Phonon transport is a dominant mechanism of thermal conduction in solids that has been studied for decades. A good understanding of many transport regimes in micro- and nanostructures has been established, including ballistic and diffusive transport, mode softening, or band structure engineering in phononic crystals. However, the limit of quantized transport and the engineering of single transport channels is much less explored. In this Perspective, we discuss concepts and theoretical and experimental progress in the field of quantized phonon transport in channels, such as molecular systems. We particularly highlight open questions and research opportunities that should be within experimental reach. Challenges in experimental sensitivity and control hinder fast experimental progress. Recently, however, heat transport measurements through quantum channels and single molecules have become available at room temperature using break junction techniques. These techniques are well established in the molecular electronics community and have recently been expanded to the measurement of heat transport on the single-molecule level. Given the new experimental capabilities, it is now inviting to address the rather unexplored area of molecular phonon-engineering. Several interesting theoretical predictions concern the realization of the phonon quantum interference effect, suppression of phonon current via the introduction of side groups to molecules, and the construction of a phonon diode device based on molecular anharmonicity and asymmetry. This Perspective should serve the experimental and theory community by listing key challenges, thus a roadmap for making progress in the field of quantized phonon transport.


Mildew severely reduces soybean yield and quality, and pods are the first line of defense against pathogens. Maize-soybean intercropping (MSI) reduces mildew incidence on soybean pods; however, the mechanism remains unclear. Changing light (CL) from maize shading is the most important environmental feature in MSI. We hypothesized that CL affects isoflavone accumulation in soybean pods, affecting their disease resistance. In the present study, shading treatments were applied to soybean plants during different developmental stages according to various CL environments under MSI. Chlorophyll fluorescence imaging (CFI) and classical evaluation methods confirmed that CL, especially vegetative stage shading (VS), enhanced pod resistance to mildew. Further metabolomic analyses and exogenous jasmonic acid (JA) and biosynthesis inhibitor experiments revealed the important relationship between JA and isoflavone biosynthesis, which had a synergistic effect on the enhanced resistance of CL-treated pods to mildew. VS promoted the biosynthesis and accumulation of constitutive isoflavones upstream of the isoflavone pathway, such as aglycones and glycosides, in soybean pods. When mildew infects pods, endogenous JA signaling stimulated the biosynthesis of downstream inducible malonyl isoflavone (MIF) and glyceollin to improve pod resistance. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Interview with Army veteran Ralph L. Cerny. The interview includes Cerny's personal experiences about being a combat infantryman in the Southwest Pacific Theater during World War II, joining the Illinois National Guard, federalization of the Illinois National Guard, training at Camp Forrest, Tennessee, shipping to Camp Darwin, Australia, and combat around Mount Austen on Guadalcanal. Additionally, Cerny talks about the formation of the American Division and landings at New Caledonia, transferring of the division to Guadalcanal, the fate of Japanese prisoners-of-war, evacuation to the Fiji islands for rest and recuperation, landings on Bougainville, patrol and reconnaissance activities on Bougainville, his rotation back to the States, stateside duty as a drill instructor at Fort McClellan, and his postwar career.


Unconventional myosins are a superfamily of actin-based motors implicated in diverse cellular processes. In recent years, much progress has been made in describing their biophysical properties, and headway has been made into analyzing their cellular functions. Here, we focus on the principles that guide in vivo motor function and targeting to specific cellular locations. Rather than describe each motor comprehensively, we outline the major themes that emerge from research across the superfamily and use specific examples to illustrate each. In presenting the data in this format, we seek to identify open questions in each field as well as to point out commonalities between them. To advance our understanding of myosins' roles in vivo, clearly we must identify their cellular cargoes and the protein complexes that regulate motor attachment to fully appreciate their functions on the cellular and developmental levels.


ABSTRACT Question: In fen meadows with Junco-Molinion plant communities, falling groundwater levels may not lead to a boosted above-ground biomass production if limitation of nutrients persists. Instead, depending on drainage intensity and microtopography, acidification may trigger a shift into drier and more nutrient-poor plant communities. Location: Nature reserve, central Netherlands, 5 m a.s.l. Methods: Long-term study (1988–1997) in a fen meadow along a gradient in drainage intensity at different scales. Results: Above-ground biomass increased only slightly over ten years, despite a lower summer groundwater table. The accountable factors were probably a limited availability of nutrients (K in the higher well-drained plots, P in the intermediate plots and N in the lower hardly drained plots), plus removal of hay. Junco-Molinion species increased in dry sites and Parvocaricetea species increased in wet sites, presumably primarily because of soil acidification occurring when rainwater becomes more influential than base-rich groundwater. The extent of the shift in species composition depends primarily on the drainage intensity and secondarily on microtopography. Local hydrological measures have largely failed to restore wetter and more basic-rich conditions. Conclusions: Acidification and nutrient removal, leaching and immobilization resulted in the succession towards Junco-Molinion at the cost of Calthion palustris elements. Lower in the gradient this change was reduced by the presence of buffered groundwater in slightly drained sites. To conserve the typical plant communities of the Junco-Molinion to Calthion gradient in the long term, further acidification must be prevented, for example by inundation with base-rich surface water. Nomenclature: van der Meijden (1990) for phanerogams and Schaminée et al. (1996) for syntaxa.


This article draws on the expanding terrain of digital newspaper archives to explore early advertisements for Sterne's work. It situates its findings in relation to previous bibliographical studies to present a more contextual approach to how Tristram Shandy and A Sentimental Journey were advertised during the 1760s. Comparing these small promotional texts with others produced for contemporaneous publications, and placing them within the broader context of publishing conventions in this period, this article shows that typical accounts of Sterne's 'originality' as found in his first reviews and in subsequent critical works were not always reflected in the often conventional nature of the advertisements for his novels. However, the authors conclude, perhaps these pared-back advertisements demonstrate all the more effectively the notorious celebrity both Sterne and his books had attained in the period of their first appearance.


This dissertation analyses governance in the process of the formation of new regional alliances and spaces in Europe, by studying the case of the Central European Region - Centrope, which is both a region and a political project at the border area of Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. This research aims at illuminating the historically founded relationship between emerging territories and new socioeconomic institutionalisations through unveiling the mode of governance in Centrope. It uncovers the progress and dilemmas of the institutionalization of a new region and regional alliances. The focus is on socio-spatial transformations, bringing in conceptual clarifications to unravel, among other issues, the ways in which actor's alliances are formed and mobilized to defend and promote particular interests grounded within already established, emerging, or potential state spaces. It thus sheds light on the mode of governance and regional development being fostered by the EU in new trans-border regions, as well as on the challenges involved in implementing new spaces in the EU under the absolute rule of a specific notion of competitiveness. This enabled sketching some alternative policy recommendations. (author's abstract)


This paper presents the results of a surgical and histopathological study regarding the microanatomical modifications of the thoraco-abdominal diaphragm and of the peri-esophageal structures in the hiatal hernias, establishing a cause-effect relationship between these structural modifications and the hiatal hernia. The study was represented by two groups of patients: a control group and a group with hiatal hernia. The study method consisted in intraoperatory biopsy of fragments from the diaphragm as well as from the tissue around the esophagus, which were studied from the histopathological viewpoint, using histological methods and quantitative microanatomy. In the end, the results obtained from the two groups were compared. The microscopic examination revealed the presence of an inflammatory infiltrate located between muscle fibers, especially near blood vessels, at the level of the diaphragm crura and the phreno-esophageal membrane. Also, they found red blood cell at this level, most likely due to pressure from the hernia at this level. From the quantitative micro-anatomical viewpoint, there has been noticed an increase in the percent of the vascular lumen (accentuated vasodilatation) as well as the interstices occupied with the edema and hemorrhage, to the detriment of the muscle fibers, the most significant modifications being met at the level of the crura.


In recent years, as the cost of drilling, evaluating, and completing wells continues to rise in offshore, operators are seeking new technologies that offer measurements comparable to proven wireline logging technologies. Logging while drilling (LWD) technology has progressed swiftly in recent time to address the need for saving rig time by enabling real-time informed decisions for drilling efficiency and risk management. LWD sonic is traditionally used to log formation slowness in the open hole but increasingly being used in cased hole to optimize logging time and evaluate top of cement.
 Before starting a hole section, well integrity is a critical input to decide if it is safe to drill ahead or additional measures are required to assure operation safety. In this case study we demonstrate that both, measuring formation slowness in open and cased hole along with evaluating the success of a cementing operation can be obtained with the latest generation of LWD sonic tools while drilling, thus saving rig time, simplifying operations, and assuring operation safety and integrity.
 In this case study we demonstrate that formation slowness can also be recorded in cased hole with LWD tools when the cement bonding is sufficient to allow good coupling. This advanced technique of logging formation slowness through casing with LWD can complement conventional logging, or even save an additional logging run in some cases, and therefore result in significant savings to the operator. Where azimuthal cement evaluation is not a strict requirement, knowing the top-of-cement (TOC) from LWD can help to confirm well integrity without adding rig-time. This in turn will help to take on-time decision to plan additional logging requirements for advanced analysis


In previous studies, we have shown that architecture and differentiation of human epidermis reconstructed by culturing dissociated keratinocytes on deepidermized dermis at the air-liquid interface resembles very much those of epidermis in vivo. The various types of epidermal layers are present with the appropriate differentiation markers, such as the bullous pemphigoid antigen, suprabasal keratins, involucrin, membrane-bound transglutaminase and filaggrin, positioned almost like in normal epidermis. At the ultrastructural level, heterogeneous keratohyalin granules and intra- and extracellular membrane-coating granules are observed. After 7 days of culture, a compact stratum corneum covers the reconstructed epidermis. In the present work, the barrier function of the reconstructed epidermis was evaluated by measuring fluxes of 3H-water. Our results show that under the various culture conditions tested, the presence of the reconstructed epidermis reduces dramatically the permeability of the deepidermized dermis although the skin equivalent exhibits a higher permeability than normal skin. Conditions that favor terminal differentiation of the keratinocytes such as maintaining the cultures in delipidized serum improve the barrier function. Reduction of the relative humidity has a similar effect, whereas the age of the culture is of no influence. Experiments are in progress to reconstruct human epidermis with a barrier function as efficient as in normal skin.


In this work, we investigate the operation of energy efficient relay nodes assisting the transmission of packets from a number of users to a destination node. We study the impact of switching randomly a fraction of the relays on and off to the aggregate throughput, the average queue size and delay per packet of systems with relays transmitting in either Full- or Half-Duplex mode and under different channel transmissions characteristics. Furthermore, we prove analytically and illustrate via simulation means how these network metrics are affected.


Objectives We investigated the PD-L1 expression in colorectal cancer (CRC) and in its microenvironment. Results PD-L1 was expressed in neoplastic cells (NCs) and tumor-infiltrating immune cells (IICs). All samples PD-L1+ on NCs were also on IICs. Three types of cancers could be grouped: group A(NCs-/ IICs-); group B (NCs-/ IICs+); group C (NCs+/IICs+). To group A belong tumors characterized by poorly immunogenic competence, poor immune response but massive granulocyte infiltrate, justifying the absence of PD-L1 as an immunoinhibitor receptor. To Group B probably belong more immunogenic CRCs, justifying the strong IICs-mediated immune response, and up-regulation of PD-L1 expression only on IICs. To group C belong CRCs probably characterized by a large amount of tumor neoantigens resulting in a marked infiltration of lymphocytes and PD-L1 upregulation also in NCs. Materials and Methods Sixty-three colorectal cancer specimens from a cohort of 61 patients were retrospectively reviewed. Thirty-seven MSS and 26 MSI-H CRCs enrolled in this study. Immunohistochemical staining to PD-L1 was performed by using MAb E1L3N. Conclusions Our study calls attention to the importance to assess PD-L1 expression in tumor microenvironment also evaluating type and density of infiltrating immune cells to better stratify CRCs with different immunological patterns.


Transthoracic total fundoplication gastroplasty has been reported as having a low mortality and a 1.1% recurrence rate and to produce excellent results in 93.1% of patients, moderate results in 3.7% and poor results in only 2.8% of patients. In approximately 7.0% intercostal neuritis is a serious residual problem. The transabdominal total fundoplication gastroplasty uses the identical repair technique but avoids the chest-wall pain. Previous esophageal or gastric surgery and major esophageal shortening are contraindications to an abdominal approach. The authors report their results with 50 patients who underwent transabdominal total fundoplication gastroplasty and were followed up for 6 to 20 months. There was no mortality or major morbidity. Clinical follow-up was complete, 94% of patients were assessed by roentgenography and 72% by manometry. None had anatomic recurrence, 46 (92%) were asymptomatic and 4 (8%) had minor residual gastric symptoms of fullness or occasional epigastric pain. All were much improved and none had wound pain. Long-term follow-up of transabdominal total fundoplication gastroplasty is necessary; however, since the technique of repair is identical to the thoracic approach, the results should be similar.


C-complex asteroids, rich in carbonaceous materials, are potential sources of Earth's volatile inventories. They are spectrally dark resembling primitive carbonaceous meteorites, and thus, C-complex asteroids are thought to be potential parent bodies of carbonaceous meteorites. However, the substantial number of C-complex asteroids exhibits surface spectra with weaker hydroxyl absorption than water-rich carbonaceous meteorites. Rather, they best correspond to meteorites showing evidence for dehydration, commonly attributed to impact heating. Here, we report an old radiometric age of 4564.7 million years ago for Ca carbonates from the Jbilet Winselwan meteorite analogous to dehydrated C-complex asteroids. The carbonates are enclosed by a high-temperature polymorph of Ca sulfates, suggesting thermal metamorphism at >300°C subsequently after aqueous alteration. This old age indicates the early onset of aqueous alteration and subsequent thermal metamorphism driven by the decay of short-lived radionuclides rather than impact heating. The breakup of original asteroids internally heated by radioactivity should result in asteroid families predominantly consisting of thermally metamorphosed materials. This explains the common occurrence of dehydrated C-complex asteroids.


The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of attitudes on young consumers' organic food purchasing intentions. The attitude factor in this regard is attitudes towards environment in general and towards organic food consumption behaviors in particular. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis showed that environmental attitude and environmental concern have a direct impact on organic food purchasing intentions and an indirect impact through attitudes towards organic food. In addition, perceived effectiveness of environmental behavior is also an explanatory factor of consumption intentions of organic food by young consumers. The findings suggest that managers and administrators should concentrate not only on consumers' attitudes toward organic food but also on environmental attitudes, environmental concern, perceived effectiveness of environmental behavior in order to promote organic food consumption by young consumers.


Background and Objectives: Women with endometriosis often report onset of symptoms during adolescence; however, the diagnosis of endometriosis is often delayed. The aim of this study was to describe the experience of adolescents who underwent laparoscopy for pelvic pain and were diagnosed with endometriosis: specifically, the symptoms, time from onset of symptoms to correct diagnosis, number and type of medical professionals seen, diagnosis, treatment, and postoperative outcomes. Methods: We reviewed a series of 25 females ≤21 years of age with endometriosis diagnosed during laparoscopy for pelvic pain over an 8-year period. These patients were followed up for 1 year after surgery. Results: The mean age at the time of surgery was 17.2 (2.4) years (range, 10–21). The most common complaints were dysmenorrhea (64%), menorrhagia (44%), abnormal/irregular uterine bleeding (60%), ≥1 gastrointestinal symptoms (56%), and ≥1 genitourinary symptoms (52%). The mean time from the onset of symptoms until diagnosis was 22.8 (31.0) months (range, 1–132). The median number of physicians who evaluated their pain was 3 (2.3) (range, 1–12). The adolescents had stage I (68%), stage II (20%), and stage III (12%) disease. Atypical endometriosis lesions were most commonly observed during laparoscopy. At 1 year, 64% reported resolved pain, 16% improved pain, 12% continued pain, and 8% recurrent pain. Conclusions: Timely referral to a gynecologist experienced with laparoscopic diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis is critical to expedite care for adolescents with pelvic pain. Once the disease is diagnosed and treated, these patients have favorable outcomes with hormonal and nonhormonal therapy.


Background and Objectives There is a paucity of data regarding the benefit of clopidogrel monotherapy after dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in patients treated with drug-eluting stents (DES). This study compared outcome between clopidogrel versus aspirin as monotherapy after DES for acute myocardial infarction (MI). Methods From Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry-National Institute of Health database, 1,819 patients treated with DES who were switched to monotherapy with clopidogrel (n=534) or aspirin (n=1,285) after uneventful 12-month DAPT were analyzed. The primary endpoint was net adverse clinical events (NACE), defined as a composite of death from any cause, MI, repeat percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), stent thrombosis, ischemic stroke, or major bleeding during the period from 12 to 24 months. Results After adjustment using inverse probability of treatment weighting, patients who received clopidogrel, compared with those treated with aspirin, had a similar incidence of NACE (0.7% and 0.7%; hazard ratio, 1.06; 95% confidence interval, 0.31–3.60; p=0.923). The 2 groups had similar rates of death from any cause (0.1% in each group, p=0.789), MI (0.3% and 0.1%, respectively; p=0.226), repeat PCI (0.1% and 0.3%, respectively; p=0.548), stent thrombosis (0.1% and 0%, respectively; p=0.121), major bleeding (0.2% in each group, p=0.974), and major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (0.5% in each group, p=0.924). Conclusions Monotherapy with clopidogrel, compared to aspirin, after DAPT showed similar clinical outcomes in patients with acute MI treated with DES.


Active inference is a probabilistic framework for modelling the behaviour of biological and artificial agents, which derives from the principle of minimising free energy. In recent years, this framework has successfully been applied to a variety of situations where the goal was to maximise reward, offering comparable and sometimes superior performance to alternative approaches. In this paper, we clarify the connection between reward maximisation and active inference by demonstrating how and when active inference agents perform actions that are optimal for maximising reward. Precisely, we show the conditions under which active inference produces the optimal solution to the Bellman equation--a formulation that underlies several approaches to model-based reinforcement learning and control. On partially observed Markov decision processes, the standard active inference scheme can produce Bellman optimal actions for planning horizons of 1, but not beyond. In contrast, a recently developed recursive active inference scheme (sophisticated inference) can produce Bellman optimal actions on any finite temporal horizon. We append the analysis with a discussion of the broader relationship between active inference and reinforcement learning.


Carbonate apatite‐coated calcium carbonate (CO3Ap/CaCO3) was fabricated through a dissolution–precipitation reaction using CaCO3 granules as a precursor to accelerate bone replacement based on superior osteoconductivity of the CO3Ap shell, along with Ca2+ release from the CaCO3 core and quicker resorption of the CaCO3 core. In the present study, CaCO3, 10% CO3Ap/CaCO3, 30% CO3Ap/CaCO3, and CO3Ap granules were fabricated and examined histologically to evaluate their potential as bone substitutes. Larger contents of CaCO3 in the granules resulted in higher Ca2+ release and promoted cell proliferation of murine preosteoblasts at 6 days compared with CO3Ap. Interestingly, in a rabbit femur defect model, 10% CO3Ap/CaCO3 induced significantly higher new bone formation and higher material resorption compared with CO3Ap at 8 weeks. Nevertheless, CO3Ap showed a superior osteoconductive potential compared with 10% CO3Ap/CaCO3 at 8 weeks. All tested granules were most likely resorbed by cell mediation including multinucleated giant cell functions. Therefore, we conclude that CO3Ap/CaCO3 has a positive potential for bone tissue engineering based on well‐controlled calcium release, bone formation, and material resorption.


A model was developed for the analysis and prediction of correlation between composition and mechanical properties of Mg-Al-Zn (AZ) magnesium alloys by applying artificial neural network (ANN). The input parameters of the neural network (NN) are alloy composition. The outputs of the NN model are important mechanical properties, including ultimate tensile strength, tensile yield strength and elongation. The model is based on multilayer feedforward neural network. The NN was trained with comprehensive data set collected from domestic and foreign literature. A very good performance of the neural network was achieved. The model can be used for the simulation and prediction of mechanical properties of AZ system magnesium alloys as functions of composition.


Bioluminescence imaging is a powerful approach for visualizing specific events occurring inside live mice. Animals can be made to glow in response to the expression of a gene, the activity of an enzyme, or the growth of a tumor. But bioluminescence requires the interaction of a luciferase enzyme with a small-molecule luciferin, and its scope has been limited by the mere handful of natural combinations. Herein, we show that mutants of firefly luciferase can discriminate between natural and synthetic substrates in the brains of live mice. When using adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors to express luciferases in the brain, we found that mutant luciferases that are inactive or weakly active with d-luciferin can light up brightly when treated with the aminoluciferins CycLuc1 and CycLuc2 or their respective FAAH-sensitive luciferin amides. Further development of selective luciferases promises to expand the power of bioluminescence and allow multiple events to be imaged in the same live animal.


Abstract The completion of the whole genome sequence of Arabidopsis thaliana has made it possible to explore the phytochemical genomics in this species by determining gene-to-metabolite correlation through the comprehensive analysis of metabolite accumulation and gene expression. In this study, flavonoid profiling of wild-type plants and T-DNA insertion mutants was analyzed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)/photodiode array detection (PDA)/electrospray ionization (ESI)/multiple-stage mass spectrometry (MSn). Detailed analysis of the metabolite changes in the mutants suggested the functions of genes that have been mutated. In silico coexpression analysis of genes involved in flavonoid metabolism in Arabidopsis was performed using a publicly available transcriptome database of DNA microarrays. We inferred a coexpression framework model of the genes involved in the pathways of flavonol, anthocyanin, and proanthocyanidin synthesis, suggesting specific functions and coregulation of the genes of pathway enzymes and transcription factors. The metabolic profiling of the omt1 mutant lacking a methyltransferase gene narrowed down by the coexpression analysis showed that AtOMT1 (At5g54160) is involved not only in the production of lignins and sinapoyl esters but also in the methylation of flavonols forming isorhamnetin. These results suggest that the functional genomics approach by detailed target-metabolite profiling with transcriptome coexpression analysis provides an efficient way of identifying novel gene functions involved in plant metabolism.


Abstract Monaghan, TP, Jacobson, BH, Sellers, JH, and Estrada, CA. Effects of energy beverage consumption on pistol aiming steadiness in law enforcement officers. J Strength Cond Res 31(9): 2557–2561, 2017—The popularity of energy drinks (EDs)/shots (ESs) has grown steadily over the years resulting in billions of dollars of sales annually. Energy drink marketing focuses on the improved performance and alertness and a reduction in fatigue. Although caffeine comprises one of the ingredients, it is not fully known how the combination of the many remaining active ingredients affects physical performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a commercially available ES on pistol aiming steadiness. Subjects (N = 10) consisted of accredited police officers in the Midwest. A randomized, blinded, crossover design was used to evaluate the pistol aiming steadiness after the consumption of an ES or placebo. Pistol aiming steadiness was measured using a hole/stylus steadiness tester and laser attached to a training pistol before and 30 minutes after ES or placebo consumption. Analysis revealed that the ES significantly (p ⩽ 0.05) impaired pistol steadiness, whereas the placebo yielded no significant difference in aiming steadiness. Based on these results, it was concluded that the consumption of an ES could compromise aiming accuracy and shot placement, thereby jeopardizing the health and welfare of law enforcement personnel.


Abstract Fractures of the distal radius are common counting for 17 percent of all fractures. With conventional radiography they can be classified readily. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a suitable technique for the detection of occult forms of fractures and of associated soft tissue injuries. In the wrist, fractures are 10 times less common than in the distal radius, with the scaphoid bone to be involved most commonly. Indications for computed tomography (CT) are complex fractures, occult fractures, or dislocations. MRI should be performed to evaluate the soft tissues, to detect occult fractures, or to analyse osteochondral lesions. Indications for arthrography are injuries of the ligaments or of the joint capsule. Fractures and dislocations of the metacarpal, and the phalangeal bones are the most common fractures of the skeletal system. Conventional radiography is the primary imaging technique, followed by sonography and MRI to detect injuries of the ligaments and tendons.


Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a major global problem (Barth et al., 2013). Therefore, it is important for researchers in communication science to systematically examine the representation of the CSA issue in the media using manual and computational methods of content analysis. According to previous review papers (Popović, 2018; Weatherred, 2015), existing content-analytical studies are mostly manual and limited to newspaper articles and the text level. Currently, it is unclear what kind of visual representations are used to illustrate the CSA issue in the media. We therefore present a tested new instrument to analyze the dominant image motifs (= iconography) in CSA news media coverage (Döring & Walter, 2021).

Field of application/theoretical foundation
CSA reporting often focuses on specific cases of CSA (Dorfman et al., 2011). Therefore, media reporting on CSA mainly falls into the area of justice and crime reporting. From a theoretical perspective, CSA representations in the media are mostly analyzed based on framing theory (Entman, 1993). Respective studies investigate which aspects of the CSA problem are emphasized in the media and which are neglected. Research shows that stereotypes and myths are spread and episodic framing (= focus on individual cases) is often prevalent, while thematic framing (= representation of CSA as a societal issue) is missing in the media coverage (Popović, 2018; Weatherred, 2015). There are hardly any empirical findings on visual framing and the iconography used in CSA media reporting (Döring & Walter, 2021). However, some more research exists on the broader issue of visual representations of sexual violence in the news (e.g., Schwark, 2017).

References/combination with other methods of data collection
Generally, the text analysis method dominates in the field of justice and crime reporting (e.g., portrayals of crimes in newspapers vs. television; Pollak & Kubrin, 2007). The few available image analyses in this field have not yet addressed CSA but focus on different crimes (e.g., portrayal of the 9/11 terrorist attack and its commemoration in the press; Ammann, 2015).
In addition to pure content analyses, combinations with other methods of data collection that incorporate the communicator's perspective can contribute to a more in-depth investigation of the CSA iconography. For example, interviews with journalists on how they select CSA-related images for news reporting would be insightful, but such studies are currently lacking.
Equally important are combinations of content analyses with data collection methods that focus on possible media effects on the recipients, for example by conducting experiments exploring the effects of different textual and visual CSA representations. Although there are experimental studies on the effects of textual elements of CSA reporting (e.g., different perpetrator and victim constellations; Scheufele, 2005), there is a lack of studies on the effects of visual elements.

Example studies
Researchers interested in conducting content analyses about CSA reporting in general – and visualizations of the CSA problem in particular – can consult the following example studies:

review papers on content analyses of CSA media reporting (Popović, 2018; Weatherred, 2015),
CSA-related content analyses focusing on textual elements (Dorfman et al., 2011; Mejia et al., 2012),
CSA-related content analyses focusing on both textual and visual elements (Popović, 2021: explained below),
CSA-related content analyses focusing on visual elements and in particular the dominant image motifs in terms of the CSA iconography (Döring & Walter, 2021: explained below).

Information on Popović, 2021
Authors: Stjepka Popović
Research question: How are victims of child sexual abuse represented in the press in Croatia?
Object of analysis: Probabilistic cluster sample of N = 1 159 CSA-related news reports (text and photos) of the six most popular daily printed Croatian newspapers
Time frame of analysis: 2007-2016

Info about photo-related variables
Variable name/definition: Victim endangering CSA news reporting practices linked to photos were measured with three mutually exclusive variables (p. 238).

Indirect disclosure of victim's identity: photo of either a) victim's home; b) location of abuse; c) family members, relatives or neighbors
Direct disclosure of victim's identity: a) blurred photo of victim OR b) photo of victim taken from the back
Sexually explicit material: a) photographs or illustrations of the child in explicit poses or underwear OR b) photographs or illustrations of abuse OR c) forensic drawings of victim

Level of analysis: Symbolic and documentary images.
Values: 0 = absent, 1 = present (binary coding for each image)
Reliability: Krippendorff's Alpha: 0.90 for entire coding matrix

Information on Döring & Walter, 2021
Authors: Nicola Döring & Roberto Walter
Research question: Which iconography (i.e. set of main types of image motifs) is used to visualize the issue of child sexual abuse in newspaper articles?
Object of analysis: Convenience sample of N = 1 437 CSA-related online news reports including N = 419 stock photos from different German-language newspapers and news magazines (e.g., Die Zeit, Bild, taz, Süddeutsche, Spiegel, Focus)
Time frame of analysis: 2014-2018

Info about image-related variables
Variable name/definition: Iconography of child sexual abuse in the news (set of 7 mutually exclusive image motif types categorized into three image motif groups; see Table 1). The complete codebook, data and analysis scripts are available at https://osf.io/g2cxa/ (Döring & Walter, 2021).
Level of analysis: Symbolic image.
Values: 0 = absent, 1= present (binary coding for each image motif type)
Reliability: Holsti: 0.94 – 0.98; Gwet's AC1: 0.90 – 0.98 (see Table 1 for each image motif type)

Table 1. Codebook for the iconography of child sexual abuse in the news

Variables: Types of image motifs

Variable descriptions plus example images

Values

Reliability - Holsti- Gwet's AC1

1. Context of the crime

1.1 Real-world context

Code as present if the image shows the real-world context of CSA (e.g., a church, school or swimming pool) but does not focus on the people involved.

0 = absent
1 = present

.94
.91

1.2 Virtual context

Code as present if the image shows the virtual context of CSA (e.g., a laptop, keyboard or webcam) but does not focus on the people involved.

0 = absent
1 = present

.98
.98

2. Course of the crime and people involved

2.1 Perpetrator before/during the crime

Code as present if the image shows the perpetrator before/during the crime but does not focus on the context or victim.

0 = absent
1 = present

-a
-

2.2 Victim before/during the crime

Code as present if the image shows the victim before/during the crime but does not focus on the context or perpetrator.

0 = absent
1 = present

.96
.95

2.3 Perpetrator and victim before/during the crime

Code as present if the image shows the perpetrator and the victim before/during the crime but does not focus on the context.

0 = absent
1 = present

.94
.90

3. Consequences of the crime

3.1 Consequences for the victim

Code as present if the image shows the consequences of the crime for the victim (e.g., physical and emotional pain, trauma).

0 = absent
1 = present

.94
.93

3.2 Consequences for the perpetrator

Code as present if the image shows the consequences of the crime for the perpetrator (e.g., arrest, conviction).

0 = absent
1 = present

.98
.97

Note. aReliability for this variable could not be calculated, because the image motif was not present in the pretest sample.
Depending on the research question, the whole set of seven main types of image motifs of the CSA iconography can be measured or only selected motifs can be chosen as all binary variables are independent from each other. Also, new motifs can be added. For example, visualizations that illustrate the societal relevance of CSA (e.g., info graphics that show prevalence rates) or visualizations of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention methods (e.g., therapy for victims and/or perpetrators) could be added as further image motif types. For a more granular quantitative analysis of a large-scale sample of newspaper articles, it is possible to code not only the image motif type (e.g., real-world context), but also the individual motifs that belong to this type (e.g., church, school, swimming pool, sports club). Last but not least, for selected image motif types an additional qualitative image analysis might be fruitful. For example, the image type "victim before/during the crime" often operates with objectification and sexualization of the victim than can be further explored qualitatively (e.g., type of clothing of the victim, camera angle and perspective).

References
Ammann, I. (2015). Im Bilde gedacht. Der Gedenktag 9/11 in der deutschen und US-amerikanischen Pressefotografie [Picturing commemoration. A comparative analysis of anniversary 9/11 in German and US-American press photography]. Studies in Communication | Media, 4(4), 436–453. https://doi.org/10.5771/2192-4007-2015-4-436
Barth, J., Bermetz, L., Heim, E., Trelle, S., & Tonia, T. (2013). The current prevalence of child sexual abuse worldwide. A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Public Health, 58(3), 469–483. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-012-0426-1
Dorfman, L., Mejia, P., Cheyne, A., & Gonzalez, P. (2011). Case by Case: News coverage of child sexual abuse, 2007-2009. http://www.bmsg.org/sites/default/files/bmsg_issue19.pdf
Döring, N., & Walter, R. (2021). Ikonografien des sexuellen Kindesmissbrauchs: Symbolbilder in Presseartikeln und Präventionsmaterialien [Iconographies of child sexual abuse: Symbolic images in press articles and prevention materials]. Studies in Communication and Media, 10(3), 362-405. https://doi.org/10.5771/2192-4007-202


This study discusses the development and validation of a universal microwell spectrophotometric assay for TKIs, regardless of the diversity in their chemical structures. The assay depends on directly measuring the native ultraviolet light (UV) absorption of TKIs. The assay was carried out using UV-transparent 96-microwell plates and the absorbance signals were measured by a microplate reader at 230 nm, at which all TKIs had light absorption. Beer's law correlating the absorbances of TKIs with their corresponding concentrations was obeyed in the range of 2–160 µg mL–1 with excellent correlation coefficients (0.9991–0.9997). The limits of detection and limits quantitation were in the ranges of 0.56–5.21 and 1.69–15.78 µg mL–1, respectively. The proposed assay showed high precision as the values of the relative standard deviations for the intra- and inter-assay precisions did not exceed 2.03 and 2.14%, respectively. The accuracy of the assay was proven as the recovery values were in the range of 97.8–102.9% (±0.8–2.4%). The proposed assay was successfully applied to the quantitation of all TKIs in their pharmaceutical formulations (tablets) with reliable results in terms of high accuracy and precision. The assay greenness was evaluated, and the results proved that the assay fulfils the requirements of green analytical approach. The proposed assay is the first assay that can analyse all TKIs on a single assay system without chemical derivatization or modifications in the detection wavelength. In addition, the simple and simultaneous handling of a large number of samples as a batch using micro-volumes of samples gave the assay the advantage of high throughput analysis, which is a serious demand in the pharmaceutical industry.


Dynamic bubble distributions in liquids and their acoustic properties are important in a large variety of applications ranging from the measurement of nitrogen bubbles in blood, fish schools, to clouds from breaking waves. Unlike individual bubbles, these distributions maintain their compactness by viscous and hydrodynamic vorticity. The specific case of compact distributions that have complex shapes may be treated by the use of multipole expansions. This paper discusses the application of multipole expansions to complex shapes in general and compares the first‐order radiation and scattering fields from simple geometrical shapes, spheres, cylinders, and ellipsoids. The paper shows that when the regions are acoustically compact the lowest‐order radiation from these features can be described by a modified Minneart formula describing the net volume fluctuation. In the case of noncompact distributions scattering regimes are shown to be delineated by several nondimensional numbers.


Abstract The process of community wildlife management in the Izozog area of the Bolivian Chaco began with participatory field research – self-monitoring of hunting activities and research on key game species. On-going discussions in community meetings have elicited seven wildlife management recommendations: (1) establishing hunting zones, (2) hunting only adults, (3) hunting only males during the reproductive season, (4) hunting only for the family's needs, (5) hunting only abundant animals, (6) protecting plants that are important to wildlife, and (7) prohibiting hunting by outsiders. We compare community attitudes towards these management measures. A majority of communities favour, in decreasing order, measures 7, 4, 6 and 1, communities are divided with respect to measures 2 and 3, and most communities oppose measure 5. Two socio-economic characteristics of communities – location and ethnicity – are associated with patterns of attitudes towards wild-life management among communities, whereas religion, economic activity and community size are not. Izoceño communities are currently reinterpreting traditional beliefs both to support and to oppose active wildlife management measures.


Consultation in nursing is not only a question of technique and method. For nursing personnel to qualify as consultants they are compelled to confront its goals and its significance. Moreover, the part of the nurses within consultation must be clarified and the question of the particularities of consultation in nursing should be dealt with. The following article covers this subject with particular attention to the area of Pediatric Nursing. Long ago, job requirements for nursing staff in this area have involved looking not only after the sick child but after its entire family, too. Consultation in nursing is considered an independent plan designed to support the family in coping both with wellness and sickness and the latter's consequences. The adequate education and training will help nursing staff to perform these duties.


International investment tribunals, like all other international courts and tribunals, are created equal. This chapter focuses on genuine decisional fragmentation and the coordination of proceedings within the investment treaty regime, i.e. between parallel and subsequent investment arbitrations rather than cross-regime coordination of, for example, investment arbitrations and World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement. Decisional fragmentation refers to divergent rulings in cases that share the same factual matrix. Numerous authors posit that inconsistent decisions are a particular risk in investment arbitration given the lack of internal (e.g. stare decisis) as well as external control mechanisms to ensure uniform arbitral decisions. The chapter examines what coordination tasks arise in international investment law (IIL), what the stakeholder interests related to these coordination tasks are and how overlapping jurisdictions of investment tribunals can be managed institutionally and procedurally. The distinction between jurisdiction and admissibility is an important element of successfully coordinating parallel investment arbitrations. The major advantage of declaring claims inadmissible is that it allows tribunals to fulfil their jurisdictional mandate – which many investments tribunals are keen to do – while coordinating proceedings through the lever of admissibility. After describing the structural features of IIL, and in particular the absence of stare decisis, Section 2 examines three coordination tasks that arise in IIL: related proceedings, mass claims and derivative shareholder claims.


We examine the development of opposition party behaviour in the Dutch Tweede Kamer between 1998 and 2015. We look at the effect of three major events on opposition party behaviour: the entry of a major radical right-wing populist party (in 2002), the global financial crisis (in 2008) and the advent of minority governments (in 2012). We find that consensus democracy is alive. During the economic crisis, the established rules of the game were reinvented to allow for productive cooperation between effectively a minority government and 'constructive' opposition parties. Since the crisis, opposition parties with earlier government experience have been increasingly active.


Many non-profit organisations (NPOs) are highly dependent on volunteers to achieve their mission, and while volunteers tend to be motivated by altruistic reasons, performance management (PM) likely plays a key role in facilitating their commitment and directing their efforts to achieving their goals and the organisation's mission. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the PM process as applied to volunteers in an NPO in New Zealand. Moreover, the similarities and differences between PM practices used for employees and volunteers are examined.   Extant non-profit research has focused on individual management practices, but largely ignored the holistic PM process, whereas existing for-profit literature has concentrated on performance appraisals and evaluations, rather than PM. This study contributes to the limited research on PM processes by drawing together research from both sectors to develop an updated PM process model which is based on current PM trends and includes the steps goal-setting, feedback, training/development, and rewards/recognition. Due to the dearth in research on volunteer PM, a qualitative approach was deemed appropriate for this study to gain a deeper understanding of contextual factors and the research problem. A single case study was chosen to collect rich and in-depth data about the perceptions and experiences of managers and volunteers regarding PM. The New Zealand Cancer Society's Otago Southland Division (OSD) was selected as case study organisation and 19 semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten managers and nine volunteers. The interviews were held in late 2016 in four locations, the Cancer Society's national office in Wellington and the OSD's three main offices, Dunedin, Invercargill, and Queenstown.    The findings show that managers and volunteers struggle with the concept of PM in relation to volunteers because of its poor reputation and perceived unsuitability due to the special characteristics of volunteering. The individual practices, however, generated interest among participants as most practices are already used for volunteers in the OSD, albeit in an informal, ad-hoc manner and under the designation 'volunteer management'. The interviews revealed a pattern of accepted (rewards/recognition), unaccepted (goal-setting) practices and a "grey area" of practices which allow for further development (feedback, training/development). Volunteers' motivation and the frequency of use of the practices in the OSD influence if participants perceived them as accepted, unaccepted or as practices with potential (grey area). Based on the outcomes of this study, the updated PM process model was adapted to reflect the OSD's PM practices for volunteers.    Some inconsistencies in the participants' perceptions and experiences of PM and a lack of clear volunteer PM procedures were detected. The findings revealed that managers are reluctant to formalise the management practices for volunteers out of fear of losing them and, thus, hide certain practices behind social events which blurs the boundaries between the practices. The findings, therefore, suggest that PM is a valuable concept for the management of volunteers in NPOs, but that a semantic problem exists which prevents the further engagement with PM. Resulting implications are proposed which include a terminology change of PM in NPOs to conceal the managerial character of this concept.


The news about the abuse at the Abu-Ghraib prison has gone around the world. The question rose: "What drove the American soldiers to perform such acts?" This study uses the moral disengagement theory of Bandura (1999), which explains such unethical behaviour. The seven response strategies that Bandura formulated to justify behaviour are: moral justification, advantageous comparison, euphemistic labeling, displacement of responsibility, diffusion of responsibility, dehumanisation and blaming the victim. This study is based on 30 interviews with Dutch soldiers of various ranks. Within these interviews there is sought to find statements that can be labelled as one of the seven response strategies. Moreover, the relation between demographic factors (gender, age, rank and the total number of military operations), and the mentioned response strategies is studied. An Indepent-Sample T test was used to examine which demographic factors showed significant relations with the seven response strategies.
The main results of this study show that women mention more moral dilemmas than men. The response strategy that woman mention the most is 'displacement of responsibility' and the response strategy that men the response strategy 'moral justification'. Another result of this study is that the older the soldier was, the more response strategies he / she mentions and in particular the response strategies 'moral justification' and 'euphemistic labeling'. Soldiers with a leading function turned out to mention more moral dilemmas and more response strategies than servicemen in subordinate functions (with exception of the 'blaming the victim' response strategy). The main result of the influence of the total number of military operations was that the total number of mentioned moral dilemmas increased when the amount of military operation increased, with the exception of work-related moral dilemmas. Soldiers with a lot of military operation also mentioned the response strategies 'moral justification' and 'euphemistic labelling' significantly more. The response strategies 'advantageous comparison', 'diffusion of responsibility' and 'dehumanisation' were not at all mentioned in the interviews.


Typically, adult educators in Jamaica are part-time employees who are either trained in pedagogy or are employed because of their advanced training or skills in a particular discipline. As adult education in Jamaica and the Caribbean undergoes change, policy focus has concentrated on identifying the discipline with lifelong learning rather than adult literacy. Although the importance of the role of adult educators to the change process is acknowledged, the changes in adult education are not yet focussed on the role of the adult educator and equipping the adult educator to function in this dynamic environment.

This study of an adult education institution in Jamaica aims to explore the perceptions of stakeholders, teachers, students and administrators, on how adult education is viewed, the role of part-time faculty in adult education, the quality of teaching they offer and measures to enhance teaching quality in this institution and others like it. I argue that the equipping of adult educators is important for successful adult education, part-time faculty who make up the significant majority of the cohort of adult educators deserve special attention and that Continuing Professional Development is a useful tool that serves the interest of equipping both individual teachers and institutions.

Data was collected and analysed by means of a qualitative methodology utilising interviews, focus groups and qualitative questionnaires in two centres of the case institution. The study finds that teachers are crucial to successful adult education. Because of the ambivalence of adult learners and their needs for emotional as well as cognitive support, the onus is on teachers to provide learning environments in which adult learners can make best use of a learning opportunity. Many teachers, however, do not have specialist training for this task. Part-time faculty in the study want professional development although they do not think traditional methods of professional development suit their circumstances. They do have clear ideas of the kind of CPD support that they think will meet their needs.

The study suggests guidelines for developing a model of CPD that is suitable for part-time faculty in adult education.


Computed Tomography (CT) scan imaging techniques have been used on core samples to investigate the effect of natural open fractures on reservoir flow in the Snohvit Gas Condensate Field. Firstly, CT scanning was used to describe the 3D geometrical properties of the fracture network including orientation, fracture density and fracture connectivity. Two types of fractures are observed: F1 fractures are short and stylolite related, and F2 fractures are longer crosscutting the core and without any obvious relationship to stylolites. Secondly, monitoring of single and two phase flow experiments on samples containing natural open fractures was performed under 20 and 90 bar confining pressure by using CT-scanning. 1-phase miscible flooding experiment show approximately 3 times higher flooding velocity in an open F2 fracture compared to the matrix. 2-phase flooding by gas injection into a 100% water saturated core gave early gas breakthrough due to flow in the fracture and thereafter very little water production. CT-scanning of core samples provides an effective tool for integrating geology and fluid flow properties of a porous fractured media.


In this article we present a recently developed portable imaging system designed for point of care diagnostics. The system provides two imaging modalities: the well known ultrasound technique which provides anatomical and structural information and the newly emerging technique called photoacoustics which provides vascular bed and functional information, all in a portable and cost-effective scanner


A study was made to evaluate pulses as a forcing function on a 24-plate distillation column. Pulses of two shapes, rectangular and displaced cosines, and of different widths were used as inputs to the reflux return line from the condenser to the column. The effect of the disturbance was a change in the liquid return rate which correspond to the shape and size of the pulse. The output responses of the system were temperatures measured at different times and at different plates in the column.

Bode diagrams were plotted from the experimentally determined data. From these plots, it was determined that the system could be approximated by linear first-order equatons. The time constants for the linear system were determined both by direct sinusoidal forcing and by pulse forcing. Pulse data were considered acceptable when the values of the time constant and the phase angle determined by the pulse compared favorably with those determined by steady state sinusoidal forcing.


A unique interdisciplinary overview of the way mammals reproduce, this volume synthesizes research done by laboratory physiologists, behaviorists, population ecologists, and animal breeders. F. H. Bronson has drawn together the disparate literature in these areas to provide students and researchers with a comprehensive and biologically integrated approach to the study of mammalian reproduction. Each chapter presents a wealth of issues and questions, summarizing the current consensus on interpretations as well as viable alternatives under debate. The book is principally concerned with how environmental factors regulate reproduction. Bronson proposes that a mammal's reproductive performance routinely reflects simultaneous regulation by several environmental factors that interact in fascinatingly complex ways. Environment is defined broadly, and the chapters give equal weight to ecological and physiological factors when considering how variables such as food availability, ambient temperature, photoperiod, and social cues interact to regulate a mammal's reproduction. Particular attention is given to seasonal breeding, and a taxonomically arranged chapter underscores the importance of comparative and evolutionary biology to an understanding of mammalian reproduction. "Mammalian Reproductive Biology" is a powerful argument for the value and importance of interdisciplinary approaches to research. Its almost 1,500 references constitute the most comprehensive bibliography to date on this topic. Bronson also gives detailed consideration to promising areas for future research. Well organized, carefully planned, and clearly written, this book will become standard reading for scientists concerned with any aspect of mammalian biology.


This collection of essays focuses on the ubiquity of the allegorical imagination in pre-modern western culture, and participates in a recent wave of resurgence of interest in the complex practices and ideas usually defined by the word "allegory". The contributors study the impact of the allegorical imagination on the production, reception and interpretation of literature, as well as its function as a tool of philosophical and theological enquiry, and its role in shaping the visual arts. Essays focus on subjects as varied as the general theories on allegory, allegory's relation to the human imagination, its usefulness or even inevitability as a human mode of cognition and its potential for the encoding of meanings that may be political, historical, religious and amorous. They discuss canonical figures such as Petrarch, Boccaccio, Boethius, Hans Memling, Pico della Mirandola, King James I and John Donne, but extend to include neglected but equally important figures such as Stephen Hawes or Thomas Usk as well as thematic approaches less concerned with issues of authority and authorship. As such the collection is a testimony to the variety, complexity, and adaptability of "allegory" at the heart of medieval western civilisation.


This article provides an overview of the history and the current state of affairs of community-oriented policing (COP) in Kosovo. Based on qualitative research in this country, the focus is on local ownership and the challenges posed by local culture to the implementation of COP in communities. From the beginning, COP in Kosovo was strongly related to peacebuilding and police reform efforts of the international community. After the war in 1999, UNMIK introduced COP strategies using a top-down approach, allowing very little local ownership and public involvement in the process. After 2004, UNMIK began to retreat and transfer more and more responsibilities to the Kosovo government. Different COP forums, like Community Safety Action Teams Programs (CSATs), Local Public Safety Community Councils (LPSCs) and Municipal Community and Safety Councils (MCSCs), were introduced. After independence in 2008, the EU took over from the UN and emphasized approaches focussing on local ownership while at the same time pushing heavily for reforms in the police sector. The outcomes of these efforts had limited success, while numerous challenges are still ahead.


This paper is an empirical study of evaluation practices of electronic resources in university libraries in South East Nigeria. The study determines the criteria considered in evaluating electronic resources, the adequacy of use of the electronic resources and the extent of use of the electronic resources by university libraries in South East Nigeria. It employed a descriptive survey design. The population of the study was 2595 respondents consisting of 2509 postgraduate users and 86 librarians in collection development, serials and digital library (elibrary). A 10% proportionate sampling technique was used to select a sample of 251 user respondents while all the 86 librarians working in collection development, serials and digital library units (e-library) were used. The survey used questionnaire and interview as instruments of data collection. Data collected were tabulated and analyzed using simple statistics (mean). The result revealed the criteria used by the libraries under study to evaluate their resources which include cost effectiveness based on the number of searches; relevance of the research on campus and the curriculum of the library users; dissatisfaction with a resource; access criteria on the technical reliability of the content provider; the database can be ranked by acquiring statistics; comparing duplication in various formats or overlap in full-text resources. The result also revealed that the greater number of the electronic resources is high adequacy and that all the electronic resources are used to a great extent by the users. That shows that the users are accessing it and using it for their research and learning. The study recommended regular evaluation of library electronic resources considering the stated criteria to ensure that users' needs are met; the university libraries should ensure that electronic resources under subscription are properly evaluated and accessed by library users to guide in continuity or cancellation of the resources if otherwise.


Chapter 1: Gives the reader a background on carbenes paying particular attention to N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs). The chapter describes NHC's electronic and structural properties and their behaviour as ligands. The recent usage of NHC-palladium complexes as catalysts for cross-coupling reactions is explored.
Chapter 2: Provides a background on NHC-palladium complexes bearing N-donors as throwaway ligands, highlighting the importance of throw-away ligands on catalytic activity. The chapter describes the preparation of a number of novel NHC-palladium complexes bearing throw-away ligands and the activity of (IPr*)PdCl2(TEA) in Buchwald-Hartwig aminations is explored.
Chapter 3: Provides a background on the Mizoroki Heck reaction, focusing on the importance of charged intermediates in the process. Then reviews the current development of anionic NHC-palladium complexes in the literature. An account of the discovery and preparation of novel [(NHC)PdCl3[TBA] complexes and the catalytic activity of [(SIPr)PdCl3[TBA] in Mizoroki-Heck coupling reactions is given. A plausible Amotore-Jutand type mechanism is proposed which is supported by DFT calculations provided by research collaborators.
Chapter 4: Provides a background on C-H activation reactions catalysed by palladium compounds with particular focus on acetoxylation reactions. The chapter describes the synthesis of [(NHC)PdCl2X][Y] complexes including the development of [(IMes)PdCl2OAc][TBA] and its performance in acetoxylation reactions. A proposed mechanism for the reaction of [(IMes)PdCl2OAc][TBA] is discussed, using experimental observations.


Brexit is both a boon and a bane to the teaching and study of British and European politics. For Dr Tim Oliver of LSE and Alex Boyle, a politics student at the University of Liverpool, there are five ways in which Brexit is central to the study and teaching of both


The present study reports the first record of Bengal reticulated puffer, Chelonodontops bengalensis from Odisha coast in the north-western Bay of Bengal based on two specimens (226 – 301 mm SL), each collected from Paradeep and Bahabalpur in 2018 and 2019, respectively. The detailed morphological features of C. bengalensis are provided and compared with its previous records. The species is distinguished from its congeners by having 12 dorsal fin rays, 10 anal fin rays, 18 – 19 pectoral fin rays, 10 – 11 caudal fin rays, nasal organ cup shaped with unequal sized flaps, and dorsal profile of body covered with white spots of various shape and size and ventral side silvery white. Our study indicated the range extension of C. bengalensis from its known geographical range i.e. Bangladesh and West Bengal towards south in the northern Bay of Bengal.


The 'targeted nanomedicine' approach has revolutionized cancer therapy by packaging drugs within nanovehicles that can accumulate preferentially within the tumor due to the 'enhanced permeation and retention' (EPR) mechanism (passive targeting) and further bind to cancer cells via specific ligand–receptor interactions (active targeting). While these approaches have shown promise in well-vascularized primary tumors, their use for metastatic sites faces challenges due to high heterogeneity in the expression levels of tumor-associated targetable receptors. Therefore, alternative strategies for metastatic cell-specific targeting are of great clinical interest. To this end, we are exploring binding interactions of metastatic cells with host cells in the vascular compartment and whether such interactions can be exploited for metastasis-targeted delivery of drug-loaded nanovehicles. For 'proof-of-concept' of this approach, using high-metastatic MDA-MB-231 versus low-metastatic MCF-7 human breast cancer cells, we demonstrate that high-metastatic cells have enhanced binding interactions with active platelets via several cell-surface proteins. Utilizing this information and using liposomes as a model nanovehicle, we have created delivery systems that can actively bind to the high-metastatic cells via platelet-inspired heteromultivalent interactions. Using a mono-culture of MCF-7 versus MDA-MB-231, we demonstrate that these systems enhance the delivery of Doxorubicin (DOX) to the high-metastatic cells to cause significant cell-killing. Furthermore, incubating co-cultures of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells with the DOX-loaded platelet-inspired nanovehicles, we demonstrate that the targeted binding, DOX delivery and cell-killing are quite selective towards the high-metastatic cells. Our results suggest that this platelet-inspired targeting can lead to unique strategies for metastasis-selective nanomedicine.


Number: 2623 Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth, Wolf-Dieter Vogl, Sebastian M. Waldstein, Bianca S Gerendas, Thomas Schlegl, Hrvoje Bogunovic Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria Christian Doppler Laboratory OPTIMA, Vienna, Austria Background: Optimal determination of leakage activity is essential for guiding treatment decisions in every regimen of anti-VEGF therapy in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). However, central retinal thickness does not correlate with visual function and identification of intraand subretinal fluid on a clinical base is challenging resulting in suboptimal therapeutic outcomes in the real world. Deep learning offers the opportunity to accurately localize and quantify fluid based on conventional optical coherence tomography (OCT). Patients and method: Patients with treatment-naive neovascular AMD undergoing treatment with intravitreal ranibizumab over 2 years were evaluated using a standardized protocol of spectraldomain (SD) OCT imaging (Cirrus HD OCT III, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA). An algorithm was developed to automatically detect and measure intraand subretinal fluid (IRF/SRF) on SD OCT. The method was validated against manual segmentation performed by certified readers from a reading center. Results: The deep learning method was able to precisely discriminate and quantify IRF and SRF in neovascular AMD in a fully automated manner. The validation in 400 patients resulted in a mean accuracy of 0.93 (AUC) for IRF and 0.98 (AUC) for SRF. The correlation between automated and manual reading was high yielding 0.90 for IRC and 0.96 for SRF, Pearson's correlation coefficient. Automated fluid analyses was performed in 1097 patients at baseline and during follow-up, accurately monitoring the therapeutic response regarding the resolution of fluid types over time. Correlation with best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) outcomes demonstrated a strong impact of IRF on retinal function and a progressive loss of correlation between fluid and BCVA over time. Conclusion: Deep learning introduces defined and quantified parameters into the treatment of neovascular AMD. The reproducible and reliable standard of measuring disease activity and therapeutic response may vastly improve disease management and visual outcomes in clinical practice, particularly as deep learning methods can be applied inexpensively in large dimensions.


Introduction Simulation training in surgical specialties is becoming increasingly important in the post-Francis era, where patient safety is of utmost concern. Craft specialties particularly suffer as the EWTD reduces the time trainees have to prepare for consultant level. The GMC survey highlighted the need for simulation to become an integral part of training programmes. Aim To research, create and implement a training programme using simulation for core surgical trainees in Wessex, by the surgical simulation fellow. Methods A thorough assessment of the facilities and current simulation in Wessex was performed. An educationally sound training programme mapped to the core surgical curriculum was researched and developed through various methods, with a number of sessions delivered and assessed for training benefit. Bids for the funding required to purchase kit were also placed and awarded. Results Simulation facilities and training varies throughout the region. The delivered sessions have demonstrated statistical significance in improvement in knowledge and confidence of the core trainees. The programme is mapped and valid in its educational value. Conclusions Simulation is now a necessity in surgical education, one that can and should be delivered well. With the correct input and development, a strong base in the theory of education and an engaged faculty, it is likely to improve the training and skills of the core trainees in Wessex. This hopes to result in improved patient satisfaction and safety, although this will take further research to demonstrate. References Francis report GMC 2010/2011 Specialty Report - JCST


Biblical semantic logic, which first appeared in 1981, seeks to show that the study of biblical and ancient Near Eastern languages and literatures can be established on a logical basis. In a new prologue for this edition, Gibson reviews some of the scholarly treatment of the topic since the appearance of the first edition. He addresses the topics of originality and infinity and also suggests that deep areas of literary creativity resemble cosmology and pure mathematics. Gibson then proceeds to demonstrate how the central areas of biblical usage (names, predicates expressions of quantity, idioms) can be mapped employing some contemporary philosophy, logic and linguistics. There is criticism of some previous scholarly interpretations, especially where these have led to the under-estimation of the conceptual and logical sensitivity of biblical narrative.


We present an adaptive optics imaging detection of the HD 32297 debris disk at L′ (3.8 μm) obtained with the LBTI/LMIRcam infrared instrument at the Large Binocular Telescope. The disk is detected at signal-to-noise ratio per resolution element ∼3–7.5 from ∼0.″3 to 1.″1 (30–120 AU). The disk at L′ is bowed, as was seen at shorter wavelengths. This likely indicates that the disk is not perfectly edge-on and contains highly forward-scattering grains. Interior to ∼50 AU, the surface brightness at L′ rises sharply on both sides of the disk, which was also previously seen at Ks band. This evidence together points to the disk containing a second inner component located at ≲50 AU. Comparing the color of the outer (50 <r/AU <120) portion of the disk at L′ with archival Hubble Space Telescope/NICMOS images of the disk at 1–2 μm allows us to test the recently proposed cometary grains model of Donaldson et al. We find that the model fails to match this disk's surface brightness and spectrum simultaneously (reduced chi-square = 17.9). When we modify the density distribution of the model disk, we obtain a better overall fit (reduced chi-square = 2.87). The best fit to all of the data is a pure water ice model (reduced chi-square = 1.06), but additional resolved imaging at 3.1 μm is necessary to constrain how much (if any) water ice exists in the disk, which can then help refine the originally proposed cometary grains model.


Aim: To identify specifically expressed genes in the adult and fetal testes. Methods: A human testis cDNA microarray was established. Then the mRNA of adult and fetal testis was purified and probes were prepared by a reverse transcription reaction with the testis mRNA as template. The microarray was hybridized with probes of adult and fetal testes. The nucleic sequences of differentially expressed genes were determined and homologies were searched in the databases of the GenBank. Results: When hybridized with adult or fetal testis probes, the positive clones were 96.8 % and 95.4 %, respectively. Among these genes, one was a new testis-specific gene, which was named TSP1. TSP1 was highly expressed in human adult testis. The cDNA of TSP1 was 1,484 bp in length. The cDNA sequence of this clone was deposited in the Genbank (AF333098). TSP1 was also determined as Interim Gen Symbol (Unigene, No. Hs.98266). Protein analysis showed that TSP1 contained two functional domains: an N-terminal basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) and a C-terminal leucine zipper (Zip). Homologous analysis showed that the 430 amino acid sequences deduced from the 1,293 bp open reading frame (ORF) had a homology with the human gene FLJ2509 (AK098575). TSP1 had also a sequence homology with Spz 1 protein of mouse. Expression profiles showed that TSP1 was specifically and strongly expressed in the testis. Conclusion: TSP1 is a gene highly expressed in adult testis. It may play an important role in spermatogenesis in the humans. ( Asian JAndro12003 Jun; 5:83-88 )


Ranging behaviors performed by animals are influenced by both biotic and abiotic factors. For herbivorous mammals, seasonality in forage production is considered to be the main driver of movement patterns. Here, we investigated the home range and movement of one of the most abundant herbivores in the Americas and their relationship with plant phenology in an Amazon igapó — a seasonally flooded riverine forest with strongly pulsed leaf production phenology. Using a combination of telemetry and phenological analysis, the study recorded movement patterns of five brown-throated three-toed sloths (Bradypus variegatus Schinz, 1825) over a 6-month period and related these to seasonal and within-forest differences in food availability through monitoring young leaf production of 570 trees. All monitored animals were shown to be permanently resident within the igapó flooded forest, maintaining their home range even during flood periods when most trees lacked leaves. We found that seasonal variation in leaf production had no effect on the extent of displacement of the sloths. Accordingly, for herbivores with low metabolism, variation in young leaf availability may not be the main driver of their ranging behavior. In addition, an arboreal habit and well-developed swimming capacity allow igapó sloths to occupy a niche ecologically inaccessible to other mammals.


An objective of this study is to develop a new method for the prediction and the avoidance of chatter vibration in milling operation of thin-walled structure by using 3D-CAD and CAE approach. Also, a new identification method for the modal parameters of a vibration system by analyzing radiated sound pressure from vibrated workpiece accelerated by an impulse force is proposed. Then chatter stability lobes are predicted using those modal parameters. Stiffness and modal shapes of the workpiece were obtained using commercial finite element method (FEM) code, and the model was made by 3D-CAD. The damping ratio, which cannot be determined through FEM analysis, was identified from the relationship between the sound pressure radiated from the workpiece and the impulse force. Chatter stability limit was analyzed with the modal parameters obtained through these procedures, and compared with the cutting experiment on the chatter stability limit. The experimental and predicted stability limits are in good agreement. The proposed procedure will help to set the cutting conditions to avoid the chatter.


The paper presents a method for designing a state feedback controller of an active suspension system of a quarter car model. This is a survey based on a specific example. The designed controller of the active suspension system improves the driving control, safety and stability, because during the ride, the periodic swinging motion generated by the road irregularities on wheels can be decreased. This periodic motion damages the driving comfort, and may cause traffic accidents. The state feedback controller is designed to stand road induced displacements. Computer simulations of the designed controller have been performed in the frame of Scilab and XCos.


Background Several literatures have documented patterns of comorbid infections among HIV/AIDS patients. Also, these patients have been found to have significant rates of suicidality. However, most of these studies have been conducted outside our population. Aim The main aim of this study was to investigate the pattern of comorbid infections among HIV/AIDS patients in our local population and to relate this to presence of suicidal ideations. Method This study involved 150 consecutive adult patients attending the HIV clinic at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, (UBTH). They were assessed for suicidal ideations using the Beck Depression Inventory (item 9) and presence of comorbid infections was ascertained from their medical records with the help of the attending physicians. A questionnaire was administered to collect socio-demographic data. Consent was obtained from the patients and hospital authorities. Data was analysed using SPSS- 16.
Results 119 females and 31 males participated. Mean age of females was 35.16 ± 9.526 and males were 37.20 ± 9.908. The types and frequencies of comorbid infections were: Vaginal Candidiasis 1 (0.78%), Herpes zoster 7 (4.9%), Oral thrash 2 (1.4%), Pelvic Inflammatory Disease 1 (0.7%), Pulmonary Tuberculosis 30 (21%), Tuberculosis Adenitis 2 (1.4%) and Genital warts 3 (2.1%). 63 (42%) of the participants had suicidal ideations and this was found to be significantly higher among those who had comorbid infections (X2=20.695, p=0.001). The most common comorbid infection was pulmonary tuberculosis (21%) and this was significantly more associated with suicidal ideations (X2=30.552, p=0.002). Suicidal ideations were found higher among female participants (X2=9.88, p=0.002) but there was no difference in rates of comorbid infections between both sexes. Conclusion There is significant presence of comorbid infections (especially Tuberculosis) among patients with HIV/AIDS and this is associated with increased rates of suicidality. Thus, a multi- disciplinary management should be in place in the care of HIV/AIDS patients.


Style transfer for out-of-domain (OOD) speech synthesis aims to generate speech samples with unseen style (e.g., speaker identity, emotion, and prosody) derived from an acoustic reference, while facing the following challenges: 1) The highly dynamic style features in expressive voice are difficult to model and transfer; and 2) the TTS models should be robust enough to handle diverse OOD conditions that differ from the source data. This paper proposes GenerSpeech, a text-to-speech model towards high-fidelity zero-shot style transfer of OOD custom voice. GenerSpeech decomposes the speech variation into the style-agnostic and style-specific parts by introducing two components: 1) a multi-level style adaptor to efficiently model a large range of style conditions, including global speaker and emotion characteristics, and the local (utterance, phoneme, and word-level) fine-grained prosodic representations; and 2) a generalizable content adaptor with Mix-Style Layer Normalization to eliminate style information in the linguistic content representation and thus improve model generalization. Our evaluations on zero-shot style transfer demonstrate that GenerSpeech surpasses the state-of-the-art models in terms of audio quality and style similarity. The extension studies to adaptive style transfer further show that GenerSpeech performs robustly in the few-shot data setting. Audio samples are available at https://GenerSpeech.github.io/


Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) significantly enhances the sensitivity of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), increasing its applications and the quality of NMR spectroscopy as a characterization tool for materials. Efficient spin diffusion among the nuclear spins is considered to be essential for spreading the hyperpolarization throughout the sample, enabling large DNP enhancements. This scenario mostly limits the polarization enhancement of low-sensitivity nuclei in inorganic materials to the surface sites when the polarization source is an exogenous radical. In metal-ion-based DNP, the polarization agents are distributed in the bulk sample and act as a source of both relaxation and polarization enhancement. We have found that as long as the polarization agent is the main source of relaxation, the enhancement does not depend on the distance between the nucleus and dopant. As a consequence, the requirement of efficient spin diffusion is lifted, and the entire sample can be directly polarized. We exploit this finding to measure high-quality NMR spectra of 17O in the electrode material Li4Ti5O12 doped with Fe(III) despite its low abundance and long relaxation time.


OBJECTIVE
To review care provided by orthopedists and non-orthopedists for a variety of common acute injuries to the shoulder, knee, and ankle; and to evaluate the difficulties in assessing results from diagnostic data collected for administrative reporting by comparing these data with data collected by medical record abstraction for the same patients.

METHODS
The Rochester Epidemiology Project database was used to identify new cases of Colles fracture, knee sprain, ankle sprain, and shoulder sprain/rotator cuff injury among Olmsted county residents > 18 years of age, who were evaluated between January 1, 1990 and December 31, 1992. Data were collected from an administrative database and medical records.

RESULTS
Although the diagnoses recorded in the administrative database and those obtained from medical record review were the same in 94% of the 500 cases reviewed, only 270 (67.7%) actually represented acute injuries. Medical record review showed that (for the shoulder and ankle) injury severity was highly correlated with treatment specialty: 13 of 15 severe injuries were cared for by orthopedists, while 64 of 68 mild injuries were treated by non-orthopedists. Diagnostic uncertainty was more common among non-orthopedists; in 21 of the 149 patients treated by non-orthopedists (15.1%), the final (i.e., recorded for coding) diagnosis was different from the initial diagnosis. In 14 of these cases, an orthopedist made the final diagnosis. None of the diagnoses made by orthopedists were revised.

CONCLUSION
Current diagnostic coding does not capture injury acuity, severity, or diagnostic uncertainty. Studies that limit themselves to such data for diagnostic information are likely to suffer from biases which can skew results in unpredictable ways. Conclusions drawn from such studies are likely to be flawed.


Among the Hazda hunter-gatherers of Tanzania, children are active foragers and collect various types of wild plant foods and hunt small sized prey animals. The collection effort of Hazda children is reported to have a positive effect on a mother's foraging yield (Bulurton-Jones et at. 1994, Journal of Anthropological Research 50(3): 217; Hawkes et al. 1995, Current Anthropology 36(4): 688), yet few quantitative data are available on the caloric values of children's foods and the ways in which children distribute their own foraging yield. Here, we report on foraging return rates, consumption data, and the compositional values for several of the plant foods collected by children. Due to predator pressure, it is not safe for children to wander far from camp without adult supervision, therefore they typically focus on foods that are close to camp and easy to collect and process. We calculated the caloric content for the following foods: baobab fruit (346 kcal/100g dry matter (DM)), berries (320 kcal/100g DM), legumes (311 kcal/100g DM), drupes (325 kcal/100g DM), and figs (365 kcal/100g DM). Legumes, drupes, and figs have not been previously analyzed; our values for baobab and berries agree with previous analyses (Murray et al. 2001, Journal of Food Consumption and Analysis 14: 3). In addition, we calculated foraging return rates and daily consumption values for children. Our results suggest that they collect a significant portion of their daily caloric intake and act as allomothers providing caloric contributions to other children. Support: National Science Foundation, Regents of the University of California San Diego, Friends of the International Center at the University of California San Diego, and Harvard University.


This study investigated the factors that affect the incidence of tuber blight, with particular reference to the occurrence of tuber blight in the absence of any visible foliar blight. The factors investigated were fungicide type, the severity of stem blight, edaphic factors, particularly soil moisture and the production of P. infestans inoculum on daughter and seed tubers. In addition, the infection of tubers during washing for the pre-pack market and its control were also studied. The results in this thesis have demonstrated that foliar lesions are not the only source of P. infestans inoculum for the infection of daughter tubers. It was demonstrated that lesions on the stem base are an important source of sporangia and that in certain circumstances inoculum produced on infected seed or daughter tubers may also infect healthy daughter tubers directly. These less obvious sources of inoculum could explain the occurrence of high incidences of tuber blight in the absence of visible foliar lesions. In a field experiment fungicide type affected the date on which incidences of tuber blight significantly greater than zero first occurred, the date on which the maximum amount of tuber blight occurred and the overall incidence of tuber blight. The effect of fungicide type on the relationships between foliar blight and the overall incidence or timing of tuber infection was modest. Fungicide type did, however, substantially affect the severity of stem blight at which incidences of tuber infection significantly greater than zero occurred. The severity of stem blight varied more with fungicide type than did the percentage foliar blight. In field and laboratory experiments the growth rate of P. infestans in leaflets was influenced by fungicide type and some fungicides resulted in significantly reduced incidences of subsequent petiole and stem infection. In contrast, when the stems were inoculated directly, fungicide type had little effect on stem lesion development. The use of ELISA to monitor the growth of P. infestans in inoculated stems of plants in a growth cabinet showed that stem lesions continued to develop in conditions that were not suitable for the production of abundant sporangia. In this experiment the number of sporangia produced on stem lesions, after incubation of the stems in a high humidity, did not increase substantially until the rate of lesion growth declined. Sporangia production was more closely related to the length of the lesion supporting sporulation than the lesion length per se. In glasshouse and field experiments incidences of tuber blight significantly greater than zero occurred following the irrigation of plants whose main stem had been inoculated with P. infestans but whose foliage was maintained fi-ee of blight. Another field experiment demonstrated that the incidence of tuber blight was significantly correlated with the length of stem lesions but not with the percentage of foliar blight. Soil moisture content greatly influenced the incidence and development of blight on daughter tubers. Increasing the soil moisture content of field plots to 75% of field capacity for approximately 12 weeks significantly increased the spread of P. infestans from inoculated daughter tubers to other tubers on the same plant. Healthy tubers on the same plant that were 5 cm fi-om the source of inoculum became infected when the soil moisture content was this high. Tubers on bait plants that were up to 60 cm away fi-om the nearest plant with an inoculated tuber were also infected. In laboratory studies increasing the soil moisture content to 79% of field capacity pre-inoculation increased the proportion of inoculated daughter tubers which became infected whereas soil moistures above 39 % of field capacity post-inoculation reduced infection. However, post-inoculation soil moisture contents up to 79% of field capacity considerably increased the development of lesions and sporangia production on infected daughter tubers. Soil temperature had less of an effect on infection, lesion development and inoculum production. Increasing the soil moisture content above 79% of field capacity immediately following inoculation decreased the infection of seed tubers inoculated 6 months after harvest. Inoculum production on the infected seed tubers increased with soil moisture content up to 79% of field capacity although there was little effect of moisture content on lesion development. When seed tubers that had been inoculated soon after harvest were planted the following year in soil with moisture contents below 79% of field capacity they remained sound for a period of 58 days. A soil moisture of 79% of field capacity increased the number of tubers supporting sporulation by P. infestans. The transfer of tubers, that were not supporting sporulation after 58 days, from soils at 39% or 59% of field capacity into soil at 79% of field capacity resulted in the production of viable sporangia on these tubers 7 days after transfer.


We sought to understand declining recreational fishing participation in Queensland, Australia, by investigating why lapsed fishers ceased fishing and identifying the constraints that prevented them from resuming their fishing participation. The primary reasons for ceasing fishing were lack of time, loss of interest, and poor fishing quality. Most lapsed fishers were able to compensate for loss of fishing activity by increasing participation in other activities; about one-quarter reported a decrease in their overall leisure activity and leisure satisfaction since ceasing fishing. Half of the lapsed fishers surveyed reported an interest in fishing again; however, only 15% believed it was likely they would go fishing in the next 12 months. Most lapsed fishers interested in returning to fishing cited too many commitments, lack of knowledge about fishing regulations, and lack of fishing partners as reasons preventing them from fishing. Demographic characteristics significantly influenced the reasons for ceasing fishing and the perceptions of constraints preventing resumption of fishing activity. Results should help the recreational fishing sector develop strategies to deal with declining recreational fishing participation.


In the present study, mitochondrial DNA polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay was used to assess the phylogenetic and phylogeographic relationships among 27 brown trout Salmo trutta populations from Turkey. The complete NADH 5/6 region and a second segment comprising the cytochrome b gene and D-loop of mtDNA amplified by PCR were digested with six and five restriction enzymes, respectively. A total of 27 haplotypes were observed and divided into three major phylogenetic assemblages, namely Danubian (DA), Adriatic (AD) and a newly proposed Tigris (TI) lineage. The timing of the net nucleotide divergence between the major lineages along with the geological history of Turkey suggested pre-Pleistocene isolation of the Turkish brown trout and provided evidence that Turkey could be considered as a centre of diversification for these lineages. The average haplotype diversity (0·1397) and the nucleotide diversity (0·000416) within populations were low in comparison to the observed interpopulation nucleotide diversity (0·021266). PCR-RFLP analysis showed that most of the mtDNA sequence variation found in the Turkish brown trout populations was imputable to differences among lineages. On the other hand, there was also an obvious relationship between geographical distribution of the populations and their clustering. The present study showed that brown trout populations from Turkey are highly divergent and mainly have a unique genetic profile that could be used for conservation and management purposes.


Fluid infiltration and pore fluid pressure changes are known to have a significant effect on the occurrence of earthquakes. Yet, for most damaging earthquakes, with nucleation zones below a few kilometers depth, direct measurements of fluid pressure variations are not available. Instead, pore fluid pressures are inferred primarily from seismic-wave propagation characteristics such as V p / V s ratio, attenuation, and reflectivity contacts. We present laboratory measurements of changes in P -wave velocity and attenuation during the injection of water into a granite sample as it was loaded to failure. A cylindrical sample of Westerly granite was deformed at constant confining and pore pressures of 50 and 1 MPa, respectively. Axial load was increased in discrete steps by controlling axial displacement. Anisotropic P -wave velocity and attenuation fields were determined during the experiment using an array of 13 piezoelectric transducers. At the final loading steps (86% and 95% of peak stress), both spatial and temporal changes in P -wave velocity and peak-to-peak amplitudes of P and S waves were observed. P -wave velocity anisotropy reached a maximum of 26%. Transient increases in attenuation of up to 483 dB/m were also observed and were associated with diffusion of water into the sample. We show that velocity and attenuation of P waves are sensitive to the process of opening of microcracks and the subsequent resaturation of these cracks as water diffuses in from the surrounding region. Symmetry of the orientation of newly formed microcracks results in anisotropic velocity and attenuation fields that systematically evolve in response to changes in stress and influx of water. With proper scaling, these measurements provide constraints on the magnitude and duration of velocity and attenuation transients that can be expected to accompany the nucleation of earthquakes in the Earth9s crust.


The tensile strength of Portland cement may be increased by additional reinforcement. This is usually accomplished by means of steel rods, fibers or particles, which are mixed to the slurry. In an attempt of increasing toughness and tensile strength of hardened cement pastes, the present work describes the behavior of composites consisting of Portland reinforced by natural polymer particles for oil well cementing. The main purpose of the study was to select plastic and environmentally friendly powdered materials capable of filling the typical porosity developed on hardened Portland cement. Preliminary results suggested that the tensile strength of plain Portland hardened slurries could be increased by as much as 40% by adding 10% of reinforcement.