Phorbol esters induce the human HL-60 promyelocytic cell line to differentiate along a monocytic pathway. This induction of differentiation may involve phorbol ester-induced activation of the phospholipid- and calcium-dependent protein kinase C. Bryostatin 1, a macrocyclic lactone, has been shown to compete with phorbol esters for binding to protein kinase C. We have confirmed that bryostatin 1 translocates activity of protein kinase C from the cytosolic to membrane fractions of HL-60 cells. The present results also demonstrate that bryostatin 1 (10 nmol/L) induces monocytic differentiation of HL-60 cells as determined by adherence, growth inhibition, appearance of monocyte cell surface antigens, and alpha-naphthyl acetate esterase staining. Furthermore, bryostatin 1 (10 nmol/L) downregulated c-myc expression and induced c-fos, c-fms, and tumor necrosis factor transcripts. These changes in gene expression induced by bryostatin 1 are similar to those associated with phorbol ester-induced monocytic differentiation of HL-60 cells. In contrast, exposure to a higher concentration of bryostatin 1 (100 nmol/L) had less of an effect on growth inhibition of HL-60 cells and changes in gene expression. Moreover, 100 nmol/L bryostatin 1 antagonized the cytostatic effects and adherence induced by phorbol esters. Our results thus suggest that bryostatin 1 activates HL-60 cell protein kinase C and that this effect is associated with induction of monocytic differentiation.


PURPOSE
AAPM report TG-204 suggests using size-specific dose estimates (SSDE) as a patient CT dose reporting method. SSDEs are calculated by applying a correction factor, which is based on the patient outline size, to CTDIvol. The suggested correction factors were determined with phantom measurements or Monte Carlo simulations from four independent research groups, which utilized uniform or mostly solid phantoms. However, in some clinical CT examinations such as CT colonoscopy, considerable portions of the scanned anatomy are gas, which is quite different from the condition under which TG-204 was established, and SSDEs may not be sufficient in these cases. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate this limitation with Monte Carlo dose calculations using patient CT images.

METHODS
CT images from two patient scans were used to perform Monte Carlo simulations: a normal abdomen/pelvis scan and a CT colono scopy. The patient sizes were similar according to outline dimension measurements. For Monte Carlo dose calculations, the same scanning parameters were simulated to ensure identical CTDIvol in the two cases. Bony anatomy was identified by thresholding and the mean dose to bony structures was calculated by averaging the three-dimensional dose distribution. Left and right kidneys were contoured for organ dose calculations. Effective diameters were measured, and the correction factors were obtained from TG-204.

RESULTS
The size-specific conversion factors were 1.37 for both patients, thus the SSDEs of the two cases were the same in this study. The MC-calculated mean doses from the normal abdomen/pelvis scan were higher than those from the CT colonoscopy by 7.5%, 6.5% and 12.8% for bony anatomy, left kidney and right kidney, respectively.

CONCLUSION
The impact of patient anatomy on CT dose was demonstrated using patients of the same size. This effect should be considered for special clinical cases.


Prostitution has become an extremely topical issue in recent years and attention has focused both on the situation of female prostitutes and the adequacy of existing forms of regulation. "Prostitution, Politics and Policy" brings together the main debates and issues associated with prostitution in order to examine the range of policy options that are available. Governments in different parts of the world have been struggling to develop constructive policies to deal with prostitution - as, for example, the British Home Office recently instigated a GBP1.5 million programme to help address the perceived problems of prostitution.In the context of this struggle, and amidst the publication of various policy documents, "Prostitution, Politics and Policy" develops a fresh approach to understanding this issue, while presenting a range of what are seen as progressive and radical policy proposals. Much of the debate around prostitution has been polarised between liberals - who want prostitution decriminalised, normalised and humanised - and conservatives - who have argued that prostitution should be abolished. But, drawing on wide range of international literature, and providing an overview that is both accessible to students and relevant to policy makers and practitioners, in this book Roger Matthews proposes a form of radical realism that is irreducible to either of these two positions.


Motivated by applications of rateless coding, decision feedback, and automatic repeat request (ARQ), we study the problem of universal decoding for unknown channels in the presence of an erasure option. Specifically, we harness the competitive minimax methodology developed in earlier studies, in order to derive a universal version of Forney's classical erasure/list decoder, which in the erasure case, optimally trades off between the probability of erasure and the probability of undetected error. The proposed universal erasure decoder guarantees universal achievability of a certain fraction xi of the optimum error exponents of these probabilities. A single-letter expression for xi, which depends solely on the coding rate and the Neyman-Pearson threshold, is provided. The example of the binary symmetric channel is studied in full detail, and some conclusions are drawn.


When human neutrophils are incubated with LPS, they become primed for enhanced release of O2- in response to stimulation by FMLP. We investigated two aspects of LPS priming: 1) whether priming depends on secretion of TNF-alpha by monocytes present in neutrophil preparations, and 2) whether plasma is required for priming. Using plasma-Percoll gradients, we isolated neutrophils that contained only 0.1% monocytes. At 37 degrees C, these neutrophils were significantly primed by LPS (100 ng/ml) within 30 min. In contrast, LPS-treated monocytes required 60 min to secrete significant neutrophil-priming activity, the major component of which was TNF-alpha. Further, antibody against TNF-alpha failed to inhibit priming of neutrophils by LPS at 15, 30, and 45 min, and inhibited only 15% at 60 min. The results suggested that TNF-alpha or other factors from monocytes were not essential for priming of neutrophils by LPS. Neutrophils that had been washed free of plasma by centrifugation through 50% Percoll responded only weakly to LPS with respect to priming for enhanced O2- release and increased expression of alkaline phosphatase activity on the cell surface. Priming of washed neutrophils could be restored by adding back plasma (0.1 to 1.0%). This effect of plasma was not blocked by heating the plasma to 56 degrees C but was blocked at 100 degrees C. LPS priming could be blocked by polymyxin B, even in the presence of plasma. Thus, priming required both LPS and plasma. Neutrophils incubated with LPS in the absence of plasma were not primed by subsequent addition of plasma, but were primed by addition of plasma and LPS. Culture supernatants from neutrophils incubated with 20 ng/ml LPS in the absence of plasma failed to prime fresh neutrophils, but supernatants from neutrophils incubated with LPS in the presence of 1% plasma were able to prime fresh neutrophils. These results implied that neutrophils inactivated LPS and that plasma protected LPS from inactivation. Nevertheless, such inactivated LPS retained the ability to gel Limulus lysate at 10 pg/ml, and the ability to prime monocytes at 100 pg/ml. Thus, plasma prevented a neutrophil-specific inactivation of LPS.


In today's semiconductor industry, the business loss associated with one full day of lost production can have a significant impact on revenues. Key factors affecting overall profitability are unplanned fabrication downtimes and contamination resulting in defective products. It is critical, therefore, to implement effective risk management strategies for the fabrication process to eliminate yield-limiting defects and to improve the overall production. This paper will discuss a study completed for a semiconductor chemical supplier. Battelle applied a methodology based on the Process Event Tree/Hazard and Operability Study (PET-HAZOP) methodology, identifying numerous ways to avoid unnecessary outages and lost production at a specific client's semiconductor fabrication facility. This methodology uses a systematic approach to identifying risks in a process, and risks are quantified in terms of expected dollars per year. Within the analysis, the importance of individual equipment items in the process is measured with respect to risk. Two risk measures are used in the analysis: Risk Reduction Worth (RRW) and Risk Achievement Worth (RAW). The RRW identifies opportunities for areas of risk reduction and the RAW identifies critical equipment that must be maintained to prevent the overall risk of the system from increasing significantly. Results were provided in a cost-benefit form for the top items on the RRW and RAW lists. For example, replacing existing chemical distribution pumps with completely non-metallic pumps (cost of about $60,000) would result in savings, due to avoidance of possible chemical contamination, of $430,000 per year. This, and other findings, proved that a systematic approach to evaluating risks for the semiconductor front-end process can identify valuable risk reduction alternatives resulting in significant cost savings.Copyright © 2003 by ASME


When a natural language generation (NLG) component is implemented in a real-world task-oriented dialogue system, it is necessary to generate not only natural utterances as learned on training data but also utterances adapted to the dialogue environment (e.g., noise from environmental sounds) and the user (e.g., users with low levels of understanding ability). Inspired by recent advances in reinforcement learning (RL) for language generation tasks, we propose ANTOR, a method for Adaptive Natural language generation for Task-Oriented dialogue via Reinforcement learning. In ANTOR, a natural language understanding (NLU) module, which corresponds to the user's understanding of system utterances, is incorporated into the objective function of RL. If the NLG's intentions are correctly conveyed to the NLU, which understands a system's utterances, the NLG is given a positive reward. We conducted experiments on the MultiWOZ dataset, and we confirmed that ANTOR could generate adaptive utterances against speech recognition errors and the different vocabulary levels of users.


Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) contain large quantities of dairy cows and therefore have the potential to contribute significant amounts of harmful waste products to the environment. Although previous studies have used geospatial tools to assess potential contaminant runoff, the results from these studies are dependent on the unique geographical characteristics of specific regions. This study incorporated geographical characteristics unique to California to: 1) characterize the distribution of dairy CAFOs in California; and 2) determine and compare the potential for dairy CAFOs in high vs. low runoff potential regions in subject counties to contaminate surface water. The CAFOs were grouped by their location in either high or low runoff potential regions characterized by Curve Number (CN) grids. The potential for the CAFOs in either group to contaminate surface water was determined by calculating the proportion of CAFOs with runoff that intersected with surface water. Among the CAFOs in high runoff potential regions, 180 out of 193 facilities had the potential to contaminate surface water. This proportion was found to be significantly different from the proportion of CAFOs in low runoff potential regions (p=0.023), indicating validity of the CN grids used to approximate runoff potential.

 Key words: Concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO), dairy, water pollution, geographic information system (GIS), curve number (CN) grids


The training needs and factors affecting Animal Science Lecturers' job performance in tertiary institutions of Abia State, Nigeria were investigated. Thirty (30) Animal Science lecturers were purposively selected from Michael Okpara University of Education, Umudike and the Abia State College of Education Technical, Arochukwu to represent the sample population for the study. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire. The most preferred trainings needed by the lecturers were the information and technology communication (ICT) skills among others. These training needs can be fulfilled through in-service training programmes, short/certificate courses, awards of post doctorial/internships/fellowships, attending the Nigerian Institute of Animal Science (NIAS) Mandatory Continuing Education Programmes (MCEPs), engaging in online/e-learning programmes, conferences, workshops, seminars and field trips. Inadequate finance, lack of time and poor scheduling of training programmes, poor institutional financial support/sponsorship, poor institutional facilities to implement the learning experiences after training and ignorance on the existence of educational/training programmes were identified as impediments to fulfilling their training needs. It is recommended that, the University authorities should establish a Directorate of exchange and linkage that could help in sourcing for training opportunities/programmes, lecturers should be properly trained in information communication and technology (ICT) skills to gain requisite knowledge in the use of computers to source for training for opportunities. Finally, the university authorities should provide adequate institutional facilities such as laboratories, equipment, etc to enable the lecturers trained in a particular area of expertise to effectively implement their learning experiences after training.


This collection of 15 original essays offers new perspectives in armed conflict as a central aspect of science-fiction and fantasy writing. Looking past the superficial conventions associated with ray guns and aliens, swords and sorcerers, the contributors show how writers in the genre today are not so much imagining war more fully as they are completely ""re-imagining"" it. Science-fiction and fantasy writing is no longer mired in epic or chivalric models but is responding to new and more complex ""real-world"" motivations for armed aggression: advances in weaponry, shifts in the theatres of war, and changes in battlefield conditions. Most of the papers were presented at the annual J. Lloyd Eaton Conference on Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, the field's most prestigious international gathering. The trend throughout the book is away from critical interest in stories of spatial or territorial conquest and toward works that deal with topics related to wars of temporal logistics and the internalisation of the combat zone, including urban street violence, gender conflicts, and resistance to runaway technology. The essays range from studies of the semantics and linguistics of warfare in science fiction to a critique of Osip Senkovsky's ""Fantastic Journeys of Baron Brambeus""; from writer Joe Haldeman's assessment of the impact of his Vietnam experiences on his fiction to inquiries into a shared author/reader agenda in novels concerning potential mass destruction, including Stephen King's ""Dead Zone"" and M.J. Engh's ""Arslan"". The collection also charts new directions in writing, such as the anti-apocalyptic science fiction of Samuel R. Delany, and embraces new modes of presentation, particularly computer animation and the ""bande dessinee"", or illustrated narrative, as exemplified by French novelist Philippe Druillet's ""La Nuit"". Musician Bob Marley, film actor/directors Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Lee, and the cyberpunk film classics ""Terminator"" and the ""Road Warrior"" series are among other topics discussed. Together, the essays reinforce the editors' contention that the true function of these fantasies and science fictions is neither nostalgia nor fancy, but analysis. The contributors treat the texts they examine as a means not of playing war games, but of understanding the role of war in the present and the future.


Professional analysts' estimates of earnings per share (EPS) provide a rare source of forward-looking information regarding the financial performance of publicly traded firms. Although numerous studies in the economics, finance, and accounting literatures have examined the properties of these forecasts and provided general insight into their performance, no known research explicitly examines the performance of analysts' EPS estimates for publicly traded food companies. This issue is particularly relevant given the influence that publicly traded agribusiness companies maintain in the agro-food supply chain (Vickner, 2002). Focusing on quarterly consensus estimates of EPS for 11 of the largest publicly traded food companies based on capitalization, the authors examine the point accuracy of these estimates through the introduction of the mean absolute scaled error measure, their performance over time, as well as their optimal forecast properties of bias, efficiency, and forecast encompassing. Results suggest that professional analysts, on average, produce EPS estimates that are more accurate than time series alternatives, yet the differences are often not statistically significant. For many of the firms examined, analysts' EPS estimates are found to be biased, inefficient, and do not encompass information in simple time series alternatives. For many firms in the sample, forecast accuracy has decreased over time. However, it is difficult to determine if this decline in forecast accuracy is due to turnover of analysts in the wake of increased financial market regulation (e.g., Sarbanes-Oxley), decline in forecasting skill, or structural changes in the food industry, which make it more difficult to forecast earnings over time. [EconLit citations: Q140; G170; M490]. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Clay-sized quartz particles from the suspended load of the Mississippi River display subspherical and well-rounded morphologies. When viewed under a scanning electron microscope, the grain surfaces exhibit overlapping caps of precipitated SiO 2 plates and occasional etch pits formed by chemical dissolution. Such morphologies indicate that the grains are multicyclic in origin and have been derived from weathering pedogenic environments. In comparison, primary clay-sized quartz grains from glacial drift and gneissic detritus are wedgelike and angular, and their surfaces are characterized by mechanically produced features such as breakage blocks and conchoidal fractures. Thus, grains from different sedimentary provenances display distinctive shape and surface texture features. Morphological analysis of clay-sized quartz particles should become an important diagnostic tool in understanding the complex history of terrigenous deposits, because the fine particles exhibit the same source-indicative features as the coarser silt- and sand-sized grains.


It has been suggested that oxytocin, besides its milk-ejecting activity, is also involved in the hormonal regulation of the mammary gland secretory cells. The available data, however, are conflicting. In this study two independent experiments, separated by a certain time interval show that oxytocin intravenously administered to mice at days 10-14 of lactation diminished the incorporation of [3H]leucine into the mammary gland tissue by 32 and 53 per cent, respectively. The neurohormone was co-injected with the tracer amino acid. The radioactivity taken up by the secretory cells was estimated by light microscopic autoradiography. The autoradiograms were evaluated by visual silver grain counting. Tissue radioactivity was measured by liquid scintillation counting. A milk stasis in the mammary gland induced by depriving the mice of suckling two hours before tracer injection had no influence on the secretory activity of the glandular cells. It is assumed that oxytocin has a direct effect on the milk-producing cells, and that the reduction in measurable radioactivity caused by the neurohormone may be due to an accelerated intracellular passage of labelled milk proteins.


Suckling piglets play an important role at maintaining influenza A virus (IAV) infections in breeding herds and disseminating them to other farms at weaning. However, the role they play at weaning to support and promote genetic variability of IAV is not fully understood. The objective here was to evaluate the genetic diversity of IAV in pigs at weaning in farms located in the Midwestern USA. Nasal swabs (n = 9,090) collected from piglets in breed-to-wean farms (n = 52) over a six-month period across seasons were evaluated for the presence of IAV. Nasal swabs (n = 391) from 23 IAV-positive farms were whole-genome sequenced. Multiple lineages of HA (n = 7) and NA (n = 3) were identified in 96% (22/23) and 61% (237/391) of the investigated farms and individual piglets, respectively. Co-circulation of multiple types of functional HA and NA was identified in most (83%) farms. Whole IAV genomes were completed for 126 individual piglet samples and 25 distinct and 23 mixed genotypes were identified, highlighting significant genetic variability of IAV in piglets. Co-circulation of IAV in the farms and co-infection of individual piglets at weaning was observed at multiple time points over the investigation period and appears to be common in the investigated farms. Statistically significant genetic variability was estimated within and between farms by AMOVA, and varying levels of diversity between farms were detected using the Shannon-Weiner Index. Results reported here demonstrate previously unreported levels of molecular complexity and genetic variability among IAV at the farm and piglet levels at weaning. Movement of such piglets infected at weaning may result in emergence of new strains and maintenance of endemic IAV infection in the US swine herds. Results presented here highlight the need for developing and implementing novel, effective strategies to prevent or control the introduction and transmission of IAV within and between farms in the country.


There is increasing evidence that prolonged mitotic arrest initiates apoptosis; however, little is known about the signaling pathways involved. Several studies have associated deregulated Cdc2 activity with apoptosis. Herein, we report that the anti-apoptotic protein, Bcl-2, undergoes cell cycle-dependent phosphorylation during mitosis when there is elevated Cdc2 activity. We found that paclitaxel (Taxol®) treatment of epithelial tumor cells induced a prolonged mitotic arrest, elevated levels of mitotic kinase activity, hyperphosphorylation of Bcl-2, and subsequent cell death. The Taxol-induced Bcl-2 phosphorylation was dose-dependent. Furthermore, phosphorylated Bcl-2 remained complexed with Bax in Taxol-treated cells undergoing apoptosis. Immunoprecipitation experiments revealed a Bcl-2-associated kinase capable of phosphorylating histone H1 in vitro. However, the kinase was likely not cyclin B1/Cdc2, since cyclin B1/Cdc2 was not detectable in Bcl-2 immunoprecipitates, nor was recombinant Bcl-2 phosphorylatedin vitro by cyclin B1/Cdc2. The results of this study further define a link between mitotic kinase activation and the apoptotic machinery in the cell. However, the role, if any, of prolonged Bcl-2 phosphorylation in Taxol-mediated apoptosis awaits further definition of Bcl-2 mechanism of action. Taxol may increase cellular susceptibility to apoptosis by amplifying the normal downstream events associated with mitotic kinase activation.


This essay investigates the mutual use of the 'belling the cat' fable in Langland's Prologue to Piers Plowman, in Thomas Brinton's sermon from 1376, and in a cluster of poems about the Hundred Years War by Langland's French contemporary, Eustache Deschamps. Although the fable was popular in their day, only these three authors offer it a specifically topical application, and each, the essay argues, uses it to critique administrative dysfunction and excessive taxation during the Hundred Years War. By teasing out this Anglo-French political context, the essay offers a new reading of Langland's mouse's exhortation of inaction before the Rodent Parliament as pointedly reflective of debates surrounding the war in the Good Parliament of 1376. It thus argues for Langland's engagement with international, rather than only domestic, politics and for his participation in broader, cross-Channel literary currents, rather than purely insular ones.


Buffering architectures and policies for their efficient management constitute one of the core ingredients of a network architecture. However, despite strong incentives to experiment with, and deploy, new policies, the opportunities for alterating anything beyond minor elements of such policies are limited. In this work we introduce a new specification language, OpenQueue, that allows users to specify entire buffering architectures and policies conveniently through several comparators and simple functions. We show examples of buffer management policies in OpenQueue and empirically demonstrate its direct impact on performance in various settings.


Audit committee is becoming increasingly important because it helps the stakeholders to constrain the behaviour of corporate managers. With the assistance that they receive from internal auditors, activities of the audit committees and internal auditors are now seen as critical elements in the assurance process. The interaction between these two parties is believed to be an important element in the corporate governance and control process. Thus the existing study intends to explore the interaction between the audit committees and their internal auditors.The objective of the paper is to explore if there are any associations in the relationship on the existence of direct communication of the working relationship between audit committee (AC) and internal auditor (CAE). Hence, we would like to explore that when the CAE has direct communication with AC such as CAE reports directly to AC and CAE has private meetings with AC; is there an association that (a) AC is responsible for the appointment of CAE, determines remuneration, and department's budget, and (b) AC periodically approves and evaluates the audit plan, the performance, independence, scope and activities of the internal and external auditors? Mailed questionnaires were used as research instruments and were sent to audit committees and internal auditors working or attached to companies in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor (Malaysia). It was found that reporting directly to AC and having private meetings with AC had shown different results. The study is limited to the interaction between audit committees and internal auditors, especially on the type of communication where the internal auditors report directly (whether verbally or written) to the audit committees, and the private meetings they have. For future research it may be suggested that the mode of interaction between the two parties could be expanded.


Compositional data, such as soil texture, are hard to deal with in the geosciences as standard statistical meth- ods are often inappropriate to analyse this type of data. Espe- cially in sensitivity analysis, the closed character of the data is often ignored. To that end, we developed a method to as- sess the local sensitivity of a model output with resect to a compositional model input. We adapted the finite difference technique such that the different parts of the input are per- turbed simultaneously while the closed character of the data is preserved. This method was applied to a hydrologic model and the sensitivity of the simulated soil moisture content to local changes in soil texture was assessed. Based on a high number of model runs, in which the soil texture was varied across the entire texture triangle, we identified zones of high sensitivity in the texture triangle. In such zones, the model output uncertainty induced by the discrepancy between the scale of measurement and the scale of model application, is advised to be reduced through additional data collection. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis provided more insight into the hydrologic model behaviour as it revealed how the model sensitivity is related to the shape of the soil moisture retention curve.


This paper provides a critical assessment of the family-friendly reform of employment law in the UK. It begins with the analysis of the EU policies on work-life balance as the important context of the reform in the UK. The second part of the paper provides and outline of the family-friendly provisions introduced by the Labour and Coalition Governments between 1997 and 2015 and investigates the rationale behind the reform. The paper questions the consistency of the approach to the family-friendly reform of employment law adopted by the Labour and Coalition governments. It argues that the economic rationale has underpinned the flexibility aspect of family-friendly agenda in both EU and UK policies. In its final part, the paper analyses the flaws in the regulation of family-friendly entitlements and argues that, without proper incentives and guarantees, the reform is unlikely to provide working parents and carers with a real choice and flexibility.


WC cemented carbides are composites consisting of WC and a binder phase. WC/Co is widely used as cutting tools due to its excellent combination of hardness and toughness. This thesis work was performed at the R&D department of Sandvik Coromant and aimed to find the alternative binder phase to substitute cobalt. Several compositions of Fe-Ni and Fe-Ni-Co binder have been investigated in this study. The WC/Co reference samples were also prepared. The initial compositions were decided by the CALPHAD method. The samples were then produced by the means of powder metallurgy. The producing conditions, especially the sintering conditions, were manipulated to achieve full dense and uniform samples. The samples were analyzed by XRD, LOM, SEM, and EDS. Mechanical properties test has also been performed.The results showed that adjustment on carbon content is necessary to attain desirable structure. Increasing Fe content in the binder tends to make the materials harder. For Fe-Ni and Fe-Ni-Co, the martensitic transformation is essential to the mechanical performance. The induced "transformation toughening" in 72Fe28Ni and 82Fe18Ni binders significantly promoted the toughness. Furthermore, the grain growth inhibition by Fe was confirmed. The relations between sintering temperature, grain size and mechanical properties have been discussed. Compared with the WC/Co references, several compositions showed close and even superior mechanical performance which might provide solutions for the future alternative binder phase.


Background and Objectives: Alloimmunization is a very common clinical problem in transfusion-dependent patients but rarely detected in Bangladesh. The risk of alloimmunization is especially high in patients who receive repeated transfusion, i.e., thalassemia patients. The objective of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence and specificity of red blood cell antibodies in multitransfused thalassemic patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care referral center from January 1, 2013, to March 31, 2016. Blood specimens were sent from different facilities and also from daycare transfusion center of the same when cross-match difficulties occur. When the Coomb's test showed positive result, then Rhesus, Kell, Kid, Duffy, and Lewis blood group typing were done according to the patients' need. Serum was used to identify the presence of alloantibody by the indirect Coomb's test with known cell panels. An autocontrol, positive and negative control for each specimen was incorporated to detect autoantibody and correctness of the procedure done. We performed a simple percentage to evaluate the analysis. Results: Of 1286 cases, alloantibody was detected in 334 (25.97%) cases. Among the 334 cases, 80 (23.95%) cases were followed up by antibody identification. The remaining 254 cases were referred cases with insufficient history and were dropped from the study. The male-to-female ratio was 1:2.2. The age group of 21–30 years showed the maximum antibody specificity (7.48%). Among the 80 samples with alloantibodies, Rh antibodies were noted in 80% (64) samples. Other antibodies detected belong to Kell, Kid, Duffy, and Lewis systems. Conclusion: Multitransfused (thalassemic) patients are more vulnerable to develop alloantibody. Therefore, routine antibody screening of donors and patients and the provision of antigen negative blood is recommended.


Degradation of fibrillar collagens is believed to be involved in the rupture of the fetal membranes during normal parturition and when the membranes rupture prematurely. Matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP1) is a key enzyme involved in extracellular matrix turnover, and genetic variation in the MMP1 promoter is associated with the risk of preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM). We determined whether epigenetic factors contribute to the control of MMP1 expression in the human amnion. Inhibition of DNA methylation with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine in amnion fibroblasts resulted in significantly increased MMP1 gene transcription, and an associated significant increase in MMP1 production. These effects were correlated with reduced DNA methylation at a particular site (-1538) in the MMP1 promoter. DNA methylation at this site in amnion was reduced in a larger percentage of fetal membranes that ruptured prematurely. A new T > C single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) [AF007878.1 (MMP1):g.3447T>C] in the MMP1 promoter was also identified. The minor C allele was always methylated in vivo, and when methylated, resulted in increased affinity for a nuclear protein in amnion fibroblasts. The minor C allele had reduced promoter activity as assessed by plasmid transfection studies and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays using amnion fibroblasts heterozygous for the T > C SNP. In a case-control study, the minor C allele was found to be protective against PPROM, consistent with its reduced promoter function. We conclude that in addition to genetic variation, DNA methylation plays a role in controlling MMP1 expression and risk of an adverse obstetrical outcome.


Spiracles of insects open in high carbon dioxide tensions and close in high oxygen tensions. However, the targets of these gases in insects have never been identified. In diapausing pupae of the cecropia silk moth carbon dioxide acts primarily and directly on the spiracular apparatus itself (muscle or neuromuscular junctions), whereas oxygen has as its primary target the central nervous system. The spiracle behaves as an independent effector in response to carbon dioxide; this is quite different from the situation in vertebrates, where carbon dioxide acts primarily on the central nervous system. The roles of various nerves in controlling spiracular activity are discussed.


The construction and electrochemical response characteristics of modified PVC, coated graphite and modified carbon paste electrodes were described. The cited electrodes used for determination of cetirizine hydrochloride (CTZ) in presence of its oxidative degradation product were based on the use of ion-association complex of the cetirizinium cation (CTZ+) with phosphotungestic acid (PTA). It reveals a fast, stable and linear response for (CTZ) over the concentration ranges 5x10-5 - 1x10-2, 5x10-5 - 1x10- 2and 1x10-5 - 1x10-2with slopes of 59.68, 56.03 and 61.6mV/decade-1 respectively. The proposed electrodes were fully characterized in terms of ion pair contents, plasticizer type, response time, life span, pH and temperature. The performance characteristics, sensitivity and selectivity of these electrodes were evaluated according to IUPAC recommendations.


Morphological features have been investigated in various automation studies to identify different types of medical images. These studies rely on this type of feature, whereas digital images can provide other different features as descriptive characteristics. Pixels can be utilized as feature sets to recognize regions of interests. This research develops pixel values to extract informative features to identify protozoan parasites of the Eimeria genus. Eimeria is a single-celled intestinal parasite which infects humans and animals. Each type of host can be infected with different Eimeria species. Coccidiosis is caused when Eimeria infects animals, which is a rapidly spreading and fatal disease. Its treatment requires the identification of which species has infected the host, but similarities between Eimeria species make identification a very challenging process. Previously, automatic identification was carried out by imitating biological measurements, but these require complex and costly computational processes to extract the desired features. Therefore, this research aims to simplify the feature extraction process considering the use of another type of feature to distinguish between Eimeria species. The features considered do not need complex extraction processes and provide high accurate results. Pixel-based features are analysed by calculating the means of image matrix columns and rows of regions of interests. Features are represented as sets of column features (CF), row features (RF), and combinations of both in (CRF). Moreover, CF, RF, and CRF are extracted from greyscale level and colour images. Therefore, six feature sets are considered, and these are optimized by utilizing five selection and reduction algorithms to minimize the feature space. Furthermore, the extraction of super-pixel feature sets is developed to simplify segmentation. For classification, three classifiers are applied. The 5-fold cross-validation is used to evaluate the results and every experiment is repeated 50 times. Consequently, the results shown are the averages of 50 runs along with values of standard deviation. The proposed method is examined by analysing two microscopic image databases of 4402 images of the 7 Eimeria species in chickens and 2902 images of the 11 Eimeria species in rabbits. The best accuracy results achieved are 96.7% (±0.89%) and 95.85% (±2.4%) for the respective datasets. Finally, the proposed method succeeds in finding simple features to identify Eimeria species, reducing the feature number by 40% of the original size, and super-pixel feature sets are established which give excellent results.


For the ample development of mobile internet protocol (IP) technology and the recurrent movement of a mobile device, it is necessary for the mobile device to inform their home network where initially registered through an efficient and secured procedure against any sort of attacks. The procedure of registration for IP mobility by the portable system must have a better performance by providing a certain level of security, such as authentication, integrity, replay attack protection, and location privacy. All at once, the extreme security in the registration of IP mobility may cause long registration time, principally for real-time systems. This paper mainly deals with a balanced effort for secure and efficient registration procedure which gives better security and efficiency in terms of registration delay. The proposed work provides an easy and fast registration procedure and lessens the registration delay through the usage of an identity based authenticated key exchange scheme that eliminates expensive pairing operations. The proposed protocol is verified by using AVISPA tool. The performance evaluation reveals that the proposed protocol significantly outperforms the existing protocols in terms of the registration delay. Defence Science Journal, 2013, 63(5), pp.502 -507 , DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.63.4003


A visual oral health literacy instrument is a newly developed tool to assess health literacy level in dentistry. To use the visual oral health literacy instrument effectively, it is essential to understand how the instrument is associated with the subjects' perceived and clinical oral health status. The purpose of this study was to examine which factor of subjects' perceived and clinical oral health status affected the visual oral health literacy instrument. A self-administered questionnaire inquiring about concern about teeth and gums, self-rated oral health and oral observation, as well as a mouth drawing as a visual oral health literacy instrument were evaluated in 162 Grade 1 Japanese senior high school students. Students were instructed to freely draw a picture of their anterior teeth and gingiva while observing their mouth with a hand mirror. Mouth drawings were performed before (first) and after (second) an oral health education session. Drawing scores were calculated for both tooth and gingival aspects. In female subjects, those who observed their mouth every day had a significantly higher first tooth-recognition score than those who did not (p < 0.05). First and second gingival-recognition scores were significantly related with clinical gingival condition (p < 0.05). Subjects who observed their mouth daily and those who had occlusal or gingival problems significantly improved their second drawing scores (p < 0.05). The changes of oral health literacy had an association with their oral observation habit and actual oral health status. Therefore, it is necessary to provide self-related oral health education in order for students to correctly understand their own oral health status.


The following thesis investigates the sources of Native American disappointment with white morality from the mid-eighteenth century into the early nineteenth century. Countless studies have focused on violence and resistance in the American backcountry throughout the late colonial period as well as the native revitalization movements that often fueled that resistance. This study focuses on a group of people who were constantly in contact with examples of white morality. After witnessing the examples of white missionaries, Native Americans were repeatedly perplexed by white settlers who did not adhere to the principles of their religion. This disappointment continued in the Republican period. The transgressions of their white neighbors led many Native Americans to believe that they were a people that could not be held to their word and that those who trusted in them walked a path that would lead them to destruction.


Though assisted by constructed clocks and calendars, our sense of time is actually deeply rooted in biological mechanisms we share with all other animal species (Lejeune & Wearden, 1991). Our understanding of these mechanisms has been much advanced by operant-conditioning experiments with humans and (infrahuman) animals. In these experiments, an operant response, such as key-pecking or button-pushing, is reinforced or not depending on the time elapsed since a specific stimulus (a so-calledtime marker).


Examining the competitiveness of wheat production in different regions of the world is often difficult due to lack of comparable data and consensus regarding what needs to be measured. To be useful, international data needs to be expressed in common production units and converted to a common currency. Also, production and cost measures need to be consistently defined across production regions or farms.


The paper analyses the culture's conceptual terrain from different scholarly perspectives, and how it has led to the emergence of different conceptualization of cultural intelligence. As such, cultural intelligence is described from the perspective of Earley et al.'s Thomas et al.'s and Plum's and then explained how Plum's conceptualization is a better construct to apply in the context of this paper and how it relates to the aims and objectives of this paper. The main purpose of the research is to see how cultural integration is enacted and carried out by foreign employees working in a firm that has completely different cultures from their own: the aim is to also see what factors or determinants form cultural intelligence. The research methodology consists of conducting an open-ended interview with six employees who were working in a finish firm and they were asked questions based on how did they achieve their integration and went about their daily interactions and abstract situations. For analysis, Braun and Clarke' (2006) steps of thematic analysis were adopted for studying and analyzing the interviewed transcripts as their method of analyzing is based at constructing a narrative story out of the data. The research proved what was assumed theoretically that culture is an evolving and negotiated social reality constructed by the social agents. The analysis part as result revealed that the daily interaction consists of the process of meaning-making complexities that lead to the evolvement of negotiated socio-cultural reality what we call cultural-integration on the part of employees. As the world is going through a transformation in the midst of changes brought upon the unprecedented immigration and seamless borders, cross cultural interactions and cultural adaptability has become an extremely important issue. The results of this study have thus important implications for mangers and business leaders to take culture and integration as an evolving concept and as a journey as they try to integrate foreign employees or sending people abroad on expatriate mission.


A large number of variables influence the way a learner comprehends a reading passage, one of which is vocabulary size. The studies which have focused on this seemingly important aspect, in some settings, are few and far between. This indicates the importance of running more research in this respect. The present study endeavored to examine this variable to discover its effect on reading comprehension ability of Iranian EFL learners. In so doing, 83 Iranian first-year university students (22 males and 61 females) were given a vocabulary size test (Nation 1990) and a reading comprehension test (TOEFL version 2004). The results showed a very significant correlation between vocabulary size and reading comprehension (r = .84, p < .05), which points out the necessity of improving the learners' vocabulary size in coping with reading passages. However, the high correlation found in this study calls for more replications to add to the precision of such a relationship.


In this paper we establish how effectively EIA is currently utilised in the deployment of onshore and offshore wind energy in the United Kingdom (UK) and Germany. In this context, the quality of EIA documentation and the coverage of a range of key EIA aspects of 20 developments are evaluated. Furthermore, the impact of EIA on decision making is established, based on opinions of decision makers and other stakeholders. We find that whilst there are certain weaknesses, overall EIA information is central to decision making, and EIA is resulting in major project modifications. Our results differ from the findings of most previous studies which usually observed a moderate impact on decision making only.


Background Promoting physical activity is a public health priority in most industrial countries, and physical function is an important factor when taking into consideration older people's self-care and health. Despite the increasing challenges associated with urbanization and the aging population, urban life appears to be positive in many ways for urban dwellers. However, the manner in which older people live in urban settings and how this influences their ability to take care of themselves should be considered important knowledge for health professionals and politicians to acquire. The aim of this study was to describe the lived experiences of self-care and features that may influence health and self-care among older urban home-dwelling individuals who are physically active. Methods Ten subjects, three women and seven men, who were aged 65–82 years and identified to be physically active, were interviewed. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed according to the descriptive phenomenological method devised by Giorgi. Results Our findings showed beneficial self-care. The participants lived active everyday lives and were frequently physically active. They were part of a supportive, inclusive, and promoting fellowship, and they had the opportunity to travel. They utilized their competence and experienced making themselves useful. It was a privilege to be part of a family life as a husband, wife, parent, and/or a grandparent. They acknowledged physical and mental limitations, yet they felt they were in good health. Conclusion Health professionals and politicians should identify places where fellowship and relationships can be built, as well as encourage older people to use their competence by engagement in volunteering. These interventions are important to support older people's self-care and health. This may also be a way to reduce ageism in Western societies.


A series of four quadrupolar (Donor)2Acceptor-acid (D2A) sensitizers, based on two acceptor cores (dibenzophenazine (DBP) or dithienophenazine (DTP)), were synthesized and their optoelectronic and photovoltaic properties were investigated. 4-Hexyl-thien-2-yl groups were employed as donor units, to produce regioisomers depending on their connecting position to the core. This architectural design leads to the investigation of the structure–property relationships of the dyes, both in solution and upon integration in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Within sets of regioisomers, frontier orbital levels and absorption properties differed, but the photovoltaic performances of the DSSCs were similar. When examining the effect of the core, the electronic properties (absorbance, LUMO level) predicted a more favourable electron injection for the DTP systems. However, the open circuit voltages are ∼100 mV greater for the DBP systems.


The aim of the study was to investigate functional impairments of bronchial patency in chronic bronchitis. Various up-to-date roentgenological procedures were used. Data on complex clinicoroentgenological examination of 94 patients with chronic bronchitis are presented. Bronchograms and bronchial zonograms reflecting various respiration phases, video recording on magnetic tape with using broncholytics and a new procedure of bronchogram digital processing developed by the authors were used to solve the problems. Classification, frequency, localization and nature of functional impairments of bronchial patency in chronic bronchitis are described. The role of x-ray examination in diagnosis of functional impairment of bronchial patency was shown.


The way to interact with Iran has always been a controversial issue in transatlantic relations. The American and European positions towards Iran has witnessed many ups and downs in the past three decades and based on different developments, both sides have had different stances. The main question of this article is that" what has been the dominant model in the transatlantic positions regarding Iran in the past three decades"? Comparing American and European positions' towards Iran, the level of convergence and divergence of these actors will be scrutinized. Our findings indicate that the trend of transatlantic positions could be divided in to three stages. In the first stage which starts from the victory of the Islamic Revolution till the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the United States and the European countries share common concerns and try to contain the Revolutionary Iran. The second stage is coincided with some major international developments such as the end of Cold War, the Persian Gulf War (1991) and Iran's domestic developments including the end of imposed war and Hashemi Rafsanjani's presidency. In this period, there could be seen apparent gaps and differences in transatlantic policies. The third stage, up on which we mainly focus, begins with the introduction of Iran's nuclear file and the American attempts to convince the Europeans to limit and to contain Iran's nuclear program which finally led to a sharp convergence in these countries' positions. What is of great significance in this stage is a shift in European Union's policies (negotiation and interaction) in comparison with those of America's Approach (imposing sanctions and containment).


Given the rise in climate services for decision-making, it is important to understand whether these services are meeting the context-specific needs of decision-makers, including identifying any gaps in current climate services. This study sets out to investigate the efficacy of current climate services provision in east Africa through the lens of climate change risk perceptions. Risk perceptions have established relationships with important aspects of the decision context and have been shown to influence the kinds of information people use in making decisions, therefore, an understanding of how elements of risk perceptions relate to climate services use can provide valuable insights for enhancing climate services. Using this premise, the relationships between determinants of climate change risk perceptions and the use of climate services information are explored through a combination of statistical survey analysis and qualitative interview analysis. The analysis revealed three main gaps in climate services in east Africa. These gaps include the lack of long-term climate change projections disseminated through National Meteorological Services (NMS), limited locally ground-truthed delivery of impact-based forecasts and the requirement for specialist capacity to use some complex climate services. Filling these gaps will require enhanced collaboration between the NMS, other providers of climate-related information (such as research institutes) and the practitioner and user communities in order to facilitate the coordinated delivery of locally ground-truthed impact-based forecasts, facilitate capacity development across the user-producer spectrum and augment the role of the NMS as conduits of climate change information.


Abstract. Trends of hydrogen chloride (HCl), chlorine nitrate (ClONO 2 ), and hydrogen fluoride (HF) total column abundances above Kiruna (Northern Sweden, 67.84° N, 20.41° E) derived from nearly 14 years (1996–2009) of measurement and model data are presented. The measurements have been performed with a Bruker 120 HR (later Bruker 125 HR) Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer and the chemistry-transport model (CTM) used was KASIMA (KArlsruhe SImulation model of the Middle Atmosphere). The total column abundances of ClONO 2 and HF calculated by KASIMA agree quite well with the FTIR measurements while KASIMA tends to underestimate the HCl columns. To calculate the long-term trends, a linear function combined with an annual cycle was fitted to the data using a least squares method. The precision of the resulting trends was estimated with the bootstrap resampling method. For HF, both model and measurements show a positive trend that seems to decrease in the last few years. This suggests a stabilisation of the HF total column abundance. Between 1996 and 2009, KASIMA simulates an increase of (+1.51±0.07) %/yr which exceeds the FTIR result of (+0.65±0.25) %/yr. The trends determined for HCl and ClONO 2 are significantly negative over the time period considered here. This is expected because the emission of their precursors (chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons) has been restricted in the Montreal Protocol in 1987 and its amendments and adjustments. The trend for ClONO 2 from the FTIR measurements amounts to (−3.28±0.56) %/yr and the one for HCl to (−0.81±0.23) %/yr. KASIMA simulates a weaker decrease: For ClONO 2 , the result is (−0.90±0.10) %/yr and for HCl (−0.17±0.06) %/yr. Part of the difference between measurement and model data can be explained by sampling and the stronger annual cycle indicated by the measurements. There is a factor of about four between the trends of HCl and ClONO 2 above Kiruna for both measurement and model data.


Aluminium Silicon reinforced with 50Vf% SiC has been produced by spontaneous infiltration at 900°C for 1 hour. Aluminium infiltrated preforms containing 1%wt Mg mixed with various of Si between 2 and 14wt%, as external dopant. However Al did not infiltrate a preform containing 1wt%Mg but if mixed with Si in the preform generated in more extensive infiltration. Effect of Si on characterisation of pure Al composites by spontaneous infiltration were studied and compared to Al-Si based matrix. Microstructural analysis of MMC as well as mechanical properties were also observed. It was found that increasing of Si content generated lower porosity thus increasing hardness due to aluminium could wet SiC preform well. Although the dopant was uniformly distributed throughout the perform but microstructural analysis and hardness measurements indicate that the resultant composite may not be uniform as infiltration inwards from the top to the bottom of preform. The hardness of Al-Si composites is significantly increased with increasing of Si for both externally and internally doped system. This is associated with decreasing porosity with higher Si in composites.


Purpose – The purpose with this thesis is to examine how items can be distributed between stores inventory and an external warehouse. To achieve the purpose criteria that should be considered, how these can be prioritized and used when distributing items between stores inventory and an external warehouse will be examined.Method – The study started by an examination of the theory that already exists within the subject. The already existing theory has then been examined in reality, on the furniture company IKEA Jonkoping, where a case study with one channel has been performed. Empirical data has been collected by interviews with the persons involved in the distributing process, observations of the distributing process and by documents taken from IKEA Jonkoping's system. The empirical data have been compared and analyzed with the available theory. Also an interview with a well established retailer in electronics industry has been performed, whose distributing process has been compared to IKEA Jonkoping´s process.Findings – The criteria identified include what sales rate the item has, which product family the item is included in, what size the item has and if items have similar properties. Priority can be given differently depending on which item it is about. The distributing process is dynamic, which means an item that has been given a certain place in the warehouse may not keep the place in the future. The process is dynamic since the criteria constantly are changing. Guidelines of how the distributing process should be performed have been developed.Implications – This study provides knowledge and insight on how items can be distributed between stores inventory and an external warehouse and what criteria that the distributing can be based on. It already exist some theory within the subject and this study may contribute to further theory. Companies should ensure which items to be placed, how they are related to each other and their condition. Research limitations – The technique of collecting empirical data complemented each other well but one thing that can be criticized is the number of observations that has been performed. In this study only one observation of the distributing for each warehouse has been performed. The results of these observations have then been compared with the results of the interviews. Suggested one more observation of distributing for each warehouse could have been performed to ensure that the process is performed consistently. A further shortage with this study is the choise of a single case study. To be able to draw generalized conclusion a multiple case study had been more appropriate.


Genomic DNA in bacteria exists in a condensed state, which exhibits different biochemical and biophysical properties from a dilute solution. DNA was concentrated on streptavidin-covered single-walled carbon nanotubes (Strep-SWNTs) through biotin-streptavidin interactions. We reasoned that confining DNA within a defined space through mechanical constraints, rather than by manipulating buffer conditions, would more closely resemble physiological conditions. By ensuring a high streptavidin loading on SWNTs of about 1 streptavidin tetramer per 4 nm of SWNT, we were able to achieve dense DNA binding. DNA is bound to Strep-SWNTs at a tunable density and up to as high as 0.5 mg mL(-1) in solution and 29 mg mL(-1) on a 2D surface. This platform allows us to observe the aggregation behavior of DNA at high concentrations and the counteracting effects of HU protein (a histone-like protein from Escherichia coli strain U93) on the DNA aggregates. This provides an in vitro model for studying DNA-DNA and DNA-protein interactions at a high DNA concentration.


Undergraduate Research (UGR) is an important component in the curriculum of good ranking universities at present. It encompasses a continuous process of research engagements during undergraduate studies. Involving undergraduate students in research helps in linking theory to practice, understanding research processes and determining career choices. However, promoting UGR in universities in Pakistan requires proper consideration and planning. This study was aimed at identifying research preferences of undergraduate students and improving UGR in Pakistani universities. As students are the most important stakeholder in UGR, the data were collected from 2168 undergraduate students randomly selected from four large universities in Rawalpindi-Islamabad. The research instrument used was a questionnaire developed, pilot tested and validated before its use in this study. The data were converted into percentages and crosstabs using SPSS to analyze data. We found that undergraduate students expressed strong preference for research involvement and were willing to work any part of the week for gaining research experience. The students preferred field research as compared to research in lab or desk work. The students' views and preferences on crosstabs helped in devising strategies for improving UGR in universities in Pakistan.


Many studies have established that people in high poverty neighborhoods who select to participate in housing mobility programs cite crime and violence as primary motivations for wanting to make a residential move. Using a novel approach, we analyzed qualitative data across several studies to explore the frequency and dimensions of safety concerns, relating these to the role of neighborhood forces in the residential decision-making process. We asked the following questions: What are the sources and frequency of motivations for residential mobility among participants? In what ways does neighborhood violence factor into residential mobility? Does a more accurate understanding of the role played by neighborhood violence in residential mobility have either theoretical or practical implications for practitioners or policy makers? Qualitative data pertinent to voucher programs, neighborhood crime and residential decision making were gleaned from 20 studies published between the years 2000 and 2014. Our meta-synthesis revealed not only that neighborhood violence is a key factor in the decision making of voucher holders but also a complex one. Violence affects all of the factors that participants consider in the relocation equation: the needs of the household, housing unit features, the prospective neighborhood and its institutions and how these will affect both participants and their dependent children. We also consider the policy implications of the costs to opportunity incurred as a result of neighborhood violence and the magnitude of the role that neighborhood violence plays in shaping residential decision making.


This article is concerned with the extent to which the media should be able to report judicial proceedings in which Victorian courts are asked to make supervision or detention orders in respect of sex offenders who have completed their custodial sentence, but who are regarded as posing an unacceptable risk of re-offending. After describing the nature and purpose of the supervision and detention regimes, the article critically examines the reporting provisions that were contained in the Serious Sex Offenders Monitoring Act 2005 (Vic), which first introduced the notion of preventive supervision in Victoria, and compares them with the reporting provisions that are contained in the recently enacted Serious Sex Offenders (Detention and Supervision) Act 2009 (Vic). Particular regard is paid to the principle of open justice, which ordinarily entitles the media to publish information about judicial proceedings, including names. The article also identifies several procedural hurdles which confront media organizations that wish to challenge suppression orders made under the scheme. Finally, the article makes some tentative observations about whether these publication regimes are compatible with Victoria's Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities.


This week, Chancellor Bill McRaven's 2015 commencement speech at UT Southwestern Medical School entitled, "The Power of Giving Hope," debuts the Medical Commencement Archive.  Bill McRaven, who recently retired as a four-star admiral after 37 years as a Navy SEAL, became Chancellor of The University of Texas System in January 2015. McRaven also is a recognized national authority on U.S. foreign policy and has advised the President, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, Secretary of Homeland Security and other U.S. leaders on defense issues.  In 2012, Foreign Policy Magazine named McRaven one of the nation's Top 10 foreign policy experts and he was later selected as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers. He served as primary author of the President's first National Strategy for Combatting Terrorism and also drafted the National Security Presidential Directive-12 (U.S. Hostage Policy) and the counter-terrorism policy for President George W. Bush's National Security Strategy. McRaven graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 1977 with a degree in journalism and received his master's degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey in 1991.  Chancellor McRaven begins his speech by boldly listing the very real responsibilities and expectations that graduates now have as residents and doctors in practice: "As a patient, I want my doctor to be smarter than I am. I want them filled with knowledge and I want them to understand how to use that knowledge to confront the challenge before them… As a patient, my doctor must at all times be in command - in command of themselves, in command of people around them and in command of me." He continues by narrating his personal experience as a patient with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and the life-altering and healing power of hope that one physician gave him: "All because one man gave me hope.  Because one man healed me of my greatest malady: fear. Above all else, as doctors, you must give your patients hope.  Even under the most dire of conditions, hope can heal.  Hope surpasses all our understanding.  Hope is the medicine that gives smiles to the forlorn, faith to the disenchanted and life to the dying.  Give your patients hope." He finishes by reminding graduates that although delivering bad news can be spiritually crushing and debilitating enough to push physicians into an emotional separation from patients, maintaining compassion and faith is a moment that patients will remember forever: " A thousand moments to restore their faith, a thousand moments to give them hope, a thousand moments to heal their wounds and to show them the love and compassion that every great doctor must possess. And that first moment begins right here and right now, because for now and evermore, you will be the doctor."


The chapter investigates the theme of the volume, cultural diplomacy, in the contemporary United Kingdom. It does so by examining the discourses on Britishness produced by the British Council, a body which operates at the arm's length from the government whose activities are nonetheless incorporated in 'public diplomacy' pursued by the UK government. Public diplomacy is commonly associated with the idea of 'soft' power which emphasises persuasion through peaceful means such as cultural appeal. The British Council's stated aim is 'to build mutually beneficial relationships between people in the UK and other countries and to increase appreciation of the UK's creative ideas and achievements' and while it does not 'carry out its functions on behalf of the Crown' it is fully engaged with the enterprise of projecting 'Britishness' abroad. It is carrying out language programmes on behalf of the British government while pursuing its universalistic aim of promoting mutual understanding on a global scale. Because of its position, between the state and civil society, an analysis of the British Council's policy documents provides interesting insights into the relationship between the state and civil society in maintaining national identity. If the state and civil society are trying to project different image of Britain to outside world because of their different positioning and agenda, it would shown in the discourse produced by a body such as the British Council where the discrepancy between the two would emerge most strongly. In the context of cultural diplomacy in general, the case of British Council is interesting because of the British colonial history; the British Council is in a sense a legacy of British imperialism which is trying to adjust the post-colonial, increasingly global world. In this regard, the chapter provides an analysis of the politics of identity maintenance in a former colonial power in Europe.


Using 641 principles of economics students across four universities, the authors examine whether providing monetary incentives in a prisoner's dilemma game enhances student learning as measured by a set of common exam questions. Subjects either play a two-player prisoner's dilemma game for real money, play the same game with no money at stake (i.e., play a hypothetical version), or are in a control group where no game is played. The authors find strong evidence that students who played the classroom game for real money earned higher test scores than students who played the hypothetical game or where no game was played. Their findings challenge the conventional wisdom that monetary incentives are unnecessary in classroom experiments.


Previous experiments demonstrated the efficiency of 0.007% para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) in the treatment of dendriform herpetic keratitis in rabbits and showed the interferonogenic activity of local administration of PABA in this concentration in ocular tissues. A new drug Aktipol based on 0.007% PABA was developed for the treatment of viral diseases of the eyes. The drug was used in the treatment of patients with surface herpetic keratitis. It was instilled into the conjunctival sac (2 drops 8-10 times a day) or instillations were combined with subconjunctival, parabulbar injections 1-3 times a week, depending on the disease severity and course. Clinical studies demonstrated that Aktipol is effective in the treatment of surface forms of herpetic keratitis (118 patients). Cure was attained in 89.8% patients in 11.3 +/- 0.6 days. Aktipol is superior to IDU (cure in 70.6% patients) and is comparable to that of acyclovir (87.7%). Aktipol accelerates ulcer healing, resorption of infiltration, and cure by 4-5 days in comparison with IDU and is comparable to acyclovir. Aktipol is better tolerated than antiviral IDU agents and acyclovir ointment.


Background and aims: Exercise time is one of the main challenges of athletes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of acute aerobic exercise at different times of the day on iron status and hematological factors in professional football players. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 40 professional football players were randomly divided into morning exercise, evening exercise, morning control, and evening control groups. The experimental groups performed Bruce's test in the morning and evening. To measure iron, ferritin, red blood cell (RBC), and hemoglobin (Hb), the blood samples were taken before, immediately after, as well as 24 and 72 hours after the Bruce test. Repeated-measure ANOVA and two-way ANOVA (group*time) were used to analyze the obtained data. Results: The results showed a significant increase immediately after an acute aerobic exercise while demonstrating a significant decrease in RBC and Hb in morning and evening exercise groups 24 and 72 hours after the exercise compared to the control groups. In addition, a significant reduction immediately after the acute aerobic exercise, whereas a significant increase 24 and 72 hours after the exercise, was observed in the serum levels of iron and ferritin in the morning and evening exercise groups compared to the control groups. As regards the serum levels of iron, an immediate significant decrease, along with a significant increase 24 hours after the acute aerobic exercise was found between the morning and evening exercise groups (P≤0.05). Conclusion: It seems that performing acute endurance training in the evening is safe in terms of reducing the serum levels of iron and developing the "exercise-induced anemia". Finally, at least 24 hours is required for the recovery of hematological parameters after acute endurance training.


To achieve high performance in perovskite solar cells (PSC), the hole-transporting layer (HTL) is very important. In this work, we introduce a novel copper-chromium binary metal oxide as the hole-transporting material for PSC application. This low temperature solution-process HTL enables high performance PSC. The energy levels and phase compositions of the binary metal oxide can be modulated with different copper acetylacetonate (y)/chromium acetylacetonate (z) volume ratios in the reacting solution precursors. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy show that both mono CuyO(z = 0) or CrzO(y = 0) and binary CuCrO2 and CuCr2O4 phases can be formed. The Cr-terminated polar CuCrO2 component leads to films with superior wettability and compatibility with perovskite precursor solution, while the formation of high coverage uniform perovskite films is favorable for device fabrication. Unlike copper oxides, the copper-chromium binary metal oxide films have wide band gaps of around 3.1 eV, as well as suitable energy levels for both electron-blocking and hole-transporting. As a result, PSCs with this low-temperature solution processed copper-chromium binary metal oxide HTL have achieved high PCE of 17.19% on glass and 15.53% on flexible PET substrates, which is a significant enhancement over mono-metal oxide based devices.


Objective: To study variations in clinical profile of vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) among local population with data collected at our tertiary care hospital over a period of 6 months. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was carried out in the Department of Ophthalmology at Government Medical College, Patiala, Punjab, India. A total of 150 patients with VKC were diagnosed on the grounds of their history, the presence of characteristic symptom, and on the basis of their clinical features, over a period of 6 months from March 2017 to August 2017. The history of each patient was taken including a record of age, sex, place of residence, change of place of residence, age at onset of the disease, seasonal variations, associated allergic or "atopic" illnesses, and family history of VKC or associated allergic or atopic conditions. Best-corrected visual acuity was assessed and each patient was thoroughly examined with a slit lamp. Follow-up was done every 4 weeks for 6 months. Results: Out of 150 patients, 110 (73.33%) were male and 40 (26.67%) were female. The highest incidence of VKC occurred in the age group of 11–15 years. Maximum cases (62%) had palpebral form followed by mixed form (23.33%) and bulbar form (14.67%). Corneal complications occurred in 22 (14.67%) patients; 20 patients had minor complications and 2 had major complications. The minor complications usually consisted of superficial punctate keratopathy (SPK) or other epithelial disturbance. Major complications consisted of superior pannus. Although patients with VKC often give a history of allergy or of atopic diseases such as allergic rhinitis, asthma, or hay fever, in the present study, coexisting allergic conditions could be detected in only 45 (30%) patients. Conclusion: VKC is a common form of allergic conjunctivitis and the disease tends to occur in males of 11–15 years age group. Most common is palpebral form followed by mixed and bulbar forms. Some cases showed history of atopy and other allergic conditions.


This paper presents the DC voltage control design of D-STATCOM when the D-STATCOM is used for load voltage regulation. Although, the DC voltage can be controlled by active current of the D-STATCOM, reactive current still affects the DC voltage. To eliminate this effect, the control strategy with elimination effect of the reactive current is proposed and the results of the control with and without the elimination the effect of the reactive current are compared. For obtaining the proportional and integral gains of the PI controllers, the symmetrical optimum and genetic algorithms methods are applied. The stability margin of these methods are obtained and discussed in detail. In addition, the performance of the DC voltage control based on symmetrical optimum and genetic algorithms methods are compared. Effectiveness of the controllers designed was verified through computer simulation performed by using Power System Tool Block (PSB) in SIMULINK/MATLAB. The simulation results demonstrated that the DC voltage control proposed is effective in regulating DC voltage when the DSTATCOM is used for load voltage regulation.


This paper considers the design and dimensioning of translucent optical networks based on the concept of optical transparent islands. In systems with dispersion compensation, amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise becomes a dominant physical-layer impairment in constraining the maximal transparent reach limit of a lightpath. Taking this dominant impairment into account, an efficient transparent island division algorithm is proposed to divide a large transport network into a few optical transparent islands and to minimize the total number of opaque island-border nodes. Optimization models for translucent network dimensioning are presented to maximize served traffic demand given certain network capacity and to minimize the required wavelength capacity given a certain traffic demand matrix. Simulation studies show that the proposed transparent island division approach and network-dimensioning optimization models require only 25% opaque nodes to overcome the constraint of transparent reach limit and achieve performance as good as that of a more expensive 100% opaque network.


This paper attempts to perform a historical anthropological analysis of the factors that currently either favor or obstruct the doctor-patient relationship. For this purpose, the main works of reference are the sociologist Gilles Lipovetsky and the Spanish author Pedro Lain Entralgo. The former, identified with the concept of Postmodernity and individual Hedonism, is crucial in understanding what are the main determinants in the most recent developments affecting the doctor-patient relationship. Since the technological revolution, advances in science have surpassed all imagination, information technology has worked its way into all types of relationship, and thus medical practice has been particularly affected. On the other hand, the work of Lain Entralgo enables us to perform a review of the history of the doctor-patient relationship in the Western world, which affords a more accurate view of the origins and evolution of the current situation.


Photospheric infrared (2–6 μm) rovibrational bands of carbon monoxide (CO) provide a tough test for 3D convection models such as those calculated using CO5BOLD. The molecular formation is highly temperature-sensitive, and thus responds in an exaggerated way to thermal fluctuations in the dynamic atmosphere. CO, itself, is an important tracer of the oxygen abundance, a still controversial issue in solar physics; as well as the heavy isotopes of carbon (13C) and oxygen (18O, 17O), which, relative to terrestrial values, are fingerprints of fractionation processes that operated in the primitive solar nebula. We show how 3D models impact the CO line formation, and add in a second constraint involving the near-UV Ca II line wings, which also are highly temperature sensitive, but in the opposite sense to the molecules. We find that our reference CO5BOLD snapshots appear to be slightly too cool on average in the outer layers of the photosphere where the CO absorptions and Ca II wing emissions arise. We show, further, that previous 1D modeling was systematically biased toward higher oxygen abundances and lower isotopic ratios (e.g., R23 ≡12C/13C), suggesting an isotopically "heavy" Sun contrary to direct capture measurements of solar wind light ions by the Genesis Discovery Mission. New 3D ratios for the oxygen isotopes are much closer to those reported by Genesis, and the associated oxygen abundance from CO now is consistent with the recent Caffau et al. study of atomic oxygen. Some lingering discrepancies perhaps can be explained by magnetic bright points. Solar CO demonstrates graphically the wide gulf that can occur between a 3D analysis and 1D.


As one of the core professional courses for students majoring in surveying and mapping engineering, deformation monitoring is characterized by strong theories, numerous mathematical formulas, and complicated calculation. Task-driving teaching method in the form of traditional classroom has poor effects due to the one-way learning and strategy. To meet the needs of modern teaching, matrix laboratory (MATLAB) and deformation monitoring teaching are combined in this study. This work first identified the aspects of concepts, principles, and data to visualize boring data and abstract principles through simulation and concepts that are difficult to be understood and establishment of animation models to realize the visualization expression of deformation monitoring data preprocessing, deformation monitoring network adjustment, deformation prediction, and engineering application. A total of 114 students majoring in surveying and mapping engineering in Henan University of Urban Construction during 2014 are selected as test subjects to explore and demonstrate visualization teaching of deformation monitoring. Results show that the visualization teaching of deformation monitoring based on MATLAB enhances the integrity, coherence, and practicability of the course. It also improves students' interest in learning, deepens their understanding on learned knowledge, improves teaching quality, and provides a new way for the teaching mode reform of other courses of the surveying and mapping engineering specialty.


Creativity is an integral part in the careers of every professional, including artists, actors, as well as businessmen and engineers. Engineers, the focus of this effort, are traditionally considered to be systematic thinkers and implementers of constrained procedures and algorithms. In order to challenge this perception, ECE490DI is a class designed to show engineering students that their majors and future careers will not only use creativity, but be fully immersed in it. Once the students realize this fact, the next step is to help them discover their own creativity skills and show them that creativity, like other talents, can be nurtured and strengthened through repetitive use. To accomplish these goals, students in ECE490DI take a class trip to renowned theme parks in Orlando, FL, where they attend multiple workshops in the areas of leadership, teamwork, and creativity. The workshops allow students to exercise their leadership, teamwork, and creativity and show them several tools to expand and further improve their abilities in those areas. Students are also given the chance to meet and interact with theme parks' engineers, also known as "Imagineers," to see the practical applications of creativity in a hands-on creative work environment. While the objectives of ECE490DI were successfully met in previous semesters, the class was redesigned to have a broader scope and a multidisciplinary nature. The multidisciplinary version of the class builds on the assessment results of the previous offerings as well as feedback from participating students, faculty members, and theme parks staff members. The new version of the class includes more meetings throughout the semester to further reinforce the ideas and concepts from the workshops.


Theories on the development and evolution of teeth have long been biased by the fallacy that chondrichthyans reflect the ancestral condition for jawed vertebrates. However, correctly resolving the nature of the primitive vertebrate dentition is challenged by a dearth of evidence on dental development in primitive osteichthyans. Jaw elements from the Silurian–Devonian stem-osteichthyans Lophosteus and Andreolepis have been described to bear a dentition arranged in longitudinal rows and vertical files, reminiscent of a pattern of successional development. We tested this inference, using synchrotron radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy (SRXTM) to reveal the pattern of skeletal development preserved in the sclerochronology of the mineralized tissues. The tooth-like tubercles represent focal elaborations of dentine within otherwise continuous sheets of the dermal skeleton, present in at least three stacked generations. Thus, the tubercles are not discrete modular teeth and their arrangement into rows and files is a feature of the dermal ornamentation that does not reflect a polarity of development or linear succession. These fossil remains have no bearing on the nature of the dentition in osteichthyans and, indeed, our results raise questions concerning the homologies of these bones and the phylogenetic classification of Andreolepis and Lophosteus.


This article investigates the relationship between children in an after-school program (ASP) and the places where they play. It focuses on the kind of bodily play the children themselves choose and control. The author applies a life-world approach to this study, and his theoretical perspective is based on phenomenological philosophy. The qualitative research included interviews of children in a Norwegian ASP and the close observation of these children engaged in free play at two distinctive locations on the grounds of one ASP facility. The findings show that children's understanding of place closely associates with their own bodily play. Bodily play appears meaningfully directed toward places and offers children the immediate opportunity to fulfill the intentionality of their activities. Such play serves an important role in constituting and adjusting the background for later actions, and the author concludes that this kind of bodily play should be encouraged in ASP. He concludes further that ASP itself should be emphasized as a complementary but contrasting niche in a school's physical-education scheme, an emphasis that requires sound pedagogical judgments by professional staff.


Typically, asking people to reinstate the context of events increases their recall of those events; however, research findings have been mixed with children. We tested whether the principle underlying context reinstatement applies to children as it does to adults. This underlying principle, encoding specificity, suggests that the greater the overlap between study context cues and retrieval context cues, the more information that people should recall. In the current experiment, four age groups (7-year-olds, 9-year-olds, 11-year-olds and adults) took part in an encoding specificity procedure. At study, participants saw cue–target word pairs in which the cue word was either a strong or a weak associate of the target word (e.g., ice–COLD; blow–COLD). During an immediate cued recall test, participants were presented with the same strong or weak cue words and new, extra-list cue words. Overall, children and adults recalled more targets when they were presented with the same cue words at study and test, regardless of whether the cues were strong or weak. This finding suggests that encoding specificity applies to children as well as adults. We discuss the implications of these results.


The Horn of Africa has experienced, since decolonization, increased occurrences of various types of conflicts linked to bad governance, ethnic tensions, and environmental degradation, aggravated by the legacies of colonialism. Since the 1970s more specifically, Sudan and Somalia, two of the most unstable countries of the Horn, have witnessed major civil wars and instances of lower-level inter-communal conflicts between pastoralist groups who constitute a large portion of the population in both states. Inter-communal conflicts are largely fought between pastoralists and influenced by resource scarcity in semi-arid and arid regions. This paper analyzes the multiple and entangled sources of inter-communal conflicts in Sudan and Somalia from 1970 to 2000 to assess the relationship between environmental, political and social dynamics in a region of the world increasingly affected by environmental degradation and global warming, and evolving in a tensed political setting.


Purpose-Getting the first customer for an academic spin off is usually difficult ,as the company formed is yet to build a market reputation for themselves .Also the spin off suffers from lack of trust as it is basically in a nebulous stage .Now the academic spin offs formed usually has a member associated with a university or a research organization and brings in along with them oodles of experience .Now the combined experience of all the members gives the organization and already established social network ,social network enriched with information and resources So what the first part of the thesis looks into is how spin offs actually utilize this social network to reach their first customer .The study is performed in respect to the trust build with all the players of the network and how information is processed in the network .The second part looks into is after they get their first customer how does the spin off utilize their first customer to improve their product so that they have to do less customization of their product for the second customer, but care should also be taken that over customization for their first customer would actually lead into a lock in effect with their first customer making their product for their second customer irrelevant. Now it also looks into the fact that how the relationship formed with the first customer in respect to trust gained while receiving feedbacks about their product and incentives offered by the company to the first customer helps the company being referred to the second customer. Design/Methodology-The empirical research was carried out with interviews done with spin off companies from Norway, Switzerland, Sweden and Belgium the reason for choosing them was they have been placed very high in the innovation index. After the interviews were done they were mapped against four different archetypes formed on the basis of two dimensions, the social networking orientation and the first customer orientation of the company. After mapping the business models followed by companies the model which performed the best was taken and accordingly a hypothesis was made. Findings-The cross case analysis performed presents the different business models in practice , the nature of the study being exploratory in nature a firm conclusion on which business model is the best practice is a bit difficult to make. For that to happen a very intensive and rigorous quantitative study is necessary .The proposition made here is that the spin off with a high social network orientation and high level of involvement with the first customer tends to be more successful in launching their company Practical Implication-The successfulness of a spin off and the model followed by them can serve as a guidance for future entrepreneurs trying to launch their business .So the study of the different business models specially during the initial seed stage of any start up is important ,when the survival of the company is of main concern . Keywords: Academic spin offs, Social Network theory, Entrepreneurial marketing ,Relationship Marketing


Based on the value chain of manufacturing enterprise, this paper puts forward the producing service framework for manufacturing enterprise. Then for manufacturing enterprise's producing service, three kinds of typical operation modes, which are self-management service, service outsourcing and collaboration service, are analyzed. Base on the above analysis, a producing service industrialization model is introduced, which includes demand of producing service, modular service, service evaluation and integration. Then the paper studies the corresponding operation management of producing service from the four aspects.


Abstract In order to determine the optimum geometry of the ingot mold format (the format of ingot mold with a diameter per height ratio H / D <3 and the conicity of minimum 7%) was analyzed by mathematical modeling of solidification and segregation of the carbon and sulfur in it. It was considered 205Cr115 steel type (according with , STAS 3611 - Romanian stardandization) and known also as X210Cr12 steel type (according with European standard). It has been considered an element of volume of coordinates x, y, z in the solidifying ingot and have made the following assumptions: (i) the equilibrium distribution ratio K, is applied to the solid-liquid interface; (ii) solid diffusion is negligible during solidification; and (iii) the solid density is constant during solidification. In carrying out the simulation of segregation mechanisms are resolved heat transfer equation, that simulating the solidification process and are are solved the interdendritic fluid equation of motion.


The purpose of this paper is to explore how irregular status impacts a range of human development outcomes for labour migrants. The analysis indicates that for poorer labour migrants, irregular (or undocumented) migration provides a positive, private return to income and livelihood improvements for themselves and their families as compared to 1) no movement at all, and at times, 2) regular (or documented) migration. However, irregular status is associated with a range of forms of disadvantage and vulnerabilities that often compromise migrants' rights, entitlements and the rate of return they achieve from the migration process. Migrants are as rational as other members of the population and, being aware of these vulnerabilities, many still choose to migrate. The larger hypothesis of this paper is that, as long as poverty drives migration, legal status will not be a priority for migrants. Migrants will be willing to endure short to medium term hardship and the undermining of a range of capabilities and rights (such as education, social assets, rights and personal welfare) to provide economic safety nets for their families and future improvements to their (and their families) livelihoods and wellbeing. As long as migrants on average achieve a positive increase in income and assets through the migration experience (which they do) they will sacrifice a whole range of freedoms and rights. It is therefore imperative that policy makers make active steps to protect migrants with regard to basic human rights and facilitate positive outcomes from their migration experiences. In particular, we urge southern governments to advocate for all their migrants abroad, regardless of legal status. If southern country governments accept the mainstream opinion that migration is good for development, and furthermore recognise that a substantial number, if not the majority, of their migrants are irregular, and continue sending remittances and investment, then governments should seek to protect their citizens aboard, facilitate safe remittances, and begin to stand firm in the face of pressure to control national borders.


Pancreatic cancer is without any doubt the malignancy with the poorest prognosis and the lowest survival rate. This highly aggressive disease is rarely diagnosed at an early stage and difficult to treat due to its resistance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Therefore, there is an urgent need to clarify the causes responsible for pancreatic cancer and to identify preventive strategies to reduce its incidence in the population. Some circumstances, such as smoking habits, being overweight and diabetes, have been identified as potentially predisposing factors to pancreatic cancer, suggesting that diet might play a role. A diet low in fat and sugars, together with a healthy lifestyle, regular exercise, weight reduction and not smoking, may contribute to prevent pancreatic cancer and many other cancer types. In addition, increasing evidence suggests that some food may have chemo preventive properties. Indeed, a high dietary intake of fresh fruit and vegetables has been shown to reduce the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, and recent epidemiological studies have associated nut consumption with a protective effect against it. Therefore, diet could have an impact on the development of pancreatic cancer and further investigations are needed to assess the potential chemo preventive role of specific foods against this disease. This review summarizes the key evidence for the role of dietary habits and their effect on pancreatic cancer and focuses on possible mechanisms for the association between diet and risk of pancreatic cancer.