One of the main challenges for future wireless systems is to enhance the effective data throughput by exploiting the allocated bandwidth as much as possible. Among several approaches at different layers, one of the most important is constituted by the so‐called link adaptation (LA) techniques. They are characterized by the adaptation of a set of transmission parameters to the channel state in order to improve performance. In this context, this paper is focused on the analysis of a particular class of LA techniques called adaptive modulation and coding, where the modulation and coding rate of transmission can vary according to the channel behavior. In particular, a novel LA algorithm, namely the timed window (TW) method, suitable for time‐division Duplex systems is proposed here. The performance of the TW algorithm is evaluated by taking actual user mobility conditions, communication channel behavior, as well as the physical layer effects into account. Finally, it is important to stress that, even if the wireless bearer considered in this study is TETRA (TErrestrial Trunked RAdio), the approach is quite general and it can be of interest for other wireless networks and can be optimized for different channel models (e.g. TU50, HT200, etc.). Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Lasiotocus lizae sp. n. (Digenea: Monorchiidae) was collected from the intestine of Liza carinata (Valenciennes) (Mugilidae, Perciformes) in the Taiwan Straits, China. L. lizae is most similar to Lasiotocus glebulentus Overstreet, 1971 from the intestine of Mugil cephalus from the Northern Gulf of Mexico in having tightly compacted vitellaria, a genital pore sinistral to the midline, the ovary usually dextral to the acetabulum, the similar sucker ratio, and in the presence of both a canalicular and uterine seminal receptacle. It differs from L. glebulentus in its cirrus sac ending anterior to rather than posterior to acetabulum, in the ending position of caeca, in smaller eggs, and in having a single rather than several conspicuous concretions in excretory vesicle.


DURING the period from August 1965 through January 1968, one hundred and twenty seven patients on the combined vascular surgical services of the State University were subjected to peripheral gas endarterectomy. Of these, there were 83 femoralpopliteal reconstructions, 21 bilateral aortofemoral reconstructions, and 23 carotid artery reconstructions. The procedure has been shown technically feasible and advantageous in each of these areas. We have found that the technique offers results equivalent to those available in the hands of other groups who have long practiced endarterectomy as their primary method of vascular reconstruction. History In 1961, the vascular surgical services at Downstate Medical Center cared for approximately 14 patients with aortic dissection. Though most of these patients died, a few survived, either because of formal reentry procedures or as a result of related conservative management. During this same period, it was suggested by one of us that a hydraulic ram, equivalent to


Hypoxia is a reduction in the normal level of tissue oxygen tension, which occurs in human living at high altitude, during embryonic and fetal development and commonly in a variety of acute and chronic vascular, pulmonary, and neoplastic diseases. The identification of the master transcriptional regulator in response to hypoxia (hypoxia inducible factor-1, HIF-1) and the revelation of the molecular oxygen sensing mechanisms by prolyl hydroxylases
domain (PHD) proteins expanded immensely the understanding of the cellular response to hypoxia.

Based on our observation that HIF-1 signaling occurs in the leukemic bone marrow of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), this PhD-thesis focuses on the identification of new oxygen regulated target genes either involving HIF-1 (Histone demethylase Jumonji domain containing 1A, JMJD1A, and Wilms' tumor suppressor 1, Wt1) or alternative mechanisms (RNA binding motif protein 3, RBM3, and cold inducible RNA-binding protein, CIRP). We characterize the function of these HIF-1 dependent and independent target genes in respect to cellular adaptation to hypoxia, their tissue specific role, and their implications in diseases.

The studies presented here have contributed 1) to a deeper and better understanding of the adaptation of leukemic cells to the bone marrow microenvironment, 2) to the identification of genes involved in epigenetic processes (JMJD1A) and cell survival (WT1) in response to
decreased oxygen tension mediated by HIF-1, 3) to the identification of genes (RBM3 and CIRP), which are up-regulated by decreased oxygen tension via an alternative signaling mechanism not involving the master transcriptional regulator in response to hypoxia, and 4)
to the characterization of RBM3 as a new survival protein protecting cells from adverse growth conditions such as serum deprivation-induced cell death.


The regions of single-stranded (ss) DNA that result from DNA damage are immediately coated by the ssDNA-binding protein (SSB). RecF pathway proteins facilitate the displacement of SSB from ssDNA, allowing the RecA protein to form protein filaments on the ssDNA region, which facilitates the process of recombinational DNA repair. In this study, we examined the mechanism of SSB displacement from ssDNA using purified Thermus thermophilus RecF pathway proteins. To date, RecO and RecR are thought to act as the RecOR complex. However, our results indicate that RecO and RecR have distinct functions. We found that RecR binds both RecF and RecO, and that RecO binds RecR, SSB and ssDNA. The electron microscopic studies indicated that SSB is displaced from ssDNA by RecO. In addition, pull-down assays indicated that the displaced SSB still remains indirectly attached to ssDNA through its interaction with RecO in the RecO-ssDNA complex. In the presence of both SSB and RecO, the ssDNA-dependent ATPase activity of RecA was inhibited, but was restored by the addition of RecR. Interestingly, the interaction of RecR with RecO affected the ssDNA-binding properties of RecO. These results suggest a model of SSB displacement from the ssDNA by RecF pathway proteins.


People are able to ignore old (previewed) stimuli in order to prioritize the processing of newly appearing items--the preview benefit (D. G. Watson & G. W. Humphreys, 1997, "Visual marking: prioritizing selection for new objects by top-down attentional inhibition of old objects," Psychological Review, Vol. 104, pp. 90-122). According to the inhibitory visual marking account, this is achieved by the top-down and capacity-limited inhibition of old stimuli already in the field, which leads to a selection advantage for new items when they appear. In contrast, according to the abrupt luminance onset account (M. Donk & J. Theeuwes, 2001, "Visual marking beside the mark: prioritizing selection by abrupt onsets," Perception & Psychophysics, Vol. 63, pp. 891-900), new items capture attention automatically simply because they generate luminance onset signals. Here, we demonstrate that new items can be partially prioritized over old items even when they appear during an eyeblink and so have no unique luminance transients associated with their appearance. Overall, the findings suggest that both the inhibition of old items and attention capture by luminance changes contribute to time-based selection.


Review can affect customer decision making because by reading it, people manage to know whether the review is positive, or negative. However, positive, negative, and neutral, without considering the emotion will be not enough because emotion can strengthen the sentiment result. This study explains about the comparison of machine learning and deep learning in sentiment as well as emotion classification with multi-label classification. In machine learning comparison, the problem transformation that we used are Binary Relevance (BR), Classifier Chain (CC), and Label Powerset (LP), with Decision Tree (DT), Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Extra Tree Classifier (ET) as algorithms of machine learning. The features we compared are n-gram language model (unigram, bigram, unigram-bigram). For deep learning, algorithms that we applied are Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) and Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM), using self-developed word embedding. The comparison results show RF dominates with 88.4% and 89.54% F1 scores with CC method for food aspect, and LP for price, respectively. For service and ambience aspects, ET leads with 92.65% and 87.1% with LP and CC methods, respectively. On the other hand, in deep learning comparison, GRU and BiLSTM obtained similar F1- score for food aspect, 88.16%. On price aspect, GRU leads with 83.01%. However, for service and ambience, BiLSTM achieved higher F1-score, 89.03% and 84.78%.


This thesis aims to describe methodological development and the applications of the
transverse relaxation in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). The first part of the thesis
shows the applications of the transverse relaxations aim to qualitatively monitor the
morphological changes of the smart polymers using solvent relaxation method. The later
part of the thesis aims to measure the efficiencies of various decoupling (DD) pulse sequences
in the presence of the field noise and tries to identify the optimal DD sequence
to extract the longest or the best T₂ values of molecules in solutions. This dissertation
contains total five chapters.

Chapter 1 covers the theoretical preliminaries required for the experimental works
described in the rest of the thesis. At the beginning, a brief history of the NMR spectroscopy
has been presented. Subsequently, a brief discussion on principles of NMR and
the main techniques for the detection of NMR signal (FT- and CW-NMR) have been
given. The first part of the following section describes the phenomenological equations
of Bloch. Then the semi-classical theory of Redfield on spin relaxation has been developed
starting from von Neumann-Liouville equation of motion. The role of the time
correlation functions and resulting auto- and cross-correlated spectral densities have also
been discussed. Specifically the expressions of the auto-correlated spectral density functions
arising from two different relaxation mechanisms have been given. Next, different
pulse sequences used to measure the transverse relaxation rate – from spin-echo to
CPMG have been presented in detail. The role of the dynamic decoupling (DD) sequences
developed for the suppression of low- frequency fluctuations has been briefly
discussed. In the following section, a brief note on the effect of chemical exchange on
transverse relaxation rate is given and the names of several techniques commonly used
to measure the chemical exchange rate are mentioned. In the same context, the CPMGbased
Relaxation Dispersion (RD) technique has been explained in detail. Also, the derivation of the Luz-Meiboom equation which is used to extract the exchange information
from the CPMG-RD experiment is briefly shown. Subsequently, a discussion on the
solvent relaxation and its variety of applications have been introduced. The last section
contains the outline of the rest of the thesis.

Chapter 2 focuses on exploring a new yet simple method to understand the macro
structural changes of an amphiphilic pH-responsive polymer in aqueous medium as a
function of pH using solvent relaxation method. In the introduction, the structural and
ionization features of the pH-responsive polymers are discussed. Then their applications,
the mechanisms behind the formation of micelle and the micellar aggregates in the
aqueous medium are shown. Later, it has been argued that why NMR could be useful to
probe the structural changes of the pH-responsive polymers. In the following section, the
protocol of the measurement of the exchange rate has been discussed. In the 'Theory'
section, the Luz-Meiboom model and a new method to calculate the average diameter
of the micellar aggregates using the exchange information have been introduced. The
following section is experimental which has three parts, namely i) brief description of
the synthesis of the polymer, ii) the design and parameters of CPMG-based RD experiment
and iii) confirmatory experiments using other techniques, UV-Visible, Dynamic
Light Scattering (DLS) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Finally, with the help
of the proposed model and from the measured exchange rates using the Luz-Meiboom
model the detailed mechanism of the aggregation of the micelles has been investigated
and also the average diameter of the aggregates are calculated. The next section elaborately
discusses the principal results obtained by the above method (with pictures and
plots). At the end, the advantages and disadvantages of this method are discussed and
potential applications of this method are highlighted.

Chapter 3 aims to monitor the coil-globule phase transition of a N-isopropylacrylamide
(NIPAM) based thermoresponsive polymer using the solvent relaxation method and to
quantitatively estimate the hydrogen bonds participation across the phase transition. The
introductory section contains the general features of the coil-globule transition of the
NIPAM-based polymers. It also includes the details on previous experiments on the
volume-phase transition of this class of thermoresponsive polymers using solvent relaxation.
Later, a small review on some theoretical and experimental findings on the solvent
dynamics reported by other scientific groups have been provided. Finally, a discussion on the motional time-scales of the solvent molecules taking part in the phase-transition is
described. At the end of this section, the equation which has been commonly used to explain
the experimental behavior of the solvent proton relaxation has been introduced. In
the following section, the construction of a new phenomenological model taking the cues
from the previous theories and experimental studies is presented in detail. The section
on the experimental details describes the synthesis of polymers used, and the methods
used experiments in NMR and UV-visible spectroscopes. In the 'Result and discussion'
section the experimental data and corresponding fit using our model for the different
NIPAM polymers in different solvent mixtures have been presented. Also, a discussion
on the physical significance of the different fitting parameters has been provided. Our
results also conjectured with previous demonstrated experiments and theories. In the
'Conclusion' section the advantages of our proposed model along with the other scope
of work using this method have been pointed out.

Chapter 4 focuses on finding an optimal pulse sequence to measure T₂ of a solute in
a solution in the presence of field noise. In the 'Introduction', the greater importance of
transverse relaxation rate measurement, the different sources of decoherences and very
briefly the advantages of spin-echo and CPMG have been discussed. Then a qualitative
discussion on a recently developed Uhrig's dynamic decoupling (UDD) sequence has
been introduced. The motivation for choosing this sequence is discussed. The detailed
description of UDD and its one of its derivative sequence, Realistic UDD (RUDD) have
been given in the subsequent sections. In the next section, the concept of field noise
is introduced and how it affects the decay rate of the transverse magnetization is shown
mathematically. In the 'Experiment' section the experimental designs, protocols, parameters,
and the model chemical compounds are described. The method of extraction of
spectrometer noise from a free induction decay (FID) recorded for CHCl₃ has also been
discussed. Subsequently, the experimental results are presented with error in tabulated
form. In the next section, the results are analyzed with greater detail and the justification
of the consistence of our result for various system has been provided in the light of field
noise. In the same section, the limitations and the advantages of the new DD sequences
are mentioned. In the final section, the advantages of using the optimal sequence for
measurement of T₂ in the presence of the field-noise are mentioned.

Chapter 5 is a summary of all the works done on the contrast agents needed in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). In the first section, the properties of contrast agents,
the description of two methods – Relaxivity and 1D NMR imaging, which are used to
characterize a newly synthesized metal complex as a contrast agent have been provided.
In the following two sections, theoretical aspects of spatial encoding and relaxivity have
been discussed respectively. Subsequently, for each contrast agent a section is devoted
which contains a small introduction of a metal complex, synthesized by our collaborators,
then experimental detail on the measurement of relaxivity constants or recording of
T₁ or T₂ weighted 1D NMR images and corresponding setup of the sample followed by
a concluding remark. Finally, a summary of all relaxivity and 1D-NMR based works on
these contrast agents is written.


In central Oregon, management of western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis var. occidentalis Hook.) has included use of prescribed fire and mechanical removal. After these treatments, several species of bark and wood-boring beetles have been observed on treated trees and also occasionally on trees outside management areas, suggesting that these insects might contribute to juniper mortality. In this 2-year (2002-2003) study, we identified bark and wood-boring beetles that attack western juniper along with associated beetle predators and examined whether these insects can be manipulated for use in juniper management. Using funnel traps and sticky traps on trees wounded by pruning or treated with host volatiles (juniper berry oil, cade oil, and ethanol) that may attract insects, we captured beetles in the families Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, and Scolytidae (20 species in 17 genera) and known predators in the families Oeridae and Trogositidae (8 species in 7 genera). Cedar bark beetles (Phloeosinus spp.) were the most prevalent insects captured on trees treated with host volatiles and/or wounded. Treatments that included ethanol plus wounding were most attractive to these beetles. However, there was no obvious insect-caused damage or mortality of treated trees in either year of this study.


This paper is devoted to the theoretical study of the dynamic response of non-cylindrical curved viscoelastic single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). The curved nanotubes are largely used in many engineering applications, but it is challenging in understanding mechanically the dynamic response of these curved SWCNTs when considering the influences of the material viscosity. The viscoelastic damping effect on the dynamic response is considered here by using the Kelvin-Voigt viscoelastic model. A modified shear deformation beam theory is here employed to formulate the governing partial differential equations. When the SWCNTs are considered in a small scale model, quantum impacts are important for a correct evaluation of the mechanical response of the nanosystem. This is here investigated by embedding the well-known nonlocal strain gradient approach into the governing equations. The extracted equations are solved by utilizing the Galerkin analytical approach in which the governing partial differential equations are reduced to ordinary differential equations and numerical findings are achieved for various boundary conditions. In order to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed theory, the outcomes in terms of natural frequencies of the vibrating nanotubes are verified with respect to the available literature. It follows a vast systematic study, where several parameters are varied to investigate the influences of geometrical properties involving different polygons of the SWCNTs on the dynamic response.


Due to an improved understanding of past climatological conditions, it has now become possible to study the potential concordance between former climatological models and present-day genetic structure. Genetic variability was assessed in 26 samples from different rivers of Atlantic salmon in Iceland (total of 2,352 individuals), using 15 microsatellite loci. F-statistics revealed significant differences between the majority of the populations that were sampled. Bayesian cluster analyses using both prior information and no prior information on sampling location revealed the presence of two distinguishable genetic pools - namely, the Northern (Group 1) and Southern (Group 2) regions of Iceland. Furthermore, the random permutation of different allele sizes among allelic states revealed a significant mutational component to the genetic differentiation at four microsatellite loci (SsaD144, Ssa171, SSsp2201 and SsaF3), and supported the proposition of a historical origin behind the observed variation. The estimated time of divergence, using two different ABC methods, suggested that the observed genetic pattern originated from between the Last Glacial Maximum to the Younger Dryas, which serves as additional evidence of the relative immaturity of Icelandic fish populations, on account of the re-colonisation of this young environment following the Last Glacial Maximum. Additional analyses suggested the presence of several genetic entities which were likely to originate from the original groups detected.


Considering the effects of alcohol on cardiac electrical behavior as well as the important role of the inward rectifier potassium current I(K1) in arrhythmogenesis, this study was aimed at the effect of acetaldehyde, the primary metabolite of ethanol, on I(K1) in rat ventricular myocytes. Acetaldehyde induced a reversible inhibition of I(K1) with IC(50) = 53.7+/-7.7 microM at -110 mV; a significant inhibition was documented even at clinically-relevant concentrations (at 3 microM by 13.1+/-3.0 %). The inhibition was voltage-independent at physiological voltages above -90 mV. The I(K1) changes under acetaldehyde may contribute to alcohol-induced alterations of cardiac electrophysiology, especially in individuals with a genetic defect of aldehyde dehydrogenase where the acetaldehyde level may be elevated.


The research is aimed at the structurally similar geodynamical model building for a selective diagnosis of seismic hazard and territorial seismic zoning refinement. For the first time the article presents the territorial geodynamic model developed on the basis of a structural mask method for geographic energy fields as a result of reading of the historical information about the structure of earthquake-provoking energy flows, which is enclosed in the Earth's crust objects. A vector space-time field structurally similar to a territorial tectonic stress field is calculated via the largest differential layer power gradient between the basic terrain surfaces indicating a vertical territory displacement over a period of time passed between formations of adjacent valleys. As a result of the research we have defined the space-time differentiation of relative velocity and movement direction of the territorial tectonic elements in the period from the Pliocene through the Quaternary. We also have defined the concentration areas and the types of tectonic stress generated by compression and tension. The correspondence has been established between the calculated tectonic stress concentration areas and seismic events. A satisfactory degree of conjugation between the modeled vertical tectonic movement velocities was determined in a studied area for the Quaternary period and the re-leveling results for the 20th century. It was proved that the developed geodynamical model of the studied territory is structurally similar to the corresponding geophysical field of tectonic stresses. The largest differential layer power gradient, being an integrated measure of the comparative velocity and direction of movement of tectonic elements, as well as their rheological properties and the tectonic stress value, can be used for point diagnostics of the seismic hazard and territorial seismic zoning refinement and serve as an earthquake forecasting predictor.


The coexistence of arsenic and fluoride in groundwater has attracted extensive attention worldwide, and it is of crucial importance to efficiently remove them. In this study, hierarchically meso-/macroporous MgO using nanosheets as building blocks and with pore size distribution in the range of 10 to 150 nm was synthesized. The maximum adsorption capacities for As(III) and F were found to be about 540.9 mg g−1 (7.22 mmol g−1) and 290.67 mg g−1 (15.30 mmol g−1), respectively. Research indicated that a broad and multimodal pore size distribution provided suitable channels for ion diffusion, which were conducive to the proximity of contaminants to the internal surfaces of the adsorbent. Thermodynamic adsorption models demonstrated that two types of active sites coexisted on the MgO surface. The adsorption mechanisms of As(III) and F were proposed to include surface complexation as well as exchanges with hydroxyl and carbonate groups. Moreover, the removal rates of As(III) and F for a co-contaminated groundwater sample were determined to be 98.9% and 95%, respectively.


Cholesterol moderates the fluidity of cell membrane and this in turn controls the transmembrane movement of Na+. We have thus attempted to investigate the relationship of serum cholesterol and Na+ concentrations in some Nigerians. Blood samples were obtained from 122 healthy adult Nigerians and the plasma cholesterol was measured using the random cholesterol kit, while the plasma Na+ level was measured using corning flame photometer. Mean cholesterol was 197.02 ± 79.02mg/100ml and plasma Na+ concentration was 139.93 ± 23/52meq/l. The correlation coefficient between cholesterol and Na+ was ± 0.6008 (p<0.001). The results show a positive significant correlation between plasma cholesterol and Na+ concentration.


In the present paper, effects of through-the-thickness stitching of delaminated glass/epoxy composite laminates with two different types of aramid threads, Kevlar® and Twaron® threads, on the buckling loads are studied. The buckling loads are predicted based on the Southwell, Vertical displacement and Membrane strain plot methods from the experimental data. Flexural modulus of the stitched and unstitched glass/epoxy composite laminates, knot tensile strength of Kevlar® and Twaron® stitching threads are obtained experimentally. From the Southwell, Vertical displacement and Membrane strain plot methods it is observed that stitching either by Kevlar® or Twaron® threads is effective in improving the buckling strength of glass/epoxy composite laminates when the delamination length is greater than 0.5L, L is the length of the laminate.


Earthquakes and geodetic evidence reveal the presence of a low-angle, mid-crustal detachment fault beneath the Finisterre Range that connects to a steep ramp surfacing near the Ramu-Markham Valley of Papua New Guinea. Waveforms of three large (M w 6.3 to 6.9) thrust earthquakes that occurred in October 1993 beneath the Finisterre Range 10 to 30 km north of the valley reveal 15° north-dipping thrusts at about 20 km depth. Global Positioning System measurements show up to 20 cm of coseismic slip occurred across the valley, requiring that the active fault extend to within a few hundred meters of the Earth9s surface beneath the Markham Valley. Together, these data imply that a gently north-dipping thrust fault in the middle or lower crust beneath the Finisterre Range steepens and shallows southward, forming a ramp fault beneath the north side of the Markham Valley. Waveforms indicate that both the ramp and detachment fault were active during at least one of the earthquakes. While the seismic potential of mid-crustal detachments elsewhere is debated, in Papua New Guinea the detachment fault shows the capability of producing large earthquakes.


Based on the analysis of automobile bumper crash, and combined with the features of the bumper absorbing energy, a rig for bumper crash test was developed. The rig has advanced features of small size, wide-range of usage and arbitrary movement. The frontal and side crash can be tested according to different models and materials, and, hence, to provide a viable test method to study the general crash performance and energy absorption situation of the bumper, and reliable test data for investigation of automotive passive safety. In this paper, the structure and design of the rig is presented fist, followed by the working principles of the experiment system and theoretical analysis of the experimental process. An experiment was conducted which proved the successful development of the experimental system.


limestone is one of the sedimentary rocks and one of the most extended materials of this group which is widely used for production of cement, glasswork industries, tile making and heat resistance. Therefore, a research experiment was conducted in 2020 at of Poz-E- Wazirabad and Qachandara of Samangan province in Afghanistan to compare the similarity and the differences of petrographic characteristics and chemical composition of limestone in both mines. The samples were taken from both the mines for spectrometric analyses at directorate of laboratories of ministry of mining. Besides, the slides were prepared from these samples and the mineral composition, structure and texture characteristics were studied under petrographic microscope in laboratory of Geology and Mines of Kabul Polytechnic University. The main objectives of this study were to know the similarities and differences in petrographic characteristics and chemical composition of both mines, which in case of more similarities and favorability of Qachandara limestone mine; it would be suggested as a good source for establishment of a cement factory and other dependent industries on limestone in this province. The results indicated a lot of similarities with minor differences in both the mines. The minor differences were the amount of calcium oxides which was 52.54% in Poz-E-Wazirabad which was reduced in Qachandara mine to 47.81%. The magnesium content of Qachandara limestone was about 4% richer than Poz-E-Wazirabad limestone mine. The Poz-E-Wazirabad limestone was white in color while the Qachandara limestone color was gray to black, which shows the existence of organic matter in composition of this mine. The structure of limestone in Wazirabad mine was biomorphic but the limestone structure in Qachandara mine was oolitic.


Gamification is a new but upcoming feature in classrooms that has grown with the digitalisation in Swedish homes and schools. The aim of this literature review is to research how gamification can influence upper secondary students' language proficiency in English as a foreign language. Five sources were analysed, four journals and one conference paper, and the results show that gamification could increase language proficiency if it is used in a moderate amount and that the summative assessment with instant feedback could be beneficial for students when moderating their own language development. Motivation seems to be the key word in the results and the main subject that all the authors agree can be created and beneficial to the students' language proficiency. The results also showed that gamification is a new feature that has to be researched more in order to give a valid answer to the question of whether or not gamification is appropriate to use in school.


This study compared growth chamber coleoptile length and field emergence of wheat backcross lines, that have the Amigo 1AL.1RS wheat-rye translocation, to those of their recurrent semidwarf cultivar parents. Field emergence from 4, 6 and 8 cm was determined in 1989, 1990 and 1991. Fourteen of 22 backcross lines had significantly longer coleoptiles than their recurrent parent, but those of only one were more than 10% longer. None had shorter coleoptiles. Differences in emergence among genotypes were substantial only in 1990, significant among planting depths in all experiments, but the genotype x planting depth interaction was not significant in all experiments. Differences in coleoptile lengths accounted for no more than 10% of the variation in emergence percentage across all treatments, but in 1990 variation in coleoptile length accounted for 36% of the variation in emergence percentage from the 8 cm depth, 81% of the variation in emergence among genotypes, and 98% of the variation among seed source emergence means. Although generally unrelated, seed weight in 1991 accounted for 64% of the variation in emergence of genotypes from the 8 cm depth. The Amigo 1RS rye segment had a small positive effect or no effect on coleoptile length and seedling emergence.


Cyprinids are the most highly produced group of fishes globally, with common carp being one of the most valuable species of the group. Koi herpesvirus (KHV) infections can result in high levels of mortality, causing major economic losses, and is listed as a notifiable disease by the World Organization for Animal Health. Selective breeding for host resistance has the potential to reduce morbidity and losses due to KHV. Therefore, improving knowledge about host resistance and methods of incorporating genomic data into breeding for resistance may contribute to a decrease in economic losses in carp farming. In the current study, a population of 1,425 carp juveniles, originating from a factorial cross between 40 sires and 20 dams was challenged with KHV. Mortalities and survivors were recorded and sampled for genotyping by sequencing using Restriction Site-Associated DNA sequencing (RADseq). Genome-wide association analyses were performed to investigate the genetic architecture of resistance to KHV. A genome-wide significant QTL affecting resistance to KHV was identified on linkage group 44, explaining approximately 7% of the additive genetic variance. Pooled whole genome resequencing of a subset of resistant (n = 60) and susceptible animals (n = 60) was performed to characterize QTL regions, including identification of putative candidate genes and functional annotation of associated polymorphisms. The TRIM25 gene was identified as a promising positional and functional candidate within the QTL region of LG 44, and a putative premature stop mutation in this gene was discovered.


In 2005/2006 a multidisciplinary research programme that included studies on the hydrodynamics, sediment dynamics, macronutrients, microalgae, macrophytes, zoobenthos, hyperbenthos, zooplankton, ichthyoplankton, fish and birds of the temporarily open/closed East Kleinemonde Estuary was conducted. Particular attention was given to the responses of the different ecosystem components to the opening and closing of the estuary mouth and how this is driven by both riverine and marine events. Using a complementary dataset of daily estuary mouth conditions spanning a 14-year period, five distinct phases of the estuary were identified, including closed (average = 90% of the days), outflow (<1%), tidal (9%) and semi-closed (<1%). The open-mouth phase is critical for the movements of a number of estuary-associated fish (e.g. Rhabdosargus holubi) and invertebrates (e.g. Scylla serrata) between the estuary and sea. The timing of this open phase has a direct influence on the ability of certain estuaryassociated fish (e.g. Lithognathus lithognathus) and invertebrates (e.g. Palaemon peringueyi) to successfully recruit into the system, with a spring opening (October/November) being regarded as optimal for most species. The type of mouth-breaching event and outflow phase is also important in terms of the subsequent salinity regime once the berm barrier forms. A deep mouth breaching following a large river flood tends to result in major tidal inputs of marine water prior to mouth closure and therefore higher salinities (15–25). Conversely, a shallow mouth breaching with reduced tidal exchange during the open phase often leads to a much lower salinity regime at the time of mouth closure (5–15). The biota, especially the submerged macrophytes, respond very differently to the above two scenarios, with Ruppia cirrhosa benefiting from the former and Potamogeton pectinatus from the latter. River flooding and the associated outflow of large volumes of water through the estuary can result in major declines in zooplankton, zoobenthos, hyperbenthos and fish populations during this phase. However, this resetting of the estuary is necessary because certain marine invertebrate and fish species are dependent on the opening of the estuary mouth in order to facilitate recruitment of larvae and post-larvae into the system from the sea. Slight increases in the numbers of certain piscivorous and resident wading bird species were recorded when the estuary mouth opened, possibly linked to increased feeding opportunities during that phase.


The excavation of buried subjects takes by far the greatest amount of time during rescue. The V-shaped snow conveyor-belt has been developed and field tested to provide an efficient solution to the excavation of avalanche victims. The method achieves an efficient snow transport conveyor leading to fast head access, but at the same time provides a work environment which is spacious enough for multiple rescuers to work simultaneously. The constellation of the rescuers and the starting point of the V lead to a significant reduction of the prob- ability of causing further injury to the buried subject or destroying the respiratory cavity. Work efficiency as an important contributing factor has been investigated by analyzing ergonomic and motivational aspects. The comparison with uncoordinated shovelling shows that the importance (reduction of burial time) of a strategic approach to the excavation process increases with increasing burial depth. The V-shaped snow conveyor-belt is a systematic and easy-to-teach approach to excavation of buried subjects. Novice rescuers apply the method strictly rule based, where as more professional rescuers can adapt the method to fit any rescue situation by applying micro management within the V.


Increasing exposure to chemical products and substances could be affecting the changes that are being observed in the epidemiological pattern of illnesses. An estimation of the scale and seriousness of exposure, its effects and consequences, cannot be measured exclusively in terms of the classical indicators of mortality and morbidity.
The prevention and control of risks associated with the use of chemical products requires a more integral approach, which studies the effects of chemical products in both the short- and long-term. A proposal is made for a «Risk Evaluation» strategy, based on the collection of exhaustive data, the estimation of response dosage, evaluation of exposure, identification of bio-indicators and risk characterisation. Referente is made to both European and national legislation with regard to the question of classification and labelling of chemical products, specific risk phrases and cautionary advice, files on safety and classification data, in accordance with the specific effects on human health (substances whose effects are carcinogenic, mutagenic and toxic to reproduction). A description is provided of the main organisations devoted to the development and implementation of chemical risk prevention and control programmes. Finally, referente is made to the most relevant sources of information for consultation and studying chemical products.


ABSTRACT This paper employs a wavelet approach to investigate the relationship between economic growth and military spending in a time-frequency domain for the case of Turkey. Turkey presents an interesting case for analysis of military spending and economic growth, as its geopolitical position and history of insurgencies and separatist violence oblige the country to devote an unusually large share of the central government budget to national defence. Timescale regression analysis reveals that military expenditures have significant negative effects on growth in per capita GDP at business cycles of 16 years and longer. Timescale Granger causality analysis indicates that per capita GDP growth responds to movements in military expenditures at business cycles of eight years and above and that this result is very significant. Wavelet coherency analysis corroborates these findings, indicating a significant negative long-run co-movement at business cycles of 16 years and longer. Thus, the neoclassical prediction that military spending may promote growth does not hold in the case of Turkey, at least in the long run. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that, in the long run, military spending has been leading rather than lagging economic growth.


Evidence for optimal dietary intake of calcium for prevention of diabetic complications is sparse although population-based cohort studies showed that calcium intake reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). We aimed to investigate the relationship between calcium intake and the incidence of diabetes complications in Japanese patients with T2D aged 40-70 years with HbA1c ≥6.5%. This analysis was conducted as a multicenter prospective study of the incidence of and risk factors for macro- and microvascular complications among 2205 Japanese patients with T2D from outpatient clinics in 59 university and general hospitals in Japan. Analyzed were 1588 responders to a baseline dietary survey assessed by the Food Frequency Questionnaire based on food groups or a dietary record. Primary outcome was the 8-year risk of nephropathy, retinopathy, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Cox regression analyses estimated hazard ratios (HRs) for dietary intake adjusted for age, gender, BMI, HbA1c, smoking, energy intake, and other confounders. Mean calcium intake in quartiles ranged from 487.5 to 751 mg/day, and more than half of participants had calcium intake below the recommended daily dietary allowance in Japan (men 700 mg/d; women 650 mg/d). After adjusting for confounders, HRs of diabetic nephropathy in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quartiles for calcium intake compared with the 1st quartile were 1.20 (95% confidence interval 0.67-2.18, p=0.540), 0.60 (0.28-1.28, p=0.185), and 0.42 (0.18-0.97, p=0.024), respectively. There were no significant associations of calcium intake with retinopathy and CVD in the 2nd to 4th quartiles relative to the 1st quartile (retinopathy: 1.15 (0.81-1.64, p=0.441), 1.14 (0.78-1.68, p=0.491), and 0.93 (0.59-1.46, p=0.809); CVD: 0.86 (0.51-1.44, p=0.558), 0.92 (0.53-1.61, p=0.763), and 0.81 (0.42-1.53, p=0.508). Findings suggested an association of high calcium intake with a lower incidence of diabetes nephropathy in Japanese patients with T2D. Disclosure C. Horikawa: None. R. Aida: None. S. Tanaka: None. S. Tanaka: None. C. Kamada: None. Y. Yoshimura: None. A. Araki: Speaker9s Bureau; Self; Dainippon Sumitomo Parma Co. Ltd., Merck & Co., Inc., Tanabe Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation. T. Moriya: None. S. Katayama: None. Y. Akanuma: None. H. Sone: Research Support; Self; Astellas Pharma Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited, Kowa Pharmaceutical Europe Co. Ltd., Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd., Novo Nordisk Inc., Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Teijin Pharma Limited. Funding Japan Society for the Promotion of Science; Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare


Aerosolization of oxytetracycline hydrochloride for treatment and control of rhinotracheitis caused by Alcaligenes faecalis was performed in complete confinement on two turkey flocks immediately preceding vaccination with Newcastle disease virus (NDV). Tracheal culture results indicated populations of A. faecalis decreased following treatment. Clinical observations showed the treated turkeys had greater activity and more alertness compared with untreated A. faecalis-infected flocks, and respiratory sounds were diminished overall. Increased food and water consumption and no stunting was observed in treated turkeys. Treated flocks had a substantial decrease in mortality during the 4-week post-NDV vaccination period compared with untreated flocks. These results, although inadequately controlled, suggest a promising treatment program for A. faecalis infection in turkeys.


We consider a make-to-stock, finite-capacity production system with setup cost and delay-sensitive customers. To balance the setup and inventory related costs, the production manager adopts a two-critical-number control policy, where the production starts when the number of waiting customers reaches a certain level and shuts down when a certain quantity of inventory has accumulated. Once the production is set up, the unit production time follows an exponential distribution. Potential customers arrive according to a Poisson process. Customers are strategic, i.e., they make decisions on whether to stay for the product or to leave without purchase based on their utility values, which depend on the production manager's control decisions. We formulate the problem as a Stackelberg game between the production manager and the customers, where the former is the game leader. We first derive the equilibrium customer purchasing strategy and system performance. We then formulate the expected cost rate function for the production system and present a search algorithm for obtaining the optimal values of the two control variables. We further analyze the characteristics of the optimal solution numerically and compare them with the situation where the customers are non-strategic.


Motivation: An accurate characterization of transcription factor (TF)-DNA affinity landscape is crucial to a quantitative understanding of the molecular mechanisms underpinning endogenous gene regulation. While recent advances in biotechnology have brought the opportunity for building binding affinity prediction methods, the accurate characterization of TF-DNA binding affinity landscape still remains a challenging problem. Results: Here we propose a novel sequence embedding approach for modeling the transcription factor binding affinity landscape. Our method represents DNA binding sequences as a hidden Markov model which captures both position specific information and long-range dependency in the sequence. A cornerstone of our method is a novel message passing-like embedding algorithm, called Sequence2Vec, which maps these hidden Markov models into a common nonlinear feature space and uses these embedded features to build a predictive model. Our method is a novel combination of the strength of probabilistic graphical models, feature space embedding and deep learning. We conducted comprehensive experiments on over 90 large-scale TF-DNA datasets which were measured by different high-throughput experimental technologies. Sequence2Vec outperforms alternative machine learning methods as well as the state-of-the-art binding affinity prediction methods. Availability and implementation: Our program is freely available at https://github.com/ram zan1990/sequence2vec. Contact: firstname.lastname@example.com or firstname.lastname@example.com. Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.


Summary Preliminary site investigations indicated the possible presence of a partially degraded landslide along the proposed route of the A9 Perth-Inverness Trunk Road Improvement through Killiecrankie Pass in Scotland. The steep natural topography and the congested nature of the site, with an existing trunk road and railway line, necessitated the design of relatively deep cuttings through the landslide area. To investigate the ground conditions in the area and to enable designs for the cuttings to be prepared, a programme of site investigations was implemented, consisting primarily of engineering geomorphological mapping, seismic refraction surveys and the excavation of trial trenches and pits. The investigation revealed the presence of a sequence of glacial tills, outwash deposits and ancient mudflow deposits overlying a steeply sloping and undulating rock-head. Spring sapping was identified as the only major mechanism controlling natural slope instability. Preliminary designs for the cutting slopes were proposed incorporating the need for extensive drainage of the slopes cut in the glacial deposits. This paper describes the scope of the investigations carried out, the interpretation of the ground conditions and an outline of the approach adopted towards design of the cut slopes.


The goal of this paper is to justify the view that hermeneutical practice as a philosophical proposal cannot be reduced to the extraction of hidden meanings or the explication of text structures but instead contains ethical assumptions and implications. Following Ricœur's work, I will show that literary texts are part of ethics insofar as they create different mental experiments about ideas and values. I will show that the interpretation of literary texts, woven by the free play of imagination, constitutes a practice in which readers have the possibility of reconfiguring their way of looking at the world and acting. The reading of literature is an exercise of practical wisdom by enabling readers to rehearse and enable the implementation of the good life in just institutions. To achieve the paper's goal, I initially discuss ethical assumptions present in literary texts. I then develop Ricœur's notion of hermeneutics as used for the interpretation of literature. Finally, I propose several ethical implications resulting from the hermeneutical practice that is related to literary texts.


BACKGROUND
Human infection with Pasteurella multocida occurs most commonly following a nonhuman animal bite wound or cat scratch, with local skin and soft tissue infections the most frequent posttraumatic manifestations. Genitourinary tract pathology attributable to this organism occurs infrequently, with only one previous reported case of P multocida infection presenting in the form of a tuboovarian abscess.

CASE
A 44-year-old woman with an acute abdomen underwent exploratory laparotomy, revealing a right-sided tuboovarian abscess. Following a total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with a seven-day postoperative course of intravenous metronidazole, ampicillin and gentamicin, the patient was sent home on a regimen of cephradine, only to return with sepsis three days later. A course of intravenous aqueous penicillin sodium, metronidazole and cefotaxime was administered for the treatment of P multocida sepsis since this organism was identified in the intraoperative pelvic fluid culture 24 hours after the patient's initial discharge. After 13 days of the above regimen, the patient achieved full defervescence and was discharged on hospital day 15.

CONCLUSION
In the setting of a tuboovarian abscess, the clinician should consider P multocida as a potential etiologic agent, especially in a patient with extensive exposure to nonhuman animals. In the treatment of an acute adnexal infection secondary to this organism, one should employ perioperative therapy with the appropriate antibiotics for a duration of at least 14 days.


The Nuclear Pore Complex (NPC) is one of the largest and most complex protein assemblies in the cell and – among other functions – serves as the gatekeeper of nucleocytoplasmic transport. Unraveling its molecular architecture and functioning has been an active research topic for decades with recent cryogenic electron microscopy and superresolution studies advancing our understanding of the NPC's complex architecture. However, the specific and direct visualization of single copies of NPC proteins and thus the ability to observe single-molecule heterogeneities of these complex structures is thus far elusive. Here, we combine genetically-encoded self-labeling enzymes such as SNAP-tag and HaloTag with DNA-PAINT microscopy. We employ the high localization precision in DNA-PAINT and molecular contrast of these protein tags to optically resolve single copies of nucleoporins in the human Y-complex in three dimensions with a precision of ~3 nm. This technological advancement now enables structural studies of multicomponent complexes on the level of single proteins in cells using optical fluorescence microscopy.


In this paper we introduce Stratified Sampling with Duplicate Detection (SSDD), an algorithm for estimating the number of state expansions performed by heuristic search algorithms seeking solutions in state spaces represented by undirected graphs. SSDD is general and can be applied to estimate other state-space properties. We test SSDD on two tasks: (i) prediction of the number of A* expansions in a given f-layer when using a consistent heuristic function, and (ii) prediction of the state-space radius. SSDD has the asymptotic guarantee of producing perfect estimates in both tasks. Our empirical results show that in task (i) SSDD produces good estimates in all four domains tested, being in most cases orders of magnitude more accurate than a competing scheme, and in task (ii) SSDD quickly produces accurate estimates of the radii of the 4x4 Sliding-Tile Puzzle and the 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube.


According to the fire burning features, this paper proposes a low-power fire detection algorithm under complex background. In this algorithm, adaptive statistical background features are used as the basis for background suppression to remove the background image effectively and local accumulation area method is used to eliminate interference and identify areas of fire flames. The algorithm solves a difficult problem that low-power fire detection in video sequences which exists in complex background and low SNR is difficult to get. The experimentation results show that under the condition that the image resolution is 400 × 300, the algorithm proposed in this paper can identify the flame within 100 pixels with algorithm response time less than 7s, recognition rate more than 90% and false positive rate less than 10%.


The 1933 "Mock Trial of the Economists" is occasionally noticed and then interpreted as popular discontent with economists's "crime" of "conspiracy to spread mental fog" at evidenced by the dueling letters from the Oxbridge economists (Keynes, Pigou, et al.) and the LSE economists (Hayek, Robbins et al.) From William Beveridge's archives we provide the written record of the composition. The context that frames the composition, we find in this archival record, is the Soviet trials of experts. We interpret the composition reflecting Beveridge's concern with a totalitarian suppressing of competing viewpoints. This concern provides a context in which it might be helpful to read his later work on the British broadcasting monopoly.


Background: Actinic keratoses (AKs) are considered to be a 'field of cancerization' consisting of a histologically abnormal epithelium adjacent to tumour tissue. Treatment of the 'field of canceri-zation' is important for the prevention of neoplasm progression. UV radiation, especially UVB, produce genotoxic photoproducts such as cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) and 6-4 photo-products (6-4PPs) in DNA, being major players in skin cancerization. The potential use of DNA photolyases in skin cancer prevention is increasingly being demonstrated. Topical application of a liposome formulation containing CPD photolyase onto human skin provides protection against UV-B-induced damages.
Objectives: To assess the effects of topical application of a medical device (Eryf-AK) containing a DNA-repair enzyme, photolyase, encapsulated in liposomes and UV filters, on cancerization field in actinic keratosis (AK).
Methods: 13 AK patients were included. Clinical, dermoscopic, and reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) assessments, as well as skin biopsies, before and after a 4-week treatment were performed. Patients used Eryf-AK twice daily or only a sunscreen (3:1) with a similar sun protection factor (SPF) for one month.
Results: Erythema and scaling improved with Eryf-AK. RCM showed a reduction in scaling, detached corneocytes and polygonal nucleated cells in the stratum corneum (p=0.004, p=0.018, and p=0.021), an improvement of the atypical honeycomb pattern, and a decreased number of round nucleated cells at the spinous granulous layer (p<0.0005 and p=0.019) with Eryf-AK while no improvement was noted with the sunscreen product. The mean RCM score for AK significantly improved from 0.78 to 0.27 (p=0.002) with Eryf-AK. Histological clearance of AK in 4 cases and an improvement with a focal AK associated with inflammation in 3 additional patients were also observed with Eryf-AK. A decrease in p21 expression (p=0.042) and a tendency to decrease PCNA expression was also observed with Eryf-AK (p=0.076).
Conclusion: Our results show a benefit from Eryf-AK in the treatment of AK cancerisation field. The improvement was demonstrated clinically, by RCM, histologically and by immunohistochemistry. An improvement was also observed in the two patients with xeroderma pigmentosum, suggesting a benefit from this topical treatment in patients with this rare genetic disorder.


Since accurately identifying the error source which causes the exception is important, the problem of diagnosis for composite service becomes one of the key issues in the adaptive service composition. This paper proposes an approach for diagnosing composite service. In this approach, the uncertain casual relation between the exception and the service is formed by the way of computing the error propagation degree. The diagnosing algorithm which is based on the error dependent matrix is established. The diagnosis can be achieved by fuzzy reasoning. This approach can preserve the efficiency and accuracy of the diagnosis for composite service, which can support the self-adaptation of the composite service effectively.


A memoryless agent can acquire arbitrarily many signals. After each signal observation, she either terminates and chooses an action, or she discards her observation and draws a new signal. By conditioning the probability of termination on the information collected, she controls the correlation between the payoff state and her terminal action. We provide an optimality condition for the emerging stochastic choice. The condition highlights the benefits of selective memory applied to the extracted signals. Implications—obtained in simple examples—include (i) confirmation bias, (ii) speed-accuracy complementarity, (iii) overweighting of rare events, and (iv) salience effect.


We report on helical coordination networks that were prepared using a hexanuclear manganese metallamacrocycle as a helical tecton. We were able to prepare the three-dimensional helical coordination networks using a hexanuclear manganese metallamacrocycle, [Mn(6)(lshz)(6)], as a helical tecton, where N-lauroyl salicylhydrazide (H(3)lshz) was used as the primary building unit to generate the helical tecton as a secondary building unit. While the 4(1)/4(3) screw symmetry-linked helical coordination network was obtained when the primary building units had an N-acetyl group, both the 3(1)/3(2) screw symmetry-linked and the 4(1)/4(3) screw symmetry-linked helical coordination networks were obtained simultaneously in the same batch when the primary building unit had a long alkyl N-lauroyl group at the N-acetyl site.


Background Manganese (Mn) is widely used in industries including the manufacture of Mn-iron (Fe) alloy. Occupational Mn overexposure causes manganism. Mn is known to affect Fe metabolism; this study was designed to test the hypothesis that workers exposed to Mn may have an altered expression of mRNAs encoding proteins in Fe metabolism. Methods Workers occupationally exposed to Mn (n = 71) from a Mn–Fe alloy factory and control workers without Mn-exposure (n = 48) from a pig-iron plant from Zunyi, China, were recruited for this study. Blood samples were collected into Trizol-containing tubes. Total RNA was isolated, purified, and subjected to real-time RT-PCR analysis. Metal concentrations were quantified by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Results Working environment and genetic background of both groups were similar except for marked differences in airborne Mn concentrations (0.18 mg/m3 in Mn–Fe alloy factory vs. 0.0022 mg/m3 in pig-Fe plant), and in blood Mn levels (34.3 µg/L vs. 10.4 µg/L). Mn exposure caused a significant decrease in the expression of divalent metal transporter-1 (DMT1), transferrin (Tf) and hepcidin by 58.2%, 68.5% and 61.5%, respectively, as compared to controls, while the expression of transferrin receptor (TfR) was unaltered. Linear regression analysis revealed that expressions of DMT1, Tf and hepcidin were inversely correlated with the accumulative Mn exposure; the correlation coefficients (r) are −0.47, −0.54, and −0.49, respectively (p < 0.01). Conclusion The data suggest that occupational Mn exposure causes decreased expressions of DMT1, Tf and hepcidin in blood cells; the finding will help understand the mechanism underlying Mn exposure-associated alteration in Fe homeostasis among workers.


Objective: analysis and characterization of articles about Orem General Theory used between 1992 to 2001. Methodology and Materials: documental study about 108 articles recorded in Medline, Ovid, Proquest databases and in the National Colective Catalogue of Periodicals Colombian newspapers library. Seventy four articles using some Orem's General Theory were selected.  Results: Orem's General Theory has been applied in four continents. Thirty eight studies (51.3%) use it in the institutional environment and 21 (28.4%) in the community. Adults and senior citizens are the age groups more reported (47.3%). Quantitative research methods are the most common. Conclusions: sixty nine studies explore or correlate concepts from Orem's General Theory, the development of tools or the validation of theoretical constructs.: Empirical evidence about Orem's General Theory application shows its importance for the development of nursing knowledge and its convenience for nursing research and practice.


Several species of aggressive bark beetle in the genus Dendroctonus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) undergo large fluctuations in population density with distinct outbreak and non-outbreak phases. We investigated attributes we hypothesized as subject to density-dependent variation (in particular, those likely to express phenotypic plasticity) in the southern pine beetle (SPB), Dendroctonus frontalis, as possible indicators of population fluctuations. These traits were morphology (body size and hindwing shape) and the sex ratio of trap-captured, dispersing SPB populations. We compared attributes of beetles from locations that ranged from having zero to high numbers (>1500) of SPB infestations (spots) at the county level for two summers. Southern pine beetle were obtained from six states in the southeastern USA and had been collected during a springtime, region-wide trapping survey used for forecasting outbreaks annually. Although we detected an expected but weak sexual dimorphism in both size and shape-related traits, no morphological differences were found between SPB collected from traps in counties with low or high densities of spots (≤10 or >10 per county, respectively). We found no relationship between numbers of SPB spots per county and trapped sex ratios in 2016, but we observed a strong trend in 2017, with about three times higher proportions of females trapped in counties with low compared with high numbers of spots. This implies that one or more known or possible factors influencing trapped sex ratios (e.g., disparities between the sexes in their responses to semiochemicals or in their propensity to disperse) can be densitydependent. Including trap-captured sex ratios in prediction models may improve current forecasting of SPB outbreaks in the southeastern USA, informing more timely and effective management of one of the most economically and ecologically important beetle species of this region.


1. The dynamic model of oxidative phosphorylation developed previously for rat liver mitochondria incubated with succinate was adapted for muscle mitochondria respiring on pyruvate. We introduced the following changes considering: (1) a higher external ATP/ADP ratio and an ATP/ADP carrier less displaced from equilibrium; (2) a substrate dehydrogenation more sensitive to the NADH/NAD+ ratio; and (3) the respiratory chain, ATP synthase and phosphate carrier being more displaced from equilibrium. The experimental flux control coefficients already determined in state 3 for respiratory rate and ATP synthesis were used to adjust some parameters. This new oxidative phosphorylation model enabled us to simulate the whole titration curves obtained experimentally in state 3. These curves, which mimic the effect of mitochondrial complex deficiencies on oxidative phosphorylation, show a threshold effect, which is reproduced by the model. 2. the model was also used to simulate other physiological conditions such as (i) state 3.5, conditions in-between state 4 and state 3; and (ii) hypoxic conditions. In both cases a profound change in the pattern of the control coefficients was shown. 3. This model was thus found useful in investigating a variety of new conditions, the most interesting of which can then be experimentally studied.


Since the first ideation of the World Innovation Stock Exchange in 2015, the business landscape has drastically changed. The world witnessed the introduction the Metaverse as the pioneer of cyber-parallel worlds. Societies endured a global pandemic and the subsequent socio-economic crises of unprecedented force. All happened under an ambient banalization of individual entrepreneurship as a shaping capacity with increasing impact power on the Collective (physical, cultural, and digital society). Under the phenomena of globalization and financialization, the contribution to knowledge and innovation is becoming more and more organic, since citizens themselves endorse an entrepreneurial proactiveness in tackling challenges of varied scale. The contemporary global technologic and social disruptions are changing the game of innovation management. Emerging and existing technologies of the Industrialisation 4.0 not only provide a platform to the digital world, but also augment it, thereby augmenting the impact a sole individual, a simple organization, or a remote business can have in innovating globally. Moreover, global crises have accelerated both the already occurring evolution of work-places & work-practices, and the capacity stakeholders have in endorsing collectively and holacratically projects to solve commonly faced challenges. More than ever before, the digital world enables to collaboratively develop, control and monetise one another's Innovation. The diversity in stakeholder's collaboration is a consequence of these structural changes. Indeed, it is no longer surprising that eminent businessmen now collaborate individually with start-up incubators, celebrities partner with social enterprises, and eminent scholars pair up with MNCs to come up with developmental programs. Above the previously mentioned technological, social, and economic disruptions, a superseding revolution has occurred. One that is structurally reshaping individual and social relationships to knowledge and knowledge management: the democratisation of intellectual capital. Nowadays, anyone connected to the web can collaborate and expose its ideas formally or informally on a variety of social media and professional platforms. The number of innovators with unique profiles, in age, geographic location, and social status has sprung. The power of metaverstic-like processes in knowledge management relies on its democratic nature, inclusively welcoming a diversity of profiles and ideas. How to take sporadic ideas and contributions internationally, expressed on a web platform, and instantaneously match them, ideally structure them, and coordinate their protagonists' actions to pursue them? How to facilitate and incentivise the evolution idea-innovation? How to optimally take ideas on a page to a lifechanging service? Since innovation management is becoming gamified, the is an evident need to develop Metaverstic project management tools that encompasses not only AI-facilitated holacratic teaming, but also blockchained project management in all its phases (from ideation to market launch), while taking into account the critical component of innovation monetisation. In 2015, the World Innovation Stock Exchange already set the bases of such Metaverstic platform of innovation management: this Exchange structures the meeting of the minds, just as any financial stock exchange does, while following the Shared Values principles. To extend on the premises of this novel Exchange, this paper describes in detail how a component of the W.ISE will have to be developed, namely the World Innovation Stock Exchange Democratic Incubator (WISE-DI). It describes how it operates conceptually and to which extent it answers structural guidelines to practically develop this W.ISE. It addresses the critical notion of Innovation tokenization with the MarkPoints cryptocurrency, the securitization of project management via the W.ISE blockchain, and the monetization of the launched-to-market innovations in the real economy*. The ultimate benefit of the W.ISE-DI platform relies on both its smart structuring capacity and user-friendly/ interactive interface, which enable to manage intellectual contribution ownership and incentivise R&D collective financing.


Absence of the protein dystrophin causes Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Dystrophin directly binds to microtubules in vitro, and its absence in vivo correlates with disorganization of the subsarcolemmal microtubule lattice, increased detyrosination of α-tubulin, and altered redox signaling. We previously demonstrated that the dystrophin homologue utrophin neither binds microtubules in vitro nor rescues microtubule lattice organization when overexpressed in muscles of dystrophin-deficient mdx mice. Here, we fine-mapped the dystrophin domain necessary for microtubule binding to spectrin-like repeats 20-22. We show that transgenic mdx mice expressing a full-length dystrophin/utrophin chimera completely lacking microtubule binding activity are surprisingly rescued for all measured dystrophic phenotypes, including full restoration of microtubule lattice organization. Conversely, despite the presence of dystrophin at the sarcolemma, β-sarcoglycan-deficient skeletal muscle presents with a disorganized and densified microtubule lattice. Finally, we show that the levels of α-tubulin detyrosination remain significantly elevated to that of mdx levels in transgenic mdx mice expressing nearly full-length dystrophin. Our results demonstrate that the microtubule-associated perturbations of mdx muscle are distinct, separable, and can vary independently from other parameters previously ascribed to dystrophin deficiency.


"The Shi'is of Saudi Arabia" offers a comprehensive overview of the evolution of Shi'i opposition in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, from the Iranian Revolution in 1979 to the ascension of Abdullah to the throne in August 2005. Fouad Ibrahim examines the Reform Movement, which replaced the Islamic Revolution Organization following the Shi'i uprisings in al-Hasa and Qatif. Since its initiation, the Movement has campaigned for an Islamic state similar to the Iranian model. It became more moderate in the early nineties, when it began advocating democracy, human rights and civil society. It also succeeded in bringing issues of political and individual liberty in Saudi Arabia to the attention of human rights organizations, Western governments and political parties throughout the world. King Fahd decreed a general amnesty in 1993, allowing Shi'i dissidents who had fled to return to the country. In return, the Shi'is were required to abandon their political programme of reform. This marked a new era for the Shi'is in the Eastern Province. Ibrahim assesses the leaders' considerable efforts to formulate a new discourse, participating in activities throughout the country with the aim of bringing about political change in the kingdom.


ABSTRACT The past two decades have witnessed a rapid rise in well-being research, and a profusion of empirical studies on positive psychology interventions (PPIs). This bibliometric analysis quantifies the extent to which rigorous research on PPIs that employ randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reaches beyond Western Educated Industrialized Rich Democratic (WEIRD) populations. A search was conducted through databases including PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus for studies from 1998 to 2017. In total, we found 187 full-text articles that included 188 RCTs from 24 countries. We found that RCTs on the efficacy of PPIs are still predominately conducted in western countries, which accounted for 78.2% of the studies. All these countries are highly industrialized and democratic, and study populations are often highly educated and have a high income. However, there has been a strong and steady increase in publications from non-Western countries since 2012, indicating a trend towards globalization of positive psychology research.


Many reports show a relation between exogenous thyroxine therapies on bone mineral density but the net effects remain unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of replacement dose of levothyroxine on bone mineral density in premenopausal women with primary hypothyroidism .

 Materials & Methods: This study included 50 women with primary hypothyroidism. Patients with history of thyroid surgery and iodine ablation, patients with other diseases, or drugs that interfered with bone mineral density were excluded from this study. Bone mineral density was measured before and after 24 months of replacement dose of levothyroxine treatment. Statistical analysis was done by paired t-test. The data before and after levothyroxine therapy were compared with each other .

 Results : The mean age of patients was 34.4 ±5.3 years. The mean lumbar bone mineral percent before treatment was %78.8±15.2 and mean T score in lumbar area was -1.4±0.86. After two years of treatment, the mean lumbar bone mineral percent and lumbar T score changed to %78.4±13.6 and -1.7±0.57, respectively. The mean bone mineral percent in neck of femur was %88.47±13.04 and T score was -1.05±1.07 before treatment that changed to %92.0±8.07 and T score -0.9±0.88 after levothyroxine treatment. These changes were not significant .

 Conclusion : Replacement dose of Levothyroxine therapy for at least two years in pre-menopausal women with hypothyroidism does not cause any significant change in bone mineral density .


The construction of an individual/institution dualism can be questioned by retracing the evolution of theories concerning institutions and the subject. By dismissing the necessary socio-symbolic operators and the constraints and limits inherent in the fabrication of subjects, legendary and psychoanalytical theories of Lacanian orientation have subverted this antagonism and reduced it to often naive dimensions. Today, it is present in the social discourses of liberalism and individualism while it is ignored that the decline of institutions contributes to the crisis in the process of subjective construction, social disaffiliation and the rise of insignificance.


Exploiting unique German administrative data, we estimate the association between an expansion in maternity leave duration from two to six months in 1979 and mothers' post-birth long-term sickness absence over a period of three decades after childbirth. Using a regression discontinuity design, we first show that the leave extension caused mothers to significantly delay their return to work within the first year after childbirth. We then compare the number and length of spells of long-term sickness absence of returned mothers who gave birth before and after the change in leave legislation. Our findings suggest that among those returned, mothers subject to the leave extension exhibit a higher incidence of long-term sickness absence as compared to control mothers. This also holds true after controlling for observable differences in pre-birth illness histories. At the same time, there are no pronounced effects on mothers' medium-run labor market attachment following the short-run delay in return to work, which might rationalize a negative causal health effect. Breaking down the results by mothers' pre-birth health status suggests that the higher incidence of long-term sickness absence among the treated may be explained by the fact that the reform has facilitated re-entry of a negative health selection into the labor market.


Culture Change leaders in long term care have identified creative ways to implement a model of Person Directed Care to improve the client experience by providing choice, instilling dignity, and fostering deep relationships among its community members. One organization created an environment of care called "The Small House" and educated its' workforce using the Green House® Project Legacy Alignment program to redesign the organizational structure, experience and environment. Interviews were conducted with elders, staff, and family members (N=20) about their experiences living, working or visiting a Small House as compared to experiences in their previous dwelling, a traditional nursing home. They were asked to describe the biggest difference between the Small House and the traditional nursing home model, and the differences in the two models in terms of the food, personal care, and relationships. Study participants were also asked to rate on a likert scale satisfaction with their experiences in the traditional nursing home and the Small House. Results showed that satisfaction ratings were higher among all groups living, working, or visiting the Small House compared to the traditional nursing home setting. The themes that emerged most often in comparing the Small House homes to the traditional nursing home included choice, homelike atmosphere, positive sensory environment, and evidence of close relationships in the Small House. The Small House homes studied in this qualitative investigation appear to have captured the important elements that create real home and consistent care partners who know the elders deeply to keep them comfortable and engaged.


As a leader, it's your job to extract maximum talent, energy, knowledge, and innovation from your customers and employees. But how? In The Social Organization, two of Gartner's lead analysts strongly advocate exploiting social technology. The authors share insights from their study of successes and failures at more than four hundred organizations that have used social technologies to foster--and capitalize on--customers' and employees' collective efforts. But the new social technology landscape isn't about the technology. It's about building communities, fostering new ways of collaborating, and guiding these efforts to achieve a purpose. To that end, the authors identify the core disciplines managers must master to translate community collaboration into otherwise impossible results: * Vision: defining a compelling vision of progress toward a highly collaborative organization. * Strategy: taking community collaboration from risky and random success to measurable business value. * Purpose: rallying people around a clear purpose, not just providing technology. * Launch: creating a collaborative environment and gaining adoption. * Guide: participating in and influencing communities without stifling collaboration. * Adapt: responding creatively to change in order to better support community collaboration. The Social Organization highlights the benefits and challenges of using social technology to tap the power of people, revealing what managers must do to make collaboration a source of enduring competitive advantage.


Most adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who reach a complete remission (CR) after induction chemotherapy will relapse if they do not receive further therapy. Autologous stem cell transplantation (SCT) represents one of the options of postremission therapy in AML. Here we discuss the therapeutic impact of consolidation treatment with autologous SCT that has been studied extensively. Meta-analyses of published randomized trials using bone marrow as the source of stem cells show a modest improvement of disease-free survival as compared to nonmyeloablative chemotherapy. However, there is no apparent improvement of overall survival, probably due to the slightly increased mortality associated with autologous bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Subsequently, the value of autologous SCT in different prognostic subsets of AML is discussed. Autologous mobilized peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplantation offers a much faster hematopoietic recovery and is associated with reduced morbidity and treatment-related mortality. To fully appreciate the role of autologous PBSC transplantation, the results of a recently closed randomized trial must be awaited.


Background The aims of this study were to assess lay people's ability to recognize personality disorders as psychological 'illnesses' and to establish their beliefs concerning causes and treatment of each disorder.

Methods Two hundred fourteen participants answered a questionnaire, consisting of three case vignettes describing paranoid, narcissistic and obsessive–compulsive personality disorders, according to DSM-IV-TR, each followed by 20 attitudinal statements concerning aetiology and treatment.

Results Narcissistic personality disorder was the disorder least recognized as a psychological 'illness'. Overall, psychological causes and treatments were given more prominence than biological ones. Results suggest that personal experience of mental health problems (whether theoretical or practical) seems to improve 'illness' recognition.

Conclusion To the extent that personality disorders were recognized as psychological 'illnesses', recognition was increased if the personality disorder was related to a similar Axis I disorder. Experience of mental health problems and knowledge of psychology or psychiatry improves 'illness' recognition, although not for every personality disorder. Psychological causes were endorsed more strongly than biological causes for all disorders—but again, the extent to which a disorder was thought to have a psychological rather than biological cause varied as a function of the disorder. A similar pattern was observed for treatment preferences. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


As more and more nanomaterials with novel physicochemical properties or new functions are created and used in different research fields and industrial sectors, the scientific and public concerns about their toxic effects on human health and the environment are also growing quickly. In the past decade, the study of the toxicological properties of nanomaterials/nanoparticles has formed a new research field: nanotoxicology. However, most of the data published relate to toxicological phenomena and there is less understanding of the underlying mechanism for nanomaterial-induced toxicity. Nanomaterial-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a key role in cellular and tissue toxicity. Herein, we classify the pathways for intracellular ROS production by nanomaterials into 1) the direct generation of ROS through nanomaterial-catalyzed free-radical reactions in cells, and 2) the indirect generation of ROS through disturbing the inherent biochemical equilibria in cells. We also discuss the chemical mechanisms associated with above pathways of intracellular ROS generation, from the viewpoint of the high reactivity of atoms on the nanosurface. We hope to aid in the understanding of the chemical origin of nanotoxicity to provide new insights for chemical and material scientists for the rational design and creation of safer and greener nanomaterials.


Histotopographic, morphological, and histochemical investigations of the state of the gastral system in 147 cases with gastric cancer of Ist--IVth state, occurrence of which could not be associated with chronic ulcer or polyp, justified the conclusion that in 9 cases (6.2%) extensive erosive, ulcerous-infiltrative and diffuse cancer developed against the background of preceeding hypertrophic glandular gastritis. Moreover, there was a likelihood that in 7 cases (4.6%) hypertrophic glandular gastritis played a role in the onset of gastric cancer. Chronic hypertrophic glandular gastritis should be looked upon as a pretumour disease of the stomach, a precancer condition in the broad sense of the word. The problems of interrelationship between Menetrier's disease and cancer of the stomach in the present article are not considered.


The study aimed at improving the problems of warpage occurring in the mold injection of battery lower cases. Firstly, the effects of variations of molding parameters are investigated in order to minimize the warpage. Secondly, Moldflow software is employed to simulate the molten plastic flow inside the cavity, and followed by the holding pressure analysis. Moreover, Taguchi method is applied to find the optimum distribution of mold temperature, and its results are used to design cooling tubes. Finally, different cooling systems are parametrically simulated and the optimum combinations will be found. The analytical results indicate that the optimum parameters can reduce the warpage problem occurring during mold injection. Therefore, the yield rate of the products can be effectively raised.


Slow positron beam and coincidence Doppler broadening techniques have been used to follow temperature-induced defects and structural changes in Cz-Si with an initial oxygen content of 1.1×1018 cm-3. Oxygen is recognized as a peak at about 11.85×10-3m0c on the ratio curves. For Cz-Si annealed at 480 oC/15h or 600 oC/15h, the ratio curves show the presence of vacancy-like defects, but they are not associated with oxygen. For Cz-Si annealed at 480 oC/15h, then followed by a 600 oC/15h heat treatment, the ratio curves show the signal of O atom. The ratio curves of Cz-Si, thermally treated by a two-step (480oC/15h + 600oC/15h) pre-annealing, followed by a one-step annealing under different hydrostatic argon pressures and annealed temperatures, also show a peak at 11.85×10-3m0c. The height of the peak varies with different samples. Experimental results indicate that the SiO2 film will form on the surface of Cz-Si after the heat treatment.


Loss of sugars contributes to accelerate postharvest senescence of broccoli. Several treatments have been developed to delay senescence, but in many cases their effects on sugar metabolism were not analyzed. We studied the effect of harvest at different times of day (08:00, 13:00 and 18:00 h) and of several postharvest treatments as heat treatment (HT), modified atmosphere (MA) and 1-methylcylcopropene (1-MCP) on sugar levels and activities of enzymes related to sucrose and starch degradation. Harvesting at the end of day delayed the loss of chlorophylls and caused the lowest decrement in sugars, although no differences in invertase, sucrose synthase and β-amylase activities were detected among samples. Treatments of MA and 1-MCP caused a lower loss of glucose and fructose, while HT caused a lower decrement of sucrose. Treated samples maintained higher levels of chlorophylls. The treat ments reduced the activity of invertase and sucrose synthase and induced higher levels of β-amylase activity. Har vesting at the end of day and performing simultaneously a MA treatment could be a good combination to maintain the green color of the inflorescence and sugar levels during postharvest of broccoli.


Chronic widespread pain, in which pain is experienced in multiple bodily
areas, is estimated to affect between 4.7% and 11.2% of the population but
little is known about the experiences of this group of people. Previous research
on chronic illness has offered insights into the ways in which sufferers attempt
to construct new identities or maintain old ones, which may be relevant to the
experience of people with chronic widespread pain. This paper is based on
ongoing research which uses in-depth interviews, diaries and family member
interviews to explore the experiences of this group of people. The paper uses
the accounts of two men and their spouses to explore the ways in which key
features of chronic widespread pain may influence identity. For Harry, the
invisibility of pain raises possible accusations of 'idleness' or malingering,
leading to attempts to maintain identity as a worker, despite the uncertainties of
a chronic condition. Harry attempts to reduce the impact of his illness on his
identity, through presenting himself as part of the wider group of the
unemployed, leading to additional tensions. In contrast, Duncan creates a new
identity as a 'household engineer', demonstrating his physical competence and
control over aspects of his condition through performance of household chores.
He, and his wife, present his pain onset as a positive opportunity to renegotiate
their roles within the family. The accounts of Harry and Duncan provide
insight into the experiences of living with chronic widespread pain and the
different ways in which lost identities can be recreated.


Introduction The chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) approach, based on the hydroxyl-water proton exchange, can provide valuable information on the concentration of glycogen, glycosaminoglycans, and myo-inositol [1-3], etc. Compared to the well-studied amide-water proton exchange for which a long and lowpower irradiation pulse is generally adopted, the faster hydroxyl-water proton exchange suggests that a higher irradiation pulse power would be necessary to optimize the chemical exchange (CE) contrast. Unfortunately, given the smaller chemical shift between the hydroxyl and water protons, this would also lead to a larger direct water saturation effect. Recently, it was reported that a similar CE contrast can be obtained with a frequency offset-dependent spin-locking (SL) approach which minimizes the contamination of the direct water saturation effect [4]. In this work, we evaluated the hydroxyl-water CE contrast with the CEST and SL approaches.


Nature uses negative pressures in the most resourceful and efficient ways. Yet, negative pressure states are still sometimes considered inaccessible by part of the scientific community. In this paper we show that any condensed phase can exist in absolute negative pressure regimes, while the same is not true for gas phases. We also demonstrate that such states are not merely possible but have, in spite of their metastability, been observed experimentally on numerous occasions. Moreover, physical properties of several substances and mixtures have already been determined in the stretched liquid phase at absolute negative pressures. Nevertheless, conceiving of and succeeding in an experiment that produces high tension in a liquid are rather difficult. Thus, equations of state and computer simulations are powerful tools for studying metastable liquids. By using a simple equation of state we show: how negative pressure regimes can be attained; the maximum intrinsic tension a liquid can sustain; and below which temperature a liquid can be found in this state. Experimental and theoretical work on liquids at negative pressures is reviewed. Furthermore, the similarities and differences between negative temperature and negative pressure states are demonstrated. Due to water's non-trivial behavior as well as its technological and scientific importance, it has been the most studied substance in metastable phenomena. We will thus devote particular attention to some of the rich features of its metastable phase diagram. Water belongs to a class of substances that presents density anomalies. We also show how the negative pressure region of the phase diagram proves to be paramount in understanding the unusual behavior of this class of substances.


In the last few years click chemistry reactions, and in particular copper-catalyzed cycloadditions have been used extensively for the preparation of new bioconjugated molecules such as 18 F-radiolabeled radiopharmaceuticals for positron emission tomography (PET). This study is focused on the synthesis of the Siemens imaging biomarker [ 18 F]RGD-K5. This cyclic peptide contains an amino acid sequence which is a well known binding motif for integrin α v β 3 involved in cellular adhesion to the extracellular matrix. We developed an improved " click " chemistry method using Cu(I)-Monophos as catalyst to conjugate [ 18 F] fl uoropentyne to the RGD-azide precursor yielding [ 18 F]RGD-K5. A comparison is made with the registered Siemens method with respectto synthesis, puri fi cation andquality control. [ 18 F]RGD-K5 was obtained after 75 min overall synthesis time with an overall radiochemical yield of 35% (EOB). The radiochemical purity was N 98% and the speci fi c radioactivity was 100 – 200 GBq/ μ mol at the EOS. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


The importance of third party influence in impacting the reputation and relationships that stakeholders have with organisations is well documented in academic research. However, there is a void in both the study and practice of how such influence affects reputation. This paper sets out to fill this void by presenting the Channel Strategy Model. This model enables us to understand how the networks of influence that operate around key stakeholders affect their behaviour and how this knowledge can be deployed to mobilise networks of influence in the framing of successful communications campaigns. The Channel Strategy Model contributes in three ways to how communications and reputation management have traditionally operated in practice. First, it shifts the approach from companycentric, inside-out communications to stakeholder-centric outside-in communications,thereby understanding stakeholder narratives and perspectives that are outside of the companies' sphere of experience. Second, it leverages networks and encourages indirect rather than only direct communications. Third, it emphasises the importance of communication as a two-way process and highlights the critical importance of listening as well as broadcasting in building reputation. The paper concludes with a brief outlook on how the Channel Strategy Model can be used to guide stakeholder engagement and communication strategy in a way that allows companies to identify how and with whom they could communicate to create mutual benefit


Fleur Johns' thesis about the increasing role of data in the verification of the condition of the world and how this impacts on international law is stimulating and bears reflection. This is an extremely interesting and innovative approach to the issue of data and its role in state engagement with mass migration. From the perspective of a scholar on international refugee law, a number of issues arise as a result of the analysis. One of the contested aspects of mass migration and refugee protection is the inherent inconsistency between two ways of thinking about human rights—the first is the duty of (some) international organizations to protect human rights in a manner which elides human rights and humanitarian law, and the second is the right of the individual to dignity, the basis of all human rights according to the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1949. The first enhances the claims of states to sovereign right to control their borders (mediated through some international organizations), while the second recognizes the international human rights duties of states and international organizations to respect the dignity of people as individuals (including refugees). Fleur is completely correct that human rights abuses are at the core of refugee movements. While there are always many people in a country who will stay and fight human rights abuses even when this results in their sacrifice, others will flee danger trying to get themselves and their families to places of safety; we are not all heroes. Yet, when people flee in more than very small numbers, state authorities have a tendency to begin the language of mass migration. The right to be a refugee becomes buried under the threat of mass migration to the detriment of international obligations. Insofar as mass migration is a matter for management, the right of a refugee is an individual right to international protection which states have bound themselves to offer.


Objective: Vitamin D deficiency is a global health issue affecting many countries, especially those in temperate climates. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency and level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] in females categorised by age and race. Methods: The study was performed between January 2015 and January 2016. This study consisted of 1 976 females stratified by age into < 18, reproductive age (18–45) and > 45 years. Demographic variables were recorded and serum 25(OH)D levels measured by chemiluminescent emission. Results: The predictors of lower 25(OH)D levels included age and race, (p < 0.0001 for each predictor). Approximately 46% of females had < 20 ng/ml 25(OH)D level, the majority of whom were Indian (35%). The 25(OH)D level varied by race (White 27.33 ng/ml; Black 23.43 ng/ml and Indian 15.05 ng/ml; p < 0.0001). In the <18-year age category, White and Black women had significantly higher 25(OH)D levels when compared with Indian women (38.25 ng/ml vs. 37.51 ng/ml vs. 13.68 ng/ml respectively; p < 0.0001). Similarly, in the reproductive age category (18–45 years); White (27.63 ng/ml) and Black (20.93 ng/ml) women had a significantly higher 25(OH)D level compared with Indian (13.15 ng/ml) women (p < 0.0001). Moreover, similar data were observed within the > 45-year age category, where the White and Black women had higher 25(OH)D levels compared with Indian women (25.46 ng/ml vs. 22.73 ng/ml vs. 17.04 ng/ml; p < 0.0001) respectively. Irrespective of age category, severe vitamin D deficiency was highest amongst Indian females. Conclusion: This study demonstrates a significant difference in 25(OH)D concentration in healthy females living in Durban, with Indians presenting with the highest vitamin D deficiency. These findings clearly highlight the need for a policy on vitamin D supplementation and/or fortification of food. Further studies are under way to assess the genetic predisposition of women to vitamin D deficiency.