Introduction Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with many cancers, although little is known about its role in lung cancer. This is biologically plausible since vitamin D influences apoptosis and inhibits cell proliferation. Vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphisms have also been suggested to play a role in genetic susceptibility, their direction being consistent with inability to respond to vitamin D. Finally, vitamin D binding protein (DBP) indirectly activates alveolar macrophages, a higher number of which within a tumour links to better prognosis in lung cancer. Methods 37 patients with a diagnosis of lung cancer were studied in the first phase, together with 18 healthy controls. Circulating vitamin D level was measured at initial presentation by tandem mass spectrometry, and DBP by ELISA. Vitamin D and DBP level was compared between groups, and against other clinical features. VDR was quantified in normal lung and tumour tissue by immunohistochemistry, and compared between the two. In the second phase the lung cancer patients were genotyped for four functional SNPs in the vitamin D pathway, and their genotype frequencies compared to 484 healthy controls. Results Vitamin D levels were lower in lung cancer than controls, after adjustment for season of collection (21.8 vs 15.5 ng/ml, p=0.018), as was DBP (28.2 vs 51.7 mg/dl). DBP was higher in women (p=0.001) and correlated directly with vitamin D (r=0.446, p=0.013). VDR was expressed primarily in bronchial epithelium, and to a lesser extent in pneumocytes, but was generally expressed less in tumour tissue (Abstract S91 Figure 1). Of the four SNPs studied two were associated with lung cancer; the associated allele of rs4588 is known to reduce macrophage activation and conferred an odds ratio (OR) of 3.04, whilst that of rs1544410 produces less stable VDR mRNA and conferred an OR of 4.10 of disease.Abstract S91 Figure 1 VDR stains brown in (A) bronchial epithelium (B) less strongly in pneumocytes and (C&D) adenocarcinoma. Tissue in all bar (D) is from the same individual. (D) shows both epithelium and cancer tissue. Similar results were seen in two patients with squamous carcinomas. Conclusions Vitamin D deficiency is common in lung cancer, but reduced VDR in tumour tissue suggests that it is unlikely to be useful as an adjuvant treatment, as tumour tissue will not be able to respond to it. We have also confirmed the role of VDR polymorphisms in lung cancer, similar to other malignancies.


Many metal–organic framework (MOF) materials have been reported in the literature as promising for carbon capture applications based on isotherm data or simple adsorbent metrics. However, adsorption process conditions are often neglected in these evaluations. In this study, we performed process-level simulation and optimization of pressure swing adsorption processes on a set of promising MOFs reported in the literature for post-combustion carbon capture. Zeolite 13X was also included as a benchmark material. We examined the ability of the MOFs to achieve the Department of Energy goals of 90% CO2 purity and 90% CO2 recovery by employing process-level optimization using three different cycle configurations: a modified Skarstrom cycle, a five-step cycle, and a fractionated vacuum swing adsorption cycle. Then, we ranked the MOFs based on their economic performance by looking at the productivity and energy requirements for each cycle. We compared this ranking of the MOFs with the rankings provided by other metrics and found that the adsorbent rankings suggested by simplified metrics may differ significantly from the rankings predicted by detailed process optimization. The economic optimization analysis suggests that the best performing MOFs from those analyzed here are UTSA-16, Cu-TDPAT, Zn-MOF-74, Ti-MIL-91, and SIFSIX-3-Ni. Looking at the connection between process performance and material properties, we found that high CO2 working capacity, small pore size, and large difference between the heat of adsorption of CO2 and N2 promote CO2 capture ability based on this small data set. We synthesized one of the top performing MOFs, SIFSIX-3-Ni, and measured its CO2 and N2 adsorption isotherms. The measured isotherms allowed us to estimate the N2 heat of adsorption for SIFSIX-3-Ni, which was not previously available and was required for the process-level modelling.


Slovene resources confirm that verbal aspect and aspectualness depend on the
 morphological, lexical, syntactic, and other characteristics of a particular
 language. Since verbal aspect is directly connected to the meaning of a
 particular verb, as well as its structural and semantic-syntactic abilities,
 it is considered to be an essential characteristic in terms of the language
 system of every language. The specific features of aspectualness, especially
 if we take into account its connectedness to a given language system, are
 confirmed by various contrastive studies, which also place considerable
 emphasis on a number of general aspectual characteristics that can be applied
 to all languages. Within every language system, for example, the grammatical
 (morphological), lexical, and syntactic aspectualness are distinguished from
 one another, whereas in the case of a particular text, the relationship
 between aspect, time, and mood cannot be overlooked. What remains central in
 both current and future discussions is establishing the relationship between
 aspectualness and temporality within a particular language or languages.
 Cases of 'aspectual competitiveness', related to the temporal structure of a
 given sentence, have been noted in Slovene as well, especially in examples
 like Sem že vecerjal - Sem že povecerjal ('I already had dinner - I already
 finished my dinner'), Vedno smo k obstojecemu doprinesli tudi nekaj novega -
 Vedno smo k obstojecemu doprinasali tudi nekaj novega ('We always contributed
 something new to the existing condition - We always used to contribute
 something new to the existing condition'), etc. That the behavior of the
 imperfect may vary in the past and future is shown by examples like
 Temperatura se je dvigovala 'visala, padala in spet visala' (The temperature
 kept rising 'rising, falling, and rising again'), Temperatura se bo dvigovala
 'vedno samo navzgor, brez nihanja' (The temperature will keep on rising 'it
 will rise without falling'). It is also important how a particular dictionary
 presents verbal valency as a developmental category. The most common is the
 change from monovalent verbs to bivalent or governed verbs. When considering
 the valency of non-deverbal nouns and adjectives, it must be noted that
 especially in the case of nondeverbal adjectives, valency is the consequence
 of the dynamic meaning of semantically similar verbs, which can replace
 non-deverbal adjectives in a particular sentence.


Life cycle theories suggest that businesses evolve through a number of stages: from an embryonic stage of introduction to growth, maturity, and decline. The force that propels their development is consumer acceptance. Industries pass through life cycles as well. However, not all industries pass through each stage of the life cycle, and the duration of stages varies across industries. Some industries skip the slow introductory phase; others avoid the decline stage and are continually revitalised through technological innovation. Still others continue to show substantial promise, but fail to take-off. It is this industry condition, persistent promise without corresponding growth, that we characterise as extended gestation. We believe that energy efficiency and renewable energy (EERE) businesses in Minnesota face the challenge of extended gestation. In this paper, we review the literature on the traditional stages of industry development, explore some of the factors that may lead an industry to remain in a state of extended gestation, and report the results of a study undertaken to better understand the factors that affect the growth of EERE businesses.


Coastal wetlands provide a wide array of ecosystem services, valued at trillions of dollars per year globally. Although accelerating sea level rise (SLR) poses the long-term threat of inundation to coastal areas, wetlands may be sustained in two ways: by positive net surface-elevation change (SEC) from sediment and organic matter buildup and by accumulation, or horizontal migration into refugia—low-lying, undeveloped upland areas that become inundated. Using a simple model together with high-resolution elevation data, we provide, across the contiguous United States, analysis of the local effects of SLR, maximum SEC rates, and coastal development on the long-term resilience of coastal wetlands. We find that protecting current refugia is a critical factor for retaining wetlands under accelerating SLR. If refugia are conserved under an optimistic scenario (a high universal maximum SEC rate of 8 mm/yr and low greenhouse gas emissions), wetlands may increase by 25.0% (29.4%–21.5%; 50th, 5th–95th percentiles of SLR) by the end of the century. However, if refugia are developed under a more pessimistic scenario (a moderate universal maximum SEC rate of 3 mm/yr, high greenhouse gas emissions, and projections incorporating high ice-sheet contributions to SLR), wetlands may decrease by −97.0% (−82.3%–99.9%). These median changes in wetland area could result in an annual gain of ∼$222 billion compared to an annual loss of ∼$732 billion in ecosystem services in the US alone. Focusing on key management options for sustaining wetlands, we highlight areas at risk of losing wetlands and identify the benefits possible from conserving refugia or managing SEC rates.


Human milk has been found to be beneficial for the development of all newborns. It is protective during the development of the gastrointestinal tract, important in neurologic development, immune system function, and nourishment. Human milk has a number of components that aid in the antiinflammatory process and free radical reduction and is a building block for neurologic development. Cerebral white matter injury is a common occurrence in preterm infants. Results of this injury can be seen into early childhood and throughout the life of the individual. White matter injury most frequently occurs because of hypoxia and the inflammatory process, which often results in the injury of myelinating oligodendrites. This article proposes the potential importance of human milk in slowing and preventing cerebral white matter injury because of the components in human milk that affect the inflammatory and free radical reduction processes. It also proposes its ability to provide nutrients essential to myelin development.


A de-noising method is proposed for 3DM-GX1 accelerometer signal based on kalman filter and average filter. This method can reduce the disturbance caused by vibration of vehicle motion and sensor itself, get acceleration accurately, and have advantages of easy realization and good real-time performance. A vehicle acceleration signal model is established with real acceleration noises as simulation signals based on kalman filter and average filter. Experiments based on real vehicle acceleration signal showed that the method could reflect the detailed information effectively by filtering noise, and it is very suitable for de-noising of vehicle acceleration signals which needs real-time application. The start, stop, advance and retreat action could be identify from the acceleration signal by using the proposed de-noising method based on kalman filter and average filter.


Natural Flood Management (NFM) aims to work with natural processes to reduce flood risk, and can potentially contribute to integrated flood risk management (alongside engineering solutions) by providing landscape-based resilience to climate change impacts. Here, two approaches are used to assess the extent to which NFM could offset the impacts of climate change on floods in Great Britain. The first looks at specific catchments where there is quantitative evidence for the effect of NFM measures on peak flows. The second takes a broad-brush national view, assuming two potential levels of NFM reductions in peak flows. Both approaches use flood impacts derived from climate change projections for a range of future time-slices and emissions scenarios. The results show that NFM measures are much less likely to be able to offset the impacts of climate change for later time-slices and for higher emissions scenarios, but also that the chance of offsetting the impacts of climate change in any individual catchment will depend on its type (how sensitive it is to climatic changes) and its location (due to spatial variation in climatic changes). Confounding factors in the analysis include any time lag associated with the NFM reduction in peak flows, and different effects of NFM on peak flows of different return periods. It is also unclear whether there is any relationship between a catchment's type and its practical potential for implementing NFM, or the level of peak flow reduction that NFM could achieve; any such relationship could be critical in determining the overall potential for NFM to offset climate change impacts in different catchments. Although the focus here is Great Britain, a similar approach could be applied internationally.


IMAI, Y., ABE, K., SASAKI, S., NIHEI, M., SEKINO, H. and YOSHINAGA, K. Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Conventional and Slow Release Forms of Nifedipine in Essential Hypertensive Patients. Tohoku J. exp. Med., 1986, 148 (4), 421-438 In patients with essential hypertension, the pharmacokinetics of nifedipine in 2 forms (capsule, 10 mg nifedipine dissolved in an organic solvent ; slow release tablet, 20 mg nifedipine) and their pharmacodynamic effectiveness on arterial pressure were studied. The maximum plasma concentration was higher and achieved more rapidly after application of the capsule than after the retard tablet (p <0.01). The plasma half-time of nifedipine in the capsule was shorter than that in the retard tablet (p <0.05). The absorption rate of nifedipine from the capsule tended to be larger than that from the retard tablet. Plasma concentrations of nifedipine, measured 12 hr after the dosing of the retard tablet during chronic treatment, were not different from those after the acute administration of the retard tablet, suggesting that no accumulation of nifedipine occurs. The capsule of nifedipine elicited prompt and profound hypotension with short duration, while the retard tablet produced a hypotensive effect with relatively slow onset and long duration. Arterial pressure reduction was maintained throughout the day using 12 hourly dose of the retard tablet. During the chronic treatment the maximum hypotensive effect was observed 4 weeks after the start of treatment. Twelve hourly administration of the retard tablet is a convenient regimen for the long-term control of mild to severe essential hypertension. nifedipine ; slow release form ; conventional form ; antihypertensive therapy ; essential hypertension


ABSTRACT Parasites in wildlife tend to be poorly studied in spite of the ecological roles they play, and even basic information such as the geographic distribution of the parasites and the hosts they infect or infest are not well known. For parasites that live within the host, part of the reason for this lack of information is that the hosts must be killed and dissected to determine which endoparasites they harbour, which has legal and/or ethical implications and limitations. These obstacles can be overcome by collecting and examining potential hosts that are found dead on roads or that are sacrificed as part of other non-related studies. In this study, our objective was to expand on our understanding of the gastrointestinal parasites of some common reptiles from an area in the vicinity of a study site in the Mid North region of South Australia by making use of snakes and large lizards that were found dead on roads or that were humanely killed for another study. Our study provides new locality and/or host species records for some parasite species.


Lower limb peripheral arterial disease is the atheromatous narrowing or occlusion of an artery or arteries of the leg. If symptoms occur these may include intermittent claudication, ischaemic rest pain, ulceration, and gangrene. Risk factors include advanced age, smoking, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, diabetes, obesity, and family history. Management strategies differ for patients with intermittent claudication and patients with limb threatening ischaemia, in whom angioplasty, surgical revascularisation, or amputation are usually required. The objective of the study is to assess lower extremity vessels diseases using commuted tomography angiography and to correlate computed tomography angiography diagnosis with patients, age, history and patient's gender, and to identify which the diseases most common in the lower extremities vessels. This is descriptive, cross section study carried out during the period from January to May 2016. The study was classified and analyzed by statistical package for social science. The results showed that incidence of lower extremity vessels diseases was high among the age group 70-74 years which represented 23 cases (25.27%). The study also showed 60 cases (65.93%) were male and 31 cases (34.07%) were female out of 91 cases scanned by computed tomography angiography. The study showed that most of cases were moderate weight 78 cases (85.71%) and the employers were most affected by lower extremity vessels disease represented in 52 cases (57.14%). The most computed tomography angiography diagnoses of cases were atherosclerosis represented in 71 cases (78.02%). The study also showed that location of disease mostly bilateral represented in 52 cases (61.90%) and most of patients had history of diabetic and they were 60 cases (65.93%). The study showed that the computed tomography angiography diagnosis and patients history had statistically significant association with presence of lower extremity vessels diseases. The study recommended that Computed tomography including computed tomography angiography protocol should be provided in governmental hospitals.


The Slovak and Subcarpathian Ruthenia bishops of the Catholic and Greek Catholic Churches published a pastoral letter in November 1924 to respond to the fact that some members of these churches were members of communist, socialist, or progressive organizations that rejected belief in God, criticizing the churches from atheistic positions and striving to create a secular society. In an effort to expand their membership and electorate, the socialists went so far as to formally present themselves with Christian symbolism, which was supposed to deceive Catholics in a difficult social position and attract them to their ranks. The bishops reflected on this fact and, through the Pastoral Letter, explained to the members of their churches the destructiveness of socialist and progressive theories and recommended that they leave anti-Catholic organizations. Those Catholics who deliberately failed to take their teachings and warnings into account had to expect that the Church would not administer certain sacraments to them. The publication of the Pastoral Letter provoked a fierce reaction in socialist and progressive circles as an attack against the state, its constitution and laws, the government, and the democratic system that threatened the very existence of the Republic. The Pastoral Letter and its authors, the Catholic Church, the Holy See, and Czech and Slovak political Catholicism were violently attacked by journalists, triggering a press affair. Subsequently, the question time of German Social Democrats in the Chamber of Deputies resulted in a government crisis solved not only by the government, parliament, and political parties but also by the so-called Pětka (Committee of Five) as the supreme body of Czechoslovak politics. The search for a way out of the government crisis showed that the socialists, especially the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party, did not want to defend their own ideology in the case but used the publication of the Letter to pressure the Czechoslovak People's Party, which, as part of the government coalition and the Švehla government, hindered the solution of the issue of regulating the relationship between the state and the Catholic Church. They wanted to force a change in its attitude by acting tactically with the idea of a minority government without the participation of the Czechoslovak People's Party. However, the Czechoslovak People's Party's leaders handled the difficult situation it found itself in due to pressure from its coalition partners and the Catholic Slovak People's Party and the Prague radical wing of its own party formed around Rudolf Horský, thanks to the prudent policy of its chairman Jan Šrámek. Although it agreed to negotiate a regulation of the relationship between the state and the churches, it defended the membership of the Czechoslovak People's Party in the governing coalition, agreed to prosecute only those priests who manifestly violated the law, and defended the right of bishops to act independently in public within the limits of the law. This paper analyses and evaluates the current Slovak and Czech historical production on the topic of the Pastoral Letter, draws attention to the agreements and differences in the concept of the case individual authors presented, and indicates other possible research directions.


Introduction: Over the past 10 years, a number of systematic reviews have evaluated the validity of multisource feedback (MSF) to assess and quality-assure medical practice. The purpose of this study is to synthesize the results from existing reviews to provide a holistic overview of the validity evidence. Methods: This review identified eight systematic reviews evaluating the validity of MSF published between January 2006 and October 2016. Using a standardized data extraction form, two independent reviewers extracted study characteristics. A framework of validation developed by the American Psychological Association was used to appraise the validity evidence within each systematic review. Results: In terms of validity evidence, each of the eight reviews demonstrated evidence across at least one domain of the American Psychological Association's validity framework. Evidence of assessment validity within the domains of "internal structure" and "relationship to other variables" has been well established. However, the domains of content validity (ie, ensuring that MSF tools measure what they are intended to measure); consequential validity (ie, evidence of the intended or unintended consequences MSF assessments may have on participants or wider society), and response process validity (ie, the process of standardization and quality control in the delivery and completion of assessments) remain limited. Discussion: Evidence for the validity of MSF has, across a number of domains, been well established. However, the size and quality of the existing evidence remains variable. To determine the extent to which MSF is considered a valid instrument to assess medical performance, future research is required to determine the following: (1) how best to design and deliver MSF assessments that address the identified limitations of existing tools and (2) how to ensure that involvement within MSF supports positive changes in practice. Such research is integral if MSF is to continue to inform medical performance and subsequent improvements in the quality and safety of patient care.


This paper reviews the evidence on welfare time limits in the United States. It primarily refers to experimental and econometric evaluations. Time limits affect welfare recipients both before and after their limits are reached. Time limits reduce welfare receipt and increase employment before recipients reach the limit, as recipients "hoard" their months of eligibility for future use. Once recipients begin to exhaust their benefit entitlements, welfare use falls sharply. A large proportion of time-limit leavers, however, continues to receive Food Stamps, Medicaid, etc. The impact on employment is mixed. Income effects change from positive to neutral in subsequent periods.


IEC 411 STUDENT TEACHING IN INTERDISCIPLINARY EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION. (12) Course designed to give students experience with supervised teaching at the preprimary level. Emphasis will be placed on observation and teaching individual, small and large group methods). One afternoon per week will be devoted to a discussion and analysis of problems in student teaching. Discussion, two hours; laboratory 22 hours per week. To be offered pass-fail only. Prereq: Completion of professional sequence and formal admission to student teaching; admission to the Teacher Education Program or permission of instructor.


Museums are increasingly digitizing their collections and making them available to the public on-line. Creating such digital resources may become means for social inclusion. For museums that acknowledge migration history and cultures of ethnic minority groups as important subjects in multiethnic societies, digitization brings new possibilities for reaching source communities. This article describes Web projects conducted at Museum Maluku in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The article focuses on the museum's experiences with cross-institutional Web projects, since digitization of the museum's collection was initiated through collaboration with major national heritage institutions. The article also discusses how source communities through digital participation can become involved in building cultural heritage. Based on the case study of the Museum Maluku, it is argued that in order to design an appropriate mode of user participation as well as a sense of ownership it is crucial to take memory politics of source communities into account.


Gated Bayesian networks (GBNs) are an extension of Bayesian networks that aim to model systems that have distinct phases. In this paper, we aim to use GBNs to output buy and sell decisions for use in algorithmic trading systems. These systems may have several parameters that require tuning, and assessing the performance of these systems as a function of their parameters cannot be expressed in closed form, and thus requires simulation. Bayesian optimisation has grown in popularity as a means of global optimisation of parameters where the objective function may be costly or a black box. We show how algorithmic trading using GBNs, supported by Bayesian optimisation, can lower risk towards invested capital, while at the same time generating similar or better rewards, compared to the benchmark investment strategy buy-and-hold.


PURPOSE
Efforts to address inequities in medical education are centered on a dialogue of deficits that highlight negative underrepresented in medicine (UIM) learner experiences and lower performance outcomes. An alternative narrative explores perspectives on achievement and equity in assessment. This study sought to understand UIM learner perceptions of successes and equitable assessment practices.

METHOD
Using narrative research, investigators selected a purposeful sample of self-identified UIM fourth-year medical students and senior-level residents and conducted semi-structured interviews. Questions elicited personal stories of achievement during clinical training, clinical assessment practices that captured achievement, and equity in clinical assessment. Using re-storying and thematic analysis, investigators coded transcripts and synthesized data into themes and representative stories.

RESULTS
Twenty UIM learners (6 medical students and 14 residents) were interviewed. Learners often thought about equity during clinical training and provided personal definitions of equity in assessment. Learners shared stories that reflected their achievements in patient care, favorable assessment outcomes, and growth throughout clinical training. Sound assessments that captured achievements included frequent observations with real-time feedback on pre-defined expectations by supportive, longitudinal clinical supervisors. Finally, equitable assessment systems were characterized as sound assessment systems that also avoided comparison to peers, used narrative assessment, assessed patient care and growth, trained supervisors to avoid bias, and acknowledged learner identity.

CONCLUSIONS
UIM learners characterized equitable and sound assessment systems that captured achievements during clinical training. These findings guide future efforts to create an inclusive, fair, and equitable clinical assessment experience.


Cooperative breeding is a form of breeding system where in addition to a core breeding pair, one or more usually non-breeding individuals provide offspring care. Cooperative breeding is widespread in birds, but its origin and maintenance in contemporary populations are debated. Although deviations in adult sex ratio (ASR, the proportion of males in the adult population) have been hypothesized to influence the occurrence of cooperative breeding because of the resulting surplus of one sex and limited availability of breeding partners, this hypothesis has not been tested across a wide range of taxa. By using data from 188 bird species and phylogenetically controlled analyses, we show that cooperatively breeding species have more male-biased ASRs than non-cooperative species. Importantly, ASR predicts helper sex ratio: in species with more male-biased ASR, helper sex ratio is also more male biased. We also show that offspring sex ratios do not predict ASRs, so that the skewed ASRs emerge during the period when individuals aim to obtain a breeding position or later during adulthood. In line with this result, we found that ASR (among both cooperatively and non-cooperatively breeding species) is inversely related to sex bias in dispersal distance, suggesting that the cost of dispersal is more severe for the further-dispersing sex. As females usually disperse further in birds, this explains the generally male-biased ASR, and in combination with benefits of philopatry for males, this probably explains why ASR is more biased in cooperatively breeding species. Taken together, our results suggest that a sex bias in helping in cooperatively breeding species relates to biased ASRs. We propose that this relationship is driven by sex-specific costs and benefits of dispersal and helping, as well as other demographic factors. Future phylogenetic comparative and experimental work is needed to establish how this relationship emerges. This article is part of the themed issue 'Adult sex ratios and reproductive decisions: a critical re-examination of sex differences in human and animal societies'.


Background: The current research aims to isolate pyruvate kinase (Pyk) gene from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and expression of the gene (Rv1617) to obtain a purified enzyme. The enzyme activity and secondary structural features were assessed through biochemical assays and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, respectively. Methods: The Pyk-encoding gene from the complete genome of M. tuberculosis was cloned, sequenced, and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The enzyme was purified by nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid affinity chromatography and enzyme activity was determined by a lactose dehydrogenase-coupled assay system. Further, far ultraviolet CD spectra of the enzyme and the substrate bound enzyme were analyzed using a Jasco J712 spectrophotometer. Results: A single protein with an approximate molecular mass of 54 kDa was purified and a specific activity of 5.31 units/mg was determined from purified M. tuberculosis Pyk. The activity of the enzyme indicating a protein is defined by separate domain for each catalytic function. The secondary structure analysis of CD spectra of the recombinant Pyk has revealed a content of 17% α-helix, 34% β-sheet, and 49% turns in the enzyme. Conclusion: The growing evidence has impacted M. tuberculosis central carbon metabolism as a key determinant of the survival and pathogenicity in the host. The purified Pyk was observed to have increased enzyme activity in all steps of purification. Retention of Pyk activity indicates a possible catalytic role for the lower part of the glycolytic pathway. The overall results of the spectra obtained from the CD suggest that the substrate phosphoenolpyruvate and adenosine diphosphate binding to the enzyme can cause conformational changes resulting in the exposure or shielding of residues susceptible to modification.


ABSTRACT Research Findings This article examines whether time spent in free choice and teacher-directed activity settings within preschool was associated with indicators of school readiness and the extent to which children's learning was associated with the quality of teachers' behavior within these settings. Participants were 325 preschool teachers and 1,407 children from low-income backgrounds. Teacher–child interactions were measured in multiple cycles across 1 day of classroom observation within teacher-organized free choice and teacher-directed activity settings. The overall proportion of class time spent in free choice was positively related to children's average gains in inhibitory control, whereas class time spent in teacher-directed activities predicted gains in language development and early literacy skills. And more effective teacher–child interactions within the free choice setting were significantly related to children's average gains in language development and early literacy skills. Practice or Policy: Findings confirm that both free choice and teacher-directed settings in early education classrooms can be assets for children's learning; however, the value of time in child-managed activities is partially dependent on teachers' behavior with children.


Combining impeccable scholarship with accessible, straightforward prose, Pederasty and Pedagogy in Archaic Greece argues that institutionalized pederasty began after 650 B.C., far later than previous authors have thought, and was initiated as a means of stemming overpopulation in the upper class. William Armstrong Percy III maintains that Cretan sages established a system under which a young warrior in his early twenties took a teenager of his own aristocratic background as a beloved until the age of thirty, when service to the state required the older partner to marry. The practice spread with significant variants to other Greek-speaking areas. In some places it emphasized development of the athletic, warrior individual, while in others both intellectual and civic achievement were its goals. In Athens it became a vehicle of cultural transmission, so that the best of each older cohort selected, loved, and trained the best of the younger. Pederasty was from the beginning both physical and emotional, the highest and most intense type of male bonding. These pederastic bonds, Percy believes, were responsible for the rise of Hellas and the "Greek miracle": in two centuries the population of Attica, a mere 45,000 adult males in six generations, produced an astounding number of great men who laid the enduring foundations of Western thought and civilization.


Purpose - This research sets out to identify and explore the reasons why organisations decide to use process mapping software (PMS) facilities in support of Business Process Management (BPM); to determine the objectives set by senior management for its introduction, and understand extent to which the benefits are achieved by organisations from its implementation.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses an exploratory research design and investigates the elements of organisations' objectives, implementation and evaluation of using PMS. The research data was collected through semi-structured telephone interviews with business managers responsible for the implementation of PMS in their organisation. The respondent organisations were selected from a range of industry sectors all of whom were using the same BPM software.
Findings - The results of the research show that organisations do set objectives for using PMS, relevant to a wide range of business, operational and strategic objectives, dependant on the needs of the organisation. Additionally, the results show that some organisations gain further advantages post-implementation, based on their experience of using the PMS. As for the explicit evaluation of their investment, organisations attempt this to a very limited extent; but they do recognise a broad a range of 'softer' benefits achieved from its adoption.
Research limitations/implications – This exploratory research has been conducted on a small range of organisations, all using the same software, therefore the results cannot be clearly generalizable. Whilst the research suggests organisations are making effective decisions regarding the use of PMS, further research on the methods of evaluation could be developed to support better decision-making in the future.
Practical implications – the practical implications of this research are for decision-makers in organisations recognising and understanding the potential (strategic / operational) benefits that could be achieved by implementing a software system for BPM.
Originality/value - Whilst the use of process maps, and mapping of organisation's operations is widespread the benefits achieved by organisations is only partially understood. Knowledge of the strategic impact of BPM is limited, as Trkman (2010) states "this may derive from the inherent complexity of the field". This research attempts to explore the context of organisations using such software, and point towards further approaches to its investigation.
Keywords - BPM; Process Mapping; Process Mapping Systems; Business Strategy; Business Objectives.
Paper type – Research paper
Ref: Trkman, P. (2010). The critical success factors of business process management. International Journal of Information Management, 30, pp.125-134


Sales information system is a system designed to simplify the online sales process. Based on research at Roti Nabila Bakery Factory researchers found problems in the Promotion System that only relied on Sales in conducting sales promotions, Ordering system is still recorded in a piece of paper, Calculation of total sales transactions still use calculator tools and Sales Reports are still recorded in a Sales Book so The researcher wants to Design a Sales Information System Application to solve the problems that exist in the research site. This study uses whitebox and blackbox testing. Whitebox testing is testing with trial techniques on program flow, logic structure and program procedures by flowchart mapping, then calculating the number of edges and nodes. Black box testing method focuses on the functional requirements of the software. Therefore black box trials allow software developers to create a set of input conditions that will train all the functional requirements of a program whether it runs as expected or vice versa. Based on the results of examining Whitebox in one of the processes in this system, namely on the Ordering of bread menu with a balanced yield of Cyclometic Complexity (CC) = 4, this system is stated to work well. While the results of the Blackbox system test can run as expected. Keywords: Information System, Sales, Android, php, html and Mysql.


An encryption system with discretized skew tent map has been proposed recently by N. Masuda . However, there is a fundamental weakness with this chaotic cryptographic scheme. In this paper, a chosen plaintext attack requiring only two plaintexts is proposed. An improved version of this attack that narrows the key space need to be searched is also suggested. The test results demonstrate that this encryption cryptosystem is easily broken under the proposed chosen plaintext attack.


Urbanization can increase artificial coverage rates and emissions by causing increases in traffic, which represents a serious health risk to pedestrians. To create pedestrian-friendly environments in urban canyons, this study examined their microclimates and air quality; methods to improve the pedestrian environment were also explored, based on the current street green space practices in Seoul, Korea. Under these current standards, the physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) of the pedestrian roads was predicted to decrease by 1.29–1.44 °C, but this was insufficient to adjust the thermal stress level. The air temperature of the pedestrian road declined slightly; fine dust concentrations increased, and ozone concentrations decreased. The effects of increasing the planting occupancy on the pedestrian environment were then simulated, which resulted in decreases in PET of 3.04–3.49 °C, depending on the floor area ratio, thereby effectively lowering the thermal stress stage. The particulate matter concentrations increased, however, and the air quality deteriorated. Therefore, street greenery planning alone cannot sufficiently improve both the microclimate and air quality of urban pedestrian roads. Thus, it is necessary to plan street greenery spaces in parallel with measures to improve air quality.


Introduction Many modern occupations require workers to spend a significant portion of their time operating computers. Somemay see this as a potential problem (e.g., Internet addiction or repetitive stress injuries) while others may see this as an opportunity (e.g., increased productivity). From both points of view, we can make a case for the need to monitor and analyze the interactions of people and the computers they use. The data gleaned from these interactions can be used to increase the productivity of the person/computer pair, to reduce the cost and number of errors resulting from the collaboration, to detect the ill-effects of extensive computer use, and to detect changes in other abilities that manifest themselves as changes in computer use. A common viewpoint for personal assistants centers around the question of which tasks the assistant can perform for (or in partnership with) the user. This short paper argues that we need to expand this viewpoint to include personal assistants that monitor and report back on the user's performance. In support of this argument, we will enumerate specific uses and benefits of monitoring the cognitive abilities of computer users through human-computer-interaction and map these benefits to specific occupations and populations. We focus on one particular population: older adults experiencing or concerned about cognitive decline.


As we know today, Indonesia has entered the era of revolution 4.0 which in that era had a major influence on the changes that took place in all fields. Including in the field of education, in particular, the changes that occur in the world of education today are so rapid with the abandonment of learning methods that still use conventional methods. Doing tasks with books, face-to-face communication, collecting assignments in hard copy, which will certainly cause a lot of losses in a certain period of time, such as many assignments that are long buried and difficult to find when needed. This method is certainly considered a boring and time-consuming method, where students cannot explore in the learning process which will take a long time to do a manual search for the number of files that have been collected. At present, the application of learning methods with concepts organizes many reports on the work of assignments on a website content management system. This learning method is made to maximize the way to organize student assignment reports for time management efficiency, therefore this learning method can be applied as the management of education in higher education. It is expected that the existence of this method can improve time management in learning so that it motivates to explore abilities in the existing learning process.


Introduction: Most potentially malignant disorders (PMDs) are asymptomatic, and the main aim of treatment is to prevent and/or to detect cancer development early. Etiological factors can be identified and patients can be warned of the potential of malignancy. Abstinence from tobacco and alcohol, even after many years of use, significantly reduces the risk of developing cancer. The knowledge of susceptibility to cancer among the general population must be imparted by awareness programs and publications in media. Oral PMDs may be considered a blessing in disguise as they can help in early diagnosis and prevention of oral malignancies which can decrease the burden of cancer prevalence, especially in the youth and working class of the society. Results: According to this survey, awareness of oral PMDs was low among patients. It was found that television and Internet had played a significant role in patients who were aware of oral precancerous conditions. The aim of this survey is to assess the awareness about oral PMDs among dental patients. Materials and Methods: To assess the awareness about oral PMDs, a self-interviewed questionnaire was used to collect information from 100 patients of different age groups attending the dental hospital, Chennai. The questionnaire was designed and included relevant questions to ascertain information on awareness, and sources of information about oral precancerous conditions. Results: A total of 100 questionnaires were distributed. The study population consisted of 41 female and 59 male patients of different age groups. Forty-two percent of the individuals out of 100 were aware of PMDs whereas, 58% did not know about it. Conclusion: According to this survey, awareness of oral PMDs was low among patients.


Miniaturized electrical biosensors have become a promising tool for monitoring and analyzing biologically relevant substances by converting a biological signal into an electric current. Despite great progress in the analysis of macromolecules, the detection of small molecules that are of particular interest for medical and environmental analytics still remains a challenge. Here, the functional connection of a sensing element to an electrical switch is a bottleneck in biosensor design. Bacterial substrate binding proteins (SBPs) and ligand gated ion channels (LGICs) evolved over billions of years to recognize a variety of biologically relevant molecules with high selectivity and sensitivity. While SBPs are involved in the uptake of substances across bacterial cell membranes, LGICs mediate neuronal excitation in the central nervous system of vertebrates. The ancient binding modules of these two protein families share a conserved clamshell-like structure and entrap the ligand in their inter-lobe cleft by inducing a large conformational transition between the open- and closed- cleft states in a venus flytrap-like mechanism. In this work, i) the underlying mechanisms of ligand recognition and functional adaptability of LGICs and SBPs are investigated and exploited to ii) couple SBPs as sensor domains to biological and solid-state nanopores to build new types of electrical biosensors for the specific detection of biologically relevant small molecules.
Despite their intrinsic capability to convert a chemical signal into an electrical signal, LGICs are only now gradually being used for biosensor design since core aspects in the mechanistic understanding of ligand recognition, modulation and activation in different receptor subtypes are poorly understood. Here we investigated the structural impact and mechanism(s) of full and partial agonism in glycine receptors (GlyRs) in its native lipid environment and the modulatory role of the amino terminal domain (NTD) in GluN1/GluN3 NMDA receptor auto-inhibition after glycine binding to the low affinity GluN1 subunit. We show that the full agonist glycine and the partial agonist taurine induce different conformational transitions of the α1 GlyR. In addition, we show that the expression system dependent variability of agonist affinity in HEK293 cells and Xenopus oocytes is not mediated by an altered conformational change. Furthermore, we report that the GluN3A NTD has a major role in GluN1/GluN3A receptor regulation by reducing the efficacy of glycine-depended receptor activation by agonist-evoked auto-inhibition. This effect is possibly mediated by the subunit interface and the NTD-LBD linkers of the GluN3A NTD.
These insights into the conformational changes and structural adaptability have been further exploited to use bacterial SBPs and SBDs from LGICs as a molecule detector when connected to an electrical switch by coupling the ectoine binding protein EhuB to the channel pore of the ionotropic glutamate receptor GluR0 to design receptor-based biosensor and by coupling the phosphonate binding protein PhnD inside a single track-etched solid-state nanopore that combines the high affinity and selectivity of SBPs with the robustness of artificial nanopores. These new classes of electrical biosensors are characterized by a high ligand-affinity and specificity with concentration-dependent changes in the (nanopore) current after Ligand binding.
The results in this work provide an excellent foundation for the use of SBPs and LGICs as sensor domains to developme new classes of electric biosensors with high specificity and affinity for detection of biologically relevant small molecules. Moreover, our approaches and insights into ligand recognition and modulation enhance the repertoire of biophysical methods and may deepen the understanding of the functions of LGICs at the molecular, synaptic and systemic level.


ABSTRACT A new species of Polycoelia, P. kurariirapa, is described from the Three Kings Islands/Manawatāwhi, representing the first record of the genus in New Zealand. Polycoelia includes two species from Australia, P. laciniata (generitype) and P. fastigiata, and one from South Africa, P. harveyana. Polycoelia kurariirapa shares with the two Australian species the characteristic vegetative anatomy of the genus consisting of a single layer of medullary cells surrounded by a cortex of small-celled, anticlinal filaments, and branched thalli. The rbcL phylogenetic analysis confirmed the close, and sister, relationship of P. kurariirapa with the Australian taxa, while they were only weakly grouped with P. harveyana. This new genus adds to the unique seaweed flora of these islands in northern New Zealand and indicates that this area may harbour even more hidden diversity.


Background Effective handover is key in preventing harm. 1 In the Acute Surgical Receiving Unit of Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, large numbers of patients are transferred daily. However, lack of medical handover during transfer means important tasks are missed. Our aim was to understand and reflect on the current system and test changes to improve medical handover. Aim Our aim was to ensure that 95% of patients being transferred from the Acute Surgical Receiving Unit receive a basic medical handover within 2 months. Methods Initially, we collated issues that were missed when patients were transferred. These data coupled with questionnaire data from members of the team fed into the creation of a handover tool. We proposed to link our tool with the nursing handover, hence creating one unified handover tool. We completed six full Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles (two on communication to aide handover and four on the tool itself) to assess and develop our tool. Results By our final PDSA cycle, 84% (33/39) of the patients had a handover, meaning no tasks were missed during transfer. After 4 months, 9 out of 10 staff felt that the introduction of the handover sheet made the handover process smoother and 8 out of 10 felt that the handover sheet improved patient safety and quality of care. Conclusions Improving handover can be challenging. However, we have shown that a relatively simple intervention can help promote better practice. Challenges are still present as uptake was only 84%, so work still has to be done to improve this. A wider cultural change involving communication and education would be required to implement this tool more widely.


The continued emissions of anthropogenic carbon dioxide are causing progressive ocean acidification (OA). While deleterious effects of OA on biological systems are well documented in the growth of calcifying organisms, lesser studied impacts of OA include potential effects on gamete interactions that determine fertilization, which are likely to influence the many marine species that spawn gametes externally. Here, we explore the effects of OA on the signalling mechanisms that enable sperm to track egg-derived chemicals (sperm chemotaxis). We focus on the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, where sperm chemotaxis enables eggs to bias fertilization in favour of genetically compatible males. Using an experimental design based on the North Carolina II factorial breeding design, we test whether the experimental manipulation of seawater pH (comparing ambient conditions to predicted end-of-century scenarios) alters patterns of differential sperm chemotaxis. While we find no evidence that male–female gametic compatibility is impacted by OA, we do find that individual males exhibit consistent variation in how their sperm perform in lowered pH levels. This finding of individual variability in the capacity of ejaculates to respond to chemoattractants under acidified conditions suggests that climate change will exert considerable pressure on male genotypes that can withstand an increasingly hostile fertilization environment.


Compact multiband coplanar waveguide-fed L-loaded printed-inverted-F antennas (printed-IFAs) with multiple-folded-slots (MFS) transmission line is proposed in this letter. The proposed antenna is designed for the transmission and reception of the digital video broadcasting signal DVB (470-860 MHz) frequency band and DVB-L (1452-1492 MHz) band. The proposed antenna is suitable for use in the global system for mobile communication (GSM 850/900), all bands of long term evolution (LTE), covering from 800 MHz to 2.6 GHz, industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) 2.45 GHz, Wi-Max bands at 3.5 GHz and 5.7 GHz, WLAN 5.2 GHz and other wireless communication applications. Multiband behavior is achieved by loading folded slots CPW-fed with L-loaded printed-IFA. Capacitive loads are added at the open end of the L-loaded printed-IFA for additional reduction of the antenna size. The proposed antenna possesses the properties of good performance, compact size, low profile, and low cost. Hence, it is suitable for implementation in wireless applications.


Many tumor cells produce nitric oxide (NO) as an antiapoptotic/progrowth molecule which also promotes antiogenesis and tumor expansion. This study was designed to examine possible antagonistic effects of endogenous NO on tumor eradication by photodynamic therapy (PDT). Using COH‐BR1 breast cancer cells sensitized in mitochondria with 5‐aminolevulinic acid (ALA)‐generated protoporphyrin IX as a model for ALA‐based PDT, we found that caspase‐9 activation and apoptotic death following irradiation were strongly enhanced by 1400W, an inhibitor of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). RT‐PCR and Western analyses revealed a substantial upregulation of both iNOS mRNA and protein, beginning ca 4 h after irradiation and persisting for at least 20 h. Accompanying this was a strong 1400W‐inhibitable increase in intracellular NO, as detected with the NO probe, DAF‐2‐DA. Short hairpin RNA‐based iNOS knockdown in COH‐BR1 cells dramatically reduced NO production under photostress while enhancing caspase‐9 activation and apoptosis. These findings suggest that cytoprotective iNOS/NO induction in PDT‐treated tumor cells could reduce treatment efficacy, and point to pharmacologic intervention with iNOS inhibitors for counteracting this.


Moga District in Punjab, India, is a microcosm of the twin story of irrigation-induced growth and stress. The groundwater consumptive water use in agriculture exceeds the recharge by a substantial margin. Rice production contributes to a major part of this difference. The groundwater depletion is so critical that diversifying agriculture is the only way forward for sustainable agricultural growth. Reducing the rice area and intensifying milk production will be a win-win situation for both the farmers and the area reeling with a groundwater crisis.


Abstract Proso millet is an important short-season summer cereal in western Nebraska, southeast Wyoming, and eastern Colorado. The objective of this study was to evaluate proso millet tolerance to saflufenacil applied early preplant (EPP) or PRE. Field studies were conducted in Lingle, WY and Sidney, NE in 2008 and 2009. A dose–response study was conducted in the greenhouse at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, WY to determine proso millet cultivar response to saflufenacil applied at six rates from 0 to 400 g ai ha−1. In the field, saflufenacil was applied EPP and PRE at 50 and 100 g ha−1. Proso millet stands were reduced by an average of 33 and 23% by PRE and EPP treatments compared with the nontreated check; however, proso seed yields were not affected by saflufenacil timing or rate. In the greenhouse, 'Panhandle' and 'Dawn' exhibited less tolerance to saflufenacil than 'Sunrise', the cultivar used in the field studies. Nomenclature: Saflufenacil; 2-chloro-5-[3,6-dihydro-3-methyl-2,6-dioxo-4-(trifluoromethyl)-1(2H)-pyrimidinyl[-4-fluoro-N-[[methyl(1-methylethyl)amino]sulfonyl]benzamide; proso millet, Panicum miliaceum L.


Urbanization and industrialization are the main causes of increasing contaminated soils in cities all around the world. This leads to numerous abandoned lands, reduction in biodiversity, and thereby posing a serious health risk for urban inhabitants. The development of effective and ecological remediation approaches is necessary. Phytoremediation is well known as an ecological solution with good acceptation for remediation of contaminated soils. Since, urban soils are particularly characterized by their highly disturbed, heterogeneous and low fertility, the application of phytoremediation to rehabilitate contaminated soils in urban areas is until now very limited at the laboratory scale and even less at the field scale. In this context, we have to take into account all these parameters and precautions when it's application. The main objective of this chapter is to discuss how to take phytoremediation approaches from a proven technology to an accepted practice in an urban context. An overview of urban soil types is provided following phytoremediation's application for urban soils with the focus on inorganic and organic pollutants, to provide a frame of reference for the subsequent discussion on better utilization of phytoremediation. At last, we offer suggestion on how to gain greater acceptance for phytoremediation by urban inhabitants.


When individuals have limited information and are uncertain about the quality of a good, government policy, or the lack thereof, can serve as a signal to consumers about the likelihood of realizing alternatives states of nature. In this paper, we focus on a controversial beliefs about government intervention: the market for genetically modified food. Data from a mail survey were used to estimate an econometric model where beliefs about labeling policy, beliefs about the safety of genetically modified food, and willingness to consume genetically modified food are endogenously determined. Results indicate that consumers who believe the government has a mandatory labeling policy for genetically modified food are more likely to believe genetically modified food is unsafe than consumers who believe no such policy is in place.


Using synchronized tobacco Bright Yellow-2 cells and cDNA-amplified fragment length polymorphism-based genomewide expression analysis, we built a comprehensive collection of plant cell cycle-modulated genes. Approximately 1,340 periodically expressed genes were identified, including known cell cycle control genes as well as numerous unique candidate regulatory genes. A number of plant-specific genes were found to be cell cycle modulated. Other transcript tags were derived from unknown plant genes showing homology to cell cycle-regulatory genes of other organisms. Many of the genes encode novel or uncharacterized proteins, indicating that several processes underlying cell division are still largely unknown.


Amino-terminal fragments of listeriolysin O (LLO) of 240 and 411 residues (fragments LLO240 and LLO411, respectively) were expressed in Escherichia coli as fusion polypeptides with maltose-binding protein (MBP) with the aim of producing specific antigens for use in serological tests. In Western blots (immunoblots) with crude bacterial extracts of the fusion polypeptides, the reactivities of MBP-LLO240 and MBP-LLO411 with anti-LLO antibody (ALLO)- and anti-streptolysin O antibody (ASLO)-positive human sera were first compared with that of the entire LLO (LLO530) also fused to MBP (MBP-LLO530). Sixteen of 17 (94.1%) ALLO-positive samples reacting with MBP-LLO530 also reacted with MBP-LLO411, whereas this proportion dropped to 11 of 17 (64.7%) with MBP-LLO240. Alternatively, 18 of 19 (94.7%) ASLO-positive samples giving an interpretable result reacted with MBP-LLO530, whereas 1 of 19 (5.3%) of these samples reacted with MBP-LLO240 or MBP-LLO411. The fusion polypeptide MBP-LLO411 was purified by maltose affinity chromatography and was further evaluated as a diagnostic antigen in a Western blot assay. Twenty-one of 21 (100%) serum samples obtained from patients with listeriosis and found to be positive for ALLO by a reference dot blot test reacted with MBP-LLO411, whereas 1 of 20 (5%) ASLO-positive serum samples and 1 of 100 (1%) serum samples from healthy adults were reactive. Thus, a polypeptide limited to the 411 amino-terminal residues of LLO is a specific and sensitive antigen for the detection of ALLO.


Purpose: Computational quantification of the dose and dose‐rate dependence of radiation‐induced DNA double‐strand break (DSB) repair, and the significance of high dose and high dose‐rate limits pertinent to stereotactic body radiation therapy(SBRT) fractionation regimens. Method and Materials: The mass‐action biochemical kinetics approach was used to describe the binding of repair enzymes to DSBs through the formation of intermediate repair complexes which lead to DNA rejoining. To quantify the formation of intermediate repair complexes, coupled non‐linear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) which govern the dynamics of DNADSB non‐homologous end‐joining (NHEJ) repair were used. Biochemical kinetics parameters for human fibroblast cells were used and the ODEs were numerically solved to predict the number of DSB complexes for doses in the range of 2–30 Gy and dose‐rates in the range of 1–100 Gy/h. Results: Our computational analysis predicts that the number of DSB repair complexes formed in the high dose and high dose‐rate limit can be several orders of magnitude higher than those in the low dose and low dose‐rate limit. Conclusion: This work indicates that SBRT can lead to significantly higher therapeutic ratios in radiation therapy, if normal tissue toxicity can be maintained at levels comparable to those of conventional fractionation regimens. Since our computational analysis directly incorporates the quantification of cellular biochemical processes, its predictions are considerably more tractable in the high dose and high dose‐rate regime than models such as the linear‐quadratic model. Contributors: Ramin M. Abolfath, Ph.D., Robert D. Timmerman, M.D., Timothy D. Solberg, Ph.D., Debabrata Saha, Ph.D., Michael Story, Ph.D., Paul Derose, M.D., Homayoun Hamidian, Ph.D.


Ground parrot vocalisation can be considered as an audio event. Test-based diverse density multiple instance learning (TB-DD-MIL) is proposed for detecting this event in audio files recorded in the field. The proposed method is motivated by the advantages of multiple instance learning from incomplete training data. Spectral features suitable for encoding the vocal source information of the ground parrot vocalization are also investigated. The proposed method was benchmarked against a dataset collected in various environmental conditions and an audio detection evaluation scheme is proposed. The evaluation includes a study on performance of the various vocal source features and comparison with other classification techniques. Experimental results indicated that the most appropriate feature to encode ground parrot calls is the spectral bandwidth and the proposed TB-DD-MIL method outperformed other existing classification methods.


There is no colony without power. Every colonial experience exhibits power internally as well as externally. In the social and cultural life of 'Pre', 'Post' and during the colonial period, the exercise of power is felt in every walk of life. In the writings of Meena Alexander these experiences are prominent. She negotiates with the issue of 'Home' and 'Identity' in almost all her writings. 'Home' is in fact a space basically fluid in nature. Meena Alexander is always in an experiment on the issues of 'Home' and 'Identity' in her creative oeuvre. In her writings the issues of 'family' and various relations are mixed together. As a prominent diasporic writer, Meena Alexander tries to break the social, cultural and linguistic barriers which have so long been the sources of pain for many individuals. This paper endeavours to explore her postcolonial journey and her views of making a home, a living one and a literary one, and an individual identity of her own through her literary and poetic creations. The explosion of expression brings new ideas and new theories. The colonial suppression grows into revolt and revolution, and literary movement or literary theory such as postcolonial theory which comes into existence through the endeavours of famous critics like Franz Fanon, Edward Said, Homi K. Bhabha, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Aijaz Ahmad and many others. The postcolonial studies cover a broad passage of literary discourse. The discourse also includes the area of diaspora with dislocation, displacement and settlement.


Leaching of silicate ores, particularly nickel laterites, with the aid of heterotrophic organisms has been briefly reviewed. Samples of laterite ores from Greece were characterised mineralogically and a number of microorganisms isolated from them. One of these organisms (code FI) was successfully acclimatized to 6400 ppm nickel. Samples of the high-grade Greek Kastoria nickel laterite were leached with sulphuric acid and a number of organic acids. Sulphuric and citric acids extracted over 60 and 40% of the contained nickel, respectively, but the other acids employed were less efficient leachants. Oxalic acid precipitated nickel oxalate. Roughly the same extraction of iron was observed. The main leaching parameter was confirmed to be hydrogen ion concentration, although complexation with organic anions was a contributor. Organism FI (a strain of Penicillium ) was used in comparison with organisms from various culture collections to bioleach nickel from samples of the low-grade Greek Litharakia nickel laterite. The organisms were cultivated in a mixture of a sugar-based nutrient mineral medium and finely ground ore. Several penicillia and aspergilli leached 55–60% of the contained nickel and cobalt, and 25–35% of the iron when sucrose was the carbon source, but FI was not efficient. However, in molasses medium, Fl extracted nearly 40% of the nickel. Biosorption and bioprecipitation reactions were observed. The mechanism of bioleaching or in situ leaching is discussed in terms of close physical and chemical association between the fungal hyphae and mineral phases in the ore. This accounted for the low overall hydrogen ion concentration observed during bioleaching.


ABSTRACT Efficient recovery of rare earth elements (REEs) from scrap NdFeB magnets is a significant requirement for a circular economy. Therefore, the development of a cost-effective and environmentally friendly leaching process for the dissolution of iron and REEs has received extensive interest. In this study, the dissolution of NdFeB magnet powders in sulphuric acid solution was investigated in detail. Taguchi orthogonal array was employed for the first time to define and optimise the influence of sulphuric acid concentration, solid-to-liquid ratio and stirring speed on the extraction of iron and rare earth elements (REEs). The acid concentration of sulphuric acid was determined as a key factor for iron and REEs dissolution, while solid-to-liquid ratio and stirring speed slightly affected the dissolution of REEs and iron. Maximum iron and REEs extraction were achieved under optimal conditions as the sulphuric acid concentration of 1 M, solid-to-liquid ratio of 1/15 and stirring speed of 350 rev min−1. Consequently, after the validation experiment, it was proved that the design of experiments based on Taguchi orthogonal array is an efficient way for the optimisation of process parameters.


The incidence of sudden death is 4 fold greater in athletes than in their nonathletic counterparts due to a quiescent cardiac abnormality predisposing to life threatening arrhythmia. The most common cause of sudden cardiac death in younger athletes are genetic disorders like hypertrophic or arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy and coronary artery anomalies whereas in older athletes – atherosclerotic coronary artery disease. There are some indications that excessive endurance exercise may be itself potentially harmful causing myocardial remodeling affecting the right ventricle and resulting in proarrhythmic effect of damaged myocardium. Endurance sport may increase a risk of coronary events. Preparticipation screening protocol encompassing  electrocardiogramis is recommended. ECG improves efficacy in detection of conditions capable of causing sudden death in sport. Disqualification of athletes affected by life threatening heart diseases significantly decreases risk of sudden cardiac death.


The two types of niche markets targeted by lamb marketing cooperatives are described in this guide. The first type includes specialty middlemen outlets that cooperatives used to market lamb to specialized niches within the traditional meat marketing system of retail food stores, restaurants, food service outlets, and specialty distributors. The second type includes those outlets that cooperatives used to market lamb directly to the consumer, such as freezer markets, farmers' markets, mobile markets, and mail order sales. This guide also describes the advertising, promotional, and other marketing programs used by cooperatives to target these markets. Finally the competition, product differentiation, capital requirements, market development, management, processing, changing goals, and member commitment challenges faced by these cooperatives are briefly discussed.


Little is known of the diversity, demography, and essential fish habitat of sharks within the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) marine ecosystem. To examine species diversity and the relative abundance of elasmobranchs in this region, bottom-longline and hand-gear sampling was conducted in Fish Bay, St. John, USVI, from June 2004 to December 2005. In the 8 sampling trips during this period, 54 standardized longline sets caught 174 elasmobranchs comprising 5 species of sharks and 1 batoid. Overall catch per unit effort [ln(CPUE + 1) ± SE] was 1.83 ± 0.16 elasmobranchs 100 hooks–1 h–1. Lemon sharks Negaprion brevirostris had the highest relative abundance based on log-transformed CPUE data (0.98 ± 0.15), followed by blacktip sharks Carcharhinus limbatus (0.91 ± 0.18), southern stingrays Dasyatis americana (0.28 ± 0.08), nurse sharks Ginglymostoma cirratum (0.08 ± 0.05), blacknose sharks Carcharhinus acronotus (0.06 ± 0.04) and the Caribbean sharpnose Rhizoprionodon porosus (0.03 ± 0.03). The relative abundance of all species was significantly higher in the summer (2.6 ± 0.2) than during the winter (1.1 ± 0.2). For the blacktip (N = 89 captures of 74 individuals) and lemon (N = 66, 48 individuals) sharks, which comprised the bulk of the catch, mean fork length (± SE) was 51.9 ± 0.63 cm and 59.9 ± 1.2 cm, respectively, representing primarily neonatal and young-of-the-year life stages. The recapture rates for blacktip and lemon sharks were 21% and 29%, respectively, and nearly all recaptures occurred within the bay, indicating a high degree of site fidelity. Capture information and limited acoustic tracking provided evidence of spatial and temporal habitat partitioning by these 2 shark species within the bay. Although the CPUE of both species was highest over shallow (<1 m) seagrass substrate, lemon sharks were found and tracked exclusively on shallow, mangrove-fringed seagrass habitat, while blacktip sharks utilized a wider area of the bay. Fish Bay was determined to provide important nursery habitat for young juvenile lemon and blacktip sharks in the USVI.


: Infection of cells of the EBV-free human B-lymphoma lines BJAB and Ramos resulted in conversion of these cells to EBV-genome carriers expressing EBNA. EBV isolates from P3HR-1 cells induced a heterogeneous EBNA pattern: both a faintly granular pattern and brilliant EBNA-expression were observed. The two types of EBNA-expressing cells could be separated upon cloning. Brilliantly EBNA-expressing cells always segregated varying percentages of EBNA-negative cells. An EBNA-negative subclone derived from these cells was devoid of detectable EBV DNA. Nucleic acid hybridization experiments failed to reveal a correlation between the intensity of EBNA expression and the number of EBV genome equivalents per cell. EBV genome-containing cells had an average of 14-fold more cells showing EA synthesis after superinfection by P3HR-1 virus, when compared with EBNA-negative cells infected under identical conditions. Studies on the kinetics of EA induction in EBNA-positive and EBNA-negative cells indicate that complementation is required for the induction of EA after superinfection.


—The real roots of the univariate polynomial closure condition of a planar parallel robot determine the solutions of its forward kinematics. This paper shows how the univariate polynomials of all fully- parallel planar robots can be derived directly from that of the widely known 3-RPR robot by simply formulating these polynomials in terms of distances and oriented areas. This is a relevant result because it avoids the case-by-case treatment that requires different sets of variable eliminations to obtain the univariate polynomial of each fully-parallel planar robot.


Objective: The aims of this study were firstly to determine prevalence, frequency, and clinical significance of cerebral microemboli in an unselected acute ischemic stroke population and secondly to examine how this information may improve ischemic stroke subtype classification. Methods: We intended to perform transcranial Doppler (TCD) microembolus monitorings of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) in the symptomatic hemisphere for 45 min in 120 consecutive patients with internal carotid artery territory ischemia. The first examination was performed within 72 h from start of symptoms and the second 5 ± 1 days later. Platelet and coagulation system activation were measured following TCD monitoring in 38 patients. The strokes were subtyped using the TOAST classification criteria, and the patients' clinical status was assessed at discharge using the Scandinavian Stroke Scale and the Barthel Index. Results: Microembolus monitoring was technically possible in 83 (69.2%) of the 120 patients. Thirty-two (26.6%) patients had an inadequate temporal bone acoustic window or were too restless to allow long-time monitoring. In 5 (4.2%) patients the relevant MCA was occluded. Twenty-two (26.5%) of the 83 patients had microemboli despite the fact that over 90% were receiving an antiplatelet or an anticoagulant treatment. The mean frequency of microemboli was 6.7 ± 13.6 per 45 min. Microemboli were more prevalent in assumed cardioembolic stroke than in other subtypes of ischemic stroke (p = 0.047). We found no association between the presence of cerebral microemboli and the clinical outcome or the parameters for platelet or coagulation system activation. The presence of microemboli was not associated with in-hospital deaths (p = 0.17), whereas MCA occlusion was (p = 0.01). Conclusions: Cerebral microemboli are frequent in unselected acute ischemic stroke patients despite antiplatelet or anticoagulant treatment. TCD detection of microemboli provides valuable pathophysiological information and may, therefore, improve current ischemic stroke subtype classification.


Xenotime occurs as epitaxial overgrowths on detrital zircons in the Mesoproterozoic Revett Formation (Belt Supergroup) at the Spar Lake red bed-associated Cu-Ag deposit, western Montana. The deposit formed during diagenesis of Revett strata, where oxidizing metal-bearing hydrothermal fluids encountered a reducing zone. Samples for geochronology were collected from several mineral zones. Xenotime overgrowths (1–30 μm wide) were found in polished thin sections from five ore and near-ore zones (chalcocite-chlorite, bornite-calcite, galena-calcite, chalcopyrite-ankerite, and pyrite-calcite), but not in more distant zones across the region. Thirty-two in situ SHRIMP U-Pb analyses on xenotime overgrowths yield a weighted average of 207 Pb/ 206 Pb ages of 1409 ± 8 Ma, interpreted as the time of mineralization. This age is about 40 to 60 m.y. after deposition of the Revett Formation. Six other xenotime overgrowths formed during a younger event at 1304 ± 19 Ma. Several isolated grains of xenotime have 207 Pb/ 206 Pb ages in the range of 1.67 to 1.51 Ga, and thus are considered detrital in origin. Trace element data can distinguish Spar Lake xenotimes of different origins. Based on in situ SHRIMP analysis, detrital xenotime has heavy rare earth elements-enriched patterns similar to those of igneous xenotime, whereas xenotime overgrowths of inferred hydrothermal origin have hump-shaped (i.e., middle rare earth elements-enriched) patterns. The two ages of hydrothermal xenotime can be distinguished by slightly different rare earth elements patterns. In addition, 1409 Ma xenotime overgrowths have higher Eu and Gd contents than the 1304 Ma overgrowths. Most xenotime overgrowths from the Spar Lake deposit have elevated As concentrations, further suggesting a genetic relationship between the xenotime formation and Cu-Ag mineralization.


We present an algorithm, called Bonsai, for rapidly building bounding volume hierarchies for ray tracing. Our method starts by computing midpoints of the triangle bounding boxes and then performs a rough hierarchical top-down split using the midpoints, creating triangle groups with tight bounding boxes. For each triangle group, a mini tree is built using an improved sweep SAH method. Once all mini trees have been built, we use them as leaves when building the top tree of the bounding volume hierarchy. We also introduce a novel and inexpensive optimization technique, called mini-tree pruning, that can be used to detect and improve poorly built parts of the tree. We achieve a little better than 100% in ray-tracing performance compared to a "ground truth" greedy top-down sweep SAH method, and our build times are the lowest we have seen with comparable tree quality. (Less)


Background BCG vaccination is administered in infancy in most countries with the aim of providing protection against tuberculosis. There is increasing interest in the role of vitamin D in immunity to tuberculosis. This study objective was to determine if there was an association between circulating 25(OH)D concentrations and BCG vaccination status and cytokine responses following BCG vaccination in infants. Methods Blood samples were collected from UK infants who were vaccinated with BCG at 3 (n = 47) and 12 (n = 37) months post BCG vaccination. These two time-points are denoted as time-point 1 and time-point 2. Two blood samples were also collected from age-matched unvaccinated infants (n = 32 and 28 respectively), as a control group. Plasma vitamin D concentrations (25(OH)D) were measured by radio-immunoassay. The cytokine IFNγ was measured in supernatants from diluted whole blood stimulated with M.tuberculosis (M.tb) PPD for 6 days. Results 58% of infants had some level of hypovitaminosis (25(OH)D <30ng/ml) at time-point 1, and this increased to 97% 9 months later. BCG vaccinated infants were almost 6 times (CI: 1.8–18.6) more likely to have sufficient vitamin D concentrations than unvaccinated infants at time-point 1, and the association remained strong after controlling for season of blood collection, ethnic group and sex. Among vaccinees, there was also a strong inverse association between IFNγ response to M.tb PPD and vitamin D concentration, with infants with higher vitamin D concentrations having lower IFNγ responses. Conclusions Vitamin D may play an immuno-regulatory role following BCG vaccination. The increased vitamin D concentrations in BCG vaccinated infants could have important implications: vitamin D may play a role in immunity induced by BCG vaccination and may contribute to non-specific effects observed following BCG vaccination.


The re/production of Chinese cultural identity is often fraught with contradictions. When China's Yao Ming was drafted Number 1 in the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft, he was supposed to reinforce and transcend Chinese/ Asian identity. Yao's entrance into the NBA signaled a new understanding of Asian identity in the United States. To study this phenomenon, the author examined commentary from television broadcasts of U.S. NBA games featuring a prominent Asian athlete (Yao Ming) using critical discourse analysis. Analysis of 13 games from Yao Ming's 2nd and 3rd seasons revealed that Yao is linguistically constructed as a panethnic Asian/Chinese person. In addition, the analysis upholds the stereotypes that Asian people are a "model minority" and unfit to play professional sports. Given the dearth of Asian players in the NBA, how do linguistic representations of Yao Ming in game commentary reinforce Asian and Chinese cultural stereotypes or create a new identity of China?


It is quite rare that healthcare professionals know precisely what a health economics discussion should involve. My experience is that, frequently, assumptions on what health systems should provide differ from paper to paper and the methods of economic analysis vary. Furthermore, for some clinicians, even discussing health economics is seen as unethical and unwelcome. However, as the use of health economics by healthcare commissioning authorities grows, health professionals will have to understand, and be able to respond to, economic analyses.


We propose a scheme to increase the sensitivity and thus the detection volume of nanoscale single molecule magnetic resonance imaging. The proposal aims to surpass the T1 limited detection of the sensor by taking advantage of a long-lived ancillary nuclear spin to which the sensor is coupled. We show how this nuclear spin takes over the role of the sensor spin, keeping the characteristic time-scales of detection on the same order but with a longer life-time allowing it to detect a larger volume of the sample, which is not possible by the sensor alone.


While planets are commonly discovered around main-sequence stars, the processes leading to their formation are still far from being understood. Current planet population synthesis models, which aim to describe the planet formation process from the protoplanetary disk phase to the time exoplanets are observed, rely on prescriptions for the underlying properties of protoplanetary disks where planets form and evolve. The recent development in measuring disk masses and disk-star interaction properties, i.e., mass accretion rates, in large samples of young stellar objects demand a more careful comparison between the models and the data. We performed an initial critical assessment of the assumptions made by planet synthesis population models by looking at the relation between mass accretion rates and disk masses in the models and in the currently available data. We find that the currently used disk models predict mass accretion rate in line with what is measured, but with a much lower spread of values than observed. This difference is mainly because the models have a smaller spread of viscous timescales than what is needed to reproduce the observations. We also find an overabundance of weakly accreting disks in the models where giant planets have formed with respect to observations of typical disks. We suggest that either fewer giant planets have formed in reality or that the prescription for planet accretion predicts accretion on the planets that is too high. Finally, the comparison of the properties of transition disks with large cavities confirms that in many of these objects the observed accretion rates are higher than those predicted by the models. On the other hand, PDS70, a transition disk with two detected giant planets in the cavity, shows mass accretion rates well in line with model predictions.


Theoretical calculations demonstrate that the presence of ligands with different basicity modifies the Lewis acidity (expressed both as the LUMO energy and the enthalpy of coordination of a NH3 molecule) of the active centers in silica-supported titanium catalysts. Several catalysts containing different organic ligands bonded to the titanium centers have been prepared, characterized, and tested in the benchmark reaction of cyclohexene with hydrogen peroxide. Both the activity and the selectivities of the catalysts depend on the relative basicity of the ligands and their variation is proportional to the calculated Lewis acidity, expressed as the LUMO energy. With more basic ligands, hydrolysis of the epoxide to diol occurs to a lesser extent at the expense of the catalytic activity and the epoxidation/allylic oxidation selectivity, showing the coincidence of the active sites for epoxidation and hydrolysis reactions.


Background: Although, especially in the United States, there has been a recent surge of legalized cannabis for either recreational or medicinal purposes, surprisingly little is known about clinical dose–response relationships, pharmacodynamic and toxicodynamic effects of cannabinoids such as &Dgr;9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Even less is known about other active cannabinoids. Methods: To address this knowledge gap, an online extraction, high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry method for simultaneous quantification of 11 cannabinoids and metabolites including THC, 11-hydroxy-&Dgr;9-tetrahydrocannabinol, 11-nor-&Dgr;9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid, 11-nor-&Dgr;9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid glucuronide (THC-C-gluc), cannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabigerol, cannabidivarin, &Dgr;9-tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), and 11-nor-9-carboxy-&Dgr;9-tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV-COOH) was developed and validated in human urine and plasma. Results: In contrast to atmospheric pressure chemical ionization, electrospray ionization was associated with extensive ion suppression in plasma and urine samples. Thus, the atmospheric pressure chemical ionization assay was validated showing a lower limit of quantification ranging from 0.39 to 3.91 ng/mL depending on study compound and matrix. The upper limit of quantification was 400 ng/mL except for THC-C-gluc with an upper limit of quantification of 2000 ng/mL. The linearity was r > 0.99 for all analyzed calibration curves. Acceptance criteria for intrabatch and interbatch accuracy (85%–115%) and imprecision (<15%) were met for all compounds. In plasma, the only exceptions were THCV (75.3%–121.2% interbatch accuracy) and cannabidivarin (interbatch imprecision, 15.7%–17.2%). In urine, THCV did not meet predefined acceptance criteria for intrabatch accuracy. Conclusions: This assay allows for monitoring not only THC and its major metabolites but also major cannabinoids that are of interest for marijuana research and clinical practice.


OBJECTIVES
The aim of this work is to measure the mean diameter of the confluence jugulo- subclavian, the impact of different types of jugular confluences and the correlation between the types of confluences and the Valsalva maneuver (jugular reflux) in subjects with Chronic Cerebro-Spinal Venous Insufficiency (CCSVI) and Multiple Sclerosis.

METHOD
We investigated by Echo-Color-Doppler (ECD) 103 subjects (67 F 36M) of mean age 45 ± 12 years (a minimum of 22 to a maximum of 79 years, with a median of 44 and a modal value 42 years), mean EDSS of 4.7 and average disease duration of 12 years.

RESULTS
The 103 right jugular veins investigated had an average diameter of 8.4 ± 2.4 mm (minimum 4.0, maximum 14.9 mm; median 7.9; modal value 7.6 mm). Three form types were found: 56 cylindrical, 29 conical and 18 funnel. Valsalva maneuver was positive in 30 patients. The 103 left jugular investigated had an average diameter of 8.9 ± 2.4 mm (minimum 2.8, maximum 14.4 mm; median of 8.8; modal value 8.7 mm). The form types were found: 42 cylindrical, 45 conical and 16 funnel. Valsalva maneuver was positive in 30 patients.

CONCLUSIONS
The mean diameter of the jugular veins was 8.7 mm. Internal jugular veins with cylindrical morphology have a diameter smaller than other forms; this difference is statistically significant. The different morphology of the jugular vein confluence does not increase the possibility of a reflux because the positive Valsalva maneuvers are not statistically significant when compared to the various types.

KEY WORDS
CCSVI, EchoColorDoppler Map, Jugulo-Subclavian Confluence Diameter.


Background: Chile was severely affected by COVID19 outbreaks but was also one of the first countries to start a nationwide program to vaccinate against the disease. Furthermore, Chile became one of the fastest countries to inoculate a high percentage of the target population and implemented homologous and heterologous booster schemes in late 2021 to prevent potential 85 immunological waning. The aim of this study is to compare the immunogenicity and time course 86 of the humoral response elicited by the CoronaVac vaccine in combination with homologous 87 versus heterologous boosters. Methods and Findings: We compared the immunogenicity of two doses of CoronaVac and 89 BNT162b2 vaccines and studied the effect of different booster regimes in the Chilean population. Our results demonstrate that a two-dose vaccination scheme with CoronaVac induces lower 91 levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 S antibodies than BNT162b2 in a broad age range. Furthermore, 92 antibody production declines with time in individuals vaccinated with CoronaVac and less 93 noticeably, with BNT162b2. Remarkably, analysis of booster schemes revealed that individuals vaccinated with two doses of CoronaVac generate immunological memory against the SARS-CoV- 95 2 ancestral strain, which can be re-activated with homologous or heterologous (BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1) boosters. Nevertheless, the magnitude of the antibody response with the heterologous booster regime was considerably higher and persistent (over 100 days) than the 98 responses induced by the homologous scheme. Conclusions: Two doses of CoronaVac induces antibody titers against the SARS-CoV-2 ancestral 100 strain which are lower in magnitude than those induced by the BNT162b2 vaccine. However, the response induced by CoronaVac can be greatly potentiated with a heterologous booster scheme with BNT162b2 or ChAdOx1 vaccines. Furthermore, the heterologous booster regimes induce a durable antibody response which does not show signs of decay 3 months after the booster dose.


In recent years, researchers have paid increasing attention to the idea of "climate strength"—the level of agreement about climate within a work group or organization. However, at present the literature is unclear about the extent to which climate strength is a positive attribute, and is concerned predominantly with small teams or organizational units. This article considers three theoretical perspectives of climate strength, and extends these to the organizational level. These three roles of climate strength were tested in 56 hospitals in the United Kingdom. Positive relationships were discovered between two of three climate dimensions (Quality and Integration) and expert ratings of organizational performance, and a curvilinear effect between Integration climate strength and performance was also found. Very high or very low Integration climate strength was less beneficial than a moderate level of climate strength. However, there were no interaction effects discovered between climate and climate strength. Implications for future climate strength research are discussed.


: 44 patients with destructive pulmonary tuberculosis received chemotherapy (intermittent antibacterial drugs, i.v. isoniazid) and artificial pneumothopax (AP). 42 patients had infiltrative disease (destructive in 15, disseminated in 27 cases). Discharge of the bacilli occurred in 95.4%. AP application was followed by thoracocautery in 3-4 weeks to form appropriate collapse of the affected lung portions. Short adhesions were burnt, plane ones were extrapleurally detached according to the technique developed in the Novosibirsk Research Institute of Tuberculosis. A complete correction of pneumothorax was achieved in 43 patients. Neither intra- nor postoperative complications were reported. The discharge stopped in 100%, the caverns closed in 93.1% of the cases.


This paper examines the formation and governance of strategic alliances. In particular, the problem is defined for the development of alliances in agriculture, where new organizational forms are arising rapidly for horizontal and vertical coordination of the production-marketing chain. As the title of this research conference implies, these organizational forms offer opportunities within the portfolio of strategies facing agricultural producers for reconfiguring their marketing and managing risks by joint/collective action. The basis for the paper is the resource-based theory (RBT) of firm strategy, which has developed over the past ten years as a way to build positive and normative models of strategic decisions. The RBT draws from industrial organization economics and organizational economics (often called neoinstitutional economics) as a way to model the sources and robustness of sustainable competitive advantage. This paper extends to RBT to the joint strategies of firms engaged in strategic alliances. Additionally, the analysis turns on the manner by which economic rents are earned in a strategic alliance and how they are shared by alliance partners. What rights do alliance partners have to jointly earned returns in the alliance, given its organizational form (statutory structure and governance structure), the sources of economic rents, risks associated with the rent streams, and the often intangible resources (assets) that drive the performance of the joint assets in the alliance? This discussion paper presents a brief review of the RBT model, followed by a discussion of the sources of, and durability of, economic rents that accrue to firm resources. These sections are essentially resumes of the current literature on RBT. The third section departs from the literature in explicitly considering a model of strategic alliance formation as the development of a portfolio of jointly held alliance resources that are linked to the resource portfolios of the individual alliance partners. The fourth section presents further extensions of RBT to examine the problems of ex ante and ex post division of alliance rents. One extension is the exploitation of the property rights theory of economic behavior (cf. Barzel, 1989) to explain how the economic rent streams from the resource portfolio should be shared among alliance partners, including participating financial institutions.


Study Objectives: Single motor unit recordings of the genioglossus (GG) muscle indicate that GG motor units have a variety of discharge patterns, including units that have higher discharge rates during inspiration (inspiratory phasic and inspiratory tonic), or expiration (expiratory phasic and expiratory tonic), or do not modify their rate with respiration (tonic). Previous studies have shown that an increase in GG muscle activity is a consequence of increased activity in inspiratory units. However, there are differences between studies as to whether this increase is primarily due to recruitment of new motor units (motor unit recruitment) or to increased discharge rate of already active units (rate coding). Sleep-wake state studies in humans have suggested the former, while hypercapnia experiments in rats have suggested the latter. In this study, we investigated the effect of hypercapnia on GG motor unit activity in humans during wakefulness. Setting: Sleep research laboratory. Participants: Sixteen healthy men. Measurements and Results: Each participant was administered at least 6 trials with P et CO 2 being elevated 8.4 (SD = 1.96) mm Hg over 2 min following a 30-s baseline. Subjects were instrumented for GG EMG and respiratory measurements with 4 fine wire electrodes inserted subcutane-ously into the muscle. One hundred forty-one motor units were identified during the baseline: 47% were inspiratory modulated, 29% expiratory modulated, and 24% showed no respiratory related modulation. Sixty-two new units were recruited during hypercapnia. The distribution of recruited units was significantly different from the baseline distribution, with 84% being inspiratory modulated (P < 0.001). Neither units active during baseline, nor new units recruited during hypercapnia, increased their discharge rate as P et CO 2 increased (P > 0.05 for all comparisons). Conclusions: Increased GG muscle activity in humans occurs because of recruitment of previously inactive inspiratory modulated units.


It has been demonstrated that basic aspects of human visual motion perception are qualitatively consistent with a Bayesian estimation framework, where the prior probability distribution on velocity favors slow speeds. Here, we present a refined probabilistic model that can account for the typical trial-to-trial variabilities observed in psychophysical speed perception experiments. We also show that data from such experiments can be used to constrain both the likelihood and prior functions of the model. Specifically, we measured matching speeds and thresholds in a two-alternative forced choice speed discrimination task. Parametric fits to the data reveal that the likelihood function is well approximated by a LogNormal distribution with a characteristic contrast-dependent variance, and that the prior distribution on velocity exhibits significantly heavier tails than a Gaussian, and approximately follows a power-law function.