Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) is a long-term NASA research mission to study the processes leading to global climate change. The EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS) is the component within MTPE that will provide the Earth science community with easy, affordable, and reliable access to Earth science data. EOSDIS is a distributed system, with major facilities at eight Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) located throughout the United States. At the DAACs the Science Data Processing Segment (SDPS) will receive, process, archive, and manage all data. It is estimated that several hundred gigaflops of processing power will be required to process and archive the several terabytes of new data that will be generated and distributed daily. Thousands of science users and perhaps several hundred thousand nonscience users will access the system.


Present study was carried out at the major landing sites at Kalpitiya and Mannar in the North Western coastal region of Sri Lanka from October 2002 to April 2003. A total of 16 sea cucumber species belong to the Order Aspidochirotida were identified. Of these, 12 species belonged to Family Holothuridae and four to Family Stichopodidae. Holothuria scabra and H. spinifera were found to be restricted to the Mannar area whilst H. fuscogilva , H. nobilis , Actinopyga echinites , Bohadschia argus , B. marmorata , unidentified Bohadschia sp, Thelenota ananas and T. anax were recorded only in the Kalpitiya area. H. atra , H. edulis , A. miliaris , A. mauritiania and Stichopus chloronotus were found in both areas but these species were not very frequent in catches. Sea cucumbers were harvested by fishers through diving and hand picking. Total catch and effort in the two areas showed marked differences. In Kalpitiya area B. marmorata was dominant in catches while in Mannar H. scabra was dominant. During the period of survey, the highest estimated catch was recorded in March 2003 in Kalpitiya area (22,692 Numbers) and January in Mannar area (16,269 Numbers). The fishing effort remained at a more or less steady level in Mannar area throughout the study period (7 - 9 boats day -1 ). However in Kalpitiya area, fishing effort varied considerably (7 - 13 boats day1) and the maximum and minimum fishing efforts were reported in March 2003 and October 2002 respectively. Nevertheless there was no significant difference between the mean number of boats engaged in this fishery in the two areas. Significantly high catches per diver per day was noted in Kalpitiya area (22.6 Numbers day -1 ) than in mannar (5.5 Numbers day -1 ) (p ∞ ) of A. echinites , A. miliaris , B. marmorata , unidentified Bohadschia . Sp. and H. scabra , were 32 cm, 41.5 cm, 56.3 cm, 41.5 cm, and 34.4 cm and the growth coefficients were 1.9 year -1 , 2.3 year -1 , 1.35 year -1 , 1.8 year -1 , 0.8 year -1 respectively. The highest mortality estimated for A. miliaris while the lowest was for H. scabra . It appears that size regulation is the most important measure for sustainable exploitation of existing sea cucumber stocks in the North western coastal region of Sri Lanka. DOI: 10.4038/sljas.v12i0.2212 Sri Lanka J. Aquat. Sci. 12 (2007): 19-38


This article will engage with theories about the art of living and the good life, especially Schmid's concept "Lebenskunst", as well as with relevant findings of positive psychology research from an educational point of view. An argument will be made for the importance for education to refocus on the lives and living circumstances of our students, and the contribution an art of living can make to education. It will be shown that a shift of the educational focus in theory and practise is necessary, away from being mainly economical driven to a more comprehensive understanding of education and Bildung that includes not only social and economical considerations, but also other important aspects of human life and well-being.


The formulation of the National Policy on Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) and Internet of things signals the Malaysian government readiness to come up with the necessary policy framework for the digitalised era. It has been said that universities' curriculum structure and instructional design must also be revisited to ready the graduate to face the onslaught of technological revolution. Through content analysis of relevant literature, this paper analyses the myriad ways in which legal education has been impacted by IR4.0 both in terms of the 'body of knowledge' as well as the 'skill sets' required for law students to survive in the era of automatous systems. The paper is structured to first explain the concept of IR4.0 and how some national countries leverage the digital technology to improve their economy or facilitate social transformation. The paper proceeds with a discussion of how autonomous system, artificial intelligence and data analytics can enhance the instructional design of teaching and researching law. In terms of the body of knowledge, most of the legal principles drawn for the brick and mortar environment are no longer relevant in the IR4.0 era. The paper reveals that the traditional method that focuses on the training of law graduates to think like a lawyer by understanding the reasoning in the judgement of cases or the preparation of conveyancing and court documents are no longer relevant in the IR4.0 era as these activities could easily be undertaken by bots. Instead, law students should be imparted with a multiplicity of human skills that could not be performed by autonomous systems such as those involving conscience, high level thinking, and emotion such as mediation, negotiation, counselling, court prosecution, advocacy, witness examination, plea mitigation as well as social skills, resource management skills, technical skills and most importantly system skills.


The LOLITA natural language processor is an example of one of the ever-increasing number of large-scale systems written entirely in a functional programming language. The system consists of over 47,000 lines of Haskell code (excluding comments) and is able to perform a wide range of tasks such as semantic and pragmatic analysis of text, information extraction and query analysis. The efficiency of such a system is critical; interactive tasks (such as query analysis) must ensure that the user is not inconvenienced by long pauses, and batch mode tasks (such as information extraction) must ensure that an adequate throughput can be achieved. For the past three years the profiling tools supplied with GHC and HBC have been used to analyse and reason about the complexity of the LOLITA system. There have been good results, however experience has shown that in a large system the profiling life-cycle is often too long to make detailed analysis possible, and the results are often misleading. In response to these problems a profiler has been developed which allows the complete set of program costs to be recorded in so-called cost-centre stacks. These program costs are then analysed using a post-processing tool to allow the developer to explore the costs of the program in ways that are either not possible with existing tools or would require repeated compilations and executions of the program. The modifications to the Glasgow Haskell compiler based on detailed cost semantics and an efficient implementation scheme are discussed. The results of using this new profiling tool in the analysis of a number of Haskell programs are also presented. The overheads of the scheme are discussed and the benefits of this new system are considered. An outline is also given of how this approach can be modified to assist with the tracing and debugging of programs.


The occupational exposure of hospital staff to inhaled anaesthetics was investigated using a personal sampling device that provides a measure of the average concentrations breathed by a person over a period of time, as distinct from the spot sampling in the general environment. The anaesthetist9s average exposure to nitrous oxide and halothane during complete operating sessions was twice that expected from simple dilution of the escaping gases by the operating room ventilation. The sampling technique was also used to evaluate the effect of (1) redirection of the waste gas outflow; (2) active scavenging connected to the piped vacuum system. Short-period studies under controlled conditions in the operating theatres and anaesthesia induction rooms showed that the anaesthetist9s exposure could be reduced two- or fourfold by redirecting the outflow and another four- to sixfold by active scavenging. Exposures during complete operating sessions were reduced two- to seven-fold by scavenging.


For good reasons, linguists are highly skeptical when it comes to predicting linguistic change. As has been argued in Heine (2003: 598–599), based on observations on some regularities of grammatical change made within the framework of grammaticalization theory, however, it seems possible to propose at least some probabilistic predictions on what is a possible grammatical change and what is not. In the present article it is argued that this also applies to grammatical change that takes place in situations of language contact. As more recent research has demonstrated (Heine & Kuteva 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, Heine forthcoming), contact-induced grammatical change is essentially subject to the same principles of grammaticalization as grammatical change not induced by contact. The data analyzed in this article concern case marking in Slavic languages, more specifically expressions for comitative and instrumental participants.


Transistor scaling alone can no longer be relied upon to yield the exponential speed increases we have come to expect from the microprocessor industry. The principle reason for this is the interconnect bottleneck, where the electrical connections between and within microprocessors are becoming, and in some cases have already become, the limiting factor in overall microprocessor performance. Optical interconnects have the potential to address this shortcoming directly, by providing an inter- and intrachip communication infrastructure that has both greater bandwidth and lower latency than electrical interconnects, while remaining safely within size and power constraints. In this paper, we review the requirements that a successful optical interconnect must meet, as well as some of the recent work in our group in the area of slow-light photonic crystal devices for on-chip optical interconnects. We show that slow-light interferometric optical modulators in photonic crystal can have not only high bandwidth, but also extremely compact size. We also introduce the first example of a multichannel slow light platform, upon which a new class of ultracompact optical devices can be built.


The aim of this study was to evaluate epidemiological, clinical and laboratory data of shigellosis in children from northern Greece, hospitalized in our department during the period 1971-96. In total, 422 cases of shigellosis, aged 1 month to 14 y (238M, 184F) were hospitalized during the study period. The annual distribution was approximately stable until 1990, the mean number of cases per year being about 20. During the last 4 y the incidence significantly decreased. Shigella was serotyped in 138/422 cases. Seventy six of the strains were S. flexneri (55%) and 56 S. sonnei (40%). In the majority of cases the clinical picture was mild. Severe dehydration was seen in only 6 patients. Ninety four patients (22%) had extra-intestinal manifestations. Most common of these were convulsions (16%) and, less frequently, disturbances of consciousness (n=26), rash (n=9), shock and disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (n=2), nerve paralysis (n=2), severe anaemia (n=2) and haemolytic-uraemic syndrome (n=1). Nine patients had acute encephalopathy of 12 h to 12 d duration. It is important to note that all these cases recovered completely with no residual neurological deficit, except for 1 girl who developed temporal epilepsy 8 y later. Spinal fluid was normal in all 42 examined patients. Antibiotics were given to 212 of 422 patients, mainly during the first half of the study period. Shigella resistance to antibiotic was significant for cotrimoxazole (24%) and ampicillin (16%). All patients were cured. Shigellosis is a mild disease in our area, with a decreasing prevalence.


Purpose: The objective of this research is to examine whether the European Charter of Local Self-Government is, in practice, an effective instrument for the protection of the autonomy of local government in Poland, as well as well as to define the contribution of the Polish case law and administrative practice to the understanding of the principles of the Charter. The importance of the subject is strengthened by the political context. For many years, Poland was considered a model country safeguarding extensive local autonomy. Recently, however, recentralization trends have emerged in government policies. Design/methodology/approach: The research is based on the qualitative and quantitative empirical research of the case law and administrative practice with elements of doctrinal analysis.Findings: The Charter is present in the case law of the Constitutional Tribunal (22 judgments), administrative courts (166), and public administration bodies supervising local governments (49). The number is high compared to other CoE countries. The administrative courts seem to be more eager to adjudicate in favour of local governments in the cases in which the Charter is referred to.Academic contribution to the field: A specific Polish input to the application of the Charter is the frequent use of the principle of proportionality in the supervision of local governments, which serves the courts as a perfect tool for resolving 'hard cases' between the local government and central administration bodies. In several important judgments, Article 11 concerning the judicial protection of local governments was invoked to effectively strike down the law limiting the local governments' access to court in specific cases.Practical implications: The research may be useful for local government representatives in formulating their litigation strategies, especially in legal disputes with central authorities.Originality/value: This research is the first all-embracing empirical research of the application of the Charter in a country's legal practice. It shows original ways of the practical use of the Charter not described in the literature so far.


Abstract. This study examined the effect of different fat supplements on the antioxidants of cow's milk. Thirty five Polish Holstein Friesian cows at 180±20 day of lactation and averaging 17.71±2.26 kg/d of milk were divided into five equal groups. There were five treatments groups: 300 g/d of fish oil, 500 g/d of Opal linseed, 500 g/d of Szafir linseed, 150 g/d of fish oil + 250 g/d of Opal linseed, 150 g/d of fish oil + 250 g/d Szafir linseed. Milk samples were collected five times during the 21 day of supplementation period: at the 1st, 14th and 21th day of the experimental period, and also at the 14th and 21st day after the supplement withdrawal. Diet supplementation with the Szafir linseed improved the chemical composition and milk yield at the 21st day of experiment. The highest level of malondialdehyde was recorded in fish oil, Opal linseed, fish oil + Opal linseed, and fish oil + Szafir linseed groups, and the lowest in the Szafir linseed group. After the 21st day of supplementation the concentration of α-retinol was significantly increased in all groups by 23 to 183 %. The highest level of α-tocopherol was found in fish oil + Opal linseed group at the 21st day of supplementation. Total antioxidative status increased in all experimental groups; however, the highest peak was recorded in fish oil + Szafir linseed and Szafir linseed group. The experiment confirmed that manipulation in cows' diet may improve antioxidative capacity of milk.


The steadily growing research interest in quantum computing—together with the accompanying technological advances in the realization of quantum hardware—fuels the development of meaningful real-world applications, as well as implementations for well-known quantum algorithms. One of the most prominent examples till today is Grover's algorithm, which can be used for efficient search in unstructured databases. Quantum oracles that are frequently masked as black boxes play an important role in Grover's algorithm. Hence, the automatic generation of oracles is of paramount importance. Moreover, the automatic generation of the corresponding circuits for a Grover quantum oracle is deeply linked to the synthesis of reversible quantum logic, which—despite numerous advances in the field—still remains a challenge till today in terms of synthesizing efficient and scalable circuits for complex Boolean functions. In this paper, we present a flexible method for automatically encoding unstructured databases into oracles, which can then be efficiently searched with Grover's algorithm. Furthermore, we develop a tailor-made method for quantum logic synthesis, which vastly improves circuit complexity over other current approaches. Finally, we present another logic synthesis method that considers the requirements of scaling onto real world backends. We compare our method with other approaches through evaluating the oracle generation for random databases and analyzing the resulting circuit complexities using various metrics.


The mixed agonist-antagonist buprenorphine previously was shown to display a bell-shaped dose-response curve with peak agonistic (antinociceptive) opiate effects at approximately 0.5 mg/kg s.c., 60 min after the dose and a gradual decline of the effects in the dosage range between 0.5 to 10 mg/kg (electrically induced vocalization test). In vitro, buprenorphine as well as the potent pure agonist etorphine possessed very high affinity for all of the opiate receptor subtypes that are labeled by the universal tracer [3H]diprenorphine. However, in vivo, [3H]buprenorphine and [3H]etorphine appeared to label preferentially a subset of the opiate receptor sites; the labeled subset may be identical to or include the mu receptor sites, since these sites were also labeled with high affinity by [3H]naloxone, a mu preferring antagonist ligand. Buprenorphine saturated this opiate receptor subpopulation in its agonistic dosage range (less than or equal to 0.5 mg/kg). Moreover, buprenorphine saturated the remaining receptor subpopulation, labeled in vivo by [3H]diprenorphine, over its antagonistic dosage range (0.5--10 mg/kg). Cooperative receptor binding behavior of buprenorphine was not detectable. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that noncompetitive autoinhibition occurs among the opiate receptor subtypes.


The suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the hypothalamus are necessary for the persistence of free running circadian activity rhythms in house sparrows. Suprachiasmatic lesions abolish circadian locomotor rhythms in constant darkness. The locomotor activity of lesioned sparrows was analyzed with two different power spectral analysis methods and was found to be arrhythmic. There was a weak correlation between the extent of damage to the SCN and the relative amplitude of the power spectral density in the circadian frequency range. In light-dark cycles (LD 12:12), the locomotor behavior of lesioned sparrows was rhythmic and similar to that of intact birds. However, entrainment was disrupted in SCN-lesioned sparrows exposed to a short photoperiod light cycle (LD 1:24). These results demonstrate that the SCN are crucial for the generation of overt circadian rhythmicity in birds. The fact that SCN lesions abolish circadian rhythms in sparrows and several mammalian species suggests that vertebrate circadian organization may be based on differentially weighted interactions among the pineal, the SCN, and perhaps other brain regions.


Monitoring Ireland's Skills Supply - Trends in Education and Training Outputs is an annual report produced by the Skills and Labour Market Research Unit of FAS on behalf of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs.. This series of reports aims to provide an indication of the supply of skills to the Irish labour market from the formal education and training system by examining outflows from the formal education system across levels 1-10 of the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ).


The widespread application of phasor measurement units has improved grid operational reliability. However, this has increased the risk of cyber threats such as false data injection attack that mislead time-critical measurements, which may lead to incorrect operator actions. While a single incorrect operator action might not result in a cascading failure, a series of actions impacting critical lines and transformers, combined with pre-existing faults or scheduled maintenance, might lead to widespread outages. To prevent cascading failures, controlled islanding strategies are traditionally implemented. However, islanding is effective only when the received data are trustworthy. This paper investigates two multi-objective controlled islanding strategies to accommodate data uncertainties under scenarios of lack of or partial knowledge of false data injection attacks. When attack information is not available, the optimization problem maximizes island observability using a minimum number of phasor measurement units for a more accurate state estimation. When partial attack information is available, vulnerable phasor measurement units are isolated to a smaller island to minimize the impacts of attacks. Additional objectives ensure steady-state and transient-state stability of the islands. Simulations are performed on 200-bus, 500-bus, and 2000-bus systems.


ABSTRACT This article examines Iran's 'forward-defence' strategy, in particular its deployment of proxy forces in the Syrian conflict. Iran's expanded presence in regional conflicts is regarded by its adversaries as indication of hegemonic intent, while Tehran posits its regional posture as a defensive response to security threats. We argue that Iran's 'forward-defence' strategy offers practical benefits, shaping strategic realities, and performative benefits, allowing Tehran to propagate a discourse of military fortitude. On balance, however, the strategy has fed suspicions of Iran's intentions and increased hostility towards the Iranian leadership, thus is likely to be counterproductive.


Universities in Bangladesh play very important role in the overall development of the country. This is evident from the fact that the students and teachers of the Dhaka University which was established in the year 1921, was at the forefront of the national liberation struggle that led to the independence of the country. Other Universities of Bangladesh at both public sector and the private sector are also playing important role by not only providing degrees and thus producing quality human resources for various sectors of the economy, but also producing enlightened citizens and thus improving the quality of life in the society as a whole. In order to solve the problem of accessibility of higher education the government of Bangladesh is allowing the establishment of private Universities in Bangladesh from 1992. But nowadays there is a controversy whether the private universities are contributing for the nation or not. The present paper is an attempt to reflecting on the contribution or role of private universities for the task of nation-building and reforming the education sector. The paper will also formulate shortcomings and provide recommendation to overcome the existing barriers. To collect data, one questionnaire has been developed for the teachers working in the private universities of capital city.


Objective: Code smells indicate the design decay in software applications. The code smells existence in the software will hinder the understandability of code and possibly increases changes and fault proneness. Methods / Statistical Analysis: To remove the code smells' from the software applications refactoring operations are applied which in turn improves the software system structure without changing its overall behaviour. Generally, in a large sized system, code smell cannot be fixed automatically. Therefore based on the maintainer's preference, the prioritized list of refactoring sequences to fix the code smells is essential. Findings: Majority of the refactoring just rely on the structural information, which fails to preserve the construct semantics, minimization of changes and the use of development history. To overcome this, in this work, the Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm (SPEA) is used to prioritize the list of refactoring operations that maximize the quality improvement, constructs semantics coherence and preserving the consistency with the previous refactoring. This work is carried out on two open source software Xerces-J and J Hot Draw. Blob, shotgun surgery, functional decomposition, data class, Swiss army knife and schizophrenic class code smells' are considered for prioritizing refactoring operations in these open source system. SPEA is evaluated using the metrics Code smell Correction Ratio (CCR) and Refactoring Meanings (RM). Application / Improvements: SPEA is compared with other algorithms namely Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA II) and Chemical Reaction Optimization (CRO), to prove its efficiency in prioritizing code smell correction tasks.
Keywords: Code Smells, Maintenance, Prioritizing, Refactoring, Search Based Software Engineering, Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm (SPEA)


Background: Suicidality is a life-and-death struggle in deep loneliness and psychological pain. There is a lack of knowledge about what could help the suicidal patients' struggle for continued life. The aim of this study was to develop a deeper understanding of suicidal patients in the aftermath of suicidal attempts. The research question was 'What resources in the person himself or herself and his or her surroundings are crucial in a suicidal crisis to maintaining the will to live and hope for life'? Methodology: The study has a hermeneutic approach and an explorative design. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 10 participants: men and women 21–52 years of age. The context was two emergency psychiatric units and one crisis resolution team. Ethical considerations: The participants signed an informed consent before the interviews were conducted. Findings: This article presents three themes: (a) becoming aware of the desire to live, (b) an experience of connectedness and (c) someone who cares. Discussion: The suicidal person's awareness of wishes, dreams, hopes and will, but also of their feelings in the aftermath of the suicide attempt, seemed to play a crucial role in a suicidal crisis. Experiences of connectedness remind the person of the responsibility in his or her own life and in the lives of others and seemed to strengthen the urge to go on. Private and professional relationships seem to be crucial in stimulating the desire and hope to go on living. Conclusion: Becoming aware of the desire to live, being connected to others and experiencing someone who cares is necessary for life. Both private and professional networks seemed to be important resources that could remind the suicidal person of his or her own dignity as part of being human.


Most of fungal infections are superficial and relatively easy to treat. Nevertheless, millions of invasive fungal infections have also been reported. Considering that most of the time the presence of this fungus represents colonization, the challenge is to differentiate between colonization and infection. The objective is to summarize the Candida spp. virulence factors and to highlight their clinical relevance.
We have selected the most pertinent articles from the recent medical literature regarding this subject using Google Academic and Pubmed databases.
The first virulence factors involved in the infection are adhesion proteins (e.g., the fungal protein gpm1 interacts with vibronectin, leading to fungal adhesion to keratinocytes, endothelial cells and monocytes). In order to invade, the fungus penetrates the epithelium/endothelium using hydrolytic enzymes - aspartyl proteases (encoded by SAP genes), phospholipases and lipases. Candida albicans could induce its own endocytosis by the epithelial cells, process governed by Efg1p and Tpk2p proteins. Penetration is favored by the yeast-hyphae conversion, pleomorphism being essential in pathogenicity. It is triggered by various factors including pH and temperature changes, hormonal variations etc. The fungus is very versatile, having the capacity to survive within a wide range of environmental conditions. It can cause co-infections with different bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae etc. The virulence factor with the most important clinical significance is the capacity of biofilm formation. A significant role in biofilm formation is played by the adhesion proteins codified by ALS and EAP Candida albicans genes. Biofilm presence on medical instruments leads to antifungal resistance.
The study of the Candida spp. virulence factors is a continually developing field. Understanding these mechanisms has a major clinical importance when comes to correct evaluation of a positive Candida spp. sample and correct treatment administration. It could also lead to new therapeutic approaches if we consider the increase of antifungal resistance in the last years. We highlight the importance of collaboration between the clinician and the laboratory physician.


Introduction.  Safety and human health conditions are precarious in small-scale fisheries notwithstanding are an important source of income and food for millions of people. First-aid training is vital for small-scale fishers because the high frequency of fatal and non-fatal injuries during fishing seasons, however, training it is extremely uncommon. Objective. The aim of this study was to implement and to evaluate a first-aid training course tailored for fishers' using High Fidelity Medical Simulation Technology (HDMST). Methods: First-aid capacities strategy for CPR, choking and recovering position using HDMST were built for 32 small-scale fishers from the Yucatan coast. Fishers' knowledge was evaluated before and after the training with rubrics and checklists along the maneuvers. Results: Participants' age was 38 (±10) years old and the maximum educational level was equivalent to a college education. All fishers learned to recognize and react adequately in emergency situations and also to provide effective initial first-aid (individual maneuver efficacy ranged 89-99%). However, elderly and lower educational level influenced the achievements of training goals. Conclusion: The implementation and evaluation of first-aid training course based on HFMST was a well-accepted and effective strategy that increased knowledge and competences for proving first-aid life support among fisher divers from Yucatan, Mexico.


A direct implicit ion polarization gyrokinetic full f particle-in-cell approach is implemented with kinetic electrons in global tokamak transport simulations. The method is applicable for calculations of rapid transients and steep gradients in the plasma, which is made feasible by recording the charge density change by the ion polarization drift together with the particle advancing. The code has been successfully validated against the linear and nonlinear predictions of the unstable mode growth rates and frequencies and their turbulent saturation level. A first global validation of the neoclassical radial electric field in the presence of turbulence for a heated collisional tokamak plasma is obtained. The neoclassical radial electric field together with the related geodesic acoustic mode oscillations is found to regulate the turbulence and heat and particle diffusion levels in a large aspect ratio tokamak at low plasma current.


Sickle cell anemia is a hereditary blood disorder in which abnormal red blood cells damage the cerebrovascular system as well as organs such as the liver and spleen. Children with sickle cell anemia manifest high mortality rates, depression, pain, strokes, and social maladjustment. Interventions often challenge the family's beliefs and attitudes. A cognitive behavioral approach, the Health Belief Model, was offered as a strategic option in working with African American clients diagnosed with sickle cell anemia. Two descriptive case studies were presented. Whereas one case illustrated a lack of a coordinated system of care, the other demonstrated the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary system of services. The purpose of this article is to present a brief description of the medical, neurological, and psychoeducational problems caused by sickle cell anemia and to suggest that services be provided by culturally competent, systems-oriented professionals.


This study compares the economic well-being of farm and nonfarm households using data from the 2004 Agricultural Resource Management Survey and the 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances. Comparisons are made in terms of income and wealth using Tukey-Kramer mean separation tests, regression analysis, and inequality distributions. The results show that the economic well-being of households differs based on their degree of involvement in business activities and their life-cycle stages. The most interesting conclusion is that the well-being of rural residence and intermediate farms is comparable to that of wage-earning nonfarm households, while commercial farms are similar in well-being to nonfarm households with businesses.


Abstract The article analyses legally plural situations in post-socialist Lithuania. Taking the case study of the village of Nida on the northern part of the Curonian Spit this paper reveals how legal traces of the past become relevant in the struggle of competing social actors over the place's cultural heritage. It describes how the former German inhabitants, the present Lithuanian population and local as well as national political representatives struggle over the symbolic and legal ownership of monuments like the local church and cemetery. It is argued that their different claims to this cultural property are based on legal orders from different periods. Thus legal systems, which for longer or shorter periods of time have been formally abolished in the region, are now being mobilised to serve as an interpretative scheme for social actors. They call upon different laws and norms strategically and selectively as an important resource in pursuing their specific political, economic and social goals. Further, by referring to different interpretations of local heritage under German, Soviet and Lithuanian sovereignty, the author seeks to show how the meaning of heritage is remade over the course of time depending on the contexts of specific political and legal regimes.


The Zehabad Pb-Zn-Au-Ag (Cu) deposit lies in the Alborz magmatic arc of northwestern Iran. Ore-bearing breccia veins hosted by Eocene tuffs emplaced along the 80?130° trending fault and fracture zone. Mineralization occurs in the contact of the late Eocene igneous bodies and the Eocene volcanic and volcanosedimentary Karaj Formation. Mineralization formed in five stages: 1) disseminated framboidal pyrite and minor chalcopyrite and sphalerite; 2) quartz veins containing chalcopyrite, bornite, pyrite, and sphalerite; 3) deposition of specularite and gold grains hosted in quartz veins that crosscut chalcopyrite; 4) the main stage of mineralization that contains galena, sphalerite, tennantite-tetrahedrite, pyrite, sulfosalts, and gold; 5) barren quartz-calcite veins with sulfide mineral fragments of earlier stages. The hydrothermal alteration from closest to the veins outwards includes: a) silicification; b) phyllic with quartz, pyrite, sericite, and calcite; c) argillic with illite, kaolinite, and montmorillonite; d) propylitic containing epidote, calcite, chlorite, and sericite and; e) carbonatization that crosscuts all previous alteration types. Quartz and calcite are the most important gangue minerals at the deposit and show a close relationship with mineralization. Sulfur isotope compositions (0.8‰ to -10.1‰) suggest that the ore-forming fluids derived from magmatic sources with a temperature range of 276-288 °C. According to the field (macroscopic), microscopic, alteration, and sulfur isotope studies, the Zehabad base and precious metal mineralization is considered an intermediate-sulfidation epithermal deposit.


An individual's body size is central to its behavior and physiology, and tightly linked to its dispersal ability. The spatial arrangement of resources and a consumer's capacity to locate them are therefore expected to exert strong selection on consumer body size. We investigated the evolutionary impact of both the fragmentation and loss of habitat on consumer body size and its feedback effects on resource distribution, under varying levels of information use during the settlement phase of dispersal. We developed a mechanistic, individual-based, spatially explicit model, including several allometric rules for key consumer traits. Our model reveals that as resources become more fragmented and scarce, informed settlement selects for larger body sizes while random settlement promotes small sizes. Information use may thus be an overlooked explanation for the observed variation in body size responses to habitat fragmentation. Moreover, we find that resources can accumulate and aggregate if information on resource abundance is incomplete. Informed movement results in stable resource-consumer dynamics and controlled resources across space. However, habitat fragmentation and loss destabilize local dynamics and disturb resource suppression by the consumer. Considering information use during movement is thus critical to understand the eco-evolutionary dynamics underlying the functioning and structuring of consumer communities.


Through a series of studies designed to explore important aspects of virtual experience, a new type of product affordances—virtual affordances—is proposed and tested empirically. In addition, the existing geometric and material product taxonomy is extended to include mechanical products within the classification structure. Utilizing these new concepts, 3-D product visualization is compared with traditional 2-D product representations and television advertising. The results largely support the proposition that 3-D product visualization is capable of influencing brand attitude and purchase intention for geometric and mechanical products within e-commerce environments.


Supported catalysts form an important class of functional materials, since they are widely applied in oil refining and the manufacturing of both bulk and fine chemicals. In these systems, the active phase, consisting of a metal, metal-oxide or metal-sulfide is dispersed into the pore system of mm-sized support bodies. Due to the large scale on which these materials are used, the means employed for their preparation need to be reasonably straightforward. In general, support bodies are impregnated with a solution containing metal-ion complexes, after which drying, calcination and sometimes reduction or sulphidation is carried out to obtain the active catalyst. For the activity of these catalysts, both the macro-distribution and the nature of the active phase are important parameters Hydrodesulphurization catalysts, which are used to remove sulphur-containing compounds from fuel streams, constitute an important family of supported catalysts. In these systems, the active phase consists of MoS2, while Co is often added as a promotor. Enable to meet future demands concerning the maximum amount of sulphur in transportation fuels, the activity of these catalysts needs to be improved. This thesis describes the development and application of micro-spectroscopic techniques that allow one to characterize CoMo/Al2O3 catalyst bodies at the different stages of their preparation. With the aid of Raman micro-spectroscopy, it proved possible to determine the nature and distribution of Mo(VI)-complexes inside Mo/Al2O3 catalysts bodies throughout the preparation process. After impregnation, the transport of different Mo(VI)-complexes inside support bodies was envisaged. It was illustrated that after impregnation a long ageing time may be required to obtain a homogeneous distribution of Mo(VI)-complexes inside the support bodies. Furthermore, it was found that an irreversible reaction of Mo7O246- with the Al2O3 support resulted in the formation of crystalline Al(OH)6Mo6O183- after impregnation. It was shown, that the formation of this compound resulted in the formation of bulk MoO3 after calcination, a poorly dispersed MoS2 phase in the final catalyst and a decrease in the hydrodesulphurization activity. To monitor the speciation of Co(II)-complexes in the catalyst bodies, UV-Vis-NIR micro-spectroscopy was developed. With the aid of this technique, the distribution of a H2PMo11CoO405- heteropolyanion inside Al2O3 bodies could be controlled. Finally the limitations and possibilities of MRI in catalyst preparation studies were evaluated. The non-invasive character of this technique implies that samples no longer need to be bisected before analysis. Using MRI, it proved possible to derive quantitative distribution profiles of paramagnetic metal-ion complexes inside catalyst bodies. Ultimately, the distribution of Co(II)-complexes inside Co/Al2O3 extrudates could be varied from egg-shell, through egg-white and egg-yolk to homogeneous by simple means. The micro-spectroscopic techniques described in this thesis are generally applicable and provide the possibility to study the preparation of supported catalyst bodies in great detail. A better understanding of the physical and chemical processes that take during the preparation of these systems may lead to a more controlled synthesis of industrial supported catalysts.


Turning away from the conspicuous phenomena of transgender experience, with an eye toward locating and illuminating the transgender edge in cisgender, this paper explores the relationship between men and the Vaginal, both material and fantasized. Positing the Vaginal as a counterpart to the Phallic allows a delinkage of vaginal psychic and embodied states from the strictly female so that, like the Phallic, they can be accessed by people of all genders and sexes. This concept goes beyond the conceptual to the fleshy, embodied experience of many transgender men, who live in whole, partial, and/or temporary "female" bodies. It can also be applied to the physio-psychic reality of many cisgender men. Included is a discussion of a case in which a gay cisgender male patient experiences and fantasizes his anus as a vagina.


• The administration of a standard course of testosterone in a series of subfertile male patients resulted, as a rule, in the disappearance of spermatozoa from the semen after 12 weeks. After termination of this treatment, spermatozoa reappeared in two or three months. While in some cases the sperm counts returned to the pretratment level, in others they failed to reach it during the period of observation and in some they exceeded it (rebound phenomenon). The selection of patients must be governed by determinations of urinary gonadotropin excretion and by testicular biopsy, especially the latter. In one initially azoospermic patient the rebound phenomenon was observed twice and a peak count of 30 million spermatozoa per cubic centimeter was achieved. In this instance a pregnancy followed, with subsequent normal childbirth.


Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) comprises a group of entities with different genetic causes. In most patients, T2DM results from alterations of various genes, each having a partial and additive effect. The inheritance pattern is thus complex, and environmental factors play an important role in favoring or delaying the expression of the disease. The identification of susceptibility genes and genetic variants requires different methodological approaches. Here we address some of the most important strategies and findings on the genomic basis of T2DM, as well as evidence of genetic heterogeneity among populations. The identification of the underlying genetic causes of T2DM and other related traits such as obesity and hypertension will lead to the development of new therapeutic targets likely to impact the way we treat these diseases. Survival and quality of life for T2DM patients is expected to eventually increase, significantly lessening the socioeconomic burden of the disease.


Image captioning as a process of assigning textual description to an image has gained momentum nowadays thanks to recent advances in deep learning related architectures and availability of associated tools. In the era of digital tourism, this offers a valuable framework to reconcile the widely available tourism images and user's generated content. This paper presents a novel approach to perform such reconciliation in a way to benefit tourism industry. Especially, IMGUR online image sharing services has been employed to construct a novel database, referred Tourism48, which contains gallery tourism images from 48 countries together with their associated user's comments. Google Cloud Vision API has been employed to perform image captioning of the underlined images, while similarity analysis has been employed to match user's comments to the obtained captioning results. The outcomes can trigger the development of subsequent policy research in tourism industry and behavior analysis. Besides, the Tourism48 dataset has been made available for research community.1


Adjacency constraints can be represented by Moore or Neumann neighbourhood adjacency, depending upon how candidate neighbours are assigned at corners adjacent to the target cell. Considering Moore and Neumann neighbourhood adjacency, we investigate the effect of strip cutting under a shelterwood management scheme with adjacency requirements among strips. We compare the effect of creating a strip window within a management unit with the same spatially constrained problem without a strip window. The management scheme comparison is considered as a spatially constrained harvest scheduling problem, which is solved with CPLEX software using an exact solution method. Our experimental analysis shows that the inclusion of additional spatial consideration by strip window creation in the management scheme results in a reduction of the total harvest volume by almost 13% under Moore neighbourhood adjacency, while it has a small effect under Neumann neighbourhood adjacency.


Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) approaches have proven themselves to be effective in mitigating the stress and anxiety that are often found in at-risk populations in the aftermath of traumatic incidents. A frequently overlooked group of persons at risk are those individuals who reside in a variety of institutions. Extensive research spanning a half century has shown these individuals to have heightened sensitivity to anxiety in general and traumatic events in particular. CISM approaches would appear to hold promise in assisting with these residents' needs. This paper outlines a basic CISM approach that could be adopted and adapted by a variety of institutional settings for the special needs of their residents. Preincident, acute care, and postincident response initiatives are presented, and the implications for such program development are discussed.


The paper has two parts: First, I describe a relatively popular thesis in the philosophy of propositional attitudes, worthy of the name 'taking tense seriously'; and I distinguish it from a family of views in the metaphysics of time, namely, the A-theories (or what are sometimes called 'tensed theories of time'). Once the distinction is in focus, a skeptical worry arises. Some A-theorists maintain that the difference between past, present, and future, is to be drawn in terms of what exists: growing-block theorists eschew ontological commitment to future entities; presentists, to future and past entities. Others think of themselves as A-theorists but exclude no past or future things from their ontology. The metaphysical skeptic suspects that their attempt to articulate an 'eternalist' version of the A-theory collapses into merely 'taking tense seriously'– a thesis that does not imply the A-theory. The second half of the paper is the search for a stable eternalist A-theory. It includes discussion of temporary intrinsics, temporal parts, and truth.


Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood, affecting 15 percent of Americans under the age of 15. It ranks first among the chronic disease in causing school absenteeism, and it has been linked to lowered academic performance. An educational program for elementary school teachers has been developed to assist the asthmatic student in reaching his or her potential. The program addresses needs expressed by members of the Montgomery, Ala., chapter of Parents of Asthmatic Kids (PAK). These parents voiced concern regarding the inadequate preparation of teachers for dealing with the needs of the asthmatic student. Results of a survey of teachers in local elementary schools confirmed their need for asthma education. The program, consisting of an audiovisual presentation, an informative brochure, and an instructional packet to use with first to sixth graders, is designed to be presented in faculty meetings throughout the school system. To evaluate the effectiveness of the module, a simple test is administered before and after the program. The program has been accepted by the American Lung Association of Alabama and is under consideration by the American Lung Association at the national level.


This paper reports an investigation into the language used by writers of grammars of English and learners' awareness of it. Two key features of this genre are whether and how writers present themselves in the text ('personality') and whether and to what extent they qualify their statements via the use of modality. Two comparable texts, one from a pedagogic grammar and one from a scholarly grammar were given to university learners of English in order to gauge their reactions as to the degree of friendliness and certainty of the text, as well as their level of difficulty and appropriateness. The students reacted more positively to the pedagogic text on all counts, most significantly in terms of its certainty and least significantly in terms of its friendliness. The students were also asked to identify the items in the texts that had led to their reaction; some pinpointed features of personality and modality, though most did not and pointed to other aspects, in particular the use of examples. The paper concludes that the choices made by writers about personality and modality are important for learners, though not necessarily in ways that would be expected.


The exact origin of the peculiar naked barley is somewhat illusive. There is a debate whether it has a single, monophyletic origin or a multiple, paraphyletic origin. It is from previous Asian studies on naked barley known that a mutation or a deletion of the nud gene expresses the naked seed phenotype. Not much investigation has been done outside of Asia, least of all in the Nordic countries, on what gives naked barley its character. Therefore this study was set up to examine if the Nordic variant of naked barley shares the same nud allele as the Asian and thus has a close connection with it, or if they have independent mutations. I could confirm that the known alleles of the nud gene do determine the seed character of barley. Most of the results of the PCR genotyping confirmed the phenotype of the tested accessions, both naked and hulled barleys. However, one visually phenotyped naked barley cultivar (NGB4580) still amplified with the known primers that would match the Asian hulled allele, meaning that the Nordic accession NGB4580 of naked barley did not carry the known nud deletion. This suggests that naked barley has arisen independently in Asia and in the Nordic countries.


Corruption is an impediment to growth and poverty reduction. As the authors in this issue of Development Outreach well document, corruption limits opportunities, creates inefficiencies and forms additional barriers to the smooth delivery of services. Crucially, from the perspective of the World Bank Group, corruption cumulatively undermines progress towards achieving development objectives, not least as its impact is most adversely felt by the world's poor. The World Bank has taken a clear public stance-based on exhaustive research-to seek ways to combat corruption. To this end we do and must work together with other international organizations, governments, civil society groups, and the private sector. As noted by World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, the private sector worldwide is one of the most important partners in this process and, without the active engagement of business, progress will be limited. This newsletter includes some of the following headings: introduction; why should business care; corruption affects everyone and exists all over the world; capacity of government to regulate is key; so, what is being done; action by individual firms; collective action and the role of associations; industry-wide efforts also hold promise; global standards can be effective at producing peer pressure to reform; the World Bank's contribution; increased attention to its own loan portfolio; the power of data and benchmarking; embedding governance and anti-corruption at the heart of country strategy; powerful diagnosis and analytical tools help guide actions at the country level; affecting both the demand and supply side of good governance; multi-stakeholder partnerships are a complex and nuanced undertaking.


The subcellular localization of the beta-galactoside-binding protein, or lectin, from rat lung was investigated by the specific binding of anti-lectin immunoglobulin G to subcellular fractions. We used both adult and immature (12-day-old) rats; the immature rat lungs have an 8-10-fold greater concentration than adult rat lungs [Powell & Whitney (1980) Biochem. J. 188, 1-8]. In both groups of animals we observed greater specific binding of anti-lectin immunoglobulin G to intracellular membrane (mitochondrial and microsomal fractions) than to plasma membranes. Pre-incubation of membrane fractions with lactose resulted in a marked diminution of anti-lectin immunoglobulin G binding. In the adult rat lung most (approx. 80%) of the lectin activity was membrane-associated. In the immature rat lung only approx. 30% of the lectin activity was membrane associated and most of the beta-galactoside-binding protein appeared to be a soluble cytoplasmic component. The rat lung beta-galactoside-binding protein appeared to have a broad but predominantly intracellular location, being associated with membranes through one of its galactoside-binding sites.


Carbon nanotube (CNT)-based composites have attracted a great deal of interest because of their potential application in catalysts. These composites are frequently prepared by the addition of metals or metal oxides to the outer surface of CNT. However, the surface modification of CNT is generally a challenging task, because their surface is chemically inert. In addition, metal or metal oxide particles on CNT are easily aggregated when these are used as catalysts. Recently, we developed CNT-supported metal nanoparticle catalysts covered with silica layers a few nanometers thick. The catalysts show high catalytic activity in spite of coverage of metal nanoparticles with silica layers. In addition, the silica layers which are wrapped around metal particles prevent the sintering of metal particles as well as the detachment of metal particles under severe reaction conditions. In addition, the CNT-supported metal particles covered with silica can be applied to catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction at cathode in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). Pt catalysts supported on carbon black which are conventional catalysts in the state of the art PEFCs, are seriously deactivated under PEFC cathode conditions such as high potential, low pH and oxygen atmosphere due to the aggregation of Pt metal and the dissolution and re-deposition of Pt metal. We demonstrated that the silica-coated Pt/CNT is electrochemically active in spite of coverage of Pt metal with silica insulator. In addition, the coverage of Pt metal particles with silica layers inhibits the growth of Pt metal particles in size under cathode conditions in PEFCs. The silica-coated Pt/CNT thus shows high durability for the oxygen reduction reaction. The coverage with silica layers also prevents the dissolution of metals other than Pt under cathode conditions. Therefore, our silica-coating method is promising for the development of highly durable non-Pt metal catalysts for use in PEFC cathodes.


High protein diet reduces food intake and improves glucose homeostasis in rodents and humans with obesity and diabetes, but the mechanistic site (s) of action remain unclear. Small intestinal lipid and glucose sensing regulates energy and glucose homeostasis, but the metabolic role of gut protein sensing remains elusive. In this study, we infused 8% casein hydrolysate as protein source into the upper small intestine (USI) and performed fasting-refeeding studies. We found that USI casein infusion (1.28 kcal/min) suppressed food intake up to 6h in chow but not high fat (HF) - fed rats (chow USI: sal 47±2 vs. cas 36±2 kcal, n=18, p<0.01. HF USI: sal 39±3 vs. cas 40±3 kcal, n=11) . Interestingly, we discovered USI casein infusion instead improved intravenous glucose tolerance effectively in both chow and HF rats (AUC, chow USI: sal 1152±112 vs. cas 850.2±37, n=7, p<0.05. HF USI: sal 1172±54 vs. cas 758.3±42 kcal, n=9, p<0.05) . Next, we evaluated whether small intestinal calcium sensing receptor (CaSR) mediates protein sensing and first discovered that CaSR was expressed in the small intestine with higher expression in the ileum vs. USI (USI 1.0±0.1 vs. ileum 5.8±1, n=8, p<0.01) . Next, we inhibited CaSR with CaSR inhibitor NPS2143 (56 µM) and found that its USI co-infusion with casein prevented the effects on glucose tolerance in both chow and HF rats. Finally, we injected lentivirus expressing shRNA of CaSR or mismatch sequence into the USI and CaSR expression was reduced by ˜40% (n=6, p<0.001) . Importantly, USI casein effect in both chow and HF rats on glucose tolerance were lost (chow: MM cas 799.2±51 vs. LV-CaSR cas 1069±64, n=6, p<0.01; HF: MM cas 771.8±20 vs. LV-CaSR + cas 1240±89, n=4, p<0.05) .
 In summary, these data illustrate that USI protein sensing increases glucose tolerance in chow and HF rats via CaSR, and lowers feeding in chow but not HF rats. Future studies are needed to dissect the metabolic role of CaSR not only for USI but also ileal protein sensing in energy balance and glucose homeostasis in obesity and diabetes.

 R.J.W.Li: None. D.Barros: None. Y.Lim: None. S.Zhang: None. A.Gao: None. T.K.Lam: None.


Tobacco smoking in pregnancy is a worldwide public health problem. A majority of pregnant smokers need assistance to stop smoking. Most scientific societies recommend nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) during pregnancy but this recommendation remains controversial because of the known fetal toxicity of nicotine. The objective of this systematic review was to provide an overview of human studies about child health outcomes associated with NRT use during pregnancy. The electronic databases MEDLINE, the Cochrane Database, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched from the inception of each database until 26 December 2020. A total of 103 articles were identified through database searching using combination of keywords. Out of 75 screened articles and after removal of duplicates, ten full-text articles were assessed for eligibility and five were included in the qualitative synthesis. NRT prescription seems to be associated with higher risk of infantile colic at 6 months as in case of smoking during pregnancy, and with risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. No association between NRT during pregnancy and other infant health disorders or major congenital anomalies has been reported. Well-designed controlled clinical trials with sufficient follows-up are needed to provide more information on the use of NRT or other pharmacotherapies for smoking cessation during pregnancy on post-natal child health outcomes.


: Computer tomographic examination of the tibia was carried out in ten patients two days to four years after removal of an intramedullary nail. Sclerosis of the marrow cavity and cortex and bone formation in the nail track are characteristic findings. They have been correlated with the appearances on conventional x-rays. Changes in the density of the marrow cavity, which is normally increased around the previous nail tract, do not necessarily indicate the presence of infection. In the absence of complications, the increased marrow space density may return to normal negative values corresponding with fat density.


Complete soil analysis was carried out taking 5 pedons each of five blocks of district Sidhi during cropping season and after harvesting (for summer and Kharif 2010) to establish the status of nutrients, result so obtained clearly showed that the application of recommended dose ofN.P. and K increase the crop yield, application of 100%N.P.K. Substantially improved the available N.P.K. over its initial value there by indicating significant contribution towards sustaining the soil health. On the other hand omission of S and Zn in 100% N.P.K. treatment caused a continuous depletion in soil 'SÂÂ' status over initial value.Adeclining trend from its initial value of available 'KÂÂ' status was also observed as a continuous cropping. This indicates considerable mining of available 'KÂÂ' from the soil. Hence indicating the need to raise the level of 'KÂÂ' fertilizer application to meet the demand of crops.Additions of Zn also indicated considerable increase in crop production. However, the fertility of soil appears to be adversely affected due to the imbalanced use of nutrients i.e. N. P. or N, alone. Thus the balanced use of fertilizers continuously necessary for sustaining soil fertility and productivity of crops. However there is an apprehension that the use of chemical fertilizer over the years might may impair the soil fertility. In continuous cropping, use of imbalanced nutrients through inorg. Fertilizer can not only sustain the desired level of crop production[12] hence integration of inorganic fertilizer with organic manure will not only sustain the crop production but also will be effective in improving soil health and enhancing the nutrient use efficiency[13]. As information is lacking on the effect of continuous fertilization and cropping on soil properties and crop production on the soil of Sidhi district of eastern M. P. hence the present study was undertaken.


New technologies for real-time adherence monitoring hold the potential to enhance antiretroviral therapy adherence interventions by providing objective information about daily medication-taking behavior. To realize this potential, we need to understand how to integrate real-time adherence feedback into existing best practices to promote antiretroviral therapy adherence at the point of care. Using in-depth interviews with 30 HIV-infected patients and 29 HIV care clinicians, our primary aims were to understand patients' and clinicians' perceptions of anticipated benefits and preferred uses of objective feedback to enhance conversations about adherence and to identify concerns about the impact of objective monitoring on patient-clinician relationships and communication. Both patients and clinicians suggested that identifying patterns of nonadherence with real-time feedback could (a) facilitate collaborative adherence problem-solving, (b) motivate patient adherence, and (c) reinforce the importance of optimal adherence. Some clinicians worried that delivery of real-time feedback could imply mistrust of patient-reported adherence and suggested careful framing of monitoring results. A few patients and clinicians were concerned that negative reactions to monitoring could discourage retention in care and reduce adherence motivation. These results indicate the potential of real-time feedback to enhance existing evidence-based adherence interventions targeting the key adherence precursors of adherence information, motivation, and behavioral skills. Guidance for the delivery of real-time adherence feedback should focus on both optimizing adherence and mitigating negative perceptions of adherence monitoring.


Medical investigation was made of 271 workers including 112 males and 159 females exhibited to selenium concentrations lower MAC. The atom absorption spectrometry technique was applied to determine the selenium content levels in blood and urine. The analysis performed revealed increased contents of selenium in the blood of 20.1% and in the urine of 5.5% of those examined. The selenium excretion which followed the use of antidote increased twice. No relationship between the duration of exposition and blood and urine selenium content was revealed. Antidote therapy with CaNa2 EDTA was studied in 16 inpatient clinical cases.


The movement of nitrogen from zooplankton prey into the temperate scleractinian coral Oculina arbuscula and the anemone Aiptasia pallida was measured using 15 N-labeled brine shrimp. The efficiency with which prey nitrogen was incorporated into cnidarian tissues was species-specific. O. arbuscula with a full complement of zooxanthellae had an assimilation efficiency of nearly 100%, compared to only 46% for corals containing few zooxanthellae. In A. pallida, symbiont density had no effect, and nitrogen assimilation was 23 to 29%. In both species, the host retained the bulk of the ingested label. Complete digestion was rapid (<4 h), as was the partitioning of the label between host amino acids and macromolecules. The label was primarily in the low-molecular weight-amino acid pool in O. arbuscula, where it remained for 30 h. A maximum of ca. 20% of the 15 N appeared in the zooxanthellae, where it was rapidly converted into macromolecules. Individual amino acids in A. pal- lida tissues were highly labeled with 15 N within 4 h and showed no subsequent enrichment with time; however, zooxanthellae amino acids became increasingly enriched over 30 h. Differences in 15 N enrichment among amino acids were consistent with known synthesis and transformation pathways, but it was not possible to discriminate between host feeding and de novo synthesis.


This paper describes a Self-Timed MOS Current-Mode Logic (ST-MCML) for digital applications. The architecture and operation of ST-MCML is explained and analyzed. 4-bit ripple and 16-bit carry look ahead adders are implemented using the ST-MCML technique in a 0.18-/spl mu/m, 1.8-V, 1-GHz CMOS process. ST-MCML is compared to conventional MCML, static CMOS and domino logic in terms of power, delay, Power-Delay-Product (PDP) and Energy-Delay-Product (EDP). ST-MCML achieves low-power values as well as minimum PDP and EDP values.


PURPOSE
To determine the sensitivity and specificity of cardiac gated electron-beam computed tomography (CT) and ungated helical CT in detecting and quantifying coronary arterial calcification (CAC) by using a working heart phantom and artificial coronary arteries.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A working heart phantom simulating normal cardiac motion and providing attenuation equal to that of an adult thorax was used. Thirty tubes with a 3-mm inner diameter were internally coated with pulverized human cortical bone mixed with epoxy glue to simulate minimal (n = 10), mild (n = 10), or severe (n = 10) calcified plaques. Ten additional tubes were not coated and served as normal controls. The tubes were attached to the same location on the phantom heart and scanned with electron-beam CT and helical CT in horizontal and vertical planes. Actual plaque calcium content was subsequently quantified with atopic spectroscopy. Two blinded experienced radiologic imaging teams, one for each CT system, separately measured calcium content in the model vessels by using a Hounsfield unit threshold of 130 or greater.

RESULTS
The sensitivity and specificity of electron-beam CT in detecting CAC were 66.1% and 80.0%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of helical CT were 96.4% and 95.0%, respectively. Electron-beam CT was less reliable when vessels were oriented vertically (sensitivity and specificity, 71.4% and 70%; 95% CI: 39.0%, 75.0%) versus horizontally (sensitivity and specificity, 60.7% and 90.0%; 95% CI: 48.0%, 82.0%). When a correction factor was applied, the volume of calcified plaque was statistically better quantified with helical CT than with electron-beam CT (P =.004).

CONCLUSION
Ungated helical CT depicts coronary arterial calcium better than does gated electron-beam CT. When appropriate correction factors are applied, helical CT is superior to electron-beam CT in quantifying coronary arterial calcium. Although further work must be done to optimize helical CT grading systems and scanning protocols, the data of this study demonstrated helical CT's inherent advantage over currently commercially available electron-beam CT systems in CAC detection and quantification.


The first sponge-ball automatic internal tube cleaning system, normally used for large heat exchangers in power plant applications, has been installed and tested in a seawater-cooled chiller in Hong Kong. The tests were thoroughly conducted under various weather conditions, cooling loads, and fouling conditions, in comparison with an identical chiller operating without a cleaning device. The low fouling factor maintained by the sponge-ball system is reflected by the small temperature difference between the condensing refrigerant and the water outlet, ranging from 2 ° C and 4 ° C depending on the cooling load. Without a sponge-ball system, the temperature difference is typically between 5 ° C and 11 ° C. The sponge-ball system improves the overall coefficient of performance (COP) by 12%. An economic analysis shows that the payback periods is within 3 years.


The account of the insolvency cost is a modern tool for management accounting, enabling to satisfy the creditors of the insolvent company to the largest extent, by minimizing and controlling the costs incurred by an entity. In addition, it allows the application of appropriate actions and measures preventing from bankruptcy in the occurrence of a unit being in financial difficulty, and it demonstrates the capacity to improve performance. The application of the insolvency cost account permits a bankruptcy cost reduction, whose amount depends on a particular industry, value of company assets, insolvency forms, and the insolvency process duration. In practice, it permits to minimize the incurred insolvency costs to essential and necessary costs for the proper conduct of the insolvency proceedings.


Sea-level rise and coastal change have impacted on the visibility of early to mid-Holocene sites worldwide. Due to the combination of eustatic and isostatic effects, modern coastal landscapes rarely reflect those occupied and exploited by prehistoric people. This suggests that intertidal and marine archaeology is set to become increasingly important in future studies of the coastal populations of prehistoric Britain. Though Scotland's west coast is renowned for its abundance of evidence for the Mesolithic, the potential for intertidal sites has barely been investigated. We report on a newly discovered raw material source and primary knapping location on the beach and across the intertidal zone at Lub Dubh Aird, Upper Loch Torridon. Our results suggest that a multi-disciplinary approach to investigation into early prehistoric human occupation of the west Scottish coastline – that incorporates survey of intertidal zones together with the upper beach and nearby areas – is essential to fully appreciate the range of sites present and to allow these to be integrated into a better understanding of coastal landscape use at this time.


It is well known that the human visual system can reconstruct depth from simple random-dot displays given binocular disparity or motion information. This fact has lent support to the notion that stereo and structure from motion systems rely on low-level primitives derived from image intensities. In contrast, the judgment of surface transparency is often considered to be a higher-level visual process that, in addition to pictorial cues, utilizes stereo and motion information to separate the transparent from the opaque parts. We describe a new illusion and present psychophysical results that question this sequential view by showing that depth from transparency and opacity can override the bias to see rigid motion. The brain's computation of transparency may involve a two-way interaction with the computation of structure from motion.


Nitrate below the euphotic layer has been generally considered as a primary nitrogen source to sustain new production which leads to fishery production in the sea. Recently nitrogen fixed by diazotrophs is gaining attention as another nitrogen input to fuel new production in the subtropical ecosystem. While a number of studies indicate that the nitrogen fixation contributes to secondary production, its role in the fishery production is still unknown. Here we present two attempts to prove the contribution of diazotrophic nitrogen to fishery production by means of the analysis of food-chain structure with carbon (δC) and nitrogen (δN) stable isotopic ratios. Firstly in the central Pacific, we determined the isotopic signatures in suspended particulate organic matter (POM), net-plankton and micronektonic fish from the epipelagic zone. δN of surface POM and all biotic components was low, reflecting in situ N2 fixation activity in the subtropical regions where the N2 fixation activity was high , with a clear contrast with high δN in the areas where the activity was low. Thus, a distinct food-chain to micronektonic fish sustained by diazotrophs existed in the subtropical Pacific. Secondly, we examined contribution of nitrogen fixation to predatory fish as indexed by the isotopic signatures in benthopelagic fish, Beryx splendens and their prey in the Kuroshio Current in which the diazotrophy was active. The signature of nitrogen fixation was evident in POM, net-plankton, micronektonic prey fish and B. splendens. Thus, diazotrophy is an important nitrogen source for fishery production in the subtropical ocean. The response of diazotrophy to the on-going climate change and the subsequent impact on higher trophic levels is the critical issue to be tackled to predict sustainability of subtropical fishery production.


The landscape of the Lower Danube Limes as it is known today has been shaped and transformed through the ages. First aim of this paper is identification and analysis of the natural and anthropological processes that have affected the original context of the Roman defensive structures on the Lower Danube in Bulgaria. One of the main points is to define a borderline between traditional and modern relationship between man and environment. Secondly, a reconstruction of the original conditions of the territory is proposed, based on analysis and synthesis of various sources from different areas of knowledge. It is a mean for a better understanding of the relation between sites and their context. As a result, the possibilities for theoretical and practical applications which would contribute for the preservation of the Lower Danube Limes as a cultural landscape are discussed. The study covers a representative section of the Danube, between the mouths of rivers Iskar and Yantra, selected so that the results may be applicable by analogy on other sections.


As society continues to evolve, so do the methods that are used for text-based communication. Electronic books, mobile phone text messaging, and an array of internet-based texts are now combined with traditional print forms of text, broadly expanding text-based communication. However, student perceptions of reading may still be limited to interactions with traditional forms of text communication. To determine college students' perceptions of reading, their reading habits, and their learning preferences by source of text, we surveyed 152 undergraduates, rank ordering their responses. Our analysis revealed a lack of alignment between the participants' responses, with interaction with non-traditional forms of text ranked highest in reading habits while participants' perceptions and preferences for reading were focused more on traditional text-based forms of communication. Implications, directions for future research, and limitations are discussed.


Distribution of profit through dividends is a problem unique to companies due
to segregation of management from the ownership. In 1956, John Lintner laid
the foundation for modern understanding of dividend policy a model that has
been used over the years to explain companies' dividend policies. Researches
done in the developed world provide insights into the dividend policy of
companies based on Lintner's earlier findings. In the developing world
however, few studies on the dividend policies of companies exist. More
research is therefore required to understand the dividend policy of companies
in the developing world and in particular, Kenya. This study examined
whether companies quoted on the Nairobi Stock Exchange follow Lintner's
model in their dividend policies and planning as is the case in the developed
world. In which data from the 48 Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) quoted
companies for the period 1998 to 2004 was used giving a 336 firm-year data.
The data was analyzed to ascertain applicability of the model. The research
indicated that on average, NSE companies paid 59.4 percent of their net
earnings as dividends and had a dividend yield of 6.1 percent. Also, it emerged
that the NSE companies while declaring dividends to be paid in any particular
period did not apply the Lintner's dividend model.


One of the important subjects in the analysis of compressor performance is estimating the surge limit. If the angle of attack changes for any reason, air jets separate from the blades and the cross-section area of the passing air becomes small and causes the alteration of the angle of attack in the next stage blades; this phenomenon is known as stall. When stall completed on a row, a pressure drop occurs at the rearward of that row. So, high-pressure air goes from the next row to the lower pressure area, which associated with a lot of noise and can cause the failure of the blades which is called surge. In this paper, the numerical simulation of surge in the first stage blades of the axial compressor of GEFrame 6 gas turbine has been done. Simulations are done with a 34 degree angle of attack and k-ѡ SST turbulence model has been used. Obtained velocity vectors indicate that during the surge, the reverse flow which is the most important characteristic of surge occurs and the flow returns backward. Also, in this paper, the coupled ordinary differential equations of pressure and flow changes for different values of the stability parameter B has been solved. It was found that for B = 0.6, which is less than the critical value, rotating stall occurs and the pressure fluctuations damp after several fluctuations. While for B = 1.6, which is more than its critical value, a deep surge occurs and the pressure and flow disturbances fluctuate with constant amplitudes. Review History: Received: Revised: Accepted: Available Online:


: In order to understand the immunity induced by NTG attenuated cercariae of S. japonicum, investigations were carried out on the survival rate of mice, worm reduction rate, liver and spleen granulation etc. at different intervals between immunization and challenge (4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 wk) in mice exposed percutaneously to NTG attenuated cercariae (30 micrograms/ml NTG for 15 min). Scanning electron microscopy on tegumental surface of schistosomes from immunized mice was also performed. Results showed that better protection was achieved at a challenge time of 8 wk after initial immunizing infection as demonstrated by the higher worm reduction rate and the longer survival rate with a lower degree of liver granulation. It is suggested that acquired immunity did develop against a challenge in mice exposed to NTG-attenuated cercariae, but there were different levels of immunity at different times post-immunization. Thus week 8 appeared to be the optimal time for acquired immunity developed against a challenge infection. The possibility of induction of different levels of immunity was discussed.


The purpose of this paper is to address a lingering historiographical problem in American Revolution scholarship. Loyalists and their efforts to resist the American Revolution have long been viewed too simplistically or portrayed as little more than impediments to the inevitable advent of the Revolution. Doing so perpetuates a narrative that minimizes important Loyalist voices that can provide complexity to our understanding of the American Revolution and can complicate the way we view the causes and consequences of the conflict. However, scholarship has emerged that aims to evaluate the legitimacy of Loyalist opposition and the limitations of the colonists' push for independence. This study uses the life and writings of Anglican minister Jonathan Boucher to join in this intervention. By examining his attempts to maintain the alliance between Church and Crown in order to perpetuate the British Empire, the paper locates his voice in the budding conflict and constructs the distinctly British world in which he inhabited in Virginia and Maryland. This context aids in making sense of his allegiance to the Crown in the midst of growing tensions, the important relationships he formed in the colonies, and the many emotions he experienced that guided the way he interpreted the unfolding of the Revolution. Ulitmately, in examining Boucher's political and cultural context, greater meaning is ascribed to the Loyalist perspective and the degree to which it can enhance the field.


We advocate a new approach to the design of interactive and sonically augmented artifacts. It is aimed at enriching the context within which design takes place, while integrating the level of structured exploration that has been instrumental to formalizing design processes for nearly a century. The proposed process combinesthesystematicapproachofbasicdesignwithexploratory studies within an existing everyday setting. The approach is particularly salient for auditory display in products, due to the relative lack of design examples and methods that exist for those working in this area to draw upon. We describe a study undertaken in domestic kitchen, a setting that has long been recognized as ripe with expressive, sonic interactions. The results of this contextual research have been used for the design of sonically-augmented lamps. We analyze the relevant results, and describe plans for integrating assessment methods.


To the Editor: A 55-year-old man complained of an intermittent orange-coloured penile discharge of several months' duration. There was no associated dysuria or frequency. He was a veteran athlete in superb physical condition and had taken 3 g of a crystallised form of vitamin C every morning for the last 10 years. The only physical finding was multiple bright orange aggregates the size of sugar grains at the end of his urethra. Investigation showed these to be pure uric acid crystals 0.25 mm in length. His urine was clear, with a pH of 5.0, no protein or glucose and normal leukocyte and red cell counts. Uric acid crystals were reported as 2+ on urinalysis. Serum uric acid concentration was 0.37 mmollL (normal range, 0.18-0.48 mmollL) and a 24-hour urine uric acid measurement showed 2.2 mmol per day (normal range, 0-4.0 mmol). The patient was advised to stop taking the vitamin C. His symptoms cleared and his urine pH rose to 5.4, with no uric acid crystals. Rechallenge with 3 g of crystalline vitamin C reduced the pH to 5, with a recurrence of uric acid crystals. Uric acid is 50% insoluble in an acid medium of pH 5.6. At a pH of 5.0 it is 90% insoluble.' This patient has a naturally occurring low urinary pH. Although the pH change after the introduction of megavitamin C was small, it was in the critical range for the solubility of uric acid. The literature contains no case report of uric acid crystal precipitation on the penis. Many people take large doses of vitamin C and have the potential to precipitate uric acid crystals.


The rapid growth modern cities since the industrial revolution, has brought many problems including:
• the disappearance of biological and psychological equilibrium within the cities.
• an imbalance between the 'new' centres and their surounding regions, particularly so in developing countries.
There are many factors which influence these problems such as policies (political, economical and spatial), dependency upon automobiles, recent attitude towards planning, urban design and architecture.
The City of Malang, in East Java is typical of modern cities world wide in suffering these problems of rapid urban growth. The
deterioration, to some extent, has changed the physical performance of the city. Unprecedented built developments and neglect of pedestrian comfort are significant causes which can lead to the loss of identity of city.
This paper will emphasize the role of urban design and architecture, within the 'umbrella' of planning, in tackling these typical problems. The principal hypotheses are that, firstly, 'Place' theory is the most relevant method which means 'places' matter more than individual components of the urban environment, secondly, that an understanding of the past (history and culture) is a useful tool to manage new and innovative environments, and finally, a well structured framework within the planning system
is a key factor to transform plans on paper to structures on the ground.
The City of Malang will be examined according to these principles. The examination of the city concentrates on the built form (spaces and buildings) and the enviroment as they are the main contponents within 'places' . The analysis of these two components will be used to formulate a design strategy with some practical guidelines to resolve the existing problems and to
anticipate the future.


Current approaches to compute the arc length of a parametric curve rely on table lookup schemes. We present an approximate closed-form solution to the problem of computing an arc length parametrization for any given parametric curve. Our solution outputs a one or two-span Bezier curve which relates the length of the curve to the parametric variable. The main advantage of our approach is that we obtain a simple continuous function relating the length of the curve and the parametric variable. This allows the length to be easily computed given the parametric values. Tests with our algorithm on several thousand curves show that the maximum error in our approximation is 8.7% and that the average of maximum errors is 1.9%. Our algorithm is fast enough to compute the closed-form solution in a fraction of a second. After that a user can interactively get an approximation of the arc length for an arbitrary parameter value.


Late delivery and sick housing project problems were attributed to poor decision making. These problems are the string of housing developer that prefers to create their own approach based on their experiences and expertise with the simplest approach by just applying the obtainable standards and rules in decision making. This paper seeks to identify the decision making methods for housing development at the initiation phase in Malaysia. The research involved Delphi method by using questionnaire survey which involved 50 numbers of developers as samples for the primary stage of collect data. However, only 34 developers contributed to the second stage of the information gathering process. At the last stage, only 12 developers were left for the final data collection process. Finding affirms that Malaysian developers prefer to make their investment decisions based on simple interpolation of historical data and using simple statistical or mathematical techniques in producing the required reports. It was suggested that they seemed to skip several important decision-making functions at the primary development stage. These shortcomings were mainly due to time and financial constraints and the lack of statistical or mathematical expertise among the professional and management groups in the developer organisations.


Elia Kazan's film work reflected key currents in American social, political and cultural life. This book uses archive sources to examine Kazan's film work between 1945 and 1976, and in particular to critically examine the role of the film director as a cultural entrepreneur, making key choices in his collaborations and drawing attention to key social issues. The book links Kazan to a number of directors who moved from the politics and theatre of New York in the thirties to Hollywood in the forties, and also analyses the impact of his identity as a second generation immigrant (brought to America as an Anatolian Greek in 1913. The book also deals with the issues relating to Kazan's controversial 1952 testimony before the House Committee on Un-american Activities, and explores key collaborations with Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Budd Schulberg and Marlon Brando.


Aim: This research aimed to compare the mechanical, thrombotic, and infectious complication ratio of the internal jugular vein with those of femoral vein catheterization.
Materials and Methods: It is a single-center retrospective study. One hundred seventy-nine pediatric patients undergoing central venous catheter insertion in the intensive care unit were selected from February 2020 to August 2021. The patients were divided into 2 groups based on catheter type; internal jugular versus femoral venous catheterization. Procedure complications rates were assessed. However, jugular catheterization was performed under ultrasound guidance, and femoral venous catheterization was inserted via an original landmark-based technique. Thromboprophylaxis was performed on all patients without coagulopathy.
Results: The overall rate of procedural complications was 20%. The subcutaneous hematoma was the most common mechanical complication and higher in femoral attempts (p= 0.001), followed by arterial injury (p= 0.002). Thrombotic complications were similar between the two groups (p= 0.053). Infections complications were higher in femoral venous catheterization (p= 0.016).
Conclusion: Femoral venous catheterization is associated with a greater risk of mechanical and infectious complications than internal jugular venous catheterization. Usage of ultrasound during catheterization procedures decreases mechanical complications.


Hip fracture is a serious clinical event which requires surgery in the vast majority of cases. In the period of time between admission and intervention, which may vary depending on many factors, skin traction in the affected member is traditionally applied to immobilize the limb and thus relieve pain. Furthermore, some surgeons maintain that this practice better reduces fracture risk, avoiding muscular contraction, which may facilitate the surgical process. Its use is recommended in managing protocols for this patient group in some hospitals, although some question this practice as lacking evidence to support it. On the other hand, it is not harmless, with a number of reported complications which raise questions about its routine use. This paper reviews the main studies carried out, with the objective of making a recommendation for the clinical management of this issue based on available evidence.


A transplantable plasmacell tumor in mice produces both a gammaM-macroglobulin serum protein with a sedimentation coefficient of 17S and a kappa-type urinary protein. The reduced and alkylated macroglobulin, when examined by electrophoresis in acid-urea polyacrylamide gel, had a fast component which migrated in the same position as the urinary protein and also a slow component. These two components, as shown by exclusion chromatography, represent the light and heavy polypeptide chains of the gammaM-macroglobulin. The aforementioned macroglobulin was antigenically related to that in normal mouse serum.


Purpose: To review the findings at prophylactic oophorectomy of a series of women who presented to a familial breast and ovarian cancer clinic. Materials and Methods: Data from medical charts, operative notes, and pathology reports were collected on women who had undergone prophylactic oophorectomies because of the elevated risk of ovarian cancer. Because only a subset of patients underwent BRCA1 and BRCA2 testing, each patient's risk of hereditary predisposition was calculated using the Berry-Parmigiani model and family history data. Results: From June 1989 to December 1998, 50 women seen at our clinic underwent prophylactic oophorectomy, 33 of whom had a calculated risk of carrying a germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation greater than 25%. Among this group, four incidental tumors were found (four of 33, or 12%); one tumor was noted at the time of surgery and three were noted only in the final pathology. Two patients had microscopic, poorly differentiated serous adenocarcinomas in multiple sites on both ovaries. A third patient had a bilateral serous borderline tumor with micropapillary features. The fourth patient had a microscopic serous borderline ovarian tumor. All four patients had germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, and three had unremarkable transvaginal ultrasonography examinations within 6 months before prophylactic surgery. Conclusion: Foci of malignant tumor are not uncommon in prophylactic oophorectomies performed in women at very high risk for ovarian cancer and may not be detected on ultrasonograms. Surgeons should have a high suspicion of finding cancer in these women at the time of prophylactic surgery, and careful pathologic assessment of the specimens should be conducted. J Clin Oncol 18:2728-2732. © 2000 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.


Numismatic data, evidence to the long-term use of the Byzantine monetary system from the 6th to 12th Centuries in Dalmatia. During the 6th Century, Salona emissions efficiently contributed to maintaining the request for smaller currency units notably in the Northern and Central Adriatic. In the 7th to 8th centuries, following the fall of Salona, and due to the pressure of Transdanubian peoples, the presence of currency was mostly ensured by emissions from Constantinople along with those from Sicily, especially after Ravenna's mint was closed. However, this became gradually less conspicuous and concentrated primarily in the ports and their immediate surrounds with significant evidence in at least twenty sites in the areas of Split, Sibenik, Knin and Zadar of Syracuse currency from Constantine V.  Nearly all records originate from graves, a fact that seems to indicate that in the course of the 'grande breche' special attention was paid to gold coins in their functions of measurement, stock value and, perhaps, as a sign of class distinction. Between the end of the 8th and the middle of the 9th Century the reappearance of silver coin such as the Miliarense, Abbasid Dirhams and Carolingian Dinars and of copper mint as were Theophilus and Basil I Folles saw the end of a long period of economic depression. In fact, subsequent Folles of the 10th Century, in the period from Leo VI to Constantine VII, and anonymous Folles of the 11th Century, particularly those of type A2, were widespread  not only in Dalmatia (Sibenik, Split, Dubrovnik) but also along the length of the Adriatic coastline. They are evidenced from the Venetian lagoon to the Theme of Longobardia, as in the treasures of Canne, Colletorto and Taranto, and in the cities of Durres and Buthrotum in Illyria. This coinage, was recovered as an "isolated find" and is to be connected to the restoration of the Byzantine Empire along the Eastern coastline. It also documents the recovery of the circulation of coinage, the principal instrument used in trade, capable of stimulating the symbolic substitution of worth through the use of currency. It spread along sea routes and, consequently, was instrumental in the resuming of trade, exchanges and also contacts including the monetary kind that, through Dalmatia especially, involved the northern Adriatic where the Constantine Folles of the 11th Century was accepted tender and exchange with a worth value of 1/2 Dinar.


Ultrastrong, transparent, conductive and printable nanocomposites were successfully prepared by mixing single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO)-oxidized cellulose nanofibrils (TOCNs) with abundant sodium carboxyl groups on the crystalline nanocellulose surfaces. The surface-anionic cellulose nanofibrils had reinforcing and nanodispersing effects on the CNTs both in water used as the dispersed medium and in the dried composite film, providing highly conductive and printable nanocomposites with a small amount of CNTs. TOCNs are therefore expected as an effective flexible matrix that can be used as an alternative to conventional polymers for various electrical materials, when nanocomposited with CNTs and also graphene. Our findings provide a promising route to realize green and flexible electronics.


Arc spraying has always been the most cost-effective way of thermal spraying metal alloys but oxide content and degradation of the alloy by loss of particular alloying elements have limited quality of the coatings. In this paper a process is described which greatly reduces degradation and improves coating density and oxide content. Corrosion behaviour both in aqueous and high temperature environments is markedly improved. For aqueous applications coatings of Inconel 625 were tested in a potentio-dynamic cell and by salt spray testing to evaluate both the inherent properties and the permeability of the coating and significantly improved behaviour was found in both cases. For high temperature corrosion, samples of FeCrAl were tested in air and in a sulphidising environment with and without thermal cycling. Coatings of NiCrAl and NiCrTi were also examined. The coating types and test regimes were aimed at specific practical applications such as fireside corrosion in boilers and waste incinerators, hot oxidation of flare stack burners etc. In the aqueous situation valves and process vessels are being examined as candidate applications for Inconel 625 coatings.