Abstract This article describes research that explored student and teacher perceptions and management of conflict within the primary school context. It was found that both teachers and students shared similarities in their views of conflict and in their management of interpersonal problems at school. Conflict-was generally perceived to be a negative phenomenon. In addition teachers and students commonly used a limited range of strategies, relying mostly on familiar and reactive conflict management techniques. Resolving conflict though compromising and problem solving was rare. Student and teacher perceptions of conflict accounted for their handling of conflict. The need to re-consider the value of conflict as positive for learning and living within and beyond the school is raised. Conflict is not a new phenomenon, however it receives incessant attention and much consideration because both students and teachers have difficulties in dealing with the complex issues surrounding it. The implications for teachers and students are many. This qualitative research set out to explore the nature of children's conflicts at school. It examined the extent to which children's and teachers' perceptions affect the management of conflict. This article draws upon literature and findings of this research that included the perceptions and management strategies of both teachers and students in an Australian primary school. Six primary teachers and eight Year 4 students (10 year old) participated in the study. It involved teacher and student interviews, participant observations in the classroom and playground, and document analysis. Triangulation of data sources, member checking and auditing was used to verify the accuracy of data interpretation. The terms 'conflict' and 'conflict resolution' are used frequently in this article. The description of conflict as the result of individuals' or groups' incompatible goals and as overt opposition by one person to another person's actions or statements is similar across various definitions. Folberg and Taylor's definition (1984 pp. 7-8) of conflict resolution will be used here for discussion purposes. 'The participants in a conflict isolate the issue, develop options, consider alternatives and reach a consensual settlement that will accommodate the participants' needs either between themselves or with a neutral third party'. Brief Overview of the Literature Traditionally, many adults have viewed conflict between children as an undesirable event, 'senseless, wasteful and destructive' (Opotow 1991, p. 416), and have tried to intervene or to prevent disputes. In her study of the nature of conflict at school, Opotow (1991) found that when asked about student conflict teachers mostly recalled overt physical confrontations between students. Teachers overestimated the frequency of physical fights and underestimated the harmful potential of less obvious types of conflict (p. 425) such as teasing. She also found that teachers viewed conflicts as less significant than do students; their descriptions emphasized the pettiness and irrationality of conflicts. For instance, one teacher commented, 'Nine times out of ten they [children] don't know why they got all worked up' (p. 430). In their everyday experiences, teachers form opinions about their students. Research indicates that they form negative opinions of those involved in conflict, describing students as lacking in appropriate social skills and being unable to adhere to social rules. For instance, Opotow (1991) discovered that teachers respond as though conflict is 'something only done by troublemakers' (p. 425) and they cast these students as developmentally inferior. A growing amount of research in recent years has concerned itself with the question of whether conflict need always be destructive. Deutsch (1973) proposed differentiating between 'destructive' and 'constructive' conflict. The former expand beyond the primary issue to related issues, escalate with the use of threats and coercive strategies, and end in the dissatisfaction of both parties. …


Little is known about women's use of consumer bankruptcy in the US before 1980. We use new data from Maryland to show that women who petitioned for bankruptcy without a spouse were twice as common in the 1970s as they were in the 1950s and 1960s. We explore the extent to which the growing supply of credit to women explains their growing representation in bankruptcy. To do this, we examine the effect of a 1974 federal law that barred sex discrimination in lending, increasing the supply of credit to women relative to men. After the law, the probability that a bankrupt was a woman was 30 percentage points higher. Additionally, while the number of creditors reported by women filers grew to match men's, the amount of debt female filers owed did not grow relative to male filers. Together these results imply that the law increased the supply of credit to women on the extensive margin, that is, it increased the number of women who received credit. The patterns suggest that earlier low rates of bankruptcy among women were largely a result of the low supply of credit to them.


Author(s): Karp, Larry | Abstract: We study a model in which the level of environmental regulation depends on abatement cost, which depend on aggregate levels of investment in abatement capital. Firms are non-strategic. When emissions quotas are not tradable, there are multiple competitive equilibria to the investment problem. Allowing trade in permits leads to a unique socially optimal equilibrium. For a given distribution of investment, allowing trade in permits has an ambiguous effect on the optimal level of regulation. Previous results on coordination games with non-atomic agents are applied to the problem of environmental regulation with endogenous investment in abatement capital.


This letter proposes a novel IGBT structure with an n-type barrier(NB-IGBT) formed on the silicon surface to enhance the conductivity modulation effect with a relatively simple fabrication process. TCAD simulation indicates that the NB-IGBT offers a current density 49% higher and turn-off losses 25% lower than a conventional field-stop IGBT(FS-IGBT) with a similar breakdown voltage, turn-off time and avalanche energy. Furthermore,the NB-IGBT exhibits extremely large transconductance, which is favorable to turn-on and turn-off. Therefore, the proposed IGBT offers an attractive option for high-voltage and large-power electronics applications.


In the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, specification of the legs begins during embryogenesis when Wingless signaling induces small groups of cells to form the imaginal disc primordia in the thoracic segments. This signal initiates expression of transcription factors that will later be used to pattern the legs. The paralogous genes disconnected and disco-related encode transcription factors that are expressed in the disc primordia during early embryogenesis, and their expression continues in the leg discs during larval and pupal stages. The importance of these two genes in establishing the leg development trajectory was indicated by our previous observation that ectopic expression of either gene in the wing discs cells caused legs to develop in place of wings. However, because of their redundancy and requirement for survival during embryogenesis, we were unable to define their role in development of the adult legs. Here, we report loss-of-function analyses of the disco genes during development of the legs. We discovered that loss of both genes' functions causes both truncation of the distal leg with apparent overgrowth of proximal regions and complete loss of legs and ventral thoracic body patterning. At the molecular level we noted reduction or loss of signaling and transcription factors that pattern the proximal-distal axis of the legs. We conclude from these studies that the disco genes promote leg development through regulation of signaling processes, but also by stabilizing expression of the leg determination gene network.


From an EBSD map made on a polycrystal one can define a set of grains using a criterion of misorientation between the adjacent pixels. Once such a list of grains is obtained, various quantities can be associated to each grain such as its size, (mean) orientation, GOS (Grain Orientation Spread) etc... The GOS associated to one grain is the mean value of the misorientations between all the pixels of the grain and the mean orientation of the grain. This value is quite sensitive to the state of the material (degree of plastic deformation, degree of recrystallization for example). Therefore it can help in interpreting the evolution of a microstructure during thermomechanical treatments. It is the purpose of this presentation to provide GOS values for an IF steel after several degrees of plastic deformation as well as after several annealing treatments which lead to partially or totally recrystallized states. The sources of influence on GOS values (as grain detection limit or grain size) are analyzed. The link between the values and the state of the material will be discussed at a global stage for a given population of grains.


The rolling contact of elastic bodies (upper body and lower body) can be analyzed with the Hertz theory and the Kalker's model. It is generally believed that the width of the contact area should be much smaller than the characteristic size of each elastic body, to ensure that the half-space assumption is valid. However the definition of "much smaller" is not that clear. In practice the 3x rule is usually employed, which requires the characteristic size of each elastic body must be at least three times larger than the width of the contact area. This empirical rule is examined in this paper, by looking at the results of the Kalker's model and of a three-dimensional finite element model to study the influences of lower body width on the rolling contact. It is found that the contact behavior predicted by the Kalker's model are still acceptable even when the characteristic size of contact bodies is close to the width of the contact area. This finding extends the applicability of classical quasi-static methods to a wider scope, and thus may simplify the calculation procedures for rolling contact problems.


The polymer melts viscous dissipation effects of micro scale dimensions are different from that of macro-scale dimensions. In this paper, the temperature rises due to viscous dissipation were investigated when amorphous polymer material, PMMA, flows through several micro-channels with the diameters of 350μm, 500μm and different aspect ratios. The results indicate that, temperature rises reduce with the increase of inlet temperature of melt and increase with increasing channel's diameter and aspect ratio at the same shear rate. The outlet temperature rises due to viscous dissipation in all micro channels increase with the increase of shear rate. In addition, the outlet temperature rise grows faster with the decrease of micro-channel's diameter. Therefore, viscous dissipation effect is significant and should not be neglected in micro channel.


Arterial contractility was investigated, using spiral and ring sections of dog, cat, rabbit, rat, and human vessels. Epinephrine produced contractions of all arterial tissue tested. Histamine invariably produced contractions. The phenomenon of variable sensitivity of arterial tissue to histamine was again demonstrated. Acetylcholine caused contractions of rabbit, cat, and rat aortas, but no contraction of the dog aorta, or dog and human femoral arteries was observed. Pitressin produced contraction of the rat aorta, and dog and human femoral arteries, but not of rabbit, dog or cat aortas. Using dog vessels, a difference in activity was observed between the aorta and the femoral artery. Greater reactivity in terms of maximum rate of tension increase and tension developed was seen in the smaller systemic arteries. A pharmacologic difference with respect to the action of pitressin was discovered between the aorta and the smaller arteries. Thus, general evidence is presented suggesting that data obtained in 1 species of animal on 1 type of tissue cannot be transferred without specific proof of its validity to data obtained in other species, or even in closely related tissues of the same species. An apparent antagonistic effect of pitressin on the pressor action of epinephrine was detected.


The higher education sector is characterised by intense global competition for international students. This is driving universities to place greater priority on the student experience and, in particular, student satisfaction and retention. However, an under-researched area is student complaint behaviour. By understanding how students react to poor experiences; the likely impact on the learning and teaching experience, satisfaction ratings and ultimately international student recruitment can be assessed, and appropriate strategies implemented.
This study developed an instrument that measured East-Asian students' preferred university complaint channels. The research focused on four categories of complaint behaviour: public, private, third party and non-behavioural, and data were collected from 135 East-Asian Business and Management students. A vignette questioning technique was used, providing respondents with hypothetical negative student experiences and recording their likely responses in terms of both how and where they would complain.
Results suggest international students are pro-active in reporting dissatisfaction direct to the university, but also share these negative experiences with fellow students. The findings offer new insights to those responsible for managing the student experience and, in particular, for those tasked with handling student complaints.


INTRODUCTION
Seeking preconception care is recognized as an important health behavior for women with preexisting diabetes. Yet many women with diabetes do not seek care or advice until after they are pregnant, and many enter pregnancy with suboptimal glycemic control. This study explored the attitudes about pregnancy and preconception care seeking in a group of nonpregnant women with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

METHODS
In-depth semistructured interviews were completed with 14 nonpregnant women with type 1 diabetes.

RESULTS
Analysis of the interview data revealed 4 main themes: 1) the emotional complexity of childbearing decisions, 2) preferences for information related to pregnancy, 3) the importance of being known by your health professional, and 4) frustrations with the medical model of care.

DISCUSSION
These findings raise questions about how preconception care should be provided to women with diabetes and highlight the pivotal importance of supportive, familiar relationships between health professionals and women with diabetes in the provision of individualized care and advice. By improving the quality of relationships and communication between health care providers and patients, we will be better able to provide care and advice that is perceived as relevant to the individual, whatever her stage of family planning.


Purpose – This paper suggests an agent based model of economic behavior based on which it argues that the Islamic charity of Zakat can be rationalized as it significantly reduces wealth inequalities. Design/methodology/approach – An Agent Based Model (ABM) of wealth distribution (Wilensky, 1998) is configured to introduce Zakat in the model. Simulations were run in the model with ordered and random distribution of Zakat charity and wealth distribution pattern compared with the standard simulation without Zakat. Findings – The impact of this very small charity on the part of the rich (2.5% of net wealth) showed significant impact on wealth distribution pattern as it changed the power law distribution into normal distribution of wealth. Practical implications – The results emphasize non-conventional handling of the economic problem of poverty and wealth signifying the importance of faith based policing Originality/value – The paper contributes an agent based simulation which is a relatively newer technique to study human behavior and is commensurate to complexity theory. Its use is relatively rare in Islamic Economics and the paper is the first to propose a model simulation of Islamic charity of Zakat.


The clinical triad of pyoderma gangrenosum (PG), acne and suppurative hidradenitis (PASH) has recently been described as a new disease entity within the spectrum of autoinflammatory syndromes, which are an emerging group of inflammatory diseases distinct from autoimmune, allergic and infectious disorders. PASH syndrome is similar to PAPA (pyogenic arthritis, acne and PG), but it differs in lacking the associated arthritis and on a genetic basis. PAPA syndrome is caused by mutations in a gene involved in the regulation of innate immune responses, the PSTPIP1, while no mutations have been detected to date in patients with PASH syndrome. We report a young male patient who developed coexisting disseminated PG, typical suppurative hidradenitis and acneiform eruption on the face, after he had undergone bowel bypass surgery for obesity. The cutaneous manifestations associated with bowel bypass syndrome often mimic PG or other neutrophilic dermatoses, suggesting a pathogenesis related to neutrophil-mediated inflammation for this condition. This is the first report describing PASH syndrome after bariatric surgery, and we propose to include such neutrophilic dermatoses in the list of complications occurring after bowel bypass surgery. Extensive genetic studies may help to clarify the etiopathogenesis of PASH as well as of autoinflammatory diseases in general.


In this issue of the Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, our authors explore the impact of partnerships on education in rural communities. Schools are expected to prepare students for an unknown and uncertain future. Partnerships between schools and industry, higher education providers and the wider community can achieve greater outcomes for students than schools working in isolation.


We propose a general model that integrates meta-system transition theory with biosemiotics on the basis of an "evolvable window" metaphor. The evolution of the "window" proceeds via meta-system transitions, during which new windows are created iteratively on the "inner" side of the preexisting ones, generating a "telescope" growing inwards starting from the "outside". The tendency of "inwards growth" of the "telescope" can be explained in terms of the following circular causality: (1) the tendency leading from unity towards individualisation, (2) individual learning providing a basis for more complex semiotic interactions, (3) creation of additional, nonconflicting "values" leading to habit formation, (4) strong control bringing forth a unification at a higher (meta-system) level. Using the proposed metaphor we hope to provide clarity to the fluctuation between objectivity and subjectivity inherent to the circular causality loop described above.


The main goal of bioelectronic medicine is to, one day, replace conventional chemical drugs with miniaturized implants. This way, tiny electrical pulses will be locally delivered to a small group of neurons in order to influence and modify biological functions. Developing such implants, however, has brought many new challenges both in the technological and biological domains. One technical challenge, is packaging such tiny deceives in a way that protects the sensitive electronics inside from the harsh body environment [2], while, at the same time ensures certain flexibility that allows the implant to conform to the surrounding soft tissue. Conventionally, medical implants have relied on a titanium (Ti) or ceramic box to protect the inside electronics. Driven by the increased functionality offered by CMOS technologies and the need for further miniaturization, in recent years tremendous efforts have been made in designing miniaturized implants by integrating the majority of components on a single chip [3]. Such a single-chip approach, however, would require novel packaging solutions since the box would consume greater volume compared to the chip and greatly limit the flexibility of the implant. Polymer encapsulation could be an alternative packaging solution which meets the physical constraints needed for bioelectronic medicine [1-2]. One main drawback of polymeric encapsulation, however, is the eventual penetration of water through the polymer. For this purpose, extensive efforts have been carried out on finding thin multi-layer coatings that could delay water and ion penetration and thereby, increase device lifetime [3]. Despite the increased protection offered by these layers, it has been shown that device lifetime can still be reduced when exposed to high electric fields. For example, the authors of [4] have found that continuous DC biasing of the device reduced the lifetime by a factor of 13 compared to a state where the devices were idle. In this research, we intend to work towards a single-chip implant by investigating the effect of different electric fields on device lifetimes in soak conditions. For this aim, test structures have been fabricated in standard CMOS technologies and currently being tested in saline. More detailed and up-to-date results will be shared during the conference.


In this paper, a real time application for visual inspection and classification of cork stoppers is presented. Each cork stopper is represented by a high dimensional set of characteristics corresponding to relevant visual features. We have applied a set of non-parametric and parametric methods in order to compare and evaluate their performance for this real problem. The best results have been achieved using Bayesian classification through probabilistic modeling in a high dimensional space. In this context, it is well known that high dimensionality does not allow precision in the density estimation. We propose a Class-Conditional Independent Component Analysis (CC-ICA) representation of the data that even in low dimensions, performs comparably to standard classification techniques. The method has achieved a success of 98% of correct classification. Our prototype is able to inspect the cork stoppers and classify in 5 quality groups with a speed of 3 objects per second.


Among the most difficult tasks confronting the physician is that of differentiating between operable and inoperable affections of the spinal cord. The symptoms of pain, of anesthesia and of hyperalgesia, of disturbances in the function of the bladder and the bowel are frequently misleading; and there is no motor disturbance characterizing disease of the spinal cord proper which may not be brought about as well by pressure on the cord of an adjoining tumor. The method employed by Ayer 1 brings greater certainty to bear on the differential diagnosis of subarachnoid block from disease of the spinal cord proper. It necessitates, however, the introduction of a needle into the cisterna magna and is therefore available only to the skilled surgeon. The injection of an iodized fat into the subarachnoid space in order to facilitate roentgen-ray examination, recently proposed by French neurologists, 2 is likewise mainly by way of the cisterna


The research centers on the alternate dispute resolution method of sports arbitration and specifically, the right to a fair trial within this dispensation. Being as the topic a right to a fair trial is a broad one, emphasis shall be placed on two elements, that of the right to be presumed innocent before being found guilty and the right to access to justice. The main method of research used was that of looking into various forms of literature, statute, reports and various cases that touch on the subject. The major findings from the research showed that, in respect to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), they have measures in place that safeguard an athlete's right to a fair trial, however when it comes to doping allegations, stricter measures are put into place to curb the crime which has led to speculation as to whether the process of adjudicating doping offences respects one's right to be presumed innocent before being proved guilty. As regards access to justice, CAS has its main institute based in Lausanne, Switzerland, but they also have various offices spread out across the globe. The only issue that arises is that one is bound to pay a registration fee when ·filing a case with CAS which amounts to over 100,000 Kshs. and whether this fee could be waived.


Abstract A complete skeleton of Solnhofia parsonsi (Cryptodira, Eurysternidae) from the Kimmeridgian/Tithonian boundary of Schamhaupten, Germany provides the first complete understanding of the postcranial morphology of this genus. The here newly described postcranial characters are important in distinguishing Solnhofia from shell-based genera and thus help in resolving part of the parataxonomic conflict between shell-based and cranium-based turtle genera. This disparity originated during the last 150 years due to the history of fossil finds, preparation, and changing interests of researchers. Synonymies of Solnhofia with such turtle genera as Eurysternum, Idiochelys, Plesiochelys, Thalassemys, and Euryaspis can now be refuted. Similarities with Hydropelta are apparent, but not considered sufficient to support a synonymy. Newly observed or confirmed characters include the relatively large head (40 percent of the carapace length), the pentagonal carapace, the unique arrangement of bones and fontanelles in the pygal region, and the absence of mesoplastra, epiplastra, and an entoplastron. The carcass of the new specimen was embedded in finely laminated limestones and shows little sign of disintegration or scavenging, suggesting hostile bottom conditions with very low water energy during deposition. This taphonomy agrees with recent published models for the origin of the lithographic limestones of southern Germany. Tooth marks along the posterior margin of the carapace are evidence of predation by a broad-nosed crocodilian. This is the first clear example for this type of predatorial interaction from the Upper Jurassic of Germany.


The effect of an impurity as a donor or an acceptor in ZnO film is determined by its distribution in ZnO lattice. In this paper the distribution of Li is investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and photoluminescence (PL). It is found that Li-doped ZnO films own different dependence on heat treatment temperature by contrast with pure ZnO films. For Li-doped ZnO films, although the crystallinity is promoted after heat treatment at 500oC, it is impeded effectively after heat treatment at 600oC. The abnormal phenomenon implies that Li preferential inhabits at Zn-sublattice to form a substitutional defect as an acceptor unless Li content exceeds its solubility in Zn-sublattice. The change of the PL spectra of pure ZnO films after heat treatment at different temperatures reveals that the PL peak at 650nm origins from interstitial defects. Moreover, with the increase of Li content, the intensity of the peak at 650nm decreases firstly and then increases again. This interesting changing trend further reveals that superfluous Li will enter into the octahedral interspaces as donors. As a conclusion it is proposed that it is difficult to obtain high conductive p-ZnO by monodoping of Li.


We encountered a patient with a tongue base lymphoma that we initially diagnosed as a lingual tonsil in view of its benign appearance. We established the correct diagnosis of Waldeyer ring lymphoma by histology. This case led us to conduct a study of all cases of Waldeyer ring lymphoma that had been treated at our center during a 10-year pe- riod. We retrospectively examined our case records and found 35 such cases. From this group, we excluded 5 cases because of incomplete data. Thus our final study group was made up of 30 patients—14 males and 16 females, aged 14 to 76 years (mean: 51.6; median 54). The primary presenting signs and symptoms were dysphagia (n =17 (57%)), a neck mass (n = 7 (23%)), nasal symptoms (n = 5 (17%)), and pain (n = 1 (3%)). Only 4 patients (13%) had B symptoms. A total of 20 patients (67%) presented with tonsillar involvement, 8 (27%) with nasopharyngeal involvement, 1 (3%) with tongue base lymphoma, and 1 with anterior tongue involvement. Most patients (77%) presented at an early stage. Histologically, 25 patients (83%) had high-grade diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, 4 (13%) had T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma, and 1 (3%) had follicular lymphoma. Twenty-one patients (70%) were treated with chemotherapy, 4 (13%) received adjuvant chemotherapy with either radiotherapy or surgery, 3 (10%) resorted to other forms of treatment (primarily traditional remedies), and 2 (7%) declined treatment altogether. There were 14 patients (47%) alive at the end of the study period.


Developing games on smartphones with online features requires careful designing in order to scale to a large amount of users. In this thesis, selected databases are evaluated for use in mobile games, to store game data locally, in terms of performance and usability. The databases are compared to the current storage implementation of a game developed for iOS and Android devices. It is found that the databases perform better when reading or writing small parts of a larger data set, and scale well as the data set increases in size. However, the size of the data in the game studied is not large enough for the increase in complexity to outweigh the gained performance. In addition to this, a library is written to simplify synchronizing state between server and client on mobile games.


Introduction Alcohol and drug use are significant problems in the US, and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities and individuals are known to be among the most affected. This study evaluates disparities in unintentional injury mortality causes since 1999. Methods Analyses in 2020 of unintentional injury mortality rate disparities between AI/ANs and white population over the 1999–2016 period with attention to motor vehicle crashes, alcohol poisoning, drug poisoning and all other cause types. Rates in each of the 10 states with the largest AI/AN populations were also investigated to account for geographical concentration. Results Motor vehicle mortality rates declined for both AI/AN and white groups, but a large racial disparity was maintained. Conversely, poisoning mortality rates rose substantially in both groups, with a jump in rates in 2007 due to a coding change, resulting in a large disparity that was maintained through 2016. Comparison of alcohol and drug poisonings showed that the AI/AN alcohol poisoning rate was about eight times the white rate, whereas drug poisoning rates were similar. For 'all other' unintentional injuries, the highest rates were seen for AI/AN men, with rates generally rising over the study period. State-specific analyses found substantial variation in AI/AN rates, with few or no disparities in New York and Texas. Conclusions Results indicate substantial and persisting disparities in unintentional injury mortality, with especially large differences in alcohol poisoning. The absence of disparities in New York and Texas suggest the importance of situational factors.


The goal of this proof of concept planetary lander is to safely deliver an exploration rover to a planet surface. This lander was designed to be used as the last stage of landing in the existing entry, descent, and landing procedures used in previous Mars missions. The design improved upon past missions to Mars by reducing risk of failure during landing by utilizing a passive system with no electronics or control systems while also increasing landing site accuracy. These goals were accomplished by incorporating external crushable materials and internal damping systems. Five drop tests of our final design were completed. The test results can be used for scaling the components of the modular design to suit different planet conditions. Our scaled down test article design absorbed 7.40% of the energy absorbed by the previous Mars landing systems. The remote-controlled vehicle payload we used survived all of our tests. To scale up our design for a Spirit sized mission, we recommend using a crushable material design with 350 cylinders with the dimensions of 0.06 m radius, 0.00196 m thickness, and 0.1377 m height. Our design can be used for multiple payload landing applications, including care packages and supply deliveries.


The timing of flower initiation is a highly plastic developmental process. To achieve reproductive success, plants must select the most favourable season to initiate reproductive development; this in turn requires continuous monitoring of environmental factors and a properly response. Environmental factors which change in a predictable fashion along the year, such as light and temperature, are the most relevant in terms of selection of the flowering season. In Arabidopsis and more recently in a few other species, molecular genetic analyses are providing a way to identify the genes involved in the regulation of flowering time. From gene sequences it is possible to develop hypotheses regarding molecular function and to infer some of the molecular mechanisms involved in the environmental regulation of flowering time. In this paper, we summarize recent discoveries concerning the mechanisms which plants use to perceive and respond to major environmental factors (light and temperature) and their different components. We focus mainly on annual plants and especially on Arabidopsis because most of the available molecular and functional data come from this species. However, additional information arising from other plant systems is also considered.


ABSTRACT This paper examines the determinants of becoming a producer of high‐quality wine grapes. We explore the case of wine‐grape farmers in Chile where we observe a bifurcation of farmer types."Quasi‐subsistence" farmers produce traditional wine‐grape varieties and complement their subsistence income with cash coming from wine‐grape sale. On the other hand, we observe "entrepreneurial" farmers who produce classic varieties that have the potential to produce high‐quality wines. We study this bifurcation empirically using primary data collected during the 2011–2012 growing season. We find that wealth and cultivation ability provide economically and statistically significant explanatory power, but that buyer characteristics also matter. Our results suggest that a farmer's entry into the supply chain for high‐quality production is not an individual's choice. Rather it is a joint decision that cannot be fully understood without considering the objectives, incentives, and information of supplier and buyer. [EconLit citations: O14; Q140; L26].


The need for improving dementia care has driven the development of the clinical decision support system DMSS (Dementia Management and Support System). A sociotechnical approach to design and development has been applied, with an activity-centered methodology and user participation throughout the process. Prototypes have been developed based on the characteristics of clinical practice and domain knowledge, while clinical practice has been subjected to different efforts for development such as education and organizational change. A set of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines has been synthesized and integrated in DMSS to support clinical routines and reasoning processes as performed by individual health professionals in daily practice. DMSS-R provides advice, tailored to the individual and often exceptional patient case, to the user while providing guidance to the next step in the assessments and support for hypothesis generation and valuation throughout the process. This paper addresses the lessons learned and role and impact DMSS has had, and is expected to have on the clinical assessment of dementia in different clinics in Sweden, South Korea and Japan. Furthermore, it will be described in what way the development of DMSS and the development of dementia care in these three areas are interlinked. A recent evaluation study showed that the most important contribution of DMSS-R at the point of care, part from the tailored explanatory support related to a patient case, was the educational support that DMSS-R provided. This was partly manifested in a change of routines in the encounter with patients. Aspects regarding the individual health care professional's need for a personalized support system are discussed and put in relation to the team's need for support, and in relation to the diversity of disease manifestations in this group of patients, which enforces patientcentric assessments.


Background: There is a need for simple clinical tools that can objectively assess the fall risk in people with dementia. Wearable sensors seem to have the potential for fall prediction; however, there has been limited work performed in this important area. Objective: To explore the validity of sensor-derived physical activity (PA) parameters for predicting future falls in people with dementia. To compare sensor-based fall risk assessment with conventional fall risk measures. Methods: This was a cohort study of people with confirmed dementia discharged from a geriatric rehabilitation ward. PA was quantified using 24-hour motion-sensor monitoring at the beginning of the study. PA parameters (percentage of walking, standing, sitting, and lying; duration of single walking, standing, and sitting bouts) were extracted using specific algorithms. Conventional assessment included performance-based tests (Timed Up and Go Test, Performance-Oriented Mobility Assessment, 5-chair stand) and questionnaires (cognition, ADL status, fear of falling, depression, previous faller). Outcome measures were fallers (at least one fall in the 3-month follow-up period) versus non-fallers. Results: 77 people were included in the study (age 81.8 ± 6.3; community-dwelling 88%, institutionalized 12%). Surprisingly, fallers and non-fallers did not differ on any conventional assessment (p = 0.069-0.991), except for 'previous faller' (p = 0.006). Interestingly, several PA parameters discriminated between the groups. The 'walking bout average duration', 'longest walking bout duration' and 'walking bout duration variability' were lower in fallers, compared to non-fallers (p = 0.008-0.027). The 'standing bout average duration' was higher in fallers (p = 0.050). Two variables, 'walking bout average duration' [odds ratio (OR) 0.79, p = 0.012] and 'previous faller' (OR 4.44, p = 0.007) were identified as independent predictors for falls. The OR for a 'walking bout average duration' <15 s for predicting fallers was 6.30 (p = 0.020). Combining 'walking bout average duration' and 'previous faller' improved fall prediction (OR 7.71, p < 0.001, sensitivity/specificity 72%/76%). Discussion: Results demonstrate that sensor-derived PA parameters are independent predictors of the fall risk and may have higher diagnostic accuracy in persons with dementia compared to conventional fall risk measures. Our findings highlight the potential of telemonitoring technology for estimating the fall risk. Results should be confirmed in a larger study and by measuring PA over a longer period of time.


Summary The Bristol Royal Infirmary is located on the south-easterly face of Kingsdown Hill overlooking the centre of Bristol. A series of extensions to the Infirmary have been constructed since 1966 and are planned for the future. The hill is underlain by alternating hard sandstones and mudstones of the Quartzitic Sandstone Group which dip towards the south-east at a steeper angle than the ground slope. The Carboniferous rocks are overlain by the Triassic Dolomitic Conglomerate in the upper part of the site, and by Triassic marls and fill at lower elevations. The hillside has a past record of instability both in superficial materials and in bedrock. The stability of the site had to be judged both overall and in relation to the design and construction of individual structures. The design of the foundations for each of these structures was based upon drilling coupled with a programme of laboratory and in situ tests. The largest building is the Outpatients Department which required major basements involving deep excavation into the hillside undercutting the bedding. The foundations for this structure were primarily created by buttresses formed in trench and combined with cross walls so ensuring total stability at all stages of excavation. In contrast, the Radiotherapy Centre is mainly founded on isolated bases carried down to bedrock and appropriately stepped in level. The thick walls between the treatment rooms in the basement were keyed into the quartzitic sandstone or very firm mudstone. The Maternity Hospital, located at the top of the site on thick Triassic deposits, has been founded on large diameter bored piles drilled into the Dolomitic Conglomerate. Attention is drawn to the special problems which arose during construction including the need for controlled blasting for excavation and the control of water, partly in relation to a medieval tunnel system.


Roentgen stereophotogrammetric analysis (RSA) was used to evaluate the migration in 17 cemented acetabular components after revision operations for mechanical loosening. All of the hips were examined four months and one year after surgery; ten of the hips were also examined after two years. In 15 of the 17 components, definite migration (0.5-2.7 mm) was identified, whereas two acetabular components showed no significant migration (< 0.25 mm). In 13 hips, the migration was seen within four months after surgery. There was a tendency for larger migration in revisions for severe bone destruction. These findings indicate that prosthetic fixation in revision operations is relatively poor. In cases with severe bone loss, cement fixations is extremely poor.


Summary.  Background: Mild hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) has been shown to be associated with impaired fibrinolysis, but some aspects of this association are unclear. Objective: Using an in vitro model of physiological relevance, we investigated whether and how HHcy influences plasma fibrinolytic potential. Patients/methods: We studied 176 patients with previous venous thromboembolism, 58 with HHcy, 118 with normal total homocysteine (tHcy) levels (NHcy), at least 3 months after withdrawal of anticoagulant therapy. Plasma fibrinolytic potential was measured as the fibrinolysis time of tissue factor (TF)‐induced clots exposed to 15 ng mL−1 t‐PA. Results: Fibrinolysis time was longer in HHcy than in NHcy patients, but this difference disappeared when the assay was performed in the presence of the TAFIa inhibitor, PTCI. Plasma levels of thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) and factor VIII (FVIII) were higher in HHcy than NHcy, whereas PAI‐1, fibrinogen and endogenous thrombin potential were similar. Using multivariate analysis, plasma tHcy was identified as an independent predictor of fibrinolysis time. Experiments in which native fibrinogen was replaced by purified fibrinogen suggested that alterations of fibrinogen structure did not contribute appreciably to the hypofibrinolysis of HHcy plasma samples. The acute increase of tHcy either in vivo (after an oral methionine load) or in vitro (after incubation of normal plasma with 0.5 mm DL‐Hcy) had no effects on fibrinolysis or TAFI levels. Conclusions: We describe an enhanced TAFI‐related antifibrinolytic activity in mild HHcy, which might account for the reported heightened thrombosis risk; however, it is unknown whether HHcy is causally related to hypofibrinolysis or an associated bystander.


Social inclusion in many cases refers to measures and actions in various fields to increase the rate of active participation of people in all dimensions of life, valuing the civic and democratic responsibility to accept and promote diversity. Educational inclusion cannot be achieved in isolation from social inclusion, between the two concepts being a relationship of double determination. This research aims to investigate the teachers' ability to teach in an inclusive school environment and looks at to which extent the education process at a microlevel is favourable to the inclusion of students with SEN across schools in Romania. Moreover, the research tries to investigate to which extend are teachers influenced by their attitudes and knowledge about educational inclusion and its practice when it comes to the inclusion of SEN students. These results show that teachers expressed both acceptance and concern about the inclusion of students with SEN in mainstream schools. However, in general, the answers indicate that most teachers are in favour of inclusion by expressing positive beliefs and attitudes, such as: seeing inclusive education as a way to combat discrimination, the acceptance of each student regardless of health, etnic or religious staus and socioeconomic status are welcome in mainstream education system and what stands out is the fact that techers disagree with the view that inclusion is problematic, rather than beneficial.


To the Editor.—Cefotetan disodium, like moxalactam, cefoperazone, and cefamandole, contains anN-methylthiotetrazole (MTT) side chain that has been associated with hypoprothrombinemia and bleeding diathesis. Previously, cefotetan has been implicated in hypoprothrombinemia, without clinical bleeding, in patients with phytonadione (vitamin K1) deficiency.1Two case reports of hypoprothrombinemia in surgical patients, with hemorrhage occurring in one patient, treated with cefotetan, are described. Report of Cases.—Case1.—An 86-year-old woman with a medical history significant for hypertension and kidney stones presented with pain in the right lower quadrant. Laboratory analysis revealed a hematocrit of 0.36 (36%), a white blood cell count of 21 × 109/L (21 × 103/mm3) (neutrophils, 0.90 [90%], band cells, 0.03 [3%]), and prothrombin and partial thromboplastin times of 13.8 s and 26 s, respectively. The coagulation values were within normal limits for Hartford (Conn) Hospital. An upright abdominal roentgenogram showed


This Sheet Explanation provides a summary of the geology of the district covered by Geological 1:50 000 Series
Map Sheet 164 (Llanidloes), published in 2010 as a Bedrock and Superficial Deposits edition. The district mostly
lies within the county of Powys, but includes small parts of Ceredigion in the extreme west and south-west. Much of
the western part of the district is occupied by the deeply dissected uplands of the Cambrian Mountains, a designated
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In this area the land rises to 740 m on the flanks of Plynlimon (Pumlumon
Fawr), the highest summit in the range. It falls away towards the eastern part of the district into rolling countryside
that includes the important catchment of the River Severn (Afon Hafren) and its tributaries, the largest of which are
the rivers Carno, Trannon, Cerist, Clywedog and Dulas. A major reservoir (Llyn Clywedog) occupies the upper
reaches of the Clywedog valley, its purpose being to regulate river discharge and groundwater levels within the
catchment. The south-western part of the district is drained by the River Wye (Afon Gwy) and its tributaries, that
flow south-eastwards via Llangurig. The sources of both the Severn and Wye are situated on the eastern flanks of
Plynlimon within the western part of the district.
The town of Llanidloes is the main centre of population, with smaller settlements at Llangurig, Carno, Trefeglwys,
Caersws and Staylittle; the Newtown conurbation impinges on the eastern part of the district. Much of the district is
given over to beef and dairy farming, although sheep are reared in the remote upland areas in the west and extensive
forestry plantations have been developed in places. The Ordovician and Silurian rocks of the district have been
exploited locally, in the past, as a source of building material and, recently, commercial quantities of sandstone
aggregate have been excavated at Penstrowed Quarry [SO 0680 9100]. The district includes part of the Central
Wales Mining Field from which substantial volumes of lead and zinc ore were extracted during the 19th and early
20th centuries. A number of former mine sites are still visible, notably along the Van, Nant-y-ricket, Dylife,
Dyfngwm and Llanerchyraur lodes (Jones, 1922[1]; IGS, 1974), and the historic Bryntail Mine, below the Clywedog
Dam has been restored as a site of industrial archaeological interest.
The district is underlain by a succession of Late Ordovician (Ashgill) to Silurian sedimentary rocks, over 5 km thick,
deposited between 450 and 420 million years ago in the Early Palaeozoic Welsh Basin (Figure P930911). The basin
developed on a fragment of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana, known as Eastern Avalonia (e.g. Pickering et
al., 1988[2]), that drifted northwards to collide with the continents of Baltica and Laurentia during the Late
Ordovician and Silurian (Soper and Hutton, 1984[3]; Soper and Woodcock, 1990[4]; Woodcock and Strachan,
2000[5]). To the east and the south of the basin lay the Midland Platform, a relatively stable shallow marine shelf that
was subject to periodic emergence. The basinal sediments are predominantly deep marine turbiditic facies that were
introduced into the district by density currents from southerly, south-easterly and north-westerly quadrants. Coeval
shallower-water 'shelfal' sediments were deposited north and east of the district, and locally impinge on its northern
margins. Thickness variations within the major sedimentary units suggest that, at times, syndepositional fault
movements were an important control on their distribution. During late Silurian (Ludlow) times, shallowing of the
basin occurred, and sandstones, variably interpreted as a turbiditic (Cave and Hains, 2001[6]) or storm-generated
facies (Tyler and Woodcock, 1987[7]), were laid down over the eastern part of the district and adjacent areas. The
shallowing was a result of tectonic reconfiguration of the basin, a precursor to the late Caledonian (Acadian)
Orogeny that affected the region during the late Early Devonian, around 400 million years ago


This thesis deals with applications of Lie symmetries in differential geometry and dynamical systems. The first chapter of the thesis studies the singular reduction of symmetries of cosphere bundles, the conservation properties of contact systems and their reduction. We generalise the results of [15] to the singular case making a complete topological and geometrical analysis of the reduced space. Applying the general theory of contact reduction developed by Lerman and Willett in [33] and [57], one obtains contact stratified spaces that lose all information of the internal structure of the cosphere bundle. Based on the cotangent bundle reduction theorems, both in the regular and singular case, as well as regular cosphere bundle reduction, one expects additional bundle-like structure for the contact strata. The cosphere bundle projection to the base manifold descends to a continuous surjective map from the reduced space at zero to the orbit quotient of the configuration space, but it fails to be a morphism of stratified spaces if we endow the reduced space with its contact stratification and the base space with the customary orbit type stratification defined by the Lie group action. In this chapter we introduce a new stratification of the contact quotient at zero, called the C-L stratification (standing for the coisotropic or Legendrian nature of its pieces) which solves the above mentioned two problems. Its main features are the following. First, it is compatible with the contact stratification of the quotient and the orbit type stratification of the configuration orbit space. It is also finer than the contact stratification. Second, the natural projection of the C-L stratified quotient space to its base space, stratified by orbit types, is a morphism of stratified spaces. Third, each C-L stratum is a bundle over an orbit type stratum of the base and it can be seen as a union of C-L pieces, one of them being open and dense in its corresponding contact stratum and contactomorphic to a cosphere bundle. The other strata are coisotropic or Legendrian submanifolds in the contact components that contain them. We also describe the relation between contact vector fields and the time dependent Hamilton-Jacobi equation. The reduction of contact systems and time dependent Hamiltonians is mentioned. In the second chapter we study geometric properties of Sasakian and Kahler quotients. We construct a reduction procedure for symplectic and Kahler manifolds using the ray preimages of the momentum map. More precisely, instead of taking as in point reduction the preimage of a momentum value μ, we take the preimage of ℝ+μ, the positive ray of μ. We have two reasons to develop this construction. One is geometric: non zero Kahler point reduction is not always well defined. The problem is that the complex structure may not leave invariant the horizontal distribution of the Riemannian submersion πμ : J-1(μ) → Mμ. The solution proposed in the literature is correct only in the case of totally isotropic momentum (i.e. Gμ = G). The other reason is that it provides invariant submanifolds for conformal Hamiltonian systems. They are usually non-autonomous mechanical systems with friction whose integral curves preserve, in the case of symmetries, the ray pre-images of the momentum map. We extend the class of conformal Hamiltonian systems already studied and complete the existing Lie Poisson reduction with the general ray one. As examples of symplectic (Kahler) and contact (Sasakian) ray reductions we treat the case of cotangent and cosphere bundles and we show that they are universal for ray reductions. Using techniques of A. Futaki, we prove that, under appropriate hypothesis, ray quotients of Kahler-Einstein or Sasaki-Einstein manifolds remain Kahler or Sasaki-Einstein. Note that it suffices to prove the Kahler case and the compatibility of ray reduction with the Boothby-Wang fibration. In the last chapter, we prove a stratification theorem for proper groupoids. First we find an equivalent way of describing the same result for a proper Lie group action, way which uses the theory of foliations and can be adapted to the language of Lie groupoids. We treat separately the case of free and proper groupoids. The orbit foliation of a proper Lie groupoid is a singular Riemannian foliation and we show this explicitly.


Aberrant Wnt/β-catenin signaling leading to nuclear accumulation of the oncogene product β-catenin is observed in a wide spectrum of human malignancies. The destruction complex in the Wnt/β-catenin pathway is critical for regulating the level of β-catenin in the cytoplasm and in the nucleus. Here, we report a comprehensive study of the contribution of genetic variation in six genes encoding the β-catenin destruction complex (APC, AXIN1, AXIN2, CSNK1D, CSNK1E, and GSK3B) to breast cancer using a Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer Case-Control Study. A total of 79 candidate functional and tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were genotyped in 798 invasive cases and 843 unaffected controls. Of these, rs454886 in the APC tumor suppressor gene was associated with increased breast cancer risk (per allele odds ratio, 1.23; 95% confidence intervals, 1.05-1.43; Ptrend = 0.01). In addition, five SNPs in AXIN2 were associated with increased risk of breast cancer (Ptrend < 0.05). Haplotype-based tests identified significant associations between specific haplotypes in APC and AXIN2 (P ≤ 0.03) and breast cancer risk. Further characterization of the APC and AXIN2 variants suggested that AXIN2 rs4791171 was significantly associated with risk in premenopausal (Ptrend = 0.0002) but not in postmenopausal women. The combination of our findings and numerous genetic and functional studies showing that APC and AXIN2 perform crucial tumor suppressor functions suggest that further investigation of the contribution of AXIN2 and APC SNPs to breast cancer risk are needed. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(8):2101–8)


Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) is a tool of trauma surgeons used to obtain endovascular control of hemorrhage while ensuring the redistribution of blood flow to central organs such as the heart and brain. Its use in multiple trauma and non-trauma scenarios has been growing in the last decade; however, there are aspects within the indications, deployment technique and complications that continue to be controversial. Currently, there is no consensus among trauma surgeons in the Americas regarding the implementation of this tool for resuscitation and hemorrhage control. The Panamerican Trauma Society (PTS) in conjunction with the Colombian Association of Surgery recently convened 2018, XXXI Panamerican trauma, critical care, and emergency surgery Congress (August 14th to 17th) in Cartagena, Colombia. One main objective of the Congress was to create a consensus in trauma management via expert opinions of leading surgeons from North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. It is the first consensus that addresses the indications, deployment technique and complications of REBOA in the Americas.


The transcriptional cofactor Taranis promotes sleep by decreasing the abundance of CycA and inhibiting Cdk1. Despite great differences in brain architecture, several genes implicated in mammalian sleep also regulate sleep in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Afonso et al. identified mutations in taranis (tara) that reduced both the number and duration of sleep bouts in adult flies in a manner that was independent of the circadian clock and light-dark cycle. Tara was present in most neurons of the brain, and removing Tara function specifically in cholinergic neurons disrupted sleep. Tara is a transcriptional cofactor of the Trip-Br family, also known as the SERTAD [SERTA (SEI-1, RBT1, and TARA) domain] family, that regulates cell cycle progression and contains a Cyclin A (CycA) binding motif. Tagged versions of Tara and CycA coimmunoprecipitated from extracts of cultured S2 cells. Flies heterozygous for a null allele of CycA showed a mild reduction in total daily sleep, and heterozygosity for a weak loss-of-function allele of CycA enhanced the reduced sleep phenotype of tara mutants. CycA was present in a subset of neurons of the pars lateralis, a region of the fly brain that contains neurosecretory cells and may be analogous to the mammalian hypothalamus. Compared with controls, the abundance of CycA in both cell bodies and synapses in these cells was reduced in tara mutants. However, there was no change in the abundance of CycA transcripts, implying that Tara affected the abundance of CycA through a nontranscriptional mechanism. Flies that expressed either a sodium channel that stimulates neuronal activity or a tara RNAi construct specifically in the pars lateralis slept less. CycA may either inhibit or stimulate the activity of Cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (Cdk1) depending on the context. Experiments using overexpression of wild-type Cdk1 and a form that cannot be inhibited indicated that Cdk1 reduced sleep. Heterozygosity for a loss-of-function mutation in Cdk1 did not affect sleep, but partially rescued the reduced sleep phenotypes of tara mutants and of flies heterozygous for a null allele of CycA. These results suggest that CycA is a central regulator of sleep cycles and inhibits Cdk1 activity in this context. Whereas Cdk1 activity promotes wakefulness, Tara promotes sleep by increasing the abundance of CycA, which inhibits Cdk1 activity. D. J. S. Afonso, D. Liu, D. R. Machado, H. Pan, J. E. C. Jepson, D. Rogulja, K. Koh, TARANIS functions with Cyclin A and Cdk1 in a novel arousal center to control sleep in Drosophila. Curr. Biol. 25, 1717–1726 (2015). [PubMed]


Soil column experiments are used to investigate the fate of three pesticides of high, intermediate, and low solubility in groundwater: N- phosphonomethyl glycine (glyphosate); O,O-diethyl-S-[(ethylthio)methyl]phosphorodithioate (phorate); (2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid (2,4-D). Feed solutions are prepared by adding each pesticide (100 mg/L glyphosate, 50 μ g/L phorate, 50 mg/L 2,4-D) along with conservative tracer, KBr, in synthetic groundwater. The concentration of the pesticides in effluents is detected by ion chromatography (glyphosate, 2,4-D) and GC-FID (phorate). The Br− breakthrough curves are employed to estimate the dispersion coefficient and mean pore velocity in each column. Solute transport and reactive models accounting for equilibrium/non-equilibrium sorption and biodegradation are coupled with inverse modeling numerical codes to estimate the kinetic parameters for all pesticides.


The following article presents a deep discussion about the processes of psychosocial intervention withnvictims of political violence, in the light of their life stories in a context of research on the role of memorynin the reconstruction of the social fabric. The category of the psychosocial emerged as a result of thesenlife stories and discussion groups and allowed a critical look at the intervention processes that takenplace in Colombia, from the voice and the testimony of the participants. Finally, it also collects proposals from this same voice, that of the people, and forms of action involving a revision to the individualistic, pathological, vertical, technocratic, and bureaucratic models of the action, to propose comprehensive and systemic actions for the recovery of dignity and the subjective transformation from participation, dialogue of knowledge, playful and performative expression, and horizontal relationships, mutual support and construction of citizenship and subjectivity of rights.


Efforts are underway to develop a stronger political science perspective regarding the practice of language policy to establish language policy as a distinct field of public policy studies. The article's original theoretical contribution is to develop a framework, grounded in historical institutionalism, to analyse the multi-level institutional factors that influence language policy choices relating to regional or minority languages within European multi-level states. The framework is tested by applying it to analyse the multi-level factors that condition language policy decisions regarding the Welsh language, and through further investigating the framework's significance and robustness to analyse language policy trajectories in two contrasting European cases. Overall, the article makes the case for the strengths and adaptability of the framework in producing convincing explanations of the multi-level dimensions of language policy development in different institutionalised contexts and calls for greater investigation of its ability to analyse other regional and minority languages in Europe.


The robust linguistic variation observed on Bequia (St Vincent and the Grenadines) raises the question of whether there is a single variable linguistic system or multiple systems. We examine the distribution and conditioning of variable negation (na, ain't or not/-n't) in three communities distinguished by ethnicity and socioeconomic history. The variant na is restricted to one community and is conditioned by co-occurrence constraints, while ain't is conditioned by auxiliary context and temporal reference, which serve to distinguish between communities. Thus, although there is variation between communities and speakers, there is also evidence for overlapping but discrete coexistent systems. These results underline the importance of examining the distribution and conditioning of all features implicated in the linguistic system.


Extrapolation of an understanding regarding hematopoiesis and, in particular, hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from rodent models or in vitro human cell models to applications in humans has proven very difficult. This is not surprising, given the differences between rodent and human hematopoietic physiology and the lack of true in vitro assays for HSCs. Therefore, translational preclinical development of genetic and cellular therapies is dependent on the utilization of practical and well‐defined large animal models. This chapter will introduce the most commonly used model species, including macaques, baboons, dogs, cats, and sheep, and explain the particular advantages and limitations of each. Specific protocols for the support of macaques through ablative cell and gene therapy procedures will be included to introduce investigators to the types of resources and support required to maintain a large animal facility dedicated to high‐intensity experimentation, and also to introduce investigators to the types of procedures that are possible.


A brief overview is presented of breast cancer risk factors with particular reference to the time in a woman's life when they seem to operate. High incidence of the disease in Western societies is associated with early ovarian maturation and late onset of reproduction. In biologic terms this means proliferation without differentiation of breast cells over a long period of time.


Rasagiline is a monoamine oxidase type-B inhibitor used as monotherapy or in addition to levodopa in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). This naturalistic single-blind study was aimed at evaluating the rapidity of onset effect of rasagiline on motor symptoms in a cohort of early relatively elderly PD patients. 102 outpatients (55 males, median age 71 years) have been selected: 26 were PD therapy-naive and 76 received rasagiline as add-on therapy. The third section of the Unified Parkinson's Dis- ease Rating Scale (UPDRSIII) and the Hoehn-Yahr (HY) scale were assessed at baseline and after 1 and 4 weeks thereafter. The mean UPDRS III total score (-6.7 at week 1 and -8.9 at week 4) and single items, as well as mean HY score (-0.40 at week 1 and -0.67 at week 4), significantly decreased from baseline (p \ 0.001). Improvements were significant in both therapy-naive and add-on therapy patients: the mean decreases from baseline to week 4 in UPDRSIII and HY score were -8.8 and -0.46, and -9.0 and -0.74, respectively, in the two subgroups. The mean decrease from baseline in UPDRSIII and HY score did not significantly differ in patients aged ( or B71 years. Rasagiline had a rapid therapeutic effect from the first week of therapy, which further improved at 4 weeks. The rapid onset of action and the absence of a dose titration are important issues in the management of the PD patient.


This paper summarizes the results of an analytical/experimental study of submerged buoyant fresh water and salt water jets injected horizontally into a quiescent, unstratified reservoir. Fresh water jets of a fixed exit Froude number penetrated to a greater horizontal distance before surfacing as the temperature of the reservoir was lowered. The overall flow characteristics were markedly affected by changes in the reservoir temperature, but were only slightly dependent upon the jet exit temperature for a given reservoir. Salt water jets of a fixed exit Froude number penetrated shorter horizontal distances into the reservoir as the salt concentration was increased. An analytical model was developed for fresh water jets which includes the effect of temperature on the thermal expansion coefficient and the effective buoyancy of the jet. The model successfully predicts the observed temperature dependence in the experiments and is applicable to salt water jets at low concentration levels. A correlation is proposed to minimize the effect of the reservoir temperature on the jet trajectory. The dependence of the flow characteristics on temperature and salt concentration is shown to be a significant factor contributing to the wide discrepancy in the data reported by previous investigators.


An interpolation error is an integral of the squared error of a regression model over a domain of interest. We consider the interpolation error for the case of misspecified Gaussian process regression: a used covariance function differs from a true one. We derive the interpolation error for a grid design of experiments for an arbitrary covariance function. Then we consider particular types of covariance functions from theoretical and practical points of view. For Matern 1 2 covariance function poor estimation of parameters only slightly affects the quality of interpolation. For the most common covariance functions includingMatern 3 2 and squared exponential covariance functions poor choose of parameters of covariance functions leads to a bad quality of interpolation.


Body fatness and physical activity (PA) among children should be measured accurately to address the pandemics of obesity and physical inactivity. Limited accurate PA data exist in the African region, and crude proxy measures of body composition (such as body mass index: BMI) and physical activity (such as questionnaires) may have limited most surveys and studies from the region. A stable isotope technique (deuterium dilution) and accelerometry provide 'gold standards' for validating measures of body fatness and PA, respectively. The consortium on "Reducing Obesity Using Nuclear Techniques to Design Interventions in Africa (ROUND-IT)" Study, therefore aimed to validate the accuracy of, 1) World Health Organisation's (WHO) BMI-for-age as a means of assessing excessive body fatness; 2) the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C) as a means of measuring PA, and 3) to describe accelerometer-measured PA in a large African multi-country sample of children 6 – 11 years of age (n=2050). ROUND-IT Africa is a cross-sectional multi-centre study conducted in 12 countries (Benin, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Senegal, Tunisia, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania and South Africa). Data collection began in April 2014 and was completed at the end of 2018. Height, body weight and waist circumference were measured using standard methods. Obesity was defined based on WHO's BMI-for-age criteria. Body fatness was measured using total body water, and excess fatness determined using the criterion-referenced thresholds of >25% (boys) and >30% (girls). PA and sedentary behavior were assessed for 7 days in randomly assigned subsamples by accelerometry. The study was approved by local ethics committees in each participating country. Findings of the research, which will add to the existing body of scientific knowledge on African children, will be disseminated through journal publications, technical reports, conferences, and contacts with relevant non-governmental organisations, particularly the WHO.


Root severance during field harvesting alters the water status of a tree, resulting in water stress and reduced post-transplant growth. Two experiments, using Acer rubrum L. (red maple), determined the influence of root severance at harvest on sap flow and xylem embolism. Trees 1.5-1.8 m tall (4 years old) were utilized in the first experiment, and trees 1.2-1.5 m tall (2 years old) were utilized in the second. Sap flow sensors were installed on the 4-year-old trees prior to root severance and remained on the trees until 1 week after harvest. Within 1 day after root severance sap flow was reduced and remained lower than nontransplanted (control) trees for the remainder of the experiment. Leaf stomatal conductance (Cs) of transplanted trees 1 week after root severance was lower than that of control trees, but leaf water potentials ( ψ) were similar. In the second experiment, sap flow was reduced relative to control trees within 2 h after root severance. Although Cs was reduced 4 hours after root severance, ψ was not. Embolism increased within 24 hours of root severance. These results indicate that root severance quickly induces increased levels of embolism, which is associated with reduced sap flow.


ABSTRACT
 The eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica once supported one of the largest fisheries in the eastern United States. Oyster populations and the reefs they form have suffered chronic long-term decline throughout the species' range, including in northwest Florida's Pensacola Bay estuary system (PBS). To guide efforts to rebuild oyster populations in the PBS, connectivity patterns were evaluated among historic and extant reef locations using an integrated biophysical numerical model. Water quality parameters and oyster recruitment were monitored in May 2007 and then monthly from July 2007 through July 2008. Resultant salinity data were used to calibrate an Estuarine Coastal Ocean Model—based numerical circulation model of Pensacola Bay, which was then coupled to an existing, individual-based, oyster larvae routine to predict ontogenetic larval distribution. Threedimensional Lagrangian transport algorithms were used to simulate transport of modeled larvae during four 20-day time periods during those summer and autumn months when oyster recruitment was empirically recorded in the bay. Based on outcomes from contemporaneous sampling of oyster larvae, the model was shown to represent the salient features of oyster larval distribution in Pensacola Bay. There were, however, instances of incongruity between modeled and sampled outcomes, indicating that model outcomes not validated with field data must be interpreted with caution. Larval supply was highly variable and spatially complex, but potentially limiting to successful recruitment and reef replenishment. Larval transfer rates within and among previously identified oyster reefs in Pensacola Bay were determined and were used to predict optimal oyster reef restoration or rehabilitation sites. Finally, larval exports from the bay were estimated and considered within the context of larval exchange among north Florida estuaries and potential repercussions to the long-term health of the Gulf of Mexico oyster metapopulation.


Many HCI applications, such as volume adjustment in a gaming system, require quantitative gesture measurement for metrics such as movement distance and direction. In this paper, we propose QGesture, a gesture recognition system that uses CSI values provided by COTS WiFi devices to measure the movement distance and direction of human hands. To achieve high accuracy in measurements, we first use phase correction algorithm to remove the phase noise in CSI measurements. We then propose a robust estimation algorithm, called LEVD, to estimate and remove the impact of environmental dynamics. To separate gesture movements from daily activities, we design simple gestures with unique characteristics as preambles to determine the start of the gesture. Our experimental results show that QGesture achieves an average accuracy of 3 cm in the measurement of movement distance and more than 95% accuracy in the movement direction detection in the one-dimensional case. Furthermore, it achieves an average absolute direction error of 15 degrees and an average accuracy of 3.7 cm in the measurement of movement distance in the two-dimensional case.


The coworking industry is undergoing rapid growth the world over, expanding at a rate of up to 20 percent per year. For independent and corporate users, the value of collaborative spaces derives from their flexibility and ability to catalyse creative processes that drive innovation. However, while creativity is part and parcel of this sector's brand image, few operators have formed a systematic approach to supporting the creative journeys of their members. In an increasingly competitive world where networked individuals are 'free to move, free to stay', this theoretical and practical gap translates to a significant vulnerability. The purpose of this report is hence to supply a set of key insights, drawing on findings from high-quality organisational research, to inform executives, managers and designers as they deepen their own approach to creativity support.


We report here on the development of six polymorphic microsatellite loci for Labiotermes labralis . This soil-feeding species is restricted to the Neotropical rainforest and then could represent a major candidate for being a bio-indicator of anthropic disturbance resulting in the forest fragmentation. The microsatellite loci were isolated and characterized using a microsatellite-enriched genomic library. The primers were tested on a French Guyanese population of L. labralis , represented by the sampling of one soldier in 22 nests. The primers were also tested against nine species of the same Nasutitermitinae subfamily and were successfully amplified at five loci in Armitermes minutus .


Multiple myeloma is an incurable plasma cell malignancy that accounts for 10% of all hematologic cancers. For decades the mainstay of therapy has been the use of melphalan and prednisone; with this regimen, the median survival is approximately 3 years. Recently, important advances were made that have substantially altered the manner in which patients with myeloma are treated. Newly diagnosed patients with good performance status are now treated with autologous stem cell transplantation, resulting in improved survival. Because of the increasing use of transplantation as initial therapy, several therapeutic issues have emerged: the role of tandem transplantation, early vs delayed transplantation, and the role of allogeneic transplantation. The pronounced activity of thalidomide in patients with refractory myeloma represents another important advance. This has prompted the study of several novel agents in the treatment of myeloma, at least 2 of which appear promising. Supportive care measures also have improved, including the use of bisphosphonates to prevent osteolytic lesions. The purpose of this review is to summarize recent advances and provide an evidence-based approach to the treatment of multiple myeloma.


Mikulicz's disease represents persistent enlargement of the lacrimal and salivary glands, and autoimmune pancreatitis is shown with diffuse pancreatic swelling. Both diseases are characterized with elevated IgG4 concentrations in the serum and prominent infiltration by plasmacytes expressing IgG4 in the glands. Clinical analyses were performed in 40 patients with systemic IgG4-related plasmacytic syndrome (SIPS) who consulted the doctors in Sapporo Medical University Hospital. Our patients were mainly middle-aged or elderly females. The average age was 58.9 years. The diagnosis was following ; 33 cases with Mikulicz's disease, 3 cases with Kuttner's tumor, and 4 cases with IgG4-related dacryoadenitis. Slight dysfunction of lacrimal and salivary gland was observed in about 60% of them. Antinuclear antibodies were detected in only 15% of the cases with SIPS. Almost all, except one case, did not have anti-SS-A or anti-SS-B antibodies. Interestingly, hypocomplementemia was revealed in 30% of them. The complications of SIPS include autoimmune pancreatitis, tubulointerstitial nephritis, retroperitoneal fibrosis, prostatitis, and so on. SIPS is mainly treated by the administration of steroids. We started to prescribe much quantity of prednisolone to the patients with organ failure. The recurrence was admitted in the 3 patients for the followed 16 years. We present here the problems and prospects in SIPS.


A convergence criterion is derived for the iterative Rayleigh–Gans–Born approximation (or Neumann expansion) applied to the time-domain integral equation for the scattering of transient scalar waves by an inhomogeneous, dispersive object of bounded extent, embedded in a homogeneous, nondispersive medium. The criterion is independent of the size of the object and contains only a bound on the maximum absolute value of the contrast susceptibility of the object with respect to its embedding. Three types of contrast susceptibility relaxation function are considered in more detail: one for an instantaneously reacting (i.e., nondispersive) material, one for a dielectric with a Lorentzian absorption line, and one for a dispersive metal. For the last two cases the convergence proves to be unconditional if the object is embedded in vacuum. The proof makes use of the time Laplace transformation with a real, positive transform parameter and Lerch's theorem on the uniqueness of the one-sided Laplace transformation, which implies that causality of the wave motion plays an essential role.


: The screening for antibodies to rabies virus has been the subject of interst in ecologic studies and serologic surveys of this zoonosis. The methods most commonly used for these purpose have included the serum neutralization (SN) and indirect fluorescent antibody test [23, 22 6, 15]. The maintenance of laboratory animals or the requirement for special reagents are among the generally recognized limitations of these techniques. Furthermore, in the case of the SN test, a period of fifteen days is necessary before test results become available.


The concept of "Respect-based Education" was put forward by Northeast Normal University as its educational ideology based on its practice and experience. The ideology evolved from both reflection on educational situation and solid theoretical and scientific foundation. The respect-based education means a guidance and spirit of education which leads, advocates and directs the schools and teachers for a harmonious atmosphere in teaching. It aims at establishing a new relation between teacher and students. It also intends to give rise to a different teaching environment in order to provide a good condition for the development of students' personality and creativity. That is what the quality-oriented education means. On the 50th anniversary of this journal, we publish a series of essays on the new ideology in the hope of much more attentions from the readers.


Background: Children with cerebral palsy often suffer from inability to tolerate enteral feeds. This may manifest as retching, vomiting, abdominal pain and faltering weight (previously referred to as failure to thrive). This study has three stages the aim of the first stage was to develop and establish an animal model of cerebral palsy (CP) and foregut dysmotility so as to better understand the clinical association seen in paediatric practice and to develop new therapies for this condition in the future. The second stage involved performing an experimental technique of splanchnectomy to assess whether this could be used as a surgical tool for such patients who fail to respond to conventional therapy. The third and final stage involved an examination of human biopsies from children with CP and known foregut dysmotility.
Methods: Ethical approval was obtained in accordance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (PPL 60/4262). In phase one neonatal Sprague-Dawley rat pups aged postnatal days 5-6 (P5-6) underwent midline craniotomies under anaesthesia to allow either unilateral or bilateral brain injections of the neurotoxin, ibotenic acid (IBA), in the medial prefrontal (MPFC) or insular cortex (IC) using a digital stereotaxic frame. P5-6 was chosen as this has been shown to correspond to the stage of white matter vulnerability and that neurotoxin injections at this stage can mimic lesions that appear histologically similar to human peri-ventricular white matter injury as seen in cerebral palsy. A further group underwent sham injections with normal saline. All animals were monitored with a modified APGAR score post-operatively. Gastric emptying studies were then performed between 7 and 21 days postoperatively to look for any delay in gastric emptying times (GET) and animals were weighed regularly. GET was recorded by gavaging water soluble contrast and performing time lapsed x-rays. The pups were perfused on day 28 of life and their brains and foregut were examined. Phase two then involved repeating the creation of our CP model and performing unilateral splanchnectomy via a midline laparotomy to investigate whether we could improve the GET in our model. In both phase 1 and phase 2 immunohistochemistry was performed looking at several antibodies to compounds implicated in the pathogenesis of dysmotility. In phase three, a retrospective analysis of archived human biopsies from children with CP and dysmotility was performed.
Main results: In Phase 1 forty-five pups were injected in total (28 male and 17 female). The median weight at time of operation was 13.5 grams (range 7.5-21 grams). Four pups died at the start of the study two intra-operatively from haemorrhage and two in the immediate post-operative period presumably from anaesthetic complications. GET was significantly prolonged in each IBA group compared to shams, and interestingly 5 out of 6 of those with bilateral MPFC lesions demonstrated reflux during their contrast studies. In Phase 2, twenty-six rat pups were injected (14 female and 12 male). 13 pups underwent IBA injection and 13 sham injections. One pup died post brain injection from postoperative apnoea, the remainder progressed to splanchnectomy. Two pups, one from each group, died post laparotomy from intraoperative bleeding. The median GET was significantly longer in the CP model 58 minutes compared to 45 minutes (p=0.0024). Splanchnectomy reduced the GET in the CP group to 40.5 minutes (p<0.0001) Our results from phase 3 revealed that we were unable to compare our animal specimens to our cohort of archived human biopsies. The reasons for this are discussed in detail.
Conclusion: In conclusion, we have developed a new and reproducible animal model of cerebral palsy and foregut dysmotility. We have shown that lesions in the brain cortex can lead to structural changes in villous and crypt architecture in the gut and that splanchnectomy improves gastric emptying in our model. Further work needed is needed to explore the mechanistic pathways and provide insight into the pathogenesis of impaired gastrointestinal motility in cerebral palsy and may lead to much needed development of new treatments.


By applying polystyrene opals made by a vertical deposition method as the templates, a modified filling method and a well-controlled calcination process, we have successfully obtained a large-area ordered TiO2 inverse opal with a higher volume fraction (14.5%) and a visible photonic bandgap. The influences of the filling process and calcination conditions on the fabrication of the TiO2 inverse opal are investigated.


The Stata package medsem provides a post-estimation command testing mediational hypotheses using Baron and Kenny's (1986) approach modified by Iacobucci et al. (2007) as well as an alternative approach proposed by Zhao et al. (2010) after estimating the concerned mediational model with the built-in sem command of Stata. The primary benefit of medsem is that it can contribute to conducting a proper and complete mediational analysis based on even very complex models (including observed and/or latent variables and with multiple mediators) due to the simultaneous estimation capability of structural equation modelling (SEM) technique.


Purpose of the study: The aim of this study is to gain an understanding of the merger experiences academic staff were exposed to during the pre-merger phase of the University of Johannesburg merger. Of particular interest is how these experiences translate into acceptance of the merger amongst academic staff. The study was borne out of the transformation of the higher education landscape in South Africa, which is typified by a spate of mergers between higher education institutions. Design/methodology/approach: As the purpose of the study was, inter alia, aimed at understanding the merger experiences of academic staff, the study was conducted according to an interpretive research paradigm, where interpretation of data calls for an insider perspective, in order to "see things through their eyes" as it were. In this regard, a qualitative methodology was employed. Findings: Findings indicate that academic staff members at the University of Johannesburg experience two distinct mental states during the pre-merger phase. Following the announcement of the merger, reaction and experience tend to be emotionally driven but as merging efforts become more concrete over time, this emotive state is replaced by a more rationally driven disposition. Implications: The distinction between an emotive and rational demeanour during the pre-merger phase of a merger affords managers and leaders the opportunity to plan change interventions in such a way that irrational, emotive responses and behaviour do not hamper progress in terms of merger implementation. In a more general sense, this study highlights the process of transition individual staff members pass through as they have to come to terms with the changes brought about by a merger. Originality / Value: The majority of merger literature, as well as change literature, focuses on the organisational context of change during a merger. Limited literature exists on the personal effects of a change event such as a merger. This study can thus contribute to the understanding of the personal effects of change during a merger. Furthermore, scant literature exists concerning mergers that are not driven by "conventional" economic motives. As the University of Johannesburg is this type of merger, this study presents the opportunity of gaining a better understanding of this type of merger.


Children naturally seek and conduct exciting forms of play that involve a risk of physical injury (risky play). Even though several prior studies give descriptions of risky play, none of them deeply explore children's expressions of how they experience different kinds of risky play. This study aims to do that. The results from video observations of children's risky play in two Norwegian preschools reveal that children experience several emotions, expressed bodily, facially, and verbally, while engaging in risky play. Their experiences include both pure exhilaration and pure fear, and quite often both emotions are present at the same time. The findings also indicate that one of the main aspects of risky play is to keep the exhilaration bordering on the feeling of pure fear; but if pure fear occurs, the play ends with withdrawal. Suggested implications of the study are that risk taking should be acknowledged as an important part of children's play, and that children should be able to engage in challenging play adjusted to their individual sense of risk and urge for exhilaration.


We present the results of an analysis of 4.4 deg2 selected from a 6.1 deg2 survey for clusters of galaxies via their Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect at 31 GHz. From late 2005 to mid 2007, the Sunyaev–Zel'dovich Array observed four fields of roughly 1.5 deg2 each. One of the fields shows evidence for significant diffuse Galactic emission, and is therefore excised from this analysis. We estimate the cluster detectability for the survey using mock observations of simulations of clusters of galaxies and determine that, at intermediate redshifts (z  ∼ 0.8), the survey is 50% complete to a limiting mass () of ∼6.0 × 1014 M☉, with the mass limit decreasing at higher redshifts. We detect no clusters at a significance greater than five times the rms noise level in the maps, and place an upper limit on σ8, the amplitude of mass density fluctuations on a scale of 8 h−1 Mpc, of 0.84 + 0.04 + 0.04 at 95% confidence, where the first uncertainty reflects an estimate of additional sample variance due to non-Gaussianity in the distribution of clusters and the second reflects calibration and systematic effects. This result is consistent with estimates from other cluster surveys and cosmic microwave background anisotropy experiments.


Although the last two decades have seen a concerted effort to understand the role and place of African journalism in covering events on the continent, there has been little focus on who journalists chose to quote as sources in their stories. This despite scholarship on sources being vital to our understanding of how journalists gain the "raw materials" to produce stories about events. Thus, while scholarship has begun taking Africa's coverage of itself seriously, there has been a slower uptick in focusing on whom African journalists give voice to as co-constructors of events. This silence is even more perplexing, considering that scholars and observers have been critical of who is quoted as a source when the global north covers events unfolding in Africa. This paper shows that African suffering was made legible for African audiences through a combination of American, English, and Sudanese voices. Specifically, it finds that African journalists are –counterintuitively - vital players in silencing some African voices in their construction of knowledge about the atrocities in Darfur. Despite the criticism leveled at journalism fields in the global north over their perceived silencing of African voices, African journalists are similarly engaged in this silencing as well.


Experimental studies of the dynamics of ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) both in vitro and in vivo indicate that UCA oscillation can enhance vascular permeability and increase extravasation of drugs and genes at a target site. For improving local drug and gene delivery efficiency and minimizing any permanent damage to small blood vessels, it is essential to examine the mechanism whereby vascular permeability is enhanced and vascular injuries in small blood vessels are produced. In this work, we proposed a theoretical model to study the dynamics of the oscillation of UCAs and microvessels with MHz-frequency ultrasound (US) with emphasis on the potential application of drug and gene delivery. Numerical results demonstrate that the presence of UCAs with ultrasound can substantially increase the transmural pressure through the blood vessel and thus enhance the vascular permeability. For a microbubble within an 8 to 40-micron vessel with a low peak negative pressure such as 0.1 MPa and a center frequency of 1 MHz, small changes in the microbubble oscillation frequency and maximum diameter are observed. Strong nonlinear oscillation occurs and the induced circumferential stress in the vessel increases as the ultrasound pressure increases. For the compliable vessels considered in this work, 0.2 MPa PNP at 1 MHz is predicted to be sufficient for microbubble fragmentation. However, for a rigid vessel 0.5 MPa PNP at 1 MHz may not be sufficient to fragment the bubbles. For a center frequency of 1 MHz, a peak negative pressure of 0.5 MPa is predicted to be sufficient to induce the stress in the vessel which exceeds the vascular rupture limit in a small (diameter less than 15 mum) compliant vessel. As vasculature becomes more rigid, the UCA oscillation and vessel dilation decrease, however the circumferential stress is predicted to increase. The circumferential stress in the vessel increases as the vessel size decreases or the center frequency increases. For the two frequencies considered in this work, the circumferential stress does not scale as the inverse of the square root of the acoustic frequency va in the Mechanical Index, but rather has a stronger frequency dependence, 1/va


Background: A novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has captured global recognition in a short period of time by dramatically impacting people's everyday lives and emerged as a public health emergency. Undoubtedly, it shows that lessons learned from past coronavirus epidemics such as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and the Serious Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) were not adequate and thus left us ill-prepared to deal with the challenges presently raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: COVID-19 adds to the list of previous outbreaks of infectious disease epidemics that try to remind us that we live in an ecosystem where the relationship between human and animal life, and the environment must be respected in order to survive and prosper. Rapid urbanization and our forestland invasion have created a new interface between humans and wildlife, and have exposed humans to unfamiliar species, frequently involving unfamiliar organisms and exotic wildlife. Findings: Every pandemic is nature's way of reminding us that the interrelationship between all forms of existence needs to be recognized. To limit new infectious outbreaks, the transdisciplinary 'One Health' solution incorporating 'Health in All Policy' involving all stakeholders especially environmental health and social sciences is being advocated . Conclusion: Savings and investments should be made by everyone to meet the unexpected. Stigmatization and prejudice among individuals in the world should be discouraged. Special attention should be paid to the elderly, as their immune system is weak. Health and safety precautions such as physical distancing and health hygiene etiquettes should be considered as part of life. Global experience teaches that containment steps and active tracing of contacts are effective to minimize the economic burden of disease and enhance knowledge of disease processes, health issues, disease emergence, and re-emergence. These lessons will help us to battle future pandemics.


The present study aimed to compare the complications and clinical outcomes of serial lumbar puncture (LP) and lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage (LD) of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and provide more evidence to guide clinical management. In this retrospective study, 41 and 39 aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage patients were enrolled in the LP and LD group, respectively. Clinical outcomes, including CSF infection, intracerebral hemorrhage, vasospasm, hydrocephalus, death, length of stay, duration of drainage and the Glasgow Outcome Scale score were compared between the two groups. By comparing with the LP group, the LD group showed a significantly higher rate of CSF infection (P=0.029) and shorter duration of drainage (P<0.001). Both groups displayed similar rates of vasospasm, hydrocephalus, intracerebral hemorrhage, the Glasgow Outcome Scale score one month after endovascular coiling and length of stay (P>0.05, respectively). In conclusion, both LD and serial LP are effective methods in the treatment of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage; besides, serial LP can reduce the incidence of CSF infection in draining hemorrhagic CSF in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage after endovascular coiling.