has also some useful tools for analysing graphical structures. It supports the use of discrete, continuous, or both types of variables.


The authors deal with the peculiar aspects of prosthetic treatment in case of deep bite. The possibilities of bite-raising depend upon the functional conditions. The necessity is determined by secondary changes in jaw relation and by the kind of treatment. Any correction of the occlusal position must consider the relationships of the anterior teeth.


This article addresses the deviations between the authorial figure of M.F.K. Fisher and the woman who crafted her, Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher. It considers M.F.K. Fisher's reputation as a figure in food studies and explores the potentially problematic implications of the overwhelmingly celebratory response to Fisher's metaphorical approach to food writing in her memoir, The Gastronomical Me. By considering Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher's complicated, often negative relationship with food, as highlighted in her journal entries and interviews, the author argues that The Gastronomical Me presents a disembodied protagonist who sidesteps corporeal and gender-specific implications of the sensory-driven, unapologetic eating she promotes. Considering the genre of life writing, the historical context in which the text was published, and Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher's background, this article calls for The Gastronomical Me's treatment as an imaginative recreation of lived experiences (one that could more accurately be named The Gastronomical She), rather than a fact-based example of life writing. Viewing the memoir in this manner allows readers to distinguish M.F.K. Fisher more clearly as a fictionalized version of Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher, an outlet for which metaphorical views of hunger and consumption afforded Mary Frances space to escape from cultural pressures and personal struggles with her body.


Schistosomiasis remains a public health problem in Egypt, despite the continuous control effort. Most of the anti-schistosomal drugs have deleterious side effects or low efficacy. This necessitates a search for new safe and effective drug. A field survey was done in Ezbet El-Bakly (Tamyia Center) El-Fayoum Governorate to determine the magnitude of schistosomiasis haematobium and mansoni and to evaluate the efficacy of Mirazid (the oleo-resin extract from Myrrh of Commiphora molmol tree, family: Burseraceae) in the treatment of both types of schistosomiasis. Among the 1019 individuals parasitologically examined, the prevalence of S. haematobium and S. mansoni were 4.2% and 2.4% respectively and the geometric mean egg count (GMEC) were 33.2 eggs/10 ml urine and 113.3 eggs/gram stools. Most of the patients with haematobiasis and mansoniasis were <15 years (56.4% & 53.8%), males (56.4% & 53.8%) & illiterates (46.2% & 46.2%). All cases were treated by Myrrh (Mirazid) as two capsules (600 mg) on an empty stomach an hour before breakfast for six consecutive days and were followed up clinically and parasitologically by urine analysis by the sedimentation and nucleopore techniques and by hatching test and by stool analysis by sedimentation and Kato-Katz techniques and by hatching test. The parasitological cure rate after three months was 97.4% and 96.2% for S. haematobium and S. mansoni cases with the marvelous clinical cure without any side-effects. Patients not completely responded to a single course of treatment showed marked reduction of egg intensity. It is concluded that Mirazid proved to be safe and very effective in treatment of S. haematobium and S. mansoni infections under field conditions.


Since 2008 UTZ Certified has implemented a programme in Ivory Coast to enhance sustainability in the cocoa supply chain through the implementation of the UTZ Code of Conduct. The programme has supported farmers to become organised into cooperatives, receiving training on farm management and organisational capacity building, and become certified. Starting off with four cooperatives, two traders and Solidaridad as partners, it has grown into a large scale programme. By June 2012 86 cooperatives were certified, 44,624 farmers reached, and 128,582 tons of certified cocoa had been produced from an estimated farm area of 219,100 hectares. Eight traders and the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) are now partners, who are implementing certification as part of broader activities to support cocoa farmers, their cooperatives and communities. As of June 2013, a further 103 cooperatives were in the process of certification. This report serves two purposes: it provides a baseline of farm-level situation as of mid-2013, which can be used to measure changes in indicators in future impact assessments. It also provides an initial assessment of impacts by comparing different groups of cocoa farmers. It provides information about the inclusiveness of the UTZ Certified cocoa programme in Ivory Coast. It evaluates how certification and related activities have affected farmers' knowledge and implementation of good agricultural practices, social and environmental issues in line with the UTZ Certified Code of Conduct and assesses the added value of certification. Lessons learned are drawn from the results, feeding recommendations to improve the quality and effectiveness of the programme.


Objective: The Cardiovascular Technologist Working Group of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology and the Society of Nuclear Medicine-Technologist Section are interested in working to improve the skills of technologists performing nuclear cardiology by developing guidelines for training. Methods: A survey was sent to NMT educational programs to obtain information on the current status of student training. Results: While related course work is being covered, the depth is hard to assess. Clinical hours of experience vary greatly. Conclusion: Due to the extensive scope of nuclear cardiology and the amount of attention to technical detail required, training guidelines are warranted.


This research, based on the post-1980s studies of Lacoff and Johnson (2005), was conducted to examine the metaphoric statements of students about their social studies course. Data were collected from 564 students in 4th and 5th grade classes at elementary schools in Canakkale, Turkey. The metaphorical writings of the students were categorized by means of content analysis. Metaphoric statements displayed different characteristics according to the gender and grade level of the students.


Some of the limitations of fine needle aspiration (FNA) in the cytodiagnosis of lymphoma include problems encountered in differentiating reactive hyperplasia from low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), lower cytodiagnostic accuracy for NHL with a follicular (nodular) pattern and nodular sclerosis type of classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), and overlapping morphological features between T-cell-rich B-cell lymphoma (TCRBCL), anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), and HL. Immunocytochemistry may be of help in such situations. The B-cell lymphomas such as small lymphocytic lymphoma/CLL, follicular lymphoma (FL), mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), MALT lymphoma, Burkitt lymphoma (BL), and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) have pan-B-cell markers (CD19, CD20, CD22, CD23, and CD79a). The FL (centrocytic), MCL, and MALT lymphoma can be differentiated with the use of a panel consisting of CD5, CD10, and CD23. In addition, FL is BCL2+ and MCL is BCL2+ as well as cyclin D1+. The DLBCL is BCL6+ in 60–90% cases. Besides pan B-cell marker, the immunocytochemical profile of BL includes CD10+, BCl6+, EBV±, and Ki67+ (100% cells). TCRBCL, a rare variant of DLBCL can be immunocytochemically differentiated from anaplastic large cell lymphoma (CD45+, CD30+, CD15‒, T±, B‒, EMA+, ALK1±) and classical HL (CD30+, CD15+, CD45‒, B‒, T‒, EMA‒). Unlike classical HL, the nodular lymphocytic predominant HL has a phenotype that includes LCA+, CD20+, CD79a+, CD15‒, and CD30‒. Whereas the immature neoplastic cells of T-lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL) are CD3+, CD20‒, and Tdt+, the rarely encountered mature T-CLL/T-PLL are immunophenotypically CD3+, CD4+, CD5+, CD7+, CD8‒, CD20‒, CD23‒, and Tdt‒.


Purpose: The purpose of this systematic literature review is to (1) present research on current IPV screening prevalence within the medical community, (2) emphasize the importance of IPV screening for physical therapists,(3) identify barriers that exist to IPV screening, (4) examine current teaching methods for IPV within healthcare curriculums and (5) identify valid and reliable IPV screening tools for clinical application.Description: A comprehensive systematic literature search on six different databases was completed from September 2012 to March 2013. Search terms included intimate partner violence (IPV), domestic violence, health providers and IPV screening tools. Randomized control trials were included if they evaluated at least one IPV screening tool utilized in the study. Three independent reviewers screened 5664 results and identified 55 relevant research studies. These studies were evaluated utilizing a modified PEDro scale.Summary of Use: Methodological quality ranged from 6 to 13/14. Five studies were excluded due to poor quality research data or design. Despite the established importance of IPV screening by healthcare professionals, the research has demonstrated that healthcare professionals are not providing universal screening for all patients. Only 8% of physical therapists routinely screen for IPV. Challenges exist in the healthcare field in the screening of patients for IPV: including (1) differing cultural perspectives on IPV, (2) time constraints, (3) language barriers, (4) lack of knowledge and (5) healthcare practitioners negative perceptions.The most frequent provider-related barriers included "lack of provider education regarding IPV, lack of time, and lack of effective interventions. PREMIS (Physician Readiness to Manage Intimate Partner Violence Survey) is a 15 minute survey that Short et al. found to have good internal consistency and reliability (Cronbach's alpha ≥ 0.65). PREMIS is more current and comprehensive than previous standardized IPV assessment tools and can easily be utilized by physical therapists.Importance to Members: IPV is a major public health concern with a healthcare cost of nearly $4.1 billion and affects nearly 1/3 of women during their lifetime. Three recommendations can be made for physical therapists based on various models for IPV education. 1) Experiential learning, 2) Utilize APTA's Blueprint for Teaching Cultural Competence applying it to IPV screening, and 3) Utilization of the PREMIS tool by physical therapists to assess IPV.The prevalence of IPV and the lack of physical therapist IPV screening, calls for an evaluation of the requirements and screening tools available for physical therapists in the clinic. By improving education for IPV screening, new clinicians can be better prepared for detecting and reporting IPV once they are practicing physical therapists. Research is limited concerning the methods by which physical therapists are instructed in IPV screening.


Here, the carrier dynamics of a π-conjugated polymer is monitored by voltage-dependent surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is employed as a metal-free SERS substrate. Under different voltage conditions, the SERS performance of the semiconductors' rectification characteristic is discussed. Our results open an unprecedented regime for conducting polymer-based SERS.


Objective:Early warning scoring systems are widely used in clinical practice to allow early recognition of the deteriorating patient, but they lack validation. We aimed to test the ability of physiologic variables, either alone or in existing early scoring systems, to predict major deterioration in a patient's condition and attempt to derive functions with superior accuracy. Design:A comparative cohort study. Setting:A teaching hospital in Scotland. Patients:Two cohorts of general surgical high-dependency patients. The cohorts are a group of surgical high-dependency care patients who did not require intensive care admission and another group of patients who did require admission. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:Prospective physiologic data on consecutive surgical high-dependency unit patients were collected and compared with physiologic data on patients admitted to the intensive care unit from the same surgical high-dependency units. Data were quality checked and summarized, and discriminant analysis and receiver operator curves were used to discriminate between the groups. There were significant physiologic differences between groups with regard to heart rate (p < .001, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC] 0.7), respiratory rate (p < .001, AUC 0.71), and oxygen saturation (p < .001, AUC 0.78) across time points. This was not present for systolic blood pressure or temperature. Existing early warning scoring systems had good discriminatory power (AUC 0.83–0.86). We derived discriminant functions, which have a high predictive ability to determine differences between groups (p < .0001, AUC 0.86–0.90). We found that heart rate and respiratory rate could detect differences between groups at 6 and 8 hrs before ICU admission, but oxygen saturation and the discriminant function 2 could detect differences 48 hrs before ICU admission. Conclusions:Some commonly used physiologic variables have reasonable power in determining the difference between patients requiring intensive care unit admission, but others are poor. Existing early warning scores have comparatively good discriminatory power. We have derived functions with excellent predictive power in this derivation cohort.


Abstract In recent years, scholarship examining US and security allies' responses to China's rapidly growing power and "assertive" policies towards its neighbours has proliferated. The English-language literature remains relatively one-sided, however. Crucial to understanding the complex forces driving strategic competition in the contemporary Asia-Pacific are comprehensive surveys of how Chinese views are evolving. This study draws extensively on Chinese sources to update existing scholarship, much of it two decades old, with a particular focus on recent Chinese reactions to major developments concerning the US-centred alliance system – a foundational element of the 65-year-old regional order. Beijing expresses deepening frustration towards, and even open opposition to, recent alliance strengthening, and instead champions alternative security architectures free of what it alleges to be "exclusive," "zero-sum," "Cold-war relic" US-centred alliances. Proposals for concrete pathways to operationalizing these abstract visions that take into account contemporary political and security realities (for example, North Korea), however, appear less forthcoming. 摘要 近年来, 分析美国与其安全联盟应对中国的崛起及其 "强势"周边外交的学术研究不断增加。但是, 英语文献仍然具有相对的片面性。比较欠缺的是对于中方观点的演变做全面研究, 而这对理解当代亚太地区战略竞争的复杂驱动因素至为重要。本文用中文, 日文, 和英文材料对基本已有二十多年的现有文献做进一步更新。本文主要分析中国如何应对以美国为主导的联盟体系的新发展 – 而这一联盟体系是七十多年来区域秩序现状的基础构成。中国领导人对于近来 (美国东亚) 联盟体系的强化表现出不满甚至公开的反对; 中方领导人倡导一种替代性的安全结构, 以代替他们认为是 "排他"、"零和" 以及 "冷战遗产" 的美国主导的联盟体系。但是, 考虑到诸如北朝鲜一类当代政治和安全的现实挑战, 如何实现替代秩序的具体路径建议, 仍然是非常欠缺的。


: The results of treatment of 417 patients with pseudoarthroses of the tibia (aged from 17 to 71 years) with the use of various methods: by internal fixation with auto- and allografts, metal plates as well as in the use of extranidal (extralocal) osteosynthesis were analysed. The number of consolidation failures was minimal after autoplasty by Khakhutov and bone autoplasty. The rate of healing after osteosynthesis was substantially lower in internal fixation, than in extranidal (extralocal) osteosynthesis. Inflammatory complications occur less frequently when osteoplasty by Khakhutov was used. The highest rate of complications was observed in tibialization and in bilocal osteosynthesis.


Abstract A three-dimensional (3D) rheological model for an orthotropic material subjected to sustained load or deformation under constant climate has been mathematically formulated. The elastic and viscoelastic compliance matrices are symmetric, where the mathematical derivation of the latter is shown. The model is linear and requires constant numerical values for the elastic and viscoelastic material parameters. The model's ability to predict the natural time-dependent response in three material directions simultaneously is demonstrated on a Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) specimen subjected to a constant uniaxial tensile load. The material extends in a longitudinal direction and contracts in the transverse directions with time. The required material parameters are taken from the literature when possible, otherwise they are assumed. Furthermore, the influence of misalignment between the directions of observation and wood material directions on induced time-dependent strains is analyzed. The analyses show that the misalignment has a large effect on the material behavior. In some cases, the specimen under constant uniaxial tension even extends in the perpendicular transverse direction with time. The obtained results clearly demonstrate the high importance of considering the alignment of material directions precisely in order to be able to interpret the time-dependent behavior of wood correctly.


Introduction:Ectodermal dysplasia (ED) is a rare inherited disorder that affects structures derived from embryonic ectoderm. Due to associated ridge deficiency, and anodontia found in these patients, multiple surgeries are often indicated before replacement of missing teeth with implants, resulting in increased morbidity and treatment time. Materials and Methods:In this case report, a 31-year-old woman was transitioned from failing tooth-supported fixed restorations to a fully implant-supported fixed prosthesis using immediate implants and narrow diameter implants (NDI). By using some of her existing dentition to support the provisional restorations while osseointegration took place, the patient was able to retain function during treatment. Full-fixed implant-supported prostheses were delivered, providing an esthetic and functional outcome that has been maintained for 3 years. Conclusion:In ED patients, NDI together with immediate implant placement can be used successfully to support a complete fixed restoration and should be considered as an alternative to major reconstruction surgeries. Key factors associated with increased predictability are discussed together with a review of the literature.


Most computational frameworks for argumentation are based on abstract argumentation, which determines an argument's acceptability on the basis of its ability to counterattack all arguments attacking it. However, this view of argumentation doesn't address how to find arguments, identify attacks, and exploit premises. Assumption-based argumentation addresses these three issues. It's a refinement of abstract argumentation but remains general purpose, nonetheless. Rather than considering arguments to be a primitive concept, assumption-based argumentation defines them as backward deductions (using sets of rules in an underlying logic) supported by sets of assumptions. This approach reduces the notion of an attack against an argument to that of deduction of a contrary of an assumption.


Knowledge of genetic diversity is crucial to assess the variability of genotypes and their potential use in crop improvement programs. The present experiment was conducted at Horticulture Research Station (HRS), Dailekh (1300 masl) for three years during 2016-2018 to study the agro-morphological variability and performance of six genotypes of French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) for pod and seed yield. The genotypes viz; Bhatte, Chaumase, Dhankute Chirrke, WP Con Bean, White OP, and Trishuli were experimented in Randomized Completely Block (RCB) design with four replications. Observations were recorded on 14 qualitative and 12 quantitative traits. Among the qualitative traits, French bean genotypes observed variability w.r.t. stem pigmentation, leaf color, leaflet shape, stem hairiness, flower color, pod color, pod shape, pod cross-section, pod beak position, pod appearance, seed size, seed shape, and seed color. Analysis of variance for quantitative traits showed significant differences among all the genotypes for all the characters studied. Three year mean results showed the genotype Chaumase (35.0 t/ha) followed by Trishuli (28.0 t/ha), WP Con Bean (24.6 t/ha) and White OP (22.9 t/ha) recorded the maximum green pod yield. Similarly, genotypes Chaumase (2.1 t/ha), Trishuli (2.1 t/ha), Dhankute Chirrke (1.44 t/ha) and White OP (1.09 t/ha) were found promising for seed production purpose. The agro-morphological variation observed in growth and pod characters could be utilized in variety improvement programs. Future research work needed to be focused on the further evaluation of these genotypes under different production systems for yield and seed production and to identify traits useful for crop improvement.


The radiomagetotelluric (RMT) method estimates the resistivity distribution of soil by measuring and evaluating the em-fields of radiotransmitters in the very low-, long- and medium wave frequency range. The method potentialy does not require many personnel for field measurements. It has all the features for fast recording of complex geological structures. Presently available RMT instruments have serious limitations. Therefore, we have designed and tested the following improvements: Estimating full impedance tensor To explore complex shaped subsoils knowledge of full electrical impedance tensor is indispensible. We introduce a method to estimate all four tensor elements in the radio frequency range. This makes it possible to evaluate RMT-data by using conventional and powerful MT inversions programs. Fast speed in measurement Progress in measurement is determined by the time to move the instrument from one point to another, registration time and time necessary to process the time series of typically some ten million samples per channel. To minimize the registration and the processing time we build a very fast digital time series preprocessing electronics. It calculates impedance tensor for 16 frequencies in RMT range in parallel from one registration within a few seconds. Using superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer A liquid nitrogen cooled SQUID Magnetometer was tested. SQUIDs are invaluable for the near future especially if wideband registration with mobile instruments, as presented here, is required. Extended frequency range The RMT technique is often unable to penetrate highly conductive overburden like dump sites, clay layers or contaminated ground water. The reason for this is that the lowest available frequency is too high. Therefore, we have combined the RMT frequency range (10 kHz to 1600 kHz) with the CSAMT (frequency: 1 kHz to 10 kHz). This permits a threefold increase in the depth of penetration. At low frequencies we use a light battery-driven horizontaly orienteted magnetic transmitter to generate the em-field. This is necessary because of absence of radio transmitters below 10 kHz.


BACKGROUND
Despite improvements in supportive care and pharmacologic therapies, sepsis and related disorders such as systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) continue to be a leading cause of death in the intensive care unit. We hypothesized that immune dysfunction in this setting may in part be mediated at the level of early signal transduction in monocytes and neutrophils as manifested by changes in intracellular free Ca2+.

METHODS
Monocytes and neutrophils were isolated from patients in the intensive care unit who met the criteria for SIRS and from normal volunteers. Cells were loaded with the Ca(2+)-sensitive fluorescent dye Indo-1 and stimulated with the chemotactic peptide f-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP). Changes in intracellular calcium ion concentration were measured by flow cytometry.

RESULTS
Patient monocytes exhibited a decreased Ca2+ flux (43% +/- 3.1%) as compared with normal monocytes (63% +/- 2.5%) (p < 0.05). Patient neutrophils also exhibited a decreased Ca2+ flux in response to fMLP of 58% +/- 3.7% versus 69.3% +/- 3.1% for normal neutrophils (p < 0.05). Incubation of patient cells in normal plasma reversed this dysfunction and showed an improved Ca2+ flux to 60% +/- 2.7% for monocytes and 71% +/- 3.7% for neutrophils (p < 0.05). Conversely, calcium flux was decreased in both normal monocytes (42.3% +/- 3.1%) and normal neutrophils (55.4% +/- 3.8%) after incubation in SIRS patient plasma (p < 0.05). Incubation of normal monocytes and neutrophils in interleukin-1, interleukin-2, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor, or lipopolysaccharide did not show a statistically significant alteration in calcium flux in response to fMLP.

CONCLUSIONS
Patients with SIRS exhibit alterations in early signal transduction after stimulation with fMLP in monocytes and neutrophils. This effect appears to be mediated by a soluble factor because the defect in SIRS patient cells can be reversed by incubation in normal plasma and normal cells appear to acquire this defect after incubation in patient plasma. Further studies are underway to identify the factor or factors responsible for this functional defect.


This study tackles the development of writing Filipino dictionaries by presenting critical review analyses of the three of the most current Filipino monolingual dictionaries published by the two most authoritative institutions of Filipino language: the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino [KWF] (formerly the Institute of National Language, then became the Linangan ng Wika sa Pilipinas [LWP]), and the Sentro ng Wikang Filipino (SWF). The oldest of the three is the first edition of KWF's (then LWP's) Diksyunaryo ng Wikang Filipino (1989). The second is the centennial edition of the same dictionary (1998), still published by the KWF. And the last is the UP Diksyonaryong Filipino (2001), published by the SWF. The study primarily aims to provide a preliminary discussion of the development of monolingual lexicography of Filipino. The examination of these dictionaries is done by applying lexicographic principles in writing monolingual dictionaries. This study found several errors in the writing of these dictionaries and concludes that such errors were primarily due to the lack of substantial corpus collection.


The article reveals the problem of development of social service of patronage over children. The issue of increasing the efficiency of content and technological support of social work with a child in the family of a foster carer has been raised. The purpose of the article is to determine the content accents, as well as effective forms and methods of social work with a child who is placed in the family of a foster carer.
A set of general scientific (analysis, synthesis, comparison and generalization), as well as empirical methods were used: survey (questionnaire and interview), conversation. To collect empirical data, a qualitative study was conducted, which involved foster carers and social workers who care for foster families in the Kyiv region.
It was found that foster care of children is an innovative socio-pedagogical system of interactions of social specialists, foster carers, parents, relatives of a child who found himself/herself in difficult life circumstances. The peculiarities of the content of social work with a child who is provided with foster care services through a number of functions of foster carers are characterized. It is emphasized that the content of social work with a child who is provided with foster care services is primarily determined by the functions of foster carers in relation to: 1) the child is placed under foster care; 2) the biological family of the child; 3) a potential family to which the child may be placed in the future. According to the functions, foster carers must have a set of knowledge and skills.
Requests of foster carers and difficulties of their work are revealed. According to the results of the survey of foster carers and social workers, it was found that the main problems in providing foster care services are related to the child's habituation to the foster family; insufficient willingness of foster carers to use appropriate and modern forms and methods of work, in particular, to prevent injury to the child during the transfer to family care or return to the biological family, to provide psychological assistance to the 'difficult' child, guilt, deviant behavior.
The forms and methods used by foster carers during the provision of foster care services are analyzed, as well as their motivation to increase their own competence. It is concluded that the psychological and pedagogical assistance to the child in overcoming the psycho-traumatic experience is a pronounced semantic emphasis in the social work with the child placed in the family of foster parents. It is noted that the selection of methods and specific forms should be carried out taking into account the age of the child, his leading activities, life situation and interests.
It is established that expedient and effective forms and methods in work with the child under patronage are: psychological conversation, method of active listening, fairy-tale therapy, game therapy, art therapy, music therapy. Such methods allow overcoming anxiety, fear of the child, self-doubt, confusion and distrust. Another group of appropriate methods of social work with the child includes: storytelling, method of social stories, discussion of rules of conduct during a meeting with parents; role games; method of competitions and incentives; writing letters to parents; learning poems, songs; performance of artistic and creative works (preparation of drawings or other alterations for parents); method of keeping a diary of observations of the child.
It is emphasized that foster carers first of all lack the help of practical psychologists in providing patronage services to a child, as well as the development of skills of primary psychological care for a child. Recommendations for improving the quality of content and technological support for the provision of social services for child care have been developed.


Projects thematically focused on simulation and statistical techniques for designing and optimizing chemical processes can be helpful in chemical engineering education in order to meet the needs of engineers. We argue for the relevance of the projects to improve a student centred approach and boost higher order thinking skills. This paper addresses the use of Aspen HYSYS by Portuguese chemical engineering master students to model distillation systems together with statistical experimental design techniques in order to optimize the systems highlighting the value of applying problem specific knowledge, simulation tools and sound statistical techniques. The paper summarizes the work developed by the students in order to model steady-state processes, dynamic processes and optimize the distillation systems emphasizing the benefits of the simulation tools and statistical techniques in helping the students learn how to learn. Students strengthened their domain specific knowledge and became motivated to rethink and improve chemical processes in their future chemical engineering profession. We discuss the main advantages of the methodology from the students' and teachers perspective


During construction of a road in 1931, a cut made in proposed fill exposed ice for a horizontal distance of 600 feet and under less than two feet of overburden. The color of the ice was blue-gray and, despite the abundance of talus on the slope where it was found, it was remarkably free of debris. Fill was placed on the ice and the road constructed over it. Although the ice cannot be seen, as it melts the road sinks slowly. Because of the clean nature of the ice in a debris-strewn environment, it is thought to be a relict of the Wisconsin Age rather than having been formed under present conditions.


Without disregarding the value of a diachronic approach, priority is given to a synchronic understanding of the Sermon on the Mount in its present form. Emphasis on diachronics, or even a shuttling between the diachronic and the synchronic, tends to cloud the holistic message that the Sermon was intended to convey to its real-world Syriac audience. The situation of that audience and its bearing on the content of the Sermon on the Mount are discussed. Compositional and thematic aspects of the Sermon are highlighted, such as its position within the macro-structure of Matthew, the author's predilection for triads, the inner structure and theme of the Sermon. It is proposed that the basic theme of the Sermon on the Mount is the very special identity of Jesus's end-time community and that its main purpose is the shaping and affirming of that identity. Contrary to the normal view that there are presently nine beatitudes, stylistic as well as contentual considerations indicate that the so-called ninth beatitude is in reality an actualising and personalising amplification of the eighth. Aspects of the antitheses such as their significance, the Jesus of the antitheses, and, finally, the Lord's Prayer also receive attention.


OBJECTIVE
Velocardiofacial syndrome, caused by a deletion on chromosome 22q11.2, is often accompanied by cognitive, behavioral, and psychiatric impairments. Specifically, velocardiofacial syndrome has been proposed as a disease model for a genetically mediated subtype of schizophrenia. Velocardiofacial syndrome is also known to affect brain structure. The most prominent structural findings in velocardiofacial syndrome are reduced white matter volumes. However, the structure of white matter and extent of specific regional involvement in this syndrome have never been investigated. The current study used diffusion tensor imaging to investigate white matter structure in children and young adults with velocardiofacial syndrome.

METHOD
Nineteen participants with velocardiofacial syndrome and 19 age- and gender-matched comparison subjects underwent diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans. Whole brain voxel-by-voxel analyses were conducted to investigate white matter fractional anisotropy differences between the groups.

RESULTS
Relative to the comparison group, the velocardiofacial syndrome group had reduced white matter anisotropy in the frontal, parietal, and temporal regions as well as in tracts connecting the frontal and temporal lobes.

CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrates that alterations of white matter tract structure occur in velocardiofacial syndrome. Reduced white matter anisotropy was observed in individuals with velocardiofacial syndrome in areas previously implicated in the neurocognitive phenotype of velocardiofacial syndrome. The finding of aberrant parietal white matter tracts as well as aberrant frontotemporal connectivity in velocardiofacial syndrome and in previous schizophrenia studies may be associated with increased vulnerability for development of psychotic symptoms.


Abstract This study investigated the linkages between work and family of 281 dual-employed couples. First, we developed a theoretical framework, distinguishing between the causal direction and the sign of the relationship between work and family. We classified the social and psychological mechanisms that explain specific directions and signs of work–family relationships and reviewed the empirical literature from the point of view of this framework. We then provided an illustration of how this framework can be used to generate a model for a specific sample. We generated a model and corresponding hypotheses for a sample of dual-employed couples in which the male′s career was dominant and analyzed these hypotheses by testing males and females separately using LISREL 7. In our sample, the relationship between work and family was reciprocal for males, suggesting a dynamic system in which males were able to adjust one domain to compensate for the other. Females exhibited a unidirectional relationship from family to work involvement, suggesting a static system. For both males and females, the family → work involvement relationship was negative as hypothesized. For males, the work → family relationship was positive. There were some similarities and some differences in the influence of exogenous constructs in the models for males and females. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of understanding dynamic versus static models of work and family relationships and the potential role of organizations in helping their employees lower the fixed demands of the family.


Injection of the monoamines octopamine and serotonin into the hemolymph of lobsters causes them to assume opposing static postures: octopamine causes a tonic extension of all extremities, while serotonin induces a tonic flexion. These amines have been shown previously to act as circulating neurohormones and to cause contraction of isolated exoskeletal muscles. The opposing postures elicited by amine injection do not appear to arise from peripheral actions, however, since serotonin and octopamine have similar effects on both flexor and extensor muscles. Instead, the amines are present within the central nervous system where they are probably released synaptically to activate coordinated patterns of tonic motor activity generating the observed postures. These motor patterns have been recorded from abdominal ganglia and involve the synchronized activation and inhibition of multiple excitatory and inhibitory motoneurons innervating the postural flexor and extensor muscles. These effects can be observed in an isolated abdominal ganglion. To begin a search for the cellular targets of amine action within the central nervous system, we recorded from identified postural motoneurons in abdominal ganglia. In two motoneurons that act to produce postural extension, octopamine reduced and serotonin raised the apparent threshold for action potential generation recorded in the somata. The amines do not significantly affect the resting potential or input resistance of the motoneurons measured in the cell bodies. Although the amine effect on motoneuron excitability could be due to actions directly on the motoneurons, our evidence suggests that at least part of the effect results from activation or inhibition of premotor interneurons: (1) an increase in EPSP frequency is observed in the motoneurons during octopamine superfusion, while a small decrease is observed during serotonin superfusion; (2) the amine effects on action potential threshold are abolished by cobalt ion. These results suggest that octopamine and serotonin have dual effects on posture: within the central nervous system, they act specifically to generate coordinated motor patterns for flexion or extension; as circulating neurohormones, they act nonspecifically to enhance the responses of exoskeletal muscles to motoneuronal activation.


Learning communities have emerged as an efficient and effective paradigm for improving undergraduate education, especially for entering freshmen. The academy has become increasingly interested in learning outcomes and student retention, especially as they are related to the assessment of various approaches to educating the whole student. Learning community pedagogy has developed through rigorous research. However, little is known about the impact of this pedagogy upon college students' cognitive development and writing aptitude. Cognitive development theory has been most significantly influenced by the work of William G. Perry, Jr. Though no theory exists which would address the stages of writing development in university students, many composition theorists suggest a correlation between cognitive development and writing aptitude. This study measured cognitive development and writing aptitude in learning community students and non-learning community students, matching them for SAT scores, high school grade point averages, gender, and ethnicity. The research questions of interest were: 1) How does participation in a learning community affect students' cognitive development; and 2) How does participation in a learning community affect students' writing aptitude? The participants were pre- and post-assessed for cognitive development, using the Measure of Intellectual Development (MID). Additionally, participants were preand post-assessed for writing aptitude, using a diagnostic essay and exit exam. Results of this study indicate no statistically significant differences in cognitive development and writing aptitude for learning community students and non-learning community students as measured by the Measure of Intellectual Development (MID) and the diagnostic essay and exit exam. These findings may have been influenced by the small sample size. It is suggested that this research be replicated, ensuring a larger sample size, to determine the efficacy of this pedagogy on these variable sets.


The first attempts to fertilise in vitro bovine oocytes were done in the late sixties but only in 1982 the first calf was born after transplantation of a complete in vitro produced embryo. Since then the in vitro production system improved a lot but it is still impossible to mimic the in vivo situation completely. Not only the efficiency of the in vitro procedure to produce morulae and blastocysts is lower then in the in vivo situation but also the quality of the in vitro produced morulae and blastocysts is lower compared to in vivo developed counterparts. The pregnancy rate after transfer of in vitro produced embryos is in general lower compared to in vivo developed embryos and a small but significant higher percentage of calves are born with abnormalities known as the "Large Offspring Syndrome".
The best parameter to determine embryo quality would be its possibility to develop into a healthy calf. This parameter is very unpractical and therefore several parameters are investigated such as; morphology, cell count of the total embryo and of the inner cell mass, developmental rate, metabolism, chromosomal abnormalities, gene expression and apoptosis. In this thesis differences between completely in vitro produced and entirely in vivo developed embryos are described with special attention for cell number, gene expression and apoptosis. Furthermore it is investigated which step of the in vitro production process is responsible for the observed differences. The common strategy was to let part of the development take place in vivo and after this continuation in vitro. These embryos were then compared with embryos produced completely in vitro or entirely in vivo. Special attention was given to the maturation of the oocyte and the period of activation of the embryonic genome that in bovine embryos takes place during the fourth cell cycle, at the 8- to 16-cell stage.
The results of the experiments described in this thesis show that the period after fertilisation is the most important period causing differences in embryo quality, which is in this thesis determined by mRNA expression of develop-mentally important genes, total cell number and level of apoptosis. Both the period before and after the activation of the genome seems to be important for these different aspects of embryo quality.


Due to the fast – growing competition of the mass – products markets, companies are looking for new technologies to maximize productivity and minimize time and costs. In the perspective of Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP), companies want to optimize fixture design and assembly planning for different goals. To meet these demands, the designers' interest in Design for Assembly and Disassembly is growing considerably and is increasingly being integrated into the CAPP. The work described in this thesis aims to exploit immersive technologies to support the design of mating elements and assembly / disassembly, by developing a data exchange flow between the immersive environment and the modeling environment that provides the high – level modeling rules, both for modeling features and for assembly relationships. The main objective of the research is to develop the capability to model and execute simple coupling commands in a virtual environment by using fast direct modeling commands. With this tool the designer can model the coupling elements, position them and modify their layout. Thanks to the physical engine embedded in the scene editor software, it is possible to take into consideration physical laws such as gravity and collision between elements. A library of predefined assembly features has been developed through the use of an external modeling engine and put into communication with the immersive interaction environment. Subsequently, the research involved the study of immersive technologies for workforce development and training of workers. The research on immersive training involved industrial case studies, such as the projection of the disassembly sequence of an industrial product on a head mounted display, and less industrial case studies, such as the manual skills development of carpenters for AEC sectors and the surgeon training in the pre – operative planning in medical field.


The digital media and games industry is one of the biggest IT based indus- tries worldwide. Recent observations therein showed that current production workflows may be potentially improved as multimedia objects are mostly created from scratch due to insufficient reusability capacities of existing tools. In this paper we provide reasons for that, provide a potential solution based on semantic technologies, show the poten- tial of ontologies, and provide scenarios for the application of semantic technologies in the digital media and games industry.


How does the scope of review affect bureaucratic policymaking incentives? To explore this ques- tion, I consider a simple policymaking environment in which an expert agency develops policy that is upheld or overturned by an overseer who may have different policy goals. The agency can affect the quality of implementation through effort investments in addition to choosing the substantive content of policy. Under procedural review the overseer only reviews the agencys effort, which allows the agency to fully utilize its expertise, but may harm effort incentives. Sub- stantive review also tasks the overseer with judging agencies substantive policy choices, which introduces a fundamental trade-off between agency utilization of expertise and effort investment due to pathological policy choices made by the agency. The theory characterizes when less trans- parent oversight, procedural review, is optimal relative to more transparent, substantive review. The results speak to when agencies should be insulated from substantive review.


This study looks into students' perception about E-textbooks and assess current adoption of E-textbook in a medium-size university in the Midwest of the United States. Literature reviews indicated some inconsistencies related to E-book adoptions. This study will investigate some of those inconsistencies including prior usage as factors in E-book adoption. Other factors considered in this study are: trialability, perceived values, and technology savvy. The theory of Technology Acceptance Model will be used in this study. An E-textbook adoption model is proposed and survey methodology will be used in this study. Survey will be administered among students on campus.


Treatment of isolated myofibrils with an ATP-containing relaxing solution results in the dissociation of a preformed quantity of myofilaments called 'easily releasable myofilaments'. Van der Westhuyzen, Matsumoto & Etlinger [(1981) J. Biol. Chem. 256, 11791-11797] presented experimental evidence that these myofilaments represent intermediate products in the turnover of myofibrillar proteins. To investigate further this question, we measured the size of the fraction of easily releasable myofilaments in three different species of skeletal muscles from rats subjected to well-defined catabolic conditions, namely starvation or chronic glucocorticoid administration. The results were as follows: (1) The amount of easily releasable myofilaments was transiently increased about 2-3-fold during both experiments, and thus paralleled the known alterations in the rate of overall muscle protein breakdown rather than in those of synthesis. (2) These changes were observed in muscles containing predominantly fast-twitch fibres, but not in slow-twitch soleus muscle, a muscle that is known to be more resistant to catabolic conditions. (3) The starvation-induced increase of the size of the fraction of easily releasable myofilaments could be significantly reduced by treatment of the starving animals with the proteinase inhibitor E-64. These results are compatible with the idea that easily releasable myofilaments are intermediates in the degradative pathway of myofibrillar proteins and that a proteolytic step may be involved in the conversion of myofilaments into easily releasable myofilaments.


Background: In the novel COVID outbreak , chest imaging was in the front door for the diagnostic approach to any patient with respiratory symptoms , including chest HRCT & lung ultrasound modalities. Objective: To find the correlation between lung ultrasound and chest high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) signs in patients suffering from COVID-19 pulmonary involvement. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional observational study conducted in Arbil / Iraq, from July to November 2020 , enrolled 50 patients who assessed using HRCT and lung ultrasound (LUS),12 areas in the chest examined by ultrasound and corresponding percentage (absent or limited, moderate, extensive, severe & critical grads ) of lung affection on HRCT. Results: Analysis of the obtained data from 50 affected patients done , a highly significant positive relation noted between the findings on ultrasound & the extend of lung involvement by chest HRCT (r factor 0.78, the p-value was <0.001), the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of LUS were 90%, 70% ,and 68% respectively. Conclusion: The current study showed that ultrasound and HRCT are parallel in assessing the extent of lung involvement among COVID-19 pneumonia victims, thus making lung ultrasound a relevant substitute for HRCT.


TiO2 has poor photocatalytic performance when synthesised using traditional processes under visible light, which has limited its practical applications. In this work, titanium sulfate and hydrazine hydrate were used as raw materials to fabricate highly mesoporous honeycomb TiO2via a two-step hydrothermal and calcination method. The formation mechanism of the highly mesoporous TiO2 was analyzed based on experiments and theories. The parameters were flexible using the preparation method. Samples with high photocatalytic performance can be obtained without strictly controlling the process parameters such as hydrazine hydrate dosage, the hydrothermal temperature and so on. The preparation process was as follows: the raw materials were prepared at 180 °C for 48 h in the first hydrothermal stage, and then synthesized at 150 °C for 48 h in the second hydrothermal process. The hydrazine hydrate dosage was 10 ml in the second process. The prepared grain sizes were about 16.4 nm and the specific surface areas were approximately 105.12 m2 g−1 after the samples were heated at 450 °C for 4 h. Their degradation rate was 1.8 times that of P25. The improved performances are ascribed to the unique point defects because of nitrogen atom doping in the TiO2 and the highly mesoporous structure increased by adding hydrazine hydrate.


Stanley Fish's recent book review' measures Richard Posner's The Problems of Jurisprudence2 more by the importance of the questions it raises than by the coherence of its answers. That standard enables Professor Fish to rank Judge Posner's book with the best of post-war legal thought (p 1475). The same standard demands a similar assessment of Fish's review. Few writings match the economy and punch with which it points legal theory in the right direction. Fortunately for all of us-including Fish-the right direction is not the one he says he favors.


Science Writing and Climate Change, by Crispin C.Maslog, David Robie and Joel Adriano. Manila, Philippines: Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication, 2019. 106 pages. ISBN 9789718502198
DESPITE the omnipresent threat of climate change, journalists still face an uphill battle communicating accurate and timely information to the public and governments, many of whom, sadly, still need to be convinced that the looming catastrophe is real. This book is aimed not just at print journalists and editors, but also teachers educating their students to write about science, trainers and broadcast and online writers.


background: Early clinical exposure could enhance students' learning in the emotional and cognitive domains, socialization with the profession, and the development of professional personality and professionalism. It can also provide a suitable opportunity for future career recognition by creating a more appropriate image of the medical profession. Therefore, the present paper aims at investigating the importance and achievability of early clinical exposure goals from the viewpoints of basic sciences medical students and its comparison with their academic performance. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 100 medical students were admitted to the hospital after 34 hours of workshop training on professional principles during the first two semesters. They experienced and practiced their lessons learned in the clinical context. The data collection instrument of the study was the ECE Questionnaire. Its face and content validity were confirmed and reliability was calculated to be 0.926 through Cronbach's alpha. Results: In 93 studied students with the mean age of 21.34±1.363, the mean score of the importance scale of objectives was 99.31±8.59, and the achievability scale was 81.62±13.75, which indicates that despite the high importance of the objectives of the program for students, achieving those objectives is not easy. Also, the educational importance of the objectives of the course and the achievability of the objectives had a significant statistical relationship with the academic performance of students and had no significant statistical relationship with gender and age. Conclusions: The students held the importance and achievability of the objectives of the ECE program in high regard. More successful students take the importance and achievability of the objectives of the ECE as significantly more important. Despite the high importance of the objectives set out, achieving these objectives is not easy, and this part of the program requires more educational planning and design.


Marriage is highly regarded in Africa. Many taboos and rituals were put in place to ensure that marriage endures for as long as the couple lives. Any attack on marriage was rendered as a great enemy that deserved to be arrested and destroyed. In order to curb extra-marital relationships that were a threat to marriage, some African communities applied sexual locking. Although it had been observed that cases of 'stealing each other's wives' existed, these were not expected traditions among Africans. Some prefer this practice in order to eliminate treachery and fornication, but the experience thereof is humiliating to the couple, the family, and the community. The unliberated areas of African women's lives are evident through their being locked sexually. This article aims to research and argue the downside of this unusual practice, which is growing among South African communities.


This paper reports on technology developments aimed at improving the state of the art for image-guided minimally invasive spine procedures. Back pain is a major health problem with serious economic consequences. Minimally invasive procedures to treat back pain are rapidly growing in popularity due to improvements in technique and the substantially reduced trauma to the patient versus open spinal surgery. Image guidance is an enabling technology for minimally invasive procedures, but technical problems remain that may limit the wider applicability of these techniques. The paper begins with a discussion of low back pain and the potential shortcomings of open back surgery. The advantages of minimally invasive procedures are enumerated, followed by a list of technical problems that must be overcome to enable the more widespread dissemination of these techniques. The technical problems include improved intraoperative imaging, fusion of images from multiple modalities, the visualization of oblique paths, percutaneous spine tracking, mechanical instrument guidance, and software architectures for technology integration. Technical developments to address some of these problems are discussed next. The discussion includes intraoperative computerized tomography (CT) imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/CT image registration, three-dimensional (3-D) visualization, optical localization, and robotics for percutaneous instrument placement. Finally, the paper concludes by presenting several representative clinical applications: biopsy, vertebroplasty, nerve and facet blocks, and shunt placement. The program presented here is a first step to developing the physician-assist systems of the future, which will incorporate visualization, tracking, and robotics to enable the precision placement and manipulation of instruments with minimal trauma to the patient.


The shrinking solution space for adaptation calls for long-term dynamic planning starting now There is an urgent need to take coastal retreat more seriously as an option for adapting to sea level rise (SLR) and as a strategy capable of providing positive outcomes, if planned ahead. Early signs of such thinking are emerging. We demonstrate how exploring pathways to managed retreat adds value in the context of irreversible long-term SLR. Retreat is typically framed and understood as a single action, largely used after events rather than preemptively, and considered as a last resort. However, implementing managed retreat constitutes a multidecadal sequence of actions (i.e., across pathways) including community engagement, vulnerability assessment, land use planning, active retreat, compensation, and repurposing. This Policy Forum advances practical knowledge on what pathways to coastal retreat may look like and how they can pave the way for flexible and positive transformational adaptation, if started now.


Background/Context The background of the article is the continued interest in the ideas of Hannah Arendt. In her book The Human Condition, Arendt draws on sources of ideas drawn from Ancient Greece to deliver a critique of modernity. The main burden of her criticism is that the imperatives of work and labor have virtually supplanted the ideal of action. By action, Arendt terms activity that was creative and risky, set in a public domain. Because the scope of the public has been severely decreased, the scope of action is attenuated also. In particular, Arendt closely identifies action with political action. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study The research does not question the general thrust of Arendt's critique, but has three aims: (1) to supplement the concept of action that in certain respects is undertheorized by Arendt, (2) to argue that the domain of the public needs to be extended to the "shared world" that includes, for example, action in professional life and not only politics, and (3) to argue that education, as part of the shared world, should look to extending the capability for action. Research Design The research takes the form of philosophical and historical analysis. In addition to the works of Arendt, the ideas of Michael Oakeshott and H. P. Grice are analyzed to develop further the concept of action. The method of deploying action in a pedagogical setting is then explored through an examination of Sen and Nussbaum's concept of capability. Conclusions/Recommendations The article argues that teachers have a responsibility to develop the capability for action in their children and students. This goes beyond instruction to the creation of conditions in which students can start to take risks and responsibilities for themselves.


Professional performance in operators depend on their health state and treatment characters. The authors linked changes in occupationally important functions and qualities of automobile drivers with arterial hypertension and heart arrhythmias, defined influence of antihypertensive and antiarrhythmic therapy on operative response system.


A necessary and sufficient condition is derived for a function to be the autocorrelation function of a time-limited function of specified length. A constructive procedure for determining all possible time-limited functions having the same autocorrelation function as a given time4imited function is presented. The procedure consists of passing the given time function through one out of a collection of specially tailored all-pass filters. The class of functions so generated may be either finite or infinite depending on the original time function. Specific examples of the construction procedure are given.