Recent observations of accelerated glacier wastage in Greenland and Alaska haveprompted reassessments of mass balance trends and volume changes on Cana-dian Arctic glaciers and ice caps. While long surface mass balance measurementsare available from glaciers and ice caps in the Queen Elizabeth Islands (e.g., WhiteGlacier, Devon Ice Cap, Meighen Ice Cap), no such records exist for Baffin Islandglaciers. In the absence of such data, air- and space-borne measurements canbe used in combination with in situ data to evaluate historical and recent trendsin ice cover changes. Here, we use repeat laser airborne altimetry surveys con-ducted in 2005 and 2013 by NASA to estimate recent volume and mass changesof Penny Ice Cap, the southernmost large ice cap on Baffin Island ( 66N). Thesedata are validated against in-situ surface mass balance measurements from 2013and IceSat derived elevation change from 2003-2009. Once validated, surface el-evation changes along altimetry lines are extrapolated to the entire ice cap usinga digital elevation model (DEM). Changes in areal extent of the ice cap are con-strained using satellite imagery (e.g. Landsat). From these data we estimate thetotal mass wastage of the ice cap and its recent contribution to sea level rise. Thiswork builds on previous surveys for the period 1995-2005 (Abdalati et al.,2004;Gardneret al.,2012).


Within the scope of this thesis two proteins were analysed whose mutant phenotype affects the branching of trichomes. at-clasp mutant plants posses unbranched trichomes and the strength of the phenotype depends on the allele used. Sterility is observed in the strongest alleles. Furthermore it was shown that the at-clasp mutant phenotype is temperature dependant. Growth conditions with temperatures up to 16°C are permissive for normal growth of all alleles. To determine the localisation of At-CLASP, fusions to fluorescent proteins were constructed. It was shown that At-CLASP is localised to microtubules. Contrary to the data from H. sapiens, At-CLASP localisation was not restricted to the +end of microtubules but marks filaments almost entirely. To understand the binding properties of At-CLASP to microtubules, it was dissected into two fragments. The C-terminal region of the protein was localised to the cell-cortex or the plasma membrane. In contrast, the N-terminal region was sufficient to mediate the binding to microtubules as this fragment was hardly distinguishable from the entire protein. Despite the altered localisation of At-CLASP compared to H. sapiens CLASP, several orthologs of H. sapiens CLASP interaction partners were identified in the A. thaliana genome. These putative A. thaliana binding partners were tested for interaction with At-CLASP in direct Yeast-Two-Hybrid experiments. However, no interactions were detected. One postulated function of CLASP from H. sapiens is the stabilisation of subsets of microtubules. To test a similar function of the A. thaliana protein, the rescue of the tfc-a mutant under an increased dosage of At-CLASP was analysed. Preliminary results suggest that a stabilizing function of At-CLASP might be evolutionary retained. Trichomes of strong stichel alleles are completely unbranched. To improve the understanding of STI function plants expressing GFP:STI fusions were analysed further. GFP:STI fusion proteins mark the tip of emerging trichomes. As soon as a trichomes becomes visible by means of morphological criteria, GFP:STI can be detected in the tip of trichomes. Trichomes that initiate the second branch showed GFP:STI signal even before the branch was visible. Plasmolysis experiments demonstrated that GFP:STI is likely localised to the plasma membrane. In order to get a closer insight into which part of the STI protein is responsible for its specific localization, fragments were analysed for showing a comparable localisation pattern. Fusions of parts of the STI protein with YFP could not reveal the likely present motif for the described localisation. Nevertheless one longer fragment S1/AS3 and one shorter fragment S3/AS3 showed a strong dominant negative effect when overexpressed in wild-type. To increase the understanding about the molecular function of STI, possible binding partners of GFP:STI were identified by an immunoprecipitation assay. Phospholipase Dα1 and one transcription factor of the MADS-box family were identified as candidates for interaction with STI. A. thaliana contains one gene (STI-HOM) which is very similar to STI. To test whether STI-HOM fulfils a comparable a role in trichome development T-DNA mutants were analysed. None of them showed a trichome phenotype. The analysis of a sti sti-hom double-mutant situation revealed no change in the sti mutant trichome phenotype. Promoter swapping experiments were performed to test whether both proteins are functionally exchangeable. However STI-HOM was not able to rescue the sti mutant trichome phenotype. Therefore STI and STI-HOM are likely functionally distinct.


We analyze properties of closed-loop systems based on explicit model predictive control (MPC) when parameters of the controllers are changing. Formulation of the problem in the framework of MPC with a cost based on piecewise linear norms leads to the generalized multi-parametric linear program containing parameters both in the cost and in the constraints. The focus of the paper is on describing a novel simplex-based algorithm for solving such a class of problems. The algorithm uses the concept of lexicographic perturbation to resolve problems caused by degeneracy


Abstract Aim of the study Assessing the cross-cultural psychometric properties of the Dutch-MQoL for breast cancer patients. Methods 26 patients were recruited at the Antwerp University Hospital. Eligible patients filled in the MQoL on different moments in time in order to evaluate clinimetric properties. To determine the validity; MQoL was correlated to the EORTC QLQ-C30. Internal consistency was analysed using Cronbach's and test-retest reliability was determined by ICC. For statistical responsiveness, S.E.M and MDC were calculated. Results A strong correlation was found between the 'QoL score' of the MQoL and the domain 'existential well- being' of the EORTC QLQ-C30 (r = 0.72). An excellent test-retest reliability (ICC (1,1)) was demonstrated with intraclass coefficients ranging from 0.82 to 0.92. A MDC in total score of only 1.22 (12%) was seen, needed to detect a factual change within a patients' QoL. Psychometric properties of the Dutch MQoL were found comparable to the properties of the original questionnaire. Conclusion The Dutch version of the MQoL is a valid and reliable questionnaire for breast cancer patients and shows statistical responsiveness. Due to the strong to excellent reliability, this version of the MQoL is useful in clinical as well as scientific setting.


The pressure-driven water transport inside the nanochannel formed by GE bilayers is studied via molecular dynamics simulation. The effects of flow driving pressure and channel size, as well as interaction strength between the water molecules and the GE bilayer are investigated and understood by exploring the distribution of the water molecules, their average velocity, and the friction between them and the channel walls. Ultrafast water flow rate is observed and different channel size dependences of the water flow rate are discovered for weak and strong interaction strengths. The layered water structure inside the GE bilayer is found to play a significant role in influencing the water flow rate. This study is of significance for the design and application of GE-based nanomaterials in future nanofiltration and water purification technologies.


BACKGROUND
Severe pre-eclampsia (sPE) causes significant maternal morbidity and intrauterine growth restriction as a result of severe placental dysfunction. Defects in the formation of both extra-villous and villous trophoblast are characteristic of this disease. The outer syncytiotrophoblast layer covering the placental villi develops syncytial knots and focal necrosis while reduced invasion of the extra-villous trophoblast results in a reduced maternal blood supply and ischemia of the placental villi. The transcription factor glial cell missing-1 (GCM1) regulates formation of both types of trophoblast. GCM1 expression is reduced in placental villi of women with sPE but the functional downstream consequences of reduced GCM1 expression are unknown.

METHODS AND RESULTS
In floating first trimester villous explants we demonstrated increased mRNA (2.5-fold, n = 12) and protein level (9.8-fold) of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-4 (TIMP4) following repression of GCM1 (70 ± 7%) by small interfering-RNA, using RT-PCR and western blot, respectively. Similar increases in TIMP4 mRNA (4.2-fold, n = 7, P< 0.001 versus control) and protein levels were found following gene silencing of GCM1 in BeWo cells (<90% knock down of protein). TIMP4 protein was increased in placenta from women with sPE (3.5 ± 0.4 pg/µg, n = 8), compared with preterm (1.7 ± 0.17 pg/µg, n = 9) and term controls (1.6 ± 0.16 pg/µg, n = 9; P< 0.01; quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and visualized using immunohistochemistry) with reduced GCM1 expression, mostly in the pathologic syncytial knots.

CONCLUSIONS
TIMP4 is a downstream target of GCM1 that may link the consequences of reduced GCM-1-directed trophoblast differentiation to histologic and functional components of disordered placentation in sPE.


Fabric compressibility is very important in all RTM processes, and affects both the material and processing properties of the part. As the fabric is compressed by fluid pressure or the mold surface the fibers get compacted and the fiber volume fraction increases. This decreases the thickness of the part, decreases the permeability, and decreases the porosity. Compressibility is possibly more important to understand in one sided molding processes than in closed-mold processes. In this study, changing in permeability for four types of fibers that have been under pressure is measured. Based on experimental data related to permeability changes, for each type of fibers, plotted corresponding curves using interpolation and for each sample, modeled its behavior. Finally, the model outputs for several samples compared with experimental data to evaluate precision of model. The results showed that this model with low error can predict the permeability changes of fibers.


Pasting properties of starch were affected by storage at 37 °C; the most significant changes were seen in peak viscosity and breakdown. In contrast, storage at 4 °C retarded the changes. The composition of the leachate from the RVA pastes was significantly affected by storage temperature (P < 0.01) with a lesser proportion of amylose in samples stored at 37 °C. Thus, ageing was associated with decreased leaching of starch and particularly amylose. Protease treatment increased the ratio of amylose to amylopectin in the hot-water soluble fraction significantly (P < 0.05) for samples following storage at 37 °C while the ratio did not change for samples stored at 4 °C. Of greater significance was that the ratio was the same for samples stored at both temperatures following protease treatment. Similarly, after protease treatment the peak temperatures of the gelatinisation endotherm (Tp) of samples stored at 37 °C were identical to those of the samples stored at 4 °C. Protein was considered an important factor in the ageing process and the changes in proteins associated with storage were investigated. Higher storage temperature caused a reduction in the amount of prolamin and glutelin in the propanol-extractable fractions.


Abstract The MYRRHA (Multi-purpose hYbrid Research Reactor for High-tech Applications) project aims at the construction of a pool-type subcritical accelerator-driven system that could also operate as a critical reactor. The primary system, enclosed in the primary vessel, is filled with lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE). The secondary cooling fluid is two-phase water operating at relatively low pressure (16 bars). Four aerocondensers act as heat sinks. The code version used for the development of the MYRRHA models is RELAP5 MOD 3.3; this version has been properly modified to allow the use of LBE as a fluid. Since the RELAP5-3D code is already equipped with LBE as working fluid, RELAP5-3D has recently been acquired by SCK•CEN in anticipation of the licensing process. The first important action taken consisted of comparing the two codes by running the existing MYRRHA model input deck, developed for RELAP5 MOD 3.3, on RELAP5-3D. From the steady-state comparative analysis, it appears clear how the two code versions are using different physical models since the steady-state predictions show several differences. Several code issues have been found, mainly about LBE physical properties, initial noncondensable gas computation at LBE free surface level, and LBE heat transfer coefficient correlations. For what concerns the transient analysis, the protected loss-of-flow (PLOF) accident has been taken as reference. Also, in PLOF conditions the mass flow rates and temperature distributions are affected by physical properties and heat transfer model differences.


Airplanes are periodically inspected, either on the airport tarmac between two fligths (preflight inspection) or in a hangar during maintenance operations. Today, these inspections are done by human operators, generally visually and sometimes with the help of some inspection tools (for instance to evaluate the criticality of a crack detected on the plane fuselage). In order to make the inspection more quick, more exhaustive and more accurate(and also for traceability reasons), a multi-partners research project is being carried on in order to develop a mobile robot equipped with several optical sensors (cameras and 3D scanners) to perform an automatic inspection of an airplane. This project will be presented.


Human APOBEC3B (A3B) is a member of the APOBEC3 (A3) family of cytidine deaminases, which function as DNA mutators and restrict viral pathogens and endogenous retrotransposons. Recently, A3B was identified as a major source of genetic heterogeneity in several human cancers. Here, we determined the solution nuclear magnetic resonance structure of the catalytically active C-terminal domain (CTD) of A3B and performed detailed analyses of its deaminase activity. The core of the structure comprises a central five-stranded β-sheet with six surrounding helices, common to all A3 proteins. The structural fold is most similar to that of A3A and A3G-CTD, with the most prominent difference being found in loop 1. The catalytic activity of A3B-CTD is ∼15-fold lower than that of A3A, although both exhibit a similar pH dependence. Interestingly, A3B-CTD with an A3A loop 1 substitution had significantly increased deaminase activity, while a single-residue change (H29R) in A3A loop 1 reduced A3A activity to the level seen with A3B-CTD. This establishes that loop 1 plays an important role in A3-catalyzed deamination by precisely positioning the deamination-targeted C into the active site. Overall, our data provide important insights into the determinants of the activities of individual A3 proteins and facilitate understanding of their biological function.


Rocket and gas turbine combustion dynamics involves a confluence of diverse physics and interaction across a number of system components. Any comprehensive, self-consistent numerical model is burdened by a very large computational mesh, stiff unsteady processes which limit the permissible time step, and the need to perform tedious, repeated calculations for a broad parametric range. Predictive CFD models rely on very large scale simulations and advanced hardware. Reduced Basis Methods (RBM) have grown in usage during the past decade, as promising new techniques in making large simulations more accessible. These methods create models with far fewer unknown quantities than the original system, by generating "proper" fundamental solutions and their Galerkin projections, while guaranteeing accuracy and computational efficiency. RBMs seek to reproduce full CFD solutions, rather than solutions to a simplified or linearized set of equations. We present here some recent work in this area, focusing on approaches to model large scale combustor systems. The maturation of methods leading to LES-based turbulent combustion modeling is discussed, and model reduction goals and strategies are explored from the perspective of applicability in real life problems in both gas turbine, as well as rocket engines.


Background Data: Atlantoaxial rotatory fixation is a relatively uncommon condition. It remains a poorly understood entity despite many reports in the literature. There is no consensus about the best imaging modality for the diagnosis and the best therapeutic modality the patients benefit from. Purpose: This study was conducted to determine the efficacy of imaging modality and treatment measures and to determine risk factors for recurrence in consideration of the cause, management, and outcome. Study Design: This is a retrospective clinical case study and a literature review.Patients and Methods: Our hospital records were reviewed between January 1995 and December 2011. We were able to track 12 children with atlantoaxial rotatory fixation treated by posterior fixation. The mean age was 8.6+2.4 years. Seven were boys and 5 were girls. Sports injury was reported in 4 cases, falls in 3 cases, unknown injury in 3 cases, and road traffic accident in 2 cases. All children had neck pain with torticollis and decreased cervical motion. The mean duration of symptoms before diagnosis was 21.3 days. All children were neurologically intact. All underwent plain cervical radiographs and computed tomography to document atlantoaxial rotation. All children were submitted to closed reduction with cervical traction followed by posterior surgical fixation and fusion after failure of conservative treatment. Results: All procedures went uneventfully with no added neurologic deficits and a stable repair over at least 12 months follow-up period. Easiness of reduction was affected by the duration of symptoms prior to traction. All had radiographic documentation of stability and fusion. One girl had recurrent rotation two years after modified Gallie fixation after minor head trauma. She was repaired using Harms' technique. Conclusion: The optimal therapy of atlantoaxial rotatory fixation entails earlydiagnosis with computed tomography. Reduction with cervical skull tongue traction followed by posterior fixation and fusion accomplished reduction and was curative to all patients. There was no correlation between recurrence and age, sex of the child or the cause of rotation. (2012ESJ011)


The colours of objects can be converted into pulses with different frequencies by TCS3200D. Colour recognition system was designed through the combination of Single Chip Microcomputer (SCM) and PC on the basis of the colour vision principle of TCS3200D. Fully utilizing TCS3200D, the system integrates the advantages of photodiodes and converter of light intensity to frequency to simplify circuit. The effects of factors, such as illuminant, orientation and the surfaces of objects, on the measurement were eliminated by the white balance adjustment. Additionally, colour vision errors were effectively reduced by the correction of the measured data with ANFIS and subtractive clustering.


In most cases, hearing loss is a disorder caused by both genetic and environmental factors. The molecular description of deafness has experienced remarkable progress in the last decade, and it is emerging from the use of contemporary methods of cell and molecular biology. Currently, through the application of clinical and molecular genetics it is possible to identify genes associated with inherited, nonsyndromic deafness, and balance dysfunctions of the human cochlea. This brief review provides insights into nonsyndromic hearing loss, since the identification of the molecular basis for the inner ear function provides the basis for developing rational new approaches to diagnosis, management and treatment of auditory and vestibular disorders.


Abstract Currently, there is an ongoing international effort to develop and characterize W alloys that are suitable for fusion applications. In this report, five key W alloys were examined for the advanced divertor design of ARIES-ACT - the latest ARIES tokamak design. The most promising alloys appear to be W-1.1TiC and W-La2O3. At the end of the divertor lifetime (~4 years), the maintenance dose of these alloys very closely matches those of W with nominal impurities. Unfortunately, even with pure W, the divertor is not clearable, which indicates that it must be recycled or disposed of in a geological repository. The radiation damage and transmutation are expected to degrade the physical properties of any material. The radiation damage level in W is low compared to ferritic steel - a remarkable feature for tungsten. For ARIES-ACT operating conditions, transmutation of W does not appear to present a significant issue.


Designing for slow cities and the need to design for future urban environments that include the more than human is a major priority for our times. This position paper problematizes the nature–culture divide in research about place and place-making, where place is understood to be about the sense of meaning we layer on locations in the physical world. It emphasizes the importance of narrative identity and place-making in the context of designing for urban environmental futures and creation of slow cities. We present an overview of a methodology to re-emplace place-making with animals in the context of slow cities and designing for the more than human. The work discussed here explores the use of narrative inquiry with some early narrative data (in the form of stories) about dog walks and those moments where our companion animals demonstrate agentic place-based meaning-making. The problem of understanding "what animals want" and how they make might "make sense" of an experience is approached via a focus on a rich exemplar case in order to distinguish between emplotment (narrative meaning-making as self) and emplacement (narrative meaning-making as an aspect of place). This is used to create a framework for future evaluation with a view to revealing how "more than human stories"—just like our own familiar human stories—are also about agency and meaning in place. This recognition has import for ways in which we might approach decentring the human when we frame urban design activities.


An individual's intrinsic mode preference and responsiveness to level-of-service variables affects her or his travel mode choice for a trip. The mode preference and responsiveness will, in general, vary across individuals based on observed (to an analyst) and unobserved (to an analyst) individual characteristics. The current paper formulates a multinomial logit-based model of travel mode choice that accommodates variations in mode preferences and responsiveness to level-of-service due to both observed and unobserved individual characteristics. The model parameters are estimated using a maximum simulated log-likelihood approach. The model is applied to examine urban work travel mode choice in a multiday sample of workers from the San Francisco Bay area.


Feingold syndrome (FS) is the most frequent cause of familial syndromic gastrointestinal atresia and follows autosomal dominant inheritance. FS is caused by germline mutations in or deletions of the MYCN gene. Previously, 12 different heterozygous MYCN mutations and two deletions containing multiple genes including MYCN were described. All these mutations result in haploinsufficiency of both the canonical MYCN protein and the shorter isoform, ΔMYCN. We report 11 novel mutations including seven mutations in exon 2 that result in a premature termination codon (PTC) in the long MYCN transcript. Moreover, we have identified a PTC in exon 1 that only affects the ΔMYCN isoform, without a phenotypic effect. This suggests that mutations in only ΔMYCN do not contribute to the FS. Additionally, we found three novel deletions encompassing MYCN. Together with our previous report we now have a total of four missense mutations in the DNA binding domain, 19 PTCs of which six render the transcript subject to nonsense‐mediated decay (NMD), and five larger deletions in a total of 77 patients. We have reviewed the clinical features of these patients, and found that digital anomalies, e.g., brachymesophalangy and toe syndactyly, are the most consistent features, present in 100% and 97% of the patients, respectively. Small head circumference was present in 89% of the cases. Gastrointestinal atresia remains the most important major congenital anomaly (55%), but cardiac and renal anomalies are also frequent. We suggest that the presence of brachymesophalangy and toe syndactyly in combination with microcephaly is enough to justify MYCN analysis. Hum Mutat 29(9), 1125–1132, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


There is an increasing prevalence of chronic disease worldwide, resulting in multiple management challenges. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an exemplar chronic disease requiring optimal longitudinal coordinated care. We propose that Crohn's Colitis Care (CCCare), a novel IBD-specific electronic medical record intended to improve IBD care is effective and acceptable to patients. We aimed to assess both the effectiveness of CCCare for data capture and patients' acceptability of CCCare.

 Methods:
 The study was conducted at two tertiary Australian hospitals with dedicated IBD services: Royal Adelaide Hospital and Liverpool Hospital.
 The effectiveness of CCCare was examined by comparing IBD-specific data completeness between pre-existing medical records and CCCare.
 Acceptability was assessed with quantitative and qualitative feedback through the CCCare patient portal and with standardized paper-based questionnaires administered to a convenience sample of IBD clinic patients in two unmatched pre-CCCare and post-CCCare exposure cohorts. Descriptive statistics and multivariable regression models were applied to specifically examine overall ratings of CCCare acceptability using a 10-point numeric scale; factors associated with acceptability before exposure to the system and whether exposure or security concerns influenced its acceptability.

 In all 73 cases reviewed, there was data gain when using structured CCCare fields compared to IBD documentation in usual medical records.
 Acceptability assessment through the patient portal feedback of 287 patients showed that the majority were very likely to recommend it to others (score, 8.56 ± 2.2 on a scale of 0–10). Common themes of concern among the 22 respondents with qualitative feedback were related to the novelty and limited experience of CCCare.
 Study questionnaires indicated that the overall acceptability in the combined cohort (n=310) was very high (8.4 ± 2.1; scale of zero to ten) with more than three-quarters of patients rating acceptability as at least 8 out of 10. Self-reported information technology (IT) literacy was positively associated with acceptability. Exposure had a small positive affect on acceptability while the level security concerns had little impact on acceptability.

 The IBD-specific electronic medical record CCCare is effective in facilitating enhanced completeness of IBD-specific data capture in comparison to pre-existing medical records. It is highly acceptable to patients, especially those with reasonable IT literacy. Patient concerns about privacy and security of EMRs did not significantly influence acceptability.


A gravity theory in D dimensions with a spacetime metric that admits n commuting Killing vectors can be dimensionally reduced to an effectively ( D − n )-
dimensional theory. The reduction is performed by using Kaluza-Klein techniques and, as it turns out, the lower dimensional theory reveals a hidden global symmetry,
described by a group G , on the space of solutions. This symmetry is not seen in the original D -dimensional theory. When the solutions admit a suffcient number of Killing vectors we can dimensionally reduce down to D = 3 where we get a non-linear sigma-model. This sigma-model contains scalar fields which originate from the D -dimensional metric and whatever other possible D -dimensional fields the theory may contain. These scalar fields can also be described as parameters in a coset space G/H which depends on the particular D -dimensional theory we started from. If one rewrites the sigma-model in terms of coset representatives the hidden symmetry emerges and becomes manifest; the sigma-model is invariant under global G transformations. That is, given a solution to the equations of motion we can transform it to get a new solution. Thus, the technique utilizes the symmetries which become manifest upon dimensional reduction to generate new solutions.
 For the case when four-dimensional pure gravity is reduced over the time dimension to three-dimensions the symmetry is described by SL (2,R) and the coset space by SL (2,R)/ SO (1, 1). We demonstrate how the Reissner-Nordstroom solution and the Schwarzschild solution are related by a SO (1, 1) transformation and identity the subgroup SO (1, 1) as the generator of electric charge. For the stationary
axisymmetric solutions in D = 4 we can reduce down to two dimensions. The remarkable property of two-dimensional gravity is that the symmetry group G enlarges to an infinite-dimensional symmetry group. In terms of group theory this corresponds to the affine Kac-Moody group associated to the group G . In this thesis we explicitly show how SL (2,R) enlarges to its affine extension SL (2,R) + . The coset space G/H has to be extended to a coset space G + / H + which requires an introduction of a spectral parameter and the so called monodromy matrix. This matrix encodes all the information about the spacetime metric and the key
problem is to factorize this matrix. This amounts to a certain infinte-dimensional Riemann-Hilbert problem.
The main goal of this thesis has been to solve this for the case of minimal supergravity in five dimensions where the symmetry is given by G 2(2) and the coset space by G 2(2) / SO (2, 2). As a result of this thesis, we have constructed the seed monodromy matrix for Schwarzschild and generated the five-dimensional Reissner-Nordstroom metric via a SO (2,2) transformation


Desalination is an important method for producing drinking water and it has been a freshwater supply alternative for a long time. The water resources in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, are mostly depending on desalination as a major source of (>80 %) drinking water, while the rest comes from groundwater. The largest number of desalination project is located in the Gulf countries (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman) which today counts for more than 45 % of the world production, of this amount about 3 % total Omani production. The International Desalination Association (IDA), Award Program (2014–2015) was designed to facilitate the advancement of global expertise in desalination and water reuse through the exchange of talents, knowledge and skills. This was awarded for the author at Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW), as the host agency in Oman for six weeks. PAEW performs studies and explores and evaluates multiple techniques for providing fresh water and power production to various consumers; residential, industrial and commercial. Oman has several desalination plants, both small (smallest about 100 m3/d) and large size (largest about 200,000 m3/d) which are controlled by the PAEW. In the program lecturing, discussions and field visits were conducted to assist the host agency PAEW in Oman. (Less)


: Three patients undergoing haemodialysis, who had extensive calcified pseudo-tumours, were examined by computer tomography. In two patients bone destruction was present, which was obscured by the calcification on conventional radiographs. In one patient an abscess in the vicinity of the pseudo-tumour was discovered by CT. CT enables exact localisation of the calcified areas to be achieved and aids therapy.


Mu-opioid peptide receptor (MOPR) stimulation alters respiration, analgesia, and reward behavior, and can induce addiction and drug overdose. Despite its evident importance, the endogenous mechanisms for MOPR regulation of appetitive behavior have remained unknown. Here we report that endogenous MOPR regulation of appetitive behavior in mice acts through a specific dorsal raphe to nucleus accumbens projection. MOPR-mediated inhibition of raphe terminals is necessary and sufficient to determine appetitive behavioral state while select enkephalin-containing NAc ensembles are engaged prior to reward consumption, suggesting that local enkephalin release is the source of endogenous MOPR ligand. Selective modulation of NAc enkephalin neurons and CRISPR-Cas9-mediated disruption of enkephalin substantiate this finding. These results isolate a fundamental endogenous opioid circuit for state-dependent appetitive behavior and suggest alternative mechanisms for opiate modulation of reward.


The phenomenon of greenwashing receives significant public and academic attention. So do the related practices of bluewashing (regarding involvement with the United Nations Global Compact) and the use of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as mere window dressing. The first essay in this dissertation provides a conceptual and ethical analysis of these practices. It also criticizes some frameworks for using CSR as a tool for increasing a firm's economic performance. If CSR is to be taken seriously, rather than dismissed as a marketing gimmick at best or a veil for corporate malfeasance at worst, then we cannot endorse CSR decisions being reduced to considerations of economic performance. On what basis should CSR decisions be made and evaluated? That is the research question that motivates this dissertation's second essay. I argue that any normative framework for CSR decision making must be based primarily on ethical considerations (as opposed to considerations of firm financial performance). As one possible such framework, I introduce effective altruism, a recent academic and social movement that advocates using strong evidence and rigorous analysis to increase the positive impact one makes through altruistic acts. Effective altruism provides a plausible framework for making and evaluating CSR whose main purpose is to benefit other people. However, there are other types of CSR that implicate alternative moral considerations—related to harms, rights violations, moral reconciliation, and reciprocity—that effective altruism does not capture. How do we distinguish between ethical and unethical ways of pursuing profit? The Market Failures Approach to business ethics purports to provide an answer to this question. In the third essay of this dissertation, I argue that it fails to do so. This failure stems from its reliance on Pareto efficiency as a core ethical principle. Many ethically "preferred" tactics for seeking profit cannot be justified by appeal to Pareto efficiency. I argue that, rather than Pareto efficiency, we should look to the value of wealth creation to understand the ethical constraints on how market actors may pursue profit. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Legal Studies & Business Ethics First Advisor Brian Berkey


Carney complex is a multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) syndrome that affects the adrenal cortex, the pituitary and thyroid glands, and the. gonads. The complex is also associated with skin and mucosa pigmentation abnormalities and myxoid and other neoplasms of mesenchymal and neural crest origin. Thus, this syndrome also belongs to another group of genetic disorders, the lentiginoses (or lentigenoses), which include the Peutz-Jeghers, LEOPARD, arterial dissections and lentiginosis, and Laugier-Hunziker syndromes, Cowden disease and Ruvalcaba-Myhre-Smith (Bannayan-Zonana) syndrome and the centrofacial, benign patterned and segmental lentiginoses, all of which can be associated with a variety of developmental defects. The inheritance of Carney complex, just like that of the other MENs and the lentiginoses, is autosomal dominant. Genetic loci or genes have been identified for Carney complex, Peutz-Jeghers and Ruvalcaba-Myhre-Smith syndromes, but not for other lentiginoses. Elucidation of the molecular defects responsible for these disorders is expected to shed light on aspects of early neural crest differentiation, the regulation of pigmentation, the development of autonomous endocrine function, and endocrine and nonendocrine tumorigenesis.


We have determined improved spectroscopic orbits for three double-lined binaries, 66 And (F4 V), HR 6979 (Am), and HR 9059 (F5 IV) using radial velocities from the 2.1 m telescope at McDonald Observatory, the coudé feed telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, and 2 m telescope at Fairborn Observatory. The orbital periods range from 11.0 to 14.3 days, and all three systems have eccentric orbits. The new orbital dimensions (a1 sin i and a2 sin i) and minimum masses (m1 sin3 i and m2 sin3 i) have accuracies of 0.2% or better. All six components of the three binary systems are rotating more slowly than their predicted pseudosynchronous rotational velocities. Hipparcos photometry of HR 9059 shows that this system has partial eclipses. Its components are nearly identical in mass and are at the very end of their main-sequence lifetimes or perhaps have just begun to traverse the Hertsprung gap.


Administration of educators and educationpersonnel is the overall process of the activities ofeducators to achieve educational goals effectively andefficiently.In this article the author uses the literature studymethod, by collecting material sourced from review,journals and others related to the administrative processof educators and education personnel.The purpose of this article is to fulfill structuredassignments in the Administration and Supervision ofEducation courses. And it is knowledge especially forcompilers and generally for readers, regarding theAdministration of Educators and Education Personnel


INTRODUCTION
Chronic conditions (CCs) in the early stages of life may have an impact on various dimensions of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children.

OBJECTIVE
To compare HRQoL in children with confirmed CCs, reported CCs, and without CC.

POPULATION AND METHOD
Cross-sectional study conducted in 2012 in the context of a larger research study carried out at schools in Córdoba and Bahía Blanca, and at Hospital Italiano of Buenos Aires and Hospital Prof. Dr. Juan P. Garrahan at Buenos Aires. The presence of a chronic condition was established by medical diagnosis at the hospital or as reported by schoolchildren's caregivers. Eight-to-twelve year-old children completed the KIDSCREEN-52 questionnaire on HRQoL, a pubertal development scale, and a family financial resource scale. The association between CCs and HRQoL adjusted by sex, age, pubertal development, maternal education level, and socioeconomic level was estimated.

RESULTS
Six hundred and seventy children/ caregiver dyads participated; 13.3% (n= 89) had confirmed CCs, 14.5% (n= 97) were schoolchildren with reported CCs, and the rest corresponded to healthy schoolchildren. Their average age was 10.2 years old (standard deviation= 1.01); 54.8% were girls. Having a confirmed CC was associated with a higher frequency of low physical wellbeing (odds ratio |-OR-|: 2.61; 95% confidence interval |-95% CI-|:1.43-4.76), while the presence of a reported CC was associated with a low score in psychological well-being (OR: 1.96; 95% CI: 1.06-3.63), self-perception (OR: 2.22; 95% CI: 1.28-3.87), and parent relations (OR: 2.04; 95% CI: 1.21-3.44).

CONCLUSIONS
Children with confirmed CCs showed a higher frequency of physical discomfort, and those with reported CCs showed discomfort in psychosocial areas compared to children without CCs.


Purpose To evaluate the clinical outcome of patients with venous malformation (VM) involving the eyelid treated with bleomycin sclerotherapy. Methods A retrospective review was performed of 18 consecutive patients with VM involving the eyelid who underwent bleomycin sclerotherapy. Patients' clinical presentation, details of sclerotherapy, and post-sclerotherapy resolution of the lesion as well as any procedure-related complications were evaluated. Results Twelve women and six men of mean age 34.3±20.4 years underwent sclerotherapy with bleomycin. Chief complaints were cosmetic disfigurations with or without hemifacial deformity (n=2), pain in engorgement area (n=2), pain and swelling from venous thrombosis (n=2), swelling or engorgement obstructing their eyesight (n=2), or eyelid dysfunction (n=1). The lesions were only in the eyelid in three patients; otherwise they were extended out of the eyelid either superiorly (n=3), laterally (n=8), inferiorly (n=8), and/or posteriorly to the orbit (n=8) to various extents. Conjunctival involvement was present in 13 patients. 14 patients had received prior treatments including surgery, laser therapy, or non-bleomycin sclerotherapy. With an average three sessions of bleomycin sclerotherapy (average total dose 34.5 mg), more than 80% shrinkage was observed in seven patients (38.9%), 50–80% shrinkage in eight patients (44.4%), and 30–50% shrinkage in two patients (11.1%). One patient had recurrence, which was successfully treated again with bleomycin. No procedure-related complications were noted. Conclusions The use of bleomycin appears to be a simple, safe, and effective treatment for venous malformations involving the eyelid, avoiding more elaborate and challenging surgical or laser interventions, and is even effective in full thickness lesions.


The pressure tubes that contain the fuel bundles and the primary coolant within the core of a CANDU heavy-water reactor are fabricated from a Zr-2.5Nb alloy with a complex microstructure. During reactor operation the pressure-tube interior surface is slowly oxidized by heavy water and a fraction of the deuterium that is released through this process enters the underlying alloy and can reduce its fracture toughness. Considerable variability in deuterium ingress has been observed among the pressure tubes within a single reactor as well as between different reactors. These differences are thought to be due not only to metallurgical variables, such as alloy microstructure and composition, but also to variations in the primary coolant chemistry, including pH and dissolved impurities. In the present study, a combination of surface analytical methods has been employed to characterize the microchemistry and oxidation history of the waterside oxide layers grown on two pressure tubes that were removed from different CANDU reactors. The presence of varying concentrations of iron, manganese and uranium, derived mainly from corrosion of feeder pipes and fuel failures, has been found throughout the oxide layers. An increase in the oxidation rate of one pressure tube later in life could be correlated with evidence of greater open porosity, provided by the depth distributions of impurities, extending deep within the oxide layer.


Large-magnitude retroarc shortening of Cretaceous age is well documented in the Sevier orogenic belt of the western United States, and has been associated with eastward Franciscan subduction that began in the Middle–Late Jurassic, but evidence for major Late Jurassic retroarc shortening has been lacking. Here we report new Lu-Hf garnet geochronology, pressure-temperature ( P - T ) paths, and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar thermochronology data that document tectonic burial of Late Jurassic age in a Barrovian metamorphic terrain, the Funeral Mountains metamorphic core complex, California, located in the hinterland of the Sevier orogenic belt. The P - T paths determined from growth-zoned garnets in upper greenschist facies pelitic schist show steep P - T trajectories consistent with metamorphism during thrust loading. The age of thrust loading is constrained by a five-point Lu-Hf garnet isochron to be 158.2 ± 2.6 Ma (2σ). Partial exhumation, recorded in 146–153 Ma 40 Ar/ 39 Ar muscovite cooling ages, closely followed garnet growth. Late Jurassic Barrovian metamorphism has not been previously recognized in Cordilleran metamorphic core complexes, possibly due to being obscured by Late Cretaceous to Tertiary deformation, magmatism, and metamorphism. This study finds that the period of large-magnitude crustal shortening in the retroarc extended into the Late Jurassic, and may have closely followed the formation of the coherent orogenic system associated with east-dipping Franciscan subduction.


The Critical Incident Techniques (CIT) is widely used to study customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction in the service industry and provides respondents with an open format to describe in their own words incidents that create lasting impressions. The purpose of this research is to develop a methodology for computer game design with the goal of creating games that increase the consumer's satisfaction. Too often, game designers create games that satisfy their own perceptions of a good game without considering the needs of the consumers that will play the games. Customer driven computer game design applies the critical incident technique as a means to define the elements of good and bad game. A methodology is described whereby game designers establish the goal and intentions of the game by listening to the voice of the consumer. The concept was tested by distributing CIT surveys to active game players who each wrote two stories about their game playing behavior and experiences. The first story described the respondent's best experience playing games and the second story described their worst experience. The stories were archived and content analyzed using Gremler's best-practice methods for identifying categories and critical incidents. A summary sheet describing the frequency of good and bad incidents was derived by three coders. The respondents' original game playing stories were further abstracted into key good and bad descriptions and appended to the summary CIT frequency data sheet to create a consumer game report. The report was then used by creative designers as a reference point for designing new games.


High-speed movies of the vocal fold vibration are valuable data to reveal vocal fold features for voice pathology diagnosis. This work presents a suitable Bayesian model and a purely theoretical discussion for further development of a framework for continuum biomechanical features estimation. A linear and Gaussian nonstationary state-space model is proposed and thoroughly discussed. The evolution model is based on a self-sustained three-dimensional finite element model of the vocal folds, and the observation model involves a dense optical flow algorithm. The results show that the method is able to capture different deformation patterns between the computed optical flow and the finite element deformation, controlled by the choice of the model tissue parameters.


Objective
Hepatitis C infections suffer commonly from interferon alpha induced depression and severe psychiatric disorders. The main purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of depression in patients with hepatitis C infection after treatment with conventional interferon's and ribavirin
Methods
The cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2015 to May 2017 in a tertiary care hospital in Karachi. Two Residents from department were trained to take patients' history and conduct interview according to the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) questionnaire1. A favourable ethical opinion was obtained from the institutional ethical review committee and after taking informed consent, patient's short history was initially taken. Depression and its severity was also seen and compared between genders.
Results
Fifteen hundred and seventy-one (n=1571) participants who met the study's inclusion criteria were participated, of which 41.5% (n=652) participants were male and 58.8% (n=919) were female. Average treatment duration of the study participants was 5.56±1.04 months ranged from 1 to 9 months. Overall, more than two-third of participants were having mild (38.1%), and moderate (48.9%) depression. Participants were asked multiple questions regarding self-reporting depression component. Most of the participants reported that they experience little interest or pleasure in doing things (70.8%) and having trouble falling or staying asleep or sleeping too much (39.2%) for more than half a day. Similarly, more than half of the participants having difficulty on concentrating things such as reading the newspaper or watching television (58.6%). However, majority of participant do not think that it would be better off dead, or of hurting there self (73%). Out of 1571 patients, 42.9% male and 57.1% female patients had minimal or no depression. Moderate depression was found in 44.1% male and 55.9% female patients. Similarly, moderately severe depression was found in 40.8% male and 59.2% in female patients. Prevalence of depression among patients with hepatitis C was not found to be associated with gender (χ2(4)=7.5, p


The unarmored dinoflagellate Akashiwo sanguinea is a well known cosmopolitan harmful alga; however, the toxic nature of this alga has yet to be examined using multiple clonal isolates. Here we examined the toxicity of 3 clonal cultures of A. sanguinea, including JX13 and JX14, isolated from Daya Bay, South China Sea, and AS2, isolated from Chesapeake Bay, USA, to multiple aquatic animals including species of finfish, shellfish, shrimp, and zooplankton. The whole-cell cultures of A. sanguinea exhibited acute lethal effects on the shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei, the bivalve Meretrix meretrix, and 2 species of fish (Mugil cephalus and Mugilidae sp.) with 72 h mortalities ranging from 20 to 100%. The sonicated and filtrated cultures were lethal to brine shrimp Artemia salina, while the filtrates of whole-cell cultures were not, suggesting that the toxins are intracellular. Boiling and freezing led to significant reductions in toxicity. A. sanguinea toxicity differed among the Chinese strains, and the hemolytic activity of 1 Chinese strain was 3-fold greater than that of the US strain. Cultures in exponential phase displayed stronger toxicity, and the greatest toxicity of A. sanguinea was observed at 20 degrees C and a salinity of 35, conditions optimal for growth of the alga. Toxicity was enhanced by increased nutrient supply, suggesting that this species could both directly (via increased growth) and indirectly (e.g. via enhanced toxin production) become more toxic in response to eutrophication. Collectively, our findings suggest that the ability to produce and release toxin(s) may promote A. sanguinea blooms by suppressing predators and competitors.


Traditionally, civil hearings take place in court buildings, with hearings being conducted in public in court rooms in front of a judge. Active case management in accordance with the overriding objective includes dealing with cases without the parties needing to attend court, and by making use of technology (CPR, r 1.4(2)(j) and (k)). There is provision in the CPR for holding hearings by telephone, by video, or by any other means which permits simultaneous communication (r 39.1(1)(a)), and for receiving evidence by telephone or by using any other method of direct oral communication (r 3.1(2)(d)). Increased public proficiency with information technology, combined with the emergency created by the coronavirus outbreak in 2020, have resulted in the courts embracing computer technology for remote hearings for civil proceedings.


The North Morecambe Gas Field lies in the East Irish Sea Basin close to the producing South Morecambe Field, from which it is separated by a very deep WSW–ENE graben. It is a shallow structure, crest slightly above −3000 ft, with bounding faults to the south and east, but dip-closed to the north and west. The GWC is at −3950 ft. The Triassic Sherwood Sandstone Group reservoir was deposited under semi-arid continental conditions and comprises a complex interplay of channel-fill sandstones, non-channelized sheetflood sandstones and high-permeability aeolian and reworked aeolian sandstones. The vertical alternation of these facies forms the basis for differentiating nine facies-defined reservoir units. Palaeocurrent analysis indicates flow from NE to SW. A complex diagenetic history is recognized, with several phases of dolomite and quartz cementation. Differential compaction is also a significant control on the disposition of reservoir properties. The greatest control on permeability (but not porosity) is platy illite which precipitated beneath a palaeo-gas/water contact at an early stage in the growth of the structure. This gives rise to a diagenetic layering of the reservoir into a high-permeability illite-free layer and a deeper, low-permeability, illite-affected layer. The Mercia Mudstone Group which provides the seal, comprises four mudstone–halite cycles. Thickening of these cycles on the north flank of the structure indicates very early development of the northerly component of dip. The imposition of northerly dip entirely pre-dates the growth of platy illite, and this conclusion has a major impact on the manner in which the surface which separates the illite layers has been mapped on the north flank. The gas, sourced from Westphalian/Namurian sediments, is enriched in CO 2 compared with South Morecambe. This, together with contrasts in vertical cement distribution between the two fields, indicates that the breaching and loss of the first gas charge which is believed to have occurred on South Morecambe did not occur on North Morecambe. Furthermore, although separated from South Morecambe by only a narrow graben, the aquifer pressure is 140 psia less than that of South Morecambe, indicating that the major basin faults are full seals. Proved reserves are 1.08 TCF. The field is currently being developed for first gas in 1994.


Consumers' demand for innovative probiotic products has recently increased. In previous studies, chestnuts were evaluated as substrate for the growth of lactobacilli and chestnut extract was found to enhance acid tolerance of probiotic strains. The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the suitability of chestnut extract as carrier for spray drying of two probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus strains and to develop a probiotic food chestnut based.


Morbidity and mortality encountered in the medical and surgical management of gastric dilatation-volvulus syndrome are most commonly associated with hypovolemic shock, ventricular arrhythmias, and sepsis related to gastric wall necrosis. Complications requiring spontaneous decisions are frequently encountered preoperatively during emergency stabilization, intraoperatively during exploratory laparotomy and prophylactic gastropexy, and postoperatively during the recovery period.


This descriptive summary of the 2011 Newfoundland and Labrador election profiles a campaign that had two signifi-cant, if predictable, outcomes: Kathy Dunderdale became the first woman in the province's history to lead her party to victory and for the first time the New Democratic Party (NDP) placed second in the popular vote. As with the previ-ous election in 2007, that the Progressive Conservative (PC) party would continue to run the government was never in doubt, and the main question was again how many seats the Liberals and NDP would win. This time, however, there was plenty of intrigue about which party would form and lead the official opposition.


Museums have moved from a product to a marketing focus within the last ten years. This has entailed a painful reorientation of approaches to understanding visitors as customers; new ways of fundraising and sponsorship as government funding decreases; and grappling with using the internet for marketing. This book brings the latest in marketing thinking to bear on the museum sector taking into account both the commercial issues and social mission it involves. Carefully structured to be highly accessible the book offers: * A contemporary and relevant and global approach to museum marketing written by authors in Britain, Australia, the United States, and Asia * An approach that reflects the particular challenges museums of varying sizes face when seeking to market an experience to a diverse set of stakeholders: audience; funders; sponsors and government. * A particular focus on museum marketing in the 'Information Age' * Major case studies at the beginning and end of each section of the book, and smaller case studies within chapters The hugely experienced author team, includes both leading academics and practitioners to ensure the book has broad appeal and is both relevant, innovative and progressive in approach. It will be essential reading for students in museum studies, non-profit marketing, and arts management and marketing. It will also be equally relevant for professionals working in and managing museums and galleries, heritage attractions and ministries of arts. * The most up-to-date treatment of marketing museums with a global approach * Blend of academic and practitioner expertise to appeal to students and professionals seeking a contemporary and relevant approach * Features a range of international case studies that demonstrate the museum experience and draw out the particular challenges that museums and galleries of varying sizes and types face in the global marketplace


We use results of a consumer taste test conducted in Portland, Oregon, and choice-based conjoint analysis to examine consumer attitudes about grass-fed beef compared to conventional grain-fed: taste preferences, willingness to pay, and willingness to buy frozen meat in bulk. We consider the effect of demographic, attitudinal, and shopping location characteristics of consumers. A baseline, uninformed consumer will pay $0.90-$0.94/pound more for grass-fed ground beef; knowledge about production and nutritional factors increases the premium. A majority of participants would buy in bulk if they knew a producer or a friend referred them; 72% will buy frozen beef.


A Fresh Look at Islam in a Multi-Faith World provides a comprehensively theorised and practical approach to thinking systematically and deeply about Islam and Muslims in a multi-faith world. It makes the case for a contemporary educational philosophy to help young Muslims surmount the challenges of post-modernity and to transcend the hiatuses and obstacles that they face in their interaction and relationships with non-Muslims and visa-versa.

It argues that the philosophy of critical realism in its original, dialectical and metaReal moments so fittingly 'underlabours' (Bhaskar, 1975) for the contemporary interpretation, clarification and conceptual deepening of Islamic doctrine, practice and education as to suggest a distinctive branch of critical realist philosophy, specifically suited for this purpose. This approach is called Islamic Critical Realism.

The book proceeds to explain how this Islamic Critical Realist approach can serve the interpretation of the consensual elements of Islamic doctrine, such as the six elements of Islamic belief and the five 'pillars' of Islamic practice, so that these essential features of the Muslim way of life can help Muslim young people to contribute positively to life in multi-faith liberal democracies in a globalising world.

Finally, the book shows how this Islamic Critical Realist approach can be brought to bear in humanities classrooms by history, religious education and citizenship teachers to help Muslim young people engage informatively and transformatively with themselves and others in multi-faith contexts.


The biocatalytic asymmetric synthesis of amines from carbonyl compounds and amine precursors presents an important advance in sustainable synthetic chemistry. Oxidoreductases (ORs) that catalyze the NAD(P)H-dependent reductive amination of carbonyl compounds directly to amines using amine donors present advantages complementary to those of amine transaminases (ATAs) with respect to selectivity, stability and substrate scope. Indeed some ORs accept alkyl and aryl amines as reaction partners enabling access to chiral secondary amine products that are not directly accessible using ATAs. Moreover, superior atom economy can usually be achieved as no sacrificial amines are required as with ATAs. In recent years a number of ORs that apparently catalyze both imine formation and imine reduction in the reductive amination of carbonyls has been identified using structure informed protein engineering, sequence analysis from natural biodiversity and increasingly a mixture of both. In this review we summarize the development of such enzymes from the engineering of amino acid dehydrogenases (AADHs) and opine dehydrogenases (OpDHs) to become amine dehydrogenases (AmDHs), which are active toward ketones devoid of any requisite carboxylate and/or amine functions, through to the discovery of native AmDHs and reductive aminases (RedAms), and the engineering of all of these scaffolds for improved or altered activity. Structural and mechanistic studies have revealed similarities, but also differences in the determinants of substrate binding and mechanism in the enzymes. The survey reveals that a complementary approach to enzyme discovery that utilizes both natural genetic resources and engineering can be combined to deliver biocatalysts that have significant potential for the industrial synthesis of chiral amines.


ABSTRACT Female Genital Mutilation has been described by the U.N. as a 'critical human rights issue' and as a consequence, several jurisdictions, including England and Wales, have enacted specific legislation to combat the practice. This paper considers FGM from a human rights standpoint and analyses the law in England and Wales in the light of this. Although arguments have been presented to support the continuance of the practice, the opposing arguments are more compelling, particularly in relation to child victims. The law in England and Wales reflects this perspective, adopting a strong universalist human rights approach to FGM. The stance initially taken i.e. to criminalise FGM, was criticised because the law was not utilised and in response, civil protection measures were introduced. This paper concludes that the latter have been more useful than the criminal provisions and impact private and family life to a lesser degree than other civil law alternatives. But whether they will continue to be effective, following the Court of Appeal judgment in Re X which set aside a global travel ban because it violated the right to private and family life and had not been fully justified, remains to be seen.


Food webs can respond in surprising and complex ways to temporary alterations in their species composition. When such a perturbation is reversed, food webs have been shown to either return to the pre-perturbation community state or remain in the food web configuration that established during the perturbation. Here we report findings from a replicated whole-lake experiment investigating food web responses to a perturbation and its consecutive reversal. We could identify three distinct community states in the food web that corresponded to the periods before, during and after the perturbation. Most importantly, we demonstrate the establishment of a distinct post-perturbation food web configuration that differed from both the pre- and during-perturbation communities in phytoplankton biomass and micro- and mesozooplankton species composition. We suggest that the pre- and post-perturbation food web configurations may represent two alternative stable community states. We provide explanations for how each of the contrasting communities may be maintained through altered species interactions. These findings add to the discussion of how natural food webs react to environmental change and imply that the range of potential ecosystem dynamics in response to perturbations can be wider and more complex than is often recognized.


Abstract : The goal of this series of tests, described in this report, was to re-establish the in-situ burn (ISB) capabilities at the Joint Maritime Test Facility (JMTF) with the intent to provide a test bed for future research and equipment development. The capability was originally established in 1998 to develop an American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard for fire-resistant boom. It had not been used for over 15 years and was almost completely destroyed when hurricane Katrina made landfall in August 2005. To achieve the goal to restore the facility, the USCG Research and Development Center (RDC), the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), and the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) assembled a team with the needed diverse experience covering full scale fire testing, in-situ burning and the spectrum of navigational aspects of performing these burns/functions at sea. The burn pan was refurbished by repairing, re-leveling, plugging potential leaks and painting. A system to deliver fuel to the pan for testing was developed and installed. Sensors and video cameras connected to a data collection system were also installed and a test plan based on the ASTM standard was developed. Three burns increasing in size were conducted lasting about 10 minutes, 35 minutes and 60 minutes respectively. Data was recorded using video, still cameras, thermocouples and air monitoring sensors. Support was supplied by the Gulf Strike Team (GST) and other partners including Sector Mobile, Station Dauphin Island and the Alabama Port Authority. The burns were completed without any problems or mishaps. The information collected will be used to complete the refurbishment and develop test plans and operating procedures for future use of the facility to meet USCG and BSEE objectives.


The purposes of this research is to know how to give the credit and to evalvate the worthiness assembling especially for credit that given to the retire, Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), Indonesian Police (POLRI) and for the PNS to the Koperasi Nusantara, to the business debtor. These analises are using 5C and 7P that will use for data to give the credit. It is a qualitative descreptive researh which is using primer data from Simpan Pinjam Koperasi Nusantara Post with. The title "EVALUASI PROSEDUR KEBIJAKAN PEMBERIAN KREDIT PADA KOPERASI NUSANTARA CABANG SITUBONDO (PT. Pos Indonesia)". The study that used in this analysis is using two first aspects are include; Character, Capacity, Capital, Collateral And Condition Of Economy. Main while the secons
aspects are include; Personality, Party, Purpose, Prospect, Payment, Profitability And Protection. The guarantee is domimant factor to give credit advisability. The purposes of 5C and 7P aspects is to know the debtor credit advisability level and to make it strong. The guarante is one thing that very needed. The result of this analysis can be to know. That credit which observed by debtor must have some creteria such as; the salary and income can to be used for install ments the survey result is appropriate to the reality and the guarantee is reason able to support properness credit. According to the explanation above. I could make summariz that in giving properness credit we have to focus to some aspects such as; 5C and 7P aspects along with the important thing is to support in giving properness credit is the guarantee that given by debtor that has a goal to lack the risk if the stuck credit happened.


AIMS
This communication describes the design of the FOLLOWPACE study. The overall aim of FOLLOWPACE is to quantify the cost-effectiveness of routine follow-up visits in patients with a pacemaker (PM). Specific aims are (i) to quantify the incidence of complications and the quality of life 1 year after PM implantation; (ii) to quantify which baseline characteristics measured during implantation are predictors of the occurrence of complications and quality of life after 1 year; (iii) to determine the added predictive value of follow-up measurements to improve the efficiency of follow-up and to demonstrate which follow-up measurements are redundant.

METHODS AND RESULTS
FOLLOWPACE is a prospective, observational, prognostic cohort study. About 40 PM centres in the Netherlands will participate to include about 2,500 patients. Each patient aged >or=18 receiving a PM for the first time is eligible. At baseline, i.e. time of implantation, all potential predictors of complications and quality of life after 1 year are documented. After implantation, follow-up visits will be carried out conforming with routine care, usually three in the first year. At these visits, other potential prognostic predictors will be documented. Primary outcome is the incidence of PM- or cardiac complications at 1 year. Secondary outcome parameters are quality of life and costs after 1 year.

CONCLUSION
This study will lead to definition of a more efficient routine follow-up schedule for patients with a PM, aiming to reduce time and energy while preserving the safety of pacing therapy and the prognosis of the patient. The study will ultimately provide evidence-based guidelines for PM follow-up including knowledge of the responsibilities of cardiologists, technicians, and representatives of PM manufacturers.


Abstract: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in April 1997 to determine hygienic behaviour and practices among the inhabitants of Jimma Town, South-western Ethiopia. From the three Weredas of Jimma Town, a systematic sampling technique was employed to select a total of 278 households for the study. Of these 123 households were selected on the basis of set criterion for more in-depth observation on their hygienic behaviour. The result shows that 53.2% of the respondents own houses while the rest live in a rented house or live with other people. It was found that within the household, people complain of vermin. Specific complaints show that, 77.8% complain of rats, 67.5% of fleas, 56.5% of mosquitos, 50.2% of flies, and 42.4% of bedbugs. The majority of respondents (97.8%) believe in the importance of latrines, and a substantial number of them (71.9%) have got latrines. However, it was observed that, of those who have got latrines, 21.5% were found to be either unsanitary or partially non-functional. Observation data has shown that even those who get it from safe source get it contaminated in the house.
As concerns energy use, it was found out that most people use unprocessed energy source such as wood (96.3%), charcoal (54.4%), leaves (33.8), and dung-cake (11.8%) in the household.
The result in general shows that the hygienic and sanitary practices and behaviours are unhealthy, based on standard hygiene and sanitary parameters. Most parameters have positive correlation with income and education, which may take some time to change so that a concerted effort needs to be made to educate the public on personal and group hygiene and sanitation. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 1999;13(2):77-86]


We previously demonstrated that secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) and lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) exhibit neurotrophin-like neuritogenic activity in the rat pheochromocytoma cell line PC12. In this study, we further analyzed the mechanism whereby sPLA2 displays neurite-inducing activity. Exogenously added mammalian group X sPLA2 (sPLA2-X), but not group IB and IIA sPLA2s, induced neuritogenesis, which correlated with the ability of sPLA2-X to liberate LPC into the culture media. In accordance, blocking the effect of LPC by supplementation of bovine serum albumin or phospholipase B attenuated neuritogenesis by sPLA2 or LPC. Overproduction or suppression of G2A, a G-protein-coupled receptor involved in LPC signaling, resulted in the enhancement or reduction of neuritogenesis induced by sPLA2 treatment. These results indicate that the neuritogenic effect of sPLA2 is mediated by generation of LPC and subsequent activation of G2A.


An electromagnetic launcher (EML) was designed for NASA-Langley to boost large models to hypervelocity for flight evaluation. Two different concepts were developed using railgun and coilgun principles. A coilgun was designed to accelerate a 14-kg mass to 6 km/s and, by adding additional equipment, to accelerate a 10-kg mass to 11 km/s. The railgun system was designed to accelerate only 14 kg to 6 km/s. Of significance in this development is the opportunity to use the launcher for aeroballistic research of the upper atmosphere, eventually placing packages in low Earth orbit using a small rocket. The authors describe the railgun and coilgun launch designs and suggest a reconfiguration for placement of 150-kg parcels into low Earth orbit for aeroballistic studies and possible space lab support. Each design is detailed along with the performance adjustments which would be required for circular orbit payload placement. >


Abstract. Traditional methods for assessing fire danger often depend on meteorological
forecasts, which have reduced reliability after ∼10  d.
Recent studies have demonstrated long lead-time correlations between
pre-fire-season hydrological variables such as soil moisture and later fire
occurrence or area burned, yet the potential value of these relationships for
operational forecasting has not been studied. Here, we use soil moisture
data refined by remote sensing observations of terrestrial water storage
from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission and vapor pressure deficit from NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS)
mission to generate monthly predictions of fire danger at scales
commensurate with regional management. We test the viability of predictors
within nine US geographic area coordination centers (GACCs) using regression
models specific to each GACC. Results show that the model framework improves
interannual wildfire-burned-area prediction relative to climatology for all
GACCs. This demonstrates the importance of hydrological information to
extend operational forecast ability into the months preceding wildfire
activity.


The work demonstrates the results of treatment of male patient Shch., 69 years old, with the diagnosis: posttraumatic pseudoarthrosis of the left femur neck, the pain syndrome, combined contracture of the hip, relative 7-cm shortening of the left lower limb, local osteoporosis. At the first stage, a device mounted from the Ilizarov fixator parts was applied in order to equalize the limb length using distraction by 2-3 mm per day for 17 days. At the second stage, total hybrid arthroplasty of the left hip was performed using the Ceraver prosthesis 3 days after the Ilizarov fixator dismounting. One year later the achieved anatomic-and-functional result of treatment is preserved.


Process‐based soil hydrologic models require input of saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat). However, model users often have limited access to measured data and thus use published or estimated values for many site‐specific hydrologic and environmental applications. We proposed an algorithm that uses the Karhunen‐Loève expansion (KLE) in conjunction with the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) technique, which employs measured soil moisture values to characterize the saturated hydraulic conductivity of an agricultural field at a 30 m resolution. The study domain is situated in the Walnut Creek watershed, Iowa, with soybean crop (in 2005) and well‐defined top (atmospheric) and bottom (groundwater) boundary conditions. The KLE algorithm parameterizes and generates Ksat fields with random correlation lengths that are used in the SWMS_3D model for predicting the soil moisture dynamics for two different scenarios: (1) the van Genuchten soil hydraulic parameters (except Ksat) are constant and are based on the soil type of the grid block within the domain, and (2) Ksat is correlated with the van Genuchten parameter α as Ksat ∝ α2. The predicted soil moisture fields for both the scenarios are evaluated with the measured soil moisture in the MCMC algorithm for acceptance (or rejection) of the Ksat fields. The accepted Ksat fields are evaluated against the laboratory‐measured Ksat at specific locations as well as with a large Ksat data set measured in situ in a nearby field with similar hydrologic conditions, and the comparisons show reasonably good agreement. The KLE‐MCMC algorithm was further tested in the same study domain for another year (2002) having different vegetation (corn) and local forcings. The algorithm shows potential to characterize the effective saturated hydraulic conductivity fields at 30 m resolution using inexpensive and more regularly measured soil moisture measurements. Further studies are required to incorporate variability in different hydroclimatic regions and diverse topography to extend the application of this algorithm.


Methods for analysing dental caries and associated risk indicators have evolved considerably in recent decades. The use of zero-inflated or hurdle models is increasing so as to take account of the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) distribution, which is positively skewed and has a high proportion of zero scores. However, there is a need to develop new statistical models that involve pragmatic biological considerations on dental caries in epidemiological surveys. In this paper, we show that the zero-inflated and the hurdle models can both be expressed as a compound sum. Using the same compound sum, we then present the generalized negative binomial (GNB) distribution for dental caries count data, and provide a numerical application using the data of the EPIPAP study. The GNB model generates the best score functions while handling the lifetime dental caries disease process better. In conclusion, the GNB model suits the nature of some count data, in particular when structural zeros are unlikely to occur and when several latent spells can lead to new countable events. For these reasons, the use of the GNB distribution appears to be relevant for the modelling of dental caries count data.


Recently) the point contact reactions between silicon nanowires (covered by natural oxide) and nanowires or nanodots of metals (nickel, cobalt, platinum) were discovered and studied. These reactions have at least three remarkable characteristics: (1) the reaction product phase is quite different from thin film or bulk reactions (for example, in Ni-Si reaction the appearing phase is Ni1Si1 or Ni1Si2, depending on the orientation of Si, instead of common Ni2Si phase); (2) Phase is formed not in the contact zone but, instead, near the wire tip or between two point contacts; (3) Subsequent phase growth of silicide inside silicon nanowire is a "stop-and-go" process consisting of waiting time before formation of critical island of each new atomic layer and then the fast filling of this new layer (mechanism suggested in 30-s for ideal crystals) Models of surface diffusion along and penetration through silicon oxide are presented. Nucleation models need more place and will be discussed in subsequent parts


One of the last untapped reservoirs in nature for the identification of new anti-microbials is bacteriophages, the natural killers of bacteria. Lytic bacteriophages encode peptidoglycan (PG) lytic enzymes able to degrade the PG layer in different steps of their infection cycle. Endolysins degrade the bacterial cell wall at the end of the infection cycle, causing lysis of the host to release the viral progeny. Recombinant endolysins have been successfully applied as anti-bacterial agent against antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive pathogens. This has boosted the study of these enzymes as new anti-microbials in different fields (e.g. medical, food technology). A key example is the recent development of endolysin-based anti-bacterials against Gram-negative pathogens in which the exogenous application of endolysins is hindered by the outer membrane (OM). These novel anti-microbials, termed Artilysin®s, are able to pass through the OM and reach the PG where they exert their action. In addition, mycobacteria whose cell wall is structurally different from both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria have also been reported to be inhibited by mycobacteriophage-encoded endolysins. Endolysins and endolysin-based anti-microbials can be considered as ideal candidates for an alternative to antibiotics for several reasons: (1) their unique mode of action and activity against bacterial persisters (independent of an active host metabolism), (2) their selective activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens (including antibiotic resistant strains) and mycobacteria, (3) the limited resistance development reported so far. The present review summarizes and discusses the potential applications of endolysins as new anti-microbials.


Machine learning operations (MLOps) is an emerging and complex subject area involving experts from several fields and backgrounds. Its main purpose is to enable a more standardized and effective approach to building and maintaining machine learning systems. Machine learning projects have an extremely high failure rate. One of the reasons behind this is the lack of teams designed for building these systems. At the same time, machine learning projects can carry great business risks. This paper takes a scoping review approach in assessing the state of the current literature about multidisciplinary teamwork within the context of MLOps. Most of the literature reviewed on collaboration and teamwork focuses on the intimately related field of data science. These articles are analyzed, and a synthesis is presented of the gaps in the current literature for collaboration within data science. Recommendations for further research directions are given for MLOps.


The inhibitory effect of the non-hydrolyzable GTP analog Gpp (NH) p (10(-5)-10(-3) M) on the specific binding of some natural odorants (L-3H-amino acids, boar sex pheromone analog 5 alpha-3H-androstan-3-one) and sex hormones (17 beta-3H-estradiol, 3H-testosterone and 5 alpha-3H-dihydrotestosterone) to the olfactory receptors of some vertebrates (fish, frog, sow, rat) was found. Under the same experimental conditions Gpp (NH) p did not affect the high affinity binding of 5 alpha-3H-androstan-3-one to the sow respiratory tissue preparations. It was assumed that the changes in the specific binding of odorants in the presence of guanyl nucleotides can be a suitable test for the identification of true odorant receptors which conjugate with the system of olfactory transduction through G-proteins. The existence of two forms of high affinity GTPase in the olfactory tissue was demonstrated. One of them is an integral membrane component, whereas the second one is a loosely bound to the membrane and it can be solubilized in the presence of EDTA. The role of G-proteins in the system of olfactory transduction and the problem of odorant receptor identification are discussed.


During the past two decades, profound changes have occurred in the role of surgical therapy in the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis. The changes have evolved mainly as the result of the introduction of effective antituberculous chemotherapy. Streptomycin sulfate (1944), para-amino salicylic acid (1946), and isoniazid (1952) became, and continue to be, the first line drugs. Numerous second line drugs (viomycin sulfate, cycloserine, pyrazinamide, ethionamide sulfate, and others) have been introduced and are of benefit in special situations. With the development of appropriate drug regimens, the types of surgical procedures performed have changed from almost exclusively collapse therapy to practically all resections. Accompanying the evolution of this development, the indications for, as well as the frequency of, surgical intervention in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis have changed. The experience of the Surgical Department of the Chicago Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium may be utilized to illustrate this changing pattern over the course of the


In a variety of clinical applications, image fusion is critical for merging data from multiple sources into a single, more understandable outcome. The use of medical image fusion technologies to assist the physician in executing combination procedures can be advantageous. The diagnostic process includes preoperative planning, intra operative supervision, an interventional treatment. In this thesis, a technique for image fusion was suggested that used a combination model of PCA and CNN. A method of real-time image fusion that employs pre-trained neural networks to synthesize a single image from several sources in real-time. A innovative technique for merging the images is created based on deep neural network feature maps and a convolution network. Picture fusion has become increasingly popular as a result of the large variety of capturing techniques available. The proposed design is implemented using deep learning technique. The accuracy of the proposed design is around 15% higher than the existing design. The proposed fusion algorithm is verified through a simulation experiment on different multimodality images. Experimental results are evaluated by the number of well-known performance evaluation metrics


Written from the Tower of London, these letters of Thomas More still speak powerfully today. The story of Thomas More, recently told in Peter Ackroyd's bestselling biography, is well known. In the spring of 1534, Thomas More was taken to the Tower of London, and after fourteen months in prison, the brilliant author of Utopia, friend of Erasmus and the humanities, and former Lord Chancellor of England was beheaded on Tower Hill. Yet More wrote some of his best works as a prisoner, including a set of historically and religiously important letters. The Last Letters of Thomas More is a superb new edition of More's prison correspondence, introduced and fully annotated for contemporary readers by Alvaro de Silva. Based on the critical edition of More's correspondence, this volume begins with letters penned by More to Cromwell and Henry VIII in February 1534 and ends with More's last words to his daughter, Margaret Roper, on the eve of his execution. More writes on a host of topics-prayer and penance, the right use of riches and power, the joys of heaven, psychological depression and suicidal temptations, the moral compromises of those who imprisoned him, and much more. This volume not only records the clarity of More's conscience and his readiness to die for the integrity of his religious faith, but it also throws light on the literary works that More wrote during the same period and on the religious and political conditions of Tudor England.


It is obvious that MRI has assumed a prominent role in the evaluation of disease in the brain and spine. However, CT has not been totally replaced in the evaluation of the CNS, and probably still remains the imaging modality of choice for most applications outside the CNS. Given a choice of CT or MRI in the evaluation of the CNS, certain recommendations can be made on the basis of the specific indication. It should be emphasized that these recommendations are quite dependent on the current level of technology and are thus subject to change. While not always based on rigorous comparisons, they represent a distillation of our own clinical experience (over 6,000 patients) and that of others. There is obviously a significant overlap between CT and MRI in their clinical applications in the CNS. For this reason, the recommendations in Table 1 are listed in descending order of preference, i.e., strong preference at the top, weaker preference at the bottom. In the brain MRI is indicated for the exclusion of early disease on the basis of its greater sensitivity. It is particularly useful in the posterior and middle fossae, where CT is limited by beam-hardening artifact from bone. MRI is preferred for the evaluation of MS and other diseases in the periventricular region, e.g., deep white matter infarcts and interstitial edema caused by hydrocephalus. Small extraaxial fluid collections are better seen by MRI than CT, particularly in the middle and posterior cranial fossae and at the vertex. Evaluation of the craniovertebral junction is enhanced by the ability to image directly in the sagittal plane. While MRI has clearly preempted many applications, CT is still the examination of choice in several clinical settings. Patients on respirators and those with cardiac pacemakers or intracranial aneurysm clips are currently excluded from MRI. Bone detail is better evaluated by CT; thus trauma victims with fractures and patients with suspected osseous abnormalities of the temporal bones should be studied by CT. Acute trauma patients are better studied by CT because they frequently cannot be sedated and therefore may not be able to lie motionless for the 5 to 20 min required for acquisition. In addition, trauma patients and those with acute strokes where hemorrhage is suspected should be studied by CT, where the blood can be specifically identified. The higher spatial resolution and shorter scan time of CT currently make it the examination of choice in the orbit and in the evaluation of suspected pituitary microadenomas.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


BACKGROUND
In the standard approach to designing clinical trials in nursing research, the primary endpoint and test statistic to be used for the primary analysis are specified before trial initiation. The false positive error rate for the null hypothesis and statistical power to detect the targeted size of treatment effect are also specified. The main purpose of this paper is to introduce the usage of monitoring procedures on emerging data during the course of the trial, such as the group sequential and adaptive designs, to the nursing science study setting.

METHOD
The article briefly describes the bases which group sequential and adaptive designs rely on as well as their statistical properties and give some practical considerations to ease orientation in both respects. The different approaches to sample size estimation are applied to a non-inferiority trial on the effect of Skin-to-Skin contact after caesarean birth on infant temperature.

RESULTS
Group sequential designs enable interim monitoring while maintaining the integrity of the standard approach. By contrast, adaptive monitoring procedures, seek to provide the flexibility to modify the prespecified design features during the course of the trial at the expense of statistical efficiency. Clinically meaningful effect size different than originally thought and initial budget limitations are the situations where the flexibility of adaptive designs may offset their loss of efficiency.

DISCUSSION
Interim analyses in nursing clinical trials are an important tool developed to balance ethical and financial advantages of coming to conclusions of efficacy and safety before the planned end of the study against the risk of an incorrect conclusion.


This colorful account of Bertolt Brecht's move from Germany to America during the Hitler era explores his activities as a Hollywood writer, a playwright determined to conquer Broadway, a political commentator and activist, a social observer, and an exile in an alien land.Originally published in 1980.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.


AIM
To study cellular immune function in patients with post-hepatitic cirrhosis (PHC) and its relationship with different types of liver damage.

METHODS
Fifty-one patients with PHC, including 20 cases of Child-Pugh class A, 18 of class B, 13 of class C and 22 normal subjects as controls were studied. After peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated by Ficoll-Hypaque gradient centrifugation, lymphocyte transformation (LT) test, IL-2 activity and NK cell activity were measured by the (3)H-TdR incorporation technique.

RESULTS
Changes of LT stimulation index (SI), IL-2 activity (SI) and NK cell activity (%) in patients with PHC were significantly decreased compared with in the healthy controls (18.1 ± 13.0 vs 34.9 ± 21.7, P < 0.01; 8.1 ± 6.0 vs 13.6 ± 5.8, P < 0.01; 40.3 ± 21.7 vs 61.3 ± 20.5, P < 0.01; respectively). The defects of cellular immune function were closely related to Child-Pugh classification. The values in class C were much lower than those in B and A (P < 0.01) and those in B were lower than those in A (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
Defective cellular immune functions in patients with PHC are connected with the degree of liver damage.


Although the role of companion animals within the dynamic of domestic violence (DV) is increasingly recognized, the overlap of animal harm and insurance discrimination for victims/survivors of DV has not been considered. Prompted by a case study presented in a National Link Coalition LINK-Letter, this research note examines "Pet Insurance" policies available in Australia and whether nonaccidental injury caused by an intimate partner would be covered. We discuss the implications of exclusion criteria for victims/survivors of DV, shelters providing places for animals within a DV dynamic, and, more broadly, for cross- or mandatory-reporting (of animal harm) initiatives.


Background: Different types of bone-graft substitutes have been developed and are on the market worldwide to eliminate the drawbacks of autogenous grafting. This experimental animal study was undertaken to evaluate the different histological properties of various bone graft substitutes utilized in this hospital.
Material/Methods: Ninety New Zealand white rabbits were divided into six groups of 15 animals. Under general anesthesia, a 4.5 mm-wide hole was drilled into both the lateral femoral condyles of each rabbit, for a total of 180 condyles for analysis. The bone defects were filled with various grafts, these being 1) autograft, 2) DBM crunch allograft (Grafton(R)), 3) bovine cancellous bone xenograft (Lubboc(R)), 4) calcium phosphate hydroxyapatite substitute (Ceraform(R)), 5) calcium sulfate substitute (Osteoset(R)), and 6) no filling (control). The animals were sacrificed at 1, 3, and 6 months after implantation and tissue samples from the implanted areas were processed for histological evaluation. A histological grading scale was designed to determine the different histological parameters of bone healing.
Results: The highest histological grades were achieved with the use of cancellous bone autograft. Bovine xenograft (Lubboc) was the second best in the histological scale grading. The other substitutes (Grafton, Ceraform, Osteoset) had similar scores but were inferior to both allograft and xenograft.
Conclusions: Bovine xenograft showed better biological response than the other bone graft substitutes; however, more clinical studies are necessary to determine its overall effectiveness.


One aspect of the Cold War's legacy has slipped from collective memory: the distinctly socialist arguments against the regimes of the East, for instance the GDR.Volker Braun's 1977 novella Unvollendete Geschichte provides an instructive example of the current invisibility of such socialist arguments. In the West, Unvollendete Geschichte has been read as a straightforward condemnation of an authoritarian state that penalizes individuals on illegitimate grounds. Yet Braun is a committed socialist and criticizes the state not for its violation of the individual's integrity, but for the suppression of conflict internal to the collective. A historically sensitive reading reveals that Braun seeks to expose the (East German) state as a distorted manifestation of social collaboration, in line with a radical socialist tradition. (JN)


Describes the application of AT&T Istel's simulation-based finite-capacity scheduling system, PROVISA. The strategies that differentiate a finite-capacity scheduling system from a general-purpose simulation system are described. A brief description of PROVISA and how it fits into the manufacturing environment is presented. In addition, the steps required for building, implementing and verifying a PROVISA system are given.


To analyze the properties of the coherent structures in near-wall turbulence, an extraction method based on wavelet transform (WT) and a verification procedure based on correlation analysis are proposed in this work. The flow field of the turbulent boundary layer is measured using the hot-film anemometer in a gravitational low-speed water tunnel. The obtained velocity profile and turbulence intensity are validated with traditional boundary layer theory. The fluctuating velocities at three testing positions are analyzed. Using the power spectrum density (PSD) and WT, coherent and incoherent parts of the near-wall turbulence are extracted and analyzed. The probability density functions (PDFs) of the extracted signals indicate that the incoherent structures of turbulence obey the Gaussian distribution, while the coherent structures deviate from it. The PDFs of coherent structures and original turbulence signals are similar, which means that coherent structures make the most contributions to the turbulence entrainment. A correlation parameter is defined at last to prove the validity of our extraction procedure.