Summary.  Flares in chronic hepatitis B are often detrimental but sometimes lead to sustained immune control and disease remission. The aim of this study was to estimate the frequency of hepatitis flares which occur during and/or after cessation of nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) therapy, and to assess their outcomes. In a single centre cohort study we investigated 227 patients who received a total of 351 NA treatment courses. NA therapy was discontinued after 149 treatment courses. In total, 27 flares were observed during 9779 on‐treatment patient‐months. The frequency was estimated as 3.2 per 100 person‐years (95% CI 2.2–4.7). Lamivudine (LAM)‐treated patients demonstrated the highest frequency (4.9/100 person‐years, 95% CI 3.2–7.4). Twenty (74%) of 27 on‐therapy flares were associated with development of genotypic resistance, which all occurred during LAM therapy. NA withdrawal flares occurred after a median post‐treatment follow‐up of 3.5 months in 17 (11%) of 149 treatment discontinuations. No flares were observed in patients who switched to another antiviral agent (n = 51). None of the on‐therapy and withdrawal flares related to NA therapy were associated with sustained disease remission, and seven flares resulted in decompensated liver disease. In this study, flares related to NA therapy never led to immune control and sustained disease remission, and sometimes resulted in decompensated liver disease.


This study outlines characteristics among migrant workers in elderly and disability care in Sweden. The aim was to investigate whether migrant care workers perceive their situation at work to be more problematic than do their native peers. The study was based on the Nordcare dataset, an extensive mail survey aimed at investigating conditions among care workers in the Nordic countries (n=735 in the Swedish part of the dataset). Care workers born outside Sweden constituted 13 per cent (n=94) of the workforce. When taking other variables into account, the situation of migrant care workers from other Nordic countries was similar to that of Swedish-born care workers. Being born outside the Nordic countries was associated with an increased risk of having a high work load and not being appreciated by co-workers, and a decreased risk of being criticised by care users. Male care workers born outside the Nordic countries displayed aspects of precariousness that merit further investigation. Based on these findings, researchers and policy-makers are warned not to presume that all migrant care workers suffer from precarious working conditions and that such conditions reported by members of the category may be attributed to factors other than ethnic origin.


The chemistry of polyoxomolybdates and polyoxotungstates has been systematically developed since their first discovery more than 100 years ago. In contrast, significant progress in the related chemistries of polyoxovanadates, polyoxoniobates and polyoxotantalates was mainly made during the last few years. This highlight summarizes new synthetic approaches for the generation of high-nuclearity group 5 polyoxometalates and discusses the synthetic conditions influencing product formation. The application of new precursors allows rational syntheses of group 5 polyoxometalates. The importance of the knowledge of the species in liquid media is also discussed and results of in situ investigations are presented.


Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is a widely accepted diagnostic and therapeutic modality for extra-hepatic biliary and pancreatic pathologies. Although minimally invasive and day case procedure, it is not free from complications including bleeding, perforation, cholangitis and pancreatitis. Some of these complications, if left undiagnosed or poorly managed can become life threatening such as pneumothorax secondary to duodenal perforation. Hence, recognition and understanding of potential complications of ERCP is vital. We report a case of rapidly fatal duodenal perforation with pneumoperitoneum, pneumoretroperitoneum, bilateral pneumothoraces, pneumomediastinum, and subcutaneous emphysema causing hemodynamic compromise. J Med Cases. 2014;5(4):208-211 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740 /jmc1700w


A feeding experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of high dietary intake of vitamin E (supplied as dl-α-tocopheryl acetate) and n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid (n-3 HUFA) on the non-specific immune response and disease resistance in Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus. Nine practical diets were formulated to contain one of three levels of vitamin E namely, 0, 80 or 200 mg kg−1 (the total α-tocopherol contents in the diets were 21, 97 and 213 mg kg−1 based on analysis), and at each vitamin E level with one of three n-3 HUFA levels i.e. 0.5%, 1.5% or 2.0%. Each diet was randomly assigned to triplicate groups of Japanese flounder (initial body weight: 40.5±1.0 g, mean±SD) in a re-circulation rearing system. Fish were fed twice daily to apparent satiation at 07:00 and 18:00 hours for 12 weeks. During the experimental period, water temperature was maintained at 18±1°C, salinity 31–35 g L−1, and pH 7.8–8.2. Dissolved oxygen was not less than 6 mg L−1, and there were negligible levels of free ammonia and nitrite. The results showed that the increase in dietary n-3 HUFA from 0.5% to 1.0% significantly decreased muscle α-tocopherol contents in fish-fed diets with 21 and 97 mg α-tocopherol kg−1 diet (P<0.05). In 1.0% HUFA groups, alternative complement pathway activity (ACH50) of fish fed the diet containing the 213 mg α-tocopherol kg−1 diet was significantly higher than noted for fish fed the diet containing 97 mg α-tocopherol kg−1 diet (P<0.05). Fish fed the diet with 213 mg α-tocopherol kg−1 and 2.0% n-3 HUFA had the highest lysozyme activity (131.7 U mL−1) among all the dietary treatments. Fish fed the diets containing 97 and 213 mg α-tocopherol kg−1 with 1.0% n-3 HUFA had significantly higher respiratory burst activity than those fed the diets containing 21 mg α-tocopherol kg−1 with 0.5 and 1.0% n-3 HUFA (P<0.05). In the disease resistance experiment, high intake of dietary vitamin E with 213 mg α-tocopherol kg−1 significantly decreased cumulative mortality and delayed the days to first mortality after a 7-day Edwardsiella tarda challenge (P<0.05). In addition, under the experimental conditions, dietary vitamin E and n-3 HUFA had a synergistic effect on the non-specific immune responses and disease resistance in Japanese flounder (P<0.05).


Pediatric ethicists hold a privileged position of influence within health care institutions. Such a position confers a corresponding responsibility to address barriers to the health and flourishing of all children. A major barrier to children's health is racism. Pediatric ethicists can, and should, leverage their position to address racism both in institutional policy and the provision of pediatric care. Health care's historical and continued contributions to fostering and sustaining racist values and systems mean that those within all medical fields- regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, or profession-should consider ways they can work to offset and ultimately dismantle those values and systems. Institutional policy is a critical mechanism propagating racism in hospitals and an area where ethicists have a unique perspective to bring antiracism into ethical analysis. Many institutional and organizational policies have unintended consequences, negatively impacting children and families who have been historically marginalized and oppressed. In this paper, we report and discuss existing policies, along with how they are implemented (procedures) and how they are conducted (practices), identified through a workshop during a pediatric subgroup meeting at an annual bioethics conference. We highlight the need to focus on these structural factors and reference scholarship that can be used to correct institutional policies that uphold white supremacy. We conclude with actionable, concrete recommendations for change.


In this prospective cohort study, we evaluated the use of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) in 50 patients with refractory ascites and a Child-Pugh score of 9.8. The mean duration of follow-up was 592 days. Ascites improved in 96% at 1 year and in 93% at 2 years. The cumulative survival rate was 71%, 52% and 18% at 1, 2 and 5 years. The Child-Pugh score and the performance status score improved significantly after TIPS. Thirty six patients required shunt revision during follow-up, due to shunt stenosis. Hepatic encephalopathy which was able to be controlled medically occurred in 26 patients. Our results suggest that although shunt revision may be needed, TIPS can control refractory ascites in most survival cases and improve QOL. However, the 5-year survival rate is still low in our TIPS-treated patients with refractory ascites.


Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Lodi plants were grown in a medium containing 200-500 I¼M of Zn to surpass the threshold of toxicity and assess the inhibitory action on growth, following anatomical changes, the photosynthetic pattern, and Mg, Fe and Mn accumulation. It was found that with increasing Zn accumulation in root and shoot tissues the decreased fresh mass and leaf area correlated with the inhibition of the net photosynthetic rate, transpiration, stomatal conductance, rate of apparent photosynthetic electron transport and isoprenoids accumulation. Additionally, the ratio of variable and maximum fluorescence also remained slightly inhibited with increasing Zn accumulation in the leaves. These alterations further accomplished with a decreasing stomatal index and a thickness of leaf lamina, whereas in the roots the bark, the radius of the central cylinder and diameter of the largest tracheae also diminished. Additionally, the contents of Mg, Fe and Mn in root and shoots tissues also became affected at different levels. It is concluded that excess Zn triggers disturbances in the waters relations, which affect photosynthesis, namely stomatal conductance and therefore plants growth. It is also pointed that as the accumulation of Mg and Fe is affected chlorophylls and carotenoids synthesis become inhibited.


Background: Down syndrome is the most common chromosomal abnormality and a cause of intellectual disability. It is also associated with orthopaedic and musculoskeletal problems of the locomotive apparatus, especially of the feet. These problems are believed to have a harmful effect on health, social functioning, and mobility. In addition, these persons generally don't have access to podiatric health services, even when their foot problems are well known, because of limited access to healthcare facilities. The goal of our research was to evaluate and compare the foot health status of study participants with and without Down syndrome and to determine whether inadequate footwear is being used with normalized reference values. Methods: A total of 105 participants with and without Down syndrome, with a mean age of 35.71 (SD = 12.93) years, were enrolled in the study. They self-reported demographic data and their clinical characteristic data were recorded. Measurements of their foot and shoe fitting were taken at all stages of the research process. Ninety-two percent of the participants with Down syndrome had foot problems. Results: Only 12 (24%) participants with Down syndrome used bilateral shoes that met the requirements of their feet compared to their controls (50 participants, 90.9% for the right foot; 46 participants, 83.6% for the left foot). Participants with Down syndrome presented statistically significant differences with respect to controls and wore incorrectly sized shoe. Conclusions: Evaluation of foot length and width may prevent development of foot deformities, as well as to improve general health.


For high grade pipeline steel, elimination of Al2O3 inclusions can improve the susceptibility of hydrogen-induced cracking (HIC) and stress corrosion cracking (SCC). In the present work, the transformation of Al2O3 inclusions with slag-metal reaction was studied by controlling ladle slag and relative technologies in LF-RH refining process. It is found that Al2O3 inclusions decrease with increasing refining time, and no pure Al2O3 inclusions exist in molten steel at the end of secondary refining; the remained inclusions in molten steel are liquid calcium aluminates and semi-liquid CaO-MgO-Al2O3 complex inclusions. The analysis of thermodynamic equilibrium proves that CaO and MgO in slag can be reduced by aluminum in molten steel, which is the source of calcium and magnesium in molten steel.


Mice with smooth muscle (SM)-specific knockout of Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger type-1 (NCX1(SM-/-)) and the NCX inhibitor, SEA0400, were used to study the physiological role of NCX1 in mouse mesenteric arteries. NCX1 protein expression was greatly reduced in arteries from NCX1(SM-/-) mice generated with Cre recombinase. Mean blood pressure (BP) was 6-10 mmHg lower in NCX1(SM-/-) mice than in wild-type (WT) controls. Vasoconstriction was studied in isolated, pressurized mesenteric small arteries from WT and NCX1(SM-/-) mice and in heterozygotes with a global null mutation (NCX1(Fx/-)). Reduced NCX1 activity was manifested by a marked attenuation of responses to low extracellular Na(+) concentration, nanomolar ouabain, and SEA0400. Myogenic tone (MT, 70 mmHg) was reduced by approximately 15% in NCX1(SM-/-) arteries and, to a similar extent, by SEA0400 in WT arteries. MT was normal in arteries from NCX1(Fx/-) mice, which had normal BP. Vasoconstrictions to phenylephrine and elevated extracellular K(+) concentration were significantly reduced in NCX1(SM-/-) arteries. Because a high extracellular K(+) concentration-induced vasoconstriction involves the activation of L-type voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels (LVGCs), we measured LVGC-mediated currents and Ca(2+) sparklets in isolated mesenteric artery myocytes. Both the currents and the sparklets were significantly reduced in NCX1(SM-/-) (vs. WT or NCX1(Fx/-)) myocytes, but the voltage-dependent inactivation of LVGCs was not augmented. An acute application of SEA0400 in WT myocytes had no effect on LVGC current. The LVGC agonist, Bay K 8644, eliminated the differences in LVGC currents and Ca(2+) sparklets between NCX1(SM-/-) and control myocytes, suggesting that LVGC expression was normal in NCX1(SM-/-) myocytes. Bay K 8644 did not, however, eliminate the difference in myogenic constriction between WT and NCX1(SM-/-) arteries. We conclude that, under physiological conditions, NCX1-mediated Ca(2+) entry contributes significantly to the maintenance of MT. In NCX1(SM-/-) mouse artery myocytes, the reduced Ca(2+) entry via NCX1 may lower cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration and thereby reduce MT and BP. The reduced LVGC activity may be the consequence of a low cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration.


The task in the multi-agent path finding problem (MAPF) isto find paths for multiple agents, each with a different startand goal position, such that agents do not collide. It is possibleto solve this problem optimally with algorithms that arebased on the A* algorithm. Recently, we proposed an alternativealgorithm called Conflict-Based Search (CBS) (Sharonet al. 2012), which was shown to outperform the A*-basedalgorithms in some cases. CBS is a two-level algorithm. Atthe high level, a search is performed on a tree based on conflictsbetween agents. At the low level, a search is performedonly for a single agent at a time. While in some cases CBSis very efficient, in other cases it is worse than A*-based algorithms.This paper focuses on the latter case by generalizingCBS to Meta-Agent CBS (MA-CBS). The main idea isto couple groups of agents into meta-agents if the number ofinternal conflicts between them exceeds a given bound. MACBSacts as a framework that can run on top of any completeMAPF solver. We analyze our new approach and provideexperimental results demonstrating that it outperforms basicCBS and other A*-based optimal solvers in many cases.


Implicit anti-gay attitudes are relatively unconscious, automatic evaluations of gay men and lesbians which are measured by assessing the strength of associations in a speeded classification task. In contrast to other implicit prejudices (e.g., racism, sexism) there are unique challenges to overcome when measuring implicit attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. For example, there is no visible characteristic that can be reliably used to identify sexual orientation, nor are there any names, and only a few nouns (e.g., gay) which are uniquely associated with this social category. As the measurement of implicit anti-gay attitudes relies on the presentation of at least six stimuli to represent the social category, continued discussion on stimuli selection is needed. To date, researchers have relied on the use of stimuli that are conceptually related to the category of GAY (e.g., the rainbow flag, same-sex wedding cake toppers), and therefore these measures may be eliciting related attitudes (e.g., attitudes toward the amorphous category GAY, rather than to GAY PEOPLE). The main aim of this thesis was to present a new approach which addresses this shortcoming. I provided evidence for the person-based approach to implicit antigay attitudes in two initial studies. Study 1 demonstrated that presenting faces of straight male, straight female, gay male, and lesbian target stimuli (who are known for their sexual orientation) with opposite gender distracter stimuli elicits implicit gender attitudes consistent with previous research (Rudman & Goodwin, 2004). However, the same set of gay target stimuli presented with straight distracter stimuli of the same gender (e.g., lesbian targets, and straight female distracters), substantially reduced and reversed the pattern of results, such that gay men are weakly implicitly associated with positive and lesbians are weakly implicitly associated with negative. Moreover, these patterns are affected by participant's own gender and sexual orientation (Study 2). These findings are interpreted as evidence that the person-based approach is assessing constructs of implicit gender attitudes and implicit sexual orientation-based attitudes that are distinct. Furthermore, Study 3 replicated the results of previous implicit prejudice research (using stimuli that have typically represented gay men and lesbians in implicit measures; e.g., Nosek, 2005) and the findings of Study 1 (i.e., using the person-based approach) providing evidence of the meaningful differences between implicit attitudes towards the category GAY and to GAY PEOPLE. Finally, studies 4 and 5 explored the role of religion and religiosity, known predictors of anti-gay attitudes, on implicit person-based antigay attitudes. Study 4 revealed that only religious fundamentalism was a strong predictor of explicit gay attitudes, and that no significant regression model was found that predicted implicit person-based anti-gay attitudes. In contrast, Study 5 used contextual variation to prime the construct of religion (i.e., distracter stimuli were faces of religious individuals, such as nuns and priests) and revealed that relevant religious stimuli led to a subsequent increase in positive implicit person-based attitudes towards gay people for Atheist, but not Christian participants. Taken together, these findings provide strong evidence for the person-based approach to anti-gay attitudes, suggest that implicit prejudice towards gay people differs from in important ways from implicit attitudes towards the category gay, and demonstrated that implicit person-based anti-gay attitudes have a meaningful, but complex relationship with religiosity. As a result, the proposed measure of implicit person-based anti-gay attitudes makes a novel and important contribution to the current anti-gay literature and provides researchers with a much needed and well validated alternative to the typical approach.


Little empirical research has been focused on team based ethical decision making specific to engineering. With ABET's criterion 3-f, engineering educators must now have a sound understanding of students' knowledge about and approaches to solving ethical dilemmas. The research objectives of this funded research are: to investigate how groups of engineering students differ than individual engineering students when resolving problems involving ethical issues, to evaluate and describe approaches to solve problems ethical in nature, and to assess those variables that potentially affect the quality of the resolution and the quality of the decision process. Adopting two primary models from the literature: Jones' synthesis of ethical decision making model and the Harris, Pritchard, and Rabins (HPR) model, the conceptual individual/team ethical decision making model was used in an experimental study involving both individuals and teams of engineering students solving ethical dilemmas. This work-in-progress paper describes the model and experiment that is currently underway


OBJECTIVE: To identify factors that may predict success and satisfaction in women undergoing nonsurgical therapy for stress urinary incontinence. METHODS: Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of women participating in a multicenter randomized trial of pessary, behavioral, or combined therapy for stress urinary incontinence were evaluated for potential predictors of success and satisfaction. Success and satisfaction outcomes were assessed at 3 months and included the Patient Global Impression of Improvement, stress incontinence subscale of the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory, and Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire. Logistic regression was performed to identify predictors, adjusting for treatment and other important clinical covariates. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs), 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and associated P values are presented. RESULTS: Four hundred forty-six women were randomized. College education or more and no previous urinary incontinence surgery predicted success based on the stress subscale of the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory (adjusted OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.01–2.55, P=.04 and adjusted OR 3.15, 95% CI 1.04- 9.53, P=.04, respectively). Menopausal status predicted success using the Patient Global Impression of Improvement (adjusted OR 2.52 postmenopausal compared with premenopausal, 95% CI 1.29–4.95; adjusted OR 1.32 unsure menopausal status compared with premenopausal, 95% CI 0.65–2.66; P=.03 across all three groups). Fewer than 14 incontinence episodes per week predicted satisfaction with the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (adjusted OR 1.97, 95% CI 1.21–3.19; P=.01). These predictors did not differ across the three treatment groups. CONCLUSION: Menopause, higher education, no previous urinary incontinence surgery, and lower incontinence frequency were found to be predictors of success and satisfaction with nonsurgical therapy for stress urinary incontinence. This information may help better-align provider and patient expectations with nonsurgical treatment outcomes. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT00270998. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II


Introduction Vitamin-D deficiency has been linked to an increased risk of respiratory infections. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency and clinical importance of vitamin-D deficiency in patients with bronchiectasis. Methods 25-hydroxyvitamin-D was measured by immunoassay in 402 stable patients with bronchiectasis. Patients were classified as vitamin-D deficient (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin-D <25 nmol/l), insufficient (25 nmol/l–74 nmol/l) or sufficient (≥75 nmol/l). Disease severity was assessed, including exacerbation frequency, measurement of airway inflammatory markers, sputum bacteriology and lung function over 3 years follow-up. Results 50% of bronchiectasis patients were vitamin-D deficient, 43% insufficient and only 7% sufficient. This compared to only 12% of age and sex matched controls with vitamin-D deficiency (p<0.0001). Vitamin-D deficient patients were more frequently chronically colonised with bacteria (p<0.0001), 21.4% of vitamin-D deficient subjects were colonised with Pseudomonas aeruginosa compared to 10.4% of insufficient patients and 3.6% of sufficient patients, p=0.003. Vitamin-D deficient patients had lower FEV1% predicted (p=0.002), and more frequent pulmonary exacerbations (p=0.04). Vitamin-D deficient patients had higher sputum levels of inflammatory markers and demonstrated a more rapid decline in lung function over 3 years follow-up. Defects in neutrophil function and assessment of airway LL-37 levels did not provide a mechanistic explanation for these findings. Vitamin-D deficient patients had, however, higher levels of Vitamin-D Binding Protein in sputum sol. Conclusions Vitamin-D deficiency is common in bronchiectasis and correlates with markers of disease severity. The mechanism of this association is unclear.


Economic growth rate in East Java is higher, when compared with the national economic growth rate. In this case, one of them because of being supported by the existence of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in East Java. With the continuing running of SMEs in East Java, it will be able to absorb more labor, and ultimately lower unemployment rate in East Java. To continue to support the economy in East Java, MSMEs need to be supported in order to survive and continue to grow. One form of support for the sustainability of SMEs, namely through easy access capital for MSMEs. Capital support for MSMEs, can be obtained through Sharia Micro Finance Institution (LKMS) through partnership program. To be able to provide maximum capital services for MSMEs, then LKMS must be strengthened institutionally. The strength of LKMS institutionally can be realized by implementing linkage program between LKMS and sharia bank.


During the last decades, describing, analysing and understanding the phylogenetic structure of species assemblages has been a central theme in both community ecology and macro-ecology. Among the wide variety of phylogenetic structure metrics, three have been predominant in the literature: Faith's phylogenetic diversity (PDFaith), which represents the sum of the branch lengths of the phylogenetic tree linking all species of a particular assemblage, the mean pairwise distance between all species in an assemblage (MPD) and the pairwise distance between the closest relatives in an assemblage (MNTD). Comparisons between studies using one or several of these metrics are difficult because there has been no comprehensive evaluation of the phylogenetic properties each metric captures. In particular it is unknown how PDFaith relates to MDP and MNTD. Consequently, it is possible that apparently opposing patterns in different studies might simply reflect differences in metric properties. Here, we aim to fill this gap by comparing these metrics using simulations and empirical data. We first used simulation experiments to test the influence of community structure and size on the mismatch between metrics whilst varying the shape and size of the phylogenetic tree of the species pool. Second we investigated the mismatch between metrics for two empirical datasets (gut microbes and global carnivoran assemblages). We show that MNTD and PDFaith provide similar information on phylogenetic structure, and respond similarly to variation in species richness and assemblage structure. However, MPD demonstrate a very different behaviour, and is highly sensitive to deep branching structure. We suggest that by combining complementary metrics that are sensitive to processes operating at different phylogenetic depths (i.e. MPD and MNTD or PDFaith) we can obtain a better understanding of assemblage structure.


This paper reports on a new study conducted within a leading UK based (and US owned) car manufacturing company looking at the satisfaction between parties within a newly formed third party logistics (3PL) relationship. The study contains a two-way assessment of the relationship (i.e. the vehicle manufacturer's Parts Supply and Logistics Operation's assessment of the 3PL's service and the 3PL's assessment of the vehicle manufacturer's relationship management ability). The study principally used an online SERVQUAL survey, (backed up with an on-line questionnaire, and face to face interviews) for data collection. The paper discusses the background and problems that have arisen in the relationship, the analysis of how each of the parties sees one other in terms of the service provided. Also, the findings and recommendations presented to management are outlined: these include factors such as the need for information sharing, reliability, flexibility, role specificity, trust and effective requirements management.


Unsharp Masking is an effective and simple method of contrast enhancement. This paper explores the Unsharp Mask using the Laplacian Operator. The proposed method optimizes the Laplacian coefficient, α, and the Unsharp Mask's gain by maximizing the information content. The optimization process used was Multi-objective Particle Swarm Optimization. The proposed method was applied on both a global and local scale. The results show that the proposed method outperforms the classic Unsharp Masking method. The method is intended for gray-level images but can be applied to color images in general.


Introduction There are a number of psychosocial issues prevalent in the rail industry that influence workers' health and wellbeing. Managing psychosocial risks is a legal imperative that oblige employers to establish processes in accordance with national legislation to match task and environments to the physical and psychological capabilities of people to safeguard their health and wellbeing. Globalisation, higher workload and more pressure, increased job insecurity as well as poor work life balance contribute to these psychosocial issues. Methods An analysis of questionnaire responses from Occupational health practitioners working in the railway industry, to describe types of assessments, various interventions and management of workers with psychosocial issues were conducted. Consideration were given to reason for consultation, follow-ups, and referrals to secondary psychological interventions where indicated. Result The results revealed that we are lacking information that could provide insight into the magnitude of the problem that can influence policies and practices in the workplace. Effective solutions is needed for the prevention of psychosocial risks as these offer good returns in improved efficiency and productivity, better health, reduced absenteeism and lower medical costs. Discussion It is widely acknowledged that work and life related stress is very common and has a high cost in terms of workers health, absenteeism and lower performance in the workplace. The development of effective guidelines, processes and policies is important to assist occupational health practitioners in assisting workers to get expert advice and referral at point of service to deal with psychosocial issues. Conclusion A comprehensive approach by practitioners and new patterns of prevention is necessary to face current psychosocial issues in the workplace. It proved repeatedly that effective solutions should exist for the prevention of psychosocial issues as this offer good return in terms of reduced absenteeism, better health, improved work efficiency and productivity.


In this paper, a novel poly(butyl methacry1ate)/poly(methyl methacrylate-itaconic acid)(PBA/P(MMA-ITA)) latex particles with core/shell structure (CSR) was synthesized by the method of pre-emulsion semi-continuous seeded emulsion polymerization. The core/shell structure of CSR was characterized by TEM and confirmed that the average size of CSR particles was about 330 nm and that of PBA core was about 290 nm. The polyamide 6 (PA 6)/CSR blends (N/CSR) were prepared by the melt-blending technique, and its impact strength reached 40kJ•m-2 (more than 7 times higher than neat PA 6) when the ITA dosage was in the range of 4%~10%. The results of SEM showed that the high toughness of N/CSR blends was the result of the shear deformation of PA 6 matrix induced by cavitation of dispersed phase CSR.


Quality, Evidence and Effectiveness is unique in bringing together, for the first time, the critical concepts of quality assurance and effectiveness in relation to health promotion and research. Contributions from leading health promotion specialists around the world discuss how best to push forward evidence of the value of health promotion as an effective investment strategy. They examine particular examples of health promotion interventions, focusing on both practical suggestions and the concepts underlying them. Contributions are divided into three core sections: * the examination of effectiveness studies through the application of different evaluation methodologies * practice-based quality assurance programmes * the examination of examples of health promotion interventions Quality, Evidence and Effectiveness will be invaluable to students, researchers and policy-makers in health promotion and all professionals who are committed to the effective and efficient delivery of New Public Health.


JAMA Association of Inhaled Corticosteroid Use With Cataract Extraction in Elderly Patients Edeltraut Garbe, MD, MSc; Samy Suissa, PhD; Jacques LeLorier, MD, PhD, FRCPC Context.— The use of systemic corticosteroids is a known risk factor for the development of cataracts. Objective.— To determine whether treatment with inhaled corticosteroids is associated with cataract extraction in the elderly. Design.— Case-control study. Setting.— Quebec universal health insurance program for all elderly (provincial health insurance plan database [RAMQ database]). Patients.— RAMQ enrollees 70 years and older. The 3677 cases were patients with a cataract extraction between 1992 and 1994. The 21,868 controls were randomly selected from patients who did not have a diagnosis of cataract and matched to cases on the index date of the case. Main Outcome Measures.— Odds ratio of cataract extraction in patients with prolonged cumulative exposure to inhaled corticosteroids compared with nonusers. Results.— Excluding patients with systemic steroid treatment and after adjusting for age, sex, diabetes, systemic hypertension, glaucoma, ophthalmic steroids, and the number of physician claims for services, use of inhaled corticosteroids for more than 3 years was associated with undergoing cataract extraction (odds ratio [OR], 3.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.53-6.13). For high average daily doses of beclomethasone or budesonide (>1 mg), the OR was elevated after more than 2 years of treatment (OR, 3.40; 95% CI, 1.49-7.76), whereas for low to medium doses (≤1 mg) of these drugs, the OR was 1.63 (95% CI, 0.85-3.13) after 2 years. Conclusion.— Prolonged administration of high doses of inhaled corticosteroids increases the likelihood of undergoing cataract extraction in elderly patients. Further studies are needed to investigate the risk of developing cataracts for low to medium doses over longer periods. Reprints: Edeltraut Garbe, MD, MSc, Director, Potsdam Institute of Pharmacoepidemiology and Technology Assessment, Otto-Erich-Str 7, 14482 Potsdam, Germany (e-mail:firstname.lastname@example.com). 1998;280:539-543.


the orthopaedic literature in which three healthy young athletes underwent uncomplicated knee arthroscopy and exhibited postextubative pulmonary edema. However, all patients were treated with supplemental oxygen and diuretics alone, and the signs of pulmonary edema were found to resolve within 1 or 2 days. Goitz et a1.2 also described this phenomenon in four healthy young athletes who underwent uncomplicated outpatient surgical procedures: three had knee arthroscopy and one had an iliotibial band release. All patients exhibited no preexisting pulmonary or cardiac conditions. On extubation, all experienced immediate difficulty breathing and exhibited a significant decrease in oxygen saturation. Chest radiographs were consistent with pulmonary edema. All patients were treated with supplemental oxygen without reintubation, and the clinical symptoms and radiographic signs of edema resolved within 24 hours of


All of the computer information technology in the world does no good if you don't have the discipline to act on what it's telling you to do. Not only does Kent Clapp, chairman, president and CEO of Medical Mutual of Ohio, apply this principle to running his own organization, he believes it's equally relevant to healthcare consumers.


Responses to disasters and crises are often characterized by decisions made in situations of urgency and uncertainty. Decisions are often made under time constraints and without full knowledge of the consequences of the available options. This paper investigates the role of time and knowledge in the practical governance of disasters and crises. It empirically examines the sense-making and risk governance practices developed in response to the consequences of two detrimental storms that affected a forest area in Sweden. The data were gathered in an interview study of forest advisors at a public agency, forest associations, and private companies. The analysis indicates that the actors' adjustments to their perception of available time (time regime) and the accessibility of knowledge (desktop knowledge) explain how certain risk governing practices evolved. Thus, of greatest significance is not what is known and unknown but who knows what and when.


The minimum parameters, which I have stressed in the first section, should be measured at least once a week, as should the chest films, the films of the vessels and so on, plus the chemistries, probably when determined by the investigator. If we are going to compare program to program, these intervals should, of course, be synchronized. The more sophisticated parameters, which I have mentioned, should be measured perhaps only when specific areas are to be investigated because the number of things which we think need to be measured is, indeed, enormous for any one laboratory. Now, if such studies are to be carried out by a number of investigators, the standard form mentioned should be instituted and yearly meetings of such groups should be held to compare notes, and particularly the adequacy of the data obtained and the method of obtaining it. Initially perhaps, after the program is underway, if enough groups are actively involved, the first meeting probably should be held six months after the beginning of the evaluation. I realize what we have put forth here is ambitious. I think it is probably wise to put in as many things as possible which might be important, and then with a little rethinking time, obviously some of these things can be eliminated. To my knowledge, we have covered almost everything that needs to be covered, and what we need to do now, perhaps, is to thin this out a little bit with discussion and consultation.


This article reviews recent literature relevant to the ongoing shale gas boom and introduces the Journal of Political Ecology's Special Section on hydraulic fracking. We highlight the need for ethnographic studies of the tumultuous social and physical transformations resulting from, and produced by, an unfolding frontier of energy production that unsettles social, economic, and ecological landscapes. We examine how intercommunity connections are vital to recognizing the shared structural conditions produced by the oil and gas industry's expansion, through examining the roles played by the oil field services industry, the sequestration of information and agnotology (the deliberate production of ignorance), divide and conquer tactics, and shared experiences of risk and embodied effects. Summarizing the contributions of the five articles included in the Special Section, we offer recommendations for further inquiry. We examine how social science studies of hydraulic fracking are producing new and innovative methodologies for developing participatory academic and community research projects. Key words: digital media, embodiment, energy, hydraulic fracturing, oil field services industry, shale gas


An angioleiomyoma is a benign soft tissue tumour that arises from smooth muscle layer of blood vessels. The true aetiology of these masses is largely unknown and quite often may not be associated with pain. This paper illustrates the occurrence of an angioleiomyoma in the medial arch of the foot, a previously unreported location. Significant delay occurred in the patient being referred for specialist consultation, after attending numerous general practitioners for management. This highlighted the need for ongoing publication for case reports of this nature. The patient underwent excision with no recurrence of the lesion reported at 12 months. Often masses of this type may be left alone. However, when symptomatic simple excision will suffice where no other surrounding complication exists and where the mass is well encapsulated in the sub cutaneous area.


PURPOSE
To screen the exons of the genes encoding the beta3-subunit (GNB3) and gammac-subunit (GNGT2) of cone transducin for mutations in a large number of unrelated patients with various forms of inherited retinal disease including cone dystrophy, cone-rod dystrophy and macular dystrophy.

METHODS
Exons of the two genes were screened for mutations by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and/or single strand conformation polymorphism electrophoresis (SSCP); any variants were sequenced directly.

RESULTS
Although many sequence variants were found in both genes, none could be associated with disease. Additionally, the gene structure and sequence of the coding exons of GNB3 were determined and compared with those of the dog homolog. Both human and canine GNB3 have nine coding exons and their two predicted amino acid sequences have 97% identity.

CONCLUSIONS
The results indicate that GNB3 and GNGT2 are unlikely sites of mutations responsible for inherited retinal degenerations that predominantly effect cone-mediated function (cone and cone-rod dystrophies) or have a predilection for disease in the macula (macular dystrophies).


Feedbacks within the climate-economy system are complex. The research analyzing the relationship between human activities and the climate is considerable, with particular focus on intra-system feedback effects: environmental tipping points, and climate-triggered social tipping points, like migration, to a lesser extent (Robert Kopp et al., 2016; Kees van Ginkel et al., 2018). Due to their cross-disciplinary nature (Angela Guerrero et al., 2018), two-way interactions between the environment and society, whereby movement in either system can trigger inter-system feedbacks (Steven Lade et al., 2013; Johanna Yletyinen et al., 2019) as humans respond to a changing environment thereby further changing the environment, have only recently received attention by a growing inter-disciplinary research community. With the aim of improving climate policy and its tools, such as the social cost of carbon, we describe these social-ecological system (SES) feedbacks and place them in the existing taxonomy for tipping points applied by mainstream climate-economy models. Drawing lessons from SES research and related interdisciplinary literatures, we discuss the value of and method by which to modify social-cost integrated assessment models (SC-IAMs), like Nordhaus' DICE. As it is critical that climate policy include these risks to the stability of the climate-economy system, we conclude with a research agenda for the identification, quantification, and integration of climate-society feedbacks into SC-IAMs.


Introduction: Sardjito Hospital is the tertiary referral hospital in Yogyakarta and Central Java, Indonesia. There are no reported data measuring epidemiological profi le of congenital heart disease (CHD) in this region. This study was aimed specifi cally to determine the most major lesion and type of CHD in one of an over-populated area in Indonesia. Methods: The retrospective observational study was conducted during January 2014 to December 2014 in Sardjito Hospital. In and outpatients with CHD taken from medical record were noted their clinical data and only patients with transthoracal echocardiographic proof of CHD were included in this study. CHD with more than single lesion was simplifi ed as one lesion which had most major impact on hemodynamic circulation. The denomerator was the sum of all new patients visiting to the hospital at 2014. Data were entered in MS-excel and analyzed by software SPSS version 22 . Results: We had total 650 new patients with CHD registered to Sardjito Hospital in 2014. The incidence of CHD was 134/10.000 person-years consisted of adult 22% and children 78% (female 60% and male 40%). Ventricle septal defect (VSD) was the most common lesion among children (30%) followed by atrial septal defect (ASD) 17%, persistent ductus arteriosus (PDA) 16%, and Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) 7%. Meanwhile in adult, ASD was the most frequent CHD (60%), continued by VSD 23%, TOF 8%, and PDA 4%. Secundum, primum, and sinus venosus type were found in 94%, 3%, and 3% of total ASD in children, and 99%, 1%, and 0% of adult respectively. Perimembran outlet (PMO), doubly committed subarterial (DCSA), and inlet were found in 66%, 12%, and 12% of total VSD in children, and 39%, 54%, and 0% of adult respectively. TOF had the highest incidence of cyanotic heart diseases (33 cases, 7%) in children and also in adult (12 cases, 8%). Conclusion: The incidence of CHD was 134/10.000 person-years. The most common lesion among children was VSD and in adult was an ASD. TOF had the highest incidence of cyanotic heart disease among children and adult. Secundum type was the most common fi nding in all ages of ASD population, whereas PMO and DCSA were the most frequent type of VSD in children and adult respectively. Keywords: incidence, congenital heart disease, hospital, cyanotic, type


On an industrial scale, diacylglycerols and triacylglycerols are traditionally obtained either by extraction or transesterification/ inter-esterification of oils and fats. However, the esterification of glycerol with fatty acids using soluble or insoluble lipases as catalyst represents an alternative, with the advantage of milder reaction conditions when compared to traditional processes. Nowadays, the main reagents for enzyme catalyzed esterification reactions are plentiful and inexpensive. Acylglycerols and fatty acids with chain length shorter than ten carbon atoms, such as monocaprylin, besides their inherent surfactant properties, also present an antimicrobial activity, which enables their use as food preservatives or pharmaceutical/cosmetic ingredients. This paper proposes the use of residual glycerol from biodiesel manufacture as a starting material in esterification reactions with caprylic acid for the synthesis of acylglycerols using immobilized lipase as catalyst. In this context, environmentally friendly synthesis of such high-added value derivatives using biocatalysts are associated with a currently important waste recovery. Additionally, a concise approach of important aspects of glycerol, caprylic acid, lipases, caprylins as a target product, as well as alternative ways to produce them, are presented in this paper and analytical methodology for the reaction monitoring is proposed. These products have widely application in the pharmaceutical, chemical, and food industries.


Critically ill patients are known to suffer from severely fragmented sleep with a predominance of stage I sleep and a paucity of slow wave and REM sleep. The causes of this sleep disruption include the intensive care unit (ICU) environment, medical illness, psychological stress, and many of the medications and other treatments used to help those who are critically ill. The clinical importance of this type of sleep disruption in critically ill patients, however, is not known. This article reviews the literature on sleep disruption in the ICU, the effects of sepsis on sleep, the effects of commonly used ICU medications on sleep, the relationship between sleep and sedation, and the literature on the biological and psychological consequences of sleep deprivation specifically as it relates to the critically ill. Finally, an integrative approach to improving sleep in the ICU is described.


Differential injury and repair of the rod and cone cells following exposure to argon laser was studied by light and electron microscopy in two groups of lesions. In the mild lesions (13 or 15 to 21 mw), nuclei and outer segments of cone cells appeared to suffer more disruptive changes than those of the adjacent rod cells. In the severe lesions (41 to 55 mw), both rod and cone cells were necrotic in the acute stage in the central area of the lesions, but, during the recovery, the rod cells and their photoreceptor elements in the periphery of the lesions recovered and there was selective loss of cone elements. Rod cells in the periphery of the lesion prolapsed into the lesion as the necrotic cells were being removed.


Instrumental learning is a fundamental process through which agents optimize their choices, taking into account various dimensions of available options such as the possible reward or punishment outcomes and the costs associated with potential actions. Although the implication of dopamine in learning from choice outcomes is well established, less is known about its role in learning the action costs such as effort. Here, we tested the ability of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) to maximize monetary rewards and minimize physical efforts in a probabilistic instrumental learning task. The implication of dopamine was assessed by comparing performance ON and OFF prodopaminergic medication. In a first sample of PD patients (n = 15), we observed that reward learning, but not effort learning, was selectively impaired in the absence of treatment, with a significant interaction between learning condition (reward vs effort) and medication status (OFF vs ON). These results were replicated in a second, independent sample of PD patients (n = 20) using a simplified version of the task. According to Bayesian model selection, the best account for medication effects in both studies was a specific amplification of reward magnitude in a Q-learning algorithm. These results suggest that learning to avoid physical effort is independent from dopaminergic circuits and strengthen the general idea that dopaminergic signaling amplifies the effects of reward expectation or obtainment on instrumental behavior. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Theoretically, maximizing reward and minimizing effort could involve the same computations and therefore rely on the same brain circuits. Here, we tested whether dopamine, a key component of reward-related circuitry, is also implicated in effort learning. We found that patients suffering from dopamine depletion due to Parkinson's disease were selectively impaired in reward learning, but not effort learning. Moreover, anti-parkinsonian medication restored the ability to maximize reward, but had no effect on effort minimization. This dissociation suggests that the brain has evolved separate, domain-specific systems for instrumental learning. These results help to disambiguate the motivational role of prodopaminergic medications: they amplify the impact of reward without affecting the integration of effort cost.


A new flood risk approach for design and testing of primary and secondary flood defence structures in the Netherlands relies on the probability of loss of the water retaining capacity. Determining this probability for levees requires a better understanding of consequences of extreme conditions leading to failure, starting with a study of soil. In breaching of levees high flow velocities occur. Conventional erosion models for non-cohesive sediments cannot handle this adequately and therefore overestimate erosion rates. Due to these high flow velocities and corresponding high shear stresses soils do no longer erode due to the pick-up of individual particles but fail as entire layers. Therefore in this report first a new process based erosion equation for dilatant material under the influence of high flow velocities is under development based on findings from the scientific field of Dredging Engineering. The soil can therefore be described as a saturated porous medium with a specified angle of internal friction and cohesion. Further the soil is assumed to be dilative, which means that over the depth of failure, soil particles need to dilate in order to be sheared off. The equation is then applied to a steady state situation at which no further erosions takes place in the case of jet flow applied to soil. Research over the last decade identified three key factors affecting erodibility, namely material texture, compaction moisture content and compaction energy. The importance of these factors is well known by now, however they are not integrated into erosion models so far. This study aims to provide thoughts in the erodibility of sand under the influence of water infiltration by means of experiments performed at the laboratory of fluid mechanics at the Delft University of Technology. Infiltration is generated by introducing a head difference between the top and the bottom of the sand layer. The soil is thereby kept fully saturated. A water tank set-up with a double bottom was created to be able to apply a water pressure at the bottom of a well-defined sand layer. With a tube connected to the double bottom of the tank the water pressure and the associated infiltration rate was regulated. The water head on top of the sand layer was thereby kept constant. Determining the erodibility of the soil was done with a submerged jet erosion test (JET). Therefore an impinging jet with known constant velocity was directed perpendicular to the sand surface and created a scour hole. The scour depth development was recorded over time and later processed into data sheets. This was repeated for several different infiltration settings. From the erosion rates first effects of water infiltration were detected. Based on two different analytical methods, the Blaisdell Solution and the Scour Depth Method the critical shear stress τc and the erodibility coefficient kd were determined. Results of the two methods differ significantly by order of magnitude which is why in the analysis for this research both solutions were used and compared with each other. With the scour depth recordings erosion rates were determined for the different water infiltration rates, showing than with increasing infiltration velocity the maximum scour depth decreased. Evaluation of the critical shear stress and the erodibility coefficient showed an inverse relationship between each other where τc increased and kd decreased with increasing infiltration rates. An explicit mathematical relationship between the critical shear stress and the water infiltration velocity could not be determined with sufficient certainty based on the limited data set. The validity of the two most common analytical methods to determine erodibility have been questioned since both provide non zero critical shear stress values whereas the stability of the scour hole could be explained from a continuum geotechnical model under the normal stresses and shear stresses applied on the stable wall of the scour hole.


Background Sedentary behaviour is associated with risk of depression. We review and quantitatively summarise the evidence from observational studies in a meta-analysis. Methods We searched the PubMed, Web of Knowledge, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang databases for observational studies related to the association of sedentary behaviour and depression risk up to 15 January 2014. Summary relative risks (RRs) were estimated by the use of a random effects model. Results Thirteen cross-sectional studies with 110 152 participants and 11 longitudinal studies with 83 014 participants were included in this meta-analysis. The summary RR of depression for the highest versus non-occasional/occasional sedentary behaviour was 1.25 (95% CI 1.16 to 1.35, I2=50.7%) for all included studies. The pooled RRs of depression for sedentary behaviour were 1.31 (95% CI 1.16 to 1.48) in cross-sectional studies and 1.14 (95% CI 1.06 to 1.21) in longitudinal studies. In subgroup analysis by different types of sedentary behaviour, the pooled RRs of depression were 1.13 (95% CI 1.06 to 1.21) for long-time TV viewing and 1.22 (95% CI 1.10 to 1.34) for prolonged computer or internet use. Conclusions This meta-analysis of observational studies indicates that sedentary behaviour is associated with increased risk of depression.


Aluminum oxide film doped with Ce3+ has been deposited by the medium frequency reactive magnetron sputtering technique. The photoluminescence emission from these films show peaks at range of 374-405 nm. The relative intensity of these peaks is strongly dependent on the amount of Ce incorporated in the films. The presence of Ce3+ as well as the stoichiometry of these films has been determined by energy dispersive x-ray spectroscope (EDS) measurements. It is proposed that the light emission observed generated by luminescent center associated with cerium chloride molecular rather than to atomic cerium impurities. The reason for a dominance of the lower energy transition as the amount of Ce3+ in the oxide films is increased is that the energy difference of 4f1and 5d1 decreases, with the increase of the Ce3+ concentration. These luminescent films are potentially good candidates for photonics applications.


This paper describes the file system of an operating system for a logic inference machine. The file system is composed of a file system device and a collection of file system servers. The former provides the basic services of creation, access (reading or writing), removal, and stable storage of files. It realizes a simple, though powerful model: a file store as a special type of name server maintaining associations between identifiers and entities. A file is then a pair, $$, of terms. Clients gain access to a file by sharing the file content term with the file system device. Reading the file corresponds to examination of the term; writing, to instantiation. There is no need of explicit read or write operations, or of file closure. File system servers enhance or modify this basic file abstraction. They can provide features of more conventional file systems, such as hierarchical directories or fixed, structured file formats. Concurrent Prolog is assumed as the underlying machine language and the operating system implementation language. However, the ideas are also applicable to other parallel logic programming languages, such as PARLOG. As a prerequisite to describing the file system, the Concurrent Prolog machine model is presented, as well as an overview of the entire operating system design.


Hibernating mammals undergo a dramatic drop in temperature and blood flow during torpor, yet avoid stasis blood clotting through mechanisms that remain unspecified. The effects of hibernation on hemostasis are especially complex, as cold temperatures generally activate platelets, resulting in platelet clearance and cold storage lesions in the context of blood transfusion. With a hibernating body temperature of 4-8°C, 13-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) provide a model to study hemostasis as well as platelet cold storage lesion resistance during hibernation. Here, we quantified and systematically compared proteomes of platelets collected from ground squirrels at summer (active), fall (entrance), and winter (topor) to elucidate how molecular-level changes in platelets may support hemostatic adaptations in torpor. Platelets were isolated from a total of 11 squirrels in June, October, and January. Platelet lysates from each animal were digested with trypsin prior to 11-plex tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling, followed by LC-MS/MS analysis for relative protein quantification. We measured >700 proteins with significant variations in abundance in platelets over the course of entrance, torpor, and activity - including systems of proteins regulating translation, secretion, metabolism, complement, and coagulation cascades. We also noted species specific differences in levels of hemostatic, secretory, and inflammatory regulators in ground squirrel platelets relative to human platelets. Altogether, we provide the first ever proteomic characterization of platelets from hibernating animals, where systematic changes in metabolic, hemostatic, and other proteins may account for physiological adaptations in torpor and also inform translational effort to improve cold storage of human platelets for transfusion.


Abstract This article analyzes the role of religious actors at different stages in the long and gradual processes of democratization in Senegal. It examines the transformations in their political influence from pillars of the stable (but non-democratic) post-independence state, to a more ambiguous posture in the decade of democratic opening. A discussion of the interactive relationship between religious change and the transition to democracy over the course of the 1990s leads us to an analysis of the role of religious actors in debating the substantive content of Senegalese democracy in the decade that followed. The article concludes that while procedurally religious actors are playing an important role in the development of the democratic system in Senegal, substantively they are doing so in part by calling into question some understandings of what democracy entails. The ultimate evaluation of their contribution to the consolidation of democracy hinges at least in part on our conceptualization of democracy itself.


Chakra verbally means "Wheels of light". Our body has 7 major and many minor chakras. (Shiv Samhita, 2012) These 7 chakras are situated from base of spine to the top of head. These are psychic centre of the astral body governing a group of functions (The serpent power, 1919). To attain the purpose of the study, 45 students were selected as subjects from Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. The age of the subjects ranged between 18 to 25 years. For administration feasibility three intact groups were formed, namely group 1, group 2 and group 3 with each group consisting of fifteen students. The treatment (chakra meditation with beej mantra chanting, chakra meditation with chakra colour, and control group) was randomly allotted among groups. The training duration was five days in a week for total eight weeks. The brow chakra was selected for the study. The criterion measure chosen for testing the chakras in this study was Auramed Biopulsar Reflexograph and the energy readings of root chakra was recorded in percentage before the training programme (pretest), after 4 and 8 weeks of training programme. To compare the effects of different chakra meditation training and training duration on selected chakra 3 (Training Durations) X 3 (Training Variations) between within factorial ANOVA was used as the statistical technique and the level of significance was set at 0.05. Partial Eta Square was also calculated to see the effect size of treatment. The SPSS-20 software was used for analysis. The findings indicated that there was a significant main effect of training durations, groups and interaction effect between training durations and groups on brow chakra.


We present the main petrographic and geochemical features of the Lower to Middle Eocene turbiditic sandstones from the northwestern portion of the External Dinaride flysch basin. Sampled areas cover SW Slovenia (Vipava and Brkini Basins) and the Istrian Peninsula (Trieste-Koper and Pazin Basins). Framework constituents of the lithic arenites reveal low-grade metamorphic, acidic plutonic, and to a lesser extent, mafic volcanic and ultrabasic sediment sources, with evidence for a small degree of sediment recycling as well. Among the processes that commonly influence sediment compositions, weathering in the source and sorting were probably negligible, but carbonate contribution of detrital or intrabasinal origin diluted the siliciclastic portions to various degrees. Main and trace element compositional data agree well with petrography and clearly indicate the predominance of felsic, crustal source lithologies. Exposed mafic-ultramafic source units were volumetrically less important. From the Early Paleogene, extensive sediment mixing occurred in front of the Dinaride orogenic thrust wedge, with the components derived from different Dinaride units of felsic crystalline basement, platform carbonates and ophiolite. In the Eocene, a likely source of the mafic-ultramafic detritus was the Jurassic ophiolitic melange in the NE Dinarides.


Purpose: miR-204-5p was found to be downregulated in colorectal cancer tissues in our preliminary microarray analyses. However, the function of miR-204-5p in colorectal cancer remains unknown. We therefore investigated the role, mechanism, and clinical significance of miR-204-5p in colorectal cancer development and progression. Experimental Design:Wemeasured the expression of miR-204-5p and determined its correlation with patient prognoses. Ectopic expression in colorectal cancer cells, xenografts, and pulmonary metastasis models was used to evaluate the effects of miR-204-5p on proliferation, migration, and chemotherapy sensitivity. Luciferase assay and Western blotting were performed to validate the potential targets of miR204-5p after the preliminary screening by a microarray analysis and computer-aided algorithms. Results: miR-204-5p is frequently downregulated in colorectal cancer tissues, and survival analysis showed that the downregulation of miR-204-5p in colorectal cancer was associated with poor prognoses. Ectopic miR-204-5p expression repressed colorectal cancer cell growth both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, restoring miR-204-5p expression inhibited colorectal cancer migration and invasion and promoted tumor sensitivity to chemotherapy. Mechanistic investigations revealed that RAB22A, a member of the RAS oncogene family, is a direct functional target of miR-204-5p in colorectal cancer. Furthermore, RAB22A protein levels in colorectal cancer tissues were frequently increased and negatively associated withmiR-2045p levels and survival time. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate for the first time that miR-204-5p acts as a tumor suppressor in colorectal cancer through inhibitingRAB22A and revealRAB22A to be anewoncogene andprognostic factor for colorectal cancer. Clin Cancer Res; 20(23); 6187–99. 2014 AACR.


Prominent Irish philosopher Richard Kearney's notion of 'carnal hermeneutics' is introduced by applying it to a case study of a recent event that took place at one of South Africa's university campuses. The narrative assists in illuminating some of the core principles of carnal hermeneutics and illustrates the applicability of carnal hermeneutics as a 'diagnostic caring for lived existence'. In the process, an analysis is also given of the event in question, which is connected to what has widely been labelled as 'blackface'. In conclusion, the contextual, philosophical, ethical, and theological implications of carnal hermeneutics are explored with an eye on theological praxes in South Africa today. Keywords: Carnal Hermeneutics; Hermeneutics; Flesh; Body; Richard Kearney; Merleau-Ponty; Ricoeur; Blackface


Multifilamentary NbTi wires for ac applications are manufactured by embedding filament bundles into a metal matrix. In this stage of the manufacturing process, it is possible to affect the layout of the cross section and to choose whether to use few large or many small bundles in order to achieve a certain amount of filaments. All in all, up to 100 000 filaments are attainable for wire having the diameter of 1 mm. In this paper, ac loss measurements in external magnetic field on differently stacked NbTi samples are described. The measurements were performed in a LHe-cooled cryostat. The amplitude of the external field was varied between 250 mT and 3 T at frequencies of 0.02 and 0.12 Hz. We discuss possibilities to simulate the losses with finite element method. In particular, we concentrate on the filament bundle approximation and the possibilities to exploit it in the research and development process of new NbTi wires. In this approach, the filament bundles are considered as a homogenous mixture of matrix and superconducting filaments. According to the results, the bundle approximation greatly overestimates the losses. Furthermore, it should not be used for comparing, e.g., two wire structures where one has bundles of different size than the other. However, when considering how to situate the bundles on the cross section to achieve minimal ac loss, the bundle approximation can be a useful tool.


The population of most of the countries of the world has been ageing. This unprecedented demographic change has already transformed many societies. The ageing process is expected to accelerate in the near future, particularly in developing countries. The problem of population aging would be more severe in such countries as they have a shorter time to adapt to the changes associated with population ageing (UN, 2007). Millions of elderly are trapped in misery through a combination of low income and poor health. The traditional support structure of the family is increasingly unable to cope with the problem. In a world where the joint family is breaking down, and children are unable to take care of their parents, millions of elderly face destitution. These problems have made the importance of the Old Homes more relevant in the prevailing socio- demographic scenario. The present study shows in some details the new demographic phenomenon of aging and impact of aging at global level and in Bangladesh. Secular change of family structure and its impact on old people in Bangladesh have also been examined. In order to find the condition of old people living in old homes a survey was carried out. The survey finds that most of the residents of old homes find old homes are more or less comfortable for them. The impact of aging on family structure indicates that matters will worsen for the economy and the old dramatically in the years to come. So, old homes, though a western concept, may turn out to be one of the means to provide security in old age in the developing world.


Objective To describe 2 patients with traumatic neuromas of the intratemporal facial nerve in the absence of trauma. Study Design Retrospective case review. Setting Tertiary care referral center. Patients Patients included underwent resection of an intratemporal facial nerve mass. Upon pathologic evaluation, the patients were found to have traumatic neuromas of the facial nerve. Intervention(s) Patients underwent resection of an intratemporal facial traumatic neuroma. Histopathologic evaluation was performed including an immunohistochemistry evaluation. Results Two patients were identified with intratemporal facial nerve traumatic neuromas. The patients had no significant history of trauma or chronic inflammatory process. Pathologic evaluations, including immunohistochemistry, of the excised masses were consistent with traumatic neuromas. All tumors were noted to have a disorganized collection of axons and were not consistent with the expected diagnosis of schwannoma. Tumors involved the tympanic and vertical segments of the facial nerve. A cavernous angioma was found within one mass and is thought to be the etiology of neuroma formation. Conclusion Traumatic neuromas are possible in the intratemporal facial nerve in the absence of trauma. A cavernous angioma of the facial nerve is a newly described possible cause of traumatic neuroma formation.


The natural frequencies and mode shapes of 2, 3 and 4 spans continuous beam with universal cross section are calculated, and these dynamic parameters of 2 spans continuous beam model are measured. From the analysis and the model test, the locations of the maximum curvatures of the mode shapes are determined, and comparing that with the maximum bending moment of the beam under the action of uniformly distributed load, the selection of the natural frequency of the beam is discussed with the General Code for Design of Highway Bridges and Culverts as the impact factors of the beam is calculated. It is shown from the results of the analysis and the test that, for the impact factor, when the effect of positive bending moment caused by impact force is calculated, the fundamental frequency must be used as shown in the General Code, and the 2nd or 3rd frequency must be used when the effect of negative bending moment caused by impact force is calculated. The selection of the frequency should be combined with the mode shape into account for the specific circumstances.


In this paper, we investigate the retrievability of datasets and publications in a real-life Digital Library (DL). The measure of retrievability was originally developed to quantify the influence that a retrieval system has on the access to information. Retrievability can also enable DL engineers to evaluate their search engine to determine the ease with which the content in the collection can be accessed. Following this methodology, in our study, we propose a system-oriented approach for studying dataset and publication retrieval. A speciality of this paper is the focus on measuring the accessibility biases of various types of DL items and including a metric of usefulness. Among other metrics, we use Lorenz curves and Gini coefficients to visualize the differences of the two retrievable document types (specifically datasets and publications). Empirical results reported in the paper show a distinguishable diversity in the retrievability scores among the documents of different types. CCS CONCEPTS • Information systems → Retrieval models and ranking.


Introduction: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the single largest cause of sight loss and blindness in the working age population of Western countries; it is the most common cause of blindness in adults between 20 and 60 years of age. Early diagnosis of DR is critical for preventing vision loss so early detection of microaneurysms (MAs) as the first signs of DR is important. This paper addresses the automatic detection of MAs in fluorescein angiography fundus images, which plays a key role in computer assisted diagnosis of DR, a serious and frequent eye disease. Material and Methods: The algorithm can be divided into three main steps. The first step or pre-processing was for background normalization and contrast enhancement of the image. The second step aimed at detecting landmarks, i.e., all patterns possibly corresponding to vessels and the optic nerve head, which was achieved using a local radon transform. Then, MAs were extracted, which were used in the final step to automatically classify candidates into real MA and other objects. A database of 120 fluorescein angiography fundus images was used to train and test the algorithm. The algorithm was compared to manually obtained gradings of those images. Results: Sensitivity of diagnosis for DR was 94%, with specificity of 75%, and sensitivity of precise microaneurysm localization was 92%, at an average number of 8 false positives per image. Discussion and Conclusion: Sensitivity and specificity of this algorithm make it one of the best methods in this field. Using local radon transform in this algorithm eliminates the noise sensitivity for microaneurysm detection in retinal image analysis.


Emetics are divided commonly into two classes: (a) Those which irritate certain nerve endings in the gastric mucous membrane; (b) those which stimulate the vomiting center in the medulla directly. Hatcher and Eggleston 1 showed that emesis follows the intravenous injection of any one of the several digitalis bodies in dogs, even after the removal of the gastro-intestinal tract, and while they considered it possible that vomiting is due to a reflex arising in some peripheral structure, such as the esophagus, they came to the conclusion that all the evidence available points to the vomiting center as the seat of the emetic action of all of the digitalis bodies. The fact that these bodies differ so widely in their chemical composition directed our attention to the coincidence that every member of the group shows a greater or less parallelism between its cardiac and emetic activities, though the several members of the


The blood vessels of the bovine mesonephros - a corrosion cast study Using scanning electron microscopy plastoid corrosion cast specimens of the mesonephros of 30-45-day-old bovine foetuses were investigated. The studies showed that the blood vessels of the mesonephros are organized in two separate networks similar to these of the teleosts and amphibians. The glomerula mesonephrica originate from the aorta implying that they belong to the high pressure system. The tubuli mesonephrici are surrounded by a filamentous independent capillary network which is shown for the first time in these studies. This capillary network originates from the caudal cardinal veins and represents a mesonephric portal system with a relatively low blood pressure. The blood from the two capillary networks diverts into terminal veins and into the subcardinal veins. The questions of haemodynamics in the mesonephros are discussed.


Motile bacteria must navigate their environment in constant search of nutrients to sustain life. Thus they have evolved precise and adaptable sensory systems to achieve this goal, making the navigation system of the model bacterium Escherichia coli the best characterized signal transduction pathway in Biology. However, many bacteria have evolved more sophisticated arsenals for sensing and responding to their environment including chemoreceptors to identify novel attractants in the microenvironment. The diazotrophic alphaproteobacterium Azospirillum brasilense inhabits the soil and colonizes the roots of cereals like rice, corn, and wheat. Like most proteobacterial, A. brasilense encodes multiple chemotaxis-like pathways, 4, of which only Che1 has been characterized in detail. Also, of the approximately 50 chemoreceptors encoded within the genome, only the function of AerC and Tlp1 have been determine and their role in energy taxis, the dominant behavior of A. brasilense. In this dissertation, I will describe the characterization of another chemoreceptor, Tlp2, with a sensing domain of unknown function and the role it plays in A. brasilense behavior. I will also describe my work in expanding knowledge of the chemotaxis-like pathway of Che1. Also, the role of Tlp1 in root colonization, chemotaxis, and aerotaxis, the ability to navigate oxygen gradients, has been published. My work will detail the role of the C-terminal PilZ domain, a domain shown to bind the ubiquitous bacterial second messenger cyclic-di-GMP. I will characterize the necessity of c-di-GMP binding to Tlp1 for cells to maintain the ability to remain sensitive to temporal changes in aeration. I will also discuss the novel role c-di-GMP plays in modulating the cell's ability to remain motile and remain sensitive to addition changes in oxygen availability.


Microand nanophotonics explore behavior of light on the micro-/nanoscale and the interaction of micro-/nanoobjects with light. The driving force for their development is the aim to go beyond the limit of photonics. Because of the diffraction limit, photonics components are not able to confine light to the microscale or nanoscale dimension; therefore, one of the key challenges for microand nanophotonics is a reduction in the size of integrated optical devices, while maintaining a high level of performance. As far as light amplifiers and laser sources based on stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) are concerned, important accomplishments have been achieved in the fields of fiber optics amplification and integrated photonics devices. In this chapter, the most interesting investigations in the field of stimulated Raman scattering in microand nanophotonics are reviewed. These findings provide promising perspectives for integrated micro-/ nano-Raman lasers.


Background: Discourse abilities play an important role in the assessment, classification, and therapy outcome evaluation of people with aphasia. Discourse production in aphasia has been studied quite extensively in the last 15 years. Nevertheless, many questions still do not have definitive answers. Aims: The aim of this review is to present the current situation in the research on a number of crucial aspects of discourse production in aphasia, focusing on methodological progress and related challenges. This review continues the discussion of the core themes in the field, aiming to render it as up-to-date as possible. Main Contribution: The review focuses on a number of unexplored theoretical issues, specifically, the interface between micro- and macrolinguistic abilities, and the relationship between linguistic competence and communicative success in aphasia. The emphasis on theoretical challenges, along with the thorough discussion of methodological problems in the field, makes this review a starting point and a comprehensive information source for researchers planning to address language production in people with aphasia. Conclusion: Although the picture is not yet complete, recent advancements lead to a better understanding of the processes involved in aphasic discourse production. Different approaches provide insights into the complex multifaceted nature of discourse-level phenomena; however, methodological issues, including low comparability, substantially slow down the progress in the field.


We would like to take this opportunity to highlight the Outstanding Reviewers for Journal of Materials Chemistry B in 2021, as selected by the editorial team for their significant contribution to the journal.


Gathering meaningful information from Home Networking (HN) environments has presented researchers with measurement strategy challenges. A measurement platform is typically designed around the process of gathering data from a range of devices or usage statistics in a network that are specifically behind the HN firewall. HN studies require a fine balance between incentives and impediments to promote usage and minimize efforts for user participation with the focus on gathering robust datasets and results. In this dissertation we explore how to gather data from the HN Ecosystem (e.g. devices, apps, permissions, configurations) and feedback from HN users across a multitude of HN infrastructures, leveraging low impediment and low/high incentive methods to entice user participation. We look to understand the trade-offs of using a variety of approach types (e.g. Java Applet, Mobile app, survey) for data collections, user preferences, and how HN users react and make changes to the HN environment when presented with privacy/security concerns, norms of comparisons (e.g. comparisons to the local environment and to other HNs) and other HN results. We view that the HN Ecosystem is more than just "the network" as it also includes devices and apps within the HN. We have broken this dissertation down into the following three pillars of work to understand incentives and impediments of user participation and data collections. These pillars include: 1) preliminary work, as part of the How's My Network (HMN) measurement platform, a deployed signed Java applet that provided a user-centered network measurement platform to minimize user impediments for data collection, 2) a HN user survey on preference, comfort, and usability of HNs to understand incentives, and 3) the creation and deployment of a multi-faceted How's My Network Mobile app tool to gather and compare attributes and feedback with high incentives for user participation; as part of this flow we also include related approaches and background work. The HMN Java applet work demonstrated the viability of using a Web browser to obtain network performance data from HNs via a user-centric network measurement platform that minimizes impediments for user participation. The HMN HN survey work found that users prefer to leverage a Mobile app for HN data collections, and can be incentivized to participate in a HN study by providing attributes and characteristics of the HN Ecosystem. The HMN Mobile app was found to provide high incentives, with minimal impediments, for participation with focus on user Privacy and Security concerns. The HMN Mobile app work found that 84% of users reported a change in perception of privacy and security, 32% of users uninstalled apps, and 24% revoked permissions in their HN. As a by-product of this work we found it was possible to gather sensitive information such as previously attached networks, installed apps and devices on the network. This information exposure to any installed app with minimal or no granted permissions is a potential privacy concern.


The invention relates to a flame-retardant glass fiber reinforced polyamide 6/polyamide 612 (PA6/PA612) alloy composite and a preparation method of the flame-retardant glass fiber reinforced polyamide 6/polyamide 612 (PA6/PA612) alloy composite. The composite comprises the following components in percentage by weight: 20-41 percent of polyamide 6 (PA6), 20-41 percent of polyamide 612 (PA612), 0-15 percent of compound flame-retardant masterbatch, 20-40 percent of glass fiber, 0.1-1 percent of an antioxygen and 0.1-1 percent of a lubricant dispersing agent. The preparation method of the composite comprises the following steps of: weighing each component according to the weight proportions; putting the components into a high mixing machine to mix for 2-5 minutes; discharging; and extruding and pelleting by a twin-screw extruder to process at the temperature of 225-225 DEG C under the condition of screw revolution of 30-40Hz. Compared with the prior art, the composite has the advantages of high comparative tracking index (CTI) value, low flame-retardant precipitation property, halogen-free environment friendliness, comprehensive performance equalization and the like, and can be widely applied to products of contacts, leakage protectors, circuit breaker shells and the like in the electronics field.


The control design for unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) is challenging due to the uncertainties in the complex dynamic modeling of the vehicle as well as its unstructured operational environment. To cope with these difficulties, a practical robust control is therefore desirable. The paper deals with the application of coefficient diagram method (CDM) for a robust control design of an autonomous underwater vehicle. The CDM is an algebraic approach in which the characteristic polynomial and the controller are synthesized simultaneously. Particularly, a coefficient diagram (comparable to Bode diagram) is used effectively to convey pertinent design information and as a measure of trade-off between stability, response speed and robustness. In the polynomial ring, Kharitonov polynomials are employed to analyze the robustness of the controller due to parametric uncertainties. Keywords—coefficient diagram method, robust control, Kharitonov polynomials, unmanned underwater vehicles.


This paper describes the design of an integrated second generation telecare system which provides monitoring and support of demented patients living alone in their own homes. It employs a number of non-invasive sensors to measure the patient's everyday activities and habits as a function of time in order to determine an on-going dementia lifestyle index (DLI). Slow increases in this index can be tracked as an indicator of decline in cognitive function. Environmental factors are also recorded electronically. Local intelligence is employed to compensate for confusion or forgetfulness while a telephone response centre provides further information and reminders which can be displayed within the home environment. Wandering is countered using a paging device which emits a locatable low-power radio beacon. The DIANA system reduces the risks associated with community living for older people suffering from dementia.


Current comparative policy research gives no clear answer to the question of whether partisan politics in general or the partisan composition of governments in particular matter for different morality policy outputs across countries and over time. This article addresses this desideratum by employing a new encompassing dataset that captures the regulatory permissiveness in six morality policies that are homosexuality, same‐sex partnership, prostitution, pornography, abortion and euthanasia in 16 European countries over five decades from 1960 to 2010. Given the prevalent scepticism about a role for political parties for morality policies in existing research, this is a 'hard' test case for the 'parties do matter' argument. Starting from the basic theoretical assumption that different party families, if represented in national governments to varying degrees, ought to leave differing imprints on morality policy making, this research demonstrates that parties matter when accounting for the variation in morality policy outputs. This general statement needs to be qualified in three important ways. First, the nature of morality policy implies that party positions or preferences cannot be fully understood by merely focusing on one single cleavage alone. Instead, morality policy is located at the interface of different cleavages, including not only left‐right and secular‐religious dimensions, but also the conflicts between materialism and postmaterialism, green‐alternative‐libertarian and traditional‐authoritarian‐nationalist (GAL‐TAN) parties, and integration and demarcation. Second, it is argued in this article that the relevance of different cleavages for morality issues varies over time. Third, partisan effects can be found only if individual cabinets, rather than country‐years, are used as the unit of analysis in the research design. In particular, party families that tend to prioritise individual freedom over collective interests (i.e., left and liberal parties) are associated with significantly more liberal morality policies than party families that stress societal values and order (i.e., conservative/right and religious parties). While the latter are unlikely to overturn previous moves towards permissiveness, these results suggest that they might preserve the status quo at least. Curiously, no systematic effects of green parties are found, which may be because they have been represented in European governments at later periods when morality policy outputs were already quite permissive.


Over the last decades, European countries have increasingly relied on Active Labor Market Policies (ALMPs) as a mechanism to increase the employability of the unemployed. Following the 2008 economic crisis, ALMPs were increasingly relied on by Ireland and Spain as a strategy to assist and improve unemployed young workers' integration into the labor market. One notable aspect was the Irish and Spanish government's development of new ALMP internship programs, ones that relied more extensively on demand led activation through firm work experience or ALMP internships. While the development of these ALMP internship programs was in line with the existing ALMP evaluation literature which asserted higher levels of employer integration yielded higher probabilities for employment (Kluve 2006; Card et al. 2009), none of the evaluation literature considered the role of the employer in shaping ALMP outcomes, nor did it consider other aspects of job quality outcomes beyond earnings.
While adopting a comparative case study design at the sectoral level within five Irish and Spanish ICT firms, this thesis aims to understand how Irish and Spanish ALMP internships facilitate particular job quality outcomes within the Spanish and Irish ICT sectors. Through an examination of the key macro and meso institutions within which these ICT firms are embedded, the research identifies and examines how particular mechanisms may enable or constrain the ICT firms' behavior surrounding job quality outcomes through ALMP internships. It provides a conceptualization of job quality through the adoption of a flexicurity framework which enables the examination of four job quality dimensions: earnings, working time quality, skills and discretion and prospects and internal progression.
The analysis reveals that in a context of weak macro and meso level institutions, firm features play an increasingly important role in explaining how employers facilitate particular job quality outcomes through ALMP internships within the Spanish and Irish ICT sectors. Within this weak institutional environment, similar patterns were found among the Irish and Spanish MNC subsidiary firms and the Irish and Spanish
domestic firms in relation to how these two groups of firms used ALMP internships. The MNC subsidiary firms were found to primarily use ALMP internships as a flexible supply of labor, one with limited scope for upskilling. In comparison, among the domestic ICT firms, the ALMP internships were more effective, given the reduced hiring risks provided and the access ALMP interns had to a wider range of skill development and work experience, thus providing for upskilling. This thesis highlights how sectoral and firm specific dynamics may influence employer behavior related to job quality outcomes through ALMP internships. In doing so, it also emphasizes the need for further institutional constraints that encourage 'good' job quality outcomes among Irish and Spanish firms that recruit through ALMP internships.


Benzyl alcohol oxidation was carried out in toluene as solvent, in the presence of the potentially inhibiting oxidation products benzaldehyde and benzoic acid. Benzoic acid, or a product of benzoic acid, is identified to be the inhibiting species. The presence of a basic potassium salt (K2CO3 or KF) suppresses this inhibition, but promotes the formation of benzyl benzoate from the alcohol and aldehyde. When a small amount of water is added together with the potassium salt, an even greater beneficial effect is observed, due to a synergistic effect with the base. A kinetic model, based on the three main reactions and four major reaction components, is presented to describe the concentration-time profiles and inhibition. The inhibition, as well as the effect of the base, was captured in the kinetic model, by combining strong benzoic acid adsorption and competitive adsorption with benzyl alcohol. The effect of the potassium salt is accounted for in terms of neutralization of benzoic acid.


The Blazhko effect in V1820 Orionis and its period were reported for the first time by Wils et al. (2006) from a data analysis of the Northern Sky Variability Survey. The results of additional V1820 Orionis observations over a time span of 4 years are presented herein. From the observed light curves, 73 pulsation maxima have been measured. The times of light maxima have been compared to ephemerides to obtain the (O-C) values. The Blazhko period (27.917 +/- 0.002 d) has been derived from light curve Fourier analysis and from ANOVA analyses of the (O-C) values and of magnitudes at maximum light (Mmax). During one Blazhko cycle, a hump in the ascending branch of the light curve was clearly identified and has also created a double maximum in the light curve. The frequency spectrum of the light curve, from a Fourier analysis with Period04, has revealed triplet, quintuplet structures, and a second Blazhko weak modulation (period = 34.72 +/-0.01 d). V1820 Orionis can be ranked as a strongly modulated star based on its observed amplitude and phase variations. The amplitude ratio of the largest triplet component to main pulsation component is quite large: 0.34.


This report forms part of a broader analysis of the competitiveness of Dutch tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers on the European market. It describes elements of Porter's competitiveness analysis for the Egyptian horticultural sector. Within this framework, it presents an analysis of the domestic demand, the supply, the structure and strategy of firms, the network and the Egyptian government. It concludes with a SWOT analysis.


BACKGROUND: In endoscopic surgery, stereoscopic vision and tactile information about tissue consistency are no longer available to the surgeon. METHODS: To compensate for these sensory deficits, various tissues can be characterized with an electromechanical sensor that records their resonance frequencies. In the future, the sensor will be integrated into surgical instruments, providing the surgeon with information about tactile properties of the tissue. We determined the impedance of tissues removed interoperatively (nasal polyps, lymph nodes, cartilage, bone) and different bony structures in a skull specimen. The examinations were carried out with an experimental setup and subsequently with a prototype of the tactile sensor. RESULTS: Resonance frequency increased with tissue hardness. Measurements with the experimental setup showed resonance frequencies for soft tissues between 15 and 30 Hz. We found that the bony septa of the ethmoid have a resonance frequency of 240-320 Hz and the thicker bony structures at the frontal skull base have a frequency of 780-930 Hz. Measurements of tumors in the upper aerodigestive tract showed that it is possible to differentiate between healthy mucosa, carcinomateous infiltrated mucosa, and carcinomateous undermined mucosa. In case of undermining tumor, the resonance frequency was one third higher than healthy mucosa. These results obtained with the experimental setup were reproduced with the tactile sensor prototype. CONCLUSIONS: The use of tactile information in endoscopic otolaryngological surgery may improve intraoperative tissue differentiation in the future. The safety of minimal invasive operations in head and neck surgery can be increased.


A classic problem in Search Theory is one in which a searcher allocates resources to the points of the integer interval [1, n] in an attempt to find an object which has been hidden in them using a known probability function. In this paper we consider a modification of this problem in which there is a protector who can also allocate resources to the points; allocating these resources makes it more difficult for the searcher to find an object. We model the situation as a two-person non-zero-sum game so that we can take into account the fact that using resources can be costly. It is shown that this game has a unique Nash equilibrium when the searcher's probability of finding an object located at point i is of the form (1 - exp (-ixi)) exp (-iyi) when the searcher and protector allocate resources xi and yi respectively to point i. An algorithm to find this Nash equilibrium is given.