A 28-d experiment evaluated the growth performance, acute-phase response, and bacterial shedding patterns in pigs (n = 108; initially, 38.7 ± 6.7 kg) fed 6 treatment diets, including a control diet with no antimicrobial agents (CON), a positive control diet containing chlortetracycline, 100 mg/kg (CT), a diet containing anti-Salmonella Typhimurium bacteriophage, 3 × 10(9) plaque-forming units/kg of feed (ASB), Lactobacillus plantarum CJLP56, 6.5 × 10(8) cfu/kg of feed (LP), 0.2% microencapsulated organic acids (MOA), or 5% fermented soybean meal (FSM). Pigs were fed the diets for 2 wk before and 2 wk after challenging orally with Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium (SalT). Before bacterial challenge, ADFI was similar in all groups. After SalT challenge, ADFI of CON pigs was less (P < 0.05) than all other groups. Before challenge, pigs on MOA, FSM, and CT diets had greater (P < 0.05) ADG and G:F than CON pigs. After challenge (wk 3 to 4) and during the overall experimental period (wk 1 to 4), ADG of all treatment groups and G:F of all treatment groups except the LP group were greater (P < 0.05) than those of CON pigs. Relative to all other treatments, CON and LP pigs had greater (P < 0.05) bacterial shedding scores on d 7 after SalT challenge. At d 14 postchallenge, shedding scores declined (P < 0.05) in all treatment groups compared with CON pigs. Serum haptoglobin for all treatment groups increased from d 0 concentrations on d 6 postchallenge and declined to prechallenge concentrations on d 13 (P < 0.05). Circulating IGF-I concentrations declined from 2 to 6 d postchallenge and increased again by d 13 in ASB and LP groups, did not decline in FSM and CT groups, and continuously declined through d 13 in CON and LP groups (P < 0.05). However, in MOA group, IGF-I concentrations declined from preinfection concentrations on d 2, increased on d 4, and declined again until d 13 (P < 0.05). The serum concentrations of the cytokines IL-6 and IL-1β were not generally affected by SalT challenge. In conclusion, acute infection of growing pigs with SalT was associated with short-term febrile responses in most pigs and reductions in ADFI and ADG of CON pigs. Compared with the CON diet, ASB, FSM, and MOA diets had a similar benefit to the antibiotic-supplemented diet in improving the performance of growing pigs, especially after bacterial challenge. However, further work needs to be done to better understand their mode of action in this class of pigs.


This paper reports US Bureau of Mines (USBM) research on the explosibility of coal dusts. The purpose of this work is to improve safety in mining and other industries that process or use coal. Most of the tests were conducted in the USBM 20 litre laboratory explosibility chamber. The laboratory data show relatively good agreement with those from full-scale experimental mine tests. The parameters measured included minimum explosible concentrations, maximum explosion pressures, maximum rates of pressure rise, minimum oxygen concentrations, and amounts of limestone rock dust required to inert the coals. The effects of coal volatility and particle size were evaluated, and particle size was determined to be at least as important as volatility in determining the explosion hazard. For all coals tested, the finest sizes were the most hazardous. The coal dust explosibility data are compared to those of other hydrocarbons, such as polyethylene dust and methane gas, in an attempt to understand better the basics of coal combustion.


Despite practice guidelines and ethical standards that provide imperatives for clinicians to utilize multicultural assessment (MCA), little is known about how the average psychologist actually conducts MCA. The current mixed-method study was designed to investigate clinicians' training and use of MCA practice strategies. Participants were 239 (107 male, 131 female, 1 other gender) licensed psychologists residing in the United States and Canada who were recruited from the American Psychological Association practice directory to complete an online survey. Quantitative items on the survey included questions about the number and utility of MCA-related graduate courses and supervision experiences, and strategies and frameworks used when conducting MCA. Open-ended questions provided expansion about factors that were helpful and not helpful in graduate training experiences. Findings suggested that only 75% of participants had taken a course that included MCA-related content, but almost all of those participants found the material they learned to be helpful. Graduate courses with MCA-related content were perceived as more helpful than graduate supervision, and the most helpful aspects of courses and supervision were related to increasing knowledge and awareness about MCA. Almost 40% of the sample reported using no theory or framework for conducting MCA, and participants differed in their use of MCA strategies. Findings are discussed in relation to the training and continuing education of clinicians and future directions for research.


Traceability - the ability of developers to describe and follow the life of an artifact throughout the software development life cycle - is an important process that facilitates acquisition and use of process knowledge. While there has been extensive research focusing on the development of traceability solutions, there is a paucity of research that characterizes the tasks that need to be performed in implementing and using traceability. This research addresses this gap by conceptualizing traceability practice in software development as comprising information processing and communication among developers involved in the process. Accordingly, we present the results of two complementary studies focusing on these two aspects of traceability. Based on Study 1, we develop a process model for information processing in traceability. Through Study 2, we identify important contingency factors that impact the mode of communication among developers and customers. We argue that choice of communication media should be dictated by matching particular media characteristics such as synchronicity, reprocessability, and channel capacity to the situation at hand rather than by using aggregated measures such as media richness or social presence. We integrate the findings from our two studies into a process model that prescribes guidelines for traceability practice in software development. Our prescriptions also help traceability tool developers in delivering traceability support that facilitates appropriate information processing and communication capabilities, taking various project characteristics into consideration.


Background In RA, bone marrow edema (BME) is predictive of erosive progression. Bone erosions are assumed to appear through activation of local bone resorption mechanisms, reflected by periarticular osteopenia. Measurement of periarticular bone mineral density by DXA requires specific hand software limiting its application in large population, and does not assess bone texture. A new high resolution direct digital X-ray device has been recently developed to provide bone texture analysis reflecting changes in trabecular bone architecture, with a very low radiation exposure. Objectives To assess the correlation between MRI bone edema and trabecular bone texture parameters in active RA. Methods Study design: cross-sectional multicenter study. Comparative MRI and high resolution X-rays of the dominant hand and wrist were obtained from 55 patients with active RA according to ACR/EULAR criteria (DAS 28 ≥3.2). Clinical examination and radiographs of the hands and feet were also performed. High resolution direct digital X-ray (BMA™, D3A Medical Systems): The fractal trabecular bone texture parameter (Hmean) was evaluated on the 2nd and 3rd metacarpal head, capitatum and lunatum. MRI: BME was scored according to the RA MRI score (RAMRIS) by two independent and experienced radiologists (central reading). BME was also specifically assessed on the 4 bones where Hmean was evaluated (BME4 score). Radiographs: plain radiographs were scored using the modified Sharp-van der Heijde method. Analysis: Inter-reader reliability: ICC. Correlation between BME and Hmean: Spearman test. Results Data from 53 patients were analyzable. The main patients characteristics were (mean ± SD): age 57±14 years, 75% women, disease duration 8.6±9.2 years, DAS28 5.4±1.3, anti-CCP 76%, Sharp-DvdH 23.8±31.3, currently treated with DMARDs 74%, biologics 47%, corticosteroids 60% (mean daily dosage 9.1±6.6 mg). The mean ± SD [median] RAMRIS BME, BME4 and Hmean scores were 12.7±14.6 [5.0], 2.7±2.8 [1.0] and 0.60±0.06 [0.61], respectively. RAMRIS BME inter-reader reliability: ICC=0.96. Correlations between Hmean and both RAMRIS BME and BME4 scores were r=-0.31 (p=0.022) and r=-0.32 (p=0.018), respectively. When evaluated only on the 2nd and 3rd metacarpal head, Hmean was significantly correlated with the total BME score r=-0.28 (p=0.038) whereas it was not when evaluated on lunatum and capitatum (r=-0.22 – p=0.120). Conclusions This study demonstrated trabecular bone texture parameter is correlated to MRI bone edema scores. It would be interesting to assess if bone texture impairment, measured with a high resolution digital X-ray device, could predict RA radiographic progression in a wider range prospective study. Disclosure of Interest T. Pham Consultant for: Abbott, S. Trijau: None Declared, R. Chapurlat Consultant for: Abbott, D. Loeuille Consultant for: Abbott, T. Schaeverbeke Consultant for: Abbott, C. Roux Consultant for: Abbott, C. L. Benhamou Consultant for: Abbott, O. Vittecoq Consultant for: Abbott, J. Sibilia Consultant for: Abbott, F. Mistretta Consultant for: Abbott, C. Hacquard-Bouder Employee of: Abbott


Phyllonite and metaquartzite clasts occur in early Pliocene or possibly Miocene sediment at the base of the University of Wisconsin Arctic Ocean core Fl-380. Single-crystal 40 Ar/ 39 Ar laserprobe ages derived from feldspars in sediment enclosing the clasts range from Middle and Late Proterozoic to Paleozoic. The clasts occur in sediment deposited 1–2 m.y. earlier than any previously reported central Arctic Ocean ice-rafted debris, and although an ice-rafted origin may be possible, a local source such as adjacent Alpha Ridge bedrock should also be considered.


Especially after the 1980s, computer-aided design programs paved the way for the implementation of unusual forms and building structures in the construction industry. This situation has increased the necessity of process management and the development of existing systems in the field of construction project management has become a necessity. As a result of these developments, the concept of integrated project delivery (IPD), which aims to increase the coordination, cooperation, and communication among the team members of different disciplines, has emerged. In addition to the coordinated work of the design team; project stakeholders such as customers, contractors, and subcontractors are also directly involved in the process. In such large-scale projects, the concept of the Great Chamber, an integrated project delivery system, emerged as a collaboration platform in project management. As a result of the search for process management, the Big Room concept, which aims to increase the coordination, cooperation and communication among the team members of different disciplines, is a physical space organization that uses technology but has central human and human relations. Big Room is a design and coordination office located on the construction sites. In this office, all stakeholders are involved early on and are directly involved in the management and control of a project. Team members work together to improve team performance, interact and accelerate decisionmaking and reduce project costs for better communication. In this study, it is aimed to introduce, search and determine the advantages of Big Room concept which is used in many big projects in the world by searching literature.


Let G be a graph with n vertices and suppose that for each vertex v in G, there exists a list of k colors L(v), such that there is a unique proper coloring for G from this collection of lists, then G is called a uniquely k-list colorable graph.
Recently M. Mahdian and E.S. Mahmoodian characterized uniquely 2-list colorable graphs. Here we state some results which will pave the way in characterization of uniquely k-list colorable graphs. There is a relationship between this concept and defining sets in graph colorings and critical sets in latin squares.


Friction affects the efficiency of a mechanical system. This paper discusses the influence of Tungsten Disulphide (WS2) as a friction modifier (FM). Friction and wear characteristics of base oil as a result of the addition of 0.1% and 0.5 % weight of WS2 were studied. WS2 nanoparticles were mixed with base oil using magnetic stirrer at 50oC for 60 minutes, then were homogenized in an ultrasonic homogenizer for 1 hour. Friction and wear characteristic of these mixtures were tested using four-ball and HFRR test-rig. The results show that the addition of both 0.1% and 0.5% WS2 nanoparticles increased by around 40% the anti-wear characteristic of mineral base oil group I and 12% for other groups of base oils. The increase in friction coefficients was in a range of 7.5% to 35% as a result of the addition of additives.


OBJECTIVE
To address the issue of adverse selection in capitated payment systems by developing a list of disease-specific pediatric conditions (i.e., "carve outs") to be considered for separate reimbursement.

DESIGN
A descriptive study using a large Medicaid database.

INTERVENTION
With the use of fiscal year 1993 Washington State Medicaid cost data for 302,240 pediatric patients, a list of disease-specific carve outs was developed to meet the following criteria: high cost, low variability in cost, and association with a large proportion of medical spending.

RESULTS
Six-hundred seventy-three patients (0.2%) in the database had annual costs totaling $25,000 or more. Ten percent of the cases accounted for approximately two thirds of spending, while the least expensive 70% of cases made up only 15% of the expenditures. Prematurity and complications of prematurity, neoplasms, congenital heart disease, organ transplantations, congenital anomalies, and respiratory problems were general categories of disease that met our criteria for a carve out. The association of a major surgical procedure with a diagnosis increased the predictive accuracy for high cost.

CONCLUSION
Lists of disease-specific carve outs such as this one can be used by Medicaid plans and other insurers who are concerned about risk selection to identify conditions for separate reimbursement in capitated payment systems.


Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is associated with severe metabolic stress secondary to anorexia, mucositis, enteritis, and infection. We compared nutritional parameters and clinical outcomes of 22 patients who received prophylactic total parenteral nutrition (TPN) to those of 22 controls, matched for age and diagnosis, who received nutritional support ad libitum. Over the 5-week study period, the TPN group averaged caloric intakes greater than 1.5 × basal energy expediture (BEE) per day and gained 2.5% of body weight; the control group averaged less than 0.9 × BEE and lost 3.7% of body weight. Visceral protein status as reflected by serum albumin was not different. Engraftment of donor marrow cells was 3 days earlier (p < 0.01) in the TPN group than in the controls, despite there being no significant difference in the number of marrow cells each group received. There was no difference in the two groups' clinical outcomes; mortality, duration of hospital stay, and incidences of sepsis, graft-versus-host disease, and return of malignancy were equivalent. Thus, patients who received prophylactic TPN engrafted sooner than patients who did not; however, overall clinical outcome was unaffected by TPN. Controlled studies of prophylactic TPN are indicated for the BMT patient population.


The storage capacity of DVD means multiple subtitle streams can be included on one disc. This has allowed some producers to include subtitle streams with experimental procedures that we will term as "abusive" subtitles (Nornes 1999). Abusive subtitles break subtitling norms in an attempt to be more faithful to the source text and increase the translator's visibility. This thesis focuses on one such abusive procedure, namely the pop-up gloss. It refers to pop-up notes that explain culturally marked items appearing in each of the semiotic channels. Already popular with amateur subtitlers of anime (Japanese animation), pop-up gloss has come to percolate into commercially released anime DVD.
This thesis investigates the question as to what effect the use of pop-up gloss has on viewer perception of TV anime in terms of positive cognitive effects (PCEs) and processing effort. A second question seeks to ask the validity of pupillometric measurements for measuring the processing effort experienced while viewing subtitled AV content. A novel methodology is applied where PCEs are measured using traditional questionnaire data, while processing effort is measured using a combination of questionnaire-based data, and fixation-based and pupillometric data gathered with an eye tracker.
A study with 20 subjects indicates that the use of pop-up gloss does increase the PCEs experienced by subjects regarding items the pop-up gloss describes, while more processing effort is required by viewers when pop-up gloss is used. The analysis of pupillometric data suggests that they are suitable for measuring processing effort during the viewing of subtitled AV content.


Background: Infliximab (IFX) and adalimumab (ADA) are attractive treatment options in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) also during pregnancy but there is still limited data on the benefit/risk profile of IFX and ADA during pregnancy. Methods: This observational study assessed pregnancy outcomes in 212 women with IBD under antitumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) treatment at our IBD unit. Pregnancy outcomes in 42 pregnancies with direct exposure to anti‐TNF treatment (35 IFX, 7 ADA) were compared with that in 23 pregnancies prior to IBD diagnosis, 78 pregnancies before start of IFX, 53 pregnancies with indirect exposure to IFX, and 56 matched pregnancies in healthy women. Results: Thirty‐two of the 42 pregnancies ended in live births with a median gestational age of 38 weeks (interquartile range [IQR] 37–39). There were seven premature deliveries, six children had low birth weight, and there was one stillbirth. One boy weighed 1640 g delivered at week 33, died at age of 13 days because of necrotizing enterocolitis. A total of eight abortions (one patient wish) occurred in seven women. Trisomy 18 was diagnosed in one fetus of a mother with CD at age 37 under ADA treatment (40 mg weekly) and pregnancy was terminated. Pregnancy outcomes after direct exposure to anti‐TNF treatment were not different from those in pregnancies before anti‐TNF treatment or with indirect exposure to anti‐TNF treatment but outcomes were worse than in pregnancies before IBD diagnosis. Conclusions: Direct exposure to anti‐TNF treatment during pregnancy was not related to a higher incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes than IBD overall. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2011;)


Ethical standpoints regarding robots for children are polarized, yet there is insufficient evidence to substantiate either position. This is compounded by the
multiplicity of lenses through which child-robot interactions are investigated. This paper explores implications for translating knowledge from robotics to developmental psychology. The concept of a 'care-receiving robot' is a case in point, favorably reviewed here though the manner of its testing discloses the need for a conceptual framework that takes into robotics, processes of child development, sociocultural expectancies about optimal development, and factors affecting research priorities.


Playing Boal examines the techniques in application of Augusto Boal, creator of Theatre of the Oppressed, Brazilian theatre maker and political activist. This text looks at the use of the Theatre of the Oppressed exercises by a variety of practitioners and scholars working in Europe, North America and Canada. It explores the possibilities of these tools for "active learning and personal empowerment; co-operative education and healing; participatory theatre and community action." This collection is designed to illuminate and invigorate discussion about Augusto Boal's work and the transformative potential of theatre. It includes two interviews with Boal, and two pieces of his own writing.


This article proposes an interpolation (and an extrapolation to the short rate) of the yield curve between a given number of observed yields on benchmark bonds that is compatible with an arbitrage-free model of the term structure of interest rates. The model is a multivariate time-homogeneous Gaussian yield factor model. It is shown that the interpolation that minimizes the integral of the yield variance, called the maximum stability interpolation, corresponds to the case that all eigenvalues of the mean-reversion matrix of the benchmark yields are equal. Explicit equations for calculation of the maximum stability interpolation are given. TOPIC: Factor-based models Key Findings • Explicit equations are given for interpolation of the yield curve. • The equations are based on an equilibrium multifactor term structure model. • A criterion for maximum stability of the interpolation is introduced.


Abstract Two series of sequence random association chain liquid crystalline polymers have been synthesized by melt mixing a bispyridyl with dicarboxylic acids, which in their individual states are not liquid crystals. The phase behavior of two classes of polymer complexes was examined using hot stage polarized light microscopy. It is shown that polymer complexes consisting of (+)-3-methyl adipic acid exhibit a chiral nematic fingerprint texture even at low molar concentration (1.5%) while polymer complexes with an (L)-tartaric acid derivative exhibit a weak fingerprint texture only at high concentration. The effects of the random association chain structure on the thermal behavior of the polymer complexes are also discussed.


The field of Bioelectronics deals with the integration of electronics and biology, and possesses a tremendous potential regarding the improvement of the quality of life of millions of people.
Thanks to their favorable properties, conjugated polymers have proven to be very suitable materials for the bridging of such diverse worlds. In particular, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate), or PEDOT:PSS, is nowadays considered a benchmark material for bioelectronics applications.

The aim of the present work is to give a detailed characterization of the physical and electrochemical properties of PEDOT:PSS thin films, and to prove the potentialities of this material both for the sensing of bioanalytes, through the development of innovative electrochemical sensors, and for tissue engineering applications, through the development of redox-active substrates that can control the replication of living cells.

In this work, the development of all PEDOT:PSS-based organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) is presented. The sensing efficiency of these devices was optimized in terms of sensitivity and limit of detection (LOD) through the investigation of the effect of device geometry, thickness, and operating voltages. An electrochemical characterization of these devices was carried out as well, in order to clarify the processes involved in the device operation. Furthermore, the operation of these devices as electrochemical sensors was tested on several analytes, obtaining in most cases a performance suitable for real applications.

The development and characterization of a different kind of devices realized using the same material, redox-active substrates for applications in tissue engineering, is then presented. The effect of a change in the redox state of these PEDOT:PSS films on cell growth is assessed using two cell lines, human dermal fibroblasts (hDF) and human tumoral glioblastoma multiforme cells (T98G), finding that the cell proliferation rate has a clear dependence on the electrochemical state of its substrate.


BACKGROUND
Poor or inequitable access to oral health care is commonly reported in high-, middle- and low-income countries. Although the severity of these problems varies, a lack of supply of dentists and their uneven distribution are important factors. Delegating care to dental auxiliaries could ease this problem, extend services to where they are unavailable and liberate time for dentists to do more complex work. Before such an approach can be advocated, it is important to know the relative effectiveness of dental auxiliaries and dentists.

OBJECTIVES
To assess the effectiveness, costs and cost effectiveness of dental auxiliaries in providing care traditionally provided by dentists.

SEARCH METHODS
We searched the following electronic databases from their inception dates up to November 2013: the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) Group's Specialised Register; Cochrane Oral Health Group's Specialised Register; the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Issue 11, 2013); MEDLINE; EMBASE; CINAHL; Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews; Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness; five other databases and two trial registries. We also undertook a grey literature search and searched the reference list of included studies and contacted authors of relevant papers.

SELECTION CRITERIA
We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs), non-randomised controlled clinical trials (NRCTs), interrupted time series (ITSs) and controlled before and after studies (CBAs) evaluating the effectiveness of dental auxiliaries compared with dentists in undertaking clinical tasks traditionally performed by a dentist.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Three review authors independently applied eligibility criteria, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of each included study and two review authors assessed the quality of the evidence from the included studies, according to The Cochrane Collaboration's procedures. Since meta-analysis was not possible, we gave a narrative description of the results.

MAIN RESULTS
We identified five studies (one cluster RCT, three RCTs and one NRCT), evaluating the effectiveness of dental auxiliaries compared with dentists in providing dental care traditionally provided by dentists, eligible for inclusion in this review. The included studies, which involved 13 dental auxiliaries, six dentists, and more than 1156 participants, evaluated two clinical tasks/techniques: placement of preventive resin fissure sealants and the atraumatic restorative technique (ART). Two studies were conducted in the US, and one each in Canada, Gambia and Singapore.Of the four studies evaluating effectiveness in placing preventive resin fissure sealants, three found no evidence of a difference in retention rates of those placed by dental auxiliaries and dentists over a range of follow-up periods (six to 24 months). One study found that fissure sealants placed by a dental auxiliary had lower retention rates than one placed by a dentist after 48 months (9.0% with auxiliary versus 29.1% with dentist). The same study reported that the net reduction after 48 months in the number teeth exhibiting caries (dental decay) was lower for teeth treated by the dental auxiliary than the dentist (3 with auxiliary versus 60 with dentist, P value < 0.001).One study showed no evidence of a difference in dental decay after treatment with fissure sealants between groups. The one study comparing the effectiveness of dental auxiliaries and dentists in performing ART reported no difference in survival rates of the restorations (fillings) after 12 months.All studies were at high risk of bias and the overall quality of the evidence was very low, as assessed using the GRADE approach. In addition, four of the included studies were more than 20 years old; the materials used and the techniques assessed were out of date. We found no eligible studies comparing the effectiveness of dental auxiliaries and dentists in the diagnosis of oral diseases and conditions, in delivering oral health education and other aspects of health promotion, or studies assessing participants' perspectives including the acceptability of care received. None of the included studies reported adverse effects. In addition, we found no studies comparing the costs and cost-effectiveness of dental auxiliaries and dentists, their impact on access and equity of access to care that met the pre-specified inclusion criteria.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
We only identified five studies for inclusion in this review, all of which were at high risk of bias and four were published more than 20 years ago, highlighting the paucity of high-quality evaluations of the relative effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and safety of dental auxiliaries compared with dentists in performing clinical tasks. No firm conclusions could be drawn from the present review about the relative effectiveness of dental auxiliaries and dentists.


Abstract Vertical profiles of aerosol extinction and backscatter in the troposphere are obtained from multizenith angle lidar measurements. A direct slant path solution was found to be not possible due to horizontal inhomogeneity of the atmosphere. Regression analysis with respect to zenith angle for a layer integration of the angle-dependent lidar equation was thus employed to determine the optical thickness and aerosol extinction-to-backscatter ratio for defined atmospheric layers, and subsequently, cross-section profiles could be evaluated. Measurements were made with an elastic backscatter ruby lidar system with calibration by a standard target procedure. The results from 20 measurement cases are presented. For layer-aerosol optical thicknesses >0.04, useful results were obtained, and corroboration by solar radiometer aerosol optical depth data was found. The mean mixed-layer aerosol extinction-to-backscatter ratio for the measurements was 19.5 sr with a standard deviation of 8.3 sr. With the use of a...


In this research the genes (amoA and hao) for ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) and hydroxylamine oxidoreductase (HAO) responsible for ammonia oxidation reaction in completely autotrophic nitrogen removal over nitrite process were cloned and sequenced, and the recombinant protein of AMO and HAO was expressed and characterized. The optimum temperature for AMO activity was 55 °C and more than 40% of the maximum activity was retained from 15-50 °C. The optimum pH for the enzyme was found to be pH 11.0. The highest activity for HAO was observed at 45 °C. More than 50% of the maximum activity was retained even at 55 °C. The dependence of HAO on pH was strong and only average 15% of residual activity left at pH ranging from 3.0-9.0. Study on the molecular and biochemistry properties of recombinant AMO and HAO will benefit for the manipulation of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria to achieve the goal of high efficiency of nitrogen removal.


ABSTRACT:This article seeks to clarify the relationships that formed among the French, Japanese, and Vietnamese when they coexisted in Indochina during the Second World War. The French and the Japanese jointly ruled Indochina, due to their respective interests in preserving suzerainty and securing bases for the Pacific War. These two groups maintained constant mutual awareness in this complicated and unstable relationship while avoiding conflict and seeking the support of the Vietnamese population. However, despite efforts of French and Japanese authorities, the contradiction of mutual coexistence between France, as the "missionary of civilization," and Japan, as the "liberator of Asia" from Western colonialism, could not be concealed. Whereas the Japanese government's policy of "maintaining peace" in Indochina ensured that interactions between the Japanese and Vietnamese were limited, the relationship between the French and the Vietnamese shifted during this time, with the effect of stimulating the local population's identity and leading to France laying the groundwork for postwar decolonization. By examining the quotidian facets of the Franco-Japanese rule of Indochina, this article reveals how mutual encounters among the French, Japanese, and Vietnamese undermined French colonization and Japanese occupation.


High resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometers (TOFMSs) have broad potential application in space exploration. We propose a novel femtosecond electron ionization (EI) source which, when coupled to a compact TOFMS, could improve mass resolution of miniature instruments by orders of magnitude, enabling effective isobar identification in volatile and planetary atmospheres. The ionization source is an ultrashort pulsed electron gun triggered by a femtosecond UV laser. In addition, the ultrafast laser technology may also be used for other analytical capabilities like laser desorption/ionization on solid samples, therefore future developments may offer a novel compact instrument package for both atmosphere and surface analysis. Here, we show a series of advances toward this goal, including efficient (5%) generation of 105 fs UV pulses, production of electron bunches of up to 32 fC pC via UV photoemission, and calculations for an ultrafast EI source.


Describes a novel sensor family for monitoring of human respiration. The principle element is given by (robust and cheap) amorphous ferromagnetic ribbons which can be utilized either by the magneto-mechanical response of a single element or by the magnetic coupling between two elements. Based on these principles, we developed three types of respiration sensors: (i) a thorax belt sensor, (ii) an adhesive skin sensor, and (iii) a spirometer tube sensor.


Acute exacerbations of asthma in children are mainly triggered by virus. Inhaled glucocorticoids are the main treatment but their role to prevent virus induced exacerbations is not established. TSLP, an epithelial cytokine, promote Th2 activation. However, TSLP has multifaceted functions ranging from tolerance to activation of immune cells due to presence of two variants: a long form (lfTSLP) and a short form (sfTSLP). We aim to explore the role of Fluticasone propionate (FP) on TSLP secretion and isoforms expression in an ex vivo model of asthma exacerbation using bronchial epithelial cell (BEC) obtained from children. BEC from asthmatic (n =7) and non asthmatic children (n=8) were cultured on air-liquid interface. We challenged BEC with poly(I:C) to mimic viral exacerbation, after pretreatment or not with FP during 4 days. TSLP secretion was measured in basolateral secretion and TSLP variants mRNA expression was studied. Spontaneous TSLP release is similar in asthma and control and sfTSLP is predominantly expressed compared to lfTSLP. Poly(I:C) significantly increases TSLP release in both group of children. In BEC from asthmatic children, FP has no effect on poly(I:C)-induced TSLP secretion compared to control in which FP significantly decreases this release. Study of TSLP isoform shows that poly(I:C) increases lfTSLP but has no effect on sfTSLP. However, FP seems to increase sfTSLP and decrease lfTSLP only in non asthmatic children. These results show that in asthma, FP has a different effect on the virus-induced TSLP secretion and on the regulation of TSLP isoforms compared to controls. The long-term use of FP may limit the adaptive immunity in asthma.


Radio-echo sounding (RES) at 60 MHz has penetrated to the ice-sheet bed on about 400 000 km of flight track covering more than 50% of the 13.5 x 106 km2 Antarctic ice sheet. About 70 subglacial lakes have been identified by characteristic strong, mirror-like, and very flat RES reflectors. Most are located in the ice-sheet interior, where numerical modeling predicts basal melting, and 33% are within 100 km of the ice crest. Mean ice thickness above the lakes is about 3000 m. About 75% of lakes have radio-echo lengths of 30 km. The largest is Vostok Lake, which is 230 km long, 14 000 km2 in area, and has a water volume of about 2000 km3. More than 60% of lakes have maximum local bedrock elevations of <400 m and bed gradients of <0.1 adjacent to their margins. Extrapolating the observed side-slope topography implies water depths from tens to several hundred meters in a few cases. About 20 000 km2 of subglacial lakes are inferred from RES, which can be doubled for the entire ice sheet to yield an estimated total area of about 40 000 km2, excluding Vostok Lake. Assuming average lake depths between 50 and 250 m, and including the 2000 km3 of water stored within Vostok Lake, we calculate an envelope of about 4000 to 12 000 km3 for the likely volume of water stored in modern Antarctic subglacial lakes, equivalent to 10–35 mm of global sea-level rise. In these volume calculations it is assumed that no subglacial lakes the size of Lake Vostok remain to be discovered and that RES length measurements along single transects are representative of overall lake dimensions. Our estimates of the total water volume of Antarctic subglacial lakes, which may be a suitable analogue for full glacial Quaternary ice sheets, do not necessarily conflict with the possible significance of large meltwater floods during the deglaciation of former midlatitude ice sheets.


This paper presents some novel circuit designs for bit serial adders and multipliers built out of some unusual, but well-defined circuit primitives. The circuits are fully delay-insensitive, provide good reliability and speed, and are easily verified. The structures are flexible and handle inputs of arbitrary lengths while being asymptotically optimal in speed and area. The scaleability of these circuits makes them. Very attractive for applications such as RSA cryptosystems which need very large operands and fast multiplication.


This paper presents a model of care of the patient with the problem of systemic arterial hypertension, from the point of view of the organization of community service. The development of such a service should be closely linked with the existing community health services, specially those dealing with preventive medicine, but also with other resources and their particular needs. The paper gives, general recomendations considering the main needs brought by arterial hypertension as a pathologic process. The organization should be integrated by a multidisciplinary group and pointed out their objectives and goals. The task program should be made accordingly to the peculiar conditions of the community. Such type of community service has worked years ago in developed countries. Since the problem of hypertension in our environment is already a public health problem, it is becomming necessary to achive some experience in this type of organization, as well as having preliminary results with the community response to this service.


To test the ability of clinical laboratories to detect antimicrobial resistance among enterococci, we sent four vancomycin-resistant enterococcal strains and one beta-lactamase-producing enterococcus to all 93 nongovernment, hospital-based clinical laboratories in New Jersey; 76 (82%) participated in the study. Each organism was tested by the laboratory's routine antimicrobial susceptibility testing method. The proportion of laboratories that correctly reported that an isolate was resistant to vancomycin varied according to the resistance level of the isolate: high-level resistance (MIC for Enterococcus faecium = 512 micrograms/ml), 96% of laboratories correct; moderate-level resistance (MIC for E. faecium = 64 micrograms/ml), 27% correct; low-level resistance (MIC for Enterococcus faecalis = 32 micrograms/ml), 16% correct; and intrinsic low-level resistance (MIC for Enterococcus gallinarum = 8 micrograms/ml), 74% correct. The beta-lactamase-producing E. faecalis isolate was identified as resistant to penicillin and ampicillin by 66 and 8% of laboratories, respectively, but only three laboratories recognized that it was a beta-lactamase producer. This survey suggests that many laboratories may fail to detect antimicrobial agent-resistant enterococci.


This paper sheds light on the individual characteristics associated with investment style. A vast literature documents the importance of individual personality in explaining variation in choice, yet many questions remain regarding the determinants of investment choices. We use an experimental method to isolate participants' preference for value vs. growth stocks. Recent research suggests that biology plays a significant role in determining investment style. We extend this research by examining whether measurable behavioural and personality factors predict investment style, including risk tolerance, time preference, overconfidence, personal evaluation of the investment opportunity, and character strengths. Importantly, we find that an individuals' personal affective assessment of an investment opportunity plays a significant role in the determination of investor style.


Business environment institutions create an ambient for small and medium-sized enterprises, their activities are reflected in, among others the competitiveness of this group of entities. Within a dynamically changing market economy the BEI, similar to other entities, compete with one another. In the effort to achieve and maintain market advantage, BEI, similar to other organisations, are forced to conduct in depth environment analysis. The paper aims at analysing the environment and internal conditions of operation for business environment institutions in Warmia-Masurian voivodeship. The presented results come from the surveys conducted for implementation of the project Business Environment Institutions survey from the perspective of the competitiveness and innovation of services provided with recommendations, developed within the frameworks of the project Regional System of Services - InnoWaMa Network implemented with involvement of the Operational Programme Human Capital 2007-2013 (VIII. Regional Staff of the Economy, measure 8.2 Knowledge Transfer, sub-measure 8.2.2 Regional Innovation Strategies) by the Department of Regional Policy of the Marshal's Office of the Warmia-Masurian Provence in Olsztyn. The main information source for the preparation of this publication was the primary research conducted using a survey method. The basis for an analysis was data collected from 24 BEI.


Abstract When elder arthritis patients suffered from complex supracondylar femoral fractures, their joints condition and general health condition elevate the difficulties in operation and post-surgical recovery. Here, we aimed to simplify the operation procedure by using one-step Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) with a stemmed femoral implant. We also investigated if this method could improve the patients' experience after the operation. The surgery including femoral osteotomy and implantation was performed on all fourteen patients by the same orthopedic specialist. The patients' hospitalization time was recorded. The recovery of knee function and patient satisfaction was evaluated by a systematic follow-up with average time 38 months, up to 5 5 years, using Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) knee scores, the range of motion (ROM), anteroposterior and lateral radiography, and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores. The average of hospitalization days was 16 days. No angular deformity, malunion, or shortening were found at radiography. The average ROM was 105.2° at the end of the follow-up period. The knees in all the patients show adequate stability. All patients had returned to their former daily activities. Seventeen out of 24 patients were satisfied with the outcome of the surgery. The usage of TKA with a stemmed femoral implant is a reasonable method for elderly patients suffering from supracondylar femoral fractures and concomitant knee arthritis.


Background SGLT2 inhibitors are a new class of drugs that act by inhibiting glucose reabsorption in the proximal renal tubules. Many trials have demonstrated their effectiveness in reducing glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and weight, but they have never been examined in Arab or Emirati populations. Methods We assessed the efficacy of SGLT2 inhibitors in reducing HbA1c and weight in our population and specifically in an Emirati cohort. We also assessed the effect on fasting blood glucose, blood pressure, lipid profile, serum creatinine, and side effects. Results The total number of patients was 307. The baseline HbA1c in the Emirati cohort was 8.9±1.7%, which dropped significantly to 8±1.5% at 6 months (P = 0.0001). At 1 year, the mean HbA1c was 8±1.4%, which was significantly different from baseline (P = 0.0001). However, the change in mean HbA1c from 6 months (8±1.5%) to 1 year (8±1.4%) was not statistically significant (P = 0.88). A similar highly significant change was observed when comparing weights at baseline and 6 months in the Emirati population (85.7 ± 17.8 kg vs. 84 ± 17.2 kg, P = 0.0001). Total cholesterol dropped significantly at 6 months (P = 0.008), as did low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (P = 0.005). Conclusions The use of SGLT2 inhibitors is associated with significant reductions in HbA1c and weight. Unlike all previous trials, the inhibitors significantly reduced total cholesterol and LDL. Larger trials are needed to reassess their effects on lipid parameters.


This project investigates the role of fisheries management in the conservation of loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea), both of which are currently listed as vulnerable by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). These species migrate from nesting grounds in South America to feed on gelatinous zooplankton (jellyfish) in the North Atlantic off the coast of the United States and Canada. The seasonal foraging grounds of sea turtles heavily overlap with areas of high fishing effort for the longline tuna and swordfish fleet, a fishery that has significantly high rates of sea turtle incidents. The dynamic nature of sea turtle foraging patterns renders static spatio-temporal fishing area closures ineffective. Rather, turtle by-catch mitigation requires small-scale, event-triggered closures and decentralized management to reduce incidents while minimizing the negative socio-economic impact of area closures on fishermen. A number of methods that increase fishing selectivity have been implemented in other commercial fisheries around the globe and are suggested for the Atlantic Canadian fleet moving forward.


The present study investigated the effects of rules presented in the form of order, suggestion and agreement on non-verbal behavior of adults. Twenty four undergraduate were exposed to a matching-to-sample procedure; the task consisted in pointing to each on of the comparison stimuli in a given sequence. In Phase 1 of Experiments I and II, rules were presented in the form of order, suggestion and agreement. In Experiment I, the order, suggestion or agreement described only one of the two response sequences which produced points (exchangeable for money). In Experiment II, these rules described both response sequences which produced points, one of them being the ordered, suggested or agreed sequence, and the other, the alternative sequence. In Phase 2 of both experiments, there was unsignalized changes in the contingencies of reinforcement. The results showed that the order, suggestion or agreement produced novel behavior. Additionally, showed that behavior established by order or agreement are more probable of being maintained after changes in the contingencies, when compared to behavior established by suggestion. It is discussed that the maintenance of rule-following is due, in part, to the formal properties of the rules.


This paper presents a novel approach to control a 3-RRR (revolute-revolute-revolute) planar parallel manipulator applying an active force control (AFC) strategy. A PID-based computed torque controller (CTC) was first designed and developed to demonstrate the basic and stable response of the manipulator in order to follow a prescribed trajectory. Then, the AFC part was incorporated into the control scheme in series with the CTC (AFC-CTC) in a cascade form. Performance of the system was demonstrated by the computer simulation results. By using the AFC method, the design of trajectory tracking controller can be conducted based on a precise model of the system. The overall tracking performance was improved with using AFC scheme in presence of known or unknown disturbances. Results clearly illustrate the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed AFC-based scheme as a robust disturbance rejecter compared to the conventional CT controller.


Singular integral equation method has been applied to a lot of crack problems. However, the method has not been widely applied to stress concentration problems such as notch, hole, cavity, or inclusion. In this paper, general solution for elliptical boundaries is formulated in terms of singular integral equations and interaction problems among elliptical holes, ellipsoidal cavities, and cracks are discussed. To formulate the problem, the body force method is applied. Using the Green's function for a point force and a force doublet as fundamental solutions, notch and crack problems are formulated as a system of singular integral equations with a Cauchy-type and a hypersingular kernel, respectively. In solving the integral equations of the body force method, the continuously varying unknown functions of body force densities are approximated by a linear combination of fundamental density functions and polynomials. The accuracy of the present analysis is verified by comparing with the results obtained by the other researchers. The calculation shows that the present method gives rapidly conversing numerical results with high accuracy. Furthermore, it is found that the present method gives the stress distribution along the boundary of hole or cavity very accurately with short CPU time. The present method can be applied to the interaction problems among holes, inclusions, and cracks that are regularly or randomly distributed.


A BRIEF review of present concepts of the fate of the primary complex may serve as a useful introduction to the problem of treating the infant or child with asymptomatic primary tuberculosis. The primary lesion persists for months and gradually disappears, usually leaving calcification in the site of the primary focus and the corresponding lymph nodes. In most instances recovery is uneventful despite the almost universal occurrence of a hematogenous or lympho-hematogenous spread of tubercle bacilli, but this accounts for most of the severe complications of primary tuberculosis such as tuberculous meningitis and skeletal tuberculosis. The spread may be of various types and degrees but is usually an occult hematogenous dissemination from the primary lesion, which may take place during the incubation period or during the first few months after the appearance of the primary complex. Hematogenous spread also may be massive, resulting in miliary tuberculosis. Tubercle bacilli in the tracheo-bronchial lymph nodes may spread to other lymph nodes or other areas of the body through lympho-hematogenous dissemination. Common sites of invasion are the cervical lymph nodes and tonsils. The primary lesion may progress locally by excavation and by bronchogenic dissemination; it is then often called locally progressive primary tuberculosis. The majority of the complications appear within the first year of infection in an infant or a child who has previously been asymptomatic. In children, reinfection or chronic, adult type of tuberculosis is most common in adolescence. It may be of exogenous or endogenous origin. The endogenous type might be considered a distant complication of primary tuberculosis, since it is believed to occur as a result of activation of a dormant focus.


Energy extraction through flapping foils is a new concept in the domain of renewable energy, especially when the system is fully driven by incoming free-stream flow, a phenomenon known as flow-induced vibration. To investigate this concept, a water tunnel test-rig was designed and fabricated, where a flat plate foil made from plexiglass performs two-degrees of freedom pitch and plunge motion under the influence of incoming water flow. For this study a power-takeoff system was not introduced, hence energy harvesting performance was evaluated through real-time force and motion measurements with the help of sensors. The energy harvester performed self-sustained flapping motions when the free-stream velocity reached a threshold value, known as the cut-off velocity, which for this test-rig is 0.40 m/s (without sensors) and 0.50 m/s (with sensors). To support these self-sustained flapping motions, inertial mass blocks were placed to provide the necessary inertia especially when the flat plate foil performed the pitching or stroke reversal action. Different inertial mass units (mib = 0.45, 0.90 & 1.35 kg/block) were tested to analyze their effect on the flat plate foil kinematics and its energy harvesting performance. Other parameters such as pitching amplitude (θo = 30, 43 & 60) and free-stream velocity (U∞ = 0.57 m/s, 0.65 m/s and 0.78 m/s) were varied at fixed pivot location (xp = 0.65 chords (c)) to augment the varying inertial mass unit study. In the first section at fixed mib of 0.45 kg/block and xp = 0.65c from leading edge, energy harvesting performance (C̅p & η) was observed to increase with increase in pitching amplitude, while it degraded as the free-stream velocity increased. Best energy harvesting performance of η = 52.5% and C̅p = 1.124 was achieved with mib = 0.45 kg/block, θo = 60 and U∞ = 0.57 m/s. Varying mib also had a considerable effect on the energy harvesting performance of the test-rig, where the mib = 0.90 kg/block case showed a 36.5% and 21.13% decline in performance compared to the mib = 0.45 and 1.35 kg/block cases, respectively at θo = 60 and U∞ = 0.57 m/s. This shows that the energy harvester is sensitive to changes in inertial loads, affecting the forcemotion synchronization which eventually affects its performance.


The development of the livestock industry can be realized through the optimization of natural resources such as soil and vegetation that grows on it (forage, and legumes). Forage roles as animal feed, as well as land conservation plants, while leguminosae can improve soil nutrient elements. Changes in land use become a limiting factor in the availability of forage, giving and lack of animal feed. Optimization of land resources can be done through the use of marginal land, post-mining and watershed as an alternative to the development of forage. Appropriate land management according to the type of land which supported by technology has implications to the increasing of forages productivity and sustainability of land resources utilization in the long term as well as preserving the environment.


The experiment on papaya (Carica papaya L.) consisting of fourteen genotypes from diversd gene pool was conducted at the Regional Agricultural Research Station, Ishurdi, Pabna during April 2013 to May 2014 to study the nature and magnitude of genetic divergence and eventually identification of suitable genotypes for use in breeding program. Multivariate analysis was subjected to assess the genetic diversity and Mahalanobis' generalized distance (D) was used to assess the divergence present among the genotypes. The fourteen genotypes were grouped into four clusters. The cluster IV had the maximum genotypes (5) followed by cluster I having 4 genotypes and cluster II having 3 genotypes. Cluster III had the minimum genotypes (2). The inter-cluster distances were greater than intra-cluster distances in all cases, suggesting wider genetic diversity among the genotypes of different groups. The highest intracluster distance was observed in cluster III and the lowest in cluster II. The maximum inter-cluster distance was estimated between clusters I and IV (11.3212), moderate distance between clusters II and IV (9.961) and clusters III and IV (7.568), and that of the lowest between clusters I and III. Cluster III recorded the highest mean values for fruit length, plant height at last harvest, number of fruits/plant, weight of fruits/plant and fruit yield, while cluster IV exhibited the maximum mean values for pulp thickness, plant height at 1st harvest and the second highest mean values for fruit length, fruit breadth and TSS. Therefore, more emphasis should be given on cluster III for selecting genotypes as parents for crossing with the genotypes of cluster IV which may produce new recombinants with desired traits.


Project-based organizations differ from conventional organizations due to their engagement in unique, novel and transient work and delivering custom-made outputs to clients. While innovation with respect to conventional organizations has been widely researched, there is limited research conducted on project-based organizations, especially at the project level. Construction represents a major project-based industry responsible for creating physical assets beneficial for humankind. As the organizers of construction projects, clients have a significant role to play to drive innovation in construction projects. Innovation at the project level is not researched much up to now and the paper fills this knowledge gap. Using scant research literature available on project level innovation and combining with other relevant innovation research, the paper examines the performance of innovation at the project level of construction organizations. An extensive literature review conducted on the subject has enabled identifying fundamental mechanisms that can be initiated by construction clients to foster innovation in construction projects at the execution level. These mechanisms are idea harnessing, relationship enhancement, incentivisation, and project team fitness. The purpose of this paper is to introduce and discuss these fundamental mechanisms and explain how they facilitate innovation. The study is aimed to supplement the relatively small body of knowledge on project level innovation in construction projects. Key words: innovation, project-based, construction, project-level, mechanisms For full paper: firstname.lastname@example.com


Pandemic Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) is still being felt in various countries in the world, including Indonesia. There were 43,450 positive cases of Covid-19 in East Java until September 29, 2020 (East Java Province Covid-19 Task Force, 2020). Sidoarjo Regency has positive cases of Covid-19 until September 30, 2020, totaling 6,236 cases (Communication and Informatics Office of Sidoarjo district, 2020). Wijayanto (2020) reports that many young people aged 15-25 years are exposed to Covid-19 because of the habit of hanging out in cafes or coffee shops by not keeping physical distancing and removing their masks. The purpose of this study was to analyze the prevention behavior of teenagers from Covid-19 in Sidoarjo. The research design was analytic observational with cross sectional approach. The population of respondents is male or female aged 16-19 years who live in Sidoarjo. Samples were obtained through voluntary sampling technique. Data collection used a google form which was distributed via WhatsApp in August 2020 to 18 sub-districts. The questionnaire received responses from 176 people from 13 districts. Bivariate analysis using the Chi Square test. The results showed that there were significant differences in the prevention behavior of Covid-19 transmission based on gender (p value = 0.02) and there were significant differences in the prevention behavior of Covid-19 transmission based on knowledge (p value = 0.0001). Suggestions for the Sidoarjo regency government are to increase education on the prevention of Covid-19 transmission with various methods and media that are preferred by teenage boys and in crowd centers.
Keyword : Covid-19, behaviour, teenage


A squaraine−cholesterol diad, 1, which has been found to be a good gelator, has been studied in films at the air−water interface and in supported Langmuir−Blodgett films. Both experimental observations and simulations are consistent with a low-energy folded structure in which there are attractive noncovalent interactions between the squaraine chromophore and the steroid. Although different structures seem likely for 1 in both the crystal and organogels, the present studies suggest that the folded structure exists in both uncompressed and compressed films at the air−water interface and in supported LB films. In both environments the squaraine chromophore shows evidence of squaraine−squaraine aggregation; both "J" and "H" aggregates are indicated depending upon the conditions imposed upon the film.


The Basel committee has proposed a New Capital Accord (NCA) which introduces a new methodology to calculate the minimum capital requirements considering that in the new accord, the capital requirements are more sensitive to risk. The loans offered by financial institutions and the risk measurement, in particular, show a very cyclical behavior. This means that both variables are strongly related with the rest of the macroeconomic variables through time. In this way, the risks that are perceived by the financial institutions are likely to be reduced strongly when we are through an expansionary phase, whereas in a recession, they tend to increase. This is the main reason why a new regulation that would make capital requirements more sensitive to risk measurement, which already has a cyclical component, could introduce an additional pro-cyclical factor which in time could be dangerous because it is likely to exacerbate the economic cycles by increasing the length and magnitude of the economic phase. Consequently, this might end up generating a considerable volatility (instability) within the financial system. Therefore, by incorporating the NCA to Peru's financial system, it is our goal to assess whether the corporate loans from the Peruvian banking system will carry and additional degree of pro-cyclicality to the banking system given that they would be more sensitive to risk measurement under the new accord. Under four different models, we found that the probability of default of the corporate loans is very sensitive to the economic cycle. Consequently, we found that the evolution of the capital requirements of the corporate loans has a high volatility, which might also increase the length of the economic cycle generating in that way further instability within the financial system as well as within the economy. Finally, we performed several stress tests on the GDP growth and as a result we found out that the effect on the corporate loan's probability of default was significant and that it might increase up to 85%. These findings allow us to provide a series of measures to reduce the volatility of the capital requirements.


In OFDM systems, time-varying channels destroy the orthogonality between subchannels and cause interchannel interference (ICI) in conventional frequency-domain channel estimation approaches. To compensate for this ICI, we propose a new channel estimator for OFDM systems in a fast and frequency-selective Rayleigh fading channel. The proposed method is based on a new modified Kalman filter (MKF). The time-varying channel is modeled as an autoregressive (AR) process and the proposed MKF is used to estimate this AR parameter. In addition, to track the time-varying channel, a channel predictor using regression analysis and the minimum mean-squared error (MMSE) time-domain equalizer are also proposed. The simulation results show that the proposed channel estimator can effectively compensate for ICI.


Combining single molecule atomic force microscopy (AFM) and protein engineering techniques, here we demonstrate that we can use recombination‐based techniques to engineer novel elastomeric proteins by recombining protein fragments from structurally homologous parent proteins. Using I27 and I32 domains from the muscle protein titin as parent template proteins, we systematically shuffled the secondary structural elements of the two parent proteins and engineered 13 hybrid daughter proteins. Although I27 and I32 are highly homologous, and homology modeling predicted that the hybrid daughter proteins fold into structures that are similar to that of parent protein, we found that only eight of the 13 daughter proteins showed β‐sheet dominated structures that are similar to parent proteins, and the other five recombined proteins showed signatures of the formation of significant α‐helical or random coil‐like structure. Single molecule AFM revealed that six recombined daughter proteins are mechanically stable and exhibit mechanical properties that are different from the parent proteins. In contrast, another four of the hybrid proteins were found to be mechanically labile and unfold at forces that are lower than the ∼20 pN, as we could not detect any unfolding force peaks. The last three hybrid proteins showed interesting duality in their mechanical unfolding behaviors. These results demonstrate the great potential of using recombination‐based approaches to engineer novel elastomeric protein domains of diverse mechanical properties. Moreover, our results also revealed the challenges and complexity of developing a recombination‐based approach into a laboratory‐based directed evolution approach to engineer novel elastomeric proteins.


Interleavers are essential system components for interleave division multiple access (IDMA). In this paper, two-stage interleavers are proposed based on two optimization criteria combines minimum spreading distance with regular permutation and randomization properties to have almost the same advantages of the random distribution, and yet guaranties an enlarged minimum spread distance. Simulation results show sufficiently good performance with much less resource consumption compared to multiple random interleavers. The proposed method may also find other application areas such as multi -dimensional concatenated codes. In add ition, an efficient and simple procedure is proposed to generate orthogonal interleavers by using the well-known Walsh-Hadamard transform.


The study was undertaken to investigate the factors responsible for the drop out of female students in public day and mixed secondary schools in Kiambu County, central Kenya. The three objectives of the study were to establish the influence of direct and opportunity costs of schooling, to assess how poverty influences drop outs as well as to find out the relationship between gender discrimination and school drop outs. The study was guided by the empowerment theory. The study used an ex post factor research design and the target population was forty six informants comprising of nine headteachers, eighteen guidance and counselling teachers, eighteen dropouts and the DEO. The research instruments used in the study were questionnaires as well as school admission and class registers .The data collected were both qualitative and quantitative in nature. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics while the quantitative data were presented using tables of frequencies and percentages.. The study concluded that there were many female students dropping out of public day and mixed secondary schools in Kiambu County due to direct and opportunity costs of schooling, poverty and gender discrimination. From the study the following recommendations were made; education planners and policy makers need to review secondary school fees and make it more affordable for parents who live in abject poverty. The government should generously extend bursary facilities and special grants to female students at all levels of education especially at secondary levels as well as make secondary education free and compulsory. Massive gender sensitization programmes on the benefits of female education should be embarked on targeting everybody in the society. Expansion of guidance and counselling is also needed in schools. The study recommends that further research should be carried out on female drop outs in tertiary institutions and on male drop outs in secondary schools.


As the demands of cloud computing intensify, more facilities running power-intensive servers are necessary for cloud data centers. Such data center servers consume a large amount of energy, resulting in high operating costs. Therefore, high energy consumption has become a growing problem for cloud data centers. This paper proposes two energy-saving resource allocation algorithms that take into account several energy efficiency factors: resource allocation policies, power management techniques, and power models for better energy management in cloud data centers. These two algorithms are implemented on CloudSim toolkit and evaluated with real-world workload data. By the experimental evaluation of these algorithms for competitive analysis of energy consumption, we found that this work contributes to save the energy consumption in cloud data centers.


The rates of opioid prescription and use have continued to increase over the last few decades resulting in a greater number of opioid tolerant patients. Treatment of acute pain from surgery and injury is a clinical challenge for these patients. Several pain management strategies including prescribing increased opioids are used clinically with limited success; all currently available strategies have significant limitations. Many opioids are a substrate for p-glycoprotein (p-gp), an efflux transporter at the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Increased p-gp is associated with a decreased central nervous system uptake and analgesic efficacy of morphine. Our laboratory previously found that acute peripheral inflammatory pain (PIP) induces p-gp trafficking from the nucleus to the luminal surface of endothelial cells making up the BBB concomitant with increased p-gp activity and decreased morphine analgesic efficacy. In the current study, we tested whether PIP-induced p-gp trafficking could contribute to decreased opioid efficacy in morphine tolerant rats. A 6-day continuous dosing of morphine from osmotic minipumps was used to establish morphine tolerance in female rats. PIP induced p-gp trafficking away from nuclear stores showed a 2-fold increase in morphine tolerant rats. This observation suggests that p-gp trafficking contributes to the decreased morphine analgesic effects in morphine tolerant rats experiencing an acute pain stimulus. Attenuating p-gp trafficking during an acute pain stimulus could improve pain management by increasing the amount of opioid that could reach CNS analgesic targets and decrease the need for the dose escalation that is a serious challenge in pain management.


This article summarizes the events around the October 19, 1987, Japanese stock market decline. Although Tokyo suffered a "crash," it did not experience the same "panic" as New York, primarily because Tokyo had a more consistent institutional and regulatory structure and could rely on more patient investors. Tokyo can, with certain limitations, be taken as an example of how the "Brady Report" proposals would work in practice. Since Tokyo suffered a crash, if the Brady proposals are designed to prevent a crash, the Japanese experience proves that this cannot be done. On the other hand, if the Brady proposals are not meant to prevent a crash, but rather to help a quick return to an "orderly market," Tokyo can serve as evidence that the Brady proposals are a step in the right direction.


Patterns of shell availability and use of the intertidal yellow-banded hermit crab Clibanarius virescens were studied by means of field sampling. Data were collected at three sites (Dwesa, Nqabara and Mendwana) along the Eastern Cape coast, South Africa. The most striking result was that at all three sites there was a difference between observed frequencies of shells used compared to that which was expected from their availability as live animals or empty shells on the rocks and the strandline. This suggests selection by the crabs. Crabs commonly used shells of Burnupena cincta and Burnupena pubescens and amongst other types, rarely used the shells of Cymatium dolarium and Stramonita capensis. Fewer types of shells were used than were available. A wider diversity of shell species were occupied at Dwesa (N = 11) and Nqabara (N = 10) than at Mendwana (N = 6). The diversity of shells used by the hermit crabs in this study falls within the globally predicted levels given body size of the study species and the latitude of the studied population.


In this paper, a high quality single-phase rectifier with reduced ripple of the input current is proposed. the chosen solution has the main advantage of reducing cither the current ripple or the operating switching frequency, by a compensation effect of two imbricated channels, pulsing in opposition phase. The new rectifier topology is presented, with an appropiate control scheme. Simulation of the behaviour with control circuits are presented, together with experimental results.


The production of single cell protein (SCP) is one of the cheap protein sources for use in aquaculture. In this study, Claveromycice frajilice and Fusarium oxysporum were used to produce SCP using Kilka stick water as the source of medium. Adaptation of C. frajilice and F. oxysporum to pure stick water was performed by increasing the concentration of stick water in distilled water. Treatments included 50% and 100% stick water, and a group without stick water as control. The pattern of the yeast and fungus growth was studied by spectrophotometry at 600 nm. The final product was analyzed for values of dry materials, amino acids profiles, total protein, moisture and ash. The results showed protein production by C. frajilice in 50% and 100% stick water was 55.35% and 57.47%, respectively, compared to 54.65% in control group (P>0.05). Protein production using F. oxysporum was 53.17% and 54.39±0.45% in 50% and 100% stick water, respectively compared to 49.71% in control group (P>0.05). The results showed that amino acids composition in produced SCP was comparable with the suggested profiles of requirement by FAO/WHO and NRC. Based on to the obtained results, application of pure Kilka stick water is suitable for production of C. frajilice as the source of SCP.


GIS based educational information system is a tool towards identifying with precision the details of various educational institutes, in terms of their location, facilities provided, courses available, ranking, contact details, and all possible information. GIS add an extra edge to the work by enabling the user to geographically locate the same. Thus it provides the user with all the information that is Concise Accurate Present at single place The presented work corresponds to locating the position of the all the Indian National Institute of Technology on the Indian map providing the specific information of each, like the name of the director, the contact details, location information. For this, shape files have been designed using Arc GIS software, for all states of India, outlining the boundary and clubbed into the entire map of India. These shape files are then imported on GeoServer for testing. This feature provides user the information of the institute which he chooses on the map. GoogleEarth is chosen as the user-interface. The second aspect of the work is completed using this software. The shortest distance between two institutes is found out and is demonstrated to the user in terms of the distance to be travelled, the road to be taken to reach there in minimum distance and the estimated time required for the journey. Thus on a whole the user sees complete India map on GoogleEarth. Now, when the user clicks on any institute, he finds the information regarding that institute and when the user needs to find the distance between two institutes, he can find the route, which provides him with all the necessary details.


During the epoch of latest rapid changes in the information environment, the outstanding existence of new technologies makes its appearance and acts with the main aim to support, exploit and distribute information services' content. The principal goal of the poster is to present an important piece of the work of two powerful organizations in Greece which create digital cultural content and conduce to the management and the utilization of valuable information resources. On the first hand, National Library of Greece, the biggest public information entity and on the other hand, Lambrakis Press S.A., one of the biggest private publishing houses in Greece with a great number of publications in its credit. What the poster shows is the implementation of two new soft wares that enforce the full management of old newspapers and magazines using technologies such as OCR and digital documentation. These soft wares deal with problems which have to do with the rarity and the decay of old and valuable printed material. Furthermore they can be implemented to different technological platforms and they have the capacity to elaborate with multilingual texts which need to be preserved and accessed by different kind of users from all over the world.


The aim of this study was to analyse the frequency of permanent and transient complications following thyroid gland surgery. During a period of four years, from 1991 to 1995, 129 patients were treated operatively for thyroid disease. Sixteen patients were operated for thyrotoxicosis and 113 for nontoxic goitre. Nine patients underwent reoperation for recurrent goitre. Thyroid malignancy was found in two patients. The frequency of permanent complications was 0.7%. Transient unilateral pareses developed postoperatively in two patients. There were no permanent vocal cord paralyses. One patient developed permanent hypoparathyroidism. Five patients had transient postoperative hypocalcaemia requiring calcium supplements. Other complications were haemorrhage (3.8%), wound infection (0.7%) and other postoperative complications (1.5%). It is shown that uncomplicated thyroid surgery may be performed at a district hospital that has a special interest in patient evaluation, indications for surgery and up to date surgical technique.


ABSTRACT
Professional nursing standards and guidelines form the foundation for nurse practitioner curriculum. Nurse educators should understand the role these professional standards and guidelines have in the development of curriculum. Recently, nursing education has moved to a competency-based education with the release of the new American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties Nurse Practitioner Role Core Competencies. Competency-based curriculum allows for a common understanding of the knowledge, skills, and experiences nurse practitioner graduates require for entry to practice. Competency-based education also provides consistent and uniform expectations for novice nurse practitioners on entry to practice. With the change to a competency-based curriculum, nurse educators can review and revise curriculum through refinement of courses, student learning objectives, assignments, and evaluations. Nurse educators have a responsibility to critically analyze student assignments and evaluations to ensure competencies are met multiple times through a variety of methods. In addition, nurse educators have the opportunity to use assignments that meet multiple competencies to modernize student learning. Refinement and revision lead to enhanced student critical thinking and provide opportunities for real-world training to improve student outcomes.


Brain encoding aims at reconstructing fMRI brain activity given a stimulus. There exists a plethora of neural encoding models which study brain encoding for single mode stimuli: visual (pretrained CNNs) or text (pretrained language models). Few recent papers have also obtained separate visual and text representation models and performed late-fusion using simple heuristics. However, previous work has failed to explore the co-attentive multi-modal modeling for visual and text reasoning. In this paper, we systematically explore the efficacy of image and multi-modal Transformers for brain encoding. Extensive experiments on two popular datasets, BOLD5000 and Pereira, provide the following insights. (1) We find that VisualBERT, a multi-modal Transformer, significantly outperforms previously proposed single-mode CNNs, image Transformers as well as other previously proposed multi-modal models, thereby establishing new state-of-the-art. (2) The regions such as LPTG, LMTG, LIFG, and STS which have dual functionalities for language and vision, have higher correlation with multi-modal models which reinforces the fact that these models are good at mimicing the human brain behavior. (3) The supremacy of visio-linguistic models raises the question of whether the responses elicited in the visual regions are affected implicitly by linguistic processing even when passively viewing images. Future fMRI tasks can verify this computational insight in an appropriate experimental setting. We make our code publicly available.


Objectives: To elucidate antibody responses after the second and third dose of COVID-19 vaccine in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRD) treated with biologic/targeted


Chelura terebrans is a widely distributed wood boring amphipod belonging to the little studied family Cheluridae. Previous studies have hinted that C. terebrans belongs to a small number of animals capable of degrading lignocellulose without the aid of symbiotic gut microorganisms. This study utilises a broad range of techniques to gain a better understanding of C. terebrans and their ability to digest wood.

Molecular phylogenetic analyses of two Chelurid species largely agree with the current taxonomic organisation of this family. Examination of C. terebrans using scanning electron microscopy has offered a better understanding of their digestive system and revealed, with the exception of robust lateralia, few morphological adaptations to accommodate such an unusual diet. This examination also found no evidence of gut-resident microflora. Furthermore, quantitative real-time PCR confirmed the absence of any substantial resident symbiotic extra- or intracellular bacteria in the digestive tract by revealing very low levels of bacterial 16S gene sequences in comparison to the symbiont-containing isopod Porcellio scaber.

Despite finding no evidence for resident symbiont gut-microflora, in-gel and in vitro enzymatic assays using extracts isolated from the hepatopancreas suggests that C. terebrans possesses a considerable repertoire of endogenous enzymatic capabilities useful for the digestion of wood, including mannosidase, β-glucosidase and β-xylosidase, endo-1, 4-β-glucanase and endo-1, 4-β-xylanase, with extracts also possessing mono- and diphenol oxidase activity. Furthermore, mass spectrometry analysis on gel regions presenting high mono- and diphenol oxidase activity detected several proteins belonging to the glycosyl hydrolase family and haemocyanins.

Two transcriptomic libraries were obtained from the hepatopancreases of C. terebrans fed on a diet of either beech (Fagus sylvatica) or Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). These data provided sequences and the relative abundances of genes thought to be involved in lignocellulose digestion. In both cases, a significant number of the total ESTs contributed towards contigs corresponding to genes for glycosyl hydrolases and haemocyanins. Furthermore, overall expression of each glycosyl hydrolase suggested variation according to the substrate on which C. terebrans were fed. Comparisons of the relative gene expression seen in the C. terebrans transcriptome with those found in both the wood boring isopod Limnoria quadripunctata and the non boring amphipod Echinogammarus marinus offer insight into the genes important for lignocellulose digestion.

This study represents substantial progress in our understanding of how C. terebrans digests wood and has also opened up new avenues of investigation by revealing C. terebrans as a potential source of novel lignocellulolytic enzymes.


Abstract. Mobile mapping systems MMS equipped with cameras and laser scanners are widely used nowadays for different geospatial applications with centimetric accuracy either in project wise or national wise scales. The achieved positioning accuracy is very much related to the navigation unit, namely the GNSS and IMU onboard. Accordingly, in GNSS denied and degraded environments, the absolute positioning accuracy is worsened to few meters in some cases. Frequently, ground control points GCPs of a high positioning accuracy are used to align the MMS trajectories and to improve the accuracy when needed.The best way to integrate the MMS trajectories to the GCPs is by measuring them on the MMS images where the positioning accuracy is dropped. MMS images are mostly spherical panoramic (equirectangular) images and sometimes perspective and, in both types, it is required to precisely determine the images orientation in what is called as space resection or camera pose determination. For perspective images, the pose is conventionally determined by collinearity equations or by using projection and fundamental matrices. Whereas for equirectangular panoramic images it is based on resecting vertical and horizontal angles. However, there is still a challenge in the state–of–the–art of image pose determination because of the model nonlinearity and the sensitivity to proper initialization and spatial distribution of the points.In this research, a generic method is presented to solve the pose resection problem for the perspective and equirectangular images using oblique angles. The oblique angles are derived from the measured image coordinates and based on spherical trigonometry rules and vector geometry. The developed algorithm has proven to be highly stable and steadily converge to the global minimum. This is related to the robust geometric constraint offered by the oblique angles that are enclosed between the object points and the camera. As a result, the MMS trajectories are realigned accurately to the GCPs and the absolute accuracy is highly refined. Four experimental tests are presented where the results show the efficiency of the proposed angular based model in different cases of simulated and real data with different image types.


This empirical study investigates whether venture capitalists (VCs) can certify their portfolio companies as the most promising ones and whether they can alleviate the IPO underpricing issue in Hong Kong market. Although a number of studies show that the VCs can ease underpricing issues and can help their ventures generate better post-IPO operational performance in the US market, we find the effects of VC participations in Hong Kong are different. We find that the underpricing issues of VC-backed IPOs are more severe than non-VC-backed IPOs. We make use of key financial ratios to compare their post-IPO operating performances and find that VC-backed post-IPO performance is poorer than non-VC-backed performance. The result reflects that VCs cannot certify their portfolio companies as those with better prospects and they cannot improve the IPO underpricing issue in Hong Kong market. The significant findings are different from previous studies to some extent. In short, it can add value to the previous articles and tend to solve their drawbacks. It can also contribute to the literature and add insight for future studies on VC development in other Asian markets.


Aloe vera is a cactus like plant that actually is part of the lily family. There are more than 300 varieties of the Aloe plant, but the Aloe barbadensis variety exhibits the best medicinal properties. It has strong antiseptic, antibacterial, fungicidal and virucidal properties. It promotes cell growth and is neurologically calming and acts as a detoxifying agent. Others provide nutritional support and some increase the regenerative potential of tissues while others act with anti-inflammatory responses. This article reviews the uses of the plant in different fields of medicine and dentistry.


ABSTRACT This article examines the processes, outcomes, and prospects for regulatory cooperation in North America based on the activity of the US–Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council. It explores regulatory cooperation as a series of two-level games embedded within broader multilevel governance processes of participating countries. It examines political, economic, and bureaucratic factors contributing to the development and evolution of cross-border and broader international regulatory cooperation and the practical limits of centralized political and regulatory oversight in these processes. Major requirements for success include shared or substantially overlapping national objectives (including those of relevant regulatory agencies), complementary coalitions of domestic interests in each country, and regulators' capacity to work with (or around) potential veto holders within domestic institutions. Regulatory changes are often filtered and mitigated through national processes of bureaucratic politics and related institutional dynamics. In practice, effective regulatory cooperation depends on regulators' perspectives of the national interest.


We evaluate the timeliness and accuracy of ground‐motion‐based earthquake early warning (EEW) during the July 2019 M 6.4 and 7.1 Ridgecrest earthquakes. In 2018, we began retrospective and internal real‐time testing of the propagation of local undamped motion (PLUM) method for earthquake warning in California, Oregon, and Washington, with the potential that PLUM might one day be included in the ShakeAlert EEW system. A real‐time version of PLUM was running on one of the ShakeAlert EEW system's development servers at the time of the 2019 Ridgecrest sequence, allowing us to evaluate the timeliness and accuracy of PLUM's warnings for the M 6.4 and 7.1 mainshocks in real time with the actual data availability and latencies of the operational ShakeAlert EEW system. The latter is especially important because high‐data latencies during the M 7.1 earthquake degraded ShakeAlert's performance. PLUM proved to be largely immune to these latencies. In this article, we present a retrospective analysis of PLUM performance and explore three potential regional alerting strategies ranging from spatially large regions (counties), to moderate‐size regions (National Weather Service public forecast zones), to high‐spatial specificity (50 km regular geographic grid). PLUM generated initial shaking forecasts for the two mainshocks 5 and 6 s after their respective origin times, and faster than the ShakeAlert system's first alerts. PLUM was also able to accurately forecast shaking across southern California for all three alerting strategies studied. As would be expected, a cost‐benefit analysis of each approach illustrates trade‐offs between increasing warning time and minimizing the area receiving unneeded alerts. Choosing an optimal alerting strategy requires knowledge of users' false alarm tolerance and minimum required warning time for taking protective action, as well as the time required to distribute alerts to users.


Organizational ambidexterity has emerged as a valuable contemporary lens on organizational design and action, examining the dynamic relationships between exploitative (extant) and explorative (evolving) resources within organizational contexts and environments. This article analyzes the literature pertaining to ambidexterity and underlines a number of recurrent preoccupations including definition of the nature, characteristics, and normative boundaries of organizational ambidexterity; a predilection toward considering interfirm/unit comparisons of large-scale corporate organizations; and a concentration on the significance of the managerialistic role of the senior management team's disposition and action-orientations. While a few calls have been made for a focus on the micro-aspects, predominant attention has remained on the macro-aspects of organizational ambidexterity. The aim of the article, therefore, is to conduct a complementary study that considers the boundaries and transitions between exploitative and explorative modes at the intraorganizational, individual micro-behavioral level. To facilitate this, the article surfaces and underscores the paradigmatic modernistic characterization of large areas of the current organizational ambidexterity literature and the implications of this. Moreover, it explores alternative potentially useful critical paradigms that assist in providing tools with which to examine the "micro." The research conducts an ethnographic-style study of a quasi-public training and development organization to illustrate the above background contexts and the micro-interface and boundary of explorative and exploitative modes of organizational ambidexterity in the intraorganizational situation. Within this, the study points up the significance of the role of sense-making in operational micro-moment individual and small-group situations, and their vital influence in ultimately underpinning, and contributing to, macroorganizational ambidextrous contexts.


1. Lecturer at the Dept of Political Science & International Relations, University of Gujrat, Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan. 2. Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations University of Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan 3. Assistant Professor, Department of political science and international Relations, SSSH, Library building, 4th floor, UMT, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan PAPER INFO ABSTRACT Received: August 16, 2018 Accepted: December 24, 2018 Online: December 30, 2018 Fall of Dhaka in 1971 and Indian Nuclear Explosions in 1974, changed the course of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program. Pakistan developed nuclear weapons due to Indian conventional and strategic superiority. The objective of this study is to highlight Pakistan's efforts to secure its nuclear program. It emphasizes that Pakistan's nuclear weapons are heavily guarded and secure. This paper is descriptive in nature and completed in the light of qualitative research method. Paper concludes that though Pakistan nuclear authorities have implemented personnel reliability program. It implements international safeguards yet international community is raising questions on security mechanism and safety of Pakistan's nuclear weapons. The most important diplomatic task in front of Pakistan at this time is to fight against misunderstandings perceived by international community and to provide satisfaction to the world.


A hemodialysis patient was diagnosed with pulmonary embolism, shortly after successful thrombectomy of an autogenous arteriovenous fistula. Diagnostic testing revealed no alternative source for thromboembolism. Increased recognition of hypercoagulability as a common consequence of end-stage renal disease would suggest that dialysis patients would be at risk for thromboembolic events. A fully developed dialysis fistula may have sufficient luminal diameter to harbor subclinical or clinically significant venous thrombi. Clinicians should be alert to the possibility of venous emboli after fistula manipulation.


The genus Nasua is composed of two species, Nasua nasua and Nasua narica . It is distributed in the present from the south of North America to the north of the Rio Negro in Uruguay. Both species of the genus inhabit a great number of forested habitats.  In Argentina, the species Nasua nasua is found in Tucuman, Jujuy, Chaco, Formosa and the northeast of Santa Fe. In the present contribution we describe a lower canine of Nasua nasua from the late Holocene of the Arroyo Fredes Archaeological site in the the Parana's Delta of the Buenos Aires Province, Argentina which is outside the present distribution of this species. We compared the canine with several specimens of Nasua nasua both males and females. Given the strong sexual dimorphism observed in the canines of the species, we recognized the specimen as a male. Two hypotheses can explain the presence of this specimen in the Parana's Delta of Buenos Aires. The similarities between the current and past climatic conditions in the closest recent locality and the Arroyo Fredes archeological site and the small distance between both localities make expectable the presence Nasua nasua in the region. On the other hand this record can be the result of human transport by the guaranies .


The man objective of transdisciplinarity is the quest for the unity of knowledge through the elimination of disciplinary boundaries. Implementing transdisciplinarity implies the creation of a common conceptual, theoretical and empirical structure among disciplines, therefore, its execution processes often offer interesting opportunities in educational research. This case study seeks to investigate the experience of a group of professionals from different disciplines who participated in the design of a xMOOC entitled "Electrical Energy: Concepts and Basic Principles", which is part of the Bi-National Laboratory on Smart Sustainable Energy Management and Technology Training, project financed by CONACYT-SENER's energy sustainability fund. This paper explores the challenges faced by team members to achieve the objectives of course design, investigating personal characteristics that determine the tendency of solutions or problems in the development of the course, and exploring the implications of their participation in further teaching and research practices. Using a variety of methods, including semi-structured interviews, recorded conversations (dialogue in interaction), field journals-Participant Observation and the analysis of official documents, it was found that the consequence of the joint work of multiple disciplines in a related project causes the absence of individualism, generating opportunities for revision, reflection and intellectual discussions that enrich both the contents and the learning environment. In this type of projects, sharing information was not the essence of collaboration, but the common understanding that evolves through dialogue, discussion, tolerance and consensus building. Although working in a transdisciplinary manner involved hard work when there was no clarity or hierarchy in the roles, when there were differences in terminology and domain models, or communication flaws, this type of projects produced synergistic effects which steered more efficient educational processes and products, fostering mutual support and leading to the transformation and improvement of teaching and research practices.