Introduction. The English-language databases PubMed/MEDLINE and Embase are valuable information resources for finding original publications in basic and clinical medicine. Currently, there are no artificial intelligence systems to evaluate the quality of these publications. Aim. Development and testing of a system for sentiment analysis (i.e. analysis of emotional modality) of biomedical publications. Materials and methods. The technique of analysis of the "Big data" of biomedical publications was formulated on the basis of the topological theory of sentiment analysis. Algorithms have been developed that allow for the classification of texts from 16 sentiment classes with 90% accuracy (manipulative speech, research without positive results, propaganda, falsification of results, negative personal attitude, aggressive text, negative emotional background, etc.). Based on the algorithms, a scale for assessing the sentiment quality of research ( β -score) is proposed. Results. Abstracts of 19.9 million publications registered in PubMed/MEDLINE over the past 50 years (1970–2019) were analyzed. It was shown that publications with low sentiment quality (the value of the β -score of the text is less than zero, which corresponds to the prevalence of manipulative and negative sentiments in the text) comprise only 18.5% (3.68 out of 19.9 million). The greatest values of the β -score were characterized by publications on sports medicine, systems biology, nutrition, on the use of applied mathematics and data mining in medicine. The rubrication of the entire array of publications by 27,840 headings (MESH-system of PubMed/MEDLINE) indicated an increase in the  β -score by years (i.e., the positive dynamics of sentiment quality of the texts of publications) for 27,090 of the studied headings. The most intense positive dynamics was found for research in genetics, physiology, pharmacology, and gerontology. 249 headings with sharply negative dynamics of sentiment quality and with a pronounced increase in the manipulative sentiments characteristic of the tabloid press were highlighted. Separate assessments of international experts are presented that confirm the patterns identified. Conclusion. The proposed artificial intelligence system allows a researcher to make an effective assessment of the sentiment quality of biomedical research papers, filtering out potentially inappropriate publications disguised as "evidence-based".


This paper takes a fresh look at Maori women and leadership through individual and collective storytelling. Stories or pubar;rākau about Maori women leaders involved in environmental sustainability, employment rights, and sport are used to reveal the often silenced realities of Maori women's leadership and challenge dominant leadership discourse. Findings suggest mana wahine/the power and authority of women is a critical element of Maori women's leadership as well as values and concepts that feature in traditional purakau and cultural roles for women. The holistic nature of Maori leadership was captured by considering three interrelated and fluid spheres – leadership as influence, leadership in context and the performance of leadership. These stories are a preface and we invite others to join the dynamic process of storytelling so that the plurality of Indigenous women's leadership perspectives, experiences and performances are recognised and celebrated.


In experiments with mongrel male rats the asparaginase and adenosine deaminase activities in the liver tissue and adenosine deaminase in blood serum were determined under different conditions of parenteral nutrition. The intraperitoneal administration of the preparations of parenteral nitrogen nutrition-aminosol and amikin (0.25 g of conditioned protein per 100 g of body weight) against a background of protein deficiency and exhaustion is shown to cause no changes as compared to the control of these enzymes activity in the liver tissue and blood serum. The asparaginase activity in the liver increases noticeably with the dose of aminosol and amikin up to 0.5 g of conditioned protein per 100 g of body weight and the adenosine deaminase activity undergo no essential changes. A statistically significant decrease in the adenosine deaminase activity is observed only under administration of aminosol against a background of protein deficiency. Under oral feeding of rats with amikin in the composition of protein-free (0.5 g of conditioned protein per 100 g of body weight), as distinct from its parenteral administration, the asparaginase activity in the liver is considerably lower. The adenosine deaminase activity in the liver and blood serum is not practically changed. A part of the nitrogen excreted from the organism with urea and ammonia under protein deficiency is supposed to be a product of deamination of endogenic purine and pyrimidine derivatives.


This document summarizes health care economics syllabi and programs in English-speaking countries according to target audience, level, and degree of intensity of health care economics training. The report is for teachers of health care economics as well as for general economists interested in this field. The first two sections examine typical syllabi and textbooks in a range of health care economics courses in the United Kingdom and the United States respectively. The third section features representative syllabi for health care economics courses taught in medical schools in six countries: England, Scotland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. A glossary of the more common terms in health care economics also is included.


A simple and fast flow injection fluorescence quenching method for the determination of iron in water has been developed. Fluorimetric determination is based on the measurement of the quenching effect of iron on salicylic acid fluorescence. An emission peak of salicylic acid in aqueous solution occurs at 409 nm with excitation at 299 nm. The carrier solution used was 2 × 10−6 mol L−1 salicylic acid in 0.1 mol L−1 NH4+/NH3 buffer solution at pH 8.5. Linear calibration was obtained for 5–100 μg L−1 iron(III) and the relative standard deviation was 1.25 % (n = 5) for a 20 μL injection volume iron(III). The limit of detection was 0.3 μg L−1 and the sampling rate was 60 h−1. The effect of interferences from various metals and anions commonly present in water was also studied. The method was successfully applied to the determination of low levels of iron in real samples (river, sea, and spring waters).


Most types of supernovae (SNe) have yet to be connected with their progenitor stellar systems. Here, we reanalyze the 10-year SN sample collected during 1998–2008 by the Lick Observatory Supernova Search (LOSS) in order to constrain the progenitors of SNe Ia and stripped-envelope SNe (SE SNe, i.e., SNe IIb, Ib, Ic, and broad-lined Ic). We matched the LOSS galaxy sample with spectroscopy from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and measured SN rates as a function of galaxy stellar mass, specific star formation rate, and oxygen abundance (metallicity). We find significant correlations between the SN rates and all three galaxy properties. The SN Ia correlations are consistent with other measurements, as well as with our previous explanation of these measurements in the form of a combination of the SN Ia delay-time distribution and the correlation between galaxy mass and age. The ratio between the SE SN and SN II rates declines significantly in low-mass galaxies. This rules out single stars as SE SN progenitors, and is consistent with predictions from binary-system progenitor models. Using well-known galaxy scaling relations, any correlation between the rates and one of the galaxy properties examined here can be expressed as a correlation with the other two. These redundant correlations preclude us from establishing causality—that is, from ascertaining which of the galaxy properties (or their combination) is the physical driver for the difference between the SE SN and SN II rates. We outline several methods that have the potential to overcome this problem in future works.


Objectives: Tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) is common complication of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). It is characterized by presence of two or more of hyperkalemia, hyperuricemia, hyperphosphatemia and hypocalcemia. TLS may cause acute kidney injury (AKI), arrhythmias and seizures. Our objective was to determine the frequency of TLS and its biochemical abnormalities in children with ALL. Methods: A retrospective study on 91 children, aged 2-13 years with ALL was carried out in Nephrology and Oncology departments of National Institute of Child Health, Karachi from January 2016 to December 2017. Patients already received chemotherapy were excluded. Data including risk categories, immunophenotyping, laboratory parameters like complete blood picture, serum creatinine (SCr), potassium(K), calcium (Ca), phosphorus(P) and uric acid (UA) on day 0,3 and 7 after chemotherapy were collected. Data analyzed on SPSS using descriptive statistics. Independent t- test was applied to compare means and P- value<0.05 was taken as significant. Results: Ninety-one children with mean age of 6.39±3.08 years were studied. Male were 57% and 43% female. High risk ALL were 61.5%. Pre –BALL were 82.4% and 17.5% had T-cell ALL. All patients had anemia (hemoglobin7.69±2.66 g/dl) and thrombocytopenia (43.61± 18.6 x109) where as hyperleukocytosis and blast cells were observed in 20.87% and 73.6% respectively. Comparing the biochemical parameters of ALL, the difference in SCr from D0 vs D3 (0.46±0.16 vs0.54± 0.35 and D7, 0.44±0.22) was significant (p=0.001). Similarly, difference in UA (D0, 4.12±2.40 vs D3, 3.82±1.73 and D7, 3.56±1.42), SP (D0, 4.24±1.34 vs D3, 4.61±1.76 and D7,4.13±1.07mg/dl)and for K (p=0.038) was significant. There was no difference in Ca from D0 vs D3 (0.092) and D7 (0.277). TLS was found in 62.6% children, it was chemotherapy induced in 72% and spontaneous in 28%. Clinical-TLS was observed in 14% and all CTLS had AKI. Hyperuricemia and hyperphosphatemia were the most common biochemical abnormalities in laboratory-TLS and CTLS. Conclusion: TLS was found in 62.6% despite preventive measures. Early recognition and treatment is essential to avoid morbidity and mortality.


On 22 August 2013, IAIS Malaysia organised the International Forum on the Downfall of Morsi and the Future of Egypt in collaboration with the International Movement for a Just World (JUST). On the panel were Chandra Muzaffar (President, JUST), Ahmad al-Farra (Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) and former Palestine Ambassador to Malaysia), Mohamed Abu Bakar (University of Malaya) and Daud Batchelor (IAIS Malaysia), while IAIS Chairman and CEO Mohammad Hashim Kamali delivered the Welcoming Address and Deputy CEO, Mohamed Azam Mohd Adil moderated the forum.   The speakers addressed (1) the legal, constitutional and moral status of the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi by the military on 3 July 2013; (2) the shortcomings of Morsi's own leadership which may have contributed to popular discontent as indicated by the mass protests preceding the coup; (3) the political interests and agendas of the actors behind the crises; and (4) the possible future of Egypt.Â


The intro of Ms. Lauryn Hill's 1998 release of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill begins: a familiar school bell rings and a teacher asks the students to please respond when he calls their name. "Kevin Childs—Here . . . Alicia Simmonds—Here… Tameka Marshall—Here." He makes it all the way to the end, "Lauryn Hill… Lauryn Hill…Lauryn Hill!" There is no response. As the intro fades and the teacher begins his lesson the beat drops and "Lost Ones" begins to play. It's funny how money change a situation, Miscommunication leads to complication, My emancipation don't fit your equation… The music continues, I bob my head, tapping my pencil against my mac as I think, but in the middle of my thoughts Ms. Hill, in a rhythmic and poetic flow mastered only by her, enlightens that, You might win some but you just lost one. You might win some but you just lost one. You might win some but you just lost one. You might win some but you just lost one… Ms. Hill borrowed her title from Carter G. Woodson's 1933 book The Mis-education of the Negro for obvious reasons, and I borrowed the title for this piece from them both. You see, I, like so many others, was a lost one and would have continued to be lost had things not aligned based on the choices I made and the people I met and stayed connected with along the way. There are so many other lost ones floating within and outside of the academy due to some pedagogical choices that are slow to change. If our goal as educators is to connect and educate all of the students with whom we come in contact then we need to pay closer attention to the fold. Like Ms. Hill keeps repeating in the background, "You might win some but you just lost one." As allies we can strive to reach that one.


Tolerance to 100% oxygen is readily induced in the rat by prior exposure to 80% oxygen for 7 days. In order to determine whether the rate of synthesis, or te alveolar content, of pulmonary phospholipids is altered in the tolerant rat, we perfused the isolated lung with medium containing 20 muM [14C]methyl choline chloride for 30 min at 10 ml/min, and then we measured the incorporation of carbon-14 into tissue phospholipids. We also measured the phospholipids in the lavage. There was no difference in the rate of incorporation in the tolerant rats (201 +/- 11 nmol/g dry lung, n = 8, mean +/- SEM) compared to control rats (210 +/- 9 nmol/g dry lung, n = 4) that had been exposed to air for 7 days under identical conditions. Whereas the induction of tolerance did not alter the total amount of phospholipid lavaged from the lung (tolerant: 251 +/- 31 microgram lipid phosphorus/g dry lung, n = 10; control: 228 +/- 9, n = 5) or the amount that was disaturated (tolerant: 44.7 +/- 4.2%, n = 5; control 45.0 +/- 2.1%, n = 4), there were marked increases in the relative amounts of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine in the lavage from tolerant rats. Static compliance measurements revealed that the pressure required to maintain the tolerant lungs at 50% of total lung capacity was half that required in the control rats. At this stage it is not possible to say what role, if any, these changes have in the induction of tolerance to 100% oxygen.


History and Objectives: The high prevalence of non-ulcer dyspepsia controversy surrounding its treatment and the high costs of excessive use of medication led us to conduct this study on the effects of metoclopramide in patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia referred to Kashan's Shaheed Beheshti hospital in 1995-96. Materials and Methods: In this double blind clinical trial, cases were selected through continuous sampling. Patients with at least one symptom of epigastric pain, flatulence, heartburn, nausea, vomiting, regurgitation, bad breath, stomach fullness or belching for a duration of at least 3 months were included. Following a thorough physical exam, tests including a complete and differential blood count, serum sodium, potassium, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, alkaline phosphatase, SGOT, SGPT, calcium, phosphorus. Fasting blood sugar, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, 3 successive stool exams, THS, T3RIA, T4RIA, abdominal sonography and electrocardiography were performed to exclude underlying diseases. Endoscopy was also performed to exclude organic gastrointestinal diseases and patients avoiding medications for the past 2 weeks were studied. Patients were randomly divided into two groups. Cases were given 10 milligrams of metoclopramide 4 times a day for 2 weeks, while the controls received placebo. Drug effects were measured based on the patient's clinical improvement. Results: 70 patients were thus studied 37 were male and 33 female. Age mean and standard deviation were 29.1±9.1 years in the controls and 30.1±8.1 years in the cases, with no statistically significant difference. Complete or relative improvement rate was 82.9% in the controls (17.1% complete and 65.8% relative) and 100% in the cases (25.7% complete and 74.3% relative). Conclusion: We therefore conclude that metoclopramide has no significant effect in patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia and we suggest a similar study be performed to assess the effect of cisapride in these patients.


What does it mean to be an adult? What makes a person an adult? How have the circumstances of the lives of the six young women in my study shaped their understanding and perceptions of adulthood? These are the research questions at the heart of this thesis. I wanted to know more about the experiences of the young women that I worked with as a carer at a residential centre for young people with epilepsy and the influences that their experiences have had on how they perceive the world.

This thesis begins with a puzzle in the form of fictional fieldnotes and concludes with an obligation. It charts the journey of the research from origins in a particular cultural setting to its conclusion as the beginning for the next stage, providing an opening chapter for the work that will grow from this study. The puzzle at the beginning of this thesis relates to the neurological functioning of a young woman, Evie (21). As soon revealed, Evie is a fictional character whose story has been told to represent themes from the research. Telling her story was also a way to use 'writing as a method of inquiry' (Richardson, 2003).

The methodological approach taken in this research sits within a phenomenological tradition by way of its modern guise as Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) as developed primarily by Jonathan Smith, Paul Flowers and Michael Larkin. The use of this methodology reflects a concern with the meaning my participants take from their experiences (Smith et al. 2009). I focused on the transition to adulthood as this was the 'common phenomenon' that my participants seemed to hold as a central concern in their lives. Five themes emerged from the analysis:

 Alcohol = Adulthood
 Adulthood is - independence
 Adulthood is - domestic competence
 Adulthood is - a 'code of behaviour'
 Adulthood is - an achievement

The findings from the phenomenological analysis have been juxtaposed with an account of the research findings written as ethnographic fiction. 'Evie/I' is a story that includes reflections on the relationships I have had with young people in my care and the one which developed when I took on a researcher identity. It relates how knowledge of past histories shaped how I interpreted what the participants in my study revealed to me and the development of a reflexive stance as a researcher. It is my intention that the juxtaposition of these related but different accounts of the findings should enhance the reader's understanding of both.

Central to this thesis are Bourdieu's concepts of species of capital, habitus and field theory and they have been used as a theoretical framework. A conceptual model has been created to map the themes developed as they fit into the 'code of behaviour' my participants seem hold central to the achievement of adult status. The epilepsy centre where this research was conducted is a 'field' with certain characteristics. This has been considered in relation to the 'habitus' my participants have developed as young women in this particular situation. Feminist theory has also influenced the way in which this research was conducted.

Research relating to people with epilepsy seldom includes the voices of those with the condition and qualitative research approaches are relatively scarce (Andermann, 2000). The young women in this study also have learning disabilities and this factor likewise lessens the likelihood that their views will be represented in the research literature (Walmsley, 2001; Atkinson, 2005). The rationale behind the research relates to the need to address this omission. The obligation that concludes this thesis concerns the need for further research that includes the perceptions and voices of young people such as those in my study.


Process variations affecting timing and power is an important issue for modern integrated circuits in nanometre technologies. Field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) are similar to application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) in their susceptibility to these issues, but face unique challenges in that critical paths are unknown at test time. The first in-depth study on applying statistical timing analysis with cross-chip and on-chip variations to speed-binning and guard- banding in FPGAs has been presented. Considering the uniqueness of re-programmability in FPGAs, the effects of timing-model with guard-banding and speed-binning on statistical performance and timing yield are quantified. A new variation aware statistical placement, which is the first statistical algorithm for FPGA layout and achieves a yield loss of 29.7% of the original yield loss with guard-banding and a yield loss of 4% of the original one with speed-binning for Microelectronics Center of North Carolina (MCNC) and Quartus University Interface Program (QUIP) designs, has also been developed.


For the present work, cultures of hyperplastic human prostate explants were performed to evaluate the "in vitro" response of a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor-finasteride. Explants were cultured over a nine-week period in RPMI-1640 media supplemented with Penicillin-Streptomycin 4% and Fetal Bovine Serum 10%. Cultures were divided into one control group, one with testosterone added (1.25 x 10(4) micrograms/ml) and one which received testosterone (1.25 x 10(-4) micrograms/ml) plus finasteride (0,0038 mg/ml). Control explants showed involutive changes throughout the experience, which occurred later in those treated with testosterone and earlier and more marked in the case of finasteride. The testosterone-treated group showed intense positivity for PSA, a marker which reveals specific tissular functions, which remained uniformed in the control group through the entire experiment, and decreased gradually in the finasteride group. In summary, according to our work, culture of organs would be a useful tool for an in vitro evaluation of the hyperplastic human prostate response to the action of the 5-alpha reductase inhibitor, finasteride.


Abstract The world of crystallography was forced to reassess its rules about thirty years ago with the introduction of the concept of quasicrystals, solids with rotational symmetries forbidden to crystals, by Levine and Steinhardt (1984) and the discovery of the first examples in the laboratory by Shechtman et al. (1984). Since then, >100 different types of quasicrystals have been synthesized in the laboratory under carefully controlled conditions. The original theory suggested that quasicrystals can be as robust and stable as crystals, perhaps even forming under natural conditions. This thought motivated a decade-long search for a natural quasicrystal, culminating in the discovery of icosahedrite (Al63Cu24Fe13), an icosahedral quasicrystal found in a museum sample consisting of several typical rock-forming minerals combined with exotic rare metal alloy minerals like khatyrkite and cupalite. Here we briefly recount the extraordinary story of the search and discovery of the first natural quasicrystal.


NOTE The contents of this report do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Communities or other European Communities institutions. Neither the European Environment Agency nor any person or company acting on the behalf of the Agency is responsible for the use that may be made of the information contained in this report.


ABSTRACT Objective: To determine how the tobacco industry has worked behind the scenes in the state of Colorado to influence the public and defeat public health efforts to control tobacco. Methods: Information for this study was gathered through examination of internal tobacco industry documents, Colorado Secretary of State records, local campaign contribution records, published articles, interviews, reports, web sites and telephone calls. Results: The tobacco industry has been pervasively involved in fighting public health efforts to reduce tobacco use in Colorado since the early 1980s. Up until the early 1990s, the industry's involvement was apparent. Shortly thereafter, significant efforts were made to conceal its opposition in Colorado. The industry has primarily applied its resources to defeat tobacco tax increases, derail efforts to limit public smoking and preserve smoking as a socially acceptable behavior. Tactics include influencing and co-opting state legislative processes, strategic utilization of philanthropy, sponsorships and advertising to fight public health efforts, working to divert funding away from existing tobacco education and prevention programs, camouflaging corporate involvement , engagement of paid consultants and front groups, and extensive media and local policy involvement. Conclusions: The tobacco industry has fought public health efforts to regulate tobacco at both the state and local levels in Colorado for more than two decades. Involvement in opposing public health initiatives has grown, but at the same time become less clear to the public. Industry opposition has been highly organized and well funded, and is increasingly carried out on the local level by third parties rather than the industry itself. The industry's efforts have slowed the progression of public health efforts to address tobacco issues in Colorado, primarily through derailing efforts to enact clean indoor air laws and blocking increases in state tobacco taxes.


Cdk9 is a member of the Cdc2-like family of kinases. Its cyclin partners are members of the family of cyclin T (T1, T2a ad T2b) and cyclin K. The Cdk9/cyclin T complexes appear to be involved in regulating several physiological processes. Cdk9/cyclin T1 belongs to the P-TEFb complex, and is responsible for the phosphorylation of the carboxyl-terminal domain (CTD) of the RNA Polymerase II, thus promoting general elongation. Cdk9 has also been described as the kinase of the TAK complex, which is homologous to the P-TEFb complex and involved in HIV replication. Cdk9 also appears to be involved in the differentiation program of several cell types, such as muscle cells, monocytes and neurons, suggesting that it may have a function in controlling specific differentiative pathways. In addition, Cdk9 seems to have an anti-apoptotic function in monocytes, that may be related to its control over differentiation of monocytes. This data suggests the involvement of Cdk9 in several physiological processes in the cell, the deregulation of which may be related to the genesis of transforming events, that may in turn lead to the onset of cancer. In addition, since the complex Cdk9/cyclin T1 is able to bind to the HIV-1 product Tat, the study of the functions of Cdk9/cyclin T may be of interest in understanding the basal mechanisms that regulate HIV replication.


The purpose of this descriptive study was to discover the perceptions and barriers of four female agriculture educators across generations in a non–traditional field of agriculture. The United States Department of Labor (2006b) defined a non–traditional job as any occupation where one gender comprises 25% or less of the total employment. Four female agriculture teachers across three generations were interviewed with the open–ended question: "What have been your personal and professional experiences in teaching agricultural education?" The teachers selected were from three generations: early Baby Boomer (Vietnam Generation), late Baby Boomer (Me Generation), Generation Xer, and Millennial. The themes revealed in the study were: qualifications to teach agricultural education, challenges in teaching agricultural education, stress in teaching agricultural education, and stereotyping of agricultural education teachers. Females teaching high school agricultural education expressed they needed to prove they were qualified; prove women can perform agricultural education duties; overcome resentment from students; balance family and work; and break the stereotype of a high school agricultural education teacher.


: One hundred patients with surgically proven ruptured lumbar disks were studied in terms of their diagnostic work-up. Four studies--electromyogram, CT scan, myelogram, and epidural venogram--were evaluated independently and in combination. No one study was consistently abnormal; however, epidural venography was diagnostic in 74% of cases. CT scanning and electromyographic examination, when used in combination, were found to be reliable in confirming the diagnosis of lumbar disk rupture in 84% of cases. In no instance were all preoperative diagnostic studies normal when a diagnosis of herniated nucleus pulposus was proven surgically. It seems, therefore, that a detailed history and physical examination in combination with a positive result in at least one of the diagnostic studies appears sufficient to establish the diagnosis of lumbar disk rupture.


Different countries of the world are affected differently by the adverse impacts of anthropogenic climate change. For a large country consisting of several regions with different geographical conditions, the direct geographical impacts of climate change may differ significantly. Given the inhomogeneous regional economic development typical for many large countries already for the present climate, this suggests that regional economic disparities may increase even further as global warming develops. It is thus important that the impacts of climate mitigation policies are assessed not only on global and national levels, but also on the regional level. The key tool for assessing the efficiency of climate mitigation policies and their impacts are Integrated Assessment models (IAMs), i.e. dynamic models of the coupled climate - socioeconomic system. The family of IAMs described in the present paper represent extensions and modifications of a set of actor-based system-dynamics models reported earlier in Hasselmann K. (2013), Detecting and responding to climate change, Tellus B 65, 20088, http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/tellusb.v65i0.20088 (open access). The models focus on the strategies of key decision-making aggregate economic actors (often pursuing conflicting goals) that jointly govern the dynamic evolution of the socio-economic system. We start from a global IAM in which both fossil-fuel-based capital and renewable-energy-based capital determine the production function. We compare a business-as-usual scenario (no mitigation policy) with various mitigation scenarios with different global carbon tax rates. The revenues from the carbon tax in the mitigation scenarios are recirculated into the economy in the form of investments in renewable-energy-based capital. We explore both the case of constant productivity of renewable-energy-based capital and the case with endogenous improvement of renewable-energy productivity through learning-by-doing effects. The model simulations demonstrate that efficient mitigation policies are feasible with readily affordable costs. From this we develop a regionalized IAM along the same methodological lines. We consider a large country composed of two regions characterized by different climates and levels of economic development. This is coupled to large residual "country" representing the "rest of the world". It is assumed that a harmonized carbon tax is imposed in both regions of the country and also in the rest of the world. We explore to which extent the transfer of money from carbon tax revenues between the two regions undertaken by a national government can moderate regional disparities in economic development and climate change impacts. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme under Grant Agreement No. 308601 (COMPLEX).


Expression of bacterial luciferase enzyme (lux) in eukaryotic cells would provide a new bioreporter system for in vivo imaging and diagnostics technology. In spite of this, until now only a few efforts have been made to express bacterial luciferase enzyme in eukaryotic cells. We attempted to synthesize an expression construct of luxA and luxB genes from Vibrio fischeri. The luxA and luxB genes were cloned into the MCS of pTZ57R via the 5' kpnI, BamHI and BamHI, EcoRI restriction sites to generate pTZ57R/luxA and pTZ57R/luxB respectively, then newly synthesized constructs were cleaved with the same enzymes and respectively cloned into the pcDNA3.1(Hyg) and pcDNA3.1(Neo) expression vectors to create pcDNA3.1(Hyg)/luxA and pcDNA3.1(neo)/luxB. Recombinant constructs were cotransfected to the NIH3T3 cell line. Gene expression was confirmed by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction, sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blotting; in addition, bioluminescence characteristics of transfected NIH3T3 cell lines were evaluated by decanal supplement. In conclusion, in the current research, separate vector systems were constructed, which are composed of bacterial luciferase genes (luxA and luxB) that accordingly have not already been reported. These results hold promise toward the potential development of an autonomous light-generating lux reporter system in eukaryotic cells. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Worldwide, oral cancer represents approximately 5 per cent of all malignant lesions, with over 800 new intra-oral squamous cell carcinomas registered in Australia each year. Despite recent advances in therapy, the ?ve-year survival rate remains around 50 per cent and the sequelae of treatment can be seriously debilitating. It has been long established that smoking and alcohol consumption are risk factors linked to the development of oral cancer. This review assesses the epidemiological evidence, supportive in vitro studies and mechanism by which alcohol is involved in the development of oral cancer. Further, we review the literature that associates alcohol-containing mouthwashes and oral cancer. On the basis of this review, we believe that there is now sufficient evidence to accept the proposition that alcohol-containing mouthwashes contribute to the increased risk of development of oral cancer and further feel that it is inadvisable for oral healthcare professionals to recommend the long-term use of alcohol-containing mouthwashes.


Stereotypic movements are repetitive patterns of movements whose physiopathology and relations to other neurobehavioural disorders are still only poorly understood. In this paper our aim is to distinguish between primary stereotypic movements, which are the sole manifestation of an anomaly, while the complementary examinations, except for those involving molecular genetics, are normal; associated stereotypic movements, when they meet primary disorder criteria but there are other coexisting independent neurological signs, that is to say, they are neither the cause nor the consequence of the movement disorder; and secondary stereotypic movements, when they are the consequence of a lesion or acquired neurological dysfunction. Examples of primary stereotypic movements include episodes of parasomnia, such as head rocking, in subjects who are otherwise normal, and stereotypic movements due to emotional disorders, severe environmental deprivation or in institutionalised infants. Examples of associated stereotypic movements are those observed in Rett syndrome, in subjects with sensory defects or with mental retardation due to a variety of causes. And as instances of secondary stereotypic movements we have those that can be seen in infinite like syndrome caused by congenital cerebellar lesions. The purpose of the classification is to lay the foundations for the identification of new syndromes, which would without a doubt facilitate research into their physiopathology, their aetiology and the possible therapeutic attitude to be adopted.


1. The combined effect of the sugar nucleotides UDP-D-fucose or UDP-D-glucuronic acid together with the free sugars D-fucose or L-arabinose is the inactivation of the Escherichia coli enzyme UDP-galactose 4-epimerase (EC 126.96.36.199). The sugar nucleotide or the free sugar alone or the sugar nucleotide plus 5'-Ump do not inactivate the enzyme. 2. The inactivation of the enzyme by its substrate UDP-D-glucose was not affected by the presence of free sugar. 3. In all cases the inactivation observed follows pseudo-first-order kinetics. 4. A comparison of various sugar nucleotides indicates that the hydroxymethyl group at position 6 of the sugar moiety of the natural substrates is important for substrate binding.


When disaster strikes in urban areas, the devastating results are collapsed structures that may contain voids, and trapped people within. To a large extent, the speed with which these victims can be found and extricated determines the likelihood of their survival. Specially trained and equipped emergency first responders are tasked with trying to save their lives by locating and extricating trapped victims from these dangerous environments. Telepresence systems can help first responders search for casualties from a safe location. Most automated search systems intended for use in urban disasters, come in the form of remotely operated robots. This work takes a different approach to telepresence and robotics. This work is an extension of previous work that exploits the intelligence and characteristics of trained search dogs combined with compatible technology and used as components in new kinds of telepresence systems for urban search and rescue (USAR) operations.

The Canine Remote Deployment System (CRDS) is a tool that emergency responders can use to deliver critical supplies to trapped victims in rubble using dogs. The first contribution of this work is the development of the bark detection system for automatically triggering deployment of packages near trapped victims from the CRDS-guaranteeing accurate package deployment even when remote communication with the dog is impossible.

A well-known ground robot problem is the difficulty in designing a mobility mechanism to traverse rubble. Another contribution of this thesis is the Canine Assisted Robot Deployment (CARD) framework and the design of a robot capable of being carried by a search dog. This work extends the responder's telepresence in rescue operations by bringing robots much deeper into the disaster site than current methods.

Visual odometry is used in location tracking in GPS-denied environments and can be used in rescue operations. This research explores the limitation of RGB-D cameras for visual odometry for this application. An algorithm called pseudo-Random Interest Points Extractor was developed iv to track images over visually feature-sparse areas with the potential use of visually reconstructing canine search paths to victims. This work concentrates on using visual odometry from data collected from a search dog-mounted RGB-D camera. The task of model stabilization is difficult due to the nature of dog's constant and unpredictable movements, asthe data contains many motion blurred images. The development of an algorithm called Intelligent Frame Selector is shown to improve visual odometry for systems carried by search dogs by intelligently filtering data and selecting only usable frames. The algorithm can be applied to any general visual odometry pipeline beneficially as the technique reduces cumulative error problems by using less data.


The desire for permanence that has been fundamental to architecture ignores the actuality of the physical world. The flow of time, linked to the process of articulation, is notably absent, resulting in an architecture that is misconstrued as static,
passive, and deterministic. This conception of architecture is rooted in a conception of the world which has since been deemed obsolete.
Form exists as a transient manifestation of process. This temporal act of creation is perpetual, which depicts form as a momentary state in an object's continuous actualization. It has been said that process, rather than substance, is the prime
constituent of the world. Architecture can be seen as a transient formation of tangible and intangible constituents that are understood as thermodynamic energy processes. Material formation, symbiotically linked to cultural transience, depicts an architecture with no absolute state, rather, it is constantly becoming.


Consider a set of methods implementing an Application Programming Interface (API) of a given library or program module that is to be used in a multithreaded setting. If those methods were not originally designed to be thread safe, races and deadlocks are expected to happen. This work introduces the novel concept of program closure and describes how it can be applied in a methodology used to make the library or module implementation thread safe, by identifying the high level data races introduced by interleaving the parallel execution of methods from the API. High-level data races result from the misspecification of the scope of an atomic block, by wrongly splitting it into two or more atomic blocks sharing a data dependency.
 Roughly speaking, the closure of a program P, clos(P), is obtained by incrementally adding new threads to P in such a way that enables the identification of the potential high level data races that may result from running P in parallel with other programs.
 Our model considers the methods implementing the API of a library of program module as concurrent programs and computes and analyses their closure in order to identify high level data races. These high level data races are inspected and removed to make the interface thread safe. We illustrate the application of this methodology with a simple use case.


OBJECTIVE
To research the maturation regulation of dendritic cells (DCs) pulsed with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell soluble antigens.

METHODS
BCG HSP 70 was purified by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis and its biological activity was determined with ELISA. Phenotypes of DCs pulsed with antigens or with both antigens and BCG HSP 70 were analysed with flow cytometry. MTT assay was used to estimate the proliferation of self lymphocytes and the mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) of BCG HSP 70 primed DCs.

RESULTS
The characteristics of DCs had changed after loaded with soluble antigens of HCC. There were about 10% DCs which had lost their specific markers. The expression levels of CD54, CD83, CD86 molecules and the stimulatory ability in allogeneic MLR decreased. However, after being activated by BCG HSP 70, the DCs pulsed with antigens could keep their special markers and the expression levels of CD54, CD83, CD86 molecules increased too. The stimulatory abilities in allogeneic MLR and proliferation of self lymphocytes also improved.

CONCLUSION
This study shows that BCG HSP 70 can induce DCs pulsed with antigens maturation and improve their antigen-presenting ability, which may be a useful maturation inducer for dendritic cells.


COVID-19-related controversies concerning the allocation of scarce resources, travel restrictions, and physical distancing norms each raise a foundational question: How should authority, and thus responsibility, over healthcare and public health law andpolicy be allocated? Each controversy raises principles that support claims by traditional wielders of authority in "federal" countries, like federal and state governments, and less traditional entities, like cities and sub-state nations. No existing principle divides "healthcare and public law and policy" into units that can be allocated in intuitively compelling ways. This leads to puzzles concerning (a) the principles for justifiably allocating "powers" in these domains and (b) whether and how they change during "emergencies." This work motivates the puzzles, explains why resolving them should be part of long-term responses to COVID-19, and outlines some initial COVID-19-related findings that shed light on justifiable authority allocation, emergencies, emergency powers, and the relationships between them.


This paper describes a multi-user role-playing environment, referred to as "e-drama", which enables groups of people to converse online, in scenario driven virtual environments. The starting point of this research, is an existing application known as "edrama", a 2D graphical environment in which users are represented by static cartoon figures. Tools have been developed to enable integration of the existing edrama application with several new components to support avatars with emotionally expressive behaviours, rendered in a 3D environment. The functionality includes the extraction of affect from open-ended improvisational text. The results of the affective analysis are then used to: (a) control an automated improvisational AI actor - EMMA (emotion, metaphor and affect) that operates a bit-part character in the improvisation; (b) drive the animations of avatars using the Demeanour framework in the user interface so that they react bodily in ways that are consistent with the affect that they are expressing. Finally, we describe user trials that demonstrate that the changes made improve the quality of social interaction and users' sense of presence. Moreover, our system has the potential to evolve normal classroom education for young people with or without learning disabilities by providing 24/7 efficient personalised social skill, language and career training via role-play and offering automatic monitoring.


Positive social connections are integral to people's experience of meaning in their lives. As such, social isolation can make life seem meaningless. Chan, Michalak, and Ybarra (2019, Journal of Personality) provided evidence that religious beliefs (not just participation in corporate religious life) can provide an alternative source of meaning for people who feel socially isolated. We tested whether this phenomenon was specific to (a) intrinsic vs. extrinsic orientations toward religion, and (b) experiencing meaning in one's life at present vs. actively searching for meaning. In a sample of undergraduates, high levels of intrinsic—but not extrinsic—religiosity attenuated the relationship between social disconnection and decreased meaning in life. Moreover, this attenuation was specific to felt presence of meaning in life, rather than active search for meaning. These results corroborate and expand Chan et al.'s findings and suggest that future research should explore mechanisms by which religious beliefs themselves serve meaning-making functions.


Aim: This article describes the development and initial evaluation of introducing a psychologist role within an adult inpatient pain service (IPS) in a large North West of England National Health Service (NHS) trust. Background: The role of a psychologist in the management of outpatient chronic pain has been well documented, but their role within the IPS is less well described and rarely evaluated. We describe the development of a psychologist role within the team and initial service evaluation outcomes. Methods: Following an initial needs assessment, a band 8c psychologist joined the IPS one day per week offering brief one-to-one psychological interventions to people struggling with acute or chronic pain in hospital referred by inpatient pain team. The psychologist had an indirect role offering training, supervision and support to members of the inpatient pain team. Regarding direct patient work, following psychometric screening for pain-related disability and distress, a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) approach was applied including identifying unhelpful beliefs about pain, psychoeducation about acute and persistent pain, developing and sharing formulations, skills training including breathing and relaxation exercises and where appropriate, signposting onto an outpatient chronic pain services for further pain self-management advice (e.g. pain management programme. To explore the impact of this direct intervention, a prospective service evaluation with a controlled before and after design was conducted. This compared (a) number of admissions and (b) length-of-stay outcomes in the 12 months following psychometric screening for patients who received psychological input (n = 34, the treatment group) and a sample who did not receive input because of discharge before intervention or non-availability of the psychologist, for example, annual leave (n = 30, control group). Demographic information and summaries of psychometric questionnaires were also analysed. Results: Of the sample of 64 patients, 50 were women, ages ranged from 18–80 years, 72% reported being currently unemployed or off sick from work and on screening and 39% and 48% met criteria for severe depression and pain-related anxiety, respectively. Hospital admissions in the intervention group reduced significantly (by 60%) in the 12 months following screening but increased (by 7%) for the control group (F(1,62) = 7.21, p = .009). Days of stay in hospital reduced significantly more (by 84%) in the intervention group than in the control group (by 41%) (F(1,62) = 8.90, p = .004). Illustrated case studies of brief psychological intervention with three people struggling with pain-related distress are presented. Conclusions: The psychologist became a valuable member of the multi-disciplinary IPS team, offering brief direct and indirect psychological interventions. While a relatively small sample, our prospective service evaluation data suggest brief psychological intervention may contribute to reduced length of stay and hospital admissions for people experiencing pain-related distress in hospital.


Background and aims To investigate and compare the health status concerns of physicians and patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods Patients and their treating physicians completed a questionnaire asking their concern for specific disease manifestations and disease impact on quality of life. For each item, degree of concern was measured on a 5-point Likert scale. Sub-groups were compared by Kruskal-Wallis test for significance. Results A total of 84 patients and 21 physicians participated. Patients were predominantly concerned with function and fatigue, whereas physicians focussed on organ complications of SLE. Seven out of the top 10 patient concerns showed statistically significant differences to physician ratings, including "reduced ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs)" (p=0.02) and "reduced ability to perform physical activities" (p=0.04). All the top 10 physician concerns showed statistically significant differences to patient ratings, including "seizures" (p=0.003) and "stroke" (p=0.002). The top 3 patient concerns were routinely assessed by 47.6%, 42.9% and 9.5% of physicians, respectively. Top 10 patient concerns: Top 10 physician concerns: Conclusions There was significant discordance between patient and physician health status concerns. Items which were ranked highly by patients were systematically underestimated by physicians, highlighting an urgent need to improve communication. Further studies could explore ways within the healthcare interaction that could improve patient satisfaction and disease control.


Dye-sensitized solar cells employing nonvolatile liquid-crystalline (LC) electrolytes that form nanostructures capable of efficient ion transport are reported. The LC electrolyte consists of a cyclic carbonate-functionalized mesogen and an iodide-based ionic liquid that nanosegregates into lamellar structures exhibiting over four times higher ion conductivities parallel to the layers than perpendicular to the layers. The self-assembled ion pathways allow efficient ion transport in the semi-solid LC state. When used together with organic dyes, DSSCs employing these LC electrolytes show higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) than metal-organic dyes. This behavior is not observed for devices containing standard liquid electrolytes. The higher PCEs of the LC-based devices can be attributed to longer electron lifetimes (τ) and higher electron densities in the photoelectrodes. The high concentration of iodide ions in the nanostructured pathways of the LC electrolyte is thought to induce reductive quenching of the ruthenium-based sensitizer, which competes with the electron injection process and lowers the τ and electron densities of the TiO2 .


OBJECTIVES
1) To make an integrated evaluation of the cognitive status, functional capacity, chronic disorders and social situation of the over-75 age group. 2) To find this group's self-perception of their health.

DESIGN
A descriptive crossover study.

SETTING
The Gòtic Health District in Barcelona.

PARTICIPANTS
316 people were included in the study. They were chosen by simple randomised sampling from the over-75s seen at the centre (n = 1,625).

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
To assess cognitive status, the Pfeiffer Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire was used; for functional capacity, the Katz Index; and for chronic disorders, the medical records were reviewed. A questionnaire was used to find patients' social situation and assessed social relationships, social resources used and architectonic barriers. Self-perception of health status was evaluated using the Nottingham Health Profile. Prevalence of cognitive deterioration was 29.7%. 39.4% of patients were dependent in one or more basic activities of their daily life. 90.8% had a chronic disorder, the most frequent being AHT, arthrosis, obesity and dyslipemias. 28.3% lived alone and 26.7% used social services.

CONCLUSIONS
We think this kind of assessment is useful in primary care. It would provide an integrated diagnosis (clinical, functional, medical and social) of elderly patients.


ABSTRACT The resource curse literature suggests that, in fragile states dependent on natural resource rents, structures of public accountability are weak because of an elite-controlled political economy indifferent to social and ecological interests. We examine accountability claims made by non-domestic proxy actors, holding governments and corporations accountable on behalf of communities adversely affected by natural resources extraction. This conceptualization is suggested by proxy-led transnational mobilization against mining-related damage in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We identify an 'hourglass' structure of proxy actor engagement with affected communities: In a first phase, proxies rely on public mechanisms to define standards remotely. In a second phase, proxies 'narrow' the gap by seeking compliance information from affected communities. However, in a third phase, this gap 'widens' again when proxies remotely seek sanctions against responsible actors. We discuss the applicability of this heuristic framework to proxy-led accountability practices in other natural resource-dependent rentier states.


The Bayesian Dirichlet equivalent uniform (BDeu) function is a popular score to evaluate the goodness of a Bayesian network structure given complete categorical data. Despite its interesting properties, such as likelihood equivalence, it does require a prior expressed via a user-defined parameter known as Equivalent Sample Size (ESS), which significantly affects the final structure. We study conditions to obtain prior independence in BDeu-based structure learning. We show in experiments that the amount of data needed to render the learning robust to different ESS values is prohibitively large, even in big data times.


Ileal conduit is the most common surgical procedure performed for individuals after surgical removal of the bladder for severe trauma or malignancy, a congenital defect of the urinary tract, and neurogenic nonfunctioning bladder in which other methods to maintain urinary flow are unsatisfactory. This urinary diversion being permanent, knowledge and skill in the self care and rehabilitation is very important. The present one group pretest-posttest study on "Effectiveness of a self-instructional module on knowledge regarding rehabilitation among patients with ileal conduit" conducted through telephonic interview among 30 patients selected by purposive sampling showed a statistically significant improvement in knowledge regarding rehabilitation (t(29)=16.279, p<0.05). Problems with personal relationship (76.7%), body image disturbance (76.7%), constipation (63.3%), foul smelling urine (26.7%) and infection (20%) were the major problems faced by the patients with ileal conduit. The study report that the self–instructional module is an effective means to improve the knowledge and useful as subjects could read and clear their doubt at their own pace.


Primary demyelination occurs in a variety of human and experimental diseases known to be associated with the presence of inflammatory cells. However, the mechanism of demyelination remains unclear. The possibility that myelin can be damaged as a nonspecific consequence of a specific delayed type of hypersensitivity reaction directed at nonnervous tissue antigens was investigated. Guinea pigs were sensitized to tuberculin with Freund's complete adjuvant, and were challenged in the central and peripheral nervous system either with live or killed sonicated tubercle bacilli, Old Tuberculin, or tuberculin purified protein derivative (PPD). Local inflammatory reactions were invariably produced and primary demyelination was a constant feature of the lesions. The morphological picture was rather similar to that observed in human neurotuberculosis and early tuberculoid leprosy, and in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis and distemper encephalitis in animals. The infiltrates consisted predominantly of mononuclear cells with some polymorphonuclear cells as well. Vesicular disruption of the myelin sheath in the immediate vicinity of the inflammatory cells and stripping of the myelin lamellae by the histiocytes without axonal damage were the leading features of the lesion. The results indicate that cell-mediated immune reactions to a variety of nonbrain antigens could be responsible for a component of the demyelination seen in some inflammatory demyelinating conditions, and suggest that this system may serve as a useful model for studying the immunopathology of demyelinating disease.


Oman has seen rapid growth in construction industry with the blooming of many new infrastructure projects. The conventional way of approaching construction projects in the past makes introducing sustainable construction a major challenge. The country has a sound environmental law, however, the effectiveness of its implementation is unclear.Green or sustainable concept is still new to Omani people and as such many initiatives to promote the concept are necessary. In line with the green development of its neighboring countries, Oman should act fast to be at par with them. This paper explores the progress of green construction in the industryto understand how far this concept has penetrated the industry. A survey has been conducted among construction practitioners in Oman focusing on the current progress and barriers of implementation.A total of 12 barriers of implementation have been identified of which the lack of demand for green construction and lack of pressure by government are the top two.The findings suggest that many more efforts are necessary to push green construction to the forefront and the government should play a major role in this development.


Design has played a complicated role in affordable housing in both the U.S. and
the UK. These two countries have had fairly different approaches towards their
affordable housing policy in the past, but now have both converged to using mixed
income housing as a primary method of delivering affordable housing. This report will
investigate the role that design plays in the ways that each of these countries administers
its mixed income housing programs. Specifically, it will look at how design is used to
achieve the goals behind mixed income housing, as well as specific decisions regarding
exterior treatment and siting of the units in a mixed income housing development. I will
use a case study approach in my research process, focusing on two case studies in the
UK, and two case studies in the U.S. In order to obtain my findings, I used key informant
interviews, key policy and program documents, and on-site observations. Ultimately, I
found that design factors need to be carefully balanced between social equity goals and
financial feasibility, and it is important to recognize the limitations of what mixed income
housing can achieve for social goals.


ABSTRACT Despite the increasing prevalence of curation algorithms on everyday social network sites (SNSs), they often are imperceptible and difficult to become knowledgeable about since little insight in the actual working of these algorithms is given. To address this, we developed an online interface as a visual feedback tool to decrease the ignorance about the Instagram curation algorithm, named 'Instawareness' (https://instawareness.ugent.be/). As such, the goal of this article is to validate the actual effectiveness of Instawareness and to demonstrate how people can be made aware of the Instagram curation algorithm using a quasi-experiment. Validating the actual effectiveness of Instawareness allowed us to connect additional findings about the influence of awareness and understanding of Instagram's curation algorithm to our primary validated findings about achieving such awareness. These show that it is not cognitive understanding about Instagram's algorithms but solely awareness about them that appears to be sufficient for people to indicate increased critical concerns towards SNSs. Furthermore, Instawareness proved to be efficient in increasing cognitive media literacy (CML) and in indirectly stimulating critical concerns towards SNSs.


Rats maintaining reduced body weights after lesions of the lateral hypothalamus (LH; LH rats) are characterized by smaller body protein masses. Two experiments were conducted to determine whether this reduced protein mass is actively defended. In the first, it was found that LH rats induced to overeat and restore body weight to the level of nonlesioned controls markedly increased their body fat without significantly increasing body protein. That is, LH rats at normal body weights were notably obese. In the second experiment, body protein losses produced by food restriction in LH rats were both relatively small and proportionally the same as those seen in similarly restricted nonlesioned controls. These observations demonstrate that LH rats retain the capacity for preserving body protein when challenged by either under- or overnutrition. The apparently irreversible reduction in the body protein mass thus appears to be the result of a specific lean tissue downregulation induced by LH damage.


The integration of indigenous peoples into the market economy has received attention in the literature because of its implications for both human well‐being and ecological viability. Previous studies that have examined the impacts of market participation on variables such as forest clearance, health, and ecological knowledge vary greatly in their measures of market involvement and often use only one or a few measures. Examination of data from five indigenous populations in the northern Ecuadorian Amazon shows little correlation between various measures of integration into the market and points to the importance of using a diversity of measures of both household production and consumption.


Wadis, ephemeral dry rivers in arid desert regions that contain water in the rainy season, are often manifested as braided linear channels and are of vital importance for local hydrological environments and regional hydrological management. Conventional methods for effectively delineating wadis from heterogeneous backgrounds are limited for the following reasons: (1) the occurrence of numerous morphological irregularities which disqualify methods based on physical shape; (2) inconspicuous spectral contrast with backgrounds, resulting in frequent false alarms; and (3) the extreme complexity of wadi systems, with numerous tiny tributaries characterized by spectral anisotropy, resulting in a conflict between global and local accuracy. To overcome these difficulties, an automated method for extracting wadis (AMEW) from Landsat-8 Operational Land Imagery (OLI) was developed in order to take advantage of the complementarity between Water Indices (WIs), which is a technique of mathematically combining different bands to enhance water bodies and suppress backgrounds, and image processing technologies in the morphological field involving multi-scale Gaussian matched filtering and a local adaptive threshold segmentation. Evaluation of the AMEW was carried out in representative areas deliberately selected from Jordan, SW Arabian Peninsula in order to ensure a rigorous assessment. Experimental results indicate that the AMEW achieved considerably higher accuracy than other effective extraction methods in terms of visual inspection and statistical comparison, with an overall accuracy of up to 95.05% for the entire area. In addition, the AMEW (based on the New Water Index (NWI)) achieved higher accuracy than other methods (the maximum likelihood classifier and the support vector machine classifier) used for bulk wadi extraction.


Drug repositioning continues to be the most effective, practicable possibility to treat COVID-19 patients. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus enters target cells by binding to the ACE2 receptor via its spike (S) glycoprotein. We used molecular docking-based virtual screening approaches to categorize potential antagonists, halting ACE2-spike interactions by utilizing 450 FDA-approved chemical compounds. Three drug candidates (i.e., anidulafungin, lopinavir, and indinavir) were selected, which show high binding affinity toward the ACE2 receptor. The conformational stability of selected docked complexes was analyzed through molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The MD simulation trajectories were assessed and monitored for ACE2 deviation, residue fluctuation, the radius of gyration, solvent accessible surface area, and free energy landscapes. The inhibitory activities of the selected compounds were eventually tested in-vitro using Vero and HEK-ACE2 cells. Interestingly, besides inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 S glycoprotein induced syncytia formation, anidulafungin and lopinavir also blocked S-pseudotyped particle entry into target cells. Altogether, anidulafungin and lopinavir are ranked the most effective among all the tested drugs against ACE2 receptor-S glycoprotein interaction. Based on these findings, we propose that anidulafungin is a novel potential drug targeting ACE2, which warrants further investigation for COVID-19 treatment.


The objective of this study was to analyze the distribution, localization and morphological features of lens histamine-containing structures. Studies were performed using the lenses of 37 intact outbred male rats sacrificed at the same time of the day. The methods of light and luminescent microscopy and cytospectofluorometry were applied to obtain the quantitative characteristics and detailed morphological description of histamine-containing structures in the different parts of lens. It was shown that all the epithelial cells and cells-fibers of the lens contain histamine. Depending upon the degree of condensation of nuclear chromatin and their histamine content, the nuclei of lens cells could be subdivided into two types: type A nuclei with high histamine content and high degree of chromatin condensation; type B nuclei with low histamine concentration and slight chromatin condensation.


Two surface materials for reducing absorptivity of heat radiation from fires have been investigated. The first is VO2, which is a thermochromic material. When the temperature of a VO2 surface increases over a certain temperature, it switches, ideally, from infrared (IR)‐absorbing to IR‐reflecting. VO2 window coatings are still on a research level, yet to be commercialized. In this study, VO2 powder available on the market was investigated. The thermochromic effect could be identified but was not large enough to significantly improve the fire properties of treated surfaces. Some thoughts concerning how to improve the performance of VO2 are discussed. The second investigated material is indium tin oxide (ITO), which is a so called low‐e coating, which means that it has low emissivity and absorptivity in the IR part of the spectrum. ITO is spectrally selective in the sense that it transmits visible light while reflecting a large fraction of the IR radiation, which is a rare property for surfaces in general but a typical property of thin electrically conducting non‐metallic films. It is shown that the application of ITO to poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) significantly improves its fire properties. ITO coating is a mature technology already in widespread use today in the electronics industry. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The current dark ecological context has prompted resurgence in debate about the concepts of hope, despair, responsibility and urbanism. Both Bonnie Ora Sherk's The Farm (San Francisco 1974-1980) and Mierle Laderman Ukeles' work at the New York Sanitation Department (1976-present), revision human/more-than-human relationships and interactions, conceiving of an urban community as made up a multiple species and people. Their work provides models for radical coexistence, breaking down reductive urban/nature and nature/culture binaries. Recontextualising these formative performance works in light of contemporary developments and an intersectional ecological analysis, I argue they act as key sites for addressing critical issues of urbanisation and ecology. We are living in the urban century as global patterns of urban migration mean that more than half the world's population now live in cities. Given this growth, cities represent vital landscapes for ecological thought. However, the longstanding ontological distinction between the city and the natural world has led to the growth of cities in ways that do not always support long-term human and non-human life, health and wellbeing. My concept, the bio-urban, invokes the ecological vibrancy of the city and considers humans (and nonhuman species) in urban habitats as active participants of ecology, from an ecomaterialism position. I utilise the bio-urban as a conceptual framework to draw together expanded practices of performance from Sherk and Ukeles, to challenge the false urban/nature dichotomy and replace the clichéd image of eco performance as a reverential walk through a 'green and pleasant land'. Both artists take an intersectional approach to urban ecology, which nuances and informs the bio-urban. In 'dark' times of ecological uncertainty, performance can be a site to challenge destructive thinking, bringing to light invisible relationships, blindspots, imaginative utopias and alternative possibilities for what it means to coexist today.


The objective of this study was to determine the models which estimate the soil plus forest floor carbon stocks (TC) using some stand, climate, and topographic parameters in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stands. 40 sample plots were taken from sites differing in aspects, elevation, slope degree, slope position, and stand growth condition. TC of the stands, as dependent variables, and stand, climate, and topographic properties, as independent variables, were determined and evaluated with multiple regression analysis (MRA) and classification and regression tree technique (CART). In conclusion, TC were related with elevation, slope degree, slope position, aspect, actual evapotranspiration, mean annual precipitation, length of vegetation period, rainfall in the driest month, rainfall from June to September, stand volume, and site index. 91% of the variance in TC was explained with CART while 60% with MRA in a local scale. The results showed that soil and forest floor might become a carbon source where the rainfall decreased, but a sink, especially in productive sites where rainfall of the driest month increased.

 Key words: Carbon stocks, forest floor, regression tree, Scots pine, soil.


Environmental humanities is a dynamic and rapidly growing post-disciplinary field of scholarship that brings together scholars, practices and theoretical perspectives from the humanities, social sciences and the fine arts. It analyses, explores and tackles questions related to the environment and all kinds of environmental problems, and it may thus be understood as a concerted response to the pressing environmental challenges of our time. This article gives a brief introduction to the field and the various ways it has been promoted and institutionalized in Sweden and abroad. It also introduces the articles in the present issue, written by the researchers Sverker Sörlin, Ebba Lisberg Jensen, Martin Hultman, Coppélie Cocq and Daniel Andersson, as well as a short essay and a review. Taken together, these texts represent one of the first publications on environmental humanities and its development, published in Swedish.


Our purpose is to take stock of some current trends in the rethinking of development theory, but above all to transcend the development discourse and move towards a comprehensive social science theory, here called 'global social theory', meaning a unified historical and critical social science that moves beyond the pitfalls of state-centrism and an obsession with 'national development'. In a turbulent and 'globalised' world, the nation-state no longer constitutes the dominant framework for understanding society, and social processes must be analysed delinked from national space. It is argued that certain strands of international political economy (IPE) theory and certain strands of development theory, in conjunction with a new emphasis on cultural studies as well as the new development-related conflicts, together constitute possible building blocks of a reconstruction of development theory, as a step towards global social theory.


This research aims at finding out the influence of the dimensions of organizational culture in improving the performance of local governance. This research was conducted on local governance in Pinrang Regency, South Sulawesi Province. The objectives of the study were to examine and analyse the direct and indirect influences, partially, and simultaneously, partial and simultaneous positive between the dimensions of organizational culture and the strength of organizational culture toward the performance of local government. The sample of this research consist of 304 people from 1454 civil servants of local governance as population. The researchers used the technique of clusters proportionate random sampling in this research. The results showed there are two variables with each frequency. The variables are the dimensions of organizational culture and the performance of local governance. The frequency for dimensions of organizational culture variable is 64, 14%, with a good category. The frequency of performance of local governance variable is 75, 33%, with very good category. It means that the dimensions of organizational culture influence significantly and positively to the performance of local government in Pinrang Regency. It shows that the better the dimensions of organizational culture, the higher the performance of local governance. By understanding the variables that affect the performance of the regional government, the parties concerned will be able to use the results to improve and enhance its services to the community. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s4p307


Low-temperature magnetic properties of condensed matter system is investigated microscopically with high-frequency electron spin resonance (ESR). Experiments are carried out conventionally with a transmission method, but its sensitivity is not often sufficient to detect ESR signals of systems with small number of spins such as newly synthesized microcrystals. To attain better sensitivity, we focus on a novel technique of multi-frequency ESR system utilizing a microcantilever. In this method, ESR signal is detected as a torque change associated with the absorption of electromagnetic wave. Its sensitivity is greatly increased due to mechanical resonance when the modulation frequency of electromagnetic wave coincides with the eigenfrequency of the cantilever. In this study, we have succeeded in mechanical detection of ESR signals in the millimeter wave region up to 240 GHz. The achieved signal-to-noise ratio was greater than 103 for 1-μg sample of Co-Tutton salt, corresponding to the spin sensitivity of 109 spins/G.


An Artist in the Rigging is a study of Herman Melville's early novels--Typee, Omoo, Mardi, Redburn, and White-Jacket. The author considers these fictions from the standpoint of thematic relationship rather than of chronological development. He shows that while the five hero-narrators are separate and distinct entities, they have much in common and can be seen as representing different facets of an emergent composite hero-from the sensitive and restless young man who leaves home to search hungrily for experience, to the wanderer immersed in a deep probing of himself and his world. The hero's thirst for psychological independence--what comes to be his overriding ambition--is never satisfied, and destruction becomes inevitable, culminating in a paradoxical apotheosis in which the narrator-hero achieves this independence, but only at the expense of his humanity.Dillingham persuasively demonstrates the interrelated qualities of these five novels, and in so doing he shows that the young Melville was a far greater literary artist than he gave himself credit for being. This fiction constitutes a powerful achievement in richness of texture, range of effect, and depth of characterization, as An Artist in the Rigging makes clear.


We present a robust method for gathering relational facts from the Web, based on matching generalized patterns which are automatically learned from seed facts for relations of interest. Our approach combines these generalized patterns for high recall information extraction with a rule-based, declarative reasoning approach to also ensure high precision. Newly extracted candidate facts are assigned statistical weights which reflect the strengths of the patterns used to extract them. For checking the plausibility of candidate facts with respect to existing knowledge and competing hypotheses, we use an efficient algorithm for weighted Max-Sat over propositional-logic clauses. In contrast to prior work on reasoning-based information extraction, we employ richer statistics and smart pruning to bound the number of grounded rules passed on to the Max-Sat solver.


In this paper we report on a visual world eye-tracking experiment that investigated the differing abilities of adults and children to use referential scene information during reanalysis to overcome lexical biases during sentence processing. The results showed that adults incorporated aspects of the referential scene into their parse as soon as it became apparent that a test sentence was syntactically ambiguous, suggesting they considered the two alternative analyses in parallel. In contrast, the children appeared not to re-analyze their initial analysis, even over shorter distances than have been investigated in prior research. We argue that this reflects the children's over-reliance on bottom-up, lexical cues to interpretation. The implications for the development of parsing routines are discussed.


This paper analyzes the role of uncertainty in a multi-sector housing model with financial frictions. We include time varying uncertainty (i.e. risk shocks) in the technology shocks that affect housing production. The analysis demonstrates that risk shocks to the housing production sector are a quantitatively important impulse mechanism for the business cycle. Also, we demonstrate that bankruptcy costs act as an endogenous markup factor in housing prices; as a consequence, the volatility of housing prices is greater than that of output, as observed in the data. The model can also account for the observed countercyclical behavior of risk premia on loans to the housing sector.


Light Fossils exhibited in Discovery at the inaugural exhibition of Brink - an initiative promoting relationships between sculpture and science. Cosmologists speak of 'light fossils', traces of old light etched into the fabric of our cosmos which act as clues to the physical processes that shaped the universe we know today. Light is the messenger from the early universe. By the time this 'light information' reaches us the event or material it descries is long obsolete. Correspondingly the work Light Fossil is made by shadow an indirect impression of an absent presence. Burnt into translucent film, the light passes through onto the wall, we have to peer around to dis-cover this shadow, an immaterial echo of a material presence.


Summary Goals: Blanc Du Bois is the most widely planted Pierce's disease (PD) tolerant white wine grape variety in Texas. However, on alkaline soils, which are wide-spread across the state, nutritional deficiencies have been observed in own-rooted vines. This work evaluated the effect of rootstock on Blanc Du Bois vine growth, nutritional status, and fruit composition on an alkaline vineyard site in the Texas Gulf Coast. Ten rootstocks representing common rootstocks in Texas (Paulsen 1103, Kober 5BB, Teleki 5C), nematode resistant rootstocks (UCD-GRN1, UCD-GRN2, UCD-GRN3, UCD-GRN4, and UCD-GRN5), and rootstocks with believed tolerance to cotton root rot (Phymatotricopsis omnivorum ) (Ramsey, Dog Ridge) were studied over a four-year period. Key Findings: UCD-GRN1 rootstock performed poorly as a result of severe magnesium and iron deficiency. Ramsey maintained the most favorable nutritional status and consistently produced the highest pruning weights. Own-rooted Blanc Du Bois had lower fruit quality when compared to most rootstocks (Ramsey, Dog Ridge, UCD-GRN2, UCD-GRN3, UCD-GRN4, UCD-GRN5, Paulsen 1103, Kober 5BB), although vine size (pruning weight) and crop load (yield:pruning weight) were generally comparable. In 2015 and 2016, juice pH positively correlated with juice potassium, with concentrations of potassium varying by an average of ∼20% across rootstocks. On average, own-rooted Blanc Du Bois tissue samples contained 323% more sodium than grafted vines. Impact and Significance: This study demonstrated that Blanc Du Bois can benefit from grafting onto rootstocks on alkaline soils. Own-rooted Blanc Du Bois vines were generally less productive than Paulsen 1103, Dog Ridge, UCD-GRN3, and Ramsey, likely as result of nutritional status. Own-rooted Blanc Du Bois also had lower soluble solids at harvest than most rootstocks as a result of diminished nutritional status, although titratable acidity and pH were not consistently different. Delaying harvest did not result in a further increase in soluble solids, although acidity continued to decrease, suggesting that own-rooted Blanc Du Bois was not simply behind in physiological maturity, but rather produced lower quality fruit than most of the rootstocks under study. The poor performance of UCD-GRN1 throughout the study suggests that it is not adapted to alkaline soils.


Base flow is an important component in hydrological modeling. This process is usually modeled by using the linear aquifer storage–discharge relation approach, although the outflow from groundwater aquifers is nonlinear. To identify the accuracy of base flow estimates in rivers dominated by snowmelt and/or glacier melt in arid and cold northwestern China, a nonlinear storage–discharge relationship for use in SWAT (Soil Water Assessment Tool) modeling was developed and applied to the Manas River basin in the Tian Shan Mountains. Linear reservoir models and a digital filter program were used for comparisons. Meanwhile, numerical analysis of recession curves from 78 river gauge stations revealed variation in the parameters of the nonlinear relationship. It was found that the nonlinear reservoir model can improve the streamflow simulation, especially for low-flow period. The higher Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency, logarithmic efficiency, and volumetric efficiency, and lower percent bias were obtained when compared to the one-linear reservoir approach. The parameter b of the aquifer storage–discharge function varied mostly between 0.0 and 0.1, which is much smaller than the suggested value of 0.5. The coefficient a of the function is related to catchment properties, primarily the basin and glacier areas.


We hypothesize that slow inactivation of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) and its modulatory effect on sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ handling are important for various interval–force (I–F) relations, in particular for the beat interval dependency in transient alternans during the decay of post-extrasystolic potentiation. We have developed a mathematical model of a single cardiomyocyte to integrate various I–F relations, including alternans, by incorporating a conceptual CaMKII kinetics model into the SR Ca2+ handling model. Our model integrates I–F relations, such as the beat interval-dependent twitch force duration, restitution and potentiation, positive staircase phenomenon and alternans. We found that CaMKII affects more or less all I–F relations, and it is a key factor for integration of the various I–F relations in our model. Alternans arises, in the model, out of a steep relation between SR Ca2+ load and release, owing to SR load-dependent changes in the releasability of Ca2+ via the ryanodine receptor. Beat interval-dependent CaMKII activity, owing to its kinetic properties and amplifying effect on SR Ca2+ load dependency of Ca2+ release, replicated the beat interval dependency of alternans, as observed experimentally. Additionally, our model enabled reproduction of the effects of various interventions on alternans, such as the slowing or accelerating of Ca2+ release and/or uptake. We conclude that a slow time-dependent factor, represented in the model by CaMKII, is important for the integration of I–F relations, including alternans, and that our model offers a useful tool for further analysis of the roles of integrative Ca2+ handling in myocardial I–F relations.


Abstract Numerous criticality safety benchmarks have been, and continue to be, developed from experiments performed on Argonne National Laboratory's plate-type fast critical assemblies. The nature and scope of assemblies suitable for deriving these benchmarks are discussed. The benchmark derivation process, including full treatment of all significant uncertainties, is explained. Calculational results are presented that support the small uncertainty assigned to the key derivation step in which complex geometric detail is removed.


Burrs and fractures are two types of shapes formed on exit edges in pricision machining. They affect the quality of workpiece and the efficiency of prodcution seriously. A finite element model of fracture formation process to simulate the machining process of 2024-T3 Aluminum alloy is proposed. According to simulation results, five stages and variation of shear shain in fracture formation process are analyzed. It is found that shear strain plays an important role in fracture forming process. The method of determination of critical shear strain for fracture forming is proposed from simulation results.


Acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with high mortality and morbidity risk. Factors predictive of mortality can guide in early identification of high-risk patients and escalation of therapy to improve outcomes. There is a paucity of data on AKI in Pakistan, and this study was done to determine in-hospital AKI mortality and the associated predictors of mortality. This was a prospective observational study conducted in the Acute Medical Unit and High Dependency Unit of Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, from June to December 2018. Based on the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) AKI definition, 130 critically ill patients were included, while patients with chronic kidney disease were excluded. Data were collected on demographic profile-morbid conditions, etiology, laboratory values, and outcomes. The overall mortality was 45.4% (59/130) and varied with the stage of AKI, as it was 21.6%, 36.0%, and 61.8% in KDIGO stages 1, 2, and 3, respectively (P <0.05). There was a significant association (P <0.001) between sepsis, age >65 years, and mortality. Patients with inhospital mortality had higher median serum creatinine and mean potassium levels (P <0.01), with lower mean sodium levels and bicarbonate levels <10 mmol/L. However, on multivariate analysis using variables age >65 years, AKI stage 3, oliguria, bicarbonate <10 mmol/L, and sodium levels <130 mmol/L, only age [odds ratio (OR): 3.16, confidence interval (CI) 95%: 1.40−7.15), AKI stage 3 (OR: 3.12, CI 95%: 1.32−7.38], and low sodium levels <130 mmol/L (OR: 4.52, CI 95%: 1.40−14.61) were found to be independent predictors of mortality. Diabetes mellitus need for vasopressors, oliguria, hemodialysis requirement, and mean leukocyte counts had no significant association with mortality. AKI was associated with high in-hospital mortality in critically ill patients. Sepsis, hypertension, older age, Stage 3 AKI, higher mean creatinine, and potassium were predictive of increased mortality risk.


Poor access to extension services has been one of the major challenges that smallholder farmers in Malawi face. Dissemination of agricultural technologies is mainly done through field level extension workers and lead farmers; however, such workers are few in number. In addition to this, there is lack of harmonization of messages, approaches and methods in extension delivery at field level. Using baseline cross-sectional data, this study aims at contributing towards harmonization of extension messages and coordination of extension service providers in the implementation of climate smart agriculture technologies in Malawi. Existing information channels for disseminating climate smart agriculture and the capacity of extension workers and lead farmers were analyzed. Key study findings include poor coordination among stakeholders in the delivery, message package and incentive schemes; nonexistence of government approved climate smart agriculture specific training manuals among stakeholders; lack of knowledge and skills among field level extension workers in disseminating climate smart agriculture technologies; and limited access to knowledge and information by female farmers. The study recommends a harmonized and gender sensitive approach in extension delivery, coordination in the implementation of climate smart agriculture activities, and strengthening of District Agriculture Extension Committees for improved facilitation in extension delivery.

 Key words: Extension, climate smart agriculture, smallholder farmers, Malawi.


Granulomas (tubercles) were described by pathologists as the hallmark of tuberculosis (TB), an ancient, often lethal disease. The discovery by Koch of the bacilli [Mycobacterium tuberculosis, (M.tb)] as the causative agent of the disease initiated research that established the paradigm of the protective but also tissue-destructive nature of the granulomas. These Reviews provide an update on research in granulomatous infections/diseases and describe a shift into a new paradigm: the role of the pathogen in host-pathogen interaction.

The protective nature of the granuloma is based on phagocytosis and killing of the ingested pathogen driven by the innate and adaptive immune responses. On bacterial invasion the antigen presenting cells, macrophages via their pattern recognition receptors recognize the pathogen associated molecular patterns of the pathogen and initiate the defensive inflammatory response. Itoh et al. (1) present evidence that in the Bead-PPD lung granuloma model the innate TLR9 and the Dll4 Notch systems cooperate not only in the early recognition of M.tb patterns but also in skewing the incipient adaptive immune response toward the Th17 inflammatory cell activity. Granuloma formation is reliant on chemokines, the low MW proteins that recruit leukocytes to the focus of irritation and activate them. In Stephen W. Chensue's (2) laboratory the artificial granuloma model was established by means of antigen coated beads injected into Th1 or Th2 response-primed mice. The resulting lung granulomas showed the TH1 or Th 2 type cellular response. Chemokine receptor analysis of such granulomas showed lesion age-dependent heterogeneity of the response. It is suggested that chemokine's could be targeted for therapeutic intervention.

Ehlers and Schaible (3) give an overview of the M.tb granuloma research and the host-pathogen interaction. The protective role in TB of the granuloma is asserted, but reflecting the recent view M.tb is described to exploit the lesion for its dispersal and propagation. At the chronic stage of the disease bacilli within the lesion are dormant and adapt to low oxygen, pH, and nutritional conditions. The pathogen-induced strong TH1 type inflammation causes pathology: caseation, cavitation that allow the escape of the bacilli to infect a new host. The authors make the intriguing suggestion to focus on suppression of the intensity of inflammation rather than devising new vaccination modes that maintain the inflammatory response. Shaler et al. (4) describe the stages of the M.tb granuloma development with the appearance within the lesions of the non-phagocytic macrophage derivatives: foam, epithelioid, and giant cells. They take the negative view of the lesions because they contribute to bacillary persistence and based on the newly emerging zebra fish embryo model contend that granulomas may be dispensable. Lang (5) discusses the relevance of Mincle a C type lectin on macrophages that is the receptor for bacterial cord factor – a toxic glycolipid that incorporated into adjuvant induces granulomas. Linkage with TLRs could not be demonstrated and so far experiments with Mincle-deficient mice showed discrepant results related to anti-bacterial resistance. Lugo-Villarino et al. (6) give an account on the importance of the M1 M2 polarization that occurs during M.tb infection. Under the early TH1 (IFNg) influence M1 macrophages become strongly bactericidal. This shifts to a late Th2 (IL4, 10) M2 response with Arginase 1 expression that inhibits nitric oxide production resulting in poor or weak bactericidal capacity and the appearance of foamy macrophages that allow intracellular bacillary growth. Guirado and Schlesinger (7) confirm the protective role of the Th1-induced M.tb granuloma with strong M1 mediated bactericidal kill. They rightly stress the importance of the microenvironment in and around the granulomas that cause a variety of pulmonary pathologies in a single person and they acknowledge the changing dynamics between host and pathogen during the long course of the infection. They enumerate the various in vivo TB models, the in vitro efforts and the emergent in silico approaches whereby the complex granuloma response is being simplified by computer simulation.

Moore et al. (8) introduce visceral leishmaniasis a chronic tropical disease caused by the protozoan Leishmania donovani. In humans or mice host resistance is linked to efficient granuloma development. The murine model has several different characteristics. After infection the parasites are ingested by liver Kupffer cells which together with invariant natural killer T cells recruit monocytes. Both infiltrated CD4+ and CD8+ T cells are needed for parasite clearance. By 4D intravital imaging free movement of intralesional T cells was observed. Parasite clearance proceeds with no residual pathology (necrosis, fibrosis). The innovative computer modeling is being employed to simulate the effector cell populations and predict regulator cytokine activity.

Lundy and Lukacs (9) review the helminth-induced granulomatous schistosomiasis mansoni, where antigens secreted by the parasite eggs induce perioval granulomas that protect the liver from toxic egg secretions. The initial Th1 type inflammation, with chronicity is modulated to a Th2 response that significantly reduces granuloma size but enhances liver fibrosis. Downmodulation is mediated by T regulatory and CD5+ B cells that induce apoptosis of CD4+ T cells. It is also systemic for unrelated immune systems which has implications for vaccinations, allergy, and autoimmunity. Hams et al. (10) discuss the host parasite relationship in murine schistosomiasis. The parasite needs perioval granuloma formation for the successful egg excretion from the host. Host granulomas shield the liver from toxic egg secretions. But the predominant Th2 response generates eosinophile rich granulomas and excessive fibrous healing that cause portal hypertension and intestinal bleedings. CD8+ T cells, B cells, and M2 type macrophages play a role in granuloma regulation. Egg antigens are also active at the innate response level: they suppress TLR triggered TNFalpha production by dendritic cells but activate the NLRP3 inflammasome with IL1beta production. Proteomic analysis of egg antigens revealed over 1000 proteins indicating the daunting task of assigning roles to fractions in inflammation or pathology.

The compiled Reviews show significant advances in granuloma research both in new methodologies and the emergence of new paradigm(s) in host-pathogen interaction. In the various models several contributors rightly reaffirm the essential protective role of the immune granulomatous response. However, in TB the quandary of the strong T cell-mediated anti-bacterial inflammation vs. the tissue-destructive pathological sequelae still remains unsolved. Similarly, in schistosomiasis there is no intervention that could prevent or reverse the strong fibrosis that replaces the perioval granuloma.

It is instructive to compare the various experimental models with pulmonary sarcoidosis, a granulomatous disease of humans with no known etiologic agent(s). Broos et al. (in review) survey the current literature that proves the immune basis of the disease. Clinical observations described innate responses with cytokine/chemokine secretion, macrophage recruitment, and inflammatory Th1/Th17 T helper lymphocyte participation in the granulomatous response. The disease may spontaneously resolve or may progress to fibrosis, lung pathology and death. Regulatory T cells (Treg) are considered to restrain overt T helper cell activity and the extent of inflammation but if they are dysfunctional, disease progression occurs. Thus, the clinical picture closely resembles the experimental animal models. Further observations are needed to unravel Th-Treg interaction and the precise role of Treg before effective therapy can be devised.