The University of Zambia like any public institution has a lot of infrastructure which require maintenance and management. There's however uncertainty of the utility lines locations and their depths. This causes destruction of water pipes and sewer lines when undertaking new constructions or any excavations. The lack of accurate location of underground and un-updated lines makes maintenance, management and planning of the utilities very difficult.  Therefore this study aimed to build a framework for Managing Sewer and Water Networks Using Sensor Networks at the University of Zambia. The Resident Engineer's office only has some old scanned pdf sketches of both sewer and water networks. The field engineers locate most lines and other facilities using memory and experience. The methodology involved understating the existing operations of the Resident engineer's office to ascertain the user needs. These needs formed the basis of the research, the development and design of the prototype of the Webbased Framework. Data Collection tools included Records (old maps) and Secondary Data (satellite images), Field Observations, Interviews and field Surveys. A presurvey (Reconnaissance Survey) was done to have an idea of the existing infrastructure and a more accurate survey was done using GPS GNSS equipment. The raw data was processed and GIS software was used to merge the collected datasets and the existing data. Georeferencing of existing maps and the satellite images was done using the GPS field data in ArcMap. New shapefiles were created from the point data from the survey and from digitising the existing scanned maps. New maps of the water and sewer networks (using the new shapefiles) and satellite imagery were created. A 15 digit coding system was created and was used to assign unique identification numbers and extra attribute information to the water and sewer network shapefiles. A QR code was generated for each node and the serial number recorded. Tagging was done using the QR code for each structure. All the shapefiles were loaded into a PostGreSQL spatial database and were used as input in the Web GIS application. The web application had some tools imbedded in it including; query, measure, add point/vertex, zoom, view, search and identify. Using internet of things (IOT) technology, water level sensors were placed on some critical manholes to help with the monitoring of the sewerage network. The system can therefore be used for identification of any infrastructure by scanning the QR code and a map showing the structure is seen online by the field technicians. Monitoring of the sewer system can be done using the sensors and ultimately the framework will ease the management of the water and sewer systems at the University of Zambia.


The paper explores the relationship between different spatio-physical characteristics of the city and resident perception, attitudes and uses of it. Specifically, the natural features of the urban environment, such as its green areas, were focused on. The relations among a) attitudes towards urban green spaces, b) frequency of use of urban and peri-urban green areas, c) perceived residential quality, d) neighbourhood attachment, e) general pro-environmental behaviours, f) environmental concern and d) environmental value orientations were explored through a field study in the city of Rome. A paper-and-pencil questionnaire was administered to 500 residents of different neighbourhoods of Rome. These varied for both their a) amount and b) quality of green spaces available. The questionnaire comprised different Likert scales measuring:-Attitudes towards urban green spaces (adapted from Carrus et al., 2003);-Frequency of use of green areas inside and outside the city (taken from Carrus et al., 2003);-Perceived residential quality (indicators taken from Bonaiuto et al., 1999);-Neighbourhood attachment (Bonaiuto et al., 1999);-General ecological behaviour (adapted from Kaiser, 1998);-General environmental concern (Dunlap et al.'s 2000 revised NEP scale and Gagnon-Thompson & Barton's 1994 ecocentrism/anthropocentrism scale);-Environmental value orientation (items taken from Stern et al., 1995):Preliminary analyses, aimed at assessing the properties of various measuring instruments widely used in the environmental psychological literature, confirm the predicted structural properties (dimensionality, internal consistency, concurrent validity) of the scales used, as well as their adaptability to the Italian context. Further analyses, which are currently being undertaken, will use hierarchical regressions and/or structural equation modelling (SEM) in order to specify and test different possible causal paths among the variables considered. Both theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.


Low phytic acid (LPA) soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr] genotypes reduce indigestible PA in soybean seeds in order to improve feeding efficiency of mono- and agastric animals, but often exhibit low field emergence, resulting in reduced yield. In this study, four LPA soybean varieties with two different genetic backgrounds were studied to assess their emergence and yield characters under 12 seed treatment combinations including two broad-spectrum, preplant fungicides (i.e., ApronMaxx (mefenoxam: (R,S)-2-[(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-methoxyacetylamino]-propionic acid methyl ester; fludioxonil: 4-(2,2-difluoro-1,3-benzodioxol-4-yl)-1H-pyrrole-3-carbonitrile) and Rancona Summit (ipconazole: 2-[(4-chlorophenyl)methyl]-5-(1-methylethyl)-1-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-ylmethyl) cyclopentanol; metalaxyl: N-(methooxyacetyl)-N-(2,6-xylyl)-DL-alaninate)), osmotic priming, and MicroCel-E coating. Two normal-PA (NPA) varieties served as controls. Both irrigated and non-irrigated plots were planted in Blacksburg and Orange, Virginia, USA in 2014 and 2015. Results revealed that three seed treatments (fungicides Rancona Summit and ApronMaxx, as well as Priming + Rancona) significantly improved field emergence by 6.4–11.6% across all genotypes, compared with untreated seeds. Seed priming was negatively associated with emergence across LPA genotypes. Seed treatments did not increase the yield of any genotype. LPA genotypes containing mips or lpa1/lpa2 mutations, produced satisfactory emergence similar to NPA under certain soil and environmental conditions due to the interaction of genotype and environment. Effective seed treatments applied to LPA soybeans along with the successful development of LPA germplasm by soybean breeding programs, will increase use of LPA varieties by commercial soybean growers, ultimately improving animal nutrition while easing environmental impact.


The uppermost Devonian and Carboniferous sedimentary rocks in East Greenland include eight spore-pollen assemblages of early Tournaisian (Tn1) to mid-Visean (V3) and Westphalian age. The recognition of these assemblages provides the first firmly established biostratigraphic scheme of these sedimentary rocks and dates the earliest phase of late Paleozoic extensional tectonics in East Greenland as pre-Tournaisian. The latest rift pulse of the Paleozoic started in the Westphalian, and new half-graben systems continued to develop along the basin margins until Autunian(?) time. This new age information suggests that late Paleozoic rifting events were synchronous in the entire North Atlantic-Arctic region.


In screen studies and photography studies, the name of the acclaimed film theorist and critic André Bazin is frequently invoked by scholars seeking to defend the import of analogue media on ontological grounds by citing photography's privileged connection to the real. This article seeks to unsettle Bazin's reputation as the patron saint of analogue recording by exploring the ontological implications of the concept of sense in Bazin's writings on neorealism. Placing Bazin's writings into dialogue with a selection of critiques that find the digital image to be lacking in historicity, negativity, and presence, and flag its potentially authoritarian impulses, this essay seeks to reframe Bazin's ontological project as a question of cinema's sense (rather than its essence) to mobilize a different set of conclusions that may in fact prove to restore faith in the digital image and its rapport with the real. By maintaining that what is often treated as a purely technological problem also harbors aesthetics implications, this article confronts the manifest skepticism that has pervaded the discourse around the digital since the 1990s, seeking an alternative outlook in Jean-Luc Nancy's work on sense, an ontological concept that evidences the political potentials (or potential politics) of Bazin's predilection for images, which are said to ameliorate our love for reality by transmitting the excessive sense of the world in its ambiguity, creativity, and unpredictability.


The task of combining evolutionary migration models with stochastic utility theory is undertaken in a series of three interrelated papers. The present, first, paper deals with the evolution of migratory systems and its dynamics are drawn mainly from work by Haag and Weidlich. A migratory system is defined and then the foundations upon which the evolution of such a system is based are described, including an approximation due to Kurtz which allows the most probable state of the evolutionary model to be represented as a dynamical system. This paper closes with a discussion of disequilibrium, which is central in this series. Disequilibrium is related to the concept of a steady state, the existence of which is established for nonlinear migratory systems of the type discussed here.


This paper describes the influence of pH on the viscosity or consistency properties of Habanero ( D. rotundata ) yam starch. Initial viscosity of starch slurries varied from 73.5° to 75.3° C. Except for a sample at pH 3.00, yam starch was stable when cooked at 50° C for 1 hour. The strength of the starch was lower when cooked at 95° C. At pH 3.00 and after reaching 95° C the starch thins down to zero viscosity and never retrogrades. The correlation coefficients between shear press of starch gels and amylographic measurements were high and significant at the 1% level.


Abstract A large industrial complex was planned to be sited at Jubail on the Gulf Coast of Saudi Arabia. The sabkha here is essentially a near sea level, fiat area of fine grained soils, partially cemented by salt (sodium chloride) and calcium sulphate. Very little carbonate was found. The rest of the site was covered by sand dunes which, further inland, reached a height of 30 m. The presence of artesian water, detected and measured at widespread locations, probably conducted through fissures in the underlying Hadrukh bedrock, was a particularly note-worthy feature of the area, having an important influence on the design of foundations and submerged structures of which examples are given. The artesian condition has been reported by a few observers for other sabkha areas. Jubail sabkha does not appear to conform in other ways with conditions at other sabkhas; for example, no traces were found of algal filaments, nor does it fit currently accepted ideas of formation or classification. At Jubail, numerous site investigation boreholes were sunk to assist the design of installations. Measurements in many of these boreholes showed artesian heads, some up to 6 m or more above ground level in sabkha areas and up to 15 m above sabkha level in dune areas. Analyses have been developed in the paper to give rates of upward flow and limits of rise of artesian water in sabkha areas. For construction reasons, sabkha was covered with 1.5 m to 3 m of compacted dune sandfill; further evidence for the underlying artesian condition was the discovery (predicted by the authors) of the rise of groundwater above the original ground surface and into sandfill. Calculations gave average rates of rise between 0.2mm/day and 1 mm/day. These artesian conditions are believed to receive a significant contribution from the sand dunes where high water tables have been recorded. Ideas have been put forward which could form a basis for a revised theory of the origin and continued existence of sabkhas at Jubail and at other similar locations. The influence of artesian water on the design of installations at the industrial complex is discussed.


New theoretical expressions to model the five adsorption isotherm types have been established. Using the grand canonical ensemble in statistical physics, we give an analytical expression to each of five physical adsorption isotherm types classified by Brunauer, Emett, and Teller, often called BET isotherms. The establishment of these expressions is based on statistical physics and theoretical considerations. This method allowed estimation of all the mathematical parameters in the models. The physicochemical parameters intervening in the adsorption process that the models present could be deduced directly from the experimental adsorption isotherms by numerical simulation. We determine the adequate model for each type of isotherm, which fixes by direct numerical simulation the monolayer, multilayer, or condensation character. New equations are discussed and results obtained are verified for experimental data from the literature. The new theoretical expressions that we have proposed, based on statistical physics treatment, are rather powerful to better understand and interpret the various five physical adsorption type isotherms at a microscopic level.


Abstract : Three studies were performed. The first two dealt with countermeasures to brain wave-based detection of deception in concealed information test protocols. There are two kinds of such protocols extant. One, the "6-probe" protocol utilizes multiple different crime details whose brain responses are averaged together. This protocol was easily defeated in the first study, as the detection rates dropped from 82% detection in the simple guilty group to 18% in the guilty group using a countermeasure. Although the average reaction time distinguished these two groups, there was enough overlap in their reaction time distributions such that in any individual case, one could not use reaction time to infer deception. The second protocol, the "1-probe" protocol uses one crime detail as a probe in each of as many runs as one wishes. One group was run in three successive seeks as 1) a guilty group, 2) a countermeasure group, and 3) finally without the explicit use of the countermeasure. In the first week, 92% of the subjects were detected. The countermeasure dropped this rate to 50%. In the final third week, without explicit use of countermeasure, only 58% were detected. There was no overlap in the reaction time distributions of the first two weeks, suggesting that the explicit countermeasure use could be detected with reaction time. In the third week, the reaction time distributions looked like those of the first week, so that test beaters would not be detected with reaction time. Other matters examined were 1) a comparison of individual brain wave analysis methods; 2) a comparison of naive versus sophisticated subjects, and 3) a comparison in terms of workload between the 1-probe and the 6-probe protocols.


To evaluate the effects of activated protein C therapy in a rabbit model of meningococcal endotoxin-induced shock, we performed a prospective, blinded, placebo-controlled animal trial. Forty New Zealand White rabbits were challenged with intravenous meningococcal endotoxin (lipooligosaccharide) 100 μg/kg. Ten minutes before endotoxin challenge, animals were administered either activated protein C 1600 μg/mL (n = 20) or an equal volume of saline (n = 20) as an initial bolus. After endotoxin challenge, activated protein C treated animals were administered a continuous infusion of activated protein C 160 μg/kg/h and saline-treated animals were administered an equal volume infusion of saline. Both activated protein C treated and saline control animals demonstrated evidence of shock after endotoxin challenge; mean arterial pressure and serum bicarbonate significantly (p < .01) declined, and heart rate significantly (p < .01) increased from baseline. In activated protein C treated animals, mean plasma activated protein C activity was 5.69 μg/mL (± 3.2) 1 h after challenge, whereas plasma protein C activity was not detected in controls. Mean prothrombin and activated partial thromboplastin times were significantly (p ± .01) prolonged compared with saline-treated controls. Other hematologic and chemical measurements did not differ between groups. Fifteen of 20 (75%) animals treated with activated protein C concentrate survived to 24 h, while 9 of 20 (45%) control animals survived to 24 h (p = .05). Those animals treated with activated protein C had improved survival, which corroborates the findings of early clinical studies in which replacement of protein C improved outcome.


Snellen letter and Vistech sine wave grating charts were used as refraction targets to determine differences in times required to accomplish subjective refractions, endpoint refractive values, and subject preferences. Thirty hyperopes and 30 myopes, divided into three age groups, were selected as subjects. Two examiners tested each subject using each chart. Both timed their subjective refractions and recorded their findings. After all data were recorded, each subject completed a questionnaire to determine chart preference. There were no clinically significant mean differences between the charts in terms of endpoint refractive data, but, on average, the Snellen chart was faster to use. Chart rating depended on the subject's refractive status with more myopes preferring the Snellen chart and more hyperopes rating the grating chart higher.


An experience with treatment of 50 patients having closed hepatic injuries is analysed. The use of instrumental methods of exploration (laparoscopy and laparocentesis) facilitates to establish the diagnosis and shortens considerably the time of preoperative examination of patients. Suturing of the hepatic wound with its pedicled omentum tamponade is the principal type surgery. The postoperative mortality was 29.6 per cent.


Several studies show that information used to screen alternatives becomes less important than information acquired later in the search process simply because it was used to screen. Experiment 1 shows that the tendency to deemphasize prescreening information leads to systematically different choices for decision makers who screen alternatives compared with decision makers who do not screen alternatives. Additional studies show that screening encourages decision makers to shift their emphasis from prescreening information to postscreening information (Experiment 2). Prescreening information is deemphasized because of the categorization that occurs when people create a consideration set of retained alternatives (Experiments 3 and 4). Together, the results show that a brand's strength of consideration (i.e., how highly an option ranks on screening criteria) may have little influence on the likelihood of it being chosen in a postscreening choice process.


Over the last thirty years, academics have focused attention on the ambiguity surrounding what constitutes a gang as well as the engagement factors for joining a street gang. Whilst the rehabilitation of street gang offenders and understanding the reasons to desist from this lifestyle is paramount to counteract the effects of gang membership, less attention has been given to these areas.

The first chapter discusses some of the definitional issues that have arisen from exploring gang phenomenon and a historical account of the theories that underpin gang membership. The second chapter introduces the first systematic literature review to have been undertaken on gang disengagement in order to understand the factors which increase the likelihood that an individual will leave a gang. This review highlighted that there is not one definitive reason as to why individuals choose to leave and a range of factors are detailed.

An empirical project is presented in Chapter 3; with the first study focusing on the impact two generalised violent offender behaviour programmes (RESOLVE and Self Change Programme; SCP) had on both adult violent gang and adult violent non-gang offenders. Findings suggested that both sets of RESOLVE participants were found to have made treatment gains for impulsivity, anger and aggression, and treatment readiness. A statistically significant difference was observed for vengeful thinking, with gang participants showing a greater change in scores. SCP data showed statistically significant differences post treatment with lower levels of impulsivity, anger, vengeful thinking and beliefs supportive of aggression and an increase in treatment readiness. For non-gang participants, statistically significant differences were found post treatment for impulsivity and aggression. No significant interaction was observed between offender typologies, suggesting that the two groups have similar presentations. The second study explored the views of gang members who had completed either of the programmes mentioned in order to gain further insight into gang membership. Three major themes emerged which centred on what a street gang is; motivators to join; and motivators to disengage. The results are discussed with reference to current practice, the limitations, and recommendations for further research.

Chapter 4 presents a critical analysis of the Psychological Inventory for Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS, Walters, 1990). Although the PICTS continues to be used for research purposes and within forensic practice, the review found that caution should be exercised in its use and preferably in conjunction with other measures. This was partially due to the need for further independent research being needed across different cultural samples and the reported reliability and validity.

The thesis conclusions are presented in Chapter 5 with reference made to the need for further research into gang membership, especially within the UK.


Abstract Secondary schools across England and Wales understand the importance of offering young people the opportunity to experience activity-based trips. One of these fundamental trips is the ski trip which enables young people to experience new challenges and adventure. However, within England and Wales, skiing is an atypical activity due to the lack of accessibility to the slopes. Consequently, it is vital to effectively prepare young people for skiing to promote enjoyment and reduce the likelihood of injury. The purpose of this study was to explore the current practices in the preparation of school ski trips within England and Wales. An electronic survey was administered to secondary schools across England and Wales with 270 completed responses of schools which organise ski trips. Analysis revealed that there were no significant differences (p > 0.05) across the regions with information being shared with parents prior to the ski trip. Young people are informed on similar information prior to and during the ski trip across the regions (p < 0.05). However, there was a significant difference between respondents screening (33%) and not screening students (67%) (p > 0.01) and under half (47%) of schools provide their pupils with exercise programmes prior to the school trip. Overall, these findings appear that ski trip organisers are consistent across England and Wales with their education of the young person and the management of the ski trip. Although, the knowledge gained by organisers to prepare young people is gathered from a variety of different sources. Therefore, it is essential for evidence-based information to be shared and disseminated to ski trip organisers to provide best practice and to facilitate other schools in providing ski trips for their pupils.


The Kyoto Protocol, as detailed in the Marrakech Accords, has now been rendered fit for ratification. In anticipation of the Protocol's entry into force, attention has focused on how Annex I countries can put a package of climate policies in place to meet their emissions targets. In the meantime, discussions of what comes next are expected to gain increasing legitimacy, given that the Kyoto targets are only the first step toward addressing the long-term global climate issue. Against this background, the East-West Center organized the international conference on Climate Policy After Marrakech: Towards Global Participation in Honolulu, Hawaii, on September 4-6, 2003. Sponsored by the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, the Japanese Ministry of the Environment, Industrial Technology Research Institute (Hsinchu, Taiwan), and Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (Kanagawa, Japan), this major event brought together senior technical bureaucrats, well-respected policy analysts, and experienced practitioners to 1) share their views on recent developments in climate policies and initiatives around the globe; 2) advance our understanding of the actions and policy frameworks that can contribute to compliance with Kyoto emissions targets; and 3) discuss the paths forward to a global regime of wider participation and deeper greenhouse emissions cuts. Presentations and discussions are organized under the following six session headings: Session I: Climate Change in Focus - From Science to Policy; Session II: U.S. Climate Policy and Perspectives; Session III: European Union Climate Policy and Perspectives; Session IV: Challenges for other Major Industrialized Countries; Session V: Issues Related to Developing Countries; and Session VI: Panel Discussions: Where Do We Go from Here?. This conference report provides a summary of each presentation and a comprehensive account of 7-hour discussions.


The kinetics of the ozonation reaction of 1,1-diphenylethylene (DPE) on the surface of ice grains (also called "artificial snow"), produced by shock-freezing of DPE aqueous solutions or DPE vapor-deposition on pure ice grains, was studied in the temperature range of 268 to 188 K. A remarkable and unexpected increase in the apparent ozonation rates with decreasing temperature was evaluated using the Langmuir-Hinshelwood and Eley-Rideal kinetic models, and by estimating the apparent specific surface area of the ice grains. We suggest that an increase of the number of surface reactive sites, and possibly higher ozone uptake coefficients are responsible for the apparent rate acceleration of DPE ozonation at the air-ice interface at lower temperatures. The increasing number of reactive sites is probably related to the fact that organic molecules are displaced more to the top of a disordered interface (or quasi-liquid) layer on the ice surface, which makes them more accessible to the gas-phase reactants. The effect of NaCl as a cocontaminant on ozonation rates was also investigated. The environmental implications of this phenomenon for natural ice/snow are discussed. DPE was selected as an example of environmentally relevant species which can react with ozone. For typical atmospheric ozone concentrations in polar areas (20 ppbv), we estimated that its half-life on the ice surface would decrease from ∼5 days at 258 K to ∼13 h at 188 K at submonolayer DPE loadings.


Agriculture is one of the major sources of livelihood for the Iraqi people as one-third of Iraq population resides in rural areas and depends upon agriculture for their livelihoods. This study aims to estimate the impact of temperature variability on crops productivity across the agro-climatic zones in Salah Al-Din governorate using climate satellite-based data for the period 2000 to 2018. The average annual air temperature based on satellite data was downloaded from the GLDAS Model NOAH025_M v2.1, and interpolates using Kriging interpolation/spherical model. Thirteen strategic crops were selected which is Courgette, garlic, Onion, Sweet Pepper, Watermelon, Melon, Cucumber, Tomato, Potato, Eggplant, Wheat, Barley, and Maize. Temperature requirements for each crop during the growing period were compared with actual temperature from GLDAS data. The study highlighted the impacts of temperature changes on agricultural productivity. The results show that there are some crops that are not achieving optimum productivity, such as Courgette first seasons (December-March), Garlic, Onion, and Cucumber. Whereas, there are other crops that achieve good productivity, such as Courgette second season (March- June), Sweet Pepper, Watermelon, Melon, Tomato, Potato, Eggplant, Maize, Wheat, and Barley. The study recommends proper mitigate and adaptive strategies to enhance the positive and lessen the adverse impacts of temperature changes on crops productivity across agro-climatic zones in Iraq.


Majority of the pipeline operators manage corrosion using inline inspection (ILI). ILIs enable operators to choose which anomalies should be excavated and, on the flip side, which anomalies are safe to remain on the pipe. If the remaining anomalies grow to a critical size before the next ILI cycle there will be in-service failure. This is avoided by forecasting the growth of the measured defects appropriately and assessing them for future integrity.When an ILI is performed on a pipeline the ILI vendor reports the anomaly sizes, burst pressures and the Failure Pressure Ratios for each anomaly. Failure Pressure Ratio (FPR) for an anomaly is defined as the burst pressure divided by the Maximum allowable operation pressure (MAOP). In order to avoid ruptures, operators will excavate anomalies that have a limiting value of FPR. These limiting values are also referred to as response criteria, excavation criteria, safe failure pressure ratios, or safety factors. As the FPR depends heavily on the operating stress (or %SMYS) the limiting FPR value, below which we respond, should also depend on %SMYS. However, currently there is inconsistency in the use of response criteria in the industry. Some utilize the same response criteria for all pipe irrespective of %SMYS. This study shows that using the same limiting FPR does not provide the same level of safety for different %SMYS scenarios. It shows that the size of remaining anomalies in the lower %SMYS pipe would be significantly larger than in higher %SMYS pipe, leading to lower reliability in pipelines that have lower %SMYS. For gas pipelines, these lower %SMYS pipelines are often in higher location class pipelines with higher consequences of failure.In other words, even though the FPR value is the same for two anomalies in two different %SMYS pipes, the two anomalies would have very different probabilities of failure, where one anomaly could be safe while the other is not.This paper examines the ranges of FPR and the safe response criteria as a function of %SMYS. It examines the remaining anomaly sizes in different %SMYS pipe as allowed by current standards. The effect of the uncertainties on the response criteria due to measurement errors, material and geometric properties and model errors are also examined. It examines the response criteria in different jurisdictions. The effect of using different assessment equations, such as Modified B31G or RSTRENG, on the response criteria is also discussed. In order to obtain consistent safety, the consideration of %SMYS and consequences in defining a response criterion is discussed.Many sets of ILI data, which have pipe in different %SMYS, have been assessed in order to examine practical ranges of FPR with %SMYS. The practical implications of different response criteria are studied and discussed.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


: A population sample of women in Goteborg, Sweden, was studied in 1968-69 and restudied in 1974-75. A number of metabolic variables could be studied cross-sectionally (in 1974-75) and longitudinally (intraindividual changes between 1968-69 and 1974-75). When studied cross-sectionally, increased serum urate concentrations were observed in women on diuretics and increased serum triglycerides in women on beta-blockers, compared to other women, while no obvious differences were found in blood glucose and serum cholesterol concentrations or in packed red cell volume (PCV). When studied longitudinally, a slight decrease in serum triglyceride concentration was found in women who started to take diuretics and an increase in women who started to beta-blockers compared to other women. Serum urate concentration tended to increase in women who started to take diuretics and PCV tended to decrease in women who started to take beta-blockers. Blood glucose was unimpaired. In conclusion, the differences observed were rather small and seemed to be rather unimportant compared to the threat presented by the arterial hypertension itself.


Background: Social inequalities in health are persistent in society and remain one of the greatest challenges for public health. Europeans with lower socioeconomic status have shorter life expectancy and experience more health problems than people in the higher socioeconomic groups. Previous studies have revealed that the health impact of social health determinants may be comparable to smoking and other well-established risk factors. The main aim of this thesis is to provide estimates of the extent to which health inequalities in Europe realistically can be reduced by policies and interventions aimed at increasing the level of social capital among lower educational groups to the level seen among the highest educated.Data and methods: For each population, social risk factor prevalence data from the early 2000s by gender, age and level of education were gathered from the first two rounds of the European Social Survey (2002 & 2004). Relative risks for the impact on mortality for the social risk factors was collected from a large meta-analytical review of 148 studies on social factors impact on health (Holt-Lundstad et al. 2010). Mortality data from a range of studies were available in the EURO-GBD-SE (2013) project data. The social risk factor prevalence data, the relative risks and the mortality data were combined in order to calculate Population Attributable Fractions (PAF) for mortality by population, level of education and gender, in order to simulate scenarios where educational differences in the social risk factors are completely eliminated.Results: Different social risk factors were upward levelled so that all educational groups got the social risk factor prevalence currently seen in the highest educational group. The results vary from considerable reductions to no reduction at all in all-cause mortality depending on both the social risk factor, gender and country. Overall, living alone seems to be the social risk factor with least health potential, followed by marital status, while social isolation seemed to be the social risk factor with the greatest health potential. Social participation and perception of social support also seem to have a great potential for reducing educational inequalities in allcause mortality in Europe, but there are important variations between countries.Conclusion: The findings from this thesis show a substantial theoretical modifiability of educational inequalities in mortality by increasing the levels of social capital seen in the lower educational groups to the level currently seen among the highest educational groups through Europe. Educational inequalities in all-cause mortality could be substantially reduced and deaths could be avoided if policy makers succeed with policies aimed at eliminating differences in social risk factors in Europe. However, the magnitude of the reduction varies by social risk factor, country and gender. It is therefore important for the different nations to choose the most important entry-points in their population when forming policies.


Food tourism constitutes a revitalising role in tourist enterprise management. In recent years, gastronomic experiences have emerged as strategic commodity in differentiating and branding tourist destinations. Contemporary tourists are seeking authentic gastronomic routes to further enrich their cultural and experiential journeys in their destination choices. In the UNESCO World Heritage City of Melaka, the appeal of unique Malaysian cultural food heritage has also drawn its fair share of food tourists. The potential economic impact of food tourism on the tourism industry is considerably significant. However, the conversion of a region into a differentiated culinary territory is a challenge for tourism destinations. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the mechanism of tourists' perceived value on the culinary landscape of their destination choice. This study aims to analyse the effects of novelty and online reviews on food tourists' motivation towards their destination choice in Melaka. The study further explicates the mediating effect of marketing and advertising on novelty and online review. Data were collected in the vicinity of Melaka tourist attractions by means of quota sampling. Identified visitors were intercepted and subjected to e-questionnaires using iPad. A total of 184 samples were collected via this paperless method. Collated data was analysed using SPSS and AMOS. Results from the analyses indicate novelty and online review to have effect on tourists' motivation. In mediating the indirect effect of marketing and advertising, we found a partial mediation on novelty and motivation but a full mediation on online review and motivation. The study outcome holds practical implications in efforts to establish favourable destination image in Melaka through credible marketing and advertising activities. An improved tourist expectations on destination choices warrants post-experience satisfaction, favourable online reviews, visitors' loyalty and revisit intentions. In this context, food tourism will be better positioned for sustainable tourism revenue growth.


Level spreader–vegetated filter strips (LS–VFSs) and swales are versatile, low cost stormwater control measures (SCMs). The purpose of this study was to determine the runoff volume and pollutant reductions of four LS–VFSs and a swale in eastern North Carolina (NC). Two vegetated filter strips (VFSs) of 8 m long by 6 m wide (26 ft long by 20 ft wide), two VFSs of 20 m by 6 m (66 ft by 20 ft), and a trapezoidal swale with 3:1 side slopes (0.15 m [0.5 ft] bottom width and 10.4 m [34 ft] long) were constructed. One VFS of each size was amended with a mixture of sand and ViroPhos, a proprietary phosphorus (P) sorptive aggregate. Hydrologic data were collected for rainfall events during the 11-month sampling period. Influent and effluent samples were collected from select rainfall events and analyzed for concentrations of nitrogen (N) and P species, total suspended solids (TSS), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn). Significant runoff volume reductions averaging 36%, 59%, 42%, 57%, and 23% were found for the small and large unamended VFSs, the small and large amended VFSs, and the swale, respectively (n = 30). In general, concentrations of total nitrogen (TN) and TSS were reduced, while total phosphorus (TP) increased in nearly all treatments. The reductions in TN concentrations were significant in the amended VFSs and the swale, and TN was found to be irreducible at influent concentrations <1 mg L−1 (<1 ppm). TN load reductions in all treatments exceeded the 30% reduction credit assigned by NC, while only the amended VFSs and the swale exceeded the 35% load reduction credit assigned for TP.TN and TP load reductions were not significantly different between the VFSs and the swale. All treatments exceeded 75% TSS load reduction, far exceeding the 40% TSS removal credit that these systems receive in NC. In general, swale and VFS performance was similar in terms of TN and TP load reduction, while the VFSs significantly outperformed the swale in average volume and TSS load reduction.


The acquired Long-QT Syndrome can be caused by more than 100 non anti-arrhythmic drugs. These drugs block potassium channels; particularly the IKr which extends the ventricular repolarization beyond 450 ms. This syndrome is associated with ventricular helical tachycardia that could potentially cause immediate death. We report a patient with diagnosis of leukaemia who was treated with mitoxantrone and presented syncope. The electrocardiogram showed an interval QTc of 576 ms. After an exclusion diagnosis we concluded that there could be an association with the use of this drug caused by its toxic effects for the cardiac system. Mitoxantrone interferes in ionic transportation through cellular membrane, delays the exit of potassium from the cells and acts in the functioning of ATP asa Na/K altering the ventricular repolarization; however, it is not on the list of drugs that enlarge the QT interval. Our objective with this work is to raise the interest on new reports on this subject, and to establish a more direct causal relation through the evidence derived from new experiences.


The figures in Table IV show that monilia is by REFERENCES far the most common organism, occurring in 55% of the patients involved in this trial, either alone or in conjunction with other organisms. These results show that treatment with the broad spectrum agent, nifuratel, contributes towards good therapeutic success in vaginitis due to mixed organisms especially where one of the organisms is monilia, this therapy being superior to metronidazole with nystatin in such infections. An analysis of the organisms present and the type of contraception used showed no correlation.


Cytogenetic study covered chromosomal aberrations among workers assigned to various occupations of titanium magnesium production. The authors demonstrated various types and increased frequency of chromosomal aberrations. Work conditions appeared to be a factor of induced mutagenesis.


Cape Town Then and Now is a unique visual portrait of Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula, contrasting rare archival photographs with stunning contemporary views. The book draws on the superb photographic collections of the Western Cape Archives, including the work of Arthur Elliott, Thomas Ravenscroft and Henry Steer. These images portray the changing Cape Town scene from the 1880s to the 1930s ? landscape, architecture, transport, recreation and the march of history. Where possible, the modern-day photographs, which include spectacular aerial panoramas, have been shot from the same locations as the originals. Detailed captions explain the differences between the old and the new views, and bring out fascinating continuities over time. Cape Town Then and Now is a visual journey that will appeal to Capetonians and visitors alike.


The spread and availability of pen-based devices increased the research in free handwriting and hand sketched recognition. Most of systems in hand sketched diagram recognition are limited to a specific application or limited to specific shapes. Complex diagrams recognition requires not only understanding the primitive shapes but also determining relations between these shapes. This work presents a system for recognition of hand-sketched complex diagrams which create active and intelligent relations between different diagram components. A multi-layers framework is developed which consists of stroke layer, shape layer, and diagram layer. A distance function is used to measure the similarity between template shapes and user sketched shapes. In the diagram layer, many adjustments are applied to enhance the positions and sizes of shapes, increasing the harmony and regularity of shapes arrangement. This system has been tested using a set of primitive shapes and a set of complex diagram and high accuracy results have been obtained.


Few studies have been conducted on Oxygenated Volatile Organic Compounds (OVOC) because of problems encountered during the sampling/analyzing steps induced by water in sampled air. Consequently, there is a lack of knowledge of their spatial and temporal trends and their origins in ambient air. In this study, an analyzer consisted of a thermal desorber (TD) interfaced with a gas chromatography (GC) and a flame ionization detector (FID) has been developed for online measurements of 18 OVOC in ambient air including 4 alcohols, 6 aldehydes, 3 ketones, 3 ethers, 2 esters and 4 nitriles. The main difficulty was to overcome the humidity effect without loss of compounds. Water amount in the sampled air was reduced by the trap composition (two hydrophobic graphitized carbons: Carbopack B/Carbopack X), the trap temperature (held at 12.5°C), by diluting (50:50) the sample before the preconcentration step and a trap purge. Humidity management allowed the use of a polar Lowox column in order to separate the polar compounds from the hydrocarbon/aromatic matrix. The breakthrough volume was found to 405 ml for ethanol by analysing a standard mixture at a relative humidity of 80%. Detection limits ranging from 10 ppt for ETBE to 90 ppt for ethanol were obtained for 18 compounds. Good repeatabilities were obtained at two levels of concentration (Relative Standard Deviation <5%). The calibration (ranging from 0.5 to 10 ppb) was set up at three different levels of relative humidity to test the humidity effect on the response coefficients. Results showed that the response coefficients of all compounds were less affected except for those of ethanol and acetonitrile (decrease respectively of 30% and 20%).


Debates about respectful caribou harvesting have arisen during the most recent cycle of caribou population decline in the Western Arctic. One aspect of this debate has been focused on younger harvesters, who are perceived by some leaders, elders, and wildlife management officials as lacking in knowledge and skills for respectful harvesting compared to previous generations. Guided by previous research in northern Canada, we examined this issue through a collaborative study (2007 – 10) in the Teetl'it Gwich'in community of Fort McPherson. This paper uses the common pool resource concept of "rules" (verbalized by research participants as "ways we respect the caribou") as the lens for exploring how knowledge about traditional practices of respectful harvesting varies with age. Rules for respectful harvesting were documented through semi-structured interviews with Teetl'it Gwich'in elders and used as a guide for assessing the knowledge of active harvesters ranging in age from 19 to 70. While the rules spoken by younger generations show some degree of simplification, there is generally a good match between the rules spoken by elders and those spoken by all generations of active harvesters. Although the depth of knowledge around each rule was not assessed, the results seem to illustrate continuity in key aspects of Teetl'it Gwich'in knowledge and skills for caribou harvesting. Further research is needed, however, into the mechanisms and processes of continuity, with particular attention to how traditional knowledge and skills are being adapted to meet the needs of current and future generations.


Background Fatty liver disease (FLD) arises from the accumulation of fat in the liver and may cause liver inflammation, which, if not well controlled, may develop into liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, or even hepatocellular carcinoma. Objective We describe the construction of machine-learning models for current-visit prediction (CVP), which can help physicians obtain more information for accurate diagnosis, and next-visit prediction (NVP), which can help physicians provide potential high-risk patients with advice to effectively prevent FLD. Methods The large-scale and high-dimensional dataset used in this study comes from Taipei MJ Health Research Foundation in Taiwan. We used one-pass ranking and sequential forward selection (SFS) for feature selection in FLD prediction. For CVP, we explored multiple models, including k-nearest-neighbor classifier (KNNC), Adaboost, support vector machine (SVM), logistic regression (LR), random forest (RF), Gaussian naïve Bayes (GNB), decision trees C4.5 (C4.5), and classification and regression trees (CART). For NVP, we used long short-term memory (LSTM) and several of its variants as sequence classifiers that use various input sets for prediction. Model performance was evaluated based on two criteria: the accuracy of the test set and the intersection over union/coverage between the features selected by one-pass ranking/SFS and by domain experts. The accuracy, precision, recall, F-measure, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve were calculated for both CVP and NVP for males and females, respectively. Results After data cleaning, the dataset included 34,856 and 31,394 unique visits respectively for males and females for the period 2009-2016. The test accuracy of CVP using KNNC, Adaboost, SVM, LR, RF, GNB, C4.5, and CART was respectively 84.28%, 83.84%, 82.22%, 82.21%, 76.03%, 75.78%, and 75.53%. The test accuracy of NVP using LSTM, bidirectional LSTM (biLSTM), Stack-LSTM, Stack-biLSTM, and Attention-LSTM was respectively 76.54%, 76.66%, 77.23%, 76.84%, and 77.31% for fixed-interval features, and was 79.29%, 79.12%, 79.32%, 79.29%, and 78.36%, respectively, for variable-interval features. Conclusions This study explored a large-scale FLD dataset with high dimensionality. We developed FLD prediction models for CVP and NVP. We also implemented efficient feature selection schemes for current- and next-visit prediction to compare the automatically selected features with expert-selected features. In particular, NVP emerged as more valuable from the viewpoint of preventive medicine. For NVP, we propose use of feature set 2 (with variable intervals), which is more compact and flexible. We have also tested several variants of LSTM in combination with two feature sets to identify the best match for male and female FLD prediction. More specifically, the best model for males was Stack-LSTM using feature set 2 (with 79.32% accuracy), whereas the best model for females was LSTM using feature set 1 (with 81.90% accuracy).


ABSTRACT Ikka Fjord in southwest Greenland is the type locality for ikaite, a metastable hexahydrate of calcium carbonate. Here, ikaite forms submarine tufa columns rising up to 18 m above the fjord bottom. The columns are spectacular examples of abiogenic carbonate precipitation in a cold seawater environment and so far represent the only known formation of ikaite in seawater. We have analyzed the 2H, 13C, 14C, 18O and 87Sr contents and major-element and minor-element compositions of ikaite and of the different water types in and around Ikka Fjord in order to understand the formation of the Ikka columns. Water from inside the columns is fresh but alkaline, rich in ions of sodium, bicarbonate, and carbonate, and has a stable-isotope composition identical to precipitation falling on the nearby Gronnedal-Ika igneous complex, and we conclude that the tufa columns form over submarine springs issuing from the bottom of Ikka Fjord. Dissolution of unidentified sodium carbonate minerals in carbonatites in the igneous complex probably accounts for the peculiar chemistry of the springs. Ikaite supersaturation and precipitation is controlled by mixing of spring water and seawater at the cold (< 6°C) fjord bottom, and precipitation is accelerated by the formation of hydrated CaCO3o (aq) ion pairs, while phosphate ions in the spring water act as inhibitor for precipitation of anhydrous carbonates. We propose that the spring water seeps in Ikka Fjord literally create their own conduits in the form of the vertical, chimney-like columns with ikaite forming continuously at the tops of the columns. The only limits to upward growth are winter ice and the fresh-water layer capping the fjord during summer.


Food safety is becoming increasingly an important public health issue, as food borne diseases present a widespread and growing public health problem in both developed and developing countries. The rapid and precise monitoring and detection of food borne pathogens are some of the most effective ways to control and prevent human food borne infections. Biosensors offer rapid and cost effective method of food borne pathogen detection. It utilizes the unique properties of biological and physical materials to recognize a target molecule and effect transduction of an electronic signal. Varieties of biosensors have been developed, viz., electrochemical (amperometric, potentiometric and impedance), optical (light scattering, fibre optics and SPR) and mass based (piezoelectric and surface acoustic). This article gives an overview of electrochemical biosensors for detection of pathogenic bacteria in the food industry. Electrochemical biosensors have some advantages over other analytical transducing systems, such as the possibility to operate in turbid media, comparable instrumental sensitivity, and possibility of miniaturisation. Basically electrochemical biosensor can be based on potentiometric, amperometric or impedimetric/conductimetric transducers. In recent years, nanotechnology has emerged as a promising field for solving food safety issues in terms of detecting contaminants. The introduction of nanomaterials into electrochemical sensors makes them suitable to reach lower detection limit, higher sensitivity values and bring novel labelling opportunities including multi detection capabilities.


Individualism and collectivism refer to cultural values that influence how people construe themselves and their relation to the world. Individualists perceive themselves as stable entities, autonomous from other people and their environment, while collectivists view themselves as dynamic entities, continually defined by their social context and relationships. Despite rich understanding of how individualism and collectivism influence social cognition at a behavioral level, little is known about how these cultural values modulate neural representations underlying social cognition. Using cross‐cultural functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined whether the cultural values of individualism and collectivism modulate neural activity within medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) during processing of general and contextual self judgments. Here, we show that neural activity within the anterior rostral portion of the MPFC during processing of general and contextual self judgments positively predicts how individualistic or collectivistic a person is across cultures. These results reveal two kinds of neural representations of self (eg, a general self and a contextual self) within MPFC and demonstrate how cultural values of individualism and collectivism shape these neural representations. Hum Brain Mapp, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


In this paper a process visualisation development system and its associated development methodology are presented. This methodology is optimised to systems that have complex structure and are built of large number of components belonging to relatively small number of types. In order to handle the complexity, the input requirements of the method is as close to the "native language" of the application as possible. The elements of the "native language" are assumed to include engineering drawings and manuals describing the operation of component types the system is built of. Graphics techniques are used to supply the engineering drawings into the development system while not only the required visual appearance is described but the structure of the underlying system is also defined. The elements of engineering drawings are dynamized to animate the graphics presentation to reflect the current state of the monitored system. Component manuals are transformed to interface and state definitions from which a code generator generates a C++ class for each component type. This C++ class must be tuned to reflect the operation of a single component type. From these definitions the development system automatically builds up the complete visualisation program, providing easy and fast application development.


Individual male and female schistosomes approximately three weeks of age were implanted into the portal venous system of C57Bl/6 mice to produce infections with a single pair of Schistosoma mansoni or S. japonicum. Mice were killed between seven and 54 weeks after infection. Worm fecundity was measured by counting eggs accumulating in the tissues and eggs passed in the feces. Schistosoma mansoni worm pairs laid approximately 350 eggs per day with no change in the apparent rate of egg laying between eight and 52 weeks after infection and approximately one-third of the eggs were passed in the feces. Schistosoma japonicum worm pairs laid approximately 2,200 eggs per day initially and this decreased to 1,000 eggs per day by the end of the experiment, with one-third to one-half of the eggs being passed in the feces. There was marked variability in the fecundity of individual worm pairs, but the number of eggs passed in the feces of individual mice correlated well with the number of eggs in the intestines at all time points in S. mansoni-infected mice and at the seventh and tenth week of S. japonicum infection.


Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a rapidly emerging virus responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic with no known effective prophylaxis. We investigated whether Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) could prevent SARS CoV-2 in Health Care Workers (HCW) at high-risk of exposure. Method: This voluntary observational study for the prevention and treatment of COVID19 was conducted at a tertiary care center, from 12th June to 12th October 2020(total 16 weeks). All consented asymptomatic HCW's of CIMS hospital were administered 400 mg HCQ twice a day on day one followed by 400 mg once weekly to be taken with meals up to 16 weeks. Data collected included OPD registration, risk assessment, medical and family history (related to COVID), physical examination and vitals, pulse oximetry, ECG (pre and post HCQ), drug adherence, side effects, adverse drug reactions. Result: The study enrolled 927 full-time, hospital-based HCWs ((including doctors, nurses, paramedical, lab technicians, sanitary workers and others), of whom 731(78.85%) initially started HCQ while 196 (21.14%) did not volunteer. The median age and weight of the study population was 27.5 years and 69.5 kg respectively. No major associated co-morbidities were present in these HCW's. There was an increased trend towards non adherence to HCQ with each proceeding week more so after week 11. Of the 731 HCW's taking HCQ a total of 167(22.8%) tested COVID positive at different intervals of time as against 30 HCW (15.3%) out of 196 not taking HCQ. The rate of COVID-19 positive was statistically significantly higher in the HCW's taking HCQ (p=0.0220; 95% CI: 1.14% to 12.94%), as compared to those not on HCQ. Thus HCQ was not prophylactically effective against COVID-19 infection. No participants in this study experienced grade 3 or 4 adverse events. No significant difference in the median of ECG changes in QTC between pre and post HCQ administration of 46 HCW's was observed. Conclusion: This clinical study did not detect a reduction in SARS CoV-2 transmission with prophylactic administration of 400 mg/HCQ in HCW's. All participants who did contract SARS CoV-2 were either asymptomatic or had mild disease courses with full recoveries. All adverse events were self-limiting and no serious cardiovascular events were reported with use of HCQ. In the absence of robust data, it seems premature to recommend HCQ as a prophylactic panacea for COVID-19.


THE MORE advanced species of mammals, including man, are born with a competent immunological protective mechanism already well developed. They will not accept tissues transplanted from other individuals of the same or different species. Animals born at a comparatively earlier stage of physical development, such as some species of mice and rats, do not possess at birth the mature immunological reactivity necessary to be able to distinguish between their own tissues and that of others. Implantation of tissue such as living spleen cells from another individual at this early age results in a permanent tolerance not only for the spleen cells but also for other tissues of the same donor.1,2Or placing a prospective donor in parabiotic union with the recipient at an early age allows a cross mixture of blood which renders the two parabionts permanently tolerant to each other, so that many months after separation of the


: A general theory of heritable personality traits and their neurobiological basis is described. Three independent dimensions of personality are defined and related to heritable variation in patterns of response to specific types of environmental stimuli: 'novelty seeking' is due to a heritable tendency toward frequent exploratory activity and intense excitement in response to novel stimuli; 'harm avoidance' is due to a heritable tendency to respond intensely to aversive stimuli and to learn to avoid punishment, novelty, and non-reward passively; and 'reward dependence' is due to a heritable tendency to respond intensely to reward and succorance and to learn to maintain rewarded behavior. Evidence suggests that variation in each dimension is strongly correlated with activity in a specific central monoaminergic pathway: novelty seeking with low basal dopaminergic activity, harm avoidance with high serotonergic activity, and reward dependence with low basal noradrenergic activity. These neurobiological dimensions interact to give rise to integrated patterns of differential responses to punishment, reward, and novelty. The combination of high novelty seeking, high reward dependence, and low harm avoidance (histrionic personality) or the combination of high harm avoidance, low reward dependence, and low novelty seeking (obsessional personality) are each associated with information-processing patterns that lead to unreliable discrimination of safe and dangerous situations and hence to chronic anxiety. In individuals with high novelty seeking, chronic anxiety is characterized by global uneasiness or alarm without specific premonitory cues, frequent bodily pains due to low pain and sensation thresholds, low sedation threshold, and slow fatigability. In contrast, in individuals with high harm avoidance, chronic anxiety is characterized by frequent anticipatory worries based on specific cues, high pain and sedation thresholds, and easy fatigability. In response to frustrative non-reward, individuals with high reward dependence are susceptible to compensatory noradrenergic hyperactivity and hence acute or recurrent states of agitated dysphoria associated with reward-seeking behaviors such as overeating and increased sexual activity. Specific predictions are made about normal personality development as well as the development and familial aggregation of anxiety, somatoform, depressive and personality disorders. These predictions are compared with available information, and recommendations are made for future research.


Common ragweed is a species with a negative impact on: agriculture, biodiversity and human health. This plant produces a large amount of strong allergen pollen, producing allergic rhinitis and severe asthma, affecting more than 20% of the population of infested areas. In recent years, Ambrosia artemisiifolia in Romania shows the trend of invasion of agricultural crops, where it can cause high damages by decreasing the quantity and quality of yield and harvesting efficiency. Ambrosia artemisiifolia threatens the biodiversity of ecosystems by releasing into the environment some compounds of the allelopathic nature, thus eliminating other species. The research carried out by Beres revealed that this species contains phenolic and terpene compounds. The allelopathic influences of A. artemisiifolia were tested in soybean, rice and maize bioassays. The purpose of this study was to highlight the allelophatic effect of the species Ambrosia artemisiifolia on crop plants (maize) and on spontaneous plants (redroot pigweed). Research was conducted under laboratory conditions. The experience included 3 variants in 3 replicates, both for maize and for redroot pigweed. 25 g of material mixed with 800 ml of distilled water was used to prepare the extracts, they were placed on the magnetic stirrer for six hours, after which filtration was carried out. The maize and redroot pigweed seeds were placed on a filter paper in a Petri dish (10 seeds / Petri dish). The extracts used in the study differed by the three concentrations: 30%; 60% and 90%. The maize seeds were treated with 6 ml of the respective extract, 12 ml for redroot pigweed seeds. It was observed that maize seeds showed germination rates ranging from 90% to 100%. The extracts from the leaves of Ambrosia artemisiifolia in the concentration of 60% and 90% reduced germination of maize seeds by 10% compared to the control. The corn root length was between 2.39 cm 5.06 cm. The height of the maize plants, at 7 days after treatment, presented values of 1.17-3.30 cm. The studies carried out showed that the variants treated with leaf extract of Ambrosia artemisiifolia 30% determined the stimulation of the root length and the "height of the plant" character. The extracts of the leaves of the common ragweed have caused very significant decrease of Amaranthus retroflexus seeds germination (2.22% 80%).


Nicholas Bagley's article The Procedure Fetish is destined to be a classic. In it, Bagley systematically dismantles administrative law's obsession with procedure. He decimates the arguments that procedure is necessary to legit-imize the administrative state and avoid agency capture. He nullifies the con-tention that administrative law is neutral by showing how proceduralism inhibits regulation and "favors a libertarian agenda over a progressive one." Bagley urges progressives to abandon "gauzy claims about legitimacy and accountability" and approach procedure with skepticism.

The Procedure Fetish addresses the normative question of what adminis-trative law ought to require. Bagley writes about how progressives should solve the "optimization problem: [w]hich set of procedures will best balance the competing goals of efficiency, the protection of legal rights, and public accountability." Bagley does not, however, provide an answer to the ques-tion of where progressives should find currently binding administrative law. The answer is simple: the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Progressive textualism provides the missing piece for Bagley's analysis.


A study of the adsorption of different axial ligands on Fe porphyrin (FeP), both isolated and adsorbed on Cu(001), was performed by means of Density Functional Theory. The electronic and magnetic properties of the adsorbed FeP resulted to be strongly influenced by the axial ligands considered, Cl and O. Cl induces an enhancement of the overall molecular magnetic moment of 3.0 μB while O or O2 leave the spin state of the molecule unchanged. The influence of the Cl in the electronic states was moreover studied by means of theoretical NEXAFS N K-edge, where the spectra of isolated FeP and FeP with Cl ligand were calculated. The adsorption of the FeP molecules on Cu(001) leads in case of Cl to a further increase of the magnetic moment due to strong deformation of the Fe-N bond.


This paper outlines the complexity of accounting for multilingual audiovisual films for the purpose of their translation. In particular it focuses on an issue that has not received much scholarly attention so far, the fictional representation of code-switching in feature films, with particular attention to Spanglish, given that language and its interlinguistic barriers towards interpersonal communication is one of the main themes of the film. The paper distinguishes different types of language shifts (alternations) as part of a film's plot or script, like straightforward translation between characters, in order to better characterize code-switching as concept borrowed from sociolinguistics. This, in turns allows for a broader notion of language shifts, of which code-shifting is a part. Finally, the paper also includes a three-type classification of films depending on the amount and importance of languages other than the main language of a film: anecdotal, recurrent, and L3-as-theme, L3 being the notation system used to label all instances of languages in a text (written, oral or audiovisual) other than the main language.


Behind the projection for the technology for the next 15 years are complete roadmaps for each of the major technologies in support of the manufacture of silicon integrated circuits. This work was the result of hundreds of scientists and engineers from universities, industry, and government working together to develop a set of industry requirements for silicon technology. The history of this roadmap process, the methods used to develop the National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors, some of the overall requirements of the Roadmap, and finally, some suggestions for international cooperation and roadmaps in other technologies are the subject of this paper.


In this tutorial article we review different multicarrier communication methods for the physical layer of cognitive radio systems. There, secondary users need to dynamically and reliably determine spectral holes, and transmit data in these resources without interfering with other parts of the frequency band. To satisfy the first, each SU has to be equipped with a spectrum analyzer. To satisfy the second, it is widely accepted that a multicarrier modulation technique should be adopted. Moreover, to maximize efficiency, it has been recognized that the side-lobes of each subcarrier band must be minimized. Much of the attention in the present literature emphasizes on the use of conventional OFDM, exploiting the fact that fast Fourier transform (FFT) as part of the OFDM modulator can also be used for channel sensing. Herein, we discuss the performance of OFDM, and also introduce filterbanks for multicarrier communication and spectral analysis in a CR setting. Moreover, the multitaper method has been proposed as an effective method for spectrum analysis. Our article provides an insight into the pros and cons of these technologies.


This paper analyzes two types of effects caused by the fundamental current in saliency-tracking based techniques for sensorless control of three-pole active magnetic bearings: saturation and insufficient spectral separation of the fundamental current command during transients. Injection of a high frequency signal superimposed to the fundamental excitation providing active control, allows the measurement of changes in the air gap, from which an estimation of the rotor position can be obtained. Interference of the fundamental current, needed to operate the magnetic bearing, with the high frequency current can occur through two mechanisms: 1) saturation and 2) high frequency harmonics caused by fast transients of the fundamental current. Both phenomena can interfere with the sensorless control resulting in a decrease of its performance. The effects caused by the fundamental current on the negative sequence high frequency current, used as position estimation signal, are studied and a decoupling mechanism is proposed. An analysis of high frequency leakage flux is presented and a simple analytical model is developed for describing the aforementioned phenomena. Finite element analysis (FEA) of the magnetic bearing under fundamental excitation as well as experimental verification are used to validate the analytical findings.


Capillary isoelectric focusing of components following sequential injection of ampholytes and the sample zone offers unique advantages for analysis. The most important one of these is the efficient separation of amphoteric compounds having isoelectric points (pIs) outside the pH range of the ampholytes applied, but the resolution of the components can be increased by an adequate setup in the injection protocol. In this study, the effect of the pH of the anolyte and catholyte on the selectivity and speed of isoelectric focusing was investigated. Changes in the pH values significantly influenced the resolution and the length of the pH gradient, while changes in the charge-state of components were also observed. Three ampholyte solutions (from different suppliers) covering only 2 pH units were used for the analyses of substituted nitrophenol dyes in uncoated capillary. With appropriate setup the components, with pIs not covered by the ampholyte pH range, migrated in charged state outside the pH gradient. This phenomenon is preferable for coupling isoelectric focusing to mass spectrometry detection, by evading the undesirable ion suppression effect of ampholytes.


Shankha Prakshalana is an easy and effective technique for cleansing the gastrointestinal canal, thereby removing all the autointoxicants present in the alimentary canal. Moreover, it is a very economical procedure which can be performed by the patients at his own residence. The role of Shankha Prakshalana from our own experience is very effective in overcoming the irritable bowel syndrome. Shankha Prakshalana may also be given to the patients of anxiety neurosis with satisfactory results. Its role in the treatment of renal disorder is encouraging in early cases only. However, in the second and third degree chronic renal failure cases its role is yet to be established and needs further investigation. Similarly, in the case of thyrotoxicosis no conclusive evidence could be observed due to very limited number of cases.


CO2 mitigation was estimated based on life-cycle CO2 analysis when woody biomass was burntfor electricity generation instead of coal. Taking the procurement system of woody biomass intoaccount, the construction of about 150 biomass-fired plants having a capacity of 5 MW each can beconsidered feasible in Japan. About 30 600 tons of CO2 a year can be mitigated by a 5 MW biomass-fired power plant; therefore, the total CO2 mitigation by 150 biomass-fired power plants was estimatedto be about 4.58 million tons of CO2 a year. The CO2 mitigation estimated in the present work isequivalent to 7.3% of the CO2 mitigation required in the Kyoto Protocol target. Accordingly, thebiomass-fired power plants proposed are considered one of the potential countermeasures to preventglobal warming.


We analyzed the clinicopathological features of renal-type clear cell carcinoma (RTCCC) in the prostate and its diagnosis according to the example in our hospital and review of the literature. Clinicopathological features of RTCCC in the prostate were observed in a patient from our hospital combining with a review of the literature. Microscopically, the tumor was composed of cells with abundant and translucent cytoplasm, arranged in the form of the vesicular nest or glandular structure. Therefore, it was necessary to distinguish between metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma and primary RTCCC in the prostate. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) of this case showed tumor cells were positive expression for cytokeratin (CKpan), low-molecular weight cytokeratin, epithelial membrane antigen, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA), P504S, prostate-specific membrane antigen and partial positive expression for vimentin and CD10. The tumor cells displayed negative expression of high molecular weight cytokeratin, cytokeratin 7 (CK7), CK34, PAX8, and renal cell carcinoma. The morphological and immunohistochemical features of this tumor were in correspondence with RTCCC of the prostate. This tumor is a rare variant of the prostate carcinomas. To the best of our knowledge, this type of extrarenal tumor has only been reported in six previous studies. Combination of histology, IHC, imaging, and serum PSA is needed to perform a suitable diagnosis.


We present the results of high resolution (R ≥ 30,000) optical and near-IR spectroscopic monitoring observations of HBC 722, a recent FU Orionis object that underwent an accretion burst in 2010. We observed HBC 722 in the optical/near-IR with the Bohyunsan Optical Echelle Spectrograph, Hobby–Eberly Telescope-HRS, and Immersion Grating Infrared Spectrograph, at various points in the outburst. We found atomic lines with strongly blueshifted absorption features or P Cygni profiles, both evidence of a wind driven by the accretion. Some lines show a broad double-peaked absorption feature, evidence of disk rotation. However, the wind-driven and disk-driven spectroscopic features are anti-correlated in time; the disk features became strong as the wind features disappeared. This anti-correlation might indicate that the rebuilding of the inner disk was interrupted by the wind pressure during the first 2 years. The half-width at half-depth of the double-peaked profiles decreases with wavelength, indicative of the Keplerian rotation; the optical spectra with the disk feature are fitted by a G5 template stellar spectrum convolved with a rotation velocity of 70 km s−1 while the near-IR disk features are fitted by a K5 template stellar spectrum convolved with a rotation velocity of 50 km s−1. Therefore, the optical and near-IR spectra seem to trace the disk at 39 and 76 R⊙, respectively. We fit a power-law temperature distribution in the disk, finding an index of 0.8, comparable to optically thick accretion disk models.


Summary
Selecting breeding habitats that ameliorate environmental limits on fitness and facilitate successful reproduction should benefit individual animals. This is particularly true in the temperate zone, where breeding early in a season presents a unique series of environmental challenges that can limit an individual's fitness. While many studies document links between habitat quality and reproductive success, few identify the cues used to assess habitat quality or the components of reproduction most influenced by occupying higher quality habitat, particularly during the early breeding season.
We used detailed spatial maps and observations of all early season nesting attempts in an insular song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) population over 38 years to estimate the influence of nest-site preference on reproductive success and to test whether relative microclimate or food availability may act as cues for early season site selection.
Female sparrows in preferred early season nest sites had earlier laying dates, exhibited more energetically efficient incubation behaviour and produced more offspring that recruited to the population than those nesting in less-preferred sites.
Preference for potential nesting sites was positively related to leaf damage by Lepidopteran larvae, an indicator of food abundance, negatively related to early season microclimate, likely due to greater vegetation cover, and unrelated to site-specific plant phenology.
Our findings show that breeding in preferred, high-quality habitat may offer females a fitness advantage by facilitating early laying and the production of offspring more likely to recruit to the population at a lower potential reproductive cost to the parent. We provide a clear demonstration of potential links between habitat preference and quality and their contributions to the ecology and life history of animals in seasonal environments.


This study explored individual differences in eye movements during visual imagery. Eye movements were recorded for participants who recalled a picture from memory while looking at a blank screen. All participants were tested for working memory capacity and the OSIVQ (Blazhenkova & Kozhevnikov, 2009) was used as an assessment for individual differences in object imagery, spatial imagery and verbal cognitive style. Results revealed a negative correlation between the overall spatial dispersion of eye movements and the spatial imagery score. Consequently, those with a lower spatial imagery score employed a larger degree of eye movements to blank spaces than those with a higher spatial imagery score. No relationship was found between eye movements and the other aspects. We propose that weaker spatial imagery ability increases the "need" to execute eye movements during recall and discuss this finding in relation to the current literature on eye movements to 'nothing'. (Less)


Abstract The Houses of Parliament in London (1835–1860) and the Parliament in Budapest (1885– 1902) are related in many ways. It was due to former Prime Minister Gyula Andrássy's personal commitment that a riverside site and the Neo-Gothic style were selected for the Hungarian edifice. While the New Palace of Westminster represents the late-medieval English variant of the Gothic style, its Hungarian counterpart is an amalgamation of various Gothic features marshalled into a heterogeneous synthesis. Inevitably the issue of a national style emerged, as well as the representation of royalty on the exterior and in the interior of the building. The Parliament in Budapest was meant tobe a national monument and project the (illusive) image of a Hungary on equal footing with the world's major countries.


Expert opinions are a fundamental strategic component in the field of products liability litigation. The success of a party's claim or defense often depends upon an expert's testimony at trial, and the "battle of the experts" forces triers of fact to "'abdicate their fact-finding obligations' and, instead, simply adopt the opinions of the expert witnesses whose testimony they find persuasive." The benefits of an expert's opinion have prompted considerable manipulation in court—in an effort to avail themselves of the highly persuasive nature of a credible expert's opinion, litigants have attempted to introduce expert testimony bearing only a tenuous connection to the case at hand. In response, the Federal Rules of Evidence and corresponding U.S. Supreme Court ("Supreme Court" or "Court") precedent have severely curtailed these abusive litigation tactics, instead forcing trial court judges to assess a proffered expert's opinion for both relevancy and reliability to ensure that the opinion adequately "fits" the facts of the case. This Note critiques the progression of the admissibility of expert testimony codified by Federal Rule of Evidence 702 ("Rule 702") and subsequently expanded  upon by the Supreme Court in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its progeny. Part I provides a brief history of the admissibility of expert testimony in federal court. Part II addresses a recent decision made by the Sixth Circuit, Lee v. Smith & Wesson Corp., which extended the admissibility under Rule 702 to include an expert's opinion that directly contradicts the oral testimony of its own witness. Finally, Part III analyzes the 2-1 decision in Smith & Wesson Corp. and argues against the logic of the majority's opinion, instead favoring the dissent's interpretation of Daubert, its progeny, and Rule 702.


Al4SiC4 is probably used as non-oxide raw material for high-temperature ceramics. Al4SiC4 was synthesized by using starting materials of metal-carbon, metal-oxide- carbon or carbides. In this paper, Al4SiC4 has been synthesized by using oxides (Al2O3 and SiO2) and carbon as starting materials through carbothermal reduction process. The oxidation properties in air and O2 atmosphere by TG method and the stability of the synthesized Al4SiC4 heated in moisture were investigated. Pure Al4SiC4 phase was synthesized when heating the mixture powder of Al2O3, SiO2 and C (C : Al2O3 : SiO2 = 8 : 2 : 0.8, in molar ratio) at 1700°C for 8h in flowing Ar atmosphere. The synthesized Al4SiC4 powder consists of platelet shape grains with size of 68μm length, 35μm width and 1μm thickness. Al4SiC4 obviously oxidized from 800°C when heated in flowing air or O2 atmosphere. When keeping Al4SiC4 powder in moisture, it was not observed to be reacted with water by XRD and SEM analysis.


A case study of images found in popular American bridal magazines demonstrates how women's and nonhuman animals' bodies are linked. This linking is evident in images that pair brides with animals, animal parts, or items that refer to animals. Of a convenient sample, 79.4 percent of images that contained such links paired the bride with birds and/or feathers. An analysis of images shows that, when paired with the bird, the bride is linked to a dominated and controlled species. As extensions of nature and symbols of the transcendent, birds also posit and affirm the bride's supposed fertility and ethereality. Unfortunately, such proscriptive gender categories insist that ideal woman, when imagined as bride, is valued for her farmability, or reproductive capabilities, while at the same time associate her with a mystical yet unattainable femininity. The bridal industry is an example of one of the many stages on which speciesism and sexism function in concert to link women's and animals' bodies.


Distributed systems are complex, being usually composed of several subsystems running in parallel. Concurrent execution and inter-process communication in these systems are prone to errors that are difficult to detect by traditional testing, which does not cover every possible program execution. Unlike testing, model checking can detect such faults in a concurrent system by exploring every possible state of the system. However, most model-checking techniques require that a system be described in a modeling language. Although this simplifies verification, faults may be introduced in the implementation. Recently, some model checkers verify program code at runtime but tend to be limited to stand-alone programs. This paper proposes cache-based model checking, which relaxes this limitation to some extent by verifying one process at a time and running other processes in another execution environment. This approach has been implemented as an extension of Java PathFinder, a Java model checker. It is a scalable and promising technique to handle distributed systems. To support a larger class of distributed systems, a checkpointing tool is also integrated into the verification system. Experimental results on various distributed systems show the capability and scalability of cache-based model checking.


As a company grows beyond its national borders, it starts exporting its products. It first establishes foreign sales organizations, followed by manufacturing operations, which are usually driven by labor or other cost considerations. The next step is product marketing and localization, often coupled with building local product design centers. The last stage of this globalization or transnationalization is to start research efforts in the foreign country, complementing existing sales, manufacturing, marketing, and development organizations. Why is global research and development desirable? Is R&D necessary outside of a central research laboratory in a company's home country?.


Collaborative engineering and virtual prototyping is the application of advanced distributed modeling and simulation and engineering tools in an integrated environment to support technology development, system design, performance, cost, and producibility trade-off analyses throughout the entire product and system engineering life-cycle. The Sensors and Information Directorates, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) have initiated a major effort to implement a Collaborative Engineering Environment (CEE) to provide the infrastructure and development methodology required for affordable and timely avionics for the 21st Century warfighter. The CEE concept is a major cultural change in the technology development process that involves applying state-of-the-art simulation and information sharing technology to the way we do business. CEE enables partnerships among the laboratories, industry, and the warfighter to accelerate the development and transition of leading edge technology to operational weapon systems.


Acoustic source imaging has nowadays been widely used in source localization and separation. In this paper, based on the deconvolution methods (DAMAS), we propose a robust super-resolution approach with sparsity constraint (SC-RDAMAS) to estimate both the positions and powers of the sources, as well as the noise variance in low Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) situation. For effectively applying sparsity constraint, we explore a better initialization of source number to determine the bound of total source powers. By simulations and real data, we show that our SC-RDAMAS can obtain more accurate estimations of source positions and averaging powers, and can be more robust to strong noise interference, by comparison with the state of the art methods: the Beamforming, DAMAS, DAMAS with sparsity constraint (SC-DAMAS) and the Covariance Matrix Fitting (CMF) method. Indeed the computation burden of the proposed method is much lower than the CMF, so that our SC-RDAMAS is more applicable to scan the large region with super resolutions.


Cell-like P systems with symport/antiport rules are inspired by the structure of a cell and the way of communicating substances through membrane channels between neighboring regions. In this work, channel states are introduced into cell-like P systems with symport/antiport rules, and we call this variant of communication P systems as cell-like P systems with channel states and symport/antiport rules. In such P systems, at most one channel is established between neighboring regions, each channel associates with one state in order to control communication at each step, and rules are used in a sequential manner: on each channel at most one rule can be used at each step. The computational power of such P systems is investigated. Specifically, we show that cell-like P systems with two states and using uniport rules, or with any number of states and using antiport rules of length two, are able to compute only finite sets of non-negative integers. We further prove that cell-like P systems with two membranes are as powerful as Turing machines when channel states and symport/antiport rules are suitably combined. The results show that channel states are a feature that can increase the computational power of cell-like P systems with symport/antiport rules.


This paper shows how the American planning for the war in Iraq of 2003 lacked the use of major academic and scientific disciplines. Some basic theories and principles in the field of nationalism and ethnicity studies as well as the field of Middle Eastern studies were supposed to guide the planning for the post‐war era in a better way. The goals of the war were originally very ambitious and included 'conflict transformation' which implies facilitating changes in the social and political structure of Iraq and the Middle East, but it has now changed to the more modest goal of 'conflict management' which focuses on containing violence.


: Cybertechnology has had a significant impact on our social and moral systems. Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with what is considered to be right and wrong. One of the ways in which ethical standards in the public service in South Africa can be promoted is by developing Codes of Conduct that set a standard of behaviour to be followed within specific occupational categories. One occupational category is Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The diversity of ICT applications (such as supply chain management) and the increased use of ICT (such as e-Business) have created a variety of ethical issues. Kantian Ethics is based on the idea that duty is fundamental and 'principle based'. The authors suggest that principle based theory should serve as backdrop to a Code of Cyberethics for a public service entity (a metropolitan municipality) in South Africa. In this paper the concepts of cybertechnology and cyberethics are introduced. eThekwini Municipality, the most populous municipality in South Africa, is selected as the environment for the formulation of a Code of Cyberethics. The methodology for the formulation of a Code of Cyberethics for eThekwini Municipality is described.


Background: Colorectal cancer is highly common and causes high mortality rates. Treatment for colorectal cancer is multidisciplinary, but in most cases the main option remains surgery. Intriguingly, in recent years, a number of studies have shown that a patient's postoperative outcome may be influenced by certain anesthetic drugs. Our main objective was to compare the effect of propofol–total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) with sevoflurane anesthesia and to investigate the potential role of intravenous lidocaine on colon cancer cell functions. We tested the effects of serum from colorectal cancer patients undergoing TIVA vs. sevoflurane anesthesia with or without lidocaine on HCT 116 cell lines; on proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and cell cycles; and on cancer-related gene expressions. Methods: 60 patients who were scheduled for colorectal cancer surgery were randomized into four different groups (two groups with TIVA and two groups with sevoflurane anesthesia with or without intravenous lidocaine). Blood samples were collected at the start and at the end of surgery. HCT 116 cells were exposed to the patients' serum. Results: 15 patients were included in each of the study groups. We did not find any significant difference on cell viability or apoptosis between the study groups. However, there was an increased apoptosis in propofol groups, but this result was not statistically significant. A significant increase in the expression profile of the TP53 gene in the propofol group was registered (p = 0.029), while in the other study groups, no significant differences were reported. BCL2 and CASP3 expressions increased in the sevoflurane–lidocaine group without statistical significance. Conclusions: In our study, serum from patients receiving different anesthetic techniques did not significantly influence the apoptosis, migration, and cell cycle of HCT-116 colorectal carcinoma cells. Viability was also not significantly influenced by the anesthetic technique, except the sevoflurane–lidocaine group where it was increased. The gene expression of TP53 was significantly increased in the propofol group, which is consistent with the results of similar in vitro studies and may be one of the mechanisms by which anesthetic agents may influence the biology of cancer cells. Further studies that investigate the effects of propofol and lidocaine in different plasma concentrations on different colon cancer cell lines and assess the impacts of these findings on the clinical outcome are much needed.


In today's widely used parallel programming models, subtle programming errors can lead to unintended nondeterministic behavior and hard to catch bugs. In contrast, we argue for a parallel programming model that is deterministic by default: deterministic behavior is guaranteed unless the programmer explicitly uses nondeterministic constructs. This goal is particularly challenging for modern object-oriented languages with expressive use of reference aliasing and updates to shared mutable state. We propose a broad research agenda in support of this goal, and we describe some of our own work to further that agenda.


This study explains the large injectivity changes observed in the field, how to remedy it, and how to ensure fracture containment in channel sand reservoirs. The case study field is located offshore Ghana and is a channel sand reservoir. Water injection was initiated for pressure maintenance and waterflooding under fracturing conditions. The injection wells are designed to ensure high and sustainable injection rates while maintaining the integrity of the cap rock.
 The injection bottom-hole pressure (BHP) was history-matched to investigate the impact of stress profiles, reservoir shapes, injection water quality, poroelastic and thermally induced stress changes. The injectivity decline was found to be a result of changes in stresses caused by the channel boundaries and, to a lesser extent, near-wellbore formation damage. The rapid increase in pore pressure and the resulting decrease in injectivity is unique to these kinds of channel sands. Once the origin of the decreasing injectivity was identified, remedial actions were recommended and predictions for future injectivity were made ensuring containment of fractures.


Aerogels, partially or fully based on proteins, are emerging as promising sustainable biomaterials for a variety of applications, particularly in medicine and biosciences. Protein aerogels can be produced with similar morphologies as their more popular polysaccharide cousins, although potentially offering greater chemical wealth. Manipulation of the processing parameters, including the protein concentration, pH, ionic strength and drying method, allows control over the resulting morphology of the aerogel to suit a variety of different applications. Hybrid protein aerogels further broaden the possibilities for strong, lightweight and porous biocompatible materials by combining proteins with other non-proteinaceous polymers such as carbohydrates. Various biomedical applications including tissue engineering, wound dressing and drug delivery may draw benefits from protein aerogels. Biomedical applications require specific functionalities that can be customised by controlling the density, porosity and protein content of aerogels. Proteins in aerogel technology are also used in bio-specific detection and filtration, an exciting merger between the vast chemical variety of proteins and topology of aerogels. The prospect of a huge selection of functional protein types promises to stimulate the future of protein aerogels, potentially unearthing new applications for aerogels within medical and laboratory contexts.


Ultrafast laser material processing is an attractive approach for surface structuring of medical polymers used for intraocular lenses. To achieve best results in terms of efficiency and quality, the wavelength and pulse energy dependence on the ablation behavior of such materials has to be studied. Ablation thresholds have been determined for a polymer with different dyes which is used for intraocular lens (IOL) manufacturing. Furthermore, the ablation efficiency, achievable precision and surface roughness have been quantified to optimize the parameters for an efficient intraocular lens manufacturing process by surface microstructuring.