Livestock production is expected to grow tremendously in line with the projected demand for animal products. Therefore, the methods of livestock production must change to allow for efficiency and improvement in productivity. Biotechnology is important if the world is to respond to the pressure to produce more food from animals for the ever-growing human population. In general, biotechnology in livestock production can be categorised as the biological, chemical and physical techniques that influence animal health (survival), nutrition, breeding and reproduction. These techniques have been applied mostly in developed countries but their application in Africa is minimal due to reasons related to economic growth such as poor infrastructure, technical and educational capacity. However, Africa can still benefit from tailor-made technologies that simplify complex techniques into applicable form through strategic packaging. Public concerns on food safety, environment and ethics are issues that cannot be ignored.


Bisphosphonates are synthetic compounds similar to organic pyrophosphates. The bioavailability of intravenous preparations is 100%, whereas the availability of oral therapy ranges from 1 to 5%. About 50% to 80% of free bisphosphonates are incorporated into bone. Because of their urinary elimination, bisphosphonates must be carefully administered in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. In spite of this, bisphosphonates can safely be used in all CKD stages, including dialysis and kidney transplant. The renal toxicity seems different among these compounds, and it is due basically to their protein binding and the average lifespan in renal tissues. In practice, renal toxicity have been associate to the infusion velocity and excessive dosage In patients with CKD, it is very relevant to maintain the time of infusion and in haemodialysis patients we recommend the administration during the haemodialysis session. When bisphosphonates are given to 4-5 CKD patients it seems reasonable to reduce the dose to 50%. No renal pathology has been associated to oral administration. The indications of bisphosphonates in CKD include: hypercalcemia episodes, prevention of bone loss after renal transplantation, treatment of low bone mineral density in all CKD stage including transplantation. They are too a promising therapy of calciphylaxis and to prevent vascular calcifications. When suppressed bone turnover is suspected, bone biopsy is mandatory before bisphosphonates therapy.


Recently, a lot of single stage detectors using multi-scale features have been actively proposed. They are much faster than two stage detectors that use region proposal networks (RPN) without much degradation in the detection performances. However, the feature maps in the lower layers close to the input which are responsible for detecting small objects in a single stage detector have a problem of insufficient representation power because they are too shallow. There is also a structural contradiction that the feature maps have to deliver low-level information to next layers as well as contain high-level abstraction for prediction. In this paper, we propose a method to enrich the representation power of feature maps using Resblock and deconvolution layers. In addition, a unified prediction module is applied to generalize output results and boost earlier layers' representation power for prediction. The proposed method enables more precise prediction, which achieved higher score than SSD on PASCAL VOC and MS COCO. In addition, it maintains the advantage of fast computation of a single stage detector, which requires much less computation than other detectors with similar performance.


Bioinspired design (BID) is an interdisciplinary research field that can lead to innovations to solve technical problems. There have been many attempts to develop a framework to de-silo engineering and biology and implement processes to enable BID. In January of 2022, we organized a symposium at the 2022 Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology Annual Meeting to bring together educators and practitioners of BID. The symposium aimed to: a) consolidate best practices in teaching bioinspiration, b) create and sustain effective multidisciplinary teams, c) summarize best approaches to conduct problem-based or solution-driven fundamental research, and d) bring bioinspired design innovations to market. During the symposium, several themes emerged. Here we highlight three critical themes that need to be addressed for BID to become a truly interdisciplinary strategy that benefits all stakeholders and results in innovation. First, there is a need for a usable methodology that leads to proper abstraction of biological principles for engineering design. Second, the utilization of engineering models to test biological hypotheses is essential for the continued engagement of biologists in BID. And third, the necessity of proven team-science strategies that will lead to successful collaborations between engineers and biologists. Accompanying this introduction is a variety of perspectives and research articles highlighting best practices in bioinspired design research and product development and guides that can highlight the challenges and facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations in the field of bioinspired design.


Summary: Photosynthetic activities of a synchronously grown aerobic N2-fixing unicellular cyanobacterium, Synechococcus sp. strain Miami BG 043511, were examined. Cells 1 h after the onset of synchronous growth exhibited an O2 evolution rate of 400-500 mUmol (mg Chl aL)-1 h-1 at saturating light intensity, while it decreased to 40-80 mUmol (mg Chl a)-1 h-1 in 12 h cells. Changes in the relative fluorescence intensity (excitation wavelength 430 nm, emission 685 nm) were not as large as the changes in photosynthetic O2 evolution activity. Photosynthetic electron transport activities of both photosystem II and photosystem I in 12 h cells were lower than those in 1 h cells. Photosystem II activity with 2,5-dimethyl-p-benzoquinone, and photosystem I activity with diaminodurene and methyl viologen in 12 h cells were about 64 and 46%, respectively, of those in 1 h cells. However, the reduction in photosynthetic electron transport activities was not sufficient to account for the reduction in photosynthetic O2 evolution activity in 12 h cells, which was about 14% of that in 1 h cells. Based on these observations, the reduction in photosynthetic O2 evolution activity in 12 h cells was ascribed to the combined effect of a reduction in both the photochemical and the biochemical steps of photosynthesis.


Teachers in order to offer and upgrade the quality of their work require to receive high quality educational services during their initial and continuing training. High educational service quality is being achieved by a customer-oriented approach. The core base of this customer-oriented approach is teachers' expectations in which educational institutions should rely on. Investigation of quality services, in a pedagogical training program, was the main target of this paper. 101 teachers participated in the survey. From the gap analysis emerged that the perceptions of learners, in relation to their initial expectations, regarding the quality of educational services, outnumbered in all quality dimensions of the measuring tool, with that of "Assurance" (-0.18) and "Responsiveness" (-0.16) to present the highest deviations. However, overall candidate teachers seemed satisfied with the services provided as the weighted index EppaikQual (-0.12) was borderline negative.


Porosity and water saturation in a horizontal top-reservoir are estimated from seismic AVO (Amplitude Versus Offset) data and Controlled Source Electromagnetic (CSEM) data jointly. A model connecting porosity and saturation to both AVO effects and to the phase shift of electromagnetic signals is constructed. In this model, Gassmann's equations, Archie's law, Zoeppritz' equations and ray-tracing is involved. We use a Bayesian approach to solve the inversion problem, and the solution is given as posterior distributions for the parameters of interest. We also investigate the noise levels in the two types of data, and how these affect the estimates of the reservoir properties. Gaussian assumptions and linearizations are made to ensure analytically tractable posterior distributions for porosity and saturation, and a Gibbs sampler is used to explore the joint posterior for porosity, saturation and noise levels. The method is applied to both synthetic data, and field data from the Troll gas field. The results from the joint inversion are compared to results from using seismic data exclusively and a clear improvement is found in the estimates of the synthetic case. The results from the Troll data are more ambiguous, probably caused by the problem of picking seismic data along the top-reservoir and inaccuracies in the fixed parameters in the geophysical forward model.


BACKGROUND
Early child nutritional deficiencies are prevalent in low- and middle-countries with consequences linked not only to poor survival and growth, but also to poor development outcomes. Children in disadvantaged communities face multiple risks for nutritional deficiencies, yet some children may be less susceptible or may recover more quickly from malnutrition. A greater understanding is needed about factors which moderate the effects of nutrition-related risks and foster resilience to protect against or ameliorate poor development outcomes.

METHODS
A literature review was undertaken from August to December 2011 and updated in August 2012. Key word searches using terms Nutrition, Malnutrition, Child Development, Responsive Care, Stimulation, Low and Middle Income Countries and Resilience were undertaken using PubMed and Psychinfo.

RESULTS
Dietary adequacy is critical for growth and development, but current evidence indicates that nutrition supplementation alone is insufficient to foster resilience to protect against, mitigate, and recover from nutritional threats and to promote healthy development. The combination of nutrition interventions with stimulation and responsive care is necessary. Combined nutrition and psychosocial stimulation approaches can potentially work effectively together to promote protective factors and mitigate risks for poor cognitive, motor, social, and affective functioning helping children to adapt in times of adversity. However, there are gaps in our existing knowledge to combine nutrition and psychosocial stimulation interventions effectively and promote these interventions at scale.

CONCLUSIONS
Research needs to address barriers at the level of family, community, programme, and policy which have prevented thus far the uptake of combined nutrition and psychosocial intervention strategies. Further investigations are needed on how to provide support to caregivers, enabling them to implement appropriate care for feeding and stimulation. Finally, the effect of combined interventions on pathways of care and protective mediators that foster resilience need to be better understood to determine focus areas for content of combined intervention curricula which help families in high-risk settings.


Recently, there have been frequent calls for more generalists in the health care system, including General Internal Medicine (GIM). At the same time, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons has published a report on unemployed and underemployed specialists throughout Canada. GIM residency programs aim to ensure all graduates have future employment positions that will benefit Canadians. However, there is currently little linkage between the educational and healthcare systems in terms of utilizing future health care needs to inform postgraduate training. There is a lack of consensus on how to plan future health care workforce needs. There is, however, consensus that this is important for both the population and for future physicians. Predictions must also take into account context, such as Saskatchewan's significantly rural and aboriginal population. Difficulties in health care workforce planning include economic factors, differences in physician scope of practice, and regional variations in scope of practice. To fully prepare graduates for both core GIM competencies and competencies tailored to their future practice, it is necessary for us to understand the range of scope of GIM practice in Saskatchewan. It is crucial to understand both current and anticipated perceived scopes of practice and practice opportunities for General Internists in order to plan physician resource needs and the required educational resources.


We describe a human-centered multimodal framework for automatically measuring cognitive changes. As a proof-ofconcept, we test our approach on the use case of stress detection. We contribute a method that combines non-intrusive behavioral analysis of facial expressions with speech data, enabling detection without the use of wearable devices. We compare these modalities' effectiveness against galvanic skin response (GSR) collected simultaneously from the subject group using a wristband sensor. Data was collected with a modified version of the Stroop test, in which subjects perform the test both with and without the inclusion of stressors. Our study attempts to distinguish stressed and unstressed behaviors during constant cognitive load. The best improvement in accuracy over the majority class baseline was 38%, which was only 5% behind the best GSR result on the same data. This suggests that reliable markers of cognitive changes can be captured by behavioral data that are more suitable for group settings than wearable devices, and that combining modalities is beneficial.


Strategic Methods Utilized by Small Business Development Centers in the United States and Its' Territories to Deliver Educational Programsby: Michael Robert WholihanAbstract: The intent of this surveyed research study was to analyze how Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) deliver educational programs within the United States and its' territories. The survey was sent to sixty-three SBDC State Directors, all of whom responded. The data identifies patterns and variations in educational programs that are implemented at the centers. Business educators are constantly thinking of new topics to address small business owners. An SBDC that provides educational services to small company owners must take into consideration what program topics they will offer each year. SBDCs teach an array of business related topics and complex issues for small business owners to learn through the various centers. The design of the research questions were to collect and analyze the educational program information to understand how and why SBDCs provide their services in each state. If there are several business centers offering the same educational courses there is little diversification. For business educators it is vitally important to teach new methods and resolve existing concerns which company owners' and start-up ventures address with their business decisions. The accuracy of the survey answers provided in each question led to a higher response rate. The survey questions identified key aspects and approaches State Directors utilize to effectively deliver business education programs. The 100% response rate that completed the survey reflected the importance of the developed survey topics and the results which correlated to the initial researched questions. The basis of this study began from researched literature of SBDCs that teach, develop and deliver educational programs. A review of the literature for this study suggested a need to comprehend the education of entrepreneurship, economic development, and education program management. The universities, Chambers of Commerce and community colleges that host SBDCs play significant roles as centers for economic and educational generators with the assistance of SBDC researchers and practitioners.


Despite the success of text-to-text pre-trained models in various natural language generation (NLG) tasks, the generation performance is largely restricted by the number of labeled data in downstream tasks, particularly in data-to-text generation tasks. Existing works mostly utilize abundant unlabeled structured data to conduct unsupervised pre-training for task adaption, which fail to model the complex relationship between source structured data and target texts. Thus, we introduce self-training as a better few-shot learner than task-adaptive pre-training, which explicitly captures this relationship via pseudo-labeled data generated by the pre-trained model. To alleviate the side-effect of low-quality pseudo-labeled data during self-training, we propose a novel method called Curriculum-Based Self-Training (CBST) to effectively leverage unlabeled data in a rearranged order determined by the difficulty of text generation. Experimental results show that our method can outperform fine-tuning and task-adaptive pre-training methods, and achieve state-of-the-art performance in the few-shot setting of data-to-text generation.


This piece is an answer to the responses of Helen Verran, Steven D. Brown, and Brit Ross Winthereik to the author's article, "Comparison as a Matter of Concern." She acknowledges the difficulty of her respondents to accept her claim that the sciences may be destroyed as many practices before them have been. She opposes, however, an "adaptationist" or "transformationist" perspective, in order to emphasize that, if the sciences are to survive, a radical mutation would be needed. She emphasizes that what is at stake is not a "good science" threatened by its alliance with industry. The recruitment of powerful allies has been part of the scientific enterprise since its beginning. What is at stake is the collective fabric of sciences as characterized by Bruno Latour in terms of "links and knots."


This paper assesses the current variety of capitalism in Laos using Hall and Soskice's (2001) comparative approach and the emerging body of knowledge on Varieties of Asian Capitalism. In addition to a systematic discussion of the traditional capitalist elements proposed by Hall and Soskice (the financial system, industrial relations, internal structure of the firm, education and skills formation and inter-company relations), this paper also takes into account foreign direct investments, social and environmental sustainability. The available evidence suggests that Laos can be categorised as a State Coordinated Frontier Economy in which elites and foreign investors accumulate wealth at the expense of small firms, villagers and the natural environment. The government is particularly present in the spheres of finance and inter-company relations. A continuation of this variety of capitalism is likely to result in excessive inequality and severe environmental degradation. The task for Laos is now to foster more inclusive forms of state coordination and balance economic growth with ameliorative policy initiatives catering to the natural environment, displaced villagers, ordinary employees and small business owners. This will be a difficult endeavour as there is still a profound mismatch between prevailing economic institutional complementarities and historically informed cultural institutions.


Abstract In this study, we examine the effects of reheating on finely exsolved hematite-ilmenite intergrowths from the ~91 Ma Ecstall pluton using reflected light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). As a result of the emplacement of the younger adjacent ~52 Ma Quottoon pluton, samples closer to a thermal boundary have experienced greater degrees of thermal alteration. Five main microstructural features characterize hematite-ilmenite intergrowths from the Ecstall: (I) exsolution lamellae of hematite and ilmenite; (II) oxidation of ilmenite to form hematite, rutile, and other Ti-rich phases; (III) 20-50 nm magnetite precipitates in hematite; (IV) rutile blitz texture; and (V) exsolution of hematite in rutile. Based on spatial relationships, textures II through V appear to be related to reheating of the Ecstall by the Quottoon, and samples up to ~14 km from the thermal boundary intrusive contact have been affected. We propose a mechanism, similar to that of Kontny and Dietl (2001), in which reheating has driven T-ƒO₂ conditions across the hematite-magnetite buffer to lower ƒO₂ resulting in the reduction of hematite. Higher temperatures also enhanced oxidation in ilmenite. The formation of magnetite altered the bulk magnetic properties of these samples, increasing NRM intensity. This study underscores the need to consider a pluton's post-emplacement thermal history before making tectonic interpretations based on paleomagnetic data.


In the face of dwindling natural resources, rattan is slowly becoming a plantation crop. This is especially true for Calamus manan, which has been successfully planted in between rubber trees. However, systematic surveys of the associated insect fauna are few. In a study of phytophagous insects in plots of three different age-groups of C. manan planted under rubber trees, hesperid larvae were found to be the most important herbivores. Four different species, Gangara thyrsis, Erionota hiraca, Quedara monteithi and Salanoemia sala, were observed regularly, with increasing abundance in the stated order. An additional species, Zela sp. was found on a few occasions only. Abundance of G. thyrsis and E. hiraca were quite similar, while those of Q. monteithi and S. sala were significantly different from the first two and from each other. Differences in abundance between the different aged plots were only significant for the two least abundant species. It was concluded that the hesperid fauna did not show any age-related differences between the plots of rattan. The dynamics of G. thyrsis, E. hiraca and Q. monteithi did not show any distinct pattern during the observation period, with only minor variation in their abundance. Salanoemia sala, while showing the same pattern in the first part of the survey, displayed a 10- to 20-fold abundance increase in one month during the second part of the survey. Possible relations with climatic data are discussed, as well as possible economic considerations. No adverse effects are expected at the current levels, but a close eye on the future development is recommended.


This paper examines technology benefit allocation between an innovating firm and heterogeneous technology adopters. Using a triangular distribution of adopter innovation value, we find that as the upper bound increases, optimal innovation price increases, but at a slower rate. Similarly, as the lower bound decreases, price decreases and producer benefits increase. Finally, greater producer heterogeneity leads to greater producer benefits from innovation in non-competitive markets. An empirical application of the model is considered, bovine somatotropin adoption on dairy farms. The model generates an intuitive explanation of the common finding that average adopters are making zero or negative profits.


A change in the profile of food consumption is occurring because of the new context of demographic growth, the increase of income in developing economies, and urbanization. In Brazil, consumption patterns have trended from fresh to processed food and internal and external growth in demand has led to opportunities that require new and higher levels of technological innovation and associated managerial skill. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of innovation on a key Brazilian food industry: wheat product markets. Results showed that while most firms did not innovate in the past year, new investments in R&D were important for innovation to occur compared to other factors such as the size of the company, the integration in supply chain, and the age of the company. These results demonstrate that innovation is not a random or unpredictable process, but a complex and diverse process that may be specific to each industry.


A study was conducted to investigate the relationship between sexuality and various areas of adjustment to disability among 39 male upper class Nigerian paraplegics and tetraplegics. The results showed that the younger the subjects were, the better were the chances for sexual adjustment; there was close correlation between good sexual adjustment and the ability to use aids to daily living, mobility, ability to perform role activities, high morale, relative independence and general satisfaction about life. The subjects exhibited interest in sexual activities in a positive way contrary to popular opinion. It has been proposed that sex counselling should be a standard component of the rehabilitation effort for paraplegics and tetraplegics.


We normally assess consciousness in other individuals based on their ability to interact with the surrounding environment. A the same time, we all know very well that consciousness can be generated entirely within the brain, even in the absence of any interaction with the external world; this happens almost every night when we dream. Because of this fundamental discrepancy, the presence of consciousness may go undetected in brain-injured patients who emerge from coma but remain unresponsive. Developing a reliable, objective measure of the capacity for consciousness is one of the grand challenges for medical science. A challenge that we need to take on and face successfully for the sake of all the patients who survive coma through intensive care medicine. Besides, we may one day have to face the question of whether future artificial intelligence is just a useful zombie or a somehow conscious entity. According to a recently formulated theory, consciousness depends on a special kind of complexity in physical systems, on a unique balance between unity and diversity. Today, empirical measures inspired by this theory can help us in detecting a covert capacity for consciousness in patients who are otherwise completely isolated from the external world. Will they help us, one day, to understand how can a few pounds of jelly matter host the universe of a dream?


In this paper we describe the system SMART (Supporting Medical Activities in Real-Time). The goal of the system is real-time assistance to physicians who execute diagnostic or therapeutic protocols in a clinical context. SMART is able to retrieve a protocol from its knowledge base and to monitor its execution step by step for a single patient. Different protocols for different patients can be followed at the same time in a health care structure.The prototype realized supports the execution of protocols for evaluating surgical risks. It has been implemented according to the specifications given by the 4th Surgical Clinic of "Policlinico Umberto I" and reflects the activities actually performed in that hospital. However, the protocol model defined is general-purpose and we envisage an easy application to other contexts and therefore to the informatization of other protocols.


Corona discharge is a kind of self-sustained discharge that emerges in daily life, industrial production and other fields. A variety of works have been done on this issue. And corona discharge in high-velocity airflow is of great significant especially. In this paper, an experimental system is proposed and assembled, to research the characteristics of corona discharge in high-velocity airflow and the differences between corona discharge with and without high-velocity airflow. By comparing simulation results of velocity field and pressure field of air amplifier and Laval nozzle, proper airflow supply device is selected. The experiment cabin is designed following the requirements of corona discharge to airflow by mathematical calculation. We also design the discharge device and receiving device by theoretical analyses. Experiments of corona discharge with and without high-velocity airflow are both done in the system. Significant distinctions showing the impact on corona discharge of high-velocity airflow is observed.


Background Following a thematic analysis of a series of Never Events in Theatres at Nottingham University Hospitals, one of the recommendations made was to establish a network of theatre team-based Patient Safety Champions enlisted from experienced members of the theatre practitioner workforce. This network has been sustained for over 3 years, but it is apparent that structured professional development in the role would benefit individuals in terms of their contribution as well as enhance the value of the network overall. This abstract describes the design of such a curriculum and next steps in its implementation and evaluation. Methodology A number of published UK and international curricula related to patient safety improvement in healthcare were reviewed. Key themed topics were highlighted in terms of knowledge and specific 'safety' skills and behaviours. These were subsequently contextualised to highlight relevance to operating theatre practices and care pathway that patients follow in the perioperative period. A range of educational methods were also considered in order to promote a blended approach of classroom teaching, access to web-based resources, and simulation-based experiential learning. An assessment methodology has also been designed to highlight gaps in knowledge or confidence, the latter enabling targeted coaching to ensure new knowledge and skills are implemented and supported in practice. Outcomes The structure and process for curriculum delivery will be discussed, and the potential for extending this professional development pathway into different areas of clinical practice will be considered. Evaluation metrics to demonstrate benefit will also be outlined. Potential impact This programme will benefit the integration of human factors education into daily practice by engaging team members more directly in patient safety improvement work. Developing and enhancing the collaborative nature of a network of champions should also accelerate safety lessons being shared effectively and build momentum towards improving a safety (learning) culture. References WHO patient safety curriculum guide: multi-professional edition October 2011 The Essential Guide for Patient Safety Officers published by Joint Commission Resources and Institute for Healthcare Improvement. 1st edn, April 2010


Background Receptor status and molecular subtyping of breast cancer are crucial for patient management. We present here our initial experience on the status of different molecular subtypes and clinicopathological characteristics of invasive breast carcinomas in Bangladeshi population especially in Chittagong zone. Materials and methods A total of 59 histopathologically confirmed cases of invasive ductal carcinoma were selected for this study. Fifteen out of 59 cases were reported as HER2 equivalent and could not be categorized into any subtype because of the lack of availability of fluorescence in situ hybridization. The remaining 44 cases were distributed into different molecular subtypes and then the clinicopathological characteristics were compared for each molecular subtype. Results Age ranges from 24-70 years with a mean age of 43.95 years. Most of the patients were in 41-50 years age group. Among the 44 cases, most common subtype was HER2/neu amplification (13 cases, 29.55%). Luminal A, luminal B and basal like subtypes were 11 (25%), 10 (22.73%) and 10 (22.73%) respectively. The mean tumor size was 3.46 cm and the highest mean tumor size was in basal-like subtype (4.01cm). Twenty five out of 59 cases (42.37%) showed axillary lymph node metastasis. Lowest axillary lymph node metastasis was found in luminal A subtype (3/11=27.27%). Conclusion HER2/neu amplification subtype was found to be more common in this region. Luminal A subtype was found to be more favorable in comparison to the other subtypes in terms of axillary lymph node metastasis.


The suitability of local conductive print-layer thickness variation for RF applications is demonstrated on flexible substrates. First, the concept is subjected to printed transmission lines as attenuation of one- and two-layer lines is compared to lines having additional layers only on critical high-current areas. Then, two antenna types are studied by applying local additions to the feed line and radiator with optimized print parameters for each layer utilizing low-temperature ink enabling a variety of substrate materials. For a narrow wire-type antenna, efficiency improvement with local thickness increase is observed both at 868 MHz and 2.4 GHz, reaching the efficiency level of a full two-layer antenna. For a wide monopole-type antenna at 2.4 GHz, the similar efficiency improvement up to the full two-layer level is seen already by increasing the edge thickness on the feed line. Accordingly, the antenna type is promising for printing with satisfactory efficiency only with one-layer print on the antenna element. The printed antennas also show good electrical performance, with only approximately 5%-10% decrease in efficiency compared to thick 18-μm copper reference antennas.


For about half a century now, some librarians and non–librarians have been fretting and frightened about the advent of modern technology. Futurists aggravated the rumour mill they asserted that with desk–side micros, full text databases, self–dialing modems, user–friendly software and expert systems, people were going to treat themselves to information, librarians as intermediaries were in danger of losing their jobs and library buildings would become museums. It is the objective of this paper to determine whether modern technology is a threat or a challenge to librarians and library buildings. Using the survey research method, the writer came up with the findings that at no time will the book be completely displaced by electronic resources because as new things and methods emerge, they exist side by side with the old ones; that the development of technology is not a linear process where new inventions completely replace the older ones; that world trends in the paper industry and Internet use do not justify the fears and threats arising from information technology; that development is a continuous process, that an invention is not an end by itself but only a means to an end and that the advocates of futurism have not stopped to question the purposes of the changes and innovations. It was also found that the challenges are more than the threats. These include the ability of librarians to keep abreast of these technological developments, re–tool themselves and maintain their role rather than followers; identification of information needs; format of policies regarding the selection, acquisition, processing and management of electronic resources, and the planning and design of library buildings in an electronic information age. The conclusion is that electronic information is more of a challenge than threat to librarians and library buildings. KEYWORDS: Electronic Information; Electronic Information–Challenges and Threats; Electronic Library Buildings; Virtual Libraries


One of the challenging issues in the provision and management of urban transport service in developing countries is the affordability. Due to ineffective regulations, poor enforcement of operational standards, inefficient management practices and low level of technological base, the provision of urban transport services are highly unorganised in many developing countries in Africa particularly in Nigeria. This unorganised nature of urban transport operation has caused undue high cost of public transportation in Nigerian cities because exorbitant transport fares are usually charged by the bus operators. The high cost of transport fares compels urban residents to spend a large portion of their income on mobility with its attendant socioeconomic problems. This paper therefore attempts to analyze the structure and basis for charging public transport fares in Nigerian Cities. It tries to compare and contrast the fares charged by bus operators between and among cities as well as finding out any form of variation that may exist. The paper further highlights the socioeconomic implications of the current bus fare structure and determination and suggests the appropriate fare structure and determination that will enhance transport affordability of the urban poor.


Genomic prediction holds the promise to use information of other populations to improve prediction accuracy. Thus far, empirical evaluations showed limited benefit of multi-breed compared to single reed genomic prediction. We compared prediction accuracy of different models based on two losely related and one unrelated line of layer chickens. Multi-breed genomic prediction may be successful when lines are closely related, and when the number of training animals of the additional line is large compared to the line itself. Multi-breed genomic prediction requires models that are lexible enough to use beneficial and ignore detrimental sources of information in the training data. Combining linear and non-linear models may lead to small increases in accuracy of multibreed genomic prediction. Multitrait models, modelling a separate trait for each breed, appear especially beneficial when elationships between breeds are very low, or when the genetic correlation between breeds is negative.


Introduction: During induction of anesthesia anxiety of children may be reduced more effectively by sedative medication than parental presence. Keeping in view, the necessity of reducing preoperative anxiety and postoperative psychological problem in pediatric patients, this study was conducted to compare the efficacy and safety of intranasal midazolam versus intranasal ketamine for preanesthetic sedation in pediatric patients. Methods: Ninety patients scheduled for the surgery lasting between 30 min and 120 min under general anesthesia were randomly divided into two groups: Group A patients received intranasal midazolam 0.2 mg/kg as premedication (5 mg/mL ampoule), whereas Group B patients received intranasal ketamine 5 mg/kg as premedication (50 mg/mL vial). The primary outcome measures were the comparison of degree of sedation of intranasal midazolam versus intranasal ketamine for preanesthetic sedation in pediatric patients by accessing parental separation, acceptance of face mask, venipuncture score, and postoperative sedation, whereas the secondary outcome measures were the comparison of side effects. The comparison of quantitative and qualitative variables between the groups was done using the unpaired student's "t"-test and Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test, respectively. Results: The percentage of patients in the ketamine group with parental separation score more than 2 was significantly higher as compared to the midazolam group. Acceptance of face mask, response to venipuncture, postoperative sedation, and postoperative side effects were comparable between the two groups. Both groups have minimal side effects. Conclusions: Both midazolam and ketamine nasally are an effective pediatric premedication for sedation with minimal side effects. Parental separation was better in the ketamine group as compared to the midazolam group.


A silicone dielectric elastomer filled with lead magnesium niobate with a maximum actuated strain of 7.4% at 45 kV/mm was fabricated by optimizing the amount of dielectric filler, amount of plasticizing agent, and crosslink density of the elastomer. The actuated strain of dielectric elastomers (DEs) is determined by both the dielectric constant and the elastic modulus. Although the dielectric constant of the silicone elastomer increased with increasing loading amount of lead magnesium niobate, actuated strain did not increase as expected because the elastic modulus increased at the same time. The elastic modulus of silicone dielectric elastomer was decreased by reducing the crosslink density or adding plasticizing agent, leading to a visible increase in actuated strain. It was also revealed that actuated strain of silicone dielectric elastomer always goes up with increasing ratio of dielectric constant to elastic modulus. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012


To maintain a balanced perspective on a power station's output, managers and operations engineers must be able to determine the contractual consequences of their decisions and events. To assist these users, we've designed a modular decision-support knowledge-based system that lets them generate what-if scenarios of events that could affect contractual compliance. They can also access a hypermedia version of the contract and pertinent background information.


The results of investigations of thermal reclamation of spent moulding sands originating from an aluminum alloy foundry plant are presented in this paper. Spent sands were crushed by using two methods. Mechanical fragmentation of spent sand chunks was realized in the vibratory reclaimer REGMAS. The crushing process in the mechanical device was performed either with or without additional crushing-grinding elements. The reclaimed material obtained in this way was subjected to thermal reclamations at two different temperatures. It was found that a significant binder gathering on grain surfaces favors its spontaneous burning, even in the case when a temperature lower than required for the efficient thermal reclamation of furan binders is applied in the thermal reclaimer. The burning process, initiated by gas burners in the reclaimer chamber, generates favorable conditions for self-burning (at a determined amount of organic binders on grain surfaces). This process is spontaneously sustained and decreases the demand for gas. However, due to the significant amount of binder, this process is longer than in the case of reclaiming moulding sand prepared with fresh components.


We believe that wearables and movement are perfect fit for enhancing tabletop role-playing (TTRPG) experience, since they can provide embodied interaction, are perceived as character-costumes, enhance ludic properties and increase the connectedness to the imaginary game worlds. By providing these improvements, they can increase the immersiveness and player/character relationship which are critical for an ideal TTRPG experience. To investigate this underexplored area, we conducted an extensive research through design process which includes a (1) participatory design workshop with 25 participants, (2) preliminary user tests with Wizard-of-Oz and experience prototypes with 15 participants, (3) production of a new game system, wearable and tangible artifacts and (4) summative user tests for understanding the effects on experience with 16 participants. As a result of our study, we extracted design guidelines about how to integrate wearables and movement in narrative-based tabletop games and communicate how the results of each phase affected our artifacts.


In the article the issues of forming amorphous coatings in the conditions of gas thermal spraying of coating are considered. On the basis of theoretical analysis the technological factors, determining possibility of obtaining the amorphous coatings at detonation spraying, are formulated. Two groups of factors, influencing on formation of amorphous structure in detonation sprayed coatings from metallic alloys, are marked.


Background/Objective: Due to a geographic shortage of surgical providers within Kenya, doctors without surgical training are expected to complete emergency surgical procedures. The Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) surgical team is developing an education module, delivered via mobile phone app and self-made simulators, dedicated to the skills necessary to complete open appendectomy. We hypothesize that our model and curriculum will provide a low-cost method of effectively simulating the open appendectomy.
Methods: After developing a step-based curriculum, an initial prototype of a model for the appendectomy was constructed. Expert academic surgeons from Indiana University were identified to test the prototype by performing an open appendectomy on the model. Feedback on both the model and the procedure was obtained via recorded video and REDCap.
Results: A total of 8 expert surgeons were consulted on the model, each presented with an updated version of the appendectomy model and procedure based on feedback. Experts provided feedback on the model and each substep of the curriculum. Overall, the curriculum was clear with each substep receiving a median score of at least 82 out of 100 for clarity. While the model received lower scores in utility and "realism, expert feedback was incorporated in an iterative process such that latter models demonstrated net improvement in the realism and utility of several substeps, including "the appendectomy".
Conclusion: A low-cost appendectomy model with corresponding curriculum was developed, and refined with expert feedback, to facilitate this project's transition to its next stage – testing on medical trainees. Additionally, the model and curriculum will enable the development of an AI algorithm to give the learner real-time feedback as they perform the simulation.
Implications: Ultimately, this study may create a platform that increases access to best possible practice and improves outcomes in settings where surgical education is limited.


Piroxicam is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent which has an extensive use in rheumatic disorders. Since its skin penetration is still a subject for research, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of dimethyl sulfoxide on percutaneous penetration of piroxicam gel formulation through skin. In this study, as a model, two types of 0.5% piroxicam new gels, so called red and green gel, were prepared using 5% (w/w) DMSO only for the red gel. Water, ethanol and propylene glycol were the solvent composition specified by a triple phase diagram, in addition to carbomer P934 and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose as the gel bases. The release and dermal penetration of the drug were measured and compared with a commercial brand using static diffusion cells and hairless rat skin as a biological membrane, by UV spectrophotometer. Also, piroxicam serum level was measured after application of 1 g gel on the deltoid muscle, twice daily for two weeks, in three groups of healthy male volunteers. The results of all physico-chemical controls for the gels indicated an acceptable criteria. The penetration of piroxicam through animal skin showed a good linearity between the square root of time and amount of piroxicam released from the gels. The in vitro study showed that application of DMSO had no significant effect on percutaneous penetration of the drug through animal skin. In human study, the red gel containing DMSO had the highest piroxicam serum level with a relatively meaningful difference between the results compare to the green and commercial gels (p<0.05). But the green and commercial gels had no statistical dif ference. This preference might be related to the in vivo DMSO positive effect as a penetration enhancer, contrary to the in vitro results. Therefore, relying on laboratorial data is not always sufficient.


This thesis describes three different predictive frameworks which are applied to improve the interaction behavior between a robot and their users. Machine learning is used to train the frameworks. The training data contains information obtained from one user over a period of approximately 3 to 30 days. This work is applied to the LEA robot: an elderly assistant robot. Each framework is implemented in an exciting real problem with the aim to improve life quality of elderly. The first framework predicts when and from where the user calls the robot to go towards the user on a daily basis. The repetitive events are predicted with an accuracy of 98%. The framework starts to give correct predictions from four examples only. This framework uses a density-based clustering algorithm in combination with a shifting window over the input data. This combination creates a predictive framework that adapts to the user behavior changes . The second framework is used to filter undesired warning messages such as e.g. obstacle warnings while walking. The true positive rate is measured to be 100% for events that occur at least once in the three days. The algorithm creates a grid map which is used to memorize trajectories that lead to undesired warning messages. The last framework predicts the user destination while walking. This is an important aid for patients suffering from dementia. The framework uses the trajectory and the starting time and location as input. A forward neural network is used to classify the room destination of the user. The network has two input layers. The first input layer uses a part of the trajectory and the second input layer is an embedding layer which reduces the size of "metadata". The framework classifies 66.6 % of the time with a certainty above 85%. When only considering predictions with a classifications certainty above 85%, a predictive accuracy of 97.3% is measured. If all classifications are considered, the framework showed to be 86.4 % accurate, whereas an alternative approach like support vector machines showed to have a predictive accuracy of 60 % on this problem. Master of Science Thesis L. Capelle


Increased uncertainty and greater financial stakes in distribution system reliability has brought focus on more efficient and powerful tools to evaluate the risks within distribution system operation. It is quite common that countries or regions that have re-regulated its electricity market apply more heavy handed regulatory approaches for controlling its remaining monopoly, i.e. the grid operations. Applying quality dependent revenue or price caps is the most common way to introduce an environment that somewhat resembles competitive conditions. Traditional methods to evaluate distribution system reliability are usually rather simple and therefore have many advantages due; however, a more complex risk environment for the distribution system operators (DSOs) calls for better methods to analyze risks. This paper introduces a basic Monte Carlo Simulation method for distribution system analysis that can be used as an initial simulation method and input to a more powerful and comprehensive Monte Carlo model. Furthermore, the paper also introduces an idea of how to apply a variance reduction technique that resembles importance sampling on the presented Monte Carlo method


This essay argues that realism in ethics and in politics is best understood as a discipline of mind directed against wishful thinking. Reading Geuss in this context, against the background of the work of Bernard Williams, allows us to specify what is of value in his work as well as to illustrate the limitations of argument and of tone of that work. More specifically, it is argued that while the fairly catholic character of Geuss's realism is a strength, his critical considerations of theorists such as Rawls and Nozick and concepts such as human rights not only show little intellectual grasp of these positions, but also typically fail to respect his own criteria for understanding and evaluating political theories.


In this book, the main examples are models that represent elements of the global system covering such topics as trade, migration, security and development aid together with examples at finer scales.


Grid environments were initially intended to deal with issues surrounding computing-intensive applications. Today, however, the use of Grids has evolved to tackle new horizons such as managing large amounts of data and running business applications that support consumers and casual users. In particular, this evolution towards a general-purpose, Grid service-based infrastructure allows educational institutions to enhance e-learning technologies and innovate in e-learning experiences through the provision and mutualisation of various services. Grid technologies will likely become the Information and Communication Technologies backbone of tomorrow's e-learning programmes due to their ability to handle and process data from a multitude of resources (i.e., sensors, data warehouses, etc.) and offer new learning experiences which do not exist without the Grid capabilities. To face these new challenges, we propose a service-oriented Grid architecture capable to deliver services that can be used in collaborative learning processes and virtual learning environments. The architecture not only supports the provision of basic e-learning services but also provides infrastructure services (e.g., storage, computational resources, and security services), which can be combined to build on-demand and customized e-learning scenarios. The architecture is self-managed and exhibits auto-nomic behaviour to adapt itself to environment changes and exempt non-IT people from managing technical issues.


During the Second World War, the road from Ledo, North East Frontier rail station of Assam, India, to Kunming of Yunnan province, China via Lekhapani, Jairampur, Nampong and Pangsau pass of Patkai range, Shindbwiyang, Upper Chindwin, Hukawng and Mogaung valleys, Bhamo, Burma (Myanmar) road and then to Wanting, at China border was constructed by the Allied Forces for maintaining military supply by road. Starting on December 1, 1942 the construction was completed on May 20, 1945. The road passed through some of the most difficult mountainous terrains of the world having 700 bridges over big and small rivers. After the war, for some time the road was maintained, thereafter it remained to be almost completely neglected. In the light of 'Open Market Policy' adopted by the international community, desire of the South East Asian countries to have common economic prosperity and 'Look East Policy' of India, it is important for the concerned countries to reconstruct and reopen the road. The paper presents an account of its possible utilization for the socio-cultural and economic linkages of the connected and nearby countries for peace and prosperity.


The internal agent architectures that current MAS frameworks provide don't enable the rapid implementation of agents from reusable components. This is because of the underlying problem that the agent-oriented programming paradigm, defining how abstraction, decomposition, and modularity are achieved, is not sufficiently understood or developed. This paper presents an agent decomposition framework that offers agent-oriented programming and software engineering separation of concern guidelines and discusses the weaknesses of agent architectures currently supported by MAS frameworks. This is in preparation for proposing a more flexible and extensible internal agent architecture than current MAS frameworks provide. It is envisioned that this architecture will provide an infrastructure that supports constructing agents from reusable components at the subsystem level. Subsystems are added to an agent through a dynamic description, event, and ontology registration process. Once connected, the composite subsystems interact by an event-based software bus that acts as the central nervous system of an agent. This gives subsystems the ability to reason about the functionality and current state of their constituent parts and allows agents to be composed from industry wide best known components instead of building agents from a single MAS framework repository.


The traction forces produced between an athlete's footwear and the playing surface are a crucial factor influencing a player's performance. Four primary factors affecting traction have been identified from literature: the sports specific movement, the footwear, the playing surface, and the environment. Many authors have investigated traction behaviour mechanically, using a variety of shoe and surface types, concluding that the traction generated at the shoe–surface interface is dependent on each shoe–surface combination (see work by Gheluwe et al., Cawley et al., and Villwocket et al., details given in main text). There has been little attempt in the literature, however, to try and explain the behaviour of the surface from the traction resistance measurements that were observed, perhaps owing to the complex number of variables involved. Furthermore, the variety of methodologies used in past research makes it difficult directly to compare datasets. This paper presents datasets comparing the traction behaviour of several carefully prepared surface systems and states, using three mechanical test procedures, and investigates the factors influencing traction resistance. Results highlight that properties of synthetic turf carpets (fibres and tuft spacing) and the density state of the crumbed rubber infill component and the stud size and configuration influence the maximum traction forces generated at the shoe–surface interface. The magnitude of stud penetration under controlled vertical loading is also presented. The findings of this study further demonstrate the importance of understanding the detail of the surface system under test, and that the infill state has a measurable effect. The design and operation of mechanical traction measurement equipment also demonstrates influences on the traction values measured, and the largest influence is the normal load applied. The FIFA standard test is shown to be less sensitive to infill state than other tests. Recommendations are made for more robust testing methods for future research.


Chemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond film is a good materials for cutting tools as its a series of excellent properties. But because of its polycrystalline morphology, CVD diamond thick film has a rough surface that limits its application in engineering. In this paper, study was carried out on the mechanical lapping of diamond film. It is shown that surface roughness of the film was reduced from Ra 4.5μm to Ra 0.2μm after 50-minute polishing. The surface integrity of polished diamond thick film was investigated, which includes surface roughness, morphology and residual stress. There are a lot of micro defects such as grooves, gas cavities and micro cracks on the polished surface, which are the intrinsic defects generated in the deposition process of CVD diamond film. The tensile stress of the film reduced through polishing as the release of the deformation energy stored in the film.


This study was conducted to understand the various causalities and consequences of the hybrid structure and governance under public private partnerships (PPPs). Narrations pertaining to the central question of the research were collected from senior officials from PPPs in India, including executives from public agencies and private agencies. The grounded theory approach was used to analyze the narrations. Classical content analysis, selective coding and axial coding methods were used for data analysis.Complementary assets and capabilities among organizations, and inability to carry out project as a stand alone organization were the major casualties of the PPP structure. There were two dimensions of governance complexity, i.e. (i) Uninterpretable rules, policies, systems, and (ii) unexpected actions/decisions in uncertainty, in the PPP structure. The causalities in the complexity of the governance of the hybrid PPP structure were (i) organizational attributes, (ii) stakeholders' expectations, (iii) power of control, (iv) institutional logic, (v) strategic decision making, and (vi) contract management. The attributes to the complex PPP governance system were, trust, ego, interpretation of complex operational phenomenon, mechanism to address risks and uncertainty and Interdependencies and reciprocity.


The data on the results of combined treatment of 540 patients with diabetic osteoarthropathies (DOAP) complicated by pyonecrotic lesions of the feet (PNLF) are presented. The authors classification of these lesions is proposed which considers location and the stage of the disease. Surgical treatment was used in 387 (71.6%) patients. The analysis of the clinical experience in surgical treatment and the results obtained in patients with DOAP and PNLF allouvs to subdivide surgical procedures in the patients in to the following categories: 1) the initial prophylaxis of development of pyonecrotic processes; 2) measures of secondary prophylaxis of the progression of pyonecrotic processes; 3) amputation of the shin and the thigh. As a result of the complex of curative and prophylactic measures, comprizing surgical treatment, the number of favourable results of treatment in patients of the lest group increased by 24%, and the number of unfavourable outcomes decreased by 25%, the mortality rate in the test group lowered 2, 4 times.


Some parameters of the microtitre serum neutralization test were examined when using bovine fetal kidney cells derived from stocks stored in liquid nitrogen. In replicate tests with one serum there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) between titres calculated on the basis of cytopathic effect when either two or four wells were used per serum dilution. Also, there was no significant difference between titres calculated on the basis of a cell staining method when either two or four wells were used per serum dilution. When titres obtained by the 2-well-cytopathic effect method were compared with those obtained by the 2-well-stain method differences were not significantly different and it was concluded that the latter method using frozen cells con-stituted a practical and reproducible test. No significant titre variation occurred in cells serially passaged after having been frozen, or in cells derived from five different fetuses. Titres of sera from 41 cattle conformed to a log normal distribution pattern.


This paper studies the effects of foreign (real) oil price shocks on key macroeconomic variables for South Africa: a net-importer of oil. We develop and estimate a small open economy new-Keynesian dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model with a role for oil in consumption and production. The substitutability of oil for capital and consumption goods is low, import price pass-through is incomplete, domestic and foreign prices and wages are sticky, and the uncovered interest rate parity condition holds imperfectly. Foreign real oil price shocks have a strong and persistent effect on domestic production and consumption activities and, hence, are a fundamental driver of output, inflation and interest rates in both the short- and long-run. Oil price shocks also generate a trade-off between output and inflation stabilisation. As a result, episodes of endogenous tightening of monetary policy slow the recovery of South Africa's real economy. Our findings go further to suggest an important role for oil prices in predicting the South African output during and after the recession that followed the 2008 global financial crisis.


Randomized response (RR) is an interview technique designed to eliminate response bias when sensitive questions are asked. In RR the answer depends partly on the true status of the respondent and partly on the outcome of a randomizing device. Although RR elicits more honest answers than direct questions do, it is susceptible to self-protective response behavior; that is, the respondent gives an evasive answer irrespective of the outcome of the randomizing device. The authors present a log-linear RR model that accounts for this kind of self-protection (SP). The main results of this SP model are estimates of (1) the probability of SP, (2) the log-linear parameters describing the associations between the sensitive characteristics, and (3) the prevalence of the sensitive characteristics that are corrected for SP. The model is illustrated with two examples from a Dutch survey measuring noncompliance with social welfare rules.


Study Design. A review of current medical and surgical preoperative planning knowledge and protocols for children with early-onset scoliosis (EOS; onset less than 5 years of age). Objective. To describe the preoperative planning process to undertake safe and effective treatment for the EOS patient. Summary of Background Data. Children with EOS present with a myriad of medical and orthopedic conditions associated with their specific diagnosis, and frequently require intensive preoperative evaluation and nutritional, pulmonary, and other support to prepare them for safe and effective treatment of the spinal/chest wall deformity. Such patients are among the most difficult and complex to treat effectively. Methods. A literature review of known conditions associated with EOS, and a summary of current surgical techniques to maintain deformity control while promoting spine and thoracic growth, was undertaken. Current recommendations for preoperative support and postoperative management of these complex patients are summarized, drawn from the experiences of the author and members of study groups focusing on EOS. Results. Preoperative assessment of respiratory function, potential for respiratory failure, and determination of objective criteria to indicate surgical management (deformity progression, lack of growth of spine and/or thoracic volume, lack of weight gain) are weighed against the potential for development of thoracic insufficiency syndrome. Magnetic resonance imaging evaluation for neuraxis abnormalities is considered on the basis of diagnosis. Nutritional status, osteopenia, and airway management are evaluated to minimize postoperative complications. Current general recommendations for implants and constructs for specific deformities are reviewed. Conclusion. Thorough preoperative evaluation of EOS patients provides the surgeon with the knowledge to produce a sound surgical plan for this difficult and complex to treat patient population.


Identification of 18 mycobacterial species was performed by analysis of profiles obtained by using gas-liquid chromatography. Organisms were saponified in methanolic NaOH, and the reaction mixture was treated with BF3 in methanol and extracted with a hexane-chloroform mixture. An identification scheme was developed from 128 stock strains and tested against a collection of 79 clinical isolates. By using gas-liquid chromatographic profiles alone, 58% of specimens were correctly identified to species level, and an additional 41% were correctly identified to a group of two or three organisms. Use in a clinical laboratory over a 2-month period proved chromatography to be as accurate as and more rapid than concurrent biochemical testing. Of 81 isolates tested, 64% were identified to species level by chromatography alone. An additional 35% were differentiated to the same groups of two or three organisms as found in our analysis of stock strains. These groups consisted of: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, M. bovis, and M. xenopi; M. avium complex, M. gastri, and M. scrofulaceum; or M. fortuitum and M. chelonei. Identification to species level from these groups could usually be done by colonial morphology alone and could always be done by the addition of one selected biochemical test. This study demonstrated the practical application of gas-liquid chromatography in the identification of mycobacteria in a clinical laboratory. In particular, all strains of M. gordonae and M. kansasii were identified to species level. M. tuberculosis was definitively identified in 85% of cases. When it could not be definitely identified, the only alternatives were M. bovis and M. xenopi, both of which are rare causes of infection.


Background: Fungi have emerged as major causes of human diseases. Intensive Care Units (ICU), harbor almost all the risk factors for opportunistic fungal infections. Among these, Candida infections are very common with recent trends being rise in the non- Candida albicans (NCA) species along with an increase in resistance of these species to antifungal drugs. Aims: To characterize the Candida species from the clinical specimens of patients admitted in the ICU of Tertiary Care Centre in North-East India and to perform their antifungal susceptibility. Settings and Design: This retrospective study was conducted in the Department of Microbiology from January 2011 to December 2011. Materials and Methods: The following techniques were employed to characterize the isolates in the study - KOH mount, Gram's stain, India ink preparation, culture on Sabouraud's Dextrose Agar, Germ Tube test, Urea hydrolysis, morphology in Cornmeal Agar and chromogenic agar media, sugar fermentation and sugar assimilation tests and automated identification system, and the results were interpreted using standard protocols. Statistical Analysis Used: SPSS version 17.0 was used for all statistical computations and P Results: Out of 85 Candida isolates, Candida tropicalis (38%) was the most common, in all age groups. Infections were more common in patients above 40 years and males were affected more than females. NCA species were more resistant to fluconazole than C. albicans . Conclusions: The study highlights the change in epidemiology in the species distribution of Candida and a rise in infections by NCA species as compared to those by C. albicans . Knowledge of the local species distribution of Candida along with their antifungal susceptibility is essential to initiate and optimize therapy and outcome, especially in an ICU setup, which harbors patients susceptible to fungal infections.


The creative industries sector faces a constantly changing context characterised by the speed of the development and deployment of digital information systems and
Information Communications Technologies (ICT) on a global scale. This continuous digital disruption has had significant impact on the whole value chain of the sector: creation and production; discovery and distribution; and
consumption of cultural goods and services. As a result, creative enterprises must evolve business and operational models and practices to be sustainable. Enterprises of all scales, type, and operational model are affected, and all sectors face ongoing digital disruption. Management consultancy practitioners and business strategy academics have called for new strategy development frameworks and toolkits, fit for a continuously changing world. This thesis
investigates a novel approach to organisational change appropriate to the digital age, in the context of the creative sector in Scotland.
A set of concepts, methods, tools, and processes to generate theoretical learning and practical knowing was created to support enterprises to digitally adapt through undertaking journeys of change and organisational development. The framework is called The AmbITion Approach. It was developed by blending participatory action research (PAR) methods and modern management
consultancy, design, and creative practices. Empirical work also introduced to the framework Coghlan and Rashford's change categories. These enabled the definition and description of the extent to which organisations developed:
whether they experienced first order (change), second order (adaptation) or third order (transformation) change. Digital research tools for inquiry were tested by a pilot study, and then embedded in a longitudinal study over two years of twentyone participant organisations from Scotland's creative sector. The author applied and investigated the novel approach in a national digital development programme for Scotland's creative industries. The programme was designed and delivered by the author and ran nationally between 2012-14. Detailed grounded thematic analysis of the data corpus was undertaken, along with analysis of rich media case studies produced by the organisations about their change journeys.
The results of studies on participants, and validation criteria applied to the results, demonstrated that the framework triggers second (adaptation) and third order
change (transformation) in creative industry enterprises. The AmbITion Approach framework is suitable for the continuing landscape of digital disruption within the
creative sector. The thesis contributes to practice the concepts, methods, tools, and processes of The AmbITion Approach, which have been empirically tested in the field, and validated as a new framework for business transformation in a digital age. The thesis contributes to knowledge a theoretical and conceptual framework with a specific set of constructs and criteria that define first, second, and third order change in creative enterprises, and a robust research and action framework for the analysis of the quality, validity and change achieved by action
research based development programmes. The thesis additionally contributes to the practice of research, adding to our understanding of the value of PAR and design thinking approaches and creative practices as methods for change.


Microgels—small gels of submicron to micron size—are widely used in food, cosmetics and biomedical applications because of their biocompatibility and/or fast response to external environments. However, the properties of "single" microgels have not been characterized due to limitations in preparation technologies and measurement methods for single microgels with sizes in the multi-micrometer range. The synthesis of multiple shapes of single microgels and their characterization are important for further functionalization and application of gel-based materials. In this review, we explain the recent advancements in microgel fabrication and characterization methods for single microgels. The first topic discussed includes the self-assembly methods for single microgel fabrication using physical phenomena such as phase separation, interfacial wetting and buckling instability. The second topic deals with methods for analyzing the mechanics of single microgels and the differences between their mechanical characteristics and those of bulk gels. The recent progress in the fabrication and characterization of single microgels will bring important insights to the design and functionalization of gel-based materials.


The purpose of this study was to investigate Effectiveness of Group Problem Solving Education on Social and Resilient Skills in Twelve High School Grade Girls in Seventh District of Tehran. The research method was applied due to the objectives of the study, and according to the method of data collection, a quasi-experimental research type was chosen. A statistical population including Twelve High School Grade in Tehran during the academic year of 2007-2013. They were selected using a multi-stage random sampling of 30 students (15 control group and 15 experimental group) to research and respond to Gersham and Elliot questionnaire (1999) and the perseverance of Connor and Davidson (2003). For analyzing the findings, descriptive and inferential statistical methods such as covariance analysis test were used. The research findings indicated a significant difference between the mean scores of social skills and their dimensions - cooperation, self-esteem, and assertiveness - in the groups of both experimental and control groups. Also, there is a significant difference between the mean resiliency scores and their dimensions - individual sense of ability, resistance to negative effects, positive acceptance of change, trust in individual instincts, sense of support and social security, spiritual faith and pragmatic approach to problem solving methods - in two groups were obtained. In other words, group problem solving training has affected social skills and resilience of students. Keywords : group problem solving, social skills, resilience, students. DOI : 10.7176/RHSS/9-10-10 Publication date :May 31 st 2019


The clinical effect of the granule of Shencao Fuzheng Kangai had been proved and the animal experiment was carried out. The results showed that: (1) No toxic response was found in acute toxicity test. (2) The granule could prevent WBC from decreasing severely in chemotherapy experiment (P less than 0.01). (3) It was indicated that the granule could improve the phagocytic function of macrophage in carbon clearance experiment (P less than 0.01). (4) It was meant that the granule could inhibit the growing of some solid carcinoma in inoculation experiments.


This thesis study focuses on the savings that can be attained by adding unequally spaced cross aisles in a rectangular warehouse and the best locations of these cross aisles. Earlier research suggests that adding cross aisles perpendicular to main aisles can bring significant savings with respect to order picking travel distance. In the related literature cross aisles are distributed between storage blocks that are equal in length. In this thesis, the locations of cross aisles will be investigated in detail and evaluated in terms of travel distance and storage space. Storage block lengths between cross aisles are allowed to be different in length. Based on our experiment results, these unequally spaced cross aisle configurations enable more saving on order picking travel distance than equally spaced cross aisles. We have also investigated the issue of possible space savings by using less number of unequally spaced cross aisles compared to equally spaced cross aisles. Our research suggests the same travel distance saving due to equally spaced cross aisles can be achieved with less number of cross aisles (less number of storage blocks) distributed between block lengths (cross aisle spacing) that are unequal in length. Additionally, an interesting pattern in terms of the lengths of storage blocks between unequally spaced cross aisles is observed. In the configuration of storage blocks that provide maximum travel distance saving, the length of the block in the middle gets wider as order size increases. This pattern is observed for all of the warehouse types investigated in this thesis. Since warehouse design is a strategic problem concerning long-term investment, the results provided within this thesis provide insights in order to decrease the investment costs or increase the efficiency of warehouse operations.


Background: Although skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, it is highly preventable by reducing exposure to ultraviolet radiation. This descriptive, correlational study describes the ultraviolet protection behaviors and beliefs of young adult dermatology patients. Methods: Eighty-two dermatology patients aged 18-30 years were recruited from a suburban dermatology clinic in northern Utah. An investigator-developed questionnaire assessed ultraviolet protection stages of change, attitudes, and self-efficacy. Results: Participants reported that on average they were in the preparation stage, had positive ultraviolet protection attitudes, and felt that it was neither easy nor difficult to use ultraviolet protection measures. Individuals who were older, more educated, had more sun-sensitive skin types, and spent less time outdoors on nonworkdays reported more responsible ultraviolet protection behaviors and beliefs. Conclusions: The ultraviolet protection beliefs within this sample indicate generally favorable ultraviolet protection attitudes and adequate knowledge of ultraviolet exposure risks. Conversely, this sample reported inadequate and differential use of ultraviolet protection behaviors. Correlations involving demographic and clinical factors reveal that ultraviolet protection behaviors and beliefs are difficult to predict. Additional study findings support the need for continued efforts to promote ultraviolet protection among all young adults.


The granitic rocks that host gold mineralizations in the Batalha gold field (Para State, Brazil) present granophyric structures that indicate crystallization at shallow levels and the influence of alkalis- and silica-rich, post-magmatic fluids. Locally, they present weakly developed rapakivi textures and their composition is predominantly of 3a and 3b granites. Their petrographic characteristics allow correlation with the Maloquinha Suite rocks, of ages around 1.84 Ga. Petrographic studies carried out using samples from drill-holes that intersect zones mineralized in gold made the characterization of ample pervasive hydrothermal alteration zones possible, showing continuous variations of the fluid compositions from the post-magmatic stages. The oldest event is characterized by sodic alterations, followed by potassic alteration producing microcline and biotite, which confers a dark red color to the rocks; propylitic alteration is superimposed on both. Final stages may have evolved to locally pervasive sericitic alteration, but this type was better characterized as of fissure style and associated with minor shear zones. Gold mineralizations are predominantly associated with propylitic alterations, but the highest grades are observed in sericitic zones and, more specifically, as free, coarse-grained gold hosted by minor quartz veins, with associated carbonates, sulfides and fluorite.


The aim of this study was to determine the capacity of some progesterone derivatives, to inhibit the conversion of labeled androstenedione ([3H] 4-dione) to [3H]dihydrotestosterone ([3H]DHT) in prostate nuclear membrane fractions, where the 5α-reductase activity is present. The enzyme 5α-reductase catalyzes the 5α-reduction of 4-dione whereas the 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase catalyzes the transformation of 4-dione to testosterone or 5α-dione to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Moreover, we also investigated the role of unlabeled 5α-dione in these pathways. In order to determine the inhibitory effect of different concentrations of the progesterone derivatives in the conversion of [3H] 4-dione to [3H]DHT, homogenates of human prostate were incubated with [3H] 4-dione, NADPH and increasing concentrations of non-labeled 5α-dione. The incubating mixture was extracted and purified using thin layer chromatography. The fraction of the chromatogram corresponding to the standard of DHT was separated and the radioactivity determined. The results showed that the presence of [3H] 4-dione plus unlabelled 5α-dione produced similar levels of DHT as compared to [3H] 4-dione. On the other hand, the results indicated that 17α-hydroxypregn-4-ene-3,20-dione 5 and 4-bromo-17α-hydroxypregn-4-ene-3,20-dione 7b, were the most potent steroids to inhibit the conversion of [3H] 4-dione to [3H]DHT, showing IC50 values of 2 and 1.6 nM, respectively.


To facilitate biocatalytic conversion of the biotechnologically accessible dicyclic dialcohol isosorbide into its industrially relevant diamines, we have designed a fusion protein between two homo-oligomeric enzymes: the levodione reductase (LR) from Leifsonia aquatica and the variant L417M of the ω-aminotransferase from Paracoccus denitrificans (PDωAT(L417M)), mutually connected by a short Pro/Ala/Ser linker sequence. The hybrid protein was produced in Escherichia coli in correctly folded state, comprising a tetrameric LR moiety and presumably two dimers of PDωAT(L417M), as proven by SDS-PAGE and size exclusion chromatography. The bifunctional enzyme revealed beneficial kinetics over the two-component system, in particular at low substrate concentration.


Copycat brands imitate the trade dress of other brands, such as their brand name, logo, and packaging design. Copycats typically operate in the core product category of the imitated brand under the assumption that such "in-category imitation" is most effective. In contrast, four experiments demonstrate the benefits of "out-of-category imitation" for copycats, and the harmful effect on the imitated brand. Copycats are evaluated more positively in a related category, because consumers appraise the similarity between copycat and imitated brand more positively than in the core category, independent of the perceived similarity itself. This is due to a reduced salience of norms regarding imitation in the related category. Moreover, the results show a damaging backlash effect of out-of-category imitation on the general evaluation of the imitated brand and on its key perceived product attributes. The findings replicate across student, MTurk, and representative consumer samples; multiple product categories; and forms of brand imitation. This research demonstrates that out-of-category brand imitation helps copycat brands and hurts national leading brands much more than has so far been considered, which has managerial and public policy implications.


Probability is often counter-intuitive, and it always involves a great deal of math. This is unfortunate, because many applications in robotics and AI increasingly rely on probability theory. We introduce a modular toolkit for constructing probability monads, and show that it can be used for everything from discrete distributions to weighted particle filtering. This modular approach allows us to present a single, easy-to-use API for working with many kinds of probability distributions. Our toolkit combines several existing components (the list monad, the Rand monad, and the MaybeT monad transformer), with a stripped down version of WriterT Prob, and a new monad for sequential Monte Carlo sampling. Using these components, we show that MaybeT can be used to implement Bayes' theorem. We also show how to implement a monad for weighted particle filtering.


In order to improve academic language competence, students in two academic literacy modules at the University of Johannesburg were given opportunities to resubmit continuous assessment tasks utilising tutor feedback to improve performance. Despite the potential benefits to the students, not all of them were taking advantage of this opportunity. The main purpose of this study was to establish the reasons for this and to describe a strategy that could be used to enhance learning. Performance records were kept on each student to determine the number of students resubmitting and whether or not marks subsequently improved. Data was also gathered through a questionnaire to establish the reasons for taking advantage or not of the opportunities provided. Small group interviews were conducted to follow up on some questionnaire results. It was found that when students are provided with an opportunity to resubmit assessment tasks, they do benefit, provided that they are sufficiently motivated; clear, specific, constructive feedback is given; and tutoring is of a good quality.


Model-based engineering becomes more and more important in industrial practice. System identification is a vital technology for producing the necessary models, and has been an active area of research and applications in the automatic control community during half a century. At the same time, increasing demands require the area to constantly develop and sharpen its tools. This paper deals with how system identification does that by amalgamating concepts, features and methods from other fields. It describes encounters with four areas in systems theory and engineering: Networked Systems, Particle Filtering Techniques, Sparsity and Compressed Sensing, and Machine Learning. The impacts on System Identification methodology by these encounters are described and illustrated.


A high brightness display is achieved using tungsten sources to read out phase image plane holograms. Full color is provided by using three superimposed component holograms derived from three primary color separation object transparencies of the original subject. The holograms are contained on transparent plastic tape which is surface modulated by embossing from electro-plated masters. Any frame on the tape can be retrieved rapidly by means of the superimposed frame address Fraunhofer binary holograms which use a gallium arsenide laser to reconstruct the image on a silicon diode array. The system lends itself to post-embossing annotation. Reference Fresnel holograms recorded on each frame enable the frame to be positioned in X and Y so as to allow the map image to be driven in response to navigational tracking requirements. Because incident readout light is modulated by diffraction rather than absorption, the holograms do not rise in temperature as a result of the conversion of light to heat. This feature enables condiderably more light flux to be gated by the holograms than could be gated by any other medium of the same area. The resulting image brightness is adequate for viewing in the high ambient light environments. Since the production of color involves diffraction rather than absorption by dyed emulsion, bleaching with consequent color degradation cannot occur.


A finite element formulation which derives constitutive response from crystal plasticity theory is used to examine localized deformation in fcc polycrystals. The polycrystals are simple, idealized arrangements of grains. Localized deformations within individual grains lead to the development of domains that are separated by boundaries of high misorientation. Shear banding is seen to occur on a microscopic scale of grain dimensions. The important consequences of these simulations are that the predicted local inhomogeneities are meeting various requirements which make them possible nucleation sites for recrystallization.


In this study, recovery of Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis from the freshly exposed chorion following delivery was related to labor length but not to the interval between membrane rupture and delivery, to birth weight or to gestational age.


Abstract. Earth observation (EO) data is effective in monitoring agricultural cropping activity over large areas. An example of such an application is the GeoTerraImage crop type classification for the South African Crop Estimates Committee (CEC). The satellite based classification of crop types in South Africa provides a large scale, spatial and historical record of agricultural practices in the main crop growing areas. The results from these classifications provides data for the analysis of trends over time, in order to extract valuable information that can aid decision making in the agricultural sector. Crop cultivation practices change over time as farmers adapt to demand, exchange rate and new technology. Through the use of remote sensing, grain crop types have been identified at field level since 2008, providing a historical data set of cropping activity for the three most important grain producing provinces of Mpumalanga, Freestate and North West province in South Africa. This historical information allows the analysis of farm management practices to identify changes and trends in crop rotation and irrigation practices. Analysis of crop type classification over time highlighted practices such as: frequency of cultivation of the same crop on a field, intensified cultivation on centre pivot irrigated fields with double cropping of a winter grain followed by a summer grain in the same year and increasing cultivation of certain types of crops over time such as soyabeans. All these practices can be analysed in a quantitative spatial and temporal manner through the use of the remote sensing based crop type classifications.


The aim of the study was to investigate the
representation of taste in human prefrontal cortex (PFC), in particular, to
compare the representation of a pleasant and an aversive taste using functional
near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), so as to obtain further understanding of
the taste preference mechanism. The pleasant stimulus used was sweet taste (10%
sucrose), and the unpleasant stimulus was sour taste (1% critic acid). Based on
event-related design, the experiments were performed with 16 healthy
volunteers using the OEG-16 fNIRS sensor. A general linear model was used to
analyze the collected data. For the concentration change of oxygenated hemoglobin
(ΔoxyHb), we found that significant deactivation
was induced by sweetness and sourness in parts of the frontopolar area,
orbitofrontal area and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in bilateral hemisphere
of human brain. And the right PFC showed different levels of activation between
sweetness and sourness. In addition, brain activities were more sensitive to
sourness than sweetness. Finally, we confirmed that the PFC was involved in
sweet and sour taste processing, and fNIRS provided an alternative way for
studying taste-related brain function under more natural conditions.


Drawing upon cultural-historical activity theory, this research analyzed the structural contradictions existing in a variety of educational activities among a group of alienated adult students in open and distance higher education. Introduction Globally, technological development has resulted in the increased number of megauniversities built upon the principle of open and distance education (Bates, 1997). Open and distance higher education institutions generally have a long-standing commitment to extend adults higher education. In this global movement of open and distance higher education, Korea National Open University (KNOU) has enabled many Korean citizens to participate in higher education both flexibly and conveniently (KNOU, 2011; Yoon, 2006). While only about 10,000 students attended KNOU in 1972, over 170,000 enrolled in 2010. Moreover, 508,835 people had graduated from the institution as of 2010 (KNOU, 2011). However, despite the positive impact of KNOU on the extension of higher education opportunity (Lee, 2001), KNOU education has varying meanings and values for different individual adult students. As KNOU has developed in the specific socio-cultural circumstances of South Korea, the variety of meanings and values of KNOU as a national open and distance higher education institution has impacted not only individual learners' motivations but also the Korean culture of higher education. Korea, like many other Asian countries, is notorious for being a credential-oriented society, which highly values the final educational degree of a person, as opposed to a meritocracy (Choi, 2009). Korean scholars have argued that one's place within the Korean social structure is heavily influenced by academic credentials, or, in other words, so-called credentialism (Choi, 2009; Kim, 2004). Such social and cultural views regarding higher education exacerbate the social discrimination and prejudice toward people with lower educational degrees including adult learners in distance higher education (Kim, 2004). In this social context, participation in the inexpensive and open education of KNOU, as opposed to traditional higher education, is less valued in society. The social bias and other negative aspects of KNOU education can be embodied in KNOU students' experience of contradictions in open and distance higher education. This study aims to illuminate the origins, patterns, and features of contradictions experienced by alienated KNOU students. Theoretical Framework The conceptual framework of this study was informed by two theories: the theory of alienation and cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT). First, the target student group selected for the research was defined as alienated distance adult learners who could not continue their education due to socio-cultural barriers in school and the society. Marx was "the first theorist to link alienation explicitly to human productive activity" (Sidorkin, 2004, p. 252). Marx (1975) defines alienation as the phenomenon of becoming foreign to the world people live in, claiming


Biological abnormalities associated with B lymphocytes are a hallmark of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome. Those patients present abnormal distribution of B lymphocytes in peripheral blood and B cells in exocrine glands. B cells produce auto-antibodies, cytokines and present antigens but can also suppressive functions. In this review, we will summarize current knowledge on B cells in primary Sjögren's syndrome patients, demonstrate their critical role in the immunopathology of the disease and describe the past and current trials targeting B cells.


This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of agricultural television programs based on farmers' perspective in Fars province and to distinguish its effective factors. This was an applied research using survey technique. The study population included 280,000 farmers in Fars province that 397 of them were selected as research sample group based on stratified random sampling method. Questionnaire was used for collection of data. Its validity was approved by an expert's panel. In order to determine reliability, a pilot study was conducted, which revealed that the Cronbach's alpha coefficients for different scales used in the study to range from 0.6 to 0.95. Perse's model was used to investigate effectiveness of provincial agricultural television programs. Findings revealed that low percent of farmers are as the programs audiences. According to the programs audiences, provincial agricultural television programs have been evaluated about medium level regarding direct, conditional and overall effects and they have been evaluated less than medium toward cumulative and cognitive effects. Variables that have had the most important roles in predicting audiences' opinion toward effectiveness of the programs are: Satisfaction toward provincial television network; audiences' goals to pay attention to programs; and trust in provincial programs. Findings revealed that among audiences' agricultural information resources, television has the forth rank. Some applicable recommendations is presented at the end of article to enhance programs effectiveness and improve program attraction for audiences.


Mitochondrial DNA (mt DNA) from a patulin producer, Penicillium urticae (synonym P. griseofulvum), was 27.8 kb +/- 0.6 kb in size by electron microscopy and 27.2 kb by agarose gel electrophoresis. Restriction endonuclease maps for nine restriction enzymes were constructed, and eleven fragments which covered the total range of the mt DNA were cloned into the Escherichia coli plasmid vector pUC19. Southern analysis of the native genomes of P. urticae and P. chrysogenum with six of the cloned fragments as probes indicated similar genome arrangements as well as similar restriction maps. Both the large and small rRNA genes of P. urticae and P. chrysogenum were located on these restriction maps using Southern hybridization, and the result also supported the similar arrangement. Agarose/formaldehyde gel electrophoresis indicated that the small rRNA was 1.5 kb in size in both species; but, surprisingly, the large rRNA was 4.2 kb in size for P. urticae and 3.5 kb for P. chrysogenum. These sizes were, respectively, 1.1 kb and 0.4 kb larger than those from the very closely related Aspergillus nidulans.


In 1962, the Board of Broadcast Governors (BBG), an arm of the Canadian federal government responsible for broadcasting, made the unprecedented move to force the national public broadcaster to televise the Grey Cup, the championship game of Canadian football, ostensibly because it was in the national interest. However, research reveals that this decision was not necessarily made because it was in the national interest, but more so to assist the new struggling private television network, CTV. The important content, allegedly linked to cultural citizenship, was not the national championship, but the television commercials. This paper explores why the BBG intervened and how the dispute was settled.