The establishment of the Natura 2000 network in Romania constitutes a turning point for the policy on biodiversity conservation in this country. The presence of human communities in certain Natura 2000 areas determines complex interactions between social and ecological systems, particularly in the case of High Nature Value farmlands that are assigned to this network of protected natural areas. A large part of Romania's biodiversity depends on traditional farming systems that are under pressure from either agricultural intensification or land abandonment, which reflects socio-economic changes that have pushed rural households into developing new livelihood strategies. This paper explores the particular context of traditional rural communities from Southern Transylvania which is a High Nature Value farmland area largely included in the Natura 2000 network. We conducted an empirical analysis that focused on two main issues. The first was applying quantitative methods aimed at identifying the linkages between livelihood capitals and livelihood strategies of people living in Natura 2000 areas. The second was analyzing differences in local development levels which correlate with the share of territorial administrative units belonging to Natura 2000 areas. Our results are based on questionnaire and interview data collected from 40 rural administrative-territorial units within Southern Transylvania as well as on mapping land use changes using Landsat satellite images of 1985, 2003 and 2015. The results indicate that rural communities living in Natura 2000 areas turn to migration as an additional household strategy besides usual on-farm and off-farm activities, leading to rural shrinkage and farmland abandonment.


This article presents the Liwa Oasis as a hydrosocial territory. It is defined by its natural resource, social, economic, and political context and we show how these manifest in policy and practice. The article identifies these components through analysis of the political economy of water management and agricultural production systems. Two distinct hydrosocial periods are defined: from independence in 1971 to the formation of agencies with water sustainability remits in 2006, and then from 2010 to the present, when subsidy regimes incentivized changes to cropping in existing agricultural production systems. The changes between these periods reflect alterations in the hydrosocial cycle stemming from natural resource degradation and from how agricultural policy responded to it, while still meeting social stability and food security objectives. In Liwa, water management and agricultural production regimes reflect the distributive nature of the state, in that agricultural subsidies and payments are a significant source of supplementary income for UAE citizens. The current hydrosocial cycle leads to major groundwater resource degradation, which is beginning to pose a major challenge. This disruption is at the heart of the hydrosocial dialectic playing out now in Liwa: resource degradation and depletion will ultimately require new patterns of resource utilization. Arriving at new practices will require new laws, policies and modes of governance, which will alter the political, social, and economic context.


Considered out of context, the 1991 Colombian Constitution might be read as an extension of a trend in constitutional reform that has swept the world since the early 1970s, renewing state commitments to the Social Rule of Law model and human rights. Accordingly, the Colombian constitutional reform could be described as a copy-cat reform, whose failure resides in the internal ambivalences of the Social Rule of Law model and human rights discourse, and is starkly revealed in the social, political and economic reality of Colombian citizens. This paper problematizes this position: instead, the paper argues that the Colombian constitutional text should be read and evaluated on the basis of its particularities. The paper outlines reasons for studying the Colombian Constitution as a socio-juridical phenomenon, situating the constitutional text beyond its normative nature and the interpretative boundaries of the law. By adopting this approach, the paper concludes that the socialization of the nation-building project in Colombia has been an impressive achievement of the 1991 political and legal constitutional experiment, but that distinctive failures of Colombia's constitutional reform can also be identified in this process.


Objectives Reducing anastomotic leak rates after rectosigmoid resection and anastomosis is a priority in patients undergoing gynecologic oncology surgery. Therefore, we investigated the implications of performing near-infrared angiography (NIR) via proctoscopy to assess anastomotic perfusion at the time of rectosigmoid resection and anastomosis. Methods We identified all patients who underwent rectosigmoid resection and anastomosis for a gynecologic malignancy between January 1, 2013 until December 31, 2018. NIR proctoscopy was assessed via the PinPoint Endoscopic Imaging System (NOVADAQ, Canada). Results A total of 410 patients were identified, among which NIR was utilized in 134 (32.7%) patients. There were no statistically significant differences in age, race, BMI, type of malignancy or surgery, histology, FIGO stage, hypertension, diabetes, or pre-operative chemotherapy between NIR and non-NIR groups. All cases of rectosigmoid resection underwent stapled anastomosis. The anastomotic leak rate was 2/134 (1.2%) in the NIR cohort compared to 13/276 (4.7%) non-NIR (p=0.10). Diverting ostomy was performed in 9/134 (6.7%) NIR patients and 53/276 (19%) non-NIR patients (p<0.001). Post-operative abscesses occurred in 4/134 (6.0%) NIR patients and 44/276 (15.9%) non-NIR patients (p=0.004). The NIR cohort had significantly fewer post-operative interventional procedures (12/134, 9.0% NIR vs. 55/276, 20.0% non-NIR, p=0.01) and significantly fewer 30-day readmissions (15/134, 11.2% NIR vs. 60/276, 21.7% non-NIR, p=0.01). Conclusions The use of NIR proctoscopy is a safe tool to assess anastomotic rectal perfusion after rectosigmoid resection and anastomosis with a low anastomotic leak rate of 1.2%. Its potential usefulness should be evaluated within randomized trials in patients undergoing gynecologic cancer surgery.


Can creative material translation reshape artistic appropriation to escape the cycle of mimicry and mockery linked to contemporary visual art practice?
To explore creativity in material translation, my project has been divided into three case studies, each translating a different pattern, from a different context and material, into my chosen pattern-making language of glass murrine. In the first case study I translate a Moorish plasterwork pattern from the Alhambra, in Granada, Spain. This pattern has been copied before: a translation of fidelity printed by Owen Jones in his publication The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.1 Jones' pattern and my patterns will be used to examine fidelity and infidelity in material translation. In the second case study I translate Paisley, a Kashmiri textile pattern appropriated and adapted by western manufacturers in the 19th-century. Paisley's history of adaptation will be examined in relation to my translation, to compare the two methods in the context of a single decorative idiom. In the third case study, I translate a stamp- printed furnishing textile pattern designed by Bernard Adeney in the 1930s. This translation will be an isolated interaction between two makers, a similar position to the critique of contemporary visual appropriation, allowing for a comparison between infidelity and appropriation.
Murrine has been chosen as my material language because of its ability to create patterns with colour, depth and unlimited variation. The murrine technique involves the heating up and stretching of canes or sheets of coloured glass, arranged in designs that become very small when elongated. These stretched lengths are then cut in cross-section to form mosaic tiles. Developed by the Greeks and Egyptians, the murrine technique has been under constant development for the last 2000 years. I have further refined the technique, incorporating new methods such as waterjet cutting.
I have made final artworks from each set of murrine in the format of flat glass panels, each exploring its pattern in a unique way. An examination of each artwork, its process of translation – including drawings, computer models, photomontage and other designing methods – and its material and contextual change will forge the link between making and writing in this project.

My original contribution to knowledge is the exploration of a practical act of visual translation, analysing material change and creativity. The project serves as a model for material translation, questioning the contemporary act of appropriation in both art and culture. The project developed through my rejection of contemporary practices of appropriation, along with my passion for the spiritual nature of pattern and the glass technique of murrine.
My theoretical framework is built around the linguistic concept of 'creative translation'. Linguistic theorists such as Jorge Luis Borges 'treated translation as a creative force in which specific translation strategies might serve a variety of cultural and social functions'.2 My project will adapt this linguistic concept to visual practice, investigating its relevance to material language.


Abstract This article proposes different tests for treatment effect heterogeneity when the outcome of interest, typically a duration variable, may be right-censored. The proposed tests study whether a policy (1) has zero distributional (average) effect for all subpopulations defined by covariate values, and (2) has homogeneous average effect across different subpopulations. The proposed tests are based on two-step Kaplan–Meier integrals and do not rely on parametric distributional assumptions, shape restrictions, or on restricting the potential treatment effect heterogeneity across different subpopulations. Our framework is suitable not only to exogenous treatment allocation but can also account for treatment noncompliance—an important feature in many applications. The proposed tests are consistent against fixed alternatives, and can detect nonparametric alternatives converging to the null at the parametric -rate, n being the sample size. Critical values are computed with the assistance of a multiplier bootstrap. The finite sample properties of the proposed tests are examined by means of a Monte Carlo study and an application about the effect of labor market programs on unemployment duration. Open-source software is available for implementing all proposed tests.


Calcium ions and particularly calcium influx play a crucial part in initiating the intracellular events that result in arginine vasopressin (AVP) release to both osmotic and nonosmotic stimuli. Calmodulin appears to modulate the effects of calcium on synaptic transmission and hormone release in other systems. This study tested the effects of three distinct classes of anti-calmodulin agents on the release of AVP to either a rise in osmolality of 20 mosmol/kg water or to 1 X 10(-5) angiotensin II (ANG II) in cultured hypothalamo-neurohypophysical complexes. Micromolar concentrations of R 24571, the active naphthalenesulfonamides, W 7 and W 13, and trifluoperazine (TFP) inhibited AVP release to osmotic stimulation. In contrast, W 5, a severalfold less active anti-calmodulin agent, had no effect on osmotically stimulated AVP release. The active naphthalenesulfonamides, but not R 24571 or TFP, blocked release of AVP to ANG II. In contrast, neither R 24571 nor TFP inhibited AVP release to ANG II stimulation. Collectively, the data demonstrated a dissociation between inhibition of AVP release and the anti-calmodulin properties of the drugs, thereby suggesting that nonspecific actions masked the calmodulin-blocking effects of the drugs or that the inhibition occurred by some alternative mechanism(s).


Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are potential technologies for the treatment of wastewaters containing non-easily removable organic compounds. Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) is one of the groups with high toxicity and low biodegradability and is always interested by researchers. In this study, Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) was used to immobilize TiO2 photocatalyst on the titanium substrate plate and extra applied electric potential on the working electrode (anode) combined with a 365 nm UV lamp for irradiating the IPA wastewater to conduct a photoelectrocatalytic reaction. The experimental results showed, during the photoelectrocatalytic reaction, the extra applied electric potential could inhibit the recombination of the electron-hole pair and raise the overall removal efficiency. However, when the potential was more than 0.5 V, it would reduce the photoelectrocatalytic effect because of the recombination of electrons and holes. Moreover, adding different electrolyte solutions enhanced the different degree of effects of IPA removal. Among the electrolyte solutions added, sodium sulfate improved the photoelectrocatalytic effect most significantly.


The overall objectives of our proposed paper is to: (a) systematically document the post-reform trends in agricultural performance in Asia, Europe, and the Former Soviet Union; (b) identify the main reform strategies and institutional innovations that have contributed to the successes and failures of the sector; (c) analyze the mechanisms by which reform policies and initial conditions have affected the transition process in agriculture; and (d) draw lessons and policy implications from the experiment and identify the gaps in our understanding of the role and performance of agriculture in transition. As part of this effort, we attempt to address a number of intriguing and important questions on the performance of individual countries or regions during transition. Why has China been so successful in its reforms, while Russia has not? Why is it that some CEECs have rebounded and showing robust productivity growth, while others have not? Why has agriculture in so many FSU nations continued to perform so poorly? In addition, we will address questions about the process of reform. Why has land restitution predominated in Europe but not in Russia or China? Why did institutions of exchange collapse in the non-Asian economies in the early stages of reform but continued to function in Vietnam and China? What explains the apparent divergence in the performance effects after the first year of reform in China and Vietnam, on the one hand, and much of the rest of the transitional world on the other? In particular, how have land reform and rural input-supply/procurement enterprise restructuring affected productivity? Which institutions of exchange and contracting have or have not emerged, and why? How has the structure of the economy at the outset of transition, and other initial conditions, affected the transition process? To meet our objectives and answer some of the questions, we will begin by laying out the record on performance — examining the main bodies of data that demonstrate the changes in agricultural output, income, and productivity in the years after transition. In doing so, we will show how some of the countries have recorded similar performances, while others have developed quite differently. We will identify several "patterns of transition" based on these performance indicators and much of our subsequent discussion will analyze the success of transition according to these classifications. Next, as the first step in our search for answers as to what explains these different patterns, we examine differences in the points of departure of the transition countries as well as the nature of the policy reforms that have affected agriculture. The initial conditions that we hypothesize may explain part of the transition period's performance include the nature of agricultural technology at the beginning of the reforms (its scale; its labor intensiveness; etc.), the structure of the economy (the extent of industrialization), the extent of collectivization, and the magnitude of trade distortions. The key policy interventions that we should expect to affect agriculture's performance during transition include land right reforms and farm restructuring; price and subsidization policies; the approach to the liberalization of agricultural commodity and input markets; general macro-economic and general institutional reforms; and the attention of sectoral leaders to the level of new and maintenance-oriented public goods investment (in agricultural research, irrigation, roads, and other infrastructure projects). After documenting the dramatic differences in initial conditions and in reform policies among the transitional countries, we seek to demonstrate which of the differences determine the path a country's agriculture takes. In other words, we offer answers to the question why transition in agriculture in some countries has been successful and not in others. Here, we seek to generalize about the main causes for differences between the countries and the mechanisms that have affected performance. In particular, we argue that the debate on the optimality of Big-Bang versus gradualism oversimplifies the reform problem. The empirical evidence suggests that the road to a successful transition is more subtle and successful transitions in Asia and Europe have elements of both gradual and radical reforms. To explain the reform successes and failures we emphasize the role of the political environment in the early reform years and the potential for agricultural growth that exists at the start of reforms. We find that both have not only influenced the choice of the reform policies, but also the effect of the reform policies. We also conclude that the initial level of price distortions and the pace of market liberalization were especially influential in explaining differences in the early stages of transition but that the influence of the factors has diminished over time. Investment, land rights, and farm restructuring policies, in contrast, are assuming a more important role as the agricultural reforms have matured. In the last section we draw policy implications and lessons from the agricultural transition experiences. We argue that one should be careful about which indicator to use for measuring success and failure of transition. We conclude that all reform strategies in order to be successful need to include some certain policy ingredients (such as continued investment, etc.). However, a powerful lesson is that although all the pieces are ultimately needed, there is a lot of room for variation in the form of institutions that can be successful, and optimal policies and institutions may vary according to initial conditions. In other words, there is no single optimal transition path.


The variation of the nonsteady magnetic-induction field of axially symmetric contact arrangements in space and time is calculated by using a finite-element program system. The influence of individual design elements on the induction field is analyzed and the effectiveness of measures for suppressing eddy current is represented. The delaying and damping effect of the eddy currents on the magnetic field increases from the outside towards the axis of symmetry. This changes the radial field distribution for the duration of the arc and the zone of maximum induction travels towards the inside. When the contacts are open, the radial component predominates over the axial induction field in the vicinity of the contact edge. The azimuthal inherent magnetic field of the arc is free of eddy currents and dominates in the outer arc region, particularly in the phase of current increase. >


A system of multiple degrees of freedom composed out of three masses and three springs has been presented in 2008 for analyzing rockfall impacts on protective structures covered by a cushion layer. The model has then been used for a blind prediction of a large-scale test carried out in Sapporo, Japan, in November 2009. The test results showed substantial deviations from the blind predictions, which led to a deeper evaluation of the model input parameters showing a significant influence of the modeling properties for the cushion layer on the overall results. The cushion properties include also assumptions for the loading geometry and the definition of the parameters can be challenging. This paper introduces the test setup and the selected parameters in the proposed model for the blind prediction. After comparison with the test results, adjustments in the input parameters in order to match the test results have been evaluated. Conclusions for the application of the model as well as for further model improvements are drawn.


The WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement recently went into force following its ratification by two third of WTO members on 22 February 2017. The world trade report 2015 estimates showed that the full implementation of the TFA could reduce trade costs by an average of 14.3% and boost global trade by up to $1 trillion per year, with the biggest gains in the poorest countries. Oman is aiming to diversify its economy away from oil while boosting the trade and logistics sector. The objective of this paper is to study the possible effects of WTO trade facilitation agreement on Oman's economy. The paper used the standard GTAP Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model using the latest GTAP database v9 and additional data. The GTAP database was modified to include Ad-valorem equivalents of non-tariff barriers (AVE) calculated for the GCC countries considering Oman as part of the GCC common market. The simulation considered two main scenarios: I) Oman increase in trade facilitation by 10% because of the important investment in logistics and II) the GCC increase trade facilitation by 7% due to enforcement of WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement in 2017. The overall results showed significant positive increase in trade and welfare. The first scenario yielded 4.3 per cent gain in Oman's GDP and boosted export sales of many food commodities, transport equipment and other manufacturing. The second scenario showed relatively moderate results. UAE and Bahrain gained significantly in terms of welfare and GDP as they are trade driven economies with good logistic sectors. The welfare gains among all the GCC countries varied from 2 to 4.9%. Overall all the sectors showed significant positive increase in exports, most especially the food commodities. However, the same food commodities showed a significant decrease in imports while gas products showed dramatic increase in importation.


Background: Posterior capsular opacification (PCO, secondary cataract, after cataract) is a post-surgical complication following cataract surgery. PCO results from the migration and proliferation of residual lens epithelial cells onto the central posterior capsule, leading to decreased visual function. Neodymium Yttrium Aluminium Garnet (Nd: YAG) LASER (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) Capsulotomy is one of the most common procedures for PCO following cataract surgery due to its non-invasive nature, immediate recovery and is an OPD procedure. Objective: To observe the role of Nd: YAG laser capsulotomy in terms of visual outcome (Best Corrected Visual Acuity) and the changes in IOP and other complications after the procedure. Material and Methods: A hospital-based, observational, prospective study was carried out at R. M. Kedia Eye Hospital from July 2018 to June 2019. 200 eyes of 200 patients with PCO were included in the study. Complete ocular examination including visual acuity (VA), anterior and posterior segment examination with a slit lamp, and IOP measurement using Goldmann applanation tonometer were performed pre and post-laser in all cases.


Current studies of the peculiar velocity flow field in the Local Universe are limited by either the lack of detection or accurate photometry for galaxies at low Galactic latitudes. The contribution to the dynamics of the Local Group of the largely unknown mass distribution in this 'Zone of Avoidance' remains controversial. We present here the results of a pilot project to obtain deep near infrared (NIR) observations of galaxies detected in the systematic Parkes deep HI survey of the ZoA - 578 galaxies with recession velocities out to 6000 km/s were observed with the 1.4m InfraRed Survey Facility SIRIUS camera providing J, H and K_s imaging ~2 mag deeper than 2MASS. After star-subtraction, the resulting isophotal magnitudes and inclinations of ZoA galaxies are of sufficient accuracy (magnitude errors under 0.1 mag even at high extinction) to ultimately be used to determine cosmic flow fields "in" the ZoA via the NIR Tully-Fisher relation. We further used the observed NIR colours to assess the ratio of the true extinction to the DIRBE/IRAS extinction deep into the dust layers of the Milky Way. The derived ratio was found to be 0.87 across the HIZOA survey region with no significant variation with Galactic latitude or longitude. This value is in excellent agreement with the completely independently derived factor of 0.86 by Schlafly & Finkbeiner based on Sloan data far away from the Milky Way.


We have studied a historical group of patients who underwent metal-on-metal hip arthroplasty more than 30 years ago. Those retaining their original metal-on-metal articulation (average follow-up 33 years) had an average Harris Hip Score of 75 (range 53-93) and an average Musculoskeletal Tumour Outcome Score of 75 (range 63-90). Those that have been revised (at an average of 22 years) maintain good functional outcome. The original implant is still in situ in five of the 11 survivors (follow-up 26-38 years). Retrieval analysis using a Mitutoya form tracer and an electron microscope demonstrated the selfpolishing capacity of the metal-on-metal articulation. The surface roughness (Ra) of the worn articulating surface (Ra 0.05 mm) was smoother than that of the original unworn surface (Ra 0.32 mm). We believe our case series highlights the potential longevity of metal-on-metal articulation. (Hip International 2006; 16: 47-52)


Garbage collectors are important components of many modern programming languages and runtime systems. Mark-split is a garbage collection algorithm that combines advantages of both mark-sweep and copying collection algorithms. With the switch to multi-core and many-core microprocessors, parallelism becomes a core issue in the design of any algorithm or software system. In this paper, we present a concurrent design of the mark-split garbage collector. Our concurrent design algorithmically introduces and makes use of an efficient concurrency control mechanism for handling the list of free intervals. This mechanism is based on a lock-free skip-list design and supports an extended set of operations that allows, atomically and in a lock-free manner, to search and remove and also to insert two intervals at the same time. We have implemented the concurrent mark-split garbage collector in OpenJDK HotSpot as a garbage collector for the tenured generation. We present experimental evaluation of our concurrent collector and compare it with the default concurrent marks-sweep garbage collector present in OpenJDK HotSpot, using the Dacapo benchmarks. The evaluation shows that our concurrent mark-split performs better than the concurrent mark-sweep garbage collector in some applications.


In animal models of experimental cerebral malaria (ECM), neuropathology is associated with an overwhelming inflammatory response and sequestration of leukocytes and parasite-infected RBCs in the brain. In this study, we explored the effect of vitamin D (VD; cholecalciferol) treatment on host immunity and outcome of ECM in C57BL/6 mice during Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA) infection. We observed that oral administration of VD both before and after PbA infection completely protected mice from ECM. VD administration significantly dampened the inducible systemic inflammatory responses with reduced circulating cytokines IFN-γ and TNF and decreased expression of these cytokines by the spleen cells. Meanwhile, VD also resulted in decreased expression of the chemokines CXCL9 and CXCL10 and cytoadhesion molecules (ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and CD36) in the brain, leading to reduced accumulation of pathogenic T cells in the brain and ultimately substantial improvement of the blood–brain barriers of PbA-infected mice. In addition, VD inhibited the differentiation, activation, and maturation of splenic dendritic cells. Meanwhile, regulatory T cells and IL-10 expression levels were upregulated upon VD treatment. These data collectively demonstrated the suppressive function of VD on host inflammatory responses, which provides significant survival benefits in the murine ECM model.


We have fabricated and characterized 2-D gas-based, including 2-D electron gas (2DEG) and 2-D hole gas (2DHG), heterostructure metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodetectors on GaAs. Both the high-speed measurement of time response and the simulation results show that a vertical field developed in the active absorption region due to the delta-doping layer facilitates one type of photogenerated carrier transport. In addition, the confined carriers facilitate collection of the optically generated carriers that reach them. The vertical field in the MSM structure that is created by a 2-D gas transforms a traditional lateral MSM device to a vertical one, although remaining as a planar structure, thus allowing a device design for high-speed performance without sacrificing the external quantum efficiency.


A simple macro-model is developed to assess the potential of telework as an energy saving technology for Japan. Results are that adoption of 4-day per week telecommuting of the mobile sales and specialist/technical work force could reduce national energy consumption by 1.0%. If clerical workers also telecommute an additional 1.1% of savings become possible. While these results have a fair margin of uncertainty, they do indicate that telecommuting should be considered as a serious candidate for reduction of energy-related environmental burdens. The adoption of telecommuting, especially for clerical workers, is hampered by the limitation on modes of communication available via current networking technologies. In particular, inexpensive, high quality video-calling on demand would be key in making telecommuting practicable and enjoyable on a large scale. However, current trends in the progress in Internet bandwidth are not promising. While last mile bandwidth (from provider to home) is nearing the critical level needed for video-calls, the scale and fluctuations in first miles bandwidth (from server to provider) is the real bottleneck. Future efforts to upgrade the Internet should focus on this factor, or alternatively, developing a broadband switched network. While transport savings is the dominant factor in the energy balance of telecommuting, changes in energy use in buildings, both commercial and residential, is significant and deserves attention. In particular, firm-level management of telecommuting programs should strive to insure that consumption in office buildings falls sufficiently to at least balance out increases in residential consumption.


Background We report our single center experience of endovascular treatment of stroke by a technique of direct aspiration with large bore catheter. Methods From September 2013 to March 2014 we included prospectively on intent to treat 80 patients presenting with large vessels occlusion in the settings of acute ischemic stroke. The ADAPT technique was utilised in first intention in all patients and was associated with stentriever technique when necessary. Procedural and clinical data were collected for analysis. Results Patients presented with an admitting median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score of 15 (1–26). The localization of arterial occlusion was the MCA in 40/80 (50%), the ICA in 10/80 (12.5%), a tandem occlusion in 24/80 (30%) and the vertebro basilar territory in 6/80 (7.5%). The aspiration technique alone was successful in achieving Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction (TICI) 2b or 3 revascularization in 43% of cases (38/80). The additional use of stent retrievers improved the TICI 2b/3 revascularization rate to 87.5%. With ADAPT alone, the average time from groin puncture to at least TICI 2b recanalization was 37 min (from clot contact to recanalization: 17 min). Ninety day functional outcomes was available for 35 patients were 50% (modified Rankin Scale (mRS) 0–2) and 15% (mRS 6). For the overall series there were 8 cases (10%) of procedural complications (one non occlusive dissection 4 distal emboli, and 5 Subarachnoid haemorrhages) and 2 symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhages (2.5%). Discussion The Aspiration technique utilising large bore aspiration catheters technique alone was effective in 43% of the cases being fast, safe and simple, nevertheless in our experience to achieve a recanalization rate of 87.5% it add to be completed by the use of stentrievers in the other cases. The relevance of this technique needs to studied in larger prospective multicentric studies. Disclosures R. Blanc: 2; C; Balt, Stryker, Covidien, Microvention, Neuravi, Penumbra. 4; C; Lazarus. R. Fahed: None. H. Redjem: 2; C; Balt, Stryker, Covidien, Microvention, Neuravi, Penumbra. B. Bartolini: 2; C; Balt, Stryker, Covidien, Microvention, Neuravi, Penumbra. S. Pistocchi: 2; C; Balt, Stryker, Covidien, Microvention, Neuravi, Penumbra. M. Piotin: 2; C; Balt, Stryker, Covidien, Microvention, Neuravi, Penumbra. 4; C; Lazarus.


In The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined, psychologist Steven Pinker cites mean ratios of war (battle) deaths suffered annually per 100,000 individuals as evidence for concluding that people who live in states are less violent than those who live or lived in "hunting, gathering, and horticultural societies in which our species spent most of its evolutionary history." Because such ratios are blind to actual population sizes, it remains to be seen whether the apparent decrease in contemporary violence is an artifact of scaling factors. Here scaling of war deaths is quantified relative to actual population sizes for 11 chimpanzee communities, 24 human nonstates, and 19 and 22 countries that fought in World War I and World War II, respectively. Mean annual battle deaths expressed as percentages of population sizes scale inversely with population sizes in chimpanzees and humans, indicating increased vulnerability rather than increased violence in smaller populations. However, the absolute number of mean annual war deaths increases exponentially (superlinearly) and nearly identically with population sizes across human groups but not chimpanzees. These findings suggest that people evolved to be more violent than chimpanzees and that humans from nonstates are neither more nor less violent than those from states.


The analysis of gene expression allow to study the functions of genes and their roles in difierent processes in the cell of a living system, including the cell cycle. Clustering is widely used in the analysis of high-throughput gene expression data to flnd patterns of similarity that enable related gene groups and functions to be identifled. Clustering algorithms are very sensitive to the choice of initial conditions and optimal number of clusters. In this paper, we investigate the impact of metrics and cluster parametrisation for three clustering models and propose a method for optimisation of cluster parameters based on cluster compactness and separation. A case study presents the analysis of gene expression data for E.coli bacteria.


Abstract : One of the main goals of the Hospital Transfusion Board is the prevention of injury from blood transfusion therapy. To fulfill this mission, a delegated, coordinated procedure system for the investigation and management of blood transfusion reactions (BTR) has been evolved. This includes the logical implementation of the cross-check principle in the patient at the operational level of the hospital ward and at the laboratory bench. The pathologist is provided with a hospital-wide detection and salvage system which will: (1) detect at the earliest possible moment the existence of a BTR (including Incompatible Hemolytic Blood Transfusion Disease (IHBTD)); (2) detect a probably coexistent consumption coagulopathy; (3) mobilize swiftly lifesaving therapy in diagnosed cases of IHBTD; and (4) develop a record of the events as data are recorded on the Blood Transfusion Reaction Report. (Author)


ABSTRACT Background: There has been little research conducted within developing nations examining the link between knowledge and diet-related perceptions and behaviors. In addition, prior investigations have rarely examined interrelationships between knowledge and other nutrition-related factors. Purpose: This study explored the relationship between nutrition knowledge, social/informational factors, and diet-related outcomes among Indian adults with multiple chronic conditions. Methods: A snowball sampling technique was employed to recruit individuals. Hierarchical regression analysis was employed to examine mediating and moderating relationships. Results: Results from a cross-sectional survey indicated that knowledge only predicted use among those reporting greater pressure/concern from close others. Furthermore, social support and social trust were found to moderate the relationship between knowledge and diet-related perceptions and behaviors. Discussion: Results suggest that social factors may play a critical role in moderating the impact of nutrition knowledge on diet-related perceptions and behaviors. Translation to Health Education Practice: Public Health Education interventions targeting developing nations should aim to maximize consumers' nutrition knowledge while identifying valued close others who can help encourage positive health action. Furthermore, Health Educators as well as government and local communities must engage in outreach efforts to reinforce or, if necessary, change public perceptions regarding the food industry.


Listeria monocytogenes is an enteric pathogen that can replicate within bile. Tolerance to bile has been suggested to be related to the pathogenic potential of the bacterium. We analyzed whether bile exerts different types of damage to the cell membrane of the virulent strain EGD-e and the avirulent strain HCC23. The growth and morphology of the serovar 1/2a strain EGD-e and the serovar 4a strain HCC23 were analyzed under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions following exposure to bile salts. Our data indicate that exposure to bile salts significantly impairs the growth of HCC23 as compared to EGD-e. Additionally, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analyses indicate that bile salts alter the cell envelope of EGDe and HCC23 differently. Our results indicate that differences exist in the ability of the virulent strain EGD-e and avirulent strain HCC23 to tolerate bile, suggestingthat bile resistance may be directly related to pathogenicity.


The CLEVELAND BARONS, charter members of the American Hockey League in 1936, won 9 regular season titles and 8 Calder Cup playoff championships. The team that eventually evolved into the Cleveland Barons was organized by retired Canadian goalie Harry Holmes in 1929 as the Cleveland Indians of the Intl. League. Playing its games at the ELYSIUM BUILDING, the team drew well during the 1929-30 season as it won the league championship, but the Indians were in serious financial trouble by 1933. In 1934 the team was purchased by sports promoter ALBERT C. (AL) SUTPHIN of the Braden-Sutphin Ink Co., who immediately changed the team name from the Indians (1929-34) to the Cleveland Falcons (1934-37). In 1936 the team became a charter member of the new American Hockey League, formed by the merger of the Intl. and Canadian-American minor leagues. In 1937 Sutphin built the 10,000-seat CLEVELAND ARENA and held a public contest, which chose the Cleveland Barons as the new name of his team. The years between 1936 and the late 1950s were golden years for the franchise, as the Barons were perennial winners, and crowds of over 10,000 were not unusual. Cleveland was the largest metropolitan region in minor-league hockey. In 1949 Sutphin sold the Barons to a group of Detroit businessmen. Although the Barons were set to join the National Hockey League (NHL) during the spring of 1952, the deal fell through. When average attendance fell in the late 1950s, Paul Bright bought the franchise, appointing Jackie Gordon general manager and Freddie Glover playing coach. Glover led the team to 1 more Calder Cup championship during the 1963-64 season. Nick Mileti bought the faltering franchise and the Arena for $2 million in 1968. But when he failed to persuade the NHL to accept the Barons, he bought a World Hockey Assn. franchise in 1972 and organized the Cleveland Crusaders. Mileti then moved the Barons to Jacksonville, FL, in Jan. 1973. Between 1976-78, an NHL franchise christened the Barons played at the Coliseum. Brought to Cleveland from Oakland by Mel Swig and George Gund III, the new Barons were plagued by low attendance, and after 2 seasons the team was merged with the Minnesota North Stars. Professional hockey disappeared from the Cleveland metropolitan area until 1993 when the CLEVELAND LUMBERJACKS began play. The Barons were reborn in 2001 as the Cleveland affiliate of the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks. Michael Lehr was named team president and Roy Sommer its head coach. The new Cleveland Barons finished their inaugural year with 29 wins, 44 losses and seven ties. The team relocated to Worcester, Massachusetts, for the 2006-07 season and changed its name to the Worcester Sharks. San Jose claimed that the team was moved because of a lack of interest and mounting financial losses. During their final season in Cleveland they finished last in the North Division of the Western Conference with27 wins and 48 losses. Kiczek, Gene. Forgotten Glory: The Story of Cleveland Barons Hockey (1994).


The Canadian malting industry is small, but with significant export markets. However, the varieties of Canadian malting barley traditionally grown, 6-rowed, blue aleurone, have limited the export market, since brewers require consistent malt types to produce consistent beer, and mich of the world uses 2-rowed white aleurone varieties. However, Canadian farmers ahve begun to grow 2-rowed, blue aleurone varieties, for which there is greater international demand. A high yielding 2-rowed or 6-rowed white aleurone variety might also expand Canadian malt and malting barley markets. Another factor affecting the Canadian export markets could be the higher protein levels in Canadian barley. A relatively small and protected domestic market, with an oligopolistic market structure at both the malting and brewing industry levels, coupled with extensive regulation of the input and output markets by the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) and provincial liquor boards, has both hindered and helped the domestic malting industry. The opening up of the Canadian market to be more liberalized trade through the Free Trade Agreement or other means could provide opportunities for Canadian maltsters, but largely throught the restructuring it may improse on the domestic brewing and malting industries. The potential of the international market for growth will be a function of rising incoems and population in areas such as Asian and Latin America. Intense price competition from subsidized European and American barley is a negative factor for Canadian exports. However, the ability of the CWB and Canadian maltsters to develop markets for their malting barley and malt. with its distinctive characteristics is also important. The extent to which Canadian malting barley or more imporantly, malt, is a differentiated product on the world market, and cost factors will determine the future of the Canadian malting barley and malt imdustries.


Introduction In 2004 we conducted a national survey of clinical guidelines in severe pre-eclampsia/eclampsia (sPET) and demonstrated that the standard of guidelines in individual maternity units was poor. NICE published guidance in this area in 2010. Our aim was to determine if the last decade has seen improvements. Methods 229 UK maternity units were contacted and asked for their guideline for the management of sPET. We had 137 responses (59.8%), with 108 guidelines available to review. Guidelines were assessed against the criteria used in 2004. Results/Discussion Overall guideline standard has improved. 99.1% of the guidelines had clear inclusion criteria compared with 86.1% (p < 0.05) in 2004. The importance of senior input has been recognised with 91.7% recommending consultant input compared with 26.4% (p < 0.05) in 2004. 99.1% now recommend using magnesium sulphate and advise fluid restriction. Whilst BP targets are now included in 96.3% of guidelines (56.1% in 2004, p < 0.05) there continues to be varying advice on target ranges. There has been a significant shift in recognition of the importance of systolic hypertension with only 14.8% of guidelines now recommending a target systolic BP (sBP) of >160 mmHg. In 2004, 43.8% of guidelines did not contain a target sBP and all of those which did recommended >160 mmHg. Conclusion Although there has been a significant improvement in guideline standard nearly 1 in 7 of responding units are still not adherent with safe BP targets, as intracerebral haemorrhage is the biggest killer of women with PET, this perhaps needs to be flagged again nationally.


For practical, important tasks in the fields of economics and logistics, as well as in a number of technical applications, it becomes necessary to solve the traveling salesman problem (TSP). Quite often, the features of these problems lead to the traveling salesman problem in asymmetric formulation (asymmetric traveling salesman problem, ATSP). Moreover, in some practical applications it is desirable to obtain an exact solution. One of the known exact algorithms for solving the ATSP is an algorithm that implements the well-known branch and bound method. The known experimental estimates of its complexity on the average are exponential. However, this does not mean that for small dimensions of the problem (currently, no more than 70-75), the expected time for solving the individual problem is unacceptably high. The need to reduce the time for solving individual problems dictated by practice is associated with the use of various modifications of this algorithm, of which a modification that involves storing truncated matrices in the search decision tree is one of the most effective. In this article, the authors rely on this modification. Other possible improvements in the time efficiency of the software implementation of the branch and bound method are related, among other things, to obtaining the initial approximation by heuristic algorithms. As a result, we get a combined algorithm, in which, at the first stage, some heuristics works to obtain the initial solution, from which the branch and bound method starts. This idea has been discussed for a long time, but the problem is that to reduce time, such a heuristic algorithm is needed that delivers a solution close to optimal which will be found quite fast. One of the possible solutions to this problem is the subject of this article. The subject of the research in this article is the choice of the best heuristic algorithm which, when applied, leads to an increase in temporal efficiency in combination with the algorithm of the branch and bound method, and an experimental study of its software implementation in order to obtain an average time for solving individual problems. On the basis of the results obtained, recommendations are given on the limiting dimensions of the problem that allow for an acceptable solution time, something which is of interest in the practical application of this combined algorithm in the tasks of business informatics and logistics.


The size of the TOL plasmid pWW20 from Pseudomonas putida MT20, as measured by analysis of agarose electrophoresis gels after restriction endonuclease hydrolysis, was 270-280 kilobase pairs (kb). During growth on benzoate, MT20 segregates strains carrying mutations in the plasmid regulatory gene xylS; these so-called B3 strains retain the ability to grow on m-xylene (Mxy+) but do not grow on its metabolite m-toluate (Mtol-) and have also lost the ability to transfer the plasmid (Tra-). Analysis of restriction digests of plasmid DNA from seven such segregants, independently isolated, showed that pWW20 had undergone extensive deletions of 90-100 kb. All the deleted plasmids had lost a common core of DNA, of about 72-80 kb, but in class A mutants the deletion extended at one end of this core and in class B mutants at the other end. Class A and B mutants also differed in their rate of growth on m-xylene as a result of differences in the level of expression of their plasmid-coded catabolic enzymes. This suggests that an additional gene, involved in regulating levels of gene expression, is located in the region uniquely deleted in the class B mutants.


Reasons for the slow acceptance of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty over the past 20 years are multiple and include the lack of understanding of the changes in the arterial wall caused by angioplasty. Factors responsible for the present popularity of the technique include a better understanding of the pathophysiology of catheter dilatation of an artery, more efficient catheters and monitors, increasing experience and competence of angiographers, better drugs to decrease spasm and thrombosis, greater knowledge of the immediate and long-term results and social pressure to reduce both cost and time in treating patients. The indications for percutaneous transluminal angioplasty are being standardized, as were the indications for reconstructive arterial surgery, and now the role of angioplasty should be understood by all physicians treating patients with arterial disease. The best results of this procedure are obtained with segmental occlusive lesions of the iliac, superficial femoral, coronary and renal arteries.


BACKGROUND
A retrospective cohort study was conducted to investigate the effect of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) level on prognosis in low viral load (< 2000 IU/mL) patients with hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative resection.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
A total of 192 patients with low viral load who had received curative resection of pathologically confirmed HCC were analyzed to determine the factors affecting prognosis. The risk factors for survival, early and late recurrence (2 years as a cut-off) were studied.

RESULTS
The median follow-up time was 38.5 months. The overall survival rates at 1-, 3-, and 5-year after curative resection were 94.2%, 64.0%, and 45.2%, respectively. The cumulative recurrence rates at 1-, 3-, and 5-year after curative resection were 22.4%, 46.5%, and 67.0%, respectively. Patients with high serum HBsAg levels (> 250 IU/mL) had significantly lower survival rates than those with low HBsAg levels (HR: 1.517, 95% CI: 1.005-2.292, P = 0.047). Stratified analysis showed that patients with high HBsAg levels had a significantly higher late recurrence incidence than those with low HBsAg levels (HR: 2.155, 95% CI: 1.094-4.248, P = 0.026), but did not have a significantly higher risk of early recurrence postoperatively (HR: 1.320, 95% CI: 0.837-2.082, P = 0.233). Multivariate analysis revealed that HBsAg > 250 IU/mL was an independent risk factor associated with late recurrence (HR: 2.109, 95% CI: 1.068-4.165, P = 0.032).

CONCLUSIONS
HBsAg > 250 IU/mL at the time of tumor resection was an independent risk factor for late recurrence in low viral load HCC patients.


Hebrew-language resources are widely cataloged throughout the world, but until the era of RDA there had never been an attempt to translate a comprehensive set of cataloging terminology and definitions. Translating the result of centuries of cataloging traditions and of international cooperation into Hebrew is a highly complex task. Aside from the usual issues of grammar, syntax, and orthography, respect must be paid to the pidgin used in professional communication and in Israeli library school cataloging classes. Other factors to be considered include the highly-gendered nature of Hebrew, the effect of Academy of the Hebrew Language decisions on cataloging terminology, and the organizational challenge of translation in a country which has no national policy and standards body and whose librarianship organizations are led by volunteers. This paper will discuss the problems involved in translating RDA terminology into Hebrew as well as the innovations in the Israeli cataloging world being undertaken to facilitate an efficient and timely translation.


A regional development indeed, is aimed at lifting the quality of lives of the society within the region through integrated and proper of sectors and spatial development. An effective and efficient development planning should take into account macro, sectoral and regional development planning harmoniously. At the same time, a good economic development planning will determine qualified economic growth, reducing poverty, creating more jobs and reducing inter region disparities. This is the context of this thesis research. This research analyzed sub-district basis economic growth centers in Sekadau District of West Kalimantan through sub district based. As a new district, Sekadau District is hoped to bring significant impacts especially on public service sector and better welfare for every member of society. To reach the goal, economic development is one of the strategies to be done. Through creating economic growth centers in the region, will enhance the economic growth of the hinterlands. Sekadau district consists of 7 sub districts. The sub districts are Nanga Mahap, Nanga Taman, Sekadau Hulu, Sekadau Hilir, Belitang Hilir, Belitang andn Belitang Hulu. The main data analyzed in this research are economic, social and government facilities in every sub district. The analysis tools applied are Scalogram, Geographic Information System (GIS) and Interaction Analysis. The findings of the research show that Sekadau Hilir is the main economic growth center of Sekadau. The total numbers of economic, social and government facilities are 738. It is the first economic order of Sekadau. In the Southern part, Nanga Taman is the economic growth center within the area with 257 facilities. While in the Northern part, the growth center is Belitang Hilir with 223 facilities. Because of central and Strategic position of Sekadau Hilir, other sub districts consequently, are the hinterlands of Sekadau Hilir. Through interaction analysis, it is known that Sekadau Hilir is the main center of interaction of people, goods and services. It is understandable, Sekadau Hilir, especially Sekadau Town, is the capital town of Sekadau district. The people from all sub districts come to Sekadau town mainly for shopping, education, health care, and government business. Even though, from the research finding, it is clearly founded that there are economic disparities among three main zones within the district. Center area, Sekadau Hilir, is the most provided by economic, social and government facilities more than three sub districts in the South. The worse is three sub districts in the North, less facilities provided compared with those in the South. The lagging zone of economic, social and government facilities in the district is in the North.***


Abstract Glyphosate, or N-phosphomethyl(glycine), is an organophosphorus compound and a competitive inhibitor of the shikimate pathway that allows aromatic amino acid biosynthesis in plants and microorganisms. Its utilization in broad-spectrum herbicides, such as RoundUp®, has continued to increase since 1974; glyphosate, as well as its primary metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid, is measured in soils, water, plants, animals and food. In humans, glyphosate is detected in blood and urine, especially in exposed workers, and is excreted within a few days. It has long been regarded as harmless in animals, but growing literature has reported health risks associated with glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides. In 2017, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic" in humans. However, other national agencies did not tighten their glyphosate restrictions and even prolonged authorizations of its use. There are also discrepancies between countries' authorized levels, demonstrating an absence of a clear consensus on glyphosate to date. This review details the effects of glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides on fish and mammal health, focusing on the immune system. Increasing evidence shows that glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides exhibit cytotoxic and genotoxic effects, increase oxidative stress, disrupt the estrogen pathway, impair some cerebral functions, and allegedly correlate with some cancers. Glyphosate effects on the immune system appear to alter the complement cascade, phagocytic function, and lymphocyte responses, and increase the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in fish. In mammals, including humans, glyphosate mainly has cytotoxic and genotoxic effects, causes inflammation, and affects lymphocyte functions and the interactions between microorganisms and the immune system. Importantly, even as many outcomes are still being debated, evidence points to a need for more studies to better decipher the risks from glyphosate and better regulation of its global utilization.


This paper describes a simulated annealing based multiobjective optimization algorithm that incorporates the concept of archive in order to provide a set of tradeoff solutions for the problem under consideration. To determine the acceptance probability of a new solution vis-a-vis the current solution, an elaborate procedure is followed that takes into account the domination status of the new solution with the current solution, as well as those in the archive. A measure of the amount of domination between two solutions is also used for this purpose. A complexity analysis of the proposed algorithm is provided. An extensive comparative study of the proposed algorithm with two other existing and well-known multiobjective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) demonstrate the effectiveness of the former with respect to five existing performance measures, and several test problems of varying degrees of difficulty. In particular, the proposed algorithm is found to be significantly superior for many objective test problems (e.g., 4, 5, 10, and 15 objective problems), while recent studies have indicated that the Pareto ranking-based MOEAs perform poorly for such problems. In a part of the investigation, comparison of the real-coded version of the proposed algorithm is conducted with a very recent multiobjective simulated annealing algorithm, where the performance of the former is found to be generally superior to that of the latter.


Investigating dynamic associations between specific negative emotions and PTSD symptom clusters may provide novel insights into the ways in which PTSD symptoms interact with, emerge from, or are reinforced by negative emotions. The present study estimated the associations among negative emotions and the four DSM-5 PTSD symptom clusters (intrusions, avoidance, negative alterations in cognitions and mood [NACM], and arousal) in a sample of Israeli civilians (n = 96) during the Israel-Gaza War of July-August 2014. Data were collected using experience sampling methodology, with participants queried via smartphone about PTSD symptoms and negative emotions twice a day for 30 days. We used a multilevel vector auto-regression model to estimate temporal and contemporaneous temporal networks. Contrary to our hypothesis, in the temporal network, PTSD symptom clusters were more predictive of negative emotions than vice versa, with arousal emerging as the strongest predictor that negative emotions would be reported at the next measurement point; fear and sadness were also strong predictors of PTSD symptom clusters. In the contemporaneous network, negative emotions exhibited the strongest associations with the NACM and arousal PTSD symptom clusters. The negative emotions of sadness, stress, fear, and loneliness had the strongest associations to the PTSD symptom clusters. Our findings suggest that arousal has strong associations to both PTSD symptoms and negative emotions during ongoing trauma and highlights the potentially relevant role of arousal for future investigations in primary or early interventions.


Industrial gas turbines serve in a variety of markets involving wide ranging duty cycles, fuel types and quality and emission requirements. For the Oil & Gas markets, applications range from mechanical drive, compressor sets and electrical generation that may be located in developed, remote or off-shore areas requiring a backup fuel (usually a liquid fuel). Upstream applications often require the gas turbine to burn a wide Wobbe range of fuels with varying gas compositions. For Power Generation applications, flexibility in operating range and low emissions are usually required.
 This paper describes Solar's latest SoLoNOx™ (DLE) combustion system developments for the Titan 250 for both gaseous and liquid fuels with a focus on fuel type and quality, operability and emissions from both rig and engine tests. Several combustion systems will be discussed including gas only, dual fuel and a dual fuel Lean Direct Injection (LDI) system for burning lower quality liquid fuels.
 Engine tests were performed with blends of reactive gases (propane and butane), inert gas (carbon dioxide) and natural gas covering a wide Wobbe range from 30 to 60 WI (MJ/Nm3). Full engine qualification testing was performed which included operability, emissions and combustion stability for both the gas only and LDI combustion systems. The LDI system is based on the dry low emissions combustion system used for gas operation and thus offers low NOx emissions on gaseous fuels with the ability to burn lower quality liquid fuels for backup operation. A dual fuel lean premixed combustion system was also fully engine qualified for natural gas and liquid fuel.
 High pressure single injector rig tests using hydrogen blends with pipeline quality natural gas were also performed to qualify these fuels for engine operation in the dry low emission combustion systems with up to 30% hydrogen. The primary focus of testing was to determine overall operability, turndown, flashback risk and emissions.


EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Jens Horbach, University of Applied Sciences Augsburg, Germany  SERIES EDITORS:  Valentina de Marchi, University of Padova, Italy  René Kemp, University of Maastricht, The Netherlands  Marco Lehmann-Waffenschmidt, Technical University of Dresden, Germany  Arthur P.J. Mol, Agricultural University of Wageningen, The Netherlands  Rainer Walz, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation, Karlsruhe, Germany  Technological, institutional and social innovation promotes economic development and international competitiveness, and can do much to reduce environmental burdens. Thus, innovation is an essential factor in the realisation of the principles of sustainable development.  The series 'Sustainability and Innovation' aims to positively contribute to a better understanding of the connection between innovation and sustainability. It is interdisciplinary in coverage, concentrating primarily on the links between environmental and innovation research. Individual titles in the series focus on topical issues and cover both theoretical and empirical aspects: concepts of major practical relevance are also discussed. The series is addressed to researchers and policy makers, as well as to specialists and leaders in business and industry.


Single incision thoracoscopic surgery (SITS) involves only one intercostal space with minimal skin incision, which means it can be the most minimally invasive technique up to date. We minimized the skin incision to a length of 2.5 cm to achieve the less chest wall trauma and the more cosmesis during SITS lobectomy for benign pulmonary disease. Four patients who had bronchiectasis [left lower lobe (LLL)], congenital lobar emphysema [left upper lobe (LUL)], aspergilloma [right upper lobe (RUL)], and hamartoma (RUL) were planned to undergo 2.5 cm SITS lobectomy. There were no conversion cases to multi-port video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) or thoracotomy. The mean operation time was 182±25 minutes. Chest drains were removed on postoperative day (POD) 2 in all patients. Three patients discharged on POD 3. One patient who discharged on POD 5 readmitted for delayed pleural effusion and treated with mini-tube insertion. There were no late complications or symptom relapses during the median follow-up of 13.5 months. A 2.5 cm SITS lobectomy can be alternative option for relatively young patients with benign lung disease.


Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) have been widely employed as an adjuvant endocrine therapy in postmenopausal patients with estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast carcinoma in place of tamoxifen. AIs work on suppressing both systemic and local estrogen biosynthesis in an almost complete manner resulting in estrogen depletion and subsequently inhibition of estrogen dependent carcinoma cell proliferation. Despite marked therapeutic effects in these patients, potential side effects related to long term and marked estrogen depletion should be considered for the benefits of these patients. Among these possible side effects, bone loss and/or increased rates of pathological fractures may be considered one of the most serious complications in terms of effecting activities of daily life of the patients. AIs can be classified into two types, steroidal and non-steroidal in terms of their structure and modes of actions. The former is also characterized to display androgenic actions. Estrogens are well-known to exert their effects primarily through osteoblasts in human bone tissues. Therefore, in this review, we will summarize in vitro effects of AIs, especially androgenic effects of steroidal AIs upon human osteoblasts in order to further understand their effects on human skeletal systems.


This study was undertaken to elucidate the role played by transient receptor potential A1 channels (TRPA1) in activating the muscle reflex, a sympathoexcitatory drive originating in contracting muscle. First, we tested the hypothesis that stimulation of the TRPA1 located on muscle afferents reflexly increases sympathetic nerve activity. In decerebrate rats, allyl isothiocyanate, a TRPA1 agonist, was injected intra-arterially into the hindlimb muscle circulation. This led to a 33% increase in renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA). The effect of allyl isothiocyanate was a reflex because the response was prevented by sectioning the sciatic nerve. Second, we tested the hypothesis that blockade of TRPA1 reduces RSNA response to contraction. Thirty-second continuous static contraction of the hindlimb muscles, induced by electrical stimulation of the peripheral cut ends of L(4) and L(5) ventral roots, increased RSNA and blood pressure. The integrated RSNA during contraction was reduced by HC-030031, a TRPA1 antagonist, injected intra-arterially (163 ± 24 vs. 95 ± 21 arbitrary units, before vs. after HC-030031, P < 0.05). Third, we attempted to identify potential endogenous stimulants of TRPA1, responsible for activating the muscle reflex. Increases in RSNA in response to injection into the muscle circulation of arachidonic acid, bradykinin, and diprotonated phosphate, which are metabolic by-products of contraction and stimulants of muscle afferents during contraction, were reduced by HC-030031. These observations suggest that the TRPA1 located on muscle afferents is part of the muscle reflex and further support the notion that arachidonic acid metabolites, bradykinin, and diprotonated phosphate are candidates for endogenous agonists of TRPA1.


Background Noninvasive ventilation is appropriately used as a first-line treatment of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) in many emergency departments. It has been evaluated in a large number of trials, often with clinically important benefits, but the use of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation remains highly variable across institutions and geographical regions. The aim of the study was first to emphasize the superiority of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in acute hypercapneic respiratory failure in patients with an AECOPD in comparison with conventional therapy alone and second was to identify the predictors of NIV failure in such patients. Patients and methods A total of 50 patients were randomly allocated into two equal groups: 25 patients subjected to medical and oxygen therapy (group I) and 25 to medical and NIV (group II). All patients were followed until death or discharge. Results Group II had a success rate (for weaning and discharge) of 76%, whereas in group I, it was 20% (odds ratio=0.0789, 95% confidence interval=0.021–0.302 and P<0.001). Hospital stay was significantly longer in group I. Complications were significantly higher in group I. Mortality was significantly higher in group I. Improvement of arterial blood gases, respiratory rate, dyspnea scores and hypercarbic encephalopathy was significantly better in non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) group. Conclusion The addition of NIPPV to standard therapy confers more benefits in patients with AECOPD, with significant reduction of in-hospital mortality, rate of endotracheal intubation, incidence of complications and length of hospital stay compared with standard therapy alone. On the contrary, failure can be predicted by the presence of more comorbidities, signs of severe exacerbation, high BMI, high baseline blood sugar, rapid respiratory rate at admission, abnormal baseline renal functions, high baseline C-reactive protein, high baseline acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II and BAP 65: B=BUN; A=Altered mental status; P=Pulse rate; 65-age years (BAP 65) scores, severe acidosis before NIV treatment and persistent severe acidosis after 1 h of treatment.


Back-pressure scheduling is known to play a crucial role in operating wireless mesh networks (WMNs). In this letter, we expand the back-pressure scheduling with broader control parameters for a selected practical domain. To solve this expanded problem, we propose a virtual-pressure scheduling algorithm that tries to find the control parameters for improving throughputs by monitoring the results of the back-pressure scheduling. From this, virtual-pressure scheduling achieves 5 times higher throughputs than the back-pressure scheduling in heavily congested IEEE 802.11 WMNs.


We combined measurements of tree growth and carbon dioxide exchange to investigate the effects of selective logging on the Aboveground Live Biomass (AGLB) of a tropical rain forest in the Amazon. Most of the measurements began at least 10 months before logging and continued at least 36 months after logging. The logging removed ∼15% of the trees with Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) greater than 35 cm, which resulted in an instantaneous 10% reduction in AGLB. Both wood production and mortality increased following logging, while Gross Primary Production (GPP) was unchanged. The ratio of wood production to GPP (the wood Carbon Use Efficiency or wood CUE) more than doubled following logging. Small trees (10 cm < DBH < 35 cm) accounted for most of the enhanced wood production. Medium trees (35 cm < DBH < 55 cm) that were within 30 m of canopy gaps created by the logging also showed increased growth. The patterns of enhanced growth are most consistent with logging-induced increases in light availability. The AGLB continued to decline over the study, as mortality outpaced wood production. Wood CUE and mortality remained elevated throughout the 3 years of postlogging measurements. The future trajectory of AGLB and the forest's carbon balance are uncertain, and will depend on how long it takes for heterotrophic respiration, mortality, and CUE to return to prelogging levels.


Time series motif discovery is the task of extracting previously unknown recurrent patterns from time series data. It is an important problem within applications that range from finance to health. Many algorithms have been proposed for the task of efficiently finding motifs. Surprisingly, most of these proposals do not focus on how to evaluate the discovered motifs. They are typically evaluated by human experts. This is unfeasible even for moderately sized datasets, since the number of discovered motifs tends to be prohibitively large. Statistical significance tests are widely used in bioinformatics and association rules mining communities to evaluate the extracted patterns. In this work we present an approach to calculate time series motifs statistical significance. Our proposal leverages work from the bioinformatics community by using a symbolic definition of time series motifs to derive each motif's p-value. We estimate the expected frequency of a motif by using Markov Chain models. The p-value is then assessed by comparing the actual frequency to the estimated one using statistical hypothesis tests. Our contribution gives means to the application of a powerful technique statistical tests to a time series setting. This provides researchers and practitioners with an important tool to evaluate automatically the degree of relevance of each extracted motif.


The optimization algorithm of MUD-RBFNN-GA was proposed in this article. An injection molding process optimization model of multi-factor and multi-objective was also researched. The multiple uniform designs of experiment was applied to optimize the processing parameters. During this process, the RBF neural network was established, where the melt temperature, mold temperature and packing pressure were taken as the inputs, and warpage, area of air-traps and weld-line length as the outputs, and the Moldflow simulation analysis was used to obtain the output values. By combining the algorithm with genetic algorithm and global optimization in the networks, we can get the optimal process parameters. The results show that the multi-objective optimization based on MUD-RBFNN-GA is practically applicable, and it can reduce the molding defects effectively.


The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed new probabilistic seismic hazard maps for the United States. The hazard maps form the basis of the probabilistic component of the design maps used in the 2000 International Building Code (International Code Council, 2000a), 2000 International Residential Code (International Code Council, 2000a), 1997 NEHRP Recommended Provisions for Seismic Regulations for New Buildings (Building Seismic Safety Council, 1997), and 1997 NEHRP Guidelines for the Seismic Rehabilitation of Buildings (Applied Technology Council, 1997). The probabilistic maps depict peak horizontal ground acceleration and spectral response at 0.2, 0.3, and 1.0 sec periods, with 10%, 5%, and 2% probabilities of exceedance in 50 years, corresponding to return times of about 500, 1000, and 2500 years, respectively. This report is a user guide for a CD-ROM that has been prepared to allow the determination of probabilistic map values by latitude-longitude or zip code. The CD includes additional spectral accelerations at 0.1, 0.5, and 2.0 sec for the 48 conterminous states. The CD also contains hazard curve data that were used to prepare the maps. Hazard curves may also be determined by latitude-longitude or zip code. _______________________________ 1 Geophysicist, U.S. Geological Survey, MS 966, Box 25046, DFC, Denver, CO, 80225 2 Research Civil Engineer, U.S. Geological Survey, MS 966, Box 25046, DFC, Denver, CO, 80225


This study explores how 16 individuals who grew up during the four-year long military siege of the city employ language to make
 sense of their everyday experiences in Sarajevo following the conclusion of the Bosnian War. Narrative inquiry is employed in this
 work to study sense-making, a psychological process based in language and situated in interaction with extant
 social and physical landscapes. During the study, participants wrote responses across the three narrative contexts (1) the prewar,
 (2) the acute war, and (3) the postwar. Data analyses examine how participants enact ecological landscape in
 narrative construction through varied use of prepositions across the three narrative contexts. Significantly higher use of
 prepositions in the acute war narrative context indicates that growing up amidst urban destruction gives rise to thought processes
 that draw on spatial and temporal relations in order to make sense of radical environmental changes in the landscape of war.


EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP SILLS, JANICE BROWN B.A. CLARK COLLEGE, 1984 M.ED. CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY, 1992 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARENTS' PERCEPTION OF SCHOOL CHOICE AND THEIR KNOWLEDGE LEVEL OF VOUCHERS, CHARTER SCHOOLS, CLAYTON COUNTY SCHOOL CHOICEPROVISIONS, AND NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND Advisor: Dr. Trevor Turner Dissertation dated December 2008 The purpose of this study was to examine school choice perceptions of parents in Clayton County public school system. The researcher was interested in knowing the belief system from which parents drew conclusions about school choice. The researcher analyzed the relationship between five independent variables: knowledge level of vouchers, knowledge level of charter schools, knowledge level of No Child Left Behind, knowledge level of Clayton County choice and knowledge of No Child Left Behind and two dependent variables: acceptance of school choice and belief in the effectiveness of school choice to improve education. The study was significant due to a gap regarding research that has been conducted, which provided a better understanding of the motivation underlying parents' arguments supporting or opposing various school choice initiatives. 4 quantitative research design was used in the study. A Likert rating scale survey was distributed to parents of children attending one Title I elementary school in Clayton County, Georgia to determine if a significant relationship existed between the independent and dependent variables. The researcher found a statistically significant relationship between three independent variables and one dependent variable (Socioeconomic Status, Effectiveness of School Choice to Improve Education and Knowledge level of Charter Schools and Clayton County's School Choice Options, Acceptance of School Choice). A significant relationship also existed between one independent variable and two dependent variables (Knowledge level of Vouchers, Acceptance of School Choice and Effectiveness of School Choice to improve Education). It was recommended that school system personnel provide more information to parents regarding school choice options in Clayton County. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARENTS' PERCEPTION OF SCHOOL CHOICE AND THEIR KNOWLEDGE LEVEL OF VOUCHERS, CHARTER SCHOOLS, CLAYTON COUNTY SCHOOL CHOICE PROVISIONS, AND NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF EDUCATION


Political competition between parties to win electoral support is a distinguishing feature of democratic forms of government. Parties seek to attract electoral support with programmatic promises (public goods, services) for the benefit of all citizens as well as targeted redistribution in several countries, broadly termed as "clientelistic linkages." Cash, gifts and nonmaterial goods such as jobs, exclusive access to public services are forms of clientelistic goods discussed in the literature. Studies on clientelism have spiked since the last quarter of the 20th century in several disciplines including political science and economics. The studies have clarified the definitions and distinguished between the various forms of clientelism while shedding light on how parties decide to adopt the clientelistic approach, the form of benefits offered, whether groups or individuals are targeted for clientelistic benefits, the mechanisms that solve the political commitment problem inherent in clientelistic relationships, and the correlates and consequences of clientelism. The section on theory outlines a spatial model that predicts when political parties will target swing or core supporters for redistributive benefits. The advances in empirical methods for studying clientelism and vote buying, including experimental methods have provided evidence that politicians target swing or core supporters and at times adopt mixed strategies favoring both groups. The burgeoning empirical literature has clarified the effectiveness of vote-buying as well as anti-vote buying campaigns. A direct relationship between poverty and vote buying is now contested and it is evident that further research, particularly those tying up theory with empirical findings is required to understand clientelism and vote buying.


The reinforced concrete (RC) moment-resisting frames with masonry infill walls is widely used in buildings. In most cases the masonry Infill is neglected from the design which causes a negative impact in the framed system during a seismic behavior. In this study, two-bay and three-storeyed RC Bare Frame (BF), RC Infill frame (IF) with Cement mortar (CM) interface combinations scaled to a factor (1:6) are analyzed. The influence of constructional details of infill walls on the seismic behavior of RC frames is analyzed. Literature survey carried out in this area indicates that not much work has been done in studying the influence of interface material's properties on the behavior of IF frame. The objective is achieved by analytical studies. To investigate this, we modelled the behavior of frame structures with masonry IF in three ways such as a linear method and Pushover (PO) method. It is found that with the addition of masonry infill wall rigidly connected to the frame, the lateral strength, the stiffness of the BF RC frame increase significantly while the displacement ductility ratio decreases significantly. Numerical simulation of the BF and the IF frames is done with SAP2000 (Structural Analysis Package) a FEM (Finite Element Method) based software.


Aim of the study: To study the effect of reduced level of bone support on stress concentration and distribution. Also comparing the effect of different metals (gold, cobalt-chromium, and titanium) on alveolar supporting bone. Material and methods: A FEA method is used on a reduced bone support class I Kennedy classification, with three different rest positions (mesial, distal, mesial and distal) Co-Cr partial denture; Then changing the modulus of elasticity of the chrome-cobalt, to study the effect of gold and titanium alloy on the supporting bone surrounding the abutment in terms of stress distribution. Results: results revealed that best design type is by placing mesial and distal rest on abutment, also when comparing the three types of metals (Co-Cr, titanium, gold), there was no significant difference among the three metals.


This paper investigates the objections that were raised by the philosopher 'Abd al-Laṭīf al-Baghdādī (d. ca. 1231 CE) against al-Ḥasan ibn al-Haytham's (Alhazen; d. after 1041 CE) geometrisation of place. In this line of enquiry, I contrast the philosophical propositions that were advanced by al-Baghdādī in his tract: Fī al-Radd 'alā Ibn al-Haytham fī al-makān (A refutation of Ibn al-Haytham's place), with the geometrical demonstrations that Ibn al-Haytham presented in his groundbreaking treatise: Qawl fī al-Makān (Discourse on place). In examining the particulars of al-Baghdādī's fragile defence of Aristotle's definition of topos as delineated in Book IV of the Physics, which was rejected on mathematical grounds by Ibn al-Haytham, a special attention is also given to highlighting the systemic distinctions between the entities that are studied within the speculative physical doctrines of common sense and immediate experience, and the postulated 'objects' of scientific and mathematical research.


Objectives: To compare the diagnostic performance of computed tomographic (CT) attenuation and CT attenuation ratio at different tube voltages for ex vivo plaque characterization. Materials and Methods: Human coronary arteries were obtained at the time of autopsy in 15 subjects. The coronary arteries were serially cut into 5-mm-long segments and scanned ex vivo using 4 sets of tube voltages and tube currents (80 kV, 660 mA; 100 kV, 500 mA; 120 kV, 400 mA; and 140 kV, 340 mA). The CT attenuation value at the center of each plaque was obtained, and the ratio of the CT attenuation value at the 80-kV setting divided by that at the 140-kV setting (Hounsfield ratio [HR], 80:140) was calculated. Separate receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were used to assess the usefulness of the CT attenuation value and the 80:140 HR for the differential diagnosis of lipid-rich plaques from other types of plaques. Results: A total of 93 coronary plaques were detected macroscopically. Histological examination revealed 39 lipid-rich, 24 calcified, and 30 fibrotic plaques. At all the tube voltages, the CT attenuation values of the lipid-rich plaques were lower than those of the calcified plaques, whereas the CT attenuation values of the lipid-rich and fibrotic plaques overlapped. An ROC analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) for the differential diagnosis of lipid-rich plaques from fibrotic plaques was 0.813 at 80 kV, 0.772 at 100 kV, 0.682 at 120 kV, or 0.651 at 140 kV. Regarding the 80:140 HR, the AUC was 0.952 (0.029). The AUC was significantly larger at 80 and 100 kV and 80:140 HR compared with the AUC at 120 kV. Conclusions: The diagnostic performance of CT analysis for ex vivo plaque characterization was superior at lower energy settings and using the dual-energy method.


Some arthropod species are vectors of diseases to human.s beings, domestic and sylvatic animals acting
as biological or mechanical vectors of important pathogens. They produce direct damage due to feeding
habits and attachment to different parts of animals and humans bodies. The aim of this study was to identify
different species of ectoparasites from wild birds located at .Centro de Atencion y Valoracion de Fauna
Silvestre del area metropolitana del Valle de Aburra.. From October 2006 to November 2007 a descriptive
longitudinal study was done in 43 birds infested with ectoparasites. A total of 202 ectoparasites belonging
to Diptera and Phthiraptera (Insecta) orders and Parasitiformes mites (Arachnida: Acari) were found.
The Phtiraptera order shows the highest diversity with 18 species all of them belonging to Mallophaga
group. From Diptera order, one specie was identified and ten larvae from Muscidae family was identified
too, from Acari three genera of the Astigmata and Mesostigmata soborders was identified. The results of
this study allow us to expand the host range of Bonnetella genera to Ramphastos citroelaemus specie.
Also the presence of Menacanthus eurysternus and Colpocephalum turbinatum is registered in Pelecanus
occidentalis and Buteo platypterus. The development of microbiological and parasitological studies to
identify pathogen species in these ectoparasites is recommended to establish disease transmission risk and
prevention and control strategies of zoonotic diseases.


Brachial plexus is a network of nerves formed at the root of the neck to provide motor and sensory branches to the upper limb. The major contribution for this plexus is by the anterior primary rami of C5,6,7,8 and T1. The roots join to form the trunks which in turn divide into anterior and posterior divisions to form the cords. The knowledge of brachial plexus is important for the anaesthetists while administering brachial blocks. During routine dissection in a female cadaver aged 65years, the posterior division of upper trunk fails to fuse with the posterior divisions of the middle and lower trunk and gives out four branches independently.


Automatic recognition of human faces is becoming increasingly popular in civilian and law enforcement applications that require reliable recognition of humans. However, the rapid improvement and widespread deployment of this technology raises strong concerns regarding the violation of individuals' privacy. A typical application scenario for privacy-preserving face recognition concerns a client who privately searches for a specific face image in the face image database of a server. In this paper we present a privacy-preserving face recognition scheme that substantially improves over previous work in terms of communicationand computation efficiency: the most recent proposal of Erkin et al. (PETS'09) requires O(log M) rounds and computationally expensive operations on homomorphically encrypted data to recognize a face in a database of M faces. Our improved scheme requires only O(1) rounds and has a substantially smaller online communication complexity (by a factor of 15 for each database entry) and less computation complexity. Our solution is based on known cryptographic building blocks combining homomorphic encryption with garbled circuits. Our implementation results show the practicality of our scheme also for large databases (e.g., for M = 1000 we need less than 13 seconds and less than 4 MByte online communication on two 2.4GHz PCs connected via Gigabit Ethernet).


In 21st century, more and more people see medical
services of sport therapists as a promising industry due to global aging
population and high biotechnology development. Hence, understanding medical
word-of-mouth (WOM) process among patients in medical services of sport
therapists could be interesting and useful. This study would find out the role
of WOM on patients psychology when choosing the sport therapists, understand
how patients look for sport therapists' information and which information
source is important to them. As a pioneer, this study would like to improve
medical WOM marketing of sport therapists. The authors designed a questionnaire
based on how patients choosing sport therapists, including questions search
importance of different information sources of sport therapists with medical
service decision, and respondents' psychological demographics. We released 253
questionnaires of judo therapy clinics inTaiwan. More than half of the
respondents see sport therapists due to others' recommendations (referral of
family, friends and professionals). Women are more likely to seek medical word-of-mouth information
than men; and respondents who think choosing sport therapists are important
tend to seek medical word-of-mouth information. Further, patients focus on
"therapist's behavior", "therapist's skills", and "therapist's ethic".


Building instantaneous cooling load is an essential variable for the optimisation and supervisory control of chiller plants, which can be estimated according to the measurements of the chilled water flow rate and the chilled water temperature drop through the chiller plants. Since the measurements of the flow rate and the temperature drop suffer from measurement uncertainties, two different fusion approaches have been developed to improve the measurement accuracy of the cooling load. One is the chiller-model-based fusion (CMF) approach and the other is the multiple-sensor-based fusion (MSF) approach. The two approaches use different disciplines to fuse available measurements. This paper describes a comparison study of the two fusion approaches, which analyses the influences of cooling load conditions of chiller plants on the performance of the two approaches. A case study based on computer simulation shows that the CMF approach is able to produce a better result when the cooling load condition is relatively stable and redundant measurements of the chilled water temperature and flow rate are deficient; while when the redundant measurements are abundant the MSF approach can produce a better result. Practical applications: The study aims to identify the advantage/disadvantage of two fusion approaches proposed for improving the accuracy of building cooling load measurement under different load conditions. For practical applications, results may be used as a guideline for selecting a proper fusion approach for a particular chiller plant according to the characteristics of its actual load condition.


Little is known about life cycle details in open ocean diatoms, such as the preparation for overwintering or timing of sexual reproduction. We applied SHERPA, a diatom image analysis software, to the valves of Fragilariopsis kerguelensis (O'Meara) Hust. captured in a Polar Frontal Zone sediment trap (54°S, 141.45°E, 800m), to investigate these events. The time-series analysis revealed four significant phases:

1) Prolific vegetative reproduction phase: The fraction of smaller valves increased significantly during late spring and early summer, representative of ongoing and potentially rapid seasonal vegetative reproduction.
2) Ceasing vegetative reproduction phase: The bias for a smaller sized population notably reversed from mid-summer through to early autumn, and an increase in the minimum valve size occurred in conjunction with the end of the vegetative productive phase observed from sediment trap fluxes.
3) Sexual reproduction phase: Valves in the initial cell size range (≥ 76µm), from which sexual reproduction can be inferred, occurred principally in autumn.
4) Overwintering vegetative phase: During late autumn and through winter, valve size distributions remained nearly symmetrical with low percentages of smaller valves, and a very low vegetative reproduction rate is hypothesized.

The distribution shift towards smaller valves from Phase 1 reflects the spring bloom event. We hypothesize that initially in Phase 2 the very strong distribution shift may be resultant of two concurrent factors: a) a cessation of the productive phase due to a change in environmental factors (e.g. light, nutrient availability), and b) grazing selection pressure was enhanced on the population due to the rapid increase in smaller valves. We speculate, from our observations during Phases 3 and 4, that an overwintering strategy is in place for the species. In this phase only large cells maintain sufficient storage capacity to survive a Southern Ocean winter, and could even sustain a source of ready supplies for inoculating the population in the next spring season. Such a "tactic" relieves the limitation of minimum size restrictions impacting on enhanced generation cycles. The results of this time-series size analysis from sediment trap fluxes, provides the first indication of the life cycle and survival strategy for Fragilariopsis kerguelensis.


Pharmacovigilance promotes the safe and effective use of medicines and thereby optimizes the treatment quality. However, lack of awareness among community pharmacists towards pharmacovigilance decreases the proportion of adverse drug reactions reported and impairs the signal detection process. Hence this study was designed to assess and promote the awareness and attitude of community pharmacists towards pharmacovigilance. This educational interventional study was carried out with 102 community pharmacists across Chennai. A pre-validated three domain-containing questionnaire, 20 items was used to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice before and after the educational intervention.  Knowledge, attitude and practices of community pharmacists towards pharmacovigilance was significantly increased after the educational intervention (P<0.05, 95%CI). Median difference in an overall score of knowledge and practice was observed to be 4 and 4.5, respectively.  Though the frequency of ADR reporting was not found to be greatly increased in our study, mass educational programs with adequate sampling intervals are needed to strengthen the signal generation process.


The flow formulation is founded as console formulation first, and with the body-fitted coordinate system and standard turbulent model, the numerical simulation of the internal 3-D incompressible turbulent flow agitated flow field of submersible mixer is carried out by numerical simulation software Fluent. The results showed that: the mixer impeller produced vortex jet flow, the constant velocity lines advanced as ellipse, the velocity along the centerline are larger than others, and utilized volume flow to transport the liquid. And, by changing some design parameters of mixer impeller, we can compare and analyze the numerical simulation results and present some optimal methods.


Working over a commutative ground ring, we establish a Hochschild cohomology criterion for uniqueness of derived A ∞ -algebra structures in the sense of Sagave. We deduce a Hochschild cohomology criterion for intrinsic formality of a differential graded algebra. This generalizes a classical result of Kadeishvili for the case of a graded algebra over a field.


No one of God's creatures is able to predict a future event appropriately, even with the use of analytical methods and advanced tools. This is because everything that will happen in the future will in principle be full of uncertainty followed by various risks in it. In an increasingly advanced era with all the complex issues, insurance comes to improve itself and grow better with the various innovations that run. Along with its progress also shifts social values which is the initial concept of insurance. Where insurance has now turned a face into a business-laden institution by prioritizing profit. So if we look at the insurance that runs like a business institution (conventional insurance) from the eyes of sharia, it is clear that it is prohibited in Islam because it contains gharar, Maisir and indications of usury. But it is still not able to open the eyes of Indonesian people who notabenenya muslim to switch to oriented on Takaful insurance. This paper aims to describe the problems in Takaful insurance that makes the paradigm of the community is reluctant (less interested) Takaful insurance and follow-up what needs to be done to seek Sharia insurance a priority of the community when it wants to minimize risk in accordance with Islamic religious teachings.