The jaundice that develops after obstruction of the common duct in the absence of complications, expresses the physiological wastage of corpuscles occurring from day to day; and the intensity of the bilirubinemia varies as does the total of functioning hemoglobin-containing tissue from which this wastage takes place. There is to be observed a constantly readjusted direct relationship between hemoglobin percentage, bilirubinemia, and, by corollary, bilirubinuria. Induced losses of red cells find expression at once in a lessened accumulation and excretion of bile pigment; and as the regeneration of hemoglobin takes place the amount of bile pigment increases pari passu both in plasma and urine. The jaundice of bile retention is far less pronounced during secondary anemia than when the individual is full blooded, other things being equal. During uncomplicated obstructive jaundice the intercurrent changes in bilirubinemia correspond closely with those in circulating hemoglobin even when tissue icterus is of long standing. The fact indicates the presence of a barrier to the distribution of bile pigment from the blood, and such a barrier is to be found in the walls of the vessels. Its influence is at once evident on comparing lymph specimens and blood specimens from the long jaundiced animal. The amount of bile pigment in the lymph is then seen to be negligible, relatively speaking. Tissue icterus should be thought of as, ordinarily, the highly imperfect secondary expression of a condition which tends to be localized to the blood pool. On occasion more pigment than usual may escape from this pool, as for example into the wheats of the yellow urticaria described by clinicians.


We present high-resolution records of upper ocean temperatures derived from Mg/Ca ratios of surface-dwelling Globigerina bulloides and subsurface-dwelling Neogloboquadrina pachyderma sinistral and the relative abundance of N. pachyderma sinistral for the period 55–8 ka BP from NE Atlantic sediment core MD01-2461. Millennial-scale temporal variability and longer-term trends in these records enable us to develop a detailed picture of past ocean conditions such as a weakening of thermocline intensity from marine isotope stage 3 (MIS 3) to the last glacial maximum (LGM). The correspondence of all temperature proxies and convergence of paired oxygen isotope (δ 18O) records from both planktonic species implies a breakdown in the thermocline and year-round mixing of the upper water column through the LGM, perhaps related to decreasing insolation and additional cooling in association with the expansion of the circum–North Atlantic ice sheets. Millennial-scale divergence in surface and subsurface temperatures and δ 18O across the last glacial correspond to meltwater release and the development of a strong halocline associated with both Heinrich (H) events and instabilities of the NW European ice sheet. During such episodes, G. bulloides Mg/Ca appears to record ambient, even warming summer sea surface temperatures across H events while the other proxies record maximum cooling.


As part of a major effort to address soil fertility decline in West Africa, a project on Balanced Nutrient Management Systems (BNMS) has since 2000 been implemented in the northern Guinea savanna (NGS) of Nigeria. The project has tested and promoted two major technology packages, including a combined application of inorganic fertilizer and manure (BNMS-manure) and a soybean/maize rotation practice referred to as BNMS-rotation. This study employed Tobit model to examine factors that influence the adoption and intensity of utilization of BNMS technologies in the NGS of Nigeria. Results showed that less than 10% of the sample households adopted at least one of the two components of the technology package by the end of 2002. However, by 2005 the adoption of BNMS-rotation had reached 40% while that of BNMS-manure had reached 48%. A number of factors such as access to credit, farmers' perception of the state of land degradation, and assets ownership were found to be significant in determining farmers' adoption decisions on BNMS-manure while off-farm income was found to be significant in determining farmers' adoption decisions on BNMS-rotation. Extension services and farmer-to-farmer technology diffusion channels were the major means of transfer of BNMS technologies.


Composite slabs consist of trapezoidal steel sheeting and concrete cover. The steel sheeting serves as both, a lost framework and a tension bearing member after hardening of concrete. The longitudinal shear between the sheeting and the concrete must be ensured by a mechanical interlock, for example shear studs or prepressed embossments in the sheeting. The traditional massive shear studs have to be welded to the supporting construction of the slab. Alternatively, thin screws can be drilled through the sheeting and cast into the concrete to ensure the composite action or to strengthen the composite slab in reconstructions locally. The usage of the screws is not limited to the steel supporting frames. This paper describes laboratory tests of the composite slabs with cast screws of various diameters and the effect of the screws on the bending capacity of the slab in combination with prepressed embossments. © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of the 18th International Conference on Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Buildings 2016.


For high-performance servo drive system, it is important to estimate and control the motor speed precisely in wide speed range. Therefore, the disturbance rejection ability and the robustness to variations of the mechanical parameters such as inertia should be considered. This paper shows that the adaptive state estimator and self-tuning regulator based on RELS (Recursive Extended Least Squares) parameter identification method can give high-performance speed control in wide-speed range. RELS method identifies the variations of mechanical parameters, and the estimated mechanical parameters are used to replace the role of manual tuning by adjusting the gain of the speed controller automatically for good dynamic response. Also, these estimated parameters are used to adapt Kalman filter, which is optimal state estimator, to provide good estimation for the rotor speed, the rotor position and the disturbance load torque even in noisy environment. The validity of the proposed controller will be verified by experimental results.


Mobile applications are becoming an indispensable part of people's lives, as they allow access to a broad range of services when users are on the go. We present our efforts towards enabling efficient mobile applications in smartphones. Our goal is to improve efficiency of the underlying services, which provide essential functionality to smartphone applications. In particular, we are interested in three fundamental services in smartphones: wireless communication service, power management service, and location reporting service. For the wireless communication service, we focus on improving spectrum utilization efficiency for cognitive radio communications. We propose ETCH, a set of channel hopping based MAC layer protocols for communication rendezvous in cognitive radio communications. ETCH can fully utilize spectrum diversity in communication rendezvous by allowing all the rendezvous channels to be utilized at the same time. For the power management service, we improve its efficiency from three different angles. The first angle is to reduce energy consumption of WiFi communications. We propose HoWiES, a system for WiFi energy saving by utilizing low-power ZigBee radio. The second angle is to reduce energy consumption of web based smartphone applications. We propose CacheKeeper, which is a system-wide web caching service to eliminate unnecessary energy consumption caused by imperfect web caching in many smartphone applications. The third angle is from the perspective of smartphone CPUs. We found that existing CPU power models are ill-suited for modern multicore smartphone CPUs. We present a new approach of CPU power modeling for smartphones. This approach takes CPU idle power states into consideration, and can significantly improve power estimation accuracy and stability for multicore smartphones. For the location reporting service, we aim to design an efficient location proof solution for mobile location based applications. We propose VProof, a lightweight and privacy-preserving location proof scheme that allows users to construct location proofs by simply extracting unforgeable information from the received packets.


Two thioxanthone derivatives with fluorene additional chromophoric groups, namely thioxanthone−fluorenecarboxylic acid (TX-FLCOOH) and thioxanthone−fluorene sodium carboxylate (TX-FLCOONa), as visible light absorbing oil- and water-soluble photoinitiators, respectively, were synthesized and characterized. Their ability to initiate photopolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA), 2-(2-phosphonoethoxymethyl)acrylic acid ethyl ester (EAEPA), and a multifunctional monomer, trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA), were examined. The initiation efficiency of TX-FLCOOH was compared with the parent thioxantone (TX) both in the presence and in the absence of a co-initiator, and TX-FLCOOH was found to be more effective in all cases. Photopolymerization and laser flash photolysis studies revealed that depending on the concentration initiation by TX-FLCOOH occurs by intra- and intermolecular H-abstraction of the triplet 3(TX-FLCOOH)*. No polymerization was observed when TX-FLCOONa was used as photoinitiator in the ab...


Polymer surfaces were modified by exposure to a silent discharge plasma, by exposure to UV radiation and by chemical functionalisation. Additionally, the silent discharge treatment of alkali halide disks was investigated. Employing XPS and IR, the silent discharge treatment of poly (phenylmethylsilane) and poly (cyclohexylmethylsilane) thin films was found to result in the formation of a carbonaceous SiO(_x) layer. Oxidation occurred faster and to a larger degree in the case of the aromatic polysilane. A XPS study of the UV irradiation of poly (phenyhnethylsilane) thin films in the presence of CCI(_4) vapour revealed the formation of a chlorinated silicon species. The analysis of aged samples showed that this initially formed product was unstable in moist air. The silent discharge treatment of alkali halide disks (KCI, KBr, KI) was studied in ambient air, as well as in dried and humidified gases (artificial air. He, N(_2), O(_2)). IR and XPS were used as analytical methods, hi most cases nitrate and halogenate were formed upon treatment in air. Depending on the reaction conditions treated KI disks sometimes showed the presence of nitrite as an additional or as the main product. In oxygen atmospheres halogenate was formed as the exclusive product. Treatments in the remaining atmospheres did not lead to product formation. The presence of water vapour in the feed gas increased the amount of product. Changes in the IR spectra of the nitrate species upon storage in a desiccator and after exposure to heat were found and monitored. Pentafluoropropionic anhydride was tested for its suitability as a vapour phase labelling reagent for hydroxyl groups on polymer surfaces. Derivatised films were analysed by XPS and IR. Using Polyvinyl alcohol as a model polymer the reaction proceeded fast and quantitative. Moreover, the cross-reaction with a number of polymers containing functionalities other than hydroxyl was studied. The reaction with nylon 6,6 was investigated m detail. The vacuum photodegradation of polyethersulfone upon irradiation with the full and a selected part of a Hg (Xe) lamp spectrum was studied. The volatile products were identified with in-situ quadrupole mass spectrometry. Monitoring the intensities of some products in subsequent irradiation phases provided evidence for a crosslinking process. In samples irradiated with the complete lamp spectrum crosslinkmg occurred faster. Additionally, the XP spectra of the corresponding samples revealed a stronger modification which became most obvious in the presence of a reduced sulfur species.


Reaching sustainable development is one of the major policy debates of our generation. There is a concern about the extended use of the Earths's natural resources and its relationship to economic growth. Significant questions are raised about the likelyhood of natural resource management through mechanisms such as tourism. ('Sustainable Tourism - A geographical perspective'1998)

When tourism is at its best, it's an enriching experience for the tourist as well as it's providing the host community employment, income, preservation of heritage and other benefits. But if the site is badly planned or managed it can be a disaster for both the visitor, the place and the local community. ('Tourism Planning: Basics, Concepts, Cases' 1994)

This is a project about designing a sustainable tourist environment on a small island in the Philippines. By carrying out a detailed field study, discussing our ideas with local people and industry representatives in the Municipality of Coron, we have made a proposition for the Watercolors Resort.

We have worked with landscape and structures in order to create a self-sustaining environment, with a design that actively encourages to an environmental behaviour among guests and employees.


The aim of this study consists in testing a predictive model of academic achievement including motivation and learning strategies as predictors. Motivation is defined as the energy and the direction of behaviors; it is categorized in three types of motivation –intrinsic, extrinsic and amotivation (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Learning strategies are deliberate operations oriented towards information processing in academic activities (Valle, Barca, Gonzalez & Nunez, 1999). Several studies analysed the relationship between motivation and learning strategies in high school and college environments. Students with higher academic achievement were intrinsically motivated and used a wider variety of learning strategies more frequently. A non-experimental predictive design was developed. The sample was composed by 459 students (55.2% high-schoolers; 44.8% college students). Data were gathered by means of sociodemographic and academic surveys, and also by the local versions of the Academic Motivation Scale –EMA, Echelle de Motivation en Education (Stover, de la Iglesia, Rial Boubeta & Fernandez Liporace, 2012; Vallerand, Blais, Briere & Pelletier, 1989) and the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory –LASSI (Stover, Uriel & Fernandez Liporace, 2012; Weinstein, Schulte & Palmer, 1987). Several path analyses were carried out to test a hypothetical model to predict academic achievement (Kline, 1998). Results indicated that selfdetermined motivation explained academic achievement through the use of learning strategies. The final model obtained an excellent fit (χ2=16.523, df= 6, p=0.011; GFI=0.987; AGFI=0.955; SRMR=0.0320; NFI=0.913; IFI=0.943; CFI=0.940). Results are discussed considering Self Determination Theory and previous research.


Abstract Migration over recent years has meant that issues of integration are high on the agenda. Sports clubs are considered important settings for promoting integration. This notion is reflected in national and international policy documents. This study focuses on how leaders in a non-profit sports club, operating in a community where a majority have a migrant background, work with the stated goal of promoting integration. The aim of this study is to explore how leaders interpret and negotiate their explicit assignment to promote integration and counteract segregation and how they try to implement strategies to reach these goals and also to explore how participants experience the sports club's activities related to aspects of integration. The study takes an ethnographic approach with participant observations and interviews. The results indicate that the leaders' work in terms of integration was related to negotiating diversity, norms, rules and language. Both leaders and participants highlight how the activities enhance feelings of trust despite racism in society and how the leaders worked to create relationships and to make the activities into safe spaces. Whether this work contributes to integration is, however, debatable and the leaders emphasised inclusion as their main strategy and goal.


Probabilistic inference was shown effective in the nondeterministic diagnosis of end-to-end service failures when applied in a centralized management system where the manager possesses a global knowledge of the system structure and state. Since many networks are organized into multiple administrative domains that may be unable to share configuration and state information, these centralized techniques are not applicable to them. This paper proposes a fault localization technique suitable for multidomain networks with hierarchical routing. The proposed technique divides the computational effort and system knowledge among multiple, hierarchically organized managers. Each manager performs fault localization in the domain it manages and requires only the knowledge of its own domain. We show through simulation that the proposed approach not only improves the feasibility of fault localization in multidomain networks, but also increases the effectiveness of probabilistic diagnosis and makes it realizable in networks of considerable size


Abstract. The recent dramatic development of multi-GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) constellations brings great opportunities and potential for more enhanced precise positioning, navigation, timing, and other applications. Significant improvement on positioning accuracy, reliability, as well as convergence time with the multi-GNSS fusion can be observed in comparison with the single-system processing like GPS (Global Positioning System). In this study, we develop a numerical weather model (NWM)-constrained precise point positioning (PPP) processing system to improve the multi-GNSS precise positioning. Tropospheric delay parameters which are derived from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) analysis are applied to the multi-GNSS PPP, a combination of four systems: GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou. Observations from stations of the IGS (International GNSS Service) Multi-GNSS Experiments (MGEX) network are processed, with both the standard multi-GNSS PPP and the developed NWM-constrained multi-GNSS PPP processing. The high quality and accuracy of the tropospheric delay parameters derived from ECMWF are demonstrated through comparison and validation with the IGS final tropospheric delay products. Compared to the standard PPP solution, the convergence time is shortened by 20.0, 32.0, and 25.0 % for the north, east, and vertical components, respectively, with the NWM-constrained PPP solution. The positioning accuracy also benefits from the NWM-constrained PPP solution, which was improved by 2.5, 12.1, and 18.7 % for the north, east, and vertical components, respectively.


Purpose: To study determinants of romantic relationships and sexual activity of young adults with cerebral palsy (CP), focusing on personal and environmental factors. Method: A cohort study was performed with 74 young adults (46 men; 28 women) aged 20–25 years (SD 1.4) with CP (49% unilateral CP, 76% GMFCS level I, 85% MACS level I). All participants were of normal intelligence. Romantic relationships, sexual activity (outcome measures), personal and environmental factors (associated factors) were assessed. Associations were analyzed using logistic regression analyses. Results: More females than males with CP were in a current romantic relationship. Self-esteem, sexual esteem and feelings of competence regarding self-efficacy contributed positively to having current romantic relationships. A negative parenting style contributed negatively. Age and gross motor functioning explained 20% of the variance in experience with intercourse. In addition, sexual esteem and taking initiative contributed significantly to intercourse experience. Conclusions: For young adults with CP personal factors (20–35% explained variances) seem to contribute more than environmental factors (9–12% explained variances) to current romantic relationships and sexual experiences. We advice parents and professionals to focus on self-efficacy, self-esteem and sexual self-esteem in development of young adults with CP. Implications for Rehabilitation The severity of gross motor functioning contributed somewhat to sexual activities, but not to romantic relationships. High self-efficacy, self-esteem and sexual self-esteem can facilitate involvement in romantic and sexual relationships for young adults with CP.


Page ii Abstract MEs are considered as the major sources of employment creation. Global experiences show that an efficient ME sector is conducive to industrial growth and a flexible industrial structure, which are the cornerstones of a vibrant entrepreneurial economy. The contributions of MEs to the national economy can be measured in terms of some inter-related issues: economic (income generation), social (poverty reduction) and political (wealth redistribution). Current studies show a strong link between entrepreneurship and economic development (ED). The impact of entrepreneurship on ED depends on the level of business performance, and economy is an affect for which entrepreneurship is the cause. ED theories generally emphasise on employment creation by industrialisation with the use of advanced technology. Thus economic histories of the developed countries show the notion that ED has benefited from widespread large scale entrepreneurial activity. However, developing countries (DC) have begun to realize the necessity of encouraging entrepreneurship to achieve their ED goals. But, they in reality can't achieve these goals like the developed countries, because they don't have sufficient capital and advanced technology. As a result they need to depend on small scale enterprise development by exploiting available resources, small capital, and indigenous technology. It indicates a strong link between micro enterprise development (MED) and entrepreneurship development. Therefore, national ED policies of DCs should focus on linking MED, entrepreneurship development and ED. Despite these recognized importance, MEs face severe problems and challenges in DCs. They lack appropriate policies and programmes to promote MEs towards ED. This study critically examines the existing MED Policies (MEDP) and the role of different MED Organizations (MEDOs) with a view to articulating appropriate policy recommendations. Based on the objectives and literature review four themes (state of affairs of MEDPs, support services to MEs, financing MEs and networking of ME stakeholders) were identified to establish the interview protocols. This study employed a qualitative inductive approach, case study strategy and in depth interviews with semi-structured protocols to collect primary data based on phenomenology. Thirty five respondents from different ME stakeholders (policy makers, implementing agencies, and the recipients) were interviewed and interpretative phenomenological analysis technique was used for data analysis. The findings confirm that there are fragmentations and incoherency in existing MEDPs, as a result, they failed to achieve the goals of MED. Specifically, support services and infrastructural facilities to MEs are not well designed, financing systems are not fully supportive to all the MEs, and networking of ME stakeholders are very floppy. Overall a favourable entrepreneurial culture to MED is absent in Bangladesh. The government has failed to plan realistically to mobilize the resources, to exercise control over factors of MED and to give appropriate direction to the developmental process. This study offers a list of practical recommendations to formulate a coherent and comprehensive MEDP based on solid evidences. Especially, a model for appropriate government intervention to MED by linking the main three concepts of this study MED, entrepreneurship development and ED, and an alternative model for 'interest free ME financing' are proposed. This study hopes that these recommendations will provide appropriate inputs to the policy makers and concerned ME stakeholders in the DCs, particularly Bangladesh and more generally to the MED literature. N a s r u l l a h , A M , C r i t i c a l A n a l y s i s o f M E P D i n D C s : A C a s e o f B a n g l a d e s h 2012


The acquisition process of knowledge by organizations is not easy and its spread among individuals, organizations and networks is even more complex. The understanding of the mechanisms involved in the knowledge flow between organizations can help to minimize the problems associated with processes in supply chains. In this paper, we present a systematic search of literature, which aimed to identify the relevance of this issue and how it has been studied on the academic literature. We performed an identification and mapping of knowledge flows between two types of organizations (inter-firm level) of Brazilian chain pig farming: industries and producers (farmers). Among the agricultural activities, this activity is one of the most aggressive to the environment. Some factors associated with environmental sustainability and current market barriers in this chain were identified, where it is necessary to consider the dynamics of knowledge flows. For knowledge flows and practices being effectively implemented across organizations, it was noted that issues such as the motivation of the members are key factors which in order to apply valuable knowledge. Considering this, it is necessary that the reasons and benefits for sharing being clearly established. This study contributes to the perception of the importance of identify and map knowledge flows. It also contributes to the realization of further empirical research in order to examine knowledge flows among organizations.


Objective (1) Compare tolerance of aerosolized spray versus syringe administration of topical anesthesia for transnasal flexible laryngoscopy (TFL), (2) analyze cost-effectiveness of both techniques. Study Design Prospective, blinded, randomized trial. Setting Tertiary academic laryngology practice. Methods One hundred and eight patients underwent TFL over 3 months. Patients were randomized to receive equivalent dose 1:1 neosynephrine/4% plain lidocaine mixture via aerosolized spray ("spray") or application with 1-cc syringe ("syringe"). Patients and physicians independently rated comfort of TFL on 5-point scale (1 = not at all comfortable to 5 = very comfortable). Data were collected on patient and endoscopist experience with TFL and reasons for poor tolerance of laryngoscopy. Cost analyses of disposable spray tips and syringes were calculated. Results Both patients and physicians reported very high tolerance of TFL. Patient tolerance appears to be similar between spray- versus syringe-administered anesthesia, although study limitations preclude definitive analysis. Poor tolerance of laryngoscopy was reported in 6.5% with comparable distribution between anesthetic delivery methods. There was no impact of patient prior experience with TFL, and there was no difference between anesthetic methods for TFL performed by resident, fellow, or attending. The difference between costs of the disposable spray tip versus syringe was $1.32 per unit. Conclusions Use of a 1-cc syringe is an effective method to provide topical nasal anesthesia for TFL and saves $1.32 per unit compared to disposable spray tips. In our practice, transition to syringe-administered nasal anesthesia is projected to save $1300 per 1000 patients, or an anticipated $1000 per year per physician, with excellent patient tolerance of TFL.


Air-bridge-type InGaAsP photonic crystal cavity lasers (PCCLs) have been fabricated by employing a combined lithographic technique of laser holography (LH) and photolithography. Cavities of 4-5 mum in diameter were formed photolithographically on a square-lattice photonic crystal background pattern which was predefined by the LH process. Despite structural imperfections originated from the inevitable pattern misalignment during the combination lithography, 40% or higher of the PCCLs lased. Removal of modal degeneracy due to symmetry breaking, which was confirmed by computer simulations, provided a rationale on this rather unexpected result: the structurally imperfect PCCLs (as defined by our combination lithography) might compete with the so-called perfect PCCLs (as defined by, say, the electron-beam lithography) in terms of cavity Q-factor


Relationship marketing is one of the most rapidly discussed concepts in the modern services marketing arena. With the advances in technology, Customer relationship marketing (CRM) and relationships in Business to business (B2B) settings also have gained importance. Various parameters have been employed by researchers to arrive at the antecedents and indicators of relationship marketing. The paper makes a thorough review of the literature to present the dimensions already expressed. Theron and Terblanche (2010) used analytic hierarchical process (AHP) method to make-out ten dimensions out of a pool of twenty-three dimensions previously categorized by the scholars who worked on similar topics; the study though was conducted from a financial services perspective.From the primary data collected through a structured questionnaire and subjected to analysis, the paper aims to identify these dimensions in connection with the telecom service industry in the state of Jammu and Kashmir (JandK). Trust, commitment, communication, and customer-centricity were identified as the main dimensions. These four have also been identified in various other studies conducted elsewhere in the services sector.


As more resources are added to computer networks, and as more vendors look to the World Wide Web as a viable marketplace, the importance of being able to restrict access and to insure some kind of acceptable behavior even in the presence of malicious intruders becomes paramount. People have looked to cryptography to help solve many of these problems. However, cryptography itself is only a tool. The security of a system depends not only on the cryptosystem being used, but also on how it is used. Typically, researchers have proposed the use of security protocols to provide these security guarantees. These protocols consist of a sequence of messages, many with encrypted parts. In this paper, we develop a way of verifying these protocols using model checking. Model checking has proven to be a very useful technique for verifying hardware designs. By modelling circuits as nite-state machines, and examining all possible execution traces, model checking has found a number of errors in real world designs. Like hardware designs, security protocols are very subtle, and can also have bugs which are diicult to nd. By examining all possible execution traces of a security protocol in the presence of a malicious intruder with well deened capabilities, we can determine if a protocol does indeed enforce its security guarantees. If not, we can provide a sample trace of an attack on the protocol.


UW-W Libraries currently subscribe to numerous higher education and academic e-book platforms. This supplements those with access to selections for younger readers.


A Robotic device is a powered, computer controlled manipulator with artificial sensing that can be reprogrammed to move and position tools to carry out a wide range of tasks. Robots and Telemanipulators were first developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for use in space exploration. Today's medical robotic systems were the brainchild of the United States Department of Defence's desire to decrease war casualties with the development of 'telerobotic surgery'. The 'master-slave' telemanipulator concept was developed for medical use in the early 1990s where the surgeon's (master) manual movements were transmitted to end-effector (slave) instruments at a remote site. Since then, the field of surgical robotics has undergone massive transformation and the future is even brighter. As expected, any new technique brings with it risks and the possibility of technical difficulties. The person who bears the brunt of complications or benefit from a new invention is the 'Patient'. Anaesthesiologists as always must do their part to be the patient's 'best man' in the perioperative period. We should be prepared for screening and selection of patients in a different perspective keeping in mind the steep learning curves of surgeons, long surgical hours, extreme patient positioning and other previously unknown anaesthetic challenges brought about by the surgical robot. In this article we have tried to track the development of surgical robots and consider the unique anaesthetic issues related to robot assisted surgeries.


Chasing Reality deals with the controversies over the reality of the external world. Distinguished philosopher Mario Bunge offers an extended defence of realism, a critique of various forms of contemporary anti-realism, and a sketch of his own version of realism, namely hylorealism. Bunge examines the main varieties of antirealism - Berkeley's, Hume's, and Kant's; positivism, phenomenology, and constructivism - and argues that all of these in fact hinder scientific research.Bunge's realist contention is that genuine explanations in the sciences appeal to causal laws and mechanisms that are not directly observable, rather than simply to empirical generalisations. Genuine science, in his view, is objective even when it deals with subjective phenomena such as feelings of fear. This work defends a realist view of universals, kinds, possibilities, and dispositions, while rejecting contemporary accounts of these that are couched in terms of modal logic and 'possible worlds.'


Achieving a sustainable competitive advantage depends on the innovations which are largely dependent on the online marketing that initiates the use of social networks which enable the improvement of long-term relationships of the company and the focus on the particular target group. Their best results are achieved as a result of the creativity and they are ideal medium which does not require huge money investment, but energy, thinking, time and knowledge. The investment in marketing activities in the social network cannot be considered as a simple venture but as a management of several goals: the user should get to know the brand, interaction of the user with the brand and oral transmitting of the message. The paper focuses on the analysis of social networks and their influence in the direction of promoting two-way, i.e. interactive communication with consumers. On the other side, in the paper answers will be given to the question: "Which of the social networks are the most effective tools for promotion?" The results show that the applications of modern and innovative methods in the field of internet marketing are crucial for distinguishing and creating a competitive advantage.


Species of Staphylococcus are common in hospital infection (HI). Methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) has also become a
serious problem in Brazilian HI. The aim of this study was to characterize the
pathogenicity of methicillin-resistant S.
aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus
aureus (MSSA) isolated in public hospitals. The clinical isolates were
obtained from intensive care unit. The MRSA and MSSA strains were genotyped by
PCR for detection genes related to virulence factors. Moreover, the strains
were tested for biofilm formation and cytokine induction in macrophages. Three
strains of MRSA (9.68%) expressed the Sea gene, one (3.23%) Seb, 17 (54.84%)
Spa and seven (22.58%) had PVL. Two MSSA strains (2.98%) expressed the Sea
gene, three (4.48%) Seb, 18 (26.87%) Spa and 11 (16.42%) showed positive
results for the PVL gene. There was no expression of Sec and CflA between MRSA
and MSSA strains. Among MRSA and MSSA isolates, none statistical differences were observed in biofilm
production. The analysis of cytokine induction in the inflammatory response of
J774 macrophages by MRSA and MSSA isolates did not show statistical difference.
Understanding the mechanisms of pathogenesis of S. aureus could provide important clues for both preventing and
treating infection caused by these organisms.


The seven genera and 13 species of dynastine scarabs recorded from the Bahamas are reviewed. Two of those species are endemic, including Cyclocephala dolichotarsa Ratcliffe and Cave, new species, described from Great Inagua Island. Eleven species are also known to occur in the USA and/or Cuba. Six species are probably not established based on infrequency of collection.


Previous research has revealed that students may hold several misconceptions regarding fundamental topics of chemistry. With the idea that teachers play a critical role in diagnosis and remediation of students' misconceptions, a "course" for preservice chemistry teachers was designed. The purpose of this study was to describe the views and understandings of preservice chemistry teachers on issues related to nature, diagnosis and remediation of misconceptions in the aftermath of this specially designed "course". This course placed the collaborative, active and reflective practices of preservice teachers at its center. The data sources were self-reflection reports written by preservice teachers at the end of the "course" and high school students' answers to questions regarding some misconceptions after preservice teachers applied their lessons to these students. Results showed that the majority of the participating preservice teachers realized the importance and variety of misconceptions, as well as ways of dealing with them. Also, there is satisfying evidence that many of the high school students' misconceptions changed after the applied lessons.


Objectives: To evaluate the anticonvulsant effect of magnesium oxide alone and its activity alongside carbamazepine in albino rats. Materials and methods: In MES ( maximal electric shock) method, 36 male albino rats weighing between 100-200gm, were divided into 6 groups each containing 6 animals were all treated with magnesium oxide (500,1000mg/kg) for 10 days orally. On 11th day Carbamazepine (50,30mg/Kg) was given orally an hour before MES induced seizures except control and only magnesium oxide groups. Abolition of tonic hind limb extention reflex and time taken to regain righting reflex were noted for each animal after MES induced seizures. Results: Low dose oral administration (500mg/kg) for 10 days in healthy rat showed 33.33% protection to MES, while the group with high dose magnesium (1000mg/kg) showed no protection to MES. Low oral dose of magnesium (500mg/kg) along with low dose carbamazepine (30mg/kg) showed better results than groups with only carbamazepine and high dose carbamazepine (50mg/kg) along with low dose magnesium oxide(500mg/kg). Conclusion: Low dose magnesium has anticonvulsant activity in MES seizure model , moreover combination of low dose magnesium oxide with low dose carbamazepine showed better results considering both the end points( THLE and TRR) in MES induced seizure model.


Nowadays many educational institutions have embraced online education to cater for flexible and student-centered learning. Through online education, students have an opportunity to gain an education at their own convenience, in terms of time and place. However, it is argued that students are less satisfied with online learning than with traditional classroom learning. As online education continues to expand, the need for determining and maintaining quality online education is becoming an important issue. Therefore, it is important to discern which qualities are necessary for students' achievement and satisfaction in an online learning environment (OLE). While numerous studies on the qualities of online learners have been conducted, the factors that contribute to success in OLEs have not been adequately described. Therefore, it is important to examine learner characteristics to see their effects on student success in an online environment, which in turn facilitates high quality of online learning. This paper reports on what and how personal characteristics significantly affect students' online learning readiness at Curtin University of Technology, Sarawak Malaysia. Natural sampling was used to identify the sample and the study sample consisted of 350 voluntary participants. Quantitative method was used to collect relevant data in this study. A questionnaire was developed to gather data on learner personal characteristics, and a diagnostic tool, Tertiary Students' Readiness for Online Learning (TSROL), developed by Hitendra Pillay, Kym Irving and Megan Tones was adopted to assess learner online learning readiness. The TSROL has 20 items grouped into four factors: Technical skills (TS), Computer self-efficacy (CS-E), Learning preferences (LP) and Attitudes towards computers (AC). Moreover, confirmatory data analysis was adopted in this study. A oneway analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine if there were significant differences in online learning readiness across the personal characteristics. The statistical results validate that some personal characteristics significantly affect learners' online learning readiness.


We employ a regression discontinuity design to identify the real effects of share repurchases on other firm outcomes. The probability of share repurchases that increase earnings per share (EPS) is sharply higher for firms that would have just missed the EPS forecast in the absence of the repurchase, when compared with firms that "just beat" the EPS forecast. We use this discontinuity to show that EPS-motivated repurchases are associated with reductions in employment and investment, and a decrease in cash holdings. Our evidence suggests that managers are willing to trade off investments and employment for stock repurchases that allow them to meet analyst EPS forecasts.


While narrative focuses on particular protagonists and events, narrative also situates tellers and their audiences within a web of historical and cultural expectations, ideologies, and meanings, more broadly. As such, narrative creates shared understandings and community among those participating in narrative activity. Moreover, the narrative process extends beyond the boundaries of the here and now to embrace people and places in a cultural past. This article examines the religious narrative accounts of the apparition of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe told in children's religious education classes called doctrina at a Catholic parish in Los Angeles. The children that attend these classes are of Mexican descent and their lessons are taught in Spanish. The article analyzes the linguistic and interactional means through which narrative renditions of the story of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe construct Mexican identity. The narrative renditions tell the story of the apparition of the Virgin Mary in Tepeyac, near Mexico City, in the year 1531, thirteen years after the fall of the Aztec empire to the Spanish conquest. These diasporic narrative accounts transcend time and space, as they continue to be told by Mexican Catholics at places beyond the geopolitical borders of Mexico. Moreover, these narrative tellings are instrumental for positioning teachers and students in a postcolonial moment that revisits the hierarchies of Mexico's colonial regime vis-a-vis their current experiences as immigrants in Los Angeles.


Abstract The Neoproterozoic diamictite-bearing Squantum Member is located in the Boston Basin in eastern Massachusetts, USA. The Boston Basin forms part of the Avalonia island arc terrane (c. 650 Ma), and appears to have originated as a rift-type basin in an extensional setting along the northern margin of Gondwana, although its exact position is debated. Inferred palaeoenvironmental reconstructions of the Boston Basin have alternated between a fluvial basin where ice played a major role in transporting much of the coarse material and an evolving marine basin dominated by non-glacial subaqueous mass flow, submarine fans and turbidity-current deposition. The age of the Squantum is bracketed between c. 595 and 570 Ma, and is correlated by some to the glaciogenic diamictite succession of the Gaskiers Formation (eastern Newfoundland) as part of the putative global Gaskiers Glaciation c. 582–585 Ma. However, the Squantum Member consists of diamictite, graded sandstone and siltstone units, and fine-grained laminated argillite/mudstone units typical of debris flow and turbidite facies that accumulate in a submarine setting. A glacial influence is not readily identified and revolves around early interpretations of the diamictite as being 'till-like', the presence of laminated horizons that resemble glaciolacustrine 'varvites' and the disputed recognition of ice-rafted dropstones. There are no associated carbonates and, consequently, no geochemical data are available in connection with the Squantum Member.


Since the Food and Drug Administration announced on August 31, 2016 it was requiring boxed warnings regarding the risk of respiratory depression and death when benzodiazepines are combined with opioid, facilities face growing scrutiny of benzodiazepine utilization. Benzodiazepines are an effective treatment for acute anxiety and often administered to patients who require inpatient psychiatric treatment. Medication Utilization Evaluation (MUE) is a multidisciplinary quality improvement method that can evaluate safety and utilization of medications in a facility. This MUE pilot project identified 261 records of patients prescribed benzodiazepines in a facility from January 1, 2017-March 31, 2017. Results showed that 75% of the sample received appropriate orders for benzodiazepine. Potential factors to predict inappropriate orders were depression and alcohol withdrawal. More information is needed pertaining to the actual utilization of benzodiazepines on the inpatient unit.


The paper emphasizes the human aspects of cyber incidents concerning protecting information and technology assets by addressing behavioral analytics in cybersecurity for digital forensics applications. The paper demonstrates the human vulnerabilities associated with information systems technologies and components. This assessment is based on past literature assessments done in this area. This study also includes analyses of various frameworks that have led to the adoption of behavioral analysis in digital forensics. The study's findings indicate that behavioral evidence analysis should be included as part of the digital forensics examination. The provision of standardized investigation methods and the inclusion of human factors such as motives and behavioral tendencies are some of the factors attached to the use of behavioral digital forensic frameworks. However, the study also appreciates the need for a more generalizable digital forensic method.


Domestic violence against women increased during COVID-19 lockdowns. This inaugural study examined the content of Australian government online portals, for women seeking support and help for domestic violence, during the 2021 COVID-19 pandemic. This mixed methods study incorporated four phases: a search; measurement of portal quality standard using DISCERN; enumeration of portal items; and a qualitative exploration of portal text. Australian governments must continue to work alongside domestic violence services as we found some portals were better than others. Continued review, revision, and funding are needed to meet the demands associated with this evolving public health emergency.


The Texas Tech University Advanced Vehicle Engineering Team has been working in vehicle competitions for 20 years. From that experience the team designed a hybrid vehicle to compete in the Challenge X Competition and the EcoCAR Competition. The Challenge X competition was designed around General Motors' Equinox, which was donated by General Motors. From that platform the team went into the design, implementation, testing and calibration of the vehicle in order to design a low-emission, fuel-efficient vehicle of the future. The vehicle was a mild hybrid 2007 Saturn Geenline Vue. In this way, Texas Tech and its sponsors can give back to the community and help the environment and global economy. After the completion of the Challenge X Competition, the EcoCAR Competition began in 2008, which followed in the Challenge X Competition's footsteps. The EcoCAR design team is currently in the designing phase of the project; it is during this stage of the project that the design team will decide with what vehicle architecture the team will submit for competition. This thesis discusses the steps taken in the implementation of the Challenge X vehicle for years 3 and 4 of the competition. Also, it has the initial design architectures for the EcoCAR competition and the team structure that will enable the team to function to the best of its ability.


Improving workflow reliability is paramount to the success of lean-based production operations. Unreliable workflow results from variability in performance. In the construction industry, sources of variability include late delivery of material and equipment, design errors, change orders, equipment breakdowns, tool malfunctions, improper crew utilization, labor strikes, and environmental effects. Another important source of variability, which is often overlooked in research and practice, is worker physical performance degradation. This degradation is caused by long term physical fatigue resulting from physically demanding work that remains ubiquitous in the construction industry. This research was motivated by the need to investigate the physical demands of construction work as an indirect source of workflow unreliability. Using work physiology principles, physiological measures of energy expenditure, including oxygen consumption and heart rate data, were collected for 18 construction laborers performing actual construction work. The results reveal that some workers routinely exceed one or more published guidelines for acceptable levels of physiological demands. The research points to the need to promote concepts of work physiology at the workplace to better the occupational safety and health of the construction workforce while simultaneously reducing performance variability and enabling lean conversion efforts.


The engine of an automobile lost power and compression and emitted an uneven exhaust sound after several thousand miles of operation. When the engine was dismantled, it was found that the outer spring on one of the exhaust valves was too short to function properly. The short steel spring and an outer spring (both of patented and drawn high-carbon steel wire) taken from another cylinder in the same engine were examined in the laboratory to determine why one had distorted and the other had not. Investigation (visual inspection, microstructure examination, and hardness testing) supported the conclusion that the engine malfunctioned because one of the exhaust-valve springs had taken a 25% set in service. Relaxation in the spring material occurred because of the combined effect of improper microstructure (proeutectoid ferrite) plus a relatively high operating temperature. Recommendations included using quenched-and-tempered steel instead of patented and cold-drawn steel or using a more expensive chromium-vanadium alloy steel instead of plain carbon steel; the chromium-vanadium steel would also need to be quenched and tempered.


This article examines whether a retributivist conception of punishment implies legal moralism and asks what liberalism implies about retributivism and moralism. It makes a case for accepting the weak retributivist thesis that culpable wrongdoing creates a pro tanto case for blame and punishment and the weak moralist claim that moral wrongdoing creates a pro tanto case for legal regulation. This weak moralist claim is compatible with the liberal claim that the legal enforcement of morality is rarely all‐thing‐considered desirable. Though weak moralism has some plausibility, it does not follow from weak retributivism if legitimate state functions are limited in certain ways.


The ligand binding modes of a series of fentanyl derivatives are examined using a combination of conformational analysis and molecular docking to the mu-opioid receptor. Condensed-phase molecular dynamics simulations are applied to evaluate potential relationships between ligand conformation and fentanyl substitution and to generate probable "bioactive" structures for the ligand series. Automated docking of the largely populated solution conformers identified a common binding site orientation that places the N-phenethyl group of fentanyl deep in a crevice between transmembrane (TM) helices II and III while the N-phenylpropanamide group projected toward a pocket formed by TM-III, -VI, and -VII domains. An analysis of the binding modes indicates the most potent fentanyl derivatives adopt an extended conformation both in solution and in the bound state, suggesting binding affinity may depend on the conformational preferences of the ligands. The results are consistent with ligand binding data derived from chimeric and mutant receptor studies as well as structure-activity relationship data reported on a wide range of fentanyl analogues. The binding site model is also compared to that of N-phenethylnormorphine. An overlay of the bound conformation of the opiate and cis-3-methylfentanyl shows the N-phenethyl groups occupy equivalent binding domains in the receptor. While the cationic amines of both ligand classes were found docked to an established anchor site (D149 in TM-III), no overlap was observed between the N-phenylpropanamide group and the remaining components of the opiate scaffold. The unique binding mode(s) proposed for the fentanyl series may, in part, explain the difficulties encountered in defining models of recognition at the mu-receptor and suggest opioid receptors may display multiple binding epitopes. Furthermore, the results provide new insight to the design of experiments aimed at understanding the structural basis to the differential selectivities of ligands at the mu-, delta-, and kappa-opioid receptors.


The endmost chromosome I ORF is silenced by a natural telomere position effect. YAR073W/IMD1 was found to be transcribed at much higher levels in sir3 mutants and when its proximal telomere was removed from it. These results suggest that telomeres play a role in silencing actual genes. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae subtelomeric sequences are distinctly different from the rest of the chromosomal DNA because they are mostly repetitive and contain a relatively low density of ORFs. Subtelomeric sequences comprise ~7% (~25 kb x 32 ends/12,000 kb) of the genome and are largely made up of sequences termed W', Y' or X. The number, distribution and arrangement of these sequences vary on each chromosome and in different strains. W' and Y' sequences contain some short ORFs but they are likely to be pseudogenes. Other subtelomeric ORFs belong to repetitive gene families and appear to be nonessential for routine growth in the laboratory (PRYDE AND LOUIS 1997). Subtelomeric sequences from S. cerevisiae have been proposed to play a role in preventing nonfunctional meiotic crossovers near chromosome ends (BARTON et al. 2003). Otherwise, their precise function is not known. Subtelomeric DNA from S. cerevisiae has been compared to the telomeric heterochromatin of higher organisms, which also contains repetitive sequences and has few active genes. Most subtelomeric genes or ORFs are either not expressed or expressed at relatively low levels during routine growth in the laboratory. A few such as those from the MAL, SUC and PHO gene families are abundantly expressed but only under certain conditions (PRYDE and LOUIS 1997). When these genes are repressed, the amount of RNA produced from any individual gene is probably quite low. It is possible that low transcript levels from subtelomeric genes are in some part due to the well-characterized telomere position effect (TPE) that was first revealed by an epigenetic repression of genes inserted within or near telomeres (GOTTSCHLING et al. 1990; PIRROTTA and GROSS 2005). About 60 genes show increased transcript levels in the presence of mutations that alleviate TPEs such as sir2, sir3 and rap1 and many of these genes are relatively close to a telomere (HALME et al. 2004; VEGA-PALAS et al. 2000; WYRICK et al. 1999). Nevertheless, a true TPE dependent on actual telomere proximity has never been demonstrated for a naturally occurring yeast gene other than a small effect on HMR, the silenced copy of the mating type locus on the right arm of chromosome III (THOMPSON et al. 1994). The three endmost ORFs on the right arm of chromosome I are paralogous to 3 ORFs near the right end of chromosome VIII and have almost identical DNA sequences. The most prominent differences between the two gene sets are the chromosome VIII sequences are ~6 kb further from the telomere than the chromosome I sequences and the chromosome VIII sequences are transcribed while the chromosome I genes appear silent. These observations led to the suggestion that the chromosome I genes could be repressed by a TPE (BARTON et al. 1997). The endmost chromosome I ORFs are YAR073W/IMD1, encoding an IMP dehydrogenase ortholog (HYLE et al. 2003), YAR071W/PHO11, encoding an inducible acid phosphatase (KABACK et al. 1989; SHNYREVA et al. 1996) and YAR068W, encoding a nonessential putative membrane protein of unknown function that when over expressed produces a drug-resistance phenotype (BARTON et al. 1997; LAUNHARDT et al. 1998). In this report we demonstrate that the endmost chromosome I ORF, YAR073W/IMD1 is indeed silenced by its telomere suggesting that telomeres play a role in silencing actual genes. To determine whether the 3 endmost chromosome I ORFs were subject to a TPE their expression was examined in sir3 mutant and wild type control strains that contained a deletion of the paralogous chromosome VIII genes (BARTON et al. 1997). Experiments using blot hybridization revealed a YAR073W/IMD1 RNA species only in sir3 mutant strains. Quantitation of the autoradiogram using FUN31 RNA as an internal standard (BARTON and KABACK 1994) indicated this RNA was present at ~1copy/cell. Interestingly, this RNA was ~50 nucleotides larger than the paralogous YHR216 transcript (Figure 1B). A low level of the smaller RNA species was still present in the chromosome VIII deletions. This previously observed species (BARTON et al. 1997) does not appear to be affected by sir3 and is probably transcribed from the additional orthologous copies of this ORF found on chromosomes XII and XIII. A quantitative RT-PCR assay specific for YAR073W/IMD1 (BARTON et al. 1993) was used to show that sir3 mutant strains contained ~7-fold more YAR073W/IMD1 RNA than the wild-type controls (Figure 1C). The controls also show that this transcript could not be detected when chromosome I sequences were deleted. Similar assays were carried out for YAR071/PHO11 or YAR068W (data not shown) using the same chromosome VIII deletion strains but there was no evidence for any SIR3 dependent effects. However, results for YAR071/PHO11 were inconclusive since multiple remaining acid phosphatase genes could have obscured any effect. Therefore, at present there is evidence that only the endmost ORF, YAR073W/IMD1 is repressed by SIR3. To examine whether YAR073W/IMD1 was controlled by a bona-fide TPE, two different homeologous fragments from the middle of S. carlsbergensis chromosome III, 7.0 kb and 8.4 kb in length were inserted between YAR073W/IMD1 and its proximal telomere and transcript levels determined by quantitative RT-PCR as above. LEU2, the selectable marker was introduced in both orientations in each insert to better insure its presence would not affect YAR073W/IMD1 expression and all strains lacked the paralogous chromosome VIII genes. The results showed that when YAR073W/IMD1 was separated from its telomere it produced 3-9-fold more RNA (Figure 2), an effect that was similar in magnitude to that observed in sir3 mutants. Quantitation of the results indicated that cells containing the S. carlsbergensis insert contained about 0.3-0.6 copies of the YAR073W/IMD1 RNA per cell or slightly less than was observed in sir3 cells. However, the controls that did not contain inserts also were slightly lower than in the previous experiment. Consistent with these observations was a report that YAR073W/IMD1 RNA could only be detected when this gene was contained on a plasmid (HYLE et al. 2003). Thus, telomere proximity appears to be involved in the silencing of YAR073W/IMD1. YAR068W and YAR071/PHO11 were also examined but produced the same low level of transcript with and without the S. carlsbergensis insert (data not shown). Thus, the TPE appeared specific for YAR073W/IMD1. Based on its apparent lack of expression and a sequence that either truncates or uses frame shifting to change the reading frame of the last 20% of the protein, it has been suggested that YAR073W/IMD1 is a pseudogene and cannot encode functional IMP dehydrogenase (HYLE et al. 2003). A functional IMD gene makes cells resistant to the antifungal mycophenolic acid providing a simple assay which was carried out on strains where an IMD1 transcript could be detected (HYLE et al. 2003). We found that sir3 and SIR3 control strains deleted for the end of chromosome VIII (∆VIII) where the functional IMD2 gene is located were equally sensitive to mycophenolic acid. Furthermore, all S. carlsbergensis insertion strains that removed YAR073W/IMD1 from its proximal telomere also were equally sensitive. Control strains containing the end of chromosome VIII were fully resistant as previously described (HYLE et al. 2003); data not shown). These results are consistent with previous studies that demonstrate that YAR073W/IMD1 does not encode this enzyme (HYLE et al. 2003). Nevertheless, it is possible that this sequence has a different but unknown function; especially, in light of the finding that both the mRNA and its frame shifted open coding region are longer than found for the active IMD2 gene. Genome-array expression studies with different SIR mutants and histone depletion revealed that telomere proximal genes were more likely to be affected than telomere distal genes (WYRICK et al. 1999). In their studies they reported only a 2-fold sir3 dependent effect on YAR073W/IMD1, which was not considered significant. This discrepancy is likely due to either strain variations or uncertainties in measuring relatively low levels of RNA using arrays. While it has been suggested that TPEs play a role in gene expression, it is also likely that many telomere proximal genes are unaffected due to insulator elements that prevent the effects from spreading (Louis 1995). Nevertheless, HMR showed a modest telomere proximity effect and now YAR073W/IMD1 has been shown to have bona-fide TPE. As there are now about 60 telomere proximal genes that are affected by various SIR gene mutants, it is likely that some of these genes are directly regulated by their nearby telomeres. The function of subtelomeric DNA is still not entirely understood. In addition to its suggested structural role preventing nonfunctional crossing over during meiosis, these sequences could also provide an area of the genome where rarely needed genes and gene progenitors are efficiently prevented from being expressed, especially if their expression could be deleterious. This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (GM053924) and the National Science Foundation (MCB0136278). LITERATURE CITED BARTON, A. B., H. BUSSEY, R. K. STORMS and D. B. KABACK, 1997 Molecular cloning of chromosome I DNA from Saccharomyces cerevisiae: characterization of the 54 kb right terminal CDC15-FLO1-PHO11 region. Yeast 13: 1251-1263. BARTON, A. B., and D. B. KABACK, 1994 Molecular cloning of chromosome I DNA from Saccharomyces cerevisiae: analysis of the genes in the FUN38-MAK16-SPO7 region. Journal of Bacteriology 176: 1872-1880. BARTON, A. B., D. B. KABACK, M. W. CLARK, T. KENG, B.


Thanks to its flexibility (i.e. new computing jobs can be set up in minutes, without having to wait for hardware procurement) and elasticity (i.e. more or less resources can be allocated to instantly match the current workload), cloud computing has rapidly gained much interests from both academic and commercial users. Increasingly moving into the cloud is a clear trend in the software developments. To provide its users a fast in-memory optimised analytical database system with all the conveniences of the cloud environment, we embarked upon extending the open-source column store database MonetDB with new features to make it cloud-ready. In the paper, we elaborate the new distributed and replicated transaction features in MonetDB. The distributed query processing feature allows MonetDB to horizontally scale-out to multiple machines; while the transaction replication schemes increase the availability of the MonetDB database servers.


Recent years have seen an increasing presence of writing centers in diverse English as a Foreign Language (EFL) settings, particularly in East Asia and in Europe (Bräuer; Chang). These new centers face familiar issues such as a lack of resources, the need to adapt pedagogy to the local context (Reichelt et. al.; Broekhoff), and ideological resistance to the idea of peer learning (Turner) or even providing support for writing at all (Bräuer). In some cases, these difficulties may force potential writing centers to seek a platform entirely outside of the university, bringing both challenges and new possibilities as the center adapts to a community setting and clientele (Rousculp). This article describes the founding of a writing center in Niš, Serbia, in an alternative venue an American Embassy-funded resource center. This institution has offered significant advantages, including a central location and strong preexisting member base, but it has also shifted the writing center's focus away from university students towards the diverse writing needs of the broader community. This article discusses how these factors have affected the writing center's mission, the tutors' training and experiences, and the development of local pedagogy and concludes with suggestions for other writing center administrators on working in such alternative spaces.


Microvillus inclusion disease (MVID) is one of the most severe congenital diarrheal disorder affecting young children and is characterized by MYO5B mutations, impaired brush border development and chronic diarrhea. The aim of this study was to investigate the link between the loss of Myosin Vb function and intestinal epithelial barrier function. We demonstrate that loss of Myosin Vb expression or function in the epithelial cells of the duodenum and colon of individuals diagnosed with MVID, as well as in intestinal Caco-2 cells, impaired the trafficking of Claudin-1 to tight junctions, but not that of other examined cell-cell junction-associated proteins. Furthermore, MVID enterocytes showed a reduced expression of the apical polarity complex protein Crumbs3, and Claudin-1 was mislocalized in the enterocytes of Crb3 knock-out mice. Notably, the resultant intracellular accumulation of Claudin-1 was not accompanied by an decreased trans-epithelial electrical resistance or enhanced paracellular permeability of Caco-2 cell monolayers to macromolecules. MVID is the first human diseases in which Claudin-1 mislocalization is causally linked to a gene defect. We thus conclude that Myosin Vb controls the trafficking of Claudin-1, probably indirectly through Crumbs3, but an intestinal epithelial barrier defect is not likely to account for the chronic diarrhoea in MVID. Moreover, our results argue against a role for Claudin-1 in maintaining paracellular impermeability in the human intestine, and suggest that the frequently reported correlation between Claudin-1 redistribution and increased intestinal permeability and inflammation does not reflect a causal relationship.


This paper describes the design of evaluation system for evaluating virtual class service. This system will be used for evaluating the virtual class in rural areas where the network capacity is limited. This virtual class service has been implemented in rural area where the users are the students of elementary school and teachers. The satisfaction of users is the most important thing that must be accounted to evaluate the success of service. The evaluation system is being designed using SERVQUAL methodology. SERVQUAL is a method for measuring user satisfaction. It compares between the expectation and user perception of one service. This is a quantitative method where the user of virtual classroom will give score of their expectation and perception. There are some aspects that will be measured using this method, they are tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and emphaty. However, to ensure the validity of the measuring of these aspects, the SERVQUAL questionaire must be designed well and easily to understand by the user. The purpose of this paper system is designing a web based system that can be used to evaluate the virtual class that has being operated so far using SERVQUAL methodology as a basis for the system. The user satisfaction is the most important key factor for the success of IT services.


The search for clean renewable energy sources is of central importance to address the ever-increasing challenges of diminishing fossil fuels and global warming. Photocatalytic processes can mimic natural photosynthesis to directly convert solar energy into chemical energy, and represent an attractive strategy for renewable energy generation and environmental remediation. Nanostructured semiconductors can play an important role in photocatalysis due to their unique structures, and chemical and physical properties. Here we present a brief overview of the recent progress in the development of semiconductor nanostructure based photocatalysts. In particular, we focus our discussions on four essential problems that dictate the performance of a photocatalyst material: visible light absorption for efficient solar energy harvesting, efficient charge separation and transportation, effective cocatalysts for efficient charge utilization, and photoelectrochemical stability for robust photocatalysis. Challenges, potential solutions, and recent efforts to address each one of these problems are discussed. Lastly, we finish the perspective with the discussion of a recent concept of using freestanding photoelectrochemical nanodevices as a potential solution to a new generation of highly efficient and stable photocatalysts.


BACKGROUND
 Gender and race are known to impact attitudes toward mental health topics and help-seeking behavior. Men and minorities are more likely to cite stigma as a reason for not seeking help for mental health concerns, which is of particular relevance given the high rate of suicide in men and challenges of historic proportion currently facing minority communities. Instagram provides a platform to discuss mental health, though a lack of male and minority representation may further alienate these populations.

 OBJECTIVE
 We aimed to investigate whether men and nonwhite individuals are underrepresented in Instagram photos tagged with #mentalhealth (compared to photos tagged with #health) to better understand how gender and race-based representations are manifested on this popular social media platform and discuss the implications.

 METHODS
 Three investigators of different genders and racial backgrounds met on nine different days via teleconference to analyze a total of 215 publicly available Instagram photos tagged with #mentalhealth and 215 with #health. These photos were generated using Instagram's search function, and search results were sorted by most recently published at the time of data collection. For each photo, the three investigators recorded their observations about the gender (male versus female) and race (white versus nonwhite versus racially unclassifiable) of subjects featured in the photo, which they did not discuss with other investigators. Chi-squared analysis was performed on each investigator's data set to compare the frequency of male versus female and white versus nonwhite subjects identified in each hashtag category. Kappa interrater agreement was calculated for each investigator pair, category (gender or race), and hashtag.

 RESULTS
 All three investigators observed significantly more female as compared to male subjects in photos tagged with #mentalhealth (X2=14.4, P<.001 for all investigators) while observing no significant difference between numbers of male and female subjects in photos tagged with #health (X2=1.533, P=.22; X2=1.241, P=.27; X2=0.096, P=.76). All three investigators identified significantly more white than nonwhite subjects in photos tagged with both #health and #mentalhealth (X2 values range from 11.912 to 98.927, P<.001 for all). Kappa interrater agreement revealed almost perfect agreement for gender (kappa=0.908-0.992) with the agreement for race ranging from 0.614 to 0.822, depending on hashtag and rater pair.

 CONCLUSIONS
 Women are featured more frequently than men in Instagram photos tagged with #mentalhealth. The topic of #health, meanwhile, is not gendered this way. Low visibility of mental health among men may both represent and exacerbate existing stigma and barriers to care. White subjects are featured significantly more frequently than nonwhite subjects in photos tagged with both #mentalhealth and #health. Directed interventions using the Instagram platform may be indicated to increase the visibility of underrepresented groups and break the cycle of stigma.

 CLINICALTRIAL


[Abstract}: Assessment-based Software Process Improvement (SPI) programs such as the Capability Maturity Model (CMM), Bootstrap, and SPICE (ISO/IEC 15504) are based on formal frameworks and promote the use of systematic processes and management practices for software development. These approaches identify best practices for the management of software development and when applied, enable organizations to understand, control and improve development processes. The purpose of a SPI assessment is to compare the current processes used in an organization with a list of recommended or 'best' practices.

This research investigates the adoption of SPI initiatives by four small software development firms. These four firms participated in a process improvement program which was sponsored by Software Engineering Australia (SEA) (Queensland). The assessment method was based on SPICE (ISO/IEC 15504) and included an initial assessment, recommendations, and a follow-up meeting. For each firm, before and after snapshots are provided of the capability as assessed on eight processes. The discussion which follows summarizes the improvements realized and considers the critical success factors relating to SPI adoption for small firms.


Both microtubule destabilizer and stabilizer agents are important molecules in anticancer therapy. In particular, paclitaxel has been demonstrated to be effective for the treatment of ovarian, breast, and nonsmall cell lung carcinomas. It has been shown that emergence of resistance against this agent correlates with an increase in the relative abundance of tubulin isoform betaIII and that the more recently discovered IDN5390 can be effectively used once resistance has emerged. In this paper, we analyze the binding modes of these antimitotic agents to type I and III isoforms of beta-tubulin by computational methods. Our results are able to provide a molecular explanation of the experimental data. Using the same protocol, we could also show that no preference for any of the two isoforms can be detected for epothilone A, a potentially very interesting drug for which no data about the emergence of resistance is currently available. Our analysis provides structural insights about the recognition mode and the stabilization mechanism of these antimitotic agents and provides useful suggestions for the design of more potent and selective antimitotic agents.


We aimed to determine the most proper change measure among simple difference, percent, or symmetrized percent changes in simple paired designs. For this purpose, we devised a computer simulation program. Since distributions of percent and symmetrized percent change values are skewed and bimodal, paired t-test did not give good results according to Type I error and the test power. To be to able use percent change or symmetrized percent change as change measure, either the distribution of test statistics should be transformed to a known theoretical distribution by transformation methods or a new test statistic for these values should be developed.


Abstract 1. The metabolite profile of the 5α-reductase type II inhibitor finasteride has been studied in pig plasma, urine and bile using high-resolution mass spectrometry. The porcine biotransformation products were compared to those formed by human liver microsomes and to literature data of recently identified human in vivo metabolites. The objective of this study was to gain further evidence for the validity of using pigs for advanced, invasive drug–drug interaction studies that are not possible to perform in humans. 2. The use of high-resolution mass spectrometry with accurate mass measurements enabled identification of the metabolites by calculation of their elemental compositions as well as their fragmentation patterns. 3. There was an excellent match between the porcine and human metabolic profiles, corroborating the pig as a model of human drug metabolism. The glucuronides of the two recently described human hydroxylated metabolites MX and MY and the carboxylated metabolite M3 were identified as the major biotransformation products of finasteride in pig urine and bile. 4. Furthermore, the CYP enzymes involved in the formation of the hydroxylated metabolites were characterized. Human recombinant CYP3A4 could produce the two major hydroxylated metabolites MX and MY, whereas human recombinant CYP2D6 formed MY only.


Title of Dissertation: INVESTIGATION OF VESICULARMEDIATED TRANSPORT OF INTERCELLULAR ADHESION MOLECULE1-TARGETED CARRIERS FOR TREATMENT OF LYSOSOMAL STORAGE DISORDERS Rachel Lee Manthe, Doctor of Philosophy, 2017 Dissertation directed by: Associate Professor, Silvia Muro Fischell Department of Bioengineering & Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research Numerous cellular processes and therapeutic interventions rely on vesicularmediated endocytosis to gain entry into cells and sub-cellular compartments, as well as for transcellular transport across biological barriers such as found at the blood-brain interface. Yet, endocytic behavior can be altered in disease, representing an additional hurdle in the design of effective therapeutic strategies. Lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs), characterized by lysosomal accumulation of undigested substrates as a result of deficient enzymatic activity, illustrate this paradigm. Currently, intravenous infusion of recombinant lysosomal enzymes to replace those deficient is the standard clinical approach for these disorders. However, clathrin-mediated endocytosis utilized by replacement enzymes for cellular uptake and lysosomal trafficking is altered, thereby impacting treatment efficacy as recently demonstrated in acid sphingomyelinase-deficient type A Niemann-Pick disease (NPD). Therefore, alternative means to bypass defunct routes is warranted. Therapeutic delivery via polymer nanocarriers targeting intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (anti-ICAM NCs), a cell-surface molecule overexpressed in endothelial and subjacent tissue cells during inflammation, such as in LSDs, represents a viable option since it permits uptake, intraand transcellular transport via a unique endocytic route called the cell adhesion molecule (CAM) pathway. In this dissertation, cell culture and animal models were used to examine the (1) endocytic activity of the CAM pathway and other clathrin-independent routes in type A NPD, (2) role of targeting valency (i.e., density of ICAM-1-targeting molecules on the NC surface) in regulating the CAM pathway, and (3) effects induced via engagement of ICAM-1 on cells by anti-ICAM NCs. The results herein demonstrate the CAM pathway is more active in diseased cells compared to other classical endocytic pathways, making it the most amenable route for therapeutic enzyme replacement. Further, modulating targeting valency of NCs optimized this strategy for enhanced enzyme delivery to the brain, a target organ for type A NPD. Lastly, anti-ICAM NCs attenuated endothelial release of soluble ICAM-1, an inflammatory regulator, representing a secondary benefit of this system. Overall, this work validates utility of anti-ICAM NCs for enzyme replacement to treat NPD and likely other LSDs, and provides insight into biological processes and design parameters that influence the therapeutic efficacy of targeted drug carriers. INVESTIGATION OF VESICULAR-MEDIATED TRANSPORT OF INTERCELLULAR ADHESION MOLECULE-1-TARGETED CARRIERS FOR TREATMENT OF LYSOSOMAL STORAGE DISORDERS


Anthropogenic climate change has the potential to completely modify patterns of biodiversity worldwide. In the Iberian Peninsula, Euro-Siberian reptiles are suggested as the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. One of most threatened species is Vipera seoanei, for which it was forecasted a complete loss of suitable habitats already in 2020. In this work, 355 distributional rec-ords (at 1 x 1 km scale) and eight climatic variables for current and future conditions (three story-lines; 2050 and 2080 periods) are analysed by combining four ecological niche-based model algo-rithms (ANN, GAM, GLM and MAXENT) to assess V. seoanei vulnerability to forecasted scenarios of climatic change, and to infer potential impacts in its genetic diversity. Consensus models for cur-rent conditions fit species observational data and identify two temperature and two precipitation variables as the most related to the species distribution. Prognostics for the future predict V. seoanei persistence in the Iberian Peninsula for the next future, but with dramatic reductions in suitable cli-matic areas by 2050 and especially by 2080. Reductions might be particularly accused along the species range margins, and thus currently isolated populations at its south-western range would be highly vulnerable to extinction. Furthermore, important losses of genetic diversity and population isolation might be favoured in the future, suggesting a high vulnerability of the species to climate change, and thus the necessity of developing further studies and monitoring programs. Other spe-cies with Euro-Siberian affinity are likely to experience similar responses and would show similar vulnerability to climate change.


This paper reports a patient with an unusual form of diffuse carcinoma of the meibomian glands and the glands of Zeis. Although carcinoma of the meibomian glands classically is characterized by a discrete lesion often mistaken for a chalazion, 1 this patient showed only a generalized thickening and inflammation in the lateral portions of the upper and lower lids. The diagnosis was confirmed by biopsy which further revealed pagetoid changes in the overlying epithelium. Report of Case This 72-year-old white male was seen in consultation on Sept 4, 1963. He had noticed pain and irritation on the lateral aspects of the eyelids of his left eye for one year. Treatment with antibiotic and steroid ointments had resulted in no improvement. Examination revealed a diffuse, apparently inflammatory, eczematoid thickening of the temporal 1.5 cm of the left upper and lower lids adjacent to the outer canthus of the left eye (Fig


Major changes in the care delivery system affect the selection of the professional nursing staff for an ambulatory surgery unit. The skills required are diverse and dynamic. Selecting the right applicant requires not only knowledge of the interview process, but also acute observation and communication skills. The use of a matrix system helps to organize the process as well as to quantify and qualify the information gained.


Intraspinal injection of quisqualic acid (QUIS) produces excitotoxic injury with pathological characteristics similar to those associated with ischemic and traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). Inflammatory responses appear to be a major component of the secondary neuronal injury initiated by SCI and play a role in the pathogenesis of QUIS-induced injury. IL-10 is a potent antiinflammatory cytokine that has been shown to reduce inflammation and improve functional outcome in human and animal models of inflammatory diseases. We propose the administration of IL-10 following excitotoxic SCI will attenuate the inflammatory response, thus resulting in increased neuronal survival. Female, Sprague-Dawley rats were given intraspinal injections of QUIS followed by either intraspinal (5 ng, n = 8) or systemic injections (5 microgram n = 14) of IL-10. Survival times were varied (2-3 days) in order to produce a range of injury states and inflammatory involvement. When administered intraspinally, IL-10 significantly exacerbated the QUIS damage (P < 0.05), resulting in an 11.2% increase in lesion volume. When given systemically, IL-10 significantly decreased lesion volume by 18.1% in the more advanced injury (P < 0.05), but did not effect the more acute injury. These divergent effects were attributed to the modest inflammatory response in the short-term injury compared to the more robust inflammatory response in the more chronic injury. In conclusion, reducing the inflammatory response to SCI by systemic administration of IL-10 resulted in a significant reduction in neuronal damage, suggesting that targeting injury-induced inflammation may be an effective treatment strategy for acute SCI.


Barriers to climate change adaptation have received increased attention in recent years as researchers and policymakers attempt to understand their complex and interdependent nature and identify strategies for overcoming them. To date however, there is a paucity of research on barriers to transformative adaptation. Using two case studies of flood risk management from Ireland we identify and characterize barriers to transformative adaptation. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders connected to proposed transformative strategies in Skibbereen, County Cork and Clontarf, County Dublin. Across both case studies, where transformative strategies failed to materialize, we highlight three significant barriers that impede transformation including: (i) social and cultural values, particularly place attachment and identity; (ii) institutional reliance on technical expertise which fails to look beyond traditional technocratic approaches and; (iii) institutional regulatory practices. Findings illustrate that where social or institutional barriers emerge, transformation may more likely succeed through a series of incremental changes. This research has practical implications for future adaptation planning as facilitating transformation through incrementalism requires flexible adaptation strategies that are responsive to changing social values over time. While focused on flood risk management, our findings have applicability for other sectors adapting to climate change.


The proposed settlement in the Google Book Search case should be approved with strings attached. The project will be immensely good for society, and the proposed deal is a fair one for Google, for authors, and for publishers. The public interest demands, however, that the settlement be modified first. It creates two new entities - the Books Rights Registry Leviathan and the Google Book Search Behemoth - with dangerously concentrated power over the publishing industry. Left unchecked, they could trample on consumers in any number of ways. We the public have a right to demand that those entities be subject to healthy, pro-competitive oversight, and so we should.


Most chapters conclude with "Exercises." 1. Getting Started. Say Something Worthwhile. Say It Ethically and Accurately. Say It in an Easy Way. Projecting Confidence. The Truth About Nervousness. How to Develop Self-Confidence. Visual Imagery for Confidence in Public Speaking. A Script for Visual Imagery to Develop Confidence in Speaking. The Communicative Act. How Communication Works. Ethics in Communication. 2. Audience Analysis. Who Exactly Is My Audience? What Response Can I Reasonably Expect from My Audience? Will My Audience Find This Subject Useful? Will My Audience Find This Subject Interesting? What Is My Audience's Knowledge of My Subject? What Demographic Characteristics Should I Consider about My Audience? Is My Audience's Attitude Favorable, Indifferent, or Opposed? 3. Determine Your Purpose and Subject. Selecting a Subject. Specific Purpose. The Central Idea. Listening. Barriers to Listening. Ways to Improve Listening. Note-Taking Tips. 4. Gathering Supportive Material. Personal Experience and Knowledge. The Library. The Librarian. Electronic Services. The Internet. Ethics in Using the Internet. E-Mail. Telnet. Usenet. Interviewing. Writing Away for Materials. Taking Notes. Bibliography. 5. Supporting Your Ideas. Examples. Explanation. Statistics. Testimony. Comparison and Contrast. Visual Aids. Computer Generated Visual Aids. Combined Supports. 6. Preparing the Content of Your Speech. Organizing Your Speech. Planning the Body. Decide on Main Points. Arranging Central Idea and Main Points. Body of Speech. Transitions. 7. The Introduction and Conclusion. Objectives of Introductions. Attention Step in Introductions. Types of Conclusions. Outlining Your Speech. Sample Full-Sentence Outline for a Speech to Instruct. 8. Delivery. Impromptu Speeches. Manuscript Speeches. Memorized Speeches. Extemporaneous Speeches. Nonverbal Communication. Kinetics. Bolidy Movement. Gesture. The Face and Eyes. Personal Appearance. Paralanguage. Effective Word Choice. Interestingness. Sample Delivery Outline. Using Note Cards. Practicing the Speech. Delivery Pitfalls. 9. Informing. Demonstration Speeches. Description Speeches. Expository Speeches. Guidelines for Informative Speaking. Sample Speech to Inform. 10. Persuasion. Persuasion Defined. Personal Proof. Psychological Proof. Logical Proof. Deductive Reasoning. Other Forms of Reasoning. Fallacies. Types of Persuasive Speeches. Sample Speech to Inform. 11. Group Communication. The Functions of Discussion. Types of Discussion. Participating in Discussion. Moderating the Discussion. A Pattern for Problem Solving. Evaluating Discussions. Using Case Problems. Index.


Direct device assignment, where a guest virtual machine directly interacts with an I/O device without host intervention, is appealing, because it allows an unmodified (non-hypervisor-aware) guest to achieve near-native performance. But device assignment for unmodified guests suffers from two serious deficiencies: (1) it requires pinning all of the guest's pages, thereby disallowing memory overcommitment, and (2) it exposes the guest's memory to buggy device drivers.

We solve these problems by designing, implementing, and exposing an emulated IOMMU (vIOMMU) to the unmodified guest. We employ two novel optimizations to make vIOMMU perform well: (1) waiting a few milliseconds before tearing down an IOMMU mapping in the hope it will be immediately reused ("optimistic teardown"), and (2) running the vIOMMU on a sidecore, and thereby enabling for the first time the use of a sidecore by unmodified guests. Both optimizations are highly effective in isolation. The former allows bare-metal to achieve 100% of a 10Gbps line rate. The combination of the two allows an unmodified guest to do the same.


The long-term goal of this study is to provide people with spinal cord injury with the ability to stand and perform reaching tasks with their hands. Functional neuromuscular stimulation (FNS) systems have been used for standing, but functional capabilities are often limited by poor balance control that necessitates use of the hands. Control strategies that use feedback of biomechanical variables may be able to improve the quality of posture control. This work addresses the issue of selecting which variable to use as feedback in a posture control system. An experimental system was developed to provide visual feedback of the instantaneous center of pressure (CoP) or the instantaneous position of the pelvis (PoP) in the transverse plane. Spinal cord injured subjects that use FNS to stand participated in a set of experiments in which they adjusted their posture based on visual feedback of either the CoP or PoP. Results indicate that subjects could adjust posture with either variable as feedback, but that feedback of the PoP provided control that was more intuitive and the strategies used to adjust posture were more appropriate.


Major features of the tertiary sector in Germany are high growth rates and intense competition. Service providers who want to ensure their success, must therefore encourage growth opportunities by offering innovative, customer-oriented services Heiner Evanschitzky presents a comprehensive study of the success of service networks, which he described as a promising form of coordination for economic activities, because they can be flexibly joined with individual service offerings to respond to environmental change through specialization and cost advantages realised. The author integrates the major theoretical approaches to explain sustainable competitive advantages in the context of network marketing and expanding the marketing theory. An empirical investigation and clues to improve the competitiveness of the enterprise is also covered.


The aim of the study was to determine whether birds of different breeds, with different preferences for environmental elements and kept in identical conditions, would exhibit different behaviour and stress levels. The research material consisted of 50 laying hens of the Green-legged partridge (Zk), Polbar (Pb), and Leghorn (Lg) breeds. The birds were provided with identical environmental conditions. They were kept on litter in separate boxes, with 25 individuals of one breed per box, in the same building. An open field test was used in determining the behaviour of the birds. Levels of cortisol in serum and corticosterone in feathers were evaluated, and haematological and biochemical analyses of blood were performed. Leghorns proved to be a highly excitable and active breed whose needs cannot be fully satisfied in the standard conditions of large farms. Based on a differential leukocyte count, their hyperactivity was associated with increased stress. The Green-legged partridge exhibited the lowest stress levels. Birds kept in the same environmental conditions were found to differ significantly in the level of stress, probably because of differences in their behavioural needs and the possibilities of satisfying them. To reduce stress levels and improve the welfare of hens, it is necessary to verify their preferences first. Stress indicators are elevated in highly excitable birds, and the conditions on large farms are not conducive to meeting their behavioural needs.
Keywords: behavioural test, blood indices, corticosterone, laying hens


Characterization of feedstocks for powder injection molding of SiCp-reinforced aluminium composite, as potential use for automotive and light-weight applications, has been studied in this research. Al-4.5 wt.% Cu powder, SiCp and polymeric binder were pre-mixed and compounded using a twin screw extruder at 170oC prior to powder injection molding at 170 oC. Effects of varied solid loadings at 52, 55 and 58% on green properties of the feedstocks have been investigated. Experimental results showed that compounding followed by powder injection molding allowed uniform distribution of SiCp surrounding the aluminium powder. It was found that higher solid loading improved bulk density while hardness values were observed to be similar. Molded specimens of 55% solid loading provided the optimum bend strength and strain at failure. Moreover, it was observed that the opposing abrasive property with angular shape of SiCp resulted in SiCp scratching effect, leading to irregular surface of aluminium powder after injection molding. This consequence and molding porosity were expected to be responsible for relatively low density of the molded specimens, giving the difficulty in molding at higher solid loading.


GDF SUEZ, as a gas and LNG company, operates onshore and offshore facilities where accidental high pressure releases of natural gas are likely to occur. To study this hazard, experiments have been performed in uncongested areas, focusing on fires and heat flux. In parallel, trials were carried out to assess overpressures generated by a gas explosion in a congested area. Most experiments were done with a quiescent stoichiometric gas cloud and not with a real turbulent release of methane or natural gas. The same assumption of stoichiometric gas cloud is then followed for quantitative risk assessment and influence land use planning, occupational safety, safety gaps definition and design. The following review endeavours to collect existing knowledge and recent experimental and numerical works on the influence of initial turbulence on methane explosions severity and to highlight the differences between explosions with initial turbulence and explosions with quiescent stoichiometric mixtures. Small-scale experiments of methane explosions carried out by INERIS and GDF SUEZ in 2011-2013 are presented. These are 0.8 kg/s methane jets dispersion and explosion tests, in open field and within various congested areas. According to those tests, maximum overpressure is multiplied by 5 for turbulent jets ignitions compared to tests with quiescent stoichiometric mixtures of same volume. The influence of gas jet turbulence on explosion is confirmed by FLACS simulations performed by GDF SUEZ for large scale configurations. In addition, sensitivity studies on FLACS simulations show uncertainties on the CFD modelling of gas jets explosions. In order to further increase knowledge and to validate models and CFD codes, as FLACS, GDF SUEZ Research Center is currently setting up a JIP for a campaign to pursue large-scale explosion tests with pressurized natural gas releases into both congested and uncongested