Abstract. Noviantari A, Khariri. 2020. Various research and development of isolation and culture of mesenchymal stem cells from several sources. Pros Sem Nas Masy Biodiv Indon 6: 586-593. The development of technology in the world of modern medicine has led to a regenerative approach by utilizing the great potential of stem cells. Stem cells are cells that can multiply (self-renewal), do not yet have specific forms and functions (undifferentiated) but can differentiate into other cells. Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) are multipotent which can differentiate into various cell types but are limited to only one cell group and can express several specific markers. MSCs can be isolated from various sources: the bone marrow, fat tissue, dental pulp, Wharton jelly, cord blood, and others. This paper describes the research and development of MSCs isolation from various sources. This review is a literature review through a literature search that outlines various studies and development of MSCs isolation and culture, MSCs cryopreservation, MSCs differentiation ability, MSCs immunotolerant, application of MSCs to degenerative diseases, MCSs homing, and update: MSCs name controversion. The material used as study material in the literature published in the period 2009-2019. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) can differentiate into osteoblasts, chondrocytes, adipocytes, hepatic cells, neurons, and others. MSC can be isolated from various sources such as bone marrow, adipose tissue, extra-fetal tissue (Wharton jelly and umbilical cord blood), teeth, and skin. MSC has great potential for the treatment of degenerative diseases and brings a major breakthrough in the field of modern medicine. Stem cell research continues to develop, but on the other hand, it remains controversial because it is considered to be less ethical, especially those originating from embryonic stem cells.


Objectives This study was designed to investigate the collagen metabolism and tyrosinase activity of Sipgeondaebo-tang Pharmacopuncture extracts (SP). Methods : The effect of SP on type I procollagen production and collagenase activity in human normal fibroblasts HS68 after UVB (312 nm) irradiation was measured by ELISA method. The tyrosinase activity after treatment of SP was measured as well. Results : Type I procollagen production was recovered by SP in UVB damaged HS68 cells. The increased collagenase activity after UVB damage was significantly recovered by SP. The tyrosinase activity was significantly reduced as well. However, the L-DOPA oxidation was not changed. Conclusion : SP showed the anti-wrinkle effects and whitening effects in vitro. These results suggest that SP may be a potential pharmacopuncture as an anti-aging pharmacopuncture treatments.


Although a great number of academic researchers have introduced reconciliation in their work, they have not explained what it means from Indigenous perspectives. How do we need to understand and practise it in oureveryday practice? Why should we all, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, practise land-based and antiracist learning—as a system of reciprocal social relations and ethical practices—as a framework for reconciliation? This article initiates these transdisciplinary questions that challenge not only our static science and social science mindsets, but also the responsibilities for reconciliation, including building respectful relationships with Indigenous people, respecting Indigenous treaties, taking actions to decolonise our ways of knowing and acting, learning the role of colonised education processes, and protecting Indigenous land and environment rights.


SUMMARY Serologic tests are a valuable tool for retrospective surveillance of avian influenza viruses (AIV) and monitoring of postvaccination host immune response. Yet collection of serum samples, particularly in adult breeder chickens, is laborious, intrusive to birds, and may pose a serious risk to the biosecurity of a flock. In this study we compared the level of AIV-specific antibody titers in eggs and serum samples obtained from broiler breeder chickens vaccinated at 6, 12, and 18 wk of age with H5N2-inactivated vaccine. Nucleocapsid protein-specific ELISA and hemagglutination inhibition test (HI) against homologous as well as heterologous antigens were used. The eggs and sera were collected at 22, 30, 45, and 50 wk of age (i.e., 4, 12, 27, and 32 wk after the third and final immunization, respectively). Using ELISA, the number of positive egg yolk samples decreased over time after vaccination, from 97% to 47%, while the seropositivity rate of serum samples was 97%–100% during the whole investigation period. No antibody titers were detected in egg white. By HI, antibody titers in serum samples were higher than in egg yolk samples. Compared to the homologous H5N2 antigen, significantly lower HI titers were obtained by using a heterologous H5N1 virus of clade 220.127.116.11. In addition, no HI titers were detected in egg yolk and/or serum samples tested against the antigen of an Egyptian H5N1 antigenic drift variant of clade 18.104.22.168. This study indicates that egg yolk may be used to monitor the postvaccination immune status of broiler breeder chickens and retrospective serosurveillance—by HI when a matching antigen is available as well as by ELISA—particularly for up to 12 wk postvaccination.


This thesis analyzes the experiences of people who lost their relatives in the 1990s, specifically people from Diyarbakir and Dersim. People who lost their lives during intense conflicts were either buried where they were killed or were left unburied. Relatives who could not find their bodies started to search for them, only able to locate the ones buried in newly built cemeteries. For this research, in-depth interviews were conducted with the relatives who found and reburied their loved ones' bodies between 2013 to 2015, and with the workers of these cemeteries. Critically engaging with these narratives, this analysis focuses on the process of how witnessing violence restructures practices of mourning. Thus far the voices of the relatives who've lost their loved ones, who were exposed to "violence," a "hierarchy of mourning" and the politics of "death without grave," have not been participatory voices in public space, public discussions as well as in the academic literature on this topic. However, how they experienced these multi-layered, common and systematic politics is an important part of this discussion. Beginning with the narratives of relatives who could not locate their loved ones' bodies for years and thus could not bury them properly, this research scrutinizes how this experience and its structural process have affected personal and collective memories in Kurdish society, focusing on the ways subjects mobilize towards politics through the experiences of mourning, and the inability to mourn. Related with these experiences, the cemeteries that recovered bodies buried after 2013 form another point of analysis, as they became extraordinary spaces of tangible memory and mourning, becoming discursive sites upon which to analyze "the relation between human beings and space" and "the effects of space." This study aims to humbly contribute to the literature by underscoring the testimonies and experiences of utterly muted subjects, as the result of the "discriminatory distribution" of mourning in public spaces.


Objective:To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of subsymptom threshold exercise training for the treatment of post-concussion syndrome (PCS). Design:Prospective case series. Setting:University Sports Medicine Concussion Clinic. Participants:Twelve refractory patients with PCS (6 athletes and 6 nonathletes). Intervention:Treadmill test to symptom exacerbation threshold (ST) before and after 2 to 3 weeks of baseline. Subjects then exercised 5 to 6 days per week at 80% ST heart rate (HR) until voluntary peak exertion without symptom exacerbation. Treadmill testing was repeated every 3 weeks. Main Outcome Measures:Adverse reactions to exercise, PCS symptoms, HR, systolic blood pressure (SBP), achievement of maximal exertion, and return to work/sport. Results:Pretreatment, ST occurred at low exercise HR (147 ± 27 bpm) and SBP (142 ± 6 mm Hg). After treatment, subjects exercised longer (9.75 ± 6.38 minutes to 18.67 ± 2.53 minutes, P = .001) and achieved peak HR (179 ± 17 bpm) and SBP (156 ± 13 mm Hg), both P < .001 versus pretreatment, without symptom exacerbation. Time series analysis showed significant change in rate of symptom reduction for all subjects and reduced mean symptom number in 8/11. Rate of PCS symptom improvement was related to peak exercise HR (r = −0.55, P = .04). Athletes recovered faster than nonathletes (25 ± 8.7 vs 74.8 ± 27.2 days, P = .01). No adverse events were reported. Athletes returned to sport and nonathletes to work. Conclusions:Treatment with controlled exercise is a safe program that appears to improve PCS symptoms when compared with a no-treatment baseline. A randomized controlled study is warranted.


In this work, the effect adding of some vegetable oils to mineral oil on physical properties such as viscosity and pour point of mineral lubricating oil was studied. Some vegetable oils, like corn oil and castor oil were used. Engine lubricating oil (si-cf4 diesel oil) that produced in AL-Doura refinery was selected and used in this study. Viscosity and pour point measurements were tested by viscometer and pour point tester respectively. Deferent mixtures of castor oil and corn oil were prepared with mixing ratios ranging from (0-100)% at 80°C added to the Iraqi motor lubricating oil with a percentage ratio in the range of (0-6 ) % and the best results was obtained at percentage ratio of 6% and study the viscosity index and pour point of the resulting lubricant oil. It was found that the addition of the of vegetable oil gave lubrication oil has a viscosity index ranging (106-115) and pour point ranging (-14--18)°C. It was found that the effect of addition of corn and castor oil mixture to mineral oil was varied according to the ratio of that oils.


It is generally observed in inter-organizational communication that present-day data exchange standards are too costly, large, slow to respond to industry demands, and complex to develop and use. These problems in data exchange are felt keenly by the manufacturing industry and its vast supply chains. In addressing these challenges, a successful attempt was recently made that involves two major developments. The first is the Core Components Technical Specification (CCTS), which is an ISO-approved meta-model for data exchange standards. CCTS introduces common data types, uniform structure for data models, and data usage semantics. The second is Score, which is a novel open-source software tool. Score was developed by National Institute of Standards and Technology researchers as a platform to take advantage of the CCTS for data exchange standards development and usage. This paper describes the potential of the CCTS and the Score platform, and describes the current status of the Score platform and Score-enabled industry interactions.


The accumulation of macro- and micro-debris is a growing concern in the oceans and coastlines all over the world. However, the debris characteristics, accumulation and transport pathways along the Indian coastline remain poorly studied. Marine debris is not just an aesthetic problem; it poses a serious threat to marine organisms, ecosystems, human health and navigational safety. Despite the increased international attention, the build-up of these materials along the Indian coastline and coastal waters is poorly understood or reported. Since the debris problem is global, curbing the issue in our coasts is not a single-step process. Nevertheless, assessment and monitoring of this debris along the beaches, coastal waters and on the seabed is crucial for understanding the dynamics of debris movement and subsidence.


The effect of schooling, word structure and age on the phonemic awareness was tested by the use of words categories, which the number of syllables was the determining factor in terms of difficulty. The main hypothesis was that the development of phonemic awareness depended of the children''s age, schooling and word''s structure. The independent variables that were taken into consideration were the age, school and difficulty in the word''s structure. The experimenter based on two pilot studies concluded in the test format. The sample that used in the test format constituted of 40 children of 63 to 102 months old which 20 of them were kindergarten children and 20 were students at the first class of an elementary school at Athens, Greece. The data analysis revealed that all of the original hypotheses were supported, because statistical significant was found. Therefore it was proved that the schooling, children''s age and word''s structure have affection in the development of phonemic awareness.


The species Brassica rapa includes several important vegetable crops. The draft reference genome of B. rapa ssp. pekinensis was completed in 2011, and it has since been updated twice. The pangenome with structural variations of 18 B. rapa accessions was published in 2021. Although extensive genomic analysis has been conducted on B. rapa, a comprehensive genome annotation including gene structure, alternative splicing events, and non-coding genes is still lacking. Therefore, we used the Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) single-molecular long-read technology to improve gene models and produced the annotated genome version 3.5. In total, we obtained 753,041 full-length non-chimeric (FLNC) reads and collapsed these into 92,810 non-redundant consensus isoforms, capturing 48% of the genes annotated in the B. rapa reference genome annotation v3.1. Based on the isoform data, we identified 830 novel protein-coding genes that were missed in previous genome annotations, defined the UTR regions of 20,340 annotated genes and corrected 886 wrongly-spliced genes. We also identified 28,564 alternative splicing (AS) events and 1,480 long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). We produced a relatively complete and high-quality reference transcriptome for B. rapa that can facilitate further functional genomic research.


A function programmable optical network has been recently proposed to enhance the flexibility of an optical transport based on architecture-on-demand (AoD). The flexible synthesis of optical node architectures provided by AoD enables an open and disaggregated optical layer thanks to the available deep programmability. However, previous studies have focused on how to synthesize a single node out of switching function blocks, thus neglecting the optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) impact, power imbalance effects due to the diverse set of devices traversed per input–output configuration, and networkwide implications. In this work, we present an optical network-wide function synthesis (ONetFuS), which is an algorithm to compose AoD nodes that consider placement and configuration of both switches and amplifiers. ONeFuS minimizes OSNR degradation and deviation across channels and offers enhanced power balance performance. Moreover, ONetFuS addresses multiple-node scenarios to investigate cascading, transmission distance, and networking effects. We compare the number of optical cross-connections computed by our proposal against solutions in the literature. Results in network scenarios, including the number of components, power balance, OSNR variations, and OSNR penalty reductions, prove the suitability of our proposed ONetFuS for open and functional programmable optical networks.


ABSTRACT The policy importance of non-core liabilities (bank liabilities other than equity and retail deposits) has risen to prominence in recent years with a number of studies highlighting it as a useful indicator of financial procyclicality and vulnerability. In this paper, we look at non-core liabilities in relation to its role in the transmission of monetary policy, particularly by examining how the interest rate channel of monetary policy is affected by non-deposit liabilities. We analyse this issue in the context of an emerging economy experience of Indonesia, which in recent years, has seen an increased reliance of its banking sector on non-core funding. Our investigation employs available bank-level data on non-core liabilities and lending rates in Indonesia over the period October 2011 to July 2016. We find that including non-core liabilities in the estimation has an effect, relative to the baseline, of stronger overall and immediate pass-through, albeit with a more sluggish adjustment towards the correction of disequilibrium in the next period. The overall effect is that non-core liabilities make the duration longer for the monetary policy rate to transmit to bank lending rates in Indonesia.


Tasks for autonomous robotic systems commonly require stabilization to a desired region while maintaining safety specifications. However, solving this multi-objective problem is challenging when the dynamics are nonlinear and high-dimensional, as traditional methods do not scale well and are often limited to specific problem structures. To address this issue, we propose a novel approach to solve the stabilize-avoid problem via the solution of an infinite-horizon constrained optimal control problem (OCP). We transform the constrained OCP into epigraph form and obtain a two-stage optimization problem that optimizes over the policy in the inner problem and over an auxiliary variable in the outer problem. We then propose a new method for this formulation that combines an on-policy deep reinforcement learning algorithm with neural network regression. Our method yields better stability during training, avoids instabilities caused by saddle-point finding, and is not restricted to specific requirements on the problem structure compared to more traditional methods. We validate our approach on different benchmark tasks, ranging from low-dimensional toy examples to an F16 fighter jet with a 17-dimensional state space. Simulation results show that our approach consistently yields controllers that match or exceed the safety of existing methods while providing ten-fold increases in stability performance from larger regions of attraction.


The inverted index is a widely used data structure to avoid the infeasible exhaustive search. It accelerates retrieval significantly by splitting the database into multiple disjoint sets and restricts distance computation to a small fraction of the database. Moreover, it even improves search quality by allowing quantizers to exploit the compact distribution of residual vector space. However, we firstly point out a problem that an existing deep learning-based quantizer hardly benefits from the residual vector space, unlike conventional shallow quantizers. To cope with this problem, we introduce a novel disentangled representation learning for unsupervised neural quantization. Similar to the concept of residual vector space, the proposed method enables more compact latent space by disentangling information of the inverted index from the vectors. Experimental results on large-scale datasets confirm that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art retrieval systems by a large margin.


This study was aimed at assessing why small to medium enterprises in artisanal engineering remain in subsistence entrepreneurship and not productive entrepreneurship. The survey was carried out in Kelvin North Industrial Site in Bulawayo. A total of 21 industries were surveyed. The study primarily focused on artisanal engineers, that is, those involved in pre casting, metal fabrication, repairing and fixing of motor spares and metal work. The SMEs manufactured different products that were used by the public in the town. These were people who were directly linked to the operations of the different SMEs. Each SME created an average of 5 jobs in the town. This shows the potential of SMEs to create the much needed employment. The study has also revealed that SMEs are the major players in industrial development in urban centres. Manufacturing industry was restricted to the SME sector. However the sector requires a lot of infrastructural and financial support for it to reach its full potential. There is a need to promote networking among the SME sector so that enterprises can realize economies of scale in their operations.
The study was qualitative in nature, thereby adopting qualitative methodologies. As described in an online publication by Wyse (2011), this method is used to gain an understanding of opinions and motivations. It provides insights into the problem or helps to develop ideas to hypotheses for potential qualitative research. As such, this study will reflect opinions and insights into why the artisanal engineers in Kelvin North Industrial site have remained at a subsistence level. This information was gathered through the usage of structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The are several recommendations to the government of Zimbabwe; entrepreneurs and for future research that this study will give.,Lupane State University


Recent conservation of John Singer Sargent's Triumph of Religion mural cycle (1890-1919) at the Boston Public Library included a significant objects conservation component to treat over 600 relief elements included in the mural design. This paper discusses Sargent's sculptural materials and techniques and highlights one cleaning treatment demonstrating an intention to balance relief elements with their surrounding murals. Completed in January 2004 by the Straus Center for Conservation, this conservation project provided a unique opportunity to study the artist's experimental sculptural materials and techniques. On most of the sixteen marouflaged canvases, Sargent applied decorative relief elements to highlight areas of the design, to animate the surface, and to help incorporate the painted murals into the surrounding architecture. Ranging from low relief to near sculpture in-the-round, the relief materials included painted and gilded plaster, papier-mâche, metals, wood, glass, and Lincrusta-Walton (a nineteenth-century wall covering material). Although Sargent was known almost exclusively as a portrait painter prior to creating the murals, it is thought that he did execute these sculptural details himself. Unlike the complex condition of the oil-painted canvases affected by past restorations, the relief elements appeared largely untouched. Structural problems in many of the relief elements revealed the experimental design and inexperience of the artist with sculptural materials. Treatments focused on stabilizing materials and mounting, and removing heavy grime and dust. This large-scale project required a multi-disciplinary approach to stabilize and clean the mixed media compositions, while considering the surrounding architectural ornaments and lighting created by the artist.


This paper presents a robust observer-based controller design method via LMIs for a class of switched discrete-time linear systems with l2-bounded disturbances and parameter uncertainties. The main contribution of this paper consists in a new and judicious use of the slack variables coming from Finsler's lemma. We show analytically how the proposed slack variables allow to eliminate some bilinear matrix coupling. The effectiveness of the proposed design methodology is shown through a numerical example.


It is widely believed that a number of countries, including the EU, engaged in dirty tariffication during the Uruguay Round of trade talks. This article examines the EU's record on sugar and finds little evidence to substantiate the claim. However, world prices increased between the base period (1986-88) and the date of implementation (1995), and so tariffication resulted in an increase in the tax that would have been charged on sugar imports into the EU. As well, the Special Safeguard provisions meant that a substantial additional levy could be charged.


Abstract We present a comprehensive methodology for realistically animating liquid phenomena. Our approach unifies existing computer graphics techniques for simulating fluids and extends them by incorporating more complex behavior. It is based on the Navier–Stokes equations which couple momentum and mass conservation to completely describe fluid motion. Our starting point is an environment containing an arbitrary distribution of fluid, and submerged or semisubmerged obstacles. Velocity and pressure are defined everywhere within this environment and updated using a set of finite difference expressions. The resulting vector and scalar fields are used to drive a height field equation representing the liquid surface. The nature of the coupling between obstacles in the environment and free variables allows for the simulation of a wide range of effects that were not possible with previous computer graphics fluid models. Wave effects such as reflection, refraction, and diffraction, as well as rotational effects such as eddies, vorticity, and splashing are a natural consequence of solving the system. In addition, the Lagrange equations of motion are used to place buoyant dynamic objects into a scene and track the position of spray and foam during the animation process. Typical disadvantages to dynamic simulations such as poor scalability and lack of control are addressed by assuming that stationary obstacles align with grid cells during the finite difference discretization, and by appending terms to the Navier–Stokes equations to include forcing functions. Free surfaces in our system are represented as either a collection of massless particles in 2D, or a height field which is suitable for many of the water rendering algorithms presented by researchers in recent years.


Cognitive performance slows down with increasing age. This includes cognitive processes that are essential for the performance of a motor act, such as the slowing down in response to an external stimulus. The objective of this study was to identify aging-associated functional changes in the brain networks that are involved in the transformation of external stimuli into motor action. To investigate this topic, we employed dynamic graphs based on phase-locking of Electroencephalography signals recorded from healthy younger and older subjects while performing a simple visually-cued finger-tapping task. The network analysis yielded specific age-related network structures varying in time in the low frequencies (2-7 Hz), which are closely connected to stimulus processing, movement initiation and execution in both age groups. The networks in older subjects, however, contained several additional, particularly interhemispheric, connections and showed an overall increased coupling density. Cluster analyses revealed reduced variability of the subnetworks in older subjects, particularly during movement preparation. In younger subjects, occipital, parietal, sensorimotor and central regions were - temporally arranged in this order - heavily involved in hub nodes. Whereas in older subjects, a hub in frontal regions preceded the noticeably delayed occurrence of sensorimotor hubs, indicating different neural information processing in older subjects. All observed changes in brain network organization, which are based on neural synchronization in the low frequencies, provide a possible neural mechanism underlying previous fMRI data, which report an overactivation, especially in the prefrontal and pre-motor areas, associated with a loss of hemispheric lateralization in older subjects.


Background and Objectives Liver hemangioma is the most common benign tumor of the liver. Most cases with liver hemangioma are asymptomatic and discovered incidentally. But in the greater types with diameter of over 4 cm they are called giant hemangioma , which can become symptomatic due to their local pressure on other visceral organs. However, in general, in papers and case reports there have been no cases like our case in size, It should be mentioned that the tumor had been recognized by our patient and resection of tumor was finally performed by surgery. Case Report The patient was a 49 year-old woman who referred to a physician because of abdominal pain and felt mass in her upper right quadrant. The pain was constant, without radiation, and with feeling of heaviness. During physical examination a visible and palpable hepatomegaly was detected in RUQ shifting centrally and under umbilicus. Sonography reported a hepatic mass in posterior part of the right lobe of liver which was characterized by hyperechoic, lobulated and irregular borders. CT scan and triphasic MRI reported the liver mass with size 230*109*94 mm was characterized by peripheral nodular enhancement in the arterial phase and centripetal enhancement in delay phase or portal phase which proved to be a very large hepatic hemangioma .Ultimately right hepatic lobotomy was performed, which led to the patient's complete improvement.


(Gd1-x,Dyx)2O2SO4 phosphors were synthesized by a homogeneous precipitation method from commercially available Gd2O3, Dy2O3, H2SO4 and Urea ((NH2)2CO) starting materials. XRD analysis shows that the amorphous precursor can be transformed into pure Gd2O2SO4 phase by calcining at 900 °C for 2 h in air. Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy reveals that the strongest and second emission peaks are located at 575 nm and 485 nm under 277 nm UV light excitation, which corresponds to the 4F9/2→6H13/2 and the 4F9/2→6H15/2 transitions of Dy3+ ions, and both transitions of Dy3+ ions have a single exponential decay behavior. The quenching concentration of Dy3+ ions is 1 mol%. The CIE chromaticity coordinate and the color temperature of (Gd0.99,Dy0.01)2O2SO4 phosphor are (0.306, 0.379, 0.315)and 6546 K, respectively.


This report describes an intelligent compaction demonstration project on Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) TH 53 in Duluth, Minnesota, and the associated field and laboratory testing. The project was conducted during September 2005, using a Caterpillar Model CS-563E vibratory soil compactor, equipped with Intelligent Compaction [both Compaction Meter Value (CMV) and energy or power] and global positioning system (GPS) technology. A Prima light-weight deflectometer (LWD), dynamic cone penetrometer (DCP) and Humboldt GeoGauge were used to collect in situ companion test data at 42 locations. Mn/DOT conducted gradation, moisture content and Procter tests. Location and CMV were downloaded for comparison with the in situ testing. CMV data were compared to the in situ data on a point-by-point basis and on the basis of the overall distribution. In general, poor correlations were obtained on a point-by-point basis, likely due to the depth and stress dependency of soil modulus, and the heterogeneity of the soils. Good correlations were obtained between CMV values and DCP measurements for depths between 8-in. and 16-in. deep. The Caterpillar Compaction Viewer software, although still in development at the time of testing, is functional and is well integrated with GPS. It is easy to extract data and do more sophisticated analyses. Surface-covering documentation adds value by identifying potential problem areas where compaction is limited by material, moisture or subgrade deficiencies. LWD testing protocol must be followed to obtain useful results, since measurements vary significantly between successive tests. Relatively good correlations were obtained between LWD and GeoGauge. The GPS technology used for the demonstration is not adequate to distinguish between lifts.


This paper considers the problem of beam alignment in a cell-free massive MIMO deployment with multiple access points (APs) and multiple user equipments (UEs) simultaneously operating in the same millimeter wave frequency band. Assuming the availability of a control channel at sub-6 GHz frequencies, a protocol is developed that permits estimating, for each UE, the strongest propagation path from each of the surrounding APs, and to perform user-centric association between the UEs and the APs. Estimation of the strongest paths from nearby APs is realized at the UE in a one-phase procedure, during which all the APs simultaneously transmit on pseudo-randomly selected channels with pseudo-random transmit beamformers. An algorithm for orthogonal channels assignment to the APs is also proposed, with the aim of minimizing the mutual interference between APs that transmit on the same channels. The performance of the proposed strategy is evaluated both in terms of probability of correct detection of the directions of arrival and of departure associated to the strongest beam from nearby APs, and in terms of downlink and uplink signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio. Numerical results show that the proposed approach is effective and capable of efficiently realizing beam alignment in a multi-UE multi-AP wireless scenario.


A B S T R ACT. During the East India Company's rule of India, Britons observed the pervasiveness of elephants in local modes of warfare, hunting, trade, and religious symbolism. The colonizers appropriated this knowledge about elephants : for instance, in the taking-over of Mughal trade routes or Tipu Sultan's stables. What Indians knew about the elephant also fed into a metropolitan culture of anthropomorphism, exemplified in the celebrated shooting of the elephant Chuny in 1826. Anthropomorphic approaches to the elephant held by Britons worked alongside Sanskrit texts and Mughal paintings. These hybrid understandings gave way by the mid-century to an allegedly objective and Christian science of animals, which could not be tainted by what was called pagan superstition. By using the elephant as a point of focus, this article urges the importance of popular traditions of colonial exchange in the emergence of science, and cautions against the reification of indigenous knowledge. The argument aims to show the strengths of a history of knowledgemaking that is not focused on elites, the metropolis, or the periphery. A study of the uses of the elephant in colonialism also suggests the multiple and easily interchangeable meanings that animals could carry.


Micro and Small Enterprise sector (MSE) has been recognized throughout developing countries as an engine for development. The importance of women MSEs in social and economic development has long been recognized by the International Labour Organization. Growth of Micro and Small Enterprise means increase in sales, profits, employees, production and service lines. This paper examined access to credit influence the growth of women owned micro and small scale enterprises in rural areas of Kitui County. The study used descriptive survey as the research design involving a target population of 390 women owned MSEs drawn from manufacturing, agriculture, commerce and services sectors. Proportionate stratified sampling was used to form a sample of 194. Simple random sampling was applied on the sample to select the respondents from each sector for the study. The research instruments were pre – tested questionnaire and observation guide and data analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results suggested that access to credit positively influenced the growth womenowned MSEs. The study recommended for review of the lending policies; the laws pertaining to land ownership, inheritance, women and men rights and for training, mentoring and encouraging women to form business networks. A baseline survey capturing the dynamic growth in the MSE sector in each County should be conducted.


The Ferguson Operating Anoscope (FOA) is a surgical instrument, which can facilitate transanal excision of appropriate rectal tumors within 15 cm of the anal verge. Previous work showed low recurrence (4.3%) for favorable T1 tumors (no lymphovascular invasion, well/moderate differentiation, negative margins). This follow-up study evaluates outcomes in rectal cancer excised with FOA at a tertiary care center. T1 rectal cancer patients were identified in a prospectively maintained database. Tumor pathology and patient characteristics were reviewed. Primary outcomes include tumor recurrence and patient and disease-free survival. Secondary outcomes are quality of excision (intact specimen). Twenty-eight patients had pathologic stage T1 rectal cancer (average 8 ± 2.6 cm from the anal verge). Final path demonstrated 14 per cent to be well differentiated, 82 per cent moderately differentiated, and 93 per cent without angiolymphatic invasion. All specimens removed were intact. One patient had a true local recurrence and underwent a salvage operation 24 months after her index operation. Patient survival was 96.4 per cent (n = one death from primary lung cancer) at median follow-up 64 ± 35 months. With appropriate tumor selection and quality of initial resection, FOA has demonstrated utility in achieving optimal oncologic resection of T1 rectal tumors.


The near future will see an increasing demand of elder care and a shortage of professional and informal caregivers. In this context, ageing societies would benefit from the design of intelligent homes that provide assistance. The choice of interfaces between the assistive environment and the user is of great importance and determines the degree of user acceptance of this technology. Socially assistive robots are one of the most promising interfaces. Their embodiment and multimodal communication channels could potentially provide a large number of services that otherwise would have to be carried out by a variety of dedicated systems. Furthermore, evidence suggests that people perceive robots more as companions and social actors than tools and this is likely to steer user acceptance positively. This paper presents the authors' work related to the EU-FP7 project KSERA, a project that aims at introducing a socially assistive robot that acts as a proactive communication interface in smart home environments. In particular, it gives an overview of (1) human--robot interaction studies conducted in Eindhoven (The Netherlands) whose general aim was to preliminary assess the added value of socially assistive robots in intelligent homes and (2) the KSERA project field trials in Schwechat (Vienna) and Tel Aviv (Israel) that tested an integrated smart-home/robot system with real end users (N=16) in three real-world scenarios. Overall, results show that socially assistive robots positively affect user experience and motivation compared to standard smart environment interfaces such as touch screens. However, people still tend to prefer conventional interfaces for receiving information.


There is increased interest in using native plant alternatives to invasive species for landscaping. Several invasive shrubs are used extensively in landscaping since they perform well in challenging landscapes, such as parking lot island plantings, which are dry, nutrient-poor, and sun and heat exposed. This study evaluated the landscape suitability of six underused Connecticut native shrubs [american filbert (Corylus americana), buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), northern bush honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera), steeplebush (Spiraea tomentosa), sweet fern (Comptonia peregrina), and sweet gale (Myrica gale)] by planting them in a large commuter parking lot on the University of Connecticut (UConn) campus in Storrs. Two nonnative invasive species, 'Crimson Pygmy' japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) and 'Compactus' winged euonymus (Euonymus alatus), were also planted as controls. Buttonbush, sweet fern, and sweet gale performed as well as controls and had aesthetic quality index (AQI) ratings similar to controls throughout the study, which spanned three growing seasons. These findings were surprising for buttonbush and sweet gale, which are found in the wild occupying predominantly wet areas. Buttonbush plants readily established at the site as indicated by a 930% increase in plant size over the first growing season. Sweet fern and sweet gale produced attractive, dense, and uniform mounds consistently throughout the study. Northern bush honeysuckle and american filbert were slower to establish, but by the second and third year, respectively, plants were highly attractive and had AQI ratings similar to controls. Despite its attractive floral display, steeplebush performed poorly and developed powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca) symptoms in the first and second years, which contributed to a lower AQI compared with controls. Aesthetic quality for american filbert, buttonbush, and steeplebush was reduced because of variation resulting from seed propagation. For certain native species, plants received from the nursery were not robust, which may have had a greater influence on establishment and early performance than their inherent landscape adaptability. This study identified five underused native shrubs that are adaptable and able to replace invasive plants in landscapes.


120 Normal 0 21 false false false HR X-NONE X-NONE Euphorbiaceae is a widely spread family. To genus Euphorbia , from that family, belongs more than 2000 species. The plants of this genus have been used for a long time in traditional medicine. Their main active components: alkanes, triterpenes, phytosterols, tannins, polyphenols and flavanoids are supposed to be responsible for different types of activity. Euphorbia formosana Hayata is a medicinal plant used to treat rheumatism, liver cirrhosis, herpes zoster and it is used as tumor suppressor. Euphorbia tirucalli L. have been used to obtain methanolic extracts. Their cytotoxic activity have been examined against many different types of cancer cells, such as colon cancer cell line, liver cancer cell line, ovarian cancer cell line and prostate cancer cell line. Leukemic cell lines, THP-1 and HL-60, were inhibited after 24 h of treatment with 400 μg/mL E. formosana . In vitro anticancer activity assays of E. formosana suggest potent anticancer effects that cause both cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of leukemic cancer cells. The ethanolic extract of Euphorbia helioscopia L. inhibited the growth of only three cancer cell lines, Hep-2 (27%), T-47D (7%) and PC-5 (11%). Cell viability assays were conducted on the pancreatic cancer primary tumor cell line to assess the relative toxicity of the E. tirucalli extracts. The toxicity of both aqueous and methanolic extracts was found to be dose dependent, with cell viability decreasing with increasing extract concentration. Both extracts demonstrated similar activity at 50 μg/mL with a viability of 50%, while only the methanol extract exerted a significant decrease in cell viability at concentration of 25 μg/mL. The pronounced cytotoxic activity of these few species from the genus Euphorbia , suggests that it could be very interesting to investigate more deeply about their potent anticancer ability. So, the aim of this study was to make a review of the anticancer activity of some of the Euphorbia species that were examined experimentally, using different in vitro or in vivo assays.


Although the need for an engineering education oriented to public welfare and social justice has been acknowledged for many years, the efforts to put it in practice seem insufficient and a culture of disengagement still appears dominant. The aim of this article is twofold: (1) to examine beliefs and motivations of university faculty towards the social responsibility of engineers, and (2) to develop pedagogical principles to deal with the culture of disengagement in engineering. A survey-based quantitative study was conducted among faculty from a university in Chile. A factor analysis revealed two dimensions of social justice in their conceptions, with significantly higher scores for the first one: environmental/ethical versus public/community. Additionally, faculty value less the humanities and social sciences than other non-technical topics in the curriculum. Results, for this university, confirm the prevailing cultural features reported elsewhere. Some guidelines to counteract the cultural pillars of disengagement are based on critical thinking, context-based learning or situated practice, and interdisciplinary learning. These are illustrated in a course on Systems Simulation.


Abstr Act : Phytophthora alni is responsible for a devastating disease in alder and changes in the environment of riparian and alder carr ecosystems. One of the main approaches to solve this problem is to find naturally resistant genotypes using a series of artificial inoculation experiments, to preserve and use them in programmes for resistance breeding. However, the results of artificial inoculation experiments (screening for natural resistance) can be affected by several factors. The potential effect of the social status of the host, the presence of naturally occurring P. alni in- fections, the season and the size of the sections of branches used were studied in a series of infection experiments. It was found out that the development of lesions was significantly affected by the year season (the largest lesions were found in summer) and by the presence of naturally occurring P. alni infections in the sampled trees (the lesions were five times larger in healthy trees and trees recovered from natural P. alni infections compared to trees with active disease development).


Kidney exchange programs have been set in several countries within national, regional or hospital frameworks, to increase the possibility of kidney patients being transplanted. For the case of hospital programs, it has been claimed that hospitals would benefit if they collaborated with each other, sharing their internal pools and allowing transplants involving patients of different hospitals. This claim led to the study of multi-hospital exchange markets. We propose a novel direction in this setting by modeling the exchange market as an integer programming game. The analysis of the strategic behavior of the entities participating in the kidney exchange game allowed us to prove that the most rational game outcome maximizes the social welfare and that it can be computed in polynomial time.


Objectives: To optimize row-level data security for Transactional Business Intelligence (TBI) SQL queries to reduce complexity and enable the back-end database to create better optimized execution plans that perform and scale well. Methods/Statistical Analysis: Benchmark experiments were conducted using Oracle RDBMS 11gR2 using representative SQL queries from Oracle's Fusion CRM TBI Applications for five different users with multiple, varying roles and data access permissions. All four measures of SQL performance viz. SQL response time (RT), Input-Output (IO) Buffer Gets, Hard-Parse-Time and Shared Memory utilization were recorded with and without our proposed optimizations. The four performance measures were then compared to record actual improvements. Findings: The benchmark experiments established very promising results. We recorded repeatable, significant gains in not only the four measures of individual SQL performance but also at the database resources level. The proposed architecture enables the creation of a hand-shake mechanism between the application and security frameworks to optimize query and application performance. This is done by creating name-value pairs of roles and filter criteria and passing these from the middleware/application to the security framework at run time. The result is a pruned version of the final physical SQL, retaining only relevant RDSPs while removing ones not logically needed. Such optimized row-level data security makes TBI SQL queries less complex and the back-end database is able to create better optimized execution plans that perform and scale well. Query Response Time (RT) improvements ranging from 5% to 745 times, Hard-Parse Time improvements from 1% to 208 times, Logical I/O or Buffer Gets' improvement ranging from 43% to 454 times and SQL-Shared-Memory reduction by up to 52%. Application/Improvements: Our proposed architecture is directly applicable to improve performance of all TBI applications that use row-level data security, especially in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Cloud Models.


There are mixed reports on the role that IGFBP-2 plays in cancer progression, with some indicating a tumour suppressive role and others showing that IGFBP-2 may act as an oncogene. These apparent contradictions may be context and tissue specific. In this study we determined the role that IGFBP-2 played on the phenotype and chemosensitivity of a selection of bladder cancer cell lines and investigated how the abundance of IGFBP-2 was regulated. We found that IGFBP-2 was more abundant in the epithelial bladder cancer cells, RT4 and UMUC3 and absent in the more mesenchymal T24 and TCCSUP cells. Silencing IGFBP-2 using siRNA in epithelial RT4 cells promoted cell proliferation, invasion, colony formation, resulted in a reduction in epithelial (E-cadherin) and an increase in mesenchymal (N-cadherin) markers and increased sensitivity to cisplatin-induced cell death. Conversely, we observed the opposite effects when adding exogenous IGFBP-2 to the mesenchymal T24 cells. We determined that IGFBP-2 was epigenetically silenced via DNA methylation as the cells adopted a mesenchymal phenotype. Collectively these data suggest that IGFBP-2 acts as a tumour suppressor and marker of chemosensitivity in epithelial bladder cancer cells and that IGFBP-2 is epigenetically silenced by methylation to promote bladder cancer progression.


Objectives Body mass index is a strong predictor of post-menopausal breast cancer risk and (negatively) confounds the association between mammographic breast density and breast cancer risk; however, height and weight are not typically measured as part of routine mammographic screening. This study piloted voluntary height and weight measurement within the BreastScreen Western Australia (WA) programme, and assessed trial participation. Methods From February 2016 to January 2018, 204,429 women attending BreastScreen WA were invited to have their height and weight measured and recorded as part of their routine screening mammogram. Descriptive data analysis was used to assess pilot participation rates by available screening data. Results Of the 204,429 patients who attended BreastScreen WA during the pilot, 76.35% (156,072) agreed to have their height and weight measured. Pilot participation rates were significantly lower in those patients with disabilities (RR: 0.626; 95% CI: 0.600, 0.653), those who spoke a language other than English at home (RR: 0.876; 95% CI: 0.867, 0.885), and those who identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (RR: 0.829; 95% CI: 0.807, 0.852). Pilot participation decreased over time from 88.9% in the first three months to 55.5% in the last month, due to lessening of support from BreastScreen staff. Conclusion Measuring height and weight at the time of routine mammographic screening is feasible, although logistical issues, particularly the added time/effort required of support staff, should be considered. BreastScreen WA has since decided to collect voluntary self-reported height and weight data as routine screening policy.


TThe learning area has undergone several changes following the technologies and web services that have emerged.
 Two conceptual axes have appeared, on the one hand, concepts referring to technologies, namely: e-learning, m-learning learning P-or u-learning. On the other hand, referring to Web services, including e-learning 1.0, e-learning 2.0, etc. Nowadays, d-learning has reached a mature level in terms of platforms, standards and pedagogical approaches integrated. Despite the diversity of platforms and their functions and the development of standards, the distance learning cannot reach a satisfaction level without pedagogical approaches which are, in fact, very important in any learning process. Prodigious developments in distance learning have encouraged many organizations to adopt these new environments as continuous training tools. Thus, several projects have emerged to explore these advances to create new learning opportunities for different categories unable to attend physically the courses.
Despite a previous failure the d-learning projects can still succeed through appropriate measures to redress the situation. These measures cannot be the result of a simple cogitation process but rather via the implementation of a continuous improvement process in logic of total quality management.
Deployment of a total quality approach is dependent on three essential elements, the appointment of a permanent team which will be leading and supervising the project, the choice of an appropriate tool which makes that kind of approach effective and efficient, and a benchmarking strategy which allows comparison between the ESI e-learning project and similar developed projects. Excellence Model: a new system for the d-learning project. The models of excellence have been developed on the basis of total quality management TQM; they may have a significant contribution to rehabilitate the d-Learning project of ESI. These models of excellence offer the advantage of having a double function: an assessment tool, and a system of orientation towards a total quality management approach, fully focused on the needs of the various stakeholders of the project.


Tailored ad-hoc methods must be developed for successful identification of minute amounts of natural dyes on works of art using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). This article details two of these successful approaches using silver film over nanosphere (AgFON) substrates and silica gel coupled with citrate-reduced Ag colloids. The latter substrate functions as the test system for the coupling of thin-layer chromatography and SERS (TLC-SERS), which has been used in the current research to separate and characterize a mixture of several artists' dyes. The poor limit of detection of TLC is overcome by coupling with SERS, and dyes which co-elute to nearly the same spot can be distinguished from each other. In addition, in situ extractionless non-hydrolysis SERS was used to analyze dyed reference fibers, as well as historical textile fibers. Colorants such as alizarin, purpurin, carminic acid, lac dye, crocin, and Cape jasmine were thus successfully identified.


It is well-known that a finite axiomatization of Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory (ZF) is not possible in the same first-order language. In this note we show that a finite axiomatization is possible if we extent the language of ZF with the new logical concept of `universal quantification over a family of variables indexed in an arbitrary set X'. We axiomatically introduce Finitely Axiomatized Set Theory (FAST), which consists of ten theorems of ZF plus a new constructive axiom called the family set axiom (FAM); the latter is a generalization of the pair axiom of ZF, which uses the new concept of quantification. We prove that FAM enables to derive the axioms schemes of separation and substitution of ZF from FAST, and that the L\"{o}wenheim-Skolem theorem does not hold for FAST. The conclusions are (i) that FAST is a finite, nonstandard first-order theory, and (ii) that FAST implies ZF, but without the possibility of having a countable model.


Thrombotest results expressed in international normalized ratio (INR) values, obtained in 108 patients on oral anticoagulant treatment, were compared with prothrombin time (PT) results with a recombinant thromboplastin. The former results were obtained on an Amelung coagulometer, the latter on a photo-optical instrument. Using the Thrombotest method, performed within 2 h after sampling as the reference method, a first group of 63 patients had an INR value between 2 and 4. This group was considered as adequately anticoagulated and served as a true positive population in further analysis. The remaining 45 patients (true-negative group) had an INR value below 2 or higher than 4 and could thus be considered as inadequately anticoagulated. Using these definitions, a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of 96% could be calculated for the PT with the recombinant thromboplastin. All tests from patients on oral anticoagulant treatment were also performed after 24 h storage of the blood or plasma samples at room temperature. When we compared the reference Thrombotest results with those of the late Thrombotest and the late PT recombinant thromboplastin, sensitivities of 86 and 86% as well as specificities of 91 and 96% were found, respectively. In conclusion, PT with a recombinant thromboplastin on a photo-optical instrument, even after prolonged storage of the plasma samples at room temperature, can be considered as suitable for oral anticoagulation control.


In the last fifteen years, the field of palliative care has experienced a surge in interest in spirituality as an important aspect of caring for seriously ill and dying patients. While spirituality has been generally recognized as an essential dimension of palliative care, uniformity of spiritual care practice has been lacking across health care settings due to factors like varying understandings and definitions of spirituality, lack of resources and practical tools, and limited professional education and training in spiritual care.In order to address these shortcomings, more than forty spiritual and palliative care experts gathered for a national conference to discuss guidelines for incorporating spirituality into palliative care. Their consensus findings form the basis of "Making Health Care Whole." This important new resource provides much-needed definitions and charts a common language for addressing spiritual care across the disciplines of medicine, nursing, social work, chaplaincy, psychology, and other groups. It presents models of spiritual care that are broad and inclusive, and provides tools for screening, assessment, care planning, and interventions. This book also advocates a team approach to spiritual care, and specifies the roles of each professional on the team. Serving as both a scholarly review of the field as well as a practical resource with specific recommendations to improve spiritual care in clinical practice, "Making Health Care Whole" will benefit hospices and palliative care programs in hospitals, home care services, and long-term care services. It will also be a valuable addition to the curriculum at seminaries, schools of theology, and medical and nursing schools.


Background and aim: Hepatic Encephalopathy (HE) is a complication of cirrhosis and may lead to overt neurological signs. Sleep disorders are frequent in HE and alter the quality of life. Rifaximin is accepted as the treatment of overt HE. This study aimed to assess the effect of rifaximin on sleep disorders in overt HE. Methods: This was a pilot, crossover study involving all patients suffering from cirrhosis and overt HE admitted in our Liver Unit (June 2014- January 2015). The West Haven criteria assessed the HE severity (WH score). Patients underwent a 24-h polysomnography (PSG), and a 7-days actigraphy. They fulfilled questionnaires: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Hospital Anxiety Depression scale (HAD). At the end of a one-month course of rifaximin, the same assessment was repeated. Results: Ten patients were included: six males, mean age 57±12 y. Child scores range from B7 to C15. Before rifaximin, WH score was 2.5±0.5, and PSG revealed a long sleep time on 24 h (698±240 min). Sleep quality was deteriorated with few stage 3 sleep (6% (0-39)) and REM sleep (6% (3-23)). Actimetry confirmed prolonged mean sleep time/24h (556 min (183-808)). Questionnaires showed an impaired sleep quality (mean score of 11±4 on PSQI), and symptoms of anxiety and depression (HAD A 10+5, HAD D 12+6). After rifaximin, the WH score decreased: 1.7±0.5. Sleep quality was improved on PSG: stage 3 sleep increased to 32% (6-56), p=0.04, and REM sleep to 11% (0-27), p=0.04. Sleep time/24h decreased to 290 (53-701) min, p=0.03 on actigraphy. No changes were observed on questionnaires. Conclusion: Rifaximin as a treatment of overt HE is associated with decreased sleep time/24h and significant improvement in sleep quality.


Background: Blood transfusion are needed in improving the quality of life of thalassemia major patients. However since it can lead to excess iron, the iron chelation therapy is needed. Deferiprone and deferasirox are the most often used therapy in Indonesia. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the cost-effectiveness of deferasirox with deferiprone with costeffectiveness analysis (CEA). Methods: Data were taken retrospectively and sampling was done using total sampling based on medical records and hospital information system. Serum ferritin levels of patients consuming deferasirox (n=27) and deferiprone (n=33) were measured to observe the mean changes of serum ferritin levels as effectiveness' parameter. The cost was median of the total direct medical cost, summed from the cost of drugs, medical devices, hospitalization, administration, physician, laboratories and blood bags. Results: Based on the results of this study, the effectiveness of deferasirox (1164 ng/mL) was greater than deferiprone (692 ng/mL). Median total cost of deferasirox was more expensive (Rp 76,610,618.69) than deferiprone (Rp 51,869,965.64). Cost-effectiveness ratio of deferasirox (CER: Rp 65,816.68/effectiveness) was lower than deferiprone (CER: Rp 74,956.60/ effectiveness). None of both medications was dominant and therefore we could not determine which medication was the most cost-effective therapy. Changing of medication from deferiprone to deferasirox requires an extra cost of Rp 52,416.64 per one incremental unit of effectivity. Conclusion : The policy maker in healthcare facility need to consider the budget and whether the incremental cost of deferasirox is proportional to its increased effectiveness. Key words: Cost-effectiveness analysis, deferiprone, deferasirox, iron chelation therapy, thalassemia major.


We extend neural 3D representations to allow for intu-itive and interpretable user control beyond novel view ren-dering (i. e. camera control). We allow the user to annotate which part of the scene one wishes to control with just a small number of mask annotations in the training images. Our key idea is to treat the attributes as latent variables that are regressed by the neural network given the scene en-coding. This leads to afew-shot learning framework, where attributes are discovered automatically by the framework, when annotations are not provided. We apply our method to various scenes with different types of controllable attributes (e.g. expression control on human faces, or state control in movement of inanimate objects). Overall, we demonstrate, to the best of our knowledge, for the first time novel view and novel attribute re-rendering of scenes from a single video.


Introduction: Robot-assisted radical nephroureterectomy (RANU) with extended template lymphadenectomy (E-LND) is the leading treatment option for nonmetastatic upper tract urothelial carcinoma. Due to the rarity of this disease, there is a lack of consensus regarding the best approach and the extent of lymphadenectomy. We report our technique and its initial outcomes from the retrospective evaluation of a prospectively maintained database of 11 consecutive cases of RANU + E-LND. To the best of our knowledge, our series represents the first published experience of this procedure from India. Materials and Methods: RANU was performed in 11 patients (including two patients with simultaneous radical cystectomy) with the da Vinci Xi system. Pelvic and upper ureteric tumors were operated without re-docking or repositioning, using the port hopping feature. For the lower ureteric tumors, the patient was repositioned and the robot was re-docked to ensure completeness of pelvic lymphadenectomy. E-LND was performed in all the patients as per the templates described in previous studies. Results: Median age was 67.5 years (range 52–71). Median console time and blood loss were 170 min (range 156–270) and 150 cc (range 25–500), respectively. Median hospital stay was 3 days (range 2–8). One patient developed paralytic ileus in the postoperative period (Clavien Dindo Grade 1). None had a positive surgical margin and the median lymph node yield was 22.5 (range 7–47). Median follow-up was 9 months during which one patient developed metastatic systemic recurrence. All other patients were disease free at the last follow-up. Conclusions: A robotic approach to radical nephroureterectomy with E-LND is feasible and safe and does not appear to compromise the short-term oncological outcomes as defined by lymph node yields and margin positivity. At the same time, it offers the benefits of minimal invasion and results in swifter patient recovery from this extensive surgery.


We determined the concentrations and compositions of coarse particulate (>63 µm), fine particulate (0.1–63 µm), and dissolved (0.001–0.1 µm) organic matter collected along a river reach extending from a first‐order stream in the Bolivian Andes, through the Beni River system, to the lower Madeira and Amazon Rivers. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations increased down the total reach from ~80 to 350 µM. The percentage of total DOC with a molecular weight greater than ~1,000 atomic mass units that could be isolated by ultrafiltration also increased downstream from 40 to 80%. Weight percentages of organic carbon in the ultrafiltered isolates also grew downstream from 5% at the uppermost station to 37% in the Amazon mainstem. Organic carbon composed only 0.4–1.2 weight percentage of the total mass of the fine particulate fraction, which accounted for 70–80% of the total organic carbon (TOC) in transport through the highly turbid (~600–2000 mg L−1) Beni sequence. Observed compositional differences were related primarily to the size fractions in which the organic matter occurred. On average, coarse particulate organic material exhibited an atomic C:N of 24, whereas ultrafiltered DOM was nitrogen poor, (C:N)a = 34, and fine particulate material was nitrogen rich, (C:N)a = 15. The lignin and stable‐carbon isotopic compositions of these fractions indicate tree leaves and other nonwoody tissues from C3 land plants as predominant sources. Three molecular parameters demonstrate that the coarse, fine, and dissolved fractions of individual water samples are increasingly degraded downstream. Elemental nitrogen, amino acids, and basic amino acids are all preferentially associated with fine minerals. Observed geographical patterns included more positive δ13C values in particulate organic matter from high altitude sites and an increase in the abundance and degradation of ultrafiltered dissolved organic matter down the drainage system. Many of these compositional patterns are imprinted within materials carried by low‐order, high‐altitude tributaries and appear to reflect processes occurring on the landscape.


The range of benefits for humans and biodiversity conservation provided by urban green spaces (UGSs) receives substantial attention in relation to urban planning and management. However, little is known about the value of nature in UGSs. We developed a graphical measurement scale for the naturalness of UGS, with five steps between largely sealed and largely wilderness, which was embedded in an online survey and a discrete choice experiment. Using mixed logit models, we find that German citizens have a mean willingness to pay of €20.25 per month for an increase in the naturalness of the closest UGS by one step.


Introduction Patients with genitourinary symptoms are generally treated syndromically with azithromycin, which can induce macrolide resistance in Mycoplasma genitalium (MG). Directing treatment based on aetiology and known macrolide susceptibility may prevent emergence of resistance. We constructed a mathematical model to evaluate the potential impact of simultaneous detection of MG and resistance markers on the percent of MG infections that are macrolide-susceptible. Methods We developed a gender- and risk-stratified, compartmental model of MG transmission within a heterosexual population. We assumed clearance of untreated infections in 30 days; development of symptoms in 2.4% of infected men and 5.1% of infected women; initial treatment of symptomatic men and women with azithromycin; treatment of men with persistent/recurrent symptoms with moxifloxacin; 50% of infections macrolide-susceptible at baseline; de-novo macrolide resistance in 18% of susceptible bacteria after azithromycin therapy; and 100% efficacy of moxifloxacin. The model was calibrated to 1.1% population-level MG prevalence. We modelled the potential impact of using the ResistancePlus MG test (SpeeDx; Sydney, Australia) for symptomatic patients. We conducted sensitivity analyses varying the clearance rate (23–44 days) and percent of infections that are symptomatic in women (0%–11.7%). Results The model estimated a per-partner MG transmission probability of 0.042. The model predicted that implementing the ResistancePlus test for symptomatic patients would increase the percent of MG infections that are macrolide-susceptible from 50% to 85% in 2 years. In sensitivity analyses, transmission probability estimates and 2 year percent of MG infections that are macrolide-susceptible varied from 0.032–0.047 and 82%–92%, respectively. Conclusion Directing treatment based on aetiology and known macrolide resistance may preserve the ability to treat MG with azithromycin. Moxifloxacin therapy could be limited to patients with known macrolide-resistant MG infection and prevent treatment failure for those patients.


The emerging infectious disease (EID) crisis has been challenging global health security for decades, dealing substantial damage to all socioeconomic landscapes. Control measures have failed to prevent or even mitigate damages from an accelerating wave of EIDs, leading to the emergence and devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the wake of the pandemic, we must critically review our public health policies and approaches. Current health security measures are based on the evolutionary theorem of host-parasite coevolution, which falsely deems EIDs as rare and unpredictable. The DAMA protocol (Document, Assess, Monitor, Act) is nested in a novel evolutionary framework that describes how emergence can be prevented before the onset of an outbreak. In this paper, we discuss the importance of establishing efficient communication channels between various stakeholders affected by EIDs. We describe implementation strategies for preventive interventions on global, regional, and local scales and provide guidelines for using such strategies in the relevant policy environments of human, livestock, and crop diseases.


Background: It is not always possible to use the anatomically variable free anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap for reconstructive surgery. An anteromedial thigh (AMT) flap serves as a good alternative, and shares the same vascular pedicle as the ALT flap. Methods: Of 698 reconstructions performed in 2006 to 2013 following head and neck tumor ablation surgery, ALT flaps were used in 653 patients. Eighteen free AMT flaps were harvested to replace variant nonviable ALT flaps. Results: The lack of a sizable perforator in the ALT flap territory was the main reason for changing the reconstruction plan. Anteromedial thigh flap size ranged from 10 × 4 to 30 × 8 cm. The flap survival rate was 100%. The follow-up period ranged from 3 to 56 months. Conclusion: During head and neck reconstruction, when no sizable perforator is available during harvest of the ALT flap, successful reconstruction can be achieved using the ipsilateral AMT flap without additional donor-site morbidity.


: A clinical study on 59 remote myocardial infarction cases were divided randomly into treated group (31 cases) and normal control group (28 cases). Treated group used intravenously injected Ligustrazine 160 mg a day for 10 days. The plasma lipid peroxidation (LPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and sulfhydryl group were measured before and after treatment in the treated group, in comparing with normal control group. The results showed the levels of LPO significantly reduced (P < 0.01), and SOD, sulfhydryl group was obviously increased after Ligustrazine administration (P < 0.05). Attack of angina pectoris was reduced. Between these two group, the difference was significant (P < 0.05). Mechanism of Ligustrazine in reducing LPO and increasing SOD could be the inhibiting of platelet aggregation, regulating the TXA2/PGI2 ratio in plasma, protecting myocardial cell membrane and improving the myocardial ischemia. Ligustrazine could reduce the production of LPO due to the accelerating clearance of oxygen free radical.


In most western countries cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death, and for the survivors of ischemic attack an accurate quantification of the extent of the damage is required to correctly assess its impact and for
risk stratification, and to select the best treatment for the patient. Moreover, a fast and reliable tool for the assessment of the cardiac function and the measurement of clinical indexes is highly desirable. The aim of this thesis is to provide computational approaches to better detect and assess the presence of myocardial fibrosis in the heart, particularly but not only in the left ventricle, by performing a fusion of the information from different magnetic resonance imaging sequences. We also developed and provided a semiautomatic tool useful for the fast evaluation and quantification of clinical indexes derived from heart chambers volumes. The thesis is composed by five chapters. The first chapter introduces the most common cardiac diseases such as ischemic cardiomyopathy and describes in detail the cellular and structural remodelling phenomena stemming from heart failure. The second chapter regards the detection of the left ventricle through the development of a semi-automated approach for both endocardial and epicardial surfaces, and myocardial mask extraction. In the third chapter the workflow for scar assessment is presented, in which the previously described approach is used to obtain the 3D left ventricle patient-specific geometry; a registration algorithm is then used to superimpose the fibrosis information derived from the late gadolinium enhancement magnetic resonance imaging to obtain a patientspecific 3D map of fibrosis extension and location on the left ventricle myocardium. Focus of the fourth chapter is on the left atrium, and fibrotic tissue detection for gaining insight on atrial fibrillation. In the fifth chapter some conclusive remarks are presented with possible future developments of the presented work.


Human leukocyte antigens (HLA) class II alleles were analyzed among Japanese leprosy patients to ascertain whether immunogenetic differences exist among the leprosy classification forms of Ridley and Jopling. Ninety-three unrelated Japanese leprosy patients (21 lepromatous, 24 borderline lepromatous, 17 mid-borderline, 26 borderline tuberculoid, 5 tuberculoid) and 114 healthy control subjects were investigated. The frequencies of HLA-DRB1*1501, -DRB5*0101, -DQA1*0102 and DQB1*0602 were significantly increased in all of the Japanese leprosy patients. The frequencies of HLA-DRB1*0405, -DQA1*03 and -DQB1*0401 were significantly decreased in the Japanese patients after correction of the p value. Conversely, there were no significantly different distributions of the HLA-DRB1, -DRB5, -DQA1, DQB1 alleles in the five subgroups of these patients. We conclude that HLA class II alleles were not associated with the form of leprosy. Other HLA, a non-HLA gene, and/or environmental factors may play a critical role in the different manifestations of leprosy.


The human visual system uses numerous cues for depth perception, including disparity, accommodation, motion parallax and occlusion. It is incumbent upon virtual-reality displays to satisfy these cues to provide an immersive user experience. Multifocal displays, one of the classic approaches to satisfy the accommodation cue, place virtual content at multiple focal planes, each at a different depth. However, the content on focal planes close to the eye do not occlude those farther away; this deteriorates the occlusion cue as well as reduces contrast at depth discontinuities due to leakage of the defocus blur. This paper enables occlusion-aware multifocal displays using a novel ConeTilt operator that provides an additional degree of freedom --- tilting the light cone emitted at each pixel of the display panel. We show that, for scenes with relatively simple occlusion configurations, tilting the light cones provides the same effect as physical occlusion. We demonstrate that ConeTilt can be easily implemented by a phase-only spatial light modulator. Using a lab prototype, we show results that demonstrate the presence of occlusion cues and the increased contrast of the display at depth edges.


NPCs are in many games the foundation on which it operates. NPCs create the illusion of inhabitants or assign purpose to the player. Whatever they do, represent a character. Introducing a character has certain margin of error, as a poorly portrayed character may cause more damage than the NPC would add. Without creating a believable environment which would include the NPCs, immersion could be difficult As such this thesis investigates the effect of different behaviours to NPCs. With the focus on how visual and logical behaviours affect the players' perception of believability. The experiment was conducted in a game of the RTS survival genre with visual behaviours selected from the games Banished[1] and Frostpunk [2]. The logical behaviours were inspired by F.E.A.R [3]. In the experiment testers were used to test three versions of the artifact. The first acted as a default was used as the starting point for the second version which introduced enhanced visual behaviours. The third continued and added a predictive functionality as logical behaviour. The tests concluded that the visual behaviours had a positive effect on perception but no conclusive evidence to suggest the logical behaviour had the same effect.


This paper contributes to the debate on the consequences of increased disclosure regulation by investigating the effects of expedited reporting requirements of Form 4 filings, mandated by the Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX), on the market response to earnings announcements. We first confirm that SOX reduces opportunistic insider trading without deterring insider trading due to diversification needs, and that post-SOX, opportunistic insider trades more strongly reveal upcoming earnings surprises. We then document that, at the earnings announcement date, earnings response coefficients (ERCs) are lower when earnings are preceded by opportunistic insider trades. We conclude that accelerated disclosures of insider transactions mandated by SOX lend to more informationally efficient prices prior to earnings announcements. Our findings stand as one piece of evidence suggesting positive externalities from recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosure regulation and add to the scarce evidence on the consequences of changes in Form 4 filing requirements.


In the wake of Muybridge's and Marey's experiments in recording movement, comics quickly began to emphasize the depiction of continuous movement. Chronophotography mapped the kinetic body onto the regulated spaces of industrial culture: it was a means of revealing the body and a tool for its containment and control. Comics by Wilhelm Busch, Steinlen, Winsor McCay and others, however, mimic the fixed viewpoints and measured progress of chronophotography, but caricature the instrumental reason that supplied its motivation. Each episode of Winsor McCay's Little Sammy Sneeze, for example, offered systematic and meticulous time–motion breakdowns of everyday activities, but the rhythm of efficient motion is subverted by the mighty sneeze that turns all to chaos. With an emphasis on the pioneering comics and animation work of McCay, this article explores the peculiar, parodic counter-logics that mark an oasis of disorder in a time of insistent regulation.


We have recently identified a novel protein, named angiomotin, by its ability to bind the angiogenesis inhibitor angiostatin in the yeast two-hybrid system. Angiomotin belongs to a family with two other members, AmotL-1 and -2 characterized by coiled-coil and C-terminal PDZ binding domains. Here we show that the putative PDZ binding motif of angiomotin serves as a protein recognition site and that deletion of three amino acids in this site results in inhibition of chemotaxis. Furthermore, endothelial cells expressing mutant angiomotin failed to migrate and form tubes in an in vitro tube formation assay. To study the effect of angiomotin on embryonic angiogenesis, we generated transgenic mice expressing wild-type angiomotin and the C-terminal deletion mutant driven by the endothelial cell-specific receptor tyrosine kinase (TIE) promoter. Expression of mutant angiomotin in endothelial cells inhibited migration into the neuroectoderm and intersomitic regions resulting in death at embryonic day 9.5. In contrast, mice expressing wild-type angiomotin developed normally and were fertile. These results suggest that the putative PDZ binding motif of angiomotin plays a critical role in regulating the responsiveness of endothelial cells to chemotactic cues.


A new strain of Staphylococcus aureus, implicated in severe "hospital-acquired" infections, has been recognized and identified. This strain is characterized by lysis with a recently isolated bacteriophage, UC-18. Resistance to penicillin, streptomycin, and tetracycline combined with widespread prevalence in the hospital environment make S. aureus UC-18 a significant contributor to endemic staphylcoccal disease in hospitals.


Text providing an overview of research and results regarding the implementation of AACR2 (Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, Second Edition) and the effects on existing catalogs. It includes an overview of the problem and hypotheses, literature review, general research method, description of study libraries, differences found in samples between AACR 2 and pre-AACR 2 headings, conflicting headings found in catalogs, OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) and AACR 2 headings, summary and conclusions, and related appendices. Index starts on page 143.


This study addresses the challenges faced by organisations and individual professionals, as new practices are developed and learned in multi‐agency work settings. The practices examined in the paper involve working responsively across professional boundaries with at‐risk young people. The paper draws on evidence from the Learning in and for Interagency Working Project, a four year ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Programme study of inter‐professional learning which has examined the challenges involved in what Victor and Boynton (1998) term co‐configuration work. In the context of professional collaboration for social inclusion, co‐configuration involves on‐going partnerships between professionals and service users to support young people's pathways out of social exclusion. This work demands a capacity to recognise and access expertise distributed across local systems and to negotiate the boundaries of responsible professional action with other professionals and with clients. The paper outlines the activity theory derived theoretical platform adopted by the project and describes the intervention methodology that is being developed, as we study the learning challenges identified by children's services practitioners in UK local authorities.


In this paper we derive and test a probability-based weighting that can balance residuals of different types in spline fitting. In contrast to previous formulations, the proposed spline error weighting scheme also incorporates a prediction of the approximation error of the spline fit. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the prediction in a synthetic experiment, and apply it to visual-inertial fusion on rolling shutter cameras. This results in a method that can estimate 3D structure with metric scale on generic first-person videos. We also propose a quality measure for spline fitting, that can be used to automatically select the knot spacing. Experiments verify that the obtained trajectory quality corresponds well with the requested quality. Finally, by linearly scaling the weights, we show that the proposed spline error weighting minimizes the estimation errors on real sequences, in terms of scale and end-point errors.


ABSTRACT Despite withdrawal from the job application being a serious concern for organizations, limited research exists that examines this phenomenon. Utilizing the broad intention-behavior framework as suggested in the Theory of Planned Behavior, we examined whether the type of intentions formed when applying for a job (i.e., goal vs. implementation intentions) predicts later withdrawal from the job application. Using a field experimental strategy, half of the applicants in a large applicant pool (N = 5,346) were randomly made to form implementation intentions. It was found that forming implementation intentions was indeed effective in reducing applicant withdrawal, albeit with a small effect size. Theoretical and practical implications of this finding are discussed.


We present the first solvent-free, mechanochemical protocol for a palladium-catalyzed Tsuji-Trost allylation. This approach features exceptionally low catalyst loadings (0.5 mol%), short reaction times (< 90 min), and a simple setup, eliminating the need for air or moisture precautions, making the process highly efficient and environmentally benign. We introduce solid, nontoxic, and easy-to-handle allyl trimethylammonium salts as valuable alternative to volatile or hazardous reagents. Our approach enables the allylation of various O-, N-, and C-nucleophiles in yields up to 99 % even for structurally complex bioactive compounds, owing to its mild conditions and exceptional functional group tolerance.


An understanding of fractions eludes many U.S. students, and research-based knowledge about fractions, such as the utility of linear representation, has not broadly influenced instruction. This randomized trial of lesson study supported by mathematical resources assigned 39 educator teams across the United States to locally managed lesson study supported by a fractions lesson study resource kit or to 1 of 2 control conditions. Educators (87% of whom were elementary teachers) self-managed learning over a 3-month period. HLM analyses indicated significantly greater improvement of educators' and students' fractions knowledge for teams randomly assigned to lesson study with resource kits. Results suggest that integrating researchbased resources into lesson study offers a new approach to the problem of "scale-up" by combining the strengths of teacher leadership and research-based knowledge.


With international collaboration common to international research, race frequently structures the professional hierarchies of projects. But are there problems with researchers believing they are 'doing things differently'? Transformative attempts to decolonise the research environment must seek transparent, collective action to rid its colonial relics.


Lemierre's syndrome is characterized by thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein and bacteremia, typically caused by anerobic microorganisms following a recent pharyngeal infection, first described by Andre Lemierre as a clinical finding of "anerobic post-anginal sepsis" in 1936. Diagnosis is made by identifying thrombosis of the internal jugular vein; although variants of the disease with facial vein thrombosis have been reported, in addition to positive anerobic blood cultures, the most common causative organism remains Fusobacterium necrophorum . The mainstay of treatment remains prolonged antibiotic therapy. J Med Cases. 2016;7(3):87-89 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/jmc2422w


Animal waste from animal feeding operations (AFOs) is a significant contributor to nitrate contamination of groundwater. Some animal waste also contains heavy metals and salts that may build up in cropland and underlying aquifers. This thesis focuses on pollution reduction from the largest AFOs, in particular, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), which present the greatest potential risk among all AFOs to environmental quality and public health. To find cost-effective policies for controlling pollution at the field level and at the farm level, a dynamic environmental-economic modeling framework for representative CAFOs is developed. The framework incorporates four models (i.e., animal model, crop model, hydrologic model, and economic model) that includes various components such as herd management, manure handling system, crop rotation, water sources, irrigation system, waste disposal options, and pollutant emissions. The operator maximizes discounted total farm profit over multiple periods subject to environmental regulations. Decision rules from the dynamic optimization problem demonstrate best management practices for CAFOs to improve their economic and environmental performance. Results from policy simulations suggest that direct quantity restrictions of emission or incentive-based emission policies are much more cost-effective than the standard approach of limiting the amount of animal waste that may be applied to fields; reason being, policies targeting intermediate pollution and final pollution create incentives for the operator to examine the effects of other management practices to reduce pollution in addition to controlling the polluting inputs. Incentive-based emission policies are shown to have advantages over quantity restrictions over multiple years when seasonal or annual emissions fluctuate either due to inherent operation practices or the accumulation of precursors to the pollution. My approach demonstrates the importance of taking into account the integrated effects of water, nitrogen, and salinity on crop yield and nitrate leaching as well as the spatial heterogeneity of nitrogen/water application. It also suggests that ecosystem services can play an important role in pollution control and thus deserve more attention when designing policies.


Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the association of nutritional status and muscle strength measurement results of the patients in the palliative care unit during their 6-month survival. Methods: In this prospective observational study, the effects of nutritional status on mortality were evaluated during the 6-month follow-up of patients hospitalized in the palliative care units of Bursa State Hospitals between January 2018 and April 2018. Their handgrip strength was measured by a hand dynamometer, and their subcutaneous adipose tissue was measured by skin-fold calipers. Mini Nutritional Assessment was used to evaluate the sociodemographic characteristics and nutritional status of the patients. Results: A total of 211 patients aged 73.3±14.6 years treated in the palliative clinic were included in the study, of which 112 (53.1%) were males. The frequency of malnutrition at the beginning of follow-up was 75 (78.1%) in the living group and 108 (93.9%) in the dead group (p=0.001). During the 6-month follow-up period, 115 (54.5%) cases died. The frequency of malnutrition after 6 months was observed in 175 (82.9%) of the entire patients. The average muscle strength of the right and left arms was found to be significantly higher in alive patients than in dead patients [5.0 (0.0–21.8) kg vs 0.0 (0.0–10.0), p=0.001]. Conclusion: Nutritional status and muscle strength may be important in palliative care patients' survival. It would be appropriate to promote a balanced diet and physical activity to patients before the need for palliative care develops. ABSTRACT


The pocket protein family controls several cellular functions such as cell cycle, differentiation, and apoptosis, among others; however, its role in stress has been poorly explored. The roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans is a simple model organism whose genes are highly conserved during evolution. C. elegans has only one pocket protein, LIN-35; a pRB-related protein similar to p130. To control the expression of some of its targets, LIN-35 interacts with E2F-DP transcription factors and LIN-52, a member of SynMUV (Synthetic Muv complex). Together, these proteins form the DRM complex, which is also known as the DREAM complex in mammals. In this review, we will focus on the role of LIN-35 and its partners in the stress response. It has been shown that LIN-35 is required to control starvation in L1 and L4 larval stages, and to induce starvation-induced germ apoptosis. Remarkably, during L1 starvation, insulin/IGF-1 receptor signaling (IIS), as well as the pathogenic, toxin, and oxidative stress-responsive genes, are repressed by LIN-35. The lack of lin-35 also triggers a downregulation of oxidative stress genes. Recent works showed that lin-35 and hpl-2 mutant animals showed enhanced resistance to UPR ER. Additionally, hpl-2 mutant animals also exhibited the upregulation of autophagic genes, suggesting that the SynMuv/DRM proteins participate in this process. Finally, lin-35(n745) mutant animals overexpressed hsp-6, a chaperone that participated in the UPRmt. All of these data demonstrate that LIN-35 and its partners play an important role during the stress response.


An interest in human coping applicable to endemic disease environments such as Bangladesh now includes disease mitigation and management through self-care. Although a frequently utilised treatment, research into the reasons behind self-care preference, types of self-care practised and the implications this has for individuals and communities in developing countries such as Bangladesh is lacking. This research therefore examines the adoption of self-care in Bangladesh and seeks to understand if it is an effective disease management strategy. A mixed methods approach was employed, targeting a representative sample of different gender, age and socioeconomic status across three locations. 630 questionnaires, 47 semi-structured interviews, 15 focus group discussions, 20 key informant interviews and a series of participatory research tools were applied to explore how and why people use self-care. Data were also used to identify behaviours indicative of appropriate and inappropriate self-care that are beneficial or detrimental to the individual. A detailed and complex picture of self-care emerged. It is widely used to prevent and respond to illness through traditional, herbal and modern pharmaceutical actions. Common illnesses and endemic diseases such as fever and diarrhoeal diseases were most frequently treated through self-care. A declining natural resource base, a hazardous flood environment and communication breakdown between doctors and patients can restrict self-care adoption. However, economic savings on healthcare expenditure, reduced opportunity costs and the means to preserve dignity represented positive aspects of self-care amongst participants. Examination of these factors demonstrated the failings of current health service provision as well as the potential for better self-care integration into existing healthcare approaches. Wider lessons for disease management were therefore derived from self-care including the importance of low cost manifold strategies and the value of local knowledge and ownership. It is concluded that although self-care is not a panacea for the burden of ill health there is evidence to suggest it can play a crucial role in coping with the insurmountable disease risks people face in Bangladesh. In doing so the research contributes to understanding self-care in developing countries as an integrated and integral component of the primary health care system and infectious disease risk reduction more widely.


The Southwestern Buenos Aires Province coast is characterized by the presence of a zone of high near surface suspended sediments (Z0S) with total concentrations ranging from 35 to more than 160 mg/l. The ZOS is variable in width, degree of contact with the shore and sediment concentration. The ZOS may originate from the outflow of fine suspended sediments from the adjacent Bahia Blanca Estuary and is deflected towards the northern coast by Coriolis force. Otherwise, only the sand sized material found in the samples is autochthonous and suspended by the local wave dynamics. The width of ZOS is related to wind direction being larger (> 500 m) with continental (north and northwest) winds.


In the modern knowledge economy universities are being required to operate more entrepreneurially, commercializing the results of their research and spinning out new ventures. The literature on the Triple Helix model (of academic–industry–government relations) is outlined, emphasizing – as does the model – the enhanced role that the modern entrepreneurial university plays in technological innovation. The study then examines the situation in Egypt where, as an earlier study demonstrated, innovation and the role of higher education in the innovation process are only weakly developed. Four hundred science, engineering and technology academics from eight of Egypt's private and public universities were surveyed to identify why this is the case. The results reveal that while there is considerable uncertainty amongst academics in both the private and public sectors about the role of Egyptian universities in the innovation process, there is recognition of the need for government intervention and support if the country's universities are to adopt this Third Mission function. The possible types of intervention and support are considered, which will be of relevance to both academics and policy makers in Egypt and other factor-driven economies.


This Article focuses on one doctrinal question, which has not yet been examined by the Supreme Court of the United States: the appropriate review standard for discriminations against children (children qua children) under the Equal Protection Clause. This Article extensively argues, by applying the traditional three-factor criteria (visible and immutable/irreversible trait, limited access to politics, and existence of prejudice), that we should treat children as a suspect or quasi-suspect class and that we should apply heighted scrutiny for children–adults classifications. It also refutes erroneous arguments commonly seen in the courts that have justified the application of rational basis review for children—the argument to lump the elderly and children together as age discriminations and the argument to consider childhood as a temporal stage of life. This Article particularly highlights that people's cognitive structures are different between discriminations against the elderly and children. The constitutional argument in this Article has a potential to develop a new critical framework for the jurisprudence on children and the law—the "childist legal studies."