In this study we use observations from the Ulysses solar wind electron spectrometer to make a first examination of the evolution of the solar wind suprathermal or halo electron population as a function of heliocentric distance beyond 1 AU. Solar wind electron analyzers previously flown to distances >1 AU did not resolve the halo electron distribution so that the 3-D suprathermal solar wind electron observations from Ulysses represent a unique data set. As the core population cools with increasing heliocentric distance, no gap is formed between the core and halo populations. Rather, the halo electrons extend to increasingly lower energies. As predicted previously on theoretical grounds, the ratio of the core electron temperature to the low energy cutoff of the halo population appears to be roughly constant with a value of ∼7.5. The total integrated heat flux drops rapidly with increasing heliocentric distance; we find a best fit power law of R−2.36. In addition, we find that the ratio of the halo to core densities is roughly constant over heliocentric distance with the halo representing 4% of the total electron distribution. These results suggest that the halo population may not consist of truly non-interactive test particles over the heliocentric range of 1–4 AU.


To the Editor.— We have recently seen two cases of acute vesicular eruptions of the feet that progressed to pityriasis rosea, a previously unreported finding in this papulosquamous disease. Both patients were young adult males, aged 19 and 23, one black and one Mexican-American; the cases occurred three months apart. Each case began as a slightly pruritic, nonerythematous eruption of tense 1-mm to 9-mm vesicles on the soles and lateral aspects of the feet (Figure). In both men, potassium hydroxide preparations of vesicle roofs and skin scraping yielded negative findings, as did fungal and bacterial cultures. There was no history or evidence of contact or irritant dermatitis, and a standard series of patch tests all gave negative results. In both patients the eruption progressed during a period of one week to involve both feet up to the ankles with vesicles and crusting. During the second week both patients'


The concept of 'co-production' is increasingly offered as an approach to enable more responsive and inclusive processes of knowledge production across a range of disciplines. While it is recognized that uneven power relations play a significant role in shaping co-production processes, how these dynamics affect, and are affected by, intentional efforts to 'co-produce' usable knowledge is not well understood. In this dissertation, I examine the multiple ways in which power is exercised within efforts to 'co-produce knowledge' for climate adaptation decision-making in Tanzania, and with what effect. I do so through a multi-scalar mixed methods case study. To begin, I conduct a systematic literature review to illustrate the lack of conceptual clarity around the term co-production and argue that there is a need to distinguish between 'strong constitutive', 'strong interactional', and 'weak interactional' interpretations of the term. Then, I present results from a survey examining the production, circulation, and use of climate knowledge across institutional scales in Tanzania. I find that existing landscapes of climate knowledge are complex, with both formal and informal pathways for knowledge production and circulation playing an important role. Next, I conduct a modified Actor-Network analysis to understand the 'constitutive' dimensions of co-production. I find that current efforts to co-produce climate knowledge in Tanzania rely on stable science-society configurations in which there is a clear demarcation between 'producers' and 'users' of knowledge. This may have the unintended effect of delimiting the full participation of some actors within instrumental co-production efforts. Finally, using a critical application of the Knowledge System Criteria (KSC) framework (credibility, salience, legitimacy), I examine the politics involved in the production of 'usable' knowledge. I find that how actors relate to and employ these criteria within instrumental co-production efforts represents a political move that can reinforce existing power differentials. In sum, I find that uncritical usages of the concept of co-production may contribute to the very problems they are intended to solve. These findings are offered as part of an effort toward developing more critical, yet integrative and productive, understandings of co-production.


Cutting Publics Out of Communities introduces students to theories and practices surrounding art for the public sphere. The aim of the course is to enable students to develop a rigorous engagement with what it means to be public.
In a period of neo-liberal advance and the colonization of the public sphere by market interests and the third way state, art needs to function for social democracy and not become thoroughly debased by the surrounding apparatus. In order to address practical problems on 'how we can live together', which includes both critical deliberation on social issues and a recognition of economic difference - a social democracy not a Liberal Democracy is required. It is therefore vital we examine existing notions of art, publics and participation with the aim to exceed them - to bring to the fore arts potential for enabling political and social organization.
Freee complicates the notion of the convivial in social practice by using witnesses instead of participants and we develop theories of place and space from radical geography, theories of hegemony and the multitude, the theory of the philistine and the political theory of parrhesia in our projects. In our artwork, Freee do not create consensus, manage or co-opt people, nor become their mouthpiece. Politics needs conflict and dissent not improved techniques to dominate political processes that manage the public. To address the well-known tensions in the concept and formation of publics, Freee generate publics through techniques that derive from montage: cutting, rearranging, pasting, spitting and joining.
In a series of lectures, seminars and workshops Freee will explore practice at the intersection between art and politics. They will discuss ideas key to their art including real montage, the passerby, the witness and the heckler, together with their strategies and tactics for art production such as publishing, converting passersby into publics, sloganeering and spoken choirs. Students will be encouraged to consider their own practice in relation to Freee's key concepts and to make a proposal, artifact or an action that demonstrates their understanding and position.


This is a guide to the travel and characters of Middle-Earth. Can hobbits be psychoanalyzed? What was the relation between Tolkien's writing and the two World Wars? How seriously can we take the good-versus-evil morality of "The Lord of the Rings" as a useful guide to everyday life? Does Tolkien's Christianity shine through his imitations of pagan legends? The 11 chapters of this book, by different authors coming from different disciplines, treat Tolkien seriously as a literary artist and a cultural giant. The first chapter analyses the character transformation of Gollum, the second traces the "psychological journey" of Bilbo. Robert Plank sees the regime set up by Saruman at the end of "The Lord of the Rings" as a close parallel to fascism. Two chapters analyse Tolkien's narrative technique. Others investigate his use of myth and symbol within the broad Western cultural tradition.


In arXiv:1705.10172 a string theory inspired alternative to gravitational collapse was proposed, consisting of a bubble of AdS space made up of ingredients from string theory. These ultra compact objects are 9/8 times the size of the corresponding Schwarzschild black hole, but being within the photosphere are almost indistinguishable from them. Slowly rotating counterparts of these black shells were constructed in arXiv:1712.00511, which closely mimic a Kerr black hole, but have a quadrupole moment that differs from Kerr. Recently, arXiv:2109.09814 studied the dynamical stability of the stationary black shells against radial perturbations and accretion of matter, and examined a two parameter family of fluxes required for stability. In this paper, we re-examine the rotating black shells with particular attention to the constraints imposed by this dynamical analysis for non-rotating shells. Extrapolating these results to rotating shells, we find that they can indeed support themselves at a critical point in the gravitational potential. Additionally, requiring that they settle back to their new Buchdahl radius after accreting matter, uniquely fixes the fluxes required for dynamical stability. The flux parameters turn out to have an extremely simple form, and fulfil one of the constraints for perturbative radial stability while exactly saturating the other. The preferred quadrupole moment that we find, given some physical assumptions, is 7% less than Kerr.


This paper presents a machine learning-based approach toward designing individually targeted rehabilitation devices. This approach consists of a classification model for early detection of a disease, regression, and artificial neural networks (ANNs) models to predict the target rehabilitation gait for a specific individual, and finally a generative approach for the conditional synthesis of single degree-of-freedom linkage mechanisms for gait rehabilitation. Design of mechanisms for human–machine interaction involves numerous subjective criteria and constraints in addition to the motion task. This is particularly important for the rehabilitation devices, where the size, complexity, weight, cost, and ease of use are critical factors. In this paper, we present an end-to-end computational approach for developing a device for individualized gait rehabilitation using machine learning techniques focusing on gait classification, prediction, and specialized device design. These models generate a distribution of linkage mechanisms, which strongly correlate to the distribution of target path variations. This way of formulating the problem results in a large variety of solutions to which subjective criteria can be applied to yield practically useful design concepts that would otherwise not be possible using traditional synthesis methods.


Objective To develop a method for determining urinary citrate and oxalate using high-performance capillary electrophoresis. Methods Capillary electrophoresis with indirect ultraviolet (UV) detection was performed for determining urinary citrate and oxalate. Sodium hromate was used as the UV-absorbing background electrolyte. Results Citrate and oxalate had a migration time of 3.76 min and 3.14 min respectively. The calibration curves were linear within a limit of about 2 μg/ml for citrate and about 1 μg/ml for oxalate. The recovery rates of citrate and oxalate were 97.53% and 99.11% respectively. Conclusion This method is simple, accurate and at low cost for determining citrate and oxalate in the urine.


Objectives: This project aimed to Study the correlation between inflammatory cytokines and the dynamic change of sIgE and sIgG4 of Der p, Der p1 and Der p2(3 allergens)during Specific immunotherapy (SIT). Methods: Serum inflammatory cytokines and 3 allergens were analyzed from 55 patients with asthma and/or rhinitis SIT.the level of eight kinds of inflammatory cytokines 8 were detected, therefore, the dynamic change & correlation of house dust mites and its components-sIgE and sIgG4 of Der p1 and Der p2 were analyzed. Results: There was no significant difference in eight kinds of inflammatory cytokines before and after SIT.Before treatment,there was a correlation in level of IL-5 secreted by Th2 ,level of Der p-IgE,Der p-IgG4 and level of Der p2-IgG4.After17W, there were correlations in IL-5 & Der p2-IgE and three kinds of allergenslevel of IgG4,IL-17 and IgG4 of three kinds of allergens,level of Der p2-IgE and IFN-γ secreted by Th1.After57W,there were correlations in IL-5 and Der p-IgE,Der p1-IgE and Der p1-IgG4,level of IL-8 and level of IgG4.From 0-17 W,there was positive correlation in the increasing range of house dust mites9components- sIgG4 of Der p1&Der p2 and the D-value of IL-5&IL-17 before and after treatment.Moreover,from 17 to 57 weeks,there was negative correlation in the increasing range of sIgG4 of Der p & Der p2 and the D-value of TNF-α before and after treatment. Conclusions: SIT was a dynamic immune process and with the process of SIT,immune status of SIT was reflected by house dust mites and its main components-IgE&IgG4of Der p1&Der p2 in clinic detection.


The tibia of a sports amputee, the phases of running (the support
phase, the stride or the aerial phase "flight stage")...


BACKGROUND
The differential susceptibility (DS) model suggests that temperamentally prone-to-distress infants may exhibit adverse outcomes in negative environments but optimal outcomes in positive environments. This study explored temperament, parenting, and 36-month cognition and behavior in preterm infants using the DS model. We hypothesized that temperamentally prone to distress preterm infants would exhibit more optimal cognition and fewer behavior problems when early parenting was positive; and less optimal cognition and more behavior problems when early parenting was less positive.

METHODS
Participants included 109 preterm infants (gestation <37 weeks) and their mothers. We assessed neonatal risk and basal vagal tone in the neonatal intensive care unit; infant temperament and parenting interactions at 9 months post-term; and child behavior and cognitive skills at 36 months post-term. Hierarchical regression analyses tested study hypotheses.

RESULTS
Temperamentally prone-to-distress infants exhibited more externalizing problems if they experienced more critical parenting at 9 months (β = -.20, p < 0.05) but fewer externalizing problems with more positive parenting. Similarly, variations in maternal positive affect (β = .25, p < .01) and intrusive behaviors (β = .23, p < .05) at 9 months predicted 36-month cognition at high but not at low levels of infant temperamental distress. Higher basal vagal tone predicted fewer externalizing problems (β = -.19, p < .05).

CONCLUSIONS
Early parenting behaviors relate to later behavior and development in preterm infants who are temperamentally prone to distress, and neonatal basal vagal tone predicts subsequent externalizing behaviors. These findings suggest that both biological reactivity and quality of caregiving are important predictors for later outcomes in preterm infants and may be considered as foci for developmental surveillance and interventions.


This paper investigated contemporary journalistic English translations of Arabic Islamic terms and concepts in light of the current civil wars in the Middle East and North Africa, and the war on terror as well as Islamophobia and the refugee crisis. It studied the critical role of translation agencies in reframing and renegotiating the Islamic glossary through their own lens, which may be ideologically positioned. The paper further examined the English translations of the Arabic Islamic terms and concepts in the target texts which were published by the Washington-based advocacy group the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). The data were collected manually from MEMRI's online archive from the years 2013 to 2016. The data selection was based on a designed search that linked Daesh (ISIS) and any of its aliases with any of the Islamic terms and concepts which are repeatedly used in media narratives within the context of the 'war on terror' and 'Islamic extremism'. The study employed Baker's (2006) narrative-informed theory and Newmark's (1988) translation procedures taxonomy to assist in the data analysis. The findings suggested that transference (transliteration) is a significant procedure used by MEMRI in justifying, legitimizing and normalizing particular narratives to the public and that translators are decisive participants in constituting and informing the social and political reality. The findings also demonstrated that narrativity features, relationality in particular, are significant tools in reconstructing reality in translation. Through translation, MEMRI draws upon the metanarrative of the 'war on terror' in promoting its ideologically laden agenda of terrorist Arabs and Muslims.


Background Chronic nephrotoxicity of calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) causes irreversible renal dysfunction and shortens renal transplant survival. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to test a hypothesis that de novo CNI minimization combined with sirolimus (SRL) improves graft survival in renal transplant patients without antibody induction therapy. Methods Between October 2000 and August 2007, we performed 100 cases of renal transplantation with de novo CNI (either cyclosporine or tacrolimus) minimization combined with sirolimus (SRL group). The initial target trough levels were 100–200 ng/ml for cyclosporine (CsA) and 4–8 ng/mL for tacrolimus (TAC). SRL was given at a loading dose of 6 mg plus 2 mg/day for maintenance. The results for the SRL group were compared to those of 104 transplant recipients given standard CNI- (CsA- or TAC-) based immunosuppressive regimens including mycophenolate mofetil (MMF group) during the same period. Results The 1-year rejection-free survival (94.8%) and 5-year graft survival (87.7%) rates of the SRL group were significantly better than those of the MMF group (85.5% and 75.2%, respectively). On univariate analyses, 6-month estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), acute rejection and SRL therapy had a significant impact on graft survival, and SRL therapy and tacrolimus therapy had a significant impact on rejection-free survival. Multivariate analyses identified 6-month eGFR as the only prognostic factor for graft survival. Acute rejection and SRL therapy were significant for post-transplant renal function. Conclusions De novo CNI minimization combined with SRL could decrease acute rejection and improve renal function and graft survival after renal transplantation without the use of antibody induction therapy.


OBJECTIVE: The objective of this report is to present a case of common variable immunodeficiency (CVID), to review the literature on the subject, and to perform a mortality analysis on a case from the review. BACKGROUND: Subjects in the original study, having suffered multiple respiratory infections in the recent past, were referred to and followed at the Mt. Sinai Medical Center, New York, N Y, for diagnosis and management of immunodeficiency during the years 1973-1998. Demonstrating that two of the major immunoglobulin subgroups were more than two standard deviations below the mean for the patient's age made the diagnosis of CVID. In addition, poor antibody response to polysaccharide and protein antigens was demonstrated as a diagnostic criterion. Certain groups of patients were excluded from the cohort. They were those with hereditary X-linked Agammaglobulinemia and any cases proven to be secondary to another pathologic process. Patients with hypogammaglobulinemia and thymoma were also excluded. METHODS: Standard mortality methodology was used to obtain observed mortality, expected mortality, mortality ratios, excess death rates, and confidence intervals for the mortality ratios. RESULTS: Ages at entry ranged from 3 to 79 with mean age at diagnosis of 29 for males and 33 for females. Follow-up was from 1 year to 25 years with a mean follow-up of 7 years. Survival in the studied cohort was 64% for males and 67% for females. These data were taken from the Kaplan-Meier curve spanning 20 tears of follow-up and were used throughout the remainder of the calculations. The corresponding mortality ratios were 526% and 639%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Markedly increased mortality ratios and excess death rates were found. These values (MR) were significant at the 95% confidence level, thus underscoring the point that in spite of young age and high functionality, patients with this syndrome have markedly elevated mortality.


Since the last IAEA conference, the scientific programme of JET has focused on the qualification of the integrated operating scenarios for ITER and on physics issues essential for the consolidation of design choices and the efficient exploitation of ITER. Particular attention has been given to the characterization of the edge plasma, pedestal energy and edge localized modes (ELMs), and their impact on plasma facing components (PFCs). Various ELM mitigation techniques have been assessed for all ITER operating scenarios using active methods such as resonant magnetic field perturbation, rapid variation of the radial field and pellet pacing. In particular, the amplitude and frequency of type I ELMs have been actively controlled over a wide parameter range (q95 = 3–4.8, βN ⩽ 3.0) by adjusting the amplitude of the n = 1 external perturbation field induced by error field correction coils. The study of disruption induced heat loads on PFCs has taken advantage of a new wide-angle viewing infrared system and a fast bolometer to provide a detailed account of time, localization and form of the energy deposition. Specific ITER-relevant studies have used the unique JET capability of varying the toroidal field (TF) ripple from its normal low value δBT = 0.08% up to δBT = 1% to study the effect of TF ripple on high confinement-mode plasmas. The results suggest that δBT < 0.5% is required on ITER to maintain adequate confinement to allow QDT = 10 at full field. Physics issues of direct relevance to ITER include heat and toroidal momentum transport, with experiments using power modulation to decouple power input and torque to achieve first experimental evidence of inward momentum pinch in JET and determine the threshold for ion temperature gradient driven modes. Within the longer term JET programme in support of ITER, activities aiming at the modification of the JET first wall and divertor and the upgrade of the neutral beam and plasma control systems are being conducted. The procurement of all components will be completed by 2009 with the shutdown for the installation of the beryllium wall and tungsten divertor extending from summer 2009 to summer 2010.


The few-fermion atomic gas is an ideal setting to explore inhomogeneous superfluid pairing analogous to the Larkin-Ovchinnikov state. Two up and one down-spin atom is the minimal configuration that displays an inhomogeneous pairing density, whereas imbalanced systems containing more fermions present a more complex pairing topology. With more than eight atoms trapped the system approaches the macroscopic superfluid limit. An oblate trap with a central barrier offers a direct experimental probe of pairing inhomogeneity.


An evaluation of distributed word representation is generally conducted using a word similarity task and/or a word analogy task. There are many datasets readily available for these tasks in English. However, evaluating distributed representation in languages that do not have such resources (e.g., Japanese) is difficult. Therefore, as a first step toward evaluating distributed representations in Japanese, we constructed a Japanese word similarity dataset. To the best of our knowledge, our dataset is the first resource that can be used to evaluate distributed representations in Japanese. Moreover, our dataset contains various parts of speech and includes rare words in addition to common words.


Detection of very intense short radio bursts from Neptune was possible as early as 30 days before closest approach and at least 22 days after closest approach. The bursts lay at frequencies in the range 100 to 1300 kilohertz, were narrowband and strongly polarized, and presumably originated in southern polar regions ofthe planet. Episodes of smooth emissions in the frequency range from 20 to 865 kilohertz were detected during an interval of at least 10 days around closest approach. The bursts and the smooth emissions can be described in terms of rotation in a period of 16.11 � 0.05 hours. The bursts came at regular intervals throughout the encounter, including episodes both before and after closest approach. The smooth emissions showed a half-cycle phase shift between the five episodes before and after closest approach. This experiment detected the foreshock of Neptune's magnetosphere and the impacts of dust at the times of ring-plane crossings and also near the time of closest approach. Finally, there is no evidence for Neptunian electrostatic discharges.


This paper considers the functional requirements of building energy performance laboratories with advanced capability to test and develop innovative building envelopes and systems. The aim is to contribute to an ongoing discussion on the future of building energy performance testing, which leads to the complementary development of new test facilities and methods around the world. The development of whole building simulator laboratories with the capability to test the energy and environmental performance of full-scale buildings is considered in light of practices used in fire performance and seismic structural performance testing. The design and use of building energy performance laboratories able to mimic dynamic outdoor and indoor conditions is discussed.


Recognizing the importance of promoting global efforts underway for sustainable development of the oceans, the Goteborg Award Selection Jury is pleased to distribute a special volume, Sustainable Development of the World's Large Marine Ecosystems during Climate Change on the occasion of the presentation of the 2010 Goteborg Award. In keeping with the sustainable development theme of the Goteborg Award, contributors to the commemorative volume are focused on actions proposed and underway by high profile public figures, scientists, and policy experts for reducing climate warming and advancing sustainable development of marine goods and services. The book's opening three chapters by world renown leaders argue for coalitions of industries, governments, and citizens to lead actions for promoting sustainable development of world resources and implementing reductions in greenhouse gases. The chapters that follow describe actions underway in a global movement to restore and sustain the world's Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) and their multi-trillion dollar annual contribution to the world economy.


ToRCH – toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus (CMV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) – are the most common causes of congenital infections worldwide. Congenital infections may have various outcomes, from intrauterine death to clinically asymptomatic infections. The treatments of ToRCH infections in pregnancy are directed to reducing maternal symptoms and preventing maternal-to-child transmission of pathogens. The early recognition and the prenatal approach for congenital infections are key aspects in the management of ToRCH infections.


Multiferroic materials, with their combined and coupled magnetism and ferroelectricity, provide a playground for studying new physics and chemistry as well as a platform for development of novel devices and technologies. Based on my July 2017 Royal Society Inaugural Lecture, I review recent progress and propose future directions in the fundamentals and applications of multiferroics, with a focus on unanticipated developments outside of the core activity of electric-field control of magnetism.


Introduction. The mechanisms underlying early central nervous system (CNS) signs and symptoms of glyphosate-surfactant herbicide (GlySH) poisoning are unclear. Case presentation. A 58-year-old woman ingested approximately 150 mL of GlySH containing 41% glyphosate and 15% polyoxyethyleneamine. Two days later, she was admitted in the Emergency Center in a semicomatose state. Acute respiratory distress syndrome, circulatory collapse, acute renal failure, and disseminated intravascular coagulopathy were diagnosed. Meningitis was also suspected as she demonstrated Kernig's sign and significant neck stiffness with rigidity of the extremities as well as consciousness disturbance and fever (38.4°C). Investigations of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) revealed the presence of glyphosate (122.5 μg/mL), significant elevation of IL-6 (394 μg/mL), and pleocytosis (32 cells/μL) with monocyte dominance. All bacteriological and virological tests were later found to be negative. She recovered completely after responding to aggressive supportive care in the intensive care unit. All signs and symptoms suggesting meningitis resolved as the concentration of glyphosate in CSF decreased. She was discharged on day 39 of hospitalization. Discussion. These findings suggest that the present case involved aseptic meningitis in association with GlySH poisoning. Conclusion. CNS signs and symptoms induced by aseptic meningitis should be considered in cases of glyphosate-surfactant herbicide poisoning.


We report experimental observations of two canonical surface wave patterns – ship waves and ring waves – skewed by sub-surface shear, thus confirming effects predicted by recent theory. Observed ring waves on a still surface with sub-surface shear current are strikingly asymmetric, an effect of strongly anisotropic wave dispersion. Ship waves for motion across a sub-surface current on a still surface exhibit striking asymmetry about the ship's line of motion, and large differences in transverse wavelength for upstream versus downstream motion are demonstrated, all of which is in good agreement with theoretical predictions. Neither of these phenomena can occur on a depth-uniform current. A quantitative comparison of measured versus predicted average phase shift for a ring wave is grossly mispredicted by no-shear theory, but in good agreement with predictions for the measured shear current. A clear difference in wave frequency within the ring wave packet is observed in the upstream versus downstream direction for all shear flows, while wave dispersive behaviour is identical to that for quiescent water for propagation normal to the shear current, as expected. Peak values of the measured two-dimensional Fourier spectrum for ship waves are shown to agree well with the predicted criterion of stationary ship waves, with the exception of some cases where results are imperfect due to the limited wavenumber resolution, transient effects and/or experimental noise. Experiments were performed on controlled shear currents created in two different ways, with a curved mesh and beneath a blocked stagnant-surface flow. Velocity profiles were measured with particle image velocimetry, and surface waves with a synthetic schlieren method. Our observations lend strong empirical support to recent predictions that wave forces on vessels and structures can be greatly affected by shear in estuarine and tidal waters.


In light of studying the social entrepreneurship ecosystem in Morocco, this paper aims at providing a summary regarding a range of characteristics and entrepreneurial traits among cooperatives' members (co-operators). It is also about interpreting the faculty of existing literature to examine motives and antecedents leading to the development and the maintenance of entrepreneurial spirit among co-operators. The methodology followed is based on Geert Hofstede's (1980, 1994) empirical framework regarding national cultures as well as the research of both Bachelet et al (2005), and Shepherd & Douglas (1997) as regards to the impact of psychological and socio-cultural factors on entrepreneurs' personality and spirit. Cooperatives business is in an area of growing significance in Morocco. Nowadays we count more than 27000 cooperatives (15000 in 2015) where the regions of south have the major concentration of cooperatives (35%). The main source of data was collected through regional co-operators quantitative survey conducted among a group of 15 southern cooperatives in various sectors involving 114 co-operators. Investigated topics and chosen variables were decided beforehand, through a national expert's survey, and conducting interviews with 24 national experts in fields related to cooperative entrepreneurship. This is in order to having their perspectives on relevant co-operators framework settings, motivations, skills, personal traits, etc. Based on the respondents' answers, we've tried to understand the type of organizational culture within their specific entities. The results emphasized the preeminence of collective culture, a low aversion to risk and synchronous behavior towards time as well as the positive impact of entrepreneurial self-efficacy motivations such as working within a team and seizing opportunities. Outcomes underline the importance of social environment on the entrepreneurial expression concerning co-operants, as well as significant attitudes variables such as autonomy, initiative and need for fulfillment. The study recommends that co-operators should identify their unique behavior, explore ways to improve and get additional skills that will help them become more proactive towards issues of their domain. Overall, this paper provides one of a few projections of entrepreneurship assumptions on cooperatives field in Morocco and offered one glimpse into nature of cooperative members in the country. We expect this may help researchers, practitioners and policy-makers understand possible improvement opportunities for cooperative field and social entrepreneurship in general. Research paper Keywords: Psychological; Socio-cultural, Traits; Entrepreneurial spirit; Organizational culture Reference to this paper should be made as follows: El Khaddar, H., Bakkar, M., El Meskine, L., & Chakir, A. (2020). Uncovering Co-Operators Entrepreneurial Traits: An Empirical Investigation, Journal of Entrepreneurship, Business and Economics , 8 (2), 1–35.


This article reflects experiences and results from an environmental education and com-munication strategy (EECS) as part of a Lao-German development project of Gesellschaft fur Inter-nationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) over a 10-year period from 2011 to 2021. The article is divided into four parts. First, an overview of the project context and the media landscape in Laos is provided. Next, the conceptual framework of the communication strategy at the GIZ policy and project man-agement level is presented. Subsequently, major features of the wide variety of environmental edu-cation and communication media productions and educational materials are highlighted. Another chapter summarizes the results of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) surveys related to envi-ronmental awareness. Finally, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and impact assessment results con-clude lessons that can be learned from the project's communication strategy.


Describes a methodological study to evaluate the quality of care for an elderly population in the treatment of hypertension from a fairly simple analysis of medical records in primary care, with or without the use of additional information from patients, and shows how this type of data can be used to point out shortcomings in primary care. The data derive from a community survey of elderly people in one area of Jerusalem and relied on personal interviews, blood pressure measurements and an analysis of medical records over a period of four years. The measures used are: the percentage of persons without blood pressure (BP) measurement in a given year; the maximum "gap" between consecutive BP measurements in a given year; the rate of BP measurement per clinic visit; the percentage of hypertensives treated; and the percentage of hypertensives under control. The prevalence rates for hypertension in this elderly population vary between 40 per cent and 59 per cent according to the definition used. Using a simple and straightforward analysis of sick‐fund records several shortcomings in the surveillance and control of hypertension were detected. Calculation of the percentage of untreated hypertensives required a separate information source ‐ the screening. A BP survey is an important complement to an analysis of records. An ongoing evaluation of the quality of care of hypertensives in an elderly population should be based on screening, interviews with patients and analysis of the physician′s records. These provide an overall picture of the care in each medical practice enabling the physician to improve the quality of care provided to his or her patients.


OBJECTIVES
A vascular supply network is essential in engineered tissues >100-200-μm thickness. To control vascular network formation in vitro, we hypothesize that capillarization can be achieved locally by using fibers to position and guide vessel-forming endothelial cells within a three-dimensional (3D) matrix.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Biofunctionalization of poly-(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) fibers was performed by amino-functionalization and covalent binding of RGD peptides. Human foreskin fibroblasts (HFFs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were seeded on the fibers in a mould and subsequently embedded in fibrin gel. After 9-21 days of coculture, constructs were fixed and immunostained (PECAM-1). Capillary-like structures with lumen in the 3D fibrin matrix were verified and quantified using two-photon microscopy and image analysis software.

RESULTS
Capillary-like networks with lumen formed adjacent to the PLLA fibers. Increased cell numbers were observed to attach to RGD-functionalized fibers, resulting in enhanced formation of capillary-like structures. Cocultivation of HFFs sufficiently supported HUVECs in the formation of capillary-like structures, which persisted for at least 21 days of coculture.

CONCLUSIONS
The guidance of vessel growth within tissue-engineered constructs can be achieved using biofunctionalized PLLA microfibers. Further methods are warranted to perform specified spatial positioning of fibers within 3D formative scaffolds to enhance the applicability of the concept.


ABSTRACT Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV) is a recently discovered human polyomavirus causing the majority of human Merkel cell carcinomas. We mapped a 71-bp minimal MCV replication core origin sufficient for initiating eukaryotic DNA replication in the presence of wild-type MCV large T protein (LT). The origin includes a poly(T)-rich tract and eight variably oriented, GAGGC-like pentanucleotide sequences (PS) that serve as LT recognition sites. Mutation analysis shows that only four of the eight PS are required for origin replication. A single point mutation in one origin PS from a naturally occurring, tumor-derived virus reduces LT assembly on the origin and eliminates viral DNA replication. Tumor-derived LT having mutations truncating either the origin-binding domain or the helicase domain also prevent LT-origin assembly. Optimal MCV replication requires coexpression of MCV small T protein (sT), together with LT. An intact DnaJ domain on the LT is required for replication but is dispensable on the sT. In contrast, PP2A targeting by sT is required for enhanced replication. The MCV origin provides a novel model for eukaryotic replication from a defined DNA element and illustrates the selective pressure within tumors to abrogate independent MCV replication.


Background In reviewing health inequalities it is not sufficient to simply focus on those most affected instead there should be a whole systems approach to have the maximum effect upon the population. (Marmot 2010) Within such an approach 'the mechanisms giving rise to inequalities are still imperfectly understood'.(Woodward 2000) Further it has been suggested that evidence remains to be gathered on the effectiveness of interventions to reduce inequalities (Godfredson 2004) particularly within end of life care (EOLC). (CQC 2016). Methodology To understand the mechanisms giving rise to inequalities in EOLC we utilised an adapted process map of the EOLC journey. (Tremble 2010) Within this map we highlighted pinpoints. Pinpoints are places within the journey where a clinician decides whether there is a referral to another service. At each pinpoint a patient profile was taken looking at their basic demographics (including disease and place of death) and index of multiple deprivation score. Results The initial data review illustrated similarities across all the pinpoints with the exception of hospice care services that showed a significant increase in the number of patients classified within the 7–10 on the index of multiple deprivation and cancer diagnosis. Further research – on going At present statistical analysis is on going into the differences between the pinpoints. At the same time a literature review sought to analyse if there was evidence of a similar anomaly within another healthcare setting; in which it was identified that implicit bias was a potential cause. (Fitzgerald 2017) The next phase of the research looks to test using an Implicit Association Test method whether implicit biases is present in the EOLC journey and develop an intervention to remove it. References . The Marmot review. Fair society healthy lives [Internet]. Available from: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/fair-society-healthy-lives-full-report.pdf [Accessed: 2017Junuary 19] . Woodward A, Kawachi I. Why reduce health inequalities?J Epidemiol Community Health [Internet] 2000December;54(12):923–9. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11076989 [Accessed: 2017 June 19] . Linda Gottfredson. Intelligence: Is it the epidemiologists' elusive 'fundamental cause' of social class inequalities in health?J Personal Soc Psycology[Internet] 2004;86(1). Available from: http://psycnet.apa.org/?fa=main.doiLanding&doi=10.1037/0022-35188.8.131.52 [Accessed: 2017 June 19] . CQC. A different ending [Internet]2016. Available from: https://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/20160505 CQC_EOLC_OVERVIEW_FINAL_3.pdf [Accessed: 2017 June 19] . Trebble TM, Hansi N, Hydes T, Smith MA, Baker M. Process mapping the patient journey: An introduction. BMJ [Internet] 2010;341. Available from: http://www.bmj.com/content/341/bmj.c4078 [Accessed: 2017 June 19] . Fitzgerald C, Hurst S. Implicit bias in healthcare professionals: A systematic review. Available from: http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/12/art%253A10.1186%252Fs12910-017-0179-8.pdf?originUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fbmcmedethics.biomedcentral.com%2Farticle%2F10.1186%2Fs12910-017-0179-8&token2=exp=1495709409~acl=%2Fstatic%2Fpdf%2F12%2Fart%25253A10.1186%25252Fs12 [Accessed: 2017 May 25]


Summaries This article explores some of the methods used by donor agencies to undertake 'social analysis'. The intention is to consider those activities which appear to come under this heading and the related materials and methods that are adopted for measurement and analysis. The article is concerned with both presentation and substance, attempting to assess both the stated concerns and related prescribed procedures of donors and the extent to which those concerns and procedures play an effective role in terms of actual decision‐making and action.


: In recent years, public accounting firms have experienced a steady increase in the proportion of their revenues generated from consulting services. Although growth in consulting revenue following the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) has been generated primarily from services provided to nonaudit clients, regulators have expressed concerns about the potential implications of this increase for audit quality. In contrast, accounting firms assert that the expertise developed by their consulting professionals helps them to provide better quality audits. We examine the relation between the proportion of accounting firm consulting revenue to total revenue and audit quality and investor perceptions of audit quality. Because SOX drastically altered the source of consulting revenues for public accounting firms, we also separately examine these relations in the pre- and post-SOX eras. We find evidence suggesting that before SOX, higher proportions of audit firm consulting revenues negatively impacted both audit quality and investor perceptions of audit quality. However, we do not find a statistically significant association between audit firm consulting revenues and either audit quality or investor perceptions of audit quality following SOX. Our analyses suggest that even if these relations exist following SOX, the potential economic magnitude of the effect is small.


Introduction and Objective: Chronic inflammation & lipid peroxidation plays a pivotal role in the etiopathogenesis of cardiovascular risks in many clinical conditions. Whereas, Lichen planus (LP), is a chronic skin inflammatory disorder which disturbs lipid metabolism& increases the lipid peroxides. However, there are limited data about the correlation between oxidative stress & hypertriglyceridemia in LP, hence the study was undertaken to 1) Estimate the levels of TG (triglycerides) & MDA (malondialdehyde) levels & 2) to correlate between the MDA & TG levels in LP patients.
Materials and Methods: A case control study was done at KIMS hospital, Hubli, which included 50 LP patients and 50 healthy individuals. Serum levels of TG (GPO-PAP method) and MDA (TBA method) was done.
Result: Patients with LP presented higher significant TG values (182.93 vs. 113 mg? dl), MDA values (4.81 vs. 3.99 nmol/ml) vs. controls.Also,our study showed positive correlation between TAG & MDA levels which is statistically significant (0.012).
Interpretation and Conclusion: Thus,the present study showed increased levels of TG & MDA, indicating that hypertriglyceridemia & lipid peroxidation may have domino effect with each other due to chronic inflammation & thereby may increase the cardiovascular complications in LP patients.

Keywords: Atherosclerosis, Cardiovascular risks, Dyslipidemias, Chronic inflammation, Lichen planus, Oxidative stress.


This thesis performs a Foucauldian genealogy of youth justice, situating the generic community based sentence of the Youth Rehabilitation Order (YRO) - introduced in 2008 - at the frontier of an emasculating developmental trajectory which has informed youth justice policy and practice since the foundation of the juvenile court. It is argued that the YRO's 'governmentalisation' (Foucault, 2007) of youth justice – its movement of sentencing determination and oversight from the judiciary to the executive - enabling the 'young offender' to be governed within a complex of managerial and administrative apparatuses with reference to bio-political 'norms' – has engendered the formation of a paradigm of governance which obfuscates the distinction between executive and judicial powers. It is expounded that this may serve to create administrative 'petty sovereigns' (Oksala, 2007) largely unhindered by judicial restraints, potentially exposing the 'young offender' to exceptional sovereign violence i.e., violence which is direct, arbitrary and subject to severely weakened judicial regulation (Oksala, 2010: 42). The genealogy, analysed through the developmental prism of the nine community based sentences which the YRO replaces, traces the 'governmentalisation' of youth justice, illustrating how this obfuscatory paradigm of governance is programmed within its hybrid 'penal-welfare' evolution. The thesis illustrates that at the apotheosis of the 'welfare-era' in the late 1960s and early 1970s a youth justice strategy of 'familial enclosure' – aiming to immobilise the working class child - delimited the exercise of exceptional sovereign violence to within the walls of the nuclear family. It is shown that the disintegration of the 'underclass' familial enclosure in an advanced-liberal Britain has rendered this governmental strategy of 'sedentarisation' untenable. The belief is promulgated that the YRO, which provides a nomadic form of electronic surveillance and control, is a technology of replacement for this disintegrating enclosure, introduced by a managerial Youth Justice Board in response to the return of the nomadic children of the 'dangerous classes' (Lea, 1997). The genealogy suggests that the YRO may facilitate the diffusion of exceptional sovereign violence throughout the 'social', exercised at-a-distance upon a nomadic population of 'underclass children'. It is also asserted that the YRO's amalgamation of the 'child in need' and the 'young offender' is indicative of a wider process of 'net-widening' and 'mesh thinning' (Cohen, 1985) in which the 'child in need' is being captured within the penal net. A 'de-governmentalisation' of youth justice through a return to the 'justice-model' of youth justice policy and practice is proposed as a remedy to these issues. This, it will be espoused, will de-obfuscate executive and judicial powers and reign in administrative 'petty sovereigns' by subjecting them to effective judicial controls, preventing the 'underclass child's' exposure to exceptional sovereign violence. The potential for the offence-centric 'justice-model' to restrict the orbit of the youth justice system will also be explored.


In this study, a new green synthetic route to primary amides, that is, aerobic oxidative amidation of primary alcohols or aldehydes with ammonia, has been developed. In the presence of a cryptomelane-type manganese oxide-based octahedral molecular sieve (OMS-2), various kinds of structurally diverse primary alcohols or aldehydes including aromatic, olefinic, heteroaromatic, and aliphatic ones can be converted into the corresponding primary amides in moderate to high yields (20 examples from primary alcohols and 11 examples from aldehydes). Furthermore, gram-scale amidation is also effective, and the analytically pure primary amides can easily be isolated. The present catalysis by OMS-2 is truly heterogeneous in nature, and the retrieved OMS-2 catalyst can be reused several times (at least 12 times for the amidation of 2-pyridinemethanol). Though the formation rates of the corresponding primary amide are gradually decreased by repeating reuse experiments, OMS-2 can be regenerated by calcination. The present OMS-2-catalyzed amidation of primary alcohols is composed of four relay steps: (i) oxidative dehydrogenation of primary alcohols, (ii) dehydrative condensation of aldehydes with ammonia, (iii) oxidative dehydrogenation of aldimines, and (iv) hydration of nitriles to form the corresponding primary amides. All steps (i)–(iv) can be promoted by the presence of OMS-2.


This article brings together two strands of research that have the potential to inform the development of constructive forms of journalism: online comments and media design. Through a three-year-long case study of the development of new formats for online comments on the website of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, I explore the challenges encountered from two perspectives: the design features of the commenting system and the design process. While the broadcaster has emphasized developing features for strengthening editorial control, user engagement has faltered. A lack of attention to users in the design process seems to have contributed to the problems. These findings have implications for constructive journalism's ambitions to facilitate audience engagement, in particular when tied to online platforms.


Microbial formate–nitrite transporter-type proteins (FNT) exhibit dual transport functionality. At neutral pH, electrogenic anion currents are detectable, whereas upon acidification transport of the neutral, protonated monoacid predominates. Physiologically, FNT-mediated proton co-transport is vital when monocarboxylic acid products of the energy metabolism, such as l-lactate, are released from the cell. Accordingly, Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites can be killed by small-molecule inhibitors of PfFNT. Two opposing hypotheses on the site of substrate protonation are plausible. The proton relay mechanism postulates proton transfer from a highly conserved histidine centrally positioned in the transport path. The dielectric slide mechanism assumes decreasing acidity of substrates entering the lipophilic vestibules and protonation via the bulk water. Here, we defined the transport mechanism of the FNT from the amoebiasis parasite Entamoeba histolytica, EhFNT, and also show that BtFdhC from Bacillus thuringiensis is a functional formate transporter. Both FNTs carry a nonprotonatable amide amino acid, asparagine or glutamine, respectively, at the central histidine position. Despite having a nonprotonatable residue, EhFNT displayed the same substrate selectivity for larger monocarboxylates including l-lactate, a low substrate affinity as is typical for FNTs, and, strikingly, proton motive force–dependent transport as observed for PfFNT harboring a central histidine. These results argue against a proton relay mechanism, indicating that substrate protonation must occur outside of the central histidine region, most likely in the vestibules. Furthermore, EhFNT is the sole annotated FNT in the Entamoeba genome suggesting that it could be a putative new drug target with similar utility as that of the malarial PfFNT.


Governments all over the world have invested tens of billions of dollars in car scrappage programs to fuel the economy in 2009. We investigate the German case using a unique micro transaction dataset covering the years 2007 to 2010. Our focus is on the incidence of the subsidy, i.e., we ask how much of the € 2,500 buyer subsidy is captured by the supply-side through an increase in selling prices. Using regression analysis, we find that average prices in fact decreased for subsidized buyers in comparison to non-subsidized ones, suggesting that eventually subsidized customers benefitted by more than the subsidy amount. However, the incidence was heterogeneous across price segments. Subsidized buyers of cheap cars paid more than comparable buyers who did not receive the subsidy, e.g. for cars of € 12,000 car dealers reaped about 8% of the scrappage prime. The opposite was true for more expensive cars, e.g. subsidized buyers of cars of € 32,000 were granted an extra discount of about € 1,100. For cars priced about € 18,000, we find no price discrimination, i.e., in this price segment consumers fully captured the transfer. Our results can be explained by optimizing behavior on the supply-side both in the lower and upper price segments. The results are extremely robust to extensive sensitivity checks.


The main purpose of this thesis has been to identify the general usage of the applications textit{inhibit} and textit{override} for a collection of installations operated by Statoil ASA. The applications are provided by a Safety and Automation System (SAS) that performs monitoring, control and safeguarding of the plant and its process. Logs that keep track of the SAS operator's actions and other facility-related events have been received from each installation, and regarded with respect to: * the general evolvement and trend of the application usage * instances of inhibits/overrides of long-term character * redundant signals that are inhibited/overridden simultaneously * critical time periods that exhibit high activity * tags that are frequently involved in the application usage The results that were obtained for each above-mentioned point made it possible to give a stetement of how the installations are controlled through utilization of the safety-impairing, but useful applications.


The Prelude Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) facility is moored with an internal turret allowing it to perform offloading operations of liquefied natural and petroleum gas products. It does so in either a Free Weathervaning (FW) mode, i.e. by allowing the unit to rotate according to environmental loads, or in a Thruster-Assisted (TA) mode, i.e. by using the stern thrusters to maintain a fixed heading deemed preferable for the entire operation, or a particular phase.
 An accurate estimation of the various environment effects, in terms of forces on the FLNG and LNG carrier, is critical to ensure a correct prediction of its heading or the required thruster forces, depending on the selected operating mode. The predominant loads driving the weathervaning behavior are wind and current loads.
 These loads have been estimated from wind tunnel tests during the engineering phase. Since the Prelude FLNG has been installed on-site, field measurements have provided an opportunity for comparison and shown some differences with the numerical predictions based on the estimated loads, prompting a need for verification of current loads by an independent method. For the Prelude FLNG application, current loads play an important role due to facility size and significant tidal currents.
 It has been shown in some previous studies that wind tunnel tests for a model of under-water geometry may underestimate current loads compared to those on a full-scale vessel. There is a boundary layer along the wind tunnel floor in wind tunnel tests, while the current profile is relatively uniform over the hull draft in the real ocean condition.
 Moreover experimental tests present some additional drawbacks: they are performed at a reduced scale (1:225), the Reynolds number is lower than full-scale even with a large wind tunnel speed, and it is difficult to model the long (150m full-scale) Water Intake Risers (WIR) extending below the hull bottom.
 In order to investigate these effects, state-of-the-art full-scale CFD simulations were performed for the Prelude hull and WIR. The test program included different current speeds and directions, and several sensitivity studies: Reynolds number effect between model- and full-scales, effect of current speed profile (comparing uniform and boundary layer profiles at model scale), effect of FLNG rotation in yaw, impact of unsteady current, and presence of marine growth.
 Extreme dimensions of Prelude FLNG and requirements for accuracy of this study called for the CFD calculations to be performed on the High Performance Computing (HPC) clusters - Stampede2 and Frontera - at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), which are both amongst the world's largest supercomputers.
 This paper describes the assumptions and challenges of the CFD study and discusses the results of the main program and various sensitivities. The main conclusions and lessons learnt are also discussed.


A smart city is developed, deployed and maintained with the help of Internet of Things (IoT). The smart cities have become an emerging phenomena with rapid urban growth and boost in the field of information technology. However, the function and operation of a smart city is subject to the pivotal development of security architectures. The contribution made in this paper is twofold. Firstly, it aims to provide a detailed, categorized and comprehensive overview of the research on security problems and their existing solutions for smart cities. The categorization is based on several factors such as governance, socioeconomic and technological factors. This classification provides an easy and concise view of the security threats, vulnerabilities and available solutions for the respective technologies areas that are proposed over the period 2010-2015. Secondly, an IoT testbed for smart cities architecture, i.e., SmartSantander is also analyzed with respect to security threats and vulnerabilities to smart cities. The existing best practices regarding smart city security are discussed and analyzed with respect to their performance, which could be used by different stakeholders of the smart cities.


OBJECTIVE: To compare the characteristics of motorcycle accidents and victims attended by pre-hospital care services. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out using data on pre-hospital care of motorcyclists who had been injured in traffic accidents in Londrina, PR, Southeastern Brazil, in 2010, whose results were compared with those of a similar study conducted in 1998. Paramedic assistance registration forms were used as source of data. The fleets of motorcycles and the population of both years were used for estimating risks of accidents occurring. The Chi-square test was used to compare the profiles of accidents and victims. RESULTS: In 1998 and in 2010, respectively, 1,576 and 3,968 motorcyclists were seen (increase of 151.8%). The rate of injured motorcyclists per 1,000 inhabitants rose from 396.4 to 783.1, and that of the victims per 1,000 motorcycles from 53.1 to 61.1. Changes (p < 0.05) in the profile of accidents were observed, with higher proportions of falls from motorcycles, accidents between motorcyclists and occurrence during mornings, and a reduction of those at weekends. Regarding the victims, higher proportions of women, drivers, and those aged 35 years or over were observed. There was a decrease in the relative frequency of positive breathalyser results and an increase in the prevalence of helmet use. A lower proportion of victims were classified with moderate/severe coma and trauma scores and sent to hospitals. The immediate fatality rate dropped from 1.2% to 0.6%. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in the profiles of accidents and victims were observed in the period. Despite an absolute and relative increase in the number of victims of motorcycle accidents, a proportionally lower severity of these accidents was observed.


Laminated veneer products consist of veneers bonded together with adhesive into a predetermined shape. Since wood is a hygroscopic material and also anisotropic by nature, laminated veneer products are especially shape-sensitive to changes in moisture content. A deviation from the intended shape is a problem for both the manufacturers and users of the final products and annually such deviations cause great economic losses in the manufacturing industry. To illustrate the influence of moisture on distortion and shape stability, studies have been performed in industrial conditions and in a laboratory environment. Veneers of beech and birch and a seat shell moulded from these veneers were used in the study. Distortion, i.e. spring-back, position and twist, has been determined directly after moulding and during subsequent moisture and drying cycles. The distortion follows more or less slavishly the changes in relative humidity around the product. The distortion is generally small directly after moulding but, after the laminates have been exposed to a variation in relative humidity, the distortion increases. Some of the problems of poor shape stability that may arise later in the bending process can be reduced if attention is paid to moisture content and fibre orientation already in the production of the veneer. To achieve good shape stability of laminated veneer products in practice, the following should be followed by the manufacture industry: • develop cooperation with suppliers of veneer and set requirements of veneer with regard to deviation of the fibre orientation, and require that the veneer be dried and conditioned to a moisture content consistent with production, • control incoming veneers with respect to fibre orientation and moisture content, • plan warehousing of veneers and ensure adequate conditioning, and • consider the orientation of the veneers and the species.


This dialogue piece addresses the relative lack of youth perspectives in the academic literature on language shift, endangerment, reclamation, and maintenance. One of the most important ways to address the matter of intergenerational language shift is to encourage the further integration of youth perspectives into these academic discourses, especially (but not exclusively) perspectives written by young scholars who are speaker-members of communities in which language shift is occurring. Through such perspectives, we can gain more nuanced understandings of youth perceptions about language shift in their communities, the effects on their linguistic identities, and their motivations for reclaiming (or letting go of) their ancestral/heritage languages. In this dialogue piece, I explore perspectives shared with me by members of my generational cohort as a way of telling other stories of youth who are engaged in lifelong journeys of holding on to and reclaiming their languages for reasons that are inherently tied to personal identities. By the nature of the array of languages I discuss in this essay, an Austronesian perspective emerges, one that I draw on for personal inspiration: the challenges I face as a Filipino are shared by other members of my cohort who are of Austronesian ancestry. It is an immeasurable amount of support knowing that there are other young Austronesians like me who are fighting to hold on to their languages against all odds. This dialogue piece is a contribution to the growing literature on youth perspectives in the academic discourses on language shift, endangerment, reclamation, and maintenance.


Deep-fat frying is susceptible to induce the formation of undesirable products as lipid oxidation products and acrylamide in fried foods. Plantain chips produced by small-scale producers are sold to consumers without any control. The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of plantain chips from local producers in relation to production process parameters and oils, and to identify the limiting factors for the production of acrylamide in plantain chips. Samples of frying oils and plantain chips prepared with either palm olein or soybean oil were collected from 10 producers in Yaounde. Quality parameters determined in this study were: fatty acid composition of the oils, determined by gas chromatography (GC) of free acid methyl ester; trans fatty acids, determined by Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy; Tocopherols and tocotrienols as markers of nutritional quality were analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography in isocratic mode. Free fatty acids and acylglycerols as markers of lipid hydrolysis were analyzed by GC of trimethylsilyl derivatives of glycerides. Conjugated dienes, Anisidine value and viscosity as markers of lipid oxidation and thermal decomposition of the oils; acrylamide which is formed through Maillard reaction and identified as a toxic compound in various fried products. Asparagine content of the raw fresh plantain powder was also determined. Fatty acid composition of palm oleins was stable within a day of intermittent frying. In soybean oils, about 57% and 62.5% of linoleic and linolenic acids were lost but trans fatty acids were not detected. Soybean oils were partly hydrolysed leading to the formation of free fatty acids, monoacylglycerols and diacylglycerols. In both oils, tocopherols and tocotrienols contents decreased significantly by about 50%. Anisidine value (AV) and polymers contents increased slightly in fried palm oleins while conjugated hydroperoxides, AV and polymers greatly increased in soybean oils. Acrylamide was not detected in the chips. This is explained by the absence of asparagine in the raw plantains, the other acrylamide precursors being present. This study shows that the plantain chips prepared at the small-scale level in Yaounde with palm olein are of good quality regarding oxidation and hydrolysis parameters and the absence of acrylamide. In contrast, oxidation developed with soybean oil whose usage for frying should be questioned. Considering that asparagine is the limiting factor for the formation of acrylamide in plantain chips, its content depending on several factors such as production parameters and maturity stage should be explored. Keywords: frying, plantain, producers, palm olein, soybean oil, oxidation, acrylamide, asparagine


Phenomenal growth in the telecommunication industry in recent years has brought significant advances in filter technology as new communication systems emerged, demanding more stringent filter characteristics. In particular, the growth of the wireless communication industry has spurred tremendous activity in the area of microwave filter miniaturization and has been responsible for many advances made in this field. The filters that are currently being used in wireless base stations can be divided into two main categories: coaxial cavity resonator filters and dielectric resonator (DR) filters. While coaxial cavity filters have limited quality factor (Q) values, they offer the lowest cost design and are still being widely employed, particularly in wide bandwidth applications. With increased demands for high performance wireless systems, dielectric resonator filters are emerging as the baseline design for wireless base stations. Over the next five years, dielectric resonator filters are expected to have a significant share of the overall wireless base station filter market. High-temperature superconductor (HTS) filters are also expected to have a share of this market, particularly for systems, which have very stringent requirements for out-of-band interference. In this article, we begin by reviewing the main filter requirements, highlighting the technologies that are being currently employed. Emerging filter technologies that have the potential to replace the existing technologies are then described.


Bicycle ergometry was performed in 143 normal male residents of Ashkhabad in different seasons of the year. In cool weather, the direction and magnitude of hemodynamic response to exercise in Ashkhabad residents were similar to those of people from milder climatic zones. In summer, exercise-related systolic and diastolic blood pressure and the stroke index were smaller as compared to the respective values of the cool season. During the transition period (i.e. first hot summer days), blood pressure and the stroke index were the lowest, and the heart rate was somewhat increased. In hot weather, exercise produced a greater reduction in the circulating blood volume and a greater increase in the hematocrit value. Thirteen (9%) subjects with poor tolerance of hot weather were identified in the screened population. In these, hemodynamic shifts were similar to those observed in most normal subjects during inadequate acclimatization of the first hot summer days.


A simple and efficient Cloud Point Extraction (CPE) method has been proposed for separation and preconcentration of inorganic Sb species. The method is based on stable hydrophobic complex formation of Sb(III and V) with Pyronin B in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as both an auxiliary ligand and sensitivity improvement agent, and polyethylene glycol tert-octylphenyl ether (Triton X-114) as the extracting agent at pH 2.0. The inorganic Sb species were detected and quantified by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). Under the optimized conditions, the limits of detection of 1.68 and 4.28 μg L−1 for Sb(III) and Sb(V) along with sensitivity improvement factors of 117.6 and 83.4 respectively, were obtained. The method was successfully applied to a reliable determination of Sb(III and V) and total Sb in beverage and milk samples, and the recoveries in the range of 97.0–100.6% were obtained from the spiked samples. The accuracy was checked by analysis of two certified reference materials (CRMs) with a matrix similar to that of the samples. The values obtained were in accordance with those reported for the certified values.


This paper ultimately seeks to promote a discussion that would have ideally been held before the safe harbors – defined as the provisions that allow market participants to ignore the core provisions of the Bankruptcy Code and other insolvency laws – were adopted by legislatures throughout the world. The recent financial crisis should be ample to revisit the discussion. In particular, I use this paper to push against the contention that because the safe harbors enhance liquidity in the derivatives market, that alone justifies the existence of the safe harbors.Liquidity is, in essence, "moneyness." The safe harbors enhance the money-like qualities of one class of financial instruments by removing them from legal institutions that apply to most other classes of financial instruments. By doing so, the safe harbors convert swaps and other derivatives into a special class of contracts that are exempt from at least one area of non-contractual statutory law.I contend that granting these sort of exceptions is a zero sum game. By removing part of the costs of default from swaps, lawmakers have increased the costs that will be incurred by other financial instruments or other creditors, in other parts of the capital structure. That is, the holders of non-safe harbored financial instruments are subsidizing the safe harbored part of the capital structure. The core question is whether that subsidy – which we are told is vital to the very existence of the derivatives market – is worth more than its cost? The costs of the subsidy include any increase in the cost of other, non-safe harbored financial instruments, the costs to involuntary creditors who are unable to price the safe harbors at all, and the larger social costs of undermining legal institutions designed "to prevent a debtor from going into liquidation, with an attendant loss of jobs and possible misuse of economic resources." By subsidizing liquidity for swaps, and thus facilitating the growth of the swaps market, we are incurring these costs. Is it worth it? My analysis herein suggests reason for doubt. We need to have the conversation.


A known problem for virtualized cloud data centers is the inter-VM communication inefficiency for data transfer between co-resident VMs. Several engineering efforts have been made on building a shared memory based channel between co-resident VMs. The implementations differ in terms of whether user/program transparency, OS kernel transparency or VMM transparency is supported. However, none of existing works has engaged in an in-depth measurement study with quantitative and qualitative analysis on performance improvements as well as tradeoffs introduced by such a residency-aware inter-VM communication mechanism. In this paper we present an extensive experimental study, aiming at addressing a number of fundamental issues and providing deeper insights regarding the design of a shared memory channel for co-resident VMs. Example questions include how much performance gains can a residency-aware shared memory inter-VM communication mechanism provide under different mixtures of local and remote network I/O workloads, what overhead will the residence-awareness detection and communication channel switch introduce over the remote inter-VM communication, what factors may exert significant impact on the throughput and latency performance of such a shared memory channel. We believe that this measurement study not only helps system developers to gain valuable lessons and generate new ideas to further improve the inter-VM communication performance. It also offers new opportunities for cloud service providers to deploy their services more efficiently and for cloud service consumers to improve the performance of their application systems running in the Cloud.


Gypseous soil is one of problematic soils facing civil engineer. The problem appears when constructing heavy buildings or hydraulic structures on these soils after wetted by water from rainfall or from the raising of water table level from any source. On the other hand gypseous soil is considerably strong and has good properties when it is dry. The dissolution of gypsum depends on many factors: gypsum content, temperature, atmospheric pressure and others. Number of Remedies for these soils was carried out by many investigators, some of these methods are not workable, and the others are expansive. A new method of improving the collapsibility of such soil was presented by Prewetting Gypseous soil with water many cycles using laboratory and field models with different footing stress, which reduces the collapsibility of this soil primary. A laboratory model of 320 mm diameter and 472 mm height made from thick plastic was used. Two soils with different gypsum content 50% and 70%, brought from Aldor and Balad, in Salah Al Deen government in Iraq, was used. A footing of circular base (50 mm diameter), applies 45 kN/m and 100kN/m stresses with the aid of fix weights placed on it. The results of laboratory tests on the model samples shows a considerable reduction percent in the deformation ratio (Settlement/width of footing (S/B)) of 63% achieved from the 3rd wetting cycle by water for sample contain 50% gypsum. The reduction percent was 91% at the 3rd cycle of prewetting for sample containing 70% gypsum tested at stress level up to 45kN/m, while it is 86% for the laboratory model with 100kN/m applied stress, with the same gypsum content. The results of field test for the soil containing70% gypsum tested at 100kN/m stress shows a pronounce improvement in the S/B value which gives a reduction percent reaches 90 %, which shows a considerable improvement in the collapsibility of this problematic soil.


Studies suggest that heated oils contribute to the presence of oxidized components in the circulating lipoproteins and to the development of atherosclerosis in animals. We evaluated the effects of 11-13 wk of consumption of a well defined dietary oxidized fatty acid, 13-hydroxylinoleic acid (13-HODE) (8 mg), on atherosclerotic lesion development and plasma cholesterol concentrations in mice fed diets varying in fat and cholesterol contents. LDL receptor knockout mice were used in two feeding studies. In study 1, oxidized fatty acid consumption in association with a high fat diet increased aortic lesion areas by >100% (P < 0.05). Surprisingly, oxidized fatty acid intake also tended to increase plasma total cholesterol (P = 0.12) and LDL cholesterol (P < 0.05) as well as oxidative stress as measured by higher levels of autoantibodies to oxidatively modified proteins (P = 0.008). However, in mice fed a nonpurified diet, oxidized fatty acids were not atherogenic and may even have been beneficial, as indicated by a lower plasma triglyceride (TG) concentration (P < 0.05). In study 2, mice were fed either a high fat, medium fat or low fat diet to evaluate whether the increase in aortic lesions due to oxidized fatty acid consumption in study 1 was a result of the associated higher plasma total and LDL cholesterol concentrations. In study 2, 13-HODE-treated mice in the medium and low fat diet groups but not those fed the high fat diet had larger atherosclerotic lesions (P < 0.05). Additionally, plasma total and LDL cholesterol as well as TG were not affected by HODE treatment. However, the total cholesterol:HDL cholesterol ratio was higher in treated mice (P < 0.05) and HDL cholesterol was lower in HODE-treated mice that were fed the low fat diet (P < 0.05). Our results suggest that, in mice fed cholesterol, oxidized fatty acids may be atherogenic, both in terms of increased oxidative stress (as seen in study 1) and by increasing the atherogenicity of the plasma cholesterol profile.


Polymeric microspheres of gliclazide were prepared to provide sustained release delivery of gliclazide to aid in continuous therapy with high margin of safety. Gliclazide was microencapsulated with different polymers namely HPMC K100LV, Ethocel (20 cps) and HPMC K100M by emulsion solvent evaporation technique using acetone as internal phase and liquid paraffin as external phase. Seventeen formulations were prepared using different drug loading and polymeric ratio of which nine formulations were prepared by a 32 full factorial design. Each formulation was evaluated for flow properties, particle size, surface morphology, drug entrapment efficiency, drug release and compatibility. Yield (%) for every batch of microspheres was measured. Flow properties of the microspheres were examined by determining bulk density, tapped density, Carr's compressibility index, Hausner ratio and angle of repose. Particle size distribution was examined by sieving and particle size analyzer. Surface morphology was determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In-vitro drug release was studied in a paddle type dissolution apparatus (USP Type II Dissolution Apparatus) for a period of 8 hours at 37°C using phosphate buffer ( pH 7.4). FTIR and DSC studies established compatibility of the drug with the polymers. Microspheres prepared with Ethocel (20 cps) and HPMC K100M were free flowing than those prepared only with HPMC K100LV. Entrapment efficiencies were within 75.88-99.69%. Microspheres prepared with Ethocel (20 cps) and HPMC K100M showed more sustained release when compared to microspheres prepared with HPMC K100LV only. Increase in drug loading resulted in increased drug release for the microspheres. Kinetic modeling of in vitro dissolution profiles revealed the drug release mechanism ranging from diffusion controlled to anomalous type. Ethocel and HPMC K100M in a ratio of 1:3 exhibited better sustained release properties than 1:1 and 3:1 ratios. The release rate of gliclazide from microspheres prepared with Ethocel (20 cps) and HPMC K100M was less than the release rate of gliclazide from microspheres prepared with HPMC K100LV, demonstrating Ethocel and HPMC K100M as suitable polymeric blend for preparing the controlled release formulation for gliclazide whereas, HPMC K100LV was found not suitable candidate when used alone as a polymer. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/dujps.v13i2.21893 Dhaka Univ. J. Pharm. Sci. 13(2): 149-166, 2014 (December)


Headache, along with seizure disorders and various psychomotor developmental and learning problems, constitute the bulk of reasons for referral for the opinion of a child neurologist. It is apparent that these problems tend to make the pediatrician sufficiently "nervous" to desire a second opinion in order to share the diagnostic and management responsibility. The overwhelming majority of these symptomatic manifestations of disease are based on medically benign or static processes, but the pediatrician and the pediatric neurologist both know that tucked in amongst this large group of patients are those with progressive, sometimes remediable, disease, including brain tumor. Although computed tomography (CT) has become widely available as a simple, relatively noninvasive, and reasonably inexpensive method of intracranial imaging, it cannot be recommended as a routine approach to screen all young patients with headache or seizure disorder. We require a set of clinical clues that raise the index of suspicion


: Relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of gamma-neutron radiation with neutron energy of 0.9 MeV was estimated with a reference to rat death. It was shown that RBE of gamma-neutron radiation (the share of neutrons was 67% as related to dose) at LD33/30 and LD100/30 was 2, and RBE of 0.9 MeV neutrons, in experiments with mixed radiation, was 3.1 and 2.86 at LD33/30 and LD100/30, respectively. The value of a maximum dose at which death was not registered during 30 days, was 1 Gy with gamma-neutron radiation and 4 Gy with X-radiation.


Pseudotime estimation algorithms from single cell molecular profiling allows the recovery of temporal information from otherwise static profiles of individual cells. This pseudotemporal information can be used to characterise transient events in temporally evolving biological systems. Conventional algorithms typically employ an unsupervised approach that do not model any explicit gene behaviours making them hard to apply in the context of strong prior knowledge. Our approach Ouija takes an alternate approach to pseudotime by explicitly focusing on switch-like marker genes that are ordinarily used to confirm the accuracy of unsupervised pseudotime algorithms. Instead of using the marker genes for confirmation, we derive pseudotimes directly from the marker genes. We show that in many instances a small panel of marker genes can recover pseudotimes that are consistent with those obtained using the whole transcriptome. Ouija therefore provides a powerful complimentary approach to existing approaches to pseudotime estimation.


Open distributed computer systems are some of the most successful structures ever designed for the computer community together with their undisputed benefits for users. However, their complexity has also introduced a few side-effects, most notably the unpredictable nature of the underlying environments and reconfiguration burdens imposed by environmental changes. Thus, to gain high level of system performance, a required level of reliability has to be maintained. In this paper, we propose a mechanism to analyze the underlying environmental faults and failures. This model provides an adaptable fault-tolerant approach in order to address unanticipated events and unpredictable hazards in distributed systems. Therefore, this model maintains the required reliability by analyzing the environment and selects the optimal replication strategy for existing conditions. This pragmatic and theoretically appealing approach is a part of the Juice system which supports adaptation properties for open distributed environments


A standing wave-tube system for acoustical property measurement of vehicle-used sound absorption materials is developed in this paper. Theoretically, the standing wave ratio method and the two-cavity method with two-microphone configurations are combined and applied for calculating some acoustical parameters, such as sound absorption ratio, reflection coefficient, characteristic impedance, propagation constant, of a sample material. Based on the combined method, the standing wave-tube system including two microphones, an A/D board, a signal amplifier, a DSP computer and a set of software is carefully designed and performed. The verification results suggest that the newly designed system is accurate for acoustical property measurement of the materials used on vehicles. It can be directly used for selecting noise-control materials in vehicle acoustical designs.


The present article empirically explores the impact of intermediate information on contestants' effort. Data involving substituted soccer players of the German Bundesliga indicate only weak evidence of a negative effect of ex ante heterogeneity on effort; in contrast, intermediate information, measured by goal difference at the time of substitution, significantly affects effort. Players exert the greatest effort when their team is leading by one goal and reduce their effort when it is trailing. When intermediate information suggests the contest is already decided, players from both teams reduce effort. This behavior is in line with loss aversion, such that players weight potential losses more than potential gains and adjust their effort accordingly. (JEL Z22, J41, M54)


Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to originate a proactive approach for the quantification and analysis of liquidity risk for trading portfolios that consist of multiple equity assets. Design/methodology/approach - The paper presents a coherent modeling method whereby the holding periods are adjusted according to the specific needs of each trading portfolio. This adjustment can be attained for the entire portfolio or for any specific asset within the equity trading portfolio. This paper extends previous approaches by explicitly modeling the liquidation of trading portfolios, over the holding period, with the aid of an appropriate scaling of the multiple-assets' liquidity-adjusted value-at-risk matrix. The key methodological contribution is a different and less conservative liquidity scaling factor than the conventional root- Findings - The proposed coherent liquidity multiplier is a function of a predetermined liquidity threshold, defined as the maximum position which can be unwound without disturbing market prices during one trading day, and is quite straightforward to put into practice even by very large financial institutions and institutional portfolio managers. Furthermore, it is designed to accommodate all types of trading assets held and its simplicity stems from the fact that it focuses on the time-volatility dimension of liquidity risk instead of the cost spread (bid-ask margin) as most researchers have done heretofore. Practical implications - Using more than six years of daily return data, for the period 2004-2009, of emerging Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) stock markets, the paper analyzes different structured and optimum trading portfolios and determine coherent risk exposure and liquidity risk premium under different illiquid and adverse market conditions and under the notion of different correlation factors. Originality/value - This paper fills a main gap in market and liquidity risk management literatures by putting forward a thorough modeling of liquidity risk under the supposition of illiquid and adverse market settings. The empirical results are interesting in terms of theory as well as practical applications to trading units, asset management service entities and other financial institutions. This coherent modeling technique and empirical tests can aid the GCC financial markets and other emerging economies in devising contemporary internal risk models, particularly in light of the aftermaths of the recent sub-prime financial crisis.


Nickel silicides (NiSi) are renowned for their ability to withstand high temperatures and resist oxidation and corrosion in challenging environments. As a result, these alloys have garnered interest for potential applications in turbine blades and underwater settings. However, their high brittleness is a constant obstacle that hinders their use in producing larger parts. A literature review has revealed that incorporating trace amounts of transition metals can enhance the ductility of silicides. Consequently, the present study aims to create NiSi-based powders with the addition of titanium (Ti), boron (B), cobalt (Co), molybdenum (Mo), and vanadium (V) for Additive Manufacturing (AM) through the process of gas atomization. The study comprehensively assesses the microstructure, phase composition, thermal properties, and surface morphology of the produced powder particles, specifically NiSi11.9Co3.4, NiSi10.15V4.85, NiSi11.2Mo1.8, and Ni-Si10.78Ti1.84B0.1. Commonly used analytical techniques (SEM, EDS, XRD, DSC, and laser diffraction) are used to identify the alloy configuration that offers optimal characteristics for AM applications. The results show spherical particles within the size range of 20–63 μm, and only isolated satellites were observed to exist in the produced powders, securing their smooth flow during AM processing.


Bone tissue has an anisotropic structure, associated with the collagen fibrils' orientation and the c-axis direction of the bone apatite crystal. The bone regeneration process comprises two main phases: bone mineral density restoration (bone quantity), and subsequent recovery of bone apatite c-axis orientation (bone quality). Bone quality is the determinant factor for mechanical properties of bone. Control of osteoblast alignment is one of the strategies for reconstructing bone quality since the collagen/apatite matrix orientation in calcified tissues is dependent on the osteoblast orientation. In this work, fibrous scaffolds designed for reconstruction of bone quality via cell alignment control was investigated. The fibrous scaffolds were fabricated using the electrospinning method with poly(lactic acid) at various fiber collecting speeds. The degree of fiber alignment in the prepared fibrous scaffolds increased with increasing fiber collecting speed, indicating that the fibers were oriented in a single direction. The alignment of osteoblasts on the fibrous scaffolds as well as the subsequent apatite c-axis orientation increased with increasing fiber collecting speed. We successfully controlled cell alignment and apatite caxis orientation using the designed morphology of fibrous scaffolds. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating that adjusting the degree of fiber orientation for fibrous scaffolds can manipulate the regeneration of bone quality.


In this study, two Schiff bases, 2-(ferrocen-1-yl-methyliden)amino-4-methylphenol (HSB1) and 2-(ferrocen-1-yl-methyliden)amino-4-chloro-5-nitrophenol (HSB2), and three benzimidazole derivatives containing the ferrocene group, 2-[(ferrocen-1-yl)-5-x-6-y-1H-benzimidazole ({x = methyl, y = H} BZ1, {x = methyl, y = methyl} BZ2 and {x = chloro, y = nitro} BZ3), and their CoCl2 complexes were synthesized and characterized. Magnetic moment and molar conductivity properties of the complexes were measured. Electrochemical data obtained by cyclic voltammetry exhibits quasi-reversible one-electron redox behavior for the ligands and the complexes. In addition, antimicrobial activities of the compounds were tested against six bacteria and three fungi. It was observed that the compounds have a wide range of antimicrobial activities on the test microorganisms. It was found that the non-chelate complexes are more effective than the other complexes and ligands. The highest antifungal activity was exhibited by the Co(II) complex of BZ2 against C. parapsilosis with a MIC value of 19.5 µg/mL.


AIM
This study is aimed to evaluate the incidence of the postoperative deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and the cell damage from compartment iatrogenic syndrome, analyzing two groups of patients operated laparoscopically, one of which assisted with a Sequential Compression Device (SCD).

MATERIAL OF STUDY
A patients' series submitted to laparoscopic surgery over a period at least 90 minutes. The venous flow in the lower limbs was detected with the Echo Colour Doppler method, and only one of the two groups was assisted with the SCD.

RESULTS
Between November 2006 and October 2007, 35 patients were evaluated, 21 of them wew assisted with SDC and the remaining 14 patients were the control group. All patients had a follow-up was extended for 5 years at the interval of 7 days, 14 days, 30 days, 3 and 5 years.

DISCUSSION
The results were confirmed that the application of SCD is able to neutralize the negative effect of the PNP reducing the possible risk of thromboembolic venous stasis and the improvement of lactic acid and of myoglobinemia are attributable to a reduction of preload. With the use of IPC, it decreases venous stasis, improves venous return and cardiac output increases, preventing cell damage by hypoperfusion.

CONCLUSIONS
The use of a SCD applied to the lower limbs allows an increase in venous return from the lower limbs so reducing the risk of DVT.

KEY WORDS
Cellular damage, DVT, Pneumoperitoneum.


Objectives & Background It is important to determine whether trainees have gained a greater belief in their abilities at carrying out a particular skill or knowledge set (confidence), whether they are technically more proficient in putting them into practice (competence) or both. If confidence and competence are not clearly understood it cannot be assumed self-reported outcomes during training are valid. The aim of this work was to explore Junior Doctors' understanding of how they perceive their own performance in respect of managing feverish children. Table 1 A proposed matrix of perceptions of competence, confidence and safety Reported Competence Low High Reported Confidence Low Self-Perception: Unsafe Self-Perception: Unsafe or Safe High Self-Perception: Safe Self-Perception: Safe Methods Junior doctors (postgraduate year 2) in a children's emergency department were consented to take part in the study following ethics committee approval. Two focus group sessions, utilising a novel focus group design (meta-planning) as a methodology to drive discussion, were undertaken one week apart (9 and 7 participants), to maximise attendance and allow unexplored themes to be discussed further if one session was inadequate. A repeat session for a new group (8 participants) was held one year later using the same methodology. Results The focus groups demonstrated that although the junior doctors recognised a difference between confidence and competence they were not able to define it. Despite this difficulty there was general agreement of feeling 'safe' in the management of the febrile child at the end of the attachment. The groups also struggled to separate collectively themed categories of skills or constructs into distinct competence and confidence domains (figure one). Conclusion A perception of 'safeness' is as a concept that may aid self-evaluation and we present a matrix (table) that might be used to examine this and its relationship with confidence and competence. This will be useful for clinical supervisors and educators in Children's Emergency Departments as the concept is evolved from management of the febrile child but it is likely to have much wider use. Figure 1 Response to question How can I become more confident in dealing with children〈Black Squares〉and How can I become more competent in dealing with children 〈White Squares〉.


Introduction: Training of anatomists began in Nigeria in 1963, when the Faculty of Medicine of University of Ibadan approved a program of intercalated B.Sc anatomy simultaneously with B.Sc (medical science) in such disciplines as anatomy, physiology, chemical pathology and microbiology. Many Nigerian universities now offer degree programs in anatomy as a biomedical science. It is, however, important to investigate the interest of students who are being admitted to study anatomy as this would most likely affect their performances, motivation and commitment to making a career in anatomy. This investigation was designed to determine the newly admitted students′ interest in anatomy B.Sc program in South-Western Nigerian Universities. Materials and Methods: A total of 209 newly admitted students (year 1) into the B.Sc/B.Tech Anatomy program in the six universities in South-Western Nigeria accredited to run the undergraduate program completed structured questionnaires. Data from the retrieved copies of the questionnaire were collated and analyzed using descriptive statistical methods primarily. Collated data were calculated in percentages for easy comparison, and interest of respondents was determined generally and taking gender into consideration. Result and Discussion: Results show that students had their interests in anatomy affected negatively by initial lack of knowledge of the course and lack of proper career counseling, yet, many students upon admission hoped to work with their skills and knowledge as Anatomists upon graduation. Efforts should be channeled toward proper pre-university career education and counseling relative to the anatomy.