Streptococcus pneumoniae, also called pneumococcus, is a major cause of infectious disease in human. Pneumococcus resides in the nasopharynx as an upper respiratory commensal, and most of pneumococcal colonizations are asymptomatic in immunocompetent individuals. When nasopharyngeal mucosal homeostasis is disrupted, pneumococcus migrates into middle ear and lower respiratory tract and causes detrimental colonization. In this regard, the epithelial cells of middle ear and lung act as first line of defense against pneumococcus to prevent invasive pneumococcal diseases. Respiratory epithelial cells express various cell-surface and intra-cellular receptors sensing microbial pathogens and respond to sensed pathogens by triggering intra-cellular signaling pathways and inducing pathogen-specific innate immune responses. Various epithelial cell-surface and intra-cellular receptors, such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs), Nod-like receptors (NLRs), intracellular DNA sensing receptors, and scavenger receptors (SRs), participate in sensing of pneumococcus, and the activation of these receptors by pneumococcal components induces anti-pneumococcal innate immune responses including epithelial apoptosis and inflammatory cytokine/chemokine expressions. Epithelial sensing of pneumococcus is a critical step for setting an early defense against pneumococcal infection, and also is required to recruit and activate innate immune cells and trigger adaptive immunity.


BACKGROUND
Patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy are at substantial risk for sudden death from cardiac causes. However, the value of prophylactic implantation of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) to prevent sudden death in such patients is unknown.

METHODS
We enrolled 458 patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy, a left ventricular ejection fraction of less than 36 percent, and premature ventricular complexes or nonsustained ventricular tachycardia. A total of 229 patients were randomly assigned to receive standard medical therapy, and 229 to receive standard medical therapy plus a single-chamber ICD.

RESULTS
Patients were followed for a mean (+/-SD) of 29.0+/-14.4 months. The mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 21 percent. The vast majority of patients were treated with angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (86 percent) and beta-blockers (85 percent). There were 68 deaths: 28 in the ICD group, as compared with 40 in the standard-therapy group (hazard ratio, 0.65; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.40 to 1.06; P=0.08). The mortality rate at two years was 14.1 percent in the standard-therapy group (annual mortality rate, 7 percent) and 7.9 percent in the ICD group. There were 17 sudden deaths from arrhythmia: 3 in the ICD group, as compared with 14 in the standard-therapy group (hazard ratio, 0.20; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.06 to 0.71; P=0.006).

CONCLUSIONS
In patients with severe, nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy who were treated with ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers, the implantation of a cardioverter-defibrillator significantly reduced the risk of sudden death from arrhythmia and was associated with a nonsignificant reduction in the risk of death from any cause.


Abstract School threat assessment is a violence prevention strategy that has become widely used over the past 20 years; however, the procedures for a threat assessment are not well-known in education and it has received relatively little research attention. This article describes the rationale, procedures, and empirical support for the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines and also presents new findings from a study of graduation rates for 146 students who received a threat assessment in two large school districts. The graduation rate for these students was 83%, which was lower than the graduation rate for the general school population but comparable to the rate for control students with similar risk factors.


Computer models of the real world often use images of the environment to capture realistic visual complexity. Image-based modeling techniques permit the creation of geometric models with a high level of visual detail from photographs. These models are textured by resampling these images of the scene; we call this process image-based texturing. The problem with traditional image-based texturing is the poor quality of the extracted textures, which are often blurred or stretched due to sampling problems. Furthermore, the extent of this degradation varies across the scene, due to differences in the pose and position of the camera relative to each object in each image. This thesis makes two contributions to image-based computer graphics. First, it introduces a physically-based metric of sampling quality, based on the Jacobian matrix of the imaging transform, which captures the interaction of the imaging system with the imaged environment. This metric provides a direct, physical measure of the quality of resampled textures, and suggests a physical interpretation of the multi-resolution image representations widely used in texture synthesis. The second contribution, which builds on this insight, is a novel use of the metric for extending current texture synthesis methods to image-based texturing processes. Use of the sampling metric enables detail synthesis – the insertion of high spatial frequency detail into regions of an image-based model's textures where the imaging process captures only low frequency texture data. Given a small set of input images and a geometric model of the scene, this technique allows the creation of uniform, high-resolution textures. Our synthesis approach relieves the user of the burden of collecting large numbers of images and increases the quality of user-driven imagebased modeling systems. The research described in this thesis allows both the quantification of sampling effects in image-based computer graphics systems, as well as the correction of degradation in image-based textures. The sampling metric introduced in this thesis has usefulness far outside the image-based texturing application demonstrated here. Such a metric will have a potential impact in the fields of vision-based geometric reconstruction, material measurement, image-based rendering, and geometric level-of-detail management. The goal of this thesis is merely to introduce the metric and validate its usefulness for one critical application.


Coronavirus-free A/J mice (A/J-), in contrast to those naturally infected with coronavirus (A/J+), were shown to be susceptible to experimental infection with our strain of mouse hepatitis virus 3 (MHV3). A / J mice experimentally hyperimmunized with inactivated MHV3 (A/Ji) became resistant to challenge with this virus. BALB/c mice free of (BALB/c-) or naturally infected with (BALB/c+) coronavirus, or hyperimmunized with inactivated MHV3 (BALB/ci), were always fully susceptible. All susceptible mice developed an acute hepatitis with a high virus titre in the tissues. Resistance mice developed a mild disease in which the low virus titres detected in the tissues were cleared. After infection, interferon (IFN)-7 synthesis in A / J mice was lower than that in A/J+ and A/Ji mice; IFN-~ synthesis was very high in BALB/c+ and BALB/ci mice, but low in BALB/cmice. Studies of the antiMHV3 effect induced in macrophages in vitro showed that only IFN-7-activated A/J mouse macrophages were able to restrict partially the growth of MHV3, regardless of whether the animals had been immunized. The effect occurred only when the cells were activated with IFN-7 before virus infection. The results indicate that the resistance of A/J mice to our strain of MHV3 is not natural but is acquired after immunization, and that the mechanism involved is dependent on T cell activity, IFN-7 production and the sensitivity of macrophages to IFN-~,.


The effects of a rigid baffle on the seismic response of liquid in a rigid cylindrical tank are presented. A baffle is an additional structural element which supplies a kind of passive control on the effects of earthquake motion. Fluid motion is assumed to be irrotational, incompressible and inviscid. The method of superposition of modes has been implemented to compute the seismic response. The boundary element method is used to evaluate the natural modes of liquid in a cylindrical tank. Linearized free surface conditions have been taken into consideration.


This study researches whether girls are advantaged (vis-a-vis boys) as math test length increases. The meta-analysis on trends in gender and mathematics performance done by Lindberg, Hyde, Petersen & Linn (2010), was extended with variables on test length to obtain the final dataset for analysis. This contains 435 studies, in which 1,277,598 subjects are included. Proxies for test length are the number of questions and maximum time allowed in the studies. Small negative coefficients for both length measures are found when regressing test lengths on the standardized score difference, in the range of -.0007 to -.0022. The full regression model including test and student background controls and weighted observations estimates a negative coefficient of -.002 (p<0.05) for the number of questions and -.002 (p=0.15) for the maximum amount of minutes on a standardized difference. These findings indicate performance bias may be a threat for tests as an evaluation mechanism. However, further sensitivity analyses yields mixed results. Combined with the explorative character of this thesis the need for further research to test the hypothesis of gender bias with increasing test length is evident.


Due to the requirement for meat in feline diets, this study aimed to investigate the potential effects on kidney function in cats of cadmium accumulation in meat products due to pasture management practices. Cadmium may be a causal factor in feline Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Twenty-seven domestic short hair cats were randomly selected from the colony population of the Feline Nutrition Unit of Massey University and assigned to three experimental groups (n=9), which were balanced for age and sex. Each group received one of the three experimental diets designed to represent the full range of potential cadmium concentrations that cats may be exposed to on wet diets in New Zealand. Diets were fed ad libitum for a 6-month period. Kidney function was examined at baseline and after 3 and 6 months by measuring glomerular filtration rate (GFR) using iohexol clearance analysed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Blood and urine analyses were also conducted on a monthly basis. While GFR fluctuated over the study period no significant differences were found either between groups at the end, or within each group when compared at the beginning and end of the study. Although overall no evidence of CKD was observed, an unexplained trend of weight loss was observed in females receiving the two diets containing the highest cadmium levels, which may simply have reflected reduced dietary palatability. The results of the study showed no detectable effects of feeding the three diets for 6 months; however, an extended trial period may be required to fully investigate the longer term effects of cadmium levels and other dietary factors on the development of CKD. In particular, more work is needed to explore the potential for genetic and/or functional differences in mechanisms which are involved in the transport, and/or deposition of cadmium, or are protective against cadmium toxicity in cats and to further define normal parameters and standard approaches in measuring GFR in cats.


Emerging zoonoses are a prominent global health threat. Human beliefs are central to drivers of emerging zoonoses, yet little is known about the factors that influence perceived risks of animal contact. We present an inductive account of zoonosis risk perception, suggesting that beliefs about the range of animals that are able to transmit diseases to each other influence zoonosis risk perception. Consistent with our account, in Study 1, we find that participants who endorse higher likelihoods of cross-species disease transmission have stronger intention to report animal bites. In Study 2, using real world descriptions of Ebola virus from the WHO and CDC, we find that communications conveying a broader range of animals as susceptible increase intentions to report animal bites and decrease perceived safety of wild game meat. These results suggest that cognitive factors may be harnessed to modulate zoonosis risk perception and combat emerging infectious diseases.


Author(s): Suh, Jaehyun | Advisor(s): Hutchison, Michael | Abstract: Consequent to developed and liberalized financial markets in emerging market economies, the magnitude of gross capital outflows is getting larger. My dissertation focuses on massive foreign asset purchases by domestic agents which is called capital flight and the study aims to see new empirical evidence on its impact and determinants and the associations between it and other macro variables using diverse methods in econometrics. In particular, I am interested in its role in emerging market economies since they are especially vulnerable to such large and unexpected capital flows. First chapter investigates the impact of capital flight on domestic countries' real GDP growth and investment. Specifically, it employs diverse GMM estimators (difference, system, and orthogonal deviation GMM) to estimate their causal effects and uses interaction models to test the hypothesis that the effect of flights is conditional on the amount of external loans (gross capital inflows) in the country. The results show that flights are harmful only if there are not enough external loans and, otherwise, they fail to depress domestic economies. They are contrasted with those of capital inflow stops, which consistently decrease growth and, therefore, indicate inflow stops and outflow flights are different phenomena. Second chapter estimates the impacts of domestic private saving and gross capital inflows on gross capital outflows in 56 emerging market economies over 1990 - 2014 using Powell's (2015) quantile regression methodology. The purpose is to test two hypotheses: first, capital outflows are mostly fueled by capital inflows rather than by domestic saving and, second, the causal impact of capital inflows is stronger in the upper quantiles of capital outflows. According to the result, the response of capital outflows to capital inflows and domestic saving is similar if capital outflows are below the median. However, if they are above the median, the impact of external loans is stronger than that of saving. Furthermore, a country tends to borrow from foreign countries to purchase debts rather than equities in the short run. It is consistent with several stylized facts such as pro-cyclical capital inflows and outflows and high leverage ratio and high probability of serial default and sudden stops during short-term booms.Third chapter studies the association between extreme gross capital outflow movements (flight and retrenchment) and diverse financial crises (banking, currency, debt, and inflation crises) in 60 emerging markets between 1980 and 2009. Considering that the movements reflect domestic agents' strong preferences for (against) foreign assets, domestic turmoil might have affected or conversely been triggered by their behavior. In either case, large capital outflows are associated with crises and provide valuable information to both foreign interests and domestic policymakers. Results from the complementary log-log model show, first, that banking, currency, and inflation crises are associated with capital flight; second, debt crises are also associated with capital flight, but the result is not robust to different specifications; third, the positive association between capital flight and crises is mainly driven by banking flows rather than FDI and portfolio flows; and finally, capital retrenchment is not associated with any kind of crisis. The results support several arguments addressed in the existing literature, including the ``flight-to-safety" hypothesis and the self-fulfilling prophecy.


: High frequency jet ventilation provides effective gas exchange at frequencies of 60 to 900 minute-1. The selection of mechanical ventilatory support is based on multiple factors, including potential physiologic advantages and disadvantages. Although HFJV has demonstrated no clear significant advantage over CMV in many clinical applications, because it produces significantly lower peak airway pressures than CMV, cardiac compromise and barotrauma might be prevented. In addition, in situations in which tissue movement should be minimized, e.g., microneurosurgery, HFJV may prove beneficial.


Međimurje County, because of its relatively developed agricultural production has a great potential to collect and utilize agricultural residues in energy production. Instability of prices of energy-generating products, together with increase of ecological awareness, make renewable sources and, therefore, agricultural residues, more and more interesting raw material for energy production. Th e aim of this work was to determine the theoretical potential and availability of post-harvest residues under sustainability conditions in the agricultural sector in the Međimurje County area. Availability of agricultural residues makes it possible to estimate the amount of biomass, needed for energy production in the research area. Th e calculation includes the following agricultural crops: corn, wheat, barley and rapeseed. Th e results show that there are 22,846 tonnes of residues aft er corn production, 5,285 tonnes of residues aft er wheat production, 2,853 tonnes of residues aft er barley production and 2,686 tonnes of residues aft er production of rapeseed available in the County, for energy production.


Summary form only only given, as follows. Modern photolithographic technology offers the capability of fabricating MOSFET devices of micron dimensions and less. It is by no means obvious that such small devices can be designed with suitable electrical characteristics for LSI switching applications. In this talk we will describe short-channel devices (Leff ~ l μ) designed by scaling down larger devices with desirable electrical characteristics. Lateral and vertical dimensions, doping level, and operating voltages and currents are scaled in a self-consistent fashion. In this way small devices have been fabricated without the usual deleterious effects associated with short channels. The measured characteristics of these short-channel devices and the larger devices from which they were scaled will be compared. The scaling procedure helps to better understand the limitations of miniaturization of MOS devices. Significant problems are encountered when operating voltages become comparable to the band gap which cannot be scaled within the silicon technology. The subthreshold characteristic of the device then becomes an important consideration. [This reprint (and two more from 1973 and 1974) show the difference between conference and journal reporting in the 1970s. When the concept of scaling first saw the light of day at IEDM in 1972, only an abstract remained as an archive report. By 1973, the IEDM Digest provided a broader overview of Dennard's report. Dennard's 1974 explanation of scaling turned out to be the most cited article in the 51 year history of the JSSC, close to 700 times, according to the last count in 2005 by the independent citation report firm, Thomson ISI.]


Dengue fever is a major infectious disease caused by arbovirus and there is no vaccine yet; prevention is the action which raises the importance of an educational approach. The use of games to help in the educational process can be motivating and effective but it is not clear which interaction approach is the best: individual or collaborative. A comparative study on a between subject (n=73) experiment using a single player and a pair based version of a serious game that teaches about Dengue fever has been performed. Both versions performed well but presented different advantages: single player version can be used for consulting more easily, and the pair-based game seems to be slightly more motivating to the point that players would be more willing to suggest it to someone else. Data suggest that each interaction approach has its role in the educational process and should be carefully evaluated against educator's intents.


The two flagella of Chlamydomonas, although similar to each other at first glance, differ in functional properties. A clear difference exists in the beat frequency: the trans-flagellum (the one farthest from the eyespot) beats with 30-40% higher frequency than the cis-flagellum (the one nearest to the eyespot) in demembranated and reactivated cell models. This difference is considered to be influenced by outer arm dynein, because the two flagella beat at almost the same frequency in cell models of oda mutants lacking the outer dynein arm. When a sample of outer arm dynein extracted and purified from the wild-type axoneme was mixed with the cell models of an oda mutant, oda1, an almost normal number of outer dynein arms became attached to the axonemes, and the wild-type level of beat frequency was recovered on reactivation with ATP addition. The frequency imbalance, however, was not restored. Unexpectedly, when a similar experiment was performed with the cell model of another oda mutant, oda6, the addition of outer arm dynein restored the cis-trans frequency imbalance in addition to the normal number of outer arms and the higher level of reactivated motility. Among other oda mutants, oda3 yielded results similar to those with oda1, whereas oda2, oda4, and oda5 yielded results similar to those with oda6. Because the only structural difference between the two groups of oda mutants is that the oda1 and oda3 axonemes lack the outer arm attachment site on the outer doublet A-tubule while the axonemes of the other mutants retain it, these findings suggest that the attachment site for the outer dynein arm is important in determining the flagellar beat frequency. This suggests that the basal portion of the outer arm dynein is important in regulating the flagellar activity and therefore the behavior of the cell.


Several nuclear activities and components are concentrated in discrete nuclear compartments. To understand the functional significance of nuclear compartmentalization, knowledge on the spatial distribution of transcriptionally active chromatin is essential. We have examined the distribution of sites of transcription by RNA polymerase II (RPII) by labeling nascent RNA with 5-bromouridine 5'-triphosphate, in vitro and in vivo. Nascent RPII transcripts were found in over 100 defined areas, scattered throughout the nucleoplasm. No preferential localization was observed in either the nuclear interior or the periphery. Each transcription site may represent the activity of a single gene or, considering the number of active pre-mRNA genes in a cell, of a cluster of active genes. The relation between the distribution of nascent RPII transcripts and that of the essential splicing factor SC-35 was investigated in double labeling experiments. Antibodies against SC-35 recognize a number of well-defined, intensely labeled nuclear domains, in addition to labeling of more diffuse areas between these domains (Spector, D. L., X. -D. Fu, and T. Maniatis. 1991. EMBO (Eur. Mol. Biol. Organ.) J. 10:3467-3481). We observe no correlation between intensely labeled SC-35 domains and sites of pre-mRNA synthesis. However, many sites of RPII synthesis colocalize with weakly stained areas. This implies that contranscriptional splicing takes place in these weakly stained areas. These areas may also be sites where splicing is completed posttranscriptionally. Intensely labeled SC-35 domains may function as sites for assembly, storage, or regeneration of splicing components, or as compartments for degradation of introns.


Voltages produced by microbial fuel cells (MFCs) cannot be sustainably increased by linking them in series due to voltage reversal, which substantially reduces stack voltages. It was shown here that MFC voltages can be increased with continuous power production using an electronic circuit containing two sets of multiple capacitors that were alternately charged and discharged (every one second). Capacitors were charged in parallel by the MFCs, but linked in series while discharging to the circuit load (resistor). The parallel charging of the capacitors avoided voltage reversal, while discharging the capacitors in series produced up to 2.5 V with four capacitors. There were negligible energy losses in the circuit compared to 20–40% losses typically obtained with MFCs using DC-DC converters to increase voltage. Coulombic efficiencies were 67% when power was generated via four capacitors, compared to only 38% when individual MFCs were operated with a fixed resistance of 250 Ω. The maximum power produced using the capacitors was not adversely affected by variable performance of the MFCs, showing that power generation can be maintained even if individual MFCs perform differently. Longer capacitor charging and discharging cycles of up to 4 min maintained the average power but increased peak power by up to 2.6 times. These results show that capacitors can be used to easily obtain higher voltages from MFCs, allowing for more useful capture of energy from arrays of MFCs.


This document describes the XML format for BGP routing information
(XFB). It can be used to describe both BGP messages and BGP control
information. Compared with MRT, XFB is more extensible, human and
machine-readable and can serve as a common interface for a variety of
tools.


A fundamental problem in data management is to draw and maintain a sample of a large data set, for approximate query answering, selectivity estimation, and query planning. With large, streaming data sets, this problem becomes particularly difficult when the data is shared across multiple distributed sites. The main challenge is to ensure that a sample is drawn uniformly across the union of the data while minimizing the communication needed to run the protocol on the evolving data. At the same time, it is also necessary to make the protocol lightweight, by keeping the space and time costs low for each participant. In this article, we present communication-efficient protocols for continuously maintaining a sample (both with and without replacement) from k distributed streams. These apply to the case when we want a sample from the full streams, and to the sliding window cases of only the W most recent elements, or arrivals within the last w time units. We show that our protocols are optimal (up to logarithmic factors), not just in terms of the communication used, but also the time and space costs for each participant.


For the visual analysis of multidimensional data, dimension reduction methods are commonly used to project to a lower‐dimensional visual space. In the context of multifields, i.e., volume data with a multidimensional attribute space, the spatial arrangement of the samples in the volumetric domain can be exploited to generate a Continuous Representation of the Projected Attribute Space (CoRPAS). Here, the sample locations in the volumetric domain may be arranged in a structured or unstructured way and may or may not be connected by a grid or a mesh. We propose an approach to generate CoRPAS for any sample arrangement using an isotropic density function. An interactive visual exploration system with three coordinated views of volume visualization, CoRPAS, and an interaction widget based on star coordinates is presented. The star‐coordinates widget provides an intuitive means for the user to change the projection matrix. The coordinated views allow for feature selection in form of brushing and linking. The approach is applied to both synthetic data and data resulting from numerical simulations of physical phenomena. In particular, simulations based on Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics are addressed, where the simulation kernel can be used to produce a CoRPAS that is consistent with the simulation. We also show how a logarithmic scaling of attribute values in CoRPAS is supported, which is of high practical relevance.


Background and aims. According to the biopsychosocial model inflammatory bowel diseases are multifactorial in their etiology e.g. they result from the interaction of genetic, immune, social and psychological factors. Findings on the association among emotional lability (e.g. anxiety and depression) and IBD have been inconsistent therefore the aim of this preliminary study is to investigate the presence of depression, anxiety and stressful life events in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases. Patients and Methods. Sixty-five outpatients of the Gastroenterology Department, Clinical Hospital Centre Rijeka, participated in this study. There were 35 patients with ulcerative colitis and 30 with Chron's disease, aged 19 to 63 (M=40.83 ; SD=12, 42) who filled the questionnaires (Beck Depression Inventory, Spielberger's Trait-Anxiety Inventory, the number of the stressful life events in past 6 months). Results. The mean total depression score was 8.47 (SD=7.04) wich is within normal range but among them 6 patients (10%) had depressive symptoms with a score of 18 or above, which reflects clinically relevant depression and 15 patients (23%) had depressive symptoms with score range from 10 to 18, which reflects mild depression. The mean total anxiety score was 32.83 (SD=12.38). Twenty-five patients (40%) had anxiety score of 35 or above which reflects elevated anxiety. Over 50% of patients have experienced at least one stressful life events during the period of past six months. Conclusion. Integrated approach to clinical practice and research in medicine requires not only monitoring the traditional physiological and biochemical outcomes but also assessment of patients' psychosocial status. Our results althought limited by the small sample size of the study indicated that depression and anxiety score were elevated in certain number of IBD patients and should deserve more consideration in the clinical treatment of those patients. Patients should be selected for the psychotherapy on the basis of psychosocial criteria as well as patient motivation for psychotherapy. The two most significant interventions that improve quality of life and patient-physician relationships are proper patient education and appropriate treatment of concurrent depression and anxiety.


OBJECTIVES
Illness severity scores for newborns are complex and restricted by birth weight and have dated validations and calibrations. We developed and validated simplified neonatal illness severity and mortality risk scores. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality.

STUDY DESIGN
Thirty neonatal intensive care units in Canada, California, and New England collected data on all admissions during the mid 1990s; patients moribund at birth or discharged to normal newborn care in <24 hours were excluded. Starting with the 34 data elements of the Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology (SNAP), we derived the most parsimonious logistic model for in-hospital mortality using 10,819 randomly selected Canadian cases. SNAP-II includes 6 physiologic items; to this are added points for birth weight, low Apgar score, and small for gestational age to create a 9-item SNAP-Perinatal Extension-II (SNAPPE-II). We validated SNAPPE-II on the remaining 14,610 cases and optimized the calibration.

RESULTS
In all birth weights, SNAPPE-II had excellent discrimination and goodness of fit. Area under the receiver operator characteristic curve was .91 +/- 0.01. Goodness of fit (Hosmer-Lemeshow) was 0.90.

CONCLUSIONS
SNAP-II and SNAPPE-II are empirically validated illness severity and mortality risk scores for newborn intensive care. They are simple, accurate, and robust across populations.


This chapter is part of the focus on the development in river basin management, and its specific objective is to provide an expository review of drainage basin morphometry and the relevance of remote sensing technology, especially for locations in developing countries, where sophisticated remote sensing technology are either expensive or challenged by limited professionals. The chapter is divided into six subsections, treating issues on remote sensing, drainage density and presenting specific case study, among others. The study reveals that remote sensing technology is efficient for providing decision support system for both gauged and ungauged river basins, and that freely available remote sensing data can efficiently fill the data gaps in many developing countries. It however warned on the need to consider variations in sensors capacity and mission as important attributes that can generate different spatial radiometric issues which may negatively affect the quality of the results. It concluded that researchers on drainage basin analysis in developing countries will benefit immensely from the freely available remote sensing data in the region.


161 patients underwent an aortic valve replacement from 1966 till January 1995 for active infective endocarditIS of the native aortic valve. The disease extended to the other cardiac valves in 39 patients and to the surrounding areas in 42 (aortic root and subaortic myocardial tissues). Indications for surgery were: congestive heart failure in 123, uncontrolled sepsis in 44 and emboli in 24. Total follow-up was 1,120 patient-years with a maximum follow-up of 29 years. Early mortality was 8%; late mortality was 3.6%/patient-year; recurrence rate of endocarditis was 1.3%/patient year; survival and reoperation free curve was 68% (S.E. +/- 0.04) at 10 years. These long term results are in favour of a surgical attitude with an acceptable surgical risk without delay.


Participation in collective activities, gatherings and rituals plays an important role in the way people cope with collective disadvantage as well as entails major positive effects for social cohesion, functioning and well-being. Across five studies we tested the hypothesis that collective disadvantage and participation in collective activities can increase coping potential and provide positive psychosocial outcomes through the experience of perceived emotional synchrony and self-transcendence emotions. In a context of a natural disaster (Chapter 1), participation in secular and spiritual rituals and communal coping was associated with enhanced social well-being and posttraumatic growth. Subsequently, we confirmed that collective traumatic experience such as a natural disaster can result in perceptions of benefits not only at personal but also at communal and societal levels (Chapter 2). Moreover, we examined the mediational role of different communal coping strategies in the relationship between trauma intensity and posttraumatic growth in different cultural contexts (Chile, Spain and Colombia) (Chapter 3). Furthermore, based on longitudinal data we demonstrated that the effects of participation on empowerment and openness to the world and others are explained by the experience of emotional synchrony accompanied by feelings of self-transcendent emotions which are generated during both religious and secular events (Chapter 4). Finally, while aiming to contribute to a clarification of the explanatory mechanisms of collective action offered by theories of collective action and social identity, we set out to integrate a self-transcendent emotion of hope as a driver of participation and involvement in collective mobilizations, (Chapter 5). Together, participation in collective gatherings should be viewed not only as a communal coping strategy, but also as an upward spiraling pathway to and from self-transcendent positive emotions and emotional synchrony. Overall, the present dissertation offers an insight into the understanding of mechanisms which facilitate positive changes across different contexts.


An improved practical two-dimensional model for the analytical calculation of the magnetic field distributions in permanent magnet (PM) eddy current couplings is presented to obtain the torque characteristics. By establishing the Cartesian coordinate reference system on the rotating conductor, the PM region is treated as a source of traveling wave magnetic field and then the multi-layer boundary value problem is solved. The formulation for the magnet blocks, the eddy current and saturation effects in the solid secondary back iron, and the equivalence relationships between typical PM shapes, are all reasonably taken into account. Calculation results produced by the proposed analytical model are compared with those from the nonlinear finite element method and experimental measurement.


Agroforestry, particularly silvipasture systems that combine grass and trees, has been proposed an alternative for the common practice of poultry litter application to pastures. Poultry litter was applied at three rates (0, 11.2 and 33.6 Mg ha) to three managed vegetation systems (Festuca arundinacea Schreb. pasture, Pinus taeda L. plantation and a silvipasture system combining the two species). Following poultry litter application, short-term fate of N and P was monitored and three-year pine growth response was measured. Results indicate somewhat improved N and P nutrition and positive growth response of both pine and grass to litter application. Ammonia volatilization was the greatest pathway of N loss and loss through denitrification was minimal. Estimated loss of NH3-N during a 96-hour period following June litter application ranged from 0.2 to 15.3 kg ha. Average soil solution NO3-N concentrations at 1-m depth exceeded 16 mg L on one occasion in the pine plantation during the spring following application. Average concentrations did not exceed 2.21 mg L in either the silvipasture or pasture. These results indicate that silvipastures can offer an alternative for poultry litter utilization while retaining many aesthetic and financial benefits associated with trees.


Risk factors for r ebleeding following acute variceal haemorrhage are incompletely understood. The aim of this study was to determine the predictor validity of model for end stage liver disease (MELD) score and Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) in acute variceal bleeding and rebleeding.

 Method : The study included 92 cirrhotic patients of Imam Khomeini hospital. The predictive capability of CTP and MELD score were compared.

 Results : The mean MELD score in 39 patients with variceal bleeding was 18.7±7.2, and in 59 patients without bleeding was 14.9±9.8 (P=0.014). The mean CTP score in 39 patients with variceal bleeding was 9.05±1.6, and in 59 patients without bleeding was 8.5± 1.5 (p>0.05).

 Conclusion : MELD was significantly better than CTP score for predicting in hospital bleeding.

 MELD and CTP were not efficacious scores for predicting variceal rebleeding.


Inorganic-organic hybrid materials, especially metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) composed of metals and organic linkers, have emerged as a new class of versatile materials owing to their tunable structure and controllable functionality. As typical biocompatible MOFs, cyclic oligosaccharide cyclodextrin-based carbohydrate metal-organic frameworks (CD-MOFs) have recently attracted considerable attention due to their edible, renewable and biodegradable nature. Herein, we focus on the latest advances concerning these materials. First, the synthesis methods and structural diversity of CD-MOFs are introduced and summarized. Besides, the synthetic strategies of moisture-resistant CD-MOFs are also emphasized. Moreover, their applications, including gas adsorption, separation, sensing, memristor fabrication, as templates in nanoparticle synthesis, light emission and especially drug delivery, are systematically discussed and highlighted. Finally, to conclude the review, some insights and current challenges that need to be addressed for the further development of these materials are proposed. We anticipate that this review will result in a better understanding of CD-MOFs and will help maximize the potential functions of these materials.


In October of 2008, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) failed to obtain majority support to represent a 40,000-member bargaining unit of public school teachers in Puerto Rico even though it had most of the odds stacked in its favor: a huge war chest, a decertified and bankrupt rival, and the Puerto Rican government qua employer's neutrality, if not outright support. The Federacion de Maestros de Puerto Rico, the SEIU's rival, campaigned against the SEIU's bid for exclusive representation by focusing on rank-and-file mobilization and a message against raiding by a "colonial" union. The event showed that even progressive and successful unions such as the SEIU are not immune to oligarchic tendencies and may raid other unions in pursuit of money and power. Strategies that combine more democratic, bottom-up mobilization, including, in the case of Puerto Rico, strengthening the long-established tradition of minority unionism, could dampen future oligarchic tendencies, buttress industrial democracy, and create better coexistence between trade union organizations. To move forward, especially given the global crisis that has befallen us, unions need to start acting in the most principled of ways and expressing solidarity in the deepest manners.


We perform a counterfactual time series analysis using two different Data Science methods applied to 2020 mortality data reported from towns in Italy, with data from the previous five years as control. We find an excess mortality that is correlated in time with the COVID-19 reported death rate time series. Our analysis shows good agreement with reported COVID-19 mortality for age<70 years, but an excess in total mortality increasing with age above 70 years, suggesting there is a large population of predominantly old people missing from the official fatality statistics. We estimate that the number of COVID-19 deaths in Italy is 52,000 ± 2000 as of April 18 2020, more than a factor of 2 higher than the official number. The Population Fatality Rate (PFR) has reached 0.22% in the most affected region of Lombardia and 0.57% in the most affected province of Bergamo,which constitutes a lower bound to the Infection Fatality Rate (IFR). We estimate PFR as a function of age, finding a steep age dependence: in Lombardia (Bergamo province) 0.6% (1.7%) of the total population in age group 70-79 died, 1.6% (4.6%) in age group 80-89, and 3.41% (10.2%) in the age group above 90. We combine this with the Test Positivity Rate to estimate the lower bound of 0.84% on the IFR for Lombardia. We observe IFR to trace the Yearly Mortality Rate (YMR) above 60 years, which can be used to estimate the IFR for other regions in the world. We predict an IFR lower bound of 0.5% for NYC and 26% of total COVID-19 mortality arising from the population below 65 years, in agreement with the existing data and several times higher than Lombardia. Combining PFR with the Princess Diamond cruise ship IFR for ages above 70 we estimate the infection rates(IR) of regions in Italy, which peak in Lombardia at 23% (12%-41%, 95% c.l.), and for provinces in Bergamo at 67% (33%-100%, 95% c.l.). This suggests that Bergamo may have reached herd immunity, and that the number of infected people greatly exceeds the number of positive tests, by a factor of 35 in Lombardia.


In representative democracies, citizens delegate powers. Not surprisingly, citizens react angrily when delegated powers are misused (i.e., so as to decrease social welfare). Perhaps more puzzlingly, citizens sometimes repeatedly delegate the same power (e.g., surveillance of citizens, conscription), and then repeatedly react with anger to its misuse. In this paper, we investigate a power that the American public has consistently delegated and repeatedly seen misused for nearly 200 years: the power of eminent domain. We begin by developing a simple dynamic model in which a stylized public chooses the set of powers to delegate. The public obtains new information each period and can forecast rationally (but not perfectly) the benefits and costs of delegation. We then apply the model to the history of eminent domain in the United States. Our model provides a simple explanation of why the public has continued to allow the delegation of substantial discretion over taking private property, despite the fact that eminent domain has generated so much public backlash over the last 200 years. The model also highlights the crucial role played by the courts in forestalling (or not) public backlash. Our analysis helps explain why many scholars have misunderstood the public response to the Kelo decision. More generally, our analysis provides insight into the public's response to a perennial dilemma: How much power should the public delegate?


The dispersal behavior of Choristoneura rosaceana (Harris) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) first in star larvae was studied in the laboratory. The objectives were to investigate the proximal factors influencing larval dispersal and to establish whether a correspondence exists between larval host acceptance and performance. A dispersal bioassay was validated by demonstrating the presence of a positive correlation between larval host acceptance in the laboratory and in the field. Larval age and family origin, as well as host species attributes were shown to influence larval dispersal rates. Seasonal changes in host plants slightly changed the rank order of larval host acceptance. Leaf texture and the availability of refuges on host plants seemed to be important factors influencing the rate of larval dispersal. Plant odor appeared to be used by the larvae to locate leaves. Nitrogen content of plant species corresponded to larval dispersal rates, but the cause of this association is unclear. Larval dispersal did not match host suitabilities as measured by larval performance. The relationship between host preference and suitability in the obliquebanded leafroller is discussed in an ecological and evolutionary perspective.


We find the complete classical moduli space of two-centered supersymmetric solutions carrying D0 and D6 brane charge in the STU model delimited by walls of marginal stability of co-dimension one. U-duality guarantees our conclusions hold for any BPS state with negative quartic invariant. The analysis explicitly shows that the conditions of marginal stability, i.e. the integrability conditions, are generically insufficient to provide a regular supergravity solution in this model. e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


Chemical modification of natural fibres has been carried out using different methods for such purposes as reinforcement in polymer matrices and heavy metals adsorption. In this work, palm fibres were modified by zirconium oxychloride in situ. The palm fibres that had been chemically modified were compared to those in nature using fibres that passed through 20 and 40 mesh screens to evaluate the influence of particle size on modification. Palm fibres were modified with ZrO2.nH2O nanoparticles through the use of zirconium oxychloride in an acidic medium in the presence of palm fibres using ammonium solution (1:3) as the precipitating agent. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR), and atomic emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-AES) were used to characterize the hybrid materials. Results indicated that the particle size of the palm fibres influenced in the modification, because the fibres with smaller particle size had a greater deposition of inorganic material. The ICP technique revealed an increase of 21% nanoparticles ZrO2.nH2O deposited on fibres (40 mesh) when compared to fibres (20 mesh). The diameter of nanoparticles ZrO2.nH2O deposited on fibres was about 50 to 220 nm, as observed by SEM.


The relationship between emotion comprehension and social competence from very young ages has been addressed in numerous studies in the field of developmental psychology. Emotion knowledge in childhood seems to have its roots in the conversations and explanations children hear about what emotions are and how to manage them. Given that behavioral interventions often do not achieve medium-term improvements or generalization to other contexts, this study evaluates the results of an intervention using the Thinking Emotions program. This program uses Philosophy for Children (P4C) as the work format and is based on the idea that reflection and dialogue among peers is one of the most effective ways to interiorize significant knowledge. The program was applied during one school year in two preschool classrooms (one class of 4-year-olds and one class of 5-year-olds). Comparisons of the pre- and post-treatment measures of the control (N=28) and experimental (N=32) groups show significant improvements in emotion comprehension and social competence in the 5-year-old children and improvements related to social competence in the 4-year-olds.


Vaccinia virus with the E3L gene deleted was able to replicate in RK-13 but not HeLa cells. This host range phenotype could be complemented by an E3L gene expressed transiently from a plasmid. Analysis of mutants of E3L indicates that the ability to complement deletion of E3L correlates with the ability of mutated proteins to bind double-stranded RNA but not with their ability to migrate to the nucleus.


The incidence of Barrett adenocarcinoma is increasing substantially and was estimated at 2.8 cases per 100 000 people in the United States in 2010.1 Given the premalignant potential of Barrett intestinal metaplasia, it would be logical to simply eliminate preneoplastic tissue. Indeed, if Barrett esophagus was a focally localized, raised, and easily recognizable lesion (ie, polyp), endoscopic removal would be a relatively easy task, and there would be no discussion about how to prevent neoplastic progression in these patients.


The most consistent determinant for any variation in speech-in-noise performance between individuals is their own audibility. There is, however, the potential that cognitive functions support listening when situations are challenging, such as when speech is being listened to in background noise. This research explores which cognitive functions support listening when speech is degraded in different manners, with working memory, speed of information processing, response latency and control of inhibition all indicating significant relationships. Based on these findings, both cognitive and auditory training was employed with participants to establish if this could demonstrate any improvement in both on-task performance, such that the task itself improved, and additionally if training could lead to changes in performance of other closely related (near transfer) or more loosely related (far transfer) tasks. There was no convincing evidence that cognitive training involving inhibition control and processing speed could lead to improved listening performance. Potentially, as cognitive functions play a more minor role in speech-in-noise performance when compared to audibility, training of these cognitive functions may need a more significant training input to demonstrate any significant change in speech-in-noise performance. There was, however, evidence that targeted auditory training may offer some advantages and that far transfer gains appear to be achievable and are most evident when the training material is highly challenging. When the role of a commercial communication training package involving both auditory and cognitive exercises was explored it gave very limited evidence of any significant advantage for first time hearing aid users over normal acclimitisation. Areas for future research are discussed, particularly with a view to training package development. Further, there is a discussion on how effective rehabilitation may lead to improved communication and the potential social and mental well-being that improved communication may bring.


This research guide is intended for individuals studying the atmospheric sciences. It contains suggested resources for articles, books, climate data, and more.


A programming language definition consists of two parts: syntax and semantics. K Framework is an actively developed formalism aimed to address the semantics part. While K has its own capabilities to define syntax and to perform parsing, those are often not expressive enough to handle real world programming languages. Therefore K Framework was designed to be connected to an external parser. In this case the semantics is defined over the representation of programs as AST (Abstract Syntax Tree), and is called label-based. This technique was successfully used to define C language. In this paper we present a parser generator which accepts as input a grammar in SDF format, and produces a parser ready to be integrated with K. We illustrate the methodology of defining a language using the generated parser based on an example. The example definition emphasizes distinctive features of the integration of SDF syntax and K semantics. It also illustrates syntax constructs which are difficult to handle with K Framework alone, but are straightforward to express in SDF + K combination.


Building on the 1997 work of Chezum and Wimmer, and the 1998 work of Lansford, Freeman, Topliff, and Walker, we estimated a hedonic hammer price model on a random and representative sample of 212 yearlings from the 1999 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Explanatory variables representing day of sale, age of yearling, stud fee, racing performance of sire and dam, geographic origin of yearling, and yearling health information were statistically significant. In each model, we failed to reject the null hypothesis of no adverse selection; sellers who breed and race horses did not receive a statistically significant price penalty on their yearlings sold in this auction, compared to sellers who just breed horses.


In this paper, a ring shaped numerical specimen is used to studying the failure process in brittle materials. The ring specimen is subjected to a compressive diametral load and contains two angled central cracks. Numerical modeling in this study is performed. It is shown that the obtained numerical results are in a very good agreement with the experiments. Effect of the crack orientation angle on the failure modes and loading-displace responses is discussed. In the range of 0°~40°, the fracture paths are curvilinear forms starting from the tip of pre-existing cracks and grow towards the loading points. For the crack orientation angle 90°, vertical fractures will split the specimen and the horizontal cracks do not influence the fracture process.


BACKGROUND
Gene expression profiles of several tumor suppressor genes are regulated by the methylation and demethylation of their promoters. Here, we aim to identify and quantify the methylation status of four tumor suppressor genes from placentas at term and compare them with the maternal white-blood-cells.

METHODS
In order to achieve this objective, DNA enriched from twenty placentas at term and maternal white blood cells was bisulfite-converted and amplified using quantitative real-time methyl-light polymerase chain reaction for the four-genes studied (RASSF1A, APC, RAR-beta, and PTGS2).

RESULTS
Among the four genes examined, RASSF1A, APC and RAR-beta promoter regions were hypermethylated in all the placental samples compared with maternal WBCs. Strikingly, PTGS2 was found to be hypomethylated in the placentas compared to the maternal cells.

CONCLUSION
Since placental DNA represents fetal methylation profile and it is an established fact that there is certain amount of cell free circulating DNA in human plasma/serum, these data strongly suggest that hypermethylation of RASSF1A, APC and RAR-beta can be used as gender independent biomarkers to distinctly identify placental DNA in maternal blood. In addition, this is the first report which demonstrates hypomethylation of PTGS2 locus which may have important clinical implications e.g. placental abnormalities.


Tribological performance of new brake pair is studied at different temperatures, load and speed by variable temperature friction and wear test. The research indicates that brake pair has better frictional characteristics at variable temperature as well as heat-fade resistance performance at high temperatures. Wear rate of brake block and brake disc increases with friction temperature rising, however wear-resisting performance of brake disc is comparatively stable. Load has less influence on frictional coefficient of brake pair. Wear rate of brake disc and brake block increases with load increasing, but brake block has comparatively stable wear-resisting performance. Frictional coefficient of brake pair increases and tends to stabilize gradually along with sliding speed increasing, and speed has less influence on wear rate of brake block and brake disc. Initial heat-fading occurs in brake block material along with frictional temperature rising, secondary solidification may happen when frictional temperature reaches a certain value. When temperature rises much higher, brake block begins to soften and plastic flow intensifies, in addition thermal decomposition occurs in organic substance and wear-resisting performance becomes poorer. Build-up welding material has strong age-hardening effect and stable thermal structure, which leaves surface hardness and structure performance of brake disc unchanged at high temperatures.


OBJECTIVE
To analyze the effect of motivational interviewing on self-care for people with chronic heart failure.

METHOD
A multicenter randomized clinical trial, which divided people into an intervention group (n=59) and a control group (n=59), followed for 60 days in centers of Brazil and Uruguay. The intervention group received three consultations per motivational interviewing, with an interval of 30 days, and the control group maintained conventional follow-up in specialized clinics. The data were assessed using the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index 6.2, before and after intervention in each of the centers. They were analyzed using the mean, median, t-test, correlation analysis using the Spearman coefficient and effect of the intervention by Cohen's d.

RESULTS
One hundred and eighteen people completed the study. In view of the assessment of the effect of the motivational interviewing on self-care, compared to conventional follow-up, a medium effect on maintenance and management (Cohen's d=0.6723; 0.5086) and high on self-care confidence (Cohen's d=0.9877).

CONCLUSION
Motivational interviewing was effective in improving self-care in patients with heart failure, being a feasible strategy to be implemented in specialized clinics. Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (Registro Brasileiro de Ensaios Clínicos): RBR-6fp5qt.


The use of electromagnetic fields has been considered as adjuvant therapy for the treatment of cancer given that some clinical trials have shown that the irradiation of cancer cells with electromagnetic fields can slow down the disease progression.

 We hypothesize that this effect could be amplified by irradiating tumor cells with electromagnetic fields having frequencies close to the natural resonant frequencies of membrane channels in tumor cells, in order to obtain a significant change of the ion flux across tumor cell membrane channels, inducing the largest harmful alteration in their cellular function.

 Neuronal-like cells were used as a cell model and exposed for 6 h to electromagnetic fields at different frequencies (0, 50 Hz, 900 MHz) at the same intensity of 2 mT. The exposure system was represented by two Helmholtz coils driven by a power amplifier in current mode and an arbitrary function generator. FTIR spectroscopy was used to evaluate the results of the exposure.

 The results of this study showed that the Amide I vibration band increased in intensity with the increase of the frequency, leading us to assume that the displacement of the cell channels α-helices depends on the frequency of the applied electromagnetic fields.

 This preliminary result leads us to plan future research aimed at searching for the natural frequencies of membrane channels in tumor cells using resonant electromagnetic fields in order to damage the cellular functions of tumor cells. Clinical trials are needed to confirm such a hypothesis derived from this physical study.


Egg quality is a phenotype of, and can profoundly influence fitness in, both mother and offspring. However, the physiological mechanisms that underlie this maternal effect are poorly understood. Carotenoids are hypothesized to enhance antioxidant activity and immune function, and are responsible for the pigmentation of egg yolk. The proximate basis and consequences of this maternal investment, however, have not previously been studied in wild birds. In this supplemental feeding study of lesser black–backed gulls, Larus fuscus, carotenoid–fed females are shown to have increased integument pigmentation, higher plasma concentrations of carotenoids and antioxidant activity, and lower plasma concentrations of immunoglobulins (Igs) in comparison with controls. In turn, carotenoid–fed females produced eggs containing high carotenoid but low Ig concentrations (i.e. passive immunity), whereas control females produced eggs containing low carotenoid but high Ig concentrations. Within–clutch patterns of these resources varied over the laying sequence in a similar manner in both carotenoid–fed and control nests. Our results suggest that carotenoids could be one resource responsible for egg quality maternal effects in birds. We discuss the possible implications of carotenoid–mediated effects on phenotype for fitness in mothers and their offspring.


Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum is a prevalent group in the human gut microbiome. Its persistence in the intestinal microbial community suggests a close host-microbe relationship according to age. The subspecies adaptations are related to metabolic capabilities and genomic and functional diversity. In this study, 154 genomes from public databases and four new Chilean isolates were genomically compared through an in silico approach to identify genomic divergence in genes associated with carbohydrate consumption and their possible adaptations to different human intestinal niches. The pangenome of the subspecies was open, which correlates with its remarkable ability to colonize several niches. The new genomes homogenously clustered within subspecies longum, as observed in phylogenetic analysis. B. longum SC664 was different at the sequence level but not in its functions. COG analysis revealed that carbohydrate use is variable among longum subspecies. Glycosyl hydrolases participating in human milk oligosaccharide use were found in certain infant and adult genomes. Predictive genomic analysis revealed that B. longum M12 contained an HMO cluster associated with the use of fucosylated HMOs but only endowed with a GH95, being able to grow in 2-fucosyllactose as the sole carbon source. This study identifies novel genomes with distinct adaptations to HMOs and highlights the plasticity of B. longum subsp. longum to colonize the human gut microbiota.


Ovarian cysts are the cause of a great deal of anxiety and concern for many women, and much of the time they are not truly a problem. The first thing a patient needs to understand is "what is a cyst"??


Background There is a long-standing debate about whether and how trade agreements may impact on nutrition policies. The debate centers on whether powerful countries and multi-national corporations may invoke trade rules in order to prevent governments in other countries from introducing effective interventions, including nutrition labelling designed to promote healthy diets. Most research examining this possibility has considered whether and how technical rules in trade agreements are - or can be - invoked to contest nutrition labelling policies. Yet, this overlooks how trade agreements may be used by powerful agents to exert normative and ideological pressure concerning the causes of nutrition-related illnesses and appropriate policy design. Setting In this article we conduct a critical discourse analysis of the non-technical arguments and discursive strategies used to challenge nutrition labelling policies proposed by Thailand, Chile, Indonesia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Uruguay at the World Trade Organization (WTO) between 2007 and 2018. We analyse the normative and ideological claims used to challenge these policies, and assess whether and how power imbalances manifest in these arguments using Gaventa's typology of power. Results Our discourse analysis shows that nutrition labelling debates at the WTO feature normative and ideological arguments concerning the causes of nutrition-related diseases, legitimate policy goals, and the scope of acceptable means for achieving them. For example, members state that obesity is complex and no foods play a particular role in the development of nutritional diseases; they argue that policies should promote industry innovation; and they support policies encouraged healthy 'choices' and consumer awareness. These arguments are regularly made by high-income members, including the US and EU, and share marked similarities with industry arguments used to contest nutrition policies in other fora. Conclusion Our analysis suggests that powerful countries and multi-national corporations use WTO rules to shape trade partners' understanding of the causes of nutrition-related diseases, legitimate nutrition policy goals, and the scope of acceptable means for achieving them. In short, trade agreements can be used to influence normative and ideological foundations of nutrition interventions, and this creates scope for a subtle mobilisation of power to shape policy.


This study investigates customer's perception of Chinese fast food restaurant service quality and its relationship with customer satisfaction. Employing modified DINESERV scale, the study uses both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. Qualitative data collection consisted of face-to-face interviews and group discussion. A questionnaire was developed using three sources: interview responses of the customers, the restaurant's survey and the literature. A total of 205 completed questionnaires were used in the analysis. The new measurement scale, Chinese Fast Food Restaurants Service Quality Scale (CFFRSERV), contained 28 items across six dimensions: assurance and empathy, food, cleanliness, responsiveness, reliability and tangibles. The findings from the study revealed that service quality variables have positive influence on customer satisfaction except reliability dimension. The findings provided a useful tool for service quality improvement in Chinese fast food restaurants. Validating the scale in other restaurants in various cities in China is an area for further research


Water and ion accumulation is the driving force for rapid expansion of the amnion and allantois of mammalian placentae during early gestation, and, therefore, essential for embryonic/fetal growth and survival. Aquaporins (AQP) are a family of small integral plasma membrane proteins that primarily transport water across the plasma membrane. To date, thirteen AQP isoforms (AQP 0-12) have been identified in mammals. AQP 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11 are expressed in the female reproductive tract. Based on their structural and functional properties, AQPs are divided into three subgroups: classical aquaporins (AQP 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 8), aquaglyceroporins (AQP 3, 7, 9, and 10), and superaquaporins (AQP 11 and 12). Expression of AQPs in the uterus and placenta is regulated by hormones and nutrients to maintain fluid homeostasis in the conceptus. The underlying mechanisms may involve signal transduction pathways mediated by cAMP, MAPK, PKC, and PI3K/Akt/mTOR. Such new knowledge will advance basic understanding of mammalian reproductive biology to enhance embryonic/fetal survival, growth and development in women and livestock.


Study was conducted at the Darag Native Chicken Sub-station at the College of Veterinary Medicine of Capiz State University, Dumarao, Capiz from October 2011 to March 2012. Generally, it aimed to determine the efficacy of combined formulated ethnobotanical anthelmintics and to compare its efficacy with the commercial anthelmintic. A total of seventy five (75) undewormed Darag native chickens aging from 5 months old and above were used as experimental animals in each study. Experimental animals were divided into 5 treatments with 3 replications having 5 chickens per replicate. Results of the study revealed that the use of combined formulated ethnobotanical specifically 2 g/kg BW of formulated Ipil-ipil and Betel nut was found to be effective in treating roundworms of Darag native chickens and was comparable with the effect of commercial dewormer. The cost of Ethnobotanical Anthelmintic per kg is PhP 70.00 while the Commercial Dewormer is PhP 1,200.00. This project is part of the research program entitled "Development of Sustainable Production System for the Darag Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus Linn.) in Western Visayas".


Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) techniques have had a great impact on research fields of surface science and nanotechnology during the last decades. They are used to investigate surfaces with scanning ranges between several 100 μm down to atomic resolution. Depending on experimental conditions, and the interaction forces between probe and sample, different SPM techniques allow mapping of different surface properties. In this work, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in air and under electrochemical conditions (EC-STM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) in air and scanning electrochemical potential microscopy (SECPM) under electrochemical conditions, were used to study different single crystalline surfaces in electrochemistry. Especially SECPM offers potentially new insights into the solid-liquid interface by providing the possibility to image the potential distribution of the surface, with a resolution that is comparable to STM. In electrocatalysis, nanostructured catalysts supported on different electrode materials often show behavior different from their bulk electrodes. This was experimentally and theoretically shown for several combinations and recently on Pt on Au(111) towards fuel cell relevant reactions. For these investigations single crystals often provide accurate and well defined reference and support systems. We will show heteroepitaxially grown Ru, Ir and Rh single crystalline surface films and bulk Au single crystals with different orientations under electrochemical conditions. Image studies from all three different SPM methods will be presented and compared to electrochemical data obtained by cyclic voltammetry in acidic media. The quality of the single crystalline supports will be verified by the SPM images and the cyclic voltammograms. Furthermore, an outlook will be presented on how such supports can be used in electrocatalytic studies.


FACT is the first imaging Cherenkov telescope based on a camera using solid state photosensors (Geigermode Avalanche Photodiodes G-APD aka SiPM). Since October 2011, it has been taking data regularly. Apart from commissioning and calibration measurements, it has already started regular operation, where the main goal is to do long-term monitoring of bright TeV blazars. In June 2012, a flare of Mrk 501 was observed. Thanks to the robustness of the G-APDs, observations can be carried out during strong moon light without aging of the sensors. This improves the duty cycle of the instrument and provides better statistics for long-term light curves. The telescope, situated on the Canary Island of La Palma, is operated, already now, remotely from central Europe. For the future, robotic operation is planned. We report on our experiences during the commissioning, and we present first results from the first 1.5 years of observations.


Volume III examines in clear and elegant prose the roles of knowledge and information in economics. Part One analyzes the effects of new or uncertain information on market performance; examines the formation and revision of expectations; and provides a classification of literature and an extensive bibliography. Part Two discusses private and social valuations of education and training, the controversy over nature vs. nurture," the issue of "credentialism," and the depreciation of human capital.Originally published in 1984.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.


One of the main problems in the debate around land consumption concerns the need to address actions of urban regeneration towards the restoration of consumed land rather than mere containment of land consumption. The poor appreciation of the value related to those transformations aimed at re-covering free areas, imposes an estimative remark aimed at the definition of tools able of comparing the benefits related to ecosystem services and those related to ordinary transformations. A key role needs to be held by local communities that, conveniently involved in the assessment, can help ad-dressing urgencies and emergencies of the studied environment, and at the same time actively participate to the process of territorial, social and cultural transformation. DOI:  http://dx.medra.org/10.19254/LaborEst.17.06


Progress on the development of an insulation defect detection and location system using a partial discharge (PD) wireless sensor network (WSN) will be presented. Such a PD WSN based on intensity-only measurements has cost and scalability advantages over existing detection and location technologies based on time-difference-of-arrival measurements such as described in (I. E. Portugues, P. J. Moore, I. A. Glover, IEEE Trans. on Power Delivery, 1, 2009, pp. 20–29). Figure 1 shows a hypothetical deployment of the PD WSN in an electricity substation. The (red) pentagram denotes a PD source, yellow circles and triangles denote sensor nodes, and the yellow St George's cross denotes the data collection/processing node. Each node of the WSN is a broadband radiometer with a measurement band of 50–800 MHz, Figure 2. Three measurement sub-bands allow the radiometer to distinguish different forms of PD; in particular internal PD and corona discharge. WirelessHart has been selected as the network communications technology since this offers improved reliability over other standards (e.g. Zigbee) in harsh industrial environments.


We numerically analyze the characteristics of silicon-based microring modulators consisting of a single-ring resonator. Performance of the devices as digital intensity modulators is examined in terms of extinction ratio, pulsewidth, frequency chirp, spectral broadening, and signal quality. Three types of the modulators built in single-waveguide under-/overcoupling and dual-waveguide configurations are discussed. We show that cavity dynamics significantly affect the modulation properties. Data transmission performance over single-mode fibers is also presented. A silicon microring modulator with negative chirp could achieve 0.8 dB power penalty in 80-km fiber transmission without dispersion compensation.


ABSTRACT Transmission of malaria depends on the successful development of the sexual stages of the parasite within the midgut of the mosquito vector. The differentiation process leading to the production of the sexual stages is delineated by several developmental switches. Arresting the progression through this sexual differentiation pathway would effectively block the spread of the disease. The successful development of such transmission-blocking agents is hampered by the lack of a detailed understanding of the program of gene expression that governs sexual differentiation of the parasite. Here we describe the isolation and functional characterization of the Plasmodium falciparum pfs16 and pfs25 promoters, whose activation marks the developmental switches executed during the sexual differentiation process. We have studied the differential activation of the pfs16 and pfs25 promoters during intraerythrocytic development by transfection of P. falciparum and during gametogenesis and early sporogonic development by transfection of the related malarial parasite P. gallinaceum. Our data indicate that the promoter of thepfs16 gene is activated at the onset of gametocytogenesis, while the activity of the pfs25 promoter is induced following the transition to the mosquito vector. Both promoters have unusual DNA compositions and are extremely A/T rich. We have identified the regions in the pfs16 and pfs25 promoters that are essential for high transcriptional activity. Furthermore, we have identified a DNA-binding protein, termed PAF-1, which activatespfs25 transcription in the mosquito midgut. The data presented here shed the first light on the details of processes of gene regulation in the important human pathogen P. falciparum.


Situation awareness (SA) is a critical commodity for teams working in complex systems. This article builds on existing schema theory to postulate an explanation of how teams develop and maintain SA during collaborative activities. The perceptual-action cycle approach and schema theory are used to formulate a model of distributed SA. Extracts from a case study undertaken in the UK energy distribution domain are used to demonstrate the concept of genotype and phenotype schemata as distributed SA. The sub-concepts of compatible and transactive SA are also outlined and explored via the case study. The differences between this perspective and the more commonly cited 'shared SA' perspective is articulated. In conclusion, whilst the ideas presented in this article are quite different to those expressed by the dominant models of individual and team SA presented in the literature, it is contended that they are more appropriate for the study of SA in collaborative environments.


Abstract A high-cholesterol diet increases the risk of bladder cancer. The purpose of this nationwide longitudinal population-based retrospective cohort study is to investigate whether hyperlipidemia is a risk factor for bladder cancer. Data from Taiwan National Health Insurance Database were analyzed. The primary study end point was the occurrence of newly diagnosed bladder cancer. The relative risk of bladder cancer in a hyperlipidemia cohort was compared with that in an age- and gender-matched non-hyperlipidemia cohort by using the Cox proportional hazards regression model. Cox regression analyses were further adjusted by the propensity score. Our data revealed that the hyperlipidemia cohort (n = 33,555) had a significantly higher subsequent risk of bladder cancer than did the non-hyperlipidemia cohort (n = 33,555) (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 1.37, P = .005) after propensity score adjustment. Subgroup analyses revealed that men in the hyperlipidemia cohort had a significantly higher subsequent risk of bladder cancer than did those in the non-hyperlipidemia cohort (adjusted HR = 1.36, P = .040). However, the risk of bladder cancer was not significantly different between women in the hyperlipidemia cohort and those in the non-hyperlipidemia cohort. Subgroup analyses further revealed that the risk of bladder cancer was significantly higher in men aged 20 to 39 years in the hyperlipidemia cohort than in those in the non-hyperlipidemia cohort (adjusted HR = 5.45, P = .029). In conclusion, hyperlipidemia is a risk factor for bladder cancer in young adult men.


The main objective of the tax reforms and modernization program embarked on by Kenya was to enhance compliance with tax regulations. This would be achieved through tax policies aimed at ensuring effectiveness of tax mechanism and increase in revenue. One measure the government took was to introduce electronic tax registers across all industries. This research intended to establish the impact of Electronic Tax Registers on VAT compliance among classified hotels in Nairobi. The objectives of the study were to determine the impact of Electronic Tax Registers on VAT compliance among classified hotels in Nairobi and to identify factors affecting VAT compliance among classified hotels in Nairobi. This study adopted the survey research design which was most appropriate as it entailed gathering of both primary and secondary data from classified hotels in Nairobi. The population consisted of all classified hotels, which were registered for VAT from year 2004 to 2008. The research study used both primary and secondary data. Primary data was obtained through selfadministered questionnaires. The research findings indicated that there was an increase in VAT declared with the introduction of Electronic Tax Registers. ETR machines can then be deemed to enhance VAT collection resulting from more accurate VAT reporting. It can be concluded that the classified hotels have adopted and complied with the requirements of VAT. The study recommends that the tax office should therefore strive to ensure full adoption of the ETR machines since they increase the VAT declared.


Abstract : Flocking is seen in nature as a means for self protection, more efficient foraging, and other search behaviors. Although much research has been done regarding the application of this principle to autonomous vehicles, the majority of the research has relied on GPS information, broadcast communication, an omniscient central controller, or some other form of "global" knowledge. This approach, while effective, has serious drawbacks, especially regarding stealth, reliability, and biological grounding. This research effort uses three Pioneer P2-AT8 robots to achieve flocking behavior without the use of global knowledge. The sensory inputs are limited to two cameras, offset such that the area of stereo vision is minimal, thus making stereo image analysis techniques effectively impossible, but allowing a much larger effective field of vision. The flocking algorithm analyzes these images and updates each robot's velocity vector according to the relative position, heading, and speed of its nearest neighbor. The result of this velocity update is an eventual stabilization of speed and heading, resulting in a coherent, stable flock, demonstrated in both software simulation and in hardware.


We have been developing T2V (Text-To-Vision) technology which enables to produce CG animation from text. This technology is built on a TVML (TV program Making Language) core engine which produces TV-program-like animation from text input using real-time CG, voice synthesizing technique and so on. Recently, we have ported the TVML engine on a game engine UNITY. The TVML SDK on UNITY is provided to game developers enabling to make various interactive applications using T2V technology. Our aim is to integrate two different media: TV and Game to make new type of media named 'gamingTV' owing to the T2V technology. In this paper, as one of the functioning developments of gamingTV, we will introduce 'Interactive TV' application using the SDK. In this application, a user can interrupt the on-going show at any time to have a dialogue with the actors in the show, then return to the point that had been interrupted and resume the show. We have confirmed the potential of gamingTV through the user experience of our functioning development.


Case summary A 1.5-year-old male neutered Persian cat was referred for acute deterioration of chronic left head tilt and ataxia. A lateral intraventricular cystic lesion, closely associated with the left choroid plexus, was identified on MRI. The intralesional signal intensity and cytological analysis of the fluid revealed a liquid similar to cerebrospinal fluid. After trepanation, an endoscopic-assisted fenestration and aspiration of the cyst were performed to temporally relieve the high intracranial pressure while waiting for surgical cystoperitoneal shunt placement. Three weeks after surgery, clinical relapse and recurrence of the lesion were noted on the pre-cystoperitoneal shunting MRI. During anaesthesia, the cat arrested. Cardiac resuscitation was successfully performed and cystoperitoneal shunting was postponed. Global brain ischaemia was then suspected, based on major forebrain clinical signs and MRI abnormalities. During a 6-month recovery period, a further three fine-needle CT-guided aspirations of the lesion were required, owing to clinical recurrence and increased cyst size. Cystoperitoneal shunting was eventually performed, allowing persistent reduction of the lesion and long-term improvement of the cat's neurological status. Relevance and novel information This is the first report of a symptomatic lateral intraventricular cystic lesion in a cat. A left lateral intraventricular choroid plexus cyst was suspected based on the MRI features. Our case suggests that endoscopic fenestration and CT-guided aspiration are not adequate treatments for long-term management. Cystoperitoneal shunting may be a safe procedure, allowing significant and stable reduction of the cystic lesion, associated with improvement in the cat's neurological status by preventing high intracranial pressure.


A gap in the wall of the uterus that was discovered by chance during a Caesarean operation carried out at term for a twin pregnancy is reported. This gap was accompanied by adhesion of the digestive tract within the uterus. After the adhesions had been cut away the gap was sutured. The reason for this pathological condition was suction evacuation at termination of pregnancy. We could find no reference in the literature to the combination of such a gap with a pregnancy that continued normally.


Objectives Early detection of aminoglycoside-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) is crucial in intensive care unit (ICU) patients, but it is not adequately reflected by serum creatinine (SrCr) levels. This study proposed investigating the relationship between amikacin trough levels and the development of nephrotoxicity using both conventional markers and a new biomarker of renal function in critically ill elderly patients. Methods Thirty-three critically ill patients aged ≥65 years with normal SrCr who received once-daily amikacin were evaluated. Trough levels of amikacin, creatinine clearance (CrCL) and urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) were measured during the 10-day study period. The patients were divided into three groups and were compared based on the trough levels on both day 3 and day 7: <3 µg/mL (low trough (LT)), 3–6 µg/mL (moderate trough (MT)) and >6 µg/mL (high trough (HT)). Results In the LT group, neither CrCL nor uNGAL levels significantly changed from baseline (p=0.364 and p=0.562, respectively). In the MT group, the CrCL level altered significantly over time from baseline (p=0.007), but the uNGAL level did not change significantly over the study period (p=0.916). In the HT group, both CrCL and uNGAL levels significantly changed from baseline during the study period (p=0.002 and p=0.046, respectively). Conclusions In critically ill elderly patients with MT, the mean uNGAL level changed at least 4 days earlier than the SrCr level. Instead, the trough level of amikacin demonstrated a potential value for predicting subclinical AKI for implementing necessary interventions. Amikacin trough levels <3 µg/mL in the once-daily dosing regimen appeared safe, even in geriatric patients. Further studies are needed to confirm this finding.


One-node explants and one-node stem cuttings of Asian jasmine (Trachelospermum asiaticum (Siebold & Zucc.) Nakai) were rooted, respectively, in vitro (tissue culture (TC)) or by conventional macropropagation (MACRO). The TC and MACRO stem bases were then analyzed for differences in the time-course sequence of 1) root primordia initiation and development and 2) adventitious root xylem development and root-to-shoot xylem connections. Early root primordia were observed at Day 3, and, by Day 7, root-to-shoot xylem connections were equally developed in TC and MACRO systems. Continued development and emergence of adventitious roots were observed at Days 8 to 10. At Days 13 and 18, when viewed using scanning electron microscopy, TC root hairs were morphologically thicker and one-third to one-half the length of MACRO root hairs. There was no apparent difference in root-hair density. Inferior TC root-hair length may be a factor in the acclimation of TC-generated plantlets.


BACKGROUND
Optimal treatment and precise classification for anaplastic glioma are needed.

METHODS
The objective for long-term follow-up of NOA-04 is to optimize the treatment sequence for patients with anaplastic gliomas. Patients were randomized 2:1:1 to receive the standard radiotherapy (RT) (arm A), procarbazine, lomustine and vincristine (PCV) (arm B1), or temozolomide (TMZ) (arm B2).

RESULTS
Primary endpoint was time-to-treatment-failure (TTF), defined as progression after 2 lines of therapy or any time before if no further therapy was administered. Exploratory analyses examined associations of molecular marker status with TTF, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). At 9.5 (95% CI: 8.6-10.2) years, no difference between arms (A vs B1/B2) was observed: median TTF (4.6 [3.4-5.1] y vs 4.4 [3.3-5.3) y), PFS (2.5 [1.3-3.5] y vs 2.7 [1.9-3.2] y), and OS (8 [5.5-10.3] y vs 6.5 [5.4-8.3] y). Oligodendroglial versus astrocytic histology-but more so the subgroups according to CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) and 1p/19q co-deletion status-revealed a strong prognostic value of CIMPpos with (CIMPcodel) versus without 1p/19 co-deletion (CIMPnon-codel) versus CIMPneg. but no differential efficacy of RT versus chemotherapy for any of the endpoints. PFS was better for PCV- than for TMZ-treated patients with CIMPcodel tumors (HR B1 vs B2 0.39 [0.17-0.92], P = .031). In CIMPneg. tumors, hypermethylation of the O6-methyl-guanyl-DNA methyltransferase promoter (MGMT) provided a risk reduction for PFS with chemotherapy.

CONCLUSIONS
There is no differential activity of primary chemotherapy versus RT in any subgroup of anaplastic glioma. Molecular diagnosis is superior to histology.

TRIAL REGISTRATION
clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00717210.


In this article, results indicate that the relation between return and volatility in the commodity markets is inverse of that observed in the stock markets. The implication is that if the commodity market returns are negatively correlated with those of traditional financial assets, the introduction of commodities in those portfolios may result in the diversification of risk. This may also allow fund managers to hedge their investment portfolios with commodities, thus avoiding the use of more complicated instruments such as options.


Abstract In 1948, in response to the perceived threat of atomic war, the British government embarked on a new civil defence programme. By the mid-1950s, secret government reports were already warning that this programme would be completely inadequate to deal with a nuclear attack. The government responded to these warnings by cutting civil defence spending, while issuing apparently absurd pamphlets advising the public on how they could protect themselves from nuclear attack. Historians have thus far sought to explain this response with reference to high-level decisions taken by policymakers, and have tended to dismiss civil defence advice as mere propaganda. This paper challenges this interpretation by considering the little-known role of the Home Office Scientific Advisers' Branch, a group of experts whose scientific and technical knowledge informed both civil defence policy and advice to the public. It explores both their advisory and research work, demonstrating their role in shaping civil defence policy and showing that detailed research programmes lay behind the much-mocked government civil defence pamphlets of the 1950s and 1960s.


Abstract Often overlooked, zoosporic fungal parasites of phytoplankton ('chytrids') are present in aquatic systems worldwide. Although extensive studies in lakes give insight into potential impacts of chytrid epidemics on phytoplankton blooms and organic matter cycling, the ecological significance of chytrid infections of phytoplankton is still poorly understood in lotic systems. Here, we report the first observations of chytrid parasites attached to multiple diatom species in the lower Columbia River. We isolated a chytrid parasite of the dominant spring bloom diatom, Asterionella formosa, and sequenced DNA from several regions within the ribosomal RNA gene. We also investigated the specificity of the A. formosa chytrid to host and non-host diatoms with isolated cultures and found no cross infection at the species level. In the Columbia River, alterations in the hydrograph following the installation of hydroelectric dams may have opened a niche for chytrid parasites. Greater retention times may allow diatoms to bloom and provide a prolonged interaction period whereby chytrid parasites are able to infect hosts. Future research is needed to assess the seasonality and severity of chytrid infections on diatoms in the lower Columbia River and to evaluate the potential role of zoosporic fungi in influencing the food web structure and biogeochemical cycling in river systems.


Abstract Aim: Our investigation was aimed to investigate the potential suitability of meloxicam-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (MLX-NLC) gel for topical application. Main methods: MLX-NLC gel was prepared and in vivo skin penetration ability of the NLC gel was evaluated using confocal laser scanning microscopy. We studied the effect of MLX-NLC gel on the changes in lipid profile of skin to get an insight into its skin penetration enhancement mechanism. Acetic acid induced writhing test was performed to evaluate the analgesic effect. Drug concentration-time profile of MLX in rat plasma and skin after topical and oral treatment with MLX-NLC gel and oral MLX-solution, respectively, was observed. MLX-NLC gel was subjected to primary skin irritation test, sub-acute dermal toxicity study. Storage stability of MLX-NLC gel was also assessed for 90 days. Key findings: NLC gel was effective in permeating Rhodamine 123 to deeper layers of rat skin. Changes in skin lipid prolife were observed in the rat skin on treatment with MLX-NLC gel and the results supported skin lipid extraction as a possible penetration enhancement mechanism. MLX-NLC gel demonstrated sustained pain inhibitory effect. Pharmacokinetics study established that topical application of MLX-NLC gel had the potential to avoid systemic uptake and hence the risk of systemic adverse effects. MLX-NLC gel demonstrated good skin tolerability and biosafety. Excellent physical stability of nanogel was observed at 4 ± 2 °C. Significance: The study revealed that NLC gel is a promising carrier system for the topical application of MLX without side effects.


This thesis contributes to the understanding of symmetry-enriched topological phases focusing on their descriptions in terms of tensor network states. The Projected Entangled Pair State (PEPS) formalism allows us to locally encode the main properties of the models (like topological order, symmetries and their interplay) in the tensors. We have used that encoding to classify, construct and detect some classes of symmetry-enriched topological phases in 2D PEPS. For that purpose, we have studied what the allowed freedom in the tensors generating the same tensor network state is. These results are the so-called 'fundamental theorems' and they give the necessary knowledge to properly study symmetries (actions that leave the states invariant). We focus our study on the family of PEPS describing quantum double models of $G$, the so-called $G$-injective PEPS, and on global on-site symmetries coming from a finite group $Q$: as a result of the classification we have a finite number of phases closely related to the theory of group extensions. We also provide the maps that appear in group extension theory with physical meaning and we characterize their actions on the ground subspace and on the anyons. We construct a representative of each class of our classification. Moreover, we connect our construction with an interesting physical phenomenon, the so-called anyon condensation, which describes topological phase transitions. We have also proposed a family of gauge invariant quantities and their corresponding order parameters (in the form of expectation values of a local operator in 2D) to detect the corresponding quantum phases, in particular their symmetry fractionalization patterns. We conclude this thesis by touching on some mathematical open problems in PEPS.


Conflicts in Africa are increasingly becoming violent and endemic. Many of these conflicts are related to crises of identities, struggles for resources and power contestations. A few of these conflicts escalate to self-determination, separatist movements, and secession. These conflicts mostly transcend national borders and trigger the alteration and redesigning of national borders, which itself becomes a source of continued violent conflicts across borders. For instance, the attainment of independence by South-Sudan in 2013 has raised hope in achieving peace and stability after one of the prolonged civil wars in Africa. Nevertheless, the new state of South Sudan has turned to a devil's domain. The internal conflicts in South Sudan have further aggravated the tensions in the region; in addition to the border disputes with Sudan. After the three years of political independence from Sudan, there is still no agreement over the 2,010-km border that divides the two nations. This paper thus examines the nature of border disputes between Sudan and South Sudan and the extent to which the border conflict influences the dynamics of internal conflicts in South Sudan and the implications for peace and stability in the region.