Brazil has an aging population, with an associated increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases. Postmenopausal osteoporosis is of particular concern because it leads to an increased risk of fractures, with subsequent negative impacts on health in older women. In recent years, efforts have been made to better understand the epidemiology of osteoporosis in Brazil, and to manage both direct and indirect costs to the Brazilian health care system. The reported prevalence of osteoporosis among postmenopausal women in Brazil varies from 15% to 33%, depending on the study methodology and the use of bone densitometry data or self-reporting by participants. A diagnosis of osteoporosis can be made on the basis of fractures occurring without significant trauma or on the basis of low bone mineral density measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. To reduce the risk of osteoporosis, all postmenopausal women should be encouraged to maintain a healthy lifestyle, which includes physical activity and a balanced diet. Smoking and alcohol use should also be addressed. Special attention should be given to interventions to reduce the risk of falls, especially among older women. Calcium intake should be encouraged, preferably through diet. The decision to recommend calcium supplementation should be made individually because there is concern about a possible increased risk of cardiovascular disease associated with this treatment. Brazilian women obtain a minimal amount of vitamin D from their diet, and supplementation is warranted in women with little exposure to solar ultraviolet-B radiation. For women diagnosed with osteoporosis, some form of pharmacologic therapy should be initiated. Compliance with treatment should be monitored, and the treatment period should be individualized for each patient. The Brazilian government provides medication for osteoporosis through the public health system free of charge, but without proper epidemiological knowledge, the implementation of public health programs is impaired.


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Background: Different drug dependencies may have unique genetic vulnerabilities. Changes in serotonin availability and function have been linked to addiction. We investigated whether 2 serotonergic polymorphisms, TPH1 A218C (rs1800532) and 5-HTT-linked promoter region (5-HTTLPR) (rs25531), are differently associated with alcohol or opiate dependence. Methods: Alcohol-dependent patients (n = 292), opiate-dependent patients (n = 309), and healthy controls (n = 301) were recruited from the Han Chinese population in Taiwan. Genotypes of TPH1 A218C and 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms were analyzed using a polymerase chain reaction with restriction fragment length polymorphism. Results: The genotype frequencies of the TPH1 A218C polymorphisms were not significantly different in the 3 groups. The genotype frequencies of the 5-HTTLPR S+ (S/S, S/LG, LG/LG) polymorphisms were significantly higher in opiate-dependent patients (χ2 = 8.77, p = 0.01), but not after controlling for the covariates of age, gender, and interaction effect in logistic regression analysis. Moreover, there was a significant interaction between the TPH1 A218C A/C and 5-HTTLPR S+ gene polymorphisms in opiate-dependent (OR 2.72, p = 0.01), but not in alcohol-dependent patients. Conclusions: Our data suggested that there may be a differential genetic vulnerability in serotonergic genes for alcohol and opiate addiction. However, replications of our findings are still needed.


The ability to undertake life-long learning is essential in the world today and this requires independent learning skills. A growing body of evidence suggests integration of computer assisted learning could potentially replace face-to-face teaching entirely with no detriment to students. Case study methodology was therefore utilised to investigate studentsA¢â'¬â"¢ perceptions of the use of online resources to replace face-to-face teaching and the impact of this approach on student outcomes when learning anatomy and physiology. Concurrent mixed methods, incorporating pragmatic comparison of summative assessment scores with a questionnaire gathering student opinion of this learning method, were used. Students had access to typical Anatomy and Physiology Computer Aided Learning resources. Additional adaptive learning activities (ALA) and homework quizzes were provided. Directed study was given for every topic. All but four topics were supported by interactive workshops; these four were supported by additional ALA and an optional A¢â'¬Eœdrop inA¢â'¬â"¢ session. The results indicated no difference in student outcome for topics taught with and without workshop support. However, although students understood the rationale for the change and sufficient guidance was given, they found the independent learning challenging due to lack of intrinsic motivation and confidence. Engagement with ALA and homework quizzes was limited. Students do not want more independent learning and like the confidence provided by attending workshops. Using more selective online resources may be beneficial and ensuring that materials addressed online are used in other classes may be a way forwards, thus ensuring a constructivist approach to learning while encouraging more independent learning. Roberts Student views of using e-learning tools to facilitate independent learning of anatomy and physiology Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Issue 9: July 2015 2 Keywords: Computer Aided Learning; adaptive learning activities; constructivist learning; motivation; perceptions.


Soft sensors have continued growing interest in robotics, due to their ability to enable both passive conformal contact from the material properties and active contact data from the sensor properties. However, the same properties of conformal contact result in faster deterioration of soft sensors and larger variations in their response characteristics over time and across samples, inhibiting their ability to be long-lasting and replaceable. ReSkin is a tactile soft sensor that leverages machine learning and magnetic sensing to offer a low-cost, diverse and compact solution for long-term use. Magnetic sensing separates the electronic circuitry from the passive interface, making it easier to replace interfaces as they wear out while allowing for a wide variety of form factors. Machine learning allows us to learn sensor response models that are robust to variations across fabrication and time, and our self-supervised learning algorithm enables finer performance enhancement with small, inexpensive data collection procedures. We believe that ReSkin opens the door to more versatile, scalable and inexpensive tactile sensation modules than existing alternatives.


OBJECTIVE
Insulin glulisine has a higher efficacy in reducing postprandial glucose excursions and in restoring normal postprandial microcirculation than rapid human insulin. The aim was to compare the incidence of macro- and microvascular outcomes in Type 2 diabetic patients treated with insulin glulisine or regular human insulin.

MATERIALS
Computerized data from 952 glulisine (age: 61 ± 11 y) and 11,157 regular insulin (65 ± 11 y) users in general practices throughout Germany (Disease Analyzer, 11/2004 to 3/2010) were analyzed.

METHODS
Hazard ratios (HR; Cox regression) for 3.5-year-risk of macro- or microvascular outcomes were adjusted for age, sex, diabetes duration, diabetologist care, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, depression, and comedication (basal insulin, oral antidiabetics). Furthermore, adjustment was carried out for baseline microvascular complications when analyzing macrovascular outcomes and vice versa.

RESULTS
Overall, risk for macro- or microvascular outcomes was 20% lower for insulin glulisine users (p < 0.05). There was a decreased risk for coronary heart disease (HR; 95%CI: 0.78; 0.62 - 0.99), and an indication for a lower risk for incident myocardial infarction (HR: 0.66; 0.43 - 1.02). Also for microvascular complications, the adjusted hazard ratios for retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy were below 1.0, indicating a lower risk for the insulin glulisine group, however, which was significant for neuropathy only (HR: 0.74; 0.58 - 0.93).

CONCLUSIONS
Prescription of the rapid-acting insulin analog glulisine was associated with a reduced incidence of macro- and microvascular outcomes in Type 2 diabetes under real-life conditions. Given that this was a retrospective database analysis, it is important to confirm this finding in a randomized controlled trial.


Natural killer (NK) cells are cytotoxic lymphocytes that play an important role in tumor immunosurveillance, preferentially eliminating targets with low or absent expression of MHC class I and stress-induced expression of ligands for activating NK receptors. Platelets promote metastasis by protecting disseminating tumor cells from NK cell immunosurveillance, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. In this study, we show that tumor cells rapidly get coated in the presence of platelets in vitro, and circulating tumor cells of cancer patients display coexpression of platelet markers. Flow cytometry, immunofluorescent staining, confocal microscopy, and analyses on an ultrastructural level using immunoelectron microscopy revealed that such coating may cause transfer of MHC class I onto the tumor cell surface resulting in high-level expression of platelet-derived normal MHC class I. The resulting "phenotype of false pretenses" disrupts recognition of tumor cell missing self, thereby impairing cytotoxicity and IFN-γ production by NK cells. Thus, our data indicate that platelets, by conferring an unsuspicious "pseudonormal" phenotype, may enable a molecular mimicry that allows metastasizing tumor cells to downregulate MHC class I, to escape T-cell-mediated immunity without inducing susceptibility to NK cell reactivity.


Compares the approach to disclosure‐based regulation of securities markets in Bangladesh with that of India and Malaysia. Describes the present administration of the disclosure regime in Bangladesh, which is split between the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies (RJSC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); this mirrors the two sets of laws involved, company law and securities law respectively. Outlines the basic regulatory functions of securities law enforcement: the ability of investors to seek remedies against the infringements of disclosure requirements and the efficiency of the SEC in dispensing justice, and finds that both are weak in Bangladesh. Suggests that more effective regulation in Bangladesh is necessary and that the SEC should be free from government and other interference. Argues that preventive measures should for this reason be the preferred policy; these include investor education and regulatory verification before prospectus issue.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the short-term effects of bosentan on myocardial perfusion and function assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and Tissue-Doppler echography (TDE) respectively in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

METHODS
We prospectively evaluated 18 SSc patients without clinical heart failure and with normal pulmonary arterial pressure. MRI perfusion index and systolic and diastolic strain rates (SR) determined by TDE were assessed at baseline for comparison with healthy controls (after a 72-hour vasodilator washout period), and repeated after 4 weeks of bosentan treatment (62.5 mg bid for 2 weeks titrated to 125 mg bid for 2 weeks).

RESULTS
Patients with SSc had decreased MRI perfusion index and TDE SR in comparison with healthy controls. Bosentan treatment led to a significant increase in median (range) global MRI perfusion index [from 0.17 (0.09-0.23) at Day 0 to 0.22 (0.13-0.30) after bosentan treatment; p = 0.0004], systolic SR [from 2.1 (1.3-3.1) s-1 to 2.8 (2.1-4.8) s-1; p = 0.0002), and diastolic SR [from 2.6 (1.4-6.7) to 3.6 (2.0-7.6) s-1; p = 0.0003].

CONCLUSION
Short-term treatment with bosentan simultaneously improves myocardial perfusion and function, as evaluated by highly sensitive and quantitative methods, in patients with SSc. Whether additional remodeling effect may be observed after longterm treatment with bosentan remains to be determined.


SIR,On reading Dr. Page's article " On the True Nature of SkinGrafting", and the remarks lately made on several successful cases, I cannot find that those advocating the operation do so under the hope that such complicated physiological changes shall take place as would change an ordinary cicatrix into so much normal skin. I think Dr. Page's case shows us how much we may hope for in the process of skin-grafting. The ulcer, after appropriate treatment, aided by the inherent power of the surrounding tissues to contract and thus help cicatrisation-but also by the power of contraction residing in the granulations of the ulcer-is nearly healed. But a time comes when it becomes no smaller; the surrounding tissues have contracted to their utmost; the granulations produce, or act as, pabulum for the formation of pus-cells; and the ulcer, to all intents and purposes, is incurable: and many must confess that they have often in such cases unwillingly bee-n forced to the same conclusion. But the pieces of skin transplanted are placed where there is a large blood-supply, and are thus placed in the most favourable circumstances for taking root, wlhich is soon exemplified by the action that springs uip around them. This seems to be the process of simple cell-formation going on from each as a centre for a limited distance around ; hence the benefit of having several of these centres, so as by increasing the points of healing the ulcer is speedily coated over. This, I think, is all the good we can expect from this method of treatment; and experience teaches us that cicatrices, even under the most favourable circumstances, never acquire the complete functions of true skin; and I doubt if those who have been loudest in its praise even dared to hope that from each of the minute grafts should spring a covering of tissues havinig all the complicated structure of the skin itself, of the subjacent structures, and of the glands and appendages present in the minutest portion of skin, and on which its functions denpend. Indeed, we have only to consider that we are dealing with a new product, which is of the simplest formation of low vitality, to feel pleased at the results arising from it, instead of longing after what I am afraid wvill never come. If skin-grafting be no great stride in surgery, it is just one of those small helps that give fresh courage and hope to the anxious but baffled practitioner. It will help us to treat successfully many cases occurring in patients who often have, though very unable to afford it, been early laid aside from work; viz., among our labouring population. I hope yet to hear that Mr. Steele has successfully transplanted a piece sufficiently large that may not only considerably forward the healing process, but also, by retaining its elasticity, give a greater chance to the cure being permanent. I arn, etc. J. MIITCHELL WILSON, MI.B. Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, 20th December.


This paper discusses the acceleration techniques for analysis of microstrip structures. Accurate calculation of parameters of such structures with numerical techniques requires the solution of dense matrix equations involving thousands of unknowns. Solution of this large problem takes long time. In this paper we present three techniques for such computations acceleration: parallel algorithm implemented in computer cluster, sparse bound-matrix technique, and graphic processing unit in conjunction with CUDA technology. The execution time and speed-up of proposed techniques are evaluated through comparing of different numbers of processors and unknowns. The results indicate that all presented techniques can significantly reduce computation time. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.eee.20.5.7109


Background Recent studies have emphasized a tight link between the metabolic state and phenotype of immune/inflammatory cells. Metabolic turnover of the inflamed synovium may induce a cellular switch in energy production, characterised by a glycolytic flux, suppression of mitochondrial function and potentiation of inflammation. The role of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in immune responses is well documented, however emerging evidence suggests they also play a role in metabolism. Objectives In this study, we examine mitochondrial function, cellular metabolism and synovial inflammation in response to TLR2 activation. Methods RA synovial explant cultures and RA synovial fibroblasts (RASFC) were cultured with TLR2-ligand Pam3CSK4 (1μg/ml). Mitochondria DNA (mtDNA) mutations were assessed using a Random Mutation Capture assay and reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and ATP levels were quantified using fluorescent probes. Mitochondrial and glucose metabolism gene arrays were quantified by RT-PCR and the mitochondrial ultrastructure assessed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Surrogate markers of glycolysis PKM2, GLUT1, ATP5B and GAPDH were quantified in RA/OA synovium by immunohistochemistry. PKM2 was also assessed by western blotting and immunofluorescence. Finally, we examined the effect of glycolytic inhibitor 3-(3-pyridinyl)-1-(4-pyridinyl)-2-propen-1-one (3PO) (20μM) on TLR2–induced cytokine production, invasion/migration and signalling components NFκBp65, Notch-1IC and p-STAT3. Results Pam3CSK4 significantly induced mtDNA mutation frequency, ROS, and inhibited the MMP. In parallel, Pam3CSK4 differentially regulated key mitochondrial genes SOD2, BNIP3 and BBC3 (all p<0.05) and markedly altered the ultrastructure of mitochondria. Consistent with this, we demonstrated altered metabolic activity in RASFC, with induced PKM2 nuclear translocation, increased ATP levels and differential regulation of metabolic genes FBP1/2, PGAM2 and ACo2 (all p<0.05), resulting in metabolic shift in favour of glycolysis. This change in metabolic activity was mirrored in-vivo where expression of PKM2, GLUT1 and ATP5B were significantly higher in RA synovium compared to OA (p<0.05). Finally, reprogramming of metabolism using 3PO significantly inhibited TLR2-induced cytokine production, cell migration/invasion and transcriptional regulation of NFκBp65 and p-STAT3. Conclusions Reprogramming of metabolic activity in RA resulted in resolution of inflammation. These results show close interactions between innate immunity, metabolism and inflammation, further elucidation of these interactions may provide new insights to new therapeutic approaches in RA. Disclosure of Interest None declared


ABSTRACT The Escherichia coli norVW genes encode a flavorubredoxin and NADH:(flavo)rubredoxin reductase, respectively, which are involved in nitric oxide detoxification under anaerobic growth conditions. Here it is shown that the norVW genes also have a role in protection against reactive nitrogen intermediates generated from nitroprusside. Transcription from the norV promoter is activated by the presence of nitroprusside in the growth medium; activation requires the product of a divergently transcribed regulatory gene, norR.


The penal legislation that it guides the system of criminal justice it understands as crime the activities that imply in fomenting, taking off advantage or to hinder that somebody abandons prostitution. This present agreement in the Criminal Code makes of the police, central institution in the confrontation of the question on the part of the State. The continuity of this boarding goes of meeting to the proposals guided for the defense of the citizenship and the human rights of that they exert prostitution and elapses basically of the prevalence, until the current days, of the trend, great part of the Brazilian society, in inside debating such questions of the landmark of the morality.


SUMMARY: Cell-free preparations have been made from Thiobacillus A2 that are capable of the complete oxidation of thiosulphate to sulphate and of coupling the associated electron transport to ATP synthesis with a P/O ratio of about one. Spectrophotometric measurements and the effect of electron transport chain inhibitors on cytochrome reduction and oxygen uptake indicate that thiosulphate oxidation is coupled directly to cytochrome c reduction and does not involve cytochrome b. Complete inhibition of phosphorylation by, 2,4-dinitrophenol suggests that ATP synthesis was effected exclusively by electron transport phosphorylation accompanying re-oxidation of cytochrome c. Enzymes for thiosulphate oxidation to sulphate and the reduction of cytochrome c were located in the supernatant fraction after centrifuging at 130000 g, but oxygen uptake required the 130000 g pellet fraction, which provided membrane-bound cytochrome c and cytochrome oxidase.


Vertex coloring is the following optimization problem; given a graph, how many colors are required to color its vertices in such a way that no two adjacent vertices receive the same color? The required number of colors is called the chromatic number of G and is denoted by χ(G). In this thesis, we reviewed the vertex coloring concepts and theorems. The package ColorG which we have improved has many functions for dealing with graph coloring. This package uses a heuristic method due to Brelaz to color the graph so that adjacent vertices have distinct colors.


We report the results of a SIMS and micro-Raman investigation performed on cubic (3C) SiC crystals grown on hexagonal SiC seeds using a Ge-Si bath and the so-called Vapor Liquid Solid growth technique. From SIMS measurements, we find a Ge concentration which, roughly, scales like the Ge concentration in the melt and, in term of micro-Raman measurements, explains the presence of weak but discernable Ge-Ge peaks around 300 cm-1. Since no similar Si-Si vibrations are found, this discard the possibility of having at the same time both Ge and Si constitutional super-cooling with two separate Ge and Si phases.


Background Mortality inequalities demonstrate a double burden: the most deprived socioeconomic groups experience the lowest average age of death and the highest variation in age at death. Two processes generate variation in age at death: individual stochasticity (within-group variance) and heterogeneity (between-group inequality). No known research has quantified how much area level deprivation (between-group inequality) has contributed to total variation in age at death or if this has changed over time. We address this research gap using population and mortality data for the entire population of Scotland stratified by a validated measure of area-level deprivation covering 1981–2011. Methods Census population estimates, and mortality records were matched with the Carstairs score. Life tables by year, sex and population weighted deprivation quintiles (20%) were constructed. Lifespan variation was calculated and transformed into the standard deviation to allow interpretation in number of years. Markov Chain methods were used to decompose the total lifespan variation in to the within deprivation-group and between deprivation-group component at each Census year, for males and females separately. Results Total variation in age at death for males in Scotland increased between 1981 and 2011. For females there was limited change. Variation stagnated for the most deprived but decreased for the least deprived. Although the between-group component of variation in age at death is small the relative proportion doubled between 1981 and 2011 for males and females, from 1% to 3% and from 1% to 2% respectively. To give context, the proportion of total variance due to between-sex differences in age at death decreased from 4% in 1981 to 2% in 2011, meaning that inequalities in deprivation are comparable with sex differences when seeking to explain variation in age at death. Analysis repeated for population weighted deciles produced greater increases: quintiles are the preferred analytical grouping in Scotland. Analysis using the most and least deprived quintiles only showed that the contribution from deprivation was 4 times higher than when using all quintiles. Results reported used standard Markov stationary mixture assumptions and were unchanged when allowing empirical age-specific mixing distributions. Conclusion Relative contributions from area level deprivation to total variance in age at death doubled in Scotland between 1981 and 2011 revealing the changing nature of mortality inequalities. These findings are relevant for governments deciding whether to invest in social policies that intervene at the areal level or at the individual level.


The transition of the Ottoman Empire into nation-states was manifested through significant state-led changes in the fabric of its urban centres, especially in cities that had a multi-cultural character and lay in debated territories. Their urban transformation was the result of practical reasons such as need for post-war reconstruction, as well as ideological factors that stemmed from a commitment to modernization and a desire to enhance and underline their national identity. Many European architects were invited to participate in the re-design of such cities. This paper explores the cases of Thessaloniki and Izmir, which after ten years of conflict found themselves on the opposite sides of the Greco-Turkish border and were destroyed by fire in 1917 and 1922 respectively. Ernest Hebrard in the first case and Henri Prost in the second, belonging to the same network of architects and coming from the same educational background, were the main architects who left their imprint on the new plans of these two cities. This paper examines the background of their involvement and their role in the design of the two cities and aims to highlight the complexity of this cultural exchange, in which the 'local' and the 'West' cannot be reduced to single definitions, and whose negotiated product became the new urban space of each city.


This research was initiated in a 34-year-old, direct-seeded stand of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) to study how pine straw management practices (harvesting, fire, and fertilization) affected the longleaf pine overstory and pine straw yields. A randomized complete block split-plot design was installed with two main plot treatments: (1) no fertilization and (2) fertilization with 45 lb N and 50 lb P/ac in April 1991 and May 1997 and with 50 lb P and 72 lb K/ac in April 2004. There were four subplot treatments: (1) control—no activity except a standwide thinning in June 1999, (2) prescribed burn 6 times from March 1991 through May 2004, (3) prescribed burned as in subplot treatment 2 and pine straw harvested in early 1992 and 1993, and (4) annual harvest of pine straw 13 times from early 1992 through April 2006. Fertilization did not affect longleaf pine growth and yield over the 15-year study. Subplot management also did not influence longleaf pine growth possibly because the adverse effects that competition, repeated prescribed burning, and litter removal have on longleaf pine growth could not be separated among subplot treatments. Fertilization did not directly affect pine straw yields; however, it appeared that pine straw yields decreased over time.


The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), currently under negotiation by the United States and the European Union is not just another free trade agreement but a means for both parties to move beyond old bilateral disputes to reposition themselves for a world of diffuse power and intensified competition. Economically, TTIP is an effort to generate jobs and growth on each side of the Atlantic by going beyond traditional at-the-border trade tariffs to tackle regulatory differences in ways that can enhance rather than block growth without lowering standards; and to use transatlantic agreement on such high standards to maintain and lift international standards. Geopolitically, TTIP can be both a symbolic and practical assertion of Western renewal, vigour and commitment; is an important means to engage rising powers on the terms of their integration into the international order; and is a potentially important instrument to bolster that order.


Stuttering is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 5% of children, and persisting in 1% of adults. Promoting lasting fluency improvement in adults who stutter is a particular challenge. Novel interventions to improve outcomes are required, therefore. Previous work in patients with acquired motor and language disorders reported enhanced benefits of behavioural therapies when paired with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Here, we report the results of the first trial investigating whether tDCS can improve speech fluency in adults who stutter. Thirty adult men who stutter completed a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial of anodal tDCS over left inferior frontal cortex. Fifteen men received 20 minutes of 1-mA tDCS on five consecutive days while speech fluency was temporarily induced using choral and metronome-timed speech. The other 15 men received the same speech fluency intervention with sham stimulation. We predicted that applying anodal tDCS to the left inferior frontal cortex during speech production with temporary fluency inducers would result in longer-lasting fluency improvements. Speech fluency during reading and conversation was assessed at baseline, before and after the stimulation on each day of the five-day intervention, and at 1 and 6 weeks after the end of the intervention. TDCS combined with speech fluency training significantly reduced the percentage of disfluent speech measured 1 week after the intervention compared with fluency intervention alone. At 6 weeks after the intervention, this improvement was maintained during reading but not during conversation. Outcome scores at both post-intervention time points on a clinical assessment tool (the Stuttering Severity Instrument – version 4) also showed significant improvement in the group receiving tDCS compared with the sham group, in whom fluency was unchanged from baseline. We conclude that tDCS combined with behavioural fluency intervention has the capacity to improve fluency in adults who stutter. tDCS thereby offers a potentially useful adjunct to future speech therapy interventions for this population, for whom therapy outcomes are currently limited.


Plastics are found everywhere, mainly because of their convenient and versatile characteristics and affordability, often surpassing traditional materials. However, these extraordinary features are also responsible for the emergence of a massive, persistent, and ever-growing amount of plastic waste, disrupting the health of our planet. This project, highlighting discourses about design education for sustainable development, offers students the opportunity to investigate the plastic waste problem in a hands-on and empowering way. Our university's city campus alone uses around 60,000 milk bottles a year, close to 2.5 tonnes of HDPE plastic, just from milk used in the cafes, schools, and staff rooms. This valuable resource is currently shipped off-campus to be recycled into lower value products (downcycled). In the circular economy project presented here, we ask 3rd-year industrial design students to design desirable, feasible and viable products made from the university's waste material, the plastic milk bottles. Students use the design process and design and sustainability tools to gain theoretical knowledge through their creative practice. They first research the problem and its context, after which they start generating (product) ideas while simultaneously exploring the HDPE material and possible solutions to reuse it on site. Students are encouraged to experiment extensively with the milk bottle plastic. The aim is to subsequently design innovative products taking advantage of the discovered properties and qualities of the material while also considering user needs and viable manufacturing methods. The design outcomes are envisaged to be used by university staff and students, to be recycled again at the end of their lives. Tertiary design education for sustainability is more efficient if it is experiential, and raising environmental awareness in students increases through practical learning experiences involving open-ended enquiry. This assignment engages students through project-based learning using an iterative design process, encouraging them to pursue meaningful issues. It focuses on promoting curiosity and exploration, experimentation and intuitive making, problem-solving and change-making, within the themes of recycling and circular economies. The assignment requests students to implement their knowledge and thinking into practice, creating a critical awareness of the impact of plastics on our lives and the environment, and also its value. Students extensively explore the technical, sensorial, and expressive qualities of the material at hand, with 'making' and intuition as the driving forces, which later informs their design proposals. They are encouraged to create innovative change-making solutions, turning the assignment into a positive and memorable experience, aiming for long-lasting behavioural change. This brief aims to teach sustainability in an empowering way to arrive at better learning outcomes and design solutions while promoting a circular economy at the university. The assignment raises awareness about the harms of plastic in a community that lives immersed in it and brings about creative and innovative solutions. The relevance of this project lies in promoting environmental consciousness in students and making the impact of actions tangible by using a project-based and hands-on design approach. Education is used to move towards a more sustainable world by raising awareness in those envisaged to help shape it.


Purpose: Nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway is an important regulating pathway in human diseases and cancers. One of its downstream target genes is urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), which is involved in cancer invasion and metastasis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate NF-κB activation, uPA up-regulation, and hepatitis B viral X protein (HBx) expression in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to assess their clinicopathological significance. Experimental Design: We evaluated NF-κB activation, expression of uPA, and presence of HBx in 32 human HCCs. Their clinicopathological significance was assessed by correlation with the clinicopathological features. Aberrant NF-κB signaling pathway and uPA up-regulation mediated by HBx were also analyzed in vitro. Results: We found that NF-κB activation and uPA up-regulation were frequently (56% and 59%, respectively) observed in HCCs, and particularly in HBx-positive HCCs. NF-κB activation and uPA overexpression were closely associated with one another (P < 0.0001). Furthermore, both activation of NF-κB and up-regulation of uPA were significantly associated with a more aggressive tumor behavior in terms of venous invasion, direct liver invasion, and absence of tumor encapsulation. In vitro, NF-κB activation was induced by HBx transfection in HepG2 cells through inhibitor of nuclear factor-κB kinase β (IKKβ). HBx also up-regulated uPA and enhanced cell invasion synergistically with IKKβ. Conclusions: The data indicate that NF-κB dysregulation and uPA overexpression may lead to a more aggressive tumor behavior in HCC. In addition, our data suggest that IKKβ plays a critical role in the HBx-activated NF-κB signaling pathway.


The year 2019 was a turning point in the debate around how to address competition issues in digital platform markets. At the start of the year, the focus was on reform of competition law. By July, there had been calls – on both sides of the Atlantic – for pro-competitive ex ante regulation. This paper considers these developments through the lens of three influential expert reports, from the EC, UK and US. While the reports offer similar diagnoses of the underlying economic drivers of competition concerns in digital platform markets, they reach somewhat different policy conclusions. The EC report, which was commissioned first, highlights recommendations for antitrust. While it recognises that a regulatory regime may be needed in the longer run, this option is not considered in any detail. By contrast, the UK and US expert reports argue strongly for ex ante regulation. There are other differences too. While the US and EC experts were inclined to relax or reverse burdens of proof for both mergers and abuse of dominance, albeit in specified circumstances only, the UK experts did not recommend this. This paper compares these reports under the categories of mergers, dominance, data, regulation, and international.


In this paper, expectations along the Finnish dairy supply chain for innovation to achieve more sustainable farming systems are identified. Four focus group discussions and three interviews for low input and organic dairy supply chain members were performed. The Q Methodology was used to highlight common ground and divergence in the expectations that organic and low input dairying can deliver. The common view is that innovation in housing aimed at improving animal welfare should be fostered. Animal welfare innovations were highlighted especially by the consumer group. Other supply chain members encouraged in accordance with consumer group animal welfare, but also innovations linking with the efficiency of production and feed quality. Common understanding between actors is that innovations linking to genetic modification are not acceptable. Many respondents also considered unnaturally those innovations that were linking with acceleration of genetic selection, speeding up calf development, and supporting in 100 % indoor dairy systems.


The phenomenon of "choice shifts" in group decision-making is fairly ubiquitous in the social psychology literature. Faced with a choice between a ``safe" and ``risky" decision, group members appear to move to one extreme or the other, relative to the choices each member might have made on her own. Both risky and cautious shifts have been identified in different situations. This paper demonstrates that from an individual decision-making perspective, choice shifts may be viewed as a systematic violation of expected utility theory. We propose a model in which a well-known failure of expected utility - captured by the Allais paradox - is equivalent to a particular configuration of choice shifts. Thus, our results imply a connection between two well-known behavioral regularities, one in individual decision theory and another in the social psychology of groups


Head and neck swellings are the most common and challenging lesions in the field of FNAC diagnosis. FNAC is simple, inexpensive and fairly accurate alternative to the time consuming, complicated and invasive excision biopsy. The study was carried out to access the role of FNAC in diagnosing various head and neck lesions. This prospective study was undertaken on palpable head and neck lesions in all age groups for the duration of 9 months from September, 2013 to May, 2014 in Pathology Department of tertiary care hospital. Total 756 cases were evaluated in the cytopathology section and aspiration was done using 10 ml syringe and 22-26 gauge needles. The results of material positivity were compared with histopathology material obtained in follow-up. Out of the total 756 patients, 376 were males and 380 were females. Overall male to female ratio was 1:1. Head and neck swelling were present most frequently in the third decade. Lymph node swellings were the most common lesion (64.3%), followed by thyroid (17.5%), skin and soft tissue (13.5%) and salivary gland swellings were least common (4.8%). Non - neoplastic lesions were the commonest (67.3%) followed by malignant lesions (13.1%). Histopathological correlation was performed in 40 cases. We concluded that FNAC is a reliable, cost effective, convenient and easily accessible method as the best initial work up and management of head and neck lesions. In expert hands accompanied by good clinical information, proper history and relevant laboratory investigation the results are even better. Keywords: Fine needle aspiration, Cytology, Histopathology, Head and neck region


Self-supervised pretraining is the method of choice for natural language processing models and is rapidly gaining popularity in many vision tasks. Recently, self-supervised pretraining has shown to outperform supervised pretraining for many downstream vision applications, marking a milestone in the area. This superiority is attributed to the negative impact of incomplete labelling of the training images, which convey multiple concepts, but are annotated using a single dominant class label. Although Self-Supervised Learning (SSL), in principle, is free of this limitation, the choice of pretext task facilitating SSL is perpetuating this shortcoming by driving the learning process towards a single concept output. This study aims to investigate the possibility of modelling all the concepts present in an image without using labels. In this aspect the proposed SSL frame-work MC-SSL0.0 is a step towards Multi-Concept Self-Supervised Learning (MC-SSL) that goes beyond modelling single dominant label in an image to effectively utilise the information from all the concepts present in it. MC-SSL0.0 consists of two core design concepts, group masked model learning and learning of pseudo-concept for data token using a momentum encoder (teacher-student) framework. The experimental results on multi-label and multi-class image classification downstream tasks demonstrate that MC-SSL0.0 not only surpasses existing SSL methods but also outperforms supervised transfer learning. The source code will be made publicly available for community to train on bigger corpus.


Antimicrobials have had an important impact on animal health and production performance. However, non-prudent antimicrobial use (AMU) in food producing animals is considered to contribute to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), with a potential impact on both animal and public health. Considering the global importance of AMR, and the threats and challenges posed by mastitis and mastitis therapy in livestock production, the main objective of this study was to quantify AMU on three dairy farms in Serbia and to examine whether there is an association between AMU and the emergence of antimicrobial resistance of mastitis-associated pathogens. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by the disk diffusion method using causative agents isolated from the milk samples of 247 dairy cows. AMU data were obtained for a one-year period (May 2021 to May 2022) based on antibiotic prescriptions listed in electronic databases kept by farm veterinarians. To estimate antimicrobial drug exposure at the farm level, the veterinary drug Defined Daily Dose was calculated by multiplying the total amount of antibiotic used on the farms during the study period by the quantity of antibiotic in the administered drug and number of original drug packages used. The results on the association between the use of common antibiotics in mastitis treatment and AMR of isolated mastitis-associated pathogens confirm a pattern that could raise awareness of the importance of this aspect of good veterinary and clinical practice to combat the global threat of AMR.


Bacterial overgrowth is one of the major concerns in collection and storage of biofluids, particularly 24-h urine. However, there is no previous systematic analysis of effects of bacterial overgrowth on urinary proteome analysis, and necessity, type, and appropriate concentration of preservatives to prevent bacterial overgrowth in the urine remain unclear. We, therefore, performed such systematic evaluation. Pooled normal urine was either centrifuged at 1500 g (to remove cell debris) or uncentrifuged. The samples were then added with either sodium azide (NaN3) or boric acid with various concentrations, and kept at room temperature (RT) or at 4 degrees C. Bacterial overgrowth was determined by UV-visible spectrophotometry (lambda620 nm) and Gram staining. At both temperatures, centrifugation to remove cell debris could effectively delay the bacterial overgrowth. At RT, both centrifuged and uncentrifuged samples without any preservative had the detectable overgrowth of Gram-positive and Gram-negative cocci and bacilli as early as 12 and 8 h, respectively, whereas 0.1-1 mM NaN3 and 2-20 mM boric acid could delay bacterial overgrowth, which started at 16-20 h in the centrifuged urine and 12-16 h in the uncentrifuged urine. Greater delay (for at least 48 h) was achieved with 10 mM NaN3 and 200 mM boric acid. At 4 degrees C, no bacterial overgrowth was detected in all centrifuged samples. However, it was observed at 20 h in the uncentrifuged urine without preservative, and at 48 h for the uncentrifuged urine with 0.1 mM NaN3 or 2 mM boric acid. There was no bacterial overgrowth detectable in the uncentrifuged urine preserved with higher concentrations of NaN3 or boric acid. 2-DE showed obvious changes in the urinary proteome profile of the sample with bacterial contamination, and the bacterial proteins could be identified by MALDI-TOF MS. Our data suggest that the urine should be centrifuged to remove cell debris and kept at 4 degrees C, rather than at RT, during the collection interval prior to long-term storage in the freezer. Moreover, the addition of 200 mM boric acid or 10 mM NaN3 is highly recommended for the prevention of bacterial overgrowth in the urine.


Krakow is the most polluted, as far as particulate matter (PM) is concerned, city in Poland. This is an important public concern as Krakow is also the second largest populated Polish city. The specific geomorphological localization of Krakow influences the atmospheric dynamics over the city, resulting in still- or weak-winds promoting air pollution accumulation, especially during the heating season.
 Seasonal variability in concentrations and multipollutant correlations of gaseous pollutants (i.e. NO2, NO, NOx, SO2) and PM10, 2.5 measured over a period of January 2005 to December 2013 were investigated. Data for the study were obtained from reports published by the Voivodship Inspectorate for Environmental Protection in Krakow.
 A strong seasonal variation in PM10 concentration revealed that during warm months the European Union annual limit value of 40 µg/m3 was not exceeded, whereas during the heating season, it was exceeded more than twice (Figure 1).
 Normalized monthly concentration patterns of all investigated pollutants and temperatures revealed that NO2 had the most consistent concentration pattern over the year. Conversely, SO2, PM2.5 and PM10 levels varied greatly (e.g. SO2 concentrations in January were more than 100% greater and 54% lower than the monthly average in May). Moreover SO2 had the strongest negative correlation (r = -0.64) with temperature.
 Seasonal correlations between pairs of pollutants were the highest between NO and NOx (0.99) and between PM10 and PM2.5 in annual and seasonal terms. The non-heating season (May-August) was characterised by lower coefficients than the heating season (September-April), when coefficients were similar to the annual values. Additionally, the ratios between average concentrations of investigated pollutants were also higher in the heating season.
Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images confirmed that particles were consistent with the known morphology of fly-ash (Brown et al., 2011) and other combustion-derived PM (BeruBe et al., 1999; Figure 2). For example, individual carbonaceous spheres' forming grape-like bunches of aggregates and agglomerates which are highly-respirable.
 Natural factors such as geomorphology, climate and weather conditions have been determined to be the perpetrators of air pollution accumulation over the city (Wlodarczyk et al., 2015). The main source of elevated pollution levels were traffic emissions (i.e. nitrogen compounds) during warm months and residential coal-burning during the heating season. In conclusion, high annual levels, especially for PM, are greatly affected by measurements from the heating season. This 'seasonality' in PM2.5 concentrations should be taken into account when treating PM2.5 as a proxy in epidemiological studies for Krakow; as people in colder months spend less time outdoors. Further analysis including in vitro toxicology of PM is required to assess its direct effects on human lung biology.

Brown, P., Jones, T. and BeruBe, K. (2011). Environmental Pollution 159 (12):3324-3333.
BeruBe, K., Williamson, B., Winters, C., et al., (1999). Atmospheric Environment, 33(10):1599-1614.


General Statement Montana State University Billings is a comprehensive public four-year higher education institution located in Montana's largest population center, whose faculty is actively engaged in teaching, research, creative endeavors and public service. MSU Billings is unique in that it is one of a select few higher education institutions that also boasts an embedded two-year community college. The University opened in 1927 and was initially called Eastern Montana State Normal School at Billings and was established to prepare teachers for elementary schools in eastern Montana. MSU Billings has grown, with the city of Billings and Yellowstone County, into the major urban comprehensive higher education center of south central and eastern Montana. The University campus consists of four colleges: the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business, the College of Education and the College of Allied Health Professions. Seven miles west of the University campus sits City College at MSU Billings, which serves the comprehensive two-year mission of the university.


Plant hormones regulate plant growth and development by affecting an array of cellular, physiological, and developmental processes, including, but not limited to, cell division and elongation, stomatal regulation, photosynthesis, transpiration, ion uptake and transport, initiation of leaf, flower and fruit development, and senescence. Environmental factors such as salinity, drought, and extreme temperatures may cause a reduction in plant growth and productivity by altering the endogenous levels of plant hormones, sensitivity to plant hormones, and/or signaling pathways. Molecular and physiological studies have determined that plant hormones and abiotic stresses have interactive effects on a number of basic biochemical and physiological processes, leading to reduced plant growth and development. Various strategies have been considered or employed to maximize plant growth and productivity under environmental stresses such as salt-stress. A fundamental approach is to develop salt-tolerant plants through genetic means. Breeding for salt tolerance, however, is a long-term endeavor with its own complexities and inherent difficulties. The success of this approach depends, among others, on the availability of genetic sources of tolerance and reliable screening techniques, identification and successful transfer of genetic components of tolerance to desired genetic backgrounds, and development of elite breeding lines and cultivars with salt tolerance and other desirable agricultural characteristics. Such extensive processes have delayed development of successful salt-tolerant cultivars in most crop species. An alternative and technically simpler approach is to induce salt tolerance through exogenous application of certain plant growth–regulating compounds. This approach has gained significant interest during the past decade, when a wealth of new knowledge has become available on the beneficial roles of the six classes of plant hormones (auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, abscisic acid, ethylene, and brassinosteroids) as well as several other plant growth–regulating substances (jasmonates, salicylates, polyamines, triacontanol, ascorbic acid, and tocopherols) on plant stress tolerance. Among these, brassinosteroids (BRs) and salicylic acid (SA) have been studied most extensively. Both BRs and SA are ubiquitous in the plant kingdom, affecting plant growth and development in many different ways, and are known to improve plant stress tolerance. In this article, we review and discuss the current knowledge and possible applications of BRs and SA that could be used to mitigate the harmful effects of salt-stress in plants. We also discuss the roles of exogenous applications of BRs and SA in the regulation of various biochemical and physiological processes leading to improved salt tolerance in plants.


: An active insoluble preparation of immobilized benzyl penicillin acylase (IBA) EC 188.8.131.52 has been obtained by its entrapping into polyacrylamide gel lattice. Due to immobilization the preparation maintains up to 87% of its initial activity. The kinetics of IBA at low substrate concentrations obeys the Michaelis-Menten law; however, the apparent KM value decreases and the temperature optimum elevates. The inhibition by the reaction products--6-aminopenicillanic acid and phenylacetic acid--has been found to be 4.3 mM. The resultant IBA preparation proves to be suitable for hydrolysis of 5% benzyl penicillin solutions.


1. There is substantial evidence that continued administration of levodopa is the most effective treatment for reversing the symptoms of Parkinson's syndrome.

2. There were sixteen fractured hips among 550 patients receiving levodopa during a thirty-six month period of clinical drug investigation. Because of beneficial effects of levodopa therapy, fracture management may be the same as for the average elderly patient who does not have neurological disease.

3. Complications were fewer and prognosis better in patients taking levodopa than in those we treated prior to the use of this drug.

4. In patients on levodopa, the indications for replacement prostheses are the same as for normal elderly patients.


The case for decentralizing taxes does not imply that these taxes need to be administered locally. Nor is it is necessarily constrained by the weakness of local tax administration. Tax decentralization and the decentralization of tax administration are related but separable decisions. As discussed in this paper, different countries have at different times have reached different conclusions about the appropriate way to mix and match these issues. No country may have it quite right when taking all the relevant factors into consideration, at least when viewed from outside. However, decisions on such matters are not made outside but inside specific countries, few involved in such decisions are likely to attach the same weights to all factors, and usually no one has the full story in mind when decisions are made. As with many questions of institutional design, there is no one size fits all correct answer to either the question of the extent to which taxes should be decentralized or the question of whether such taxes should also be administered in a decentralized fashion. However, thinking through these two distinct questions separately can be a useful step towards achieving better outcomes.


This paper investigates the effects of gangrenous mastitis seen with cell necrosis and tissue damage on the activity of erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), level of plasma lipid peroxidation (MDA), and some biochemical parameters. To do that, 20 clinically gangrenous mastitis diagnosed and 20 healthy ewes, all from the same flock in a local ewes unit were used as material. Blood samples were kept in test tube containing the disodium salt of ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) as anticoagulant for plasma MDA and erythrocyte GSH-Px analysis and in vacutainer tube for biochemical analyses from the jugular vein. The following measurements were performed in blood serum: glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, total protein, albumin, sodium (Na), potassium (K), chloride (Cl), calcium (Ca), total bilirubin, alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), urea and creatinine in an autoanalyzer. Erythrocyte GSH-Px activities and plasma MDA levels were found to be significantly higher in the ewes with gangrenous mastitis than healthy ewes. While there was an increase in creatinine and total bilirubin, Na, K, Ca, glucose and albumin were significantly decreased in the gangrenous mastitic group than the control group. In conclusion, in ewes, the severe damage in the inflamed mammary gland tissue during gangrenous mastitis might be said to cause high oxidant stress, which leads to increases in the levels of erythrocyte GSH-Px and plasma MDA.


Received: 2016-05-24 | Accepted: 2016-08-02 | Available online: 2017-06-20 http://dx.doi.org/10.15414/afz.2017.20.01.28-30 The aim of this study was to calculate the inbreeding coefficients of the most used sires in population of Slovak Pinzgau and summarize milk production of theirs daughters as main criterion in present in selection of sires besides pedigree based level of inbreeding of future progeny. The runs of homozygosity (ROH) greater than 4 Mb cover on average 1.9 % of genome, ROH ˃ 8 Mb cover 1.3 % and ROH ˃ 16 Mb cover 0.4. Obtained results were compared to genealogical pedigree analysis; the observed inbreeding was higher than that expected based on pedigree data (0.16 %), despite the fact that ROH > 16 Mb representing recent inbreeding approximately three generations ago. The average milk performance of evaluated Slovak Pinzgau cows has been 5259 kg of milk, 3.6 % of protein and 3.85 % of fat. These results are important for the management of the Pinzgau population in Slovakia due to more precise values of inbreeding obtained as well as knowledge about the ancient inbreeding which was not possible to estimate from the pedigree data. Keywords: inbreeding, milk performance, runs of homozygosity, Slovak Pinzgau cattle References ALBRECHTSEN A., NIELSEN F.C. and NIELSEN R. (2010) Ascertainment biases in SNP chips affect measures of population divergence. Molecular Biology and Evolution , vol. 27, pp. 2534-2547. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msq148 BJELLAND, D.W. et al. (2013) Evaluation of inbreeding depression in Holstein cattle using whole-genome SNP markers and alternative measures of genomic inbreeding. Journal of Dairy Science , vol. 96, pp. 4697-4706. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2012-6435 CHARLESWORTH, D. and WILLIS, J. (2009) The genetics of inbreeding depression. Nature Reviews Genetics , vol. 10, pp. 783-796. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nrg2664 FERENCAKOVIC, M. et al. (2011) Runs of Homozygosity Reveal Genomewide Autozygosity in the Austrian Fleckvieh Cattle. Agriculturae Conspectus Scientificus , vol. 76, no. 4, pp. 325-328. GURGUL, A., et al. (2016) The use of runs of homozygosity for estimation of recent inbreeding in Holstein cattle. Journal of Applied Genetics , vol. 57, pp. 1-4. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13353-016-0337-6 GUTIERREZ, J.P. et al. (2008) Individual increase in inbreeding allows estimating realised effective sizes from pedigrees. Genetics Selection Evolution , vol. 40, pp. 359-378. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1297-9686-40-4-359 MARRAS, G. et al. (2015) Analysis of runs of homozygosity and their relationship with inbreeding in five cattle breeds farmed in Italy. Animal Genetics , vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 110-121. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/age.12259 PAVLIK, I. et al. (2014) Joint genealogical analysis as a tool for diversity evaluation in Pinzgau cattle populations. Archive Tierz ucht, vol. 57, no. 14, pp. 1-12. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7482/0003-9438-57-014 PURCELL, S. et al. (2007) PLINK: a toolset for whole-genome association and population-based linkage analysis. The American Journal of Human Genetics , vol. 81, pp. 559-575. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/519795 SAS Institute Inc: SAS/STAT Software. (2011) Cary NC: SAS Institute Inc: Version 9.3. THE BREEDING SERVICES OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC. (2014) Results of dairy herd milk recording in Slovak Republic for control year 2013-2014. [Online]. Available at http://pssr.sk/org/publ/2014/hd/rocenka/ml_13_14/rocenka/Mliekova_rocenka_2014.pdf . [Accessed: 1st March 2017].


Using the Arts & Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI) 2008, we apply mapping techniques previously developed for mapping journal structures in the Science and Social Sciences Citation Indices. Citation relations among the 110,718 records were aggregated at the level of 1,157 journals specific to the A&HCI, and the journal structures are questioned on whether a cognitive structure can be reconstructed and visualized. Both cosine-normalization (bottom up) and factor analysis (top down) suggest a division into approximately 12 subsets. The relations among these subsets are explored using various visualization techniques. However, we were not able to retrieve this structure using the Institute for Scientific Information Subject Categories, including the 25 categories that are specific to the A&HCI. We discuss options for validation such as against the categories of the Humanities Indicators of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the panel structure of the European Reference Index for the Humanities, and compare our results with the curriculum organization of the Humanities Section of the College of Letters and Sciences of the University of California at Los Angeles as an example of institutional organization. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Small-scale fisheries across the globe provide critical food security, livelihoods, and human well-being, but are threatened by a combination of local and global stressors, including overexploitation, pollution, and climate change. Participatory approaches to management, especially those that incorporate local communities and customary knowledge can provide meaningful biological information that supports sustainable fisheries management and builds local adaptive capacity to changing ocean conditions. Through a collaboration between fishers, scientists, NGOs, and regulating agencies, we developed a low-cost, low-tech method to assess the seasonal spawning peaks, lunar spawning cycles, and size at maturity (L50) for key targeted reef fish, combining traditional knowledge and practice with modern scientific approaches, including gonadosomatic index (GSI) and histology. Two years of community-based monitoring resulted in data from 57 species and 15 families of reef and nearshore fishes (n = 2595), with detailed information for 10 species at 4 locations across the Hawaiian Islands. Comparisons between community-collected GSI data and scientifically (histologically) assessed spawning cycles and size at reproductive maturity produced similar results suggesting that these approaches can be applied in data-poor fisheries to assess spawning seasons and size at maturity (L50), both of which are critical needs for effective fisheries management. Semistructured surveys revealed a large body of local knowledge on spawning times and harvest practices based on allowing spawning to occur before harvesting and protecting small and large size classes, but little evidence that fishers understand temporal patterns of spawning. This suggests that monitoring methods that fill key gaps such as this and are congruent with these local knowledge systems and customary harvest practices may be key for local stewardship and adaptive management.


Objectives To determine whether evidence-based practice guidelines promote developmentally appropriate chronic condition self-management for children with asthma, type 1 diabetes mellitus, and cystic fibrosis. Methods Systematic review of clinical guidelines current as at 22 September 2017, including assessment of quality of each guideline using the iCAHE 'Guideline Quality Checklist', and mapping of the supporting evidence. Results Fifteen guidelines were identified: asthma (n=7) and type 1 diabetes mellitus (n=7), CF (n=1). Guideline quality was variable, and 11 different grading systems were used. In total, there were 28 recommendations promoting age/developmental considerations. Recommendations focused on: collaboration (n=15), chronic condition self-management education (n= 17), clinicians' skills (n= 4); personalized action plans (n=3), problem-solving (n=2); and the assessment of children's chronic condition self-management needs (n=3). Developmental transitions are highlighted as important time points in some guidelines: preschool (n=2), and adolescence (n=3). All guidelines encouraged triadic partnerships between children, adult caregivers and clinicians. Evidence supporting the developmental aspects of the guidelines' recommendations was poor; only 14 out of 57 journals listed as evidence were concordant. Discussion Current guidelines articulate that developmentally appropriate chronic condition self-management is important; however, more work needs to be done to translate the concept into practical clinical tools.


This article examines the role of UN peacekeepers in creating awareness about the effects of climate change and establishes links with national security policy making process in host nations. A social survey was carried out to determine links between the United Nations Peace Keeping Operations (UNPKOs) and importance of climatic literacy. The data was gathered from 120 UN peacekeepers, 84 per cent of them supported constructive perspective of climatic literacy in maintaining peace and stability in conflict zones. Since the impact of climate change is a wide subject, the scope of this article, therefore, is limited to how the UN peacekeepers can help the host nations through climate literacy campaign.
This paper is a contribution to a global awareness campaign as well as source of empirical evidence to enhance capacity of UNPKOs and the host nations to help formulate a sustainable policymaking process to counter the threats of climate change. The article concludes that there is a need to consider climate change as a national and international security threat and, therefore, building capacity of UN peacekeepers through climate literacy program is important.


One of the most important problems facing gas turbine designers today is the ingestion of hot mainstream gases into the wheel-space between the turbine disc and its adjacent casing. A rim seal is fitted at the periphery and a superposed sealant flow is used to prevent ingress. The aim of this PhD research was to design a new rotor-stator testing facility, from which both flow physics and future heat transfer characteristics in relation to ingress could be measured and analysed, along with a detailed investigation into the sealing characteristics of turbine rim-seals there from. The rig was constructed as an engine representative model of a gas turbine wheel-space, from which data correlations could tentatively be scaled and applied to actual engine design. The novel testing facility was designed in great detail for both sealing effectiveness research and to investigate the thermal effects of hot gas ingress; insight never previously achieved. An extensive commissioning process was undertaken to ensure that the correct, albeit benign, fluid-dynamic conditions were created inside the single stage turbine rig. Effectiveness data are presented for single-clearance rim-seals in a variety of ingress conditions from which a fundamental understanding is developed for both rotationally-induced and externally-induced ingress. A newly developed orifice model is validated against the experimental data, resulting in theoretical predictions of the sealing effectiveness characteristics of various rim-seals. It is suggested that these predictions could be scaled to engine representative conditions where they could act as a future design tool for secondary air system engineers. The theory is then extended to the application of double clearance-seal configurations, whereby the beneficial aspects are shown both theoretically and experimentally, leading on to the suggestion of a possible optimisation process resulting in an ultimate double seal. It is postulated that this would be the highest performance that can ever be achieved with a double clearance configuration.


Objective and design: This study compares the effect of extracellular calcium on contractile responsiveness and membrane potential (Em) in arteries from stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) and Wistar-Kyoto normotensive (WKY) rats. Methods: Isometric force and Em were measured in isolated tail artery strips using standard muscle bath and microelectrode techniques, respectively. Results: The resting contractile force in SHRSP and WKY arteries was not influenced by the extracellular calcium concentration. However, the rate of force development in response to norepinephrine (3 x 10-8mol/l) was slowed when calcium was elevated and increased when calcium was reduced. Compared with WKY rats, this stabilizing action of calcium on contractions to norepinephrine was reduced in SHRSP. In 1.6mmol/l calcium, resting Em in SHRSP did not differ from that in WKY rats. Calcium-free buffer caused depolarization in SHRSP and WKY rats. Reductions in calcium below physiological levels resulted in depolarization, whereas elevations in calcium caused hyperpolarization. Regardless of the calcium concentration, Em values in SHRSP did not differ from those in WKY rats. Norepinephrine (3 x 10-8mol/l) caused a depolarization in WKY rat and SHRSP arteries, and the magnitude of this depolarization was not influenced by calcium. Endothelium removal did not alter the stabilizing effects of calcium on the membrane potential or contractile activity in WKY rats or SHRSP. Conclusions: The reduced stabilizing effect of calcium on the contractile activity in SHRSP arteries is not due to an alteration in the general effect of the cation on the membrane potential.


Privacy-preserving data mining (PPDM) has become an interesting and emerging topic in recent years because it helps hide confidential information, while allowing useful knowledge to be discovered at the same time. Data sanitization is a common way to perturb a database, and thus sensitive or confidential information can be hidden. PPDM is not a trivial task and can be concerned an Non-deterministic Polynomial-time (NP)-hard problem. Many algorithms have been studied to derive optimal solutions using the evolutionary process, although most are based on straightforward or single-objective methods used to discover the candidate transactions/items for sanitization. In this paper, we present a multi-objective algorithm using a grid-based method (called GMPSO) to find optimal solutions as candidates for sanitization. The designed GMPSO uses two strategies for updating gbest and pbest during the evolutionary process. Moreover, the pre-large concept is adapted herein to speed up the evolutionary process, and thus multiple database scans during each evolutionary process can be reduced. From the designed GMPSO, multiple Pareto solutions rather than single-objective algorithms can be derived based on Pareto dominance. In addition, the side effects of the sanitization process can be significantly reduced. Experiments have shown that the designed GMPSO achieves better side effects than the previous single-objective algorithm and the NSGA-II-based approach, and the pre-large concept can also help with speeding up the computational cost compared to the NSGA-II-based algorithm.


The role of γδ T cells in the bovine immune response to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (M. paratuberculosis) infection is poorly understood. Accordingly, using BALB/c mice that are innately susceptible to M. paratuberculosis, we compared wild-type and γδ T cell knockout BALB/c mice to study the protective roles of γδ T cells in M. paratuberculosis infection. Ten-week-old mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with either a low dose (4 × 106 colony-forming units [CFU]/mouse) or a high dose (4 × 109 CFU/mouse) of M. paratuberculosis strain ATCC 19698. Histopathologic and morphometric examinations showed reductions in the number and area of granulomatous lesions in the liver of the knockout mice at 18 weeks after inoculation with either the low or the high dose of the mycobacteria. Furthermore, at 18 weeks after inoculation, the bacterial load in the spleens of the knockout mice inoculated with the high dose was significantly lower than that of wild-type mice. No differences were found in bacterial load between the knockout and the wild-type mice in the low-dose groups. In contrast, in the livers of wild-type mice inoculated with either the low or high mycobacterial dose, increased areas of epithelioid granulomata were observed and the granulomata became disseminated widely during the experimental period. These findings in model mice suggest that γδ T cells, rather than restricting mycobacterial growth, may play a crucial role in development of epithelioid granulomata similar to those seen consistently in bovine paratuberculosis. The results of this study may have relevance to our understanding of the pathogenesis of paratuberculosis in ruminants, in which a prominent number of γδ T cells exist in the lymphoid system.


Accurate protein and peptide identifications by database search depend on the quality of the mass spectrometer spectra. Excessive quantities of low quality spectra consume valuable computing resources and can decrease overall accuracy of peptide and protein identifications. We present a fast spectrum quality filter called French Press that can remove low quality spectra without database searching. The filter's speed is the result of a tuned random forest classifier and a greedily optimized classification feature subset, culled from features appearing in prior research on spectrum filtering and modeling. Results on diverse data sets of mass spectrometer runs show that the filter can remove roughly 50% of low quality spectra while retaining 99% of identifiable spectra.


Abstract Livestock health is economically important for agropastoral households whose wealth is held partly as livestock. Households can invest in disease prevention and treatment, but livestock disease risk is also affected by grazing practices that result in inter-herd contact and disease transmission in regions with endemic communicable diseases. This paper examines the relationships between communal grazing and antimicrobial use in Maasai, Chagga and Arusha households in northern Tanzania. We develop a theoretical model of the economic connection between communal grazing, disease transmission risk, risk perceptions, and antimicrobial use, and derive testable hypotheses about these connections. Regression results suggest that history of disease and communal grazing are associated with higher subjective disease risk and greater antimicrobial use. We discuss the implications of these results in light of the potential for relatively high inter-herd disease transmission rates among communal grazers and potential contributions to antimicrobial resistance due to antimicrobial use.


A mutual information function was defined as a criterion measuring the robustness of watermarking algorithm. Considering QIM scheme, error probability of watermarking can be calculated to validate the measurement of mutual information function. By mean of numerical computation, mutual information under Gaussian noise and uniform noise is calculated with change of noise standard deviation. In the experiment, an audio section is selected as the host and their third lever wavelet detail coefficients are quantified according to watermark bit series. Experiment results show that statistic Bit Error Rate (BER) is matched with evaluation conclusion of mutual information method when step is on the small side. Mutual information function can be selected as a cost function to evaluate the robustness of watermarking algorithm, and predict the BER.


An unperturbed piece of glass is optically isotropic. Birefringence can be induced by breaking this symmetry, for example by applying a uniaxial stress to the glass. An empirical model exists which predicts when oxide glasses will exhibit positive, negative or zero birefringence under stress. This model has been used to determined new zero-stress optic oxide glass compositions; however, it has not been tested on non-oxide systems, nor does it take into account the wavelength of the incident light. The stress-optic response in chalcogenide glasses was investigated using stoichiometric GeS2-P2S5 and GeS2-Sb2S3, and non-stoichiometric Ge-P-S. The trends of the stress-optic response in stoichiometric non-oxide glasses correlated well with predictions based on the empirical model for oxide glasses. Small differences between the predictive parameter of the model, 〈d/Nc〉, were explained by expanding the treatment of metallicity. The wavelength dependence of the stress-optic coefficient for a large variety of oxide glass formers and modifiers was measured. Glasses composed of positive modifiers (e.g. BaO, CaO, Na2O) exhibited positive dispersion of the stress-optic coefficient, while those with negative modifiers (e.g. PbO, SnO) showed negative dispersion. Mixing positive and negative modifiers in a glass resulted in compositions exhibiting wavelength independent stress-optic coefficients. The photoelastic response of a material can also be described by its elasto-optic tensor (pij). Isotropic materials have three elasto-optic tensor elements, two of which are independent. These two independent elements were measured for lead and barium borate, phosphate and silicate glasses using Brillouin spectroscopy. Both elements were found to correlate with the empirical parameter 〈d/Nc〉, while the third dependent element showed no relationship to the empirical model. Finally, an alternative model of photoelasticity is discussed. The normalized polarizability of a material is found to correlate with both the sign and magnitude of the stress-optic coefficient.


The principle extent of this anticipate is to build up a remote innovation based air cushion vehicle framework controlled utilizing android. An air cushion vehicle, otherwise called an air-pad vehicle or ACV, is a specialty equipped for going over area, water, mud or ice and different surfaces. Air cushion vehicle are crossover vessels worked by a pilot as an air ship instead of a skipper as a marine vessel. It is presently utilized all through the world as particular transports in a fiasco alleviation, coastguard, military and review applications and additionally for game or traveler administration. Large forms have been utilized to transport several individuals and vehicles over the English Channel, whilst others have military applications used to transport tanks, troopers and vast gear in threatening situations and landscape A hovercraft is a non wheeled vehicle that can hover over land as well as water easily using high powered fans and aerodynamic design. We here propose an advanced hovercraft that uses high rpm motors interfaced with an avr family microntroller to achieve desired functionality. The motor below hovercraft rotates at a very high RPM that allows it to generate a force enough to make it hover on the surface thus reducing the friction below it to minimum. Then we use the motor propeller mounted behind it to push the hovercraft in forward direction. Now we also need to use a servo motor attached to the hovercraft rudder that helps the hovercraft to move in desired directions by bending the air at accurate angles. The system works collectively to hover while continuously managing servo as well as propeller motor to drive the hovercraft as desired. Now to control the hovercraft we here use an android application. The android application sends movement commands to the hovercraft circuit. The circuit consists of an Bluetooth receiver to receive and process these commands. The commands received by receiver are now processed by the microcontroller and it then operates all three motors accordingly as desired by the user.


Medical education was evolved drastically to meet the needs of current generation students. Role play is the effective method to teach the clinical concepts. Role play promotes active learning and critical thinking. It also improves the communication skills which are most essential in medical education. The current study was aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of role-play in understanding the clinical concepts in medical physiology. The topic was explained in the routine lecture using power point presentation and video. Post-assessment was performed using 30 multiple choice questions. The perception of the students was also obtained after the role play. There was a significant (P<0.05) increase in the performance of students in the MCQ test followed by the role play. 75% of students agreed strongly that role-play along with class lecture helps to acquire better clinical knowledge.76% strongly agreed that the role play promotes active learning. 80% of students strongly agreed that they enjoyed the role play. 72% of students strongly agreed that role play helps them to remember the clinical concepts easily. 90% of students strongly agreed that it increased their communication skills and motivated them to work in a team. 75% of students preferred role plays for learning the clinical concepts, and 70% of the students recommended the roleplay to be implemented in the curriculum. The study results provide research evidence about the effectiveness of the role play in teaching the clinical concepts. Further detailed studies are recommended to adopt role play in teaching the clinical concepts in medical education.


The researches by which Sir Joseph Larmor will chiefly be remembered belong to the decade 1892-1901, which is now recognized as a transition period in physics. After half a century of rapid progress, the main wave of advance seemed to have spent its force; and it was beginning to be said that the possibilities of discovery were approaching exhaustion. Before the end of the decade X-rays, electrons and radio-activity had again set experimental physics in feverish progress, to be followed later by revolutionary changes in the foundations of physical theory. But at the time when Larmor started on his main work there was little to inspire new ideas. The ever-urgent problem of the ultimate relation of matter and electricity and aether, and the search for a unifying conception which would explain how they come to possess their fundamental properties, had occupied the greatest minds of the time; and it was hard to see any direction in which new light might be found. The ground had been gone over again and again, and impassable barriers seemed to have been reached. Classical physics was indeed near the end of its tether. Of those who yet contrived to make substantial progress at this difficult stage—who brought classical physics finally to the point where new methods became inevitable—two names stand out prominently, Lorentz and Larmor. Their work had much in common, so that it is sometimes difficult to assess their contributions separately. Larmor's reputation has perhaps been overshadowed by that of Lorentz. But on any estimate, Larmor's achievements rank high; and his place in science is secure as one who re-kindled the dying embers of the old physics to prepare the advent of the new.


Background The most efficient approach for studies examining the incidence of dementia involves a brief screening instrument to identify participants for more extensive testing to identify cognitive impairment. The modified mini-mental state examination (3MS) is commonly used as this initial screen in such two-stage designs, however its properties for this role require further study. Purpose We use data from the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study to contrast design options in two-stage designs. Methods This trial enrolled 7251 participants with nine or more years of education who were aged 65–79 and followed an average of four to five years. Logistic regression was used to examine the case yields at varying two-stage 3MS cutpoints. The efficiency of using different examination schedules and restricting enrollment to higher risk women was examined. Results Probable dementia is associated with marked decline in 3MS scores. The percentages of women classified with probable dementia ranged from 7.95% (3MS 85–88) to 50.0% (3MS = 70). The numbers [95% confidence interval] of enrolled women necessary to detect one case of probable dementia (four-year follow-up) for baseline 3MS scores of 100, 95, 90 and 85 were estimated as 1477 [389, 5618], 253 [134, 481], 53 [34, 85], and 14 [9, 23], respectively. Compared to annual testing, administration every two years increased the number of required enrollees by 11%, but decreased the number of test administrations by 46%. Limitations Our findings are influenced by the characteristics of our study group, its rates of retention, and the study protocol, and may not fully generalize to other settings. Conclusions The 3MS can serve as an efficient basis for two-stage study designs and a cutpoint of 88 is reasonable for populations with similar characteristics. Studies may improve efficiency by using the 3MS during screening to eliminate women with low risk for dementia and by conducting testing every two years.


The problem of driving a set of vehicles (agents) to a desired target configuration under event-based communication and measurement constraints is analyzed. We start by studying the single agent problem, where we propose a waypoint based solution, along with two alternative control strategies. After deriving their properties and proving some relevant results, we proceed to study the two agent case. We generalize the results obtained for this network to the multi agent network. Our strategy is able to position each agent within a given distance of its target while satisfying the constraints.We provide some numerical examples for relevant scenarios.


Acute exercise has an influence on human cognition, and evidence suggests that immediate learning can be facilitated. The purpose of this study was to explore the acute effect of high-intensity exercise conducted with different exercise modes on immediate learning outcome, and whether the effect was moderated by self-reported arousal. To this end, young adults [n = 42, 8 males/35 females, mean (SD) age: 23.53 (3.06), BMI: 23.19 (3.14)] were randomised to resting (control), ergometer cycling, or boxing a punching bag. The exercise was 90% of age-predicted maximal heart rate. Immediately after exercise or resting, participants studied a text containing historical information followed by a multiple-choice test. Results indicated that neither of the exercise groups performed better on the recall task compared to the control group, and the effect was not moderated by self-reported arousal. Further studies are warranted to establish the dose–response relationship between exercise and learning effects and its possible moderators.


Th i s book, which is definitely wr i t ten for the Amer ican doctor , gives an account of the fiscal system in Amer ica which affects t h e medica l prac t i t ioner of al l specialt ies. I t includes chapters of var ious financial mat te r s includ ing insurance, d e a t h d u t y a n d the c o m p a n y law per ta ining to medica l coφOΓations. I t s style of n u m b e r i n g chap te r s a n d p a r a g r a p h s a n d condens ing t h e p a r a  graphs to a few words in i talicized s u m m a r y makes for easy unde r s t and ing of the text , pa r t i cu la r ly when other chapters a n d pa rag raphs are quo ted . T h e chapters on avoiding malprac t i ce l i t igation could well be read by any medica l prac t i t ioner in the western World. But a p a r t from the doctor ' s d u t y u n d e r the 'Med ica id ' a n d ' M e d i c a r e ' systems which makes interesting reading , especially when compared wi th our own Na t iona l H e a l t h Service, the book is of no va lue to a n English pract i t ioner , a p a r t from those con templa t ing emigra t ion to the Un i t ed States of Amer ica . A copy of this book should be avai lable in any medical school l ib rary as it c learly foretells the impor t ance of business a n d legal a c u m e n requi red by pract is ing Amer ican physicians.


Healthy uterine function depends on the balanced interaction of the ovarian steroids estrogen and progesterone (P4) signaling through their respective receptors. The expression of each receptor is regulated by the other through crucial cross talk between the epithelial and stromal compartments. Ablation of the progesterone receptor (PR) results in complete infertility in mice, and evidence increasingly demonstrates that the PR is a major mediator of epithelial-stromal cross talk and events leading to the disruption of this communication can lead to P4 resistance in the uterus. This resistance, through impaired P4 signaling, can be at the level of the PR itself, coregulators, and downstream effectors. The mechanisms underlying P4 resistance is of critical importance in women's health because this defect is seen in a wide variety of diseases including infertility, endometriosis, endometrial carcinoma, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and leiomyomas. By using mouse models of PR signaling, many of these mechanisms are beginning to be elucidated and aid in the development of effective therapies for treatment of uterine diseases.


Recent empirical studies have been searching for evidence on and driving forces for offshoring. Frequently, this has been done by analyzing gross trade flows related to offshore activities using gravity equations augmented by ad hoc measures of supply-side country differences. This paper suggests that gravity formulations of this sort are mis-specified, due to theoretically unmotivated attempts to allow for both complete and incomplete specialization influences on gross trade flows within the same gravity framework. We suggest an alternative specification rooted in incomplete specialization that views bilateral gravity equations as statistical relationships constrained on countries' multilateral specialization patterns. This view reveals that countries' multilateral specialization incentives drive bilateral trade, corresponding to and competing with the role of multilateral trade resistance. Our results support evidence for offshoring activities across Europe, driven by countries' multilateral specialization incentives, as expressed by supply-side country differences relative to the rest of the world. JEL-Classification: F14, F16, L24


The ability to take constraints explicitly into account in the optimisation problem formulation has made Model Predictive Control (MPC) a popular control strategy. However, finding the weights in the optimisation criterion is often non-trivial and requires a fair bit of trial-and-error. Conventional controllers such as PID, on the other hand, are relatively easy to tune, and they often achieve satisfactory performance when there are no constraints. In this paper, we present three approaches for designing an MPC such that it reproduces the conventional controller when there are no constraints. The first approach is from the existing literature where a full order observer is used in the reverse engineering. The second and third approach used a reduced order observer and state augmentation respectively are proposed. The obtained controller can also serve as an initial MPC which can be further fine tuned, and constraints can later be added to evaluate any potential benefit of using MPC compared to the original controller.


This paper considers the drivers of the structure and evolution of the life sciences innovation system, a remarkable success story for public support of science. The growth and performance of this system reflect the interaction between abundant scientific and technological opportunity, a reasonably effective and adaptive institutional and property rights framework, and a reservoir of unmet demand for therapies and technologies that significantly enhance human health care. Examining the evolution and dynamism of the life sciences innovation system, we emphasize three central foundations: a long-term and relatively stable commitment of financial and human resources by both the public sector and for-profit organizations, market and non-market institutions that encourage competition on the basis of innovation across multiple dimensions, and the promise of significant financial rewards for private sector innovators leveraging publicly funded scientific discoveries.


The excessive ingestion of spirits cause metabolic and pathologic changes in different organic systems. In the bone it is known that alcohol causes osteoporosis, inhibits osteosynthesis and alters the metabolism of the bony cells. The present study aimed at verifying the influence of alcohol ingestion in the process of bone consolidation after fracture in rats. Twelve Wistar albino rats (Rattus norvegicus) were split in a control group (A), treated with commercial chow and water, and an experimental group (B), receiving commercial chow and sugar-cane brandy. Twenty-five days after fracture, the rats were killed and the collected material was subjected to light microscopy routine. It was observed that the bony callus was present in both groups of animals. In the regeneration region the animals from group A showed a smaller density of cartilage cells and thus a greater amount of newly-formed bone, while the animals from group B presented a larger density of cartilage cells, demonstrating a delay in the process of bone formation. According to the results obtained, we state that alcohol influences the fracture regeneration, delaying this process.


Since the United Arab Emirates ('UAE') ratified the NewYork Convention in July 2006, the popularity of arbitration has soared in the UAE. The local UAE courts have enforced a number of arbitral awards under the Convention and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Court now offers an alternative seat and route for the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards pursuant to an UNCITRAL Model Law-based arbitration law. Yet there remain a number of recurrent pitfalls commonly encountered by parties attempting to enforce arbitration agreements, conduct effective arbitrations and enforce foreign and domestic arbitral awards in the UAE. Parties may be caught out by issues such as capacity, the breadth of disputes considered non-arbitrable by the local courts, and alleged deficiencies in the conduct of the arbitration and the award itself. These pitfalls result from quirks of UAE law and the fact that there is still no dedicated arbitration law applicable to all of the UAE.


The research in this thesis was conducted in the context of an innovation implemented at a school for secondary education that aimed to further develop students' talents at school. Since differentiated instruction (DI) was encouraged in this innovation, and because DI appears to be a complex approach to implement, we studied teachers' implementation of DI, teachers' interactive cognitions of DI, and their sense-making of the innovation. We therefore conducted a systematic literature review, and studied 4 secondary school teachers using stimulated recall interviews and 15 secondary school teachers using questionnaires with open-ended questions. The literature review provided an overview of how many different factors in the teachers' daily working environment influenced teachers' implementation of DI: for example, the school principal appears to be important in providing support to teachers to change their practices towards more DI. The stimulated recall interviews and questionnaire showed that the context of the innovation might provide the teachers with more freedom to experiment with DI, since they did not have to follow the regular curriculum in this innovation. In addition, the stimulated recall interviews provided the insight that teachers mainly take student readiness into account and that their DI resembles convergent DI.


Enzymatic reduction of arsenate to arsenite is the first step in arsenate metabolism in all organisms studied. The rice genome contains two ACR2-like genes, OsACR2.1 and OsACR2.2, which may be involved in regulating arsenic metabolism in rice. Here, we cloned both OsACR2 genes and expressed them in an Escherichia coli strain in which the arsC gene was deleted and in a yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) strain with a disrupted ACR2 gene. OsACR2.1 complemented the arsenate hypersensitive phenotype of E. coli and yeast. OsACR2.2 showed much less ability to complement. The gene products were purified and demonstrated to reduce arsenate to arsenite in vitro, and both exhibited phosphatase activity. In agreement with the complementation results, OsACR2.1 exhibited higher reductase activity than OsACR2.2. Mutagenesis of cysteine residues in the putative active site HC(X)(5)R motif led to nearly complete loss of both phosphatase and arsenate reductase activities. In planta expression of OsACR2.1 increased dramatically after exposure to arsenate. OsACR2.2 was observed only in roots following arsenate exposure, and its expression was less than OsACR2.1.