OBJECTIVE
To determine the frequency and association of Vitamin D deficiency in patients with tuberculosis.

STUDY DESIGN
Case control study.

PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY
Medical Department, Combined Military Hospital, Kharian, from July 2010 to June 2012.

METHODOLOGY
One hundred and five outdoor patients of tuberculosis were selected with 255 gender matched controls. Tuberculosis was diagnosed by presence of acid fast bacilli in sputum smears, positive culture for Mycobacterium tuberculosis or demonstration of chronic caseating granulomatous inflammation in tissue specimens. Controls were drawn randomly from general population. Serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D [25 (OH) D3] levels < 25 ng/ml was considered Vitamin D deficiency. The results were analyzed on SPSS version 17.

RESULTS
Mean Vitamin D levels were 23.23 ± 6.81 ng/ml in cases, 29.27 ± 8.89 ng/ml in controls (p < 0.0001). Vitamin D deficiency was found in 57% of cases and 33% controls (p < 0.0001). Mean Vitamin D levels were significantly lower in females with tuberculosis (20.84 ng/ml) as compared to males (25.03 ng/ml, p = 0.002). Mean BMI in patients of tuberculosis with Vitamin D deficiency were 19.51 ± 1.77 kg/m2 and in patients with normal Vitamin D were 21.65 ± 1.79 kg/m2 (p < 0.0001). Mean Vitamin D levels in patients with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis was lower to a mean of 15.41 ± 4.67 ng/ml (p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION
There is significant deficiency of Vitamin D in patients with tuberculosis as compared to controls. This deficiency is more pronounced in females, individuals with low BMI, extra pulmonary and MDR tuberculosis.


The advancement of GIS data models to allow the effective utilization of very large heterogeneous geographic databases requires a new approach that incorporates models of human cognition. The ultimate goal is to provide a cooperative human-computer environment for spatial analysis. We describe the Pyramid framework as an example of this new approach within the context of some important aspects of how humans conceptually store spatial information. The proposed framework provides the means to create multiple structural interpretations of observed geographic data and the ability to build knowledge hierarchies through the application of data mining and other statistical techniques.


This study evaluates the potential of near-infrared Raman spectroscopy for in vivo detection of squamous dysplasia, a precursor to cervical cancer. A pilot clinical trial was carried out at three clinical sites. Raman spectra were measured from one colposcopically normal and one abnormal area of the cervix. These sites were then biopsied and submitted for routine histologic analysis. Twentyfour evaluable measurements were made in vivo in 13 patients. Cervical tissue Raman spectra contain peaks in the vicinity of 1070, 1180, 1195, 1210, 1245, 1330, 1400, 1454, 1505, 1555, 1656, and 1760 cm−1. The ratio of intensities at 1454 to 1656 cm−1 is greater for squamous dysplasia than all other tissue types, while the ratio of intensities at 1330 to 1454 cm−1 is lower for samples with squamous dysplasia than all other tissue types. A simple algorithm based on these two intensity ratios separates high-grade squamous dysplasia from all others, misclassifying only one sample. Spectra measured in vivo resemble those measured in vitro. Cervical epithelial cells may contribute to tissue spectra at 1330 cm−1, a region associated with DNA. In contrast, epithelial cells probably do not contribute to tissue spectra at 1454 cm−1, a region associated with collagen and phospholipids.


Human beings, like other living organisms, have physiologic systems that are cyclic in nature. Many of these systems have a circadian length. This provides for internal stability while at the same time enabling the organism to interact with the external environment and respond to changes in that environment. These physiologic systems, including those with a circadian length, can change timing as a result of environmental cues, such as the light-dark cycle or seasonal variations, but this takes time. When people engage in rotating or night shift work, the circadian rhythms are unable to quickly adapt to a rapidly changing activity schedule. This results in desynchronosis of many physiologic systems, including those with circadian timing. Because many emergency physicians engage in shift work, they are subject to the effects of circadian rhythm disruption. Research on the effect of desynchronosis on emergency physicians is sparse but has demonstrated negative effects. This article reviews the effect of desynchronosis on the health and productivity of physicians engaged in shift work.


Patients' stage of change towards their disease management plays an important role in healthcare. The aim of this study is to explore whether there are any differences in the patients' perceptions toward the design features of online patient education according to the patients' stages of change. Patients and carers who use chronic disease websites from Australia were invited to participate in the study to understand their perspectives on the design features. The statistical analysis package for the social science 19.0 (SPSS 19.0) and Smart PLS were used to perform statistical analysis for answering the research questions and related hypotheses. The results indicated that the patients' perceptions tended to differ in terms of online patient education design features, interpretability and presentation of content, according to their stages of change. The patients, across different stages of change, did have differing perceptions regarding certain constructs within the online patient education design features.


The exterior surface attractive appearance of every designed and the fabricated machine includes the vehicles is determined by the type of paint color it has to the one who takes its looks. The well-painted machine is added its value to the customers from its physical outer appearance. High attractive paint color from paint mixing activities plays an important role in the production mechanism of any attractive exterior surfaces have done by the painter industries and auto body repair companies. In some developing countries with a low percentage of industries including Rwanda, finding a standardized auto-body paint mixing machine is very expensive. Then, auto-body repair and painters in different vehicle repair industries and garages try to mix paints by using their hands without other assistance which is known as manual auto-paint mixing operation. However, this manual mixing method has several disadvantages like unattractive paint colors, low painting quality outputs, unresisting paint to solar, and rain which reduce the product's value. During the mixing operation, their hands' skin being unhealthy because of the chemicals from the paints and respiration system affected by paint smell. This method takes more time during mixing but resulted in a non-uniformity of mixed paint. Therefore, this research aim is to design and implement a paint mixing machine with accurate paint color at an affordable cost. The machine is fabricated using the materials which are available on local markets. This machine will offer more benefits to the vehicle repair companies, vehicle sellers, and dealers such as time reduction taken during vehicle body painting, more customers, the confidentiality of taking the used vehicles to the markets.


Long-term survival of pathogenic microorganisms in streams enables long-distance disease transmission. In order to manage water-borne diseases more effectively we need to better predict how microbes behave in freshwater systems, particularly how they are transported downstream in rivers. Microbes continuously immobilize and resuspend during downstream transport owing to a variety of processes including gravitational settling, attachment to in-stream structures such as submerged macrophytes, and hyporheic exchange and filtration within underlying sediments. We developed a stochastic model to describe these microbial transport and retention processes in rivers that also accounts for microbial inactivation. We used the model to assess the transport, retention, and inactivation of Escherichia coli in a small stream and the underlying streambed sediments as measured from multitracer injection experiments. The results demonstrate that the combination of laboratory experiments on sediment cores, stream reach-scale tracer experiments, and multiscale stochastic modeling improves assessment of microbial transport in streams. This study (1) demonstrates new observations of microbial dynamics in streams with improved data quality than prior studies, (2) advances a stochastic modeling framework to include microbial inactivation processes that we observed to be important in these streams, and (3) synthesizes new and existing data to evaluate seasonal dynamics.


Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterized by a disturbed gut microbiota composition. Patients with IBD have elevated levels of mucosal and serum levels of IgG-antibodies directed against bacterial antigens, including flagellins. In this study, we aimed to determine to which faecal bacteria the humoral immune response is directed to in patients with IBD.

 Faecal and serum samples were collected from patients with IBD (n=55) and age- and sex-matched healthy controls (n=55). Faecal samples were incubated with autologous serum and IgG-coated fractions were isolated by magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) and the coating efficiency was assessed by flow cytometry. Bacterial composition of both untreated and IgG-sorted fecal samples was determined by 16S rRNA-gene Illumina sequencing.

 Serum IgG responses were primarily directed to typical small intestinal bacterial genera, including Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Enterococcus, Veillonella and Enterobacteriaceae, as well as against specific Lachnospiraceae bacteria, including Coprococcus and Dorea (all P<0.001) (Figures), and to the species Ruminococcus gnavus (P<0.05). In contrast, serological IgG responses against typical commensal, anaerobic and colonic microbial species were rather low, e.g. to the Lachnospiraceae members Roseburia and Blautia, to Faecalibacterium as well as to Bacteroides. IgG-sorted faecal samples were characterized by significantly lower microbial diversity. Patients with IBD showed more IgG-coating of Streptococcus, Lactobacillus and Lactococcus bacteria compared with healthy controls (all P<0.05). No differences in IgG-coated bacterial fractions were observed between CD and UC, between active or non-active disease, nor between different disease locations in CD.

 The IgG immune response is specifically targeted at typical small intestinal bacterial genera, whereas responses against commensal, rather colonic-type microbiota are lower in patients with IBD. These findings may be indicative of a strong immunological exposure to small intestinal bacteria in concordance with relative immune tolerance against commensal bacteria.


Background: Misuse of substances is a major contributor to disability and mortality worldwide. The use of tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drugs in adolescence and young adulthood are well-known risk factors for subsequent substance-related harms. A better understanding of adolescent and young adult substance use behaviors and their correlates might help develop new prevention programs. This thesis aims to explore patterns of use and important risk factors for substance use among Swedish adolescents and adults. Materials and methods: The papers in this thesis are based on three data sets. The first is from a survey on substance use habits in the Swedish general population, answered by 22,095 individuals in the ages 15-64. The second data set comes from a cohort of 1,398 adolescents and their parents, followed during the course of junior high school. The third data set is a cross-sectional online survey of 1,916 Swedish and Danish young adults in the ages 18-30. The study participants were asked about current substance use habits, and retrospective reports on adolescent risk behaviors. Results: The first paper shows that adult cannabis users use other substances more compared to non-users. Frequent cannabis users were more likely to use illicit drugs, but reported much lower levels of hazardous alcohol use. In the second paper, it was found that the parents of Swedish adolescents were largely unaware of their children's substance use behaviors. In the third study, we found that parental substance use and provision of alcohol were more influential on the adolescents' substance use than parenting styles. In the fourth study, the importance of adolescent risk behaviors for subsequent patterns of substance use in young adulthood was confirmed. Conclusions: Parents typically know little about their children's substance use, and the influence of parents regarding adolescent substance use is limited. However, providing the children with alcohol is a common parenting practice that is associated with increased substance use in adolescence. Lastly, there is a need for further research on different groups of cannabis users that may have different needs for prevention and intervention efforts. (Less)


The cholinergic basal forebrain (CBF), comprising different groups of cortically projecting cholinergic neurons, plays a crucial role in higher cognitive processes and has been implicated in diverse neuropsychiatric disorders. A distinct corticotopic organization of CBF projections has been revealed in animal studies, but little is known about their organization in the human brain. We explored regional differences in functional connectivity (FC) profiles within the human CBF by applying a clustering approach to resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs‐fMRI) data of healthy adult individuals (N = 85; 19–85 years). We further examined effects of age on FC of the identified CBF clusters and assessed the reproducibility of cluster‐specific FC profiles in independent data from healthy older individuals (N = 25; 65–89 years). Results showed that the human CBF is functionally organized into distinct anterior‐medial and posterior‐lateral subdivisions that largely follow anatomically defined boundaries of the medial septum/diagonal band and nucleus basalis Meynert. The anterior‐medial CBF subdivision was characterized by connectivity with the hippocampus and interconnected nodes of an extended medial cortical memory network, whereas the posterior‐lateral subdivision was specifically connected to anterior insula and dorsal anterior cingulate components of a salience/attention network. FC of both CBF subdivisions declined with increasing age, but the overall topography of subregion‐specific FC profiles was reproduced in independent rs‐fMRI data of healthy older individuals acquired in a typical clinical setting. Rs‐fMRI‐based assessments of subregion‐specific CBF function may complement established volumetric approaches for the in vivo study of CBF involvement in neuropsychiatric disorders.


The Second World War has long been the subject of a rich vein of academic writing, and popular interest in the conflict, ever-growing as significant anniversaries are reached, ensures that the war remains a constant in the British public's consciousness. The effects of the war on the home front have been of especial interest, particularly in popular imaginings of the conflict. Indeed, last year's 70th anniversary of the Blitz resulted in a stream of news coverage, both local and national, that reported on the many remembrance services being held across the country to commemorate the impact of the air-raids on the civilian population; while television documentaries evocatively assessed the effects of the Blitz on people living in Britain's most affected cities. The Food Companions: Cinema and Consumption in Wartime Britain, 1939-45, Richard Farmer's first book, and published as part of Manchester University's Press's 'Studies in Popular Culture' series, is thus not only very timely, it is also highly pertinent. Investigating the role of food and consumption during the war, and paying particular attention to the impact of rationing on the civilian population, as well as the role of the government in attempting to win public approval on this delicate issue through the use of the Ministry of Food's (MoF) multi-media campaigns, The Food Companions provides a highly nuanced and extremely well-considered account of the social, economic and cultural impact of the conflict on British society's home front. Richard Farmer, Manchester, Manchester University Press, 2011, ISBN: 9780719083136; 224pp.; Price: £60.00


Post-autocratic transitions are often followed by constitutional confl icts between state powers. With respect to the question of rule of law in young democracies, clashes between the executive and legislative branches, on the one hand, and the judiciary and constitutional courts, on the other, as well as those between ordinary and constitutional courts are particularly virulent. All these confl icts have massively aff ected the key distinction between politics and law that had been mainly violated in the previous autocratic regimes. Based on Niklas Luhmann's theory, this article presents a systems-theoretical approach in order to explain the occurrence of these constitutional confl icts. The central argument reads as follows: constitutional confl icts between politics and law will occur under two circumstances—if a constitutional order allows the decision of legal questions based on political criteria or vice versa, and if a constitutional order allows the judiciary or the constitutional court to decide political questions based on political criteria. This argument is further substantiated by means of two exploratory case studies with a special emphasis on post-socialist transitions in Central and Eastern Europe. The main results are eight detailed hypotheses on the question of when, in constitutional orders, and under what circumstances are constitutional conflicts to be expected.


The development of thymus was studied histologically and morphometrically with an account of the seasonal factor and sexual differences during early postnatal (1-5 weeks) ontogenesis in rats. The sexual differences were more pronounced in the adrenalectomized animals. Morphogenesis of the Hassall's corpuscles during accidental thymus involution was described in more detail. Anticipating growth of the thymus medullar substance was found, as compared with the cortex, and its leading role in organogenesis, especially in 1- to 3-week-old animals, was shown. During this period, the mitotic indices of the medullar cells exceeded those of the cambial thymocytes thrice and those of the cortical thymocytes nine and five times in 1-week and 2-week old animals, respectively. In the adrenalectomized animals, the increase in the thymus cortex mass was greater in males, despite sharply decreased, as compared with females, mitotic activity of the thymocytes. The low mitotic indices of the thymocytes in the adrenalectomized animals and positive correlation of the thymus-adrenal gland mass in growing rats suggest an ambivalent effect of glucocorticoids (stimulating and inhibitory with reference to their blood content) on lymphopoiesis in the thymus cortex. Lymphopoiesis is regulated not only by the thymic or extrathymic endocrine factors, but also by contact inhibition of cell division upon achievement of a critical level of the specific density of thymocytes in the organ. Unequal distribution of mitoses in the medullar substance and in the cortex along the lobe parameter and segmentary location of mastocytes in the interlobar connective tissue suggest that a part of the lobe is an elementary structural unit of the thymus, rather than the entire lobe.


Hypertension guidelines propose home or ambulatory blood pressure monitoring as indispensable after office measurement. However, whether preference should be given to home or ambulatory monitoring remains undetermined. In 831 untreated outpatients (mean age, 50.6 years; 49.8% women), we measured office (3 visits), home (7 days), and 24-h ambulatory blood pressures. We applied hypertension guidelines for cross-classification of patients into normotension or white-coat, masked, or sustained hypertension. Based on office and home blood pressures, the prevalence of white-coat, masked, and sustained hypertension was 61 (10.3%), 166 (20.0%), and 162 (19.5%), respectively. Using daytime (from 8 AM to 6 PM) instead of home blood pressure confirmed the cross-classification in 575 patients (69.2%), downgraded risk from masked hypertension to normotension (n=24) or from sustained to white-coat hypertension (n=9) in 33 (4.0%), but upgraded risk from normotension to masked hypertension (n=179) or from white-coat to sustained hypertension (n=44) in 223 (26.8%). Analyses based on 24-h ambulatory blood pressure were confirmatory. In adjusted analyses, both the urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (+20.6%; confidence interval, 4.4–39.3) and aortic pulse wave velocity (+0.30 m/s; confidence interval, 0.09–0.51) were higher in patients who moved up to a higher risk category. Both indexes of target organ damage and central augmentation index were positively associated (P⩽0.048) with the odds of being reclassified. In conclusion, for reliably diagnosing hypertension and starting treatment, office measurement should be followed by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Using home instead of ambulatory monitoring misses the high-risk diagnoses of masked or sustained hypertension in over 25% of patients.


The imbalance oriented selection scheme was recently introduced to detect stable interest points in weakly or sparsely textured images. The scheme chooses image points whose one-pixel-wide directional intensity variations can be clustered into two imbalanced classes as candidates. An important property of imbalance oriented selection is that imbalanced points can be contiguous to others, i.e., imbalanced points have local geometry coherent property. In this paper, we propose general imbalance decided by multipixel-wide directional intensity variations. We give a theoretical analysis on a relation between imbalance and general imbalance. In terms of the local geometry coherent property of general imbalanced points, we propose a global-to-local appearance based matching scheme for imbalanced point correspondence. Last, we present an application of general imbalanced points to road sign detection, which demonstrates the good potential of general imbalanced points.


Interaction between 0.1-0.3 mM vanadate (Vi) and muscle fibres was studied by measuring their force and stiffness. Only interaction with the fibres having cycling cross-bridges caused a strong decrease of these parameters. There was no vanadate effect on the rigor fibres and its complexes with Mg.AdP or Mg.beta-gamma-imido-ATP. Judging by the following transient tension in Vi-containing solutions Vi was slowly incorporated into relaxed fibres, Vi complex with muscle was stable under relaxation conditions, but it was splitted when actomyosin was formed. Formation of M.ADP.Vi+, the stable biochemical analogue of M.ADP.Pi ( Goodno C. C., Taylor E. W. Proc. Natl. Ac. Sci. USA, 1982, 79, p. 21) is assumed to be formed in muscle. On the basis of the difference between rigor contraction of ATP- and Vi-relaxed fibres a conclusion can be drawn that the Vi complex in muscle is not a mechanochemical analogue of the myosin intermediate developing force when interacting with actin.


This article examines the potential of a critical approach to language as a new dimension of transforming school cultures and making them more coherent with purported equity and social justice goals. The literature review shows that the latest waves of school reform in the USA have done little to change patterns of student achievement based on 'race' and class because they have only tinkered with changing the cultures of schools. We suggest that one reason that school reforms have failed to achieve educational equity for all groups is that a critical approach to language has been absent from this process. This absence is due, among other reasons, to the fact that teachers and school leaders have not been formally educated on the subject of language and discourse as a medium for change. Our analysis of the literature leads us to suggest that a critical approach to language could offer a way for schools (or any human organization) to concretely analyse implicit beliefs and values and, thus, unpack institutionalized epistemologies of race, social class, and gender that might, in the last analysis, be hindering efforts to transform schools into equitable institutions.


The flow around a propeller is complex in nature and has to date still not been completely understood. However, since predicting the aerodynamic characteristics of propellers is an important aspect of the design of aircraft, a number of methods have been devised that by using simplifying assumptions is able to predict the aerodynamic coefficients of interest. One such is the blade element momentum theory method (BEMT-method) which have been found to give accurate results at high advance ratios. At lower advance numbers, where the flow over at least part of the propeller blade is stalled, the theory has traditionally not been found to be as accurate. This report presents a program written in Matlab that, by using the BEMT-method, is capable of predicting the aerodynamic characteristics for a given propeller in the whole operating region, i.e. including low advance ratios. The report include a derivation of the BEMT-equations, as well as a more general discussion of the aerodynamic of propellers, especially focusing on the issues that are important at low advance ratios. The report presents the results from the calculations for a two bladed propeller used on a racing plane, and discuss the issues surrounding the accuracy of the results.The BEMT-method have also been used for the calculation of other types of rotors and as an example of this, this report also shows how the BEMT-method can be used for predicting the aerodynamic characteristics of a wind turbine and gives an example of a computation. The result from both of the performed computations shows that the results from the BEMT-method where the blades operate with attached flow has good agreement, while when the flow is stalled the accuracy is less good. Although not numerically in agreement, the results show somewhat of a qualitative agreement.


The increasing popularity of mobile dating apps in the past decade has transformed the ways in which gay men network with each other. Based on sociology and media studies literature, I contextualize this contemporary form of intimacy, which is known as networked intimacy, in relation to networked individualism and neoliberalism. Using a mixed-methods design with interviews (N = 7) and a survey (N = 245), this study explored how gay men experience intimacy on these platforms. Users reported ambivalence in establishing relationships, which is brought forth by the ambiguity of relationships, dominance of profiles, and over-abundance of connections on these apps. I conclude that these aspects of ambivalence are not at all exclusive to the private domain of gay men but are tightly intertwined with the neoliberal market and consumption practices.


Comparative studies of urban adaptation have evaluated the progress, means and scope of adaptation planning. Practice on the ground shows that the local politics of climate adaptation advance through various strategies to align different interests and spheres of action or disrupt mainstream practices, which translates into a wide range of interventions. This paper focuses on understanding the dynamics and tools that enable the institutionalisation of adaptation practices in local governments, i.e. the means through which adaptation practices, beyond plans and policies, are embedded in the routines of urban governance. It presents a framework to analyse the institutionalisation of adaptation that maps stages and tools with the potential to deliver adaptation in urban areas. Adaptation is framed as a learning process involving overlapping phases of recognition (of needs, capacities and actors), groundwork (knowledge generation) and action on the ground (change). The framework compares three Spanish local government initiatives (Bilbao, Barcelona and Madrid). The analysis shows that adaptation can be effectively incorporated into standard rules, norms and practices using combinations of tools and spatial and temporal scales. The coupled stages of recognition, groundwork and action highlight the importance of long-term learning processes to engage with the temporal dimensions of adaptation governance. long-term impact of adaptation actions beyond the confines of adaptation plans. Using institutionalisation, adaptation goals can be integrated into urban governance and facilitate social learning. This paper examines the processes of


Synthetic microbial consortia have been increasingly utilized in biotechnology and experimental evidence shows that suitably engineered consortia can outperform individual species in the synthesis of valuable products. Despite significant achievements, though, a quantitative understanding of the conditions that make this possible, and of the trade-offs due to the concurrent growth of multiple species, is still limited. In this work, we contribute to filling this gap by the investigation of a known prototypical synthetic consortium. A first E. coli strain, producing a heterologous protein, is sided by a second E. coli strain engineered to scavenge toxic byproducts, thus favoring the growth of the producer at the expense of diverting part of the resources to the growth of the cleaner. The simplicity of the consortium is ideal to perform an in depth-analysis and draw conclusions of more general interest. We develop a coarse-grained mathematical model that quantitatively accounts for literature data from different key growth phenotypes. Based on this, assuming growth in chemostat, we first investigate the conditions enabling stable coexistence of both strains and the effect of the metabolic load due to heterologous protein production. In these conditions, we establish when and to what extent the consortium outperforms the producer alone in terms of productivity. Finally, we show in chemostat as well as in a fed-batch scenario that gain in productivity comes at the price of a reduced yield, reflecting at the level of the consortium resource allocation trade-offs that are well-known for individual species.


High oil prices, recent commitments by industrialized countries to enhance the use of renewable energy, and efforts by developing countries to stimulate foreign investment as a pathway to development have fueled high levels of interest in the biofuel sector throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa. Zambia is no exception. A large, land-locked country with high pump prices and vast tracts of land considered by many to be "degraded" or "underutilized," investor interest in the sector has remained high despite uncertainties associated with unproven feedstocks and market fluctuations. While investment in multiple feedstock and production models may be observed, one of the primary investments has been in jatropha outgrower schemes in which small-scale farmers grow feedstock on contract with domestic and foreign investors. We assess the history and evolution of the largest such scheme in Zambia, as well as the social and environmental impacts in two districts with large numbers of outgrowers. Findings suggest that, although such a production model may hold promise for enhancing rural livelihood benefits from the emerging biofuel sector, to date, small-scale farmers have borne the brunt of the risk and uncertainty that are the trademarks of this emerging industry. We conclude with a discussion of options to minimize forest conversion and protect farmers against high-risk investments, while harnessing the potential of this business model for enhancing rural livelihoods in Zambia and elsewhere.


A series of polyaniline/vermiculite nanocomposites was synthesized. The interlayer space of vermiculite was initially increased by the insertion of dioctadecyl dimethyl ammonium bromide, and then the aniline monomers were inserted into the interlayer space of vermiculite replacing dioctadecyl dimethyl ammonium cations. The polyaniline/vermiculite nanocomposites materials were prepared via in situ polymerization of the aniline monomers in the interlayer space of vermiculite. The as-synthesized polyaniline/vermiculite nanocomposite materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis, infrared spectroscopy, and electrical conductivity measurement. The results indicated that the vermiculite was peeled off into the polyaniline. The introduction of vermiculite nanosheets showed a beneficial effect on the electrical conductivity of polyaniline.


Learning media has a very important role in learning process of students. BEFIZEL is one of learning media innovation. Due to the design of collaboration on BEFIZEL children's games, technology and material physics puzzle design that is packed in. By using befizel as learning media will give a new color in the learning process. BEFIZEL consists of puzzle board (batteries, LED: Light-Emitting Diode, switches, cables and PCB, Printed Circuit Board) and design drawing. BEFIZEL can stimulate memory and intelligence of the learners so that learners can easily understand the material in the design puzzle.


Abstract. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is nowadays one of the most used tools to obtain geospatial data. In this paper, a method to detect and characterise power lines of both high and low voltage and their surroundings from 3D LiDAR point clouds exclusively is proposed. First, to identify points of the power lines a global search of candidate points is carried out based on the height of each point compared to its neighbours. Then, the Hough Transform (HT) is applied on the set of candidate points to extract the catenaries that belong to each power line, allowing the identification of each conductor individually. Finally, conductors located on the same power line are grouped, their geometric characteristics analysed, and the quantitative features of the surroundings are computed. A very high accuracy of power line classification is reached with these methods, while the computational time is optimised by efficient memory usage and parallel implementation of the code.


This paper presents a method for microplastic (MP) mass quantification using a Focal Plane Array-based Fourier Transform Infrared imaging technique. It discusses the issue that particle number is not a conserved base quantity and hence less suited than mass to compare independent studies on MP in the environment. It concludes that MP mass should be included when quantifying MP pollution in the environment, supplementing the conventional approach of reporting particle numbers. Applying mass as the unit of MP measurement, the paper presents data showing that Danish wastewater treatment plants discharge around 3 t/year of MP in the size range 10e500 mm. This value corresponds to an annual per capita emission from these plants of 0.56 gMP/(capita year). The distribution of polymer types by mass and particle number differed because the size of MP particles of the different material types varied. © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).


"An invaluable resource to students, scholars, and general readers alike." "Amazon.com" This colleciton assembles more than forty speeches, lectures, and essays critical to the abolitionist crusade, featuring writing by William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, Lydia Maria Child, Wendell Phillips, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust theseries to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-datetranslations by award-winning translators."


The effects of salt (LiClO4) concentration and plasticizer (tetraglyme) concentration on the room-temperature conductivity and free volume of a polyether-urethane solid polymer electrolyte are studied. The free volume is probed by the positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) technique which uses the oPs pick-off lifetime, tau 3, as an indication of the local electron density and the mean free volume cavity radius. The oPs pick-off intensity, I3, reflects the probability of oPs formation and the relative concentration of free volume cavities in the material. The mean size ( tau 3) and relative number (l3) of free volume cavities decrease with an increase in salt concentration in the host polymer due to the Li+ coordination (effective cross-linking) with the oxygens of the host polymer. The addition of 25 wt% tetraglyme plasticizer to the 1 molal LiClO4/host polymer complex is shown to counter the effective cross-linking resulting in a Tg decreased to a value equal to that of the pure host polymer, increased conductivity, and average free volume cavity size ( tau 3) increased to a value equal to that of the pure host polymer. However, the relative number of free volume cavities (l3) in the plasticized host polymer/salt complex remains fewer than that of the pure host polymer over the concentration range of plasticizer studied, and in a similar manner the density remains greater than that of the pure host polymer. The room-temperature conductivity, free volume, and density behaviour in conjunction with the Tg results suggest that the plasticizer addition leads to Li+ coordination with the oxygens of the plasticizer chains as well as increased mobility of the host polymer chains. The increase in free volume of the host polymer/salt complex caused by the addition of plasticizer is shown to dominate the conductivity behaviour in this system.


This study builds on the detailed empirical research of the three investigators, who have been collaborating on researching the Hong Kong linguistic situation since the early 1980s. This research utilises social survey methodology to investigate which languages are used within the community. In more technical terms, this has involved carrying out 'sociolinguistic surveys' (surveys of languages in society) to investigate which languages are learnt, and which are used, by whom to whom, across a range of settings (or 'domains') in Hong Kong society. Previously, three such surveys have been conducted, in 1983, 1993, and 2003. The 1983 sociolinguistic survey used faceto-face interviews with a total of 1240 respondents (Bolton and Luke 1999). This was followed, in 1993 and 2003, by two telephone surveys conducted by the Social Sciences Research Centre of The University of Hong Kong, where a total of 886 respondents were interviewed in the 1993 survey, and 1060 in the 2003 (Bacon-Shone and Bolton 1998, 2008). One broad aim of all three surveys was to describe patterns of language acquisition, language use, and attitudes to language policies in Hong Kong. This study carried out a sociolinguistic survey of Hong Kong in 2014 together with detailed reanalysis of the 2011 census data across the 18 districts and 412 constituency areas, which yields useful and applicable results relating to ethnic/linguistic minorities, multilingualism, multiculturalism, and language planning, of direct interest to public policy in Hong Kong. It also calibrates for the first time, using expert assessment, selfreported claims of proficiency in oral English and Putonghua and written English and simplified Chinese.


Abstract: We evaluated the hypothesis that poachers reduce the abundance of herbivorous mammals, and that this, in turn, alters seed dispersal, seed predation, and seedling recruitment for two palms (Attalea butyraceae and Astrocaryum standleyanum) in central Panama. Using physical evidence left by poachers and interviews with forest guards, we quantified poaching intensity for eight forest sites. We quantified mammal abundance using transect counts and small‐mammal traps. Abundance was inversely related to poaching intensity for 9 of 11 mammal species (significantly so for 5 species), confirming the first component of the hypothesis. The outcome of interactions among seeds, mammals, and beetles also varied with poaching intensity. Nonvolant mammals were the only seed‐dispersal agents, and rodents and beetles were the only seed predators. We quantified seed fate by examining the stony endocarps that encase the seeds of both palms. The large, durable endocarps were located easily on the forest floor and bear characteristic scars when a rodent or beetle eats the enclosed seed. The proportion of seeds dispersed away from beneath fruiting conspecifics was inversely related to poaching intensity, ranging from 85% to 99% at protected sites where mammals were abundant and from 3% to 40% at unprotected sites where poachers were most active. The proportion of dispersed seeds destroyed by beetles was directly related to poaching intensity, ranging from 0% to 10% at protected sites and from 30% to 50% at unprotected sites. The proportion of dispersed seeds destroyed by rodents was inversely related to poaching intensity, ranging from 85% to 99% at protected sites and from 4% to 50% at unprotected sites. Finally, seedling densities were directly related to poaching intensity. There was no single relationship between poaching intensity and the biotic interactions that determine seedling recruitment. The net effect of poaching on seedling recruitment can be determined only empirically. For these palms, seedling densities were directly related to poaching intensity.


OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to examine the association of preoperative intratumoral susceptibility signal (ITSS) grade with hemorrhage after stereotactic biopsy (STB).

METHODS
The authors retrospectively reviewed 66 patients who underwent STB in their institution. Preoperative factors including age, sex, platelet count, prothrombin time-international normalized ratio, activated thromboplastin time, antiplatelet agent use, history of diabetes mellitus and hypertension, target location, anesthesia type, and ITSS data were recorded. ITSS was defined as a dot-like or fine linear low signal within a tumor on susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) and was graded using a 3-point scale: grade 1, no ITSS within the lesion; grade 2, 1-10 ITSSs; and grade 3, ≥ 11 ITSSs. Postoperative final tumor pathology was also reviewed. The association between preoperative variables and the size of postoperative hemorrhage was examined.

RESULTS
Thirty-four patients were men and 32 were women. The mean age was 66.6 years. The most common tumor location was the frontal lobe (27.3%, n = 18). The diagnostic yield of STB was 93.9%. The most common pathology was lymphoma (36.4%, n = 24). The ITSS was grade 1 in 37 patients (56.1%), grade 2 in 14 patients (21.2%), and grade 3 in 15 patients (22.7%). Interobserver agreement for ITSS was almost perfect (weighted kappa = 0.87; 95% CI 0.77-0.98). Age was significantly associated with ITSS (p = 0.0075). Postoperative hemorrhage occurred in 17 patients (25.8%). Maximum hemorrhage diameter (mean ± SD) was 1.78 ± 1.35 mm in grade 1 lesions, 2.98 ± 2.2 mm in grade 2 lesions, and 9.51 ± 2.11 mm in grade 3 lesions (p = 0.01). Hemorrhage > 10 mm in diameter occurred in 10 patients (15.2%), being symptomatic in 3 of them. Four of 6 patients with grade 3 ITSS glioblastomas (66.7%) had postoperative hemorrhages > 10 mm in diameter. After adjusting for age, ITSS grade was the only factor significantly associated with hemorrhage > 10 mm (p = 0.029). Compared with patients with grade 1 ITSS, the odds of postoperative hemorrhage > 10 mm in diameter were 2.57 times higher in patients with grade 2 ITSS (95% CI 0.31-21.1) and 9.73 times higher in patients with grade 3 ITSS (95% CI 1.57-60.5).

CONCLUSIONS
ITSS grade on SWI is associated with size of postoperative hemorrhage after STB.


This article will explore the literature to identify why people with diabetes are at a high risk of lowerlimb amputation. The significance of the problem, aetiology, evidence-based prevention and screening measures, as well as infection prevention will also be discussed. Many diabetes-related lower-limb amputations can be avoided or delayed by early detection of the problem. It is also important to maintain good glycaemic control, and encourage multidisciplinary involvement to ensure that the person takes responsibility for their own health and well-being.


The brain shows a remarkable capacity to reorganize itself following early sensory deprivation or neonatal brain damage. Using two models of deprivation, we will show that the brain does indeed adjust to the loss of either the visual cortex (which receives most of the retinal inputs through the lateral geniculate bodies of the thalamus) or the eyes (which provide the major input to the visual cortex) through cross-modal plastic processes. Hamsters, deprived of their visual system at birth, develop novel and permanent retinal projections to the auditory thalamus. These projections form functional synapses and project to the auditory cortex. When trained on a visual discrimination task, the "rewired" hamsters perform as well as normal hamsters. Lesions of the auditory cortex produce cortical blindness. Congenitally blind human subjects, trained to discriminate the orientation of a stimulus applied to the tongue via an electrotactile device, show activation of their visual cortex, whereas trained blindfolded controls show only activation of the somatosensory cortex representing the tongue. We propose that in blind subjects, there is an unmasking of existing cortico-cortical (parieto-occipital) connections, enabling transfer of somatosensory information to visual cortex.


In the study of 19th century, Swedish art history, military artists are repeatedly discovered, often as sketch-artists or painters, but also in their capacity as directors of the Board of Public Building or architects. Within picture art, these so-called "military painters" areconsidered to be typical representatives of the widespread amateurism of the century.The aim of this study, is to describe and illustrate the background to military contributions to 19th century architecture and picture art, and, using several case-studies, show the depth and variation in character, wich was a hallmark of their building and artistic activities.The position of the Army in society and its education in architecture and drawing arepresented, together with four officers as architects and town-planner, and the four military directors of the Board of Public Building, who attained the highest position in the hierarchy of Swedish art. Six artistically-active officers are also presented, who, though they often occur in surveys of Swedish art history, have never, together, been the object of any closer examination. The role of drawing in educational aims and the position of amateurism, is discussed in the final chapter, while a shorter international perspective concludes the presentation.


Abstract : The long-term goal of this project is to develop a robust and hardened high-resolution air-ocean coupled tropical cyclone (TC) data assimilation and prediction system that is able to assimilate the wide variety of available in-situ and remotely-sensed observations in order to analyze and predict TC structure and intensity changes in an operational environment. Significant gains have been made in TC track prediction over the past three decades. This considerable achievement is due, in large part, to the steady improvement of numerical models, especially the global scale prediction systems, and the judicial utilization of multi-model ensemble results. In contrast, the TC intensity forecast by numerical models has shown very little improvement during the same time period, and remains a formidable forecast problem. Advanced statistical prediction models nowadays are able to predict the trend for intensification, but as statistical tools, they inherently cannot predict the rapid intensity changes, as evident in Katrina and Rita of 2005, and other tropical cyclones. It is generally accepted now that while advancements in data assimilation and modeling have resulted in better analyses and predictions of steering flows, the processes that affect the structure and intensity of tropical cyclones are much more difficult for current numerical models to capture and reproduce. Physical processes in tropical cyclones that can affect their structure and intensity include enthalpy and mechanical interchanges with the underlying ocean and land surfaces, shallow and deep atmospheric convection in the convectively unstable tropical atmosphere with vertical and horizontal wind shears, and internal multiscale non-linear dynamic interactions. Current prediction systems have been shown to be able to reproduce rapid intensification in case studies involving complex upper tropospheric and oceanic conditions in a carefully conducted simulation mode (e.g., Hong et al. 2000).


AIM
Endometriosis affects from 10% to 15% of women of childbearing age and 20% of these women have deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE). The goal of this review was to assess the impact of various locations of DIE on spontaneous fertility and the benefit of surgery and Medically Assisted Reproduction (MAR) (in vitro fertilization and intrauterine insemination) on fertility outcomes.

METHODS
MEDLINE search for articles on fertility in women with DIE published between 1990 and April 2013 using the following terms: "deep infiltrative endometriosis", "colorectal", "bowel", "rectovaginal", "uterosacral", "vaginal", "bladder" and "fertility" or "infertility". Twenty-nine articles reporting fertility outcomes in 2730 women with DIE were analysed.

RESULTS
Among the women with DIE and no bowel involvement (N.=1295), no preoperative data on spontaneous pregnancy rate (PR) were available. The postoperative spontaneous PR rate in these women was 50.5% (95% Confidence Interval [CI] =46.8-54.1) and overall PR (spontaneous pregnancies and after MAR) was 68.3% (95% CI=64.9-71.7). No evaluation of fertility outcome according to locations of DIE was feasible. For women with DIE with bowel involvement without surgical management (N.=115), PR after MAR was 29%; 95% CI=20.7-37.4). For those with bowel involvement who were surgically managed (N.=1320), postoperative spontaneous PR was 28.6% (95% CI=25-32.3) and overall postoperative PR was 46.9% (95% CI=42.9-50.9).

CONCLUSION
For women with DIE without bowel involvement, surgery alone offers a high spontaneous PR. For those with bowel involvement, the low spontaneous and relatively high overall PR suggests the potential benefit of combining surgery and MAR.


TM implementations typically use low-level conflict detection based on the memory locations that a transaction accesses. This can cause transactions to be re-executed because of benign conflicts, for example if two transactions insert items into the same hashtable under different keys which happen to hash to the same bucket: the insertions update the same memory locations, even though the higher-level operations they are performing are commutative. In this paper we introduce abstract nested transactions (ANTs) as a way of improving the scalability of atomic blocks that experience some kinds of benign conflict. The main idea is that ANTs should contain operations that are likely to be the victims of benign conflicts. The run-time system then performs extra book-keeping so that, if an ANT does experience a conflict, the ANT can be re-executed without needing to re-run the larger transaction that contains i t. Unlike closed nested transactions (CNTs) this re-execution can happen after the ANT has finished running ‐ in our implementation we only re-execute ANTs at the point that we try to commit a top-level atomic block. Moving code into or out of an ANT is semantics preserving: ANTs affect only the program's performance, not its possible results. This helps open the door for future resear ch in automatic ways to place ANTs in programs in order to deal with contention 'hot spots' that they experience.


A Network Service Header(NSH) is imposed encapsulates a packet or a
frame for Service Function Chaining. The resulting packet, in turn, is
encapsulate according to transport layer. The NSH contains a Service
Path Identifier (SPI) and a Service Index (SI). The SPI is, as per its
name, an identifier. The SPI alone cannot be used to forward packets
along a service path. Rather, the SPI provides a level of indirection
between the service path / topology and the network transport
encapsulation. For different transport encapsulations, this document
provides the format information with transport and NSH, and gives
operational constraints that transport technologies, used by NSH need
to meet.


The clinical course and diagnostic profile of 13 patients with central nervous system involvement and systemic lupus erythematosus (CNS-SLE) are presented. The diagnostic yield for each procedure was measured as the percent abnormal: CSF total protein was 38%; increased CSF IgG 69%; decreased CSF hemolytic C4 10%; increased CSF anti-DNA 64%; electroencephalogram 80%; flow brain scan 50%; and static brain scan 0%. No single procedure was consistently abnormal, but the battery of tests provided a useful and specific CNS-SLE diagnostic profile.


This article analyses how characters are described in recent Hollywood screenplays, and notes that female characters are routinely described very differently than male characters. Male characters are commonly named and described expansively, whereas female characters are often unnamed, described meagrely, highly sexualised and infantalised. How characters are described in screenplays matters, because it impacts on production practices, the nature of workplaces, the films produced, and the gender representations we see daily on our screens. Conceptualizing this as a problem of screenwriting rather than an abstract problem of representation helps us imagine and enact change for people both imagined and real.


The effect of compressive pretreatment before chemical pulping on the properties of poplar kraft and soda-AQ pulp was evaluated. Compressive pretreatment not only resulted in the dissolution of hemicellulose, but also leached extractives. Pulps made from compressive pretreated wood chips required lower beating energy than the untreated pulps to achieve the same beating degree of 45°SR, and the brightness of the handsheets was improved by 2% ISO. Compressive pretreatment allowed for efficient delignification and saved about 6% alkali consumption to achieve similar pulp screen yield. Furthermore, a higher content of fines and slightly lower mechanical properties were observed after the compressive treatment.


Mycorrhizal symbiosis represents a valuable tool for increasing plant nutrient uptake, affecting system biodiversity, ecosystem services and productivity. Introduction of agroecological service crops (ASCs) in cropping systems may determine changes in weed community, that can affect the development of the mycorrhizal mycelial network in the rhizosphere, favoring or depressing the cash crop mycorrhization. Two no-till Mediterranean organic horticultural systems were considered: one located in central Italy, where organic melon was transplanted on four winter-cereals mulches (rye, spelt, barley, wheat), one located in southern Italy (Sicily), where barley (as catch crop) was intercropped in an organic young orange orchard, with the no tilled, unweeded systems taken as controls. Weed "Supporting Arbuscular Mycorrhiza" (SAM) trait, weed density and biodiversity indexes, mycorrhization of coexistent plants in the field, the external mycelial network on roots were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, crop P uptake, yield and quality were evaluated. We verified that cereals, used as green mulches or intercropped, may drive the weed selection in favor of the SAM species, and promote the mycelial network, thus significantly increasing the mycorrhization, the P uptake, the yield and quality traits of the cash crop. This is a relevant economic factor when introducing sustainable cropping practices and assessing the overall functionality of the agroecosystem.


Abstract An extensive (40 km) coastal plain is prograding on the north coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands off the Pacific margin of Canada while the entire 120 km eastern coast of Graham Island is actively eroding. At the junction of these two systems is Rose Spit, which extends northeastward at a point of sediment transport convergence. Historical bathymetrical data and aerial photographs indicate that a spit platform extends 10 km to the northeast and at least four portions (up to 4 km in length) of the platform bank have become emergent since 1911. The area is seismically active and subject to storm-related sediment transport events superimposed on strong semi-diurnal tidal flows. The rapid emergence of the offshore banks and the net coastal changes are primarily controlled by: (1) convergence of sediment transport between the waters of Hecate Strait to the south and Dixon Entrance to the north, particularly during winter storms; and (2) localized tectonic uplift. Sediment is transported north from the shallow waters of Hecate Strait by southeasterly winter storms and east, by longshore transport, along the accreting northern coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands to converge at Rose Spit. A 'hydraulic fence' has formed resulting in the creation of the elongate spit platform with emergent sand bars, east of the spit. Transpressional folding has occurred in this area east of the Queen Charlotte Fault, which separates the North American and Pacific Plates. This has resulted in localized uplift since Pliocene time, complementing the accretion process.


Abstract Two immersive visual story worlds (IVS), Queer Psycho and HE Circus, are at the center of this article, one made by each of us. Individually we found our works necessitated the development of new frameworks for IVS construction, namely (1) Brechtian a-effect and queering, and (2) magic and more-than-human theories. These new framings were needed to realize our desire to use IVS to create spaces of active resistance from psychological harm imposed by political and ableist structures designed with rigid ways of seeing the world through straight/neoliberal lenses. When both story worlds and their frameworks are viewed side-by-side, they lay bare the prejudices and normative framings of IVS software and industries. Thus, the outline of these new framings with this article makes an original contribution to the field by calling into question those who are designing IVS software and typical frameworks by asking who and what they are benefiting, and proposing alternatives to illustrate how neither should be considered fixed. Finally, the topic of each IVS, that of Hitchcock's Psycho and neoliberal structures of contemporary higher education, offer critiques of systems which serve to highlight our arguments.


In recent years, because of their wide applications in the cosmetics, food and paint industries, studies of emulsions and colloidal particles stabilized by solid particles in the nanometre to micrometre-size range have attracted intense interest in the chemistry and material science community. In this chapter, emulsions and colloidal particles stabilized by clay layers with different polymer brushes, amphiphilic gold nanoparticles and Janus structures, are reviewed. The favourable interfacial energy reduction is achieved when the brush-modified particles are used in Pickering emulsions. The self-assembly of the solid particles at a liquid–liquid interface improves the stability of Pickering emulsions significantly, and colloids with solid particles on the surface were prepared by an emulsion polymerization method.


Millions of deaths occur annually in developing countries due to diarrheal diseases caused by poor water quality. Household water treatment and safe storage interventions have been shown to improve water quality and reduce diarrheal disease incidence in developing countries. Chlorination is an intervention that is widely used to treat contaminated drinking water. Benefits of chlorination include scalability and low cost; a drawback is ensuring quality control over time. The objective of the current study was to develop a predictive model of chlorine concentrations in drinking water. The predictive model consists of single and multi-compartments described by systems of linear differential equations. Assumptions of the model are: (i) the volume of the container is fixed; and (ii) there is no spatial dependence of chlorine in the water system. The model code is written in Berkeley Madonna Software (Berkeley, CA). Experimental data from Vestergaard Frandsen's Water Laboratory (Hanoi, Vietnam) was used to calibrate the model. Laboratory experiments were conducted to measure the decrease of residual chlorine concentration as a function of time in aging water. The tests were conducted using water with different chlorine concentrations, organic content and turbidity levels. Simple compartment models fit the laboratory data well. Simulations of chlorine residual levels were conducted using Monte Carlo techniques, varying the initial concentration of chlorine, rate constants, organic content, turbidity levels, and chlorine interventions. This predictive model may be used by chlorine-based water treatment programs to simulate chlorine concentrations for a variety of water use patterns, and provide quality control of the program.


Repayment decisions—how much of the loan to repay and when to make the payments—directly influence consumer debt levels. The authors examine how minimum required payment policy and loan information disclosed to consumers influence repayment decisions. They find that while presenting minimum required payment information has a negative impact on repayment decisions, increasing the minimum required level has a positive effect on repayment for most consumers. Experimental evidence from U.S. consumers shows that consumers' propensity to pay the minimum required each month moderates these effects; U.K. credit card field data indicate that borrowers' credit limit and balance due also moderate these effects. However, increasing the minimum level is unlikely to completely eliminate the negative effect of presenting minimum payment information. In addition, disclosing supplemental information, such as future interest cost and time needed to repay the loan, does not reduce the negative effects of including minimum payment information and has no substantial positive effect on repayments. This research offers new insights into the debt repayment process and has implications for consumers, lenders, and public policy.


Cryptographic primitives are the basic components of any cryptographic tool. Block ciphers, stream ciphers and hash functions are the fundamental primitives of symmetric cryptography. In symmetric cryptography, the communicating parties perform essentially the same operation and use the same key, if any. This thesis concerns cryptanalysis of stream ciphers and hash functions. The main contribution of this work is introducing the concept of probabilistic neutrality for the arguments of a function, a generalization of the definition of neutrality. An input argument of a given function is called neutral if it does not affect the output of the function. This simple idea has already been implicitly used in key recovery cryptanalysis of block ciphers and stream ciphers. However, in 2004, Biham and Chen explicitly used the idea of neutrality to speed up collision finding algorithms for hash functions. We call an input argument of a function probabilistic neutral if it does not have a "significant" influence on the output of the function. Simply stated, it means that if the input argument is changed, the output of the function stays the same with a probability "close" to one. We will exploit the idea of probabilistic neutrality to assess the security of several stream ciphers and hash functions. Interestingly, all our cryptanalyses rely on neutrality and/or probabilistic neutrality. In other words, these concepts will appear as a common ingredient in all of our cryptanalytic algorithms. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the probabilistic neutrality has found diverse applications in cryptanalysis.


Abstract The antibacterial activity of a series of simple coumarins was evaluated against 8 microorganisms, including three Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, beta-hemolytic Streptococcus and Streptococcus pneumoniae) and five Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis and Haemophilus influenzae), using the microdilution broth method. The coumarins tested showed broad diversity regarding growth inhibitory activity with minimum inhibitory concentrations ranging from 0.9 to >12.4 μᴍ. This study, presenting the first systematic analysis of structure-activity relationships among this group of coumarins, revealed some interesting structural requirements. While coumarins with a methoxy function at C-7 and, if present, an OH group at either the C-6 or C-8 position are invariably effective against the spectrum of tested standard bacteria (Gram-negative microorganisms including the Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus), the presence of an aromatic dimethoxy arrangement is apparently favourable against those microorganisms which require special growth factors (beta-hemolytic Streptococcus, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae). A combination of these structural features, two methoxy functions and at least one additional phenolic group as reflected by the highly oxygenated coumarins, identify promising candidates with antibacterial broad-spectrum activity.


The grind-hardening technology utilizes the grinding heat to harden the surface of the workpiece. The friction and wear performance of the grind-hardened layer is one of the important parameters. In this paper, the friction and wear performance of the grind-hardened layer was studied by the friction and wear experiment. The wear rate and the friction coefficient of the grind-hardened steel were studied by comparing with conventional hardened steel and non-hardened steel. The surface worn morphology and the collected wear debris of the grind-hardened steel were observed during the experiment. The wear mechanism of the grind-hardened steel was analyzed under different friction conditions.


This PSB 2022 session addresses challenges and solutions in translating Big Data Imaging Genomics research towards personalized medicine and guiding individual clinical decisions. We will focus on Big Data analyses, pattern recognition, machine learning and AI, electronic health records, guiding diagnostic and treatment decisions and reports of state-of-the-art findings from large and diverse imaging, genomics, and other biomedical datasets.


Coxiella burnetii is a gram‐negative intracellular bacterium that forms a large, lysosome‐like parasitophorous vacuole (PV) essential for bacterial replication. Host membrane lipids are critical for the formation and maintenance of this intracellular niche, yet the mechanisms by which Coxiella manipulates host cell lipid metabolism, trafficking and signalling are unknown. Oxysterol‐binding protein‐related protein 1 long (ORP1L) is a mammalian lipid‐binding protein that plays a dual role in cholesterol‐dependent endocytic trafficking as well as interactions between endosomes and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). We found that ORP1L localized to the Coxiella PV within 12 h of infection through a process requiring the Coxiella Dot/Icm Type 4B secretion system, which secretes effector proteins into the host cell cytoplasm where they manipulate trafficking and signalling pathways. The ORP1L N‐terminal ankyrin repeats were necessary and sufficient for PV localization, indicating that ORP1L binds a PV membrane protein. Strikingly, ORP1L simultaneously co‐localized with the PV and ER, and electron microscopy revealed membrane contact sites between the PV and ER membranes. In ORP1L‐depleted cells, PVs were significantly smaller than PVs from control cells. These data suggest that ORP1L is specifically recruited by the bacteria to the Coxiella PV, where it influences PV membrane dynamics and interactions with the ER.


Introduction Facility interventions to improve quality of care around childbirth are known but need to be packaged, tested and institutionalised within health systems to impact on maternal and newborn outcomes. Methods We conducted cross-sectional assessments at baseline (2016) and after 18 months of provider-led implementation of UNICEF/WHO's Every Mother Every Newborn Quality Improvement (EMEN-QI) standards (preceding the WHO Standards for improving quality of maternal and newborn care in health facilities). 19 hospitals and health centres (2.8M catchment population) in Bangladesh, Ghana and Tanzania were involved and 24 from adjoining districts served for 'comparison'. We interviewed 43 facility managers and 818 providers, observed 1516 client–provider interactions, reviewed 12 020 records and exit-interviewed 1826 newly delivered women. We computed a 39-criteria institutionalisation score combining clinical, patient rights and cross-cutting domains from EMEN-QI and used routine/District Health Information System V.2 data to assess the impact on perinatal and maternal mortality. Results EMEN-QI standards institutionalisation score increased from 61% to 80% during EMEN-QI implementation, exceeding 75% target. All mortality indicators showed a downward trajectory though not all reached statistical significance. Newborn case-fatality rate fell significantly by 25% in Bangladesh (RR=0·75 (95% CI=0·59 to 0·96), p=0·017) and 85% in Tanzania (RR=0.15 (95% CI=0.08 to 0.29), p<0.001), but not in Ghana. Similarly, stillbirth (RR=0.64 (95% CI=0.45 to 0.92), p<0.01) and perinatal mortality in Tanzania reduced significantly (RR=0.59 (95% CI=0.40 to 0.87), p=0.007). Institutional maternal mortality ratios generally reduced but were only significant in Ghana: 362/100 000 to 207/100 000 livebirths (RR=0.57 (95% CI=0.33 to 0.99), p=0.046). Routine mortality data from comparison facilities were limited and scarce. Systematic death audits and clinical mentorship drove these achievements but challenges still remain around human resource management and equipment maintenance systems. Conclusion Institutionalisation of the UNICEF/WHO EMEN-QI standards as a package is feasible within existing health systems and may reduce mortality around childbirth. Critical gaps around sustainability must be fundamental considerations for scale-up.


Dictionary-based entity extraction identifies predefined entities (e.g., person names or locations) from a document. A recent trend for improving extraction recall is to support approximate entity extraction, which finds all substrings in the document that approximately match entities in a given dictionary. Existing methods to address this problem support either token-based similarity (e.g., Jaccard Similarity) or character-based dissimilarity (e.g., Edit Distance). It calls for a unified method to support various similarity/dissimilarity functions, since a unified method can reduce the programming efforts, hardware requirements, and the manpower. In addition, many substrings in the document have overlaps, and we have an opportunity to utilize the shared computation across the overlaps to avoid unnecessary redundant computation. In this paper, we propose a unified framework to support many similarity/dissimilarity functions, such as jaccard similarity, cosine similarity, dice similarity, edit similarity, and edit distance. We devise efficient filtering algorithms to utilize the shared computation and develop effective pruning techniques to improve the performance. The experimental results show that our method achieves high performance and outperforms state-of-the-art studies.


Surgical resection of hepatic metastases is mainly performed for colo-rectal carcinomas. The natural history of these metastases shows that their course is variable but death of the patients occurs within one year after discovery of obvious hepatic metastases in 50% of these patients. Five years survival after complete surgical hepatic resection is reported to be around 20% in most series. Prognosis is determined by the node involvement of the primary tumour, the degree of local invasion (Dukes classification) and the time of appearance of the liver-metastases (metachronous or synchronous). A better pre- and intra-operative (ultrasound) detection could improve these results.


The point of Pragmatic Bioethics is to view bioethics through the lens of American pragmatism. The book is in three parts. The papers in part one look at the ''pragmatic method'' and bioethics in general; those in part two are intended to suggest that bioethical debates can be informed by parts of the canon of classical American pragmatism; those in part three apply aspects of pragmatism to specific bioethical issues more overtly. This structure is odd in two related respects: the difference between the papers in parts two and three is unclear, and papers dealing in similar ways with similar bioethical issues (for example, death and dying) are placed in each of these parts. My view of how philosophy does, and should, apply to bioethics is at odds with that implied by Pragmatic Bioethics. I think bioethics can be informed by philosophy in two ways. Firstly, specific bioethical problems can be elucidated by substantive philosophical data (including normative theoretical advances, and specific philosophical theories such as those pertaining to personal identity). Secondly, and more pervasively, bioethics would benefit from acquiring certain intellectual habits distinctive of (analytic) philosophy (notably, conceptual clarity, argumentative rigour, and accuracy of expression). The different view taken in this book is that bioethics might look to the methodology implied by American pragmatism, and specific bioethical issues might be addressed by reference to American pragmatist writings. I feel that this different view was only partially convincing. There are two main sets of problems. The first set of problems relates most closely to part one (which discusses bioethics and the ''pragmatic method''). Although the first four papers contain some eminently sensible ideas and advice about how to approach bioethical problems, I was puzzled by the insistence that these are best put in terms of American pragmatism. For one thing, some of these methodological themes resonate as loudly with positions other than pragmatism (for example, reflective equilibrium and Rawls). For another, I noted a list of ways the relation between bioethics and pragmatism is described in these first few papers. On the one hand are claims such as that bioethics already is a pragmatic discipline, that it is implicitly pragmatic, and that it can be understood as pragmatic. On the other are claims such as that pragmatism is well suited to bioethics and that pragmatism can revolutionise bioethics. Clearly, there is equivocation here between the descriptive claim that bioethics is a pragmatic discipline, and the normative claim that it should be. More importantly, there is a fairly obvious dilemma. Either ''pragmatism'' here refers to the philosophical doctrine or it does not. If it does, then far too little has been said. Firstly, ''pragmatism'' would have to be defined much more clearly (but, notoriously, pragmatism is philosophically heterogeneous; note what Peirce thought about Jamesian pragmatism). Secondly, the preferred version of the doctrine would need defending properly (but there are important objections, and alternatives, to pragmatism in its various guises; note what Russell thought of the Pragmatic Theory of Truth). Thirdly, one would have to show how a clearly defined and properly defended pragmatism can elucidate bioethics, when pragmatism understood philosophically is essentially an approach to questions of significance and truth that seem obviously far removed from the ''real life'' contemporary problems that comprise bioethics. To sum up the point, this book could not be recommended to a philosophy student studying American pragmatism per se. Given this, it is not really philosophical pragmatism that is in play; rather, ''pragmatic bioethics'' here amounts to emphasising themes that resonate with the philosophical position(s) that can be labelled ''pragmatic''. But this puts us on the second horn of the dilemma. A cursory list of these resonant themes, gleaned from part one, includes employing the hypothetico-deductive methodology, seeing moral theories as mere hypothetical guides, achieving reflective equilibrium, epistemic anti-foundationalism and pro-fallibilism, contextualising problem situations, and so on. The list is easy to endorse. Too easy: we do not need American pragmatism—nor any other heavyweight sounding philosophical ''-ism''—to endorse it. Most of this grandiosely termed ''pragmatic method'' is simply the way we now naturally go about addressing contemporary social issues. For example, who thinks the hypothetico-deductive methodology is a bad way of going about medical ethics? And perhaps some ardent defenders of a moral theory—Singer on utilitarianism, say—really do think its application will solve bioethical problems; but most people who apply moral theory in bioethics are self-consciously putting views on the table in order to juxtapose them with others for comparison and evaluation. What is puzzling about part one is that by the end of the fourth essay the outline of this dilemma has emerged in the reader's mind, then we get Arras's chapter (the most elegant in the book thus far) in which it is clearly and emphatically stated. So the suspicion that has naturally developed during the first four papers (that there is something fundamentally dubious about claiming a ''methodology of pragmatic bioethics'') is then confirmed in the fifth. Perhaps the editor should be applauded for having the courage to organise part one in this way. But it is a hostage to fortune. The second main set of problems relates more closely to the papers in parts two and three. Taking them as a whole (as mentioned, the distinction between parts two and three is unclear, and papers placed in these parts seem to cover similar topics in similar ways) another disquieting thought kept occurring. Why persistently relate the substantive bioethical points of these papers to American pragmatist writings? Bluntly, we do not need to appeal to Royce to argue against an overly economic or legal construal of the doctor-patient relationship, James to notice that death is a vague concept, Peirce to advocate attending to the consequences of acting according to different definitions of ''killing'', James to argue that it might be morally right to help someone end their own life and thereby die well, and so on. The bioethical claims are clearly detachable from pragmatism; and no-one thinks that, because a view in bioethics accords with something an American pragmatist said, it is true. The constant harking back to pragmatist texts is distracting (and worse: the tenth essay, which is almost risible and surely has no place in serious bioethics, is a reductio of this approach). Many of the bioethical points these writers want to make are interesting and important in themselves, and there is more to be said about them. So why not just get on with doing bioethics? The most convincing papers in the book are those that apply the pragmatic method to bioethics in a more subtle, understated way. The best example is chapter 13 (Wolpe and McGee on stem cells). I cannot recall the phrase ''American pragmatism'' being used in this chapter. There are no heavy handed claims about how pragmatism is/should be the way to do bioethics; and no artificial seeming appeals to comments by Peirce, James, or Dewey. Rather, the authors treatment of their theme—analysis of the way the debate about the permissibility of human embryonic stem cells research has proceeded—is subtly but consistently informed by certain pragmatist tendencies (notably, the democratisation of intellectual debate). The paper makes a substantive contribution to the literature on stem cells, and it is only later, on reflection (and in light of the context) that one realises that it is a pragmatic approach to the question. This way of doing ''pragmatic bioethics'' is effective precisely because it avoids grandiose claims about the ''pragmatic method'' and the rather intrusive use of pragmatist quotes. More papers in the book in this style would have made a more convincing case for ''pragmaticising'' bioethics.


Seed protein concentration of commercial soybean cultivars calculated on a dry weight basis ranges from approximately 37 to 42% depending on genotype and location. A concerted research effort is ongoing to further increase protein concentration. Several soybean plant introductions (PI) are known to contain greater than 50% protein. These PIs are exploited by breeders to incorporate the high-protein trait into commercial North American cultivars. Currently, limited information is available on the biochemical and genetic mechanisms that regulate high-proteins. In this study, we have carried out proteomic and molecular analysis of seed proteins of LG00-13260 and its parental high-protein lines PI 427138 and BARC-6. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis revealed that the high-protein lines accumulated increased amounts of beta-conglycinin and glycinins, when compared with Williams 82. High-resolution two-dimensional electrophoresis utilizing pH 4-7 and pH 6-11 ampholytes enabled improved resolution of soybean seed proteins. A total of 38 protein spots, representing the different subunits of beta-conglycinin and glycinin, were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. High-protein was correlated with an increase in the accumulation of most of the subunits representing beta-conglycinin and glycinin. Comparisons of the amino acid profiles of high-protein soybean lines revealed that the concentration of sulfur amino acids, a reflection of protein quality, was not influenced by the protein concentration. Southern blot analysis showed the presence of genotypic variation at the DNA level between PI 427138 and BARC-6 for the genes encoding group1 glycinin, beta-conglycinin, Bowman-Birk inhibitor (BBI), and the Kunitz trypsin inhibitor (KTI). LG00-13260 inherited the allelic variants of the parental line PI 427138 for glycinin, beta-conglycinin, and KTI, while BBI was inherited from the parental line BARC-6. The results of our study indicate that high-seed protein concentration is attributed to greater accumulation of specific components of beta-conglycinin and glycinin subunits presumably mediated by preferential expression of these genes during seed development.


Colimits that satisfy the Van Kampen condition have interesting exactness properties. We show that the elementary presentation of the Van Kampen condition is actually a characterisation of a universal property in the associated bicategory of spans. The main theorem states that Van Kampen cocones are precisely those diagrams in a category that induce bicolimit diagrams in its associated bicategory of spans, provided that the category has pullbacks and enough colimits.


This paper reviews briefly the relationship between the growth mechanism and matter transport using as an example the best currently applied metallic materials being alumina formers. The attention is paid to the experimental approach as well as to the interpretation procedure of experimental results. The scale structure, microstructure, morphology and phase composition are indicated as factors strongly affecting its growth mechanism. The attempt is made to elucidate the possible relationships between the obtained experimental results and actual scale growth mechanisms operating during oxidation exposures.


We derivatized low molecular weight chitosan (LMWC) with 3-mercaptopropanoic acid (3-MPA) by a coupling reaction. The chemical modification of LMWC was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance, 1HNMR. We researched the influence of 3-MPA on the nanoparticles formation by ionic gelation method using sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) as cross-linker reagent. In order to optimize the nanoparticles formation, we studied the effect of the pH solution and molar ratio on nanoparticles stability. Analyses of particle size, morphology, and surface charge were determined by dynamic light scattering, Atomic Force Microscopy, and zeta potential, respectively. It was found that formation of semispherical and stable nanoparticles was improved due to the chemical modification of chitosan. Optimized semispherical nanoparticles of thiolated chitosan were synthesized with the parameters (pH 4.7, molar ratios 1 : 106). Additionally, we reported the thermodynamic profile of the nanoparticles formation determined by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). The aggregation process achieved to form nanoparticles of thiolated and nonmodified chitosan consisted of two stages, considering one binding site model. Gibbs free energy and binding constant () describe the aggregation process of thiolated chitosan/TPP, which is an initial reaction and followed by an endothermic stage. These results are promising for the possible application of these nanoparticles as nanocarriers and delivery systems.


Background: Spouse abuse so called intimate partner violence (IPV) is a common problem in the world. This survey was conducted to identify IPV prevalence and related factors in district health centers in Hamadan, western Iran, in hope that, by identifying risk factors, preventive guidelines could be understood. Methods: In this descriptive analytic cross sectional study, 600 married women from six district health centers in Hamadan, western Iran were randomly enrolled in 2007. For gathering information we used a questionnaire which included demographic and specific questions about IPV, based on WHO guidelines. For increasing validity of results, questionnaires were nameless and participants were ensured about concealment of their identities. Finally data analyzed by SPSS software (version15). Results: Wife abuse was identified in 34.2% of participants. For understanding IPV risk factors, we used logistic regression method and 27 variables were enrolled in the equation and finally 4 variables were statistically significant to wife abuse (P< 0.05). These variables were: weak religious believe of men, history of wife abuse in participants mothers, mens criminal history and finally mens alcoholic abuse Conclusion: Wife abuse was prevalent in this survey, so that 1 from 3 women was abused by their husbands. Other similar investigations in different countries also verify this result. Because of so many women who disclaim violence due to cultural texture and religious believe, it is believed that, intimate partner violence is more than those being reported.


Within the article the attempt is made to study the perception of the XVIII century philosopher Hryhorii Skovoroda's image and its philosophy through the prism of the later national identities. The fact is stressed that the statement of the issue concerning the Hryhorii Skovoroda's image Ukrainization and the history of its solution turns out to be the consequence of the process of establishing the Ukrainian modern self-identity which started in the ХІХ century. The situation is emphasized that within "all-Russian" identity one can come across its three variations: Skovoroda is a "Russian" (meaning "all-Russian"); Skovoroda is a "Malorussian" (meaning a representative of a regional variant of a "Russian" identity) and Skovoroda is a "Ukrainian" (meaning a native from the land that is called Ukraine). At the end of the ХІХ century Skovoroda's image was interpreted within Ukrainian personal identity. The conclusion is made that during ХІХ—ХХ centuries and even nowadays two national identities for Skovoroda's personality remain relevant: Ukrainian and Russian. The Russian one is a result of the XVIII—XIX centuries "all-Russian" syncretism state being transferred into the modern particular Russian national self-identity. The process of Hryhorii Skovoroda's image Ukrainization (in other words its extraction from the "all-Russian" context) developed through several stages. At the beginning of the ХІХ century he was "Ukrainian" because he had a Ukrainian territorial identity and was related to Slobidska-Ukrainian province. Later he became "Ukrainian" because he represented "simple" Ukrainian people. Finally he is "Ukrainian" because he belongs to the Ukrainian ethnic nation and therefore his philosophy belongs to Ukrainian philosophical culture.


Based on time-dependent reliability theory, intermediate working state is considered, combining with current specifications, concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) arch bridge is discussed as a case, determination principle of three-stage mode is given. The direct correspondence from reliability indices to working states is made clear consequently. Introducing state variables, dynamic Monte-carlo method is presented. Basic formulas of failure probability and damage probability are derived by variable time increment method. The bridge is an CFST arch bridge with 83.6 meter-span, which operated for 10 years. According to test result, dynamic Monte-carlo method is used to estimate the reliability of this bridge. The analysis result shows that, in the tenth year, both damage reliability index and failure reliability index are above target reliability index. The example bridge is in safe working state at present. This conclusion is consistent with the facts.


The organization of eukaryotic chromatin has a major impact on all nuclear processes involving DNA substrates. Gene expression is affected by the positioning of individual nucleosomes relative to regulatory sequence elements, by the folding of the nucleosomal fiber into higher‐order structures and by the compartmentalization of functional domains within the nucleus. Because site‐specific acetylation of nucleosomal histones influences all three aspects of chromatin organization, it is central to the switch between permissive and repressive chromatin structure. The targeting of enzymes that modulate the histone acetylation status of chromatin, in synergy with the effects mediated by other chromatin remodeling factors, is central to gene regulation.


Bubble column reactors are finding increasing use in industrial practice. They are in particular appropriate to carry out highly exothermic reactions, such as methanol synthesis or Fischer-Tropsch synthesis of conversion of synthesis gas to liquid paraffins. Industrial process require important volumes of reactors, the reactor diameter can reach 10 m. To control the reaction temperature, internal heat-exchange tubes (vertical tubes) are inserted inside the reactor. This study deals with the effects of scale and the presence of internals on hydrodynamic characteristics, for scale-up purposes based on experiments in cold mockups. Our study shows that the liquid recirculation intensity depends strongly on the column diameter whereas the gas holdup is slightly affected. Two methods are proposed to predict scale effect on liquid velocity: an empirical correlation proposed in the literature and a phenomenological model. Internals guide liquid: the large scale recirculation increases but fluctuations of liquid velocity decrease. Therefore the mixing of liquid is significantly affected by the presence of internals and is not well described by the standard mono dimensional axial dispersion model. A two-dimensional model, taking into account a radially dependent axial velocity profile and both axial and radial dispersion, is therefore developed to describe the liquid mixing in a bubble column with internals.


The concept of spatial scale is fundamental to geography, as are the problems of integrating data obtained at different scales. The availability of GIS has provided an appropriate environment to re-scale data prior to subsequent integration, but few tools with which to implement the re-scaling. This sparsity of appropriate tools arises primarily because the nature of the spatial variation of interest is often poorly understood and, specifically, the patterns of spatial dependence and error are unknown. Spatial dependence can be represented and modelled using geostatistical approaches providing a basis for the subsequent re-scaling of spatial data (e.g., via spatial interpolation). Geostatistical techniques can also be used to model the effects of re-scaling data through the geostatistical operation of regularization. Regularization provides a means by which to re-scale the statistics and functions that describe the data rather than the data themselves. These topics are reviewed in this paper and the importance of the spatial scale problems that remain is emphasized.


Legal instruments within the multilateral system almost always become multilingual through translation. Given the legal force of the target texts that they prepare, translators take on the delicate responsibility of drafters of binding provisions in the target language in that context. This article focuses on multilateral treaties in order to illustrate the legal and situational factors framing that task at international organisations. Relevant provisions regarding the interpretation of multilingual treaties (within the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties) are analyzed as a starting point to address the scope of characteristic translation problems posed by ambiguity in original texts, as well as to identify the parameters that should be considered when dealing with such issues. Special emphasis is given to familiarisation with applicable rules of interpretation in international law and related judicial precedents at organisation level. The conclusion accordingly underlines the high degree of specialisation required for the translation of treaties, with a view to contributing to maximum text quality and concordance, and ultimately to legal certainty.


Helicobacter pylori is an important factor of chronic gastritis, digestive ulcer, and stomach cancer. CagL, a virulence factor of H. pylori, is well-known as a pilus protein which acts as adhesion to host cell and a component of Type 4 secretion system. In this study, we evaluated the protective response of recombinant CagL protein (rCagL) using Mongolian gerbil animal model for H. pylori infection. The cagL gene was cloned from 26695 H. pylori followed by over-expression and purification of the protein in E. coli. Mongolian gerbils were immunized with rCagL protein mixed with aluminum adjuvant via intramuscular injections once a week during 4 weeks. At a week after the last immunization, the Mongolian gerbils were administrated with H. pylori 7.13 strain into the stomach and sacrificed to measure antibody titer on rCagL by ELISA and bacterial colonization in the stomach, and to examine the histopathological changes and cytokine expression at 6 week after challenge. Antibody titers on recombinant protein were significantly increased from a week after the first immunization. There was no significant change of the number of bacterial colony between control group and immunized group. The relative stomach weight was significantly decreased in immunized group, but the significant change of histopathological assessment was not observed in the stomach. Cytokine expression such as IL- and KC also was not significantly different between control and immunized groups. These results indicate that rCagL could effectively induce the formation of the specific IgG antibodies. However, bacterial colonization and histopathological lesions could not be inhibited by the immunization in the stomach, indicating not enough protection against H. pylori infection. We consider that along with CagL other adequate antigens could be needed stimulating immune response and inducing protective effects against gastric disease, and also a better adjuvant could be considered.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships of the selected independent variables: emotional intelligence dimensions (self-management, relationship-management and communication) on job performance. This study also determined the extent to which job performance can be predicted by the independent variables.Data was collected from 152 randomly selected adntinistrators in UiTM, using self-administered questionnaires that comprised: (I) Management View/ Practices Questionnaire (100 items) that measured job performance and (2) People Index (74 items) that measured emotional intelligence. Overall, the study revealed that UiTM administrators' job performance and its dimensions were high. The level of total emotional intelligence and its
dimensions: self-management, relationship-management and communication were relatively high. Results obtained from the correlation analysis revealed that the three emotional intelligence dimensions of the administrators were strongly related to job performance. Results from a Stepwise Regression analysis revealed that communication and relationship-management contributed significantly towards job performance. These two predictors explained 62% of the variance in job performance. To conclude, this study investigating the relationships of the multidimensional aspects of job performance and selected independent variables of the study appeared to provide significant results. When emotional intelligence is present, studies have shown that a significant part of an organization's profitability is linked to the quality of its work life, which is based largely on trust and loyalty within the organization. Studies of this nature have not been heavily dealt with in prior studies especially in a non-western environment like universities in Malaysia. Therefore, the study should be extended to include a larger population of administrators from other universities in Malaysia so that it would be able to provide stronger evidence on the applicability of western findings in the developing context.