Be it education, system or profession each has its own philosophy that gives direction to the policy determination, teaches how to use the acquired skills, knowledge, clarifies the values and beliefs. Physical education also has its own philosophy. In ancient period, the general form of the philosophy of physical education is visible in the social, political and spiritual life of that time and it's special form is visible in the branch of education in which efforts were made to educate both men as well as society. In modern age the philosophy of physical education has broad perspective, from the philosophical point of view the study of sports, education, life, religion and science are united in the physical education. To express the philosophy of physical education all these are used as per requirement. In accordance with the time, condition and place, physical education also has been influenced by different philosophical schools. Consequently, the form of physical education has also been undergoing change. These schools have influenced differently all aspects of physical education, such as: aims, objectives, methods, curricula, teaching, discipline, administration, nature of the schools and organisations, etc. The chief goal of the present study is to highlight the influence of various philosophical schools such as idealism, pragmatism, naturalism and realism, etc their origin, principles, leading thinkers and their influence on physical education as well as their role in the determination of the form, objectives, curriculum, techniques of teaching, administration and discipline, etc. So that more effective schools become known and are utilised for making necessary policies and programmes leading to the development and bright future of physical education. Findings of this study, in short, are that no educational philosophy is complete in itself. Tendency of accumulation of the best of the various philosophies and principles is a specialty of physical education. The eminent educationist Ross has said 'If the goals of education are taken from the idealism and teaching methods and experimentation from naturalism and pragmatism. It would lead to the creation of the best educational philosophy'. From pre-primary and primary to the highest level we ought to adopt eclectic tendency to determine the educational objectives, curricula and methods, etc then only we can set-up an ideal and effective educational system and to train the citizens having good character and conduct, according to the democratic ideals we can establish a healthy, progressive, secular-society and a prestigious democratic country.


Abstract : Distributing naval combat power into many small ships and unmanned air vehicles that capitalize on emerging technology offers a transformational way to think about naval combat in the littorals in the 2020 timeframe Project CROSSBOW is an engineered system of systems that proposes to use such distributed forces to provide forward presence, to gain and maintain access, to provide sea control, and to project combat power in the littoral regions of the world, Project CROSSBOW is the result of a yearlong, campus-wide, integrated research systems engineering effort involving 40 student researchers and 15 supervising faculty members This report (Volume I) summarizes the CROSSBOW project It catalogs the major features of each of the components, and includes by reference a separate volume for each of the major systems (ships, aircraft, and logistics), It also presents the results of the mission and campaign analyses that informed the trade-offs between these components It describes certain functions of CROSSBOW in detail through specialized supporting studies, The student work presented here is technologically feasible, integrated, and imaginative This student project cannot by itself provide definitive designs or analyses covering such a broad topic, It does strongly suggest that the underlying concepts have merit and deserve further serious study by the Navy as it transforms itself.


In many clinical trials, patients are not followed continuously. This means their vital status may not be immediately recorded. In such cases, the results from the Kaplan-Meier estimator or the log rank test, popular methods used for survival analysis, may be biased or inconsistent. Hu and Tsiatis first produced a new estimator to estimate survival distribution for right-censored data with delayed ascertainment, Van der Laan and Hubbard modified their estimator. We investigate each of these proposed estimators and their properties. Using simulations, we compare these new estimators to each other and to the Kaplan-Meier estimator using different sample sizes, different failure rates, and different maximum delay times. The public health importance of this thesis is that we can partially alleviate the problem caused by delayed ascertainment in the analysis of right-censored time to event data by choosing the most accurate and consistent estimator that accounts for the delayed ascertainment. The reduction of bias in analyses of public health data ensures that such studies are reliable so that proper inference can be made and hence, potential public health policy can be based on an accurate decision making process.


This study describes the curriculum, the state of the teacher, students, infrastructure, learning process and the condition or improvement of the education quality in Madrasah Diniyah Takmiliyah Awaliyah (MDTA) in Sukabumi after accreditation. This study uses a qualitative approach with descriptive analytical methods. Primary data sources are obtained from interviews, observations, and document studies. Data analysis is done by organizing data, describing it into units, synthesizing, to test the validity of the researcher using triangulation techniques. The results achieved from this research are: MDTA education curriculum is divided into two kinds; namely the local curriculum that is still partial and the curriculum of the government which is theoretically sufficient and in accordance with the provisions of the standard curriculum and starts to be used after the first accreditation. The state of the teacher is quite sufficient with diverse academic qualifications and the owned competencies are good enough and support the process of education and learning. Student conditions are in accordance with the rules and characteristics required. In general the quality of MDTA education has increased. When the ideal education quality measure for MDTA is the accreditation score of A, then by comparing the accreditation results in 2006, 2009 and 2013 there is an increase, namely by comparing the results of the accreditation, where in 2006 the percentage of MDTA whose accreditation score was A was about 14%, 2009 by 20% and in 2013 by 37%. The final conclusion is that the process of accreditation and its follow-up efforts can improve the quality of MDTA education.


Anxiety is among the most prevalent forms of psychopathology in adolescence. Both the attachment and cognitive theories emphasize the role of the quality of the parent-child relationship in psychopathology and its impact on emotional health. Whereas few studies have examined the additive and reciprocal effects of multiple factors on the development of anxiety symptoms in adolescents, the present study was an attempt to examine the influence and the reciprocal connections of three sets of variable including attachment style, parental behaviors rearing and cognitive schemas on the development of anxiety. Importantly, this was also the first study to examine the mediating role of early maladaptive schemas and parenting variables in the links between insecure attachment and anxiety symptoms in an adolescent sample with four cultural backgrounds (Malaysian, Arab, Indian and American/European).
Using multiple cluster sampling, 38 classrooms from 13 international secondary schools in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were selected. A sample of 762 non-clinical adolescents (302 girls and 460 boys) aged 13-18 years (mean age = 15.37 years) completed the questionnaires measuring attachment (ASQ), perceived parenting behaviors (EMBU-C), early maladaptive schemas (YSQ-S3) and anxiety symptoms (SCAS). The results indicated that there were small to moderate positive correlations among various risk factors, with regression analyses revealing insecure attachment, two parenting styles (Anxious Rearing and Rejection) and six particular EMSs were accounted as significant predictors of anxiety in adolescents.
Further, the findings revealed that cognitive maladaptive schemas within Impaired Autonomy and Overvigilance/Inhibition schema domains were stronger predictors of anxiety compare to attachment and parenting variables. The findings as well indicated the strong correlation between parenting behaviors and maladaptive cognitive schemas. Particularly, high parental rejection and low parental warmth were strongly associated with Disconnection and Rejection domain as well as parental overprotection and anxious rearing with Impaired Autonomy schema domain. Furthermore, investigation of cultural differences revealed that Asian samples (Malaysian, Arab and Indian) considerably reported the higher rate of anxiety symptoms than European/American sample as well as on almost all measured risk factors. Further, Malaysian adolescents reported the highest level of anxiety symptoms. The results also indicated some differences between Malaysian three ethnic groups on the measures of study.
Finally, the finding suggests that adolescents with insecure avoidance attachment who perceived their parents' behaviors characterized by rejection and anxious rearing are at greater risk for increased anxiety symptoms. Further, particular early maladaptive schemas and parenting style do mediate the relations between insecure attachment and anxiety in the adolescent.


The paper studies the procedure with regard to the EU accession to the International Cocoa Agreement, 2010 which is to replace the International Cocoa Agreement, 2001 as of 1 October 2012.
The procedure with regard to the EU accession to this important agreement – since EU grinds and consumes around 40% of world's cocoa - is studied in the context of the general international legal regulation regarding the accession to international commodity agreements to which EU is a party in the framework of its common commercial policy. The role of the European Parliament which should give its consent in this procedure under the provisions of the TFEU is revealed.
The International Cocoa Agreement is the main commodity agreement between cocoa exporters and importers. It aims to make world cocoa trade fairer and more sustainable. Although the new agreement aims to improve social and environmental responsibility, it does not explicitly address the problem of child labour.
With regard to the EU accession to the new agreement the EP passed a special resolution by which it took the opportunity to raise awareness of the problem of child labour in cocoa fields. MEPs call on everyone in the cocoa value chain – cocoa growers and processors, governments, traders, chocolate producers and consumers – to play their part to fight forced child labour and child trafficking in the sector.


Background/Aims: Tumors of the endocrine pancreas are infrequent, and their malignant behavior is assessed only in the presence of lymph node or hepatic metastases. We present 9 new cases from the past 11 years. Methodology: We reviewed the clinical records of 9 patients diagnosed of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, analyzing age, sax, past medical history, symptoms, clinical presentation, laboratory tests, imaging studies, operative findings, pathological diagnosis, mortality, morbidity and hospital stay. Results: There were 5 women and 4 men, with a mean age of 48.7 years. In 4 patients the tumor presented with hypoglycemia. Malignant behavior was observed in 2 cases. We discuss the origin and classification of these tumors, as well as the best diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Conclusions: Endocrine tumors of the pancreas affect middle aged men and women, presenting with specific signs or symptoms in less than half of the cases. In small tumors preoperative or intraoperative localization may be difficult. Most of the lesions are localized in the tail of the pancreas, and malignant behavior is seen in less than 25% of the cases.


Many economists expressed disbelief after glancing at recent economic statistics. Since the arrival of the virus and the subsequent lockdowns we have observed a never-before-seen decline in production and consumption. In the UK alone, millions of jobs are at risk immediately. The IMF estimated that, for the UK, the expected economic growth this year will turn into a contraction of 6.5%. It was only the day after the presentation of this forecast when Kristalina Georgieva, the director of the IMF, said that the predictions had been overly positive. Globally, it is predicted that many hundreds of millions of people will fall back below the poverty line. The bad news just doesn't seem to stop.


The study examines the existence of interest rate pass-through
 between retail interest rates and policy rates in Pakistan using monthly
 data from January 2004 to March 2017. Both retail interest rates and
 policy rates follow stylised properties of financial time series.
 Therefore, the EC-E-GARCH-M model is used to estimate the interest rate
 pass-through between retail and policy rates as suggested by Wang and
 Lee (2009). Empirically, there is an incomplete pass-through from policy
 rates to retail interest rates, which is 73 percent basic points. This
 rate of pass-through is higher compared to previous studies for
 Pakistan. The results also highlight that there is an upward rigidity in
 the deposit rate model. JEL Classifications: C22, C58, Keywords:
 EC-E-GARCH-M Model, Interest Rate Pass-Through, Stylised Properties,
 Threshold Asymmetric Cointegration, Rigidities


Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe how the application of systems thinking to designing, managing and improving business processes has resulted in a new and unique holonic-based process modeling methodology know as process orientated holonic modeling. Design/methodology/approach: The paper describes key systems thinking axioms that are built upon in an overview of the methodology; the techniques are described using an example taken from a large organization designing and manufacturing capital goods equipment operating within a complex and dynamic environment. These were produced in an 18 month project, using an action research approach, to improve quality and process efficiency. Findings: The findings of this research show that this new methodology can support process depiction and improvement in industrial sectors which are characterized by environments of high variety and low volume (e.g. projects; such as the design and manufacture of a radar system or a hybrid production process) which do not provide repetitive learning opportunities. In such circumstances, the methodology has not only been able to deliver holonic-based process diagrams but also been able to transfer strategic vision from top management to middle and operational levels without being reductionistic. Originality/value: This paper will be of interest to organizational analysts looking at large complex projects whom require a methodology that does not confine them to thinking reductionistically in "task-breakdown" based approaches. The novel ideas in this paper have great impact on the way analysts should perceive organizational processes. Future research is applying the methodology in similar environments in other industries. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.


This paper presents an overview of past research related to the activation of pozzolanic materials and past research related to preparation of alkali pozzolan mortar and concrete by mixing pozzolanic materials and alkali liquids. This research is different from those research, as the aim of this research is not to make mortar or concrete, but to make a 'cement' that could be stored as a product. It investigates the feasibility of producing 'Alkali Pozzolana Cement' (APC) by mixing pozzolanic materials and non-hostile dry form of alkali materials and chemical activators. The main alkali material considered is a dry powder form of lime, and the pozzolanic material used is fly ash. A series of experiments has been conducted, and the initial findings indicate that APC mortar exhibits relatively low strength when compared with OPC mortar. This is due to the slow reaction between alkali and pozzolanic materials and the slow strength gain of the lime-fly ash compound. This has led to a further investigation on the possibility of adding non-hostile activating chemicals to activate the reaction between fly ash and lime and adding small quantity of OPC to enhance the initial strength. Based on the chemical composition of fly ash available in Western Australia, this study proposes the proportion of fly ash and lime to be mixed and the quantity of activating chemicals and OPC to be added. Finally the paper discusses the potential and limitations of APC mixtures and the feasibility of using APC as sustainable cement for the future.


During the global commodities boom Indonesia, like many resource-rich countries, introduced an increasing number of nationalist policy interventions. However, the state has intervened assertively in some sectors and only passively in others. In Indonesia's mining sector, interventions that compel foreign divestment received widespread support from politicians and domestic industry; yet similar proposals to limit foreign investment in the strategic agribusiness sector have largely failed. This article brings the literature on resource nationalism into conversation with studies of business–state relations, in order to understand why nationalist mobilization met with more success in Indonesia's mining sector than in agribusiness. It argues that ownership structures constitute the source of this variation. Uniquely integrated patterns of domestic and foreign ownership in the strategic palm oil sub-sector constrained lawmakers' nationalist agenda. Such constraints were less formidable in Indonesia's mining sector, where foreign capital is more easily differentiated, and concentrated in a sub-sector that contributes less overall to the Indonesian economy.


Reverse payment agreements have long been the cause of sharp debate between pharmaceutical industry stakeholders as regards this fundamental question: what is more important within the context of Hatch-Waxman patent settlements – patent law or competition law? As with the question, 'what came first, the chicken or the egg?', US courts also seem to struggle to answer this question. However, the US Supreme Court has finally considered the issue and has given guidance to the lower courts. It held that these type of agreements are not immune from antitrust scrutiny and firmly rejected the settled 'scope of patent' approach largely used by the courts, as well as the FTC's 'quick look' test, suggesting that reverse payment agreements must be analysed under the antitrust 'rule of reason' approach.


We evaluated the gender differences in the relation of baseline serum γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) levels to blood pressure (BP) change during 4 yr. 4,025 normotensive subjects (1,945 men and 2,080 women) who aged 40-69 yr at baseline participated in the Ansung-Ansan cohort of the Korean Genome Epidemiology Study were included. The associations of GGT with baseline BP or 4-yr change of BP were evaluated. GGT levels were associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) at baseline after adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI), HDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, C-reactive protein (CRP), current smoking status and alcohol intake (SBP, β=1.28, P<0.001; DBP, β=1.41, P<0.001). GGT levels were also associated with 4-yr change in BP after adjusting for age, BMI, HDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, CRP, current smoking status, alcohol intake and SBP (SBP, β=1.08, P=0.001; DBP, β=0.64, P=0.003). This association was statistically significant in men (SBP, β=1.82, P<0.001; DBP, β=1.05, P=0.001), but not in women (SBP, β=0.38, P=0.466; DBP, β=-0.37, P=0.304). Remarkably, this association between GGT and BP was significant in men at 40-49 yr of age. In summary, we found positive associations between GGT levels at baseline and the change of BP. The relation of GGT level and the change of BP was only significant in men, not in women, which warrants further studies to elucidate the biologic mechanisms. Graphical Abstract


The goal of training health professionals is to assist them obtain the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for the provision of safe and high-quality health services to clients. At the time of this study, there was no core curriculum for training Kenya Registered Community Health Nursing students (KRCHN) and yet they sit the same Nursing Council final examination. This descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken during the students' 3rd block sessions in June and July 2003 and it employed both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. The main objective of this study was to compare the performance of KRCHN students who are trained in the management of obstetric emergencies using a competency based approach (that is skills laboratory) with those undergoing the traditional methods. The study used observations at the skills laboratory/demonstration rooms and focus group discussions both with the students and the trainers to fulfill the objectives. Data for the 3 trainees' assessments namely Resuscitation of the newborn, delivery of baby in occipito-posterior position and Bums-Marshall Manoeuvre between KMTC Nairobi,
that implements CBLM, and the other two training institutions namely Machakos and Kisumu schools of nursing, that use the traditional methods, were collected, organized and processed using SPSS. To compare the differences in Medians of the 3
different students' assessments between the 3 institutions, Kruskal -Wallis one-way ANOVA was used. Where results were significant, a Post- Hoc multiple comparison test was used to identify which group or groups differed from the other. Focus group responses were used to explain strengths and weaknesses observed in the students' performance. The results of delivering of baby's head when presentation is occipitoposterior position were X2df2=6.9232; P=0.0314 showing that the differences were
significant. Those for resuscitation of the newborn were also significant (X2 df2 = 4.0937; P = 0.0355). For Bums-Marshall Manoeuvre, the differences were not significant (X2 df2 = 6.6786; P = 0.129). Using a Post-Hoc multiple comparison tests, Nairobi was found to differ significantly from Machakos in OPP assessment while Kisumu differed significantly from Machakos in the resuscitation of the newborn assessment. As for Bums-Marshall head delivery assessment, no two groups were
significantly different at the 0.05 level. These results show that students' performance was not significantly associated with the instructional methods which are currently being used in the three schools of nursing and can be used by policymakers to chart
the way forward for the skills laboratory approach or when standardizing the curriculum. In conclusion, competency of a student is may be increased by the provision of an environment, both in the skills laboratory and the clinical areas, that
guarantees the practice of skills taught. This study was, therefore, necessary in order to generate data which will assist the Nursing Council and other trainers make a decision as to the best approach to use for training competent nurses. In effect, the well-trained nurses will ensure the success of primary health care programs, which are usually designed to be responsive to the community health needs such as reduction in maternal and infant mortality rates.


Folding behaviour of protein BBL and its homologue domain E3BD are studied by using an off-lattice Gō-like model. It is found that the folding behaviours of these two proteins are different. Protein BBL folds in a downhill manner, which is consistent with experiments. In contrast, protein E3BD folds cooperatively and has a bimodal distribution of the Q values (the similarity to the native state). By analysing the native structures of the two proteins, it is found that the difference in folding behaviours can be attributed to the different structural features described by the number of nonlocal contacts per residue.


Summary The failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) is a difficult diagnostic problem both clinically and radiologically. Forty-three patients were evaluated prospectively with magnetic resonance imaging (MRl) and forty-five scans were obtained. Fifteen patients (33%) showed recurrent disc prolapse; 15 (33%) patients postoperative epidural fibrosis; S (IS%) both recurrent disc prolapse and epidural scarring; 4 (9%) patients spinal stenosis, 2 whom also had both epidural fibrosis and recurrent disc prolapse; 2 (4%) normal scans; 2 (4%) patients arachnoiditis and 1 (2%) patient postoperative pseudomeningocoele formation. Gadolinium-diethylenetriaminepenta-acetic acid (Gd-DTPA)-enhanced MRI was particularly helpful in differentiating recurrent disc prolapse and epidural fibrosis. Surgical findings in 11 patients were available. MRI correctly predicted recurrent disc prolapse in 6 patients, epidural fibrosis in 4 patients and spinal stenosis in 1 patient illustrating the value of this modality in the evaluation of FBSS.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate how ethnically diverse women who are eligible for tamoxifen prophylaxis because of their breast cancer risk decide about tamoxifen use for risk reduction.

DESIGN
A qualitative intervention pilot study used focus groups to discuss the use of tamoxifen and to identify the concerns of ethnically diverse women about the preventive use of this drug. Focus group discussion involved exploration of the benefits and risks of tamoxifen prophylaxis, presentation of a standardized educational intervention, and focused discussion on attitudes about tamoxifen for prevention. Prominent themes emerged from iterative review of focus group transcripts.

RESULTS
Fear of breast cancer was not prominent, and participants were less inclined to take tamoxifen as preventive therapy after receiving information. Decisions were based on participants' understandings of competing risks and benefits. Specifically, participants expressed limited willingness to take medication with potential serious side effects for risk reduction and were unwilling to discontinue hormone replacement therapy. Uneasiness about the reliability of scientific studies surfaced in the focus groups comprised of White and Latina women. African-American women described faith as important to prevention.

CONCLUSIONS
Women were wary of taking a drug for a disease they might not develop. Women felt they had options other than tamoxifen to reduce their risk of breast cancer, including early detection, diet, faith, and complementary and alternative therapies.


DNA analysis was applied to approximately 60 ancient salmon remains (1200BP) from the archaeological site of Keatley Creek in British Columbia to examine the distribution of Pacific salmon species between housepits. The success rate of DNA extraction was over 90%, yielding three species of Pacific salmon: Chinook, Sockeye and Coho. Accurate salmon species identification using mitochondria1 DNA refined theories of economic stratification and differential access to salmon resources at Keatley Creek. Additionally, the unique information made available by ancient DNA analysis offered insight into prehistoric salmon ecology and spawning behaviour in the region.


In this thesis, novel approaches to the preparation and characterisation of nanoagglomerated polymer monoliths are described. Polymer monoliths in various formats were prepared by availing of in-situ photopolymerisation techniques, with the modification of surface chemistry achieved via grafting selected amine-reactive monomers, facilitating the subsequent attachment of metal nano-materials. Traditional destructive characterisation methods such as field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy provided the qualitative confirmation of the presence of the nano materials. A very dense coverage of bimetallic Pd/Pt nano-flowers was achieved upon the surface of such polymer monoliths. The macro-porous structure of the monoliths and the high coverage of nano-particles facilitated catalytic applications, such as the oxidation of NADH to NAD+, in flow-through configuration. The rate of reaction was found to be dependant on the initial NADH concentration. Other polymer monoliths were functionalised with gold nano-particle (AuNPs) of various sizes in order to evaluate the effects of nano-particle size on catalytic efficiency. The catalytic properties of the immobilised AuNPs were retained following immobilisation, as demonstrated by the reduction of ferrocyanide from Fe(ІІІ) to Fe(ІІ). A 57% conversion rate was obtained when the reaction was performed on monolithic surfaces which had been functionalised with 16 nm AuNPs. Higher reaction yields (95 %) were obtained when 7 nm AuNPs were used. Non-invasive and non-destructive scanning capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (sC4D) was applied to monitor the temporal stability of surfactant and polyelectrolyte coatings in capillary columns which would traditionally be applied in capillary electrophoresis. The benefits of this technique were further illustrated by confirming the presence of AuNPs and PAA-grafted silica nano-particles (SiNPs) on previously aminated or quaternary ammonium functionalised monoliths. The movement of the nanoparticle's plug was monitored at mm increments as it progressed along the column. Finally, an evaluation of the chromatographic properties of nano-agglomerated stationary phases was performed. Reversed-phase applications of AuNP functionalised monoliths were demonstrated upon further modification of the nanoparticles with alkylthiol and alkylamine chains. However, poor chromatographic performance was observed with a test mixture of alkylbenzenes due to the limited hydrophobicity of the stationary phase. Ion-exchange applications were also possible upon modification of the immobilised AuNPs with sulphonate groups, which was demonstrated by the retention of Ca2+ ions. PAA-grafted SiNPs were immobilised on the surface of a quaternary ammonium-functionalised polymer monolith and the anion-exchange properties of the stationary phase demonstrated by separating a mixture of Cl- and H2PO4 -. The immobilisation of negatively charged PAA-grafted SiNPs however, lead to the formation of a cation-exchange stationary phase as confirmed by the retention of Ca2+ and Mg2+.


This study examines the effects of shareholder support for equity compensation plans on subsequent chief executive officer (CEO) compensation. Using cross-sectional regression, instrumental variable, and regression discontinuity research designs, we find little evidence that either lower shareholder voting support for, or outright rejection of, proposed equity compensation plans leads to decreases in the level or composition of future CEO incentive-compensation. We also find that in cases where the equity compensation plan is rejected by shareholders, firms are more likely to propose, and shareholders are more likely to approve, a plan the following year. Our results suggest that shareholder votes have little substantive impact on firms' incentive-compensation policies. Thus, recent regulatory efforts aimed at strengthening shareholder voting rights, particularly in the context of executive compensation, may have limited effect on firms' compensation policies.


When there is not sufficient local tissue available for reconstruction of one or multiple digital defects, distant flap reconstructions are required. Available thin flaps with defined arterial inflow and venous outflow are limited and require the sacrifice of an arterial pedicle. In addition, a functional limitation can occur at the donor site. During the last decades, experimental and clinical attempts have been made in using venous flaps, based just on the venous network for in-and outflow. A 40-case series of arterialized venous free flaps in soft-tissue reconstruction of the digits and hand is presented. Neovessel formation induced by an intact venous plexus within the flap proved clinically to be the survival mechanism. Postoperative congestion was present in all flaps and subsided within 14 days; 92 percent of all flaps eventually survived. In 57.5 percent of cases, total flap survival was observed; in 17.5 percent of flaps, a superficial epidermolysis occurred, not requiring further surgery; in 17.5 percent of flaps, a full-thickness skin necrosis developed, requiring grafting (minor complication); in 7.5 percent of reconstructions, total flap necrosis was observed. Thus, in the authors' experience, when conventional local flaps are not available, arterialized venous free flaps proved to be a successful solution for soft-tissue reconstruction in digits and hands. The authors present the main indications and advantages of arterialized venous free flaps, emphasizing the essential technical steps and the most frequent pitfalls in treatment.


The effectiveness of aversion therapy was tested in the modification of drug-seeking behavior in addicts maintained on methadone. Covert imagery was paired with electric shock, and treatment sessions were randomized sequences of classical and avoidance learning trials. A significant decrease in positive ratings of drug stimuli was found immediately after treatment. However, there was no significant difference found between mean percent drug urines for experimental and control groups immediately after treatment, and at 3 and 6 months posttreat-ment for experiment volunteers and for eligible nonvolunteers, suggesting that motivational and expectancy variables may have interacted systematically with treatment. Implications for further research are discussed.


Low back pain is a very common health problem and 70-85% of the world's population suffers from it at some point in their life. One possible cause for this pain is intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. Current treatments for IVD degeneration include surgical treatments which are very invasive. Thus there is a need for a strategy which is minimally invasive and for this cell therapy could be a solution. The IVD degeneration often starts in the center of the IVD, in the nucleus pulposus (NP), where chondrocyte-like cells reside. As human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) can undergo chondrogenic differentiation, these cells are a good candidate for the use in cell therapy to treat IVD degeneration. Transplantation of these cells together with a hydrogel into a degenerated IVD is thought to arrest the degeneration as hMSC could undergo chondrogenic differention while the hydrogel acts as a temporary matrix. The environment inside a degenerated IVD is hypoxic and acidic and thus the effects of these factors on the hMSC are important to study. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different pH and oxygen levels on the proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation of human bone marrow-derived MSC cultured in the hydrogels HydroMatrix™ and PuraMatrix™. In the oxygen experiment, cells were cultured in the hydrogels for 14 days at either 10% O2 or 21% O2 (standard cell culturing condition). In the pH experiment, cells were cultured in a hydrogel for 6 days either at 10% O2 or 21% O2 and the pH levels tested were pH 7.4 (standard cell culturing condition), 7.1, 6.8 and 6.5 representing pH levels in healthy and degenerated IVDs.
FACS was used to characterize the hMSC population and it could be concluded that the vast majority of the cells were in fact MSC. The results from the oxygen experiment showed gene and protein expressions of SOX9 and gene expression of collagen IIA1 in MSC cultured in HydroMatrix™ at both oxygen levels indicating chondrogenic differentiation. In addition, sulfated glycosaminoglycans were present in samples of hMSC cultured in HydroMatrix™ at 10% O2 indicating that a decreased oxygen level of 10% O2 could induce chondrogenic differentiation of hMSC. Cells were also shown to proliferate in HydroMatrix™ at both oxygen levels as cells positive for PCNA were observed in IHC studies. In the PuraMatrix™ samples, SOX9 and collagen IIA1 gene expressions were observed in some samples showing indications of chondrogenic differentiation. Deviating trends of HIF-1α gene expression were observed which suggested that 10% O2 might not be low enough to induce the HIF-1α gene.
In the pH experiment, the results showed that the presence of viable hMSC decreased with decreasing pH, indicating that a decreased pH affects the survival of hMSC by resulting in a lower cell viability. However, some viable cells could be observed when cultured in HydroMatrix™ at pH 6.8 and 10% O2. This indicated that some hMSC could survive in the pH found in mildly degenerated IVDs at a decreased oxygen level of 10% O2. When comparing the results of culturing hMSC at different pH at 10% O2 with 21% O2, no clear difference in the presence of viable or dead cells could be observed however, quantification was not performed. Thus it cannot be said whether a combination of decreased pH and an oxygen level of 10% has a stronger negative effect on the survival of hMSC than a decreased pH alone.


Abstract Objective: To compare the pharmacoeconomic guidelines in South Africa (SA) with other middle- and high-income countries. Methods: A comparative review of key features of the pharmacoeconomic guidelines in SA was undertaken using the Comparative Table of Pharmacoeconomic Guidelines developed by the International Society of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, and published country-level pharmacoeconomics guidelines. A random sample of guidelines in high- and middle-income countries were analyzed if data on all key features were available. Key features of the pharmacoeconomic guidelines in SA were compared with those in other countries, and divergent features were identified and elaborated. Results: Five upper middle-income countries (Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Malaysia, and Mexico), one lower middle-income country (Egypt), and six high-income countries (Germany, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Taiwan, and the Netherlands) were analyzed. The pharmacoeconomic guidelines in SA differ in important areas when compared with other countries. In SA, the study perspective and costs are limited to private health-insurance companies, complex modelling is discouraged and models require pre-approval, equity issues are not explicitly stated, a budget impact analysis is not required, and pharmacoeconomic submissions are voluntary. Conclusions: Future updates to the pharmacoeconomic guidelines in SA may include a societal perspective with limitations, incentivize complex and transparent models, and integrate equity issues. The pharmacoeconomic guidelines could be improved by addressing conflicting objectives with policies on National Health Insurance, incentivize private health insurance companies to disclose reimbursement data, and require the inclusion of a budget impact analysis in all pharmacoeconomic submissions. Further research is also needed on the impact of mandatory pharmacoeconomic submissions in middle-income countries.


OF DISSERTATION TARGET VALIDATION OF UK-101 AND FUNCTIONAL STUDIES OF β1i β1i is a major catalytic subunit of the immunoproteasome, an alternative form of the constitutive proteasome, and its upregulation has been demonstrated in a variety of disease states including cancer. Our lab has developed a small molecule inhibitor of β1i, dubbed UK-101. While UK-101 causes apoptosis in cancer cell lines, it was not clear whether this apoptotic effect was directly mediated by its irreversible inhibition of β1i. Since off-target effects are major roadblocks for the development of new and effective pharmaceuticals, target validation studies in this system would assist in the further progression of β1i inhibitors towards preclinical trials. Our hypothesis was that the expression and catalytic activity of β1i is important for the growth and proliferation of the PC-3 prostate cancer cell line, therefore the apoptotic effect seen upon treatment of PC-3 cells with UK-101 was due solely to its covalent inhibition of β1i. To test this hypothesis, a number of complementary approaches were used. The expression of β1i in PC-3 cells was increased by the treatment of these cells with interferongamma or tumor necrosis factor-alpha, natural inducers of the immunoproteasome. The expression of β1i in PC-3 cells was decreased using small interfering RNA or short hairpin RNA, in a transient or stable manner, respectively. All of these cells were then treated with UK-101. The efficacy of UK-101 decreased in the interferon-gamma treated cells but did not change in any other the other cell lines, suggesting that UK-101 was not specific for β1i. This was confirmed using a molecular probe of the proteasome and demonstrated that UK-101 bound to other proteasome catalytic subunits. Additional experiments were performed to determine the effect of β1i on the proliferation of PC-3 cells. Simply removing the β1i using small interfering RNA reduces the viability of these cells. Other studies demonstrated that a mutation of β1i which inhibited its catalytic activity reduced the viability of cells when compared to those containing the wild type protein. Overall, our data indicate that β1i is a potential therapeutic target in prostate cancer. Further medicinal chemistry efforts will be required develop UK-101 into a truly selective proteasome inhibitor.


Low cost 'Khastawi' dates was fermented at 30 oC for 48 days through spontaneous (without artificial inoculation) and simultaneous unique cycle process according to the overall traditional procedure used in Iraq. The levels of ethanol, acetic acid and total sugar during the production of vinegar were determined by chromatographic, titrimetric and refractometric methods, respectively. The spontaneous fermentation of the clarified juice produced 4.02% (w/v) of acetic acid and 0.176% (w/v) ethanol after 33 days of fermentation. The total soluble sugar of the juice was reduced from 17.80 to 6.44 (w/v), which means that only 63.28% of the total sugars present at the medium were utilized by the spontaneous fermentation processes. These results indicate that 2 kg of low quality dates can yield 5 L of 4% (w/v) acid, which is economically valuable. The industrially manufactured vinegars (except Al Badawi from Iraq) presented minimum acidity of 4.00%, value that is demanded by most international legislation, whereas all artisanally manufactured vinegars, showed lower acid percentage (0.90-3.24% w/v). On the other hand, the majority of both types had alcohol contents between 0.001 and 2.877%. Based on the concept of Al Istihlak (assimilation or consumption) most halal certifying bodies accept small amounts of inherent alcohol.


We review the method of symplectic invariants recently introduced to solve matrix models loop equations, and further extended beyond the context of matrix models. For any given spectral curve, one defined a sequence of differential forms, and a sequence of complex numbers Fg . We recall the definition of the invariants Fg , and we explain their main properties, in particular symplectic invariance, integrability, modularity,... Then, we give several example of applications, in particular matrix models, enumeration of discrete surfaces (maps), algebraic geometry and topological strings, non-intersecting brownian motions,...


Runoff from small glacier systems contains dissolved organic carbon (DOC) rich in protein-like, low molecular weight (LMW) compounds, designating glaciers as an important source of bioavailable carbon for downstream heterotrophic activity. Fluxes of DOC and particulate organic carbon (POC) exported from large Greenland catchments, however, remain unquantified, despite the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) being the largest source of global glacial runoff (ca. 400 km 3 yr −1 ). We report high and episodic fluxes of POC and DOC from a large (>600 km 2 ) GrIS catchment during contrasting melt seasons. POC dominates organic carbon (OC) export (70–89% on average), is sourced from the ice sheet bed, and contains a significant bioreactive component (9% carbohydrates). A major source of the "bioavailable" (free carbohydrate) LMW–DOC fraction is microbial activity on the ice sheet surface, with some further addition of LMW–DOC to meltwaters by biogeochemical processes at the ice sheet bed. The bioavailability of the exported DOC (26–53%) to downstream marine microorganisms is similar to that reported from other glacial watersheds. Annual fluxes of DOC and free carbohydrates during two melt seasons were similar, despite the approximately two-fold difference in runoff fluxes, suggesting production-limited DOC sources. POC fluxes were also insensitive to an increase in seasonal runoff volumes, indicating a supply limitation in suspended sediment in runoff. Scaled to the GrIS, the combined DOC (0.13–0.17 Tg C yr −1 (±13%)) and POC fluxes (mean = 0.36–1.52 Tg C yr −1 (±14%)) are of a similar order of magnitude to a large Arctic river system, and hence may represent an important OC source to the near-coastal North Atlantic, Greenland and Labrador seas.


A method and device for treating a mammalian organism to obtain a desired local or systemic physiological or pharmacological effect is provided. The method includes administering a sustained release drug delivery system to mammalian organism in need of such treatment at an area wherein release of an effective agent is desired and allowing the effective agent to pass through the device in a controlled manner. The device includes an inner core or reservoir including the effective agent, an impermeable tube which encloses portions of the reservoir, and a permeable member at the end of the tube.


Prior research has shown that employees learn by coping with new experiences. However, we examined gender differences in job moves described in 952 Wall Street Journal announcements of senior management appointments and found that women's new positions were more similar to their previous positions than was true for their male counterparts. Women were less likely than men to be promoted to the management level or move to new organizations, and a greater proportion of women than men were appointed to line positions with prior female incumbents. Among managers in staff positions, women were less likely than were men to move to line positions or different organizational functions. Taken together, these findings raise questions about whether women's job moves offered career benefits that were comparable to those received by men.


To assess the circumstances of recent transmission of tuberculosis (TB) (progression to active disease <2 years after infection), we obtained DNA fingerprints for 1172 (99%) of 1179 Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates collected from Maryland TB patients from 1996 to 2000. We also reviewed medical records and interviewed patients with genetically matching M. tuberculosis strains to identify epidemiologic links (cluster investigation). Traditional settings for transmission were defined as households or close relatives and friends; all other settings were considered nontraditional. Of 436 clustered patients, 115 had recently acquired TB. Cluster investigations were significantly more likely than contact investigations to identify patients who recently acquired TB in nontraditional settings (33/42 vs. 23/72, respectively; p<0.001). Transmission from a foreign-born person to a U.S.-born person was rare and occurred mainly in public settings. The time from symptom onset to diagnosis was twice as long for transmitters as for nontransmitters (16.8 vs. 8.5 weeks, respectively; p<0.01). Molecular epidemiologic studies showed that reducing diagnostic delays can prevent TB transmission in nontraditional settings, which elude contact investigations.


Key words: external means of vocabulary enrichment, direct and mediated word penetration, their frequency, spheres, homonyms in Armenian-Persian and Persian-other languages

Vocabulary is a living organism and not a frozen reality which is constantly undergoing changes. New words are introduced and vocabulary is enriched. In Armenian, according to H.Acharyan's "Root Dictionary", a great number of borrowings were taken from Persian language – 1411. The article examines the Persian borrowings in Middle Armenian, according to the Middle Armenian dictionary, which includes the linguistic material evidenced in independent and translated works of the 12th-16th centuries, and partly of the 17th century. Studies confirm that Arabic borrowings are in the first place among Middle Armenian borrowings, although Persian borrowings are not few, but they are in the second place, they are 1037 in number. The number of informal borrowings from Persian is 1020, from Old Persian 22 words have passed into Middle Armenian. Authors express doubt about their origin of being Persian. A Particularly large number of Persian borrowings through Arabic is around 400 words. There are a large number of Persian-Turkish loanwords, their number is 96. The number of Persian-Arabic borrowings is 13 words, Turkish-Persian – 20 words, from Old Persian – 22, "probably" from Persian – 24.
The pattern of trilingual borrowings is as follows: Persian-Arabic-Turkish – 2, Arabic-Persian-Turkish – 94, Arabic-Turkish-Persian – 28, Turkish-Arabic-Persian – 1. These borrowings were made out of necessity and cover various fields: astronomy, medicine, botany, pharmacy, zoology. Homonyms are also interesting – about 70 words, have the same root, different root and word pairs borrowed from foreign languages and may sometimes be of three-syllable construction.

https://new.vsu.am/grqer/2023/+53-Թերեզա Շահվերդյան-Պարսկական փոխառությունները միջին հայերենում.pdf


In this paper, a new set of tumour phantoms for the experimental evaluation of Microwave Breast Imaging (MBI) as a method to diagnose breast cancer is presented. The phantoms were based on previously developed numerical models that had been clinically validated, supporting the appropriateness of the phantoms for the development of experimental systems. The proposed tumour phantom set was developed using polyurethane rubber with graphite and carbon-black powders and is the first to incorporate a large number of different shapes and levels of spiculation to emulate different levels of tumour malignancy. A series of spherical, non-spiculated targets was fabricated to model benign tumours, and a series of targets with irregular shapes and increasing spiculation was fabricated to model malignant tumours. The tumour phantoms can be combined with a variety of breast phantoms fabricated with the same method, which are unique in their diversity of glandular tissue content. The modular design of the phantom set allows for tumour and breast phantoms to be dynamically combined, creating an experimental test platform for MBI with a total of 154 cases. Moreover, the dielectric properties of the phantoms display good agreement with the literature, and the phantoms are constructed using materials that have demonstrated stable properties over time. Results also demonstrate how the shape and level of spiculation of a tumour can influence microwave reflections, and therefore impact the performance of imaging and diagnostic systems.


This paper analyzes the dynamic sparse algebraic codebook used to model a residual signal and proposes a new algebraic codebook structure as well as a searching process with improved performance. This paper makes it possible to select various pulse amplitudes differently from the conventional method. In addition, two pulses can be selected on the same track and LP delay is minimized at the transient period. For speech quality on the telephone line, a 5.6 kbps speech coder using the proposed algorithm was equivalent to the 6.3 kbps MP-MLQ in the subjective speech quality test. However, speech degradation was caused a little compared with the MP-MLQ where MNRU Q=15 dB.


We investigate the effect of systematically applying molecular dynamics (MD) and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) to docked poses in an attempt to improve the correspondence between theoretical prediction and experimental observation. The proposed scheme involves running a short time scale MD simulation on a docked ligand pose (and any known structurally important crystal structure waters in the active site), followed by QM/MM minimization. Both of these steps are relatively fast for moderately sized ligands; longer time scale MD involving the protein is not found to improve the results. The final binding energy is given in terms of the QM/MM total energy, a van der Waals correction, and a term to account for desolvation effects. This methodology is first tested with a trypsin inhibitor, for which we establish the importance of running MD before reoptimizing with QM/MM. The method is then applied to cytochrome c peroxidase using a set of binders and decoys. In this example, the proposed methodology affords much better discrimination between binders and decoys than the traditional docking approach used. For both systems presented, application of this protocol results in a significantly better energetic ranking and a smaller root mean squared deviation from known crystallographic ligand poses. This work highlights the importance of including polarization effects through QM/MM and of sampling with MD to refine a set of initial docked poses.


This study investigates the movement and harvest dynamics of the Gulf Menhaden Brevoortia patronus fishery. The fishery-dependent data collected by NOAA (years 2006-2009 and 2011) describe vessel-specific information on catch locations (latitude and longitude) and magnitude of harvest in metric tons (mt). A series of probability distribution functions (PDFs) were fit to the frequency distributions of number of harvests per day (Poisson), between-harvest distances (gamma), and harvest magnitude (log-normal). These analyses were used to inform an individual-based model (IBM). The IBM was run under several different spatial restriction regimes, including (1) current regulations in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama; (2) additional restrictions off the coast of Jackson County, MS; (3) an extension of current regulations to 2.6 km (two miles) from shore; and (4) closures of all Mississippi waters. This study describes fleet dynamics of one of the more important commercial fisheries in the region and illustrates how they can be simulated using a spatially-explicit IBM.


The porous neutralized chitosan scaffold (NCS) was prepared by freeze-dry method. Its poor cell binding capacity was improved approximately five folds by mixing or coating of atelomeric type I collagen. In order to recreate wound-healing microenvironment within the NCS for the better wound healing effect, various concentrations of bFGF and fibronectin (FN) were supplied in the secondary freeze-dry process of the scaffold. NCS+ bFGF and NCS+FN improved the cell binding capacity by four folds and three folds respectively. Therefore supplementation of collagen, b-FGF and/or fibronectin in the NCS can improve the biocompatibility of the chitosanbased scaffold which itself revealed poor cell binding capacity.


Background Procalcitonin (PCT), a marker of bacterial sepsis, may also act as a mediator of the inflammatory response to infection, and thus influence outcome. Objective To investigate the relationship between PCT, interleukin (IL)-10, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), organ failure, and mortality in pediatric septic shock. Design Prospective observational study. Setting A 16-bed pediatric intensive care unit of a university hospital. Patients A total of 75 children with septic shock having a median age of 43.1 months (range, 0.1–192 months). Children who had received antibiotics for >24 hrs were excluded. A total of 37 patients (49%) had meningococcal disease, and 72 patients (96%) required mechanical ventilation. Interventions The pediatric risk of mortality (PRISM) score, multiple organ system failure (MOSF) score, duration of ventilation, length of ICU stay, and outcome were recorded. PCT, IL-10, and TNF were measured at admission to the intensive care unit. Sequential PCT levels were available at 0 hrs and 24 hrs in 39 patients (52%). Results Observed mortality was 21/75 (28%). Data are median (range). The admission PCT (p = .0002) and TNF levels (p = .0001) were higher in children with higher MOSF scores. In survivors and nonsurvivors, the admission PCT was 82 ng/mL vs. 273 ng/mL (p = .03), IL-10 was 62 pg/mL vs. 534 pg/mL (p = .03), and TNF was 76 pg/mL vs. 480 pg/mL (p = .001), respectively. Area under the mortality receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.73 for PCT, 0.67 for IL-10, and 0.76 for TNF, compared with 0.83 for the PRISM score. Of 39 children, 16 (41%) with sequential PCT measurements showed no fall in PCT after 24 hrs treatment. These children had higher admission levels of IL-10 (p = .03), and TNF (p = .03) compared with children who demonstrated a subsequent fall in PCT. Although the former did not have a higher median PRISM (p = .28) or MOSF score (p = .19), observed mortality was 44% (7 of 16) compared with 9% (2 of 23) (p = .02). Conclusion The admission PCT, like TNF and IL-10, is related to the severity of organ failure and mortality in children with septic shock. A fall in PCT after 24 hrs of treatment may have favorable prognostic significance.


We optimized Ag/ZnO back reflectors (BR) for hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) solar cells by independently changing the textures of the Ag and ZnO layers. We found that Ag/ZnO with textured Ag and thin ZnO provides the highest nc-Si:H solar cell efficiency. Optimized Ag texture with an rms = 40 nm effectively scatters light without seriously degrading the nc-Si:H material quality. Using this type of BR and nc-Si:H cells with ~1-μm-thick intrinsic layer, we obtained a short-circuit current density Jsc = 24.6 mA/cm2 and conversion efficiency Eff = 9.47%. By increasing the nc-Si:H layer to ~3.1 μm, we attained a Jsc >;30 mA/cm2. In order to increase the Jsc further, we increased the texture of the ZnO layer. With highly textured Ag/ZnO BRs, the Jsc was increased. However, the high textures caused poor fill factors, and hence, relatively low efficiency. By using nanocrystalline silicon-oxide (nc-SiOx:H) to replace both the n-layer and dielectric layer, the texture-induced deterioration of nc-Si:H material quality was suppressed and the cell structure was simplified by removing the ZnO, conventional n-layer, n/i buffer layer, and the seed layer. A high Jsc over 27 mA/cm2 and high-cell efficiency of 8.8% were attained using a 2.5-μm-thick nc-Si:H cell with an nc-SiOx:H n-layer.


Like it or not, communicating via online social networking sites is what millions of young people do each day. It is the generation of connectivity. Access is expected 24 hours a day, seven days a week through more than one medium. In response, colleges and universities are expanding their online arsenals to include tools such as blogs, videos, podcasts, and online social networks. Many of these tools are produced by current students to give prospects an authentic firsthand glimpse of life on campus. The changing shape of online social networking over the last half-dozen years has caused communicators to rethink how to best reach today's youth. Millions of high school and college students log in each day to Web sites to view recently uploaded photographs, check out opinions on blogs, and see whether friends have made any changes to their onscreen profiles. "Millenials," a term used to describe individuals born between 1981 and 2000, are growing up in a world in which participation in technology is considered conventional behavior. Timothy Hawkes, the headmaster of The King's School in Sydney, Australia, summarized it well in The Sydney Morning Herald: technology isn't part of students' lives these days. It is their lives" (Goodman 2007, unpaginated Web source). Social networks refer to collections of individuals linked together by a set of relations (Downes 2005). Online social networks serve a parallel purpose through Web sites intended to help users meet new people or stay connected with friends and associates. Online social networks are also called "virtual communities" or "profile sites," and the relationship-building capacity of these sites results in more than simplistic social consequences, particularly when it comes to higher education. Network participants are exposed to groups focused on the advantages and/or disadvantages of specific colleges, clubs, and professors. Higher education institutions are rapidly realizing that reputation, campus culture, and even enrollment figures may be affected by online social networking. Facebook's Domination of the College Market One network in particular dominates the college scene, with a greater than 85 percent market share among students of four-year universities in the United States: Facebook. Originally called "thefacebook" and released on February 4, 2004, its sole target was college students. Now, Facebook is the second-most (after MySpace) trafficked online social networking site. In a hipper context, Facebook is "... the online hangout of just about every college student in the nation" (Levy 2007 P- 42). Mark Zuckerberg, the man credited with Facebook, dropped out of Harvard University to focus full-time on his creation. Like MySpace co-founders Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe, Zuckerberg had become frustrated with his own experience and felt he could develop something better. The story is told that he believed Harvard was too slow to create an online student directory, so he made sure his own version was both expedient and impressive. After 6,000 Harvard students registered with thefacebook within the first three weeks, Zuckerberg piloted the program at Stanford University and Yale University (Naposki 2006). Zuckerberg's online social networking site quickly became a sought-after commodity and was renamed Facebook in August 2005. Facebook initially required a college or university .edu domain extension, but the site has since expanded, boasting 70 million active users as of April 2008. Importance of Connectivity to Prospective and Current Students Facebook has more than three million users aged 25 to 34 and more than 500,000 users aged 35 or over (Ronn 2007). That means that the clear majority of the 90 million active users of Facebook (and of other online social networking sites) are of traditional college age. Therefore, it is important for those in higher education to understand how communication via social networks fits into the larger picture of relationships and overall well-being. …


Purpose This report presents a case of apparent congenital inferior rectus palsy notable for sensory adaptations that appeared to vary with direction of gaze. It is shown that readily available clinical tests and an understanding of the physiology of ocular motility can be used to help distinguish from differential diagnoses such as contralateral inferior oblique palsy or the more commonly seen Brown syndrome. Case Report A 20-year-old male optometry student reported strabismus that had been noted at birth and was diagnosed as Brown syndrome in childhood. The Parks three-step test showed primary gaze hypertropia that increased in left gaze but the "third step" (Bielschowsky head tilt test) was not successful in establishing the apparently correct diagnosis, which was later confirmed by a Hess screen. A proposed "fourth" step by Bajandas proved to be more accurate in this case of inferior rectus palsy. Sensory tests revealed adaptation patterns that varied with gaze direction and showed a cyclotorsional element. The patient reported being relatively unconcerned about his condition as he seemed to be able to voluntarily use a form of shallow suppression to reduce awareness of diplopic images. Conclusions Although it is common to consider suppression and retinal correspondence status as hardwired and relatively constant for an individual patient, this case demonstrates that these sensory adaptations are likely to be far more complex and transitory. An understanding of both motor and sensory repercussions of ocular motility dysfunction assists differentiation between benign and sinister causes of nonconcomitant strabismus.


Bacteria (12 strains) were isolated from hot springs soil sample located at Yae Nwaye village and Taung Lay Lone village in Southern Shan state, Myanmar. The temperature of these hot springs is 55oC in winter. The isolation was done by direct plating method with 10 fold serial dilution. The amylolytic activities of the isolates were screened by streaking on starch agar and then flooding with Gram Iodine solution after 48 hrs incubation. Among twelve strains, four bacterial strains (S6, T1, T2, and T3) were selected according to the clear zones of starch hydrolysis. Then, αamylase activities of the selected strains were also screened by using four types of starch such as bacteriological starch, corn starch, rice starch and potato starch. In various starch media, these four strains also showed the amylolytic activity. Microscopic morphologies, cultural characteristics and biochemical characterization of selected strains were also determined. The antibiotic sensitivity patterns of the selected strains were study by disc diffusion method. Among five antibiotics, the selected strains were sensitive to chloramphenicol and tetracycline. KeywordsAmylase, Thermostable, Bacteria, Hot Spring Soil, Starch


Vascular diseases of the brain represent the most important medical and social problem, since they occupy one of the first places in the structure of total mortality and disability of the population in Russia. The purpose of this work was to study the demographic indicators, structure and risk factors of cerebral stroke according to the territorial-population Stroke Register of the Republic of Komi. As a result of the study, it was found that women predominate in the group. The first place among the risk factors for ischemic acute disorders of cerebral circulation is arterial hypertension, among patients with arterial hypertension there is a significant predominance of women. Patients with hypertension are significantly older than patients without it. The same can be said about patients with cardiac pathology. Acute disorders of cerebral circulation according to the ischemic type occur 10 times more often than in the hemorrhagic type. Thus, the number of strokes detected in the Komi Republic is gradually decreasing. Mortality from a stroke as a whole also falls slowly.


Network security polices are essential elements in Internet security devices that provide traffic filtering, integrity, confidentiality, and authentication. Network security perimeter devices such as firewalls, IPSec, and IDS/IPS devices operate based on locally configured policies. However, configuring network security policies remains a complex and error-prone task due to rule dependency semantics and the interaction between policies in the network. This complexity is likely to increase as the network size increases. A successful deployment of a network security system requires global analysis of policy configurations of all network security devices in order to avoid policy conflicts and inconsistency. Policy conflicts may cause serious security breaches and network vulnerability such as blocking legitimate traffic, permitting unwanted traffic, and insecure data transmission. This article presents a comprehensive classification of security policy conflicts that might potentially exist in a single security device (intrapolicy conflicts) or between different network devices (interpolicy conflicts) in enterprise networks. We also show the high probability of creating such conflicts even by expert system administrators and network practitioners.


Despite the daily efforts to cope with life's economic challenges, most Ghanaians are financially insecure. This has made pursuing lifelong ambitions more difficult. Given these realities, it is reasonable to believe that financial literacy and consumer financial stability will be a successful strategy for promoting economic stability. This stems from the realization that financial literacy is supportive in making informed financial decisions at both the household and macroeconomic levels. A high human development index score indicates that persons who make up the country's population are in good health. As a result, linking household decisions to broader policy outcomes becomes increasingly vital. This research aims to find a link between financial literacy and consumer financial stability as well as their relationship with macroeconomic stability. Financial literacy has a significant association with economic stability as measured by citizens' welfare. This discovery has several ramifications for financial literacy initiatives. In addition, consumer financial wellness has an insignificant positive impact on national economic stability. Nonetheless, it demonstrates how a financially sound consumer can boost aggregate demand by spending more, impacting job creation and macroeconomic growth. The Probit-Regression Model facilitated data analysis using a participant population of 960 across eight studied regions in Ghana. This study believes that national governments should take the favorable correlations between financial literacy and consumer financial stability on the one hand, and national economic stability on the other, seriously. As a result, policy efforts should consider the relationship between microeconomic actions and macroeconomic outcomes since the former is observed to influence the latter.


The energy generated by PEM fuel cells can be used in many different applications with emphasis to commercial power generation and automotive application. It requires the integration of various subsystems such as chemical, mechanical, fluid, thermal and electrical ones. Their electrical and thermal time constants are important variables to analyze and consider in the development of control strategies of electronic converters. For this purpose, a mathematical model of the PEM fuel cell system was developed in Matlab/Simulink based on a set of equations describing cell operation. The model considers static and dynamic operating conditions of the PEM. Using experimental measurements at different load conditions made in a Nexa™ PEM fuel cell system, analysis based on linear ARX (Autoregressive with Exogenous Input) and neural network methods were made in Matlab in order to identify the electrical and thermal time constant values. Both linear ARX and neural network approaches can successfully predict the values of the time constants variables. However, the identification by the linear ARX is appropriated around the most significant operation points of the PEM system while neural network allows at obtaining a nonlinear global model. The paper intends to be a contribution for the identification of the electrical and thermal time constants of PEM fuel cells through these two methodologies. The linear approach is simple but presents some limitations while the non-linear one is widespread but more complex to be implemented.Copyright © 2008 by ASME


Tick-borne rickettsioses are worldwide infectious diseases that are considered emerging and re-emerging. Until recently the only tick-borne rickettsiosis present in Latin America was Rickettsia rickettsii infection, but to date, with the incorporation of new tools as PCR and sequencing and the quick cellular close tube cultures (Shell-vial), new species has been involved as human pathogens. In these guidelines, we offer an update of the microbiological assays for diagnosing rickettsioses. Besides we have included a section in which the most important hard ticks involved in human rickettsioses in Latinoamerica are detailed.


Industry 4.0 embodies the three technology-based developmental streams currently available and is widely recognised whether it is viewed as a great step forward or not. Consequently, the interest in the topic of "implementation" regarding Industry 4.0 has grown in recent years. However, data to date depict a somewhat single (technology-push, focused on organisational benefits) way of representing the drivers of Industry 4.0 adoption. In response, this paper intends to show to the scholarly and business communities that discussions in the literature on Industry 4.0 adoption drivers do not fully reflect the Industry 4.0 reality, which seems to us to be much more diverse. In other words, the goal is to provide an overview of the breadth and variation in drivers of Industry 4.0 adoption. This is achieved through assessing eight cases selected from the Dutch national and eastern regional platform for Industry 4.0. The cross-case analysis reveals the diversity in existing Industry 4.0 adoption drivers and highlights the apparent importance of the need-pull approach. It further highlights the relevant role that appears to be played by both internal supporting resources and external parties. Finally, it emphasises the diverse possibilities that the Industry 4.0 streams create.


—The most recent classification of the angiosperm order Gentianales (Thorne, 1992) includes four principal families: Apocynaceae, Gentianaceae, Loganiaceae, and Rubiaceae. Ever since Bentham (1857) the status of Loganiaceae has been questioned, and several segregates of that family have been proposed both before and after his treatment. In this study we present cladistic results that show Loganiaceae, sensu lato, to be a paraphyletic group definable only by plesiomorphies, with members showing closest relationships to other families of the order. As the impact of different character-state representations of polymorphic terminals remains largely untested, our morphological and phytochemical data were analysed both with restricted polymorphism coding as well as with the monomorphic "subtaxon" recoding method of Nixon and Davis (1991). Both approaches yield highly compatible results, and we here discuss a new classification of the Gentianales based on (i) monophyletic groups identified by outgroup analysis, and (ii) the maximal portrayal of evidence provided by subtaxon polymorphism recoding. Most prominently, the Loganiaceae sensu lato are divided into four segregate families, two previously named (Loganiaceae sensu stricto and Strychnaceae), and two defined as a result of this study (Gelsemiaceae, L. Struwe & V. A. Albert, stat. nov. and Geniostomaceae, L. Struwe & V. A. Albert, fam. nov.). Apocynaceae (incl. Asclepiadaceae), Gentianaceae (incl. Loganiaceae—Potalieae), and Rubiaceae remain as monophyletic families. Outgroup analysis supports both the monophyly of the Gentianales as well as the exclusion from the order of Buddleja, Desfontainia, Plocosperma, Polypremum, and Retzia (all Loganiaceae sensu Leeuwenberg and Leenhouts).


Floodgates were constructed in 1971 on the main creek draining Hexham Swamp, a large wetland on the floodplain of the lower Hunter River, New South Wales. Substantial changes in vegetation have occurred in Hexham Swamp subsequent to the construction of the floodgates. Previous areas of mangroves and saltmarsh have been reduced (180ha to 11ha, and 681ha to 58ha, respectively), and Phragmites australis has expanded (170ha to 1005ha). Much of the mangrove loss (ca. 130ha) was a result of clearing, and the remainder has gradually died off. The factors contributing to the dieback are likely to be a combination of drying of the soil, root competition and, at times, waterlogging. Field sampling as well as microcosm and reciprocal transplant experiments involving key species, Sarcocornia quinqueflora, Sporobolus virginicus, Paspalum vaginatum and Phragmites australis, suggest that a reduction in soil salinity has been an important factor in initiating successional change from saltmarsh to Phragmites reedswamp. The data also suggest that increased waterlogging has been an important factor in initiating vegetation change. This apparently paradoxical result (floodgates and associated drainage generally result in drying of wetlands) is likely to have resulted from occlusion of drainage lines (by sediment and reeds) and is, therefore, likely to be a condition that developed gradually. That is, the initial effect of the floodgates is expected to have been a drying of the swamp, followed over time by an increasing wetness. An examination of vegetation changes after removal of cattle from part of Hexham Swamp, suggests that grazing had little effect on species composition of vegetation or rate of expansion of Phragmites australis. However, grazing does affect vegetation structure (height and density), possibly favours some coloniser species (e.g. Sarcocornia quinqueflora) in particular environmental conditions, and possibly inhibits establishment of Phragmites australis.


Dynamics of charged particles in the vicinity of a rotating black hole embedded in the external large-scale magnetic field is numerically investigated. In particular, we consider a non- axisymmetric model in which the asymptotically uniform magnetic field is inclined with respect to the axis of rotation. We study the effect of inclination onto the prevailing dynamic regime of particle motion, i.e. we ask whether the inclined field allows regular trajectories or if instead, the deterministic chaos dominates the motion. In this contribution we further discuss the role of initial condition, particularly, the initial azimuthal angle. To characterize the measure of chaoticness we compute maximal Lyapunov exponents and employ the method of Recurrence Quantification Analysis.


Systematic literature reviews adopt a specified and transparent approach and hence have particular value in scoping the literature in a field or sub-field. However, there has been little critical comment on their purpose and processes. This paper seeks to address this gap, by undertaking a meta-analysis of systematic literature reviews in the field of social media marketing. Social media marketing has spawned a number of recent literature reviews that act as a useful basis for the meta-analysis. This analysis suggests that the espoused purposes of authors of systematic literature reviews include: making sense (of research in a field), developing a concept matrix/taxonomy, and supporting both research and practice. The systematic literature review process typically commences with research aims or questions, proceeds to the planning and execution of search strategies, before refining the dataset by applying exclusion criteria. Most authors then conduct a bibliographic analysis of this final dataset, prior to developing a concept matrix to support a thematic analysis of the dataset. This is then used to inform an agenda for further research. This article offers a resource to inform practice and acts as a platform for further critical debate regarding the nature and value of systematic literature reviews.


: LiDAR data acquisition is recognized as one of the fastest solutions to provide basis data for large-scale topographical base maps worldwide. Automatic LiDAR processing is believed one possible scheme to accelerate the large-scale topographic base map provision by the Geospatial Information Agency in Indonesia. As a progressive advanced technology, Geographic Information System (GIS) open possibilities to deal with geospatial data automatic processing and analyses. Considering further needs of spatial data sharing and integration, the one stop processing of LiDAR data in a GIS environment is considered a powerful and efficient approach for the base map provision. The quality of the automated topographic base map is assessed and analysed based on its completeness, correctness, quality, and the confusion matrix .


Purpose: To compare arthroscopic access to the acetabulum for loose body removal using a standard rigid straight grasper and a flexible grasper. Methods: Using a standard hip arthroscopy teaching model, the acetabulum was divided into 6 zones. Small pieces of rubber, used to simulate loose bodies, were evenly distributed throughout each zone and secured to the acetabulum using adhesive. Anterolateral and anterior portals were created for viewing and working. Using a standardized amount of femoral distraction, the rigid straight grasper and the flexible grasper were used to retrieve loose bodies from each portal in separate trials. Twenty loose bodies were available for retrieval from each zone, through each portal, and for each instrument. A total of 480 loose bodies were available for retrieval across all variables. Results: Both the rigid and the flexible graspers were effective in retrieving loose bodies from zone 3 through the anterior and anterolateral portals. The rigid grasper and the flexible grasper were equally effective in removing loose bodies from zone 4 through the anterior portal but not the anterolateral portal. The rigid straight grasper was not effective in reaching anterior and inferior zones of the acetabulum from either portal. Overall, the rigid grasper was able to retrieve 42% of the loose bodies (48% from the anterior portal and 36% from the lateral portal). The flexible grasper was able to retrieve 100% of the loose bodies from both working portals. Conclusions: Through standard arthroscopy portals, the rigid straight grasper can be effective for accessing some portions of the acetabulum with better access obtained from the anterior portal. The flexible grasper allows greater arthroscopic access to the acetabulum. Clinical Relevance: Use of flexible instrumentation in hip arthroscopy may improve our ability to treat pathologic conditions in all areas of the hip joint.


Reactive oxygen species (ROS) promote growth factor signalling including for VEGF-A and have potent angiogenic and tumourigenic properties. However, the precise enzymatic source of ROS generation, the subcellular localization of ROS production and cellular targets in vivo that influence tumour-promoting processes, are largely undefined. Here, using mRNA microarrays, we show increased gene expression for NOX2, the catalytic subunit of the ROS-generating NADPH oxidase enzyme, in human primary prostate cancer compared to non-malignant tissue. In addition, NOX4 gene expression was markedly elevated in human metastatic prostate cancers, but not in primary prostate tumours. Using a syngeneic, orthotopic mouse model of prostate cancer the genetic deletion of NOX2 (i.e. NOX2-/y mouse) resulted in reduced angiogenesis and an almost complete failure in tumour development. Furthermore, pharmacological inhibition of NOX2 oxidase suppressed established prostate tumours in mice. In isolated endothelial cells, and in human normal and prostate cancer cells, NOX2 co-located to varying degrees with early endosome markers including EEA1, Appl1 and Rab5A and the late endosome marker Rab7A, and this correlated with significant VEGF-A-dependent ROS production within acidified endosomal compartments and endothelial cell proliferation that was NOX2 oxidase- and hydrogen peroxide dependent. We concluded that NOX2 oxidase expression and endosomal ROS production were important for prostate cancer growth and that this was required to positively regulate the VEGF pathway. The research provides a paradigm for limiting tumour growth through a better understanding of NOX2 oxidase's effect on VEGF signalling and how controlling the development of tumour vasculature can limit prostate tumour development and metastasis.


Characterization of Mode I interlaminar fracture toughness, GI, of unidirectional composite materials is well understood and standardized in ASTM standard D5528. However, many composite structures are made of woven fabrics. Knowledge of the effects that woven fabrics have on GI is lacking. An approach based on the double cantilever beam test was developed in this work for characterizing the fracture performance of non-woven and woven composites. Weaves were all manufactured inhouse for better control over their geometry. The effect of several architectural factors on GI were investigated, such as fibre orientation, yarn width, yarn thickness and stacking configurations of weaves. Results showed that for weaves, GI was mostly affected by the bifurcation of the delamination front around yarns and by subsequent yarn bridging. The framework for empirical models was proposed for describing fibre bridging and the effects of weaves on GI.


On the European level, promoting the free flow of data and access to data has moved to the forefront of the policy goals concerning the digital economy. A particular aspect of this economy is the advent of connected devices that are increasingly deployed and used in the context of the Internet of Things (IoT). As regards these devices, the Commission has identified the particular problem that the manufacturers may try to remain in control of the data and refuse data access to third parties, thereby impeding the development of innovative business models in secondary data-related markets. To address this issue, this paper discusses potential legislation on data access rights of the users of connected devices. The paper conceives refusals of the device manufacturers to grant access to data vis-a-vis users as a form of unfair trading practice and therefore recommends embedding data access rights of users in the context of the European law against unfair competition. Such access rights would be complementary to other access regimes, including sector-specific data access rights of competitors in secondary markets as well as access rights available under contract and competition law. Against the backdrop of ongoing debates to reform contract and competition law for the purpose of enhancing data access, the paper seeks to draw attention to a so far not explored unfair competition law approach.


An algorithm for finding the prime implicants of a Boolean function is given. The algorithm is similar to Nelson's algorithm since both involve the operations of complementing, expanding, and simplifying, but the new algorithm includes the additional operation of factoring. The algorithm with factoring is proved, and it is shown that factoring accounts for a dramatic increase in efficiency over Nelson's algorithm. The increased efficiency is illustrated with timing results obtained from several examples that were implemented for both algorithms using the symbolic manipulation systems SETS.


Dynamic adaptation of the aerated volume to changing load conditions is essential to maximise the nitrogen removal performance and to minimise energy consumption. A control strategy is presented which provides optimum aerobic volume control (OAV-control concept) based on continuous in-line oxygen uptake monitoring. For ammonium concentrations below 1 mg/l the oxygen uptake rate shows a strong and almost linear dependency on the ammonium concentration. Therefore, the oxygen uptake rate is an ideal indicator for the nitrification performance in activated sludge systems. The OAV-control concept provides dynamic variation of the minimum aerobic volume required for complete nitrification and therefore maximises the denitrification performance. In-line oxygen uptake monitoring is carried out by controlling the oxygen concentration in a continuous aerated zone of the aeration tank and measuring the total air flow to the aeration tank. The total air flow to the aeration tank is directly proportional to the current oxygen uptake rate and can therefore be used as an indicator for the required aerobic volume. The instrumentation requirements for installation of the OAV-control are relatively low, oxygen sensors in the aeration tank and an on-line air flow measurement are needed. This enables individual control of aeration tanks operated in parallel at low investment costs. The OAV-control concept is installed at the WWTP Linz-Asten (1 Mio PE) and shows very good results. Full scale results are presented.


Due to the large increasing use of Location Based Services (LBS), which require personal data of the user to provide the continuous service, protecting the privacy of these data has become a challenge. An approach to preserving a privacy is through anonymity, by hiding the identity and user location data of the mobile device from the service provider(third party) or from any unauthorized party who has access at the user's request .Considering the challenge mentioned, in this paper gives a classification according to the Architecture, approaches and techniques used in previous works, and presents a survey of solutions to provide anonymity in LBS including the open issues or possible improvements to current solutions. All of this, in order to provide guidelines for choosing the best solution approach to a specific scenery in which anonymity is required.


All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter discusses the regulation of assisted conception. It first examines the regulation of assisted conception in the UK, which involves a detailed look at the legislation: the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, and the work of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). The chapter analyses: the licensing procedures through which clinics are inspected and authorized to perform certain procedures; access to treatment; consent to the use of gametes (sperm and eggs); gamete donation; rules governing the parentage of children; and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). It also considers mitochondrial transfer and genome editing.


'Crowdsourcing' is currently one of the most discussed key words within the open innovation community. The major question for both research and business is how to find and lever the enormous potential of the 'collective brain' to broaden the scope of 'open R&D'. Based on a literature review in the fields of Community Building and Innovation Management, this work develops an integrated framework called 'Community Engineering for Innovations'. This framework is evaluated in an Action Research project – the case of an ideas competition for an ERP Software company. The case 'SAPiens' includes the design, implementation and evaluation of an IT-supported ideas competition within the SAP University Competence Center (UCC) User Group. This group consists of approximately 60,000 people (lecturers and students) using SAP Software for educational purposes. The current challenges are twofold: on the one hand, there is not much activity yet in this community. On the other, SAP has not attempted to systematically address this highly educated group for idea generation or innovation development so far. Therefore, the objective of this research is to develop a framework for a community-based innovation development that generates innovations, process and product ideas in general and for SAP Research, in particular, combining the concepts of idea competitions and virtual communities. Furthermore, the concept aims at providing an interface to SAP Human Resources processes in order to identify the most promising students in this virtual community. This paper is the first to present an integrated concept for IT-supported idea competitions in virtual communities for leveraging the potential of crowds that is evaluated in a real-world setting.


The usefulness of the interferometer in controlling the quality of telescopic systems has been studied. The study consisted of collecting interferograms for individual and mixtures of the common aberrations under a variety of focal adjustments of the telescopic system under consideration. These interferograms were compared with predicted patterns computed from a knowledge of the aberrations and from an "optical-path-difference equation." Experimental and computed patterns were found to be in excellent agreement, thus constituting a check on the optical-path-difference equation used. The experimental and computed interferometer patterns were used to form a basis for determining the usefulness of the interferometer. Two distinct uses appeared evident from the point of view of quality control. The first of these is to acquaint an inspector with design limitations of optical systems under consideration. This may be done from a knowledge of the form of patterns that should be produced if the design were properly executed. The second use of the interferometer is in connection with a routine procedure for evaluating the quality of an optical system under test. In this connection it was found impractical to attempt to analyze the nterference pattern for individual component aberrations on the basis of the shape and number of interference fringes even in the case of a simple mixture of aberrations. Therefore a method was developed which does not depend particularly on the number of fringes present nor the shape of the interference pattern. This method is based on a study of interferometer patterns of telescopic systems focused visually on large numerals placed optically at a great distance. For such a focal adjustment, the interferometer pattern is found to have the largest possible diameter covered by a light or dark interference area, the size of which depends upon the magnitude and types of aberrations present. A measure of the quality is related to the largest circle that can be inscribed in this area. When the diameter of the inscribed circle is expressed as a percentage of the diameter of the axial entrance pupil, the quantity obtained is referred to as the "Interferometer Quality." This quantity is found to be in agreement with quality evaluations based on resolving power measurements. The Interferometer Quality may be determined for telescopic systems at various field angles and is likely the most accurate and rapid procedure available at the present time for evaluating the optical quality of telescopic systems.


By altering inorganic acid additives under otherwise identical synthetic conditions, two MOFs termed ZJNU-16 and ZJUN-17 were successfully constructed through solvothermal reactions of Co(NO3)2·6H2O and an amine-functionalized pyridinecarboxylate ligand, namely, 5-(3-aminopyridine-4-yl)isophthalic acid. Structural analyses indicated that the two compounds exhibited inorganic acid-guided structural diversities, adopting different SBUs, ligand conformations, and network topologies. ZJNU-16 is a (3,6)-connected network with a discrete trinuclear Co3-based cluster as an inorganic SBU, while ZJNU-17 is a (3,5)-connected framework featuring a nanotubular helical Co–carboxylate chain as an inorganic SBU. Furthermore, their gas adsorption properties towards N2, C2H2, CO2, and CH4 were systematically investigated, revealing the potential of ZJNU-17 for C2H2 separation and purification under ambient conditions. At 298 K and 106.7 kPa, the C2H2 and CO2 uptake capacities reach 100.9 and 63.8 cm3 (STP) g−1, and the IAST-predicted adsorption selectivities of C2H2 over CH4 and CO2 are 15.5 and 2.5, respectively. Although the performance is moderate compared to some reported MOFs, ZJNU-17 is a rare nanotubular helical chain-based MOF exhibiting selective gas separation potential.


The article analyzes how indigenous and Afro-descendant communities achieved participation in the National Constitutional Assembly in 1991 in Colombia and how this process influenced the definition of new territorial institutions in which territorial autonomy and self-rule were successfully granted – against all odds. How did this happen? What circumstances facilitated the agency of these marginalized groups to such an extent that it shaped the new constitution to their benefit? The argument in this article highlights a historical juncture between a global discourse in favor of human rights, and ethnic and cultural diversity – supported by the United Nations – and a regional trend towards democratization and constitutional change. This juncture occurred during the times of a domestic peace negotiation process between the Colombian government and the country's guerrilla groups, a process that was joined by an unusual social mobilization of underprivileged groups. Taken together, these international and national circumstances created conditions that paved the way for a successful outcome of the constitutional process, for the indigenous and Afro-descendant communities. Despite this constitutional achievement, reality has however not been easy. The territory of the two groups is rich in natural resources, something that creates opportunities for large scale agribusiness investments, and they are also well located for coca cultivation and cocaine trafficking. Such activities are not beneficial for marginalized groups. Instead, different kinds of violent fortune seekers, legal or illegal, have been attracted to the indigenous and Afro-descendant territories, which have faced threats and violence without any, or very limited, state protection.


The Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW) sponsored project on lentil entitled "Enhancing Lentil Production for Food, Nutritional Security and Improved Rural Livelihoods" was implemented by International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), South Asia & China Regional Program (SACRP) collaboration with National Agricultural institutes SAUs and NGOs. This study was implemented in nine districts of four zones i.e. Eastern Himalayan Region (Nagaon, Assam) (Zone-I), Lower Gangetic Plains Region (Malda and Murshidabad, West Bengal) (Zone-III), Middle Gangetic Plains Region (Patna, Nalanda and Muzaffarpur, in (Bihar) and Ballia and Chandauli (Uttar Pradesh) (Zone-IV) and Upper Gangetic Plains Region (Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh) (Zone-V). Demonstrations on lentil were conducted in these zones during 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13. The increase in per cent of yield was ranging between 27.65 to 64.99 per cent. The technology gap and extension gap were ranging between 4.63 to 15.53 q/ha and 1.72 to 5.35 q/ha, respectively. The technology index was ranging in between 25.72 per cent to 64.80 per cent. By adopting improved production technologies, productivity can be increased which will further uplift in the socio-economic level of the farming communities.