Law enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border region has significantly changed since the 1970s. Currently, Latinas/os make up more than half of the agents who patrol the southern border region. The Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley, in particular, has transformed from a predominantly Anglo police establishment to one with a heavy presence of Mexican American agents within local and federal agencies. Though responsible for managing the flows of bodies, narcotics, and would-be terrorists from illegally crossing into the United States, the institutional and social vestiges of this region's racialized past continues to inform practices of agents in the field, including those of Mexican American descent. In this article, we draw from ethnographic fieldwork, participant observations, and in-depth qualitative interviews with enforcement agents situated in the Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley to investigate what we describe as a phenomenology of racial power among enforcement agents, or the tethering of power, subjectivity, and embodied racialized practices in their day-to-day lives.


This paper clarifies alpha-particle-induced soft error mechanisms in floating channel type surrounding gate transistor (FC-SGT) DRAM cells. One FC-SGT DRAM cell consists of an FC-SGT and a three-dimensional (3-D) storage capacitor. The cell itself arranges bit line (BL), storage node and body region in a silicon pillar vertically and achieves cell area of 4F/sup 2/ (F: feature size) per bit. In FC-SGT DRAM cells, the parasitic bipolar current is a major factor to cause soft errors. When an alpha particle penetrates the silicon pillar, generated electrons are collected to the storage node or BL due to the tunneling and diffusion mechanisms. On the other hand, holes are swept into the body region and accumulated. Consequently, the current flows not only in the surface but also in the entire body region due to the floating body effect. This parasitic bipolar current becomes the largest when an alpha particle penetrates the silicon pillar along the vertical axis. However, in case of FC-SGT DRAM cells, the surrounding gate structure can suppress the floating body effect compared with floating channel type SOI DRAM cells. As a result, the loss of the stored charge in the storage capacitor can be drastically decreased by using FC-SGT DRAM cell. Therefore, FC-SGT DRAM is a promising candidate for future high-density DRAMs having high soft-error immunity.


Salmonella enteritidis is considered the leading cause of foodborne illness by toxicoinfection in children in developed countries. It usually causes mild and self-limiting disease. However, it may lead to complications and in rare cases to extraintestinal organ involvement. In adults, pancreatitis has been described as a potential complication of Salmonella infection. We present a series of cases of acute pancreatitis in the context of infection by Salmonella enteritidis that occurred in the summer months of 2015. This is the first published case series on this complication in the paediatric population. The series consists of four clinical cases of salmonellosis in children admitted to a tertiary care hospital due to moderate to severe dehydration. Table 1 summarises the clinical features of the cases. Salmonella enteritidis was isolated from stool cultures in all four cases. There was evidence of pathological elevation of pancreatic enzymes in all patients, but only three experienced an acute exacerbation of abdominal pain in the epigastric region that was poorly controlled with intravenous (IV) analgesia (paracetamol and metamizole) accompanied by oral feeding intolerance. These three patients received antibiotic therapy with third-generation cephalosporins or ampicillin, and pain management with IV meperidine and bowel rest. The patient that had elevated pancreatic enzyme levels but had not experienced a worsening of symptoms or changes in abdominal pain was treated with IV fluids and did not receive antibiotics, and oral feeding was reintroduced early on after IV rehydration. None of the patients developed bacteraemia or any other severe extraintestinal complications, except for prerenal acute kidney injury that resolved after improving hydration. All patients had good outcomes, with resolution of the gastrointestinal illness and a progressive decrease of pancreatic enzyme levels. Based on the current literature, the diagnostic criteria for acute pancreatitis are clinical manifestations (mainly epigastric pain and vomiting) and laboratory abnormalities (amylase and lipase levels at least 3-fold the normal value,


SUMMARY: Pieces of the fruit body of Stereum hirsutum attracted the migrating plasmodia of Badhamia utricularis at a distance of 4 cm. Extracts of fruit bodies made with organic solvents could attract, but aqueous extracts could not. Cultured mycelium and extracts of cultured mycelium also attracted strongly, but activity was not detected in culture filtrate. Phase separation with organic and aqueous phases concentrated the attractive principle. Paper chromatography indicated the presence of a single substance of high activity which migrated in isopropanol-ammonia-water with an RF of 0.83 to 0.88 and in butanol-acetic acid-water with an RF close to 0.9. The active extracts from fruit bodies and cultured mycelium were thermostable. The attractant diffused through both aqueous and gaseous phases.


The recovery of an unknown density matrix of large size requires huge computational resources. The recent Factored Gradient Descent (FGD) algorithm and its variants achieved state-of-the-art performance since they could mitigate the dimensionality barrier by utilizing some of the underlying structures of the density matrix. Despite their theoretical guarantee of a linear convergence rate, the convergence in practical scenarios is still slow because the contracting factor of the FGD algorithms depends on the condition number $\kappa$ of the ground truth state. Consequently, the total number of iterations can be as large as $O(\sqrt{\kappa}\ln(\frac{1}{\varepsilon}))$ to achieve the estimation error $\varepsilon$. In this work, we derive a quantum state tomography scheme that improves the dependence on $\kappa$ to the logarithmic scale; namely, our algorithm could achieve the approximation error $\varepsilon$ in $O(\ln(\frac{1}{\kappa\varepsilon}))$ steps. The improvement comes from the application of the non-convex Riemannian gradient descent (RGD). The contracting factor in our approach is thus a universal constant that is independent of the given state. Our theoretical results of extremely fast convergence and nearly optimal error bounds are corroborated by numerical results.


Statement of the Problem: The study and application of three-dimensional measurement is a new area in microsurgery which allows reducing the amount of intraoperative injuries as well as detailing the anatomical structures expanding the possibilities of surgical access. Using stereopsis phenomenon with virtual reality glasses is promising and useful practice in surgical procedures on the middle ear. Clinical Practice: This study included eight cadaver dissections  performed on the temporal bone using two different scopy options. Four cadaver dissections were performed using traditional endoscopy which has proved its superiority to a microscope. The disadvantage of traditional endoscopy is the lack of immersion which is an important component in determining the relationship between the anatomical formations of the tympanic cavity. Four cadaver dissections were performed using our proposed method, based on the stereopsis phenomenon using a special camera adapter fixed on the endoscopic tube, which transmitted the video image to virtual reality glasses. It was found that the experiment participants experienced an immersion effect caused by the stereopsis phenomenon. The results of the study were evaluated by the NASA TLX scale for workload index assessing. Conclusion & Significance: Operators showed a lower level of the workload index using the proposed version of scopy based on the phenomenon of stereopsis in virtual reality glasses during dissection of the temporal bone. The participants felt the effect of immersion during the manipulations on the middle ear, as well as noted a more physiological ratio of the optical axis between the surgeon's eyes and working tools. The three-dimensional visualization of the surgical field based on the phenomenon of stereopsis using a virtual reality glasses allows perceiving the spatial depth of the wound thereby expanding the possibilities of surgical intervention and improving operator productivity.


Pink bollworm (PBW), Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), larval mortality after different times of confinement on NuCOTN 33B (Bt) cotton bolls were compared with larval mortality on Delta and Pineland 5415 cotton bolls as controls. We also compared larval mortality on different age cotton fruiting forms and determined the Bt susceptibility of different age PBW larvae. Infesting Bt bolls with PBW eggs that hatched within 24 h resulted in 92% larval mortality after 48 h and 100% mortality in 4 days or longer. There were no differences between cultivars in numbers of larval entrances holes into bolls. Generally, days to pupation for both males and females were longer on Bt bolls compared with non-Bt cotton. There were no significant mortality differences for larvae feeding on Bt fruiting forms of different ages ranging from one-half grown flower buds to 40-day old immature green bolls.


Production of Lactobacillus salivarius i 24, a probiotic strain for chicken, was studied in batch fermentation using 500 mL Erlenmeyer flask. Response surface method (RSM) was used to optimize the medium for efficient cultivation of the bacterium. The factors investigated were yeast extract, glucose and initial culture pH. A polynomial regression model with cubic and quartic terms was used for the analysis of the experimental data. Estimated optimal conditions of the factors for growth of L. salivarius i 24 were; 3.32 % (w/v) glucose, 4.31 % (w/v) yeast extract and initial culture pH of 6.10.


We developed the 3-D local hybrid method to evaluate the 3-D stress field inside the specimen from displacement data on the free surface obtained from the 2-D intelligent hybrid method. When a uniform load was applied to the structure with a surface crack, high accuracy was already acquired in stress analyses. The 3-D local hybrid method was anew applied to a structure with a surface crack which is subjected to bending load. It is expected that the accuracy depends on local model size. In this study, the width, the thickness and the height of the local model were changed widely, and analyses were carried out. Then the size of the local model necessary for the analyses was examined. Assessment of analyses was performed by comparing J integral value of a whole model and a local model.


Activity in the human motion complex (hMT(+)/V5) is related to the perception of motion, be it either real surface motion or an illusion of motion such as apparent motion (AM) or motion aftereffect (MAE). It is a long-lasting debate whether illusory motion-related activations in hMT(+) represent the motion itself or attention to it. We have asked whether hMT(+) responses to MAEs are present when shifts in arousal are suppressed and attention is focused on concurrent motion versus nonmotion features. Significant enhancement of hMT(+) activity was observed during MAEs when attention was focused either on concurrent spatial angle or color features. This observation was confirmed by direct comparison of adapting (MAE inducing) versus nonadapting conditions. In contrast, this effect was diminished when subjects had to report on concomitant speed changes of superimposed AM. The same finding was observed for concomitant orthogonal real motion (RM), suggesting that selective attention to concurrent illusory or real motion was interfering with the saliency of MAE signals in hMT(+). We conclude that MAE-related changes in the global activity of hMT(+) are present provided selective attention is not focused on an interfering feature such as concurrent motion. Accordingly, there is a genuine MAE-related motion signal in hMT(+) that is neither explained by shifts in arousal nor by selective attention.


Heterogeneous palladium catalysts were prepared by the immobilisation of palladium on supported ionic liquid phases (SILP) obtained by physisorption or grafting. They were characterised by different techniques such as 13C CP MAS NMR, 31P CP MAS NMR, FT-IR, XPS and ICP. The catalysts were used efficiently under solvent-free conditions. They led to the formation of amide products with good to excellent selectivity. Recyclability at 5–10 bar CO pressure has also been demonstrated. The same reusable catalysts were proved to lead to the selective formation of double carbonylation products under higher pressure in DMF.


The use of heteroepitaxial Si / Pr2O3 / Si(111) systems as semiconductor-insulatorsemiconductor (SIS) stacks in future applications requires a detailed structural characterization. We used X-ray reflectivity (XRR) to control layer thickness and interface roughness, standard X-ray diffraction (XRD) to analyze the Pr2O3 phase, orientation and crystal perfection, and grazing incidence XRD to study the thin epitaxial Si top layer. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to prove the results by direct imaging on a microscopic scale. Pr2O3 grows epitaxially in its hexagonal phase and (0001) orientation on Si(111) substrates. An epitaxial Si overgrowth in (111) orientation and good perfection is possible, but such Si layers exhibit two stacking twins, one with the same in-plane orientation as the substrate and one rotated by 180° around the Si [111] direction.


[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] In this work, we propose ultra wide band antennas that have small size and simple shapes. The new designs have comparable or improved performance than those of the already available antennas. The thesis aims can be summarized as follows: 1) First, design and fabricate both monopole and wide slot UWB antennas that have simple and small structures and analyze for performance comparable to those of the more complex designs and/or larger size. This part of the thesis can be achieved by modifying already existing antennas, and then utilize them to achieve the second aim of this work, as discussed below. 2) Propose new generalized ways for band notch generation that are suitable for all UWB antennas. This will result in a significant reduction in the optimization parameters. Finally the optimized design will be fabricated to verify the proposed idea. 3) Design and fabricate a new planar monopole switchable antenna that can switch between Multiband/UWB mode that covers the entire indoor applications and Multiband mode that covers some of the outdoor applications for a versatile antenna performance.


To address the electricity crisis in Indonesia, the use of open flume pico hydro turbines is a potential solution because Indonesia has 19 GW of hydropower resources at mini, medium, and pico scales. There are two concepts for the design of an open flume pico hydro turbine runner: Euler and Nechleba. Euler's concept recommends that the absolute tangential velocity at the outlet of the blade be zero to optimise power absorption. By contrast, Nechleba explains that to reduce flow separation at the outlet of the blade (separation can reduce efficiency), tangential absolute velocity at the outlet of the blade must not be zero. Accordingly, this study compares the performance of blades designed with these two concepts using a computational fluid dynamics method. The results showed that the maximum efficiency of the blade using the Euler concept was 70.08%, while the blade using the Nechleba concept was 74.39%. Based on the results, a runner design concept that assumes a non-zero tangential absolute velocity at the outlet of the blade is recommended for use in designing an open flume pico hydro turbine runner.


Wire-drawn Electrolytic Tough Pitch copper deformed at moderate strain has been investigated with Electron Back Scattered Diffraction in a Scanning Electronic Microscope in order to evaluate the recrystallization mechanisms at the meso-scale. Experimentally, it has been shown that the static recrystallization takes place first in the highly deformed and misoriented areas, in the intermediate regions of the wire. The grains related to the <100> fiber nucleate and grow first in these regions, but some other orientations (including the <111> oriented grains) - that have a combined nucleation/growth potential - develop in second time. The annealing twinning is active from the beginning of the recrystallization and tends to randomize the final recrystallization texture.


This paper presents a method for removing spikes in digital elevation models (DEMs) caused by residues in interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) phase image. We consider that the scattering mechanism is properly modeled by the small perturbation method for fractal surfaces and present a model that relates the phase and magnitude in InSAR image. This data model provides the regularization term of the method, without directly enforcing smooth phase or magnitude. Noise models are given by additive Gaussian for the phase and multiplicative non-unit-mean gamma for the magnitude. Experiments with simulated and real L-band data show that the proposed method considerably improves DEM accuracy and simultaneously suppresses speckle and phase noise.


Although several occupational health hazards are associated with farming, cocoa farmers could be exposed to more health hazards through use of agrochemicals. The objective of this study was to analyze the effect of non-compliance with agrochemical safety guides on health risks of farmers. The data were collected from 246 farmers with structured questionnaires using multi-stage sampling procedures. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and Probit regression model. The results showed that 24.80% was ≥60 years and 33.33% had no formal education. Majority of the farmers (93.09%) were using liquid insecticide, 56.10% used liquid fungicides and 52.44% used herbicides. Also, 60.16% had increased their use of insecticides over the past three years and awareness of safety guides was reported by 88.21% for insecticides, 73.98% for fertilizers and 65.04% for fungicides. Also, 74.39% followed manufacturers' instructions on insecticides usage. Precautionary measures that farmers were taking include not inhaling the chemical (84.15%) and keeping out of reach of children (82.93%). Ownership of agrochemical safety kits was very low with 51.22%, 33.74% and 32.11% having boots, hand gloves and water resistant overall, respectively. Among the health problems suffered after handling agrochemicals are skin irritation (37.80%), eye irritation (33.33%) and headache (32.93%). The Probit regression showed statistical significant (p<0.05) impact of contact and precautionary indices variables with probability of reported health problems in almost all the models, while number of safety kits reduced reported skin infections. It was recommended that more awareness should be created on health hazards associated with agrochemical usage, the need for farmers to use safety kits, and proper education for reducing farmers' contacts with agrochemicals.


Picornavirus proteins VP1 to VP3 are exposed on the surface
of the virus particle whereas VP4 is internal and modified
at its amino terminus by the addition of myristic acid (Chow et al., 1987; Paul et al., 1987). Myristic acid occupies a position in the core of mature poliovirus particles; it has been suggested that it may be important for particle integrity or in the localization of the capsid
protein precursor on the hydrophobic membranes during virion assembly (Chow et al., 1987). To determine the function of the amino-terminal myristylation of VP4 in picornaviruses, and to establish whether competition for the acylation site is a possible approach to antiviral chemotherapy, the effect of fatty acids on virus replication has been examined. Some fatty acids are able to enter picornavirus-infected cells and compete for the myristylation site on VP4. Unexpectedly, it was found that short chain fatty acids also inhibit an early event in the replication of bovine enterovirus (BEV) at concentrations which have no detectable effect on cellular macromolecular synthesis and cloning. These findings indicate that fatty acids inhibit cell-mediated uncoating. Short chain fatty acids inhibit the replication of bovine enterovirus but are almost ineffective against poliovirus type 1, coxsackievirus B5, encephalomyocarditis virus and human rhinovirus lB. Lauric acid binds to bovine enterovirus, thereby stabilizing the virus particle to heat degradation. Fatty acid-bound virions attach to susceptible cells but fail to undergo cell-mediated uncoating. The inhibitory effect is reversible with chloroform and may result from a hydrophobic interaction between the fatty acid and a specific site on the virus particie.


Clinically relevant pancreatic fistula (CR-POPF), after distal pancreatectomy (DP), remains a clinical challenge. Prior studies investigating the relationship between BMI and CR-POPF have yielded conflicting results. We hypothesized that BMI is associated with CR-POPF in patients having DP for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Patients who underwent DP for PDAC at a single institution from 2006 to 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. A CR-POPF was defined as International Study Group of Pancreatic Surgery (ISGPS) grade B or C fistula. Uni- and multivariable logistic regression analysis assessed factors associated with CR-POPF after DP. Seventy-eight patients met the inclusion criteria, 51 per cent were female, 51 per cent were white, and the average age was 59 ± 15 years. The median BMI was 26 (IQR 24–29). Of all, 19 per cent (n = 15) of patients had a CR-POPF. With a mean follow-up of 2.8 ± 2.5 years, the presence of a CR-POPF was not associated with survival (P = 0.17). On univariable logistic regression, older age was associated with a decreased risk of CR-POPF (odds ratio (OR) = 0.95, P = 0.015). Increasing BMI was associated with an increased risk of CR-POPF (OR = 1.1, P = 0.044). On multivariate analysis, after controlling for multiple factors, BMI (OR = 1.12, P = 0.035) was the only factor associated with the development of a CR-POPF, whereas older age (OR = 0.94, P < 0.001) was slightly protective. Increasing BMI is associated with an increased risk of CR-POPF after DP for PDAC. These findings should be considered during preoperative counseling. Efforts to diminish the risk of CR-POPF should be focused on patients with higher BMI.


The final outcomes of accreting ONe white dwarfs (ONe WDs) have been studied for several decades, but there are still some issues that are not resolved. Recently, some studies suggested that the deflagration of oxygen would occur for accreting ONe WDs with Chandrasekhar masses. In this paper, we aim to investigate whether ONe WDs can experience accretion-induced collapse (AIC) or explosions when their masses approach the Chandrasekhar limit. Employing the stellar evolution code Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA), we simulate the long-term evolution of ONe WDs with accreting CO material. The ONe WDs undergo weak multicycle carbon flashes during the mass-accretion process, leading to mass increase of the WDs. We found that different initial WD masses and mass-accretion rates influence the evolution of central density and temperature. However, the central temperature cannot reach the explosive oxygen ignition temperature due to neutrino cooling. This work implies that the final outcome of accreting ONe WDs is electron-capture induced collapse rather than thermonuclear explosion.


Islamist violent extremist (IVE) groups are frequently involved in civil conflicts. Indeed, some groups owe their origins to conflict, and tens of thousands of Islamists have chosen to participate in conflicts taking place in foreign countries in the past 35 years. Increasingly, IVE groups appear to have the capacity to influence the conflicts they are involved in, and are influenced in turn by their experiences. As a result, for those working on conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction, the involvement of IVE groups raises questions of whether traditional responses remain adequate. Drawing on three country case studies – Nigeria, Kenya and Iraq/Syria, this article examines the similarities and differences between IVE groups and other conflict actors, and what this means for development, state-building and peacebuilding responses.


Objective To estimate the dynamic effect of increasing intensity of smoking and occupational exposure to asbestos on the risk of lung cancer. Method We used 2026 male cases and 2610 male controls from the ICARE population-based case-control study. Smoking and occupational histories were collected in a detailed face-to-face questionnaire. Occupational exposure to asbestos was assessed using a job exposure matrix. The dynamic effects of the intensity of smoking and asbestos were investigated using a weighted cumulative index of exposure (WCE), which was a weighted sum of the doses of exposure received each year of the exposure history. The dose received each year was the average intensity of exposure (i.e. number of cigarettes smoked per day or asbestos fibre concentration) that year. The time-dependent weight function of each nuisance was estimated using spline functions imposing no prior assumptions on the plausible dynamic effect of the nuisance. The WCE of each nuisance was included in separate logistic regression models adjusted for the other nuisance, age, and department. Results The estimated weight functions gave for each year of the exposure history, the estimated effect of a one-unit increase in the intensity of exposure on that year, adjusted for the doses received in the other years. Both recent (less than 10 years before diagnosis) and distant (more than 30 years) increases in the asbestos concentration contributed to the risk of lung cancer. Increases that occurred before the age of 30 years had the strongest contribution to the risk. For smoking, recent increases (less than 10 years) in the number of cigarettes smoked per day made an important contribution to the risk of lung cancer, even if distant increases (more than 40 years) also contributed to the risk. Conclusion Our results give new insights on the dynamic effects of smoking and asbestos on lung cancer.


Oral route is one of the most important portals of nanoparticle entry to the body. However, in vivo protein corona formed in the gastrointestinal tract has not been studied owing to the difficulty for the recovery of nanoparticles from the in vivo environment. In this study, by using the magnetic property of iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) and Zn2+ doped iron oxide nanoparticles (Zn0.4Fe2.6O4 NPs), the nanoparticles were separated from the gastric fluid after oral administration in mice. The effects of Zn2+ doping and static magnetic field (SMF) treatment on the protein adsorption on the nanoparticles were investigated in vitro and in vivo. Zn2+ doping decreases the adsorption of pepsin on the nanoparticles in vitro and affects the composition of the protein corona in vivo and enhances protein adsorption-induced aggregation of the nanoparticles in vitro and in vivo. SMF treatment affects the composition of the protein corona of Fe3O4 NPs and Zn0.4Fe2.6O4 NPs, and enhances the aggregation of Fe3O4 NPs and Zn0.4Fe2.6O4 NPs in vivo. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that electrostatic attraction is the crucial force to drive adsorption of proteins on Fe3O4 NPs and Zn0.4Fe2.6O4 NPs and protein adsorption-induced change in the surface charge of nanoparticles plays an important role in the pH-dependent aggregation of the nanoparticles. In addition, the work provides the evidence that the protein adsorption-induced aggregation of Fe3O4 NPs and Zn0.4Fe2.6O4 NPs has no effect on their magnetic susceptibility. The results highlight that Zn0.4Fe2.6O4 NPs may be used as a potential oral magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent in diagnosis of gastrointestinal disease.


We present a novel method for generating symbolic adversarial examples: input regions guaranteed to only contain adversarial examples for the given neural network. These regions can generate real-world adversarial examples as they summarize trillions of adversarial examples.
We theoretically show that computing optimal symbolic adversarial examples is computationally expensive. We present a method for approximating optimal examples in a scalable manner. Our method first selectively uses adversarial attacks to generate a candidate region and then prunes this region with hyperplanes that fit points obtained via specialized sampling. It iterates until arriving at a symbolic adversarial example for which it can prove, via state-of-the-art convex relaxation techniques, that the region only contains adversarial examples. Our experimental results demonstrate that our method is practically effective: it only needs a few thousand attacks to infer symbolic summaries guaranteed to contain $\approx 10^{258}$ adversarial examples.


Pak-China relations have been exemplary in the contemporary international politics. Both States have been maintaining strong ties in terms of diplomatic and military cooperation. However, the close economic cooperation has added a new dimension in the Pak-China all weather partnership. Over the years, China and Pakistan strategic cooperation has evolved at unprecedented level. In the year 2013, the Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the construction of One Belt One Road (OBOR) that aims to connect China with West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia and Middle East. It is a bitter fact that, since 9/11 Pakistan has suffered in socio-political and especially in economic dimension. The regional security environment and rise of extremism and terrorism has resulted into the hampering economic development. Therefore, the CPEC project will prove to be game changer and when completed it will have deep impact on economic development of Pakistan in future. The CPEC provides an opportunity for Pakistan to stabilize its society and reshape its positive image at international level from fragile State to emerging economy in the South Asian region. The rise of China in economic sphere has been jealously seen by other developed countries while for Pakistan it has been a blessing factor. Thus, Pak- China strategic partnership entered into the new phase of economic cooperation that will certainly change the dynamics of the regional politics. This paper aims to discuss the multiple dimensions of CPEC its importance for Pakistan and China along with its internal and external challenges. Moreover, economic and security perspectives will be focused in detail. To fully understand the role of CPEC as driving force of economic prosperity, this paper discusses its potential as a game changer for both China and Pakistan. ___________


Does government debt affect interest rates? Despite a substantial body of empirical analysis, the answer based on the past two decades of research is mixed. While many studies suggest, at most, a single-digit rise in the interest rate when government debt increases by 1% of gross domestic product (GDP), others estimate either much larger effects or find no effect. Comparing results across studies is complicated by differences in economic models, definitions of government debt and interest rates, econometric approaches, and sources of data. Using a standard set of data and a simple analytical framework, we reconsider and add to empirical evidence about the effect of federal government debt and interest rates. We begin by deriving analytically the effect of government debt on the real interest rate and find that an increase in government debt equivalent to 1% of GDP would be predicted to increase the real interest rate by about two to three basis points. While some existing studies estimate effects in this range, others find larger effects. In almost all cases, these larger estimates come from specifications relating federal deficits (as opposed to debt) and the level of interest rates or from specifications not controlling adequately for macroeconomic influences on interest rates that might be correlated with deficits. We present our own empirical analysis in two parts. First, we examine a variety of conventional reduced-form specifications linking interest rates and government debt and other variables. In particular, we provide estimates for three types of specifications to permit comparisons among different approaches taken in previous research; we estimate the effect of an expected, or projected, measure of federal government debt on a forward-looking measure of the real interest rate; an expected, or projected, measure of federal government debt on a current measure of the real interest rate; and a current measure of federal government debt on a current measure of the real interest rate. Most of the statistically significant estimated effects are consistent with the prediction of the simple analytical calculation. Second, we provide evidence using vector autoregression analysis. In general, these results are similar to those found in our reduced-form econometric analysis and are consistent with the analytical calculations. Taken together, the bulk of our empirical results suggests that an increase in federal government debt equivalent to 1% of GDP, all else being equal, would be expected to increase the long-term real rate of interest by about three basis points (though one specification suggests a larger impact), while some estimates are not statistically significantly different from zero. By presenting a range of results with the same data, we illustrate the dependence of estimation on specification and definition differences.


The small genome of fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe contains 4824 predicted genes and gene disruption suggests that ∼850 are essential for viability. To obtain information on interactions among genes required for chromosome segregation, an approach called Strategy B was taken using mass transformation of the 1015 temperature‐sensitive (ts) mutants that were made by random mutagenesis and transformed by plasmids carrying the genes for securin, separase, condensin, cohesin, kinetochore microtubule‐binding proteins Dis1/Mtc1 or histones. Mutant strains whose phenotypes were either suppressed or inhibited by plasmids were selected. Each plasmid interacted positively or negatively with the average 14 strains. Identification of the mutant gene products by cloning revealed many hitherto unknown interactions. The interactive networks of segregation therefore may consist of genes with a variety of functions. For example, separase/Cut1 interacts with Cdc48/p97/VCP, which stabilizes securin and separase. Surprisingly, S. pombe cdc48 mutants displayed the mitotic phenotype highly similar to separase/cut1 mutants. This approach also provides a novel way of mutant isolation, resulting in two histone H2B strains and a cohesion mutant with a new phenotype.


UNLABELLED New peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients have a better survival than new haemodialysis (HD) patients in the first years on dialysis. During long-term treatment, this changes into a survival advantage for HD. The superior initial survival on PD is related to a better preservation of residual renal function of PD patients compared to HD. The importance of residual renal function is probably due to additional properties of native kidneys, such as a better removal of organic acids and low molecular weight proteins than occurs during dialysis. The magnitude of the residual glomerular filtration rate (rGFR) in PD patients is not only associated with better survival, but also with less uraemic symptoms, such as loss of appetite, and also with higher scores on quality of life tests. These relationships are absent for peritoneal clearance. Consequently measures to preserve rGFR are extremely important. Studies on an effect of peritoneal transport status on survival have given variable RESULTS A large meta-analysis showed that fast transport patients have a 15% increased risk of death, but this is only the case for continous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) with conventional dialysis solutions. This suggests that the development of overhydration may be the link between transport status and mortality. A fast transport status can be inherent or acquired. The inherent form can either be due to an inflammatory state or to a large mesothelial cell mass. In both situations vasoactive mediators may be locally released. A permanent acquired fast transport status, leading to severe ultrafiltration failure develops in about one third of the patients. It is conceivable that the excess mortality in fast transport patients is caused by the types associated with an inflammatory status and with the acquired type of long-term PD. The latter, linked to morphological peritoneal alterations, is mainly caused by exposure to conventional dialysis solutions. An icodextrin based solution is especially indicated to treat ultrafiltration failure. The aim of the ''biocompatible'' solutions is to prevent the peritoneal changes. The results of animal and clinical studies are promising so far. The objective of modern PD is to extent its initial survival advantage to long-term treatment. Recent advances in knowledge of mechanisms and new dialysis solutions are likely to make this possible.


Drawing upon a Swedish study of vulnerable children as social actors in family law proceedings this paper explores family law investigators' approaches to children, and children's strategies in encounters with these professionals as well as the investigation process as a whole. The discussion is based upon thematically structured interviews with children whose father has been violent to their mother. The different kinds of investigator approaches reconstructed from the children's narratives span from an approach enabling a high degree of participation, to one excluding the child from participation; and from an emphatic and child-oriented approach to a distant, adult-oriented one positioning the child as a 'disqualified adult'. Children's strategies span from accepting the way they are included – or not included - in the process to open protest and attempts to achieve a higher degree of participation. The child informants' descriptions of themselves as unwilling, unavailable, or openly protesting, tend to coincide with the position as 'disqualified' adult': to get neither influence over the investigation process nor care and empathy from the professionals thus seems to be the most problematic position from children's point of view. As regards children's experiences of violence these have rarely been a topic for dialogue between child and investigator. The children have mainly been approached as 'protected victims', 'invisible victims' or even 'unprotected victims' as is the case when the children's own victimisation has become visible to investigators but they are left without protection. This sample of interviews suggests that the most challenging task for investigators in family law proceedings may be to make children's vulnerable position visible and at the same time offer them a high degree of participation, that is: the challenge is to approach children as simultaneously victims and actors.


Oxygen-related free radicals have been suggested as a cause of aging and various diseases, for example, various cancers and rheumatoid arthritis. A radical scavenger as an antioxidant has been sought in foods. Fish sauces are traditional Asian fermented seasonings. Using the luminol chemiluminescence method, the peroxyl radical scavenging capability of fish sauces was examined. From the IC50 values, many fish sauces have been shown to have a strong scavenging capability as well as soy sauces. A scavenging mechanism is also proposed.


Tests used in the serologic diagnosis of syphilis can be divided into two main groups: nontreponemal (reagin) tests and treponemal tests. The most widely used nontreponemal test is the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) slide test, and the standard treponemal test is the manual fluorescent treponemal antibody-absorption (FTA-ABS) test. These tests and other newer tests available for the serologic diagnosis of syphilis are reviewed, with emphasis placed on their current clinical usefulness.


I. INTRODUCTION As we move forward into a new millennium, a large number of Americans, especially senior citizens or those without insurance, will find it increasingly difficult to obtain prescription drugs because of rising prices. International price increases have had the most severe consequences in third world countries where sixty percent of the population does not have regular access to essential drugs. (1) While this paper focuses on domestic prescription drug prices, many analogies may be drawn between the problems created by high prescription drug prices in the United States and those in third world countries. Many have attributed rising prescription drug prices to the laissez-faire attitude of the U.S. federal government. As a result, Congress has introduced new proposals to combat both these criticisms and prices. Many of these proposals reduce the amount of protection granted to a patent holder of a newly developed prescription drug. Large pharmaceutical companies are lobbying against these proposals, claiming that implementing such "price controls" will hinder the research and development of new and important drugs. (2) They argue that the patent protection offered to pharmaceutical companies allows them to recoup and profit from their monetary investments on recently introduced drugs, and in turn, allows them to produce new essential drugs. (3) Using this argument as a catalyst, the pharmaceutical industry has pushed for the adoption of a style patent protection regime internationally. (4) Ultimately, the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PMA) of the U.S. appealed successfully to the government to take retaliatory trade measures against third world countries that did not change existing national legislation, which provided no protection to pharmaceutical products. (5) High prescription drug prices must be reduced through a proposal that allows new drugs to be more accessible and affordable to those who need them, while maintaining the drug companies' ability to profit and reinvest in new essential drugs. This article will discuss a recently proposed bill, The Affordable Prescription Drugs Act (APDA), (6) and how it will attempt to strike a balance between reducing prices to make essential drugs more available and affordable, and working with pharmaceutical companies to make sure they profit and reinvest their money into research and development of new essential drugs. It argues that the APDA increases competition in the market place, thus reducing the price of prescription drugs, while still allowing pharmaceutical companies to profit from their inventions. In reaching this conclusion this article examines the bill itself, how to define an essential drug, whether current prices are fair, Congress' attitude towards these prices, the drug industry's justifications for high prices, and presents a rebuttal argument against those justifications. II. THE AFFORDABLE PRESCRIPTION DRUGS ACT Representative Sherrod Brown (7) introduced APDA in the House of Representatives on September 23, 1999. (8) The bill favors "good old fashioned American competition" by reducing the amount of patent protection granted to pharmaceutical companies. (9) The APDA would allow the government to force price competition for drugs that provide a substantial health benefit, but carry an excessive price tag. (10) It would accomplish this by issuing a compulsory license to a drug manufacturer to produce a generic version of a brand name drug which is still protected under patent. (11) Certain steps must be taken and requirements met before a compulsory license is granted. The bill requires three important elements to be satisfied. First, the Secretary of Health must determine "[s]uch compulsory license is necessary to alleviate health or safety needs which are not adequately satisfied by the patent holder, contractor, licensee, or assignee." (12) This fast element determines whether the drug should be considered essential or non-essential. …


The number of structures and molecular dynamics simulations of proteins is exploding owing to dramatic advances in cryo-electron microscopy, crystallography, and computing. One of the most powerful ways to analyze structural information involves comparisons of interatomic interactions across different structures or simulations of the same protein or related proteins from the same family (e.g. different GPCRs). Such comparative analyses are of interest to a wide range of researchers but currently prove challenging for all but a few. To facilitate comparative structural analyses, we have developed tools for (i) rapidly computing and comparing interatomic interactions and (ii) interactively visualizing interactions to enable structure-based interpretations. Using these tools, we have developed the Contact Comparison Atlas, a web-based resource for the comparative analysis of interactions in structures and simulations of proteins. Using the Contact Comparison Atlas and our tools, we have identified patterns of interactions with functional implications in structures of G-protein-coupled receptors, G proteins and kinases and in the dynamics of muscarinic receptors. The Contact Comparison Atlas can be used to enable structure modeling, drug discovery, protein engineering, and the prediction of disease-associated mutations. Contact Comparison Atlas website: https://getcontacts.github.io/atlas/


Purpose
Nonspecific factors such as therapy alliance and treatment motivation have been shown to be predictive of therapy outcome. However, research investigating these factors among patients with personality disorders, or studies in the context of mandated treatment showed mixed results. A new theory furthermore speculates there may be differences between early formed therapeutic alliance (trait-like) versus alliance formed on the longer term (state-like). This paper aims to investigate the effects of therapy alliance and treatment motivation in 103 Dutch male forensic psychiatric patients with Cluster B personality disorders.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors used incidents as a measure of treatment outcome. They studied the effect of nonspecific factors on incidents in two phases, namely, 0 – 18 months and 18 – 36 months, along with known predictors of incidents (age, Historical items of the HCR-20 and psychopathy) as covariates.

Findings
Regression models predicting incidents in the first 18 months of treatment were nonsignificant. Incidents in the second 18 months were significantly predicted by models including alliance and motivation measured at the start of treatment, but not measures at 18 months and covariates. Predictors, except for age, were all nonsignificant.

Practical implications
These findings lend tentative support for the trait-like vs state-like theory of change through nonspecific factors. However, it may also be that other factors are more important in predicting therapy outcome in forensic psychiatric patients with Cluster B personality disorders.

Originality/value
The current study represents the first effort to study the effects of non-specific factors on therapeutic discourse in hospitalized offenders with Cluster B personality disorders.


We consider increase-decrease congestion controls, a formulation that accommodates many known congestion controls. There have been many works that aim to obtain relation between the loss-event rate $\fpp$ and time-average window $\taw$ for some known particular instances of increase-decrease controls. In contrast, in this note, we study the inverse problem where one is given a target response function $x\rightarrow f(x)$ and the design problem is to construct an increase-decrease control such that, ideally, $\taw=f(\fpp)$, or at least $\taw\leq f(\fpp)$. One common method for solving this is to design a control that satisfies the requirements in a reference system, and then try to evaluate the behaviour in a general system. In this note, we consider that the reference is for deterministic constant inter-loss times. Our finding is as follows. We identify conditions under which if $\taw'\geq f(\fpp')$ in the reference system (i.e. the control overshoots), then for any independent identically distributed (i.i.d.) random inter-loss times, we have $\taw\geq\frac{1}{1+\varepsilon}f(\frac{1}{1+\varepsilon}\fpp)$, for some small $\varepsilon\geq 0$ specified in this note. In other words, moving from the reference system to the more general case of i.i.d. losses will not eliminate any overshoot. We apply our results to a stochastic fluid version of HighSpeed TCP \cite{floyd-02-a}. We show that for this idealized HighSpeed TCP our result applies with $\varepsilon$ not larger than $0.0012$. This implies that for idealized HighSpeed TCP $\taw$ is almost lower bounded by $f(\fpp)$ under the hypotheses above. Our general analysis result rises the issue whether it is a good practice to design congestion controls by taking deterministic constant inter-loss times as a reference system, given that we demonstrate that this reference system is, in some sense explained in the paper, in fact a best case, rather than a worst case, as would be more desirable.


Background & aims. It is generally accepted that there arises a decrease in sensory integrity with aging. Despite so much emphasis on the lower extremity, studies have not focused sufficiently on agerelated sensory changes in the hands and wrists. The aim of our study is to evaluate the hand and wrist sensory parameters of young and geriatric people and to reveal the sensorial differences in young and geriatric hands.
Methods. 60 elderly and 60 young individuals were included in our study. The 3D Motion Sensor mOOver® was used to assess joint position sense. Baseline Pneumatic Bulb Dynamometer® device was used to assess the grip sensitivity. The hand pressure sensitivities was evaluated with Stabilizer Pressure Biofeedback®. The vibration senses, sensory threshold and two-point discrimination were evaluated. Results. Joint position sense error rates of all movements of dominant and nondominant wrists and errors of grip and pressure sensitivity, sensory threshold and two points discrimination distance were found lower in youths (p = 0.000). Sense of vibration's duration was found higher in youths (p = 0.000).
Conclusions. Our results are of great importance in terms of demonstrating how aging affects sensory changes in the hand and wrist. Adequate and accurate assessment of the sensory parameters in the hand and wrist will be able to enable the accurate detection of pathologies that may be encountered in this region. This data will help professionals working in the fields of geriatric rehabilitation and hand rehabilitation to predict changes in sensory parameters and to design protective rehabilitation and treatment programs.


Several naturally occurring dietary polyphenols with chemopreventive or anticancer properties are topoisomerase II poisons. To identify additional phytochemicals that enhance topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage, a library of 341 Mediterranean plant extracts was screened for activity against human topoisomerase IIα. An extract from Phillyrea latifolia L., a member of the olive tree family, displayed high activity against the human enzyme. On the basis of previous metabolomics studies, we identified several polyphenols (hydroxytyrosol, oleuropein, verbascoside, tyrosol, and caffeic acid) as potential candidates for topoisomerase II poisons. Of these, hydroxytyrosol, oleuropein, and verbascoside enhanced topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage. The potency of these olive metabolites increased 10–100-fold in the presence of an oxidant. Hydroxytyrosol, oleuropein, and verbascoside displayed hallmark characteristics of covalent topoisomerase II poisons. (1) The activity of the metabolites was abrogated by a reducing agent. (2) Compounds inhibited topoisomerase II activity when they were incubated with the enzyme prior to the addition of DNA. (3) Compounds were unable to poison a topoisomerase IIα construct that lacked the N-terminal domain. Because hydroxytyrosol, oleuropein, and verbascoside are broadly distributed across the olive family, extracts from the leaves, bark, and fruit of 11 olive tree species were tested for activity against human topoisomerase IIα. Several of the extracts enhanced enzyme-mediated DNA cleavage. Finally, a commercial olive leaf supplement and extra virgin olive oils pressed from a variety of Olea europea subspecies enhanced DNA cleavage mediated by topoisomerase IIα. Thus, olive metabolites appear to act as topoisomerase II poisons in complex formulations intended for human dietary consumption.


The UK domestic sector accounts for more than a quarter of total energy use. This energy use can be reduced through more efficient building operations. The energy efficiency can be improved through better control of heating in houses, which account for a large portion of total energy consumption. The energy consumption can be lowered by using renewable energy systems, which will also help the UK government to meet its targets towards reduction in carbon emissions and generation of clean energy. Building control has gained considerable interest from researchers and much improved ways of control strategies for heating and hot water systems have been investigated. This intensified research is because heating systems represent a significant share of our primary energy consumption to meet thermal comfort and indoor air quality criteria. Advances in computing control and research in advanced control theory have made it possible to implement advanced controllers in building control applications.
Heating control system is a difficult problem because of the non-linearities in the system and the wide range of operating conditions under which the system must function. A model of a two zone building was developed in this research to assess the performance of different control strategies. Two conventional (On-Off and proportional integral controllers) and one advanced control strategies (model predictive controller) were applied to a solar heating system combined with a heat pump. The building was modelled by using a lumped approach and different methods were deployed to obtain a suitable model for an air source heat pump. The control objectives were to reduce electricity costs by optimizing the operation of the heat pump, integrating the available solar energy, shifting electricity consumption to the cheaper night-time tariff and providing better thermal comfort to the occupants. Different climatic conditions were simulated to test the mentioned controllers. Both on-off and PI controllers were able to maintain the tank and room temperatures to the desired set-point temperatures however they did not make use of night-time electricity.
PI controller and Model Predictive Controller (MPC) based on thermal comfort are developed in this thesis. Predicted mean vote (PMV) was used for controlling purposes and it was modelled by using room air and radiant temperatures as the varying parameters while assuming other parameters as constants. The MPC dealt well with the disturbances and occupancy patterns. Heat energy was also stored into the fabric by using lower night-time electricity tariffs.
This research also investigated the issue of model mismatch and its effect on the prediction results of MPC. MPC performed well when there was no mismatch in the MPC model and simulation model but it struggled when there was a mismatch. A genetic algorithm (GA) known as a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA II) was used to solve two different objective functions, and the mixed objective from the application domain led to slightly superior results.
Overall results showed that the MPC performed best by providing better thermal comfort, consuming less electric energy and making better use of cheap night-time electricity by load shifting and storing heat energy in the heating tank. The energy cost was reduced after using the model predictive controller.


Incorporating high amount of fats into the ration for ruminants will affect the rumen microbes adversely and will reducefiber digestion potential. To correct such negative effects, the free fatty acids used for feed should be bond with Ca++, so it canpassing through the rumen savely (rumen by-pass fat). To test the Ca-fat utilization biologically, 20 growing male Garut shee pwere used and fed with 4 type of isocaloric-isoprotein concentrate feed which were allotted based on a randomized block desig nwith 5 replications. The concentrate (C)-A was a positive control diet, while C-B was substituted with 10% free fatty acids (negative control), C-C was substituted with 10% Ca-fat, and C-D with 15% Ca-fat. The concentrate feed was fed at 500 g/d, while forage (King grass) was 4 kg/d. Results of the experiment showed that the negative effect of free fatty acids can be corrected if it was given in the form of Ca-fat. Growth rate curve indicating a good growing pattern, with average daily gain was 100.18, 87.68, 112.86, and 115.00 g/d (P 0.05). Carcass production was relatively good, where for C-A, C-B, C-C, and C-D were 14.84, 14.68, 16.34, and 15.72 kg (P<0.05) respectively, with final live weights of 34.00, 31.74, 34.58, and 34.30 kg (P<0.05). It can be concluded that Ca-fat (rumen by-pass fat) can be used as an energy source component for growing sheep diet, and give the best result at 10% substitution rate in concentrate feed. Key words : Rumen by-pass fat, growth rate, carcass, sheep


The present study has been conducted to observe some behavioral traits of ostrich under captive conditions. The observations have been carried during the period 14 June to 24 June, 2005, for 8 equal time period, extending for 24 hours from 06:00 p.m hour to 06:00 p.m hour next day. The bird flack consisted of two adult males and adult female, kept in the College farm, in a cage joined to a fence to allow for free movement. The recorded behavioral activities included: standing in the sun, standing in shade, laying in the shade, laying in the sun, staying in the cage, movement and sitting on the knees, feeding, drinking, quarrel, urination, defecation, ritual display, courtship, and preening. It was noticed that the most time consuming activities were standing in the sun, standing in the shade, laying in the shade, and movement. The longest period of the time budget was taken in laying in shade (250.3 min.). The shortest fraction of the time budget was spent in courtship maneuvers (3.25 min.). The main target of the study was to provide ostrich breeders with useful information for better management.


David Graeber's 'bullshit jobs theory' has generated a great deal of academic and public interest. This theory holds that a large and rapidly increasing number of workers are undertaking jobs that they themselves recognise as being useless and of no social value. Despite generating clear testable hypotheses, this theory is not based on robust empirical research. We, therefore, use representative data from the EU to test five of its core hypotheses. Although we find that the perception of doing useless work is strongly associated with poor wellbeing, our findings contradict the main propositions of Graeber's theory. The proportion of employees describing their jobs as useless is low and declining and bears little relationship to Graeber's predictions. Marx's concept of alienation and a 'Work Relations' approach provide inspiration for an alternative account that highlights poor management and toxic workplace environments in explaining why workers perceive paid work as useless.


This book offers a unique analysis of visual religion in Reformation England as seen in its religious printed images. Challenging traditional notions of an iconoclastic Reformation, it offers a thorough analysis of the widespread body of printed images and the ways the images gave shape to the religious culture.


This article is aimed at investigating the long‐term performance of three original hydrophobic materials, namely, sodium acetate, fluoropolymer, and silicone resin. Their performance was compared with traditional silane when applied to fully dry concrete, fully saturated concrete, and concrete with 2 and 4% moisture content. A recently developed freeze–thaw process, which is based on temperature and humidity variations, was employed in this study to assess the durability of applied materials. The outcomes of the adopted freeze–thaw system were compared with the results obtained from running a conventional freeze–thaw test. Mass change, water absorption, and microcracks development of treated concrete were investigated and compared with untreated concrete after completing 6 months of freeze–thaw cycles. Results confirmed the high affinity of the proposed materials to moisture at application time compared with silane. Additionally, it was demonstrated that moisture content has a critical impact on the bonding between applied materials and concrete, hence their efficacy in enhancing the durability of concrete.


Enterprise Architecture (EA) management has been discussed as being supportive for implementation of regulations in enterprises and organizations, but the role of EA frameworks in this context has not been addressed intensely. The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is one of the most frequently discussed regulation in industry and research, and expected to cause a shift in viewpoint of enterprises from a technological perspective dominated by information security issues to an organizational perspective governed by GDPR-compliant organizational structures and processes. A well-documented Enterprise Architecture (EA) and a working Enterprise Architecture Management (EAM) organization are expected to significantly ease the roadmap planning for GDPR implementation. Therefore, this article focuses on the practice of EA use for GDPR implementation. The main contributions of this article are (a) an analysis and comparison of existing architecture frameworks and how they address security-related issues, and (b) a case study from financial industries illustrating the use of EA for implementing GDPR compliance.


Private law and regulation are constantly involved in the evaluation of conflicts of interest, judging some of them salutary, with others requiring adjustment. Focusing on the question of conflicts of interest allows us to clarify our vision of when such adjustment is appropriate and, more specifically, when the law should supply an infrastructure for cooperative behavior. Thus, the prism of conflicts of interest provides a lens through which to view basic legal problems that turn on whether individual actors will be deemed responsible to some joint interest or whether they will be at liberty to pursue their individual interests despite the adverse effects of such activity on others. This article proposes a conflicts of interest perspective for examining contract law and its immediate surroundings. It suggests a map of conflicts of interest along three axes: the remedial axis; the axis of positive duties to avoid conflicts; and the axis of the transition from independence to loyalty. Applying the map to contract doctrine, the article examines a number of contract doctrines including: remedies for breach of contract; modification; conditions; good faith in performance; and formation. The article goes on to apply the map of conflicts to two complex fact situations: corporate acquisitions and corporate bankruptcies. The analysis underscores the fact that conflicts of interest rules do not simply protect existing interests, but also contribute to the very constitution of those interests. Recognizing the constitutive role of legal rules raises questions about our ability to determine interests ex ante and thus calls for a more nuanced approach to gauging the incentive effects of a legal regime.


Complete surgical resection of glioblastoma is difficult due to the invasive nature of this primary brain tumor, for which the molecular mechanisms behind remain poorly understood. The three human ELMO genes play key roles in cellular motility, and have been linked to metastasis and poor prognosis in other cancer types. The aim of this study was to investigate methylation levels of the ELMO genes and their correlation to clinical characteristics and outcome in patients diagnosed with glioblastoma. To measure DNA methylation levels we designed pyrosequencing assays targeting the promoter CpG island of each the ELMO genes. These were applied to diagnostic tumor specimens from a well-characterized cohort of 121 patients who received standard treatment consisting of surgery, radiation therapy, plus concomitant and adjuvant chemotherapy. The promoter methylation levels of ELMO1 and ELMO2 were generally low, whereas ELMO3 methylation levels were high, in the tumor biopsies. Thirteen, six, and 18 biopsies were defined as aberrantly methylated for ELMO1, ELMO2, and ELMO3, respectively. There were no significant associations between the methylation status of any of the ELMO gene promoter CpG islands and overall survival, progression-free survival, and clinical characteristics of the patients including intracranial tumor location. Therefore, the methylation status of the ELMO gene promoter CpG islands is unlikely to have prognostic value in glioblastoma.


Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) in breast cancers foster several aspects of tumor progression and metastasis, and represent a biomarker associated with an unfavorable clinical outcome. As new therapeutic agents selectively targeting leukocytes enter the clinic whose mechanism of action involves diminishing macrophage infiltration or presence in tumors, it becomes increasingly important to identify those tumors heavily infiltrated by TAMs, as well as monitoring TAM response to therapy. MR imaging with iron oxide nanoparticles enables noninvasive quantification of TAMs in tumors, and thus, provides an easily accessible ex vivo assessment of TAMs for prognosis and related treatment decisions.


With the recent rapid developments in technology and the web there has been a shift in the culture of education delivery. Modes of communication have radically changed over the last number of years and nurse educators need to understand who their learners are and how they prefer to communicate. The recent body of knowledge suggests that integrating Web 2.0 technologies into learning resources increases student retention (Abate et al 2011) and helps them become both lifelong and self-regulated learners (Zimmerman & Tsikalas 2005). These new teaching and learning developments have the potential to facilitate a social constructivist model of learning through a collaborative and student-created approach (Alexander 2006). Weblogs, (known as blogs) first adopted by John Barger in 1997, have evolved as a personal web space for various purposes including group weblogs. Blogs have become a new and captivating form of communication and personal expression for a growing proportion of the population with young adults and college students being among the highest users. In the US Lenhart & Madden (2005) found that as many as four million college students maintain a blog or disclose personal information on other blog sites. Kumar et al (2004) study of the profile of 1.3 million bloggers found that 75% were between the ages of 16 and 24 years which fits with the specific age range of the majority of student nurses. This paper describes how a blog was introduced as an educational tool to a module on an undergraduate nursing programme in the Republic of Ireland. The module was delivered to 4th year nursing students on interculturalism. The aim of introducing blogging into the module was twofold: to introduce students to an alternative learning resource and to motivate and encourage students to engage with the content of the module. Cameron and Anderson (2005) acknowledge the motivational value of personal ownership and customisation afforded by blogs. Students had ownership of the design of the personal space of the blog. A further aim of introducing this technology was that the taught content of the module would act as the launch pad towards the students' self-directed learning on interculturalism. Issues of concern included lack of student engagement with the blog. Therefore students were required to complete weekly individual blog entries, including comments on peers' blogs. The blogs were to reflect on issues in relation to interculturalism that arose throughout the module. In addition students were required to reflect on clinical practice in which they care for a child/family within the healthcare setting from a different culture to their own, within their blog. They were asked to identify the challenges that arose and discuss how they met these, with appropriate reference to the literature. This brief paper describes the experiences of undergraduate nurses using a blog to support their learning. Results of an evaluation tool completed by students following the module are presented.


Purpose Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the major contributors to cancer mortality and morbidity. Finding strategies to fight against CRC is urgently required. Mutations in driver genes of APC or β-catenin play an important role in the occurrence and progression of CRC. In the present study, we jointly apply CRISPR/Cas9-sgRNA system and Single-stranded oligodeoxynucleotide (ssODN) as templates to correct a heterozygous ΔTCT deletion mutation of β-catenin present in a colon cancer cell line HCT-116. This method provides a potential strategy in gene therapy for cancer. Methods A Cas9/β-catenin-sgRNA-eGFP co-expression vector was constructed and co-transfected with ssODN into HCT-116 cells. Mutation-corrected single-cell clones were sorted by FACS and judged by TA cloning and DNA sequencing. Effects of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated correction were tested by real-time quantitative PCR, Western blotting, CCK8, EDU dyeing and cell-plated clones. Moreover, the growth of cell clones derived tumors was analyzed at nude mice xenografts. Results CRISPR/Cas9-mediated β-catenin mutation correction resulted in the presence of TCT sequence and the re-expression of phosphorylation β-catenin at Ser45, which restored the normal function of phosphorylation β-catenin including reduction of the transportation of nuclear β-catenin and the expression of downstream c-myc, survivin. Significantly reduced cell growth was observed in β-catenin mutation-corrected cells. Mice xenografted with mutation-corrected HCT-116 cells showed significantly smaller tumor size than uncorrected xenografts. Conclusion The data of this study documented that correction of the driven mutation by the combination of CRISPR/Cas9 and ssODN could greatly remedy the biological behavior of the cancer cell line, suggesting a potential application of this strategy in gene therapy of cancer.


This article aims to evaluate the net contribution of immigration to the public finances of France between the late 1970s and the early 2010s. We developed an accounting method that disaggregates the primary deficit into the specific contributions of immigrant population and native population. We show that the net contribution of immigrants is generally negative over a relatively long period, but remains at an extremely low level (+/-0:5% of the french GDP, reduced to +/-0:2%, with the exception of 2011). The relatively negligible effect of immigrants on the public accounts is explained by a favourable demographic structure offsetting their lower net individual contribution. However, the 2008 financial crisis has significantly degraded the economic condition of immigrants. The net per capita contribution of EU immigrants has significantly declined since 2000 and is now similar to values from third country immigrants.


The existence of critical periods of development is an established concept. The vulnerability to potentially adverse effects from "exposure" to certain drugs and stresses at specific times during development is concerning. Recent effort has focused on the impact of exposure to anesthetics during critical periods of development and the detrimental effects on the nervous system.1 However, this month in Anesthesiology two research articles by Walker and colleagues highlight changes in the nervous system from incisional surgery at a critical or vulnerable period of development. 2,3 These effects are independent of the anesthetic exposure and highlight the reemerging concept of surgery and pain as an "exposure" that results in long-term changes in the developing nervous system, and returns us to the role anesthesia and analgesia play in modulating and minimizing the long-term impact of surgery and inflammation.

The authors have focused on two components of noxious input early in life, the potential impact on the neuroinflammatory responses induced by glia in the central nervous system, and alterations in descending spinal cord input. Both studies confirm that incoming nociceptive input from the periphery is the key driver, affecting both the spinal cord and also higher centers, in this case the rostroventral medulla (RVM) which provides important descending input for modulation of sensory neurotransmission in the spinal cord. This is demonstrated by the fact that peripheral nerve blockade reduces or eliminates changes in these parts of the nervous system following incisional surgery. This may have implications for treatment regimens that are effective given age-specific goals and concerns. Nerve blockade also confirms that the changes are independent of systemic stress responses or maternal separation and directly related to neuronal input. Additionally, the finding that altered responses to nociceptive input later in life are not somatotopically restricted to the previously injured location suggests a more generalized response to previous injury.

The simplest interpretation of these two studies taken together is that early surgery alters future responses by changing the balance of descending input from the RVM and increasing the central neuroinflammatory response to future injury. More complex, however, are the implications of these alterations, especially neural immune interactions in higher order brain regions and associated processes when surgery occurs at critical periods. Changes in the RVM suggest that early nociceptive input may affect development beyond the spinal cord and brainstem, since the RVM connects to more rostral centers, and nociceptive inputs from the spinal cord have connections to higher cortical and subcortical areas as well. Balanced neuronal excitatory and inhibitory input to the nervous system is required for normal maturation of nociceptive circuits in the spinal cord and connections in the brain; synaptic winnowing and synaptic strengthening occur simultaneously and in response to increases and decreases in activity.4 These studies support the concerning possibility that peripheral nociceptive inputs at critical periods may enhance synaptic strengthening inappropriately or winnow connections that help develop integrated forebrain circuits. This may in turn impact pain processing and environmental interactions later in life and result in altered development of higher order brain circuits and their function. Thus, the possibility exists for potential long-term and evolving behavioral effects as a direct result of inadequate anesthesia and analgesia in the young.

Implications for the "priming" that occurs in response to this early exposure to noxious stimulation is concerning. The enhanced activation of glial cells in the spinal cord after the second, or reexposure to, surgical incision could reflect a process akin to immunologic memory leading to the "primed" glia response. The reexposure could also reflect a more profound response to an abnormal pattern of neuronal activation from the periphery resulting from prior alterations in neuronal sensibility or transmission patterns. Neuroglia activation from a second surgery would be particularly concerning if it is widespread and not somatotopically restricted, since other aspects of inflammation in the central nervous system could possibly result in worsening neurologic dysfunction from an insult or pain.

I often hear the question in regards to basic research, "What does that mean, really?" Certainly there are limitations to animal studies. Ideally, we would collect life-long data in all patients, but this is not reality—maybe someday! In the meantime the weakness of the studies remains that we are extrapolating developmental effects in rats to humans. Despite this shortcoming, these studies are valuable and important. Their strength resides in the ability to probe complex interactions and the impact of pain and injury in the neonatal period. The animal studies permit exploration of immune and neural feedback circuits that may occur in humans. The delicate balance of factors and the long time horizon makes these studies time consuming and difficult, or may be impossible in humans with current tools and limited resources. Thus, these studies contribute significantly by helping to identify patterns of injury and associated issues in small studies that permit isolating effects, exploring mechanisms, and evaluating their potential long-term implications. This may result in accelerating the development of strategies to improve safety, reduce harm, and permit alternative and more rapid models for their evaluation. This highlights and emphasizes the importance of basic science research in guiding and informing clinical concerns and potential interventions.

This work does raise many questions:

What are the implications for children having surgery? Do genetics play a role? What is the role of different anesthetics during the most profound nociceptive barrage? Should nerve block be used? How long?

What is the effect of postoperative analgesic regimens? Is an adequate analgesic regimen enough to prevent the effects of incision? What is the role of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs or narcotics?

Does reduced sensory capability affect performance in fine functioning motor and sensory skills? Or is it protective as an adaptive response?

Does the increased inflammatory cell activation from reexposure occur only in the centrla nervous system, or does it occur elsewhere resulting in reduced recovery and/or prolonged pain? Or does it actually accelerate healing later?

Is it previous surgery and neural input alone, or does any type of inflammatory response produce similar changes, globally and more specifically in the spinal cord and peripheral neurons? Do the changes in neuroinflammatory responses result in changes in susceptibility and risk from large inflammatory response injuries such as trauma and sepsis in later life?

As perioperative physicians, the answers to these questions are important for further refinement of age-dependent and specific care for children during critical periods of development. Although the articles by Walker and colleagues remind us to consider long-term ramifications of perioperative care, the approach and therapies to best manage children in early development requiring surgery and anesthesia are not clear. These articles serve to remind us that we have many knowledge gaps and much to learn about the long-term implications of the perioperative period, particularly in children during periods of vulnerability. Additionally, the temporal relationship of surgery and anesthesia to long-term effects makes establishing connections and defining patterns extraordinarily difficult and emphasizes the use of models to probe concerns, injury patterns, and even test therapeutic interventions. Ultimately, however, the validity of these ideas and concepts will need to be established in humans, and care guidelines for the perioperative period generated that are developmentally targeted to minimize the impact of early life surgery and anesthesia in later life. Although costly and time consuming, more long-term human studies need to be funded to establish and reduce the long term impact of surgery in children during critical periods.

The care of patients involves not only considerations of past history and current status, but greater understanding of interactions short and long-term as an integral factor in optimizing outcomes; this is a different way of thinking and an important concept emerging in perioperative care. The value and importance of this concept regarding surgery early in life cannot be underestimated as the children are the future. As anesthesiologists we routinely take care of children and adults and rarely consider the long-term impact of our care and interventions. However, as the perioperative environment evolves, our jobs as perioperative physicians likely are getting more difficult as the nuances of small changes in management may result in large changes in outcomes later in life. Nowhere is this emerging more clearly than in the management of small children in the perioperative period. Basic science guidance has been and will likely continue to be the driver, but clinical studies will hold the definitive answers.


The directed evolution of biomolecules with new functions is largely performed in vitro, with PCR mutagenesis followed by high‐throughput assays for desired activities. As synthetic biology creates impetus for generating biomolecules that function in living cells, new technologies are needed for performing mutagenesis and selection for directed evolution in vivo. Homologous recombination, routinely exploited for targeted gene alteration, is an attractive tool for in vivo library mutagenesis, yet surprisingly is not routinely used for this purpose. Here, we report the design and characterization of a yeast‐based system for library mutagenesis of protein loops via oligonucleotide recombination. In this system, a linear vector is co‐transformed with single‐stranded mutagenic oligonucleotides. Using repair of nonsense codons engineered in three different active‐site loops in the selectable marker TRP1 as a model system, we first optimized the recombination efficiency. Single‐loop recombination was highly efficient, averaging 5%, or 4.0 × 105 recombinants. Multiple loops could be simultaneously mutagenized, although the efficiencies dropped to 0.2%, or 6.0 × 103 recombinants, for two loops and 0.01% efficiency, or 1.5 × 102 recombinants, for three loops. Finally, the utility of this system for directed evolution was tested explicitly by selecting functional variants from a mock library of 1:106 wild‐type:nonsense codons. Sequencing showed that oligonucleotide recombination readily covered this large library, mutating not only the target codon but also encoded silent mutations on either side of the library cassette. Together these results establish oligonucleotide recombination as a simple and powerful library mutagenesis technique and advance efforts to engineer the cell for fully in vivo directed evolution.


This thesis investigates the physical controls of variability in phytoplankton abundance in the subpolar North Atlantic. A multi-decadal set of monthly SST data (HadISST1) is used to identify the dominant variability in the SST annual cycle during the period 1870-2009. Long-term variability in phytoplankton abundance is examined using data from the in situ Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) observations for 1946-2007. Physical factors that determine the strength of the annual phytoplankton bloom are identified using a state-of-the-art coupled physical and biogeochemical model. Mixed layer depth (MLD) in particular is examined because of its importance in controlling the growth of phytoplankton through determining the distribution of light and nutrients in the water column. Multi-decadal variability is observed in the amplitude of the SST annual cycle, though the variability is inconsistent across the subpolar basin. The leading EOF modes of seasonal SSTs reveal that about 70% of the observed variability is explained by the seasonal variation of the strength and action centers of the dominant climatic indices (e.g. NAO). Phytoplankton abundance in the eastern shelf region shows variability similar to SST on decadal scales. However, phytoplankton abundance in the subpolar basin is less influenced by SST and is more sensitive to changes in stratification and MLD. The northeastern subpolar basin is examined in more detail because it is a region where the model simulates observations reasonably well. The hypothesis tested is that the timing and characteristics of the MLD shoaling determines the timing, duration and strength of the following spring phytoplankton bloom. The results show that there are two contrasting scenarios in MLD development and bloom strength. Years with early and lengthy MLD shoaling are characterised by repeated short episodes of vertical mixing when stratification is disturbed, and have a weak and continuous spring bloom as a result. Years with late and rapid MLD shoaling have intense but short spring phytoplankton blooms. MLD influences the growth of zooplankton indirectly, which also modulates the spring phytoplankton bloom. The occurrence of early MLD shoaling in the late winter coincides with a prevalence of atmospheric blocking events (high pressure features) in the northeastern subpolar.


NAND Flash memory has become the preferred nonvolatile choice for portable consumer electronic devices. Features such as high density, low cost, and fast write times make NAND perfectly suited for media applications where large files of sequential data need to be loaded into the memory quickly and repeatedly. When compared to a hard disk drive, a limitation of the Flash memory is the finite number of erase/write cycles: most of commercially available NAND products are guaranteed to withstand 105 programming cycles at most. As a consequence, special care (remapping, bad block management algorithms, etc.) has to be taken when hard-drive based, read/write intensive applications, such as operating systems, are migrated to Flash-memory based devices. One of the basic requirements of the consumer market for data storage is the portability of stored data from one device to the other. Flash cards are the actual solution. A Flash card is a nonvolatile ldquosystem in packagerdquo in which a NAND Flash memory is embedded with a dedicated controller. This paper presents the basic features of the NAND Flash memory and the basic architecture of Flash cards. We provide an outlook on opportunities and challenges of future Flash systems.


Miscanthus floridulus, which originated from a high elevation mountain area in Taiwan, is a newly cultivated species of Miscanthus. Instead of Miscanthus × giganteus, M. floridulus can be used as an alternative fuel for energy production as well. Except for leaves, stems of M. floridulus count for a major portion of the biomass. In this study, the lignin and cellulose contents of M. floridulus stems were determined to be 22.33 ± 2.21% and 43.13 ± 2.79%, respectively. In addition, a new application of M. floridulus stems was proposed. Oil absorption ability represented by the amount of soybean and motor oils absorbed by one gram of pulverized M. floridulus stems was estimated to be 2.25 ± 0.25 and 2.33 ± 0.18 g, respectively. Gold nanoparticles were used to investigate the absorption ability of M. floridulus stems. The absorption of gold nanoparticles by M. floridulus stems was visualized using SEM and TEM. In addition, the IR spectrum of M. floridulus stems was recorded for comparison with other studies.


Domain based testing (DBT) is a test generation method based on two concepts from software reuse, the domain analysis and domain modeling. Instead of using domain models for reuse, they serve as a structure to generate tests. In general, DBT forms a family of test generation methods. Each member of the family defines a domain analysis and a domain model for each problem domain or class of software. To show these principles, we define a domain analysis and domain model for systems with a command-language interface. The analysis exploits information from the command language, and the domain model stores syntax and semantic information needed for test case generation. We develop a four-part test generation process model to support automated test generation. We also describe an interactive test generation tool called Sleuth. Sleuth supports domain based testing, follows our test process model, and provides utilities to reuse test cases.<<ETX>>


Parallel processing plays an important role for large-scale data analytics. It breaks a job into many small tasks which run parallel on multiple machines such as MapReduce framework. One fundamental challenge faced to such parallel processing is the straggling tasks as they can delay the completion of a job seriously. In this paper, we focus on the speculative execution issue which is used to deal with the straggling problem in the literature. We present a theoretical framework for the optimization of a single job which differs a lot from the previous heuristics-based work. More precisely, we propose two schemes when the number of parallel tasks the job consists of is smaller than cluster size. In the first scheme, no monitoring is needed and we can provide the job deadline guarantee with a high probability while achieve the optimal resource consumption level. The second scheme needs to monitor the task progress and makes the optimal number of duplicates when the straggling problem happens. On the other hand, when the number of tasks in a job is larger than the cluster size, we propose an Enhanced Speculative Execution (ESE) algorithm to make the optimal decision whenever a machine is available for a new scheduling. The simulation results show the ESE algorithm can reduce the job flow time by 50% while consume fewer resources comparing to the strategy without backup.


Controversially this book argues that the ruling party-state elite in the USSR itself moved to dismantle the old system. Topics discussed include: * the beginnings of economic decline in 1975 * Gorbachev's efforts to democratize and decentralize * the complex political battle through which the coalition favouring capitalism took power * the flaws in economic policies intended to rapidly build capitalism * the surprising resurgence of Communism. Research includes interviews with over 50 former Soviet government and Communist party leaders, policy advisors, new private businessmen, trade union leaders and intellectuals.


The authors of the article focus on the analysis of the European market of the logistics services. There are certain criteria taken under consideration during the evaluation process: revenue, the rate of employment, basic activity sector and the geographical region of the activity of the largest logistics operators in Europe. The paper will allow us to obtain a transparent picture of the logistics operators market simply by the comparison of the data in different configurations and combinations of that same market, as well as by the description of the ten largest operators out of a group of top thirty "billionaire" companies of the European logistics market.


According to a 2013 report by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the infrastructure of the United States requires a $3.6 trillion investment to return it to a good condition by 2020[ 1]. A significant portion of the American infrastructure is composed of concrete, which undergoes microcracking damage over time, adversely affecting material mechanical strength, stiffness and permeability compromising the resilience and sustainability of the structural system. Although previous research identified that ultrasonic and other nondestructive approaches can characterize distributed damage content in concrete, the methods are either insensitive to early stages (low crack volumes) of damage, not repeatable, or inconsistent. We hypothesize that contactless, air-coupled ultrasonic techniques based on quantifying the extraction of backscatter energy from surface waves can provide a means of rapidly and robustly assessing microcrack damage in concrete. Ultrasonic surface guided waves in concrete were generated and detected using a fully contactless air-coupled system. Three concrete samples were prepared by varying the content of polymer fiber in the concrete samples to mimic varying degrees (0, 0.3 and 0.6%) of well-controlled and well-distributed microcracking. These samples were compared to a homogeneous sample, which was presumed to have negligible scattering from particulates or cracks in the sample. A 16 cycle tone burst at 50 kHz was transmitted into the concrete samples at an incidence angle of 8° using an electrostatic transducer (Senscomp, Livonia, MI). Contactless silicon-based miniature MEMS acoustic sensors were placed behind the ultrasonic transmitter insulated by a triple-layered acoustic baffle. The MEMS sensors were located a few millimeters above the surface and recorded backscatter from leaky waves traveling in the concrete samples. The energy in the backscattered signals (EB) from the different samples was quantified by integrating the square of the subtracted waves from spatially averaged received signals. These values were then normalized by dividing the energy in the forward propagating wave recorded by a matched MEMS sensor located in front of the transmitter. Normalized EB values for the PMMA, 0, 0.3 and 0.6% concrete samples were 0, 0.001, 0.06 and 0.15, respectively. Statistically significant differences (p <; 0.05) were observed between EB values from the 0.3 and 0.6% concrete samples compared to PMMA and 0% and statistically significant differences were observed between the 0.3 and 0.6% concrete samples. By quantifying the EB from surface waves in concrete, the non-contact ultrasonic technique was able to differentiate between samples having different fiber content.


Abstract. It is difficult to extract grassland accurately by traditional classification methods, such as supervised method based on pixels or objects. This paper proposed a new method combing the multi-level segmentation with CART (classification and regression tree) model. The multi-level segmentation which combined the multi-resolution segmentation and the spectral difference segmentation could avoid the over and insufficient segmentation seen in the single segmentation mode. The CART model was established based on the spectral characteristics and texture feature which were excavated from training sample data. Xilinhaote City in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was chosen as the typical study area and the proposed method was verified by using visual interpretation results as approximate truth value. Meanwhile, the comparison with the nearest neighbor supervised classification method was obtained. The experimental results showed that the total precision of classification and the Kappa coefficient of the proposed method was 95 % and 0.9, respectively. However, the total precision of classification and the Kappa coefficient of the nearest neighbor supervised classification method was 80 % and 0.56, respectively. The result suggested that the accuracy of classification proposed in this paper was higher than the nearest neighbor supervised classification method. The experiment certificated that the proposed method was an effective extraction method of grassland information, which could enhance the boundary of grassland classification and avoid the restriction of grassland distribution scale. This method was also applicable to the extraction of grassland information in other regions with complicated spatial features, which could avoid the interference of woodland, arable land and water body effectively.


SUMMARY: A method is described for extracting streptomycin from culture filtrates by adsorption on charcoal at pH 6-8, elution with 1·2% (v/v) aqueous phosphoric acid, readsorption of the eluate on charcoal at pH 7, elution with acidified methanol, followed by evaporation at reduced pressure and precipitation of streptomycin by dilution of the concentrated methanol eluate with 5 volumes acetone or amyl acetate. An indication is given of the order of recovery, and the potency of the product obtained. The stability of streptomycin under the conditions of pH and temperature to which it may be subjected during the extraction is outlined. The process has been carried out in pilot-scale production equipment handling 1500 1. batches of culture filtrate.


The aim of the paper was to present relationship between bank deposits of individual farmers in Poland and economic situation. The value of individual farmers bank deposits increased about 5-times in the span of 2004-2013. The value of deposit with agreed maturity increased by 90%, when the value of overnight deposits increased by 575%, the share of overnight deposits in individual farmer's total deposits increased from 83% in 2004 to 94% in 2013. In the article Pearson correlation coefficient between value farmer's bank deposits growth rate and real GDP growth rate was also calculated. There is no significant correlation between overnight farmer's bank deposits real growth rate and GDP real growth rate, but positive significant correlation between individual farmer's deposits with agreed maturity real growth rate and GDP real growth rate was observed.


: The strategy of the selection (life) of P. pseudomallei has been defined as C-competitiveness, combining the advantages of the limited (r and K) types of the ecological strategies of microorganisms and ensuring their good capacity of survival in soil biota. The self-regulation mechanisms of P. pseudomallei populations in the environment are determined by the type of their strategy of selection, which also determines the place of this species among other organisms inhabiting the soil. C-competitiveness of P. pseudomallei permits the realization of the self-support of its populations under changing conditions of their habitat, in particular in vivo.