Recent biodiversity declines require action across sectors such as agriculture. The situation is particularly acute for arthropods, a species‐rich taxon providing important ecosystem services. To counteract the negative consequences of agricultural intensification, creating a less hostile agricultural 'matrix' through growing crop mixtures can reduce harm for arthropods without yield losses.

While grassland biodiversity experiments showed positive plant biodiversity effects on arthropods, experiments manipulating crop diversity and agrochemical input used to study arthropods are lacking.

Here, we experimentally manipulated crop diversity (1–3 species, fallows), crop species (wheat, faba bean, linseed and oilseed rape) and agrochemical input (high vs. low) and studied responses of arthropod biodiversity. We tested whether arthropod responses were affected by crop diversity, mixtures and management. Additionally, we measured crop biomass.

Crop biomass increased with crop diversity under high‐input management, while under low management intensity, biomass was highest in two‐species mixtures.

Increasing crop diversity positively affected arthropod abundance and diversity, under both low‐ and high‐input management. Crop mixtures containing faba bean, linseed or oilseed rape had particularly high arthropod diversity.

Mass‐flowering crops attracted more arthropods than legumes or cereals. Integrating intercropping into agricultural systems could increase flower visits by insects up to 1.5 million per hectare, thus likely also supporting pollination and pest‐control ecosystem services.

Flower visitor network complexity increased in mixtures containing linseed and faba bean and under low‐input management.

Intercropping can counteract insect declines in farmland by creating beneficial matrix habitat without compromising crop yield.


A im: The present study was carried out to identify the correlations between oral carriage of Candida in oral pre-cancer and cancer conditions and to explore the antimicrobial activities of selected plant leaves extracts of Lawsonia inermis, Withania somnifer, Curcuma longa, Cymbopogon citrates and Zingiber officinale.

Material & methods: Clinical isolates of C. albicans were obtained from the oral cavity of five different groups. Speciation of Candida was performed by performing germ tube test. Histopathology was done to study hyphae level. Spectrophotometric analysis of SAP level was performed.

Further, leaves extract of ten selected plant prepared in DMSO solution have been chosen for the investigation of in vitro antifungal activity which acts as expectorant and not having toxic properties on humans while for comparison or control, antifungal drugs have been taken.

Results: Hyphae levels and CFU were higher in individuals with leukoplakia and OSCC than in control (P = 0.001). Further, a correlation between CFU, hyphae level and SAP level was also observed at all the stages.

Herbal extracts of Lawsonia inermis, Withania somnifer, Curcuma longa, Cymbopogon citrates and Zingiber officinale gives the best inhibitory effect and they have the potential to control growth of Candida albicans.

Conclusion: The increasing SAP level and hyphae of C. albicans in individuals biopsy tissue of patients with leukoplakia, erythroplakia to OSCC suggests that this pathogen plays a role in disease development and could aid in identifying the pathogenic commensal. Plant products can be useful in treating Candida infection.


The Building Research Establishment (BRE) of the United Kingdom has developed a simple design method for the determination of the capacity of composite slabs in fire. The method, based on ambient temperature large-deflection plastic theory, predicts the capacity by calculating the enhancement added by tensile membrane action to the theoretical yield-line load of the slab. Tensile membrane action is a load-carrying mechanism experienced by thin slabs undergoing large vertical deflections, where stretching of the midplane produces a central area of tensile force balanced by a peripheral ring of compressive force. The use of this mechanism in structural fire engineering introduces safety and economy, as a large number of floor beams can be left unprotected. The method, developed on the assumption that the slabs are simply-supported, also assumes that the development of the tensile membrane mechanism is maintained at elevated temperatures. An analytical procedure for the determination of this membrane capacity has recently been developed by the University of Edinburgh. It argues that the development of tensile membrane action at elevated temperatures differs from that at ambient temperature, and that the tensile forces developed in the centre of the slab can only be balanced by sufficient anchorage along the slab's boundaries. Experimental investigations on large-deflection behaviour of simply-supported slabs at ambient and elevated temperatures, conducted at the University of Sheffield, have confirmed the variation in the mechanism at ambient and elevated temperatures, but have identified that the load-carrying capacity can be effectively developed without the horizontal anchorage along the slab's boundaries. These observations have led to the belief that thermal gradients, acting alone through the depth of the slab, can induce considerable amounts of tensile membrane action. This paper therefore investigates this phenomenon in simply-supported thin slabs. It examines 1 Research Student, Dept. of Civil & Structural Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK Email: firstname.lastname@example.com 2 Professor, Dept. of Civil & Structural Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK Email: firstname.lastname@example.com 3 Professor, School of Architectural Studies, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK Email: email@example.com displacements and stresses developed at ambient and elevated temperatures, using the Rayleigh-Ritz approach. Good comparisons are made with finite element analyses.


We present high spatial resolution Chandra X-ray images of the NGC 2237 young stellar cluster on the periphery of the Rosette Nebula. We detect 168 X-ray sources, 80% of which have stellar counterparts in USNO, Two Micron All Sky Survey, and deep FLAMINGOS images. These constitute the first census of the cluster members with 0.2 ≲ M ≲ 2 M☉. Star locations in near-infrared color–magnitude diagrams indicate a cluster age around 2 Myr with a visual extinction of 1 ≲ AV ≲ 3 at 1.4 kpc, the distance of the Rosette Nebula's main cluster NGC 2244. We derive the K-band luminosity function and the X-ray luminosity function of the cluster, which indicate a population ∼400–600 stars. The X-ray-selected sample shows a K-excess disk frequency of 13%. The young Class II counterparts are aligned in an arc ∼3 pc long suggestive of a triggered formation process induced by the O stars in NGC 2244. The diskless Class III sources are more dispersed. Several X-ray emitting stars are located inside the molecular cloud and around gaseous pillars projecting from the cloud. These stars, together with a previously unreported optical outflow originating inside the cloud, indicate that star formation is continuing at a low level and the cluster is still growing. This X-ray view of young stars on the western side of the Rosette Nebula complements our earlier studies of the central cluster NGC 2244 and the embedded clusters on the eastern side of the Nebula. The large-scale distribution of the clusters and molecular material is consistent with a scenario in which the rich central NGC 2244 cluster formed first, and its expanding H ii region triggered the formation of the now-unobscured satellite clusters Rosette Molecular Cloud (RMC) XA and NGC 2237. A large swept-up shell material around the H ii region is now in a second phase of collect-and-collapse fragmentation, leading to the recent formation of subclusters. Other clusters deeper in the molecular cloud appear unaffected by the Rosette Nebula expansion.


This Article aims to recast debate about race, policing, and the drug war by critically examining its central features. There are numerous efforts to identify and eliminate racial profiling, which is frequently depicted as an important cause of the widespread investigation and mistreatment of innocent blacks and Latinos. My argument, in brief, is that policymakers should abandon efforts to ferret out and eliminate racial profiling. This conclusion rests on three observations. First, efforts to prove racial profiling often will founder on empirical findings that invite contrary interpretations. Second, if officers engage in racial profiling because it helps them to apprehend drug traffickers, then efforts to eliminate the practice without altering drug policy may be futile or counterproductive. Finally, the problems most commonly associated with racial profiling do not necessarily turn on whether officers actually engage in racial profiling. These problems could persist in the absence of racial profiling or be meaningfully addressed without actually eliminating racial profiling. Instead, policy reform should address the race-related consequences of the drug war, particularly the high level of incarceration of racial minorities. The racial concentration of incarceration poses issues of distributional fairness and may also increase aggregate social costs. The strategic brilliance of the campaign against racial profiling is that it reduces complex issues to the simple and arresting image of the irrational and racially discriminatory investigation of innocent people. Yet, in doing so it may obscure, rather than identify, remedies for the problems that arise at the intersection of race, policing, and the drug war.


To simplify the complicated operation steps and to minimize sample and reagent amounts for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), we developed a square glass capillary immunosensor containing both covalently immobilized capture antibodies and physically adsorbed enzyme-linked antibodies. The immobilization of capture antibodies (anti-human IgG) was carried out by the treatment of 3-aminopropyltriethoxy silane, glutaraldehyde, and protein-A, followed by affinity capture of the antibody. In contrast, the enzyme-linked antibodies (alkaline phosphatase (ALP)-linked anti-human IgG) were physically adsorbed on the four corners of the capillary with the aid of polyethylene glycol (PEG) acting as a scaffold. A nanoliter volume of antigen (human IgG)-containing sample solution was introduced via capillary action. This addition resulted in the release and diffusion of ALP-linked anti-human IgG into the bulk solution. This event led to a 20-min single-step sandwich immunoreaction at the inner wall of capillary; the reaction was detected through the reaction with fluorescein diphosphate (FDP) which generated a fluorescent product, fluorescein. Using this technique, we obtained an intra-capillary precision with a coefficient of variation of 9.7%. In addition, the specificity study showed that the human IgG capillary immunosensor did not respond to rabbit IgG. Quantitative analysis was possible within the response range of 10 – 5000 ng mL^−1 anti-human IgG. This capillary immunosensor can act as a single analytical unit or can be integrated into a capillary array for multiple bioanalysis.


The goal of helping students to become ethical citizens is a concern of college educators. There have been a number of factors, which seem to contribute to this goal. Religious inclination is one factor that researchers have considered. We would expect religious people to be highly ethical. However, research suggests that is not the case. In fact, some research suggests that religion can inhibit moral growth. In most cases, religiosity negatively affected moral development.


Several states have a statutory civil right to counsel in certain types of cases, but the legislative intent that led to the passage of these statutes has received little attention until now. Although many of these statutes concern child welfare — for example, keeping children out of foster care when possible — there is no reason to believe that a legislature's willingness to expand or improve the right to counsel is necessarily limited to the child welfare arena. In passing these statutes, legislators were motivated by expectations of financial savings, a desire to fix failing state child welfare bureaucracies, and notions of fundamental fairness. These statutes bundled the civil right to counsel with larger pieces of societal reform legislation as a means to an end rather than an end in itself. Legislatures often provide funding for specific types of civil legal aid that have been shown to save government money or to have other beneficial effects. There are statutes providing for a right to counsel in cases concerning civil commitment, mandatory medical treatment, paternity, and other types of legal disputes. Civil right to counsel legislation may be more likely to succeed if it is part of broader legislation aimed at solving a social problem than if it is proposed as a stand-alone bill that lacks the same level of support. An examination of the civil right to counsel legislation as it pertains to child welfare reveals that there is no single path to success because varying political climates mean that a statute or political strategy that succeeds in one place may not succeed in another. Understanding the legislative motivations that led to the enactment of these statutes can prove useful to advocates who seek the expansion of the civil right to counsel.


Densities of single and multiple macro- and micronutrients were estimated in the mature kernels of 1348 accessions in 13 maize genotypes. The germplasm belonged to stiff stalk (SS) and non-stiff stalk (NS) heterotic groups (HGs) with one (S1) to four (S4) years of inbreeding (IB), or open pollination (OP), and with opaque or translucent endosperm (OE and TE, respectively). Indices were calculated for macronutrients (M-Index), micronutrients (m-Index) and an index based on Fe and Zn densities (FeZn-Index). The objectives were to (1) build predictive models and quantify multivariate relationships between single and multiple nutrients with physical and biochemical constituents of the maize kernel; (2) quantify the effects of IB stages and endosperm textures, in relation to carbon and nitrogen allocation, on nutrients and their indices; and (3) develop and test the utility of hierarchical multi-way classification of nutrients with kernel color space coordinates. Differences among genotypes and among IB stages accounted for the largest amount of variation in most nutrients and in all indices, while genotypic response to IB within HGs explained 52.4, 55.9, and 76.0% of variation in the M-Index, m-Index, and FeZn-Index, respectively. Differences in C and N allocation among HGs explained more variation in all indices than respective differences in allocation among endosperm (E) textures, while variation decreased with sequential inbreeding compared to OP germplasm. Specific color space coordinates indicated either large macronutrient densities and M-Index, or large micronutrient densities, m-Index, and FeZn-Index. These results demonstrated the importance of genotypes and the C:N ratio in nutrient allocation, as well as bivariate and multiple interrelationships.


Aqueous extracts of seeds of Terminaliachebula (TCE) was used as an eco-friendly green inhibitor for the corrosion control of aluminium in 0.01M phosphoric acid medium. The study was done by potentiodynamic polarization technique using Tafel extrapolation technique and by A.C electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technique at different temperatures and at different inhibitor concentrations. Kinetic and thermodynamic parameters for corrosion and inhibition process were calculated and discussed in detail. The percentage efficiency of the inhibitor obtained by the two methods was compared and reported. The result indicated that TCE is a good inhibitor. The efficiency of the inhibitor increased with increase in the inhibitor concentration and decreased with temperature. The adsorption of the TCE on the surface of the metal obeyed Langmuir's adsorption isotherm. TCE acted as anodic inhibitor in 0.01M phosphoric acid medium and followed physisorption on the surface of aluminium. Percentage efficiency of the inhibitor evaluated by both the methods was found to be in good agreement with one another


This paper specifies a general set of conditions under which the impacts of a policy can be identified using data generated under a different policy regime. We show that some of the policy impacts can be identified under relatively weak conditions on the data and structure of a model. Based on the identification results we develop estimators of policy impacts. We discuss a nonparametric method to implement the estimation but also discuss semiparametric methods in order to reduce the conditioning dimension. We then provide an empirical example of the impact of tuition subsidies using the ideas. While the framework used in this paper is fairly narrow, we believe this approach can be applied to a broad set of problems.


This study aims to determine the right marketing strategy and competitive by first identifying, assessing internal factors and external environment affecting the company. This is done by using the method of SWOT analysis (Strength, Weakness, Oppurtunity, Threat), who coined by Albert Humphrey. SWOT Analysis is the analysis used to evaluate business opportunities and threats in the environment as well as strengths and weaknesses internal company owned. This research was conducted by survey methods (interviews and questionnaires) in the General Manager with company marketing staff and consumer companies. The result is then analyzed by the method of SWOT Analysis Internal Analysis External Analysis of SAP and ETOP. Internal factors, external, position and type of business and corporate strategy is an independent variable, which means that each variable does not do comparisons, but explain to each other and affect other variables. The results showed that the marketing strategy by companies is the Investment Strategy, which the company's position in the SAFE position and type of business is business IDEAL. This investment strategy means the corporate environment supportive to invest and then reaping (harvesting). Companies can use the previous company's strategy to improve some weaknesses companies and avoid or defend against the threat of the company by creating a more competitive strategy.


The adhesion receptor dystroglycan provides a critical mechanical link between the extracellular matrix (ECM) and the actin cytoskeleton to help muscle cells withstand contraction and neural cells maintain the blood brain barrier. Disrupting the link is associated with diseases such as cancer and muscular dystrophy. Proteolysis of dystroglycan by Matrix Metalloproteases (MMPs) also breaks the mechanical anchor and is amplified in several pathogenic states. We use a combination of biochemical and cell-based assays to show that dystroglycan proteolysis is conformationally regulated by an extracellular, juxtamembrane "proteolysis domain", comprised of tandem Ig-like and SEA-like domains. The intact proteolysis domain is resistant to MMP cleavage, but structurally-disruptive muscular dystrophy-related mutations sensitize dystroglycan to proteolysis. Moreover, increased dystroglycan proteolysis correlates with faster cell migration, linking proteolysis to a disease-relevant cellular phenotype. Intriguingly, previously uncharacterized cancer-associated mutations that map to the proteolysis domain similarly lead to increases in proteolysis and rates of cell migration, potentially revealing a new pathogenic mechanism in cancer.


Halogenated copper phthalocyanines are widely used in the pigmentary form to colour paints, plastics, dyes and printing inks. Their colouring properties are strongly dependent on the size, shape and chemical composition of the individual pigment particles which have dimensions of typically 50nm. Batches of pigments, produced using nominally the same industrial process, can exhibit differences in their colouring properties. Electron microscopy can provide the high spatial resolution required to analyse both the physical and chemical properties of the pigment particles and thus help to determine the reasons for their differing colouring properties. Various techniques, available in electron microscopy, were used in an attempt to characterise as fully as possible samples of highly chlorinated CPC's. Low magnification images revealed differences in the particle size, shape and particle size distribution, between pigment samples, which would explain differences in their performance. These images also showed that the pigments consisted mainly of small aggregates with dimensions of the order of several pigment particles. Diffraction studies of these aggregates suggested that most of them were pieces of pigmentary material which had not been broken down by the pigmentation process. Further diffraction studies also suggested that the particles were faceted and that these facets coincided with preferred crystallographic planes. Lattice images showed that many particles deviated considerably from perfect crystallinity. The modified differential phase contrast imaging technique allowed simultaneous topographic and lattice images to be recorded from the same area, distinguishing aggregates which had not been broken down by the pigmentation process. The chemical composition of highly chlorinated CPC material was obtained using electron energy loss spectroscopy. An accuracy of +/-0.7Cl atoms per molecule could be obtained from a diameter of ~35nm on epitaxially grown thin films. However, the actual value obtained had a small dependence on thickness. With individual pigment particles, other effects were apparent, preventing a precise determination of the composition. The technique showed that with further refinements, it might be possible to analyse accurately single pigment particles.


1. Intracellular recordings of membrane potential and membrane current were made from neurones of the rat nucleus locus coeruleus and the guinea‐pig submucous plexus. These neurones exhibit inhibitory post‐synaptic potentials (i.p.s.p.s) which result from noradrenaline acting on alpha 2‐adrenoceptors to cause an increase in potassium conductance. 2. Cocaine (0.2‐30 microM) reversibly increased the duration of the i.p.s.p. or inhibitory post‐synaptic current (i.p.s.c.) in locus coeruleus neurones and submucous plexus neurones by approximately 750% and 350% respectively. The concentrations of cocaine causing half‐maximal prolongation of the synaptic current were 3 microM in locus coeruleus and 0.5 microM in submucous plexus. The prolongation was due entirely to a slower rate of decay of the synaptic response. 3. Cocaine (10 microM) produced a maintained hyperpolarization (2‐10 mV) or outward current (20‐120 pA) in locus coeruleus neurones; in submucous plexus neurones cocaine increased the amplitude and duration of spontaneous i.p.s.p.s. 4. Outward currents produced by superfusion with noradrenaline were increased by cocaine with maximum effects being observed at 10‐30 microM‐cocaine. The maximum leftward shift in the relation between outward current or membrane hyperpolarization and noradrenaline concentration was 18‐ to 100‐fold in locus coeruleus neurones and 4‐fold in submucous plexus neurones. The concentrations of cocaine which caused a half‐maximal increase in sensitivity to superfused noradrenaline were similar in both tissues, being 4 microM in locus coeruleus and 2 microM in submucous plexus. 5. These results show that neuronal uptake of noradrenaline released from adrenergic nerves plays a significant role in determining the time course of synaptic potentials mediated by noradrenaline.


Serum vitamin D concentrations are not typically assessed in patients with Crohn's disease, even though neuromuscular complaints are one of the most common complaints observed. Crohn's patients, especially with small bowel resections, are at risk for hypovitaminosis D and fatigue. Purpose: To determine if Crohn's disease patients have low serum 25(OH)D concentrations and to determine the association between 25(OH)D and measures of neuromuscular function, such as muscle strength, muscle fatigue, nerve function, and quality of health. Methods: Nineteen Crohn's patients (9 male and 10 female), with at least one small bowel resection were tested. Isometric muscle strength at 45i?½ of knee extension and flexion, EMG fatigue rates of the rectus femoris (RF) and vastus lateralis (VL), and the total physical score (PCS) and total mental score (MCS) from the SF-36 were collected. Statistics: Pearson correlations were calculated to determine the association between vitamin D and the measures of neuromuscular function. Results: The mean 25(OH)D was 32ng/ml. The Crohn's patients tested were 43.16 + 10.26 years with an average of 1.79 resections and 17.79 years with the disease. The mean peak torque (Nm) for knee extension was 75.24 + 45.39, and 28.94 + 12.76 for flexion. The mean average peak torque (Nm) for knee extension was 55.91 + 35.55, and 20.96 + 9.80 for flexion. The mean fatigue rates (Hz/sec) were -0.07 + 0.05 for RF and -0.03 + 0.04 for VL. Peroneal nerve latency mean was 4.28 + 1.75 ms and the mean amplitude was 2.26 + 2.03 mV. No significant differences at the i?½ = 0.05 level for muscle strength, fatigue rates, nerve function, and the MCS were found. A significant (p = 0.02) positive correlation existed for the PCS (r = 0.55) of the SF-36. Conclusions: The average vitamin D concentrations were sufficient and vitamin D was not correlated to muscle strength, fatigue, or nerve function. The serum vitamin D concentrations were found to explain 30% of the variability of the PCS of their quality of health. Further studies are required to identify the exact mechanisms of the decreased strength and fatigue experience by Crohn's patients.


In order to evaluate mechanisms of autoantibody production, three hypotheses (random polyclonal B cell activation, molecular mimicry and immune response against restricted self antigens) were considered in relation to autoantibody recognition. Polyclonal B cell activation was considered unlikely because lupus sera recognized a relatively small number of eukaryotic protein antigens on immunoblots and failed to show enhanced reactivity against prokaryotic epitopes. Although two interesting examples of molecular mimicry between autoantigens and two different viruses have been suggested, it is yet to be shown that lupus antibodies bind to the shared epitopes on the viruses and that the viruses induce such antibodies. Finally, epitope mapping of several different autoantigens suggest that the antigens are themselves the focus of the immune response and initiate and/or maintain autoantibody production.


Umbilical artery catheters can accidentally enter branches of the internal iliac artery during attempted placement in the aorta. The three branches likely to be catheterized are the superior gluteal, inferior gluteal, and internal pudendal arteries. If these misplacements are not recognized and promptly corrected, arterial obstruction may lead to ischemia and infarction of the iliac bone, gluteal muscles, sciatic nerve, perineum, and overlying skin. We present three patients who suffered long-term consequences of umbilical artery catheter misplacements and discuss the radiographic verification of catheter placement that is essential before infusing medications.


Humans understand the world through vision without much effort. We perceive the structure, objects, and people in the environment and pay little direct attention to most of it, until it becomes useful. Intelligent systems, especially mobile robots, have no such biologically engineered vision mechanism to take for granted. In contrast, we must devise algorithmic methods of taking raw sensor data and converting it to something useful very quickly. Vision is such a necessary part of building a robot or any intelligent system that is meant to interact with the world that it is somewhat surprising we don't have off-the-shelf libraries for this capability. Why is this? The simple answer is that the problem is extremely difficult. There has been progress, but the current state of the art is impressive and depressing at the same time. We now have neural networks that can recognize many objects in 2D images, in some cases performing better than a human. Some algorithms can also provide bounding boxes or pixel-level masks to localize the object. We have visual odometry and mapping algorithms that can build reasonably detailed maps over long distances with the right hardware and conditions. On the other hand, we have robots with many sensors and no efficient way to compute their relative extrinsic poses for integrating the data in a single frame. The same networks that produce good object segmentations and labels in a controlled benchmark still miss obvious objects in the real world and have no mechanism for learning on the fly while the robot is exploring. Finally, while we can detect pose for very specific objects, we don't yet have a mechanism that detects pose that generalizes well over categories or that can describe new objects efficiently. We contribute algorithms in four of the areas mentioned above. First, we describe a practical and effective system for calibrating many sensors on a robot with up to 3 different modalities. Second, we present our approach to visual odometry and mapping that exploits the unique capabilities of RGB-D sensors to efficiently build detailed representations of an environment. Third, we describe a 3-D over-segmentation technique that utilizes the models and ego-motion output in the previous step to generate temporally consistent segmentations with camera motion. Finally, we develop a synthesized dataset of chair objects with part labels and investigate the influence of parts on RGB-D based object pose recognition using a novel network architecture we call PartNet. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Computer and Information Science First Advisor Kostas Daniilidis This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3242


Using an antibody specific for creatine phosphokinase (CPK), we have discovered an association between that enzyme and the cytoskeleton. Immunofluorescence observations show that CPK is associated with intermediate filaments in PTK cells and BALB/3T3 cells. The CPK distribution also follows intermediate filaments when cells are treated with colchicine.


There is a growing number of informal and non-formal learning activities worldwide related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) subject areas -- particularly, those related to coding and making. To understand the general aim and content of such activities, we conducted a survey addressing highly experienced instructional designers and instructors of informal and non-formal science learning activities in nine European countries (N=128). The goal of this paper is to investigate the relation between (1) the targeted age-group and (2) the gender of the participants in these activities, and (3) the gender of the activity leader experts and (I) the content and (II) the main goal of the activity. The results show that the gender and age of the participants and the gender of the activity leader experts are associated with regards to the underlined content and the goal of the activity. We introduce the revealed patterns that describe typical goals and content in association with the participant's gender and age along with patterns between the activity leader experts' gender and the content and the main goal of the activity. We discuss the study findings in detail, their implications and their value for the informal and non-formal learning communities.


This paper presents the results of a molecular genetic analysis of the changes in the composition of the microbiota of the blind processes of the intestine of the hens of the industrial loam "Lohmann Brown" during ontogeny. According to the results of the analysis of taxonomic affiliation it is established that over 70% of the phylotypes belong to the three phylums - Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria, less represented were Actinobacteria, Tenericutes and Fusobacteria, and a significant number of unidentified bacteria was detected. During ontogenesis, birds exhibited marked changes in the ratio of the number of phylotypes and taxonomic groups of the intestinal microbiota. At the age of 20-40 weeks, the birds showed a significant increase in the representatives of the Clostridia class involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, acid-utilizing bacteria of the order Negativicutes and bacteria with high antagonistic properties (Bifidobacteriales, Bacillus), as well as a significant decrease in the content of a number of opportunistic and pathogenic taxa - family Enterobacteriaceae, the order of Pseudomonadales, phylum Tenericutes. The greatest homogeneity of the bacterial community of the blind processes of the gastrointestinal tract in laying hens was revealed at the age of 20 weeks, which is confirmed by the estimation of biodiversity by means of ecological indices.


Dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa is a heritable skin disorder with dominant and recessive genetic patterns. Numerous studies underline that both forms are caused by mutations of the COL7A1 gene, which encodes collagen type VII. It has been reported that most mutations detected in the recessive disease form are nonsense mutations or small insertions or deletions leading to frameshift and premature translational termination, which tend to produce severe phenotypes. In contrast, missense mutations causing amino acid substitutions, which result in variable phenotypes, predominate in the dominant form of dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa. Genomic DNA from the patient and parents was subjected to PCR amplification of the coding region of the COL7A1 gene. Direct sequencing of the PCR products revealed a homozygous single-base deletion in the patient (c.6269-6270delC). The parents were heterozygous for the same mutation. This deletion is a novel mutation in the human COL7A1 gene based on comparisons with the Human Genome Mutation Database. To our knowledge, this is the first report of dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa in an Iranian patient confirmed


Usmanov Center for Research on the Golden Horde and Tatar Khanates (Sh.Marjani Institute of History of Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan) has once again become the organizer of a major international academic event aimed at illuminating source studies on the history of the Golden Horde and Turko-Tatar khanates. March 17-18, 2015, Kazan hosted the fourth international Golden Horde forum, which was attended by representatives from 11 countries: Russia, Great Britain, Netherlands, USA, Poland, Ukraine, Turkey, Finland, Kazakhstan, Serbia, and Bulgaria. Three international conferences and round table were held within the forum. The first research conference "Source Study of the Golden Horde History: Traditions and Innovations" was devoted to the important issues of source study of the history of the Golden Horde and the Turko-Tatar khanates. The second research conference was dedicated to the "Minting and Circulation of Money in the Golden Horde and Turko-Tatar Khanates in the Light of Source Studies". The third conference was devoted to the theme: "The Crimean Khanate in International Diplomacy". The theme of the round table of the fourth international Golden Horde forum was: "The Gene Pool of the Turkish Populations as a Historical Source".


Colloidal CdX (X = Se, S, and Te) and their core/shell quantum dots (QDs) have narrow and size-dependent emission spectra, multicolor excitation with large extinction coefficients, and excellent photostability against photobleaching. Because of these unique photoluminescence properties of QDs over conventional fluorescent organic dyes and fluorescent proteins, QDs are useful for various applications such as biological labeling, biosensing and detection, light emitting diodes (LED), and solar cells (photovoltaics). Toward successful biological applications, control of the surface chemistry of QDs is required, enabling the preparation of QDs with water-solubility (or colloidal stability), biocompatibility, nonspecific adsorption to cells, efficient fluorescence, and active targeting. This highlight describes recent strategies developed for the modification of the surface of CdX-based QDs for biological applications.


In October 2010, an outbreak of cholera was confirmed in Haiti. The country had not seen cholera for many decades, so it was a 'new' disease to the population. The outbreak of cholera also leads to high levels of fear and suspicion due to beliefs and perceptions. This field report presents some of those beliefs and perceptions around the outbreak, in four Haitian communities. As many Haitians did not perceive cholera as a 'natural' or preventable disease, suspicions that the disease was deliberately spread for political reasons by foreign agencies or national authorities, or was related to religious factors such as vodou practices, caused tension in the communities and negatively impacted the public health response to the outbreak. The Haitian Red Cross started psychosocial interventions to tackle the psychological and social dimensions of the cholera outbreak. These included participatory group discussions, facilitation of community acceptance of cholera treatment centres, conflict mediation, individual psychosocial support to people with cholera and facilitation of mourning.


Purpose: This discussion aims to provide an overview of Ottoman activities and policies in the field of trade and explain the factors that have led to support the economic progress and decline of this Empire. Design/Method/Approach: This discussion uses a literature study with a content study approach (content analysis) that is qualitative. Findings : Turkish Ottoman is traversed by an old trade route, which then develops into a country that is crossed by strategic trade routes from East to West with various commodities, including spices from Indonesia. One factor in the economic development of the Ottoman Empire is that the dense trade routes make this Ottoman state a political climate in Europe and Asia. Treaties and treaties and foreign capitulations are given to European countries, which only pay a 3-5% tax. To reduce Western European pressure on the Ottoman Turks in dealing with the Hapsburg family. This made traders who were 80% made up of Muslim traders drastically reduced. The treaty that was signed was like a double-edged knife for the Ottoman Turks, which was of little use in the glorious days and harmful in the weak. International trade agreements should be reviewed again in a strict manner because many of the points of the agreement are detrimental. An agreement that has eliminated much sovereignty from weak countries due to monopoly. But the Ottoman Turks had signed the deal when the Empire was at the peak of its power. Originality/Value : The contribution of this study is guidance in taking independent economic policy steps in developing trade networks and not easily giving in to foreign pressure except in emergencies.


Female Farmers in Rindu Hati Village not only help their husbands or family heads to make a living to increase family income which is also expected to improve the level of family welfare, but also take care of the household, such as childcare and other domestic work. This condition makes female farmers have some vulnerability in their lives. There are three components of vulnerability affecting adaptation strategies of female farmers in their lives: 1) the level of exposure, i.e. the extent to which female farmers intersects with the disorder. 2) The level of sensitivity, defined as the effect or impact of the problem or disorder received either directly or indirectly by the female farmers. 3) Adaptability (capacity of response), is the female farmers ability to respond disturbances, balance the potential impacts that will occur, take advantage of opportunities, and fused with the consequences that may arise from a change (Gallopin 2006). This study used the descriptive qualitative design, to examine the vulnerability life of female farmers. Through interviews and observation of 24 informants who then analyzed, the researchers got the conclusions: 1) Female farmers are mostly dominated by those over 40 years old. Most of them have elementary school education, with dependents living 3 to 7 people. 2) Female farmers have experience vulnerability in the aspects of education, health aspects, and economic aspects. Vulnerability of life in these three aspects results in female farmers and their families experiencing various problems of lack of knowledge and skills, disruption of health, and low income to meet their daily needs. Nevertheless, the results of the study also show that these female farmers have potential and resources that can be utilized in dealing with vulnerabilities and life problems, namely social capital in the form of family values and mutual cooperation that are still strong in Rindu Hati Village. Based on the vulnerability and potential as well as the available source system, it is recommended that there be efforts to empower or develop the capacity of female farmers so that they are able to face the vulnerability of life while at the same time increasing their welfare.


Globalization theoretically leads countries to increase their production and consumption levels and as well ensures prosperity in line with benefits accruable from foreign trade. Foreign trade has been adjudged by many a scholar as an engine with potentials to propel an economy to desired growth as it affords the opportunities to new products, to explore new techniques, to enhance communication and a considerable positive role in the business life. This study is an empirical reassessment of the impact of foreign trade on Nigerian economy with a time series data from 1981 to 2013. The regressors conformed to a priori expectations while export (EX) alone passed the test of significance. The F-test suggests that the joint influence of the explanatory variables is statistically significant and Jarque-Bera normality test also implies that the residual is normally distributed. The non-statistical significance of most of the variables points to the relatively weak diversified Nigerian economy with the dominance of the petroleum sector. Consequently, further opening of the economy needs to be halted else it will retard the growth of the economy. In order to promote growth and development, conscious efforts should be made in the formulation of policies to create enabling environment that will promote non-oil exports, ensure growth induced imports and promote the use of local raw materials. Keywords: Foreign trade, Economic growth, Export, Import, Exchange rate, Policies


This book contains the Proceedings of the Inter disciplinary Research Conference held at the University of Wisconsin in the summer :96! . There are several stimulating papers which can be read with profit by all workers concerned with metabolic aspects of mental illness. The cautionary tales related by William Pollin should be compulsory reading for all concerned in this field. For example, Pollin describes how Dastur observed a significantly raised


It is known that the diffuse Hα emission outside of bright H ii regions not only are very extended, but also can occur in distinct patches or filaments far from H ii regions, and the line ratios of [S ii] λ6716/Hα and [N ii] λ6583/Hα observed far from bright H ii regions are generally higher than those in the H ii regions. These observations have been regarded as evidence against the dust-scattering origin of the diffuse Hα emission (including other optical lines), and the effect of dust scattering has been neglected in studies on the diffuse Hα emission. In this paper, we reexamine the arguments against dust scattering and find that the dust-scattering origin of the diffuse Hα emission cannot be ruled out. As opposed to the previous contention, the expected dust-scattered Hα halos surrounding H ii regions are, in fact, in good agreement with the observed Hα morphology. We calculate an extensive set of photoionization models by varying elemental abundances, ionizing stellar types, and clumpiness of the interstellar medium (ISM) and find that the observed line ratios of [S ii]/Hα, [N ii]/Hα, and He i λ5876/Hα in the diffuse ISM accord well with the dust-scattered halos around H ii regions, which are photoionized by late O- and/or early B-type stars. We also demonstrate that the Hα absorption feature in the underlying continuum from the dust-scattered starlight ("diffuse galactic light") and unresolved stars is able to substantially increase the [S ii]/Hα and [N ii]/Hα line ratios in the diffuse ISM.


The paper characterizes the technical infrastructure and its role in local development processes. Theoretical deliberations are broadened by the case study of Terespol county. The study examines actions taken by local authorities in the area of the technical infrastructure development. The discussion includes the summary of opinions of county council members about the selected issues related to the county technical infrastructure development. The purpose of the diagnostic survey was the collection of council members opinions about the level of infrastructure development, infrastructure role in county development, and selected problems and priorities in infrastructure development in Terespol county.


The advance which resulted in the mean survival increase from 50 to 75 years between 1920 and 1990 also provoked the rise in health care costs, and the so called "health crisis". In order to contain it, market tactics were put to action, health care was considered a commodity, patients "consumers" and hospitals or physicians "providers". Economists, accountants and business advisors in charge of "Health Maintenance Organizations" (HMO) started the very profitable activity of intervening between patients and physicians. Rationing, use of general practice guides, suboptimal treatments, risk avoidance and other market tactics changed the practice of a profession into a business enterprise. The HMO decides if, when, how and how much will be given to any "consumer". Use of technology more impersonal and easily administered is the leading feature of to-day's medicine over the intellectual activity of the physician who hears, understands, makes the physical examination, diagnosis and treatment. The increasing depreciation of his task obliges the physician to enlarge the number and decrease his communication with his patients. His fiduciary obligation is subordinated to market needs and his practice increasingly compromises his moral integrity. The HMO boasts of the quality of the service given, this is the timely use of to-day's appropriate resources. Nobody wants the 1950 car or medical practice. Tomorrow's practice however depends on increasing knowledge, that is, on research, an activity which is not the HMO object. The academic-medical center, the very place where the interaction of teaching and investigating promotes the excellence is discriminated by the HMO because of its compromise with fiduciary activity imposed by 2500 years of jewish-christian philosophy. The future of these institutions (state's Cinderella's) is progressively compromised; when we loose them how long will it take to recover them? The politicians are always ready to create new hospitals, after they are built consuming large amounts of money, they become disinterested. All hospitals in our country are completely active only 4 hours/day, their physicians travel afterwards to their diverse places of activity consuming much of their time in getting there and complying with the bureaucratic tasks imposed by HMO. In our country with 14% unemployment and 1/3 of the population without any health coverage, the institution of universal health insurance is mandatory. Preventive medicine is not effective for people who lack the means for adequate nutrition, education or transportation, they do not visit doctors or use medicines.


Environmental auditing is an important tool for providing an account of post-development environmental impact assessment (EIA) activities. In the past much EIA auditing has focused on predictive techniques and prediction accuracy, which provide little information on the actual environmental outcomes. However, of central interest in determining the effectiveness of EIA is the extent to which the environment is managed and protected as a result of the EIA process as it is intended. A framework is presented for EIA auditing which focuses on the environmental management outcomes of projects that have undergone EIA. The audit methodology for determining EIA effectiveness focuses on several distinct EIA components: impact prediction; occurrence of actual impacts; and the management of potential and actual environmental impacts. These are examined with particular attention to impact and environmental management outcomes. The results are stored in a computerized database which can be used as an implementation record for individual projects that have undergone EIA or for the statistical analysis of large numbers of projects collectively to present an overall picture of EIA environmental management performance. This approach to EIA auditing has applications for project managers, EIA assessment authorities, policy-makers and academics alike. Some preliminary results of an EIA audit of six case studies in Western Australia are presented. These indicate that the EIA process has focused attention on significant issues. Correlation exists between issue identification and the implementation of environmental management actions irrespective of predictive accuracy. Some management activities have avoided impacts occurring. Many impacts have been responded to irrespective of whether they were predicted accurately or even considered in predictions. Overall, an effective environmental management regime was established by the EIA process utilized for the six case studies.


Digital image correlation (DIC) involves certain errors during correlation, which are highly influenced by factors, e.g. image qualities, DIC parameters, and furthermore, degrees of deformation or strain states. In this contribution, attention is paid to the influence of strain states on the uncertainty of DIC, including the magnitude and the heterogeneity of the strains. A series of 2D-DIC numerical experiments are carried out on tensile specimens associated with finite element analysis (FEA). The specimens are made of 3 materials, i.e. steel DC06, steel DX54D+Z, and aluminium alloy Al6016, and cut into 3 different geometries, i.e. standard and 2 complex designs. Initial images were taken from these real specimens, which were all painted manually with random speckle patterns. Deformed images were obtained by imposing FE displacement fields on these undeformed initial images. Consequently, the errors source from imaging system are avoided, and only intrinsic errors of DIC itself are taken into account. The hardening behaviours of those materials in 3 different orientations were introduced to FEA for simulation, namely rolling direction (RD), transverse direction (TD) and 45o w.r.t. RD (45o). In FEA, homogeneous and heterogeneous strain states are achieved through applying uniaxial tension on two ends of the standard and complex specimens, respectively. The strain states are characterized by different material properties and geometries of specimens. DIC calculation are performed at various load steps to investigate the influence of the magnitude of the strain. Errors of the fields are compared among the different specimens to study the influence of the heterogeneity. In this contribution, the qualities of the speckle patterns are considered, since different patterns are applied to each experiment.


In this paper we consider the problem of discovering sequential patterns by handling time constraints as defined in the Gsp algorithm. While sequential patterns could be seen as temporal relationships between facts embedded in the database where considered facts are merely characteristics of individuals or observations of individual behavior, generalized sequential patterns aim at providing the end user with a more flexible handling of the transactions embedded in the database. We thus propose a new efficient algorithm, called Gtc (Graph for Time Constraints) for mining such patterns in very large databases. It is based on the idea that handling time constraints in the earlier stage of the data mining process can be highly beneficial. One of the most significant new feature of our approach is that handling of time constraint can be easily taken into account in traditional levelwise approaches since it is carried out prior to and separately from the counting step of a data sequence. Our test shows that the proposed algorithm performs significantly faster than a state-of-the-art sequence mining algorithm.


The Image Analysis for Archival Discovery (Aida) project team is investigating the use of image analysis to identify poetic content in historic newspapers. The project seeks both to augment the study of literary history by drawing attention to the magnitude of poetry published in newspapers and by making the poetry more readily available for study, as well as to advance work on the use of digital images in facilitating discovery in digital libraries and other digitized collections. We have recently completed the process of training our classifier for identifying poetic content, and as we prepare to move to the deployment stage, we are making available our methods for classification and testing in order to promote further research and discussion. The precision and recall values achieved during the training (90.58%; 79.4%) and testing (74.92%; 61.84%) stages are encouraging. In addition to discussing why such an approach is needed and relevant and situating our project alongside related work, this paper analyzes preliminary results, which support the feasibility and viability of our approach to detecting poetic content in historic newspaper collections.


This paper presents a multi-year transmission expansion planning (TEP) model which considers the transmission congestion and the impact of generation investment cost in the planning horizon. The Benders decomposition approach is utilized which decomposes TEP into a master problem and two subproblems representing security and optimal operation. The operation cost due to congestion (OCC) is considered in the proposed model given that the congestion level is a proper criterion for measuring the degree of competitiveness in an electricity market. The model evaluates sensitivity of the optimal TEP to congestion level, planning horizon, and financial constraints. Regulators can utilize the proposed results to provide long-term TEP to market players and to develop incentive mechanisms to trigger generation investments. The proposed approach is applied to a hypothetical system and Turkish power system.


Three sets of assumptions about elite and constituent relations prevail in approaches to conflict termination. The `Interest-based', `Identity-based', and `Timing' approaches offer important insights into conflict termination processes but differ in how they conceive of the locus and direction of domestic political power during conflict termination. Despite such important differences, these contending approaches have not been tested comparatively. In this paper, I introduce the Dynamic Group approach and test it against these current approaches. The Dynamic Group approach differs from these others in that it is grounded in the two-level perspective on negotiation. The Dynamic Group approach treats the domestic locus and direction of power as variable (1) across cases and (2) across conflict stages within a given case. Accommodating such variation introduces the concept of domestic ratification as an important determinant of the success or failure of conflict settlement attempts. The Dynamic Group approach offers greater generalizability than the current approaches. Specifically, I demonstrate (1) that whereas these three contending approaches apply only to cases in which elite's and constituent's interests are consonant, the Dynamic Group approach covers cases of elite and constituent interest dissonance, and (2) that whereas the three approaches apply to no more than two stages of conflict termination, the Dynamic Group approach comprehends differential effects of four distinct stages. I demonstrate that the Dynamic Group approach best accounts for conflict-stage effects in the 1973 and 1985 attempts to settle the Northern Ireland conflict.


of phage-typingin their investigationsis instructive. Food poisoning is a neglected study in most States, and the British experienceswill stimulate the interest of all concernedwith food safety and will aid future investigation. Britain has a magnificent record in diphtheriacontrol, so much so that "measures adopted for its control now approximateto those taken in an epidemic of smallpox"; the descriptions of action taken in several limited outbreaksare thereforeof particular interest. The outbreak of lead-poisoningascribedto the burning of waste battery casingsmust be unique. The book concludeswith a brief accountof "smog", with special referenceto the 1952 and lesserdisasters.


ABSTRACT The genes for all cytoplasmic and potentially all mitochondrial aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) were identified, and all those tested by RNA interference were found to be essential for the growth of Trypanosoma brucei. Some of these enzymes were localized to the cytoplasm or mitochondrion, but most were dually localized to both cellular compartments. Cytoplasmic T. brucei aaRSs were organized in a multiprotein complex in both bloodstream and procyclic forms. The multiple aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (MARS) complex contained at least six aaRS enzymes and three additional non-aaRS proteins. Steady-state kinetic studies showed that association in the MARS complex enhances tRNA-aminoacylation efficiency, which is in part dependent on a MARS complex-associated protein (MCP), named MCP2, that binds tRNAs and increases their aminoacylation by the complex. Conditional repression of MCP2 in T. brucei bloodstream forms resulted in reduced parasite growth and infectivity in mice. Thus, association in a MARS complex enhances tRNA-aminoacylation and contributes to parasite fitness. The MARS complex may be part of a cellular regulatory system and a target for drug development.


A new class of pentacyclic diquinoid compounds has been synthesized with a facile one-pot reaction of two molecules of 2-hydroxynaphthoquinone and 1-bromoalkanes in the presence of ferrocene. These molecules were isolated as enol tautomers that exhibit intramolecular hydrogen bond and extended electronic conjugation as proved by the intense absorption spectrum with a broad band between 400 and 600 nm. The spectroscopic and electrochemical characterization of this new class of compounds has been performed. One of the synthesized diquinoid derivatives showed a significant cytotoxicity with IC(50) values of 25-50 μM against Cisplatin-Resistant SKOV3 and colon carcinoma SW480 cell lines. The results of our study provide a valuable tool to a one-pot synthesis of highly conjugated polyquinones, analogous to important biological systems, with significant antitumoral activity.


Recently, tele-immersion technology is actively researched by the development of virtual reality technology. In a past virtual reality, PC and laptop were chiefly used. Immersive display and tiled display are connected with ultrahigh-speed network, and remote users and various cooperation workings are achieved with tele-immersion technology. In this research, it proposes cooperated multimodal communications system that uses this tele-immersion technology. Multimodal communications system is composed of verbal information, non-verbal information, and sensitivity information. Video communication technology and sensibility information processing technology were fused by using large screen system of immersive display and tiled display, and new communications with remote users are created.


Recently with many blurless or slightly blurred images, convolutional neural networks classify objects with around 90 percent classification rates, even if there are variable sized images. However, small object regions or cropping of images make object detection or classification difficult and decreases the detection rates. In many methods related to convolutional neural network (CNN), Bilinear or Bicubic algorithms are popularly used to interpolate region of interests. To overcome the limitations of these algorithms, we introduce a super-resolution method applied to the cropped regions or candidates, and this leads to improve recognition rates for object detection and classification. Large object candidates comparable in size of the full image have good results for object detections using many popular conventional methods. However, for smaller region candidates, using our super-resolution preprocessing and region candidates, allows a CNN to outperform conventional methods in the number of detected objects when tested on the VOC2007 and MSO datasets


Objective:This report presents tenofovir (TFV) alafenamide (TAF) and elvitegravir (EVG) fabricated into nanoparticles for subcutaneous delivery as prevention strategy. Design:Prospective prevention study in humanized bone marrow–liver–thymus (hu-BLT) mice. Methods:Using an oil-in-water emulsion solvent evaporation technique, TAF + EVG drugs were entrapped together into nanoparticles containing poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid). In-vitro prophylaxis studies (90% inhibition concentration) compared nanoparticles with drugs in solution. Hu-BLT (n = 5/group) mice were given 200 mg/kg subcutaneous, and vaginally challenged with HIV-1 [5 × 105 tissue culture infectious dose for 50% of cells cultures (TCID50)] 4 and 14 days post-nanoparticle administration (post-nanoparticle injection). Control mice (n = 5) were challenged at 4 days. Weekly plasma viral load was performed using RT-PCR. Hu-BLT mice were sacrificed and lymph nodes were harvested for HIV-1 viral RNA detection by in-situ hybridization. In parallel, CD34+ humanized mice (3/time point) compared TFV and EVG drug levels in vaginal tissues from nanoparticles and solution. TFV and EVG were analyzed from tissue using liquid chromatograph-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Results:TAF + EVG nanoparticles were less than 200 nm in size. In-vitro prophylaxis indicates TAF + EVG nanoparticles 90% inhibition concentration was 0.002 &mgr;g/ml and TAF + EVG solution was 0.78 &mgr;g/ml. TAF + EVG nanoparticles demonstrated detectable drugs for 14 days and 72 h for solution, respectively. All hu-BLT control mice became infected within 14 days after HIV-1 challenge. In contrast, hu-BLT mice that received nanoparticles and challenged at 4 days post-nanoparticle injection, 100% were uninfected, and 60% challenged at 14 days post-nanoparticle injection were uninfected (P = 0.007; Mantel–Cox test). In-situ hybridization confirmed these results. Conclusion:This proof-of-concept study demonstrated sustained protection for TAF + EVG nanoparticles in a hu-BLT mouse model of HIV vaginal transmission.


Triplex stabilization by poly(L-lysine)-graft-dextran copolymer within a mammalian gene promoter inhibits the DNA binding activity of nuclear proteins from HeLa cells as well as restriction endonuclease cleavage at physiological pH and ionic conditions in vitro. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays using a 30-mer homopurine-homopyrimidine stretch (located between -170 and -141 bp) of rat alpha 1 (I) collagen gene promoter reveal that the copolymer, at its wide range of charge ratio with DNA, stabilizes triplex DNA and enhances triplex-specific inhibition of the protein-DNA interaction. When the triplex-forming region (located between -165 and -146 bp) of the promoter is engineered at the Bam H1 and Pst 1 sites of a plasmid DNA, copolymer-mediated triplex stabilization also remarkably competes endonuclease activity of BamH1. Finally, the triplex-stabilizing efficiency of the copolymer is remarkably higher than that of spermine and benzo[e]pyridoindole. Our results indicate that the copolymer, regardless of the length of the target duplex, stabilizes triplexes for significant inhibition of protein-DNA interaction and endonuclease activity. Since stable triplex formation within a short region out of a long native duplex is a prerequisite to confer the therapeutic potential of antigene strategy, triplex stabilization on a long target duplex and inhibition of nuclear protein-DNA interaction may open the possible in vivo applicability of the copolymer.


For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. (Matthew 13:15).


Both megafossils and fossil Foraminifera have been obtained from unconsolidated sediments of the Wicomico Formation, which underlies the Penholoway terrace, a coastal feature that formed when the shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean stood about 70 feet higher than at present. Some of the fossils are Tertiary species and are assumed to have been derived from rocks of that age; the others are species commonly found in near-shore deposits of Quaternary age as well as in present-day south-Atlantic coastal waters. The Penholoway terrace in this area is shown to have been formed during a pause in marine regression from the Wicomico stand, when the sea stood near 100 feet. The relation of the Wicomico and Penholoway terraces to other coastal terraces suggests a Yarmouth age for the fossil-yielding beds.


Background and Aims: Nursing Caries (NC) is a destructive form of caries because of incorrect nutritional habits in infants that affects deciduous teeth after eruption. Familiarity with the pattern of this type of caries and evaluation of its symmetrical or asymmetrical pattern is necessary for effective and scientific diagnosis and treatment. The aim was to assess the symmetrical or asymmetrical aspects of Nursing Caries in children between 3-5 years old. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 10 kindergartens were randomly selected by the Tehran Welfare Organization. 115 children with NC caries entered to study after examination. Written consents were obtained from the parents. The dmfs in upper primary incisors and upper and lower primary canines, as well as the first primary molars were assessed and the caries pattern in terms of symmetrical or asymmetrical aspects was evaluated. The data were analyzed by ANOVA, LSD, Chi-square and Fisher tests. Results: In 53.9% of the children with NC, the anterior teeth were affected symmetrically, while 46.1% indicated an asymmetrical pattern. In general, 32.2% of the teeth were affected in a symmetrical pattern and 67.8% of them in an asymmetrical pattern. About the relationship between the breastfeeding from the right or left breast and the symmetrical pattern of the NC, 51% of the children were equally breastfed from both breasts. However, in the asymmetrical NC pattern with more impact in the right side of dentition, 50% of the children had been breastfed from the left side and in children with more caries in the left side of dentition, 50% of them had been breastfed from the right side (P=0.01). Conclusion: NC has symmetrical and asymmetrical patterns. Direction of mother for breastfeeding affects the symmetrical and asymmetrical pattern of NC.


BACKGROUND: Lung function often deteriorates after bone marrow transplantation for haematological malignancies. Whether pulmonary function measurements are useful for monitoring patients' progress after transplantation and for alerting clinicians to the development of pneumonitis is uncertain. METHODS: Serial pulmonary function measurements were made in 39 patients with a haematological malignancy, and the values from 18 recipients of T cell depleted allogeneic (n = 17) or autologous (n = 1) bone marrow transplants who developed interstitial pneumonitis were compared retrospectively with values from 21 recipients of allogeneic (n = 17) or autologous (n = 4) transplants who did not develop pneumonitis. Lung function was measured at the onset of a further 18 episodes of pneumonitis. RESULTS: Measurements made before transplantation showed no difference in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), transfer factor for carbon monoxide (TLCO), or total lung capacity between the two groups, but the forced vital capacity (FVC) was slightly higher in those who developed pneumonitis (mean (SD)% predicted 104 (12)) than in those who did not (93 (17%)). Six weeks and three months after transplantation all pulmonary function measurements had fallen slightly in both groups but TLCO had fallen considerably more in those who later developed pneumonitis, being 71% (SD 11%) and 77% (7%) of pretransplant values in patients who later developed pneumonitis compared with 109% (38%) and 96% (26%) in those who did not. All lung function measurements were significantly lower at the onset of pneumonitis than three months after transplantation, even in patients with no abnormal signs and a normal chest radiograph. CONCLUSIONS: Serial measurements of gas transfer before and after bone marrow transplantation may be useful for predicting which patients will be at risk of developing pneumonitis and may help to diagnose pneumonitis in breathless patients with no abnormal signs.


In this study, three-dimensional modeling and finite element analysis were used to evaluate and compare the stability of Le Fort I osteotomy fixed with titanium and resorbable fixation systems under molar and incisor bite forces. A three-dimensional model of 5-mm advanced hemimaxilla was generated. Contact analyses between the upper and lower segments were prescribed. Two L-plates were inserted on this model via simulation. Displacement, principal stresses, and principal elastic strains were evaluated under 44-N, 125-N incisor and, 250-N molar bite forces. These results suggest that Le Fort I osteotomies fixed with titanium miniplates and screws were stable under all tested forces. However, in resorbable group, under incisor bite forces greater than 44 N, there is a great risk of plate fracture, screw deformation, and/or failure.


Research done by the Infrared Photonics team at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is focused on developing miniature spherical retroreflectors using the unique optical and material properties of chalcogenide glass to reduce both performance limiting spherical and chromatic aberrations. The optimized optical performance will provide efficient signal retroreflection that enables a broad range of remote detection scenarios for mid-wave infrared (MWIR) and long-wave infrared (LWIR) sensing applications. Miniature spherical retroreflectors can be developed to aid in the detection of signatures of nuclear proliferation or other chemical vapor or radiation signatures. Miniature spherical retroreflectors are not only well suited to traditional bistatic LIDAR methods for chemical plume detection and identification, but could enable remote detection of difficult semi-volatile chemical materials or low level radiation sources.


N-Nitrosamines are water contaminants of public health concern due to their carcinogenicity at low concentrations. These compounds can form in wastewater and drinking water when chloramination is utilized for disinfection. Monitoring of N-nitrosamines by current analytical techniques is difficult, time-consuming, and expensive. Therefore, a simpler method developed in 2009 utilizing high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with detection by photochemical reaction (PR) and chemiluminescence (CL) and requiring almost no sample preparation (no extraction) was tested and validated in the present study for potable reuse applications. The method accuracy, precision, and detection limits were determined using standard methods. Accuracy and precision met U.S. EPA standard method requirements for four N-nitrosamines [N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosopyrrolidine, N-nitrosomorpholine, and N-nitrosomethylethylamine] in the four recycled water matrices tested: (1) secondary wastewater effluent, (2) microfiltered wastewater effluent, (3) advanced purified water (after reverse osmosis and ultraviolet/advanced oxidation), and (4) ultrapure (Milli-Q) water. Method reporting (MRL) and detection limits (MDL) were similar or lower (1.2 ng L−1 MRL for NDMA) than those documented for conventional N-nitrosamine analytical methods (typically 2 ng L−1 MRL for NDMA). Split samples were collected from an advanced water purification facility weekly over six months and less frequently from four additional water utilities and analyzed by the HPLC-PR-CL method and conventional methods employed by the utility's laboratory (liquid- or solid-phase extraction/gas chromatography/dual mass spectrometry). The relative percent difference for all non-wastewater samples was low (6–18%) with wastewater effluent samples having a higher difference (11–53%).


The connection between operating temperature and membrane scaling/cleaning during an air gap membrane distillation (AGMD) process of seawater has been systematically elucidated in this study. Experimental and mathematically simulated data demonstrate the profound influences of feed salinity and membrane scaling on water flux at various operating temperatures. Feed salinity exerted significant impacts on water flux at high operating temperatures because of aggravated polarization effects. Membrane scaling and the subsequent membrane cleaning efficiency were also strongly affected by operating temperatures. Indeed, membrane scaling was more severe and occurred at a lower water recovery when operating at 60-50 °C (feed-coolant temperature) compared to that at 35-25 °C. Moreover, membrane cleaning with fresh water and vinegar was less effective for the membrane scaled at 60-50 °C compared to 35-25 °C. Finally, membrane cleaning using vinegar was much more efficient than fresh water. Given the availability of vinegar at household level, vinegar cleaning can potentially be a low cost and readily accessible approach for MD maintenance for small scale seawater desalination applications in remote coastal communities.


ABSTRACT School closings have been a key policy measure worldwide for reducing the spread of corona-virus disease (COVID-19). In Germany, federal states closed schools in mid-March and started to reopen them in late April. This policy potentially increased parental obligations for supervision and support during homeschooling and, thus, might reinforce social inequality in educational opportunities. Therefore, this research note investigates social inequality in students' homeschooling efforts. Moreover, it asks whether social disparities in home learning environments, social support, teacher support, and cost–benefit-related considerations account for the social differences in homeschooling efforts during the school closing period in Germany. To that end, we use data from an ongoing research project on high school students in their final years that were collected during the school closing period. Our results show pronounced differences in home schooling efforts by social background. Thus far, the mechanisms under study can explain only a moderate part of the social origin effect. In summary, the results show that school closings have the potential to exacerbate social inequality in educational opportunities. Therefore, future research should scrutinise the extent to which school closings reinforce inequality in educational opportunities.


Folate uses the natural endocytosis pathway via the folate receptor (FR) to enter the cells. Folate conjugation to small or macromolecular therapeutics has hence been exploited for intracellular delivery to, particularly, cancerous cells. This work reports on the expression and functionality of FR in polarised cell monolayer models of respiratory and gastrointestinal mucosa with the view to assess its potential for delivery of folate-modified macromolecular therapeutics either intracellularly or across the epithelium. Four cell lines representing bronchial and intestinal epithelium; cancer-derived intestinal Caco-2 and bronchial cell line Calu-3, and noncancerous intestinal and bronchial cell lines IEC-6 and HBEC were cultured on permeable membranes to produce polarised monolayers. Expression of FR was confirmed by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis for all the tested cell types and shown to be dependent on culturing time. The functionality of the receptor for endocytosis was demonstrated by a model macromolecular folate conjugate (fluorescent ovalbumin-folate (OVA-FA)), whereby significantly higher cellular uptake of the folate-conjugate, relative to non-folate control, was clearly demonstrated. Importantly the data showed that the expressed folate receptor was capable of mediating transport of the macromolecular folate conjugate across (transcytosis) the cells in the polarised monolayers.

Preliminary studies led to investigation of the folate mediated uptake and transport of folate modified nanoparticles (NPs). It was shown that folate modified NPs traversed the Calu-3 layers and studies characterizing this transport indicated folate involvement in this process. Adsorption of OVA-FA on the surface of NPs was seen to promote their cellular uptake and transport across the cell layers.

To examine the mechanism of cellular uptake and transport of folate modified nanoparticles, various endocytic inhibitors were employed. The study demonstrated an involvement of the caveolar pathway in internalization of folate modified nanoparticles; as judged from a significant reduction of internalization in filipin (inhibitor of caveolar pathway) treated cells. Moreover, the work also showed evidence of transport of folate-modified nanoparticles via the caveolar pathway, since translocation of nanoparticles across the cell monolayer was absent when this path was inhibited.

Disruption of actin filament and microtubules caused no difference in cellular uptake of NPs but increased the transcytosis of folate modified NPs.

Confocal microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Total Internal Reflection Microscopy (TIRM) and Total Internal Reflection Florescence microscopy (TIRFM) were used to confirm and visualize quantitative data. This study also investigated the effects of surface ligand distribution pattern (ligand clustering and density) on the internalization of nanoparticles by Calu-3 cells cultured as polarised layers. The density of the displayed ligand was manipulated by controlling the conjugation level of folate-ovalbumin, while ligand clustering was achieved by co-adsorption of varying mixtures of folate-ovalbumin conjugate (at different ligand density levels) and unconjugated ovalbumin. Increasing ligand density on the nanoparticle surface resulted in increased internalization of modified nanoparticles by the cells, up to a saturation level. Surface ligand density also affected the cellular uptake pathway; from predominantly clathrin to predominantly caveolae-mediated as the ligand density was increased. It was further demonstrated that surface clustering of the folate ligand enhanced cellular internalization of nanoparticles, relative to its dispersed surface distribution.


The energy demands of modern mobile devices have driven a trend towards heterogeneous multi-core systems which include various types of core tuned for performance or energy efficiency, offering a rich optimization space for software. On such systems, data coherency between cores is automatically ensured by an interconnect between processors. On some chip designs the performance of this interconnect, and by extension of the entire CPU cluster, is highly dependent on the software's memory access characteristics and on the set of frequencies of each CPU core. Existing frequency scaling mechanisms in operating systems use a simple load-based heuristic to tune CPU frequencies, and so fail to achieve a holistically good configuration across such diverse clusters. We propose a new adaptive governor to solve this problem, which uses a simple trained hardware model of cache interconnect characteristics, along with real-time hardware monitors, to continually adjust core frequencies to maximize system performance. We evaluate our governor on the Exynos5422 SoC, as used in the Samsung Galaxy S5, across a range of standard benchmarks. This shows that our approach achieves a speedup of up to 40%, and a 70% energy saving, including a 30% speedup in common mobile applications such as video decoding and web browsing.


A growing body of research shows that there is a close functional connection between motor and language systems of the human brain. Behavioural and TMS investigations document a causal influence between language and motor systems, an influence that is bidirectional and which can be facilitatory or inhibitatory. While it is still not fully clear what determines the sign of the interaction effect (inhibition or facilitation) between action and language, some factors have shown to have an influence on the sign of the effect. A few studies have even managed to successfully reverse the sign of the effect between language and motor processes. This paper provides a short review of these reversals of action-language effects and discusses how this flexibility of motor-language interaction may be explained.


In this paper, we introduce a new probability model with increasing-decreasing failure rate function. The new distribution, that is extended from Lindley distribution based on Marshall-Olkin method, is useful in reliability and lifetime researches. Some properties of this new
model are examined. Moment and Maximum likelihood estimation are discussed. Quan-tiles of this distribution are obtained with using Lambert function. Application of the new model to reliability data is proposed.


This paper is a contribution to formal ontology study. We propose a new model of knowledge representation by combining ontologies and topology. In order to represent atypical entities in the ontologies, we introduce topological operators of interior, exterior, border and closure. These operators allow us to describe whether an entity, belonging to a class, is typical or not. We define a system of relations of inclusion and membership by adapting the topological operators. We propose to formalize the topological relations of inclusion and membership by using the mathematical properties of topological operators. However, there are properties of combining operators of interior, exterior, border and closure allowing the definition of an algebra (Kuratowski, 1958). We propose to use these mathematical properties as a set of axioms. This set of axioms allows us to establish the properties of topological relations of inclusion and membership.


Part I. Financial Issues in Open Economies: Theory: 1. Crises: the next generation? Paul Krugman 2. Solutions to the 'devaluation bias': some preventive measures to defend fixed exchange rates against self-fulfilling attacks Chi-Wa Yuen 3. Growth enhancing effects of bailout guarantees Aaron Tornell 4. Risk and exchange rates Maurice Obstfeld and Kenneth S. Rogoff Part II. Financial Issues in Open Economies: Empirics: 5. Economic integration, industrial specialization, and the asymmetry of macroeconomic fluctuations Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan, Bent E. Sorenson and Oved Yosha 6. Uncovered interest parity in crisis: the interest rate defense in the 1990s Robert P. Flood and Andrew K. Rose 7. When does capital account liberalization help more than it hurts? Carlos Arteta, Barry Eichengreen and Charles Wyplosz 8. Sources of inflation in developing countries Prakash Loungani and Phillip Swagel Part III. Economic Growth: Theory and Empirics: 9. Growth effects and the cost of business cycles Gadi Barlevy 10. Explaining economic growth Yair Mundlak Part IV. Public Economies: 11. Simulating fundamental tax reform in the United States David Altig, Alan J. Auerbach, Laurence J. Kotlikoff, Kent A. Smetters and Jan Walliser 12. The international macroeconomics of taxation and the case against European tax harmonization Enrique G. Mendoza 13. Home bias in portfolios and taxation of asset income Roger H. Gordon and Vitor Gaspar 14. Social dumping in the transformation process Part V. Political Economy: 15. Do political institutions shape economic policy? Torsten Persson.


This work examines the chemical composition of peatland soils and their associated fluxes of organic carbon. This thesis has demonstrated through the long-term incubations of peat material that ex-situ greenhouse gas (GHG) production from peats is variable over time, despite constant conditions during the incubation period, suggesting that the uncertainties associated with ex-situ GHG measurements of peat may have often been underestimated. In addition, the in-situ GHG monitoring carried out in this research suggests the ability of O2 to penetrate into even the deepest regions of the peat profile, potentially providing a possible explanation for the temporal variability in GHG production.This work has also demonstrated how peatland restoration may potentially affect the mobilisation of carbon from peatland sites. The simulations of runoff derived from Sphagnum vegetation and areas bare peat show significantly different chemical compositions and behaviour when treated with iron flocculating agents, suggesting that the re-vegetation of upland peats to reduce GHG emissions may have the additional benefit of making the peat runoff easier to treat. However, the assessment of the restoration campaign carried out across a lowland peat mire suggests that the restoration of the site has introduced a significant variability into the hydrology of the restored areas of the bog, which may have triggered a change in the chemical composition of the bog and increased in-situ concentrations of GHGs within the peat. In addition, the utility of chemical analysis in the differentiation of spatially and temporarily different peats and prediction of their operational behaviour has been examined. This analysis has suggested that although certain analytical methods may be inappropriate for predicting future behaviour, they may prove useful as a means of monitoring peatland restoration.


Graphs and tables are an effective means of communication. However, relatively little experimental work exists examining differences between various formats in how well people understand provided information. We conducted two web-based experiments with a large, diverse sample to explore the effects of display format on respondents' comprehension. We found that comprehension depended on task. Graphs were better for estimating differences; however, tables were better when estimating equality and sums. We found 3D display formats reduced comprehension of pie charts but not of bar charts. Although pie charts never assisted comprehension, they often did not significantly impair comprehension either. Comprehension based on a 3-way table was as good as that for clustered bar charts but was worse for divided bar charts. Information can be conveyed graphically even with 3-way tables, but the choice of display format needs to be sensitive to the task at hand.


The 2nd generation plants producing ethanol from lignocelluloses demand risky and high investment costs. This paper presents the energy- and economical evaluations for integrating lignocellulose in current 1st generation dry mill ethanol processes, using filamentous fungi. Dry mills use grains and have mills, liquefactions, saccharifications, fermentation, and distillation to produce ethanol, while their stillage passes centrifugation, and evaporation to recycle the water and dry the cake and evaporated syrup into animal feed. In this work, a bioreactor was considered to cultivate fungi on the stillage either before or after the centrifugation step together with pretreated lignocellulosic wheat bran. The results showed that the integrated 1st and 2nd generation ethanol process requires a capital investment of 77 million USD, which could yield NPV of 162 million USD after 20 years. Compared to the fungal cultivation on thin stillage modified 1st generation process, the integrated process resulted in 53 million USD higher NPV. The energy analysis showed that the thin stillage modified 1st generation process could reduce the overall energy consumption by 2.5% and increase the ethanol production by 4%. Such modifications in the 1st generation processes and integration concepts could be interesting for the ethanol industries, as integrating lignocelluloses to their existing setup requires less capital investment.


Background: Recent evidence that early, active mobilization protocols after Achilles tendon repairs increase recovery speed and strength make operative repair strength critical to positive outcomes after Achilles tendon ruptures. While previous research has focused on core (tendon proper) repair techniques, no previous literature has reported testing of core repairs augmented with epitenon sutures, which have been shown to increase the strength of repairs of flexor tendons of the hand. Methods: Five matched pairs of fresh frozen human Achilles tendons were tested with and without the addition of an epitenon suture to the core repair suture. All specimens were repaired using a No. 2 Ethibond Krakow locking loop core suture. The epitenon suture was added to one tendon randomly chosen from each pair, using a 40 nylon suture. All specimens were mounted on an MTS testing machine (MTS Systems Corp., Eden Prairie, MN) and loaded to failure, which was defined as a 1-cm gap formation. Results: The addition of epitenon sutures significantly increased the force necessary to produce a 2-mm gap as compared to core sutures alone by 74%, and it increased the average load to failure by 119%. Also, initial tendon stiffness was 173% greater in tendons reinforced with epitenon sutures. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that greater resistance to gap formation, approximation of tissue ends, and tensile strength were achieved by the addition of an epitenon suture. Clinical relevance may improve healing by decreased gap formation at the repair site and a lower risk of adhesion formation.


Although numerous studies have shown the ability of silicon (Si) to mitigate a wide variety of abiotic and biotic stresses, relatively little is known about the underlying mechanism(s). Here, we have investigated the role of hormone defense pathways in Si-induced resistance to the rice brown spot fungus Cochliobolus miyabeanus. To delineate the involvement of multiple hormone pathways, a multidisciplinary approach was pursued, combining exogenous hormone applications, pharmacological inhibitor experiments, time-resolved hormone measurements, and bioassays with hormone-deficient and/or -insensitive mutant lines. Contrary to other types of induced resistance, we found Si-induced brown spot resistance to function independently of the classic immune hormones salicylic acid and jasmonic acid. Our data also rule out a major role of the abscisic acid (ABA) and cytokinin pathways, but suggest that Si mounts resistance to C. miyabeanus by preventing the fungus from hijacking the rice ethylene (ET) machinery. Interestingly, rather than suppressing rice ET signaling per se, Si probably interferes with the production and/or action of fungal ET. Together our findings favor a scenario whereby Si induces brown spot resistance by disarming fungal ET and argue that impairment of pathogen virulence factors is a core resistance mechanism underpinning Si-induced plant immunity.


Purpose: With the recent introduction of the Grid‐Based Boltzmann Solver (GBBS) in commercial HDR brachytherapytreatment planning (Acuros™, Varian), there is now a rapid and accurate alternative to Monte Carlo calculations to attain improved dosimetric accuracy. The validation of Acuros™ has been performed by comparison to Monte Carlo calculations in water phantom. In this investigation, we compare calculated and measured doses in the presence of both high and low density heterogeneities. Methods: Phantoms were created incorporating both low and high density heterogeneities including representative densities of bone and air cavities. For the comparisons HDR plans were developed to deliver 100 cGy with TG‐43 formalism to optically stimulated luminescence(OSL)detectors placed in or near the heterogeneities. The detectors were calibrated by exposure to a known dose. The plans were then recalculated using the Acuros™ algorithm, and the dose to the detectors was determined both by calculation and measurement. Results: The OSLdetectors measured an average dose of 105 cGy when placed after a low density insert in the phantom, as compared to a calculated average dose of 107 cGy. When the OSLdetectors were placed after three different higher density inserts ranging from 1.3 to 1.9 g/cm3, the measured doses were 78, 77, and 75 cGy, compared to the calculated doses of 84, 82, and 75 cGy. Conclusions: The Acuros™ algorithm has been demonstrated to perform rapid and accurate dosimetry in homogenous water phantom. In this study we demonstrate that it performs accurately in the vicinity of heterogeneities expected to be encountered in the clinic. This work shows good qualitative agreement between measured and calculated high dose rate brachytherapydoses in the presence of both low and high density heterogeneities, and shows that the confidence‐building step of comparing calculated to measured dose can be readily made with simple phantom geometries.


The 3-UPU three degrees of freedom fully parallel manipulator, where U and P are for universal and prismatic pair respectively, is a very well known manipulator that can provide the platform with three degrees of freedom of pure translation, pure rotation or mixed translation and rotation with respect to the base, according to the relative directions of the revolute pair axes (each universal pair comprises two revolute pairs with intersecting and perpendicular axes).
 In particular, pure translational parallel 3-UPU manipulators (3-UPU TPMs) received great attention. Many studies have been reported in the literature on singularities, workspace, and joint clearance influence on the platform accuracy of this manipulator. However, much work has still to be done to reveal all the features this topology can offer to the designer when different architecture, i.e. different geometry are considered.
 Therefore, this dissertation will focus on this type of the 3-UPU manipulators. The first part of the dissertation presents six new architectures of the 3-UPU TPMs which offer interesting features to the designer. In the second part, a procedure is presented which is based on some indexes, in order to allows the designer to select the best architecture of the 3-UPU TPMs for a given task. Four indexes are proposed as stiffness, clearance, singularity and size of the manipulator in order to apply the procedure.


Abstract Evidence for resilience, competent functioning despite severe adversity, was investigated in school-age, disadvantaged maltreated (N = 127) and nonmaltreated (N = 79) children attending a summer camp program. Multiple areas of adaptation (social adjustment, risk for school difficulty, psychopathology) were assessed from self, peer, and camp counselor perspectives and school records. A composite index of adaptive functioning was developed, and levels of competence were delineated. Personality dimensions and personal resources, including cognitive maturity, self-esteem, ego-resiliency, and ego-control, were evaluated as mechanisms promoting individual differences in successful adaptation. Maltreated children as a group evidenced lower overall competence when compared to nonmaltreated children. An equal proportion of maltreated and nonmaltreated children, however, demonstrated high levels of competence, whereas more maltreated children than nonmaltreated children evidenced low levels of competence. Ego-resiliency, ego-control, and self-esteem were each found to predict individual differences in competent functioning. Evidence for the differential role of ego-control in promoting competence for maltreated versus nonmaltreated children was found. The results are discussed in terms of mechanisms contributing to resilient outcomes in maltreated children and the implications of the study of resilience for the field of developmental psychopathology.


Abstract When we compare the contemporary ethnic structure and national policy of Poland and its eastern neighbours, we can see clear asymmetry in both quantitative and legal-institutional aspects. There is currently a markedly smaller population of Ukrainians, Belarusians and Lithuanians living in Poland than the Polish population in the territories of our eastern neighbours. At the same time, the national minorities in Poland enjoy wider rights and better conditions to operate than Poles living in Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania. Additional complicating factor in bilateral relations between national minority and the home state is different political status of Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine and different processes of transformation the consequence of which is differentiated state of political relations of Poland with its eastern neighbours. Lithuania, like Poland, is a member of EU, Ukraine, outside the structures of European integration, pursued a variable foreign policy, depending on the ruling options and the economic situation, and Belarus, because of internal policy which is unacceptable in the EU countries, is located on the political periphery of Europe.


We classify all five-dimensional Einstein manifolds that are static, have an SO(3) isometry group and have Petrov type 22. We use this classification to show that the localized black hole in the Randall–Sundrum scenario necessarily has Petrov type 4.