OBJECTIVE
To study the acting mechanism of Cordyceps mycelia extract (CME) for antagonizing hepatic sinusoidal capillarization (HSC) in rats with dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) induced liver cirrhosis.

METHODS
Rat liver cirrhosis model was established by peritoneal injection of DMN 10 mg/kg 3 times a week for 4 weeks. To rats in the CME-prevented group CME were administrated at a dose of 10 mL/kg, once a day, for 4 weeks. The observation time points were scheduled on the 3rd day (d3), and at the end of the 2nd (W2) and 4th week (W4) after modeling, and the following items were observed: hepatic ultrastructure was observed under electron microscope; expressions of CD44, von Willebrand factor (vWF) and type IV collagen (Col lV) in the liver sinusoidal walls by immunohistochemistry; matrix metalloproteinase-2 and-9 (MMP-2, MMP-9) activity under zymogram method; and serum hyaluronic acid (HA) content by radioimmunoassay.

RESULTS
Observation at d3 showed MMP-2 and MMP-9 activity significantly increased, Col IV deposition and CD44 positive staining decreased, vWF positive staining increased in the liver sinusoidal walls, the fenestrae in the sinusoidal endothelial cells (SECs) decreased, and serum HA content increased (P<0.05); at W4, SECs defenestration and sub-SECs basal membrane formation were shown. In the CME-prevented group MMP-2 and MMP-9 activity significantly decreased (P<0.05); defenestration and basal membrane formation alleviated in the early stage (d3, W4); and at W2 and W4 decreases of HA content and vWF positive staining were shown, with increase of CD44 positive staining (P<0.05), more SECs fenestrae, and alleviated basal membrane formation.

CONCLUSIONS
The elevation of MMP-2 and MMP-9 activity in the early stage, which degrades the Col IV normally distributed under the sinusoidal endothelium, is an important factor for HSC formation. CME could inhibit the initiation of HSC by decreasing MMP-2 and MMP-9 activity in the early stage, and prevent its formation by decreasing SECs injury and phenotypic changes.


BACKGROUND
Colchicine is effective for the treatment of recurrent pericarditis. However, conclusive data are lacking regarding the use of colchicine during a first attack of acute pericarditis and in the prevention of recurrent symptoms.

METHODS
In a multicenter, double-blind trial, eligible adults with acute pericarditis were randomly assigned to receive either colchicine (at a dose of 0.5 mg twice daily for 3 months for patients weighing >70 kg or 0.5 mg once daily for patients weighing ≤70 kg) or placebo in addition to conventional antiinflammatory therapy with aspirin or ibuprofen. The primary study outcome was incessant or recurrent pericarditis.

RESULTS
A total of 240 patients were enrolled, and 120 were randomly assigned to each of the two study groups. The primary outcome occurred in 20 patients (16.7%) in the colchicine group and 45 patients (37.5%) in the placebo group (relative risk reduction in the colchicine group, 0.56; 95% confidence interval, 0.30 to 0.72; number needed to treat, 4; P<0.001). Colchicine reduced the rate of symptom persistence at 72 hours (19.2% vs. 40.0%, P=0.001), the number of recurrences per patient (0.21 vs. 0.52, P=0.001), and the hospitalization rate (5.0% vs. 14.2%, P=0.02). Colchicine also improved the remission rate at 1 week (85.0% vs. 58.3%, P<0.001). Overall adverse effects and rates of study-drug discontinuation were similar in the two study groups. No serious adverse events were observed.

CONCLUSIONS
In patients with acute pericarditis, colchicine, when added to conventional antiinflammatory therapy, significantly reduced the rate of incessant or recurrent pericarditis. (Funded by former Azienda Sanitaria Locale 3 of Turin [now Azienda Sanitaria Locale 2] and Acarpia; ICAP ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00128453.).


Managing urban stormwater is problematical with its diffuse sources and qualities of runoff that cross multiple administrative boundaries and involve different levels of government. Defined by these characteristics and others, urban stormwater is a 'wicked' problem that may cause policy conflict and technical disputes among the various governmental actors. This thesis examines the implementation context of urban stormwater management in Australia and, using an embedded case study in metropolitan Melbourne, analyses the complexity of intergovernmental relations to achieve improved stormwater quality flowing into the receiving waters of the city. In this case, state and local governments are jointly responsible for managing Melbourne's greatest source of waterway pollution, the former led by a regional drainage manager along with thirty-eight municipalities across the metropolitan region. Implementation phenomena within the embedded case are examined from a meta-conceptual perspective through drawing from the literature across the community, program, inter-organisational, and intra-organisational domains. The mixed methods data collection and analysis approach illuminates the interconnectedness of the phenomena across and within these domains. The results reveal patterns of intergovernmental conflict and cooperation that are largely governed by the commitment and capacity of the municipal organisations. Such varying municipal disposition to urban stormwater quality improvement is represented across a range of geographical and socio-political contexts, marked by differences in wealth and education, and the presence or absence of perceptible environmental assets. Moreover, professional norms and experiences largely located within the municipal departments of statutory planning, engineering, and environmental management were also found to influence the degree of local government commitment to urban stormwater management. Notwithstanding the influences of management leadership and municipal priorities, dominant professions shaped the intergovernmental interactions and stormwater quality outcomes at the municipal level. The resulting web of relationships between these variables, amid the different loci and layers of the phenomena investigated, highlights the wickedness of the problem for urban stormwater managers in Australia. Indeed, the collective commitment and participation of local government to ameliorate urban stormwater quality is necessary for improved water quality conditions in the receiving waters, while in practice it is disproportionate. This PhD research, enabled by interactions with policy experts and informed by the policy sciences and public administration literature, developed a conceptual model of intergovernmental environmental program design and evaluation to resolve the problem. The model's program design heuristic identifies mixed policy instruments and implementation styles that are sympathetic to the complexity of the intergovernmental and contextual relationships. These are drawn together within a multi-layered, multi-modal governance framework in order to compare future policy and program designs between idealised and context-dependent forms of governance. The findings of this research, in depicting the complexity of intergovernmental implementation of an environmental program, contribute to our understanding of the dynamics which necessitate the adoption of a portfolio of implementation vehicles by program managers and implementation agents.


The relaxation effect of the myofascial release technique on the fatigued upper trapezius was quantitatively evaluated by ultrasonography for women in their 40s having suffered from chronic fatigue. The thickness of fat and muscle fascia, echodensity and white area index (WAI) were measured according to the number of the myofascial release technique treatment. Just relaxing was not effective to release fatigue muscle because the control group took enough rest, have no changes of the thickness of fat and muscle layers, echodensity, and WAI. On the other hand, thickness of fat at the testing-group is decreased more than 35% by the numbers of the myofascial release technique, and also the thickness of fatigued muscle fascia layers was decreased about 14~27%. With increasing the number of the treatment, echodensity and AWI is decreased 1.6~53% and 4.0~13.7%, respectively. In conclusion, the myofascial release technique is one of effective method to relax the fatigued muscle.


Abstract Spectra of Uranus and Neptune have been obtained in the 190–310 GHz frequency range (i.e., 6.3–10.3 cm −1 , wavelength range 1.0–1.5 mm), with a Fourier transform spectrometer at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. The data, with a spectral resolution of 7.2 GHz, were analyzed in a search for CO and PH 3 . Neither the CO (2–1) transition at 230 GHz nor the PH 3 (1–0) transition at 267 GHz were detected. The absence of a detectable absorption feature at the position of the CO (2–1) line favors a CO tropospheric mixing ratio lower than 5 × 10 −7 in Uranus and 1.0 × 10 −6 in Neptune (3σ limits). In the case of Neptune, a tropospheric mixing ratio of 6 × 10 −7 seems to be in best agreement with all the existing low resolution data for CO. In the case of Uranus, a PH 3 enrichment by more than a factor of 4 can be excluded. There is no evidence for strong PH 3 supersaturation in either Uranus or Neptune.


Tissue-specific expression of the α-subunit gene of glycoprotein hormones involves an enhancer element designated the pituitary glycoprotein basal element, which interacts with the LIM homeodomain transcription factor, Lhx2. In the present studies we have explored the function of the LIM domain of Lhx2 in stimulating α-subunit transcription. When fused to the GAL4 DNA-binding domain, the LIM domain of Lhx2 was shown to contain a transcriptional activation domain. Furthermore, in the context of an α-subunit reporter gene in which a GAL4-binding site replaced the pituitary glycoprotein basal element, the LIM domain enhanced both basal and Ras-mediated transcription. In addition, a synergistic response to Ras activation was observed when the Lhx2 LIM domain and the transactivation domain of Elk1 are directed to a minimal reporter gene. A yeast two-hybrid screen identified the recently described melanocyte-specific gene-related gene 1 (MRG1) as an Lhx2 LIM-interacting protein. MRG1 was shown to bind Lhx2 in vitro, and a co-immunoprecipitation assay provided evidence that endogenous MRG1 forms a complex with Lhx2 in αT3–1 cells. Expression of MRG1 in αT3–1 cells enhanced α-subunit reporter gene activity. MRG1 was also shown to bind in vitro to the TATA-binding protein and the transcriptional coactivator, p300. These data suggest a model in which the Lhx2 LIM domain activates transcription through interaction with MRG1 leading to recruitment of p300/CBP and the TATA-binding protein.


People who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) face particular obstacles, barriers, and challenges that frequently make it difficult for them to find and receive competent and affirming healthcare. Because of this, they may experience a higher degree of distress and symptoms than their non-LGBT counterparts. These issues also make it difficult for LGBT people to receive optimal mental healthcare. This article describes some of these issues and challenges and provides guidelines for affirmative treatment.

Readers are encouraged to respond to George Lundberg, MD, Editor of MedGenMed, for the editor's eye only or for possible publication via email: ten.epacsdem@grebdnulg


Thirty-five patients and corresponding matched controls were investigated between 5 and 17 months from mild head trauma using the Self Rating Depression Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The findings indicate that compared with an appropriate control group mild head injured patients are at risk of developing depression, whereas their liability to anxiety is not increased. Our results strongly suggest that all head injured patients should be screened for depression.


A new type of video retrieval system is proposed that identifies a target video section by searching for a word passage submitted as a quoted speech or text query. The proposed system has two unique characteristics. The first characteristic is that it is based on subword models such as phonemes, syllables, and morphemes so the system is able to deal with any type of query, including new words and personal names. The second characteristic is that the system relies on acoustic similarity between subword models. Fur-thermore, new subword models were constructed for the retrieval system to improve performance. The new models were based on two concepts: context-dependent models and more sophisticated in the time axis than phone models. Through experimentation, the effectiveness and scope of the proposed spoken document retrieval system were confirmed, and suitable subword models for the proposed method discussed.


Background: Laparoscopic anti-reflux surgery could be of benefit in a subset of elderly patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease. However, there are few reports that have evaluated the long-term results. This study examined the effects of age on the short- and long-term (for at least 5 years) outcomes after laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication (LNF). Patients and Methods: Patients were divided into four groups as follows: young (18–49); adult (50–69); and elderly (70–84), and very elderly (85–91). The database (recorded prospectively) included operating duration, conversion, intra- and early post-operative complication and late outcomes. Mean follow-up was 14.5 years (range 5–24 years). Results: Five hundred and sixty-nine patients met the inclusion criteria: young n = 219 (38.4%); adult n = 248 (43.5%); elderly n = 91 (16.0%) and very elderly n = 11 (1.9%). Hiatal hernia (type I and III) was significantly less frequent in young and adult patients (P < 0.0001). The operation was significantly longer in elderly and very elderly patients (P < 0.001); the use of drains (P < 0.001) and grafts (P < 0.0001) for hiatal hernia repair was less in young and adult patients. The hospital stay, conversion (5.4%), intra-operative and early post-operative complications were not influenced by age. Dysphagia was evenly distributed among the groups. Forty-eight (8.4%) patients had recurrence: 15 in the young group (6.8%), 18 in the adult group (7.2%), 11 in the elderly group (12%) and 4 in the very elderly group (36.3%) (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: Age does not influence short- and long-term outcomes following LNF. Control of reflux in the elderly is worse than adult patients. Therefore, ageing is a relative contraindication to LNF.


Background Interventionists are often reluctant to undertake PCI in very elderly patients due to the perception of poor outcome in a high risk cohort. Paradoxically however, elderly patients may benefit most from revascularisation because of their higher baseline risk compared to younger patients. The prognostic significance of advanced age itself is not clear. Objective An observational study determining the in-hospital outcomes of very elderly patients (age>85) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for all indications at a tertiary cardiac referral centre. Methods Baseline clinical, angiographic and procedural variables and in-hospital outcome data were entered into a prospective registry of 17 572 consecutive patients undergoing PCI at the University Health Network between April 2000 and December 2008. Patients were stratified according to age (<85 years, n=17 168, or ≥85 years, n=404) and in-hospital mortality, major adverse cardiac event (MACE) and complication rates were calculated. Logistic regression-analysis identified independent predictors of unadjusted mortality and MACE. Very elderly patients were propensity matched (1:2 ratio) with younger patients, and the analysis repeated. Results Very elderly patients had a mean age of 87.5±2.9 (range 85 to 97) vs 62.8±11.1 years for the younger cohort and had greater comorbidity. The very elderly were more likely to present as a primary or urgent PCI, and PCI was less likely to be undertaken electively. Left main stem and complex lesion-type intervention was greater, and angiographic success less likely. Unadjusted mortality and post procedure MI were significantly higher (6.93% vs 1.20%, p<0.0001 and 4.46% vs 2.74%, p=0.04), but CABG rates did not significantly differ (0.25% vs 0.47%, p=0.5). Length of stay, renal, neurological and access-site complications were all greater in the very elderly cohort. Though age≥85 years was a significant independent predictor of both mortality (OR 2.62, CI 1.44 to 4.78, p=0.0016) and MACE (OR 1.94, CI 1.25 to 3.01, p=0.003), its effect was not as great as other well documented variables such as cardiogenic shock and urgency of procedure. After propensity matching, mortality remained significantly higher in the very elderly patients (7.0% vs 3.25%, p=0.003). MACE rates were also significantly higher (9.75% vs 5.88%, p=0.014). Advanced age remained a strong predictor of worse outcomes (mortality OR 2.90, CI 1.38 to 6.06, p=0.005, MACE OR 2.01, CI 1.17 to 3.46, p=0.011). Conclusion Very elderly patients represent a high risk cohort in terms of comorbidity and complications post-PCI. Although in-hospital mortality was significantly increased compared with younger patients, death occurred predominantly in very elderly patients undergoing non-elective PCI. Decisions to proceed with PCI in very elderly patients should be based on other prognostic variables and these patients should not be excluded from revascularization based on age alone. Variable (%) Age<85 years (N=17 168) Age≥85 years (N=404) p Value Death 206 (1.2%) 28 (6.9%) <0.0001 MACE 531 (3.1%) 39 (9.7%) <0.0001 Urgent CABG 81 (0.5%) 1 (0.3%) 0.5152 Any myocardial infarction 471 (2.7%) 18 (4.5%) 0.0387 Any complication 1426 (8.3%) 85 (21.0%) <0.0001 Increase in CrCl >25% 570 (3.3%) 29 (7.2%) <0.0001 New dialysis 16 (0.1%) 0 (0%) 0.5393 Neurological complication 47 (0.3%) 5 (1.2%) 0.0004 Cerebral bleed 8 (0.05%) 1 (0.25%) 0.0777


The term smoke is used to mean the airborne products of combustion and air that is mixed with those products. A smoke control system is used to mean a system intended to manage smoke by pressurisation, and smoke management system is a broader term that includes systems that use any combination of compartmentation, dilution, air flow, pressurization or buoyancy. Smoke control systems include zoned smoke control, pressurized stairwells, and elevator smoke control. Over the past few decades there have been a number of full scale fire tests that demonstrate that pressure differences can prevent smoke migration from the low pressure side to the high pressure side of a barrier. While there are equations that can be used for smoke control design, network computer models can account for the effects of complex building leakage paths. For simplicity the term atrium was used in this paper in a generic sense to mean almost any large space (such as arcades, sports arenas, and exhibition halls). In North America most atria rely on sprinkler protection for spaces connected to the atrium and fan powered exhaust at or near the top of the atrium. Because the ability of sprinklers to suppress fires in spaces with ceilings higher than about 11m is limited, smoke exhaust is especially important for fires that start in the atrium. Equations and computer zone models can be used for the design of atrium exhaust systems. When these approaches are inappropriate, CFD modelling or physical modelling can be used. Language: en


We have recently pioneered the development of an innovative general-purpose decision-making and optimization technology, called fuzzy discrete event systems (FDES). In the previous papers, we reported results of applying FDES to selecting optimal first-round regimens for HIV/AIDS patients. In the present paper, we describe our further effort to apply the FDES framework to the second-round treatment, which is more challenging primarily due to drug resistance that occurs during the first-round treatment. We focused on five currently popular second-round regimens and 16 different treatment objectives. Two clinical AIDS experts on our team independently rated the five regimens as first-choice to fifth-choice regimen for each objective and their selections were used as golden standard. We used a genetic algorithm to optimize 20 parameters of our system named AIDS-FDES so that its regimen choices best matched those of the experts individually (i.e., through two different parameters sets). Our preliminary results showed that for the first-choice regimens, the exact agreements between AIDS-FDES and expert A and expert B were 87.5% and 100%, respectively, whereas the mean agreement rate for the five regimens was 77.5% and 80.1%, respectively. For all the five regimens, the agreement within one preference level (i.e., one physician's second choice is another physician's first or third choice), which was an overall agreement measure, for experts A and B was 92.5% and 96.3%, respectively. We also optimized and used just one parameter set to match AIDS-FDES to both the experts simultaneously. The agreement within one preference level for expert A was 90% and 86.3% for expert B. In order to adjust for any agreement likely to occur simply by chance, a weighted Cohen's Kappa was used. The results for the expert's combined selections relative to AIDS-FDES demonstrated that the specialists agreed with the treatment selection made by the computer system with a weighted Cohen's Kappa of 0.78 (95% confidence interval is [0.69, 0.87]), which indicates that the expert's combined agreement with the system's choices (beyond that expected by chance) was importantly improved over that of either expert's agreement with each other


In this paper, microwave characterizations and phase-shifting applications of electrophoretically deposited thick films and sol-gel derived thin films of Barium Strontium Titanate (BST) are presented. Capacitors fabricated using Ba0.7Sr0.3TiO3 films prepared by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) on platinum foils and sol-gel technique on platinized Si and SiO2 demonstrate a maximum tunability of 49%, 29%, and 33%, respectively. The nominal capacitance and the microwave loss tangent are obtained from 500 MHz to 6 GHz. The three different BST films are designed to fabricate phase shifters. The total phase shift divided by the maximum insertion is 10°/dB higher in phase shifters developed with thin films on SiO2 than in thick films. The linearity of the RF phase shifters using an input power from −20 dBm to 4 dBm is also analyzed. The linearity of the RF phase shifters using an input power from −20 dBm to 4 dBm is also analyzed. For the first time, the two methods of film deposition are directly compared in microwave applications.


The authors study whether the pricing of systematic factors depends on the investment horizon over which risk is measured. Market beta and Fama–French value beta are priced when risk is measured over intermediate horizons, and liquidity beta is priced over short horizons. Alpha on a long–short portfolio formed on short-horizon liquidity beta increases monotonically as an investor's horizon (for measuring risk) increases, making those assets more attractive to long-horizon investors. Institutional investors align their portfolios to harvest risk premiums that are important to investors with horizons different from their own.


The objective of this paper is to provide basic information on structural behavior of Korea traditional wooden frames under earthquake loading. One of prototype wooden frames for this study was chosen from a designated national treasure in Korea. A series of experimental work were prepared to investigate the behavior and hysteresis characteristics of traditional wooden frames under cyclic lateral loading. Three test specimens of a full scale were performed for cyclic hysteretic behaviors based on one static test specimen as a pilot test. The experimental observation showed stiffness degradations and slips after experiencing initial yield point and the first cycle at a new larger displacement due to inherent gaps in connections between columns and connection parts of beams and a gradual indentation of interfaces under pull and push. Addition of structural components such as an upper beam and clay-filled wall to the basic beam and columns increased the initial stiffness, strength and energy dissipation than those of basic frames. The behaviors of the wooden frames were simulated by DRAIN-2DX program for the dynamic analysis of an entire wooden frame system. Comparison between analysis models and the experimental behaviors showed that the behavior of wooden frames under consideration could be represented by a combination of link and truss elements. The maximum response of a wooden frame system under three earthquakes showed a safe behavior for a potential earthquake.


We develop a software for real-time safety-critical applications. We study the fundamental concepts of real-time systems, design principles for real-time architectures, real-time programming. Rate monotonic analysis (RMA) refers to the real-time performance analysis of a system that uses static priority driven scheduling. Three application case studies: benchmark problem, air traffic control system, satellite ground control station is discussed.


MicroRNAs (or miRNAs) are short nucleotide sequences (~17–22 bp long) that play important roles in gene regulation through targeting genes in the 3′untranslated regions (UTRs). Variants located in genomic regions might have different biological consequences in changing gene expression. Exonic variants (e.g., coding variant and 3′UTR variant) are often causative of diseases due to their influence on gene product. Variants harbored in the 3′UTR region where miRNAs perform their targeting function could potentially alter the binding relationships for target pairs, which could relate to disease causation. We gathered miRNA–mRNA targeting pairs from published studies and then employed the database of microRNA Target Site single nucleotide variants (SNVs) (dbMTS) to discover novel SNVs within the selected pairs. We identified a total of 183 SNVs for the 114 pairs of accurate miRNA–mRNA targeting pairs selected. Detailed bioinformatics analysis of the three genes with identified variants that were exclusively located in the 3′UTR section indicated their association with intellectual disability (ID). Our result showed an exceptionally high expression of GPR88 in brain tissues based on GTEx gene expression data, while WNT7A expression data were relatively high in brain tissues when compared to other tissues. Motif analysis for the 3′UTR region of WNT7A showed that five identified variants were well-conserved across three species (human, mouse, and rat); the motif that contains the variant identified in GPR88 is significant at the level of the 3′UTR of the human genome. Studies of pathways, protein–protein interactions, and relations to diseases further suggest potential association with intellectual disability of our discovered SNVs. Our results demonstrated that 3′UTR variants could change target interactions of miRNA–mRNA pairs in the context of their association with ID. We plan to automate the methods through developing a bioinformatics pipeline for identifying novel 3′UTR SNVs harbored by miRNA-targeted genes in the future.


Embedded processor testing techniques based on the execution of self-test programs have been recently proposed as an effective alternative to classic external tester-based testing and pure hardware built-in self-test (BIST) approaches. Software-based self-testing is a nonintrusive testing approach and provides at-speed testing capability without any hardware or-performance overheads. In this paper, we first present a high-level, functional component-oriented, software-based self-testing methodology for embedded processors. The proposed methodology aims at high structural fault coverage with low test development and test application cost. Then, we validate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology as a low-cost alternative over structural software-based self-testing methodologies based on automatic test pattern generation and pseudorandom testing. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed methodology by completely applying it on two different processor implementations of a popular RISC instruction set architecture including several gate-level implementations.


This chapter is based on a keynote paper I delivered at an international conference, The Multiples Faces of Identity in the Designed Environment, at Nottingham Trent University in September 2008. It examines the shifting relationships between perceptions and representations of geography, empire and identity in the Greco-Roman world and how these informed the itineraries and symbolism of ritual and architecture in imperial Rome. The theme relates to a long-standing interest in the connections between architecture and geography, which began during my period as a Rome Scholar in Architecture (1986-88) when I researched pilgrimage and conversion in Early Christianity. It has more recently included investigations of Jesuit missionary activities in China which forms part of a research project for a Paul Mellon Rome Fellowship. The present chapter considers the geographical frontiers and cultural differences between Rome, the Mediterranean and those regions north of the Danube (Germania and Dacia). Applying the Greek concept of oecumene ('known world'), the study examines the notion of Roman identity as a largely unstable and ill-defined construct. It reveals how this construct was influenced by territorial expansion and conquest of empire, which served as a rich reservoir of symbolic material for architecture and ritual highlighted in the specific examples of Trajan's Forum and the Pantheon. The research is original in that it attempts to convey, for the first time (to my knowledge), a direct connection between the symbolism of built form and the geography of empire in the Roman world. Finally, the chapter concludes with a brief examination of the notion of oecumene in the contemporary age of globalization, questioning how expectations of boundless zones of communication – whether virtual or actual - have a bearing on the spatial/geographical understanding of identity.


Abstract This article is an investigation of ethno-commercial exchanges and interactions between Jews and Muslims of North African heritage that takes account of their cross-cultural antecedents and continuities. The ethnographic focus is a telecommunications company called M-Switch located in the Parisian neighborhood of le Sentier, the trajectory of which is part of a broader cultural and economic shift observable in the neighborhood from industry to new technologies. This particular company is a privileged site for witnessing how people work with and across religious differences between Maghrebi Jews and Muslims in France. The ethnography looks at how contemporary, non-nostalgic reconceptualizations of the past are utilized to negotiate an ethnically plural and potentially convivial present. Relationships within the company have a Maghrebi center made up of shared cultural memories, economic interdependency, and changing gender and class relations. More specifically, relationships between Jews and Muslims at M-Switch are often defined by a desire to re-appropriate and adapt a Maghrebi world. This project is complicated by French and geopolitical representations of ethno-religious conflict.


This paper explores the sensitivity of water indexing methods to climate change scenarios to better understand how water management decisions and allocations will be affected by climate change. Many water management decisions, such as environmental flow requirements and water supply allocations, are based on numerical "water year type" designations. Water year type designations vary by region and index, but most are defined by some measure of runoff in the current water year compared to average historical runoff, with numerical thresholds categorizing year types. Climate change is anticipated to alter the timing and volume of runoff, and change the relative frequency of water year types as presently defined. California's Sacramento Valley and San Joaquin Valley Indices are used as a case study to examine climatic changes. These indices provide a framework for allocating and transferring water among users. Streamflow estimates for 1951–2099 from the climate-forced Variable Infiltration Capacity hydrologic model are used to estimate potential changes in runoff and water year type frequency, using six global circulation models for the A2 and B1 emissions scenarios. Results vary by emissions scenario and global circulation model, but indicate that critically dry water years in the Sacramento Valley and San Joaquin Valley are expected to be about 8 percent and 32 percent more likely by the latter half of the twenty-first century, respectively, if water year type definitions remain unchanged. If current water year type thresholds are maintained, more years will be classified as dry and less water will be allocated for environmental outflows, perhaps failing to provide adequate hydrologic variability to support species, habitats, and ecosystems. If thresholds are redefined to reflect the historical distribution of year types, the burden of climate change falls to consumptive users and water exporters. This case study illustrates how water policy and allocation frameworks were designed assuming climatic stationarity, and that adapting water policy (or maintaining the status quo) affects which users bear the burden of climate change.


Recently, different microbial ghosts (BGs) were prepared using a protocol based on critical chemical concentrations. In the original protocol, it was given the name "Sponge Like" (SL) protocol. The protocol was reduced to be more reliable and given a name "Sponge Like Reduced Protocol" (SLRP). In this study, using SLRP we succeeded to prepare Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPGs) with correct 3D structure and surface antigens. The study has included oral, S/C, inhalation, I/P and I/M vaccination with KPGs and controlled with challenge test. Results of both the SLRP and the animal experiments prove that we have KPGs able to immunize rats subjected to different routes of administration against viable K. pneumoniae. The evaluation of the immune response, include humoral and cellular immune responses, IFN-γ production, phagocytic activity, NBT reduction activity, serum agglutination titer and bacterial load of various tissues, was performed in BGvaccinated animals subsequently challenged with K. pneumoniae. The results were compared with animals that were not immunized with the KPGs. KPGs not only promoted the generation of high titer antibodies and IFN-γ production but also stimulated a significant increase in phagocytic activity and NBT reduction and a marked decrease in bacterial load of various tissues, indicated that the vaccine was able to induce clearance of intracellular K. pneumoniae. The protective effects of BG vaccination in rats against virulent K. pneumoniae were a result of the induction of a more effective immune response in vaccinated animals than that observed with the non-vaccinated animals. These findings demonstrate the potential of K. pneumoniae ghosts to be used as effective vaccines.


The effects of soil properties on nanomaterial (NM) interactions with plants are not well understood. Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) plants were grown to maturity in natural soil (NS) or organic matter (OM)-enriched soil (ES) amended with either uncoated (Z-COTE), hydrophobically-coated (Z-COTE HP1) ZnO NMs, bulk ZnO, or ZnCl2 at 0–500 mg kg−1. At harvest, yield and seed nutrient composition were assessed. The soil × compound interaction reduced the maturation time by about 25 days and increased the seed yield (∼155%) in ES, compared to NS. In NS, ZnCl2 at 125 mg kg−1 produced 10% less seed protein than the control, and disregarding the concentration, seeds from ZnCl2 showed the highest relative sugar content (102%, compared with the other compounds), while in NS, seeds from Z-COTE HP1 accumulated the highest relative sugar content (44% more than Z-COTE and ZnCl2). In addition, seeds from ES + Z-COTE HP1 had 19% less Zn than the rest of the compounds. In ES, the OM enrichment and reduction in pH enhanced the accumulation of Zn (38%), K (64%), S (44%), P (83%), Mg (86%), Ca (70%), Fe (89%), and Mn (85%), but reduced Mo under Z-COTE HP1 and ZnCl2, in comparison to NS seeds. Compared to the controls, ZnCl2 at 500 mg kg−1 reduced the K content in NS and ES (25% and 13%) but increased the P content in NS (66%). In general, Z-COTE and Z-COTE HP1 affected seed nutritional elements in a similar manner. However, the results indicate that the effects of ZnO NMs in bean plants vary with soil composition.


The effect of deposition temperature on the structural as well as linear and nonlinear optical properties of nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) thin films fabricated by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) are reported in this study. The films were deposited at substrate temperatures (Ts) ranging from room temperature (RT) to 700 °C. The X-ray diffraction spectra of the films displayed the characteristic peaks of Si(111), (220) and (311) confirming their polycrystalline nature. Raman maps confirmed that the films were composed of nc-Si domains embedded in the a-Si matrix. The UV-Vis-NIR transmission spectra of the Si films were used to estimate the absorption coefficient (α), the refractive index and the thickness of the films. The band gap energy was found to vary non-monotonically from 1.35 to 1.56 eV as a function of Ts. The nonlinear absorption coefficient (β) and nonlinear refraction coefficient (n2) of all the films were estimated using a modified Z-scan technique under cw He–Ne laser irradiation. The open aperture Z-scan of the thin films indicated strong reverse saturation absorption and the value of β for the nc-Si films was observed to be ∼10 cm W−1. The closed aperture Z-scan curves confirmed the presence of self-focusing properties corresponding to positive nonlinear refraction. The value of n2 for the Si films was observed to be ∼10−4 cm2 W−1. A large third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility of the order of 10−1 esu was observed in these PLD nc-Si films, which is 109 times higher as compared to that of bulk Si. The nc-Si thin films also exhibited optical limiting properties with optical limiting thresholds increasing with increasing values of β.


Recent research showed that deep neural networks are highly sensitive to so-called adversarial perturbations, which are tiny perturbations of the input data purposely designed to fool a machine learning classifier. Most classification models, including deep learning models, are highly vulnerable to adversarial attacks. In this work, we investigate a procedure to improve adversarial robustness of deep neural networks through enforcing representation invariance. The idea is to train the classifier jointly with a discriminator attached to one of its hidden layer and trained to filter the adversarial noise. We perform preliminary experiments to test the viability of the approach and to compare it to other standard adversarial training methods.


Mathematical models enable us to study metallurgical processes in depth. Significant improvements in plant operation cannot, in general, be brought about without quantification of the impact of the operating parameters on the end product. It is for this reason that mathemati-cal models have become popular in the steel industry, particularly with the advent of low-cost, high speed personal computers. Another reason why modelling is necessary is because increasingly alterations in operating
parameters have to be made to bring about changes in heat or mass transfer. The gut-feelings of the plant operator are no longer able to deliver the goods because such feelings are developed by repeated exposure to quanti-fiable changes in the process brought about by alterat-ions, deliberate or otherwise, in the operating parameters.
Some of these basic parameters are not measured, for example heat transfer coefficient in case of a solid particle dissolving in a liquid bath, and therefore it would be futile to expect gut-feelings to offer solutions as to how dissolution time would be effected by a change in
the type of ferroalloy or by change in its size. The deter-mination of the dissolution time of ferroalloys is import-ant as it indicates to the process control engineer the minimum time necessary before the bath can be subjected to the next step of processing. Changes in the bath superheat;
the size and the initial temperature of the ferroalloy and the bath hydrodynamics influence the dissolution time. Determining this dissolution time by experimentation is extremely difficult and would involve a series of experi-ments with different types of ferroalloys under varying
conditions. On the other hand, the dissolution time can be obtained using a mathematical model of the dissolution kinetics of ferroalloys which after proper validation can be used to assess the dissolution behaviour of the ferro-alloy under a variety of conditions. At TATA STEEL blast furnace hot metal is used to cast ingot molds. The com-position of the blast furnace hot metal desired for making ingot moulds demands the addition of 20 kg each of ferro-manganese & ferro-silicon in the 12 tonne transfer ladles into which the blast furnace metal is poured at the ingot mould foundry (IMF). Owing to the low temperature of hot metal at IMF, casting commences immediately and a complete
dissolution of the ferroalloy is often not possible. A mathematical model for calculating dissolution time for a solid particle in a liquid metal has been developed at R&D Division of Tata Steel. The model has been developed with the feasibility of predicting dissolution times for eases where the ferroalloy has a melting point lower as well as
higher than the bath temperature. The model has been validated against data published in literature and applied to predict dissolution times of ferroalloys in steel and blast furnace hot metal. This model was used to study dissolution of ferroalloys in foundry and to evolve
suitable corrective measures. On the basis of this study additions are being optimized at the IMF in' Tata Steel.


PURPOSE
Combat sport athletes undertake chronic and rapid weight loss (RWL) practices to qualify for weight divisions lower than their training weight. Variation between sports in the prevalence, methods, and magnitude of weight loss as well as recovery practices may be influenced by factors including competition level and culture. Differences in methodologies of previous research in combat sports make direct comparisons difficult; thus, this study aimed to examine weight loss practices among all Olympic combat sports in Australia, using standardized methodology.

METHODS
High-caliber competitors in wrestling, boxing, judo, and taekwondo (n = 260) at Australian competitions were surveyed using a validated tool that provides quantification of how extreme an athlete's weight loss practices are: the rapid weight loss score (RWLS). Additional qualitative and quantitative survey data were also collected.

RESULTS
Neither sport, sex, nor weight division group had an effect on RWLS; however, a significant effect of athlete caliber was detected (F2,215 = 4.953, mean square error = 4.757, P = .00792). Differences between sports were also evident for most weight ever lost in order to compete (H = 19.92, P = .0002), age at which weight cutting began (H = 16.34, P = .001), and selected methods/patterns of RWL (P < .001). Weight cycling between competitions was common among all sports as were influences on athlete's behaviors.

CONCLUSIONS
Although many similarities in weight loss practices and experiences exist between combat sports, specific differences were evident. Nuanced, context/culturally specific guidelines should be devised to assist fighters' in optimizing performance while minimizing health implications.


Cooperative multi-agent path planning around a common location has many applications, and has received significant attention from the research community. Our research is motivated by the need for groups of autonomous vehicles or mobile robots to collaboratively plan efficient paths around shared navigational coordinates (waypoints) in a distributed and decentralized manner. Our ongoing research is focused on creating a distributed solution to Dresner and Stone's Autonomous Intersection Management problem. In the future we plan to relax the constraints of this problem, and allow more flexibility in the angles of approach and departure from a single waypoint, and also plan to consider efficient group plans for multi-waypoint routes. In this paper we briefly introduce intersection management, present preliminary results for an unstructured peer-to-peer approach to the problem, and discuss future research directions.


OBJECTIVE
Glycemic control (HbA(1c) [A1C]) is strongly associated with microvascular disease in individuals with diabetes, but its relation to macrovascular disease and atherosclerosis is less clear. This study examines the relationship between A1C, carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), and traditional cardiovascular risk factors in individuals with diabetes.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
A cross-sectional study of 2,060 people with diagnosed and undiagnosed (unrecognized) diabetes in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study was performed.

RESULTS
LDL and HDL cholesterol, plasma triglycerides, and waist-to-hip ratio were significantly associated with A1C after multivariable adjustment. African Americans with undiagnosed and diagnosed diabetes had significantly elevated A1C values compared with whites, even after adjustment for potentially confounding factors. There was a graded association between A1C and carotid IMT. In a fully adjusted model in individuals with undiagnosed diabetes, the odds ratio (OR) of being in the highest quartile of IMT versus the lowest was 2.46 (95% CI 1.16-5.03, comparing the highest quartile of A1C to the lowest). In people with diagnosed diabetes, the comparable OR was 2.62 (1.36-5.06).

CONCLUSIONS
This study identified several important associations between A1C and known risk factors for cardiovascular disease and suggested that A1C is independently related to carotid IMT. Chronically elevated glucose levels may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis in people with diabetes, independent of other risk factors.


Purpose To determine whether residency program baseline characteristics, program director characteristics, and the date of the most recent Accrediation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) site visit would affect program accreditation cycle length. Method A survey asked about cycle length as well as program and program director characteristics. The survey was sent to all 391 accredited internal medicine residency programs registered with the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine in March 2005. Bivariate and multivariate regressions were performed to find factors independently associated with cycle length. Results The mean cycle length was 3.8 years among respondents (70% response rate). Program characteristics associated with longer cycle length included having a higher three-year American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) board pass rate. Program characteristics associated with shorter cycle length included being reviewed by the Residency Review Committee in Internal Medicine (RRC-IM) shortly after the July 2003 ACGME program requirement changes, being a university-based program, and having a large percentage of voluntary teaching faculty. Program director characteristics associated with longer cycle length included time spent in clinic. Other program and program director characteristics had no effect on cycle length. Conclusions Several program and program director characteristics are associated with RRC-IM cycle length. Programs should be wary of the dates of their Residency Review Committee site visits in relation to ACGME programmatic rule changes. The percentage of voluntary faculty at each program, the ABIM board pass rate, and the amount of time the program director spends in clinic also affect a program's cycle length.


Preservice teachers are entering science methods courses with misconceptions of topics they will likely teach; science methods educators need to find ways to help address their misconceptions. The purpose of this study was to discover whether a vicarious learning event, viewing a video of a discussion of students' misconceptions on the causes of the seasons, could create a conceptual change towards the misconceptions of preservice elementary teachers. Ten-weeks after viewing the video, half of the misconceptions initially identified in the preservice teachers had changed to the scientifically accepted explanation, suggesting that this may be one way to help change preservice teacher's misconceptions.


We propose and develop a method for theoretical description of circularly (elliptically) polarized optical pulse resonant coherent interactions with two-level atoms. The method is based on the time-evolution equations of a two-level quantum system in the presence of a time-dependent dipole perturbation for electric dipole transitions between states with total angular-momentum projection difference $(\ensuremath{\Delta}{J}_{z}=\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1)$ excited by a circularly polarized electromagnetic field [Feynman et al., J. Appl. Phys. 28, 49 (1957)]. The adopted real-vector representation approach allows for coupling with the vectorial Maxwell's equations for the optical wave propagation and thus the resulting Maxwell pseudospin equations can be numerically solved in the time domain without any approximations. The model permits a more exact study of the ultrafast coherent pulse propagation effects taking into account the vector nature of the electromagnetic field and hence the polarization state of the optical excitation. We demonstrate self-induced transparency effects and formation of polarized solitons. The model represents a qualitative extension of the well-known optical Maxwell-Bloch equations valid for linearly polarized light and a tool for studying coherent quantum control mechanisms.


It has been said that the color of sputum from patients with Legionella pneumophila pneumonia is orange. However, why the color is orange has not been clarified. First, orange-colored sputum obtained from a patient with L. pneumophila pneumonia is presented. Then, the formation of an orange-colored pigment in a culture medium (without charcoal) after the growth of L. pneumophila is demonstrated.


The impact of climate change on water resources through increased evaporation combined with regional changes in precipitation characteristics has the potential to affect mean runoff, frequency and intensity of floods and droughts, soil moisture and water supply for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation. The Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) system is the largest in India with a catchment area of about 110Mha, which is more than 43% of the cumulative catchment area of all the major rivers in the country. The river Damodar is an important sub catchment of GBM basin and its three tributariesthe Bokaro, the Konar and the Barakar form one important tributary of the Bhagirathi-Hughli (a tributary of Ganga) in its lower reaches. The present study is an attempt to assess the impacts of climate change on water resources of the four important Eastern River Basins namely Damodar, Subarnarekha, Mahanadi and Ajoy, which have immense importance in industrial and agricultural scenarios in eastern India. A distributed hydrological model (HEC-HMS) has been used on the four river basins using HadRM2 daily weather data for the period from 2041 to 2060 to predict the impact of climate change on water resources of these river systems.


The concept of the invisible college is a key focus of scientific communication research with many studies on this topic in the literature. However, while such studies have contributed to an understanding of the invisible college, they have not adequately explained the interaction of social and structural processes in this phenomenon. As a consequence, past research has described the invisible college differently based on researchers' perspectives, resulting in misinterpretations or inconsistent definitions of the relevant social and structural processes. Information science and related disciplines have focused on the structural processes that lead to scholarly products or works while placing less emphasis on the social processes. To advance understanding of the invisible college and its dimensions (including both social processes and structural processes), a proposed model (Modern Invisible College Model, MICM) has been built based on the history of the invisible college and Lievrouw's (1989) distinction between social and structural processes. The present study focuses on the social processes of informal communication between scholars via social media, rather than on the structural processes that lead to scholarly products or works. A developed survey and an employed quantitative research method were applied for data collection. The research population involved 77 scholars from the Institute of Public Administration (IPA), in Saudi Arabia. Descriptive statistics, frequency and percentage were conducted for each statement. Means and standard deviations were calculated. The results indicate that the majority of participants heavily use social media for scientific communication purposes. Also, the results confirm that scholars consider social media to be an effective and appropriate tool for scientific communication. Seven factors were found in the findings to have positive correlations with uses and gratifications theory and the use of social media. This research contributes to and benefits scholars, reference groups (i.e., the invisible college itself), and institutions, and provides insight about the systematic development of indices for the use of informal communication channels.


Effects of operation on seruml evel and urinary excretion of sodium, chloride and potassium, and water and electrolytes coutent in tissue were studied on dogs in both hypothermic and normothermic conditions. Following results were obtained. 1) Hyponatremia and hypochloremia, decrease of urinary excretion of both electrolytes, increase of potassium-sodium ratio and increase of urinary excretion of potassium in accordance with decrease of urine volume were found during postoperative period in dogs who underwent operation under normothermia. However, increase of urine volume occurred on about 5th or 6th postoperative day resulting in increase of urinary excretion of sodium and chloride, and decrease of potassium excretion. Increase of water, sodium and chloride content of the tissue which had operative intervention, were found on the 4th postoperative day, though decrease of potassium was noted. 2) Decrease of serum sodium and chloride, and increase of potassium were noticed in hypothermic group, though these changes were not so significant as in nomothermic group. Urinary excretion of sodium and chloride increased in accordance with increase of urine volume and chloride-sodium ratio were diminished. However, changes after 5th to 6th postoperative day were same in both groups. There were found no significant changes in water and electrolytes content of tissue, which had operative intervention, on the 4th postoperative day in hypothermic group. Increase of water, sodium, and chloride in tissue were slight and no decrease of potassium was found. It was anticipated based on these findings that excretion of ADH and function of adrenal gland were suppressed resulting in increase of urinary excretion of sodium and chloride with less retention of water, sodium and chloride in tissue during postoperative period in operation performed under hypothermia. In addition to, decrease of potassium content in tissue was not found, suggesting of less consumption of body protein and suppression of catabolism during postoperaetive period.


In the past decade modern, perioperative short-term antibiotic-prophylaxis has been widely accepted in certain gynecological operations and in caesarean section. Many studies demonstrate the clinical effectiveness. Well established indications are vaginal hysterectomy and high risk caesarean section with a high rate of infections. The infectious morbidity should be carefully evaluated at every department. The older Cephalosporins (first and second generation) should be used for prophylaxis.


Background: The concept of health literacy and patient comprehension is important, especially in the area of patient consent for surgical procedures. This extends to the preadmissions anaesthetic consultation where poor patient health literacy can have an impact on the patient's comprehension of risks. Objectives: This exploratory study aims to investigate the level of health literacy and comprehension in a population of patients attending a pre-admissions anaesthetic clinic. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used to survey adult participants (≥18yrs old) attending a regional based pre-anaesthetics clinic. Information gathered as part of the survey included demographic information, health literacy scores (via a previously validated tool), and questions pertaining to the comprehension of their consultation. Results: In total, 51 patients participated in the study. Patients were divided into two subgroups (inadequate/ marginal vs. adequate), depending on their screened level of health literacy. Those with inadequate/marginal health literacy were significantly more at risk of having inadequate comprehension than those with adequate health literacy (p = 0.01). There was no statistically significant difference between health literacy levels and a variety of demographic indicators, including education level and employment status. Conclusion: Patients with inadequate or marginal screened health literacy scores were less likely to comprehend the information provided to them as part of their preadmissions consultation. These results suggest that screening patients for their health literacy levels may be advantageous, in that information provided can be tailored to their individual needs. Further research is however required. Disciplines Medicine and Health Sciences | Social and Behavioral Sciences Publication Details Russell, M. J. M., Mullan, J. & Billington, T. (2015). Health literacy and patient comprehension in the preanaesthetics consultation. Australian Medical Student Journal, 6 (1), 73-76. This journal article is available at Research Online: http://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/3278 A M S J Original Research Article Australian Medical Student Journal 73 Background: The concept of health literacy and patient comprehension is important, especially in the area of patient consent for surgical procedures. This extends to the preadmissions anaesthetic consultation where poor patient health literacy can have an impact on the patient's comprehension of risks. Objectives: This exploratory study aims to investigate the level of health literacy and comprehension in a population of patients attending a pre-admissions anaesthetic clinic. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used to survey adult participants (≥18yrs old) attending a regional based pre-anaesthetics clinic. Information gathered as part of the survey included demographic information, health literacy scores (via a previously validated tool), and questions pertaining to the comprehension of their consultation. Results: In total, 51 patients participated in the study. Patients were divided into two subgroups (inadequate/ marginal vs. adequate), depending on their screened level of health literacy. Those with inadequate/marginal health literacy were significantly more at risk of having inadequate comprehension than those with adequate health literacy (p = 0.01). There was no statistically significant difference between health literacy levels and a variety of demographic indicators, including education level and employment status. Conclusion: Patients with inadequate or marginal screened health literacy scores were less likely to comprehend the information provided to them as part of their pre-admissions consultation. These results suggest that screening patients for their health literacy levels may be advantageous, in that information provided can be tailored to their individual needs. Further research is however required.


Background There is strong evidence of FFR guided treatment in multi-vessel disease. Multi-vessel disease is present in up to 66% of patients with CTO in a large registry analysis. The presence of a concomitant CTO may influence the FFR measurement in donor vessel as suggested in previous studies and reports. This has an important implication on clinical decision making for complete revascularisation in patients with chronic total occlusions. There is a growing interest on the influence of collateral circulation, flow, amount of myocardium supplied by donor artery to a CTO and the impact of CTO revascularisation on donor vessel pressure-derived indices. We sought to investigate the physiological impact of CTO recanalisation on donor vessel pressure-derived indices. Methods The study participants were patients with angina who had RCA CTO. 34 out of 40 consecutive patients underwent successful PCI to RCA CTOs during the study period were included in the analysis. Coronary pressure-derived indices (resting Pd/Pa, iFR and FFR) were measured pre and post successful RCA CTO PCI in donor vessels. Donor vessel characteristics were graded using the Rentrop and colloateral connexion grading classification. Results The mean age was 61.76 years. The mean estimated CTO duration was 238.72 weeks and CTO length was 32.44 mm. 31 patients had ischaemia and or viability in the RCA territory assessed with cardiac MRI. LAD was the predominant donor vessel in 30 patients and LCX was the minor donor vessel in 4 patients. Percent stenosis on QCA in the predominant and minor donor vessel were 41.43% and 35.05% respectively. The angiographic details are as outlined in table 1. The mean resting Pd/Pa, iFR and FFR pre and post RCA CTO PCI in major donor vessel were (0.891, 0.858, 0.759) and (0.903, 0.882, 0.746) respectively. iFR in the major donor vessel increased from 0.858 to 0.882 (difference, 0.02412 (0.00573 to 0.04250); p=0.012). There were no significant difference in resting Pd/Pa and FFR pre and post CTO PCI (p=0.109 and p=0.388 respectively). The mean resting Pd/Pa, iFR and FFR pre and post RCA CTO PCI in minor donor vessel were (0.982, 0.969, 0.894) and (0.985, 0.979, 0.885) respectively. There were no significant difference in resting Pd/Pa, iFR and FFR pre and post CTO PCI in minor donor vessel (p=0.534, p=0.152, p=0.183 respectively). The mean collateral FFR was 0.310. The mean total ischaemic burden on baseline cardiac MRI in RCA territory was 12.6%. Conclusion Successful recanalisation of a RCA CTO results in increase in iFR but no significant difference was seen in resting Pd/Pa and FFR pre-RCA CTO PCI and immediately post recanalisation in predominant donor vessel. Complete collateral regression was not observed in all patients immediately post RCA CTO PCI and this may account for the non-significant change in FFR values.Abstract 24 Table 1 Angiographic Characteristics


The role of the stratosphere on the predictability of medium‐range weather forecast during the northern hemisphere winter is examined using numerical experiments with a middle atmosphere climate model of the Meteorological Research Institute. It is found that in the winter of 2003/04 when the stratosphere exhibited a large variability called the Polar‐night Jet Oscillation (PJO), the predictability of the model tended to be very good for large‐scale zonal variability if the prediction is performed just before the occurrence of stratospheric sudden warmings (SSWs). The role of the stratosphere is examined by comparing experiments for the 2002/03 year and using the model with and without the stratosphere included. The results of the study suggest that taking account of the role of stratospheric variability (PJO) is crucial for improving the predictability of medium‐range weather forecast in certain winters.


Recordings of neuronal unitary discharges evoked by primary afferent input were made in the superficial part of the spinal cord's dorsal horn, the marginal zone and substantia gelatinosa (also known as laminae I and II), using fine micropipette electrodes filled with HRP. After physiological characterization with respect to primary afferent input, HRP was injected intracellularly iontophoretically into the recorded neuron. Following histochemical processing, the neurons so delineated were studied at the light and electron microscopic levels. No clear relationship between function and either general cellular configuration or synaptic ultrastructure appeared in these analyses, although the concentration of dendritic distribution could be related to the nature of primary afferent excitation. Nocireceptive cells had dendrites mostly branching and ending in lamina I and IIo, while the dendrites of innocuous mechanoreceptive cells arborized principally in lamina II and III. Glomerular synaptic complexes (large, complex arrays of axonic and dendritic profiles with synaptic interconnections) were found to contact a few neurons of both the nocireceptive and mechanoreceptive classes. All neurons received large numbers of simple axonic contacts (small axonic boutons with only 1 or 2 synaptic contacts with a single postsynaptic profile). A degree of specificity in the presynaptic articulations appeared to be reflected by the observations that (1) nocireceptive neurons were never found to receive synaptic contacts from boutons which resembled the known ultrastructure of peripheral innocuous mechanoreceptors, and (2) mechanoreceptive neurons were never seen to receive synaptic contacts from boutons which resembled the known ultrastructure of primary afferent nocireceptors. The axons of the labeled neurons of both nocireceptive and mechanoreceptive classes terminated in simple axonic synapses. All classes of neurons participated in dendrodendritic contacts; however, only some mechanoreceptive neurons had dendrites containing vesicles that were presynaptic to other profiles. No nocireceptive neurons, regardless of gross configuration, were found to have vesicles in their dendrites, but 3 nocireceptive neurons received synapses from presynaptic dendritic profiles.


PURPOSE
(1) To present a Danish quality register (AMETO) concerning dental implant treatment for dental agenesis, assess its indicators and standards, and compare them with those acknowledged and outlined by the Institute of Medicine (IoM), World Health Organization (WHO), and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), classified as the quality domains efficiency, effectiveness, patient-centered care, timely care, safety, and equitability; and (2) to perform a systematic literature search and review to verify whether any quality register exists according to the six quality domains.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
(1) The AMETO register is comprised of 16 process and result indicators and standards, which were compared to the six quality domains outlined by the IoM and WHO. (2) A systematic literature search was carried out using the search engines PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, and SveMed+. The included articles were assessed for quality indicators and standards to determine whether they conformed to the six quality domains.

RESULTS
AMETO indicators and standards conformed to the quality domains outlined by the IoM. A search of "(dental agenesis) AND (dental implants)" yielded a total of 381 publications, of which 27 were included for qualitative synthesis. A search on quality indicators and dental agenesis registries yielded no results. Due to considerable heterogeneity in the reported quality indicators related to effectiveness, patient-centered care, and safety, a meta-analysis could not be conducted.

CONCLUSION
AMETO conforms to the quality domains described by the IoM, WHO, and OECD. Few studies have investigated dental implant treatment of dental agenesis. Moreover, no published quality register for dental implant treatment currently exists.


7European Congress of Paediatric Anaesthesia Warsaw, Poland Hilton Conference Centre 10 – 13 September 2009 http://www.feapa.eu Deadline for abstracts: 18 May 2009 Main Topics: Quality, Airway Management, Best practice In Difficult Situations, Anaesthesia for Children with Heart Disease, Monitoring, Pharmacology and Safety, Intensive Care, Pain Contacts: For further information and registration consult the FEAPA website http://www.feapa.eu or contact: President: Dr Marcin Rawicz, c ⁄ o Department of Paediatric Anaesthesia, Medical University of Warsaw, Marszalkowska 24, 00-576 Warsaw, Poland, tel. +4822 6299418 fax+48 22 6282988 e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Registration and Exhibition: Ms. Irena Sokolowska, Holiday Travel, Nowowiejska 10, 00-653 Warsaw, Poland, tel: +48 22 2100 655 fax +4822 8259152, e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Scientific Committee: Prof. Francis Veyckemans, E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Pediatric Anesthesia 2009 19: 424


Causal selection is the cognitive process through which one or more elements in a complex causal structure are singled out as actual causes of a certain effect. In this paper, we report on an experiment in which we investigated the role of moral and temporal factors in causal selection. Our results are as follows. First, when presented with a temporal chain in which two human agents perform the same action one after the other, subjects tend to judge the later agent to be the actual cause. Second, the impact of temporal location on causal selection is almost canceled out if the later agent did not violate a norm while the former did. We argue that this is due to the impact that judgments of norm violation have on causal selection—even if the violated norm has nothing to do with the obtaining effect. Third, moral judgments about the effect influence causal selection even in the case in which agents could not have foreseen the effect and did not intend to bring it about. We discuss our findings in connection to recent theories of the role of moral judgment in causal reasoning, on the one hand, and to probabilistic models of temporal location, on the other.


Over the next 40 years, it is estimated that the proportion of people aged 60 years and over will double from 11% to 22% of the total world population. The most significant increase is expected among those aged >80 years of whom there were 102 million in 2009; by 2050 this number will increase to 395 million.1 A 'dramatic and steady rise' in the number of deaths is also predicted.2 Fifty-six million people died in 2009; 91 million are likely to die in 2050. For developed countries, the ageing and dying of the 'baby boomers' will be one of the key public health challenges of this century.

Many older people will have protracted deaths linked to a combination of long-term conditions. Further, there is mounting evidence that older people often receive what is euphemistically termed 'suboptimal' care at the end of life. In other words, they are the 'disadvantaged dying'.3 As a group, they often experience high physical and psychological symptom burden at the end of life, are likely to have few opportunities to express preferences for care and are still less likely to access specialist services. Those with dementia are arguably the most vulnerable to dying in circumstances far removed from contemporary Western ideals of the 'good death'.

While improving palliative care provision for older people has been recognised as an international public health priority by the WHO,4 there is little evidence that the sheer scale of this challenge has been taken on board, either by policy makers or by the wider practitioner and academic communities. The recently published UK report Dying for Change 5 argues that society is ill-prepared for how caring for the dying will change in the next two decades as people live longer. So what is the …


The history of international efforts to control the flow of funds to designated 'terrorist groups' via the formal financial system is examined. The work shows that-despite the high motivation of some governments and international banks to reduce terrorist attacks, which harm their citizens, customers, staff and profits-it remains difficult to determine how this private-public policing interface can rationally target 'risky capital'. Financial intelligence efforts have had little externally discernible impact on reducing levels of terrorism or on criminal convictions. It reviews evaluation problems in knowing whether the apparent lack of effects is due to measurement failure (estimating how much terrorist harm might have occurred had the controls not been imposed), theory failure or implementation failure. It argues for a more modest assessment of the likely impact of measures against financing terrorism and nuclear proliferation.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the contributions of individual- and neighborhood-level spatial access to care to the utilization of emergency departments (EDs) for preventable conditions through implementation of novel local spatial access measures.

DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING
Emergency department admissions data are from four HealthLNK member hospitals in Chicago from 2007 to 2011. Primary care physician office and clinic locations were obtained from the American Medical Association and the City of Chicago.

STUDY DESIGN
Multilevel logit regression was used to model the relationship between individual- and neighborhood-level attributes and preventable ED use.

DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS
Emergency department admissions data were classified based on the primary diagnosis for each encounter. Spatial access to care indices were generated in ArcGIS, and values were extracted at each ZIP code centroid to match patients' ZIP codes.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
Beyond sociodemographic factors such as gender and race, patients living in medically underserved areas (MUAs) and areas with lower spatial access to primary care clinics had higher odds of preventable ED use.

CONCLUSIONS
Preventable ED use can be associated with sociodemographic characteristics, as well as spatial access to primary care services. This study reveals potential for using local measures of spatial accessibility for preventable ED analyses.


In recent decades, international peacebuilding and reconstruction after civil wars have managed to promote stability and contain conflict in many regions around the world, ending violence and enabling communities to rebuild their lives and societies. However, the peacebuilding record indicates that there are problems related to the effectiveness and legitimacy of peacebuilding, especially related to the promotion of liberal democracy, market reform and state institutions.This brief considers these limitations and argues that a new human security-based approach may offer insights for a more sustainable form of peacebuilding.


Background:Heart failure (HF) is a major health problem in the United States, affecting 5.7 million American adults. Psychosocial distress, in particular depression, contributes to morbidity and mortality in patients with HF. Little is known about the interrelationship among disease severity, social support, and depression. Objective:The aim of this study was to examine the contributions of social support and disease severity to longitudinal changes in depression and anxiety of outpatients with HF. Methods:Patients (N = 108) enrolled in the Psychosocial Factors Outcome Study completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the State Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Social Support Questionnaire-6 at study entry and every 6 months for up to 2 years. Results:At baseline, 30% of the patients were depressed and 42% were anxious. Social support amount contributed to changes in depression (P = .044) but not anxiety (P = .856). Depression increased over time for patients who had lower initial social support amount. Depression did not increase for those with higher initial social support amount. Neither New York Heart Association class nor treatment group (placebo or implantable cardioverter defibrillator) interacted with time to predict depression, which indicates that changes in depression were parallel for patients with New York Heart Association class II and class III HF and for those who received implantable cardioverter defibrillators and those who did not. Assessment of patients with HF should include depression and social support. Interventions to enhance social support among patients with HF who have low social support may help alleviate the development of depression. Conclusions:Reducing psychological distress and increasing social support may improve health outcomes among HF outpatients. It is important for studies of HF to include assessment of depression, anxiety, and social support and evaluate their contributions to health outcomes.


Proliferation of dendritic cells (DC) in the spleen is regulated by positive growth signals through the lymphotoxin (LT)-β receptor; however, the countering inhibitory signals that achieve homeostatic control are unresolved. Mice deficient in LTα, LTβ, LTβR, and the NFκB inducing kinase show a specific loss of CD8− DC subsets. In contrast, the CD8α− DC subsets were overpopulated in mice deficient in the herpesvirus entry mediator (HVEM) or B and T lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA). HVEM- and BTLA-deficient DC subsets displayed a specific growth advantage in repopulating the spleen in competitive replacement bone marrow chimeric mice. Expression of HVEM and BTLA were required in DC and in the surrounding microenvironment, although DC expression of LTβR was necessary to maintain homeostasis. Moreover, enforced activation of the LTβR with an agonist Ab drove expansion of CD8α− DC subsets, overriding regulation by the HVEM-BTLA pathway. These results indicate the HVEM-BTLA pathway provides an inhibitory checkpoint for DC homeostasis in lymphoid tissue. Together, the LTβR and HVEM-BTLA pathways form an integrated signaling network regulating DC homeostasis.


Abstract Resonant modes of high contrast dielectric disk have finite Q-factors in the subwavelength range due to radiation leakage into the surrounding space. That leakage can be reduced considerably (a few times) by exploiting of the mechanism of destructive interference of two modes for avoided crossing of resonances (ACR) (Rybin et al. M. V. Rybin, K. L. Koshelev, Z. F. Sadrieva, et al., "High-Q Supercavity Modes in Subwavelength Dielectric Resonators," Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 119, p. 243901, 2017.). In the present paper we report suppression of radiation leakage by a few orders in magnitude via the ACR in the structure of three and four different coaxial disks. For fine multi-scale tuning of disks we reveal the ultrahigh-Q resonances of order 105 for the case of three disks and of order 106 for the case of four coaxial disks of equal radii.


Being General Manager (GM) of a professional sports team remains one of the most desirable jobs in all of sports. The ability to control an organization and the possibility of leading it to a championship often makes the endless hours, duties, difficulties and lack of job security worth it. Not surprisingly then, there are people from all walks of life who work to obtain a GM position. In our article Major League Baseball General Managers: An Analysis of Their Responsibilities, Qualifications and Characteristics, we discussed the role of a Major League Baseball (MLB) GM in running an organization while examining the evolving paths people have taken to obtain the GM position. In MLB there has been a clear trend emphasizing younger, highly educated people with a statistical analysis approach and putting less emphasis on playing or coaching experience. Presently, the standard bearer for statistical analysis in the NBA is Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey. Morey, who did not play basketball in college, graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in computer science and went on to earn his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Many people believe that GMs who emphasize statistical analysis will become increasingly prevalent in the NBA: it remains to be seen whether they proliferate as much as they have in MLB. As a result of that proliferation, the characteristics and qualifications of MLB GMs changed fairly substantially from 1989 to 2009. In contrast, the characteristics and qualifications of NBA GMs have not seen any major changes over the same period of time. The first part of this article will discuss the many duties of an NBA GM and how they may have changed over time. Next, the article will examine the characteristics of NBA GMs and how they may have changed, including their playing experience, coaching experience, age, education, race and career paths. Finally, the article will conclude by discussing the most common paths to the NBA GM position, with an eye towards how these paths might change in the future.


Over the past decade, significant changes have been affecting the retail industry, largely due to the rapid pace of technological developments. With the advent of mobility and self-service models, retailers are aggressively working to stay ahead of the technology curve and meet new customers' demands and buying preferences. As such, retailers are seeking to be ubiquitous in today's digital world. However, being ubiquitous is still not enough. To better personalize and enhance service delivery, businesses need to know the users of their products and their service preferences. They also need to have the means through which identities can be ascertained. This article provides an overview of the main challenges facing the retail industry in this regard and some of the emerging realities of the Internet age that are impacting the industry. This paper argues that the insecurity of the Internet and the risk of identity theft are major obstacles to the development and optimal use of the Internet economy. The study aims to explore the role of modern identity management in the retail industry, while shedding light on one of the world's most renowned identity management infrastructures—in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—and examining how reliable identity management systems can push the retail industry into new frontiers.


Forced degradation is a process that involves degradation of drug products and drug substances at conditions more severe than accelerated conditions and thus generates degradation products that can be studied to determine the stability of the molecule. Chemical stability of pharmaceutical molecules is a matter of great concern as it affects the safety and efficacy of the drug product. Zolmitriptan is a drug used for medication in the treatment of migraines and cluster headaches. This paper focuses on developing forced degradation methods for Zolmitriptan and validated the stability of the Zolmitriptan under different testing conditions. The results obtained from the stress testing show that zolmitriptan drug substance is particularly unstable under acidic, hydrolytic, alkaline, oxidative, photolytic conditions and also thermal degradation process. The results also indicate that the described method is suitable for quantitative determination and the stability study of zolmitriptan.


Ewing sarcoma family tumors (ESFT) are highly aggressive and highly metastatic tumors caused by a chromosomal fusion between the Ewing sarcoma protein (EWS) with the transcription factor FLI-1. However, expression of the EWS/FLI-1 chimeric oncogene by itself is insufficient for carcinogenesis, suggesting that additional events are required. Here, we report the identification of the Akt substrate PRAS40 as an EWS target gene. EWS negatively regulates PRAS40 expression by binding the 30 untranslated region in PRAS40 mRNA. ESFT cell proliferation was suppressed by treatment with an Akt inhibitor, and ESFT cell proliferation and metastatic growth were suppressed by siRNA-mediated PRAS40 knockdown. Furthermore, PRAS40 knockdown was sufficient to reverse an increased cell proliferation elicited by EWS knockdown. In support of a pathologic role for PRAS40 elevation in EFST, we documented inverse protein levels of EWS and PRAS40 in ESFT cells. Together, our findings suggest that PRAS40 promotes the development of ESFT and might therefore represent a novel therapeutic target in this aggressive disease. Cancer Res; 72(5); 1260–9. 2012 AACR.


ITER will operate long time discharges (400s) at high performances (Q=10) and will have to satisfy strong Safety and Operational limits in term of Tritium and dust inventory. This implies to control the erosion of the Plasma Facing Components. Erosion monitoring diagnostic based on speckle interferometry and an optical design with its implementation in ITER are presented.


Search engine ad auctions typically have a significant fraction of advertisers who are budget constrained, i.e., if allowed to participate in every auction that they bid on, they would spend more than their budget. This yields an important problem: selecting the ad auctions which these advertisers participate, in order to optimize different system objectives such as the return on investment for advertisers, and the quality of ads shown to users. We present a system and algorithms for optimizing budget constrained spend. The system is designed be deployed in a large search engine, with hundreds of thousands of advertisers, millions of searches per hour, and with the query stream being only partially predictable. We have validated the system design by implementing it in the Google ads serving system and running experiments on live traffic. We have also compared our algorithm to previous work that casts this problem as a large linear programming problem limited to popular queries, and show that our algorithms yield substantially better results.


To detect cellular differences in the healing of polytetrafluoroethylene (e-PTFE) and Dacron grafts up to 7 months after implantation, we studied 108 aortic graft interpositions in dogs. Each prosthesis was alternately prepared by endothelial seeding or by an unseeded control method. The grafts were perfusion fixed and studied with light, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy at intervals from before to 221 days after implantation. Seeding resulted in the development of an extensive endothelial flow surface in two out of three of the e-PTFE and none out of four of the Dacron grafts by 10 days after implantation (p = 0.053). After 30 days a microfibrillar subendothelial matrix ranging from 5 to 11 mu formed in all but three grafts with endothelial coverage. The inner capsule of mature Dacron grafts was significantly thicker (169 +/- 143 mu) than in e-PTFE grafts (22 +/- 32 mu; p = 0.002). Seeded and unseeded Dacron grafts had predominantly fibroblasts in the outer capsule of the graft by 10 days. Surface endothelium, vasa vasorum, fibroblasts, and myointimal cells appeared in the inner capsule between 10 and 30 days after implantation. In Dacron grafts, fibroblasts and myointimal cells predominated in the inner capsule at 30 days, with smooth muscle cells not being definitely identifiable until after 150 days. Neither fibroblasts nor myointimal cells were common (present but sparse in one of four e-PTFE grafts) at 30 days, and transmural vasa vasorum were never seen. The seeded endothelial cells migrated rapidly from the sites of initial adhesion near the e-PTFE onto the flow surface. Only one of four of the unseeded e-PTFE grafts had surface endothelium after 30 days, and only moderate coverage developed during 180 days. We conclude that endothelial healing is more rapid in seeded e-PTFE grafts than in seeded Dacron grafts and occurs by a different mechanism.


Pineapple roots need adequate oxygen to function, sustaining growth and yield. The crop is susceptible to soil saturation caused by natural rainfall or irrigation, or even with drip irrigation that creates sustained wetting fronts. Drip and subsurface drip irrigation can develop sustained wetting fronts, particularly in low permeability soils, predisposing plant roots to a low oxygen environment. We evaluated the use of aerated irrigation water "oxygation", employing Mazzei air injectors which mix air with irrigation (12% air by volume of water) in-line, increasing oxygen concentration in the irrigation water stream. The effect of this treatment was evident in growth, development, and leaf gas exchange parameters. Total fruit yield increased by 44 and 26% whereas industry yield increased by 11 and 6% due to oxygation compared to the control and no irrigation, respectively. High yield was associated with an increase in fruit size and not the number of fruits produced. Phytophthora to the control (4.9%), and without irrigation treatment (10.5%) suggesting that reasonable management of Phytophthora, which is one of the major pathological problems for pineapple production in Australia and elsewhere, can be addressed through aerated water irrigation. Oxygation responses were mediated through root and soil processes involving greater root biomass, root respiration, increased microbial diversity and enhanced soil aeration status.


This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in protecting chillipepper plant from infection of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and chilli veinal mottle virus (ChiVMV). Seven isolates of PGPR, i.e. BC1, BTP2H, BTP3G, BTP3O BTP1, BTP2D, and T1F were applied as seed treatment and soil drench. Plants height, number of branch, and fruits weight were measured every one and ten weeks after virus inoculation. Virus concentration in plants and disease incidence were confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA). Results showed that inoculation with PGPR improved the seed germination. Eight days after sowing, the percentage of PGPR treated seed germination reached 50-84%; whereas those of untreated seed reached only 18%. In general, PGPR treatment significantly reduced (p < 0.05) the effect of virus infection on plant growth. Two PGPR isolates, i.e. BTP1 and BTP2H, maintained fruit weight of infected plants as good as those of healthy plants. Based on ELISA, PGPR was able to inhibit the disease incidence. The BTP3O and BTP2D isolates even protected the plant from ChiVMV infection. Concentration of salicylic acid and peroxidase were relatively higher on plants treated with PGPR than those without PGPR treatment. This gave an indication that PGPR may act as induction agents for systemic acquired resistance. Therefore, PGPR treatment is a promising strategy to control viral diseases on chillipepper.


In 2008, Yoon and Yoo proposed a password-based 3PEKE scheme, which can improve some secure weaknesses of the password-based 3PEKE scheme. However, in 2009, Lo and Yeh shown that the 3PEKE scheme cannot resist undetectable on-line password guessing attacks and proposed a new approach to solve this problem. Although they actually propose an improved approach, the exchange-message roles are quite different from the traditional 3PEKE schemes in which the key information be exchanged between just one specific client and server. That is, a client will still act as the intermediate role who exchanges the messages flow between the other client and server. In other words, both clients will exchange key information with server, individually. Therefore, we propose an approach, which is called Three-party Encrypted Key Exchange Protocol with Protected Password Authentication (3PEKE-PPA), to improve the traditional password-based 3PEKE scheme. Our scheme can achieve effective implement and resist undetectable on-line password guessing attacks.


High fidelity rotorcraft flight simulation relies on the availability of a quality flight model that further demands a good level of understanding of the complex nonlinearities arising from aerodynamic couplings and interferences. This paper explores rotorcraft flight dynamics in the low-speed regime where such nonlinearities abound and presents a new Additive System IDentification (ASID) approach in the time-domain to aid investigations of these complexities. The ASID approach identifies flight model parameters sequentially based on their contribution to the local dynamic response of the system, in contrast with the averaged values of conventional System IDentification (SID) approaches over a whole manoeuvre. The identified 4 degree-of-freedom model shows good predictability using flight test data from the National Research Council's Bell 412 at hover and how the identified parameters can be used to improve the fidelity of Liverpool's baseline FLIGHTLAB model of the Bell 412. The approach is also used to study nonlinearities attributed to Manoeuvre Wake Distortion (MWD). A cubic rate term is proposed to model the MWD nonlinearities and first results show good correlation for this nonlinear model structure, demonstrated by its capability to capture the nonlinear response and variations of the stability and control derivatives with response magnitude.


Over the past few decades in Italy, the interpretation of Fascism went through an animated debate, revolving mostly around the research efforts and theses of Renzo De Felice. This debate began in the mid-1970s, with the publication of De Felice's biography on Mussolini and the consensus (1974) and with a famous Interview on Fascism (1975). Among the main matters that triggered the debate were: the revolutionary essence of Fascism compared to Nazism's reactionary and racist characteristics; the role of the middle class as the soul of the fascist movement; and the consensus won by the dictatorship beyond police repression. These topics provoked a major public debate, which led to accusing De Felice of attempting to rehabilitate Fascism. During the following decade, the debate cooled; despite criticism of De Felice's books, his contribution to the analysis and reconstruction of Fascism was widely acknowledged. But at the same time, especially through the press and media, a «pejorative De-Felicism» spread, which trivialized De Felice's theories and turned the debate over the country's memory into a spectacle with no historical depth. Moreover, this occurred while De Felice's interests were changing. The method of studies on Fascism was in fact replaced by the issue of Italy and its national crisis as a central topic of his thinking; this shift was also caused by political and cultural needs. In this perspective, the Resistance became a topic open to passionate debate, which was to accompany De Felice until his untimely passing.


Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and feral cats (Felis catus) are present throughout a wide range of habitats and landscapes across much of Australia. In addition to the competition and predatory impacts of these two pest species, red foxes and feral cats harbour a wide range of parasites, many of which may have important conservation, agricultural and zoonotic repercussions. This project investigated the occurrence of helminth parasites from the intestines of 147 red foxes and 47 feral cats collected from 14 and 11 locations respectively, throughout southwest Western Australia.

Helminth parasites were detected in 58% of foxes and 81% of cats. Helminth species identified from red foxes were: Dipylidium caninum (27.7% of individual foxes examined), Uncinaria stenocephala (18.2%), Toxocara canis (14.9%), Spirometra erinaceieuropaei (5.4%), Toxascaris leonina (4.7%), Taenia spp. (4.1%), Taenia serialis (1.4%), Taenia hydatigena (0.7%), Brachylaima cribbi (0.7%), Plagiorchis maculosus (0.7%) and an Acanthocephalan identified to family Centrorhynchidae (2.1%). Helminth species identified from feral cats were: Taenia taeniaeformis (39.1% of individual cats examined), Toxocara cati (34.8%), Spirometra erinaceieuropaei (19.6%), Oncicola pomatostomi (15.2%), Toxascaris leonina (6.5%), Dipylidium caninum (6.5%), Ancylostoma spp (2.2%) and the Acanthocephalan Centrorhynchidae (2.2%).

Infracommunity richness varied from 1-3 and 1-4 species per host in red foxes and feral cats respectively. Average parasite burdens varied from 1-39 worms across all helminth species. Several environmental factors were significantly related to the presence of some parasites in red foxes. For red foxes, the percentage remnant vegetation cover at each sampling location was significantly positively correlated with the presence of T. canis and U. stenocephala (p<0.001). Average relative humidity was significantly positively correlated with the presence of S. erinaceieuropaei (p<0.001), T. leonina (p<0.01) and U. stenocephala (p<0.01). Five year average minimum temperature had an effect on S. erinaceieuropaei and U. stenocephala (p<0.001). For feral cats, a significant positive correlation was detected between the presence of T. cati and five year annual rainfall (p<0.001) as well as individual head/body length and T. taeniaeformis (p<0.001).

Helminth species associations were detected between U. stenocephala and D. caninum, S. erinaceieuropaei, T. canis and T. leonina in red foxes. A significant association was also detected between S. erinaceieuropaei and T. leonina in red foxes. In feral cats helminth species associations were detected between T. taeniaeformis and O. pomatostomi as well as between T. taeniaeformis and T. cati. The only parasite that was positively correlated with body condition (assessed by body mass) was S. erinaceieuropaei in foxes. The species richness within a host was not observed to affect body condition in either foxes or cats.

In conclusion, red foxes and feral cats in southwest Western Australia harbour a wide range of helminth parasites, which are of veterinary significance for wildlife and livestock. Control of red foxes and feral cats in this region may therefore provide an important mechanism of control of these parasites. Importantly, Echinococcus granulosus, a parasite of major zoonotic concern, was not recorded in this study.