Standardized small-sided games evoke different physiological responses in elite-standard youth soccer players. Small-sided games (SSGs) are suggested as an excellent training tool to improve physiological capacities and simulate the high physiological demands of full-sized matches (Abrantes et al., 2012). However, it is unclear if the physiological response to playing SSGs differs between age categories leading to differences in physiological adaptations. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the physiological response in standardized SSGs of elite-standard youth soccer players of different age categories. Results indicate an age-related difference in the physiological response during SSGs. Although similar duration and pitch sizes were used, the physiological demands were lower for the under-19 team. Comparable results were observed in regular soccer practices of elite Portuguese soccer players (Abade et al., 2013). This illustrates the need for age-specific designs for SSGs to evoke adequate physiological responses in elite youth soccer players.


The isometric embedding problem is a fundamental problem in differential geometry. A longstanding problem is con- sidered in this paper to characterize intrinsic metrics on a two- dimensional Riemannian manifold which can be realized as iso- metric immersions into the three-dimensional Euclidean space. A remarkable connection between gas dynamics and differential ge- ometry is discussed. It is shown how the fluid dynamics can be used to formulate a geometry problem. The equations of gas dynamics are first reviewed. Then the formulation using the fluid dynamic variables in conservation laws of gas dynamics is presented for the isometric embedding problem in differential geometry.


Background Tinea pedis is one of the most common superficial skin infections and represents a major public health problem globally. It is common among athletes especially soccer players. This cross sectional prospective study was carried out to determine the degree of occurrence of tinea pedis and the associated risk factors among soccer players. Methods Eighty subjects with visible lesion of tinea pedis were enrolled for the study after obtaining informed consent and Ethical clearance from the subjects and relevant authorities respectively. A structured questionnaire was administered to the subjects for data on risk factors for infection and demography. The AFSI was used to assess the lesions. Skin scrapings were obtained from lesions for analysis. Samples were subjected to microscopy, culture and physiologic testing. Results A total of 52/80 (65.0 %) athlete's foot infection rate was recorded in the study. Dermatophytes recovery rate was 29/52 (55.8 %) while yeasts and non-dermatophytes moulds' recovery rate was 23/52 (44.2 %). Subjects with AFSI > 1 had (38.5%) infection rates but there was no significant association between AFSI and athletes' foot (χ2=5.4; P≥0.05). Fungal and bacterial co-infection rate was 42.5 %. Trichophyton meantagrophyte 8 (15.5 %) was the most common dermatophyte while Aspergillus niger 6 (11.5 %) was the most common non-dermatophyte. The highest risk factor of infection transmission among subjects was the use of public gym 28 (35.0 %). Conclusion Dermatophytes and non-dermatophytes were associated with the athlete's foot. The name tinea pedis should be reconsidered. The use of public sports facility may foster infection transmission.


Zymoseptoria tritici is a fungal pathogen of wheat responsible for the septoria leaf blotch disease. This disease is a major concern in bread and durum wheats growing areas worldwide. It can be controlled by fungicide treatments and the use of resistant wheat cultivars. To date, 21 resistance genes and 89 QTLs for resistance to septoria leaf blotch have been mapped in bread wheat. Despite this large availability of resistant sources, it remains a challenge to improve the resistance levels of wheat elite cultivars because of the mostly quantitative nature of wheat-septoria interactions and of the very high level of genetic diversity within pathogen populations. Our objective is to understand the genetic architecture of pathogenicity in Z. tritici by identifying its determinants and revealing the specificity of their interaction with resistance determinants in wheat. We have undertaken a genome wide association mapping approach (GWAS) to identify pathogenicity genes in Z. tritici. A collection of more than 2000 isolates has been established in France. The genetic diversity has been characterized in this collection, and 109 isolates selected for resequencing and pathogenicity assays. In so doing, we obtained the virulence spectra of the 109 French isolates, revealing the efficiency of known resistance STB genes in France, and allowing to detect known and unknown STB genes present in French elite cultivars. Furthermore, combining the precision of our pathology assays, the selection of wheat genotypes well characterized for their resistance determinants, and the precision of GWAS in our Z. tritici population, we have identified several candidate avirulence genes interacting with known resistance genes in bread wheat. Thus far, the small secreted protein AvrStb6 is the first avirulence gene to be identified and functionally validated in this important wheat pathogen.


O-2A progenitor cells give rise to both oligodendrocytes and type-2 astrocytes in vitro. Whereas oligodendrocyte differentiation occurs constitutively, type-2 astrocyte differentiation requires extracellular signals, one of which is thought to be ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF). CNTF, however, is insufficient by itself to induce the development of stable type-2 astrocytes. In this report we show the following: (a) that molecules associated with the extracellular matrix (ECM) cooperate with CNTF to induce stable type-2 astrocyte differentiation in serum-free cultures. The combination of CNTF and the ECM-associated molecules thus mimics the effect of FCS, which has been shown previously to induce stable type-2 astrocyte differentiation in vitro. (b) Both the ECM-associated molecules and CNTF act directly on O- 2A progenitor cells and can induce them to differentiate prematurely into type-2 astrocytes. (c) ECM-associated molecules also inhibit oligodendrocyte differentiation, even in the absence of CNTF, but this inhibition is not sufficient on its own to induce type-2 astrocyte differentiation. (d) Whereas the effect of ECM on oligodendrocyte differentiation is mimicked by basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), the effect of ECM on type-2 astrocyte differentiation is not. (e) The ECM-associated molecules that are responsible for inhibiting oligodendrocyte differentiation and for cooperating with CNTF to induce type-2 astrocyte differentiation are made by non-glial cells in vitro. (f) Molecules that have these activities and bind to ECM are present in the optic nerve at the time type-2 astrocytes are thought to be developing.


Recent developments in economic theories of voter behavior have questioned the assumption that voters are rational. This paper analyzes how visual representation—in media and in thought—can engender misconceptions about political economy and preclude remedies to these misconceptions. I review Michael Moore's 1989 comedy-documentary Roger and Me, which treats layoffs at General Motors plants in Flint, Michigan, as well as "The Broken Window" from Frederic Bastiat's essay "The Seen and the Unseen." I argue linear narrative and the use of images as evidence undermine the consideration of the opportunity costs and widely-distributed effects of economic phenomena and thereby enhance the case for make-work.


This study aims to determine the optimal winter speed limit through the application of a cost analysis and by analysis of effects of road and traffic conditions. Initially, a cost analysis of travel time costs, vehicle operating costs, pollution costs, and accident cost was applied to determine optimal average speed on the basis of the minimum total cost. Then, the effects of road and traffic conditions were calculated by regression analysis. Finally, the optimal winter speed limits were achieved. In conclusion, we found that our model was reliable and the results were appropriate and sustainable for the long term.


This study with international students in the UK Higher Education (HE) sector adopts a qualitative research approach to examine the impact of customer relationship management (CRM) and service quality. From the literature six construct themes for measuring customer relationship management were suggested and the interview data with focus groups from a university in the north of Britain were analysed using a thematic template analysis technique. The study showed that an effective CRM programme to improve service quality has the ability of inducing positive advocacy behaviour from its international students. The paper makes a recommendation for policy makers in the higher education sector to embrace investment in CRM.


Young's Modulus of glass fiber reinforced composites for wind energy applications are studied using numerical method. The effect of volume content of glass fiber on the Young's modulus of composites is investigated. Results indicate the relation between them is nearly linear. In order to explore the effect of inclined angle of fiber on the Young's modulus of composites, different finite element models with inclined glass fiber are developed via the ABAQUS Scripting Interface. Results indicate that Young's modulus of the composites strongly depends on the inclined angle of fiber. A U-shaped dependency of the Young's modulus of composites on the inclined angle of fiber is found, which agree with the experimental results. The results of the investigation are expected to provide some design guideline for the microstructural optimization of the glass fiber reinforced composites.


An increasing number of iron-sulfur (Fe-S) proteins are found in which the Fe-S cluster is not involved in net electron transfer, as it is in the majority of Fe-S proteins. Most of the former are (de)hydratases, of which the most extensively studied is aconitase. Approaches are described and discussed by which the Fe-S cluster of this enzyme could be brought into states of different structure, ligation, oxidation and isotope composition. The species, so obtained, provided the basis for spectroscopic and chemical investigations. Results from studies by protein chemistry, EPR, Mossbauer, 1H, 2H and 57Fe electron-nuclear double resonance spectroscopy are described. Conclusions, which bear on the electronic structure of the Fe-S cluster, enzyme-substrate interaction and the enzymatic mechanism, were derived from a synopsis of the recent work described here and of previous contributions from several laboratories. These conclusions are discussed and summarized in a final section.


The current submitted work consists of a portfolio of musical works, visual pieces and thoughts that preoccupied me over a period of research and creation from late 2014 to 2017. Pieces described in this thesis developed into an overall artistic research and craft which led to a specific workflow serving a new personal aesthetic. Two parts describe two seemingly antonymous automatic creation processes: automatic versus automatic.

The first part describes my inspirations together with a consequent formal-ization of my composition techniques. I render generative automatic music both emerging from finite state computation and infinitesimal interference.

The second part shows that I often perform my music in specific sites with challenging conditions. I consider them as constraints that eventually also be-come part of the composition system. The materialization of a piece involves aback-and-forth process, between concepts and realities, that I finally transcend in the sense of surrealist automatism. This mechanical and human process is a necessity for the authenticity to my pieces.


Hydrogels are widely used for controlled delivery of therapeutic agents. However, hydrogels lack bioactivity to encourage bone formation and mechanical integrity. Moreover, chemically crosslinked hydrogels exhibit cytotoxic effect. To overcome these limitations poly-vinyl alcohol (PVA) and poly-acrylic acid (PAA) blends were combined with ceramic materials based on β tricalcium phosphate, wollastonite, and magnesium silicate with different pore size distributions. The final 3D matrix was physically crosslinked using various freeze thawing (F/T) cycles. FTIR and SEM analysis showed that ceramics were dispersed within the polymer matrix and formed hydrogen bonds. Swelling studies in buffer solution pH 7.4 showed an increase in polymer swelling when ceramic was added. Furthermore, rheological testing demonstrated that incorporation of ceramics caused an increase in mechanical properties which varies with different pore size distributions of ceramics grains added. DSC thermograms showed increased Tg values for samples containing ceramics. Antimicrobial activity containing ciprofloxacin was tested against a pathogen associated with osteomyelitis and presented positive results with ciprofloxacin. The combination of increased strength and ability to encapsulate a clinically relevant antimicrobial agent indicates that the composite tested in this study has potential for the treatment of osteomyelitis. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016, 54, 761–773


Large-mammal herbivore populations are subject to the interaction of internal density-dependent processes and external environmental stochasticity. We disentangle these processes by linking consumer population dynamics, in a highly stochastic environment, to the availability of their key forage resource via effects on body condition and subsequent fecundity and mortality rates. Body condition and demographic rate data were obtained by monitoring 500 tagged female goats in the Richtersveld National Park, South Africa, over a three-year period. Identifying the key resource and pathway to density dependence for a population allows environmental stochasticity to be partitioned into that which has strong feedbacks to population stability, and that which does not. Our data reveal a density- dependent seasonal decline in goat body condition in response to concomitant density-dependent depletion of the dry-season forage resource. The loss in body condition reduced density-dependent pregnancy rates, litter sizes, and pre-weaning survival. Survival was lowest following the most severe dry season and for juveniles. Adult survival in the late-dry season depended on body condition in the mid-dry season. Population growth was determined by the length of the dry season and the population size in the previous year. The RNP goat population is thereby dynamically coupled primarily to its dry-season forage resource. Extreme environmental variability thus does not decouple consumer resource dynamics, in contrast to the views of nonequilibrium protagonists.


Despite establishment of transfusion guidelines and feedback intervention, FFP and platelet transfusion were still inappropriate in many clinical situations at our hospital. Many physicians never read or referred to the guidelines when they were ordering FFP and platelet transfusion. A new blood component request form with the guidelines printed on it was designed to facilitate physician education and enforcement of these transfusion guidelines. The form was well accepted by junior house staff and inappropriate transfusion was significantly reduced.


Two approaches are widely used when estimating how long it takes to sell a property: one approach uses least squares and the other is based on a hazard model. Despite many years of study, the field does not seem to have reached a consensus on the "typical" effect of important variables. This paper uses numerical simulations and some simple reasoning to study the power of tests to reject hypotheses which are false. The numerical simulations offer three key insights. First, they quantify the effect of a difference in the hypothesis. Small differences are hard to detect while the power to reject a big difference varies with the characteristics of the data. Second, since the simulation can impose a true distribution, it is possible to study the effect of using a knowingly misspecified model with less statistical theory and more focus on practical implications. I show that analysis based on estimating a hazard model seems to be more robust. Third, the simulations are used to explore the conceptual difference between testing the hypothesis that an effect exists vs. tests aimed at measuring the magnitude of an effect. This difference is very important when the different approaches use different parameters which affect the estimates without being studied directly. I discuss the implications for practitioners and for researchers.


Punk is most commonly associated with music, fashion and graphics, but its rebellious and iconoclastic spirit also found expression in the visual arts. "Panic Attack!" explores British and American art between 1974 and 1984, a period not only of economic and social crisis but also of remarkable cultural energy, when art became increasingly politicized just as society at large was moving towards conservatism. Many of the artists featured were part of a dynamic interdisciplinary scene that embraced both art and music, producing work that was sometimes confrontational or angry, but always fiercely independent and intelligent. This work is a vibrant and powerful visual account of an exciting, innovative period in British and American art. It features the work of 30 leading artists, among them Gilbert & George, Nan Goldin, Derek Jarman and Robert Mapplethorpe. It highlights the burning artistic concerns that defined the spirit of the punk years.


In the present study, the questionnaire was applied face to face on 394 students whose ages from 7 -12 years old and their parents in Ankara. Aim of this investigation is to define the parent influences on selection of c hildren furniture and determine choices of children about furniture colours and special patterns. Moreover, the demographic structures of families and their priorities about furniture selection were determined. Results of questionnaire show that furnitur e choices of families for children uses directly depend on their economical status with some other factors. And children furniture, using already and n ew ones, have no required condition in terms of ergonomically, physiologically and psychologically. The colour choices of children are shiny metallic colours and live colours especially orange. They choose clear bright in wood products.


People behave differently from one moment to the next and thus are frequently behaving 'out of character' or counter to their dispositions. Previous research exploring acting out of character indicated that acting extraverted was associated with increases in positive affect for both trait introverts and trait extraverts, whereas acting introverted was associated with cognitive control costs, but only for trait extraverts. These asymmetrical negative consequences can be partially explained by counter-dispositional behaviour as it may consume mental resources through monitoring and modifying
behaviour. I proposed that previous research exploring counter-dispositional behaviour has neglected the importance of situational effects. Research demonstrates that contra-normative behaviour is depleting. Previous findings of costs for acting 'out of character' were limited to when behaviour was also incongruent with situational norms. Thus, I extended this line of inquiry by using the acting paradigm in introverted situations. I posited that there would be negative costs associated with acting extraverted, as it was contra-situational. I also posited that there would be even greater
costs for dispositional introverts as they were also behaving counter-dispositionally. In two studies, I created introverted situations and randomly assigned participants to one of three experimental conditions (act extraverted, act introverted or control condition). In study 1 (N = 158), participants in the acting extraverted condition reported more positive affect, enjoyment, valence, and authenticity. Furthermore, no effects of cognitive fatigue were found. Thus, the hypothesized costs of acting extraverted were not found. In study 2 (N = 85) acting instructions were modified to
highlight the positive features of introversion and the negative features of extraversion. Study 2 also employed naive confederates so that feedback was uniform across conditions. Unlike previous acting studies, study 2 found no benefits for acting extraverted, but did find that participants reported the most effort and least authenticity when acting extraverted. Study 2 results suggest contra-situational costs, but these did not differ by disposition. Previous research and study 1 demonstrate benefits for acting extraverted and suggest that introverts may be happier by behaving
extraverted more often. Study 2 provides a critical caveat that this may not always be true.


ABSTRACT The article traces the everyday securityscapes of marginalized groups in Kyrgyzstan. It finds that they are as much about the crossing as the drawing of boundaries. To seek security is to become invisible, deceive, withdraw, seize momentary opportunities and continuously adapt one's body and appearance to fit different times and places. Such activities are somewhat at odds with established apprehensions of security practice in both orthodox and critical writings, which foreground visibility and boundary-making. With a view to theoretical concepts put forward by Michel de Certeau and Gilles Deleuze, they can be understood as smooth and tactical - as opposed to striated and strategic - ways of dealing with existential insecurities of life. The acknowledgement of these smooth security practices has both analytical as well as normative implications for larger debates in (Critical) Security Studies.


Following a proposals by Louise Hetherington (Planning Application 4/04/2611) for a residential development at Numbers 1 and 2 Howgill Street, Whitehaven, Cumbria
(centred NX 9725 1788), Cumbria County Council Historic Environment Service (CCCHES) requested that an initial scheme of archaeological investigation be undertaken to further inform the planning process. This initial programme comprised a desk-based assessment and visual inspection followed by an archaeological evaluation. Following the acceptance of a project design to meet the requirements of
the CCCHES brief for this work, Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) was commissioned to undertake the initial phase of work in June 2005.
The desk-based assessment examined a study area within a radius of approximately 500m of the proposed development site. This revealed a total of 30 sites, most of which related to the post-medieval development of Whitehaven. Two of these sites appeared to be at direct risk from the proposed development: an early eighteenth century bowling green (Site 26) and a mid-eighteenth century row of terraced
buildings known to have been demolished relatively recently (Site 19). The visual inspection indicated the presence of well-preserved standing remains surviving as the
rear boundary of the site.


Background: In developing countries, newborn omphalitis contributes significantly to morbidity and mortality. Community based identification and management of omphalitis will require standardised clinical sign based definitions. Objective: To identify optimal sign based algorithms to define omphalitis in the community and to evaluate the reliability and validity of cord assessments by non-specialist health workers for clinical signs of omphalitis. Design: Within a trial of the impact of topical antiseptics on umbilical cord infection in rural Nepal, digital images of the umbilical cord were collected. Workers responsible for in-home examinations of the umbilical cord evaluated the images for signs of infection (pus, redness, swelling). Intraworker and interworker agreement was evaluated, and sensitivity and specificity compared with a physician generated gold standard ranking were estimated. Results: Sensitivity and specificity of worker evaluations were high for pus (90% and 96% respectively) and moderate for redness (57% and 95% respectively). Swelling was the least reliably identified sign. Measures of observer agreement were similar to that previously recorded between experts evaluating subjective skin conditions. A composite definition for omphalitis that combined pus and redness without regard to swelling was the most sensitive and specific. Conclusions: Two sign based algorithms for defining omphalitis are recommended for use in the community. Focusing on redness extending to the skin around the base of the stump will identify cases of moderate and high severity. Requiring both the presence of pus and redness will result in a definition with very high specificity and moderate to high sensitivity.


We evaluated the validity of using a single fatty acid tracer to assess total plasma long-chain free fatty acid (FFA) kinetics and the relationship between the rate of appearance (R(a)) of fatty acids in plasma and the fatty acid composition of adipose tissue triglyceride (TG). A mixture of [(13)C]-labeled myristate, palmitate, stearate, oleate, and linoleate was infused in healthy men during basal conditions and during conditions that stimulate (epinephrine infusion) and inhibit (insulin infusion) lipolysis of adipose tissue TGs. Calculated total FFA, R(a) based on palmitate, oleate, or linoleate tracers, was within 15% of the measured sum of the individual fatty acid R(a) under all conditions, whereas stearate and myristate tracers consistently underestimated and overestimated total FFA R(a), respectively. The fatty acid R(a) profile closely matched the fatty acid profile of subcutaneous adipose tissue TGs during epinephrine infusion, but not during basal conditions and insulin infusion. Our data support the common practice of using labeled palmitate or oleate as fatty acid tracers for assessing total plasma FFA kinetics and suggest that a source of lipids other than adipose tissue TG release fatty acids into the systemic circulation.


This case is based on 30 interviews with participants in a seven-year sustainability project at a leading North American manufacturer. The project enhanced financial value and positively impacted the natural and organizational environments. The case draws attention to innovative methods to increase non-executive employee engagement in technical innovation for sustainability. In particular, many interviewees noted how eco-action learning had motivated them to persevere. However, their intense commitment also exacted a cost, most significantly in time away from family. The process by which these results were achieved is discussed as an example of "appreciative intelligence" to suggest how leaders and employees can reframe business, connect elevated personal purpose to day-to-day business tasks, and consequently create a more sustainable future.


Since the original Cai–Li protocol [Chin. Phys. Lett. 21 (2004) 601] can be used only in an ideal quantum communication, we present the modified Cai–Li protocol that can be used in the a noisy quantum channel by using Calderbank–Shor–Steane (CSS) codes to correct errors. We also give a tight bound on the connection between information Eve eavesdropped with a measurement attack in line B→A and detection probability, which shows that the Cai–Li protocol can be used as a quasisecure direct quantum communication.


Postoperative acute renal failure, especially associated with oliguria, carries a high rate of mortality and morbidity. This complication can frequently be avoided if physicians are knowledgeable about preventable or modifiable risk factors. Patients who have underlying renal disease, sepsis, volume depletion or other conditions associated with renal hypoperfusion, or who have severe liver disease, are at particular risk. Exposure to nephrotoxic agents and wide fluctuations of intravascular volume are key conditions that can usually be minimized. Managing patients with chronic advanced renal failure (creatinine clearance 10 to 25 ml per minute) requires close interaction between the internists, anesthesiologists and surgeons. Understanding associated metabolic and organ system disorders is necessary to prevent complications and preserve remaining renal function. Chronic renal failure should not be a contraindication to an elective or emergent surgical procedure.


Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients rely on non-professional health care providers, namely caregivers to manage their long-term condition. Despite the growing literature on CKD patients, little is known about the perceptions of caregivers regarding integrated management of CKD. Aim The aim of the study was to explore the perceptions of caregivers with regard to integrated management of CKD patients. Setting The study took place in selected public hospitals of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Method A qualitative case study design was used. A purposive sampling method was used to select the study participants. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview schedule developed from the literature. Data were analysed through thematic template approach using Health Belief Model constructs. Results Hypertension and diabetes mellitus were risk factors that worsen progression of CKD. Unemployment, lifestyle changes and limited social interaction were revealed as negative effects of CKD. Caregivers were aware of consequences of non-engagement with integrated management. The revealed positive benefits of integrated management were mainly physiological and system-related. Barriers to engagement with integrated management were side effects of diet and haemodialysis, hot weather, unemployment, false perception of good health and shortage of kidneys for transplant. Conclusion Chronic kidney disease patients require caregivers support to help with necessary changes to cope and adapt with integrated management of the disease. These caregivers experience effects of CKD, consequences of non-engagement and barriers to integrated management. Identification of caregivers perceptions offers healthcare workers a better understanding and formulation of strategies that can offer adequate support to this population.


In an effort to explore the influence of interfacial environments on reverse turns, we have performed a detailed analysis by nmr of the solution conformations of two cyclic pentapeptides in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles. The first peptide, cyclo (D‐Phe1‐Pro2‐Gly3‐D‐Ala4‐Pro5), adopts a single rigid conformation in solution (either chloroform or dimethylsulfoxide) and in crystals, whereas the second, cyclo (Gly1‐Pro2‐D‐Phe3‐Gly4‐Val5), is much more flexible and adopts different conformations in the crystal and in solution. Both of these peptides are solubilized by SDS micelles, and nmr relaxation rates indicate that they are both partially immobilized by interaction with the micelles. Furthermore, some amide protons in both peptides participate in hydrogen bonds with water. In the presence of micelles, the former peptide retains a conformation essentially the same as that found in crystals and in solution, which consists of a β turn and an inverse γ turn. However, the micellar environment has a significant effect on the latter peptide. In particular, the population of a conformer containing a cis Gly‐Pro peptide bond is increased significantly. The most likely conformation of the cis isomer, determined by a combination of nmr and restrained molecular dynamics, contains a Gly1‐Pro2 δ turn and a γ turn about D‐Phe3. The nmr data on the trans isomer indicate that this isomer is averaging between two conformations that differ mainly in the orientation of the D‐Phe3‐Gly4 peptide bond. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


Using biochemical, cytofluorimetric and television cytophotometric methods, glycogen contents were studied in normal and cirrhotic rat liver at various intervals after glucose administration to fasting animals. The obtained data indicate that after a 48 h fasting glycogen contents in normal and cirrhotic liver are equally poor. A marked rise of glycogen content in cirrhotic liver was observed only 20-30 min after glucose administration to rats. It has been established that at all intervals after glucose administration to rats hepatocytes of the portal lobule zone, both in normal and in cirrhotic liver, accumulate more glycogen than those of the central zone. Again, the intensity of glycogen accumulation in cirrhotically altered liver is significantly lower than in normal liver, due, presumably, to a lower rate of glycogen synthesis in pathologically changed liver.


Abstract The paper discusses innovation within the traditionally conservative legal sector as a diverse service improvement mechanism that models positive firm change. A resource-based view and practice-based view blend provided a systematic theoretical benchmark for the study. Fifty-three semi-structured interviews were conducted with law professionals from seven countries capturing their day-to-day work experiences and identifying the barriers that hinder and the opportunities that support innovation adoption in legal firms today. A data-intensive thematic analysis uncovers six core themes: human factor and culture, client and market, technology, organizational transitions, legal processes, and education. The paper contributes to the state of art by (i) contextualizing each of these themes and their diverse underpinning dimensions; (ii) developing an evidence-based conceptual framework that critically assesses legal innovation uptake barriers and opportunities; and (iii) advancing the theoretical and empirical understanding of law service operations demonstrating the rationale for legal firms to invest in technology, multidisciplinary education, and training, and to adopt leaner, hybrid and more client-driven management approaches.


In this work, we resolve a long-standing issue concerning the local structure of molten MgCl2 by employing a multimodal approach, including X-ray scattering and Raman spectroscopy, along with the theoretical modeling of the experimental spectra based on ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations utilizing several density functional theory (DFT) methods. We demonstrate the reliability of AIMD simulations in achieving excellent agreement between the experimental and simulated spectra for MgCl2 and 50 mol % MgCl2 + 50 mol % KCl, and ZnCl2, thus allowing structural insights not directly available from experiment alone. A thorough computational analysis using five DFT methods provides a convergent view that octahedrally coordinated magnesium in pure MgCl2 upon melting preferentially coordinates with five chloride anions to form distorted square pyramidal polyhedra that are connected via corners and to a lesser degree via edges. This is contrasted with the results for ZnCl2, which does not change its tetrahedral coordination on melting. Although the five-coordinate MgCl53- complex was not considered in the early literature, together with an increasing tendency to form a tetrahedrally coordinated complex with decreasing the MgCl2 content in the mixture with alkali metal chloride systems, current work reconciles the results of most previous seemingly contradictory experimental studies.


An azobenzene-containing molecularly imprinting polymer microsphere with photoresponsive binding properties toward 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) was successful prepared via silica surface polymerization. The number-average diameters of silica and imprinting polymer microsphere are 0.5 and 0.7 μm, respectively. The static adsorption, binding and selectivity experiments were performed to investigate the adsorption properties and recognition characteristics of the polymers for 2,4-D. The equilibrium adsorptive experiments indicated that 2,4-D-SMIP(surface molecularly imprinted polymers) has significantly higher adsorption capacity for 2,4-D than its nonimprinted polymers (SNIP).The binding constant Kd and apparent maximum number Qmax of the imprinted polymer were determined by Scatchard analysis as 0.054 mmol L−1 and 0.167 mmol g−1, respectively. The result of photoregulated release and uptake of 2,4-D experiment demonstrated that azo-containing SMIP can make use of light and change it into mechanical properties to release and take up the template molecules. It means that the SMIP can be controlled by light. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 869-876, 2013


With the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution of Kenya, the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms and Traditional Dispute Resolution Mechanisms (TDRMs) in managing natural resource conflicts was formalised. The Constitution envisages a situation where conflicts, and specifically the natural resource ones, should first be dealt with using ADR and TDRMs and only resort to court where necessary. Communities are required to make legitimate attempts to resolve the matter using the most appropriate mechanisms available to them. Despite this, there has not been evidence of genuine attempts at taking up these processes in managing natural resource conflicts, which are still prevalent and a cause of concern. While singling out negotiation and mediation, the author examines the opportunities that ADR mechanisms and particularly negotiation and mediation present in realising the goal of effective management of natural resource conflicts in Kenya through discussing the advantages associated with the processes and why they may be the most preferred means of natural resource conflict management.


Sucrose synthase (SUS) is a key enzyme in sucrose metabolism. This enzyme catalysis the reversible conversion of sucrose and UDP to UDP-glucose and fructose, which are both used in multiple biochemical pathways. The Arabidopsis genome contains six sucrose synthase genes. A member of this family (SUS2) is strongly and specifically expressed in Arabidopsis seeds during the maturation phase, corresponding to reserve accumulation period. Total SUS activity reached a peak during seed maturation, at about 15 days after flowering (DAF), which corresponds approximately to the middle of this stage. This activity pattern fitted well with SUS2 mRNA abundance, although we cannot exclude the presence of other SUS isoform activities, such as SUS3, in seeds at late maturation. Using specific antibodies we have shown that, SUS2 is localised in the embryo, endosperm and seed coat with differential patterns. During the maturation phase, the SUS2 protein was mainly colocalised with plastids in the embryo. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that SUS2 association with the plastid may play a role in channelling of sucrose metabolism to G-6-P or PEP, both carbon compounds which enter the plastids enabling starch or lipid synthesis. Indeed, the regulation of SUS2 and SUS3 expression was investigated during seed development for wild type (WT) and for seed maturation mutants (i.e. lec2-4, fus3-4 and abi3). The accumulation patterns of SUS mRNA and protein, as well as total activity, were strongly affected in these mutants during seed development. We showed that the expression of the SUS2 promoter was induced in planta by sugar (glucose, sucrose and trehalose) and that the expressions of SUS2 and SUS3 promoters are redundantly regulated by LEC2 and FUS3 during the maturation phase. Last, a functional analysis was carried out in developing seeds, using biochemical characterisation and metabolite profiling of one sus1, two sus2 and two sus3 alleles. The results obtained outlined the importance of these SUS isoforms for sucrose metabolism in developing seeds of Arabidopsis.


Background: Shoulder pain is a very prevalent musculoskeletal disorder. The incidence and prevalence of shoulder pain varies widely across literature. Various risk factors of shoulder pain like age, gender, obesity and diabetes have been considered in literature. Shoulder pain is reported to be more prevalent in middle aged females. Smoking has also been considered as an important risk factor. Diabetes has been associated with adhesive capsulitis. The purpose of the present study was to find out the prevalence of shoulder pain among adults in Rohtak District of Northern India. Methodology: A cross-sectional study design was adopted for the study. A questionnaire in Hindi language was designed to obtain information from subjects between 30-70 years of age. Information regarding current pain, hand dominance, smoking and occupation of subjects was recorded. History of diabetes was also obtained. Hindi version of shoulder pain and disability index was used. Results: Out of 1069 subjects who participated in the study 245 (22.9%) reported shoulder pain. The prevalence is higher in middle age between 41-50 years. Among the subjects who reported shoulder pain 201 (82.04%) had unilateral pain and 44(17.96%) reported pain in both shoulders. 58.78% patients had chronic pain. The mean score for shoulder pain and disability index for the respondents with shoulder pain is 40.43±21.83. Conclusion: The prevalence of shoulder pain among adults of age between 30-70 years is 22.9%.The shoulder pain is significantly associated with obesity, left hand dominance and diabetes. No association of shoulder pain was seen with gender, smoking and rural or urban area.


Vaillant's pioneer work on Compositae systematics has been generally dismissed as unimportant for nomenclatural purposes, being pre-Linnaean. However, a German translation of it was published in 1754, about one year afterthe starting-point date of botanical nomenclature. In order to assess its possible impact on generic nomenclature, a thorough analysis of Vaillant's concepts, particularly at the level of genus and species, is presented here. Vaillant subdivided the Compositae into three "classes", essentially equivalent to Cardueae, Cichorieae and the remaining tribes, and further into "sections" (14), genera (107) and species (1144). By the study of literature and, to a minor extent, herbaria, 852 of the species (>74 %) have been identified, and the identifications are listed in an Appendix. The definition and nomenclatural status of all genera has been verified and their names typified, whereby Vaillant's views and their impact on early Compositae systematics are clarified. In practical terms, the positive and negative effects of the nomenclatural restoration of Vaillant's names are balanced. It is not advisable to blacklist the work as a whole, because its negative effects can be taken care of effectively by just six conservation/rejection proposals (made separately). Among the positive aspects are availability of a suitable name (Rhaponticoides) for a genus that had become nameless (due to conservation of Centaurea L. with a new type); resurrection of Rhaponticum to settle a long lasting and unresolved nomenclatural controversy; and redemption of the otherwise illegitimate but widely used name Volutaria. As an aside, four of the names considered to be correct for Vaillant's taxa, which did not so far exist in the appropriate combination, are validated (in the genera Cullumia, Hymenolepis, Symphyotrichum and Tanacetum).


Complex software systems typically involve features like time, concurrency and probability, where probabilistic computations play an increasing role. It is challenging to formalize languages comprising all these features. In this paper, we integrate probability, time and concurrency in one single model, where the concurrency feature is modelled using shared-variable based communication. The probability feature is represented by a probabilistic nondeterministic choice, probabilistic guarded choice and a probabilistic version of parallel composition. We formalize an operational semantics for such an integration. Based on this model we define a bisimulation relation, from which an observational equivalence between probabilistic programs is investigated and a collection of algebraic laws are explored. We also implement a prototype of the operational semantics to animate the execution of probabilistic programs


In gout, urate crystals deposited in and around joints trigger episodes of acute arthritis, mediated by the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β. In uncontrolled studies, the IL-1 receptor antagonist anakinra appears effective in reducing pain and signs of acute flares in patients with difficult-to-treat gout. However, confirmatory, adequately-powered, prospective trials are lacking. The 'anaGO-study' (anakinra ingout) was a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, phase 2 study investigating the efficacy and safety of anakinra in acute gout (NCT03002974).The primary objective was to evaluate the efficacy of two regimens of anakinra (100 or 200 mg daily s.c. injections for 5 days) compared to triamcinolone (single i.m. injection 40 mg) with respect to patient-assessed pain intensity. The primary endpoint was change in pain intensity from baseline to 24-72 hours (average of 24, 48 and 72 hours) in the most affected joint measured on a visual analogue scale (0-100 VAS). Secondary outcomes included: time to onset of effect, time to response, time to pain resolution, time to rescue medication use, patient's and physician's assessments of global response, clinical signs, inflammatory biomarkers and safety.Patients were recruited who had acute gout based on ACR/EULAR 2015 gout classification criteria, and were unsuitable for anti-inflammatory therapy with NSAIDs and colchicine due to contraindication, intolerance or inefficacy. Patients were randomized to each group in a 1:1:1 ratio and stratified by urate-lowering therapy use (yes/no) and BMI (<30.0 or ≥30.0 kg/m2).165 patients were randomized; 110 to anakinra (56 to 100 mg/day, 54 to 200 mg/day) and 55 to triamcinolone; 108 and 53 were included in the primary analysis, respectively. The median (range) age was 55 (25-83) years, 87% were male, mean disease duration was 8.7 years and mean number of self-reported flares during the past year was 4.5. The pain intensity, from baseline to 24-72 hours, decreased in both treatment groups; mean (95% CI) change was -39.4 (-46.8, -32.0) for triamcinolone and -41.2 (-46.3, -36.2) for anakinra. The 100 mg and 200 mg doses of anakinra were comparably effective in decreasing pain (100 mg/day: -41.8 [-48.9, -34.8] and 200 mg/day: -40.7 [-47.9, -33.4]). Mean (95% CI) difference in pain reduction between anakinra and triamcinolone treatment groups was -1.8 (-10.8, 7.1) (p-value = 0.688 for primary endpoint). The majority of secondary efficacy endpoints were numerically in favor of anakinra, and in most instances also statistically significant, in comparison to triamcinolone, e.g. physician's assessment of clinical signs at 72 hours and patient's and physician's assessment of global response at Day 8. No unexpected safety findings were identified in any of the treatment groups.Anakinra and triamcinolone reduced patient-assessed gout flare pain to similar degrees in patients for whom conventional therapy was ineffective or contraindicated. Both doses of anakinra showed comparable efficacy in pain reduction. The majority of secondary efficacy endpoints favored anakinra. Anakinra was shown to be an additional option for use during acute gout flares.Kenneth Saag Grant/research support from: Horizon, Sobi, Shanton, Grant/research support from: Horizon Pharma, Sobi, Shanton, Consultant of: Horizon and Sobi, Consultant of: Horizon Pharma, Amgen, Radius, LG-Pharma, Takeda, Sobi, Atom, Arthrosi, Alexander So Consultant of: Sobi, Grünenthal, Puja Khanna Grant/research support from: Dyve, Selecta, Sobi, Consultant of: Sobi, Horizon, Robert Keenan Consultant of: Sobi, Selecta, Horizon, Sven Ohlman Shareholder of: Sobi, Employee of: Former employee of Sobi, Torbjörn Kullenberg Shareholder of: Sobi, Employee of: Former employee of Sobi, Lisa Osterling Koskinen Shareholder of: Sobi, Employee of: Sobi, Michael H. Pillinger Grant/research support from: Horizon, Hikma, Consultant of: Sobi, Horizon, Robert Terkeltaub Consultant of: Sobi, Selecta, Horizon, Astra-Zeneca


This paper describes a new technique for modeling flow through a network of queues. The advantages of this method over many discrete event simulations or queueing theory techniques include simplicity, low cost and portability. The paper describes the kinds of processes to which the technique can be applied, and the characteristics of the process that can be determined by the resulting model. An example of claims processing in a Social Security Administration's District Office is given. The basis for the technique is to model the information flow by a fluid flow, and then use standard engineering ideas to describe the fluid flow by a system of ordinary differential equations. The system of equations is solved by well-known numerical methods.


This paper seeks to extend the Work System Method WSM of Steven Alter by means of a modelling notation and mechanism called ABC. This suggestion is made because it is often necessary to know (or at least to conjecture) how things, processes and events within a work system interrelate. Our contention, which we support by literature primarily derived from cybernetics, is that we must discern conceptual models, so as to understand and, potentially, to improve by design, active models – specifically, the information systems which support work systems. We do this in order to regulate work systems, whether actively by explicit control or implicitly by aiding learning, understanding and self-control by modellers and participants. This paper is not a definitive statement concerning ABC. Instead, it sufficiently introduces the modelling approach to enable the reader to understand some examples of the approach as applied to work systems. It can also serve in a tutorial approach to the ABC modelling of work systems. Abstract: 160 words; paper : 10333 words excluding references


PURPOSE
To characterize the thin-section computed tomographic (CT) appearance of bronchiolitis fibrosa obliterans syndrome in infants and young children after lung transplantation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Thin-section CT studies in six patients with bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (age range, 2 months to 5 1/2 years) and in 15 control patients without obstructive airway disease (age range, 2 months to 7 years) who underwent bilateral lung transplantation were retrospectively reviewed. The thin-section CT scans were obtained during quiet sleep at a median of 24 months (range, 6-36 months) after transplantation. The CT studies were evaluated for mosaic perfusion, bronchial dilatation, bronchial wall thickening, and mucous plugging Final diagnoses in all patients were based pulmonary function test results.

RESULTS
Thin-section CT findings in the six patients with clinically proved bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome were mosaic perfusion in five (83%) bronchial dilation in three (50%), and bronchial wall thickening in one (17%). Of the 15 control patients with normal pulmonary function test results, six (40%) had mosaic perfusion; none had bronchial dilatation or bronchial wall thickening. Mucous plugging was not seen in either group. Only the association of bronchial dilatation with bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome was significant (P = .02).

CONCLUSION
Infants and young children with bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome after lung transplantation are more likely to have CT abnormalities than those with normal pulmonary function test results.


Lake Ulugol is a small lake in Ulugol Natural Park in Golkoy-Ordu. The lake has 1200 m altitude, an area about 39 decare and average 15 m depth. It has occured in the pit area resulting from landslides. Lake Ulugol is differentiated from other landslide dammed lakes according to its formation in the Black Sea Region. Hydrophytes such as Carex, Equisetum, Juncus, Myriophyllum, Potamogeton, Typha are quite abundant in littoral zone surrounded by Fagus forests. For stocking studies, 20000 unit young Cyprinus carpio was introduced in to the lake in 1994. Salmo trutta abanticus that is an endemic species in Lake Abant and its environment was introduced in to the lake, with a project started in 2008. In this study, some physico-chemical parameters in the surface waters of the lake have been seasonally investigated between September 2006 and August 2007. Also, the lake water has been evaluated with respect to its water quality and aquaculture potential. The analysis showed that the lake water has first class quality with regard to Turkish Water Pollution Control Regulation (WPCR) and Drinking and Using Standards (EC, WHO, EPA, TS 266). Eutrophication limit value has not been exceeded during the study. The lake water is suitable for cold water fish species. The lake and its surrounding have excellent features concerning recreational and ecotourism potential.


In this paper a simulator for the statistical analysis of analog CMOS integrated circuits affected by technological tolerance effects, including device mismatch, is presented. The tool, able to perform dc, ac, and transient analyses, is based on a rigorous formulation of circuit equations starting from the modified nodal analysis and including random current sources to take into account technological tolerances. Statistical simulation of specific circuits shows that the simulator requires a simulation time several orders of magnitude lower than that required by Monte Carlo analysis, while ensuring a good accuracy.


Psychosis has been considered a disorder of impaired neuronal connectivity. Evidence for excessive formation of dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) – disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) complexes has led to a new perspective on molecular mechanisms involved in psychotic symptoms. Here, we investigated how excessive D2R–DISC1 complex formation induced by D2R agonist quinpirole affects neurite growth and dendritic spines in striatal neurons. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM), and cell penetrating-peptide delivery were used to study the cultured striatal neurons from mouse pups. Using these striatal neurons, our study showed that: (1) D2R interacted with DISC1 in dendritic spines, neurites and soma of cultured striatal neurons; (2) D2R and DISC1 complex accumulated in clusters in dendritic spines of striatal neurons and the number of the complex were reduced after application of TAT-D2pep; (3) uncoupling D2R–DISC1 complexes by TAT-D2pep protected neuronal morphology and dendritic spines; and (4) TAT-D2pep prevented neurite and dendritic spine loss, which was associated with restoration of expression levels of synaptophysin and PSD-95. In addition, we found that Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and GSK3β were involved in the protective effects of TAT-D2pep on the neurite spines of striatal spiny projection neurons. Thus, our results may offer a new strategy for precisely treating neurite spine deficits associated with schizophrenia.


In general, profitability and efficiency have been the main interest for organization. However, the increasing concerns for the environment from government, regulators, customers, and other stakeholders has forced companies to seek for alternatives to achieve green objectives. The difficulties faced by organizations are lack of awareness and guideline in implementing green practices in their daily operation. Under constrained resources, employers are reluctant to spend money on something unclear. During the last decade, lean manufacturing seems to be visible trend in most of the manufacturing industries in Malaysia. As lean tends to emphasize on waste reduction, it provides similarity between lean and green. Therefore, it is a better atmosphere to deploy green practices and tools under existing lean manufacturing. The purpose of this paper is to present a review on the synergies between green and lean and identifying the determinants that affecting both lean and green manufacturing for Malaysian manufacturers. The determinant obtained are financial benefit, incentive, legislation, stakeholder, management commitment, technology, environmental awareness and brand image or competitiveness. Besides, the authors identified and suggested future research directions on developing an integrated lean-green model for daily operation. This study aims to assist researchers to identify the opportunities and challenges on lean-green model and this review is useful for manufacturers and government in developing manufacturing policies and guideline.


This book consists of an introduction and six monographs that were presented in a seminar at the annual meeting of the American Association of Blood Banks in November 1978. It includes a logical series of topics concerning immunohematology as it relates to judicial concerns by some of the best recognized and respected workers in this area of the forensic sciences. Appropriately, this publication is dedicated by Dr. Sussman to the late Dr. Alexander Wiener. Both have been innovators in the field of the application of immunohematology to jurisprudence. The latter initiated paternity testing in the civil courts of the United States in the 1930s.


We present the design and implementation of a cost-effective e-Health system for automatic depression detection. The system is based on a client-server architecture, where clients are popular mobile devices. For practical deployment, various factors that affect the accuracy and speed of depression detection are discussed and evaluated with extensive experiments.


Measurements and Monte Carlo simulations were used to investigate the scatter properties of a scanned multi-slit digital mammography system. Scatter to primary ratio (S/P) in the center of the image field was calculated for different thickness of breast equivalent material and different tube potentials. The simulated model also varied the angular acceptance, the number of slits and the distance between the slits of a dedicated scatter rejection device. In addition to the expected scatter from the breast equivalent material, scatter within the detector contributes to the S/P-ratio. The main part of the scatter is identified as coming from this process. Measured total S/P-ratios below 3% are reported for breast range 3-8 cm. The scatter-DQE is used as figure-of-merit for comparison to other imaging geometries and scatter rejection schemes.


: Here we report the NMR solution structures of Mycobacterium tuberculosis ( M. tuberculosis ) thioredoxin C in both oxidized and reduced states, with discussion of structural changes that occur in going between redox states. The NMR solution structure of the oxidized TrxC corresponds closely to that of the crystal structure, except in the C-terminal region. It appears that crystal packing effects have caused an artifactual shift in the α4 helix in the previously reported crystal structure, compared to the solution structure. Based on these TrxC structures, chemical shift mapping, a previously reported crystal structure of the M. tuberculosis thioredoxin reductase (not bound to a Trx) and structures for intermediates in the E. coli thioredoxin catalytic cycle, we have modeled the complete M. tuberculosis thioredoxin system for the various steps in the catalytic cycle. These structures and models reveal pockets at the TrxR/TrxC interface in various steps in the catalytic cycle, which can be targeted in the design of uncompetitive inhibitors as potential anti-mycobacterial agents, or as chemical genetic probes of function.


This paper describes the ontology construction using a metadesign approach. The approach will constitutes key concepts such as: supporting human-problem interaction, underdesigning for emergent behavior, enabling legitimate peripheral participation, sharing control, promoting mutual learning and support, rewarding and recognizing contributions, and fostering reflective communities. The approach supports for flexibility and extensibility in the process and the used tools. The development of semantic web applications was part of the tools support to follow the metadesign framework. The central actor along the phases are the domain experts who also were respondencts in the survey. Based on the resultant ontology and the survey of the participatory domain-experts in a case-study, this approach proved to effectively build the ontology.


Linear and whorled nevoid hypermelanosis (LWNH) is a reticulate pigmentary disorder with a sporadic occurrence, generally representing a genetic mosaicism. In this case, we describe a two-month-old girl with trisomy 13, who presented with various systemic anomalies such as congenital ventricular septal defect, microcephaly, auricular deformities, flatness of nasal root, overlapping fingers, umbilical hernia, and LWNH. G-banding chromosomal analyses were performed on cultured peripheral blood lymphocytes of the patient and the parents. The karyotype of the patient was 47, XX,+13[100], with no mosaicism. The karyotypes of the parents were normal. To our knowledge, we present the first patient with LWNH in whom full trisomy 13 was confirmed postnatally in cultured peripheral blood lymphocytes.


The thesis describes a set of studies carried out in parallel with a tidal turbine design program which was undertaken by the Turbomachinery Group to which the author belonged to during the duration of this project. Therefore the work presented in this thesis constitutes an exploration of the physics of horizontal axis tidal turbines and of the modelling issues associated with the simulation of these devices. Specifically the investigation centered on the behaviour of the turbine when exposed to the influence of tidal channel waves. The numerical analysis of the free standing, gravity stabilised horizontal axis tidal turbine (HATT) was carried out with the application of Speziale's Reynolds Stress Model (hereafter know as Speziale, Sarkar and Gatski or SSG model) available in the CFX CFD code. The use of a number of turbulence models was investigated but poor convergence or starting difficulties led to the employment of the SSG Reynolds Stress turbulence model. Simulations for a range of test cases were undertaken ranging from single blade passage cases to transient simulations which included the motion of the turbine and the variation of the flow velocity due to the combined action of waves and the shearing effects of the sea bed boundary layer. A number of CFD results were compared to experimental data acquired from tests conducted on a scale model in the summer of 2009 at the IFREMER test flume in France. An additional source of comparison is provided by data obtained from a BEMT code produced by the CU consultant, Mr Chris Freeman, (Freeman et al., 2009a). A number of numerical models were assembled to analyse the effects of the presence of the pylon and blade-pylon spacing. These were run as steady and unsteady cases. For the steady cases several angular positions were examined to investigate the effects of the transit of the blades through the pylon potential field and across the sea bed boundary layer shear flow. An idealised no-pylon case was analysed to compare with the equivalent model with pylon. On average there was a performance increase of 2% for this configuration when compared to the case with pylon for the datum spacing. The simulations covered four turbine rotational speed cases. These correspond to a startup condition and to rated power, with an intermediate point, and to an overspeed regime. In the overspeed condition the power is essentially unchanged but the thrust reduction is strong. Additional investigations covered the performance of the turbine when yawed and i the influence of inflow turbulence. The comparisons between the solutions obtained from steady-state and transient simulations showed that the unsteady approach is preferable to describe these types of flow. Two waves were employed in conjunction with the transient models. The first corresponded to a moderate sea state (1.5m height and 10.0s time period) of the type occurring more frequently. The second case involved a substantial wave (3.0m height and 14.0s time period) which is associated with storm conditions. The datum models which incorporated the most energetic wave showed similar values for the torque observed on the transient simulations without waves for the overspeed and rated power cases respectively. This is a significant finding given that the 15m diameter turbine is immersed in a 35m tidal channel. The peak value for the axial thrust and torque on the large wave simulation is on average 86% and 90% higher than the steady state thrust and torque respectively for the rated power case. The loads imposed on the rotor system for the large wave are approximately 3% higher than those of the regular wave. Similar detailed studies for tidal turbines are non-existent at time of publication. The work is therefore unique in the scope and breath of the simulations it contains. The computational resources required were vast. Transient simulations including wave effects took three weeks of computation time utilizing sixteen processors. Each of these cases required about several terabytes of storage space to record the intermediate transient results.


Abstract : Command and control (C2) in complex, dynamic, high-risk warfighting environments is clearly challenging, particularly because of the increasing complexity of available technology for processing and presenting information. Commanders need to understand and act on large volumes of information from a variety of sources and are particularly challenged by the need to reason about the qualifiers of that information, which we will refer to as meta-information (e.g., uncertainty, recency, pedigree). We have explored the role of meta-information in C2 using Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) techniques to identify when and how, in current practice, human interaction with meta-information impacts decision-making, especially when that decision-making is supported by automation. Too often critical meta-information is not processed, ineffectively displayed, or not displayed at all in existing C2 decision support systems. The result of our analyses is a number of design recommendations for C2 decision-support systems and guidelines for identifying and recognizing the need for meta-information processing and display. In this paper, we present the results of our analyses and discuss their implications with respect to the design of human-system interfaces and the development of computational information processing methods.


It is no secret that while the European Union (EU) has taken up commitments to combat climate change under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Paris Agreement and its own 2020 and 2030 climate and energy package strategy, the Union continues to be heavily dependent on the import of fossil fuels from abroad. One may even say that this leads to a cognitive dissonance, i.e. the discomfort which ensues if one holds two contradictory values, with respect to the externalisation of the Union's energy and sustainable development policy. On the one hand, the EU aims to become a global frontrunner in the field of promoting renewable energy and sustainable development. This expresses itself through the inclusion of specific chapters on Trade and Sustainable Development in the EU's Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) (standard since the 2011 EU-South Korea FTA). On the other, the EU realises that it is imperative to secure the Union's security of energy supply, still largely guaranteed by fossil fuels. Therefore, the Union in parallel attempts to eliminate discriminatory practices in international fossil fuel trade in its bilateral agreements (e.g. in the EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement). This paper will explore the root causes of this cognitive dissonance and research what elements could contribute to ensuring more coherence in EU external energy policy. The objectives of sustainable development and security of supply are not necessarily contradictory per se. However, clearer delineations between the two objectives are necessary in EU external relations in general, and in the Union's FTAs more specifically. This also applies to relations between Member States and the Union in this area, as well as to the interactions between the relevant EU institutions tasked with energy, sustainable development and the environment.


The main viral protease (M pro ) of SARS-CoV-2 is a nucleophilic cysteine hydrolase and a current target for anti-viral chemotherapy. We describe a high-throughput solid phase extraction coupled to mass spectrometry M pro assay. The results reveal some b -lactams, including penicillin esters, are active site reacting M pro inhibitors, thus highlighting the potential of acylating agents for M pro inhibition. The main viral protease (M pro ) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) 1 is a COVID-19 treatment target. 2 M pro along with the papain-like protease (PL pro ), pro-cesses initially translated viral polyproteins to give cleaved proteins with biological functions essential for viral replication in cells. 3 Following formation of a non-covalent enzyme-substrate complex, M pro catalysis proceeds via His-41 enabled reaction of Cys-145 with a scissile peptide bond forming a hydrolytically labile thioester. M pro cleaves after glutamine-residues with a preference for small-residues on the C-terminal side of the cleaved amide (Fig. 1A and B). 4


The oligomerisation of ethylene with chromium-based catalysts containing asymmetric BIMA (bis(benzimidazole)methylamine) ligands produces linear alpha olefins (LAOs) that follow an alternating distribution. The catalytic activity and the degree of alternation is affected by the different ligands; in particular variations at the backbone of the ligand affect the nature of the distribution. For certain catalysts a deviation from regular alternating behaviour is observed, whereby increased amounts of 1-hexene and 1-octene (up to 29 mol%) are obtained compared to the amount expected from the distribution analysis based on C10–C34 LAOs. This behaviour towards more selective oligomerisation to 1-hexene and 1-octene can be explained by varying probabilities of single and double ethylene insertion. The deviations will depend on the size of the metallacycle and are most pronounced early on during the metallacycle growth.


We studied 29 children, aged 19 months to 16 years, prior to and after 18-24 hours of oral penicillin therapy to confirm the rapid disappearance of detectable pharyngeal antigen and to determine whether the antigen detectable by commercially available kits was excreted into the urine. Patients were recruited based on the presence of pharyngitis, no antibiotic therapy in the preceding 2 weeks, and a positive latex agglutination (LA) for group A beta hemolytic streptococci (GABHS) antigen on pharyngeal swab. Diagnosis was confirmed by positive GABHS culture on blood agar plates. Twenty-five of these children were also tested for GABHS antigen by enzyme-linked immunoassay (EIA). After 18-24 hours of oral antibiotic therapy, only 10 patients had a positive test for GABHS on throat swab. Five of 29 subjects (17%) remained positive by blood agar plate (BAP) culture, eight of 29 (29%) by LA, and four of 23 (17%) by EIA. GABHS antigen was undetectable by LA or EIA in the urines of any of these patients, either prior to or after initiation of treatment, even in specimens concentrated as high as 100 fold. Clinicians should routinely seek a history of prior antibiotic therapy in assessing pharyngitis. Neither of the kits tested are reasonably accurate for GABHS disease by detection of antigen in the pharynx after partial treatment or in the urine at any time.


Background Within the current healthcare arena, the identification of risks within organisations and minimising their negative impact on patient care is fundamental. Reports from the national and international literature have identified strong opioids and sedatives as a cause for concern within clinical practice. Recent baseline data identified significant variations in the practice of prescribing and administration of these drugs even within one organisation. Aims To develop an educational intervention that is informed by clinical governance practices and utilising current work based assessments to evidence and embed good clinical practice. Results A baseline review of PRN 'as required' medications identified significant variations in drug dose and escalation, frequency of administration that doesn't match its' pharmacokinetics but importantly inconsistent documentation supporting 'indication or use' to guide nursing administration. A document was produced to highlight the issues from the baseline review, detailing the particular areas of concern and what current guidance suggests. In step 1, clinical vignettes were presented with the view of self-completion prior of Step 2. Within Step 2, trainees gave feedback on their rationale for their prescribing and what they actually documented. The case based discussion approach (CbD) was rated as very useful by trainees new to the specialty. A pre-completed sheet with appropriate prescribing and rationale was given to the trainee with useful resources after the discussion. Conclusions Within clinical practice, implementation of good practice guidance is fundamental to the success of any audit or baseline review of discrepancies in care. However there is a lack of work based assessments combining guidance, an opportunity for self-completion and then informed feedback so that an individual's learning needs can be appropriately highlighted and subsequently addressed. We believe the principle of this approach has the wider opportunity to tailor the learning needs of the trainee within certain challenging areas of practice.


Objective: KMT2B-related dystonia is a progressive childhood-onset movement disorder, evolving from lower-limb focal dystonia into generalized dystonia. With increasing age, children frequently show prominent laryngeal or facial dystonia manifesting in dysarthria. Bilateral deep brain stimulation of the globus pallidus internus (GPi-DBS) is reported to be an efficient therapeutic option. Especially improvement of dystonia and regaining of independent mobility is commonly described, but detailed information about the impact of GPi-DBS on dysarthria and speech is scarce. Methods: We report the 16-months outcome after bilateral GPi-DBS in an 8-year-old child with KMT2B-related dystonia caused by a de-novo c.3043C>T (p.Arg1015*) non-sense variant with special emphasis on dysarthria and speech. We compare the outcome of our patient with 59 patients identified through a PubMed literature search. Results: A remarkable improvement of voice, articulation, respiration and prosodic characteristics was seen 16 months after GPi-DBS. The patients' speech intelligibility improved. His speech became much more comprehensible not only for his parents, but also for others. Furthermore, his vocabulary and the possibility to express his feelings and wants expanded considerably. Conclusion: A positive outcome of GPi-DBS on speech and dysarthria is rarely described in the literature. This might be due to disease progression, non-effectiveness of DBS or due to inadvertent spreading of the electrical current to the corticobulbar tract causing stimulation induced dysarthria. This highlights the importance of optimal lead placement, the possibility of horizontal steering of the electrical field by applying directional stimulation with segmented leads as well as the use of the lowest possible effective stimulation intensity.


OBJECTIVE
Honey is recognised to be a good topical wound care agent owing to a broad-spectrum of antimicrobial activity combined with healing properties. Surgihoney RO (SH1) is a product based on honey that is engineered to produce enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) and has been reported to be highly antimicrobial. The objective was to investigate the ability of the engineered honey and its comparators to prevent biofilm formation in vitro.

METHOD
We tested the ability of three medical-grade honeys SH1, Activon manuka honey (MH) and Medihoney manuka honey (Med), alongside five antimicrobial dressings (AMDs) to prevent the formation of biofilms by 16 isolates. Honeys were serially double diluted from 1:3 down to 1:6144 and the lowest dilution achieving a statistically significant reduction in biomass of at least 50%, compared with untreated controls, was recorded.

RESULTS
Although all the honeys were antibacterial and were able to prevent the formation of biofilms, SH1 was the most potent, with efficacy at lower dilutions than the medical honeys for five isolates, and equivalent dilutions for a further six. Additionally, SH1 was superior in antibacterial potency to three commercially available AMDs that contain honey.

CONCLUSION
SH1 is effective at preventing bioflms from forming and is superior to medical honeys and AMDs in in vitro tests.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST
Surgihoney RO was provided free of charge for testing by Matoke Holdings, UK and the hospital pharmacy provided the other honeys and dressings. This paper presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health.


For nearly 70 years, the addition of boron–X σ bonds to carbon–carbon multiple bonds has been employed in the preparation of organoboron reagents. However, the significantly higher strength of boron–oxygen bonds has thus far precluded their activation for addition, preventing a direct route to access a potentially valuable class of oxygen-containing organoboron reagents for divergent synthesis. We herein report the realization of an alkoxyboration reaction, the addition of boron–oxygen σ bonds to alkynes. Functionalized O-heterocyclic boronic acid derivatives are produced using this transformation, which is mild and exhibits broad functional group compatibility. Our results demonstrate activation of this boron–O σ bond using a gold catalysis strategy that is fundamentally different from that used previously for other boron addition reactions.


Abstract Objective: The nerves and axons of the retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) are similar to those in the brain and therefore retina is considered as the extension of the brain. We aimed to evaluate the RNFL thickness in the treatment-resistant major depressive patients before and after repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment and at least 6 months later after rTMS treatment using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Methods: Thirty patients with treatment resistant major depression and 24 healthy controls were included in the study. rTMS was applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of the patients. Results: rTMS was initiated in 28 patients. OCT assessments were performed in 24 patients at baseline and after rTMS treatment and in 19 patients at least sixth months after the rTMS treatment. We found significant increase in RNFL thickness compared with controls at the baseline and further increase in RNFL thickness after rTMS treatment. Although there was a decreasing trend in RNFL thickness 6 months after rTMS treatment, 6 months later RNFL thickness was still higher compared with controls. Conclusions: RNFL thickness is increased in treatment resistant major depression and rTMS over the left DLPFC further increases RNFL thickness in treatment resistant major depressive patients.


Abstract Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (NT) are emerging fields of science and technology that are witnessing the emergence of an increasing number of new ideas and applications. Many states are seriously looking at military applications of this technology. This paper analyses the impact of NT on defence and looks at its current and futuristic applicability for military purposes, as well as their likely impact on arms control.


As therapy of ankylosing spondylarthritis still remains empirical, gymnastics and sports are of particular importance within the treatment of this disease. They aim at the improvement or at least the preservation of mobility, force and endurance. By those means an eventual immobilisation of the axial skeleton or the peripheral joints should take place in a position as favourable to function as possible. Various joint mobilisation techniques as well as muscle stretching are used to improve mobility. The latter thus pointedly prevents muscular disbalances. Various training methods are able to improve muscular performance. Slow dynamic force training can be used in gymnastic lessons as well as in home programmes. Maximal and staying power can thus be increased. Aerobic muscular training favours general efficiency, has a positive influence on risk factors of cardiac and vascular diseases and improves thoracic excursion. Motivation of the patient is correlated with the diversion of exercise, therapies and sport activities. The suitability of these measures are to be judged by expected maximal strain, the control of motion pattern, the effect of external forces as well as by the hazard to fall. Each and every sport activity has to be accompanied by supportive gymnastics. The most important sport disciplines are evaluated.


This paper sets out to demonstrate that despite their seemingly slight relevance to technical translation, personal names have a major influence on the end product of the translation process. Personal names are not normally translated but transliterated or slightly modified to fit the target language as much as possible. Technical translators do not need to draw a boundary between proper names and common names, identify an individual known by various names or a single name borne by several people, nor decide whether a name belongs to a real or fictitious person. By contrast, they often have to ascertain: the base form of personal names in inflectional and agglutinative languages; their pronunciation for correct declension subject to vowel harmony, if any; the order of given names and surnames for inversion as necessary; the first and last item of multi-element names; the namebearer's nationality for correct spelling, and their sex for gender agreement, including pronouns and verbal suffixes. The paper ends with the proposal that the behaviour of personal names in technical translation should be the subject of corpus-based research.


. The Cauchy problem for a modified Zakharov system is proven to be locally well-posed for rough data in two and three space dimensions. In the three dimensional case the problem is globally well-posed for data with small energy. Under this assumption there also exists a global classical solution for sufficiently smooth data.


The goal of this paper is to generate insights about the differences between graph-based and logic-based approaches to multi-relational data mining by performing a case study of graph-based system, Subdue and the inductive logic programming system, CProgol. We identify three key factors for comparing graph-based and logic-based multi-relational data mining; namely, the ability to discover structurally large concepts, the ability to discover semantically complicated concepts and the ability to effectively utilize background knowledge. We perform an experimental comparison of Subdue and CProgol on the Mutagenesis domain and various artificially generated Bongard problems. Experimental results indicate that Subdue can significantly outperform CProgol while discovering structurally large multi-relational concepts. It is also observed that CProgol is better at learning semantically complicated concepts and it tends to use background knowledge more effectively than Subdue.


Using information from approximately 100,000 multiphasic check-ups performed in these facilities, we have found an association between alcohol-drinking habits and serum glucose values one hour after an oral challenge with 75 gm. of glucose. There was a positive dose-response relation between reported alcohol intake and serum glucose level over the most common range of alcohol intake. Serum glucose levels were highest in the group who consumed six to eight alcoholic drinks per day. However, among those who said they took nine or more drinks per day, mean serum glucose levels were significantly lower than in the six-to-eight-drink group. These relations persisted when the analysis was controlled for the effects of age, sex, race, adiposity, time since last food intake, time of day, previously known diabetes, and previously known liver disease. A search of the literature failed to uncover a complete explanation for these phenomena.


In order to formulate an effective and efficient topical preparation, consideration must be given to the intended purpose. This is directly concerned with the site of action and the desired effect of the preparation. The most common form of chromomycosis is known as chromoblastomycosis or verrucous dermatitis the lesions consist of warty cutaneous nodules which resemble the florets of cauliflower. The disease is usually confined to the subcutaneous tissue of the feet and lower legs. The topical drug delivery systems available for the treatment have several disadvantages like greasiness, inconvenient to store and requires applicator or use of fingertip, which may lead to contamination. Therefore, it was found essential to find an alternative to counter all the above disadvantages effectively and hence in the present work, formulation and development of medicated sticks has been planned with the drug, Clotrimazole that has anti bacterial and anti fungal activity. The preparation and characterization of medicated sticks were carried out in different phases. Phase I studies includes preparation and evaluation medicated derma sticks using the ointment bases with varied concentrations of waxes and incorporation of medicament in the optimized formula by heating and congealing process. Phase II studies includes characterization of prepared medicated sticks for weight variation, thickness, length, size, shape and drug content uniformity. Phase III studies involves in vitro drug diffusion studies by using prehydrated cellophane membrane for 160 minutes in pH 7.4 phosphate buffer. Phase IV studies includes anti microbial studies of prepared formulations by cup plate method. Phase V studies includes Stability studies conducted for a period of 3 weeks and FT-IR Spectral analysis conducted. Phase VI studies includes Primary skin irritation studies carried out on rabbits and guinea pigs and in healthy human volunteers showed no sensitization and edema on skin after 72 hrs of application. The results of present study revealed that the prepared medicated sticks of Clotrimazole are convenient, equally effective, without any contamination chances on application and free from skin irritation.


In this paper, we study the effectiveness of anchor models applied to the multiclass problem of emotion recognition from speech. In the anchor models system, an emotion class is characterized by its measure of similarity relative to other emotion classes. Generative models such as Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs) are often used as front-end systems to generate feature vectors used to train complex back-end systems such as support vector machines (SVMs) or a multilayer perceptron (MLP) to improve the classification performance. We show that in the context of highly unbalanced data classes, these back-end systems can improve the performance achieved by GMMs provided that an appropriate sampling or importance weighting technique is applied. Furthermore, we show that anchor models based on the euclidean or cosine distances present a better alternative to enhance performances because none of these techniques are needed to overcome the problem of skewed data. The experiments conducted on FAU AIBO Emotion Corpus, a database of spontaneous children's speech, show that anchor models improve significantly the performance of GMMs by 6.2 percent relative. We also show that the introduction of within-class covariance normalization (WCCN) improves the performance of the anchor models for both distances, but to a higher extent for euclidean distance for which the results become competitive with cosine distance.


In survival studies, a subgroup of subjects may have zero susceptibility to the event of interest. For example, some people may be immune to a certain disease. These kind of data occur widely in medicine, social science and environment studies. The frailties therefore consist of a mix of zero and positive values. This poses some challenges in data analysis as there is no standard distribution for the frailties. Our work is motivated by Ma et al. (2003 & 2009). They have presented a multilevel frailties Poisson model for the survival data. In this thesis, we propose a Bayesian mixed model for survival data with zeroinflated frailties. With our approach, the zero and positive frailties are modeled using a compound Poisson distribution in an integral manner. We use the Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm (MCMC) and the Bayesian approach to estimate the regression parameters and the frailties. Two data sets, jail time data and third birth data, are used to illustrate our proposed method.


Applicable configuration alteration of the electrodeionization (EDI)process commonly for pure water production was carried out to treat dilute nickel wastewater in this paper. The effects of major operating parameters such as applied voltage, dilute and concentrate stream flow rates on the performance of EDI process were investigated systematically. The results showed that, with the feed water containing 50mg·L-1 Ni2+ and pH of 5.7, the dilute resistivity of the EDI could reach higher than 1.0MΩ·cm which gave a Ni2+ rejection more than 99.8% while the Ni2+ was concentrated as high as 1564mg·L-1 in the concentrate stream by optimizing the operating parameters. It was indicated that pure water production and concentrating of heavy metal ions could be simultaneously accomplished via EDI technology just in one process, valuable heavy metal and water resource could be recovered as well.


: Prolongation of neuromuscular block following pancuronium administration to anephric patients has been reported. A patient is described whose postoperative course after resection of gangrenous bowel was complicated by acute renal failure and prolonged neuromuscular blockade. A large intraoperative dose of pancuronium was administered without monitoring neuromuscular transmission with a peripheral nerve stimulator. The course was further complicated by administration of gentamicin, an antibiotic known to potentiate neuromuscular blocking drugs. Complete return of neuromuscular transmission occurred 60 hours after administration of last dose of pancuronium and subsequent to peritoneal dialysis. After rapid distribution from plasma, pancuronium, like curare, is eliminated by the renal pathway. The absence of renal excretion considerably increases the duration of action of curare when given in high doses. It has been suggested that doses of pancuronium greater than 3.6 mg/sq m or multiple doses would result in prolonged neuromuscular block in patients without renal function. The case reported illustrates the importance of monitoring neuromuscular transmission during administration of pancuronium in the presence of renal insufficiency to avoid this complication.


A key challenge for the next accelerators is the cost reduction. Bulk niobium cavities performances are closer to their theoretical limits and an alternative technology is mandatory. Niobium thin film copper cavities are the most explored solution, but the Q-slope characteristic of these resonators limits the applications where high accelerating fields are requested.
In this work an original approach is adopted in order to enhance the performances of sputtered cavities, exploring the possibility to sputter 70 micron thick films to straighten up the Q-slope in Niobium sputtered copper cavities. The engineering of Nb thick films deposition on 6 GHz copper cavities, necessary to minimize the stress on niobium thick films and avoid film peeling from the substrate, is reported. Thick films show RRR values over 60.
Different strategies have been used for stress reduction: deposition at high temperature of
550 °C, deposition at the zero stress pressure point (5∙10-2 mbar), and the development of a multilayer deposition procedure. Rf tests at 4,2 K and 1,8 K on 6 GHz resonant cavities are the tool used to evaluate the influence of the critical deposition parameters on the cavity performances. Two different venting procedures have been tested: a standard one, and a high temperature one, in which pure nitrogen is inserted in the vacuum chamber immediately after the end of the sputtering process. Thick films open the possibility to post treatments on sputtered cavities: the effect of buffer chemical polishing and heat treatments at different temperature have been investigated.
The Rf tests on 6 GHz cavities show the fundamental role played by the surface preparation and the possibility to enhance the maximum accelerating field minimizing the film stress. Above all, for the first time, the possibility to obtain flat curve of Q-factor versus accelerating field in sputtered cavities with thick films it is demonstrated.


: Acetylcholinesterase from human erythrocytes solubilized by 1% Triton X-100 was resolved using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis into two components. The first one (fast) is more firmly bound to cell membranes than the other. The existence of multiple forms (C1-C4) of serum cholinesterase-1 (CHE1) has been established. Electrophoresis in acid medium (pH 4.8) permits to detect the C5 component and a group of supplementary isoenzymes of cholinesterase-2. Individual differences observed in patterns of the CHE2 isozymes are controlled by a pair of autosomal codominant alleles Che2A and Che2B. The serum of subjects with phenotypes Che2AB(C5+) and Che2BB(C5-) showed on the average equal level of cholinesterase activity.


The World Health Organisation's (WHO) Water Safety Plans highlight the need for preventative risk management when managing water contamination risks. As part of this approach, a management framework incorporating multiple barriers is necessary and there is a need to validate those barriers through scientific evidence. This paper reports on a study undertaken to validate the effectiveness, in terms of pathogen numbers, of having protected watersheds. The study aimed to determine if the deer population in a protected watershed carried Cryptosporidium and whether or not it was human infectious. Deer faecal samples were collected from the protected watersheds over a 12 month period and analysed using a new method, developed as part of this project, for genotyping Cryptosporidium. Early results showed the presence of Cryptosporidium, but following a refinement in the method no human infectious Cryptosporidium was detected. The results give some confidence that having protected watersheds is an effective barrier against pathogen contamination. They do not, however, imply that continued monitoring and management of the deer should cease. To maintain compliance with the Water Safety Plans, continual validation of barrier effectiveness is required.


Analytical results are widely used to assess batch-by-batch conformity, pharmaceutical equivalence, as well as in the development of drug products. Despite this, few papers describing the measurement uncertainty estimation associated with these results were found in the literature. Here, we described a simple procedure used for estimating measurement uncertainty associated with the dissolution test of acetaminophen tablets. A fractionate factorial design was used to define a mathematical model that explains the amount of acetaminophen dissolved (%) as a function of time of dissolution (from 20 to 40 minutes), volume of dissolution media (from 800 to 1000 mL), pH of dissolution media (from 2.0 to 6.8), and rotation speed (from 40 to 60 rpm). Using Monte Carlo simulations, we estimated measurement uncertainty for dissolution test of acetaminophen tablets (95.2 ± 1.0%), with a 95% confidence level. Rotation speed was the most important source of uncertainty, contributing about 96.2% of overall uncertainty. Finally, it is important to note that the uncertainty calculated in this paper reflects the expected uncertainty to the dissolution test, and does not consider variations in the content of acetaminophen.


People with diabetes can sometimes develop diabetic neuropathy, a nerve disease
which can infuse numbness and pain. It has been observed that the end points of
nerve fibers in the epidermis, which is the outermost living layer of the skin, appear
more clustered on patients with diabetic neuropathy [7]. Attempts to model the fiber
patterns have been made in the hope that at an early stage distinguish patients with
risk of developing diabetic neuropathy.
These nerve fibers can be described by spatial point processes.The unknown parameters
of such a process can be estimated using the minimum contrast method (MCM)
where the main goal of this project is to investigate how the choice of upper integration
limit in MCM affects the parameter estimates.
The Thomas process was chosen for this project where in addition to the examination
of the integration limit in MCM we also examine if this process is a suitable choice to
describe nerve fibers from patients associated with two groups. The first acts as a control
group whith healthy subjects without symptoms of diabetic neuropathy. The second
group consist of subjects with diabetes and mild symtombs of the disease. This is done
by means of simulation and the R-package spatstat [1].
It turns out that the choice of integration limit is important and that there are some
guidelines of how to make this choice to avoid the variance of the parameter estimations
getting to large. Likewise, complications in selecting too large of a integration limit are
present although their importance are not as prominent. Lastly we show that we can
not reject that the Thomas process describes nerve fibers from the two groups.