This study compared the use of computers and telephones by preadolescent and adolescent students with visual impairments and those with other disabilities using data from the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study and the National Longitudinal Transition Study–2. It found that both groups of students with visual impairments used computers and received telephone calls significantly less often than did students in some other disability groups. The implications of these findings for the isolation of students with visual impairments and training in assistive technology are discussed.


The photophysical properties and photoswitching scheme of the reversible photoswitchable green fluorescent protein-like fluorescent proteins Dronpa-2 and Dronpa-3 were investigated by means of ensemble and single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy and compared to those of the precursor protein Dronpa. The faster response to light and the faster dark recovery of the new mutants observed in bulk also hold at the single-molecule level. Analysis of the single-molecule traces allows us to extract the efficiencies and rate constants of the pathways involved in the forward and backward switching, and we find important differences when comparing the mutants to Dronpa. We rationalize our results in terms of a higher conformational freedom of the chromophore in the protein environment provided by the beta-can. This thorough understanding of the photophysical parameters has allowed us to optimize the acquisition parameters for camera-based sub-diffraction-limit imaging with these photochromic proteins. We show that Dronpa and its mutants are useful for fast photoactivation-localization microscopy (PALM) using common wide-field microscopy equipment, as individual fluorescent proteins can be localized several times. We provide a new approach to achieve fast PALM by introducing simultaneous two-color stroboscopic illumination.


A model of labor income that includes volatility is developed based on longitudinal data. Numerical stochastic dynamic programming is then applied to the model to explore the effects of stochastic human capital and Social Security on optimal asset allocation and consumption decisions over the lifecycle for typical individuals. Optimal asset allocations are very stock heavy pre-retirement, and quite stock heavy post retirement. Individuals should adopt declining equity allocations while employed, and level to slightly rising equity allocations during a stochastic duration retirement. Consumption should typically slowly increase until late in retirement, when it will be forced to fall.


Only half of investment by firms is in physical capital, such as buildings and machinery. The other half is in intangible assets, such as branding, software and training. This has been true for the past two decades or more in the UK, but only if you step beyond the measures in the National Accounts, which include only some of the recognised intangible assets. This paper surveys ongoing work at the Office for National Statistics to develop measures of investment in intangible assets, using new insights and innovative approaches. In particular, this paper reviews developments in three areas: in-house branding investments, employer-funded training investments, and in-house investments in organisational capital. We reconsider some of the key assumptions made in the literature and propose alternative approaches to measurement. The paper concludes by considering implications of this work, and identifies some of the remaining gaps in the evidence base for measuring intangible assets.


Around 20 years ago, Tanzania adopted the policy of participatory forest management (PFM) to create incentives for increasing villagers' participation in forest management. The timing is thus fitting to reflect on the achievements and challenges of the PFM process so far. There have certainly been successes. Nonetheless, challenges remain. Notably, there is a mismatch between participation ideals and the way the process has been framed, or structured, as well as outcomes on the ground in terms of actual participation and forest management practices. This working paper presents experiences with PFM from a handful of sites across the country, relying on existing published literature as well as our own research experiences. Having been involved in a number of major PFM research projects in Tanzania, we, the authors, have a combined experience of more than 20 years of conducting research in this field. We summarize important findings that explain the observed chasm between participation ideals and local realities and offer some recommendations. While some of our diagnoses and recommendations may contradict conventional wisdom in forestry, we believe that this report contributes valuable insights to the continued efforts to further sustainable forestry in Tanzania. We begin by outlining the global ideals of participatory forestry. We then present an overview of the realities of PFM as they appear in existing research. We do not attempt an exhaustive survey of literature or our own research. Rather, we emphasize issues concerning the framing of PFM as a bureaucratic and scientific project, and how that shapes it in practice. We then present case studies illustrating some of the core problems with PFM before concluding with some general recommendations for improving participatory forestry policy and guidelines.


This article identifies four mechanisms (talking continuously; showing commitment to a community; strengthening operational focus; and accepting difficult decisions) in Venture Capitalist (VC)—Owner–Manager (OM) relationships that serve to manage tensions and thus avert detrimental situations, namely conflicts. The results enrich the literature on VC‐OM conflict by mobilizing a tension intensity variable and by providing evidence on how tense critical events can be managed. We offer recommendations and insight into managing tension intensity, which can help VCs and OMs derive the potential benefits of opposing viewpoints while avoiding major disruptions in their relationships.


Samothraki Greek onset-/r/ deletion with subsequent compensatory lengthening (CL) of the following vowel poses two major problems for current phonological theory. First, such a pattern should be impossible because in moraic theory onsets never bear weight, thus — under the assumption that CL is all about mora conservation (cf. Hayes 1989 and several others) — their deletion should not induce lengthening. Second, CL is an instance of opacity, and opacity is the single biggest conundrum that Optimality Theory faces. This paper addresses both issues and suggests that CL should not be treated as mora conservation, but instead as position preservation through the presence of a mora. This move sidesteps the previous problems as no reference to the input moraicity of segments is required and consequently, onsets, like codas, can cause CL. Moreover, concerns about OT's parallelism, single input-output mapping, and Richness of the Base are taken into account ensuring that the resulting analysis observes all of them. The proposed solution neatly accounts for a number of CL cases and is successfully implemented in Samothraki Greek, an elaborate analysis of which is offered to capture the full range of facts.


Loneliness is the subjective feeling people experience when they feel less socially connected to others than they desire. Beyond the impact to mental health and well-being, loneliness is linked to detrimental health outcomes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing and isolation requirements likely exacerbated the prevalence of loneliness, which was reported by 1 in 5 American adults before the pandemic. Whether it be through in-person or virtual visits, primary care clinicians have tools and expertise to screen patients for loneliness, provide them supportive consultations, and refer persons with loneliness to helpful resources. As the societal changes from the pandemic continue to evolve, we recommend that primary care providers include loneliness screens as part of their standard workflow and consult with patients about effective interventions to reduce loneliness.


The mechanical response of airport pavement under multiple-gear of the new large aircraft loadings behaves differently from traditional mechanical response problems. In this paper, a 3-D finite element model of nine 5m×5m full size slabs rigid airport pavement with load transfer of joints and multilayer base system is established, using the finite element method. With the example of airplane A380, we analyzed the Von Mises stress distribution when the large aircraft loadings act on different locations of the pavement slabs. The result shows that the critical of Von Mises stress does not occur at the slab edge but closer to the center of the loading area in the edge load cases; in addition, through setting different parameters of joint load transfer stiffness, the relationship between the joints stiffness and the load transfer efficiency of adjacent slabs is found. It is demonstrated that for higher joint stiffness there is higher transfer efficiency.


In this paper, I argue that the Tractatus classifies names into constant names and variable names. A variable name, via the application of the existential quantifier against the background of picturing, picks out and denotes an unspecified object from the range of objects of the form shown by the relevant variable. A constant name labels an object picked out from a scope of the existential quantifier. I also refute two types of attempts to argue that the Tractarian relation between a name and its meaning is not realist, and to explain why it is more reasonable to hold that it is.


Based on the data of China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) from 1989 to 2015, this paper analyzes the mobility and transmission mechanism of rural residents' intergenerational income. The OLS estimation of father and son yields a value of 0.549. The results of quantile regressions show that in rural China, the intergenerational income elasticity (IGE) is higher at the high end but lower at the low end. The human capital investment represented by the schooling years of the children is indeed an important factor explaining the intergenerational income mobility in the rural, and its contribution rate is 26.6%, much higher than the contribution of occupation. Further, the decomposition results indicate that education plays a more important role both at the low end and the high end, while occupation plays a more important role at the media quantile.

 Key words: Rural resident, intergenerational income mobility, transmission mechanism.


Abstract Old buildings that represent and maintain historic values often have poor indoor conditions and energy efficiency. The aim of this work was to evaluate the influence of building structures on airtightness and energy performance of certain historic building types. In this study on-site measurements, dynamic simulation and questionnaires were used. Significant differences between the levels of the airtightness of the historic houses exist in the studied region. No statistically significant correlation was found between the structure types and the envelope tightness. The typical air leakage places of the studied houses were at the junctions of the envelope structures. Measured air exchange rates indicated that the level of ventilation is insufficient in some of the houses while some are too leaky. If the airtightness of the naturally ventilated house is improved, the acceptable ventilation rate has to be guaranteed. Tightening the envelope and moving from natural to mechanical ventilation was the most effective way to improve the indoor conditions and energy performance.


Our neutron structural analysis of Photoactive Yellow Protein (PYP) revealed an unusual deprotonated arginine (R52) with a low barrier hydrogen bond (LBHB) between the chromophore and E46. To examine the protonation state of R52 in solution, we performed FTIR spectroscopy. The comparison of PYP L /PYP Dark difference spectra between WT and R52Q confirmed the substantial differences in the region from 1500 cm -1 to 1600 cm -1 , which is assigned to a C-N stretch vibration of the deprotonated guanidino group. The observation indicates that the deprotonated R52 of WT is slightly perturbed during the reaction. The signals show clear isotope effect with 15 N labeled Arg. We conclude that R52 in PYP is surely deprotonated in solution. of a cryogenic optical microscope with NA of 0.9 and its application to studies of pigment distributions plant cells Sharpening of spectral bands and reduced photo-damage of samples upon lowering temperature enable us to get detailed information about the functional states and spatial distributions of chlorophyll (Chl)-protein complexes within a plant cell. To realize fluorescence microspectroscopy observations of photosynthetic components at cryogenic temperatures, we developed a laser-scanning cryogenic microscope,


The aim of this thesis was to study the activation of hemostasis and inflammation, in patients undergoing off-pump (OPCAB) and on-pump coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and the relationship of coagulation and inflammation to clinical outcome. We hypothesized that activation of hemostasis and C-reactive protein (CRP) would be more pronounced in patients undergoing CABG using cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and that this would be associated with increased morbidity. In particular, neurocognitive dysfunction may be less pronounced in patients undergoing OPCAB procedures. Therefore, we did a number of studies in which we investigated several aspects of hemostasis in patients undergoing on- and off-pump CABG. Moreover, the influence of CRP as a marker of inflammation was studied as others have already demonstrated that CRP levels may be associated with increased morbidity after cardiac surgery. In 40 patients, randomly assigned to off-pump and on-pump CABG, we observed that CABG surgery with CPB was associated with increased thrombin generation and fibrinolytic activity in the immediate postoperative period. However, patients in the OPCAB-group demonstrated a delayed postoperative response that became equal in magnitude to the CPB group in the later (20-96 hours) postoperative period. Although early postoperative activation of hemostasis was more pronounced after on-pump CABG, we did not find any association with clinical outcome in the initial group and in a larger group of 73 CABG patients. Therefore, the clinical impact of CPB-related activation of coagulation remains to be determined. In contrast to our hypothesis, a significant association between early postoperative activation of hemostasis and the incidence of early postoperative cognitive decline was observed in 60 OPCAB patients. D-dimer levels and prothrombin fragments 1.2 at two hours after the off-pump procedure were strongly associated with early cognitive decline on postoperative day 4. Several mechanisms may be responsible for this apparent paradox. One contributing factor may be the fact that institution of CPB can obviously reduce the hypercoagulable state resulting from surgical trauma. In 60 on- and off-pump patients, we could demonstrate that von Willebrand Factor (VWF) release is increased after both procedures. However, VWF activity is significantly lower in the on-pump group. Shear stress-induced proteolysis due to the use of CPB may be one important factor responsible for this phenomenon. In the Octopus Study, the majority of the OPCAB patients received thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) in combination with general anesthesia. Postoperative activation of hemostasis may be affected by the use of TEA. We conducted a trial where we studied the effects of several LA on Tromboxane A2-induced platelet aggregation in an in vitro model. However, the LA tested had only limited ability to inhibit that Tromboxane A2-induced platelet aggregation. We were unable to demonstrate a significant interaction between CPB-induced activation of hemostasis, the inflammatory response to surgery and CPB and parameters of clinical outcome. We indeed observed an association between baseline CRP levels, a marker for chronic inflammation, and postoperative atrial fibrillation after both on-pump and off-pump CABG. Apparently, the relationship between postoperative CRP activation and the incidence of atrial fibrillation is not CPB-dependent.


Abstract Risk transfer is a key risk and capital management tool for insurance companies. Transferring risk between insurers is used to mitigate risk and manage capital requirements. We investigate risk transfer in the context of a network environment of insurers and consider capital costs and capital constraints at the level of individual insurance companies. We demonstrate that the optimisation of profitability across the network can be achieved through risk transfer. Considering only individual insurance companies, there is no unique optimal solution and, a priori, it is not clear which solutions are fair. However, from a network perspective, we derive a unique fair solution in the sense of cooperative game theory. Implications for systemic risk are briefly discussed.


Timber-concrete composite floors are a combination of timber joists and concrete topping, creating a flooring system to best utilise the advantages each material has to offer. Timber is used as the main tensile load bearing material due to its high strength-to-weight ratio, while concrete is used in floor slabs for its advantages in stiffness and acoustic separation. The strength of the system is dependent on the connection between timber and concrete, thus the connection must be strong, stiff, and economical to manufacture, to ensure that the flooring system is economically viable. This research investigated the fire performance and failure behaviour of timber-concrete composite floor systems currently under development in New Zealand, resulting in a calculation method for evaluating the fire resistance of these floors. Furnace tests were performed on two full-size floor specimens at the Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ). Both floor specimens were 4 m long and 3 m wide, consisting of 65 mm concrete topping on plywood formwork, connected to double LVL floor joists. They were tested over a 4 m span, subjected to a nominal design live load of 2.5 kPa. Both floors were subjected to the ISO 834 test fire for over 60 minutes. Two separate connection types were tested; concrete notches cut into the timber beams with an incorporated shear key, and metal toothed plates pressed between the double beams. It was found that the reduction in section size of the timber beams due to the fire governed the failure mode of the floors. Due to the composite action achieved by the connections, the floor units were able to withstand prolonged exposure to the test fire, well exceeding one hour. The test data and visual observations aided in the development of a numerical model for evaluating the fire resistance of the floors. This was developed in a spreadsheet that is able to predict the expected fire resistance of these floors, taking into account some major time dependent variable properties that can have an effect on the overall performance. Load-span tables have been produced to give the estimated fire resistance of floors with differing floor dimensions, span lengths and applied loads.


We theorized and tested the underlying mechanism by which influence centrality (i.e., central position in interpersonal influence networks) relates to employee outcomes (i.e., job performance and organizational citizenship behaviors). Based on a sample of 595 employee-supervisor pairs from 25 organizations, results revealed a positive relationship between influence centrality and employee outcomes. In addition, influence centrality was indirectly associated with employee outcomes via psychological empowerment. Furthermore, the relationship between influence centrality and empowerment was moderated by trust centrality (i.e., central position in interpersonal trust networks), such that the relationship was positive when trust centrality was high, but not significant when trust centrality was low.


Exercise has been shown to improve insulin resistance, a key factor in mediating cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, in both obese and healthy individuals. Aerobic training (AT) and resistance training (RT) have both been shown to improve insulin resistance, yet less research exists on RT's specific impact. Additionally, there is a lack of direct comparison of RT vs AT using standardized exercise programs, potentially confounding insulin resistance results. In "Aerobic Compared to Resistance Training to Reduce Insulin Resistance in Obesity", study participants were screened for eligibility, received baseline and post-intervention health assessments, randomized to a study arm, and received one of three treatments (AT, RT, or Control). REDCap software was used in designing and translating this longitudinal, stratified, and controlled study into an entirely digital format; effectively collecting data at each research stage, while creating a running database for subsequent analysis. Several REDCap features allowed for remote and inperson data collection, the stratification of participants to different intervention arms, generation and designation of data collection instruments (specific to each research phase and intervention arm), and longitudinal data collection for each participant. The specific drawbacks, challenges, and benefits to using REDCap in "Aerobic Compared to Resistance Training to Reduce Insulin Resistance in Obesity" will be investigated and discussed in detail. Using REDCap was an effective means of ensuring standardization in research protocol across participant arms, such that the study's results may be applied to the growing body of research on insulin resistance, physical activity, obesity, and CVD.


With the increasing global health workers shortage, developing countries like Uganda are embracing task shifting as a form of availing health care amidst the growing population and increasing disease burden. This study examined the quality of healthcare delivered under task shifting in low and high task shifting environments from patients' perspective in Kalangala and Bukomansimbi Districts respectively. An exploratory design was employed with both qualitative and quantitative approaches guided by Banduras theories of social learning and social cognitive. Bivariate analysis was carried out through cross-tabulations on associations between task shifting and quality of healthcare indicators to generate chi-square and p-values. Quality of care was assessed as generally good but much better in high task shifting environments because of the availability of simulations, supervision and mentorship programs which facilitate the health workers to learn even when they possess lower qualifications. The study asserts that good quality healthcare can be provided by virtually any person who is conditioned through training, supervision and mentoring. This has a huge implication for Human Resource for Health (HRH) planning, forecasting and development in the epoch of healthy worker shortage. The study designed and recommended a task shifting model that would facilitate the development of policy framework for task shifting implementation.


The male accessory gland product that modulates the host-seeking behavior of female Aedes aegypti (L.) mosquitoes was found to be a peptide of 7,600 mw. This peptide also prevented subsequent mating behavior and weakly stimulated oviposition. Neither whole glands nor gland fractions from Anopheles gambiae had any effect on Ae. aegypti females, but those from Aedes albopictus were active.


Assent, currently defined as "a child's affirmative agreement", is a way in which some children are included in the decision-making process regarding their participation in clinical research. Current guidelines for paediatric research do not provide clear directions for how assent should be handled, resulting in confusion among researchers. The goal of this research project was two-fold: to examine the ethical arguments for assent with a view to developing concrete moral justification for its being required, and to develop a framework of significant issues for an investigator to consider when deciding whether to gain assent from an individual child. After an in-depth analysis, it was determined that the ethical justification for assent arises from the researcher's dual obligations to the child and his parents. A child's parents are responsible for determining when and how he will develop his decision-making ability. The researcher has an obligation to engage with the child in a manner that complements their pedagogical style, while also treating the child as a being of moral worth. As a child's family context has an influence on his participation in medical decision-making, further research on children's daily decision-making within their families is needed. To this end, a three-phase research agenda was designed: a qualitative focus group study, a quantitative questionnaire study, and a discussion panel with paediatric experts. The children in these studies clearly desired to make decisions but did not express an interest in having complete control. They expected their parents to provide them with decision-making guidance in most aspects of their lives. Data collected from parents illustrated that they often tried to involve their children in decisions by providing them with limited options from which to choose and encouraging family discussion. Participants in the discussion panel stated that they did not expect children to make an independent decision regarding medical care, but they might attempt to give children smaller decisions, such as the arm used to provide a blood sample. These results indicate that the definition of assent should be revised, emphasising the child's involvement in the overall decision making process, without an expectation of an "affirmative agreement", likely mimicking a familiar decision-making setting from his family context. This could then be documented in the child's clinical notes through a brief description of all relevant interactions and/or discussions with the child, resulting in an accurate portrayal of the entire assent process.


Linear probing is one of the most popular implementations of dynamic hash tables storing all keys in a single array. When we get a key, we first hash it to a location. Next we probe consecutive locations until the key or an empty location is found. At STOC'07, Pagh et al. presented data sets where the standard implementation of 2-universal hashing leads to an expected number of Ω(log n) probes. They also showed that with 5-universal hashing, the expected number of probes is constant. Unfortunately, we do not have 5-universal hashing for, say, variable length strings. When we want to do such complex hashing from a complex domain, the generic standard solution is that we first do collision free hashing (w.h.p.) into a simpler intermediate domain, and second do the complicated hash function on this intermediate domain. Our contribution is that for an expected constant number of linear probes, it is suffices that each key has O(1) expected collisions with the first hash function, as long as the second hash function is 5-universal. This means that the intermediate domain can be n times smaller, and such a smaller intermediate domain typically means that the overall hash function can be made simpler and at least twice as fast. The same doubling of hashing speed for O(1) expected probes follows for most domains bigger than 32-bit integers, e.g., 64-bit integers and fixed length strings. In addition, we study how the overhead from linear probing diminishes as the array gets larger, and what happens if strings are stored directly as intervals of the array. These cases were not considered by Pagh et al.


This paper presents an artificial neural network (ANN) controller for automatic generation control of a two area hydro-electric power system. A hierarchical architecture of three layer feed forward neural network (NN) is proposed for controller design, two networks are used, one for identifying the system and other for control respectively, trained based on back propagation algorithm (BPA). The regulator accepts area control error (ACE) as input and produce acceptable control signals. Its operation does not require a reference model and it can produce more acceptable control signals than are obtained by using sign of system errors during training. Input-output mapping of hydro systems using ANNs has been investigated and the controller has been implemented on a two area hydro-electric power system model. Simulation results show satisfactory control performance and illustrate the potential of the ANN controller in comparison with an existing conventional linear controller.


Aquatic macroinvertebrates are rarely used in wetland assessments due to their variation. However, in terms of biodiversity, these invertebrates form an important component of wetland fauna. Spatial and temporal variation of macroinvertebrate assemblages in endorheic depressions (locally referred to as pans ) in Mpumalanga and North West provinces were compared in wet and dry seasons in 2012 and 2013. A total of 29 taxa were identified from both provinces, with similarities in the structure of communities, with the exception of one or two species, in perennial endorheic depressions in both provinces. Macroinvertebrates sampled in Mpumalanga endorheic depressions were similar to those reported in previous studies completed in the area, and most macroinvertebrates sampled in Mpumalanga and North West were known to be commonly found in temporary habitats. Long-term studies are required to understand better the ecological functioning of the pans in the North West province.


The practice of keeping live birds in captivity has been widespread throughout this century and has increased considerably as the 20th century comes to a close. In the last decade or so, the increased trade in live birds from Tanzania has given rise to a number of concerns regarding the sustainability of the trade, its effects on bird numbers, and illegal trafficking. As part of its efforts to palliate the lack of legislation and planning in this domain and to evaluate the effects of this trade, in 1990 the Tanzanian government initiated the Planning and Assessment for Wildlife Management (PAWM) project. As part of this project, a workshop on the live bird trade in Tanzania was organised in Dar Es Salaam in December 1991 and gave rise to a series of initiatives. This publication provides a record of these initiatives and of the PAWN's efforts to arrive at and implement them. It also provides a record of the papers presented during the workshop and the recommendations that emerged therefrom.


Immunophenotypic analysis is capable of distinguishing benign and malignant or determining the lineage of neoplastic cells in most of lymphoproliferative disorders. The methodological approaches can be divided into two major categories; immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry. Both of these techniques can be important adjuncts to histological diagnosis although flow cytometry is not yet common in Japan. The basic features to be checked by immunophenotyping are as follows. IPT-I: Light chain restriction of immunoglobulin. IPT-II: Loss or stronger expression of one or more antigens normally expressed in reactive lymphocytes. IPT-III: Significant increase of a particular cell population that is quite rare or absent from normal tissue at the biopsy site. While IPT-I could be taken as direct evidence of a clonal proliferation of B-lineage cell, IPT-II and -III are the only strong suggestions of a malignant lymphoid proliferation.


Computerized information system has recently become widely available. Indeed, it has become an important instrument that can be applied in different aspects of life. One of the important applications of computer systems is that adopted by commercial organization as well as by small business. Hence, we can say that no management can successfully operate in any business without the use of computerized information system. This paper aims to design and implement probabilistic assignment management system for a library database commercial library. Most applications of OOP use specialized object oriented languages, but this paper shows that C++ can be used effectively to develop object oriented models of typical library management, and implement OOP is more flexible and reliable and less costing.


The growth of the Pagan and Witchcraft revivalist movements (Neopaganism) is well documented in the Anglophone world. However, Witchcraft movements are also closely linked to a vibrant set of subcultures and a multitude of representations in popular culture. In this context investigating the relationship between Witchcraft as a religious community and its representation in consumer culture and mass media is extremely significant. This article examines the ambiguous relationship between witch and Wiccan communities and the vast array of merchandising, popular culture and media representations that surround them. In creating the WIKID WITCH KIT I hope to take you on a magickal and exciting journey! Through ritual, music, song and spoken word I will help you unleash your inner magick and discover the wonderful and positively empowering world of Witchcraft. As part of this journey you will discover your WIKID magickal name, giving you access to our exclusive website and online coven. There you can meet up with other WIKID Witches to swap spells, stories, and ideas. And every full moon I will personally join you for an online gathering——which will be truly WIKID. WIKID Witch Kit features WIKID Magick Fizz/WIKID Magick Potions/WIKID Magick Fire/WIKID Magick Star/WIKID Magick Cord/WIKID Magick Audio CD. 1


We report a novel approach for the controlled delivery of an antiinflammatory, chemopreventive drug by an enzyme-triggered drug release mechanism via the degradation of encapsulated hydrogels. The hydro- and organogelators are synthesized in high yields from renewable resources by using regioselective enzyme catalysis, and a known chemopreventive and antiinflammatory drug, i.e., curcumin, is used for the model study. The release of the drug occurred at physiological temperature, and control of the drug release rate is achieved by manipulating the enzyme concentration and/or temperature. The byproducts formed after the gel degradation were characterized and clearly demonstrated the site specificity of degradation of the gelator by enzyme catalysis. The present approach could have applications in developing cost-effective controlled drug delivery vehicles from renewable resources, with a potential impact on pharmaceutical research and molecular design and delivery strategies.


Background and Objectives: Some recent data indicate that risk of death after acute coronary syndrome is under genetic control. Previously, we found that the C4B*Q0 genotype (low copy number of the C4B gene that encodes the fourth component of complement) is strongly associated with morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The 1252 G allele of the lymphotoxin-alpha (LTA) gene encoded close to the C4B gene was also reported to be related to CVD-related mortality in an Oriental population. Methods: The relationship between the copy number of the genes encoding the fourth component of complement (C4A and C4B) and LTA 252 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on the one hand and mortality after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was studied in 142 Icelandic patients. The number of the C4A and C4B genes was determined in genomic DNA samples by a newly developed real-time PCR-based method; lymphotoxin-alpha (LTA) 1252 A>G polymorphism was determined by PCR–restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Results: The C4B*Q0 genotype was found to be strongly associated with 1-year mortality, with a hazard ratio of 3.50 (1.38–8.87) (P 5 0.008) (adjusted Cox regression analysis). This association was, however, restricted to ever-smoking patients. By contrast, neither C4A gene copy numbers nor LTA 252 SNP did confer increased risk of mortality after AMI. Conclusions: This observation indicates that low C4B copy number is a strong risk factor for short-term mortality after AMI in smoking Icelandic patients, whereas LTA 252 G allele is not a risk factor in Caucasian population.


Originally conceived as a fast forwarding technique, MPLS provides support for Traffic Engineering and network survivability. Constrained-based path computation is a key building block for Traffic Engineering in MPLS networks, since it allows to select a path that satisfies assigned QoS requirements. In this paper, we introduce a novel path computation procedure which aims at improving the performance of the well-known Wang-Crowcroft algorithm by means of some heuristics. Moreover, the two algorithms have been developed in NS2 as an extension of OSPF-TE\ns and integrated with RSVP-TE\ns. Finally, the paper shows how the developed software module can be used to satisfy a set of LSP allocation requests with multiple QoS constraints. KeywordsMPLS, NS2, Path computation, Wang-Crowcroft


In the present talk we discuss the application of Template-Assisted Selective Epitaxy (TASE) for the monolithic integration of III-V active photonic devices on silicon. The main concept of TASE relies on the guided growth of III-Vs within a confined oxide template. At one extremity of the template there is access to silicon to start the nucleation, and subsequently it is the template which guides the growth progression. This decoupling of the resulting geometry from the growth mode and substrate orientation, results in a larger processing window as we no longer rely on the growth conditions to tune the geometry, as well as a number of other advantages. A further unique advantage of TASE for silicon photonics applications is that it allows for the truly local integration of III-V material at precisely defined positions, since the location of the III-V may be defined with nm-scale precision in the same lithographic step as silicon passives. TASE was originally developed for electronics, but in recent years we have expanded it to enable several photonic devices. In the present talk, I will discuss our work on GaAs and InP microdisk lasers fabricated by either direct growth or via the use of micro-substrates. These devices show lasing at room temperature around 870 nm with thresholds of about 10 pJ/pulse. We also explore the use of metal-clad cavities for further light confinement.


Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most frequent type of dementia in the elderly, severely affecting functional and executive skills of subjects suffering from this disease. Moreover, the distress of caregivers as well as the social implications constitute a critical issue for families. Furthermore, cognitive impairment, along with behavioral disorders and neuropsychiatric symptoms are characteristics of AD. Although these are present with variations in prevalence, intensity, and progression, an important core of them is visible before cognitive impairment, especially depression and apathy, which affect at least 50% of patients. The most updated literature shows that depression and/or behavioral and neuropsychiatric symptoms (BNS) are part of the initial phase of the disease rather than just a risk factor. Thus, mood disorders are associated with anomalies in specific brain regions that disturb the normal balance of neurotransmission. This in turn is linked with an inflammatory pathway that leads to microglial activation and aggregated neurofibrillary tangle formation, finally triggering neuronal loss, according to our neuroimmunomodulation theory. Altogether, inflammation and tau aggregation are observed in preclinical stages, preceding the BNS of patients, which in turn are exhibited earlier than cognitive and functional impairment detected in AD. This review is focused on the latest insights of cellular and molecular processes associated with BNS in asymptomatic early-onset stages of AD. An important medical research focus is to improve quality of life of patients, through prevention and treatments of AD, and the study of behavioral disorders and early event in AD pathogenesis has a major impact.


Abstract Carcinoid tumours of the common bile duct are extremely rare lesions. In this article we report a case with an extrahepatic bile duct carcinoid tumour. A 40-year-old woman suffered from biliary colic and jaundice. Pre-operative computed tomography demonstrated a tumour in the biliary tract. At laparotomy there was a tumour invading the common bile duct . Common bile duct resection was performed. Carcinoid tumour of the common bile duct was diagnosed histopatho- logically. For extrahepatic bile duct carcinoid tumours surgical resection is the only treatment modality that offers a chance to provide a cure and prolonged disease-free survival. The favourable histopathological and biological features of these tumours encouraged the surgeons to use more aggressive approaches for advanced disease.


The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of an antimicrobial agent for a microbial population (MIC50, obs and MIC90, obs) is an interpolated value determined for antibacterial drugs by in vitro methods. Many studies have tried to determine the correlation between the MIC50, obs or MIC90, obs value and the physicochemical parameters to allow quantitaive structure activity relationship (QSAR) predictions of efficacy. A rigorous evaluation of approaches to this problem is presented here. In order to find a correlation between chemical structure and the derivatives of the MIC values for 9 indicatory bacterial strains, it is necessary to employ a number of physicochemical parameters in combination. Only an arithmetic expression composed of many features illustrating the chemical structure of the molecule can be linked to the ƒMIC50, obs value. This article demonstrated that, despite the complexity of the MIC value used as the end point, it is possible to validate the model in a limited extent.


In the post - cold war era, the United States has risen to a position of unprecedented dominance in the world and has often pursued a primarily unilateral approach to international policy issues. "Hegemony Constrained" examines how nations, ethnic and religious groups, and international organizations cope with American hegemony. The chapters reveal the various ways in which foreign actors attempt and sometimes succeed in keeping official Washington from achieving its preferred outcomes.An international group of contributors considers how and why a variety of foreigners act strategically to avoid, delay, or change American policy with respect to a broad range of issues in world affairs. Individual chapters analyze the Kurds and Shia in Iraq; the governments of China, Japan, Turkey, and Germany; the G-7; liberalizing the international economy; coping with global warming; regulating harmful tax competition; controlling missile proliferation; limiting public health damage from tobacco; and international public opinion bearing on the politics of responding to a hegemonic America.By recognizing and illustrating moves that challenge American unilateralism, "Hegemony Constrained" provides a framework for understanding and anticipating the goals, motives, and means others in the world bring to their dealings with American hegemony in specific situations. Thus, it offers a corrective to naively optimistic unilateralism and naively optimistic multilateralism.


Smarthome system is the computer-based system to regulate the house that will give comfort, safety, security, and energy saving, in which it was held automatically programmed by computer. This is motivated by the limited sources of energy such as electricity or other energy, so we have to be really efficient in energy use. In this study, the smarthome system that is designed is to be used to adjust the lighting of the room, opening and closing of the gate system, switching on and off water pump system, and roof of clothes line system. In this study, we started to design a model of smarthome system by using SolidWorks software, then we create a model smarthome system using acrylic. After that, we started to programme with a CodeVisionAVR software for ATmega8535 microcontroller as brain of smarthome system. Based on the testing results that has been done, the model smarthome system is able to save electricity usage of about 28.8 percent of the ordinary house with the assumption that we set


Water is both the most ordinary and extraordinary of resources; without it, nothing can survive. Yet, 1,1 billion people around the world do not have ready access to clean water and more than 2,6 billion people lack basic sanitation. If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water, which is about nothing less than our planet's future. During his travels around the world, to five continents and fifteen nations, working with The World Conservation Union (IUCN), Dutch photographer Taco Anema listened to the voices of children telling their stories of the importance of water. In this magical journey seen through the fresh and spontaneous eyes of children, the focus is on the wonder of water, its power, and its beauty. Let the children inspire us to take action for a better and sustainable world for all!


Processing bodies (P-bodies) are ribonucleoprotein complexes involved in post-transcriptional mRNA metabolism that accumulate in cells exposed to various stress stimuli. The treatment of mammary epithelial cells with transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), triggers epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and induces the formation of P-bodies. Ectopic expression of the transcription factor TWIST, which stimulates EMT downstream of the TGF-β receptor, also promotes P-body formation. Removal of TGF-β from treated cells results in the clearance of P-bodies by a process that is blocked by inhibitors of autophagy. Activators of autophagy enhance P-body clearance and block EMT. Blockage of P-body formation by disruption of the gene for DDX6, a protein essential for P-body assembly, blocks EMT and prevents tumor cell metastasis in vivo. These studies suggest critical roles for P-body formation and autophagy in transitions of cancer cells between epithelial and mesenchymal phenotypes and help explain how autophagy functions to promote or suppress tumor cell growth during different stages of tumorigenesis.


Robotic cognitive modeling in the real world requires a level of integration and grounding rarely seen in more abstract modeling. However, like Newell we believe this is exactly the kind of integration needed to promote scientific cumulation in the cognitive sciences. We present a neural model of learning compatible with Noe's account of enactive perception. We highlight that accounts of enactive perception tend to oversimplify the problem of identifying contingent relationships and introduce a novel way to address the problem of marginal regularities. Finally, we describe a general (non-task specific) model and present a number of real-world robotic experiments demonstrating a wide range of integrated psychological phenomena.


Each human neoplasm has its own molecular bases for tumor development and biology that are generally described as the tissue-specific characteristics of the tumor. There is no doubt that neuroblastoma (NBL) is not the same as Wilms tumor, and Wilms tumor is not the same as retinoblastoma, though they may have a common mechanism to initiate and sustain abnormal growth. One of the reasons for these variations is the difference inherent in progenitor cells, from which the tumor is derived and whose developmental lineage is specifically determined. Neuroblastoma, one of the most common pediatric solid tumors, originates from the neural crest anlage of the sympathicoadrenal system. For a long time, pediatric oncologists have sought answers to the questions of why NBL can have such diverse clinical behavior as aggressive, unremitting growth on the one hand, and differentiation or spontaneous regression on the other, and why these patterns are affected by the patient's age. Recent research has focused on nerve growth factor (NGF), the first growth factor discovered 45 years ago. It provides a key to opening the door to understanding some aspects of the neuroblastoma mystery. It does so by linking NBL and normal developmental pathways of the sympathicoadrenal system.


Context. The Themis collisional family is one of the largest and best established families in the main belt. Composed of primitive asteroids, there is evidence that water is likely present in a large fraction of its members, either in aqueously altered silicates or in water ice reservoirs. The study of the abundance of water in the outer asteroid belt is important as it may be linked to the origin of Earth's water. Studying the Themis family can also help to constrain the compositional and thermal environment in the region of the solar nebula where these asteroids formed. Aims. Our aim is to constrain the composition and thermal properties of the surfaces of several Themis family asteroids. Methods. We present 5–14 μm spectra of 8 Themis family asteroids observed with Spitzer: (222) Lucia, (223) Rosa, (316) Goberta, (383) Janina, (468) Lina, (492) Gismonda, (515) Athalia, and (526) Jena. We determine their diameters, geometric albedos and beaming parameters using the near-Earth asteroid thermal model. Their emissivity spectra are studied in order to determine if they exhibit an emission plateau from 9 to 12 μm which has been observed in other primitive asteroids and attributed to fine-grained silicates (the Si-O stretch fundamental). Results. The derived mean albedo of our sample of Themis family asteroids is ¯ pV = 0.07 ± 0.02, and the mean beaming parameter is ¯ η = 1.05 ± 0.10. The derived ¯ η value is close to unity, which implies that the infrared beaming is not significant, there is likely little night-side emission from the asteroids, and the thermal inertia is probably low. The emissivity spectra of at least 5 of our 8 asteroids show a 9–12 μm emission plateau with spectral contrast of ∼2–4%, similar but smaller than that observed in the spectra of Trojan asteroids and cometary dust. The plateau may be due to the surfaces having either small silicate grains embedded in a relatively transparent matrix, or from a very under-dense (fairy-castle) surface structure. Conclusions. The surfaces of a large fraction of Themis family asteroids with D ∼ 50 km are covered by a fine grained silicate mantle as observed on Trojan asteroids of similar or larger size. The lower amplitude of the silicate emission in Themis family asteroids spectra (2–4%) with respect to that of Trojan asteroids (10–15%) could be attributed to larger dust particles, a slightly denser structure, or a lower silicate dust fraction.


The objective of this study was to determine whether the symptom complex of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) identified in adults occurs in adolescents, and whether it can be designated as a syndrome. The study involved a clinical group of 189 young people (mean age 15 years; range 10.6-18.6) presenting with a defined onset over hours or days of persistent or relapsing, debilitating fatigue, exacerbated by exercise and not resolved with bed rest, for a duration of greater than 6 months. A 38-item symptom questionnaire was completed (inter alia), from which symptom frequency, severity and factor structure of responses were compared with those obtained from a control group (n = 68; mean age 14.5 years; range 12-18). This paper reports key findings from the study, indicating that the identified symptom complex of CFS can be designated legitimately as a syndrome, with immunological symptoms being primary. An alternative hypothesis of somatization disorder could not be supported because of inconsistent and low response frequencies of such symptoms. The implications of having been able to measure and define the syndrome are discussed.


In this chapter we examine social networks among farmers in a developing country. We use detailed data on economic activities and social interactions between people living in four study villages in Ghana. It is clear that economic development in this region is being shaped by the networks of information, capital and influence that permeate these communities. This chapter explores the determinants of these important economic networks. We first describe the patterns of information, capital, labor and land transaction connections that are apparent in these villages. We then discuss the interconnections between the various economic networks. We relate the functional economic networks to more fundamental social relationships between people in a reduced form analysis. Finally, we propose an equilibrium model of multi-dimensional network formation that can provide a foundation for further data collection and empirical research.


A meso-scale CTD survey was conducted off Cape Ghir (31 degrees N) from 29 September to 3 October 1992, with the inspection of mass-field structures in the 300 dbar layer as its main objective, and relatively large tongue of cold surface water as the subject of investigation. This filament of upwelled water extends about 200 km seaward from the coastal zone of Morocco. Our CTD survey included two zonal transects 213 km in length, sampled synchronously by R/Vs Hudson along 31 degrees 30' N and A. v.Humboldt along 30 degrees 30' N. A meridional section followed the shelf edge at 10 degrees 10' W, and five zigzag sections were carried out above the Cape Ghir Plateau (CGP). Data resulting from an extended transect, sampled ten days earlier between 9 degrees 43' W and 14 degrees W at 32 degrees N, are also considered. Decadal means of available satellite IR data as well as bulk sea-surface temperatures (SST) indicate similar structures by a strict response of geostrophical motion patterns to irregularities in the bottom topography. The coastal jet bifurcates off the northern flank of the CGP. Its nearshore branch forms a cyclonic, eddy-like feature over the eastern part of the plateau. The related offshore branch feeds the filament with cold coastal water. The axis of that zonal filament follows the southern flank of the CGP at about 31 degrees N. A simple balance of geostrophic net transports suggests that the mean upwelling velocity of the filament is of the same order within superficial layers as that of the coastal upwelling off Morocco. Two oppositely-rotating eddies interact to generate/maintain an intense seaward jet and to export cold upwelled water further out to sea, at least as far as 13 degrees W.


Aims Anaemia in heart failure (HF) is associated with a poor prognosis. Although inflammation is assumed to be an important cause of anaemia, the association between anaemia and inflammatory markers in patients with HF has not been well established. Methods Data from a multicentre randomised clinical trial, in which patients were eligible if they were >18 years of age and admitted for HF (New York Heart Association II–IV), were used. In a subset of 326 patients, haemoglobin (Hb), haematocrit, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), interleukin-(IL) 6, soluble tumour necrosis factor receptor (sTNFR)-1 and erythropoietin (Epo) were measured at discharge and the primary endpoint was all-cause mortality. Follow-up was 18 months. Results Anaemia (Hb <13 g/dl (men) and <12 g/dl (women)) was present in 40% (130/326) of the study population. Median levels of IL-6, hsCRP and sTNFR-1 were significantly higher in anaemic patients than in non-anaemic patients. Logistic regression demonstrated that each increase in hsCRP values (OR 1.58 per SD log hsCRP; 95% CI 1.09 to 2.29; p=0.016) and each increase in sTNFR-1 values (OR 1.62 per SD log sTNFR-1; 95% CI 1.24 to 2.11; p<0.001) were independently associated with anaemia. Epo (HR 1.31 per log Epo; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.69; p=0.041) and sTNFR-1 (HR 1.47 per log sTNFR-1; 95% CI 1.16 to 1.86; p=0.001) levels were independently associated with outcome. Conclusion Anaemia is present in 40% of patients hospitalised for HF and is independently associated with inflammation.


Glioblastoma (GB) is the most aggressive, lethal and frequent primary brain tumor. It originates from glial cells and is characterized by rapid expansion through infiltration. GB cells interact with the microenvironment and healthy surrounding tissues, mostly neurons and vessels. GB cells project tumor microtubes (TMs) contact with neurons, and exchange signaling molecules related to Wingless/WNT, JNK, Insulin or Neuroligin-3 pathways. This cell to cell communication promotes GB expansion and neurodegeneration. Moreover, healthy neurons form glutamatergic functional synapses with GB cells which facilitate GB expansion and premature death in mouse GB xerograph models. Targeting signaling and synaptic components of GB progression may become a suitable strategy against glioblastoma. In a Drosophila GB model, we have determined the post-synaptic nature of GB cells with respect to neurons, and the contribution of post-synaptic genes expressed in GB cells to tumor progression. In addition, we document the presence of intratumoral synapses between GB cells, and the functional contribution of pre-synaptic genes to GB calcium dependent activity and expansion. Finally, we explore the relevance of synaptic genes in GB cells to the lifespan reduction caused by GB advance. Our results indicate that both presynaptic and postsynaptic proteins play a role in GB progression and lethality.


Homologous recombination-based gene targeting using Mus musculus embryonic stem cells has greatly impacted biomedical research. This study presents a powerful new technology for more efficient and less time-consuming gene targeting in mice using embryonic injection of zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), which generate site-specific double strand breaks, leading to insertions or deletions via DNA repair by the nonhomologous end joining pathway. Three individual genes, multidrug resistant 1a (Mdr1a), jagged 1 (Jag1), and notch homolog 3 (Notch3), were targeted in FVB/N and C57BL/6 mice. Injection of ZFNs resulted in a range of specific gene deletions, from several nucleotides to >1000 bp in length, among 20–75% of live births. Modified alleles were efficiently transmitted through the germline, and animals homozygous for targeted modifications were obtained in as little as 4 months. In addition, the technology can be adapted to any genetic background, eliminating the need for generations of backcrossing to achieve congenic animals. We also validated the functional disruption of Mdr1a and demonstrated that the ZFN-mediated modifications lead to true knockouts. We conclude that ZFN technology is an efficient and convenient alternative to conventional gene targeting and will greatly facilitate the rapid creation of mouse models and functional genomics research.


The compress-and-forward (CF) strategy achieves the optimal diversity-multiplexing tradeoff (DMT) of a three-node half-duplex relay network in slow fading, under the assumption that the relay has perfect knowledge of all three channel coefficients and that the relay makes use of Wyner-Ziv (WZ) source coding with side information. This paper studies the achievable DMT of the same network when the relay is constrained to make use of standard (non-WZ) source coding. Under a short-term power constraint at the relay, using source coding without side information results in a significant loss in terms of the DMT. For multiplexing gains r les 2/3, this loss can be fully compensated for by using power control at the relay. On the contrary, for r isin (2/3,1), the loss with respect to WZ coding remains significant.


lumbar or first sacral roots have been previously noted in cases of sciatica in which the roots have been exposed at operation. Dr. J. S. Barr (Dec. 17, 1938, p. 1247) drew attention to this finding in association with prolapsed disk, and I have seen it demonstrated, as Dr. Holmes and Mr. Sworn describe, when no protrusion has been discovered. Whether in thes~e latter cases the congestion and swelling are due to oedema from pressure by a protrusion which is not apparent at oneration or is of true inflammatory origin is a question which has not been finally settled. However this may be, Dr. Holmes and Mr. Sworn are mistaken in supposing that they have observed a lesion which, in the paper to which they refer, I considered had not yet been seen by human eyes. Lumbo-sacral "radiculitis" would, I submit, have been a more appropriate title for their paper than sciatic " neuritis."-I am, etc.,


Cashew production in Indonesia still low (300-463 kg/ha/year) caused by genetic materials used for the cultivation were not superior variety, therefore, some effort to find superior variety with high production must be improved. To support those efforts needs wide variation of plant genetic resources. Nowdays, characteristic data of cashew germplasm in BALITTRI based on morphological characters, so needed molecular approach to get genetic characteristics, genetic relationship and specific characters such as high production marker, one of some techniques that we can use is RAPD marker. Additionally, RAPD marker is simple, efficient and accurate. The purpose of this study was to know the genetic variation and relationship among cashew germplasm based on band pattern of DNA by using RAPD technique. The experiment was conducted at Molecular Biology Laboratory of BB-Biogen, Bogor since May till November 2009. Genetic material used were MR 851, PK 36, GG1, Laode Kase, Laode Kapala, JT 27, Arsyad Labone, Wonogiri Merah, A x S, F x M, SM 9, C x M, F x A and BO2 by using 25 primers. The activity consisting germplasm collecting of cashew (14 accessions), followed laboratory activities such as: DNA extraction and purification, loading and running of PCR product, RAPD and data analysis. Results shows that 25 primers used are 16 primers shown DNA band pattern, one of them was monomorphism and one specific primer which shown DNA band pattern of cashew, i.e: BO2, SM9 and JT27. Germplasm collection of cashew has wide variation. At 70% coefficient, 14 accessions of cashew were divided to three groups where first group were content 11 individual (MR 851, PK 36, Laode Kase, GG1, Laode Kapala, A x S, F x A, C x M, Arsyad Labone, Wonogiri Merah, and F x M), while second group were content two individuals (BO2 and SM9). Moreover, in first group itself sh own wide variation among 11 accessions.


Book synopsis: This book seeks to re-vision the life and work of the Peruvian poet, Cesar Vallejo (1892–1938). It consists of ten essays grouped into three complementary sections on Politics, Poetics and Affect.

In Part I, William Rowe draws out the latent layers of political meaning in Vallejo's 'pre-political' work, Trilce; Adam Feinstein weighs the evidence for and against the case that there was a rift between the two most important Latin American poets of the twentieth century (Vallejo and Pablo Neruda); and David Bellis compares and contrasts Vallejo's Spanish Civil War poetry with that composed by Neruda and the Cuban poet Nicolas Guillen.

In Part II, Dominic Moran provides a line-by-line dissection of Vallejo's favourite poem of his early period, 'El palco estrecho'; Adam Sharman offers a close reading of Poem XXIII of Trilce; Paloma Yannakakis looks at the role played by the human body in Vallejo's poetics; while Michelle Clayton reviews the ways in which animals are represented in Vallejo's poetry.

In Part III, Santi Zegarra discusses the influence that Vallejo's poetry has had on his film-making; Eduardo Gonzalez Viana reveals how he re-created Vallejo's experience of imprisonment in his novel Vallejo en los infiernos; while Stephen Hart compares and contrasts the two main muses of Vallejo's early poetry, his niece (Otilia Vallejo Gamboa) and the woman he met in Lima (Otilia Villanueva Pajares).


The approach adopted in this paper is to examine the development of Australian agriculture during the twentieth century in the context of its relationships with the rest of the Australian economy. The broad outline of this approach is similar to that adopted in Godden (1997, Figure 1) and is summarised in Table A.1.1. The key relationships of farm production – viewed via production, technology, input prices, structure and agricultural services – are with natural resource processes (climate, land, water), marketing systems, trade, market conditions, physical and social infrastructure, and inter-sectoral linkages. The more metaphysical role of agriculture, including its political context, is viewed through selected social and political "visions" of key opinion makers. Using these themes, two approaches are possible. One approach would be to follow each theme through the century. An alternative approach – adopted in this paper to emphasise the contemporaneous interactions of the themes in generating the evolution of agriculture – is to view the inter-relationships among the themes within time-slices of the century. The four "slices" used in this analysis are: 1900-1930 (Peace, War and Peace); 1930-1950 (Depression, War and Recovery); 1950-1970 (Good Times Plateau); and 1970-1999 (On the Slippery Slope). In this second approach, each theme can be followed through the time slices.


TEMPERATURE ANALYSIS OF A SQUARE LID-DRIVEN CAVITY WITH PARTICLE SUSPENSIONS Justin Kortge, MS Department of Mechanical Engineering Northern Illinois University, 2022 John Shelton, Director Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and discrete element method (DEM) are powerful tools for simulating systems that contain fluids and particles. Studies of particle fluid systems greatly vary in their applications and complexity, and yet there is a scarcity of studies focused on the thermal characteristics of the fluid. A computational analysis is conducted on twodimensional flow in a square thermal lid-driven cavity to assess the effect of particle suspensions on the thermal characteristics of the cavity. Most studies analyzing the effect of suspensions in a thermal lid-driven cavity treat the medium as a single homogeneous nanofluid. Those that do treat suspensions as individual particles do not include a temperature component. In this work, the cavity lid generates forced convection in a clockwise direction, while the two side walls are kept at different temperatures to generate natural convection in a counterclockwise direction, and dominant regime is determined by the direction of the resulting primary vortex. The centerline velocities, minimum stream functions, centerline temperatures, and boundary layer thickness along the hot wall are evaluated in each study. These are conducted for Reynolds numbers of 100, 400, and 1000, as well as temperature differences of 50, 100, and 150 between the thermal boundaries, and particle area fractions of 10%, 20%, and 30%. In the case of the thermal liddriven cavity with no particles, forced convection is the dominant flow regime, but the magnitude of the stream function decreased as the temperature difference between walls increased. This temperature difference had no effect at all on the boundary layer profile along the hot wall. Preliminary studies of the thermal LDC with particle suspensions show very little conductive heat transfer between particles and the cavity walls when they collide. For the isothermal particle-laden cavity, the particle area fraction did not significantly affect the boundary layer profile. The computational software used in this study does not have a solver capable that includes both a temperature component and particles, and can only simulate them individually. While some progress has been made on this front, a complete analysis of a thermal particle-laden cavity could not be done in the time available. Attempts were made to approximate the thermal characteristics of the cavity by applying the results of the thermal LDC to the isothermal lid-driven cavity with particles. However, no relationship could be found between average Nusselt number of the hot boundary and the minimum stream function, meaning that the strength of the primary vortex could be used to predict a cavity's heat transfer characteristics. In order to assess in how the presence of particles affects heat transfer, more simulations of an LDC incorporating both a temperature component and particle suspensions, are still ongoing. NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY DE KALB, ILLINOIS


Optical burst switching (OBS) supports IP-over-photonics for future QoS-supporting Internet through combining advantages of electronic control processing and optical transmission. The resource reservation is critical for OBS. In this paper we examine optical burst switching (OBS) reservation process and discuss the most important parameters and their impact on the performance of the reservation process. A general framework for its modeling and analysis is presented. We model OBS reservation using queueing networks. Our framework and model cover all aspects of OBS reservation process including control packet arrival, offset time assignment. control packet processing, optical switch matrix setup, data burst arrival and transmission. Current models and analysis only consider offset time assignment and data burst arrival and transmission its OBS reservation. Further we show that even though widely assumed and used, conservation law does not hold generally for average burst loss probability for reservation processes which support multiple priority classes.


Reliance on "hard," human-engineered structures—"gray" infrastructure—has been the conventional way to manage water needs for economic development. But building dams, piping water, and constructing protective barriers is capital intensive and may address only a few water problems (1). Gray infrastructure often damages or eliminates biophysical processes necessary to sustain people, ecosystems and habitats, and livelihoods. Consequently, there is renewed focus on "green" infrastructure, which can be more flexible and cost effective for providing benefits besides water provision. Supplementing or integrating gray infrastructure with biophysical systems is critical to meeting current and future water needs. Gray and green infrastructures combined are synergistic and can have superior results to one or the other.


This paper presents a new immersed finite volume element method for solving second-order elliptic problems with discontinuous diffusion coefficient on a Cartesian mesh. The new method possesses the local conservation property of classic finite volume element method, and it can overcome the oscillating behaviour of the classic immersed finite volume element method. The idea of this method is to reconstruct the control volume according to the interface, which makes it easy to implement. Optimal error estimates can be derived with respect to an energy norm under piecewise $H^{2}$ regularity. Numerical results show that the new method significantly outperforms the classic immersed finite volume element method, and has second-order convergence in $L^{\infty }$ norm.


The ankle joint is a hinged synovial joint that is formed by the articulation of the talus, tibia, and fibula bones. The articular facet of the lateral malleolus (bony prominence on the lower fibula) forms the lateral border of the ankle joint while the articular facet of the medial malleolus (bony prominence on the lower tibia) forms the medial border of the joint. The superior portion of the ankle joint forms from the inferior articular surface of the tibia and the superior margin of the talus. Together, these three borders form the ankle mortise.The talus articulates inferiorly with the calcaneus and anteriorly with the navicular. The upper surface, called the trochlear surface, is somewhat cylindrical and allows for dorsiflexion and plantarflexion of the ankle. The talus is wider anteriorly and more narrow posteriorly. It forms a wedge that fits between the medial and lateral malleoli making dorsiflexion the most stable position for the ankle.The ankle is stabilized by strong collateral ligaments medially and laterally. The main stabilizing ligament medially is the deltoid ligament, and laterally the ankle has stabilization from three separate ligaments, the anterior and posterior talofibular ligaments, and the calcaneofibular ligament. The anterior and posterior talofibular ligaments connect the talus to the fibula, and the calcaneofibular ligament connects the fibula to the calcaneus inferiorly. The anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) is the weakest of the three lateral ligaments and thus the most frequently injured. The deltoid ligament actually consists of four ligaments that form a triangle connecting the tibia to the navicular, the calcaneus, and the talus. The anterior and posterior tibiotalar ligaments connect the tibia to the talus. The last two ligaments of the triangle are the tibionavicular ligament which attaches to the navicular anteriorly and the tibiocalcaneal ligament which attaches to the calcaneus inferiorly.


This exploratory study examines the characteristic attributes that predispose patrons to commit cyber-crimes. Cyber-crime is nicknamed as "Sakawa" in Ghana, which involves the use of Internet-enabled PCs, equipped with webcam, and a user with basic computing skills of sending and receiving emails and/or instant messaging. Interestingly, patrons have mastered the "non-monetary currencies" framework to woo their unsuspecting victims. False representations are made to defraud or induce victims to deliver anything valuable or convertible to credit. What motivates patrons to engage in this infamous trade? How could patrons be persuaded to cease operations or disengage from this fraudulent trade? This study relied on expert knowledge elicited through various interviews and followed up with a survey on the mindset of the patrons. Cognizance of the fuzzy nature in profiling perpetrators, fuzzy multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) approach was employed to examine the factors that may influence or predispose a person to commit cyber-crime. Using fuzzy similarity measures analytics, taxonomy of criminal behavioral characteristics were ranked. The study revealed that key attributes of being apt to "cheating", having an attractive "opportunity" and lack of "friendship" are factors highly possible to predispose a patron to commit cyber-crime. The study also indicates that perpetrators are mostly young males under 29 years, motivated by monetary gains, with the skills to utilize anonymous proxies, taking advantage of difficulties associated with cross-border investigations, apprehension and prosecution. Finally, the results indicate that if some form of stipend or a job were offered the patrons, almost all of them would leave the trade and take up more fulfilling challenges in society.


The aim of this study is to develop collimator inserts of various sizes which are either not commercially available or are expensive to import. The dosimetry parameters such as tissue maximum ratio (TMR), off-axis ratio (OAR) and output factor of the developed collimator insert are compared with that of the commercial collimator insert (Radionics). In order to check the suitability of the collimator insert developed locally for clinical use and to standardize the method of development, a collimator insert of 15 mm identical to the one supplied by Radionics is developed with low-melting alloy (Cerrobend). Moreover for the clinical use of the developed collimator insert, certain acceptance tests are performed which include a collimator concentricity test, beam size check and radiation leakage test. The dose verification is carried out with a thermoluminescent dosimeter (7LiF rods) and an FBX chemical dosimeter in a human-head-shaped Perspex phantom filled with water. The variation between the calculated and measured dose is found to be within +2.4% for 7LiF rods and -2.0% for the FBX chemical dosimeter thus ensuring the suitability of the developed collimator insert for clinical use. This has encouraged us to standardize the method adapted to develop the collimator insert and to develop collimator inserts of different field sizes.


We present ASSET, a neural architecture for automatically modifying an input high-resolution image according to a user's edits on its semantic segmentation map. Our architecture is based on a transformer with a novel attention mechanism. Our key idea is to sparsify the transformer's attention matrix at high resolutions, guided by dense attention extracted at lower image resolutions. While previous attention mechanisms are computationally too expensive for handling high-resolution images or are overly constrained within specific image regions hampering long-range interactions, our novel attention mechanism is both computationally efficient and effective. Our sparsified attention mechanism is able to capture long-range interactions and context, leading to synthesizing interesting phenomena in scenes, such as reflections of landscapes onto water or fora consistent with the rest of the landscape, that were not possible to generate reliably with previous convnets and transformer approaches. We present qualitative and quantitative results, along with user studies, demonstrating the effectiveness of our method. Our code and dataset are available at our project page: https://github.com/DifanLiu/ASSET


Optoacoustic (OA) sensor was designed, fabricated and used to detect spherical gold nanoparticles (NPs) in suspensions at the level of up to a single particle. The sensor operating in the backward mode was designed to measure signals from microscopic volumes of nanoparticulate suspensions in water. Thermal nonlinearity was observed in the course of OA signal generation. The irradiation of the microvolume of gold nanoparticles gives rise to a multitude of thermomechanical processes, including heating of NPs above the vaporization temperature, thermal diffusion from nanoparticles to water and formation of vapor nanobubbles. As a result, a specific acoustic signal is produced exhibiting nonlinear behaviour with respect to the incident laser pulse energy. The optoacoustic profile of the laser-induced signal generated in a thin layer of highly diluted suspensions of gold nanospheres was examined thereby providing a basis for a method for detection of metal nanoparticles with high sensitivity.


The article shows the evaluation of the capabilities of the a priori definition of calculation accuracy of the cutting force in case of significant growth accounted number of cutting parameters. It contains a designed hypothetical mathematical model of a preliminary assessment of the calculation of cutting forces accuracy in machining structural steels. The paper describes the proposal as a hypothetical model a hyperbolic dependence of cutting force errors on the number of parameters that define the cutting process. It gives recommendations according to the accuracy of the cutting forces, depending on different process parameters and also - for the model developed with the help of a priori estimates of the errors in the calculation of the cutting forces in submodules САD/САМ/САЕ/РDМ systems. Experts in the field of metalworking and developers calculation modules of САD/САМ/САЕ/РDМ systems might be interested in this work.


COP 21 recognized the social value of 'avoided' carbon emissions. Can this notion be considered as a new conceptual approach of what could be the economic value? In order to move away from the identification of the wealth of a country based on the monetary value of the goods and services produced, the assumption here is that the economic value serves to define the nature of wealth and to measure it. We then emphasize that the notion of economic social value is already present in the works of economists who have developed the notion of social utility and that it is also emerging in discussions about wealth indicators. Finally, we analyze the notion of the 'state-imposed' value of carbon (also called shadow or reference value of carbon), which can be considered as one of the first step in formalizing the economic social value.JEL Codes: E6, O3, Q5


The diffusion of e-cigarette (e-CIG) opens a great scientific and regulatory debate about its safety. The huge number of commercialized devices, e-liquids with almost infinite chemical formulations and the growing market demand for a rapid and efficient toxicity screen system that is able to test all of these references and related aerosols. A consensus on the best protocols for the e-CIG safety assessment is still far to be achieved, since the huge number of variables characterizing these products (e.g., flavoring type and concentration, nicotine concentration, type of the device, including the battery and the atomizer). This suggests that more experimental evidences are needed to support the regulatory frameworks. The present study aims to contribute in this field by testing the effects of condensed aerosols (CAs) from three main e-liquid categories (tobacco, mint, and cinnamon as food-related flavor), with (18 mg/mL) or without nicotine. Two in vitro models, represented by a monoculture of human epithelial alveolar cells and a three-dimensional (3D) co-culture of alveolar and lung microvascular endothelial cells were used. Cell viability, pro-inflammatory cytokines release and alveolar-blood barrier (ABB) integrity were investigated as inhalation toxicity endpoints. Results showed that nicotine itself had almost no influence on the modulation of the toxicity response, while flavor composition did have. The cell viability was significantly decreased in monoculture and ABB after exposure to the mints and cinnamon CAs. The barrier integrity was significantly affected in the ABB after exposure to cytotoxic CAs. With the exception of the significant IL-8 release in the monoculture after Cinnamon exposure, no increase of inflammatory cytokines (IL-8 and MCP-1) release was observed. These findings point out that multiple assays with different in vitro models are able to discriminate the acute inhalation toxicity of CAs from liquids with different flavors, providing the companies and regulatory bodies with useful tools for the preliminary screening of marketable products.


Low-resolution face recognition (LRFR) has received increasing attention over the past few years. Its applications lie widely in the real-world environment when high-resolution or high-quality images are hard to capture. One of the biggest demands for LRFR technologies is video surveillance. As the the number of surveillance cameras in the city increases, the videos that captured will need to be processed automatically. However, those videos or images are usually captured with large standoffs, arbitrary illumination condition, and diverse angles of view. Faces in these images are generally small in size. Several studies addressed this problem employed techniques like super resolution, deblurring, or learning a relationship between different resolution domains. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of approaches to low-resolution face recognition in the past five years. First, a general problem definition is given. Later, systematically analysis of the works on this topic is presented by catogory. In addition to describing the methods, we also focus on datasets and experiment settings. We further address the related works on unconstrained low-resolution face recognition and compare them with the result that use synthetic low-resolution data. Finally, we summarized the general limitations and speculate a priorities for the future effort.


MEA era since 2016, the opportunities for the creative industry are widening. In the past 2 years, the creative economy has contributed approximately 7% of Indonesia's GDP. The business potential in the creative industry sector is still widely open to work by business people in Indonesia. Creative industry channels have many types. As one example of this is the knitted business that is now becoming popular, both among adults, adolescents and children. Partners in this PKM are Barkarajuta in Savira, Beji-Municipality of Batu Housing, and Omah Benthelan N & N Collection in Lowokwaru Sub-District Malang. Output targets are: (1) Increasing business productivity both in quality and quantity, by increasing production facilities, (2) Partners understanding and possessing skills and knowledge of accounting records, creative industry business, financial management, and operating accounting software, (3) Making simple accounting software, and (4) Publications to national scientific journals, mass media and IPR. The results of PKM activities provide a significant increase in both partners in the form of increasing the number of new products, product quantity, order quantity and product quality.


A cubic function generator is an essential component in TCXOs to compensate for the frequency variation of quartz resonators during temperature change. The authors present a fully analog CMOS cubic function generator circuit. It is composed of analog variable gain amplifiers and a voltage adder. The circuit generates an exact cubic function that represents a quartz resonatorpsilas frequency versus temperature characteristic. Adjusting the parameters of the cubic wave and adding the higher order terms for more precise control can be done easily in this design. The design is implemented and fabricated in TSMC 0.35 mum technology.


novel series of trifluoromethyl indole derivatives have been designed, synthesized and evaluated for anti-HIV-1 activities in MT-2 cells. The hydrophobic constant, acute toxicity, carcinogenicity and mutagenicity were predicted. Trifluoromethyl indoles 10i and 10k showed extremely promising activities against WT HIV-1 with IC50 values at the low nanomolar level, similar to efavirenz, better than nevirapine, and also possessed higher potency towards the drug-resistant mutant strain Y181C than nevirapine. Preliminary SAR and docking studies of detailed binding mode provided some insights for discovery of more potent NNRTIs.


Software time-domain simulation models are useful to the naval engineering community both for the system design of future vessels and for the in-service support of existing vessels. For future platforms, the existence of a model of the vessel's electrical power system provides a means of assessing the performance of the system against defined requirements. This could be at the stage of requirements definition, bid assessment or any subsequent stage in the design process. For in-service support of existing platforms, the existence of a model of the vessel's electrical power system provides a means of assessing the possible cause and effect of operational defects reported by ship's staff, or of assessing the possible future implications of some change in the equipment line-up or operating conditions for the vessel. Detailed high fidelity time-domain simulation of systems, however, can be problematic due to extended execution time. This arises from the model's mathematically stiff nature: models of Integrated Electric Propulsion systems can also require significant computational resource. A conventional time-domain software simulation model is only able to utilize a single computer processor at any one time. The duration of time required to obtain results from a software model could be significantly reduced if more computer processors were utilized simultaneously. This paper details the development of a distributed simulation environment. This environment provides a mechanism for partitioning a time-domain software simulation model and running it on a cluster of computer processors. The number of processors utilized in the cluster ranges between four and sixteen nodes. The benefit of this approach is that reductions in simulation duration are achievable by an appropriate choice of model partitioning. From an engineering perspective, any net timing reduction translates to an increase in the availability of data, from which more efficient analysis and design follows.


Following stimulation with adenosine diphosphate (ADP), collagen, or arachidonic acid, unstirred human platelet suspensions bind 125I-fibrinogen in a reaction that reaches completion within 30 min. Scatchard analysis of these binding data reveals two sets of binding sites with all 3 agents: a high affinity site (Kd 0.029-0.045 microM) binding 1000-1600 fibrinogen molecules per platelet, and a lower affinity site (Kd 1.2-2.0 microM) binding 46,000-76,000 fibrinogen molecules per platelet. At a concentration of apyrase that inhibited ADP-induced fibrinogen binding by greater than 85%, fibrinogen binding induced by collagen and arachidonic acid was only partially affected. This suggests that fibrinogen binding induced by collagen or arachidonic acid does not require released ADP. We isolated a monoclonal antibody, B59.2, which precipitated the glycoprotein IIb-IIIa complex from solubilized platelet membranes. Binding of labeled antibody to platelets before or after exposure to ADP, collagen, or arachidonic acid showed a single class of approximately 22,000 binding sites with Kd 0.019 microM. Binding of B59.2 was complete within 1 min and was not inhibited by EDTA. Preincubation of platelet suspensions with a 2.1 microM concentration of B59.2 caused inhibition of secretion and aggregation, but not of thromboxane-B2 synthesis, in response to 1 microgram/ml collagen, 40 microM arachidonic acid, or 4 microM ADP, concentrations of aggregating agents that produced complete aggregation and secretion in the absence of B59.2. At this concentration of B59.2, fibrinogen binding to stimulated platelets was inhibited by approximately 45%-55%. These data demonstrate that collagen and arachidonic acid can expose fibrinogen binding sites independently of released ADP; and that the glycoprotein IIb-IIIa complex is involved in secretion, aggregation, and fibrinogen binding, but not in thromboxane synthesis occurring in response to collagen, arachidonic acid, or ADP.


In this work a micro flow sensor, using a double gate Ion Sensitive Field Effect Transistor (ISFET) and two metal electrodes, for fluid flow rate measurement in micro-channels were fabricated and demonstrated. By the channel fabrication the molds were patterned reversely on a silicon wafer using Deep Reactive Ion Etcher (DRIE). The double gate ISFET and two metal electrodes were placed on the mold in the distance 15 millimeters. The channels were formed using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) from the mold with the width 1000 and 2000 micrometer and the depth of 250 micrometer. After removing PDMS from the mold the channel was bonded with glass substrate by RF plasma technique. By the verification of flow sensors working range water and one mole of sodium nitrate solution were alternated in flow channel. The fluid flow rate were compared with the flow rate from weighing. It found from the comparison that the high deviation was found at low flow rate. Furthermore, the deviation depends also on the dimension of the flow channel.


In the world of technological advancement, conventional resources of energy (fossil fuels, nuclear fuels, gas etc.) are at the edge of extinct. To overcome this problem, non-conventional energy sources (solar energy, wind energy, ocean thermal energy, biomass or biogas, geothermal, tidal energy etc.) play a vital role, in which solar energy is most important energy source, which produces electricity by the photovoltaic effect. Solar photovoltaic (PV) cells are used to convert solar energy into unregulated electrical energy. These solar PV cells exhibit nonlinear characteristics and give very low efficiency. Therefore, it becomes essential to extract maximum power from solar PV cells using maximum power point tracking (MPPT). The power output from a PV panel depends on a few parameters, such as the irradiation received by the panel, voltage, panel temperature, and so forth. The power output also varies continuously throughout the day as the conditions affecting it change. In recent years, a large number of techniques have been purposed for tracking the maximum power point (MPP). Maximum power point tracking is used in photovoltaic (PV) systems to maximize the photovoltaic array output power, irrespective of the temperature and radiation conditions and of the load electrical characteristics. The PV array is modeled using basic circuit equations. Its voltage-current characteristics are simulated with different conditions. The algorithms utilized for MPPT are generalized algorithms and are easy to model or use as a code. The algorithms are written in m-files of MATLAB.


In modern medicine human mesenchymal stem cells are becoming increasingly important. However, a successful cultivation of this type of cells is only possible under very specific conditions. Of great importance, for instance, are the absence of contaminants such as foreign microbiological organisms, i.e., sterility, and the chemical functionalization of the ground on which the cells are grown. As cultivation of these cells makes high demands, a new procedure for cell cultivation has been developed in which closed plastic bags are used. For adherent cell growth chemical functional groups have to be introduced on the inner surface of the plastic bag. This can be achieved by a new, atmospheric-pressure plasma-based method presented in this paper. The method which was developed jointly by the Fraunhofer IST and the Helmholtz HZI can be implemented in automated equipment as is also shown in this contribution. Plasma process gases used include helium or helium-based gas mixtures (He + N + H) and vapors of suitable film-forming agents or precursors such as APTMS, DACH, and TMOS in helium. The effect of plasma treatment is investigated by FTIR-ATR spectroscopy as well as surface tension determination based on contact angle measurements and XPS. Plasma treatment in nominally pure helium increases the surface tension of the polymer foil due to the presence of oxygen traces in the gas and oxygen diffusing through the gas-permeable foil, respectively, reacting with surface radical centers formed during contact with the discharge. Primary amino groups are obtained on the inner surface by treatment in mixtures with nitrogen and hydrogen albeit their amount is comparably small due to diffusion of oxygen through the gas-permeable bag, interfering with the plasma-amination process. Surface modifications introducing amino groups on the inner surface turned out to be most efficient in the promotion of cell growth.


The application of photovoltaics (PV) for utility power plants has received considerable attention in the past few years. Numerous investigations have reported on effects of design parameters, installation costs and performance of power plants based on crystalline silicon PV technology. This paper presents a conceptual design of 50 MW PV power plant based on the technology of thin film amorphous silicon (A-Si) panels. The design is for a location in central New Jersey; the performance evaluation is based on actual insolation data. The design criterion minimizes the installed plant cost per annual kilowatt-hour of energy generated. The cost performance is compared to a value analysis made on this design in conjunction with the Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G).


There is an extensive peer-reviewed literature on xylitol chewing gum as it pertains to effects on tooth decay in human subjects, on human dental plaque reduction, on inhibition of dental plaque acid production, on inhibition of the growth and metabolism of the mutans group of streptococci which are the prime causative agents of tooth decay, on reduction of tooth decay in experimental animals, and on xylitol's reported contribution to the remineralisation of teeth. The literature not only supports the conclusion that xylitol is non-cariogenic but it is now strongly suggestive that xylitol is caries inhibitory, that is, anti-cariogenic in human subjects, and it supplies reasonable mechanistic explanation(s).


Smo and Gli1 signaling molecule in lungs of newborn rats exposed to prolonged hyperoxia and explore the role of Sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling pathway in hyperoxia-induced lung injury. Methods: Neonatal rat pups were placed in chambers containing room air or oxygen about 95% for 14 days after birth. The rats were sacrificed at 3, 7 or 14 days and their lungs removed and subjected to hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. Smo and Gli11 were observed by immunohistochemistry, and western blotting was utilized to assess the dynamic expressions of Smo and Gli1 protein. Results: Significant histo-morphologic changes were showed in the hyperoxia-exposed lungs at 3, 7 and 14 days of age by HE staining. Smo and Gli1 proteins were observed in bronchial epithelial cells, alveolar epithelial cells, and vascular endothelium cells, and partly showed on the fibrotic tissue in lung interstitium. The results of immunohistochemistry and western blot showed that the expression of Smo was significantly higher in the hyperoxia-exposed lungs at 7 and 14 days, and Gli1 was significantly elevated at 14 days. But low Smo and Gli1 were detected in normal air group. Conclusions: Exposure of neonatal rat to prolonged hyperoxia results in acute lung injury and arrested lung development. Smo and Gli1 are up-regulated at time points preceding the lung injury, and SHH signal pathway seems to be involved in the pathogenesis of hyperoxia-induced lung injury and bronchopulmonary dysplasia.