We report the results of millimeter and submillimeter molecular line mapping observations of the Galactic circumnuclear disk (CND). The CND appears as a large, asymmetric disk of warm molecular gas with a high CO J = 3–2/CO J = 1–0 intensity ratio exceeding 1.5. It has a mass of (2–5) × 105 M☉ and a diameter of about 10 pc, including a well-known 2-pc radius ring of dense molecular gas around the minispiral. The CND can be clearly traced by the J = 1–0 lines of HCN, H13CN, HCO+, and HNC, but it is barely traced by N2H+, SiO, CCS, and HC3N lines. These data confirm the entity of the CND, and the 2-pc ring is just a part of it. Line ratios suggest that the CND is chemically immature, having higher density and higher temperature than the ambient gas. A one-zone large-velocity-gradient analysis finds that molecular gas in the CND has a typical kinetic temperature of Tk ≃ 63 K and H2 density of n(H2) ≃ 104.1 cm−3. The bulk of the CND seems to have an overall, systematic infall motion, with a velocity of Vinfall ≃ 50 km s−1. Our results are consistent with the scenario that the CND has been formed by tidal capture and disruption of a giant molecular cloud (GMC). The progenitor GMC may have been formed recently inside the 120-pc ring, possibly by the encounter with the small inner bar of the Galaxy. Toomre's Q parameter indicates that the CND is gravitationally stable now, but it will become unstable and fragment as gas accumulates at r ≃ 2 pc. It would trigger a burst of star formation, and subsequent processes could enhance the mass accretion rate to Sgr A*.


Inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER) has been shown to be an important mediator of cAMP antiproliferative activity. In this report, it was found that cAMP retards LNCaP cell growth; in contrast, cAMP inhibits the growth of PC-3 and DU-145 cells. ICER protein levels were markedly reduced in prostate cancer epithelial cells and undetectable and uninducible by cAMP in LNCaP and DU 145 cells. Forced expression of ICER in LNCaP cells caused inhibition of cell growth and thymidine incorporation and halted cells at the G(1) phase of the cell cycle. These ICER-bearing LNCaP cells were rendered unable to grow in soft agar and unable to form tumors in nude mice. These results suggest that deregulation of ICER expression may be related to carcinogenesis of the prostate gland.


Background: Fibrin sealants are widely used in liver surgery. The aim of this article is to review the literature on evidence of hemostatic and biliostatic capacities of different fibrin sealants in liver surgery. Methods: In PubMed, a literature search was done with the search terms 'fibrin sealant' or 'fibrin glue' combined with 'liver resection' or 'bile leakage'. Thirteen comparative fibrin sealant studies were selected. Results: In general, these studies have shown a reduced time to hemostasis when fibrin sealants were used. So far, only a few studies have been published that have focused on postoperative resection surface-related complications. There is no strong evidence that fibrin sealants reduce the incidence of bile leakage after liver resection. Important new evidence shows that bile contains profibrinolytic activity that causes lysis of the clot formed by the fibrin sealant at least in vitro. Conclusions: Fibrin sealants can be effective as an adjunct to achieve hemostasis during liver resections. However, considering lack of evidence on the efficacy of fibrin sealants in reducing postoperative resection surface-related complications, routine use of fibrin sealants in liver surgery cannot be recommended.


A trend found in many Islamic societies in recent years has been the increasing regulation of family life by Islamic law and a corresponding move away from customary law and informal conflict resolution procedures. The situation in Malaysia, particularly in urban Malay society, is no exception here. Several studies already exist of the nature and extent of Malaysia's Islamic judicial system but the general tendency has been to ignore the actual operation of the syariah courts and related institutions. This study addresses this need with an in-depth analysis of the key area of intra-family conflict and demonstrates that, although formally the counsellor, kadi and judge have defined roles for conflict resolution, in practice much flexibility is evident in the use of consultation, conciliation, mediation, arbitration and adjudication techniques. This study will be of special interest to legal anthropologists and those scholars interested in the increasing application of Islamic law in many different countries.


This paper views quality assurance costs as appraisal costs. We used cost accounting techniques to estimate the cost of quality assurance activities in a large university affiliated Veteran Administration Medical Center. In addition to the personnel employed full-time for quality assurance activities, all other employees in or directly in support of clinical services were interviewed in order to determine the per cent of their work time devoted to specific quality assurance activities. The per cent time committed was multiplied by the salary and benefits package for each employee and the total computed for the facility. In addition, non-salary overhead expenses were estimated by multiplying the salary and fringe benefit costs to the ratio of total medical center non-personnel costs to total medical center costs. We found that 3.39 per cent of the total budget or $4 884 775 was devoted to quality assurance activities. The highest costs aside from the designated quality assurance personnel were for pharmacy, Laboratory, extended care (including nursing home), psychiatry, and nursing services. We did not attempt a formal benefit analysis. We concluded that quality assurance activities in a major medical center are not free. Careful cost accounting studies should be performed both to determine the cost of quality assurance and to identify its specific benefits.


Economic Thought and History looks at the relationship between facts and thought in historical economic research, viewing it in the context of periods of economic crisis and providing detailed analyses of methods used in determining the bond between economic history and economic theory.
This interdisciplinary collection brings together international researchers in the history of economic thought and economic history in order to confront varying approaches to the study of economic facts and ideas, rethinking boundaries, methodologies and the object of their disciplines. The chapters explore the relationship between economic thought and economic theory from a variety of perspectives, exploring the relationship between history and economics, and the boundaries defining the history of economic thought, in terms of both single authors and schools of thought.  The book offers particular insights on the Italian tradition of thought.
The uniquely interdisciplinary and analytical approach presented here bridges the methodological gap between these disciplines, unearthing a fertile common ground of research. This book is intended for Postgraduate students conducting further research into the field, or for professors and academics of economic history and history of economic thought.


Membrane-enclosed fecal pellets of planktonic herbivores were sampled at several depths in the Baltic Sea (459 meters deep) and off Portugal (4000 meters deep) by means of a Simonsen multinet. Pellets contained mainly empty shells of planktonic diatoms and silicoflagellates. Two kinds of fecal pellets were found, those with the remains of one species (for example, Thalassiosira baltica) and those with the remains of several species (for example, Chaetoceros, Achnanthes, and Thalassiosira). Siliceous skeletons were protected from dissolution during settling by a membrane around the pellet.


Understanding adsorption in nanoporous media such as carbon nanotubesare vital to improving fluid storage and separations processes. Onemajor objective of this research is to shed light on an on-goingcontroversy in literature over where gases adsorb on single walledcarbon nanotube bundles. Grand-canonical Monte Carlo simulations havebeen performed using models of carbon nanotube bundles composed oftubes of all the same diameter (homogeneous) and tubes of differentdiameters (heterogeneous). We use three metrics with which we compareour simulation results to those found in experiments on HiPconanotubes: the specific surface area, the isosteric heat ofadsorption, and adsorption capacity. Simulations of classicallybehaved fluids Ar, CH$_4$, and Xe indicate that nanotubes prepared bythe HiPco process are best described by a model consisting ofheterogeneous bundles with $sim11\%$ of the nanotubes opened. Nerequires additional considerations to describe the quantum effects atthe temperatures of interest. Simulation results from Ne simulationsare consistent with those from classical fluids. However, Nesimulations strongly indicate that the small interstitial channelsformed by exactly three nanotubes are closed. Combined with previousstudies on classically behaved fluids Ar, CH$_4$, and Xe, experimentaldata including Ne adsorption are best matched by hetergeneous bundleswith $sim11\%$ open nanotubes.The development of a heterogeneous Co/C/O reactive force field(ReaxFF) potential has also been a major objective of this research.ReaxFF provides a method to describe bond-breaking and bond-formingevents that can be applied to large-scale molecular dynamicssimulations. The many-bodied semi-empirical potential has been trainedfrom emph{ab initio} density functional theory calculations. Thetraining set originally included description of bulk and surfacecondensed phase cobalt systems, but was later expanded to includebinary (Co/C, Co/O) and tertiary (Co/C/O) heterogeneous interactions.We have tested these parameters against additional DFT calculationsnot included in the fitting data set. The parameter optimization hasproduced a force field capable of describing new configurations withsame accuracy as those used in the fitting procedure. The optimizedparameters have been used to predict the melting point and diffusioncoefficients of bulk fcc cobalt. Large-scale simulations of a Co$_2$Cphase nanoparticle show segregation on short time scales (less than300 ps), with all C atoms forming graphene precursors on the surfaceof a Co nanoparticle core. ReaxFF has also been used to showdiffusion of Co is more energetically favorable than oxygen through acobalt oxide crystal. This is consistent with experimentalobservations that oxidized cobalt nanoparticle form hollow cobaltoxide nanospheres. These two binary applications demonstrate thatReaxFF is transferable to heterogeneous systems and a computationallyinexpensive means by which transition metal surface reactions can beexplored.


Collaborative efforts between the Neutronics and Target Design Group at the Instituto de Fusion Nuclear and the Molecular Spectroscopy Group at the ISIS Pulsed Neutron and Muon Source date back to 2012 in the context of the ESS-Bilbao project. The rationale for these joint activities was twofold, namely: to assess the realm of applicability of the low-energy neutron source proposed by ESS-Bilbao - for details; and to explore instrument capabilities for pulsed-neutron techniques in the range 0.05-3 ms, a time range where ESS-Bilbao and ISIS could offer a significant degree of synergy and complementarity. As part of this collaboration, J.P. de Vicente has spent a three-month period within the ISIS Molecular Spectroscopy Group, to gain hands-on experience on the practical aspects of neutron-instrument design and the requisite neutron-transport simulations. To date, these activities have resulted in a joint MEng thesis as well as a number of publications and contributions to national and international conferences.

Building upon these previous works, the primary aim of this report is to provide a self-contained discussion of general criteria for instrument selection at ESS-Bilbao, the first accelerator-driven, low-energy neutron source designed in Spain. To this end, Chapter 1 provides a brief overview of the current design parameters of the accelerator and target station. Neutron moderation is covered in Chapter 2, where we take a closer look at two possible target-moderator-reflector configurations and pay special attention to the spectral and temporal characteristics of the resulting neutron pulses. This discussion provides a necessary starting point to assess the operation of ESSB in short- and long-pulse modes. These considerations are further explored in Chapter 3, dealing with the primary characteristics of ESS-Bilbao as a short- or long-pulse facility in terms of accessible dynamic range and spectral resolution. Other practical aspects including background suppression and the use of fast choppers are also discussed. The guiding principles introduced in the first three chapters are put to use in Chapter 4 where we analyse in some detail the capabilities of a small-angle scattering instrument, as well as how specific scientific requirements can be mapped onto the optimal use of ESS-Bilbao for condensed-matter research. Part 2 of the report contains additional supporting documentation, including a description of the ESSB McStas component, a detailed characterisation of moderator response and neutron pulses, and estimates ofparameters associated with the design and operation of neutron choppers.

In closing this brief foreword, we wish to thank both ESS-Bilbao and ISIS for their continuing encouragement and support along the way.


Wisdom cries out in the street; in the squares she raises her voice. At the busiest corner she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? Give heed to my reproof; I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make my words known to you. " (Prov. 1 :20-23)1 Proverbs 1-9 depicts the personified Wisdom of God as a female figure who occupies both private and public space, speaking with a loud voice in the streets, the marketplace, and the city gates.2 Wisdom is anything but silent. She offers instruction to the wise and admonishment to the foolish. She sings a lengthy song about herself and her role at the beginning of creation in Prov. 8:4-36. In Prov. 9:3, she calls to people from the highest place in town to invite them into her home. More words are attributed to Wisdom than to any other female character in biblical literature, and it is for this reason - Wisdom's prolific speech - that women at various points in history invoked the figure of Wisdom as scriptural warrant for their own preaching and teaching roles.3 In the Christian tradition, women's appeal to Wisdom (Sophia) to provide authority for their speech may go back as far as the first-century Corinthian women prophets whom Paul found problematic. In the second century, the Montanist prophet Quintilla reported that, in a dream, Christ came to her in female form and placed Wisdom within her.5 Perhaps the best known example of a woman's use of Wisdom imagery is Julian of Norwich's celebration of Jesus as "God all wisdom" and "loving Mother."6 While women's reflections on Wisdom have been rich and varied throughout Christian history, this essay will focus on the theological creativity of three remarkable women who used the wisdom tradition to provide legitimation for female speech: Hrotswitha of Gandersheim (ca. 935-1000), Hildegard of Bingen (ca. 1098-1 179), and Mother Rebecca Cox Jackson (1795-1871). Women Preachers and Teachers: Wisdom Prospered their Works7 As numerous Christian women through the centuries have claimed for themselves public preaching and teaching roles, they have frequently encountered opponents who quoted to them the biblical mandates to remain publicly silent, such as those admonitions found in the Pauline and deutero-Pauline literature: As in all the churches of the saints, women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as the law also says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church (1 Cor. 14:33b-35). Let a woman learn in silence with full submission. I permit no woman to teach or have authority over a man; she is to keep silent (1 Tim. 2:11-12). Feminist theorists such as Jean Bethke Elshtain have explored the numerous ways in which public speech, authority and agency have, for centuries in the West, been defined as a male prerogative, while women's speech was relegated to the private and domestic sphere.8 In Christianity, circumscription and silencing of women's public voices have taken various forms. In many cases, ecclesiastical legislation has specifically forbidden women from holding those church offices that involve teaching, preaching, liturgical leadership, and administering oversight and discipline.9 In other cases, opposition has taken the form of clerical denunciations of women's public preaching, writing and teaching activities. In extreme cases, women have been silenced through persecution, coercion, threats, physical punishment, mob violence, and even execution.10 Despite the biblical mandates to remain silent, women preachers, teachers, and prophets have countered such opposition with scriptural warrants of then" own, often employing great theological creativity and demonstrating their extensive knowledge of scripture. …


One of the characteristics that ion thrusters are known for is its high efficiency.  In the process of designing an ion thruster the study of the magnetic field alongside the discharge chamber is crucial to achieve optimal efficiency. This work shows the importance of taking into consideration the materials in the vicinities of the magnets as well as the expected intensity of the magnetitic field inside the thrusters in study. The procedures used to study the magnetic field in the open software used are described in this work. The thruster in study is an oversizing done of a previous one, so the desired results are to obtain the ones obtained for the original engine.
Keywords: Ion thruster, High efficiency, Magnetic field


In this paper, a code-domain non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) scheme called "Subcarrier and Permutation Index Modulation Multiple Access" (SPIMMA) scheme is proposed over the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing-Subcarrier and Permutation Index Modulation (OFDM-SPIM) architecture. The Index Modulation Multiple Access (IMMA) which applies index modulation (IM) technique is a codebook-based NOMA scheme. It uses the active subcarriers to make index indices which can carry additional bits besides the modulation bits. The proposed scheme uses the concept of IMMA and improves it by transmitting additional bits through different modes. Index bits which deliver additional information are not only produced from the active and inactive subcarriers but also from the different modes permutation. Therefore, he performance of energy efficiency (EE) and spectral efficiency (SE) are improved. The rotation code is proposed in the SPIMMA to solve the problem of inter-user interference (IUI) in contention based multiple access. Due to the diversity gain from the rotation code, the simulation results show that the bit error rate (BER) of SPIMMA is improved with rotation code. In brief, we have designed a code-domain NOMA scheme that facilitates grant free random multiple access, which also shows better SE, EE than IMMA, OFDMA, and SCMA.


A large defective troilite (Fe0.9V0.1)0.82S is prepared by a sealed silica-tube method at 800oC and characterized by a powder X-ray diffraction method and using a magnetic property measurement system. The crystal structures of a defective troilite and non defective troilite are analyzed by Rietveld method. The large defect enhances the Fe-Fe pairing and suppresses the waving of Fe-chain along c-direction. The antiferromagnetic property is observed on both troilites. The spin-flip transition temperature of the large defective troilite is 9K.


Clear cell renal carcinoma (CCRC) is responsible for 2% of cancer-related deaths worldwide and is resistant to virtually all therapies, indicating the importance of a search for new therapeutic targets. Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) is a polyprotein derived from normal and malignant cells that regulates cell growth. In the current study, we show that blocking PTHrP with antibodies or antagonizing the common parathyroid hormone (PTH)/PTHrP receptor, the PTH1 receptor, dramatically blunts the expansion of human CCRC in vitro by promoting cell death. Importantly, in nude mice, anti-PTHrP antibodies induced complete regression of 70% of the implanted tumors by inducing cell death. In addition, we demonstrate that the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor protein, which functions as a gatekeeper for CCRC, negatively regulates PTHrP expression at the post-transcriptional level. These studies indicate that PTHrP is an essential growth factor for CCRC and is a novel target for the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor protein. Taken together, these results strongly suggest that targeting the PTHrP/PTH1 receptor system may provide a new avenue for the treatment of this aggressive cancer in humans.


Background Current data for atrial fibrillation (AF) and stroke are predominantly derived from North American and European patients. Although the burden of AF is high in Latin America (LA), little is known about current management of AF in the region. Methods We aimed to assess the consistency of efficacy and safety outcomes associated with dabigatran etexilate (DE) versus warfarin in patients with AF in LA from the RE-LY (Randomised Evaluation of Long-Term Anticoagulant Therapy) trial. Data from 956 LA patients and 17 157 non-LA patients were included in this analysis. χ2 test and Cox proportional regression analysis were performed. The primary efficacy outcome included all strokes or systemic embolism (SE). Main safety outcome was major bleeding. Results LA patients were more often female, had higher proportion of permanent AF and lower creatinine clearance, among other characteristics. Vitamin K antagonist use at randomisation and time in therapeutic range were lower in LA than in non-LA patients (44% vs 63%, p<0.001; and 61.3±22.6% vs 64.6±19.6%, p=0.015, respectively). Efficacy endpoints were 0.91% versus 1.68% for DE 150 mg twice daily versus warfarin, respectively. Stroke/SE risk was lower in LA patients treated with DE 150 mg twice daily compared with warfarin, although not significant (HR 0.54; 95% CI 0.18 to 1.62). The annual stroke/SE rates for DE 110 mg twice daily versus warfarin were 1.82 versus 1.68, also not significantly different (HR 1.09; CI 0.44 to 2.67). There were no treatment-by-region interactions for either dose of DE on efficacy and safety outcomes. Conclusion Despite differences in the clinical profile and AF management, the efficacy and safety benefits of dabigatran over warfarin in LA patients relative to non-LA patients are consistent with those observed in the main RE-LY trial.


Inclusive businesses (IBs), embodying partnerships between commercial agribusinesses and smallholder farmers/low-income communities, are considered to contribute towards rural development and agricultural sector transformation. Structured as complex organizational set-ups consisting of, and overcoming the limitations of, standard inclusive instruments (collective organization, mentorship, supply contract, lease/management contract and equity), they allow for the inclusion of smallholders and low-income communities into commercial agricultural value chains. IBs are a way for governments to engage private agribusinesses in agricultural and rural policies. However, will the commercial sector, through IB partnerships, contribute towards the government's transformation and developmental objectives? Based on case studies in South Africa—a country engaged in land and agrarian reforms—the effects of IBs at the project level appear positive, illustrated by an increase in production and growth in agricultural assets. However, individual beneficiaries experience only a marginal change in income and livelihoods. Whereas land reform, project development and market integration are generally achieved, the transformation and beneficiary development objectives are compromised. Although commercial agribusinesses contribute to investment needs in the sector and smallholder exposure to commercial markets, IB partnerships allow commercial entities control over the smallholders' assets. Ownership and secure rights, especially of land, and support of external parties to capacitate beneficiaries and adjust power asymmetries, are essential starting points. Without these aspects, IBs will not lead to effective transformation and development.


The personal satisfaction with the formal attributes of buildings has an underlying essence and needs some exploratory attempts to secure a reliable set of individual attribute satisfactions. This paper aims to discover reliable methods for extracting the personal preferences for the formal attributes by examining the accuracy of several questioning methods. Focusing on building facades, the attributes are defined at first to cover a wide range of architectural forms. The study then introduces eight methods of extracting personal preferences: four attribute-based methods directly ask participants for their attribute preferences, and four building-based methods extract each attribute satisfaction from the analysis of appreciation of architectural forms. A survey then extracts individuals' satisfaction with the attributes via each method; the outcomes of each questioning method are examined by applying them into preference prediction of another set of building images integrated into the survey. The analysis shows that the most accurate results are achieved when participants directly express their opinions about the attributes illustrated in a building's image. Among the building-based methods, considering all the visible attributes in the analysis of the building preferences can reveal the second-most accurate data. Finally, although the combination of both methods enhanced the result's accuracy, the former method is more efficacious while a lower number of attributes are considered and knowledgeable people are addressed; otherwise, the latter method is practically more valid for laypeople and scalable to a large number of people.

Article received: May 28, 2020; Article accepted: July 11, 2020; Published online: September 15, 2020; Original scholarly paper


Empowering Young Chinese Fathers in Australia to Experience Spiritual Transformation through Contemplative Disciplines Pui Leung (Andrew) Choy Doctor of Ministry School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary 2017 This doctoral project aims to empower the Christian fathers at West Sydney Chinese Christian Church (WSCCC) to experience spiritual transformation in their busy daily lives. The demands from work and the pressure of living in Sydney, Australia, together with additional family responsibilities, have drained and prevented them from experiencing God on an ongoing basis. To address this need, this pilot project attempts to enable the men to experience spiritual transformation through practicing Christian contemplative disciplines and receiving spiritual direction individually and in a group context. The project firstly identifies the socio-economic and cultural challenges facing the Chinese fathers who live in Sydney. The rise of the internet and social media culture poses further complications and demands upon the already overextended lifestyle. This part will also describe the dynamics of WSCCC and its influence on these men's spiritual formation. Upon examination, the Christian fathers have exhibited a robust desire for an intimate relationship with God but have often failed to maintain that. Part Two lays out the biblical and theological foundation for experiencing spiritual transformation through recognizing and living in God's presence consistently. It articulates an ecclesiology that urges a paradigm shift in WSCCC to embrace contemplative spirituality. There is also a discussion regarding the pastoral theology of spiritual direction and its unique contribution towards godly formation when it is combined with the regular practices of spiritual disciplines. Finally this study presents a ministry plan informed by the theological investigation, and seeks to introduce, familiarize, and resource Christian men to engage in various contemplative disciplines in the context of a retreat and spiritual direction group. It also outlines the development tools required for all involved. Attention is given to the timing, processes, and assessment tools required for the successful implementation of such an initiative. Content Reader: Terry Walling, DMin


We performed a community‐based study to investigate the relationship of genetic susceptibility and head injury to Alzheimer's disease(AD) in 138 patients with AD and 193 healthy elderly control subjects. Data concerning presence or absence of dementia and certain exposures were also obtained from 799 first‐degree relatives of the patients and 1,238 first‐degree relatives of the control subjects. Adjusting for age, gender, and other risk factors, the odds ratio for AD associated with head injury was 3.7 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4–9.7). The association was highest for head injuries that occurred after age 70. The risk of AD was higher in first‐degree relatives of patients with onset prior to age 70 than in relatives of control subjects (risk ratio [RR] = 2.5; 95% CI, 1.1–5.6). The risk was not increased for relatives of patients with onset of AD at age 70 or older. Compared with relatives without head injury, the risk of AD was increased among both head‐injured relatives of patients (RR = 5.9; 95% CI, 2.3–14.8) and head‐injured relatives of control subjects (RR = 6.9; 95% CI, 2.5–18.9). Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that severe head injury and genetic susceptibility are associated with AD. Both associations concur with current concepts regarding the role of amyloid in AD. Although we regard head injury, like genetic susceptibility, to be a putative risk factor for AD, the temporal relationship between head injury and AD warrants further investigation.


Fibrosis of parenchymal organs is caused by prolonged injury, deregulation of the normal processes of wound healing, and extensive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. The current review will focus on common features of fibrogenesis in parenchymal organs, and will briefly discuss common features and differences in the pathophysiology of fibrosis. Comparison of hepatic, renal, and pulmonary fibrosis has identified several common mechanisms. Common themes include a critical role for the cytokine transforming growth factor b and the generation of reactive oxygen species. Activated myofibroblasts are the common cell type that produce the excessive fibrous scar and may originate from endogenous cells such as hepatic stellate cells or fibroblasts, from the bone marrow such as fibrocytes, or from the transition of epithelial cells to mesenchymal cells. These concepts open new prospects for multidisciplinary research and the development of new therapies for fibrosis.


Intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV-tPA) is first line treatment for acute ischaemic stroke (AIS). After AIS, many patients are anticoagulated, which is a contraindication to IV-tPA. Endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) provides an alternative treatment for AIS patients who have contraindications for IV-tPA. Limited data exists regarding the safety of EVT in anticoagulated patients. We aim to determine the safety of EVT in anticoagulated patients through comparing the rates of symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage (sICH) in anticoagulated and nonanticoagulated patients. Furthermore, we aim to compare differences in functional outcome and mortality after EVT in both patient groups. A meta-analysis of 10 studies was performed to assess the risk of developing sICH in anticoagulated patients who underwent EVT to treat AIS. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were extracted from the studies. Meta-analysis showed no difference in the rate of sICH between anticoagulated patients and those with normal haemostasis (OR =1.21; 95% C.I.: 0.88, 1.67). Ninety-day mortality was similar among both groups. Most authors report similar rates of good functional outcome at 90-days between patient groups. EVT appears to be a safe treatment option in patients who are therapeutically anticoagulated.


Resveratrol is a plant polyphenol that has potent anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. age-related macular degeneration is a degenerative condition characterized by elevated levels of oxidation triggered cell damage and a subsequent inflammatory cascade. Resveratrol prevents activation of inflammatory pathways and is also a potent scavenger of reactive oxygen species and free radicals. Experiments using the mouse model have demonstrated that resveratrol reduces angiogenesis. The evidence suggests that resveratrol would be a useful inclusion in ocular nutritional supplements.


Background: In the past twenty years humankind has effected from infections caused by SARS-CoV (severe acute respiratory syndrome), MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome) and SARS-CoV-2 coronaviruses, which have caused significant harm to human health and resulted in high mortality. The possibility of using miRNA (mRNA-inhibiting RNA) to inhibit infections caused by the coronaviruses SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV has been shown. Methods: The MirTarget program determines the following characteristics of interaction between miRNAs and messenger RNAs (mRNAs): the start of the miRNA binding site on the mRNA; the locations of the miRNA binding sites in the 3'-untranslated region (3'UTR), 5'-untranslated region (5'UTR), or coding sequence (CDS); the interaction free energy (∆G, kJ/mole); and nucleotide interaction schemes between miRNAs and mRNAs.Results: Using bioinformatics approaches, completely complementary miRNA (cc-miRNA) complexes were predicted to be able to bind and inhibit the translation of coronavirus proteins and the replication of SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV genomes. For complexes of seven completely complementary miRNA of SARS-CoV-2 (cc-miRc), seven completely complementary miRNA of SARS-CoV (cc-miRs), and eight completely complementary miRNA of MERS-CoV (cc-miRm), the interactions with the RNA genomes (gRNAs) of the corresponding coronaviruses was evaluated. The free energy of the interactions of cc-miRNAs with binding sites was significantly higher than the free energy of the interactions with other regions in gRNA, which ensures high selectivity of the binding of cc-miRNAs. Weak binding of cc-miRNAs to the mRNAs of 17508 human genes was shown, which suggests the absence of side effects of the cc-miRNAs in humans. A feature of this method is the simultaneous inhibition of translation and replication by several cc-miRNAs binding from the 5' end to the 3' end of gRNA. Conclusion: The use of several cc-miRNAs to suppress infections allows each of them to be used at a lower concentration to avoid side effects when one cc-miRNA is introduced into humans at a high concentration.


The oxidation of natural hydroxybenzoic acids by a cellular peroxidase (EC 220.127.116.11) fraction obtained from Vitis vinifera cv. Monastrell cell cultures has been studied. Of all the hydroxybenzoic acids present in Monastrell grapes, only protocatechuic (3,4-dihydroxybenzoic), vanillic (3-methoxy-4-hydroxybenzoic), and gallic (3,4,5-trihydroxy-benzoic) acids were substrates of this enzyme fraction, showing optimal pH values for the oxidation rate in the 3.0 to 5.0 range, p-Hydroxybenzoic acid and syringic (3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxybenzoic) acid were not substrates under the assay conditions. Apparent KM values for protocatechuic acid, vanillic acid, and gallic acid were 0.850, 0.120, and 1.080 mM, respectively. Using electrophoretic techniques, the differential reactivity of the peroxidase isoenzymes in this peroxidase fraction was shown against each hydroxybenzoic acid. This suggests a distinctive participation for each one of the isoenzymes in the several oxidative pathways of the hydroxybenzoic acids in Monastrell grapes.


Smart territories favor social entrepreneurship, which develops in a collaborative effort requiring networking and skilled facilitation. Coworking spaces (CWS) advance as mediating organizations that bring together entrepreneurial communities in smart territories. This chapter develops a practical framework for knowledge dissemination in CWS. It bases this framework on the analysis of three spatial characteristics that allow for the assessment of the knowledge transcendence originating in CWS, namely, physical, social, and informational spaces. To test this framework, the authors analyze the Roma-Norte corridor in Mexico City, whose results indicate the presence of two models: one constituted of private organizations that place collaboration as a secondary value, subject to their office rental services, and an umbrella model that clusters other social innovation facilitators that transcend their territorial strip. This latter meta-space model expresses positive effects in terms of knowledge spillover, suggesting the concentrated bottom-up construction process of a smart territory.


In the Geological Map of Scotland a narrow band of clay-slate is laid down as skirting the eastern shore of Islay and Jura, and passing through Luing and Seil to Kerrera and the vicinity of Oban. This rock was fully described by Dr. Macculloch in his work on the Western Isles; and I should not have noticed it further, had not my observations led me to differ from him in some important points. My present remarks refer, however, only to this formation as seen on Seil and Easdale and in the vinity of Oban, and more especially to the former locality. This place has been long celebrated for its extensive slate-quarries, the property of the Marquis of Breadalbane. These works give employment to about 200 persons. They are chiefly situated in the small island of Easdale; and, the higher parts of the rock being exhausted, they are now carried on at a great depth below the level of the sea. Mineral character of the rocks.—The slates extracted for roofing-purposes on Easdale and Seil are usually dark-blue or almost black, with a silky lustre. They are split along true planes of cleavage; but the thin laminæ are uneven and undulating. Their surfaces are thus often striated or wrinkled, similarly to what is named ripplemark in other beds, but in this case clearly produced in an entirely different manner. Crystals of iron-pyrites (usually cubes, but with one axis often abnormally shortened) are dispersed in more or less abundance through these slates. As


From December 2019, the COVID-19 outbreak has rapidly spread throughout the whole world and become a devastating infectious diseases, with the risk of cross infection quickly and no drug treatment is available. Some countries have been facing shortage of medical equipment, which leads to millions of deaths and may put healthcare workers at risk of infection when they caring for patients sicked with COVID-19 in isolation room, so need to ensure their occupational health and safety. In order to solve this problem, the paper presents a design of Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) to prevent cross-contamination COVID-19 infection in isolation room, protect for occupational health and safety of healthcare workers. That is specialized equipment for medical industry using ambient air as energy source to operate, the device removes contaminated air through the filters and UVC germicidal light bulbs, then provides clean air to the user's face through blower. It creates continuous positive pressure, and this positive pressure prevents outside contaminated air to a face, but it must be com ply with the safety standards of NIOSH. Especially, this design can be used in case of an emergency, lack of medical supplies and equipment because it can be connected to commercially available masks through a hose connector and a respiratory hose. In case the device does not work or out of battery, a mask accompanied by a hose connector can be connected to the breathing tubes placed in isolation room, all these breathing tubes use clean air from heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) of isolation room. Simulations and experiments are attached below to compare the difference between ideal parameters and actual results. From which to draw conclusions and development directions of the research.


INTRODUCTION
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is currently the gold standard for removal of symptomatic gallbladders. The push in recent years toward reducing the number of ports required to perform this surgery has led to the development of single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy (SILC). We report our early experience with SILC and assess its feasibility and safety.

METHODS
A prospective study was conducted of the first 100 patients who presented with complaints of biliary colic and underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy via the single-port technique at our institution. SILC was performed via a single-port device such as a flexible umbilical port that could accommodate up to three surgical instruments. The port was inserted into a transumbilical incision around 15-20 mm long. Data on operative details and postoperative outcomes were collected and evaluated.

RESULTS
The mean operation time was 67.8 minutes. Six patients needed conversion, requiring extra 5-mm ports to complete the surgery. No serious intraoperative complications, such as bile duct injury or bile leakage, were encountered. Cosmesis from the scar hidden within the umbilical fold was excellent.

CONCLUSION
Our initial results of single-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy are promising, with no complications being seen in this early series. However, the drawbacks include the higher cost of equipment and a steeper learning curve. Further evaluation is required to assess the risks and benefits of this approach when compared with conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy.


Over half of community college (CC) students are non-white, and more than half of all Hispanic and Black undergraduates start at community college. Given that community colleges (CCs) enroll minorities and women in larger numbers than universities, it is imperative for both universities and CCs to engage in collaborative efforts to broaden the participation of diverse peoples in the computing field. Such efforts could include, but not be limited to, the creation of a national broadening participation in computing (BPC) alliance, structured transfer pathways from the CC to the university, the inclusion of a CS Principles course for college, and changing the commonly held perceptions of CCs. Brainstorming, and then building these strategic partnerships requires that experts from various backgrounds come together to share knowledge and experiences that contribute to a better understanding of the role such collaborative efforts could play with universities and CCs in BPC efforts in CS and information technology (IT).


Aims: Endometrial cancer is the most common malignancy of the female reproductive tract. As the prognosis factors, the determination of exact cancer stage and the differentiation of the lymph nodes plays a role in the selection of treatment plan and the rate of patient's survival. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnosis accuracy of dynamic and diffusion imaging techniques in the endometrial cancer staging as well as the differentiation of metastatic and non-metastatic lymph nodes. Materials & Methods: In this prospective study, 30 patients with endometrial cancer were studied in MRI ward of the imaging center of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran in 2013-14. The subjects, selected by purposeful sampling method, underwent the pelvis imaging before the surgery. T1W and T2W scenes, the dynamic technique in phases including 25, 60, 120, and 240 seconds after the injection, and the diffusion technique (b= zero and 1000 s/mm) were used in the imaging. Data was analyzed by SPSS 22 software using kappa statistic, two-independent T test, and one-way ANOVA. Findings: The agreement rate between the results of radiology and pathology in the determination of the different cancer stages was approximately 0.8, showing a good and considerable result (p<0.001). The diagnostic authenticity rate of the dynamic and diffusion techniques was 0.83. The results of radiology and pathology were completely consistent regarding the differentiation between the metastatic and non-metastatic lymph nodes. In different cancer stages, as well as in the metastatic and non-metastatic lymph nodes, the mean age and number of fertility were not significantly different (p>0.05). Conclusion: In the differentiation between the metastatic and non-metastatic lymph nodes in patients with endometrial cancer, the diagnostic accuracy is increased by the diffusion techniques utilizing the routine scenes and the injection.


Lysyl oxidase (LO), which catalyzes the oxidation of lysine residues, was previously shown to have anti-oncogenic activity on ras-transformed cells. Since oncogenic Ras mediates transformation, in part, through the activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B), we tested here the effects of LO on NF-kappa B activity. Expression of LO in ras-transformed NIH 3T3 cells led to decreased NF-kappa B binding and activity, as well as the expression of the NF-kappa B target gene c-myc. Importantly, ectopic expression of LO led to a dramatic decrease in colony formation by ras-transformed NIH 3T3 cells, a finding comparable to the expression of the I kappa B alpha dominant-negative mutant, which could be rescued by p65/p50 NF-kappa B subunit expression. LO was unable to directly inhibit the activity of ectopically expressed p65 and c-Rel NF-kappa B subunits, suggesting that LO affected an upstream signaling pathway(s) induced by Ras. Consistent with this hypothesis, LO expression decreased both the rate of I kappa B alpha turnover and the activities of IKK alpha and IKK beta. Moreover, the ectopic expression of a constitutively active version of either kinase reversed the negative effects of LO. Ras can induce NF-kappa B via both the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt and Raf/MEK pathways. LO potently downregulated the PI3K and Akt kinases, while partially inhibiting MEK kinase activity. Expression of a constitutively activated, myristylated Akt or PDK1 was able to counteract the effect of LO on NF-kappa B, whereas constitutively activated Raf was only partially effective. Importantly, LO blocked membrane localization of Akt and PDK1 in Ras-transformed cells. Overall, these results strongly argue that the anti-oncogenic effects of LO on ras-mediated transformation are due to its ability to inhibit signaling pathways that lead to activation of NF-kappa B.


Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a newly identified RNA virus that causes the serious infection Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The incidence of COVID-19 is still increasing worldwide despite the summer heat and cool winter. However, little is known about seasonal stability of SARS-CoV-2. Herein, we employ Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations to explore the effect of temperature on four critical SARS-CoV-2 proteins. Our work demonstrates that the spike Receptor Binding Domain (RBD), Main protease (Mpro), and nonstructural protein 3 (macro X) possesses extreme thermos-stability when subjected to temperature variations rendering them attractive drug targets. Furthermore, our findings suggest that these four proteins are well adapted to habitable temperatures on earth and are largely insensitive to cold and warm climates. Furthermore, we report that the critical residues in SARS-CoV-2 RBD were less responsive to temperature variations as compared to the critical residues in SARS-CoV. As such, extreme summer and winter climates, and the transition between the two seasons, are expected to have a negligible effect on the stability of SARS-CoV-2 which will marginally suppress transmission rates until effective therapeutics are available world-wide.


Holographic data storage is the most promising data storage technology in the next generation due to the advantages of the ultra-high data storage density and high data transfer rate. Dimensional stability of storage media and photorefraction effect of the grating are the two most important factors for holographic storage. In this study, a blue laser holographic material with low shrinkage is developed. The organic-inorganic hybrid matrix is triethoxysilylpropyl polyethyleneglycol carbamate (TSPEG) homogeneously bonded with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) prepared by sol-gel method. Diallyl phthalate pre-polymer (DAPP) and 9,10-Phenanthrenequinone (PQ) were used as a monomer and a photoinitiator, respectively. Optical data recording was performed by a blue laser source with a wavelength of 405 nm and the intensity of laser is 2 mW/cm2. The photoinduced free radical polymerization of DAPP in the presence of PQ can be initiated by the blue laser irradiation. The inorganic backbone limits the shrinkage resulting from the polymerization and increases the rigidity of the matrix. The shrinkage measurement shows that the blue laser holographic material with TSPEG/TEOS=0.2 (molar ratio) has very low shrinkage of about 0.145% after recording the hologram.


This article provides a summary of certain legal and business issues relevant to joint acquisitions in which both a financial buyer and a strategic buyer join together to acquire a potential target or its business. Through the joint acquisition relationship, financial buyers can provide access to capital, knowledge of financial engineering, and deal-making technique. In return, strategic buyers can provide management expertise and an increased return on investment through synergies and other business arrangements involving the target. Joint acquisitions may allow the acquiring parties to complement each other and capitalize on acquisition opportunities that neither party would be willing to pursue on its own.


We assessed the presence of an activin-like substance in human follicular fluid that was obtained from women undergoing in-vitro fertilization using a bioassay for activin A. Activin activity was not detected in crude follicular fluids; the bioactivity of standard activin A was inhibited by the addition of follicular fluid. After the follistatin (binding protein of activin A) was removed from follicular fluid using a purification procedure, activin activity was detected in the follicular fluids (mean concentration: 131 +/- 40 ng/ml). Activin activity was inhibited by the addition of follistatin to fluid. The concentration of activin activity was substantially higher (approximately 100-fold) than that reported in serum. The concentration negatively and significantly correlated with the number of developed follicles in the ovary (r = 0.501, P < 0.01). These results suggest that activin A and its binding protein are present in follicular fluid in large amounts and that they may have a role in local ovarian regulation.


Modification of carbon, including boron-doped diamond (BDD) and glassy carbon (GC), using gold nanoparticle (AuNP) was developed by self-assembly technique. This technique is based on electrostatic interaction between citratecapped AuNP to amine terminal groups after surface modification of BDD and GC. The fabricated materials, AuNPBDD and AuNP-GC, were then utilized as electrodes for As 3+ detection using anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) technique. Anodic stripping voltammograms of both AuNP-BDD and AuNP-GC electrodes showed similar peak potentials of As° oxidation at ~0.21 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) in optimum conditions of -500 mV, 180 s, and 100 mV/s for deposition potential, deposition time, and scan rate, respectively. AuNP-BDD shows better performances in the case of wide linear concentration range (0-20 mM) and low limit of detection (0.39 μM or 4.64 ppb), whereas those of AuNPGC were linear in the concentration range of 0-10mM with a detection limit of 0.14 μM (13.12 ppb). Excellent reproducibility was shown with RSDs (n=20) of 2.93% and 4.54% at AuNP-BDD and AuNP-GC, respectively. However, decreasing of current responses in 6-concecutive days was found more at AuNP-BDD (~20.1%) than that at AuNP-GC (~2.8%).


Abstract:  For finite dose skin absorption experiments, a homogeneous donor distribution over the skin surface is usually assumed. However, the influence of the surface distribution on skin absorption is still unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the application area on the permeation of drugs during finite dose skin absorption experiments in static Franz diffusion cells. Permeation experiments with stained aqueous drug formulations were conducted, and the application area was determined by a suitable, objective, automated computational approach. The permeation of caffeine is strongly dependent on the application area. The variability between single experiments decreased when including the application area. For the lipophilic flufenamic acid, this was not the case. The variability highly increased after inclusion of the application area. Thus, a correction of the area is misleading. In summary, depending on the drug's physicochemical characteristics, the application area may influence skin absorption.


X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) is an inborn error of peroxisomal metabolism characterised by progressive demyelination of the central nervous system and by hypoadrenalism. The biochemical defect of ALD results in an impairment in degradation of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFA) with their accumulation in plasma and tissues. Many therapeutic approaches have been tried. Recently, a restricted diet and glycerol trioleate/erucic (GTOE) supplementation have shown normalisation of VLCFA plasma levels, although they are not effective in altering the clinical course of X-linked ALD. The preliminary results are presented of a twelve month trial of immunomodulation by intravenous high-dose immunoglobulins in six patients, mean (SD) age 10.48 (2.8) affected by X-linked ALD, on VLCFA restricted diet plus GTOE supplementation therapy. Six patients aged 9.30 (1.5) with similar clinical characteristics and on the same restricted VLCFA regime of GTO/GTE therapy were studied as the control group. After two months VLCFA levels fell to normal values and remained so for all patients throughout the study. These data show that immunoglobulins are not able to arrest the progression of the disease. The MRI and clinical symptoms deteriorated to the same extent in both groups.


Background: There are now indisputable health benefits of nitrite when administered in a clinical setting for specific diseases.  Most of the published reports identify the production of nitric oxide (NO) as the mechanism of action for nitrite.  Basic science as well as clinical studies demonstrates nitrite and/or nitrate can restore NO homeostasis as an endothelium independent source of NO that may be a redundant system for endogenous NO production.  Nitrate must first be reduced to nitrite by oral commensal bacteria and then nitrite further reduced to NO along the physiological oxygen gradient.  Despite decades of rigorous research on its safety and efficacy as a curing agent, sodium nitrite is still regarded by many as a toxic undesirable food additive.  However, research within the biomedical science community has revealed enormous therapeutic benefits of nitrite that is currently being developed as novel therapies for conditions associated with nitric oxide insufficiency.  This review will highlight the fundamental biochemistry of nitrite and nitrate in human physiology and provide evidence that nitrite and nitrate be considered essential nutrients.  Foods or diets enriched with nitrite can have profound positive health benefits.  Keywords:  nitrite, nitrate, nitric oxide, curing, nutrition, epidemiology, cardiovascular, cancer, diet, nitrosamines, antioxidants


Becoming an entrepreneur depends on numerous aspects that influence individuals regarding to their decision. This thesis focuses on entrepreneurial factors triggering people to start thinking and acting entrepreneurially. The purpose is to investigate the relationship between the fact of becoming an entrepreneur and selected driving factors which are grouped into psychological and non-psychological ones. Here, a closer look is taken on the factors 'risk- taking', 'fear of failure', 'age' and 'education' that can affect a person, if someone is more likely to be an entrepreneur or not. For investigating this question, a quantitative research using a secondary data set which was collected with a questionnaire and provided by GEM is conducted. The data set contains information of 558 nascent entrepreneurs in three different countries and is examined with the help of the statistical program SPSS. The analysis of the findings points out that the factor 'age' does not have an influence in any country and in contrast, the factor 'risk taking' is the most influential one compared to all investigated factors. It is not possible to make a general statement if a factor is influential or not because a country-specific consideration is therefore necessary. A ranking of these factors concerning the strength of their influence illustrates that it is different for each country. These results provide a foundation which can be used for future research to examine this topic in a broader and deeper way.


Previous research in inter-organizational information systems (IOIS) is usually organized around three themes: adoption of IOIS, its impact on governing economic transactions, and its organizational consequences (Robey et al., 2008). This article aims to study the factors affecting a specific type of IOIS adoption, the one, within asymmetric strategic alliances. Drawing on qualitative research involving ten cases of asymmetric alliances between Tunisian and European companies, the present study develops a set of testable propositions that sheds light on factors affecting the adoption of IOIS within asymmetric alliances. These mainly refer to the asymmetric alliance as well as a set of technological, organizational and environmental factors.


A new contract will be imposed on junior doctors in England, the health secretary has announced.

Speaking in the House of Commons on Thursday 11 February, Jeremy Hunt said that David Dalton, the government's chief negotiator during negotiations, had said that a breakdown of negotiations meant that a negotiated agreement was unlikely to be reached.

Hunt said that Dalton had asked him to "end the uncertainty" and proceed in introducing a new contract for junior doctors, which Dalton considered to be safer for patients and fair for junior doctors. "I have therefore today decided to do that," Hunt said.

He said that, under the new contract, the maximum hours in a week that junior doctors could work would reduce from 91 to 72 and the number of nights from seven to four, and that the maximum consecutive days a junior doctor could work would reduce from seven to five.

"We will also introduce a new guardian role into every trust, who will have the authority to impose fines for breaches to agreed working hours, based on excess hours worked," he said.

Hunt said that …


This study investigates the evolution and long-run performance of venture-backed and non-venture-backed firms after the initial public offerings (IPOs). We hypothesize that the entrepreneurial ability enables venture-backed firms to keep a good performance in the long run. The results show that firms underperform the market over the five years following the IPOs, with venture-backed firms outperforming non-venture-backed firms. About six years after the IPOs, however, firms still alive outperform the market, with venture-backed firms showing superior performance. We also find that venture-backed firms with glamour performance from year 2 to year 5 after the IPOs tend to maintain good performance from year 6 to year 9. This result supports our hypothesis that the entrepreneurial ability of venture-backed firms lasts for a long period. Putting these results together, we suggest that holding a portfolio consisting of glamour venture-backed stocks listing for about six years is a profitable strategy.


In this paper, we present a cultural model of farmer land conservation. Based on interviews with farmers on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, we identified a set of interrelated knowledge and values that cognitively frames farmer understanding of how best to conserve rural lands. The knowledge represented by this cultural model includes many beliefs and values held by environmentalists and conservationists working on the Eastern Shore to conserve land. However, farmers position those beliefs and values into different arrangements that create constraints and opportunities to integrate farmer land conservation efforts with those of environmentalists and land conservationists. Farmers believe that all land has a best use, that land should be preserved for its best use, and that conservation easements and soil conservation practices best support overall land conservation when they help to make agriculture profitable. The cultural model of farmer land conservation emphasizes the active role that farmers can play ...


BACKGROUND
The aim of this study is to determine if sleep duration in early childhood is associated with cardiometabolic risk (CMR) in later childhood as assessed by a CMR cluster score [sum of age- and sex-standardized z-scores of waist circumference (WC), systolic blood pressure, triglycerides, glucose, and (inverse) high-density lipoprotein (HDL)]. Secondary objectives included examining sleep duration and the individual CMR factors and BMI z-score.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
A prospective cohort study was conducted using data from the TARGet Kids! practice-based research network in Toronto, Canada. Children (n = 597) with parent-reported 24-hour sleep duration in early childhood (12-36 months) and a follow-up visit (36-96 months) with all five CMR factors were included in the analysis. Multivariable linear regression was used to assess the relationship between early childhood sleep duration and later childhood CMR, adjusting for relevant covariates.

RESULTS
Average 24-hour sleep duration in early childhood [mean age: 28.1 (6.6) months] was 11.8 (1.4) hours, with 87% meeting or exceeding total sleep recommendations for their age. Sleep duration in early childhood was not associated with the CMR cluster score in later childhood. Shorter sleep duration was associated with higher HDL concentrations [adjusted β = -0.028 (95% confidence interval: -0.049 to -0.007), p = 0.009].

CONCLUSIONS
Further research is needed to determine if early childhood sleep duration is associated with HDL in later childhood. Future studies, which investigate sleep quality in addition to sleep duration, may be helpful.


International collaboration is being heralded as the hallmark of contemporary scientific production. Yet little quantitative evidence has portrayed the landscape and trends of such collaboration. To this end, 14,000,000 documents indexed in Thomson Reuters's Web of Science (WoS) were studied to provide a state-of-the-art description of scientific collaborations across the world. The results indicate that the number of authors in the largest research teams have not significantly grown during the past decade; however, the number of smaller research teams has seen significant increases in growth. In terms of composition, the largest teams have become more diverse than the latter teams and tend more toward interinstitutional and international collaboration. Investigating the size of teams showed large variation between fields. Mapping scientific cooperation at the country level reveals that Western countries situated at the core of the map are extensively cooperating with each other. High-impact institutions are significantly more collaborative than others. This work should inform policy makers, administrators, and those interested in the progression of scientific collaboration. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


This article shows how the travel accounts of three thirteenth-century Franciscanfriarsprovideawindowintointercultural communications of the medieval world. The three accounts were written by John of Plano Carpini (1245–47), William of Rubruck(1253–55), and John of Montecorvino (1289). Each of the friars traveled from Europe to the Mongol Empire. The article has two themes: first, how the friars' encounters with new lands, peoples, and cultures prompted them to reconsider, but ultimately not recast, their vocational identities; second, how their participation in long-distance networks reinforced their assumptions about Christianity and human nature.


Abstract Second home ownership is often regarded as being positive for the owners. Previous research shows that owning a second home means a great deal for the general satisfaction and quality of life of the owners. Historically, the political goal of expanding second home ownership among the Swedish population was to improve health and well-being and provide access to outdoor recreation and rural landscapes for the growing urban population, which is assumed to correlate with high satisfaction and quality of life among individuals. However, owning a second home does not always relate to positive experiences for owners, an issue not highlighted in previous second home research. Therefore, the purpose of the research presented here is to add to existing theories on second home ownership with special reference to the ambiguous relationships that exist between owners and their second homes. This is done by exploring and describing the group of second home owners who express negative experiences. The data used are retrieved from a nationwide questionnaire survey, targeting a representative sample of second home owners in Sweden during 2009. Results show that some 72,000 second home owners in Sweden can be defined as less satisfied and that age, health and income are important for ownership satisfaction.


Background This study aimed to assess the effects of maternal self-efficacy and oral health-related knowledge on pre-school children oral hygiene behavior. Materials and Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on 301 mothers with children aged 2–6 years old randomly selection from health centers of Tabriz, Iran.  Data were collected using self-report questionnaires including demographic characteristics, maternal self-efficacy, oral health-related knowledge, and children's oral hygiene behavior. Data were analyzed using SPSS 16 using one-way ANOVA, Independent samples t-test, and multiple linear regressions at 95% significant level. Results The mean age of children was 4.1(standard deviation [SD] =1.4; range: 2–6 years). The mean score (SD) of children oral hygiene behavior was 5.4 (1.9). The mean score (SD) of mothers knowledge and self-efficacy were 4.9 (1.8) and 46.6 (14.8), respectively. 44.2% (133/301) of mothers had low self-efficacy and 55.8% (168/301) high self-efficacy. The children oral hygiene behavior was significantly and positively associated with maternal self-efficacy (r = 0.517, P < 0.001) and oral health-related knowledge (r = 0.363, P < 0.001). Conclusion According to the results of this study, mothers' self-efficacy and knowledge was the strongest predicator of children oral hygiene behavior. So, educational interventions to improve maternal self-efficacy and knowledge may be beneficial for children oral health habits.


Purpose: To evaluate the enhancement profile of the macrocyclic contrast medium (CM) gadobutrol in comparison to linear CM GdDTPA in DCE-MRI of the prostate. Materials and Methods: In total 53 patients with prostata cancer (PCa) were included, who received a radical prostatectomy after multiparametric MRI of the prostate including DCE-MRI. Using circular regions of interests normal peripheral zone (PZ) and PCa foci > 5mm in diameter (42 and 34 foci in Gd-DTPA and gadobutrol group, respectively) were analysed in DCE-MRI. Enhancement curves (Type I, II and III) and pharmacokinetic parameters were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively and compared using mixed linear models (two sided p-values <0.05 were regarded significant). Results: There was no significant difference in frequencies of curve types I, II or III in the normal PZ (p =0.63) or in PCa foci (p =0.75). PCa with a Gleason score ≥7 had in comparison to Gleason ≤6 significantly more often a Wash-Out-curve (Type III) with both CM (p=0.02). The relative peak enhancement was in the PZ (Gd-DTPA 1.4 a. u. [1.20; 1.59], gadobutrol 1.58 a. u. [1.37; 1.78]) and in PCa foci (Gd-DTPA 1.56 a. u. [1.41; 1.71], gadobutrol 1.76 a. u. [1.59; 1.94]) significantly higher with gadobutrol (p =0.04). The pharmacokinetic parameters Ktrans und kep were higher in PCa foci than in PZ (p <0.0001 and p=0.002, respectively) without significant difference of the parameter values between both CM (p=0.65). Conlusion: This study is the first systematic comparison of gadobutrol and Gd-DTPA in DCE-MRI of the prostate. The relative peak enhancement is higher using gadobutrol compared to Gd-DTPA in DCE-MRI. There was no statistically significant difference in curve types or the pharmacokinetic parameters in PCa or normal PZ between both CM. Key Points: ▶ Gadobutrol yields a higher and faster peak enhancement in prostate cancer and in the normal peripheral zone compared to GdDTPA. ▶ There was no statistically significant difference observed in curve type frequencies and pharmacokinetic parameters between both CM. ▶ Gadobutrol as Gd-DTPA appear to be suitable for DCE-MRI of the prostate for prostate cancer detection. Citation Format: ▶ Durmus T, Vollnberg B, Schwenke C et al. Dynamic Contrast Enhanced MRI of the Prostate: Comparison of Gadobutrol and Gd-DTPA. Fortschr Röntgenstr 2013; 862–868


A novel structural performance/health assessment method, denoted as GILS-EKF-UI, is under development by the research team at the University of Arizona. The procedure is essentially inverse solution of a system identificationbased algorithm in the presence of uncertainty. The unique feature of the algorithm is that it can identify members' properties and in the process access the performance/health of a structural system using only noise-contaminated dynamic response information measured at few locations completely ignoring the excitation information. The experimental and analytical verification of the method is emphasized in this paper. To verify the GILS-EKF-UI method using minimum response information, a substructure is considered. A two-dimensional defect-free steel frame is identified using limited analytical (noise-free and noisecontaminated) and experimental responses. Several defects were then introduced in the frame. Two defects in particular; by removing a member and by reducing the cross sectional area of a member over a finite length, are presented in the paper. In all cases, the GILS-EKF-UI method predicted the health of the frame by correctly identifying the defect and its location, conclusively establishing the viability of the novel concept.


Consistent modelling of multipass hot rolling processes has to account for numerous interdependencies within the process. With
a growing number of passes, the sensitivity of the model output with respect to variations in the input parameters plays a vital role for assessing the accuracy and stability of the computation. This study details a new concept of using Automatic Differentiation (AD) to obtain
exact derivatives of the output values of the numerical model for plate rolling. It is shown that the sensitivities of the roll force with respect to
selected material and process parameters can be computed through AD technology. As use case the rolling of a plain C-Mn steel plate is
analysed. The results show substantial differences in the influence characteristics of particular input parameters.


Myocardial adaptive reserves and their relation to the function of the adrenocorticohypophyseal system were examined in 69 patients with coronary heart disease. To define the adaptation of the myocardium during exercise, the index of myocardial adaptation was used. The function of the adrenocorticohypophyseal system was judged from blood levels of somatotropic hormone and cortisol before, at the peak, and 2 hours after exercise testing. A substantial decrease in myocardial adaptive capacity was found in CHD patients as compared with healthy subjects. These abnormalities proved to be more marked in patients with clinical signs of severe coronary failure than in those with moderate coronary circulatory failure. It was concluded that the function of the adrenocorticohypophyseal system was one of the factors determining myocardial adaptation during exercise in patients with coronary heart disease.


UNSOED has LAN connection which covers almost all of its units, with minimum bandwidth consupmtionat anaverage of275,318 Kbpsfrom a total of 3 Mbpsso we may apply VoIP system in order to replace voice communication system whichis still using PSTN and PABX. Thereforewe need to know aboutjitter and packet loss ofLAN,and also the codec needs tobedetermined due to voice quality expected and also bandwidth consumpted. Measurementscarried out in two scenariosbased on topologies used in UNSOED (star and ring), in the first scenario (star and ring)server placed on serverfarm meanwhile the second scenario(ring) server placed on Pertanian node. Codec adjusted to the available bandwidth capacity and total of phone number that has to handled. The result show that 0,759 ms jitter obtained from scenario 1 and 0,513ms from scenario 2, both of them included in good category with 0-20 ms of range value, otherwise 0% of packetloss obtained from both scenarios these indicated that LANincluded in good category. There is iLBCcodec with 30 ms packet size which is the mosteconomic on bandwidthcost among G.729, G.711, and iLBC (20 ms), because it cost1995,84Kbpsof total bandwidth usedforhandling 140 phone number. Beside that, it has good voice quality with 4,138996 MOS value. So if we use iLBC (30 ms) codec on the VoIPsystem, there will be still a lot of free bandwidth which can used for other applications, it is about 695,873 Kbps(worst condition) and also get a good-voice quality-VoIP.


Avalanches usually occur in steep, snow-covered mountain sides under special conditions. The stability of the snowpack depends, among other things, on the melting and freezing of the snowpack. If a snow covered area has not undergone a melt/freeze-process, it could potentially be unstable due to depth hoar or buried layers of frost, and therefore pose an avalanche risk if the area is located at a steep enough mountain side. Additionally, when the snow has been wet early in the winter, it can form a frozen crust later. This crust could constitute the sliding layer when large amounts of new snow accumulates, but the same crust could also contribute to forming unstable layers in the snow by acting as a lid and trapping water vapor from the bottom of the snowpack. These mechanisms are important for avalanche buildup, and improved information from remote sensing could be valuable for avalanche forecasting. C-band SAR can be used to detect wet snow. Time series of maps with detected wet snow can be made by combining SAR data from periods of melting snow with reference SAR data from a period of dry snow. Since wet snow absorbs radar waves, one can detect wet snow by a scattering coefficient reduction of -3dB or more. A pattern was found in four of the seven avalanche events studied, which might be used to predict future avalanches.


Section headings and selected papers: Plenary Papers: Teleoperation, telerobotics, and telepresence: a progress report, T. B. Sheridan. Human Performance Models. Human intervention in supervisory control, N. Moray & J. Lee. Knowledge Engineering and Expert Systems. Man-machine aspects of computer-aided interactive grasp planning, A. J. Kasinski. Task Allocation and Work Design. Robots, working conditions and job content: opportunities and hindrances for the improvement of the quality of working life, J. C. M. Mossink & M. H. H. Peeters. Manual Control I. Sensory substitution for force feedback in teleoperation, M. J. Massimino & T. B. Sheridan. Human Performance and Mental Load Models. Adaptation to unexpected variations of an inertial load in goal directed movements, R. Happee. Training Procedures. The design, implementation and evaluation of a novel training environment for control operators, N. V. Findler. Supervisory Control. Modeling and analysis of manned robotic systems, P. H. Wewerinke. Human-Machine Interfaces I. Alarm filtering vs. failure prediction: how best to reduce operator overload, P. F. Elzer et al. Decision Support Systems I. Manual Control II. Human Reliability. Modelling the human factor, J. A. Stoop. Human-Machine Interfaces II. Decision Support Systems II. Field evaluation of knowledge based systems: the medical system plexus, C. Van Daalen. Round Table Discussions. Author index. Keyword index.


Reperfusion of the previously ischemic myocardium causes a burst of reactive oxygen species production that eventually leads to tissue damage. In the present study, the effect of long-term treatment with a red wine extract-containing antioxidant supplement (Super S.O.D) on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury was examined in rats. To investigate the biochemical mechanism(s) involved in the cardioprotection, the effects of Super S.O.D treatment on myocardial mitochondrial antioxidant and structural parameters were also investigated. Long-term treatment with Super S.O.D (0.55 and 1.10 g/kg/day x 15) caused a dose-dependent protection against myocardial I/R injury in rats, as evidenced by the significant decrease in the extent of lactate dehydrogenase leakage. The cardioprotection was associated with increases in reduced glutathione level and antioxidant enzyme activities, including glutathione reductase, glutathione S-transferases and Mn-superoxide dismutase, and decreases in the extents of malodialdehyde production, Ca2+ loading and cytochrome c release, in non-ischemic and ischemic-reperfused rat hearts. The results indicated that long-term Super S.O.D treatment enhanced myocardial mitochondrial antioxidant status and structural integrity, thereby protecting against I/R injury.


The Russian system of the Interior is the central institution carrying out crime prevention activities. It is provided with sufficient juridical and actual potentials. Prevention activities process is based on the following principles: legality, social justice, humanity, comprehension, individual approach, timeliness and preventiveness. The trends of improvements in crime prevention implemented by the Russian system of the Interior are: general, individual and victimologic preventiveness; the use of preventive potentials related with criminal-procedural, criminal-executive and administrative legal basis; co-operation with society, political parties and movements, religious confessions and mass media; advancement of human and material resources and development of research, organisational, methodical, information and material-technical spheres. Conclusions: Crime prevention is one of the preventive trends to combat criminality. The development of this sphere is an exceptionally important factor in the decrease of crime rate in Russia. It plays a crucial role in the implementation of prospective social and economic objectives of the country.


At the incitation of Prof. Dr. B. G. Escher I undertook, in the springs of 1925 and 1926 the geological investigation of the Northern part of the Luganese Porphyry-district. I thus mapped one of the parts of this district, which remained to be revised, since T. Harada in 1883 published his thesis on the petrography of these regions. The investigated area is bounded to the North by the Tresa river, at the same time part of the Swiss-Italian frontier, and running from Ponte Tresa on the Lago di Lugano to Luino on the Lago Maggiore; on the West by the shore of the last mentioned lake between Luino and Porto Valtravaglia. The southern border is given by the broken line: Ponte Tresa-Marchirolo-Cugliate-Cunardo-Ferrera-Mesenzana-San Michele-Porto Valtravaglia.


We report a new method to measure the CO(2)-laser-irradiation-induced refractive index modulation in the core of a single-mode optical fiber for the purpose of design and fabrication of long-period fiber gratings (LPFGs) without applying tension. Using an optical fiber Fabry-Perot interferometer, the laser-induced axial refractive index perturbation was measured. We found that the CO(2)-laser-irradiation-induced refractive index change in the fiber core had a negative value and that the magnitude was a sensitive function of the laser exposure time following almost a linear relation. Under the assumption of a Gaussian-shaped refractive index modulation profile and based on the first two terms of Fourier series approximation, the measured refractive index perturbations were used to simulate the LPFG transmission spectra. LPFGs with the same laser exposure parameters were fabricated without applying tension, and their spectra were compared with those obtained by simulations.


In this paper a type of Heath, Jarrow and Morton (1992) (HJM) based affine model is derived theoretically. This type of affine model is obtained by applying Linear Realization Theory to construct Finite Dimensional Realizations (FDRs) of the Gaussian HJM model. The algorithms of constructing Standard Observable Canonical Realization and Jordan Canonical Realization are introduced sequentially. And it is shown that the commonly adopted FDR is actually Jordan Canonical Realization. The empirical results show that a two-factor model of this type provides great fit to the term structure of interest rates data. The resulting state variables have clear economic interpretations. And it is found that the short end of the term structure can be precisely considered as a "medium-run factor" which uniformly shifts the yield curve. This finding has an important implication for bond portfolios management, and also helps us better understand the interactions between macro-economy and term structure dynamics.


ASTROPHYSICS
The origin of gamma-ray bursts (GRB)—energetic, short-duration flashes of bright gamma rays—is unknown. Recent observations of iron-intensified x-ray emissions in the afterglow of GRB991216 about one and one-half days after the main burst (see [Piro][1] et al. , Reports, 3 November 2000) have underscored the need for explanatory models. An existing two-stage model posits a supernova explosion followed several days later by the burst of gamma rays; this allows the stellar remnant to expand before the burst-induced blast wave interacts with the envelope and results in the iron-intensified emissions.

Rees and Meszaros offer an alternative scenario, beginning with a stellar collapse of either a rapidly spinning neutron star (collapsar model) or the highly magnetized torus of a black hole (magnetar model) into the GRB progenitor. The burst would occur soon afterwards, producing the bright flash followed by the decay of the x-ray continuum in the afterglow from the GRB blast wave. The iron-intensified x-ray emissions would develop later, due to the interaction of the GRB blast wave with the magnetohydrodynamic wind emanating from the recently collapsed and possibly not quite stable neutron star or black hole. — LR

Astrophys. J. 545 , L73 (2000).

 [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.290.5493.955


The background of this research was to investigate the main and interactive effects of the severity  of the service failure, specifically investigate the main effect of service failure severity on satisfaction, trust, commitment, and negative word of mouth. This investigation of the role of the severity construct will aid researchers and managers in better understanding and managing the service  recovery process under different conditions. The objectives of this research is to extends previous research by investigating the role of service  failure severity within the existing framework of customer's post-recovery evaluation and their  future relationship with a service provider. The design of this research applies a survey toward unit analysis on customer Auto2000 Jakarta,  which involved 142 respondent.the number of sample being respondent in this research. Meanwhile,  the required data consist of five variables : service failure severity, satisfaction, trust, commitment and negative word of mouth. The result of the study concludes that service failure severity has a significant main effect on  satisfaction with service recovery. Despite the positif influence of a strong recovery on  satisfaction,there remained a negatif influence on satisfaction as a result of a more severe service failure. In addition , the severity of a service failure also had a main effect on customer trust,  commitment and the likelihood of engaging in negative word of mouth after the service failure. Keywords : Service failure severity, satisfaction, trust, commitment and negative word of mouth


The high development of science and technology affects the economic growth and industrialization process. The industrialization process produces industrial waste which contain heavy metal such as copper (Cu). This industrial waste can harm the environment surronding industrial areas where 15 million or 6% of the Indonesian population live. In order to overcome this problem, mesoporous silica material Santa Barbara Amorphous-15 (SBA-15) is used as an adsorbent. SBA-15 was synthesized through sol gel process using tetraorthosilicate as precursor, Pluronic 123 triblock copolymer as template, and (3-chloropropyl)trimethoxysilane (CPTMS) as functionalized agent. CPTMS was used to modify the SBA-15 surface in order to improve the materials as adsorbent. The materials were characterized using SAXRD and TEM to study material's cristallinity and pore structure, the presence of organic group was examined using FTIR, the surface area of SBA-15 and SBA-15 CPTMS were characterized using Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) N 2 adsorption isotherm test at 77 K, and the ions concentration in solution after adsorption process was determined using AAS. The crystal structure of SBA-15 and SBA-15 CPTMS was found 2D heksagonal with a more regular SBA-15 pore structure than SBA-15 CPTMS. The surface area of SBA-15-CPTMS was found to be lower than SBA-15, 711.061 m2/g in comparison to 831.996 m 2 /g. However, in copper adsorption test, it was found that SBA-15-CPTMS has higher adsorption ability.


Internet-wide scanning depends on a notion of liveness: does a target IP address respond to a probe packet? However, the interpretation of such responses, or lack of them, is nuanced and depends on multiple factors, including: how we probed, how different protocols in the network stack interact, the presence of filtering policies near the target, and temporal churn in IP responsiveness. Although often neglected, these factors can significantly affect the results of active measurement studies. We develop a taxonomy of liveness which we employ to develop a method to perform concurrent IPv4 scans using ICMP, five TCP-based, and two UDP-based protocols, comprehensively capturing all responses to our probes, including negative and cross-layer responses. Leveraging our methodology, we present a systematic analysis of liveness and how it manifests in active scanning campaigns, yielding practical insights and methodological improvements for the design and the execution of active Internet measurement studies.


Texture analysis for quantification of intratumor uptake heterogeneity in PET/CT images has received increasing attention. This allows the extraction of a large number of 'radiomic' features to be correlated with end point information such as tumor type, therapy response, prognosis. The conventional complex workflow for calculation of texture features introduces numerous confounding variables. This non exhaustively includes, imaging time post administration of radiopharmaceutical and the method and extent of functional volume segmentation. A lack of understanding on the dependency of texture features with these variables serves as a detriment to the urgent need to standardize texture measurements to pool results from different imaging centers. The utilization of machine learning techniques for feature (and their combinations) selection serves as a promising method to alleviate redundancy in radiomics. To this avail, we introduce for the first time the application of a Kohonen self-organizing feature map to identify the emergent properties present when performing texture analysis. The application of the self-organizing map to radiomic analysis serves as a powerful general-purpose exploratory instrument to reveal the statistical indicators of texture distributions. For this purpose, texture features from PET-CT images of 8 pre-clinical mice with mammary carcinoma xenografts were analyzed with varying post injection imaging time and tumor segmentation contour size. This varying distribution of texture parameters were interpreted by the self-organizing map to reveal two distinct clusters of texture features which are dependent on contour size, providing additional evidence that contour size and hence segmentation method is a confounding variable when performing texture analysis. Furthermore, the self-organizing map can be utilized as a method to incorporate this revealed dependency in a prediction model in the presence of end point information, which will be an area of future work.


Source-to-source analysis aims at supporting the reuse of analysis results
similar to code reuse. The reuse of program code is a common
technique which attempts to save time and costs by reducing redundant
work. We want to avoid re-analyzing parts of a software system, such
as library code. In the ideal case the analysis results are directly
associated with the program itself. Source-to-source analysis supports
this through program annotations. Further more, to get the best out of
available software analysis tools, we aim at enabling the
combination of the analysis results of different tools. In order to
allow this, tools must be able to process another tool's analysis
results. This enables numerous applications such as automatic
annotation of interfaces, testing of analyses by checking the results
of an analysis against provided annotations, domain aware analysis by
utilizing domain-specific program annotations, and making analysis
results persistent as annotations in source code.

The design of the {em Static Analysis Tool Integration Engine}
(SATIrE cite{satirewebsite}) allows to map source code annotations to
its intermediate program representation as well as generating source
code annotations from analysis results that are attached to the
intermediate representation. The technical challenges are the design
of the analysis information annotation language, the bidirectional
propagation of the analysis information through different phases of
the internal translation processes, and the combination of the
different analyses through the plug-in mechanism. In its current
version SATIrE targets C/C++ programs. In this paper we present the
approach of source-to-source analysis and show in a detailed example
analysis how we support this approach in SATIrE.


Several studies report that judges on panels together with at least one judge of a different political party (a "mixed panel") tend to moderate their votes, particularly on politically charged subject matter cases. We examine whether this observed moderation in voting is the product of bargaining among mixed panel judges, where authoring judges, who might otherwise face a dissenting vote (or find themselves in dissent), trade their votes for the ability to craft a unanimous majority opinion closer to their own policy preferences and thereby affect the opinion's precedential value. Using judicial citation patterns within individual opinions as a proxy for how judges reason, we report that authoring judges on mixed panels are more likely to employ partisan reasoning for opinions relating to salient subject matter areas. Partisan reasoning in top salient areas is higher where the authoring judges have more bargaining leverage over opposite party judges on the same panel. Finally, partisanship in top salient areas is greater for authoring judges who have greater skill at writing influential opinions. The overall pattern is consistent with judges engaging in covering: moderating their voting when associated with an opposite party judge on the same panel, a highly visible activity, but adjusting the judicial reasoning in the opinion to tilt the decision back toward the authoring judge's own preferred ideological position, a less visible activity done under the cover of the more visible, moderated vote.


The short-range and near ground measurements of signal attenuation in the UHF band are performed to study radio wave propagation in a car park for a wireless sensor network application. The measurement setup is based on the radio wave propagation along the row of a parking lot (full of cars) by varying heights of server antenna. In the application, a small antenna and a compact antenna are employed at the server antenna and the sensor antenna respectively, by radiating horizontal polarization. The test points are located under cars and above ground. The transmitter is radiated at 433 MHz with 120 cm, 180 cm and 240 cm of antenna height. The propagation models, such as the two-ray model and the free-space model, are compared with measurement results. These results can be used to approximate the signal level in practical planning of wireless sensor network systems in car parks.


For this investigation, ignition lag, as previously defined, is a time required for a reaction to build up an arbitrary pressure of the order of two inches of water. This definition is of particular interest in the study of liquid rockets since the rate of pressure build-up from the spontaneous reaction propellant components is important in the performance of the rocket motor. It makes possible a comparison of propellant combinations to determine which would be better so far as the time lag in reaching the critical pressure ratio is concerned.

It was found that under any one set of conditions it was possible to reproduce data consistently within ten percent. These consequently resulted in very smooth relationships which are of a nature that was generally expected in each case.

In the investigation it was found that at temperatures near the freezing point of aniline, ignition lags were of the order of 12 to 16 milliseconds. On reaching ordinary room temperatures the lag was reduced by a factor of three or four. Beyond this range the effect of temperature change was not so pronounced, and the curve tends to straighten out (see Figure 3). A temperature increase of 80 degrees beyond 100 degrees F produces a decrease of only 14 percent in ignition lag.

For the effect of dilution of the BPNA with water, two relationships were obtained--one by dropping acid into aniline, the other by reversing the two components. These relationships are plotted in Figure 2 and show that a small percentage of water as an impurity in acid will produce little noticeable effect on ignition. This should be of interest to those working with acid-aniline motors in the field. It is believed that the correct values of ignition lag for mixture ratios of a motor lie between the two curves plotted. For relatively pure acid and commercial grade aniline, 3 to 5 milliseconds were required to build up a pressure of two inches of water in a chamber of 2.655 liters volume.

By using several burettes of different tip sizes, it was shown that drops having volumes of more than about 0.0475 milliliters produced approximately the same ignition lags. Two curves, one for acid into aniline and the other for aniline into acid, are plotted in Figure 1 and give the relationship between drop volume and ignition lag. There is an almost constant difference of about two milliseconds between these two curves, which seems to be characteristic of which component is dropped into the other.


The pearl spot Etroplus suratensis the State Fish of Kerala is an indigenous cichlid fish distributed along the east and west coasts of India. The pearl spot wealth was about 2,000 tonnes in 2001 in Kerala. In 20 1 I , it decreased to about 300 to 350 tonnes. In addition to its high demand in the local market it has good export market also.
Pearl spot is farmed using wild seeds in traditional ponds in Kerala. The average production is about 1 000 kg/ha/year over 8-10 month grow-out period. Pond culture is not
recommended for large scale production of the fish.
However, culture of this species in cages has shown its
potential for monoculture and polyculture with other
brackishwaterfishes. Cage culture is the most suitable method to enhance pearl spot production.