The synthesis of two structural analogues of the naturally
occurring compound phosphocitrate (PC) was investigated, with a view to
producing compounds more enzymatically stable than PC, yet with similar
anti-calcifying properties. It was envisaged that such compounds might
prove to be suitable agents for preventing the deposition of insoluble
calcium salts associated with pathological calcification, especially kidney
stones.
The analogues sought were the sulphamate and phosphoramidate
derivatives of PC; namely N-phospho-2-amino tricarballylate (PAT) and
N-sulpho-2-amino tricarballylate (SAT). The preparation of PAT, which was
ultimately achieved after investigating a number of unsuccessful synthetic
routes, involved two distinct stages: a) synthesis of a new precursor in
trimethyl 2-amino tricarballylate, and b) coupling of the latter compound
with 2-cyanoethyl phosphate, followed by alkaline hydrolysis. The
preparation of SAT was effected by the coupling of 2-amino tricarballylate
with pyridine-sulphur trioxide. The same synthetic route was also utilized
to yield [ 35Si-labelled SAT.
Systems which were developed to aid in the ultimate purification
and characterization of synthetic products included ion-exchange and thin
layer chromatography, electrophoresis, isotachophoresis and chemical
assays. Additional structural proof of the new compounds was obtained
through [ 1 H]-NMR and infra-red spectroscopy.
The ability of the PC analogues to inhibit calcification in vitro
was assessed. PAT was as potent as PC in preventing hydroxyapatite
formation, while SAT was less potent but still a strong inhibitor. Both
compounds also inhibited calcium oxalate crystallization, the order of
potency being PC > SAT >> PAT.
The chemical and biological stabilities of the molecules were
studied. In vitro, PAT was found to be readily hydrolyzed at acid pH,
unstable at neutral pH and susceptible to the action of alkaline
phosphatase. SAT was shown to be completely stable at neutral and alkaline
pH, relatively stable in acid and totally resistant to the actions of the
hydrolytic enzymes sulphamatase and sulphatase. The stability of SAT was
confirmed in vivo from metabolic studies utilizing [ 35 S]-SAT. When given
orally, SAT was well absorbed across the gut and rapidly cleared unchanged
to the urine from blood and all tissues. The effectiveness of the compounds in arresting renal calcification
in vivo was also studied using well established test systems. Comparisons
were made with other inhibitors including PC. SAT was proven capable of
inhibiting calcium oxalate crystallization, whereas PC and PAT were
ineffective. With hydroxyapatite formation, different trends were observed;
PAT and SAT had no effect whereas PC produced pronounced inhibition.
Rationalization of these findings have been given.
Results presented suggest that, in terms of future possible
therapeutic value, PAT would be unsuitable, whereas PC and SAT might prove
useful under certain situations. The studies help define further the
structure-activity relationships of PC and its new analogues in terms of
anti-calcifying potential and stability. On this basis, avenues for future
research are discussed for the development of further inhibitor molecules
that might have greater activity and hence ultimately prove more useful
agents for stone prevention.


The flow characteristics in a confined slot jet impinging on a flat plate were investigated by using cinematic Particle Image Velocimetry technique. The jet Reynolds number was varied from 250 to 1000 for a fixed jet-to-plate spacing of H/W=10. We found that the vortical structures in the shear layer are developed with increase of Reynolds number and that the jet becomes unsteady by the interaction of vortex pairs between 500 and 750 of Reynolds number. Vortical structures and their temporal evolution are verified by using proper orthogonal decomposition and the results is compared with previous numerical study.


According to the program of the Enlightenment, 'reason's light' reveals the mechanism of the world and expels an unreasonable phenomenon. This is called "the demystification of the world", which is the ideal of modernity. They ascribe undecipherable phenomenon to supernatural power which they cannot understand. But the Enlightenment thinkers say we can understand the world if we grasp its principle by observations and scientific methods. Detective novel is a realization of scientific ideas and the Enlightenment program. Through observations, scientific knowledge and scientific imagination, detectives can solve the mystery of the crime. The Hound of the Baskervilles deals with a killing game between Holmes and Stapleton. Holmes uses his scientific knowledge against a big hellish hound with burning eyes and a bloody mouth of the Baskerville family. The hound reminds us of the Cerberus in a Greek mythology, and it gives a horrible feeling to the farmers in Dartmoor. But Holmes rejects this fearful feeling because the dog is not a supernatural being, but a real dog with flesh and blood. Holmes' Science of reasoning casts the light of the Enlightenment on the dark world of crime in The Hound of the Baskervilles, and deconstructs the mysterious legend of the past.


Globally and within the Caribbean, agriculture's contribution to economic development is recognized. With respect to CARICOM countries, various initiatives are pursued, nationally and regionally, to formulate agricultural policy in pursuit of increased output from the sector. Initial optimal results are unlikely from among the myriad approaches to these attempts at agricultural policy formulation. Instead, the path to the best policy strategy for any designated agricultural environment is an iterative one that builds on three key fundamentals: relevant theory, focused empirical analyses and facilitating institutions. The theory elucidates the decision environment of the producer and consumer. Empirical analyses evaluate extant strategies and present concrete feedback for relevant market issues and policy impact. Institutions provide a framework for various market transactions and support systems. It is argued that these rudiments can be envisaged as three pillars of agricultural policy formulation requiring equal emphasis for optimal policy impact. The inter-relationship and relative importance of these fundamentals is examined within the context of the design and impact evaluation of agricultural policy. The motivation for proposing the application of this three-legged-stool model to agricultural policy formulation within CARICOM countries is that the current practice of uneven emphasis on these fundamentals may result in policy prescriptions that foster sub-optimal goal impacts.


Alignment control in gravitational-wave detectors has consistently proven to be a difficult problem due to the stringent noise contamination requirement for the gravitational wave readout and the radiation-pressure-induced angular instability in Fabry-Perot cavities (Sidles-Sigg instability). We present the analysis of a dual-carrier control scheme that uses radiation pressure to control a suspended mirror, trapping it in the longitudinal degree of freedom and one angular degree of freedom. We show that this scheme can control the Sidles-Sigg angular instability. Its limiting fundamental noise source is the quantum radiation pressure noise, providing an advantage compared to the conventional angular control schemes. In the Appendix we also derive an exact expression for the optical spring constant used in the control scheme.


The HLA-DQ alpha system is used to an increasing degree in forensic serology, for stain investigations, and paternity cases. Therefore samples which were taken from 85 unrelated persons living in Austria were examined. DNA was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification followed by hybridization to allele-specific oligonucleotide probes in a reversed dot-blot technique after extraction with phenol/chloroform. HLA-DQ alpha allele frequencies of German, Finnish, Dutch, British, Italian, Caucasian/USA and of Austrian populations were compared. Six common HLA-DQ alpha alleles are detectable. These alleles determine 21 possible genotypes. In our study 20 genotypes were obtained; the genotype 3/3 was not observed. The HLA-DQ alpha typing system using PCR-amplified DNA is a simple and rapid method for typing very small amounts of DNA and very old and/or degraded DNA. Therefore it is a helpful method in forensic casework.


: This article is the second in a series describing the American Occupational Therapy Association's Human Resources Project. The project, comprised of several interrelated studies, is aimed at identifying the supply of occupational therapists and assistants in the United States as of December 1973, and at describing the projected requirements for their services. The present report describes the initial phase of the Education Study, the objective of which is to define the total supply of occupational therapy manpower, regardless of membership status in the AOTA.


Spectroscopic Ca(2+)-indicators are thought to report values of free intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) that may differ from unperturbed values because they add to the buffering capacity of the tissue. To check this for the heart we have synthesized a new (19)F-labelled NMR Ca(2+) indicator, 1, 2-bis-[2-bis(carboxymethyl)amino-4,5-difluorophenoxy]ethane ('4, 5FBAPTA'), with a low affinity (K(d) 2950 nM). The new indicator and four previously described (19)F-NMR Ca(2+) indicators 1,2-bis-[2-(1 - carboxyethyl)(carboxymethyl)amino - 5 - fluorophenoxy]ethane ('DiMe-5FBAPTA'), 1, 2-bis-[2-(1-carboxyethyl)(carboxymethyl)amino-4-fluorophenoxy]ethane ('DiMe-4FBAPTA'), 1, 2-bis-[2-bis(carboxymethyl)amino-5-fluorophenoxy]ethane ('5FBAPTA') and 1, 2-bis-[2-bis(carboxymethyl)amino-5-fluoro-4-methylphenoxy]ethane ('MFBAPTA'), with dissociation constants for Ca(2+) ranging from 46 to 537 nM, have been used to measure [Ca(2+)](i), over the range from less than 100 nM to more than 3 microM, in Langendorff-perfused ferret hearts (30 degrees C, pH 7.4, paced at 1.0 Hz) by (19)F-NMR spectroscopy. Loading hearts with indicators resulted in buffering of the Ca(2+) transient. The measured end-diastolic and peak-systolic [Ca(2+)](i) were both positively correlated with indicator K(d). The positive correlations between indicator K(d) and the measured end-diastolic and peak-systolic [Ca(2+)](i) were used to estimate the unperturbed end-diastolic and peak-systolic [Ca(2+)](i) by extrapolation to K(d)=0 (diastolic) and to K(d)=infinity (systolic) respectively. The extrapolated values in the intact beating heart were 161 nM for end-diastolic [Ca(2+)](i) and 2650 nM for peak-systolic [Ca(2+)](i), which agree well with values determined from single cells and muscle strips.


Introduction: ADHD is a clinical entity that persists during adolescence and even into adulthood in many cases. Assuming that most adults with ADHD will not have been diagnosed in childhood, the GEDA-A group (Adult ADHD study group) considered that it was important to assess how much knowledge the clinicians had about ADHD in order to provide for the identification of the disorder in the adult. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey to be fill out by specialists involved in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD was designed. This survey included questions on awareness of the disease in the different stages of life (childhood, adolescence and adulthood). Results: 484 clinicians, with a mean age of 45 years (95% CI 44-46) and 17 years of professional experience (95% CI 16-18) filled out the survey. 384 were psychiatrists (79.5%), 67 neurologists (13.9%) and 19 addictive behavior specialists (3.9%). When their opinions were compared about the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD in childhood, adolescence and adulthood, significant differences of opinion were found regarding the three stages in all the dimensions analyzed (p<0.0001). Assessment in adulthood systematically showed a lower degree of awareness compared to ADHD in childhood and adolescence. Conclusions: In the clinician's opinion, ADHD in adulthood is a clinical entity that is less defined and whose diagnosis is not as clear, compared to ADHD in the other stages in life. The GEDA-A group suggests that it is necessary to have more comprehensive training that makes the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD in adults easier.


A new microwave magnetic field measurement method based on infrared emission is presented. This method uses thin patterned ferromagnetic films sputtered on polymer substrates. The incident field interacts with the film and is responsible for ferromagnetic losses that create local heating. This heating is recorded by an infrared camera, providing magnetic field pattern images and amplitude evaluation. Moreover, the tangential components of the H field can be identified thanks to the anisotropic structure of the sputtered film. The large permeability NiFe based thin films were grown using a sputtering method and complex permeability measurements have been carried out in the microwave range. Both infrared pictures and magnetic permeability measurements are presented and correlated.


Within the mediums of cartoons and comic books/strips, there is an increasing 'epidemic' of evil little 'girls' who we spy upon as they plot their machinations and execute flawless acts of sadism and maliciousness, often to our collective delight. Writers and illustrators have given these little 'girls' license to engage in epic acts of naughtiness. These, at first glance, seemingly harmless little 'girls' are agents of malice and deviousness; and, we the audience, seemingly revel in their evil deeds. This chapter is intended as an examination of what inspires authors and illustrators to turn the tables on societal conventions of how little girls should behave; reimaging evil in tiny, cute, little packages down to the ubiquitous frilly dress. Even companies like Sanrio, ™ home of the adorable and non-threatening Hello Kitty and associated characters recently added an 'evil' character named Kuromi to their line of critters marketed, largely, to young girls. It would appear there is an increasing desire for little girls to be viewed as more than sweet, innocent and cherubic. Characters such as Mandy from the 'The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy', and the loveable undead 'Lenore' of the 'Lenore' comic book series, and many more will be discussed in depth. The diabolical deeds they perform, their victims of choice and their motives will be examined. Psychological profiles, if you will, of these adorable, yet maladapted little munchkins will be provided as well as possible explanations for why we find ourselves so enamoured with them


Despite its influence on Scottish crannog studies, absolute dating evidence for activity on the crannogs of Loch Awe has been lacking. This paper presents previously unpublished radiocarbon dates from six crannogs in the loch. Of these, five sites have provided dates within the 1st millennium BC, confirming the existence of Iron Age crannogs in the loch – four of which may have been occupied contemporaneously. The dates fit in to the now widely appreciated pattern of occupation in the 1st millennium BC and later reuse in the 1st millennium AD. Using Bayesian statistical analysis, dating of the early medieval phase at Ederline Boathouse crannog was improved, with modelling suggesting occupation could have been limited to just a few decades of the second half of the 6th century AD. No evidence for activity after AD 900 was recovered, though the current number of samples analysed is small and high medieval activity is well attested on a number of islets on the loch through historical references and surviving structural remains. This broad chronological pattern is discussed and ide-as that promise avenues for future research in light of new, high-precision, chronological techniques are highlighted.


Recent methods for microphone position calibration work with sound sources at a priori unknown locations. This is convenient for ad hoc arrays, as it requires little additional infrastructure. We propose a flexible localization algorithm by first recognizing the problem as an instance of multidimensional unfolding (MDU) - a classical problem in Euclidean geometry and psychometrics - and then solving the MDU as a special case of Euclidean distance matrix (EDM) completion. We solve the EDM completion using a semidefinite relaxation. In contrast to existing methods, the semidefinite formulation allows us to elegantly handle missing pairwise distance information, but also to incorporate various prior information about the distances between the pairs of microphones or sources, bounds on these distances, or ordinal information such as "microphones 1 and 2 are more apart than microphones 1 and 15". The intuition that this should improve the localization performance is justified by numerical experiments.


The propagation characteristics of the beam under various initial conditions are investigated by means of PIC method. The influences of density modulation and velocity modulation on the propagation characteristics are discussed and compared. The results reveal that by changing the amplitude of the two kinds of modulations and the phase difference between them, the distribution property of the first harmonic of the current density can be adapted along the beam propagating path, which is a feasible method to enhance the beam-wave interaction efficiency in Cerenkov HPM devices.


The formation of segregated conductive networks is significantly important for achieving excellent electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance in a conductive polymer composite. Nevertheless, the low melt viscosity of poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS) would lead to intense diffusion between the conductive filler and PPS molecular chains, which disturbs the selective distribution of the conductive filler to form a segregated structure. Herein, sinter molding was first utilized to control the selective distribution of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) among the interfaces of PPS domains and facilely construct a segregated structure in the resultant CNT/PPS composite. The segregated CNT/PPS composite with only 5.0 wt% CNTs exhibits a very high electrical conductivity of 72.0 S m−1 and EMI shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of 49.6 dB. Our work provides insight into the development of highly efficient and heat resistant EMI shielding materials via a novel processing method.


Evidence suggests that RING1 and YY1 binding protein (RYBP) functions as a tumor suppressor. However, its role in breast cancer remains unclear. In the present study, the expression of RYBP was assessed in breast cancer patients and cell lines. Disease-free survival durations of breast cancer patients with high RYBP expression were determined based on the ATCG dataset. The effects of RYBP overexpression on cell growth, migration and invasive potency were also assessed. Nude mouse xenograft and lung metastasis models were also used to confirm the role of RYBP. The involvement of SRRM3 in RYBP-mediated breast cancer suppression was explored using SRRM3 siRNA. The potential relationship between RYBP, SRRM3, and REST-003 was examined by qPCR. The results showed that RYBP was downregulated in breast cancer patients and in several breast cancer cell lines. Breast cancer patients with high expression levels of RYBP displayed better disease-free survival. Overexpression of RYBP in MDA-MB-231 and SK-BR-3 cells significantly decreased cell proliferation, migration, and invasion ability, and increased the proportion of cells arrested in S-phase compared with the negative control cells. Additionally, upregulation of proliferation-related cell cycle proteins (cyclin A and cyclin B1) and E-cadherin, and downregulation of snail were observed in RYBP-overexpressing cells. Overexpression of RYBP reduced tumor volume and weight as well as metastatic foci in the lungs of nude mice. SRRM3 knockdown by siRNA, which is downregulated after RYBP overexpression, suppressed cell growth and metastasis in MDA-MB-231 and SK-BR-3 cells. Furthermore, qPCR analysis revealed that REST-003 ncRNA was downregulated in cells overexpressing RYBP and in SRRM3-inhibited cells. Moreover, cell invasion ability and growth were increased after SRRM3 upregulation in RYBP-overexpressing cells, but they were decreased following si-REST-003 transfection. In conclusion, overexpression of RYBP suppresses breast cancer growth and metastasis both in vitro and in vivo. SRRM3 and REST-003, which are downregulated in cells overexpressing RYBP, may be involved in RYBP-mediated breast cancer progression.


This is a study about how different digital instruments can be used in education for pupils with autism and intellectual disability. The questions formulated to research this chosen area was: "What does teachers think about digital instruments and interactive teaching materials when it comes to benefits and disadvantages in the classroom", "In what ways is digital instruments used as teaching materials in the specific school context" and "From a perspective of teaching and learning, what kind of problems and opportunities can be gained from using digital instruments and teaching materials". To gather this information interviews was done with three specialist pedagogues working with the chosen group of pupils at three different schools. The material shows that the specialist pedagogues have positive attitudes towards working with digital instruments in this specific group of students.


THE matter in "A Short Practice of Surgery", by Bailey and Love, is the same as in all other short textbooks of surgery.' The manner, however, is very different. This book, as is the case with all other short books on the same subject, is a summary; it is, however, a very unusual summary. Most summaries are very difficult to read, the reason being that the facts are given without the explanations that are necessary to correlate these facts. By some magical means the authors have overcome this difficulty. A great deal is due to the excellent use of light and heavy type and of numerals to mark off the paragraphs. Much is due to the numerous illustrations, many of which make detailed descriptions unnecessary; but most praise must be given to the authors' style. They have the rare gift of being able to give an explanation that is both condensed and lucid. The result is that the book is very readable. It is indeed an outstanding example of the fact that artificial aids to memory, such as the use of different types and of numbered paragraphs, may be made use of without the loss of literary style. We hope authors of similar books will follow suit.


The young (neonates, young-of-the-year and juveniles) of many shark species occupy a diverse range of habitats and areas. However, the contribution of individual nurseries or habitats to an adult population is difficult to quantify. In addition, little attention has been paid to the potential importance of 'non-nursery' young shark habitats to the long-term sustainability of shark populations. Portfolio theory predicts that contributions from a diverse range of young shark habitats may reduce variability in the overall production of adults, and maintain population resilience. This review examines case studies of portfolio effects in teleost fish and evaluates the relevance and potential implications of these processes for shark populations. Environmental heterogeneity in young shark habitats can result in locally adapted habitat-use patterns and life history traits. Therefore, young shark habitats may be differentially impacted by anthropogenic disturbance or environmental change, with different habitats performing well at different times. In addition, increased stability in production may be achieved when the effects of localised disturbance in one area are buffered by production in others. However, the behavioural and life history characteristics of some shark species may limit portfolio effects. These include the repeated use of a narrow range of habitats or areas for reproduction, and the production of relatively stable numbers of offspring. This description of the relevance of portfolio theory to shark populations highlights the importance of maintaining habitat diversity.


Background There is ongoing debate concerning the best method of femoral fixation in older patients receiving primary THA. Clinical studies have shown high survivorship for cemented and cementless femoral stems. Arthroplasty registry studies, however, have universally shown that cementless stems are associated with a higher rate of revision in this patient population. It is unclear if the difference in revision rate is a reflection of the range of implants being used for these procedures rather than the mode of fixation. Questions/purposes (1) Is the risk of revision higher in patients older than 75 years of age who receive one of the three cementless stems with the highest overall survivorship in the registry than in those of that age who received one of the three best-performing cemented stems? If so, is there a difference in risk of early revision versus late revision, defined as revision within 1 month after index surgery? (2) Are there any diagnoses (such as osteoarthritis [OA] or femoral neck hip fracture) in which the three best-performing cementless stems had better survivorship than one of the three best-performing cementless stems? (3) Do these findings change when evaluated by patient sex? Methods The Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry data were used to identify the best three cemented and the best three cementless femoral stems. The criteria for selection were the lowest 10-year revision rate and use in > 1000 procedures in this age group of patients regardless of primary diagnosis. The outcome measure was time to first revision using Kaplan-Meier estimates of survivorship. Comparisons were made for THAs done for any reason and then specifically for OA and femoral neck fracture separately. Results Overall, the cumulative percent revision in the first 3 months postoperatively was lower among those treated with one of the three best-performing cemented stems than those treated with one of the three best-performing cementless stems (hazard ratio [HR] for best three cementless versus best three cemented = 3.47 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.60-7.53], p = 0.001). Early revision was 9.14 times more common in the best three cementless stems than in the best three cemented stems (95% CI, 5.54-15.06, p = 0.001). Likewise, among patients with OA and femoral neck fracture, the cumulative percent revision was consistently higher at 1 month postoperatively among those treated with one of the three best-performing cementless stems than those treated with one of the three best-performing cementless stems (OA: HR for best three cementless versus best three cemented = 8.82 [95% CI, 5.08-15.31], p < 0.001; hip fracture: HR for best 3 cementless versus best three cemented = 27.78 [95% CI, 1.39-143.3], p < 0.001). Overall, the cumulative percent revision was lower in the three best cemented stem group than the three best cementless stem group for both males and females at 1 month postoperatively (male: HR = 0.42 [95% CI, 0.20-0.92], p = 0.030; female: HR = 0.06 [95% CI, 0.03-0.10], p < 0.001) and for females at 3 months postoperatively (HR = 0.15 [95% CI, 0.06-0.33], p < 0.001), after which there was no difference. Conclusions Cementless femoral stem fixation in patients 75 years or older is associated with a higher early rate of revision, even when only the best-performing prostheses used in patients in this age group were compared. Based on this review of registry data, it would seem important to ensure the proper training of contemporary cementing techniques for the next generation of arthroplasty surgeons so they are able to use this option when required. However, the absence of a difference in the two groups undergoing THA after 3 months suggests that there can be a role for cementless implants in selected cases, depending on the surgeon's expertise and the quality and shape of the proximal femoral bone. Level of Evidence Level III, therapeutic study.


INTRODUCTION
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases are increasing rapidly worldwide. Similar to Middle East respiratory syndrome where cardiovascular diseases were present in nearly 30% of cases, the increased presence of cardiovascular comorbidities remains true for COVID-19 as well. The mechanism of this association remains unclear at this time. Therefore, we reviewed the available literature and tried to find the probable association between cardiovascular disease with disease severity and mortality in COVID-19 patients.

METHODS
We searched Medline (via PubMed) and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for articles published until Sept 5, 2020. Nineteen articles were included involving 6,872 COVID-19 patients.

RESULTS
The random-effect meta-analysis showed that cardiovascular disease was significantly associated with severity and mortality for COVID-19: odds ratio (OR) 2.89, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.98-4.21 for severity and OR 3.00, 95% CI 1.67-5.39 for mortality, respectively. Risk of COVID-19 severity was higher in patients having diabetes, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, malignancy, cerebrovascular disease and chronic kidney disease. Similarly, patients with diabetes, hypertension, chronic liver disease, cerebrovascular disease and chronic kidney disease were at higher risk of mortality.

CONCLUSION
Our findings showed that cardiovascular disease has a negative effect on health status of COVID-19 patients. However, large prevalence studies demonstrating the consequences of comorbid cardiovascular disease are urgently needed to understand the extent of these concerning comorbidities.


We summarize existing literature and document a recent steep population decline and range contraction in the Tricolored Blackbird (Agelaius tricolor) at the southern end of its range, in Baja California, the only state of Mexico in which the species occurs. From >1000 nesting birds using at least 14 sites south to 30° N around the turn of the 21st century, the population declined and contracted northward and upward in elevation to a single colony of ~150 nesting birds near the international border in 2019. Chronic drought, rising temperatures, and habitat losses due primarily to intensification of agriculture in Mexico are largely responsible for the decline, as in the core of the species' range in California. Because of the reduction of breeding and foraging habitat, we fear the imminent extirpation of the species in Mexico.


Increased availability of alcohol may harm individuals if they have present-focused preferences and consume more than initially planned. Using a nationwide experiment in Sweden, we study the credit behavior of low-income households around the expansion of liquor stores' operating hours on Saturdays. Consistent with store closures serving as commitment devices, the policy led to higher credit demand, more default, increased dependence on welfare, and higher crime on Saturdays. The effects are concentrated among the young population due to higher alcohol consumption combined with tight liquidity constraints. The policy's impact on indebtedness is estimated at 4.5 times the expenditure on alcohol.


This paper discusses some of the general considerations relating to the use in optical instruments of polarization elements, with particular emphasis being given to partial polarizers of the dichroic type. A functional classification is provided for optical instruments which employ polarized light. Also provided is a functional classification for polarization elements, which classification involves four categories: polarizers, phase shifters, polarizing beam splitters, and depolarizers. The various methods of modulating light are discussed. A qualitative description of partial dichroic polarizers is included, and this is followed by the derivation of some of the basic mathematical relations which hold among the parameters which can be used to describe quantitatively the properties of partial dichroic polarizers.


Bergin's Rule constructions, whereby verbs in Old Irish occur in other than normal clause-initial position and with 'conjunct' flexion in simplex verbs and 'prototonic' stress in compound verbs, has traditionally been viewed as evidence for the language's prehistoric clausal configuration, usually considered to be SOV or, more recently, V2. Others view the construction as entirely artificial, i.e., as not reflecting any historical reality, perhaps based on Latin models. This paper demonstrates that the difficult evidence emphatically does not support a V2 analysis, but is otherwise indeterminate. The conjunct flexion of simplex verbs and the prototonic stress of compound verbs used in the construction is also diagnostic of the fact that it is not simply the result of scrambling the normal VSO clausal configuration of Old Irish, but represents vestiges of real syntax.


. Choosing a career directs the individual's future life and thus constitutes one of the most important choices she/he will make throughout life. There are many factors ranging from person to person in career choice. As Turkey is surrounded by sea on three sides the area is known as "Blue Homeland". Turkish Coast Guard, which protects this area, has recently become one of the preferred occupational choices. Turkish Coast Guard also offers job opportunities to oceangoing officers who have graduated from maritime faculties. The exploratory sequential mixed methods design synthesized by a qualitative study in phenomenological design first and survey design in the second phase were employed. It was aimed to determine the reasons for the choice of Turkish Coast Guard for the watchkeeping officers. In the scope of the study, 32 volunteer participants, who were employed as Officer Candidates in Turkish Coast Guard, were interviewed. Then, the qualitative results were utilized as the basis for designing a questionnaire for survey data collection. This questionnaire was applied to 102 Officer Candidates. The data collection technique of the research was individual interview, focus group interview, document analysis and delivery of questionnaire. The data was analyzed using content analysis method and Nvivo qualitative research package program in qualitative strand whereas in quantitative strand percentage of descriptive statistical analysis was computed. In this study, the factors and their levels affecting the decisions of Officer Candidates in their career selection were understood and measured. These included the role of their families and friends in their close circles regarding their decision, the impact of the career activities Turkish Coast Guard carry out and their personal motivations.


Background Malignant struma ovarii is a rare malignant germ cell tumor of the ovary. Due to the rarity of this disease, treatment has not been uniform throughout the published literature. Cases We present three cases of malignant struma ovarii. Following primary surgery, all were subsequently treated with thyroidectomy and 131I ablation therapy, two patients as first line management, one following the occurrence of metastatic disease. Conclusion Histological diagnosis of malignant struma ovarii is similar to that of well differentiated thyroid carcinoma (WDTC). In line with the latest advice on treatment of WDTC, we believe that the best option for patients with malignant struma ovarii is surgical removal of the ovarian lesion followed by total thyroidectomy which allows the exclusion of primary thyroid carcinoma, and in addition, allows radioiodine (131I) ablation therapy for (micro) metastasis. After thyroidectomy, thyroglobulin can be used as a tumor marker for follow-up. Moreover, nuclear medicine imaging using radioiodine (123I) can be performed to demonstrate metastatic carcinoma. A multidisciplinary approach is essential.


Abstract. This study represents the final stage of an investigation into understanding the variation in bus map design and the impact of map design preferences in public transportation information portrayal, with a particular focus on Malaysia. In many cities, bus services represent an important facet of easing traffic congestion and reducing pollution. However, with the entrenched car culture in many countries, persuading people to change their mode of transport is a major challenge. To promote this modal shift, people need to know what services are available and where (and when) they go. Bus service maps provide an invaluable element of providing suitable public transport information, but are often overlooked by transport planners, and are under-researched by cartographers. There are various approaches to the design of bus maps, but it is always an issue for the authorities to understand which designs are preferred by the public and which perform best in conveying the required information. A total of 100 Malaysians completed six journey-planning tasks using two network bus maps, which were different in designs. The two bus map designs involved in this study are based on previous map analysis research.The study found that majority of respondents were competent as they successfully completed the journey planning task, with more than 80 percent of the tasks being answered correctly. Additional enquiries proved that the effective design used in a bus map can attract more users to use public transportation, thus provide evidence that map availability can play a part in enhancing public transport ridership.


"Using a search theoretical model, we analyse the effects of the information flow via social networks (friends, relatives and other personal contacts) by comparing monetary and non-monetary outcomes in obtaining jobs via networks versus formal methods. Propensity-score matching on survey data from the low-skilled unemployed is used to identify causal effects. The analysis takes into account unobserved heterogeneity by applying Rosenbaum bounds. Because of the potential ambiguity when comparing outcomes in accepted jobs, we also examine the effectiveness of job searches using social networks as a source of information compared to not using networks. We find no evidence for causal effects on monetary outcomes and, at best, only weak evidence for effects on non-monetary job outcomes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))


Ambulatory anaesthesia for paediatric surgery has n umerous benefits in appropriately selected patients. In rural surgical outreaches which consti tute unusual environments with peculiar challenges, a specialized anaesthesia practice can improve outc ome. This report highlights the experience of a specialized anaesthesia team in a rural surgical ou treach for paediatric day case inguinoscrotal surgeries by the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Ni geria. Following logistic preparations and pre- surgical screening, resolutions of the anaesthetic outreach team were documented, while demographic, surgical and anaesthesia records of paediatric pati ents billed for inguinoscrotal surgery at various health centres between March 2007 and March 2009 we re reviewed. These included types of surgery and anaesthesia as well as perioperative sequelae. Findings were documented and analysed using the SPSS v.16 software, and results presented as freque ncies and means ± standard deviation. A total of 535 patients aged 1-13yrs (mean-8±4.3) with M:F rat io of 4:1 were seen. With preoperative cancellation s in 25(4.7%), 510 patients were recruited. Surgical procedures were herniotomies 495(97.1%) and orchidopexies 15(2.9%). General anaesthesia was adm inistered using volatile agents in 340(66.7%) and ketamine as sole agent in 170(33.3%). Mean duration of anaesthesia was 37min±12.2. Intraoperative and postoperative sequelae occured in 8 (1.6%) and 49 ( 9.6%) patients respectively. No mortality or unanticipated admissions were recorded. Ambulatory anaesthesia for paediatric inguinoscrotal surgery offers advantages. Rural surgical outreaches are un usual settings with a need for high patient turnove r, but specialised anaesthesia teams observing safe pr actice can improve outcome.


Gastromermis kolleonis n. sp. (Nematoda: Mermithidae) is described from the Arroyo Saldan River in Córdoba, Argentina. This species parasitizes midges of the genus Chironomus (Chironomidae: Diptera). It is distinguished from other members of the genus by the presence of six longitudinal chords, vulval flaps, degree of ventral displacement of the mouth, and size and shape of the spicule and amphids.


Two low-temperature plasma jets using argon carrier gas at atmospheric pressure have been experimentally characterized using optical emission diagnostics. The first one is a double dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma jet generated by a pulsed power supply (9 kV , 9.69 kHz, duty cycle: 1%) and the second one is a microwave (MW) induced plasma jet (2.45 GHz, 40 W ). The argon gas (4.5 purity) flowing through the quartz tube used to launch the plasma in open air is kept at 1 L/min for both plasma devices. Some thermodynamic parameters such as rotation (Trot) and excitation (Texc) temperatures have been determined as well as some plasma active species such as electron density, ultraviolet C (UVC) irradiance, and atomic oxygen concentrations. Most of these plasma parameters are spatially resolved along the plasma jet axis using the spectra of atomic lines (Ar and O) in the visible range and molecular bands (N2 and OH) in the UV range. At the tube outlet, the electron density and atomic oxygen concentration are one decade higher in the case of the dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) plasma jet while Trot is higher in the case of the MW plasma jet. These differences are mainly due to the way of plasma generation. Indeed, the guided-ionization waves generated by the DBD setup cause higher nonequilibrium phenomena since the difference between Trot and Texc is shown to be much larger in the DBD case. Furthermore, at the tube outlet, it is shown that UVC irradiance produced by the MW plasma jet is about twice as large as that of the DBD plasma jet. However, at 1.7 cm away from the tube outlet, the differences between the two plasma setups on temperatures and active species production become less significant. For instance, the plasma gas temperature measured with a thermocouple becomes the same (320 K) showing the ability of both plasma setups to be used in biomedical applications without inducing a significant thermal effect.


The structural stability of Zn2GeO4 was investigated by in-situ synchrotron radiation angle dispersive x-ray diffraction. The pressure-induced amorphization is observed up to 10 GPa at room temperature. The high-pressure and hightemperature sintering experiments and the Raman spectrum measurement firstly were performed to suggest that the amorphization is caused by insufficient thermal energy and tilting Zn–O–Ge and Ge–O–Ge bond angles with increasing pressure,respectively. The calculated bulk modulus of Zn2GeO4 is 117.8 GPa from the pressure-volume data. In general, insights into the mechanical behavior and structure evolution of Zn2GeO4 will shed light on the micro-mechanism of the materials variation under high pressure and high temperature.


Pulmonary embolism remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality, being responsible for an estimated 200,000 deaths per annum in the USA and 21,000 per annum in the UK. Lung scintigraphy is in many instances the investigation of choice in suspected pulmonary thromboembolism. A normal perfusion lung scan excludes pulmonary embolism. An abnormal perfusion scan, while being sensitive, is of low specificity for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism and needs to be complemented with a ventilation study. Lung ventilation has been studied using inert gases of radiolabelled aerosols. The new radiopharmaceutical 99 Tc m -Technegas is a suspension of 99 Tc m -labelled, ultrafine, carbon particles produced in an atmosphere of high-purity argon. The size of the particles is of the order of 0.005-0.2 μm, which assures good peripheral penetration and alveolar deposition. After inhalation, static images in multiple projections may be acquired. The resultant images are of excellent technical quality and several publications have shown the value of Technegas images as an adjunct to perfusion imaging in suspected pulmonary thromboembolism. Studies comparing Technegas images with other ventilatory radiopharmaceuticals have in the majority of instances reported comparable diagnostic qualities.


Antisera were prepared against pure nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent d-lactic dehydrogenases of Lactobacillus leichmannii, L. jensenii, and L. fermenti. When tested against these three antisera, crude extracts of almost all species of Lactobacillus containing a d-lactic dehydrogenase give cross-reactions. Extensive pairwise comparisons between cross-reacting crude extracts by double diffusion experiments permit the recognition of groups of identical antigenic specificity among the lactic dehydrogenases of the various nomenspecies of Lactobacillus. The same groups are revealed by each of the three antisera. By analyses of spur formation, the groups of identical antigenic specificity can be arranged in order of decreasing similarity to the homologous d-lactic dehydrogenase used as the reference point. From the combined results obtained with the three antisera, a map of the antigenic relationships among the d-lactic dehydrogenases of lactobacilli can be constructed. Microcomplement fixation experiments with two of the three anti-d-lactic dehydrogenases antisera support the conclusions drawn from double diffusion experiments and provide a quantitative estimation of the antigenic relationships among the various d-lactic dehydrogenases. An antiserum was also prepared against the pure l-lactic dehydrogenase of L. acidophilus group III. It cross-reacts with extracts of almost all lactobacilli containing an l-lactic dehydrogenase. With respect to species that contain both d- and l-lactic dehydrogenases, this antiserum reveals the same groups of identical antigenic specificity as do the antisera directed against d-lactic dehydrogenases. Other than the genus Lactobacillus, only extracts of Leuconostoc cross-react with anti-d-lactic dehydrogenase. No extrageneric cross-reactions were obtained with the anti-l-lactic dehydrogenase.


A method of measuring digital noise in an analog circuit such as an A/D converter by a voltage comparator is proposed and the noise dependence was measured by a fabricated test chip. For mixed-signal ICs, it was shown that the effect of digital noise can be considerably reduced by using a differential configuration in analog circuits. The effect of digital noise can be further reduced by lowering the digital supply voltage. This can be achieved by lowering the supply voltage to the extent of the speed requirements of digital currents while keeping the analog supply voltage high enough to meet the required signal-to-noise ratio.


We investigate the relation between changes in tax composition and long-run economic growth using a new dataset covering a broad cross-section of countries with different income levels. We specifically consider 69 countries with at least 20 years of observations on total tax revenue during the period 1970-2009—21 highincome, 23 middle-income and 25 low-income countries. To our knowledge this is the most comprehensive and up-to-date dataset on tax composition and growth. We find that increasing income taxes while reducing consumption and property taxes is associated with slower growth over the long run. We also find that: (1) among income taxes, social security contributions and personal income taxes have a stronger negative association with growth than corporate income taxes; (2) a shift from income taxes to property taxes has a strong positive association with growth; and (3) a reduction in income taxes while increasing value added and sales taxes is also associated with faster growth. JEL Classification Numbers: E62; H21; O47


Papers p 832

The headline news from the NHS has made grim reading this year: funding crises, shortages of beds, and crimes. The public is increasingly aware of our unenviable record of morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases and cancer, and constructive criticism has been replaced by the destructive soundbite. The perception is of an NHS that has gone downhill since the halcyon days of the 1950s—overwhelmed by bureaucracy and initiatives that impede advances in clinical practice.1

Yet there is another tale to tell. Over the past decade a quiet revolution has occurred in medical education. After the publication of the General Medical Council's recommendations in Tomorrow's Doctors in 19932 all UK medical schools have revised their undergraduate curriculums. Alongside a strong science base, 3 Tomorrow's Doctors emphasised the importance of communication skills, learning through curiosity, understanding public health medicine, and adapting to changing patterns of health care. The burden of factual information really was reduced, and a core curriculum defined. The implementation of …


How engineering in the context of urban socio†environmental challenges is practically and effectively mobilized has been the subject of some debate. Numerous professional bodies have encouraged engineers to approach socio†environmental issues through increased engagement with, and accountability to, the public through effective participatory practices. This article presents a close empirical analysis of a major engineering project in London to argue that engineering has a more complex relationship with social, political and environmental conditions than the idealistic participatory conception supposes. In fact, the spatial, technical and economic arrangements of engineering practice may limit the potential for public participation. Through a detailed analysis of the example of the London Water Ring Main (from around 1988 to 1994), this article shows how myriad sometimes conflicting engineering issues and responsibilities interfered with key elements of effective participation. Therefore, although increased public engagement in engineering may be desirable in theory, substantial professional, institutional and political change may have to occur before this is possible in practice.


OUTLINES OF EUROPEAN HISTORY. Part II. From Seventeenth Century to the Present Time. By James Harvey Robinson and Charles A. Beard. Enlarged and Revised Edition. Ooth. 870 pages. Boston, New York, Chicago, LondoJ!: Dallas, Columbus, San Francisco; Gmn and Company. To comment on the historical writing of Robinson and Beard as historians, as literary writers, as masters of students' interests and as artists in so presenting world movements that they relate the parts to the whole as creative architects. They are never·propagandists, nor do they dodge responsibility for recording truthfully whatever is vital in the perfection of world creation in great epochs. The great charm of whatever Robinson and Beard write for American schools is that it views everything in history in its relation to the world of today, which means its relation to American problems of today.


The increased use of fossil fuels during the last centuries has caused elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. There is significant evidence that this is the cause of global warming. To mitigate the global warming, measures has to be taken to use renewable fuels and make processes more efficient.Catalytic gasification and downstream upgrading of synthesis gas is a promising technology for biofuel production, where previous research in black liquor gasification is currently expanding into a wider fuel feedstock.This work focuses on co-gasification of black liquor and by-products from other biofuel production technologies. The interesting by-products were crude glycerol from biodiesel production and spruce fermentation residue from ethanol production. The main goals were to study if the fuels can mix homogeneously and study the char reactivity. CO2 char gasification for mixtures of black liquor and glycerol or fermentation residue respectively was studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) for four temperatures between 750°C and 900°C.The results show that glycerol can be mixed in all proportions with black liquor and indicate that the char reactivity is unchanged. The sustained char reactivity for blends is attributed to the volatility of glycerol. The fermentation residue does not produce a homogeneous mixture with black liquor and the char is less reactive.More studies should be performed to further elucidate the validity of the results.


The on-going declines in biodiversity caused by global and local environmental changes call for improved monitoring and conservation schemes. Remote-sensing (RS) of earth surface stands at the forefront to tackle this challenge, by providing data at different spatial and temporal resolutions that can be related with a wide range of environmental variables. Spatiotemporal dynamics of ecosystems and vegetation functioning (depicting several facets of matter and energy fluxes) can affect habitat suitability and therefore the persistence of species and the patterns of biodiversity. In this study we analysed habitat suitability and species diversity patterns by combining Species Distribution Models (SDMs) with multi-temporal RS-based variables of vegetation primary productivity, seasonality and phenology calculated from MODIS products and also from MODIS/Landsat data fusion using the StarFM algorithm. Predictors' related to structural variables of landscape composition and configuration were compared to functional variables of vegetation dynamics calculated from RS NDVI time-series in a Multi-model Inference (MMI) framework, allowing to assess the relative predictive importance of each set of variables. Multi-annual RS data was used to explore post-fire alterations in biodiversity and short-term changes in habitat suitability dynamics. Overall, MMI results showed a good support for vegetation functioning variables (derived from RS data) in some cases exceeding the model performance of structural landscape variables. In addition, multi-annual RS data were capable of improving habitat suitability models, evaluating short-term changes and assessing post-fire variations in biodiversity. We argue that coupling SDMs with RS functional indicators can provide early-warnings of changes affecting habitat suitability well before assessments based on structural indicators. Possible applications of this methodology range from the improvement of biodiversity monitoring schemes to the design of more effective conservation strategies by explicitly considering the spatiotemporal dynamics of ecosystems.


Background: Although the added value of increasing extent of glioblastoma resection is still debated, multiple technologies can assist neurosurgeons in attempting to achieve this goal. Intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (iMRI) might be helpful in this context, but to date only one randomized trial exists. Methods: We included 14 adults with a supratentorial tumor suspect for glioblastoma and an indication for gross total resection in this randomized controlled trial of which the interim analysis is presented here. Participants were assigned to either ultra-low-field strength iMRI-guided surgery (0.15 Tesla) or to conventional neuronavigation-guided surgery (cNN). Primary endpoint was residual tumor volume (RTV) percentage. Secondary endpoints were clinical performance, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and survival. Results: Median RTV in the cNN group is 6.5% with an interquartile range of 2.5-14.75%. Median RTV in the iMRI group is 13% with an interquartile range of 3.75-27.75%. A Mann-Whitney test showed no statistically significant difference between these groups (P =0.28). Median survival in the cNN group is 472 days, with an interquartile range of 244-619 days. Median survival in the iMRI group is 396 days, with an interquartile range of 191-599 days (P =0.81). Clinical performance did not differ either. For HRQOL only descriptive statistics were applied due to a limited sample size. Conclusion: This interim analysis of a randomized trial on iMRI-guided glioblastoma resection compared with cNN-guided glioblastoma resection does not show an advantage with respect to extent of resection, clinical performance, and survival for the iMRI group. Ultra-low-field strength iMRI does not seem to be cost-effective compared with cNN, although the lack of a valid endpoint for neurosurgical studies evaluating extent of glioblastoma resection is a limitation of our study and previous volumetry-based studies on this topic.


This thesis explores generation capacity expansions in power markets using a real options approach. Our framework considers several features of actual power markets, including time-varying demand and generation technologies with different cost characteristics. We propose a capacity expansion model where the market clearing is determined by equilibrium modelling. Further, we compute the marginal value of additional generation capacity, solve a series of optimal stopping problems and simulate the operation and investment decisions of all market participants over a horizon of several decades. The thesis consists of two papers applying the framework in different settings. In the first paper, "Electricity Capacity Expansion in a Cournot Duopoly", we examine a duopoly where base and peak load power plants are available to the investor and compare it to a market governed by a central planner. We find that both imperfect competition in the market and a time-varying demand boost peak load investments. In a numerical example, we notice that welfare losses from producers exercising market power exceed 10 %. The second paper, "A real options approach to generation capacity expansion in imperfectly competitive power markets", is our main contribution to the thesis. In this article, we expand our framework to include renewables, rationing and firms with different levels of market power, and we apply it to the German power market. We find that the need for peak load power plants increases with the share of renewables. Without monetary incentives, gas-fired power plants are not profitable for merchant investors. When all types of gas-fired power plants receive capacity payments, investments in combined cycling power plants occur at the expense of investments in renewables. Hence, we argue that only peaking power plants should receive capacity payments. This will reduce rationing while making renewable investments profitable.


Children with autism often have difficulties expressing themselves in verbal communication. However, methods of communication for those with autism spectrum disorder can be supplemented using alternative and augmentative devices (AAC). While there is a variety of alternative and augmentative devices to choose from, there are benefits and drawbacks inherent to each technology. However, finding the best communication solution is important to the quality of outcome for AAC users. In order to institute these solutions, there must be an analysis of the users, their environments and the alternative and augmentative devices that are most commonly used. In this paper, I look at the different types of AAC devices and briefly describe some of the benefits and limitations of each kind.


abstract Leo Bersani's contribution to the fields of psychoanalysis, aesthetics, and queer theory has recently received renewed attention. Relying upon Bersani's theory of the "aesthetic subject," my study reexamines Freud's infamous "psychoanalytic novel," Leonardo da Vinci and A Memory of His Childhood. After situating Freudian aesthetics in the context of current discussions art critics are having about art and its reception, I contend that Freud's text needs to be reevaluated as a distinctly modernist invention harboring the potential for new mappings of self and other. It is finally Melanie Klein's rereading of Freud's text that offers us a methodology premised upon a confluence of psychoanalysis and aesthetics useful for theorizing art's affective dimension. I conclude by turning to Leonardo da Vinci's own notion of fantasia, which has much to say about how psychoanalysis might begin to elucidate an aesthetic subject as opposed to a psychoanalytic subject when it approaches art. "Before the problem of the [artist], analysis, must, alas lay down its arms" (SE XXI, 177). What could there possibly be left to say about Freud's 1910 monograph Leonardo da Vinci and a Memory of His Childhood? Such a question presumes that the final verdict on Freud's now infamous text is in and that there is no reason to reopen discussion or debate. However, despite years of psychoanalytic and art historical research addressing Freud's text, the art historian Klaus Herding insists that such presumptions are premature. With only a few exceptions, argues Herding, scholarly readings of Leonardo have not progressed much beyond a concentrated focus on the psychoanalyst's projections onto and identification with the famous Renaissance artist.[i] To some degree this trend in scholarship is understandable given that Freud's own diagnosis of the artist's personality supersedes his close analysis of the paintings. Nevertheless, Freud had provocative insights into aesthetic form and the affect it generates both in the beholder and the creator. It is Freud's affect-related argument in relation to Leonardo's paintings that Herding invites scholars to reconsider. In this essay, I seek to answer Herding's call in part by arguing that we reread Leonardo for the way Freud's self-proclaimed "psychoanalytic novel" belies its own theoretical speculations, not by revealing the pathology of a psychoanalytic subject-be that subject Freud or Leonardo-but instead by presenting us with an aesthetic subject. According to Leo Bersani, aesthetic subjects refer less to the subject as articulated by psychoanalysis than to a "relational mode of being"(164).[ii] I contend that Bersani's notion of art as both created and produced by an aesthetic subject has the potential to move us beyond readings that fixate solely on Freud and/or Leonardo da Vinci as purely psychoanalytic subjects.[iii] Furthermore, I suggest that we might think of aesthetic subjects as suffering from aesthetic symptoms as opposed to neurotic or hysterical symptoms. These aesthetic symptoms are physical in nature in the same way that a hysterical symptom is physical in nature. However, while a hysterical symptom, according to psychoanalysis, involves the return of the repressed and can be traced back to an earlier libidinal fixation on a specific object, an aesthetic symptom bears traces of an earlier libidinal attachment but is in no way limited to or by that attachment. At stake in asking how art positions its beholders as aesthetic subjects rather than as psychoanalytic subjects is a new understanding of how psychoanalysis and art might speak to one another. If psychoanalysis has tended to insist on a projective and largely antagonistic relationship between self and world, art produces new modes of subjective relations, which, as Bersani elaborates, exceed individual subjectivities. If we attempt to understand the correspondences between self and world that Bersani suggests are put into circulation by art, and which I have asserted may manifest themselves in the form of aesthetic symptoms, then we can imagine and try to articulate relations between self and other that also exceed the adversarial constraints of the typical psychoanalytic narrative. …


Background: During the Covid-19 lockdown, contact clustering in social bubbles may allow extending contacts beyond the household at minimal additional risk and hence has been considered as part of modified lockdown policy or a gradual lockdown exit strategy. We estimated the impact of such strategies on epidemic and mortality risk using the UK as a case study. Methods: We used an individual based model for a synthetic population similar to the UK, that is stratified into transmission risks from the community, within the household and from other households in the same social bubble. The base case considers a situation where non-essential shops and schools are closed, the secondary household attack rate is 20% and the initial reproduction number is 0.8. We simulate a number of strategies including variations of social bubbles, i.e. the forming of exclusive pairs of households, for particular subsets of households (households including children and single occupancy households), as well as for all households. We test the sensitivity of the results to a range of alternative model assumptions and parameters. Results: Clustering contacts outside the household into exclusive social bubbles is an effective strategy of increasing contacts while limiting some of the associated increase in epidemic risk. In the base case scenario social bubbles reduced cases and fatalities by 17% compared to an unclustered increase of contacts. We find that if all households were to form social bubbles the reproduction number would likely increase to 1.1 and therefore beyond the epidemic threshold of one. However, strategies that allow households with young children or single occupancy households to form social bubbles only increased the reproduction number by less than 10%. The corresponding increase in morbidity andmortality is proportional to the increase in the epidemic risk but is largely focussed in older adults independently of whether these are included in the social bubbles. Conclusions: Social bubbles can be an effective way of extending contacts beyond the household limiting the increase in epidemic risk, if managed appropriately.


The number of large slope failures in some high mountain regions such as the European Alps has increased over the past two to three decades. There are a number of indications that ongoing climatic changes cause an increase in slope failures, thus possibly further exacerbating future failure events. Although the effects of a gradual temperature rise on glaciers and permafrost have been extensively studied, the impacts of short-term, unusually warm, temperature increases on slope stability in high mountains remain largely unexplored.
We describe several large slope failures in rock and ice in recent years in Alaska, New Zealand and the European Alps, and analyse patterns of meteorological variables in the days and weeks before the failures. Although we did not find one general air temperature pattern, all the studied failures were preceded by unusually warm periods; several happened immediately after temperatures suddenly dropped to freezing level.
We assessed the frequency of warm extremes in future by analysing eight regional climate models (RCMs) from the recently completed EU programme ENSEMBLES for the central Swiss Alps. The models show an increase in the frequency of high-temperature events for the period 2001–2050 compared with a 1951–2000 reference period. The 5-, 10- and 30-day warm events are projected to increase about 1.5–4 times by 2050, and in some models by up to 10 times.
Warm extremes can trigger large landslides in temperature-sensitive, high mountain environments by increasing occurrence of liquid water due to melt of snow and ice, and by rapid thaw of permafrost. In addition to these climate-induced processes, which can reduce slope strength, local geological, glaciological and topographic parameters of a slope also must be considered for comprehensive analyses.


Analysis of income diversification conceives of diversification in terms of strategies employed to earn cash income in addition to primary production activities from a variety of sources. It is often argued that this is a strategy primarily intended to offset risk. This study focused on analyzing the effects of diversification on household income in rural farming household in Oyo State, Nigeria. The result presented was based on primary data collected from a random sample of 120 households from two Agricultural zones (Ibadan/Ibarapa and Ogbomoso) of Oyo State. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the socioeconomic characteristics such as age, marital status and primary occupation of the respondents while two-stage least square (2 SLS) was employed to determine effect of diversification of income on per household income and income diversification of rural farming household. Results of descriptive statistics revealed that majority of the farmers were married with mean household size and age of 8 persons and 44 years respectively.2SLS showed that number of income source (NIS), share of off-farm income (OFS), Herfindahl Diversification Index (HDI), years of experience and farm size were positively significant to the per capita household income. Selected human capital variables such as years of education, years of vocational training and extension agent contacts have positive significant effect on income diversification of the farmers in the study area. The study concluded that number of income source and years of education were the major factors affecting per household income and income diversification of rural farming household.


This paper makes a simple but very bold argument that because MVO and CAPM were derived from a theoretical construct of the investment world rather from investment reality, the resulting theory is a very specialized case of a much more general theory. Therefore, rather than using CAPM to derive solutions for liability-driven investing (LDI) and delegation to CIOs or external managers (principal-agent issues), we suggest that maybe the lens should be inverted and the theory start with a much broader view of a liability to be serviced for an institutional/retail investor with delegated decision-making. Starting from this perspective, all decisions are relative decisions and hence we make the case for a Relative Asset Pricing Model (RAPM) as the true starting point for any asset pricing theory. Turning off many of these features (e.g., no delegation and hence no concern for skill of agents or choosing the portfolio with the highest absolute return for level of risk and ignoring liabilities) gives us the CAPM and hence the claim that CAPM is a very stylized model of a more general theory. This paper presents a very simple model to show how this framework changes the asset pricing paradigm. The key point is that since current theory was derived from Expected Utility Theory, which arbitrarily forces a choice between just two variables (e.g., work vs. leisure, consumption of good 1 vs. good 2 or trade-off between mean and variance), it may have missed the complexities of real-life investment decision making. If a decision-maker had to choose among three (independent) variables and was forced to make a two-dimensional choice, one would get a limited result. This is exactly what has happened with investment theory. A typical investor, whether institutional or retail, sets aside money to service some future consumption (liability) and typically lacks the skill to make the decisions themselves and hires agents who may be lucky or skillful. Therefore, the investor has to worry about the relative return of the portfolio (relative mean) and relative risk (composed of two independent variables – relative variance and correlation) and the investor is not agnostic about how the relative variances and correlation are chosen. The goal of this paper is lay the first stone in this direction to add a correlation dimension, which may help shed light on the important yet unobserved "risk aversion" parameter in current theory, and to hopefully encourage other more talented academics to develop the RAPM framework as it will provide better recommendations for asset pricing, asset allocation, rebalancing and manager compensation.


Glycerol from biodiesel is a potential raw material for synthesis of several products with high added value. The world demand and the market value of these products are important information for defining the best investment for the implantation of a biorefinery. The information is available on websites of social associations, production companies and market consulting companies and can be mined, free of charge. The International Trade Center (ITC), with information on world trade and websites linked to the foreign trade agencies of every country, such as Comex Stat, in Brazil, are relevant search sources. In this context, this work presents procedures and search techniques for prospecting such information. Such a procedure is illustrated through a case study for which a search of market parameters for glycerol and its derivatives was carried out for use in the process design and economic evaluation of an industrial plant. It was found that crude glycerol had a market price close to US$ 170/ton, in 2019. Among its derivatives, acrylic acid, acrylonitrile and 1,3-propanediol have great potential for the development of new processes, within the scope of a biorefinery. Industrially, acrylic acid (US$ 1100/ton) and acrylonitrile (US$ 1500/ton) are produced from propene (US$ 880/ ton) and 1,3-propanediol (US $ 2000/ton) comes from glucose (US$ 460/t) or ethylene oxide (US$ 1200/t), which encourages the development of new sustainable processes.


This article presents a generalized system of image–text relations which applies to different genres of multimodal discourse in which images and texts co-occur. It combines two kinds of relations – the relative status of images and text, and how they relate to one another in terms of logico–semantics. Every instance of an image–text combination in the data sample is described by a selection of features from the system. The units of images and text between which the relations obtain are identified and the realizations of the logico–semantic and status relations are specified, both for the human analyst and a machine. Two application scenarios are discussed. The system should be useful for distinguishing between image–text relations for (genuinely) new and old media.


In Malawi, the requirement to treat wastewater is underscored by the existing regulatory framework, institutional arrangements, and policy guidelines. In addition, formalized national effluent standards exist. This study was conducted to determine the pollutant levels in effluent from municipal wastewater treatment plants in the city of Blantyre, Malawi, and to compare these with Government of Malawi standards and World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. Data on physicochemical characteristics of the effluent was collected through a desk study. This study established that Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) levels in effluent from the three major wastewater treatment works in the city are in most cases above the recommended Malawi standards and WHO guidelines.  Levels for heavy metals are all lower than the recommended standards except for Cadmium, in the dry season effluent at Limbe wastewater treatment works. In view of the pollution threat posed by the high levels of BOD5 from the three works, the paper recommends that the assimilative capacity of the receiving watercourses be ascertained to determine the impact of the organic and solids loading in the final effluent upon the aquatic flora and fauna.

 Key words:  Aquatic flora and fauna, effluent, municipal wastewater treatment, physicochemical characteristics.


AIM: To report a case of Japanese woman who developed macular hole retinal detachment (MHRD) following surgical removal of myopic choroidal neovascularization (CNV). PATIENT: The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 20/200 with -17.0 diopters in her left eye. She was diagnosed with juxtafoveal CNV and subretinal hemorrhage secondary to myopia. She underwent surgical removal of the CNV. Postoperatively, the CNV was not detected. 2.5 years postoperatively, the BCVA was 20/16. At 6.5 years postoperatively, however the patient presented with worsening vision. The BCVA was 20/220. Funduscopic examination as well as optical coherence tomography (OCT) revealed retinal detachment involving the posterior pole with a macular hole. The patient underwent a vitrectomy without removal of the internal limiting membrane (ILM), and silicone oil tamponade. Finally, Silicone oil was removed. At the latest visit, a flattened macula with a closed macular hole was observed by OCT. The BCVA was 20/100. CONCLUSION: In this case, the reason for the development of MHRD without vitreous and spontaneous closure of the macular hole without vitreous or removal of the ILM is unknown. A higher index of suspicion of MHRD may be warranted for patients who complain of sudden vision loss after surgical treatment for myopic CNV.


We study Cauchy initial data for asymptotically flat, stationary vacuum spacetimes near spacelike infinity. The fall-off behaviour of the intrinsic metric and the extrinsic curvature is characterized. We prove that they have an analytic expansion in powers of a radial coordinate. The coefficients of the expansion are analytic functions of the angles. This result allow us to fill a gap in the proof found in the literature of the statement that all asymptotically flat, vacuum stationary spacetimes admit an analytic compactification at null infinity. Stationary initial data are physically important and highly non-trivial examples of a large class of data with similar regularity properties at spacelike infinity, namely, initial data for which the metric and the extrinsic curvature have asymptotic expansion in terms of powers of a radial coordinate. We isolate the property of the stationary data which is responsible for this kind of expansion.


The belemnites of the genus Actinocamax Miller, 1823, and representing its subgenus Praeactinocamax Najdin, 1964, recorded from the Upper Cenomanian conglomerates from Glanow, Polish Jura Chain, are described. Two subspecies, Praeactinocamax plenus plenus (Blainville, 1827) and P. primus primus (Arkhangelsky, 1912) were identified. The straltigraphic ranges of these belemnites and some problems connected with the Actinocamax plenus Zone are discussed. Borings of the ichnospecies Dendrina anomala M¬gdefrau, 1937, and Calcideletrix breviramosa M¬gdefrau, 1937, found on the surface of the guards are interpreted as formed postmortally, when the guards were partly buried in the sea bottom.


Inspired by a couple of simple organisms without eyes, neither ears. This paper presents a novel hybrid bionic robot, called "particle robot", which mix a macro-organism and a micro-organism in the same robot. On one hand, an interesting rather boring animal, the biological Echinoids (sea urchins) is mixed with the viruses micro-organisms, in specific the rotaviruses; together with spherical mobile robots. Analogously, from a pure robotic perspective, this bio-inspired robot can be seen as a spherical mobile robot wearing an actuated exoskeleton. The robot has two main configurations: when the spines are contracted it becomes a spherical mobile robot able to move in a fast pace on land, embedding all spherical mobile robots properties. On the other hand, when the spines or legs are extended in a controlled pattern, it can walk on flat surfaces as well as move on snow and over rocks as a bionic sea urchin. The spines of the robot are telescopic linear actuators, which combines soft and hard 3D print materials to make the actuation unit flexible for compressing it in minimal space and rigid for lifting the robot.


ABSTRACT Pan, W.; Ye, Y.; Li, X.; Zhang, Q.; Zhang, Z., and Lai, X., 2018. Calculation and analysis of new taxiing modes on aircraft pollutant emissions in coastal airports of China. In: Liu, Z.L. and Mi, C. (eds.), Advances in Sustainable Port and Ocean Engineering. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 83, pp. 448–455. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. This study introduces new taxiing modes for aircraft taxiing by ground equipment and onboard equipment. According to each airport timetable , aircraft/engine combination information, aircraft/APU combination information, ICAO Aircraft Engine Emissions Databank, APU emission data, APU power settings and the meteorological data of each airport, combining with the Boeing Fuel Flow Method 2 (BFFM2), the fuel consumption and pollutant emissions of all airports' aircrafts during full taxiing and new taxiing modes are calculated. During the taxiing period in 2017, 9 airports will consume 938019.54 tons of fuel and emit 2713.05 tons, 22882.00 tons, 3500.25 tons, 2959451.66 tons, and 750.42 tons of HC, CO, NOx and CO2 respectively. The new taxiing modes will reduce at least 75% of fuel consumption and 60% of pollutant emissions.


In the last decades, due to the improvements in networking techniques and the increased use of the Internet, the digital communications entered all of the activities in the global marketplace. Parallel to these enhancements the attempts of hackers for intruding the networks are also increased. They tried to make unauthorized access to the networks for making some modifications in their data or to increase the network traffic for making a denial of service attack. Although a firewall seems as a good tool for preventing this type of attacks, intrusion detection systems (IDSs) are also preferred especially for detecting the attack within the network system. In the last few years, the performance of the IDS is increased with the help of machine learning algorithms whose effects depend on the used training/learning algorithm. Mainly it is really hard to know which learning algorithm can be the fastest one according to the problem type. The algorithm selection depends on lots of factors such as the size of data sets, number of nodes network design, the targeted error rate, the complexity of the problem, etc. In this paper, it is aimed to compare different network training function in a multi-layered artificial neural network which is designed for constructing an effective intrusion detection system. The experimental results are depicted in the paper by explaining the efficiency of the algorithms according to their true-positive detection rates and speed of the execution.


Background and aims: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the most important causes of workers disabilities, increasing compensations and reducing productivity in developed and developing countries. This study was aimed to determine prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and assessment of them by using QEC and LUBA methods and comparison of results in a manufacturing company in Iran. Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 115 operators in 15 working stations by using QEC and LUBA methods. The prevalence of MSDs was obtained by using Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ). The data were analyzed by Spearman correlation coefficients. Results: According to findings of NMQ, 81.4 percent of operators at least in one of nine parts of musculoskeletal system have pain since 12 months ago. Assessment with QEC and LUBA revealed that 71.3 and 24.35 percent of operators respectively are in action level four. Conclusion: According to the analysis, correlation between findings of NMQ and action levels in QEC is higher than LUBA action levels. Whereas LUBA just assess working postures, this method is not a suitable tool for evaluation of working stations that require repetitive carrying of loads, static posture and long time to do.


The petrogenesis of pyroxenite layers within the Beni Bousera peridotite massif is investigated by means of elemental and Nd-Sr-Pb-O-S isotope analyses. The light rare earth element (LREE) depleted nature of many of the pyroxenites, their wide variation in composition, and lack of correlation between incompatible elements and fractionation indices preclude them from representing crystallized melts from a peridotitic source. The physical characteristics of the pyroxenites and their large (greater than a factor of 20) range in Ni rule out partial melting as the cause of their petrological and geochemical diversity. Major and compatible trace element geochemistry is consistent with formation of most of the pyroxenite suite via high-pressure crystal segregation in magma conduits intruding the peridotites. These magmas crystallized clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, and garnet. The pressure of crystallization is constrained to be above 45 kbar from the presence of graphitized diamonds in pyroxenite layers. Lack of correlation between fractionation indices and highly incompatible elements and the wide variation in incompatible element abundances suggest that the suite did not form from genetically related magmas. The presence of positive and negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0{dot operator}54-2{dot operator}0) in pyroxenites which crystallized at pressures much greater than the plagioclase stability field ( 45 kbar) suggests that the parental magmas originated from precursors which formed in the crust. Oxygen isotope compositions of coexisting minerals in the pyroxenites indicate high-temperature equilibration but δ18O values vary from +4{dot operator}9 to + 9{dot operator}3‰, ruling out their derivation from the host peridotites or other normal mantle sources. The extreme O-isotope variation, together with δ34S values of up to + 13‰ in sulphides included within CPX strongly suggests that the melts from which the pyroxenites crystallized were derived from hydrothermally altered, subducted oceanic lithosphere. Extreme initial radiogenic isotope variation in the pyroxenites (eNd + 26 to -9,87Sr/86Sr 0{dot operator}7025-0{dot operator}7110, 206Pb/204Pb 18{dot operator}21-19{dot operator}90) support such an origin but also require a component with ancient, high U/Pb and Th/Pb in their source to explain the high Δ7/4 and Δ8/4 values of some pyroxenites. This component may be subducted hemi-pelagic sediment. Further evidence for a sediment component in the pyroxenites is provided by isotopically light carbon in the graphite pyroxenites (δ13C-16 to - 28‰). Parentdaughter isotopes in the pyroxenites are strongly decoupled, making estimation of formation ages speculative. The decoupling occurred recently (<200 Ma), probably as a result of partial melting associated with diapiric upwelling and emplacement of the massif into the crust from the diamond stability field. This late partial melting event further depleted the pyroxenites in incompatible elements. The variably altered nature of the subducted protolith and complex history of trace element fractionation of the pyroxenites has largely obscured geochemical mixing trends. However, Nd-Pb isotope systematics indicate that incorporation of the component with high U/Pb-Th/Pb occurred relatively recently (<200 Ma) for some pyroxenites. Other pyroxenites do not show evidence for incorporation of such a component and may be substantially older. Tectonic, geophysical, and isotopic constraints indicate formation of the pyroxenites in the mantle wedge above a subducting slab during the Cretaceous. Physical and chemical evidence for high-pressure fractionation seen in most of the pyroxenites precludes them from simply representing ancient subducted oceanic lithosphere, thinned by diffusion. However, the petrological and isotopic diversity of the massif support the concept of a 'marble cake' mantle capable of producing the observed geochemical diversity seen in oceanic magmas.


Abstract Building Information Modelling (BIM) is increasingly deployed as part of the processes in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry projects. While the benefits of BIM have been extensively proclaimed, explicit justification in terms of direct cost savings for BIM implementation on real-life projects, particularly for clash detection BIM workstream, are not well documented. This paper proposes and demonstrates a methodology to prove how BIM-based clash detection leads to cost savings. A schema is developed based on literature review and industrial expertise to quantify cost savings achieved by the utilisation of BIM-based clash detection and resolution. This paper provides validation of the proposed schema on a major infrastructure project. The developed schema includes the categorisation of identified clashes based on stakeholder involvement and required actions. The validation used the estimated cost of clashes were those not resolved before site operations took place. This schema simplifies both the categorisation and cost estimation of clashes in design. Estimated savings yielded 20% of contract value using the schema, for the multi-million-dollar project case study, thus extending evidence of BIM savings and benefits. The schema improves the existing process and valorises clash detection, thus allowing stakeholders to conduct a cost-benefit analysis. In addition, the categorisation methodology allows prioritising on the most costly clashes, and draw lessons learnt for further projects. This schema opens the path towards a systematic methodology to appraise the benefits of different BIM uses or processes.


In recent years it has become more and more evident that the bacterial flora in the gut of warm-blooded animals modulates physiological processes and the immunological status of the host. Besides effects on growth parameters, commensal intestinal bacteria balance the immune system and prevent colonization of pathogenic bacteria. The question is if the gut microbiota is also important in lower vertebrates such as fish? And does it play a role in connection to pathogenic challenge? To examine these questions rainbow trout fry were fed two different diets of either a marine or vegetable origin directly after first feeding. At a size of about four gram the fish were bath challenged by Yersinia ruckeri and intestines were then sampled 5 and 18 days post challenge for subsequent metagenomic and immunological examinations. Next-generation sequencing was applied for the metagenomic studies using the Illumina HiSeq platform. The results clearly showed two different microbial patterns in the intestines dependent on the diet type. Control fish fed a marine based diet overall had a higher amount of proteobacteria, while high amount of reads belonging to phylum Firmicutes dominated in the intestines of vegetable fed fish. Several genera within the order Lactobacillales belonged to the many reads from Firmicutes. In challenged fish with a high load of reads from genus Yersinia there was a significantly lower amount of reads from the order Burkholderiales. Further, these fish further clustered separately when analyzing the bacterial community on a PCA plot. The immunological examinations using RT-qPCR showed no different expression patterns between the diet groups in control fish, but the response was very different in connection to challenge. Here, the general pattern was a pro-inflammatory response in the intestine of marine fed fish challenged with Yersinia ruckeri, while several immune genes were down-regulated in vegetable fed fish. Overall, the results indicate that the gut microbiota in rainbow trout is highly plastic according to the type of diet and does further seem to be involved in the immunological response in connection to pathogenic challenge.


SUMMARY The presence of Helicobacter pylori (HP) in gastric biopsy specimens of 500 patients referred for routine upper gastrointestinal endoscopy for various abdominal complaints was investigated histologically and microbiologically. HP was detected in 429 of the 500 patients (86%). Antral biopsy specimens revealed gastritis in 457 out of 500 cases (91.4%). In the 43 patients who had normal histological findings, only 3 had HP infection (7%). The prevalence of HP in the patients with gastric and duodenal ulcers was 91%. In 95.6% of the ulcer patients, biopsy specimens showed gastritis. There was a statistically significant rise in the prevalence of HP with age. The correlation between histologic and microbiologic diagnostic methods was good. This study shows that HP positivity and gastritis are common in a routine endoscopy population and that there is a strong association between H. pylori, gastritis and peptic ulcer disease.


Cytokinesis is the final physical separation of two daughter cells, which occurs at the end of mitosis. Emerging evidence has placed membrane trafficking at the heart of mammalian cytokinesis, as it is clear that the control of membrane traffic into the cleavage furrow created by the ingressed acto-myosin contractile ring is vital for the expansion of surface area and proper separation. These findings also indicated that both the secretory and endocytic recycling pathways could be the potential internal membrane stores contributing to this process. Small GTPases are known to play crucial roles in the regulation of intracellular membrane traffic. Recent studies from diverse model systems highlighted roles for two GTPases Rab11 and Arf6 in Drosophila cellularisation, Caenorabditis elegans and mammalian cytokinesis. These proteins are both involved in endosomal recycling, and disraption of them by expressing mutants and RNAi results in severe cytokinesis defects. In a previous study, our group have identified Ai-fophilin2/Rab11-FIP4 as a dual Rab11/Arf binding protein. Immunofluorescence data revealed that FIP4 strikingly localises to the cleavage furrow and the midbody in mammalian cells during cell division. With this information in mind, it is proposed that the interaction of Rab11/Arf6 with Rab11-FIP3/4 may serve to regulate delivery of recycling endosomes (RE) to the furrow/midbody during cytokinesis in mammalian cells. In this thesis, studies were earned out to investigate the function of Rab11 and Arf6 in mitosis. Firstly, the localisation of Rab11 and Arf6 throughout mitosis was examined. Both of the proteins were concentrated at the furrow/midbody region similar to Rab11-FIP4. Using GTP-deficient mutants and RNAi approaches, it was shown that Rab11 and Ajrf6 are both required for mammalian cytokinesis. Furthermore, time-lapse microscopy revealed that these two proteins both function in the late stage of cytokinesis, possibly midbody abscission but not furrow ingression. Many Rab proteins have overlapping endosomal distributions, and therefore the second part of this study examined whether other endosomal Rabs also localise to the dividing site and contribute to membrane delivery to the furrow/midbody. Although none of the Rabs investigated showed characteristic distribution at the cleavage site, interference with one of the Rab GTPases, Rab4, did result in a minor defect in cytokinesis, implicating a role in this process. Finally, preliminary study of regulation mechanism of FIP3 and FIP4 in mitosis was carried out. Bioinformatics and immunoflurorescence experiments implicated that the FIPs may be regulated by cell-cycle dependent kinases. Hence the possibility of FIP3 and FIP4 being phosphorylated by mitotic kinases, such as Aurora B and Polo-like kinase (Plk) was examined. This will provide more leads to elucidate FIP3 and FIP4's function in cell division and better our understanding of the membrane trafficking pathway during cytokinesis.