In rural India, the socio-economic conditions have largely constrained the process of education and the social inequalities of caste, class and gender have been identified as the major causes of educational deprivation among children in India. A large proportion of children from the economically poor and socially disadvantaged groups, especially girls, are either denied access or are failing to complete even five years of basic education. The goal of universal and compulsory education remains a challenge to achieve even after six decades of independence. The present paper has tried to highlight the various aspects of education and state of literacy in Ambedkarnagar District in North India. Study also examined the rate of literates and illiterates by population and sex in various Community Development Blocks in general and scheduled castes and scheduled tribes' population in particular. The distribution of villages by literacy rate range as well as according to the distance from the nearest statutory town and availability and non-availability of educational facility has also elaborated. This paper has been presented at the International Conference on Education Awareness for Social Sectors Issues in India, organized by Singhania University, India, in collaboration with Bedfordian Business School, Luton, United Kingdom & Toff Institute of Management and Engineering Studies, India during 24 July, 2011.


Most previous studies on multi-agent reinforcement learning focus on deriving decentralized and cooperative policies to maximize a common reward and rarely consider the transferability of trained policies to new tasks. This prevents such policies from being applied to more complex multi-agent tasks. To resolve these limitations, we propose a model that conducts both representation learning for multiple agents using hierarchical graph attention network and policy learning using multi-agent actor-critic. The hierarchical graph attention network is specially designed to model the hierarchical relationships among multiple agents that either cooperate or compete with each other to derive more advanced strategic policies. Two attention networks, the inter-agent and inter-group attention layers, are used to effectively model individual and group level interactions, respectively. The two attention networks have been proven to facilitate the transfer of learned policies to new tasks with different agent compositions and allow one to interpret the learned strategies. Empirically, we demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms existing methods in several mixed cooperative and competitive tasks.


: A case of bronchial carcinoma of the lung presenting as Cushing's syndrome is described. The clinical features and laboratory investigations leading to the diagnosis are outlined. The autopsy findings, histology and the ultrastructure of the tumour are illustrated and the literature is reviewed.


Camel is one of the important livestock species which plays a major role in the pastoral mode of life by fulfilling basic demands of livelihood. Traditionally, camel urine has been used in the treatment of human diseases. With regard to the health benefits of drinking the urine of camels, it has been proven by modern scientific researches. Camel urine has an unusual and unique biochemical composition that contributes to medicinal values. The chemical composition of camel urine showed the presence of purine bases, hypoxanthine, sodium, potassium, creatinine, urea, uric acid, and phosphates. The nano-particles in the camel's urine can be used to fight cancer. Camel urine has antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria. Its chemical and organic constituents have also inhibitory properties against fungal growth, human platelets, and parasitic diseases mainly fasciollosis in calves. The healthy status of the liver can be restored through ingestion of diet and minerals in camel urine. Camel urine is used by the camel owners and Bedouins as medicine in different ways. The Bedouin in the Arab desert used to mix camel urine with milk. Recently; the WHO has warned against drinking camel urine due to the modern attempt to limit Outbreaks of Respiratory Syndrome (MRS) in the Middle East. There is no scientific dosage for camel urine to be applied as medicine for different diseases and the ways of camel urine formulation and utilization for the care of patients varies from country to country. Therefore, the purposes of the present review describe the biochemical composition of camel urine will be scientifically extracted and formulated as a therapy rather than drinking raw urine and people's health impact.


The classical mitogen-activated protein(MAP) kinase cascade is one of the central intracellular signaling pathways that play a crucial role in cell proliferation, cell differentiation, cell transformation, and many other cellular responses. Two novel MAP kinase cascades, the SAPK/JNK cascade and the p38/MPK2 cascade, were identified, and were shown to function in various stress responses and apoptotic processes. Intracellular distribution of classical MAP kinase kinase (MAPKK/MEK) is regulated by its nuclear export signal (NES) which may function to suppress malignant cell transformation. CRM1 protein has been identified as a receptor for leucine-rich NES. CRM1 binds to CAN/NUP214, one of nucleopore proteins, which has been suggested to be involved in myeloid leukemia. Thus, the nuclear export system may be by somehow related to cancer development.


Abstract Individuals within a group do not all act in the same way: Typically, the investors (or producers) put efforts into producing resources while the free riders (or scroungers) benefit from these resources without contributing. In behavioral ecology, the prevalence of free riders can be predicted by a well‐known game‐theoretical model—the producer–scrounger (PS) model—where group members have the options to either search for resources (producers) or exploit the efforts of others (scroungers). The PS model has received some empirical support, but its predictions, surprisingly, are based on the strict assumption that only one resource can be exploited at a time. Yet, multiple simultaneous opportunities to exploit others' efforts should frequently occur in nature. Here, we combine analytic and simulation approaches to explore the effect of multiple simultaneous scrounging opportunities on tactic use. Our analyses demonstrate that scrounging rates should increase with the number of simultaneous opportunities. As such, the amount and spatial distribution (i.e., clumped vs. dispersed) of resources as well as the risk of predation are key predictors of scrounging behavior. Because scroungers contribute to reducing the speed of resource exploitation, the model proposed here has direct relevance to the exploitation and sustainability of renewable resources.


According to the requirement of measurement of plantar pressure, this thesis puts forward a plan to construct a new insole plantar pressure system based on multifunction data acquisition modular and Test Point. Then the hardware part and software part are designed and developed respectively. The piezoelectric ceramic type sensors are designed, manufactured and calibrated according to scientific methods. Meanwhile, the DAQ card is selected carefully. Of course, the software part is developed based on Test Point. A series of tests are performed in order to validate the function of the plantar pressure measurement system. The results satisfy the anticipated design requirements. At last, the problems and application trend of the plantar pressure system are predicted.


Recent advancements in the measurement and modeling of heavy stable water isotopes (i.e., H2O and HDO), especially in situ and remote sensing spectroscopic vapor isotope measurements and isotope-incorporated general circulation and regional models, have rapidly improved our understanding of the behavior of water isotopes on Earth. These advancements have significantly increased the recognition of the usefulness of information on stable water isotopes in the geoscience community. This study reviews these recent advancements and their applications in climatological, meteorological, and hydrological sciences. It also explores two emerging directions. The first is the direct validation of climate models using independent isotopic proxy data. I particularly discuss comparisons of the 20th Century Isotope Reanalysis dataset, which covers 1871–2008, to ice core δ18O, tree cellulose δ18O, and coral δ18O. The second is the use of isotopic data as constraints in various climatological, meteorological, and hydrological models. Ideally, vapor isotope data could be used to improve weather forecasting.


In light of the surge of foreign large-scale land acquisitions (LSLA) in developing countries, concerns have been raised that large-scale agricultural projects could negatively affect smallholder livelihoods. There is, however, very little evidence beyond case studies that support these claims. Drawing on nationally representative household datasets from 2000 and 2010, as well as an inventory of foreign LSLA from Zambia, this study investigates the impacts of foreign LSLA on the productivity, fertilizer use, and wage-employment opportunities of smallholders. Using a difference-in-difference approach, we find that smallholders located in districts with foreign LSLA are not worse off than smallholders in districts without foreign LSLA. Instead, we find consistent evidence of a convergence in the productivity levels of smallholders in districts with and without foreign LSLA. Our results allow for the careful conclusion that LSLA, despite being of considerable magnitude in Zambia, have not had any disruptive effects on the smallholder economy at the district level.


: While intended to increase the habitat available to endangered species, the restrictions of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) increase the costs of harboring an endangered species to private landowners and create incentives for private landowners to reduce habitat. This paper illustrates the incentive for habitat destruction with a simple model of private land use under the ESA, and uses it to predict the effects of changes in policy or biological conditions on private landowner incentives. Many anecdotal accounts and recent empirical research support the predictions of the model. Because of the ESA's perverse incentives, many have proposed replacing the punitive regulations of the ESA with positive incentives for habitat creation, including takings compensation, negligence compensation rules, tradable development rights, and land purchase programs. The paper concludes by reviewing economic analysis of these proposals' effectiveness.


Groups of 50 medium-si sed uniform Florido yams were consecutively treated with various factorially combined chlorethanol-thiourea solutions. The chlorothanol was used at rates of 40, 50, and 60 ml./liter of solution, while the thiourea, solutions were prepared at 0.5-, 1-, and 2-percent concentrations. The most important results were as follows: 1. All treated yam ''seed" started to sprout in about a month, or shortly after they were planted in the field. If look nearly 4 months for the untreated seed to germinate, 2. Besides stimulating early sprouting the chlorethanol-thiourea treatments also induced several shoots to grow from each bud. 3. Yield differences between treated and untreated yams wore outstanding. Untreated yams produced only 4 pounds, while the lowest yield for the chemically treated yams was 12 pounds of edible roots. 4. There was a tendency for the number of sprouts and the yield to increase with an increase in the chlorethanol concentration. No such effects were apparent from the thiourea concentrations.


The effect of Co, Cr and Nb on the electrical properties of the grain boundaries of SnO2-based varistors was investigated. The powders were prepared by the method of evaporation and decomposition of solutions and suspensions. Varistor samples were obtained by uniaxial pressing followed by sintering at 1300 °C for 1h. The electrical properties of the grain-boundary region, such as resistance (R) and capacitance (C), were determined using ac impedance spectroscopy in the 27-330 °C temperature interval. Activation energies for conduction (EA) were calculated from the Arrhenius equation. The non-linear coefficients (α) and the breakdown electric fields (Eb) of the samples were determined from the current-voltage characteristics. The potential barrier height (Φb) was calculated using the Schottky-type conducting model. After a comparison of the characteristic parameters for different varistor compositions it was found that the Cr/Nb ratio has a crucial influence on the grain-boundary properties in SnO2 varistors.


Background: The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) Risk Estimator, an online calculator tool for primary prevention, can aid providers in assessing the 10-year and lifetime risks for ASCVD. Primary care physician (PCP) awareness of the ACC/AHA ASCVD Risk Estimator has not been adequately examined.
Objective: To assess PCP awareness of the ACC/AHA ASCVD Risk Estimator.
Methods: A survey was administered to PCPs during health plan provider network meetings in July 2016. The survey included questions regarding PCP awareness of the ACC/AHA ASCVD Risk Estimator, as well as location and predominant socioeconomic status of the patient population. Demographic and practice variables such as gender, race, ethnicity, age, years in practice, and specialty were collected. Risk Estimator awareness was determined overall, and group differences by PCP and practice characteristics were examined using chi-square tests for categorical variables, and t-tests for continuous variables.
Results: A total of 214 out of 215 physicians from the health plan's Southwest and Southeast Texas regions completed the survey. Among those surveyed, 57% indicated awareness of the ASCVD Risk Estimator. PCP awareness was significantly associated with the patients' socioeconomic status, where physicians treating mostly the indigent patient population were more aware of the Risk Estimator compared to those treating mostly middle- and upper-class populations.
Conclusion: Over 40% of those surveyed were unaware of the ASCVD Risk Estimator, indicating a need for education among PCPs as it pertains to improving patient care in high-risk CVD patients.


SUMMARY: Many monosaccharides, oligosaccharides and their derivatives were tested as inhibitors of agglutination of guinea-pig or horse erythrocytes by Salmonella typhimurium or Shigella flexneri bacteria bearing type-1 fimbriae. D-Mannose and certain derivatives of mannose were strongly inhibitory, and D-fructose moderately inhibitory. Modification of any of the hydroxyl groups at the C-2, C-3, C-4 or C-6 positions in the D-mannopyranosyl molecule caused failure to inhibit, showing that these groups were necessary for binding to the active sites of the fimbrial haemagglutinin. The α-configuration at the C-1 position in D-mannose was important and carbohydrates containing α-linked D-mannose were much more active inhibitors than those containing β-linked D-mannose, which were poor inhibitors or non-inhibitors. Yeast mannan also inhibited the fimbrial reaction. Attention is drawn to the remarkable degree of similarity of the inhibition pattern of the type-1 fimbrial haemagglutinin of bacteria with that of concanavalin-A, the jack bean haemagglutinin.


ABSTRACT The focus of this study is paid to general methodology and design of accident scenarios for floating production, storage and offloading systems (FPSOs) using more sophisticated tools such as the nonlinear FEM so that structural responses during and after a collision can be more precisely predicted. The extent of FPSO hull damage due to the different collision scenarios and impact energy levels are determined using the guidelines contained in the NORSOK Standard [2004a. Design of steel structure N-004, Rev. 2 October 2004; 2004b. Materials selections M-001, Rev. 4 August 2004]. The collision scenario is considered for accidental limit state with five-year onsite environment in this study. The various collision scenarios are defined such as supply vessel collision bow on, supply vessel collision side on, supply vessel collision stern on, and off take tanker collision bow on. Nonlinear finite element analysis, using large deformation FEM, is applied to analyse the damages to FPSO hull structures. Conservatively the impacting vessel is considered non-deformed during the collision (whole energy absorbed by the FPSO). Damage evaluation to hull parts of FPSO is checked, including flare and flares foundations, aft muster station, offloading reel and piping and green water protections above cargo deck. The results and insights derived from the present study are summarised.


Concrete is easily to crack due to its low tensile strength. Once harmful substances ingress through cracks, the service life of concrete will be endangered. The self-healing agent with a high healing efficiency and multiple autonomous is prepared based on pyrogallol and polyethylenimine. This self-healing agent is in liquid state, when the solution is exposed to air, there will be a film formed at the liquid/air interface. This film exhibited well regenerative properties which can be used to seal the cracks of concrete to reduce the risk of ingress of aggressive substances. In this paper, the ratio of the two components of the self-healing agent was investigated to achieve an optimization of strength and generation rate of this film. Then cement mortar specimens of Ф100×50 mm are immersed in the self-healing agent under a vacuum environment to let the pores fill with self-healing agent. Thereafter, the discs are subjected to gas permeability test to exam the effects of self-healing agent on the permeability of cement mortar before and after compressive loadings. Results showed that this material can effectively reduce the gas permeability coefficient of cement mortar with micro cracks. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results also confirmed the crack barrier effect of this self-healing agent. Through several loading cycles, this self-healing agent also retained a certain self-healing effect in cement matrix, indicating that this self-healing agent appears to be a promising approach to increase concrete durability.


Lactovegetarians (n = 35) with low vitamin B12 (B12) status were intervened for eight weeks capsules containing cyano-B12 (CN-B12), (2 × 2.8 µg/day), or equivalent doses of endogenous B12 (mainly hydroxo-B12 (HO-B12)) in whey powder. Blood samples were examined at baseline, every second week during the intervention, and two weeks post-intervention. The groups did not differ at baseline in [global median (min/max)] plasma B12 [112(61/185)] pmol/L, holotranscobalamin [20(4/99)] pmol/L, folate [13(11/16)], the metabolites total homocysteine [18(9/52)] µmol/L and methylmalonic acid [0.90(0.28/2.5)] µmol/L, and the combined indicator of B12 status (4cB12) [−1.7(−3.0/−0.33)]. Both supplements caused significant effects, though none of the biomarkers returned to normal values. Total plasma B12 showed a higher increase in the capsule group compared to the whey powder group (p = 0.02). However, the increase of plasma holotranscobalamin (p = 0.06) and the lowering of the metabolites (p > 0.07) were alike in both groups. Thereby, the high total plasma B12 in the capsule group was not mirrored in enhanced B12 metabolism, possibly because the B12 surplus was mainly accumulated on an "inert" carrier haptocorrin, considered to be of marginal importance for tissue delivery of B12. In conclusion, we demonstrate that administration of whey powder (HO-B12) or capsules (CN-B12) equivalent to 5.6 µg of B12 daily for eight weeks similarly improves B12 status but does not normalize it. We document that the results for plasma B12 should be interpreted with caution following administration of CN-B12, since the change is disproportionately high compared to the responses of complementary biomarkers.


Abstract. We study the initiation of a Marinoan Snowball Earth (~635 million years before present) with the state-of-the-art atmosphere-ocean general circulation model ECHAM5/MPI-OM. This is the most sophisticated model ever applied to Snowball initiation. A comparison with a pre-industrial control climate shows that the change of surface boundary conditions from present-day to Marinoan, including a shift of continents to low latitudes, induces a global-mean cooling of 4.6 K. Two thirds of this cooling can be attributed to increased planetary albedo, the remaining one third to a weaker greenhouse effect. The Marinoan Snowball Earth bifurcation point for pre-industrial atmospheric carbon dioxide is between 95.5 and 96% of the present-day total solar irradiance (TSI), whereas a previous study with the same model found that it was between 91 and 94% for present-day surface boundary conditions. A Snowball Earth for TSI set to its Marinoan value (94% of the present-day TSI) is prevented by doubling carbon dioxide with respect to its pre-industrial level. A zero-dimensional energy balance model is used to predict the Snowball Earth bifurcation point from only the equilibrium global-mean ocean potential temperature for present-day TSI. We do not find stable states with sea-ice cover above 55%, and land conditions are such that glaciers could not grow with sea-ice cover of 55%. Therefore, none of our simulations qualifies as a "slushball" solution. While uncertainties in important processes and parameters such as clouds and sea-ice albedo suggest that the Snowball Earth bifurcation point differs between climate models, our results contradict previous findings that Snowball Earth initiation would require much stronger forcings.


This paper studies the performance of distribution networks as the result of a range of organizational choices made by the upstream firm. The analytical part of the paper surveys the vast literature devoted to franchising and to dual distribution. From this framework, several testable propositions are derived, linking the networks performance to the organizational choices. Three complementary criteria of performance are taken into account : the internationalization rate, the expansion rate, the market share. The paper provides evidence that these criteria are empirically related. Thus, a system of simultaneous equations is defined, free of endogeneity relating to the explanatory variables. The estimations on recent French data by means of the three-least squares method provide robust results, and show that the type of distribution network, the number of company-owned units in the network, the type of sector, and the choice to manage several networks simultaneously affect the performance in distribution systems.


Since 2008, banks have spent more than €342 billion on settlements, enforcement actions, and fines, and until 2020 according to Reuters this value is expected to rise to €400 billion. As a result, technological solutions were implemented to help financial institutions deal with the increasing compliance burden and regulators addressing the constant difficulties of enforcing and monitoring regulatory requirements to limit risks and promote financial stability. This led to the emergence of a whole new movement in the Financial Industry: Regulatory Technology or Regtech. The aim of this paper is to explain the Regtech environment in the financial sector. We highlight how technology can help financial institutions dealing with risky behavior and regulatory demands in the most efficient and cost-effective way. JEL Classification: G21; G28


Abstract As an efficiency enhancement numerical scheme of transient nonlinear nodal calculations, a three-grid correction scheme (3GCS) using a modified W cycle based on three grid structures of three-dimensional (3-D) four-node-per-assembly (4N/A), 3-D 1N/A, and two-dimensional (2-D) 1N/A is developed. Its computational efficiency is compared with a single-grid biconjugate gradient stabilized (BICGSTAB) iteration scheme in popular use in terms of 3-D 4N/A nonlinear analytical nodal method solutions to Nuclear Energy Agency Committee on Reactor Physics pressurized water reactor rod ejection benchmark problems. It is shown that in computational efficiency, the 3GCS excels the BICGSTAB iteration method using preconditioners such as Jacobi, incomplete lower and upper (ILU), and 3-D block incomplete lower and upper (BILU3D) preconditioners. It is also shown that coarse-grid residual equations based on the 3-D 1N/A grid structure can predict temporal truncation errors as accurately as the 3-D 4N/A fine-grid residual equation but with considerably less overhead computing time for variable time-step size control calculations by a step doubling method. In addition, incorporation of preconditioners into the 3GCS is shown to enhance further efficiency of the nonpreconditioned 3GCS. From these results, it is concluded that the temporal adaptive 3GCS employing coarse-grid residual equations for temporal step-size control as well as the preconditioner like the BILU3D can provide a very efficient iterative solution scheme for transient nonlinear nodal calculations.


Mycobacteria are acid-fast, slow-growing microorganisms which have gained attention due to increasing prevalence in AIDS patients. Until the advent of AIDS, the only true pathogens of this group were Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. leprae and the remaining mycobacteria were considered to be saprophytes or opportunistic pathogens. Infection with the MOTT (mycobacteria other than tuberculosis) bacilli was only seen in elderly or immunocompromised patients and was generally limited to caseating pulmonary granulomas, with rare extrapulmonary involvement. In AIDS patients, however, the incidence of mycobacterial infections ranges from 10 to 60% of HIV-positive persons, depending on location, method of identification, and patient population. Furthermore the pathogenesis of these mycobacterioses is distinct from that seen in non-AIDS patients because disseminated disease is the rule rather than the exception. Finally treatment of mycobacterial infections is increasingly difficult due to multiple drug resistances as well as the length of antimicrobial therapy required to cure the disease. Because of the prevalence and importance of these microorganisms, much research has been performed with the mycobacteria to develop new therapies and to understand their modes of pathogenesis.


ABSTRACT The chemical composition of the chloroform extracts of flowers, stems, and roots of Tripleurospermum callosum. (Boiss. & Heldr) E. Hossain growing along the northeastern coast of Turkey was studied by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The GC-MS analyses of the chloroform extracts from air-dried parts of T. callosum. yielded the identification of 93 compounds. These compounds were separated into eight classes that were terpenes-terpenoids, hydrocarbons, alcohols, acids, oxygen-containing compounds, steroids, aromatics, and others. Major compounds were moretenol (11.71%) in flower oil: linoleic acid (16.18%), n.-hexadecanoic acid (17.88%), and 1-tricosene (13.41%) in stem oil: and n.-hexadecanoic acid (6.18%) in root oil. Similarity, of chloroform extracts in flowers, stems, and roots of T. callosum. were in the ratio of 13.77%, 45.99%, and 30.16%, respectively.


Rapid pseudo-noise (PN) code acquisition with matched filter correlators has been very popular in direct-sequence spread spectrum systems. Conventionally, the analysis of this acquisition method is based on the assumption that the detections between cells are independent. However, there may be strong correlations between cell detections for the case that the cell size is less than a chip duration. In this paper, the mean acquisition time performance of the acquisition method is analyzed with the cell correlations being taken into account. Numerical results show that depending on the threshold value and other system parameters the effect of cell correlations may be over 20% of the mean acquisition time for signal to noise ratios of practical interest. The analytical results are substantiated by using computer simulations.


The following paper is about degrading treatment in preschools and the essay discuss degrading treatment according to the Swedish school law, in preschools and the chosen focus for this study is three to four year old children. The aim is to see whether or not preschool children proceed with degrading treatment towards other children and if preschool teachers believe that children this young have the ability to do so. The questions for this study are: Can children proceed with degrading treatment towards each other? Which conflicts evolve through children's interactions? Can children in pre-schools have a degrading behavior? To answer these questions participant observation at two preschools and interviews with four preschool teachers were chosen as method. The perspective of this paper is based on the view on children as actors, which is used to acknowledge and enhance the possibilities of letting the children's own voices be heard. Theories used for this paper is Van Ausdale and Feagin's (2001) theory about three to four years olds awareness, one about children's relation to adults presented by Thorne (1993) and Wyness (2012) and lastly Gripsruds explanation of the influence of media combined with statistics from Statens medierad (Swedish media council).The result of this study show that children between the ages of three to four, use different strategies to include or exclude other children and used things such as age and limitations of participants in a play as excuses. However, these reoccurring excuses cannot be seen as degrading treatment or behavior, according to definition made by the school law. An interesting finding is that the children sometimes used their parents to excuse their actions or used them to threat others. Overall the observational study shows how difficult it can be to see and acknowledge degrading treatment within preschools. The interviews with the preschool teachers indicates that they do not spend much time on acknowledging or trying to prevent degrading treatment amongst children. The preschool teachers discussed children's quarrels but they tended to see it as something natural within children's interactions. The conclusion of this essay is that degrading treatment could not be seen at the two preschools, which is contradicting to some of the literature used in this paper.


Writing in English is a very controversial act in Malaysia and Singapore. In her article "Voices from the Hinterland" (World Literature Written in English 28.1) Shirley Geok Lin Lim tells us that many people in these countries view English "as a non-native language . . . incapable of providing traditional Asian cultural values" (145). English has been considered the language of the oppressors (British) and, therefore, not suitable to expressing the experience of people in these two countries. Such a bias has caused some critics to distrust writings in English, a concern has been expressed since the 1950s, and continues even now. But many of the writers today are fluent in English, and Lim believes that their writing is representative of modern Asian writing. She states that Malaysian/Singapore writers in English are not only using Indian or Chinese symbolism and Hindu or Buddhist/Confucian ideas, they "are at the same time involved with examining Malaysian experience and depicting their societies on authentically native ground" (147). English has become a part of their experience. The question becomes not whether authors should be writing in English, but whether they can do it well. Some critics worry, however, that writing in English further marginalizes women writers in these countries. To be accepted as a "legitimate" writer a woman not only has to adopt the accepted forms of writing in a male-controlled world, but also adopt a more Westernized style of literature and woman's place within that body of work: "Asian women writers in the twentieth century were and continue to be marginalized first by gender in socio-political structures that have no functions for women except as nurturers (nurses, teachers, lovers, mothers, what is called the helping professions). They are marginalized also, in nations where national identity has been forcibly equated with a national language policy, by their choice of writing in English" (Lim 1990, 154). Most of the English writers will also have been schooled in Western literature, again further alienating these women from their own culture. Within such a restricted realm, a woman is not able to find "herself" nor can she relate her experience to her readers. But Lim believes that the act of writing is revolutionary by itself, and that women can overcome the marginalization imposed by both society and writing in a second tongue. Since there are so few stories written by Asian women of their own experiences, the most important act a woman can do is to write and tell her story as honestly as possible. With the writing comes the liberation. So, too, are there questions about the translation of stories into another language. While the majority of the fictions listed in this bibliography were originally written in English, some have been translated from the Chinese, Tamil, or Malay. Translations offer their own set of questions including the translator's prejudices and the inability to find adequate phrases in the new language. But whatever concerns may accompany these stories, the writers have given us an instructive and memorable look at the lives of women in Malaysia and Singapore, and we come to see not only the differences but the similarities in our lives. REFERENCES Shirley Geok Lin Lim. "Semiotics, Experience and the Material Self: An Inquiry Into the Subject of the Contemporary Asian Woman Writer." Women's Studies 18 (1990): 153-75. Shirley Geok Lin Lim. "Voices from the Hinterland: Plurality and Identity in the National Literatures in English from Malaysia and Singapore." Word Literature Written in English 28.1 (1988): 145-53. ANTHOLOGIES: Cultural and Social Centre, Asian Pacific Council, comps. Asian and Pacific Short Stories. Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Turtle, 1974. Fernando, Lloyd, ed. Twenty-Two Malaysian Stories. Singapore: Heinemann Asia. 1968. Heng, Geraldine, ed. The Sun In Her Eyes. Singapore: Woodrose Publications, 1976. …


Herpes zoster can be serious or incapacitating, particularly in patients whose immune system is compromised by a disease or treatment. Immunomodulating drugs can increase the risk of infection. Well-established risk factors include advanced age and glucocorticoid therapy. The data are somewhat conflicting for medications such as methotrexate, tofacitinib, TNF antagonists (infliximab, adalimumab, etanercept, certolizumab, and golimumab), abatacept, tocilizumab, and rituximab. Nevertheless, the risk of herpes zoster is increased in patients taking biological agents, because of the underlying diseases and/or effects of the drugs. A live attenuated herpes zoster vaccine has been proven effective and safe in immunocompetent individuals. At present, however, it is not recommended for patients with immunodeficiencies, including those taking biological drugs, as no studies have assessed its risk/benefit ratio in this population. This situation may change in the near future, as recent data support the effectiveness and safety of the herpes zoster vaccine in patients who take biotherapies or have other causes of immunodeficiency. Alternative approaches designed to protect these patients from herpes zoster and its complications are also under evaluation. There is a need to define the indications of the herpes zoster vaccine in terms of the target population, timing, modalities, and frequency, according to the underlying chronic systemic disease, age group, varicella-zoster virus status, and exposure to therapeutic agents. © 2016 Société franç aise de rhumatologie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.


BAD (BCL-2 antagonist of cell death) is a pro-apoptotic BCL-2 family protein that plays a critical role in the regulation of apoptotic response. This study presents direct evidence that AF1q increased the radiation-induced apoptosis through up-regulation of BAD in human squamous carcinoma A431 cells and the key transcription factor involved is NF-kappaB. The minimal promoter sequence of BAD was identified; the activity was increased in AF1q stable transfectants and decreased upon AF1q siRNA transfection. The NF-kappaB consensus binding sequence is detected on BAD promoter. Inactivation of NF-kappaB by NF-kappaB inhibitor Bay 11-7082 or NF-kappaB p65 siRNA suppressed the expression and promoter activity of BAD; the suppression is more obvious in AF1q stable transfectants which also have an elevated NF-kappaB level. Mutation of putative NF-kappaB motif decreased the BAD promoter activity. The binding of NF-kappaB to the BAD promoter was confirmed by chromatin-immunoprecipitation. These findings indicate that AF1q up-regulation of BAD is through its effect on NF-kappaB and this may hint of its oncogenic mechanism in cancer.


Abstract Deccan volcanism was synchronous with rifting along the west coast of India. Pre- and synmagmatic rifting has been widely reported in the Deccan Volcanic Province, but extension post-dating magmatism, and predating India–Eurasia collision, is less well known. A recent study in the Kachchh area of western India documented weathering of basalts to kaolinite at the base of Cenozoic rift basins, with rift flanks relatively less altered to smectites, and this was attributed to post-magmatic rifting. This study models basalt weathering under open- and closed-system conditions to simulate rainwater interacting with basalts either on topographical slopes (within rifts) or on flat-topped hills (flow tops). Both systems were modelled under conditions ranging from low, present-day values to higher values more appropriate for the end-Cretaceous–early Paleocene time, after basalt emplacement. The results show that if exceeded values of 10−2.5, basalts would be altered to kaolinite in both open and closed systems. Existing estimates in the aftermath of Deccan volcanism fall below this value, implying that the differential basalt weathering was more likely to have been caused by terminal to post-magmatic rifting. This indicates that extensional tectonics along the Indian west coast in the Kachchh region continued even after cessation of Deccan volcanism.


The spurt in interest and development of Autonomous vehicles is a continuing boost to the growth of electronic devices in the automotive industry. The sensing, processing, activation, feedback and control functions done by the human brain have to be replaced with electronics. The task is proving to be exhilarating and daunting at the same time. The environment sensors – RADAR (RAdio Detection And Ranging), Camera and LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) are enjoying a lot attention with the need for increasingly greater range and resolution being demanded by the "eyes" and faster computation by the "brain". Even though all three and more sensors (Ultrasonic / Stereo Camera / GPS / etc.) will be used together; this chapter will focus on challenges facing Camera and LIDAR. Anywhere from 2 – 8 cameras and 1 – 2 LIDAR are expected to be part of the sensor suite needed by Autonomous vehicles – which have to function equally well in day and night. Near infrared (800 – 1000nm) devices are currently emitters of choice in these sensors. Higher range, resolution and Field of view pose many challenges to overcome with new electronic device innovations before we realize the safety and other benefits of autonomous vehicles.


OBJECTIVE: To estimate the proportion of women who returned for a routine follow-up visit after elective abortion and to identify factors associated with repeat pregnancy in the subsequent year. METHODS: We performed a historical cohort study of 865 women who underwent first-trimester surgical abortion at a hospital-based family planning clinic between March 2003 and February 2004. We collected demographic and clinical data from procedure notes and a computerized hospital patient database. We used univariable and multivariable logistic regression to analyze associations between patient characteristics and repeat pregnancy within 1 year. RESULTS: There were a total of 865 women in our cohort. Of these, 753 (87%) returned to the medical center for care; 485 women returned on time, 268 women returned late, and 112 had no further visit. There were 161 repeat pregnancies; 87 (17.9%) in the on-time group and 74 (27.6%) in the late group (P<.001). There were 85 repeat abortions; 42 (8.7%) in the on-time group and 43 (16.0%) in the late group (P<.001). Multivariable analysis demonstrated that on-time follow-up was associated with a reduction in repeat pregnancy (odds ratio [OR] 0.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.37–0.77) and repeat abortion (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.33–0.86). A total of 130 women received injectable depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) at the time of abortion. The rates of repeat pregnancy and abortion in these women were 13.7% and 6.2%, respectively. Women who received DMPA had a decrease in rates of repeat pregnancy (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.23–0.73) and repeat abortion (OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.20–0.99). CONCLUSION: Timely follow-up and immediate administration of DMPA are associated with a decrease in repeat pregnancy in the 12 months after first-trimester elective abortion. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II


Memristor, the fourth passive circuit element, has attracted increased attention from various areas since the first real device was discovered in 2008. Its distinctive characteristic to record the historic profile of the voltage/current through itself creates great potential in future circuit design. Inspired by its high Scalability, ultra low power consumption and similar functionality to biology synapse, using memristor to build high density, high power efficiency neuromorphic circuits becomes one of most promising and also challenging applications. The challenges can be concluded into three levels: device level, circuit level and application level.

At device level, we studied different memristor models and process variations, then we carried out three independent variation models to describe the variation and stochastic behavior of TiO2 memristors. These models can also extend to other memristor models. Meanwhile, these models are also compact enough for large-scale circuit simulation.

At circuit level, inspired by the large-scale and unique requirement of memristor-based neuromorphic circuits, we designed a circuit simulator for efficient memristor cross-point array simulations. Out simulator is 4~5 orders of magnitude faster than tradition SPICE simulators. Both linear and nonlinear memristor cross-point arrays are studied for level-based and spike-based neuromorphic circuits, respectively.

At application level, we first designed a few compact memristor-based neuromorphic components, including ``Macro cell'' for efficient and high definition weight storage, memristor-based stochastic neuron and memristor-based spatio temporal synapse. We then studied three typical neural network models and their hardware realization on memristor-based neuromorphic circuits: Brain-State-in-a-Box (BSB) model stands for level-based neural network, and STDP/ReSuMe models stand for spiking neural network for temporal learning. Our result demonstrates the high resilience to variation of memristor-based circuits and ultra-low power consumption.

In this thesis, we have proposed a complete and detailed analysis for memristor-based neuromorphic circuit design from the device level to the application level. In each level, both theoretical analysis and experimental data versification are applied to ensure the completeness and accuracy of the work.


Four ruminally cannulated Finnish-Ayrshire dairy cows were used to study effects of type of grass silage (primary vs secondary) and level of concentrate supplementation on concentration and the flow of soluble non-ammonia N (SNAN) in the liquid phase of digesta entering the omasum. The treatments in a 4 x 4 Latin square design consisted of either primary growth of grass silage (PG) or secondary growth of grass silage (SG) each with either 8.1 or 12.1 kg/d of concentrate (air dry basis). Digesta entering the omasum was collected, and SNAN fractions (free amino acids, peptides and soluble protein) in the digesta were assessed using ninhydrin. The microbial contribution to SNAN was estimated using 15N as a microbial marker. Concentrations of free amino acids, peptides and soluble protein N averaged 22.3, 59.8 and 23.1 mg N/l, respectively. PG diets tended (P=0.09) to increase peptide N concentration in omasal digesta compared with SG diets, whereas level of barley concentrate did not affect concentrations of SNAN fractions. Peptide N constituted the largest proportion of SNAN in omasal digesta, supporting the previous observation that hydrolysis of peptides to AA is the most limiting step in rumen proteolysis. The microbial contribution to SNAN averaged 0.71, indicating that a substantial proportion of the SNAN was of microbial origin. Soluble dietary NAN flow averaged 9.1 g N/d, accounting for approximately 0.05 to 0.08 of total dietary NAN flow.


Providing efficient ventilation in road tunnels is essential to prevent severe air pollution exposure for both drivers and pedestrians in such enclosed spaces with heavy vehicle emissions. Longitudinal ventilation methods like commercial jet fans have been widely applied and confirmed to be effective for introducing external fresh air into road tunnels that are shorter than 3 km. However, operating tunnel jet fans is energy consuming. Therefore, for small-scale (~100 m–1 km) road tunnels, mechanical ventilation methods might be highly energetically expensive and unaffordable. Many studies have found that the use of wind catchers could improve buildings' natural ventilation, but their effect on improving natural ventilation in small-scale road tunnels has, hitherto, rarely been studied. This paper, therefore, aims to quantify the influence of style and arrangement of one-sided flat-roof wind catchers on ventilation performance in a road tunnel. The concept of intake fraction (IF) is applied for ventilation and pollutant exposure assessment in the overall tunnel and for pedestrian regions. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methodology with a standard k-epsilon turbulence model is used to perform a three-dimensional (3D) turbulent flow simulation, and CFD results have been validated by wind-tunnel experiments for building cross ventilation. Results show that the introduction of wind catchers would significantly enhance wind speed at pedestrian level, but a negative velocity reduction effect and a near-catcher recirculation zone can also be found. A special downstream vortex extending along the downstream tunnel is found, helping remove the accumulated pollutants away from the low-level pedestrian sides. Both wind catcher style and arrangement would significantly influence the ventilation performance in the tunnel. Compared to long-catcher designs, short-catchers would be more effective for providing fresh air to pedestrian sides due to a weaker upstream velocity reduction effect and smaller near-catcher recirculation zone. In long-catcher cases, IF increases to 1.13 ppm when the wind catcher is positioned 240 m away from the tunnel entrance, which is almost twice that in short-catcher cases. For the effects of catcher arrangements, single, short-catcher, span-wise, shifting would not help dilute pollutants effectively. Generally, a design involving a double short-catcher in a parallel arrangement is the most recommended, with the smallest IF, i.e., 61% of that in the tunnel without wind catchers (0.36 ppm).


This work explored the variation law of mechanical parameters at fatigue crack tip of compact tension specimen with type I pre-notch based on dynamic finite element method (FEM) in the high frequency resonant fatigue crack propagation test. The displacement fields, the strain fields and the stress intensity factors (SIF) at CT specimen fatigue crack tip in one stress cycle and at different crack lengths under constant amplitude high frequency sinusoidal alternating loading condition are calculated and the related variation laws of mechanical parameters are analyzed. In order to calculate the dynamic SIF at fatigue crack tip, the static SIF has been calculated first, the comparing results of the static finite element analysis with the theoretical calculation shows that finite element modeling and calculating method and result are accurate. Secondly, the variation law of SIF at crack tip during the process of fatigue crack propagation test is studied by dynamic FEM. Finally, the high frequency resonant fatigue crack propagation test has been performed, and the dynamic strain gauge is used to measure the strain at crack tip during one stress cycle. The research results show that during crack stable propagation stage, the displacement, strain and SIF at type I fatigue crack tip are the same form with the high frequency resonant load, and the displacement, strain and SIF amplitude increase with the crack growth. The error of static SIF between the calculated result by FEM and the theoretical result is 2.51%. The maximum error of the strain at crack tip between the FEM calculating result and the experimental result is 2.93%.


Genetic engineering to enhance mercury phytoremediation has been accomplished by expression of the merAB genes that protects the cell by converting Hg[II] into Hg[0] which volatilizes from the cell. A drawback of this approach is that toxic Hg is released back into the environment. A better phytoremediation strategy would be to accumulate mercury inside plants for subsequent retrieval. We report here the development of a transplastomic approach to express the mouse metallothionein gene (mt1) and accumulate mercury in high concentrations within plant cells. Real-time PCR analysis showed that up to 1284 copies of the mt1 gene were found per cell when compared with 1326 copies of the 16S rrn gene, thereby attaining homoplasmy. Past studies in chloroplast transformation used qualitative Southern blots to evaluate indirectly transgene copy number, whereas we used real-time PCR for the first time to establish homoplasmy and estimate transgene copy number and transcript levels. The mt1 transcript levels were very high with 183,000 copies per ng of RNA or 41% the abundance of the 16S rrn transcripts. The transplastomic lines were resistant up to 20 μm mercury and maintained high chlorophyll content and biomass. Although the transgenic plants accumulated high concentrations of mercury in all tissues, leaves accumulated up to 106 ng, indicating active phytoremediation and translocation of mercury. Such accumulation of mercury in plant tissues facilitates proper disposal or recycling. This study reports, for the first time, the use of metallothioneins in plants for mercury phytoremediation. Chloroplast genetic engineering approach is useful to express metal-scavenging proteins for phytoremediation.


One of the core problems of modern statistics is to approximate difficult-to-compute probability densities. This problem is especially important in Bayesian statistics, which frames all inference about unknown quantities as a calculation involving the posterior density. In this paper, we review variational inference ( vi ), a method from machine learning that ap-proximates probability densities through optimization. vi has been used in many applications and tends to be faster than classical methods, such as Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling. The idea behind vi is to first posit a family of densities and then to find the member of that family which is close to the target. Closeness is measured by Kullback-Leibler divergence. We review the ideas behind mean-field variational inference, discuss the special case of vi applied to exponential family models, present a full example with a Bayesian mixture of Gaussians, and derive a variant that uses stochastic optimization to scale up to massive data. We discuss modern research in vi and highlight important open problems. vi is powerful, but it is not yet well understood. Our hope in writing this paper is to catalyze statistical research on this class of algorithms.


Nonpoint source (NPS) groundwater contamination in sedimentary basin aquifers with overlying agricultural activities increasingly threatens groundwater supplies. The role of aquifer heterogeneity has not been well understood in the assessment of NPS and in linking pollution sources to impacts in water supply wells. A typical well taps into and mixes groundwater varying in age by decades or even centuries. This study investigates the joint impact of aquifer heterogeneity and pumping well characteristics (well depth, pumping rate, and screen length) on expected values of and uncertainty about key management metrics: (1) travel time of a NPS contaminant to a production well, (2) spatiotemporal characteristics of the source area, and (3) contaminant compliance at production wells. A stochastic approach is employed using Monte Carlo simulation of flow and nonreactive transport in 3‐D highly heterogeneous alluvial aquifer systems. Well design is shown to dominate the distribution of travel time mixing and the overall location and spread of the source area. Larger extraction intensity and closer proximity to the land surface are shown to significantly suppress effects of large aquifer heterogeneity on uncertainty on all metrics. Deep wells and wells with lower pumping rates have more uncertain source areas. Long‐term NPS contaminants with high source concentration (>10 times compliance level) will be exceeded in most wells within decades, while low‐intensity source concentrations (2–4 times compliance level, typical for nitrate and salinity) have large uncertainty about time to exceedance suggesting wide variability among a set of wells with similar well design subject to the same NPS pollution.


The incidence of diagnosed thyroid cancer has increased significantly over the last decades. Although advances in ultrasonic imaging have increased the malignancy detection rate, current ultrasonic imaging markers do not provide a sufficient level of diagnostic accuracy to replace biopsy. Recent studies suggest that ultrasound parameters derived from backscatter coefficients may allow differentiating among different types of thyroid tumors and normal tissues in a rodent model ex vivo. In this work, the potential use of attenuation coefficient (AC) estimates for the same purpose was explored. A sample set of 24 excised mice thyroids were scanned using a 40-MHz, f/3 single element transducer. The experimental dataset contained six animals that developed papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), five that developed follicular variant papillary thyroid carcinoma (FV-PTC), five that developed c-Cell adenoma (c-Cell) and eight that did not develop thyroid abnormalities (control). AC slope maps were generated with a spectral log difference method using 0.5mm by 0.5mm data blocks. Outliers of each slice due to artifacts in AC estimation were discarded using the Thompson Tau method. Finally, a Kruskal-Wallis test was conducted to analyze if statistically significant differences in the mean AC slope among the four groups existed. The median and interquartile range for each group were 1.29 and 0.22 dB/cm-MHz for the control group, 1.64 and 0.09 dB/cm-MHz for c-Cell, 1.16 and 0.12 dB/cm-MHz for PTC and 1.33 and 0.08 dB/cm-MHz for FV-PTC, respectively. These values are consistent with previous reports of attenuation in thyroid tissues. The Kruskal-Wallis test reported statistically significant differences between the c-Cell group and the other groups of study and between the PTC and FV-PTC groups (p<;0.05). These preliminary results suggest that the AC may be used to characterize thyroid tissues.


A growing number of people live with cancer and dementia. Dementia creates a particular set of challenges in all aspects of cancer treatment and care, including diagnosis, decision-making, access to appointments, monitoring of signs and symptoms of cancer and side effects of cancer treatment, and management of self-care tasks. People with cancer and dementia often require extensive support from family carers, and those without family support face additional challenges. This article uses the emerging UK evidence base on cancer and dementia to discuss the challenges that arise when providing cancer treatment and care to people with dementia and their families, and to make research-based recommendations on how to improve service provision for that population.


Ourmon is an open-source network management and anomaly detection system that has been developed over a period of several years at Portland State University. Ourmon monitors a target network both to highlight abnormal network traffic and measure normal traffic loads. In this paper, we describe the features and performance characteristics of Ourmon.

Ourmon features include a novel mechanism for running multiple concurrent Berkeley Packet Filter (BPF) expressions bound to a single RRDTOOL-style graph, as well as various types of top talker (top-N) filters aimed at conventional network flow measurements and anomaly detection. These features permit a variety of useful and easily-understood measurements.

One problem that sniffer-based network monitor systems face is network-intensive attacks that can overwhelm monitoring and analysis resources. Lab experiments with an IXIA high-speed packet generator, as well as experiences with Ourmon in a real network environment, demonstrate this problem. Some recent modifications to Ourmon have greatly improved its performance. However, minimum-size packets in a high-speed network can still easily make a host lose packets even at relatively slow rates and low monitor workloads. We contend that small packet performance is a general network security problem faced by current monitoring systems including both open source systems such as Ourmon and Snort, and commercial systems.


Abstract We adapt techniques from the literature on chaos and nonlinear dynamics to detect misspecification in models of serially independent data by checking for dependence between the regressors and disturbances. Our tests are nonparametric in that they determine whether the distribution of the disturbances depends on the regressors without identifying a model of dependence or the distribution of the disturbances. In Monte Carlo simulations we find that these tests have good power against dependence caused by omitted variables, incorrect functional form, heteroskedasticity, and similar problems.We also apply our tests to detect misspecification in models of income imputation.


Mapping of regional fires would make it possible to analyse their environmental, social and economic impact, as well as to develop better fire management systems. However, automatic mapping of burnt areas has proved to be a challenging task, due to the wide diversity of vegetation cover worldwide and the heterogeneous nature of fires themselves. Here, we present an algorithm for the automatic mapping of burnt areas using medium-resolution optical images. Although developed for Landsat images, it can be also applied to Sentinel-2 images without modification. The algorithm draws upon the classical concept of differences in pre- and post-fire reflectance, but also takes advantage of the object-oriented approach and a new threshold calculation method. It consists of four steps. The first concerns the calculation of spectral indices and their differences, together with differences in spectral layers based on pre- and post-fire images. In the second step, multiresolution segmentation and masking are performed (clouds, water bodies and non-vegetated areas are removed from further analysis). Thirdly, 'core' burnt areas are detected using automatically-adjusted thresholds. Thresholds are calculated on the basis of specific functions established for difference layers. The last step combines neighbourhood analysis and patch growing to define the final shape of burnt areas. The algorithm was tested in 27 areas located worldwide, and covered by various types of vegetation. Comparisons with manual interpretation show that the fully-automated classification is accurate. Over 82% of classifications were considered satisfactory (overall accuracy > 90%; user and producer accuracy > 70%).


A bronchopancreatic fistula developed in a 14-year-old boy two weeks following transabdominal splenectomy and repair of a ruptured diaphragm. This unusual entity should be suspected when a patient with pancreatitis or pancreatic trauma has pleural complications associated with profuse, frothy sputum. The diagnosis is established by the presence of high levels of amylase in the sputum or by the appearance in the sputum or the bronchi of dye or contrast material injected into the external fistula. The primary goal of treatment, in addition to the management of the thoracic complications, is subdiaphragmatic control of the pancreatic fistula. A brief summary of seven previously reported cases is presented.


The continuous use of triazoles can result in the development of drug resistance. Azole-resistant clinical isolates, spontaneous and induced mutants of Aspergillus fumigatus have been documented. The azoles block the ergosterol biosynthesis pathway by inhibiting the enzyme 14-alpha-demethylase, product of the CYP51. Fungal azole resistance involves both amino acid changes in the target site that alter drug-target interactions and those that decrease net azole accumulation. The reduced intracellular accumulation has also been correlated with overexpression of multidrug resistance (MDR) efflux transporter genes of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) and the major facilitator superfamily (MFS) classes. About 20 genes are involved in the A. fumigatus ergosterol biosynthesis pathway. There are several duplicated genes in this pathway. Interestingly, erg3 and erg11 showed two copies in A. fumigatus. In general, Aspergillus spp. have proportionally more MFS transporter encoding genes than Saccharomyces cerevisiae, S. pombe, and Neurospora crassa. The drug H+ (12 and 14 spanners) sub-families are also proportionally greater than in the other species. Although the numbers of ABC transporter encoding genes are comparable, again the Aspergillus spp. have more ABC transporters related to multidrug permease than the other fungal species.


Abstract. Scotty Creek, Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada, has
been the focus of hydrological research for nearly three decades. Over this
period, field and modelling studies have generated new insights into the
thermal and physical mechanisms governing the flux and storage of water in
the wetland-dominated regions of discontinuous permafrost that characterises
much of the Canadian and circumpolar subarctic. Research at Scotty Creek
has coincided with a period of unprecedented climate warming, permafrost
thaw, and resulting land cover transformations including the expansion of
wetland areas and loss of forests. This paper (1) synthesises field and
modelling studies at Scotty Creek, (2) highlights the key insights of these
studies on the major water flux and storage processes operating within and
between the major land cover types, and (3) provides insights into the rate
and pattern of the permafrost-thaw-induced land cover change and how such
changes will affect the hydrology and water resources of the study region.


P ervasive sensing and computing technology will play a key role in future buildings. In the US, for example, federal sustainability goals mandate that 50 percent of commercial buildings must become net-zero energy by 2050. To realize this goal, existing buildings will require a wide range of retrofits and improvements. However, to benchmark buildings and verify the intended effects of the improvements, many critical building parameters, including electricity, gas, and water usage, must be sensed and analyzed both before and after the improvements are made.1 Furthermore, many of the improvements themselves—such as advanced daylight harvesting, where indoor lighting is adjusted in a finegrained manner in response to outdoor solar irradiance and the degree of shading—require their own sensors that can monitor occupancy, light level, glare, and shade setting. However, most sensors installed on walls, work surfaces, ceilings, shades, and many other places can't be plugged into mains power, and users won't tolerate frequent battery replacement. This suggests that a different and more scalable sensing paradigm is required. Motivated by these emerging applications and our own difficulties in fielding long-lived indoor sensors at modest scale, we decided to explore the factors preventing broader adoption of pervasive sensing and computing within buildings.


Temperature determines a range of physical properties of water and exerts a strong control on surface water biogeochemistry. Thus, in freshwater ecosystems the thermal regime directly affects the geographical distribution of aquatic species through their growth and metabolism and indirectly through their tolerance to parasites and diseases. Models used to predict surface water temperature range between physically based deterministic models and statistical approaches. Here we present the initial results of a physically based deterministic model of global freshwater surface temperature. The model adds a surface water energy balance to river discharge modeled by the global hydrological model PCR‐GLOBWB. In addition to advection of energy from direct precipitation, runoff, and lateral exchange along the drainage network, energy is exchanged between the water body and the atmosphere by shortwave and longwave radiation and sensible and latent heat fluxes. Also included are ice formation and its effect on heat storage and river hydraulics. We use the coupled surface water and energy balance model to simulate global freshwater surface temperature at daily time steps with a spatial resolution of 0.5° on a regular grid for the period 1976–2000. We opt to parameterize the model with globally available data and apply it without calibration in order to preserve its physical basis with the outlook of evaluating the effects of atmospheric warming on freshwater surface temperature. We validate our simulation results with daily temperature data from rivers and lakes (U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), limited to the USA) and compare mean monthly temperatures with those recorded in the Global Environment Monitoring System (GEMS) data set. Results show that the model is able to capture the mean monthly surface temperature for the majority of the GEMS stations, while the interannual variability as derived from the USGS and NOAA data was captured reasonably well. Results are poorest for the Arctic rivers because the timing of ice breakup is predicted too late in the year due to the lack of including a mechanical breakup mechanism. Moreover, surface water temperatures for tropical rivers were overestimated, most likely due to an overestimation of rainfall temperature and incoming shortwave radiation. The spatiotemporal variation of water temperature reveals large temperature differences between water and atmosphere for the higher latitudes, while considerable lateral transport of heat can be observed for rivers crossing hydroclimatic zones, such as the Nile, the Mississippi, and the large rivers flowing to the Arctic. Overall, our model results show promise for future projection of global surface freshwater temperature under global change.


Field deployed electronics may accrue damage due to environmental exposure and usage after finite period of service but may not often have any macro-indicators of failure such as cracks or delamination. A method to interrogate the damage state of field deployed electronics in the pre-failure space may allow insight into the damage initiation, progression, and remaining useful life of the deployed system. Aging has been previously shown to effect the reliability and constitutive behavior of second-level leadfree interconnects. Prognostication of accrued damage and assessment of residual life can provide valuable insight into impending failure. In this paper, field deployed parts have been extracted and prognosticated for accrued damage and remaining useful life in an anticipated future deployment environment. A subset of field deployed parts has been tested to failure in the anticipated field deployed environment to validate the assessment of remaining useful life. In addition, some parts have been subjected to additional know thermo-mechanical stresses and the incremental damage accrued validated with respect to the amount of additional damage imposed on the assemblies. The presented methodology uses leading indicators of failure based on micro-structural evolution of damage to identify accrued damage in electronic systems subjected to sequential stresses of thermal aging and thermal cycling. Damage equivalency methodologies have been developed to map damage accrued in thermal aging to the reduction in thermo-mechanical cyclic life based on damage proxies. The expected error with interrogation of system state and assessment of residual life has been quantified. Prognostic metrics including α-λ metric, sample standard deviation, mean square error, mean absolute percentage error, average bias, relative accuracy, and cumulative relative accuracy have been used to compare the performance of the damage proxies.


Background and Aim: Atherosclerosis is the main factor of mortality in cardiovascular patients. Pathogenesis dependence of atherosclerosis on the increase of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) has been proved. Since using of existing pharmaceuticals for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases causes several side-effects, there has been more tendency for using herbs. According to some traditional medicinal references, Harmala seeds can be used as lowering blood lipids agents. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Harmala seeds on blood lipid profiles. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study 18 Wistar rats with the average weight of 300 g were used. The rats were randomly divided into three groups, i.e. two experimental and one control group. The experimental groups I and II were respectively gavaged 3cc liquid containing 100 mg/kg body weight (bw) of aqueous and ethanolic extract of Harmala seeds for 30 days. Group III, as a negative control, received an equal volume of distilled water for the same period. At the end , after deep anesthesia of the subjects with ether, the blood lipids including triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), LDL, and HDL were measured using test kits. The amount of VLDL cholesterol, was mathematically calculated. The obtained data was analyzed by means of SPSS software (v: 11.5), ANOVA and Tukey tests at the significant level P<0.05. Results: The findings showed that mean levels of LDL cholesterol in groups I, II, and control was 36.8±4.3, 35.8±4.3 and 44.3±4.6, respectively. Comparatively, the difference between experimental group I and the control (P=0.025) and also between group II and the control (P=0.012) were statistically significant. The other tested blood lipids in the experimental groups and the control group did not show a significant difference. Conclusion: It was found that consumption of Harmala seed can significantly reduce LDL cholesterol and the ethanolic extract of the herb is more effective than the aqueous form.


This paper presents a novel approach for sequence detection of overlapping latent fingerprints for crime scene forensics. The approach involves a contactless and nondestructive acquisition of untreated fingerprints by using a Chromatic White Light (CWL) sensor. Based on 40 time series with 1160 samples, our approach shows how an aging feature called Binary Pixel for measuring the short-term decay of fingerprint samples can be used in combination with overlapping fingerprint separation methods for sequence detection. This allows differentiating which latent fingerprint was placed first and which later and thus provides contextual information for criminal investigations. Our experiments show promising results with a detection accuracy of at least 70%, regardless of the initial age of both the older and newer fingerprint.


The integration of cyber-physical systems (CPS) has been extremely advantageous to society, it merges the attention of cybersecurity for vehicles as a timely concern as a matter of public and individual. The failure of any vehicle system could have a serious impact on vehicle control and cause undesired consequences. With the growing demand for security in CPS, there are few hands-on labs/modules available for training current students, future engineers, or IT professionals to understand cybersecurity in CPS. This study describes the execution of a free security testbed to replicate a vehicle's network system and the implementation of this testbed via hands-on lab designed to introduce concepts of vehicle control systems. The hands-on lab simulates insider threat scenarios where students had to use can-utils toolkits and SavvyCAN to send, modify, and capture the network packet and exploit the system vulnerability threats such as replay attacks and fuzzing attacks on the vehicle system. We conducted a case study with 21 university-level students, and all students completed the hands-on lab, pretest, posttest, and a satisfaction survey as part of a non-graded class assignment. The experimental results show that most students were not familiar with cyber-physical systems and vehicle control systems and never had the chance to do any hands-on lab in this field before. Furthermore, students reported that the hands-on lab helped them learn about CAN-bus and rated high scores for enjoyment. We discussed the design of an affordable tool to teach about vehicle control systems and proposed directions for future work.


Scholarly literature (and political discussion) of stabilization clauses tends to assume that the aim of these clauses is to place limits on the exercise of sovereign power by States who are contracting parties. It is then argued either that this works to evil, in restraining due development of ethical, environmental and human rights standards in the countries concerned or else that they are ineffective, since sovereignty cannot be contractually limited, and are therefore useless. This article argues that neither of these positions is correct; rather, the clauses provide for financial adjustment between contracting parties when legal changes are made by the State co-party, thus facilitating risk management on the part of the non-State co-party. The greater certainty thereby engendered permits the non-State party to agree to the contract at a cost more favourable to the State party than might otherwise be the case.


Four Holstein heifers (264 ± 12 kg initial BW) were used in a 4 × 4 Latin square design with 21-day experimental periods to determine the effect of increasing levels of sodium bicarbonate (BICARB) (0%, 1.25%, 2.5% and 5%, of concentrate dry matter (DM) basis) on chewing and feed intake behavior when fed high-concentrate diets. Concentrate (13.41% CP, 13.35% NDF) and barley straw were fed once a day at 0830 h ad libitum. Feed bunks placed on scales and video recording were used to measure 24-h feed intake and chewing behavior, respectively. The patterns of feeding behavior (feed intake, meal size and length) and chewing behavior (eating, ruminating and total chewing) were studied by dividing the day into 12 intervals of 2-h each, beginning at feeding (interval 1 through 12). Number of meals per day and eating rate decreased linearly with increasing buffer level, but meal length increased linearly. No treatment effects were observed in sum of daily meal lengths or average meal size. The treatment × interval interaction was significant on meal size, length and feed intake. The size and length of those meals occurring during the 4 h post-feeding increased linearly. However, meal size tended to decrease in the evening between 8 and 12 h, whereas feed intake decreased linearly from 6 to 10 h and from 12 to 14 h post-feeding. Buffer concentration did not affect the percentage of time spent ruminating, eating or drinking per day but the buffer level × interval interaction was significant. Time spent eating expressed as min per kg of DM or organic matter (OM) intake increased linearly with buffer levels. Proportion of time spent eating increased linearly during the intervals between 0 and 4 h post-feeding. Time spent ruminating decreased linearly during the 2 h post-feeding, and also in the evening from 12 to 14 h, and at night from 18 to 22 h post-feeding, but the effect was quadratic between 8 and 10 h when intermediate buffer levels showed the greatest ruminating time. Time spent drinking decreased linearly from 6 to 8 h but increased during the 2 h following feeding and from 10 to 12 h post-feeding. Daily eating rate and meal frequency decreased linearly as the buffer level increased, but average meal size and daily chewing times were not affected. However, significant time of the day × buffer level interactions were observed for feed intake, meal size and length and chewing behavior.


The Missouri River arises from the eastern slope meltwaters of the Rocky Mountains in the northwestern United States. As it flows across the Great Plains to its confluence with the Mississippi River at St. Louis, Missouri, it accumulates a large sediment load earning it the name "Big Muddy." The natural gravity of water is powerful, capable of carving rocks and eroding soils to create new channels and deepen existing ones via the continuous sediment transport and deposition processes. Rates of upland and river bank sediment erosion, deposition, and transport are influenced by upstream geology, topography, vegetation, and land uses; variations in climate and weather; and the river flow structure and channel morphology (Nazari-Giglou et al. 2016; Coleman and Smart 2011). The headwaters of the Missouri River and it major tributaries, the North and South Platte rivers and the Yellowstone (figure 1), are fast moving, and they cut narrow, deep channels as they rush down steep mountain slopes. However, the waters slow as they flow into the Great Plains and spread out into broad, shallow, braided streams that redistribute sands and silts and create sandbars, wetland backwaters, and new pathways (figure 2). River sedimentation is the result of natural and anthropogenic…


Surface nanobubbles are nanoscopic gaseous domains on immersed substrates which can survive for days. They were first speculated to exist about 20 years ago, based on stepwise features in force curves between two hydrophobic surfaces, eventually leading to the first atomic force microscopy (AFM) image in 2000. While in the early years it was suspected that they may be an artifact caused by AFM, meanwhile their existence has been confirmed with various other methods, including through direct optical observation. Their existence seems to be paradoxical, as a simple classical estimate suggests that they should dissolve in microseconds, due to the large Laplace pressure inside these nanoscopic spherical-cap-shaped objects. Moreover, their contact angle (on the gas side) is much smaller than one would expect from macroscopic counterparts. This review will not only give an overview on surface nanobubbles, but also on surface nanodroplets, which are nanoscopic droplets (e.g., of oil) on (hydrophobic) substrates immersed in water, as they show similar properties and can easily be confused with surface nanobubbles and as they are produced in a similar way, namely, by a solvent exchange process, leading to local oversaturation of the water with gas or oil, respectively, and thus to nucleation. The review starts with how surface nanobubbles and nanodroplets can be made, how they can be observed (both individually and collectively), and what their properties are. Molecular dynamic simulations and theories to account for the long lifetime of the surface nanobubbles are then reported on. The crucial element contributing to the long lifetime of surface nanobubbles and nanodroplets is pinning of the three-phase contact line at chemical or geometric surface heterogeneities. The dynamical evolution of the surface nanobubbles then follows from the diffusion equation, Laplace's equation, and Henry's law. In particular, one obtains stable surface nanobubbles when the gas influx from the gas-oversaturated water and the outflux due to Laplace pressure balance. This is only possible for small enough surface bubbles. It is therefore the gas or oil oversaturation ζ that determines the contact angle of the surface nanobubble or nanodroplet and not the Young equation. The review also covers the potential technological relevance of surface nanobubbles and nanodroplets, namely, in flotation, in (photo)catalysis and electrolysis, in nanomaterial engineering, for transport in and out of nanofluidic devices, and for plasmonic bubbles, vapor nanobubbles, and energy conversion. Also given is a discussion on surface nanobubbles and nanodroplets in a nutshell, including theoretical predictions resulting from it and future directions. Studying the nucleation, growth, and dissolution dynamics of surface nanobubbles and nanodroplets will shed new light on the problems of contact line pinning and contact angle hysteresis on the submicron scale.


Ocean litter has accumulated rapidly and is becoming a major environmental concern, yet quantitative and regular observations and exploration that track litter origins are limited. By implementing monthly sample collections over five years (2012–2016) at Dongsha Island, a remote island in the northern South China Sea (SCS), we assessed macro ocean litter dynamics, identified source countries of individual plastic bottles, and analyzed the origins of the litter by a backward-tracking model simulation considering both the effects of current velocity and windage. The results showed that large amounts of litter, which varied monthly and annually in weight and quantity, reached the island during the study years, and there were spatial differences in accumulation patterns between the north and south coasts. Styrofoam and plastic bottles were the two primary sources of macro ocean litter both annually and monthly, and most of the litter collected on the island originated from China and Vietnam, which were collectively responsible for approximately 47.5%–63.7% per month. The simulation indicated that current advection at the near-surface depths and low windage at the sea surface showed similar patterns, while medium to high windage exhibited comparable expression patterns in response to potential source regions and drifting time experiments. At either the surface with low windage or current advection at depths of 0.5 m and 1 m, macro ocean litter in the Western Philippine Sea, i.e. through the Luzon Strait between Taiwan and the Philippines, was an important contributor to the litter bulk from October to March, whereas the litter was predicted to mainly originate from the southwestern SCS from April to September. With an increasing windage effect, litter in the Taiwan Strait was predicted to be an additional major potential source. Surprisingly, a small proportion of the macro ocean litter was predicted to continuously travel in the northern SCS for a long duration (> 2 years) before drifting onto Dongsha Island. The estimated drifting time of macro ocean litter also showed monthly and directional variability. This study demonstrated that a tremendous quantity of macro ocean litter, which may cause great damage to the marine ecosystem, drifts in the ocean surface layer and is finally pushed onto beaches. Therefore, we proposed an action plan for effective ocean litter management development at regional and global spatial scales, which is vital for improving and restoring the health and sustainability of the oceanic environment.


Objectives To describe the use of antifungal medicines in English hospitals in adults with life-limiting illness and to investigate the association between socio-demographic variables and the use of high-cost formulations. Methods Pseudonymised patient-level information extracted from hospital pharmacy systems in 34 English acute general hospitals was linked to a National Health Service database of diagnoses and procedures. National Information Governance Board for England and Ethics approval was granted. The impact of socio-demographic variables on the use of high-cost formulations was assessed using stepwise logistic regression across 13 disease groups. Hospital guidelines on the use of antifungals were sourced and compared. Results People with haematological malignancies and unconfirmed infection formed the largest disease group (49.3%). Fungal infection was confirmed in an additional 12.6%. Guidelines focused on antifungal use in neutropenic patients. No guideline cited patient age, deprivation, gender or ethnicity as independent factors influencing treatment. Fluconazole dominated use (75% admissions). Significant associations were found between age, gender, deprivation and ethnicity and the use of high-cost antifungals. However, the direction of that association was not consistent across disease groups. Conclusions This study found widespread use of fluconazole, echoing results of earlier studies across Europe. It also found associations between patient factors and high-cost antifungal use that are not easily explained by disease, comorbidities, contraindications, guidelines or any systematic bias against particular groups of patients. It is clear that the drivers of antifungal therapy in hospital are complex and that antifungal stewardship poses a significant challenge for pharmacy.


Aluminum and steel are used to be a construction for a building outdoor panel. Aluminum and steel are connected by bolt and nut. An atmosphere due to a corrosion of the aluminum. The corrosion possibly to cause the hole diameter of bolt and nut to become larger. Thus the bolt and nut can not enough strong to hold the panel. The panel may collapse. The aim of the research is first to answer a question where does the corrosion starts. The second is to know the effect of ratio surface area of steel with aluminum on the corrosion rate of aluminum. The research is started to cut a steel and aluminum flat into variation surface areas. Next, the steel and aluminum are bolted as samples for corrosion test. The samples are divided into two groups. The group A was immersed in NaCl (10%) and the groups B was immersed in HCl 10%. The corrosion rate is calculated with loss weight method. The conclusions are as follow. The corrosion does not start from the bolt hole but from the edge of aluminum. Increasing the ratio of surface area (steel/aluminum) increases the corrosion rate of aluminum.


We develop a network‐based method for detecting and classifying seismovolcanic tremors. The proposed approach exploits the coherence of tremor signals across the network that is estimated from the array covariance matrix. The method is applied to four and a half years of continuous seismic data recorded by 19 permanent seismic stations in the vicinity of the Klyuchevskoy volcanic group in Kamchatka (Russia), where five volcanoes were erupting during the considered time period. We compute and analyze daily covariance matrices together with their eigenvalues and eigenvectors. As a first step, most coherent signals corresponding to dominating tremor sources are detected based on the width of the covariance matrix eigenvalues distribution. Thus, volcanic tremors of the two volcanoes known as most active during the considered period, Klyuchevskoy and Tolbachik, are efficiently detected. As a next step, we consider the daily array covariance matrix's first eigenvector. Our main hypothesis is that these eigenvectors represent the principal components of the daily seismic wavefield and, for days with tremor activity, characterize dominant tremor sources. Those daily first eigenvectors, which can be used as network‐based fingerprints of tremor sources, are then grouped into clusters using correlation coefficient as a measure of the vector similarity. As a result, we identify seven clusters associated with different periods of activity of four volcanoes: Tolbachik, Klyuchevskoy, Shiveluch, and Kizimen. The developed method does not require a priori knowledge and is fully automatic; and the database of the network‐based tremor fingerprints can be continuously enriched with newly available data.


The failure behavior of as-molded and annealed high density polyethylene(HDPE) was studied under impact load. The experimental results show that annealingincreased the impact fracture energy of HDPE. It was also found that the rise in thepropagation energy was responsible for the increased fracture energy of the annealedspecimens. Tension tests on as molded and annealed samples show the generation of voidswhen the material ahead of the notch yielded under tension. This led to the formation of fibrousstructures that absorb more energy resulted in increased fracture energy in annealed specimensas compared to that of as-molded specimens.


The challenges of the Internet of Things (IoT) in an urban environment are driven by smart vehicles which need to be able to efficiently sense and communicate with other nearby vehicles. The automotive market have strict circuit performances and reliability requirements for a temperature range of up to 175 ◦C. This proposal overviews an analysis of latched-comparators performance, considering process variability and temperature variation of previous works. This analysis is then extended to the metastability and performance metrics of successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC) topology. Building blocks necessary for the SAR ADC are designed using an XH018 technology. Post-layout simulation results are drawn to validate the proposed temperature-aware analysis. Besides the known advantages of the Double-Tail comparator, this work demonstrates that such a comparator has a serious drawback under harsh environments. This proposal also shows that, once calibrated and operated at a frequency of around 100 MHz, the SAR ADC performance can be maintained in a wide temperature range. Both SA- and DT-SAR ADC achieve an ENOB of 9.8 bits, which is reduced to 9.6 bits in high-temperature operation. The results also show that background calibration is not required for the SAR ADC operation at the 100 MHz frequency range.


Purpose: SHP2 inhibitors offer an appealing and novel approach to inhibit receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) signaling, which is the oncogenic driver in many tumors or is frequently feedback activated in response to targeted therapies including RTK inhibitors and MAPK inhibitors. We seek to evaluate the efficacy and synergistic mechanisms of combinations with a novel SHP2 inhibitor, TNO155, to inform their clinical development. Experimental Design: The combinations of TNO155 with EGFR inhibitors (EGFRi), BRAFi, KRASG12Ci, CDK4/6i, and anti–programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) antibody were tested in appropriate cancer models in vitro and in vivo, and their effects on downstream signaling were examined. Results: In EGFR-mutant lung cancer models, combination benefit of TNO155 and the EGFRi nazartinib was observed, coincident with sustained ERK inhibition. In BRAFV600E colorectal cancer models, TNO155 synergized with BRAF plus MEK inhibitors by blocking ERK feedback activation by different RTKs. In KRASG12C cancer cells, TNO155 effectively blocked the feedback activation of wild-type KRAS or other RAS isoforms induced by KRASG12Ci and greatly enhanced efficacy. In addition, TNO155 and the CDK4/6 inhibitor ribociclib showed combination benefit in a large panel of lung and colorectal cancer patient–derived xenografts, including those with KRAS mutations. Finally, TNO155 effectively inhibited RAS activation by colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor, which is critical for the maturation of immunosuppressive tumor-associated macrophages, and showed combination activity with anti–PD-1 antibody. Conclusions: Our findings suggest TNO155 is an effective agent for blocking both tumor-promoting and immune-suppressive RTK signaling in RTK- and MAPK-driven cancers and their tumor microenvironment. Our data provide the rationale for evaluating these combinations clinically.


Accidental spills of chemicals and other pollutants can decimate populations of stream-dwelling species. Recovery from such accidents can be relatively fast and complete when the affected stream reaches can be recolonized from upstream and downstream sources. However, faunal recoveries from accidental spills that extirpate populations from entire headwater streams have not been extensively documented, and understanding resilience of headwater-stream biota is relevant for assessing threats to at-risk species. We assessed recovery of fish populations in a 5.7-km-long headwater stream in the southeastern United States following a complete, or nearly complete, fish-kill caused by a chemical spill near the source of the stream. We sampled for fishes at five stream locations, two downstream and three upstream from a perched, culverted road-crossing located 2.4 km upstream from the stream mouth, over a period of 18.5 mo following the poisoning event. We observed 11 fish species, representing ≤65% of the fish species expected based on occurrences in nearby tributary streams. In postpoisoning sampling, only three of these taxa were observed upstream of the culvert; all 11 species, including the federally threatened Cherokee Darter Etheostoma scotti, were found downstream of the culvert but were mostly represented by a few, large individuals. In contrast, dead individuals of at least eight taxa including the Cherokee Darter were observed upstream of the culvert at the time of the fish-kill. These observations provide evidence of slow recovery of a headwater fish fauna, and especially upstream of a barrier to fish movement, where the recolonization sources are primarily downstream. Additional case studies may reveal whether this result applies generally to headwater streams. Slow recovery could make species that primarily inhabit or maintain greatest abundances in headwaters, including multiple at-risk fishes, particularly vulnerable to the threat of accidental spills that result in local population extirpation.


Abstract: Participation with new mobile devices drives new social practices. This article engages in a close analysis of a so-called participatory culture surrounding iPods and iPhones. It offers close rhetorical readings of object phenomena including advertisements, Canadian news stories, and consumer reactions in electronic media. More specifically, this article reveals a rhetorical transformation between the iPod Silhouettes advertising campaign and the iPhone release campaign, causing a shift in subjectivity; iPod subjects are afforded a degree of freedom and play, while iPhone subjects are bound to regimes of work. It is also argued that news stories that emerged in the summer of 2007, when the iPhone was not released in Canada, structure a rhetoric of the "excluded Canadian."

Keywords: Mobile communication; Rhetoric; Visual communication


Abstract Introduction. Folic acid is a compound classified as B group vitamins. In the body it is subject to processes that transfer its inactive form into a form responsible for biological effects of folic acid, i.e. 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF). It is, in particular, responsible for processes of the correct biosynthesis of purine and pyridine bases present in the formation of DNA and RNA molecules. Humans do not synthesize the endogenous form of folic acid; therefore, it is vital to supplement this vitamin in its natural form or multivitamin preparations. The most folic acid is found in the green leafy vegetables (spinach, peas, asparagus) and in offal (liver). An adequate supply of folic acid is especially indicated in pregnant women with a reduced amount of folic acid due to its use by an intensively developing foetus. The recommended dose of folic acid during this period is 0.4 mg/24h and this dose varies depending on the patient's and her family's medical history. The updated state of knowledge on the role of vitamin B9 in the body has been presented. The importance of its supplementation in specific clinical cases was analyzed. Summary. Many studies indicate an important role of the folic acid in the prevention of congenital defects of the nervous, cardiovascular and urogenital systems. Its deficiency increases the risk of complications in pregnancy, such as recurrent miscarriages, pre-eclampsia or postpartum haemorrhage. For this reason, a prophylactic folic acid supplementation is recommended, in women with increased risk of its deficiency, in particular.


A survey carried out around the Lake Victoria region showed evidence that people around this region use plant extracts, parts and powders to protect stored food commodities from insect pests. The widely used plants were identified and selected for biosafety assessments namely: Ocimum gratissimum, Tithonia diversifolia, Eucalyptus saligna, Eucalyptus globulus and Cupressus lusitanica. Wistar mice were acclimatized and divided into groups of six. Each mice group was administered with one extract at different concentrations. The extracts were administered orally and the animals were observed for 24 h. A control group was kept which received only the carrier substance orally. The LD50 values were determined by the use of the graphical method and regression analysis. Oral acute toxicity studies established the LD50 values for essential oils of O. gratissimum, E. saligna and C. lusitanica as 4.570, 2.290, and 3.311 mg/kg, respectively. For ethanol extracts, LD50 values were 12.882, 12.302, 14.996 and 11.481 mg/kg for O. gratissimum, E. globulus, C. lusitanica and T. diversifolia, respectively. For the aqueous extracts, the LD50 of T. diversifolia was found to be 12.302 mg/kg. For E. globulus and C. lusitanica, their aqueous LD50s were beyond 15.000 mg/kg. The oral acute toxicity tests showed weak toxicities for all the plant extracts investigated in the study. The low toxicity levels exhibited by these extracts may be the reason why these plant products have been used by local communities for long without adverse effects. Chronic studies should be carried out to assess whether these extracts have serious effects on experimental animals exposed to them at small doses for a long period of time. Key words : Oral acute toxicity, biopesticide, plant extracts, Lake Victoria Basin.