Drawing on recent Eurosystem research that uses a range of econometric techniques and a number of new data sets, we propose a comprehensive description of how monetary policy affects the euro area economy. We focus mainly on three questions: (1) what are the stylised facts concerning the transmission of monetary policy for the area as a whole and for individual countries? (2) can the 'classic' interest rate channel (IRC) alone, without capital market imperfections, explain these facts? (3) if not, is the bank lending channel a likely candidate to complete the story? We find plausible euro-area wide monetary policy responses for prices and output that are similar to those generally reported for the US. However, investment (relative to consumption) seems to play a larger role in euro area monetary policy transmission than in the US. We cannot reject the hypothesis that the IRC completely characterises transmission in a few countries, and estimate it to be substantial in almost all. Where the IRC is not dominant, there is normally some direct evidence supporting the presence of a bank lending channel (or other financial transmission channel). The cases where financial effects appear important can be further split according to whether they primarily relate to consumption or investment JEL Classification: E52, E58, E44


Introduction: Fear is a natural response to something unknown. In the current scenario, it is important to assess it in relation to the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic in Latin American countries.
Objective: To determine the fear perception according to factors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru.
Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted based on a virtual questionnaire. The main question was "how much fear people had of COVID-19?", using a scale from zero (without fear) to 10 (very fear). This scale was divided into tertiles, and the upper tertile was the reference category (compared to the middle and lower tertiles). Statistical significances between fear perception of COVID-19 and sociodemographic data were calculated.
Results: A total of 3887 participants responded the questionnaire about fear perception. In the multivariate analysis was found that women (adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR): 1.37; 95% confidence interval (CI) : 1.26-1.48; p<0.001), people aged 20-29 (aPR: 1.84; 95% CI: 1.06-1.50; p=0.005), 30-39 (aPR: 1.53; 95% CI : 1.28-1.82; p<0.001), 50-59 (aPR: 1.43; 95% CI: 1.12-1.84; p=0.005), and with 60 or more years (aPR: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.03-2.07; p=0.032), as well as respondents who had some risk for complications due to COVID-19 (aPR: 1.49; 95% CI: 1.32-1.69; p<0.001) were very afraid of the disease. On the other hand, people affiliated with evangelical religions (aPR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.65-0.96; p=0.018), agnostics (aPR: 0.80; 95% CI: 0.68-0.94; p=0.008), atheists (aPR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.48-0.95; p=0.024), and health professionals (aPR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.70-0.93; p=0.003) were less afraid of COVID-19.
Conclusion: There was a notorious fear perception of the COVID-19 pandemic by the Peruvian population. In this context, the fear was associated with important variables. Thus, the provision of further emotional support services for this population should be considered in the face of the current pandemic.


A mobile terminal equipped with multiple interfaces can achieve a much higher bandwidth by aggregating the bandwidth offered by the individual networks. This helps support demanding applications like interactive video. Often, in spite of bandwidth aggregation, the available bandwidth may be too small to avoid frame loss altogether. Under these circumstances, it may be necessary to selectively discard frames to minimize the effect of their loss on the overall video quality. In this paper, we consider different frame discard algorithms and study their performance in the presence of multiple interfaces. We show through trace driven simulations that attempting to transmit every frame results in severe performance degradation. In particular we show that our proposed algorithm MC-drop outperforms other algorithms in terms of suitably defined metrics that capture overall video quality.


By the autumn of 2013, the Middle Eastern regional security complex (RSC) had taken on a new configuration, which was substantially different from — and much more explosive than — the one that existed prior to the large-scale popular uprisings that broke out across the Arab world in the winter of 2010-11. Foreign policies adopted between 2000 and 2010 by the Ba'thi regime in Damascus, the leaderships of Hizbullah and HAMAS, and the Israeli government to parry overlapping internal and external threats created an unprecedented patchwork of strategic rivalries and alignments. Large-scale popular unrest in Iraq and Egypt in early 2011, along with the outbreak of full-scale civil war in Syria later that same year, generated an even more intricate web of interstate security dynamics. The reconfigured RSC that emerged out of the "Winter of Arab Discontent" is only beginning to be explicated, and can best be addressed by tracing the connection between domestic political conflicts and shifts in external belligerence and alignment across the region.


. The quantity of internal combustion engine-powered motorized vehicles in Indonesia has been increasing year after year. As a result, fossil fuel demand has also increased beyond Indonesia's local production capacity, which decreases every year. The rapid growth of motorized vehicles also worsens air quality in Indonesia because of the combustion process in internal combustion engines, which produces toxic gases. One solution to this problem is to accelerate the usage of biofuels, in this context, bioethanol, as a fuel alternative. This study aims to determine the effect of oxygenated cyclohexanol additives to bioethanol–gasoline blends on 124.8 cc spark ignition (SI) engine performance and exhaust gas emission. The experiment was carried out using an engine dynamometer to measure engine performance, a pressure transducer to measure cylinder pressure, and a gas analyzer to measure exhaust gas emission. The experiment established that an 80% gasoline, 20% bioethanol fuel mixture (E20 mixture) with the addition of 18 ml of oxygenated cyclohexanol produced the best results among all the other mixtures tested; it lowered the specific fuel consumption (SFC) and coefficient of variation (COV) value, and produced fewer toxic gases, while minimizing power and torque losses.


Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic illness with a constellation of symptoms. The management of which is important for quality of life. Our review of the literature indicated that there is currently no standardized approach to measuring the symptom status of persons living with RA. Objective: The purpose of this study is to report the development and initial validation of a structure to measure symptom status in persons living with RA. Methods: For this secondary analysis, there were 901 female patients with complete symptom checklists available from the Arthritis, Rheumatism, and Aging Medical Information System. A tentative structure using exploratory factor analysis was developed, the structure was replicated in a separate sample using confirmatory factor analysis, and then hypothesized relationships with an external criterion (functional health) was tested using structural equation modeling. The symptom checklist contains 31 symptoms. The stem question is, "Have you had any of the following symptoms during the past 6 months; if yes mark all that apply." Results: A two-factor structure for measuring symptom status was identified, RA Pain Symptoms and General Symptoms. Using the external criterion, we also demonstrated that the two factors were different and that the RA Pain Symptoms Factor had a stronger impact on functional health. This provides evidence of the discriminant as well as predictive validity of the RA Pain Symptoms Factor. Discussion: Effective symptom management is an important outcome for nursing practice. Because the assessment of symptoms is the first step in symptom management, the identification of a measurement structure is an essential step.


This paper introduces an optimization algorithm for job shop scheduling problem in logistic warehouses. The algorithm is based on genetic programming and uses parallel processing. For better performance a new optimization method called "priority rules" was proposed. We found out that the three proposed priority rules help algorithm to prevent stuck in the local optima and get better results from genetic programming optimization. Algorithm was tested with batch of tests based on data from real warehouse and with synthetic tests generated randomly (inspired by the real world scenarios). The results indicate interesting reduction of time that is necessary to fulfill all tasks in warehouses, reduction in number of collisions and better optimization performance.


Objective: to study the prevalence of anemia in children aged less than 36 months in public day care centers in the city of Cuiaba, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Methods: cross-sectional study with all children (n=271) less than 36 months of age who attended public day care centers in mid1997. Children were evaluated as to their hemoglobin levels (venous blood, analyzed at the Central State Laboratory) and anthropometric indicators (weight/age, height/age, weight/height). Results: a high prevalence (63%) of anemia associated with age, weight and height deficit, and time of admittance at kindergarten was observed. The prevalence of malnutrition was 0.8% according to the weight/height ratio, 5.0% according to weight/age deficit, and showed an inadequacy of 10.3% as to the height/age ratio. Thus, the percentage of anemic children was six times higher than the height deficit and twelve times higher than the weight deficit. Malnutrition was not in fact associated with anemia, but at extreme anthropometric cut-off points of height and weight for age (< -2 z score), there is an association between these conditions. Conclusion: the high prevalence of anemia is regarded as a severe public health problem among preschool children in the city of Cuiaba.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the likelihood of nonsentinel axillary metastasis in the presence of sentinel node metastasis from a primary breast carcinoma.

SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA
Sentinel lymphadenectomy is a highly accurate technique for identifying axillary metastasis from a primary breast carcinoma. Our group has shown that nonsentinel axillary lymph nodes are unlikely to contain tumor cells if the axillary sentinel node is tumor-free, but as yet no study has examined the risk of nonsentinel nodal involvement when the sentinel node contains tumor cells.

METHODS
Between 1991 and 1997, axillary lymphadenectomy was performed in 157 women with a tumor-involved sentinel node. Fifty-three axillae (33.5%) had at least one tumor-involved nonsentinel node. The authors analyzed the incidence of nonsentinel node involvement according to clinical and tumor characteristics.

RESULTS
Only two variables had a significant impact on the likelihood of nonsentinel node metastasis: the size of the sentinel node metastasis and the size of the primary tumor. The rate of nonsentinel node involvement was 7% when the sentinel node had a micrometastasis (< or =2 mm), compared with 55% when the sentinel node had a macrometastasis (>2 mm). In addition, the rate of nonsentinel node tumor involvement increased with the size of the primary tumor.

CONCLUSIONS
If a primary breast tumor is small and if sentinel node involvement is micrometastatic, then tumor cells are unlikely to be found in other axillary lymph nodes. This suggests that axillary lymph node dissection may not be necessary in patients with sentinel node micrometastases from T1/T2 lesions, or in patients with sentinel node metastases from T1a lesions.


We study the modal properties of feasible hollow-core photonic bandgap fibers (HC-PBGFs) with cores formed by omitting either 7 or 19 central unit-cells. Firstly, we analyze fibers with thin core surrounds and demonstrate that even for large cores the proposed structures are optimum for broad-band transmission. We compare these optimized structures with fibers which incorporate antiresonant core surrounds which are known to have low-loss. Trade-offs between loss and useful bandwidth are presented. Finally, we study the effects that small modifications to the core surround have on the fiber's group velocity dispersion, showing the possibility of engineering the dispersion in hollow-core photonic bandgap fibers.


BACKGROUND
The interaction of the T-cell molecule PD-1 (programmed death-1) with its ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2 represents a known mechanism of T-cell inhibition. PD-1 is homologous to CD28 while the PD-1 ligands share homology with the B7 family of co-stimulatory molecules.

METHODS
We have studied surface expression and transcript levels of PD-L1 and PD-L2 on murine renal tubular epithelial cells (TEC) by flow cytometric analysis and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Western blot analysis was used to confirm protein expression of PD-L1. We also tested the functional role of PD-L1 and PD-1 in antigen presentation. Furthermore, we stained mouse kidney transplants with rejection for the expression of the PD-1 ligands.

RESULTS
We found that PD-L1 but not PD-L2 was weakly expressed on unstimulated TEC. Upon stimulation with IFN-gamma, a dose-dependent upregulation of PD-L1 expression was observed. Blockade of the PD-L1/PD-1 pathway with monoclonal antibodies in antigen presentation assays uncovered an inhibitory role of this ligand system in Th1 and Th2 cell activation. Staining for PD-L1 was strong in proximal and distal tubules in mouse kidney transplants with rejection, whereas staining of normal kidneys and syngenic mouse kidney transplants did not reveal PD-L1 expression. PD-L2 was not observed in normal or rejected mouse kidneys.

CONCLUSIONS
These data demonstrate that PD-L1 is an inducible renal tubular epithelial antigen that negatively regulates T-cell responses elicited by IFN-gamma-stimulated TEC. We speculate that the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway may play a role in protecting the epithelium from immune-mediated tubulointerstitial injury.


In many ways there could not be a more fascinating method to investigate how Taiwan's Chinese Nationalist Party (Guomindang, KMT) Government defined itself as the representative government of all of China in the 1960s and 1970s than to consider its state-sanctioned film industry. The films produced by the state represent ideas of national unity and a glorious homeland during decades that witnessed the most intense of transformations : in film with the rise and eventual decline of the popularity of Taiwan cinema in Southeast Asia, in literature with the xiangtu (nativist literature) debates, in the economy as factories and the emergence of small business replaced an agricultural infrastructure, and in politics with the end of the Nationalist's international status after losing its seat in the United Nations in 1971. At each stage the state propagated its ideal of free China for all to see on the silver screen -- an ideal made all the more complicated by competing regional and cultural influences : from the west by the People's Republic of China, from the north by the heritage of Japanese colonialism, from the east by the United States of America's concurrent military and economic aid, and from the south where a vast capitalist market was governed by lines drawn during the Cold War. Thus, situating these multiple discourses involves both a historical analysis, that is to bring the material and historical moment to light, and a cultural analysis, that is to consider how it is that the state believed images produced in a pop-medium might bolster a government's political status as its films competed on the open market. This dissertation both excavates the socio- historical context of Taiwan in the 1960s and 1970s in part by way of on site research in Taiwan thanks to the Ministry of Education (Taiwan, R.O.C.) Talent Cultivation Project of Taiwanese Literature, History and Art in Globalization Grant, and it pays close attention to the cinematic form using the lens of cultural studies. All the while it remains focused on the primary motivation for this project : a curiosity to explore a blank space on the map of English language scholarship concerning Mandarin language Taiwan cinema


Improving the Data Warehouse With Selected Data Quality Techniques: Metadata Management, Data Cleansing and Information Stewardship The corporate data warehouse provides strategic information to support decision-making (Kimball, et al., 1998). High quality data may be the most important factor for data warehouse success (Loshin, 2003). This study examines three data management techniques that improve data quality: metadata management, data cleansing, and information stewardship. Content analysis of 14 references, published between 1992 and 2004, results in lists of themes, synonyms, and definitions for each technique, designed for data warehouse analysts and developers.


Aims: In this paper we present a case study to investigate conditions necessary to detect a characteristic magnetic field substructure embedded in a large-scale field. A helical magnetic field with a surrounding hourglass shaped field is expected from theoretical predictions and self-consistent magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulations to be present in the specific case of protostellar outflows. Hence, such an outflow environment is the perfect for our study. Methodes: We present synthetic polarisation maps in the infrared and millimeter regime of protostellar outflows performed with the newly developed RT and polarisation code POLARIS. The code, as the first, includes a self-consistent description of various alignement mechanism like the imperfect Davis-Greenstein (IDG) and the radiative torque (RAT) alignment. We investigate for which effects the grain size distribution, and applied alignement mechanism have. Results: We find that the IDG mechanism cannot produce any measurable polarization degree (< 1 %) whereas RAT alignment produced polarization degrees of a few 1 %. Furthermore, we developed a method to identify the origin of the polarization. We show that the helical magnetic field in the outflow can only be observed close to the outflow axis and at its tip, whereas in the surrounding regions the hourglass field in the foreground dominates the polarization. Furthermore, the polarization degree in the outflow lobe is lower than in the surroundings in agreement with observations. We also find that the orientation of the polarization vector flips around a few 100 micron due to the transition from dichroic extinction to thermal re-emission. Hence, in order to avoid ambiguities when interpreting polarization data, we suggest to observed in the far-infrared and mm regime. Finally, we show that with ALMA it is possible to observe the polarization emerging from protostellar outflows.


Purpose - This paper's aim is to determine whether shopping facilities in a waiting area influence customer behaviour and whether these behaviours positively influence their satisfaction and related sales of the displayed products. Design/methodology/approach - The approach used was a field experiment. At two sites patient behaviours were directly observed before a reconstruction of waiting areas during two weeks; at both sites a two-week follow-up was performed after the reconstruction. The responses of patients were surveyed in a convenience sample in the same periods of weeks and the data on sales were collected with desk research. Findings - In comparison with waiting areas that were almost empty, customers in a waiting area with shopping facilities had more interaction with the physical environment, experienced a shorter wait, were more satisfied with the prompt taking of orders, and spent more money. Practical implications - Organizations seeking to positively influence patient behaviour during the wait should take into account the quality of facility design of waiting areas and, if well chosen, these facilities can also be used to positively influence satisfaction and sales. Originality/value - This paper integrates theories from environmental psychology, marketing, and operations management in facility design to improve the properties of a waiting area, and by doing so, improve behaviour, satisfaction, and sales of customers. The study aims to inform marketers in the pharmacy shop sector allowing them to increase interaction with the shopping environment, improve customers' satisfaction, and raise customers' expenditures with facilities.


Introduction: Nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) is increasingly used to improve the results of immediate breast reconstruction. Technical aspects and aesthetic outcomes of this procedure are examined. Methods: A study of a prospective institutional database of all cases of NSM between 2009 and 2010 was performed. Aesthetic outcomes (symmetry, inframammary fold, volume, contour, and nipple) are compared with patients undergoing skin-sparing mastectomy and immediate breast reconstruction by grading postoperative photographs. Technical refinements in incision types and nipple positioning are described. Results: Twenty-six patients underwent 40 NSMs during the study period. Partial nipple necrosis occurred in 15 breasts (37.5%); of them, 14 healed uneventfully with local wound care, and 1 patient required delayed nipple reconstruction. Nipple necrosis by incision type was radial/circumareolar in 6 of 8 (75%) patients; radial, 3 of 9 (33.3%); inframammary fold, 6 of 22 (27.3%); and vertical, 0 of 1 (0%). The nipple aesthetic outcome was significantly better for NSM compared with nipple reconstruction after skin-sparing mastectomy (P = 0.01). Conclusions: The incidence of partial nipple necrosis was high and was related to circumareolar incisions. Most cases of nipple necrosis are superficial and heal uneventfully. Preservation of the nipple improves the aesthetic outcome of immediate breast reconstruction.


We consider the problem of super-resolving the line spectrum of a multisinusoidal signal from a finite number of samples, some of which may be completely corrupted. Measurements of this form can be modeled as an additive mixture of a sinusoidal and a sparse component. We propose to demix the two components and super-resolve the spectrum of the multisinusoidal signal by solving a convex program. Our main theoretical result is that-- up to logarithmic factors-- this approach is guaranteed to be successful with high probability for a number of spectral lines that is linear in the number of measurements, even if a constant fraction of the data are outliers. The result holds under the assumption that the phases of the sinusoidal and sparse components are random and the line spectrum satisfies a minimum-separation condition. We show that the method can be implemented via semidefinite programming and explain how to adapt it in the presence of dense perturbations, as well as exploring its connection to atomic-norm denoising. In addition, we propose a fast greedy demixing method which provides good empirical results when coupled with a local nonconvex-optimization step.


ABSTRACT It is hypothesized that if depositional velocities for Bouma A beds are greater than those for B beds, and B beds greater than C beds, then the morphologies of flute casts associated with A, B and C beds might be different. Four width parameters, two length parameters, maximum depth of erosion, and grain size were therefore measured on 1511 flutes representing 264 beds, mainly in the Ordovician Cloridorme Formation of Gaspe, Quebec. Plan view flute morphology can be characterized by nose shape; a spectrum of shapes from pointed to bulbous was demonstrated. In vertical cross-section, the maximum depth, and distance of this point from the nose can he combined into the parameter B ( = Lmd/Dmax). Study of 77, 56 and 58 flutes on one B bed and two C beds, respectively, showed wide ranges in flute morphology, and no systematic differences between the B and C beds Q-mode factor analysis of one flute from each of 200 beds showed a spectrum of shapes from deep bulbous flutes (associated with A beds) to shallower pointed flutes (associated with B and C beds). Grain size on A beds (-3 to +4 phi) was greater than on B (-2 to +4 phi) and C (0 to +5 phi) beds, and flutes on A beds have a greater absolute width than those on B and C beds. Study of associated sole marks showed that 1, flute tend to occur with other flutes on A beds, but occur with tool and organic marks on B and C beds; 2, organic marks are not associated with flutes on A beds; and 3, longitudinal ridges occur with flutes on A beds but not on B and C beds. In the absence of organic marks on A beds, formation of wide, rounded-nosed flutes appear to be accompanied by bulk erosion of the substrate. Because the flutes were filled by deposition from suspension without bed traction of grains, tool marks tend to be absent. There is a strong contrast between A, and B and C beds, because on B and C beds, flutes were cut without bulk substrate removal, and were filled by traction load with simultaneous formation of tool marks.


Falling-head one-dimensional infiltration procedures, such as the simplified falling-head (SFH) technique, yield estimates of saturated soil hydraulic conductivity, Ks, with parsimonious and rapid experiments. Factors that can influence determination of Ks by the SFH technique were tested in the laboratory on three repacked soils differing by particle diameter ranges (0-2000, 0- 105 and 105-2000 mm, respectively). Using the theoretically calculated depth of ponding on the infiltration surface, D, instead of the measured one had a small impact on the Ks calculations (means differing by a factor of 1.1-1.2, depending on the soil). For the finest soil, Ks decreased by 3.1 times as D increased from 40 to 135 mm but D did not affect Ks for the coarsest soil, yielding in general the highest Ks values. The abrupt increase of the infiltration rate close to the end of the run did not influence appreciably Ks calculations since it determined an increase in Ks by a mean factor never exceeding 1.1. The most frequent result of the developed procedure for estimating the α* parameter was failure of the experiment although the valid α* calculations were plausible, being higher for the coarse textured soil (17 m–1) than the finer soils (9.2-9.3 m–1). The depth of the wetting front at the end of the run was 1.1-1.2 times deeper than that calculated theoretically before the run, depending on the soil. In conclusion, the method used to determine D should not affect very much Ks determination but larger D values can yield smaller Ks values in fine-textured soils. Air escapes from the sampled soil volume when almost all water had infiltrated but this circumstance does not have a great impact on calculation of Ks. A falling-head one-dimensional ponded infiltration process is not recommended to estimate α*. The theoretical depth of the wetting front can approximately be predicted before the run. The SFH technique appears a rather robust method to simply and rapidly determine Ks.


Regarding the system vibration as the research object, we study vibration characteristics of the system vibration under the damping action. The primary coverage is as follows: under the external condition of undamped condition, damping condition, free vibration, and harmonic excitation, etc., the fundamental vibration form possesses vibration characteristics. In the project practice, the damping factor's role to the vibrating system, as well as parameter determination is the damping factor. Low frequency effects on the structure system along with the effective of controlling resonance. In the damping treatment, we have characteristics demand for the damping. Through thorough analysis to damping action, we will obtain the best project fitting.


We recover spiral and barred spiral patterns in disk galaxy simulations with a Wave Dark Matter (WDM) background (also known as Scalar Field Dark Matter (SFDM), Ultra-Light Axion (ULA) dark matter, and Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) dark matter). Here we show how the interaction between a baryonic disk and its Dark Matter Halo triggers the formation of spiral structures when the halo is allowed to have a triaxial shape and angular momentum. This is a more realistic picture within the WDM model since a non-spherical rotating halo seems to be more natural. By performing hydrodynamic simulations, along with earlier test particles simulations, we demonstrate another important way in which wave dark matter is consistent with observations. The common existence of bars in these simulations is particularly noteworthy. This may have consequences when trying to obtain information about the dark matter distribution in a galaxy, the mere presence of spiral arms or a bar usually indicates that baryonic matter dominates the central region and therefore observations, like rotation curves, may not tell us what the DM distribution is at the halo center. But here we show that spiral arms and bars can develop in DM dominated galaxies with a central density core without supposing its origin on mechanisms intrinsic to the baryonic matter.


Between 1930 and 1950 experimental physicists used cloud chambers, coincidence counters, and nuclear emulsions to study both cosmic rays and radioactive processes. In order to identify what particles they were detecting and to measure their properties, these physicists employed a variety of interpretive strategies. Their choice of strategies depended upon what task they were trying to perform, and what instrument they were using. It is argued that different strategies could be employed using the same instrument, that the same strategy could be used with different instruments, and that different strategies could be used in combination with each other. Analyzing the history of the use of these strategies permits a deeper understanding of how physicists designed experiments and used evidence in drawing conclusions. Attending to the patterns of strategy use also permits new periodizations to be developed in the history of particle physics. In the timeframe considered, it is argued that inferential strategies were used to interpret single images of particle tracks, that evidence aggregation was crucial using all kinds of detectors, and that it was also common to use nuclear physics knowledge to narrow the range of possible interpretations. Beginning in the late 1940s, precision measurement, precision experiment design, and decay mode analysis became prominent strategies in the systematic search for new particles. This history builds on and revises Peter Galison's history of particle detection practices, which is based on the distinct epistemological ideals he supposes drove experimentation in the "image" and "logic" traditions of detector instrumentation.


This guide identifies online and print sources for researching the legislative history of bills enacted by the Washington State Legislature.


To help prepare you for the realities of working with clients affected by addictions, this beneficial text provides you with the necessary tools needed to competently translate addictions theory into practice. It offers a thorough examination of a range of models and perspectives for helping, and it encourages critical thinking to best match approaches with clients and situations. Presented in a work-text format, this book is full of cases, exercises, role-plays, and questions to increase your understanding of concepts and application to practice. Table of contents 1. Introduction. 2. Pharmacology. 3. Models of helping individuals with AODA problems. 4. Techniques of engagement: Micro:Mezzo:Macro. 5. Assessment: Micro:Mezzo:Macro. 6. Helping families change. 7. Facilitating change through group work and treatment programs. 8. Helping communities change. 9. Health promotion and public policy development. 10. Termination, follow-up, maintenance, and relapse prevention. 11. AODA research and evaluation.


Recent observations of binary systems obtained with the High Energy Stereoscopic System of Cherenkov telescopes are providing crucial information on the physics of relativistic outflows and the engines powering them. We report here on new H.E.S.S. results on HESS J0632+057, PSR B1259-63/LS 2883, Eta Carinae and the recently discovered source HESS J1018-589. Despite the high-quality data obtained in the last years through both ground and space-based gamma-ray detectors, many questions on the mechanisms that permit binary systems to emit at gamma-rays remain open. In particular, it is becoming apparent that emission at high and very- high energies is uncorrelated in some gamma-ray binary systems, with bright GeV flares not observed at TeV energies (e.g. PSR B1259-63), and sources periodically detected at VHEs which are lacking its HE counterpart (e.g. HESS J0632+057). Our results mainly confirm the predictions derived previously for the studied sources, but unexpected results are also found in a few cases, which are discussed in the context of contemporaneous observations at lower energies.


Sahelian West Africa is a region that has high population densities and that has frequent severe droughts and enormous pressure on natural resources. Because of these challenges, it is the place where the term desertification was originally coined. Recently, however, experts have identified large zones of greening where the amount of vegetation exceeds what one would expect based on rainfall alone. This pattern is well documented, but its mechanisms remain poorly understood. This research employs participatory mapping linked with high-resolution satellite imagery to better understand the human role behind regional vegetation trends. Through a case study of three communities in northern Burkina Faso, this paper presents a pilot methodology for explicitly mapping perceived areas of both land degradation and rehabilitation. Combining participatory mapping exercises with standard image classification techniques allows areas of land degradation and rehabilitation to be precisely located and their extents measured for individual communities and their surrounding terroirs. Results of the spatial analysis show that the relative proportion of greening and browning varies among communities. In the case of Sakou, nearly 60 percent of its terroir is degraded. While in another, Kouka, this is 48 percent. This method also elicits perspectives of Burkinabè agro-pastoralists on the local land-use practices driving these twin environmental processes. Altogether, this case study demonstrates the analytical power of integrating ethnography and high-resolution satellite imagery to provide a bottom-up perspective on social-ecological dynamics.


The high rate of road accidents in Indonesia have become a national problem, which need serious handling. One of the causes, beside the human and vehicle factor, is the road and environmental factor. Based on international research, the contribution of road and environmental factors is calculated to 24 per cent. This in turns stresses the importance of a strategy, which in the end lead to the improvement of road safety conditions through application of a road safety concept. The author strongly argues in favour of Road Safety Audits. A safety audit process could be applied at all stages - in the feasibility study before the road is constructed or rehabilitated, during all of the design phases and after the road have been in operation. Furthermore, this paper introduces the concept of road safety audit with an existing by pass road in Cirebon as an example. For the covering abstract and the URL of the conference see ITRD E205706.


Under the background of the express-reconstruction of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway being proposed, it will be necessary to employ the special technique of cooling the ground temperature by the crushed rock embankment in order to protect from damage to highway embankment due to thaw settlement. Under vibrating load, the porosity variation of crushed rock layer may weaken the cooling effect of buoyancy-driven natural convection of the pore air in the crushed rock layer of the highway embankment, thus resulting in instability and failure of the road embankment structure. Under these conditions, the effect of vibrating load on the porosity of the crushed rock layer must be studied both theorectically and experimentally. In this work, laboratory experiment on the porosity variation of the crushed rock layer under vertically vibrating loads is developed based on the water flooding approach and the experimental method is introduced. The test results indicate that due to the vibrating load the crushed rock layer causes the compacting effect and the shapes of crushed rock grain tend to be non- angular.


Streptococcus pneumoniae (Sp) strain TIGR4 is a virulent, encapsulated serotype that causes bacteremia, otitis media, meningitis and pneumonia. Increased bacterial resistance and limited efficacy of the available vaccine to some serotypes complicate the treatment of diseases associated to this microorganism. Flavodoxins are bacterial proteins involved in several important metabolic pathways. The Sp flavodoxin (Spfld) gene was recently reported to be essential for the establishment of meningitis in a rat model, which makes SpFld a potential drug target. To facilitate future pharmacological studies, we have cloned and expressed SpFld in E. coli and we have performed an extensive structural and biochemical characterization of both the apo form and its active complex with the FMN cofactor. SpFld is a short-chain flavodoxin containing 146 residues. Unlike the well-characterized long-chain apoflavodoxins, the Sp apoprotein displays a simple two-state thermal unfolding equilibrium and binds FMN with moderate affinity. The X-ray structures of the apo and holo forms of SpFld differ at the FMN binding site, where substantial rearrangement of residues at the 91–100 loop occurs to permit cofactor binding. This work will set up the basis for future studies aiming at discovering new potential drugs to treat S. pneumoniae diseases through the inhibition of SpFld.


In recent years, sustainability has become a popular topic for both business and society. There is little dispute that companies and organizations have increasingly paid attention to social and environmental issues, and thus sustainability has come under the spotlight. However, The Hong Kong Jockey Club ("HKJC" or "the Club"), the largest single taxpayer and non-government charitable donor in Hong Kong, has been paying attention to environmental and social issues for decades although its "sustainability efforts" were not given a label for most of that period. The year of 2009 was a milestone of the HKJC's sustainability endeavors as in this year the HKJC formed its first Sustainability Committee, raising sustainability to the strategic level within the Club. The first sustainability report of HKJC was released in 2011, making the HKJC's dialogue with the community, also within the Club, transparent. In 2014, the Club introduced Supplier Sustainability Guidelines, aiming to increase the sustainability standards of the Club's business partners, and in turn, of all local businesses. This case depicts how HKJC achieved sustainability through its endeavors in the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) areas, thus contributing to the community and enabling a better future for its stakeholders and for society as a whole. This case also discusses the evolution of the HKJC's sustainability governance structure and strategy, the progress of HKJC's sustainability practices from 2009 to 2016, and HKJC's sustainability challenges.  Keywords:  Hong Kong Jockey Club, sustainability governance, sustainability practice, sustainability innovation, carbon footprint, supplier sustainability, stakeholder engagement, case study


The enlargement of the EU and the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) have revived the debate in the 'neighbourhood countries' around the need to converge legislation with EU internal rules and regulations, known as the acquis communautaire. The political incentive of accession to the EU, which has driven legal approximation in new EU member states, is missing for ENP countries. Yet, in the case of countries like Moldova, the cost of non-compliance is significant and translates into loss of existing export markets (e.g. in Romania) and the inability to expand into new markets (SEE countries and the EU). The situation is made still worse by a poor level of economic governance. As convergence with the acquis is a huge task, the key challenge for ENP countries is to determine the priorities, sequence and degree of legal approximation. This paper argues that the optimum degree and appropriate pace of convergence need to be driven by economic rationale and the development of the trade potential of the country. Thus, to secure benefits and avoid high costs for the economy, the legal approximation agenda will be moving along clearly identified economic integration scenarios, i.e. achieving a functioning market economy; taking full advantage of EU trade preferences (GSP and APTs), preparing for an FTA with the EU and, over a considerable number of years, gradually achieving a stake in the EU's Internal Market.


English for Physiotherapist Book: Beginner Level it aims to improve the students' English communication skills and English language knowledge in key areas of physiotherapy which is appropriate with the current healthcare situations. The content was designed for beginner learner of English in areas of physiotherapy which contains basic English and common technical terms of physiotherapy. The setting of the syllabus and the material building is based on the setting of Health College, hospital and clinic. The conversations can be used as the examples of communication in health care services, in a hospital or a clinic. The writer hopes that you enjoy using this book.


The application of flying base stations (FBS) in wireless communication is becoming a key enabler to improve cellular wireless connectivity. Following this tendency, this research work aims to enhance the spectral efficiency of FBSs using the radio access network (RAN) slicing framework; this optimization considers that FBSs' location was already defined previously. This framework splits the physical radio resources into three RAN slices. These RAN slices schedule resources by optimizing individual slice spectral efficiency by using a deep reinforcement learning approach. The simulation indicates that the proposed framework generally outperforms the spectral efficiency of the network that only considers the heuristic predefined FBS location, although the gains are not always significant in some specific cases. Finally, spectral efficiency is analyzed for each RAN slice resource and evaluated in terms of service-level agreement (SLA) to indicate the performance of the framework.


With expected increases in vessel traffic, drilling, and exploration for petroleum and natural gas, the potential for an Arctic oil spill is heightened, yet knowledge of contaminant fate and behavior is limited in this environment. With challenging conditions in the Arctic and limited equipment caches, response will be extremely difficult. In freezing conditions, oil may become encapsulated in ice. Understanding biodegradation potential in this environment can dictate response options for spills that occur in Arctic marine waters. The influence of protists on bacterial biodegradation of water accommodated fractions (WAF) of petroleum hydrocarbons is unknown, yet important because it could enhance or hinder biodegradation. The objectives of this research were to calculate biodegradation rates for crude oil WAF at 5°C, 0°C and -5°C and analyze the influence of protists on those rates. To examine this, a method for protist-free seawater cultures was developed and toxicity of WAF to protists was quantified. Long-term (40-51 weeks) biodegradation microcosms enabled modeling of rates beyond the persistence of first year sea ice. Biodegradation rates were calculated for individual and total crude oil WAF hydrocarbons after normalization for abiotic losses. Hydrocarbons were analyzed with GC-FID; bacteria and protists were enumerated under epifluorescence microscopy and taxa identified with molecular rRNA sequencing. Biodegradation occurred at 5°C and 0°C, mostly of naphthalene, as demonstrated decreasing concentrations and the production of phenols. Rates decreased with temperature 5°C > 0°C > -5°C. There was no phenolic production at -5°C and biodegradation rates at that temperature were not significantly different than zero. Bacterial taxa were mainly gammaProteobacteria, alpha-Proteobacteria, Flavobacteria, and Sphingobacteria; protistan taxa were separated into flagellates (Stramenopiles, Rhizaria, Telonomea and uncultured marine eukaryotes), fungus (Basidiomycota Streptophyta, and Ascomycota) and amoeba (Vermistella). Protistan presence negatively influences biodegradation rates, but their influence is mollified at lower temperatures than 5°C. In the absence of spill response measures, oil encapsulated in sea ice would persist until spring thaw, creating a re-release of oil into the water column where it would then biodegrade slowly (>1 year).


China experienced both economic and epistemological transitions within the past few decades, greatly increasing demand for accessible and affordable health care. These shifts put significant pressure on the existing outdated, highly centralized bureaucratic system. Adjusting to growing demands, the government has pursued a new round of health reforms since the late 2000s; the main goals are to reform health care financing, essential drug policies, and public hospitals. Health care financing reform led to universal basic medical insurance, whereas the public hospital reform required more complex measures ranging from changes in regulatory, operational, and service delivery settings to personnel management. This article reviews these major policy changes and the literature-based evidence of the effects of reforms on cost, access, and quality of care. It then highlights the outlook for future reforms. We argue that a better understanding of the unintended consequences of reform policies and of how practitioners' and patients' interests can be better aligned is essential for reforms to succeed.


The evolution equation determines how frequencies of strategies in the population change (Traulsen & Hauert (2009)), where the change indicates velocities (Bowles (2004),Weibull (1997),Sigmund (2010)). In this paper, based on the laboratory Rock-Paper-Scissors (RPS) game experiments and from the velocity vector fields perspective, we empirically study the five most popular evolutionary dynamics theories (Sandholm (2009)), i.e., replicator(Taylor & Jonker (1978)), logit (Fudenberg & Levine (1998)), Brown-von Neumann-Nash (Brown & Von Neumann (1950)) (BNN), best responde (Gilboa & Matsui (1991)) and Smith (Smith (1984)), respectively, which describe different theoretical patterns of the velocity vector fields in strategy space. We conduct a standard Rock-Paper-Scissors (RPS) game in an experimental economics laboratory. The experiments include 12 independent sessions and each session involves 6 human subjects. Each session consists of 300 rounds of the game repeatedly with a random matching for each round. Since we have 6 human subjects in the RPS game experiments, we have 28 possible states. With the data collected from the experiments, we measure the velocity vector at all of the 28 measurable states x(i; j;k) in the strategy space of the game. Three metrics are employed to measure the difference between the experimental result and each specific mode. Main result and conclusion: This is the first time in the literature of experimental economics to reveal the global dynamic patterns in the strategy space using laboratory RPS game study. This is also the first time in the literature to apply the velocity vector fields to study the comparison between the experimental data and the classic evolutionary dynamics theories, which for the first time to show that none of the classic theories completely confirms the experimental data.


Infants start learning words, the building blocks of language, at least by 6 months. To do so, they must be able to extract the phonological form of words from running speech. A rich literature has investigated this process, termed word segmentation. We addressed the fundamental question of how infants of different ages segment words from their native language using a meta-analytic approach. Based on previous popular theoretical and experimental work, we expected infants to display familiarity preferences early on, with a switch to novelty preferences as infants become more proficient at processing and segmenting native speech. We also considered the possibility that this switch may occur at different points in time as a function of infants' native language and took into account the impact of various task- and stimulus-related factors that might affect difficulty. The combined results from 168 experiments reporting on data gathered from 3774 infants revealed a persistent familiarity preference across all ages. There was no significant effect of additional factors, including native language and experiment design. Further analyses revealed no sign of selective data collection or reporting. We conclude that models of infant information processing that are frequently cited in this domain may not, in fact, apply in the case of segmenting words from native speech.


This chapter first introduces photosynthetic light-harvesting antenna systems in the context of the evolutionary path of photosynthetic organisms from anoxygenic bacteria to cyanobacteria to algae and higher plants. The introduction continues by explaining the main regulatory mechanisms used by higher plants to adapt and acclimate to their environment. The focus of this chapter is the main regulatory "feedback" mechanism of higher plants, which involves the recently recognized role of the PsbS protein in thermal dissipation of excess energy in Photosystem II (PSII). A quantitative molecular model is presented to define this vital energy dissipation process. The model is based on the results of recent studies that have advanced our understanding and is focused on four major developments: (1) molecular control of the structure–function of the PsbS protein with respect to its role in dissipating excess light-energy; (2) molecular control of the content of all chlorophyll b containing light-harvesting proteins (Lhcbs) of the "peripheral" and "proximal" PSII antenna; (3) time and wavelength dependent resolution of the flow of energy in the PSII antenna system at cryogenic temperatures; and (4) assessment of the photoprotective capacity and physiological significance of PsbS-dependent energy dissipation. Our contemporary model of PSII antenna control takes into consideration the respective roles of the peripheral and core-inner antennae pigment–proteins of PSII. We conclude by outlining obvious plans for future further studies aimed at understanding and controlling the regulation of excess light acclimation in PSII.


Mobile networks based on Long-Term Evolution (LTE) are currently being deployed to meet the rapid growth of mobile data traffic. In this paper we study the performance of LTE considering realistic channel data. The channel measurements were gathered in an urban macro cell scenario. While we focused on the behavior of the feedback control parameter as rank indicator, precoding matrix indicator and channel quality indicator we selected the close loop spatial multiplexing of LTE in the single user setup as transmission mode understudy. Four antenna configurations 2×2 and 4×4 with single and dual polarization are compared. The results show that the availability of high rank indicator values is very low for the single compared to the dual polarization cases. Furthermore dual outperforms single polarization at SNRs higher than 15 and 5 dB for the 2×2 and 4×4 configurations.


This paper presents some challenges which have been derived from collating the conclusions of a number of studies undertaken by the Accessibility Research Group over a number of years. The concentrated multidisciplinary mix in both theoretical and practical work of the ARG has enabled us to see where the history of accessibility is both a help and a hindrance to further progress. The main underlying principle of the work reported in the paper is that it may be necessary to change some fundamental principles of accessibility in order to progress further in both countries where such work is already advanced and in those where it is yet to happen. Approach The paper presents a reasoned argument supported by evidence from a number of studies involving older and disabled people, infrastructure design, vehicle design, cognitive and sensory issues to generate thought about what the future holds for accessibility, in both research and application. Results or Expected Results There are three strands to the review of these studies. First, it is clear that single directed approaches to design guidelines are unlikely to provide the best benefits for older and disabled people. The differences between their needs are far more complex than such simple rules consider and are often affected negatively by the attempts to make compromises. Secondly, it is really important to consider the capabilities of the individual and not just the inability of the environment to accommodate people when determining what to do in accessibility policy and application. Thirdly, there are immense opportunities with new technology that could assist in this complex problem. The age of 'special' design of vehicles or infrastructure are numbered – the advent of computerised manufacture means that different designs can be made as cheaply as the standard design from which they are derived, whether this is in terms of vehicles, infrastructure or household objects. This allows the person to have equipment designed especially for them without the need for a premium price. The fourth issue is that developing countries have a big opportunity. As with some other technologies – telecommunications is a good example – they have the opportunity to leap over the restraints which have been imposed in countries such as the USA, Japan and Europe and pass directly to an accessible society. Solutions developed for the UK or USA are unlikely to be either appropriate or necessary in this new situation and we all need to work out how to make that opportunity achievable. Conclusion The conclusion of this paper is that there is a strong emphasis on the individual in accessibility design and we need to ensure that all parties – disabled people, carers, technicians, researchers, manufacturers and politicians rise to the right challenge of how to make accessibility work. Recent research points to the ways in which the differences between people can be understood and this can drive the 'individualisation' of accessibility so that people really can do what they wish to do. The twenty first century offers great opportunities and we need to grasp these in the most effective way possible.


Let $A$ be a noetherian ring whose maximal spectrum has dimension at most 1. For instance, $A$ can be a noetherian local ring or an order in a number field. Let $B$ be a finite projective $A$-algebra that becomes etale over the total ring of quotients of $A$. In this note it is shown that $B$ is of the form $A[X_1,\dots , X_n]/(f_1,\dots , f_n)$ if and only if the Fitting ideal Fit$_B(\Omega_{B/A})$ of the module of differentials of $B$ over $A$ is free of rank 1 as a $B$-module. In particular, the ring of integers in a number field $K$ is of the form $\mathbb{Z}[X_1,\dots , X_n]/(f_1,\dots , f_n)$ if and only if the different of $K$ over $\mathbb{Q}$ is a principal ideal.


Most policy analysis in agricultural economics typically ignores the existence of the food processing, distribution and retail sectors. If these sectors were perfectly competitive, their exclusion would not significantly affect the welfare changes following policy reform. However, since these sectors are typically imperfectly competitive, excluding them does matter. In a theoretical model of a vertically-related food market, this paper shows that welfare changes of policy reform are lower than the 'perfectly competitive' case since there is imperfect pass-through of price changes occurring at the farm-gate. The model shows that the pass-through effects depend on the nature of strategic interaction in the food market, and the degree of product differentiation of the final food products. The theoretical model is applied to the recently proposed changes to the European Community (EC) banana regime, a sector characterized by the existence of a few large firms.


Brazing of galvanized steel causes decaying of the zinc coating and decreasing of corrosion resistant on heataffected zone (HAZ) and weldment. The corrosion rates among the HAZ, unaffected base metal (UBM), and weldment of galvanized steel welded by brazing were numerically modeled by COMSOL Multiphysics. The numerically modeled current density values from various zones, such as the couples between the HAZ and the UBM, between the weldment and the HAZ, and between the UBM and steel were used to calculate the corrosion rates. In this work, two different methods based on Faraday's Law, the mixed potential theory and the Numerical modeling, were compared for calculations of the corrosion rates of each region. Using the mixed potential theory, the calculated corrosion rates of region I, II, III, IV, V and VI were 0.853, 0.284, 2.105,1.754, 2.028 and 0.554 mm/y, respectively. Where as based on the Numerical modeling, these rates of all regions were 0.918, 0.275, 2.198, 1.904, 2.151, and 0.566 mm/y, in orderly. These comparisons suggested that the corrosion rates obtained from two methods were similar. However, the results showed that the Numerical modeling method could predict the corrosion rate with less error.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) can cause pulmonary dysfunction. Inflammatory changes may affect the release of nitric oxide (NO). The objective of this study was to evaluate exhaled NO in patients undergoing myocardial revascularization (MR) with CPB. METHODS: This is a prospective study with nine adult patients undergoing MR with CPB. Initially, air samples were collected to analyze the presence of NO in the system that feeds the anesthesia equipment. Intravenous anesthesia was then initiated with ethomidate (0.3 mg.kg-1), sufentanil (0.3 µg.kg-1), and pancuronium (0.08 mg.kg-1), and maintained with isoflurane (MAC from 0.5 to 1.0) and sufentanil (5 µg.kg-1.h-1). Tidal volume was fixed at 8 mL.kg-1 and FiO2 0.6, except during CPB. Thirty minutes after induction and 30 minutes after CPB, three sequential samples of exhaled air were collected for NO analysis by chemiluminescence. Data were analyzed by the Student t test. RESULTS: The level of NO in room air was 5.05 ± 3.37 ppb. Levels of exhaled NO decreased after CPB, varying from 11.25 ± 5.65 ppb to 8.37 ± 3.71 ppb (p = 0.031). CONCLUSIONS: The reduction of exhaled NO after CPB observed in this study does not confirm the role of this molecule as a marker of pulmonary lesion. However, the different degrees of pulmonary parenchymal collapse, the method used to collect the data, and the drugs, among others, could have contributed for this reduction.


In this article I explore how Cicely Saunders championed the hospice movement and initiated what became palliative care by representing her emotional connections with others. She became friends (and, once or twice, fell in love) with dying patients and encouraged others to follow her example in listening to patients' descriptions of pain. Her approach was radical at a time when she believed doctors routinely 'deserted' dying patients because it urged them to understand another's embodied pain as inextricably bound up with the emotional impact of a terminal diagnosis. Saunders' attention to how patients expressed their experience is summed up in her term 'total pain', which communicates how an individual's pain is a whole overwhelming experience, not only physical but also emotional, social and spiritual. Previous research frames 'total pain' in terms of narrative, emphasising Saunders' focus on listening to her patients and her use of narratives as evidence in advocating for cultural and institutional change, both of which I understand as engaging with a patient's emotional reality. However, as Saunders' ideals become mainstreamed as palliative care and amid calls for 'narrative palliative care', I use evidence from Saunders' extensive written output alongside archival material to suggest that, just as palliative care is by its nature not a single specific intervention, 'total pain' should not be understood as simply narrative. Building on existing work in this journal questioning the primacy of conventional understandings of narrative in the medical humanities, I demonstrate how Saunders' prominent use of fragments and soundbites alongside longer case narratives demonstrates the limits of narrative, particularly when someone is dying. Saunders thus offers a case study for considering the implications that questioning the primacy of narrative as emotional evidence might have for our understandings of how empathy or advocacy can function, or be cultivated, in medical settings.


Unsignalled, inescapable shocks were presented to four albino rats in one study and to six rats in a second study. By pressing a lever, subjects could change the condition to signalled shock for 3 min after which unsignalled shock was automatically reinstated. All subjects changed frequently to the signalled shock schedule. After a minimum of three 6-hr sessions or after changeover responding stabilized at the previous values, higher values of signalled shock intensity or duration were introduced. In the first study, the duration of signalled shock was increased in increments of 0.5 sec. In the second study, the intensity of signalled shock was increased in increments of either 0.2 or 0.4 mA. Duration subjects chose signalled shock four (2.0 sec) to nine times (4.5 sec) longer than unsignalled shock (0.5 sec). Intensity subjects chose signalled shock two (2.0 mA) to three times (3.0 mA) more intense than unsignalled shock (1.0 mA).


In general, production control of digital workshops is a complicated systematical engineering. Because of lacking the methods and means of acquiring the manufacturing data in real time, the traditional production control methods cannot satisfy the real production control requirement of digital workshops. In this paper, we put forward an intelligent control system for digital workshop production. The main contributions include three aspects: Firstly, we introduce and adopt Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology as a means to acquire the manufacturing information in real time produced by the bottom-level manufacturing devices. Secondly, we develop the wcPML (workshop control with Physical Markup Language) and utilize it to act as a media to realize the information visualized description and transmission between the top-level control systems and bottom-level manufacturing sites of workshops. Thirdly, we adopt Java Web technology and wireless LAN to build the infrostructure for the intelligent control system for workshop production. Some key enabling technologies for the intelligent control system also are presented and described following with some concluding remarks.


Previously we demonstrated the presence of phenol sulphotransferase (P-ST) in mouse nasal cytosols and identified its zonal location in mouse nasal cavity by staining with an antiserum raised against a rat liver P-ST isoenzyme, PSTg. In the present study a cDNA was isolated from a mouse olfactory cDNA library by immunological screening with the antiserum. The isolated cDNA consisted of 1347 bp with a 912 bp open reading frame encoding a 304-residue polypeptide. Both the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the cDNA were 94% identical with those of a rat liver P-ST isoenzyme, ST1C1. The expressed enzyme in Escherichia coli displayed high P-ST activity towards phenolic odorants such as eugenol and guaiacol, and it showed a high N-hydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene sulphation activity in comparison with the rat ST1C1 enzyme. These results indicate that the olfactory P-ST encoded by the cDNA is a mouse orthologue of rat ST1C1; however, expression of the olfactory P-ST mRNA is specific for nasal tissues as revealed by reverse transcriptase-mediated PCR (RT-PCR).


Information about the depth dimension can be stored in photographic recordings of ordinary scenes by introducing a camera movement and a shutter modulation during the exposure. Each object point is recorded as a one-sided zone-plate pattern where the focal length of the zone plate is related to the depth location of the point. This recording is equivalent to a hologram and the object can be reconstructed using coherent light and conventional holographic techniques. Experimental verification of the scheme is shown.


Proposes a new probabilistic neural network (NN) that can estimate the a-posteriori probability for a pattern classification problem. The structure of the proposed network is based on a statistical model composed by a mixture of log-linearized Gaussian components. However, the forward calculation and the backward learning rule can be defined in the same manner as the error backpropagation NN. In this paper, the proposed network is applied to the electroencephalogram (EEG) pattern classification problem. In the experiments described, two types of a photic stimulation, which are caused by eye opening/closing and artificial light, are used to collect the data to be classified. It is shown that the EEG signals can be classified successfully and that the classification rates change depending on the amount of training data and the dimension of the feature vectors.


Theory of Spatial Statistics: A Concise Introduction presents the most important models used in spatial statistics, including random fields and point processes, from a rigorous mathematical point of view and shows how to carry out statistical inference. It contains full proofs, real-life examples and theoretical exercises. Solutions to the latter are available in an appendix. Assuming maturity in probability and statistics, these concise lecture notes are self-contained and cover enough material for a semester course. They may also serve as a reference book for researchers. Features * Presents the mathematical foundations of spatial statistics. * Contains worked examples from mining, disease mapping, forestry, soil and environmental science, and criminology. * Gives pointers to the literature to facilitate further study. * Provides example code in R to encourage the student to experiment. * Offers exercises and their solutions to test and deepen understanding. The book is suitable for postgraduate and advanced undergraduate students in mathematics and statistics.


In this study, the effects of different cutting conditions on the cutting performance were investigated in the micro milling of Inconel 718. In this context, dry cutting, minimum quantity lubrication and cryogenic pre-cooling were considered as the cutting conditions. Tool wear, surface roughness and burr formation were determined as performance criteria in the cutting processes carried out using an AlCrN-coated tool. At the end of the study, cryogenic pre-cooling led to increased tool wear. In contrast, a significant reduction in surface roughness as well as burr formation was observed in the cutting process with cryogenic pre-cooling. However, the minimum quantity lubrication process increased tool life, but it was not seen as the clear effect for decreasing surface roughness and burr formation.


Delirium is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in older adults admitted to hospital. Multicomponent interventions targeting delirium risk factors, including physical exercise and mobilization, have been shown to reduce delirium incidence by 30–40% in acute care settings. However, little is known about its role in the evolution of delirium, once established. This study is a randomized clinical trial conducted in the Acute Geriatric Unit of Hospital Universitario de Navarra (Pamplona, Spain). Hospitalized patients with delirium who meet the inclusion criteria will be randomly assigned to the intervention or the control group. The intervention will consist of a multicomponent exercise training program, which will be composed of supervised progressive resistance and strength exercise over 3 consecutive days. Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) will be used for assessing cerebral and muscle tissue blood flow. The objective is to assess the effectiveness of this intervention in modifying the following primary outcomes: duration and severity of delirium and functional status. This study will contribute to determine the effectiveness of physical exercise in the management of delirium. It will be the first study to evaluate the impact of a multicomponent intervention based on physical exercise in the evolution of delirium. Clinical trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov. identifier: NCT05442892 (date of registration June 26, 2022).


This paper presents a novel statistical model i.e. the Laplace-Rician distribution, for the characterisation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. Since accurate statistical models lead to better results in applications such as target tracking, classification, or despeckling, characterising SAR images of various scenes including urban, sea surface, or agricultural, is essential. The proposed Laplace-Rician model is investigated for SAR images of several frequency bands and various scenes in comparison to state-of-the-art statistical models that include K, Weibull, and Lognormal. The results demonstrate the superior performance and flexibility of the proposed model for all frequency bands and scenes.


This paper develops a concept of a "multiplex triad," i.e., a triplet composed of actors playing different roles and interconnected by different kinds of relationships. An example of such triad is a social structure comprising two producers connected via horizontal relationships and a customer connected to producers via vertical ties. Multiplex triads are important drivers of network evolution, but their dynamics remains poorly understood. Although conventional wisdom suggests that horizontal ties between producers are driven solely by their prior interactions, we find that vertical ties drive the formation of horizontal relationships in a multiplex triad. We also find that these triads are affected by the agency of the customers who (a) force producers into horizontal relationships with those producers that have protected the customers' interests in the past and (b) prevent closure in triads containing strong horizontal relationships because of the divergent objectives of these triads' members. By drawing attention to the existence of multiplex triads and their underlying dynamics, this paper advances a novel view on transitivity incorporating conflicting interests and agencies of actors within social systems.


The core-shell structure's synthesis process by one-step hydrothermal method has remarkable peculiarities, such as simple procedures and short production cycles. In order to get the precursor with the core-shell structure, it's important to study the technological parameters. In this paper, the pH value, the concentration of AlCl3,the mass ratio of core and shell , the hydrothermal temperature and time were detailed discussed. In order to get well-coated core-shell material, the technological parameters were the pH value=8.5-9.8, the concentration of AlCl3 0.040-0.050g/ml, Al2O3:TiO2=10%-28.5%, the hydrothermal temperature 200°C and the hydrothermal time 3 hours.


In the ever-changing world based on the needs, curiosity and entrepreneurial drive of the humankind, interest in socio-scientific issues has been increasing every day with the discussion and different approaches in society. It could be suggested that the increase in this interest has been due to both the contribution and damages of these issues to the environment. The present study aimed to analyze the socio-scientific issues instructed with various strategies, methods and techniques in different learning environments in educational institutions as a result of the developments in science and technology due to social needs based on teacher perceptions. The study group included 50 teachers in different fields and employed in various schools in Turkey. The study sample was assigned with criterion sampling technique and the admission criterion was employment in Turkish public schools. In the study, the data were collected with a semi-structured interview form developed by the authors, and the findings were analyzed with content analysis. The study findings demonstrated that the teachers in the study group had different and significant perceptions on the instruction of socio-scientific topics in learning environments.


Normally fire detection system uses the heuristic fixed threshold values in their specific methods. However, input images may be changed, in general, so the heuristic fixed threshold values used in the fire detection systems might be modified on a case by case basis. In this paper, an automatic fire detection system without the heuristic fixed threshold values was studied. We presented an automatic method using the statistical color model and the binary background mask. We did the experiment using 600 frames from 6 typical different fire video clips. As the experimental results the proposed method showed a good performance of about average 85% detection rate without false positive, compared with the other methods with the heuristic fixed threshold values.


We have previously observed high rates of acquired antibiotic resistance in commensal Escherichia coli from healthy children living in urban areas of Bolivia and Peru, including resistance to tetracycline and quinolones, which are not routinely used in childhood. In this work we investigated acquired resistance in commensal E. coli from healthy children and home-raised chickens in 12 households from one of the previously surveyed urban area in Bolivia, to ascertain the possibility of human-animal exchange of resistant strains in similar settings. The resistance rates to ampicillin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, and trimethoprim-sulphametoxazole were overall high (≥50%) and comparable between children and chickens, whereas those to quinolones were significantly higher in chickens (81% vs. 29% for nalidixic acid; 43% vs. 10% for ciprofloxacin). Molecular characterization of tetracycline- and quinolone-resistant isolates (n = 66) from children and chickens of three selected households revealed a remarkable clonal diversity and, in some cases, the presence of the same resistant strains among children or among chickens living in the same household, but not between children and chickens. Several resistance plasmids were characterized, but inter-clonal plasmid dissemination was not detected. Overall, the results from the present study suggested that cross-transmission between children and home-raised chickens could not represent a major spreading mechanism for resistant E. coli in households of resource-limited settings with high human-animal promiscuity.


Despite the predictions of Marxists and secularization theorists alike, the relationship between religion and government legitimacy is mixed. Religion, in its various forms, can serve to promote regimes of virtually any type—democratic or otherwise—and can just as easily undermine such regimes. Observers hoping for a one-size-fits-all account of the link between religion and legitimacy will surely be disappointed; the reality is far more complicated. Religion, encompassing a nearly infinite variety of beliefs, behaviors, and actors, exercises a diverse set of influences on its political context. For regimes, this diversity can be either helpful or dangerous. Religion is neither inherently pro-status quo nor revolutionary; it can be either one depending on the context. Likewise, religion is neither necessarily pro- nor anti-democratic. Political and theological conditions influence the ways in which religion interacts with politics, and in particular, the role it plays in building or undermining legitimacy.
 Twenty-first-century research highlights the Janus-faced relationship between religion and political legitimacy. In some settings, religion has been the foundation of non-democratic rule. In others, it has been a crucial catalyst for unseating dictators in favor of democratic alternatives. Theological differences can only explain part of this variation. The same religious tradition may serve as a defense of authoritarianism in one instance but a spark for democracy in another. Political factors play a key role in explaining why religion sometimes supports the status quo but in other instances may fuel revolutionary fervor.


Sotalol, an adrenergic-blocking and antiarrhythmic agent, increases markedly and simultaneously the duration of both action potentials and contractions in papillary muscles. The active tension is manifested as a main twitch contraction followed by a maintained low level of residual tension (aftercontraction) which persists until the terminal phase of rapid repolarization. The Strength of the aftercontraction is augmented when the extracellular concentration of calcium is increased.


Recognition memory may be mediated by the retrieval of distinct types of information, notably, a general assessment of familiarity and the recovery of specific source information. A response-signal speed-accuracy trade-off variant of an exclusion procedure was used to isolate the retrieval time course for familiarity and source information. In 2 experiments, participants studied spoken and read lists (with various numbers of presentations) and then performed an exclusion task, judging an item as old only if it was in the heard list. Dual-process fits of the time course data indicated that familiarity information typically is retrieved before source information. The implications that these data have for models of recognition, including dual-process and global memory models, are discussed.


An aluminum alloy with two different precipitation states was processed by Equal Channel Angular Pressing up to 16 passes. The thermal stability of the ultra-fine grain structure was examined during annealing at 300°C up to 1 h. As the present precipitates are coarse they don't contribute to strengthening where as soluted elements improved the strength of the material. Additionally the soluted elements formed dispersoids upon annealing and thereby retarded softening.


RARE, BUT CAN HAVE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES  TEMPORAL ARTERITIS affects about 20 in every 100,000 women over age 50 each year. Untreated, temporal arteritis can lead to impaired vision or blindness. TAKAYASU'S ARTERITIS affects about 5 in every 1 million women each year, most frequently young Asians. Takayasu's arteritis affects the arteries to the arms, brain and abdominal organs and, if severe, can lead to stroke. Find a vascular specialist near you


The aims of this study were to identify prospectively 'concealed' postoperative problems, to assess the burden of paediatric day care surgery on primary care services and to define a normal recovery period for common children's procedures. At their first postoperative clinic visit, patients and parents were asked directly about postoperative problems, unscheduled contacts with the hospital or other health professionals, and the time taken to resume normal activity and return to school. A total of 651 children, median age 4 years (range 0-16 years) were included. Median time to the first clinic appointment was 42 days (range 4-235 days). There were 100 unscheduled postoperative contacts (15.5% of all episodes) of which 81 were with general practitioners. Most problems recorded were relatively minor, and most requiring major intervention were identified before the child left hospital. There was a very high incidence of wound related problems after circumcision. Most children were 'back to normal' within a few days (median 2 days, range 0-30 days) and back to school within a week (median 6 days, range 1-20 days). There was a high rate of primary care contact despite clear written and verbal advice given in hospital and the offer of open access for any concerns. Recovery from day care surgery was rapid and overall level of patient satisfaction was high.


The validity of the consensus criteria for dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) has been questioned. The authors, therefore, performed analyses of 242 published cases with clinicopathological correlation of DLB. The prevalence of specific consensus criteria in 69 patients reported on by the Newcastle and Nottingham groups in England (Group N) were compared with their prevalence in papers from all other investigators (Group O). Analysis of the entire sample (Groups N and O combined) revealed 64% with parkinsonism, 66% with co-occurring parkinsonism and dementia, 39% with visual hallucinations (VH), and 30% with cognitive fluctuations (CF). Group N had significantly more CF and co-occurring parkinsonism and dementia. Dopaminergic drugs were associated with the presence of VH. Although selection factors may have contributed to investigator differences, parkinsonism and co-occurrence with dementia appear to be the most consistent diagnostic criteria for DLB.


This concluding volume of the history of New Zealand broadcasting starts in 1950. It begins with the shift from state to public broadcasting, the birth of TV and the spread of coverage nationwide. It then follows the many changes in the structure of bradcasting, from the NZBC through to the 1990s focus on radio and TV broadcasting as essentially commercial activities. Public and private broadcasting in both media are covered, and the narrative shows how private radio and television gained new acceptance as they rose to dominance in the 1990s alongside the growing commercialization of public broadcasting.


This paper, first, obtained three categories of efficiencies, overall bias-corrected technical efficiency (OTEBC), bias-corrected pure technical efficiency (PTEBC) and bias-corrected scale efficiency (SE) of the Islamic banks of the Gulf Cooperating Countries (GCC) during 2014-2016 using the Simar and Wilson (1998) Bootstrap data envelopment analysis (DEA). Second, decomposing the overall bias-corrected technical efficiency (OTEBC) the paper found the bias-corrected pure technical efficiency (PTEBC) and the bias-corrected scale efficiency (SE) were 91% and 59.8% respectively and thus PTEBC dominated the OTBBC (82.4%) and the SE (59.8%) of the GCC Islamic banks. Third, the paper found the sources of the inefficiency of the Islamic banks of the GCC was the DRS. Except the Islamic banks of Qatar, banks of the GCC countries were inefficient either because they operated under the IRS or DRS. DRS was the major source of inefficiency. Qatar Islamic banks demonstrated the highest level of efficiency in all three efficiency among GCC. The paper provides suggestions for future study.


Heat flux data from a series of controlled experiments involving a 2 m diameter, wind-blown pool fire are examined to highlight the difficulties involved in conducting heat flux measurements in a realistic, large-scale, hydrocarbon-fueled fire. Data were taken at several locations along the ground near the fire. At each location, three different heat flux sensors were positioned together: a Gardon gage, a directional flame thermometer (DFT) and a Sandia heat flux gage (HFG). Methods were first developed to correct measured values of heat flux for the slight differences in gage location relative to the fire. The remaining discrepancies between the values of heat flux measured by the different gages were then used to highlight uncertainties in heat flux measurements due to differences in gage surface temperature, in gage thermal response to the inherent modes of heating involved in the large hydrocarbon fire environment, and in conduction losses from the gage sensor plates. The importance of these sources of discrepancy varied depending on the magnitude of the measured heat flux and on whether the gages were located in a radiation-dominated or mixed radiative-convective environment within the fire.


Enallagma aspersum and E. traviatum (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) are the most abun- dant larval odonates in Bays Mountain Park (Sullivan County, Tennessee, USA), although their spatial distributions are essentially nonoverlapping. E. traviatum coexists with insectivorous fish in a small lake, whereas E. aspersum is restricted to a small fishless pond nearby. Behavioral observations revealed that E. aspersum larvae were more active than E. traviatum, and tended to occupy more conspicuous positions. E. aspersum also engaged in more confrontations than E. traviatum, especially at higher density. In laboratory experiments with juvenile bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus) as predators, E. aspersum larvae were more vulnerable to predation than E. traviatum. Red-spotted newts (Notophthalmus viridescens) also preyed on E. aspersum disproportionately. Field enclosure experiments revealed that dry mass of individual E. aspersum larvae was density dependent, and that increased density of E. aspersum or addition of E. traviatum produced similar reductions. Competition was asymmetrical, as E. aspersum appeared to have no significant effect on E. traviatum. The substantial increase in confrontations among E. aspersum larvae at higher density, and the lack of evidence for prey depletion, suggest that interference may be the mechanism of competition. Our results suggest that the distribution of E. aspersum larvae may be limited by fish predation, but although competitive interactions were detected, we have no evidence that larval competition influences the distribution of either species.


Phylogenetics uses alignments of molecular sequence data to learn about evolutionary trees. Substitutions in sequences are modelled through a continuous-time Markov process, characterised by an instantaneous rate matrix, which standard models assume is time-reversible and stationary. These assumptions are biologically questionable and induce a likelihood function which is invariant to a tree's root position. This hampers inference because a tree's biological interpretation depends critically on where it is rooted. Relaxing both assumptions, we introduce a model whose likelihood can distinguish between rooted trees. The model is non-stationary, with step changes in the instantaneous rate matrix at each speciation event. Exploiting recent theoretical work, each rate matrix belongs to a non-reversible family of Lie Markov models. These models are closed under matrix multiplication, so our extension offers the conceptually appealing property that a tree and all its sub-trees could have arisen from the same family of non-stationary models.
We adopt a Bayesian approach, describe an MCMC algorithm for posterior inference and provide software. The biological insight that our model can provide is illustrated through an analysis in which non-reversible but stationary, and non-stationary but reversible models cannot identify a plausible root.


This paper (i) explains the motivation for articulating the benefits of accessibility; (ii) provides a narrative basis for articulating how accessibility affects economic and social life; and (iii) moves a framework for quantifying the benefits of accessibility. In examining laws, regulations and judicial proceedings in different nations, the paper finds that most view cost as a limiting factor on what public and private entities can be compelled to provide in relation to the accessibility of transportation, the build environment, employment, and services. This is so even in the context of constitutionally and legislatively enshrined human rights. This paper also finds that cost-benefit balancing is emerging as a necessary part of the accessibility governance framework. When addressing the specific application of accessibility rights, governments, regulatory bodies ad courts around the world deal comprehensively with costs but fail to value important categories of benefit, such as the reduction of stigmatic harms, "option" benefits and "existence" value, and capability value. The paper describes progress towards a comprehensive narrative and analytical framework for describing and measuring such benefits.


Cumulative culture is rare, if not altogether absent in non-human species. At the foundation of
cumulative learning is the ability to flexibly modify, relinquish or build upon prior behaviours to
make them more productive or efficient. Within the primate literature, a failure to optimise
solutions in this way is often proposed to derive from low-fidelity copying of witnessed
behaviours, sub-optimal social learning heuristics, or a lack of relevant socio-cognitive
adaptations. However, humans can also be markedly inflexible in their behaviours, perseverating
with, or becoming fixated on outdated or inappropriate responses. Humans show differential
patterns of flexibility as a function of cognitive load, exhibiting difficulties with inhibiting suboptimal
behaviours when there are high demands on working memory. Here I present a series
of studies on captive chimpanzees which show that not only is inhibitory control compromised
in chimpanzees, but indicate ape behavioural conservatism may be underlain by similar
constraints as in humans; chimpanzees show relatively little conservatism when behavioural
optimisation involves the inhibition of a well-established but simple solution, or the addition of
a simple modification to a well-established but complex solution. In contrast, when behavioural
optimisation involves the inhibition of a well-established but complex solution, and especially
when the alternative solution is also complex, chimpanzees show evidence of behavioural
conservatism. I propose that conservatism is linked to behavioural complexity, potentially
mediated by cognitive resource availability, and may be an important factor in the evolution of
cumulative culture.


OF DISSERTATION SEEDS OF SUSPICION: THE PERPETUAL CYCLE OF ANTI-MUSLIM STEREOTYPES, MIDDLE EAST INTERVENTION, AND TERRORISM The central theory guiding my research is that interstate conflict, at least as covered in mass media, leaves residual cultural attitudes that can shape the political context in which elites formulate policy. Specifically, U.S. interventionism in the Middle East has given rise to fundamental hostilities, founded on misguided biases, that shape involvement in the region today. I focus on one step within that broader theory, to test it empirically: the hypothesis that anti-Muslim stereotypes, when activated, will shape an individual's foreign-policy preferences. I begin by considering competing accounts that link 1) ethnocentrism or 2) targeted stereotypes with support for the use of military force in the Middle East. After careful review of the group-based and social-identity theories that undergird the two accounts, I synthesize them. My more-complete theory can be summarized as: Someone will exhibit an ethnocentric response toward an out-group when negative stereotypes about the group combine with an individual's in-group identity to result in perceived threat. Applying the logic of that hypothesis to Muslims and American foreign policy, I argue that, for American whites, Muslims are uniquely situated to be perceived as realistic and symbolic cultural threats to their core national identity because they may differ in terms of ethnicity, culture, and religion. Mass media portray Muslims as violent and encourage Americans to evaluate them in terms of such cultural dissimilarity. On the other hand, Muslims present little identity threat to blacks, whose core in-group identity typically revolves around their status as a racial minority in the United States. Even blacks who identify with the nation will not view Islam as incompatible with their national identity because that identity is typically not predicated on looking, living, or believing a certain way. I develop these ideas into testable hypotheses and investigate how anti-Muslim attitudes shape opinion about important contemporary Middle East issues. Using survey and experimental data, I find compelling evidence linking anti-Muslim attitudes – among whites – to support for using military force (rather than diplomacy) against Iran and against Islamists. Those attitudes also predict opposition to accepting Syrian refugees. Finally, I turn from this narrative of negativity to argue that the anti-Muslim stereotypes many citizens bring to bear when forming judgments of Middle East policy can be shifted. I base this optimistic expectation on media framing theories, which suggest that issue frames can shift opinion when they emphasize strong and credible arguments. After constructing frames from debate statements during the 2016 Presidential Election, and an original frame that affirms counterstereotypes of Muslims, I expect and find evidence that strong frames emphasizing the obligations of American identity and factual counterstereotype-affirming information can shift those who oppose accepting refugees to more moderate positions. Broadly, my research offers a theoretically-grounded schematic for how stereotypes and identity construction operate together cognitively to shape public opinion. My methods offer leverage to those endeavoring to explain how these idea elements shape opinion in other issue domains. I also divulge important nuances about how specific actors (i.e., whites) propagate a cycle of anti-Muslim attitudes, warfare, and terrorism. I contribute to rivalry theory in international relations by explaining how cultural biases shape an enduring rivalry of the grandest scale: the perpetual U.S.-Middle East conflict. My framing research offers both academic and practical contributions by providing evidence on behalf of existing theory and by suggesting how media and political elites – by describing issues in unbiased ways – could knock off course the perpetual cycle of American interventionism, retaliatory terrorism, and resulting anti-Muslim stereotype generalizations.


This summary report details the findings of an evaluation of the Support to Report (S2R) pilot advocacy service. The service was introduced to provide support to victims/survivors of rape at the initial stages of reporting to the police, and is the first of its kind in Scotland. The primary purpose of the evaluation was to monitor the implementation of the pilot service, and assess progress against objectives.


Air pollution is any atmospheric condition in which certain substances are present in such concentrations and duration that they may produce harmful effects on man and his environment. Common air pollutants include carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide, lead and Total Suspended Particulates (TSP), the latter being the most widespread and the most serious for human health. The major sources of air pollutants are man's industrial manufacturing and motor vehicle operation activities, both of which are concentrated in urban areas, where also the bulk of the World's population lives. Available data shows that the air quality in most major cities of the World has deteriorated to levels that make air quality management strategies necessary. This paper outlines the air quality management capabilities of developed and developing nations and finds that in developing nations, especially those in Africa, such capabilities are either absent or only rudimentary; The situation in Kenya given as an example. The paper then reports on a study to determine the spatial distribution of TSP in Nairobi, Kenya's capital city. A map showing the distribution has been produced, probably the first of its kind for the city, which shows that the levels of TSP in most of Nairobi are much above the average recommended by the World Health Organization. 1. AIR POLLUTION AND ITS EFFECTS "Clean air is a public good; Indeed no other resource exhibits the same degree of 'publicness'; Land can be parceled and fenced; Water can be bottled; Scenery can be hidden; One can even isolate himself from noise; But man has no choice but to breathe the air around him – polluted or not." Anonymous


Fetal growth is thought to be independent of the concentration of GH, although circulating levels of GH are high in the human fetus. To elucidate the role of GH in fetal development, levels of GH-binding protein (GHBP) were measured in the serum of nonpregnant and pregnant women and neonates as well as in amniotic fluid obtained at various stages of gestation. Total GHBP (the sum of free GHBP and GHBP bound to GH) is measured by a ligand-mediated immunofunctional assay. GHBP concentrations in adult serum were not changed by pregnancy or the stage of gestation. A significant correlation was observed between the concentration of GHBP in the umbilical artery and vein. No correlation were observed between the GHBP concentration and such measures of fetal growth as fetal weight and fetal age. Although the neonatal concentrations of GHBP were significantly lower than those of pregnant women, no correlation was observed between them. GHBP was also present in the amniotic fluid from early to late gestation at concentrations higher than in the cord serum of the neonate. The amniotic GHBP concentration in late gestation was significantly higher than in early gestation. GHBP appears to be derived from GH receptors of fetal organs (most probably fetal liver). The low level of GHBP in fetal serum may be the result of a decrease in GH receptors caused by high levels of circulating GH. GHBP levels in amniotic fluids may be related to the development or maturation of the fetus.


1. Bernard, A., Boumsell, L., Reinherz, EL., Nadler, L.M., Ritz, J., Coppin, H., Richard, Y., Valensi, F., Dausset, J., Flandrin, G., Lemerle, J. , and Schlossman, S.F. Cell surface characterization of malignant T cells from lymphoblastic lymphomas using monoclonal antibodies: Evidence for phenotypic differences between malignant T cells from patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoblastic lymphoma. Blood 57, 1105-1110, 1981. 2. Blue, ML., Daley, J.F., Levin, H., and Schlossman, S.F. Coexpression ofT4 and T8 on peripheral blood T cells demonstrated by two-color fluorescence flow cytometry. J. Immunol. 134,