There have been significant changes evident across the retail sector over the last 20 years, which have been primarily influenced by technological advancements. These changes have forced many retailers to rethink their business models and utilise a combination of both brick and mortar stores and online domains to present an integrated shopping experience. In order to gain an understanding of how customer satisfaction is increased through omni-channel retailing, we collected data through survey research, specifically through semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. In order to generate concise and accurate findings, the data were analysed using thematic analysis. From this analysis, three themes were generated. The first theme explores the reasoning behind preferred shopping methods and what influences these customers' purchase methods. The second theme explores customers' personal preference and investigates the potential of using virtual reality as a method for increasing customer satisfaction. Finally, the third theme looks into utilising interactive technology to create a diversified user experience. This theme explores the potential of utilising a communication platform for customers and also designing a tangible interface for disabled customers. This study has opened up an opportunity for future research and has outlined potential design insights in how to improve customer experience and customer purchase intentions.


The purpose of this project was to explore beliefs and attitudes about risky driving behavior and traffic safety interventions between urban and rural drivers as a function of age. This was accomplished by conducting focus groups and surveys in rural and urban areas with teens and seniors. Results indicated that traffic safety policy for teens should focus on distraction and amongst seniors on sensory-motor functioning. In terms of traffic safety policy for rural areas, attention should be given to interventions promoting seatbelt compliance. Relative to traffic safety interventions, teens felt graduated driver licensing (GDL) helped them become better drivers but weren't convinced GDL had made them better/safer. Teens felt smart technology could have positive effects on safety, but an acceptable program based on this technology needs to balance factors such as cost, robustness, and limitations on driving. Seniors were receptive to mandatory testing but felt it must be flexible, objectively administered, and based on criteria other than age. Rural seniors were concerned about alternative mobility programs for those drivers that fail the proposed test. Relative to these alternative programs, seniors' acceptance was related to the perceived accessibility to a safe and affordable program that is sufficiently versatile to accommodate a range of transportation needs.


Background Although the evidence base of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been broadly established, the treatment is hampered by limited access, poor compliance, and nonresponse. New technologies offer the opportunity to improve the accessibility, user friendliness, and effectiveness of traditional office-based CBT. By employing an integrated and age-appropriate technologically enhanced treatment package, we aim to execute a more focused and attractive application of CBT principles to increase the treatment effect for pediatric OCD. Objective The aim of this open study is to explore the acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness of a newly developed enhanced CBT (eCBT) package for pediatric OCD. Methods This study is an open trial using a historical control design conducted at the outpatient clinic of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at St. Olavs University Hospital (Trondheim) or at BUP Klinikk (Aalesund). Participants are 30 children (age 7-17 years) with a primary Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-5 diagnosis of OCD, and their parents. All participants receive eCBT. eCBT consists of the usual evidence-based CBT for pediatric OCD in an "enhanced" format. Enhancements include videoconferencing sessions (supervision and guided exposure exercises at home) in addition to face-to-face sessions; an app system of interconnected apps for the child, the parents, and the therapist; psychoeducative videos; and frequent online self-assessments with direct feedback to patients and the therapist. Primary outcome measures are the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) (effectiveness), the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8 (acceptability), and treatment drop out (feasibility). Assessments are conducted pretreatment, posttreatment, and at 3- and 6-month follow-ups. A 12-month follow-up assessment is envisioned. The treatment outcome (CY-BOCS) will be compared to traditional face-to-face CBT (data collected in the Nordic Long-term OCD Treatment Study). Results Ethical approval has been obtained (2016/716/REK nord). Inclusion started on September 04, 2017. Data collection is ongoing. Conclusions This study is the first step in testing the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary effectiveness of eCBT. In case of positive results, future steps include improving the eCBT treatment package based on feedback from service users, examining cost-effectiveness in a randomized controlled trial, and making the package available to clinicians and other service providers treating OCD in children and adolescents. Trial Registration ISRCTN, ISRCTN37530113; registered on January 31, 2020 (retrospectively registered); https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN37530113. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/24057


Human cortical malformations, including lissencephaly, polymicrogyria and other diseases of neurodevelopment, have been associated with mutations in microtubule subunits and microtubule-associated proteins. Here we report our cloning of the brain dimple (brdp) mouse mutation, which we recovered from an ENU screen for recessive perinatal phenotypes affecting neurodevelopment. We identify the causal mutation in the tubulin, beta-2b (Tubb2b) gene as a missense mutation at a highly conserved residue (N247S). Brdp/brdp homozygous mutants have significant thinning of the cortical epithelium, which is markedly more severe in the caudo-lateral portion of the telencephalon, and do not survive past birth. The cortical defects are largely due to a major increase in apoptosis and we note abnormal proliferation of the basal progenitors. Adult brdp/+ mice are viable and fertile but exhibit behavioral phenotypes. This allele of Tubb2b represents the most severely affected mouse tubulin phenotype reported to date and this is the first report of a tubulin mutation affecting neuronal proliferation and survival.


Online discussion is an essential tool for the collaborative construction of knowledge in learning communities. LMSs (Learning Management Systems) include such collaborative tools to enable knowledge sharing. Common topology and design constructs of online collaboration are often expressed as forum threads; however, forums or bulletin boards are not primarily designed for social constructivist learning, in which knowledge develops collaboratively in a methodical process that links new items to existing ones. In this paper, we present a preliminary concept and hypothesize that social constructivist learning can be implemented through a semantic network topology of a discussion platform. To that end, we developed Ligilo, a peer-learning, online platform, in which each content item is conveyed as a node in a semantic network constructed of posts. Analysis of this platform consists of three parts. First, we review the theoretical background of networked-structured discussions in learning. Then, we describe the architecture of Ligilo, focusing on two aspects: (1) the learning experience as a process of contributing new information items by relating to existing items and (2) a deep, behavioral analytics framework as a teacher's guide. Both these aspects are based on semantic network topology. We conclude the paper by describing some early cases of peer learning involving networked-structured discussions.


1. Introduction and Background to Quantum Mechanics. Aim of Theoretical Chemistry. Key Concepts from Classical Physics. Classical Mechanics. Classical Wave Theory. Early History of Quantum Mechanics. Particle Nature of Light. Wave Nature of Particles. Uncertainty Principle. Discovery of Quantum Mechanics. Concepts in Quantum Mechanics. 2. Quantum Theory. Postulates of Quantum Mechanics. Definitions of ...Y and ...|Y|2. Operators. Time-Dependent and Time-Independent Schrodinger Equations. Eigenvalues. Expectation Values. Properties of the Time-Independent Schrodinger Eigenfunctions. 3. Particle-in-Box Models. Particle in a One-Dimensional Box. Particle in a Two-Dimensional Box. Particle in a Three-Dimensional Box. Free-Electron Molecular Orbital Model. 4. Rigid-Rotor Models and Angular Momentum Eigenstates. Motions of a Diatomic Molecule: Separation of the Center of Mass. Rigid-Rotor Model in Two Dimensions. Three-Dimensional Rigid Rotor. Spherical Harmonics. Rotational Spectra. Angular Momentum. Dirac Notation. Raising and Lowering Angular-Momentum Operators. 5. Molecular Vibrations and Time-Independent Perturbation Theory. Diatomic Molecule Vibrations. Raising and Lowering Operators for the Harmonic Oscillator. Polyatomic Molecule Vibrations. Time-Independent Perturbation Theory. Examples. 6. The Hydrogen Atom. The Schrodinger Equation. Radial Solutions and Eigenvalues. Energy Eigenvalues Spectroscopy of the H Atom. Properties of Hydrogen and Hydrogenlike Wavefunctions. Atomic Units. 7. The Helium Atom. Schrodinger Equation. Independent-Particle Model. The Variational Method. Better Wavefunctions. 8. Electron Spin and the Pauli Principle. Electron Spin. The Pauli Principle. He-Atom Wavefunctions, Including Spin. Excited State of He. Energies of He(1s2s) States. Interaction of Electron Spin with Magnetic Fields. EPR and NMR. 9. Many-Electron Atoms. Many-Electron Hamiltonian and Schrodinger Equation. Slater Determinants. Hartree Method. Hartree-Fock Method. Koopmans' Theorem. Electron Correlation. Constants of the Motion. Angular-Momentum Operators for Many-Electron Atoms. Relativistic Effects. 10. Homonuclear Diatomic Molecules. Hydrogen Molecular Ion: Born-Oppenheimer Approximation. LCAO-MO Treatment of H2 +. Other H2 + States. Electronic Structure of Homonuclear Diatomics. Electronic Structure of H2: Molecular Orbital and Valence Bond Wavefunctions. Improvements to MO and VB Results for H2. 11. Ab Initio and Density Functional Methods. LCAO-MO-SCF Theory for Molecules. Atomic Orbitals. Hartree-Fock Calculations. Beyond Hartree-Fock. Density Functional Theory Methods. 12. Semiempirical Methods. Huckel Model. Extended Huckel Method. PPP Method. NDO Methods. 13. Applications of Group Theory. Group Theory for Point Groups. Applications of Group Theory to Molecular Quantum Mechanics. Symmetry Properties of Many-Electron Wavefunctions. Symmetry Properties of Molecular Vibrations. 14. Applications of Electronic Structure Theory. Potential-Energy Functions. Optimized Geometries and Frequencies. IR Spectra. Barriers to Reaction. Excited States. Molecular Clusters. Remarks on Other Methods. 15. Time Dependence and Spectroscopy. Transition Probabilities and the Golden Rule. Electronic Spectroscopy of Molecules. Vibration (Infrared) Spectroscopy. Appendices. Mathematical Background. Two-Electron Repulsion Integral. Character Tables. Atomic Units, Energy Conversion Factors, and Physical Constants. Solutions to Odd-Numbered Problems. Index.


Colorectal cancer (CRC) is considered the world's fourth most deadly cancer. Its metastasis is associated with poor prognosis and weakens the effects of treatment. However, the potential molecular mechanisms and key genes involved in CRC metastasis have remained to be comprehensively elucidated. The objective of the present study was to identify the key genes and molecular pathways underlying CRC metastasis. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between primary CRC tissues and metastatic CRC were identified by analyzing the GSE2509 dataset from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Subsequently, the DEGs were subjected to Gene Ontology (GO) term and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses via the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID). Next, the top ten hub genes were identified in a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Sub-network and pathway enrichment analysis were respectively performed with the plugin MCODE and DAVID. Finally, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays were performed to corroborate the expression levels of the top five potential metastasis-associated genes in the clinical samples of CRC patients. A total of 7,384 DEGs were obtained, among which 3,949 were upregulated and 3,435 were downregulated. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses identified numerous possible biological processes and pathways that may have a role in the metastasis of CRC. The leading ten hub genes, recognized from the PPI, were epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), Has proto-oncogene GTPase (HRas), Wnt family member 5A (Wnt5a), serine/threonine kinase 1 (Akt1), cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (CDKN1a), early growth response 1, Ras homolog family member A, cyclin D1 and Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1. Sub-network analysis disclosed the most prominent three modules. Ultimately, EGFR, HRas and Akt1 were verified to be upregulated DEGs, while Wnt5a and CDKN1a were downregulated DEGs when compared with the primary controls. In conclusion, the present study revealed several key genes and relevant molecular mechanisms that may enhance the current understanding of CRC metastasis, making them significant potential foci for the discovery of further CRC treatments.


Background: Double valve replacement (DVR) is usually done through median sternotomy. However, right anterolateral thoracotomy is an alternative approach. Aim: The aim of this study was to analyze the results of right anterolateral thoracotomy for DVR. Patients and Methods: This was a prospective study conducted on during the period from January 2009 to January 2012. This study consists of 56 patients who had a concomitant mitral and aortic valve disease and were subjected to DVR. Patients were studied according to their age and sex, New York Heart Association (NYHA) class, valve pathology, concomitant procedures, urgent/elective, length of incision, surgical exposure, mean bypass time, operating time, hospital stay, and cosmesis. Results: Majority of the patients were in 3 rd and 4 th decade (61%). Postoperative length of stay was 7-12 days, 70% of patients were discharged by the 7 th day. The average size of incision in males was 7.5 cm and in females the size of incision was 7.25 cm with a mean of 7.3 cm in both genders. Rheumatic heart disease was responsible for 89.28% of cardiac valvular lesions, degenerative disease in 7.14% and endocarditis in 3.5%. Postoperatively at 2 months, there was a statistically significant improvement in the NYHA class with 94% of the survivors in class I-II. There was a statistically significant difference in the outcome in patients having higher ejection fraction as compared to those who had low ejection fraction preoperatively. Thirty days mortality was 1.78%. Over the first 24 postoperative hours, only about 30% of patients were pain free, and this proportion increased to about 50% by day 2, 60% by day 3, 70% by day 4, 75% by day 5 and stabilized. Postoperative length of stay was 7-12 days, 70% of patients were discharged by the 7 th day. Conclusion: DVR via thoracotomy appears to be associated with faster recover, early discharge and reduced use of rehabilitation facilities that translate into a shorter hospital stay and cost. In addition to early benefits of thoracotomy approach, late cosmetic results are also better than conventional sternotomy.


Background: Anaemia is a major public health concern and is one of the most prevalent health issue in women within reproductive age group.
Objective: to assess maternal knowledge related to anaemia during pregnancy.
Type of the study: A cross –sectional study.
Method: The study including 200 mothers who attended selected primary health care centres, Baghdad during November and December 2015, they completed a previously prepared questionnaire coveringsocio-demographic characteristics and knowledge regarding anaemia in 4 main domains. The responses were analysed by using frequency, percentage and percent score for each statement and overall percent score for each domain and mean overallpercent score for all the four domains.
Results: the main source of information of the participated mothers was health personal (59.5%).The overall percent score for the main domains was good 71% for aetiology of disease, excellent 91% for signs and symptoms of anaemia, good 75% for complications of anaemia and very good 75% regarding ways of prevention and treatment.
Conclusion: Satisfactory knowledge level of mothers regarding anaemia during pregnancy.


This study examines the extent to which marketing managers sacrifice strategy for creativity when choosing advertising campaigns. A survey conducted with marketing managers investigated the criteria they apply when choosing between advertising creative suggestions, and the factors that they believe determine advertising campaign success. Criteria for evaluating advertising campaigns were assigned to the three scales of strategy, artistry, and originality with 'artistry' and 'originality' together comprising the 'creativity' component. Success factors related to product uniqueness, competition, the agency-client relationship, media selection, the nature of the market, financial and managerial resources, marketing objectives, message and creativity, and market research: 36 items for the 9 factors. The study confirmed that although marketing managers consider both strategy and creativity important when evaluating advertising campaign suggestions, they value appropriateness over originality. They believe their past successful campaigns were primarily the result of good strategy rather than of superior creativity, and do not admit to having been persuaded to abandon strategy by an agency's winning creative idea. Whilst younger, more educated but less experienced marketing managers are more influenced by superior creative ideas, more experienced marketing managers are less prone to be swayed by these and are more inclined to adhere to agreed strategy.


ABSTRACT Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is the etiologic agent of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL). The HTLV-1 Tax protein has been strongly linked to oncogenesis and is considered to be the transforming protein of this virus. A Tax transgenic mouse model was utilized to study the contribution of p53 inactivation to Tax-mediated tumorigenesis. These mice develop primary, peripheral tumors consisting of large granular lymphocytic (LGL) cells, which also infiltrate the lymph nodes, bone marrow, spleen, liver, and lungs. Primary Tax-induced tumors and tumor-derived cell lines exhibited functional inactivation of the p53 apoptotic pathway; such tumors and tumor cell lines were resistant to an apoptosis-inducing stimulus. In contrast,p53 mutations in tumors were found to be associated with secondary organ infiltration. Three of four identified mutations inhibited transactivation and apoptosis induction activities in vitro. Furthermore, experiments which involved mating Tax transgenic mice with p53-deficient mice demonstrated minimal acceleration in initial tumor formation, but significantly accelerated disease progression and death in mice heterozygous for p53. These studies suggest that functional inactivation of p53 by HTLV-1 Tax, whether by mutation or another mechanism, is not critical for initial tumor formation, but contributes to late-stage tumor progression.


Exploratory factor analysis attempts to identify the underlying factors that explain the pattern of correlations within a set of observed variables. The analysis is almost always performed with Pearson's correlations even when the data are ordinal, but this is not appropriate since they are not quantitative data. The use of Likert scales is increasingly common in the field of social research, so it is necessary to determine which methodology is the most suitable for analysing the data obtained as such data are often analysed using techniques designed for quantitative measures. In this context, and by means of simulation studies, we aim to illustrate the advantages of using Spearman's grade correlation coefficient on a transformation operated by the copula function rather than Pearson correlation to perform exploratory factor analysis of ordinal variables. Moreover, by using the copula, we consider the general dependence structure, providing a more accurate reproduction of the measurement model.


This paper aims to examine the relationship of four critical demographic factors namely Father's occupation, Gender, Experience and Level of education on the entrepreneurial intention of Omani university students. The study uses a structured questionnaire to conduct a survey which is administered to the students of Dhofar University. The data collected are analyzed and it is found that there is a high level of intentions among students to start entrepreneurial ventures. Moreover, demographic factors are found to be influencing the entrepreneurial intention. Among the demographic factors experience is found to have the maximum influence on the entrepreneurial interest. The results suggest a need to provide students with on job training for gaining experience along with their educational programs. As an increase in experience will lead to a higher entrepreneurial intention of students and thus the likely hood of a student becoming an entrepreneur will increase. Furthermore, universities and government should promote entrepreneurship training programs taking into account the Father's occupation, Gender, Experience and Education Levels of students.


The passage of public law 98-21, the Social Security Amendments of 1983, changed the American health care delivery system forever. Hospital reimbursement has been changed from a system of retrospective payments for costs incurred to a system of predetermined fixed payments for care irrespective of costs, based on diagnosis-related groups (DRGs). There are 470 DRGs, 13 of which apply to ophthalmology. Each DRG has a fixed reimbursement rate, and all acute care hospitals now receive that payment for services rendered to each Medicare beneficiary discharged with the same or similar diagnosis. The phase-in of the Prospective Payment System (PPS) began on Oct 1,1983, 1 with reimbursement rates based on historical data from fiscal year (FY) 1981. While hospital-specific rates are presently blended with national rates, only a national rate with adjustments for urban vs rural hospitals will be used in calculating DRG payments when the phase-in is complete (Oct 1,


Abstract Three dimensional (3D) glass fiber epoxy composites reinforced with nano-SiO2 particles at ratios of 0.5 wt.%, 1 wt.%, 2 wt.% and 3 wt.%, were manufactured using the vacuum infusion method to improve the mechanical properties. Differential scanning calorimetry, thermo-gravimetric analysis, particle dispersion detection by color measurement, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy mapping, three point bending and tensile testing were performed to characterize the nano-particle-reinforced 3D composites. Mapping and color measurement revealed good dispersion of the nano-particles. The mechanical tests showed improvement rates of 52 % and 64 % respectively on warp and weft directions compared with the non-reinforced 3D composite. The tensile strength of the nano-SiO2 reinforced 3D woven composites also increased to 6 % and 10 % according to the warp and weft directions compared with the non-reinforced 3D composite.


The spread of epidemics and malware is commonly modeled by diffusion processes on networks. Protective interventions such as vaccinations or installing anti-virus software are used to contain their spread. Typically, each node in the network has to decide its own strategy of securing itself, and its benefit depends on which other nodes are secure, making this a natural game-theoretic setting. There has been a lot of work on network security game models, but most of the focus has been either on simplified epidemic models or homogeneous network structure. We develop a new formulation for an epidemic containment game, which relies on the characterization of the SIS model in terms of the spectral radius of the network. We show in this model that pure Nash equilibria (NE) always exist, and can be found by a best response strategy. We analyze the complexity of finding NE, and derive rigorous bounds on their costs and the Price of Anarchy or PoA (the ratio of the cost of the worst NE to the optimum social cost) in general graphs as well as in random graph models. In particular, for arbitrary power-law graphs with exponent $\beta>2$, we show that the PoA is bounded by $O(T^{2(\beta-1)})$, where $T=\gamma/\alpha$ is the ratio of the recovery rate to the transmission rate in the SIS model. We prove that this bound is tight up to a constant factor for the Chung-Lu random power-law graph model. We study the characteristics of Nash equilibria empirically in different real communication and infrastructure networks, and find that our analytical results can help explain some of the empirical observations.


Abstract:
 Efficient in situ and ex situ conservation strategies are urgently needed in biodiversity hotspots, where high concentrations of endemic plant species are undergoing exceptional loss of habitat. In particular, determining seed desiccation sensitivity is a key prerequisite to design storage methods useful for ex situ programs. In this study, we explored seed desiccation sensitivity and its link with phenological and morphological traits as well as with the environmental variables for 45 New Caledonian plant species. Desiccation sensitivity was quantified through RH50, that is, the relative humidity at which 50% of initial viable seeds died. RH50 was found to be positively associated with the initial seed water content, seed mass, precipitation seasonality, precipitation of the warmest quarter, and presence in rainforest habitats. In contrast, the ability of species to endure desiccation increased in drier habitats such as dry forest. We also found that desiccation sensitivity was consistent at the genus level. These new data provide the basis to establish conservation plans for a large array of plant species in New Caledonia. Moreover, this study may help us to better understand the underlying mechanisms of desiccation sensitivity and to predict desiccation sensitivity of other taxa within the New Caledonian flora on the basis of taxonomy, functional traits and environmental features.


The II-VI compound semiconductor cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) is very useful for room temperature radiation detection applications. In the present research, we have successfully grown Bi doped CZT single crystals with two different zinc concentrations (8 and 14 at. %) by the Bridgman oscillation method, in which one experiment has been carried out with a platinum (Pt) tube as the ampoule support. Pt also acts as a cold finger and reduces the growth velocity and enhances crystalline perfection. The grown single crystals have been studied with different analysis methods. The stoichiometry was confirmed by energy dispersive by x-ray and inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy analyses and it was found there is no incorporation of impurities in the grown crystal. The presence of Cd and Te vacancies was determined by cathodoluminescence studies. Electrical properties were assessed by I-V analysis and indicated higher resistive value (8.53×108 Ω cm) for the crystal grown with higher zinc concentration (wit...


The aim of this study is to describe ideas put forward by Sweden Democrats (Swedish: Sverigedemokraterna) about Christianity in Sweden and the Church of Sweden as a Folk Church, a church for a whole people, and how the political party uses Christianity as a part of constructing a Swedish identity. The investigation is based on official documents, newspaper articles, statements and political motions which are analysed using a form of text analysis called idea analysis. The theoretical frame of the investigation is founded on Claire Mitchell's theory about religious content in ethnic identities and Einar Billing's and Johan Alfred Eklund's thoughts about what makes the Church of Sweden a Folk Church.The investigation shows, among other things, that the Sweden Democrats' view of the Church of Sweden is similar to the thoughts of Eklund but they differ in their lack of references to theology. The investigation also shows that Christianity serves as an important marker for the Sweden Democrats in creating a Swedish identity.


The chemokine CCL3 is a chemotactic cytokine crucial for inflammatory cell recruitment in homeostatic and pathological conditions. CCL3 might stimulate cancer progression by promoting leukocyte accumulation, angiogenesis and tumour growth. The expression of CCL3 and its receptors CCR1 and CCR5 was demonstrated in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), but their role was not defined. Here, the functions of CCL3 were assessed using a model of chemically induced tongue carcinogenesis with 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4NQO). Lineages of OSCC were used to analyse the effects of CCL3 in vitro. The 4NQO-induced lesions exhibited increased expression of CCL3, CCR1 and CCR5. CCL3-/- and CCR5-/- mice presented reduced incidence of tongue tumours compared to wild-type (WT) and CCR1-/- mice. Consistently, attenuated cytomorphological atypia and reduced cell proliferation were observed in lesions of CCL3-/- and CCR5-/- mice. OSCC from CCL3-/- mice exhibited lower infiltration of eosinophils and reduced expression of Egf, Fgf1, Tgf-β1, Vegfa, Vegfb, Itga-4, Vtn, Mmp-1a, Mmp-2 and Mmp-9 than WT mice. In vitro, CCL3 induced invasion and production of CCL5, IL-6, MMP -2, -8, -9. Blockage of CCL3 in vitro using α-CCL3 or Evasin-1 (a CCL3-binding protein) impaired tumour cell invasion. In conclusion, CCL3/CCR5 axis has pro-tumourigenic effects in oral carcinogenesis. The induction of inflammatory and angiogenic pathways and eosinophils recruitment appear to be the underlying mechanism explaining these effects. These data reveal potential protective effects of CCL3 blockade in oral cancer.


Emerging applications (e.g. electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, more electric aircrafts, etc.) have brought more stringent reliability constrains into power electronic products because of safety requirements and maintenance cost issues. To improve the reliability of power electronics, better understanding of failure modes and failure mechanisms of reliability–critical components in power electronic circuits are needed. Many efforts have been devoted to the reduction of IGBT failures, while the study on the failures of freewheeling diodes is less impressive. It is of importance to investigate the catastrophic failures of freewheeling diodes as they could induce the malfunction of other components and eventually the whole power electronic circuits. This paper presents an overview of those catastrophic failures and gives examples of the corresponding consequences to the circuits. 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


This investigation was carried out by the aerodynamic staff of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics for the purpose of studying experimentally the longitudinal dynamic stability of airplanes in flight. The airplanes selected for this purpose were a standard rigged VE-7 advanced-training airplane and a JN4H with special tail surfaces. The airplanes were caused to oscillate by means of the elevator, then the longitudinal control was either locked or kept free while the oscillation died out. The magnitude of the oscillation was recorded either by a kymograph or an airspeed meter. The results show that the engine speed has as much effect on the period and damping as the airspeed, and that, contrary to theory as developed for small oscillations, the damping decreased at the higher airspeeds with closed throttle.


Abstract Ecosystem approaches recognize the complexity of many contemporary public health challenges and offer an alternative for dealing with problems that have proven intractable and unresponsive to conventional public health strategies. Infectious disease outbreaks are among the most dramatic aspects of systems failure, and the Canadian cases of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in Toronto, and the E. coli outbreak in Walkerton, serve as useful illustrative examples. This paper examines some of the limitations of current public health approaches, the fundamental tenets of an alternative, transdisciplinary ecosystem approach, and changes necessary for implementation, including those in philosophical approach, communications and education, and, finally, institutions and governance.


Introduction: Preanesthesia assessment of patients is a major component of the perioperative care of surgical patients. The benefits of outpatient preoperative assessment clinics (PAC) were recognized over 67 years ago. However, these clinics are not used in Nigeria as part of surgical care. Search of the literature did not reveal any hospital in Nigeria that operates PAC, and therefore, its implementation in this country is still in process. This may not be unconnected with scarce financial, material, and human resources. Materials and Methods: This study was a questionnaire survey of the views of anesthetists, surgeons, and hospital administrators in some Nigerian Federal Teaching Hospitals on the usefulness and limitations of PAC. Structured questionnaires were sent to surgeons, anesthetists and Chairmen, Medical Advisory Committees in the selected Hospitalsand the results were analyzed. Results: Respondents indicated the benefits of preanesthesia assessment clinics as decrease in the incidence of surgery delays and cancelations, shorter lengths of hospital stay, improvement in the logistics of preoperative preparation, improved patient knowledge of anesthesia, and preoperative care as well as the role of the anesthetist in surgical care. Limiting factors to successful preanesthesia clinics were lack of cooperation from anesthetists and surgeons, other medical specialists, lack of supporting staff, finance, and appropriate office space. Conclusions: Preanesthesia assessment clinic increases the overall efficiency of the period of stay of the surgical patient in the hospital. Its benefits outweigh its disadvantages, and its successful implementation requires effort, time, money, and close collaboration with hospital administrators.


This thesis proposes a systematic framework to select and assess the sustainability of carbon capture and utilisation technologies for a specific region. Using the Australian economy as a case study, it quantifies the benefits of producing ethanol by using electrochemistry and CO2 from the atmosphere. The framework proves to be useful at identifying the main areas of focus when using an early-stage technology, uncovering the non-evident benefits of carbon capture and utilisation and promoting its widespread use as a carbon mitigation mechanism to tackle climate change.


We introduce the Scheduling.jl Julia package, which is intended for collaboratively conducting scheduling research and for sharing implementations of algorithms. It provides the fundamental building blocks for implementing scheduling algorithms following the three-field notation of Graham et al., i.e., it has functionality to describe machine environments, job characteristics, and optimality criteria. Our goal is to foster algorithm and code sharing in the scheduling community. Scheduling.jl can also be used to support teaching scheduling theory in classes. We will show the main functionalities of Scheduling.jl and give an example on how to use it by comparing different algorithms for the problem of P||Cmax .


Multicriteria decision support methods are common in engineering design. These methods typically rely on a summation of weighted attributes to accomplish trade-offs among competing objectives. It has long been known that a weighted sum, when used for multicriteria optimization, may fail to locate all points on a nonconvex Pareto frontier. More recent results from the optimization literature relate the curvature of an objective function to its ability to capture Pareto points, but do not consider the significance of the objective function parameters in choosing one Pareto point over another. A parametrized family of aggregations appropriate for engineering design is shown to model decisions capturing all possible trade-offs, and therefore can direct the solution to any Pareto optimum. This paper gives a mathematical and theoretical interpretation of the parameters of this family of aggregations as defining a degree of compensation among criteria as well as a measure of their relative importance. The inability to reach all Pareto optima is shown to be surmounted by this consideration of degree of compensation as an additional parameter of the decision. Additionally, the direct specification of importance weights is common to many decision methods. The choice of a single point from a Pareto frontier by specifying importance weights alone is shown to depend on the degree of compensation implicit in the aggregation. Thus both the degree of compensation and weights must be considered to capture all potentially acceptable decisions. A simple truss design example is used here to illustrate the concepts.


In many authors have claimed that the combination of tubal sterilization and induced abortion carries too high a morbidity and that the two operations should preferrably be performed separately. As this standpoint has serious practical consequences for many women undergoing abortion, a review of the literature was undertaken to see whether there are any data supporting it. No direct comparison of the morbidity accompanying the combined procedure and the total morbidity from the two procedures performed with an interval could be found. Indirect evidence suggests that the effect of an interval between the operations-if any-is negligible compared with the influence upon morbidity offactors such as methods of sterilization and abortion, health status, and age. To gain direct information on the problem, a multicentre study has been designed by the Task Force on Sequelae and Complications of Induced Abortion. The outlines of this study are briefly described.


The allegedly unconventional superconducting phase of magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG) has been predicted to possess extraordinary thermal properties, as it is formed from a highly diluted electron ensemble with a record-low carrier density (n) of ∼1011 cm-2 and electronic heat capacity (Ce) of <100kB. While these attributes position MATBG as a ground-breaking material platform for revolutionary calorimetric applications, these properties have so far not been experimentally shown. Here, we reveal the thermal properties of superconducting MATBG by monitoring its temperature dependent critical current (Ic) under continuous laser heating at 1550 nm. From the bolometric effect, we extract the temperature dependence of the electronic thermal conductance (Gth), which has a value of Gth = 0.2 pW/K at 35 mK and in the low temperature limit is consistent with a power law dependence, as expected for nodal superconductors. Our work lays the foundation for future thermal transport studies on this system.


We study Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state of superconductors with and without inversion symmetry based on the Hubbard model on the square lattice near half-filling, using the random phase approximation. We show that center of mass momentum Q tends to be parallel to xor y-axis in the presence of inversion symmetry, while Q vector is likely to be perpendicular to the magnetic field in the absence of inversion symmetry. We also clarify that d + f -wave pairing is favored and the hetero spin triplet f -wave state is present in the FFLO state unlike state in the superconductors only with the Rashba type spin-orbit coupling (RSOC) originating from the broken inversion symmetry. The triplet f -wave state is enhanced by magnetic field and the RSOC. This stems from the reduction of the spin susceptibilities by the magnetic field and the RSOC.


Cloud platforms host several independent applications on a shared resource pool with the ability to allocate computing power to applications on a per-demand basis. The use of server virtualization techniques for such platforms provide great flexibility with the ability to consolidate several virtual machines on the same physical server, to resize a virtual machine capacity and to migrate virtual machine across physical servers. A key challenge for cloud providers is to automate the management of virtual servers while taking into account both high-level QoS requirements of hosted applications and resource management costs. This paper proposes an autonomic resource manager to control the virtualized environment which decouples the provisioning of resources from the dynamic placement of virtual machines. This manager aims to optimize a global utility function which integrates both the degree of SLA fulfillment and the operating costs. We resort to a Constraint Programming approach to formulate and solve the optimization problem. Results obtained through simulations validate our approach.


An individual's traits do not necessarily remain at a fixed strength throughout their lifespan. Consequently, contemporary psychologists debate the extent to which personality changes over time. Focusing on contemporary literature, this essay uses trait consistency to address personality changes and is divided into four comprehensive definitions of personality continuity or change: rank order consistency, mean level change, individual level change, and ipsative stability. Both rank order consistency and mean level change, appeared to consistently increase and develop in relation to the population across the adult lifespan. Both the magnitude of individual level change and ipsative stability exhibited predictable consistency in relation to maturity development rather than age.


- In this paper we will show how an automated modal CDC analysis can be used to exhaustively verify CDC issues in all test and operational modes of a large SoC with multiple IPs. Modal CDC analysis configures the design as a set of operational modes and runs CDC analysis on each modal version of the design. Before the modal analysis flow was adopted, users would have to manually setup CDC analysis runs for each of the parameter sets corresponding to each DUT mode. The main benefit of this new approach has come from the automatic consolidation of all the results from each mode, making issues very easy to interpret and debug. Now it only takes us a few hours to review results and begin to take corrective action, vs. days and weeks with the prior, manual approach.


The minimum description length (MDL) criterion for model selection has been successfully applied to the problem of estimating the number of sources in noise. We show that by employing an order statistics approach in the existing solution, a new processor with uniformly improved performance is constructed at the cost of greater complexity. We prove that the resulting MDL-based processor is consistent. Results of simulations of practical scenarios of interest demonstrate how significant the performance improvement can be.


Introduction Smoking prevalence is high among men in China. One result is that a large number of nonsmoking Chinese women may be exposed daily to secondhand smoke (SHS). Exposure is particularly problematic for pregnant women because of potential adverse reproductive effects. To determine the extent of this exposure and to summarize existing intervention studies designed to reduce SHS exposure in China, a systematic review of the literature published from 1995 through 2012 was conducted. Methods We searched the PubMed and Wanfang databases for studies published from 1995 through 2012 using various search terms including SHS, pregnant women, and China. Only articles on prevalence of SHS exposure and interventions to reduce exposure to SHS were selected. Results We identified 132 studies during the initial searches. Eight of 13 eligible studies reported the prevalence of SHS exposure among pregnant women; estimates ranged from 38.9% to 75.1%. Few SHS prevention interventions among pregnant women in China have been studied; we found only 5 such studies. The interventions primarily focused on changing husbands' smoking behaviors; some interventions focused on women's avoidance behaviors. Conclusion Prevalence of exposure to SHS among pregnant women is high in China. Information is limited on effective interventions to protect pregnant women from exposure. The results of this review can provide the basis for the design and evaluation of interventions to help pregnant women avoid SHS exposure.


The process of heat exchange between two fluids that are at different temperatures and separated by a solid wall occurs in many engineering applications. The device used to implement this exchange is termed a heat exchanger (HE), and specific applications may be found in space heating and air-conditioning, power generation, waste heat recovery, and chemical processing. Increasing heat transfer coefficient and making heat exchanger compact for various applications like in spacecraft, underwater vehicle, unmanned Ariel vehicle is one of the main challenges. Biologically-inspired design (or BID) has become an important and increasingly wide-spread movement in design for environmentally-conscious sustainable development. By definition, BID is based on cross-domain analogies; further, biologically-inspired approaches to design have a certain degree of openness to innovation. Compact heat exchanger can reduce the space and weight of any locomotives and spacecraft. Structural elements inspired from nature possess compactness and stability. Honeycomb structure allows minimize the spacing between cells which makes it possible to use thinnest possible metal boundary wall between two fluids. A rectangle structure can also do the same thing but it has less surface area, which will essentially decrease the volume of heat exchanger. Honeycomb structure provides high surface area to volume ratio which can be utilized to increase heat transfer coefficient of a heat exchanger and thus make compact system.In this computational study, bio-inspired simple honeycomb structured and spiral finned honeycomb structured counter flow heat exchanger has been three dimensionally simulated using finite element methods in commercial software COMSOL. This work is used to reduce the weight of heat exchangers in steam reforming reactors. There is a good correlation when the fluid temperature is the same in all cells. There is also a good temperature gradient in the fluid owing to laminar flow. 3D modeling showed that a careful representation of the inlet is needed for realistic results. A tube-shell heat exchanger is also simulated using FEA in COMSOL. Spiral finned heat exchanger provides additional surface area in cost of pressure drop. The performance characteristics of honeycomb heat exchanger showed an increase in heat transfer rate with least vortex formation.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


[1] The study of past climate variability from ice core investigations has been largely developed both in polar areas over the past decades and, more recently, in tropical regions, specifically along the South American Andes between 0° and 20°S. However a large gap still remains at mid-latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere. In this framework, a 15.3-m long shallow firn core has been extracted in March 2005 from the summit plateau of Monte San Valentin (3747 m, 46°35′S, 73°19′W) in the Northern Patagonia Icefield to test its potential for paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental reconstructions. The firn temperature is −11.9°C at 10-m depth allowing to expect well preserved both chemical and isotopic signals, unperturbed by water percolation. The dating of the core, on the basis of a multi-proxy approach combining annual layer counting and radionuclide measurements, shows that past environment and climate can be reconstructed back to the mid-1960s. A mean annual snow accumulation rate of 36 ± 3 cm year−1 (i.e., 19 ± 2 g cm−2 year−1) is inferred, with a snow density varying between 0.35 and 0.6 g cm−3, which is much lower than accumulation rates previously reported in Patagonia at lower elevations. Here, we present and discuss high-resolution profiles of the isotopic composition of the snow and selected chemical markers. These data provide original information on environmental conditions prevailing over Southern Patagonia in terms of air masses trajectories and origins and biogeochemical reservoirs. Our main conclusion is that the San Valentin site is not only influenced by air masses originating from the southern Pacific and directly transported by the prevailing west winds but also by inputs from South American continental sources from the E–NE, sometimes mixed with circumpolar aged air masses, the relative influence of these two very distinct source areas changing at the interannual timescale. Thus this site should offer a wealth of information regarding (South) Pacific, Argentinian NE–E areas and Antarctic climate variability.


Context. The four persistent radio sources in the northern sky with the highest flux density at metre wavelengths are Cassiopeia A, Cygnus A, Taurus A, and Virgo A; collectively they are called the A-team. Their flux densities at ultra-low frequencies (< 100 MHz) can reach several thousands of janskys, and they often contaminate observations of the low-frequency sky by interfering with image processing. Furthermore, these sources are foreground objects for all-sky observations hampering the study of faint signals, such as the cosmological 21 cm line from the epoch of reionisation.
Aims. We aim to produce robust models for the surface brightness emission as a function of frequency for the A-team sources at ultra-low frequencies. These models are needed for the calibration and imaging of wide-area surveys of the sky with low-frequency interferometers. This requires obtaining images at an angular resolution better than 15″ with a high dynamic range and good image fidelity.
Methods. We observed the A-team with the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) at frequencies between 30 MHz and 77 MHz using the Low Band Antenna system. We reduced the datasets and obtained an image for each A-team source.
Results. The paper presents the best models to date for the sources Cassiopeia A, Cygnus A, Taurus A, and Virgo A between 30 MHz and 77 MHz. We were able to obtain the aimed resolution and dynamic range in all cases. Owing to its compactness and complexity, observations with the long baselines of the International LOFAR Telescope will be required to improve the source model for Cygnus A further.


OBJECTIVES
Adverse drug events are the sixth-leading cause of death in Western countries and are also more frequent in emergency departments (EDs). In some hospitals or on some occasions, ED physicians prescribe for patients who they have admitted. These prescriptions are then followed by the wards and can persist for several days. Our objectives were to determine the frequency of prescription errors for patients over 18years old hospitalized from ED to medical or surgical wards, and whether there exists a relationship between those prescription errors and ED LOS.

METHODS
This was a single center retrospective study that was conduct in the ED of a university hospital with an annual census of 65 000 patients. The population studied consisted of patients over 18years old hospitalized from ED to medical or surgical wards between January 1st, 2012 and January 21st, 2012.

RESULTS
Six hundred eight patients were included. One hundred fifty-four (25%) patients had prescription errors. Prescription errors were associated with increased ED length of stay (OR=2.47; 95% CIs [1.58; 3.92]) and polypharmacy (OR=1.78; 95% CIs [1.20; 2.66]). Fewer prescription errors were found when the patient was examined in the ED by a consultant (OR=0.61; 95% CIs [0.41; 0.91]) and when the medical history was known (OR=0.28; 95% CIs [0.10; 0.88]).

CONCLUSION
Prescription errors occurred frequently in the ED. We assume that a clear communication and cooperation between EPs and consultants may help improve prescription accuracy.


Index coding has received considerable attention recently motivated in part by applications such as fast video-on-demand and efficient communication in wireless networks and in part by its connection to network coding. Optimal encoding schemes and efficient heuristics were studied in various settings, while also leading to new results for network coding such as improved gaps between linear and non-linear capacity as well as hardness of approximation. The problem of broadcasting with side information, a generalization of the index coding problem, begins with a sender and sets of users and messages. Each user possesses a subset of the messages and desires an additional message from the set. The sender wishes to broadcast a message so that on receipt of the broadcast each user can compute her desired message. The fundamental parameter of interest is the broadcast rate, β, the average communication cost for sufficiently long broadcasts. Though there have been many new nontrivial bounds on β by Bar-Yossef (2006), Lubetzky and Stav (2007), Alon (2008), and Blasiak (2011) there was no known polynomial-time algorithm for approximating β within a nontrivial factor, and the exact value of β remained unknown for all nontrivial instances. Using the information theoretic linear program introduced in Blasiak (2011), we give a polynomial-time algorithm for recognizing instances with β = 2 and pinpoint β precisely for various classes of graphs (e.g., various Cayley graphs of cyclic groups). Further, extending ideas from Ramsey theory, we give a polynomial-time algorithm with a nontrivial approximation ratio for computing β. Finally, we provide insight into the quality of previous bounds by giving constructions showing separations between β and the respective bounds. In particular, we construct graphs where β is uniformly bounded while its upper bound derived from the naïve encoding scheme is polynomially worse.


For a considerable number of years, mother tongue (MT) use has been ostracized in English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms as a form of poor teaching that negatively affects target language (TL) acquisition (McMillan and Rivers, 2011). However, research on the potential disadvantages of teaching approaches that integrate MT use is inconclusive, as is research on the positive effects of an all-TL learning environment (Hall and Cook, 2012). Thus, EFL teachers who share the same language with their students are often left wondering to what extent and in what contexts they should employ TL and MT. Unlike the curricula of other countries, where policy makers often suggest the maximal use of TL, the Norwegian curriculum for the subject of English does not contain any direct statements prescribing English as the sole language of instruction. The present study investigated the perceptions of Norwegian primary school teachers in different grades regarding their TL use when teaching EFL using an online survey. Specifically, the project addressed the following research questions: (1) How often do teachers use English in the EFL classroom? (2) In what situations and for what purposes do teachers use the TL? (3) Is there a correlation between years of teaching experience and the amount of TL use in the classroom? (4) Do teachers who have college credits in English employ the TL to a larger extent than the teachers who do not? The participants' self-reports suggest that while the TL is used up to 50% of the time, its use varied from giving instructions and stating objectives to giving praise and criticism. This implies that Norwegian teachers may employ the TL to a lesser extent than the existing literature suggests (Macaro, 2005). However, no correlation was found between the amount of TL used and teachers' expertise in and experience teaching the TL. To caution against an overdependence on MT, the article concludes by reiterating the need to develop and define systematic practices of MT use that facilitate foreign language acquisition and by calling for future research to shed light on bilingual or multilingual approaches in foreign language teaching.


Background. Surgical noxious stimuli generate a stress response with an increased sympathetic activity, potentially affecting the perioperative outcome. Surgical Pleth Index (SPI), derived from the pulse plethysmogram, has been proposed as a tool to assess nociception-antinociception balance. The relationship between SPI and autonomic nervous system (ANS) during general anesthesia is poorly understood and it is doubtful if SPI-guided analgesia may offer advantages over the standard clinical practice. The study was designed to evaluate if SPI-guided analgesia leads to a lower sympathetic modulation compared with standard clinical practice. Methods. Electrocardiographic wave, non-invasive blood pressure and SPI were recorded in ASA I-II patients undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy, randomized to receive SPI-guided analgesia or standard analgesia. Hemodynamic parameters, SPI, mean and variance of heart rate, low (LF) and high frequency (HF) spectral components of heart rate variability were measured at four time points: (T0) baseline, (T1) after induction of general anesthesia, (T2) after pneumoperitoneum insufflation and (T3) after pneumoperitoneum withdrawal. Results. SPI, hemodynamic and ANS parameters changed significantly in both groups during the study period (P<0.0001). At T2 SPI and markers of sympathetic modulation were significantly lower in SPI group (mean [SD] SPI 38.1 [15.3] vs. 48.1 [16.2] normalized units, P<0.05; LF 38 [8.6] vs. 56.2 [20.6] normalized units, P<0.01; LF/ HF 1.01 [1.1] vs. 2.68 [2.07], P<0.01). There was no difference in remifentanil consumption, recovery time from anesthesia, or postoperative pain and complications. Conclusion. SPI-guided analgesia led to a more stable sympathetic modulation but didn't seem to offer clinically relevant advantages over the standard clinical practice for laparoscopic cholecystectomy. (Minerva Anestesiol 2015;81:837-45)


This empirical study consists of two parts. The first part of the study examines the cultural characteristics and dimensions of entrepreneurs and factory workers in transition economies during the early transition period to determine if their cultural values were similar to those found in other nations. The second part of the study compares the differences in Hofstede's cultural dimension scores between entrepreneurs and workers in market economies. It might seem extraordinary that after more than 70 years of a centralized nonentrepreneurial society that all of the communist nations that the current authors studied had essentially the same cultural differences among entrepreneurs that were found in capitalist nations with a long history of entrepreneurial activity.


Microgrids are seen as an effective way to achieve reliable, resilient, and efficient operation of the power distribution system. Core functions of the microgrid control system are defined by the IEEE Standard 2030.7; however, the algorithms that realize these functions are not standardized, and are a topic of research. Furthermore, the corresponding controller hardware, operating system, and communication system to implement these functions vary significantly from one implementation to the next. In this article, we introduce an open-source platform, resilient information architecture platform for the smart grid (RIAPS), ideally suited for implementing and deploying distributed microgrid control algorithms. RIAPS provides a design-time tool suite for development and deployment of distributed microgrid control algorithms. With support from a number of run-time platform services, developed algorithms can be easily implemented and deployed into real microgrids. To demonstrate the unique features of RIAPS, we propose and implement a distributed microgrid secondary control algorithm capable of synchronized and proportional compensation of voltage unbalance using distributed generators. Test results show the effectiveness of the proposed control and the salient features of the RIAPS platform.


Employing smart Monte Carlo sampling techniques within the grand canonical ensemble, we investigate the properties of water at a model hydrophobic substrate. By reducing the strength of substrate-water attraction, we find that fluctuations in the local number density, quantified by a rigorous definition of the local compressibility χ(z), increase rapidly for distances z within one or two molecular diameters from the substrate as the degree of hydrophobicity, measured by the macroscopic contact angle θ, increases. Our simulations provide evidence for a continuous (critical) drying transition as the substrate-water interaction becomes very weak: cos(θ)→-1. We speculate that the existence of such a transition might account for earlier simulation observations of strongly enhanced density fluctuations.


Assay on ability of endophytic bacteria isolated from peanut to inhibit Sclerotium sp. growth in peanut seedlings.   A study on assay of ability of endophytic bacteria to inhibit Sclerotium sp. in peanut seedling has been done. The bacteria were isolated from peanut healthy plants, while Sclerotium sp. was isolated from infected peanaut plant. Antagonistic assay was conducted by dual culture method.  In vivo assay of inhibiting Sclerotium sp. was conducted by dipping peanut seed in bacterial solution, and planting the seed in soil:compost (3:1) growing media. Six endophytic bacterial isolates showed to inhibit the growth of Sclerotium sp. in vitro. LN1 seemed to inhibit more of Sclerotium sp., while LN5 showed to inhibit less. Two potential isolates LN1 of gram-negative and LN2 of gram-positive using for further study showed to decrease more of dumping off. It also seemed that the isolates increased the seedling height, number of leaves, and dry weight.


Wheat hardness by near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy: New insights by Marena Manley The determination of wheat hardness by the evaluation of whole wheat grain would be of considerable value to the UK Milling Industry. Until now, accurate whole wheat grain hardness predictions by NlR spectroscopy have only been reported for North American wheats. By the evaluation of selected samples of UK and North American wheats this study showed that the prediction of whole wheat grain hardness by NTR spectroscopy depends only on the scattering properties of the sample and that there is no direct relationship with chemical composition. The scattering effect, in case of whole wheat grain reflectance and transmittance spectra, was found not to be multiplicative as in the case of ground wheat grain spectra. Empirical NIR spectroscopy calibrations are often performed without knowing what is measured or understanding the basis of the measurement. In other words the NIR spectrophotometer is often used as a "black box". Empirical calibrations were performed using three different software packages i.e. lnfrasoft International (ISI) Software, NIRSystems Spectral Analysis Software (NSAS) and UNSCRAMBLER. Successful NIR spectroscopy hardness measurements on ground wheat are based on light scattering. Separating the scattering effect from whole wheat grain spectra mathematically allowed predictions not significantly different to empirical calibrations, with the benefit of a theoretical explanation and fewer terms used. Although hardness predictions for whole wheat grain were not as accurate as in the case of ground wheat grain, it did prove to predict hardness with an acceptable accuracy with practical use as screening methods for grain trading. This study did not completely solve the problem of predicting whole wheat grain hardness by NIR spectroscopy, but new insights were provided which would hopefully encourage further work in this area and lead to a more complete fundamental understanding of the properties of whole wheat grain hardness using NIR spectroscopy.


This paper considers the kinds of AI systems we want involved in art and art practice. We explore this relationship from three perspectives: as artists interested in expanding and developing our own creative practice; as AI researchers interested in building new AI systems that contribute to the understanding and development of art and art practice; and as audience members interested in experiencing art. We examine the nature of both art practice and experiencing art to ask how AI can contribute. To do so, we review the history of work in intelligent agents which broadly speaking sits in two camps: autonomous agents (systems that can exhibit intelligent behaviour independently) in one, and multi-agent systems (systems which interact with other systems in communities of agents) in the other. In this context we consider the nature of the relationship between AI and Art and introduce two opposing concepts: that of "Heroic AI", to describe the situation where the software takes on the role of the lone creative hero and "Collabora-tive AI" where the system supports, challenges and provokes the creative activity of humans. We then set out what we believe are the main challenges for AI research in understanding its potential relationship to art and art practice.


In our paper we analyze the data base obtained from the observations of the Italian Seismological Network from 1975 to 1994 by using a simple algotithm to determine the rate of occurrence of seismic events condi- tioned by the occurrence of previous events after a period of quiescence. The number of observed pairs of earthquakes depends on several parameters: the magnitude threshold of the two events, the spatial and tempo- ral ranges of the quiescence period preceding the first (non aftershock) event, the time elapsed between the first and the second events and the spatial dimension of the alarm area. The Akaike information criterion was adopted to assess the optimal set of space-time parameters used in the definition of non-aftershock (events not related to a stronger previous one). In Central Italy, the rate of M ³3.8 earthquakes preceded by at least one M ~ 3.3 foreshock within 14.1 km and 2 days is 30%, while the rate of M ~ 3.3 earthquakes followed by a M ~ 3.8 mainshock in the same space time range is 7%. We observed that the probability that an earthquake of magnitude MI will be followed by an earthquake of magnitude M2 (success rate) fits the law log A = a+b (Mi -M2) with b approximately equal to l. By computing the success rate for given values of magnitude threshold of the first and the second events over a dense grid of spatial coordinates, we obtained maps of this feature over the investigated area. The results of this process document variations larger than a factor of five in the success rate over the Italian territory.


ABSTRACT This article traces the reception of a "science comic book" by various audiences including readers and reviewers after publication as well as grant application review committees vetting the proposed project in its conceptual stage. Specifically, the work is a biology textbook containing comics-style visual explanations couched in the form of an imaginative story interwoven with and supplementing traditional text-based explanations of the same ideas. The analysis uses Genette's concept of "paratexts" (i.e., a class of speech genres comprising those supplementary texts that contextualize and inform readers' interpretations of the primary text that they accompany) to examine the rhetoric of the visual in the discourse of science education. This analysis observes that the stigmatization of comics as a medium played some role in how readers, critics, and reviewers responded to the text. The implications of this stigma for cultural conceptions of science and their relationships to other knowledge domains, including the arts and humanities, raise a concern for the mediation of public impressions of science as an institution.


The interaction of myelin basic protein with Nickel ions was studied by Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC) at in tris buffer, pH=7. The enthalpies of MBP+Ni2+interaction are reported and analysed in term of the new solvation theory. It was found that MBP has three identical and cooperative binding sites for Ni2+ions. The dissociation equilibrium constant and the molar enthalpy of binding are 75.015 µM, -14.815 kJmol-1. The binding parameters recovered from the new equation, attributed to the structural change of MBP and its biological activity due to metal ion interaction. The binding of nickel ions cause some changes in stability of MBP at low and high Ni2+concentrations.


The primary aim of occupational health staff within a manufacturing company is to ensure the health and well being of the employees are safeguarded. The aim may be difficult to achieve as it goes directly against the ethos of business, i.e. making money. It is the researcher's experience that company owners, especially Far Eastern owners, are disinclined to introduce health and safety measures that cost money. The study is conducted in an electronic company (Company X) in the northeast of England, owned by foreign nationals. Retrospective examination of accident, sickness and absenteeism records reveal that work-related upper limb disorder (WRULD) is apparent and upper limb discomfort is a significant problem in Соmpany X. Research shows that the principle of job rotation tends to reduce fatigue and the incidence of WRULD, consequently sickness and absenteeism and labour turnover will also be reduced. In Company X physiological stress to the limb is highly relevant to the production line workers, based on case studies of employees with work-related upper limb disorder. This led to conducting a study of two sites building different electrical equipment. 80 employees participated in the study which involved monitoring the employees on six paced production lines in the Personal Computer Monitor factory PCM which included seven teams and employees in five teams on four production lines in the Microwave Oven Factory. A semi paced line, the Bent Tool Machine BTM in MWO were also involved in the job rotation experiment. Discomfort scale measurements were administered to all that took part and an extra objective measurement of grip strength was provided by the employees in the BTM to provide information on fatigue. A comparison between grip strength and discomfort was analysed for any con-elation. The main data collection took place between September and December 2000.There is some evidence that the differences in discomfort is caused by job rotation as where job rotation was taking place the employees in the study had lower levels of discomfort than those on non- rotational duties. In the CDT prep job PCM where job rotation was taking place a comparison between job rotation and the non-rotation group with regard to discomfort in body parts differed (Fisher's exact test, p=0.05).The job action analysis that was designed specifically for the production line environment allowed comparisons of upper limb score for different jobs. It would appear that regular job analysis should be introduced as a matter of practice in Company X in the future. The study demonstrated the importance of prevention and innovation ergonomics and there was evidence to suggest that the occupational health department should adopt an active role in the future for the benefit of the employees and the financial survival of the Company.


We propose a family of tests, based on Randies' (1989) concept of inter-directions and the ranks of pseudo-Mahalanobis distances computed with respect to a multivariate M-estimator of scatter due to Tyler (1987), for the multivariate one-sample problem under elliptical symmetry. These tests, which generalize the univariate signed-rank tests, are affine-invariant. Depending on the score function considered (van der Waerden, Laplace, . . .), they allow for locally asymptotically maximin tests at selected densities (multivariate normal, multivariate double-exponential, . . .). Local powers and asymptotic relative efficiencies are derived - with respect to Hotelling's test, Randies' (1989) multivariate sign test, Peters and Randies' (1990) Wilcoxon-type test, and with respect to the Oja median tests. We, moreover, extend to the multivariate setting two famous univariate results: the traditional Chemoff-Savage (1958) property, showing that Hotelling's traditional procedure is uniformly dominated, in the Pitman sense, by the van der Waerden version of our tests, and the celebrated Hodges-Lehmann (1956) ".864 result," providing, for any fixed space dimension k, the lower bound for the asymptotic relative efficiency of Wilcoxon-type tests with respect to Hotelling's. These asymptotic results are confirmed by a Monte Carlo investigation, and application to a real data set.


Background: The widespread of chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Kenya lead to the official withdrawal of chloroquine (CQ) drug by the Government as a first-line treatment of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in 1999. This study aimed to investigate CQ resistant in Kenya after its withdrawal. Methods: Blood samples were collected on 3M Whatman from patients infected with P. falciparum from Chulaimbo Sub-District Hospital. DNA was extracted using Chelex method for Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of pfcrt and pfmdr-1 genes. PCR--restrictive fragment length polymorphism was performed using enzymes Apol1 and Afl3 targeting point mutation of K76T and N86Y in pfcrt and pfmdr-1 respectively. The PCR products were sequenced, genotyped and further analyzed for amino acid changes in these codons. Chi square tests were used to test the significance of the findings against previous prevalence results. Results: The frequency of pfcrt wild-type codon K76 (chloroquine sensitive) stood at 76.3% while the mutant type codon 76T (chloroquine resistant) at 23.7%. Likewise, the frequency of the pfmdr-1 wild-type codon N86 was 82.9% (chloroquine sensitive) and mutant codon 86Y (chloroquine resistant) was 17.1%. Conclusion: This study observed that there is a significant (χ2 = 170.1, df=2, p<0.05) increase in CQ sensitivity in 2015 compared to 1999 when it was withdrawn indicating that the prevalence and patterns of point mutations of pfcrt (K76T) and pfmdr-1 (N86Y) is decreasing. This further suggests that CQ-sensitive P. falciparum strains are gradually returning after the withdrawal of CQ from the Kenyan population.


The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between emotional demands, emotional intelligence and perceived stress in a sample of academic employees. The sample size of 100% (N =533) includes the following: 45.8% (N = 244) are male with a mean age of 48.78 (SD = 10.9) and median of 49; and 54.2% (N = 289) are female with a mean age of 47.29 (SD = 9.78) and median of 48. All academics work for universities in different countries around the world. Instruments associated with managing emotions (Trait emotional intelligence questionnaire- short form, TEIQue-SF) and perceived stress scale (PSS) are used in this study and the findings show that there is an invert relationship between perceived stress scale (PSS) and managing emotions; as PSS reduces managing emotions increases. The findings of this study provide a user-friendly summary that can inform and contribute to theory and future research.


We present a novel optimisation algorithm for inverse lithography, based on optimization of the mask derivative, a domain inherently sparse, and for rectilinear polygons, invertible. The method is first developed assuming a point light source, and then extended to general incoherent sources. What results is a fast algorithm, producing manufacturable masks (the search space is constrained to rectilinear polygons), and flexible (specific constraints such as minimal line widths can be imposed). One inherent trick is to treat polygons as continuous entities, thus making aerial image calculation extremely fast and accurate. Requirements for mask manufacturability can be integrated in the optimization without too much added complexity. We also explain how to extend the scheme for phase-changing mask optimization.


A distributed healthcare monitoring system prototype for clinical and trauma patients, is to be developed, using wireless sensor network node. The proposed system aims to measure various vital physiological health parameters like ECG and body temperature, of patients and elderly persons and transfer his/her health status wirelessly in Ad-hoc network, to remote base station which is connected to a hospital's main Server, using wireless sensor node. Main server shows information of sensor node which transfer presently vital data and if an abnormal ECG activity is encounter, the server will store 1 minute of the ECG-recording and then transmit the recording to PDA and standard PC as a Clinical Diagnostic Station(CDS). Server can calculate Heart Rate(HR) and variation in the R-R interval and if desired by doctor, averaged values together with maximum and minimum values are calculated every on minute.


This Essay explains why the investor-shareholder relationship gives rise to political agency problems that neither the Law and Economics nor the critical Corporate Social Responsibility literature have acknowledged. The corporate separation between ownership and management results in many social benefits, but imposes costs on the democratic process. The corporate structure requires managers, as agents, to maximize their principal shareholders' wealth. This requirement is insensitive to the principals' political preferences on how profits should be pursued, and may therefore result in an overall decrease in shareholders' welfare. This Essay suggests that these costs could be reduced by disclosing information about the impact of corporate activities on issues of political concern. Using insights from financial markets theory, it points out how disclosure of non-financial information would help to ensure a better alignment of corporate actions with the political preferences of shareholders, their rational passivity and apathy notwithstanding.


This paper describes an aeromagnetic profile from Prince Edward Island, through the Cabot Strait to the Tail of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, and subsequently over the Flemish Cap. It is inferred that Burgeo Bank off the southwest coast of Newfoundland is possibly a granite intrusion of Devonian age. A distinct magnetic anomaly, approximately 400 gammas in amplitude, appears to be associated with the edge of the continental shelf at the Tail of the Bank. A series of sharp shallow-source magnetic anomalies was recorded over the Flemish Cap, and this feature appears to have a negatively polarized core whose long dimension is oriented in a NNW.-SSE. direction.


Recognizing that jobs are the key to development, the World Bank Group is developing and piloting a new multi-sector jobs diagnostic approach to help countries identify key jobs challenges, and prepare strategies for addressing them. By following how people in the economy benefit from jobs, by taking into account the country context, recent trends in productivity and employment, and by considering the existing profile of jobs and workers in the economy, the new approach seeks to identify the key constraints a country faces in creating more, better, and inclusive jobs. The final step based on the country context and key challenges, is to help prioritize actions that a country can take to address these constraints.


A novel prototype NB-IoT-based quasi-smart water management platform for irrigation is proposed. The prototype has been deployed in a vineyard in Peta village, Greece, as part of the AREThOU5A project. An IoT framework for regularly and accurately tracking the status of soil hydration and reporting it to a centralized entity for further processing since water needs are directly related to soil moisture is proposed. The framework is based on specialized IoT hardware that includes low-cost microcontrollers with integrated sensor interfaces and telecommunication modems, open-source applications, open and standardized data transfer protocols, with low capital and operating costs. In the vineyard, an IoT end-node have been placed. Each node: i) collects soil moisture and temperature samples at a depth of 20 cm, ii) is battery-powered and has a battery life of several months on a single charge, and iii) connects to the system back-end via NB-IoT. The sensor measurements from the IoT nodes are forwarded to a cloud-based infrastructure using the Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP)/IPv6 protocol using a public mobile network. Data is maintained on a cloud backend and can be accessed in real-time via dashboards from any Internet-connected individual. In terms of hardware integration, operating solutions, networking and connectivity support, the proposed platform offers numerous novel features.


Emotional tensions in predisposed subjects may play a key role in inducing a pruritic sensation, leading to a scratching that, becoming a self-perpetuating pathomechanism, may represent the main feature of two distinct cutaneous clinical entities: prurigo nodularis and lichen simplex chronicus. Psychogenic factors play a relevant role in both conditions, and they are often associated with depression and dissociative experiences. Hence, the importance of the evaluation of these patients from the point of view of psychodermatology, which may analyze the relationship between skin disease and psychological factors. Patients with real or perceived imperfections in particular areas of the body (face, scalp, hands, and genital area) are more prone to psychologic distress, whereas cutaneous diseases may lead to experience a heightened level of distress. As psychosomatic factors have been estimated to be present in at least one-third of dermatologic patients, effective management of skin conditions involves consideration of the associated emotional factors.


Beliefs in mysterious underworlds are as old as humanity. But the idea that the earth has a hollow interior was first proposed as a scientific theory in 1691 by Sir Edmond Halley (of comet fame), who suggested that there might be life down there as well. Hollow Earth traces the surprising, marvelous, and just plain weird permutations his ideas have taken over the centuries. From science fiction to utopian societies and even religions, Hollow Earth travels through centuries and cultures, exploring how each era's relationship to the idea of a hollow earth mirrored its hopes, fears, and values. Illustrated with everything from seventeenth-century maps to 1950s pulp art to movie posters and more, Hollow Earth is for anyone interested in the history of strange ideas that just won't go away.


Panel A: CT abdomen and pelvis.
Pelvis B: CT abdomen and pelvis with arrows.
A 77-year-old African American male presented with intermittent abdominal pain for one week. He denied nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, fevers, anorexia, or weight loss. He denied a family history of liver disease, recent travel, or history of intravenous drug abuse. His vital signs were normal. Labs revealed total bilirubin of 1.5 mg/dl, hypoalbuminaemia 3.0 gm/dl and prolonged prothrombin time of 14.8 sec. Computed Tomography of the abdomen and pelvis with contrast showed multiple hepatic cysts with the largest cyst occupying the right abdomen, measuring 20.6 cm (Panel A and Pelvis B). This cyst had predominantly fluid attenuation, but also contained several septations. The patient underwent laparoscopic fenestration of the large hepatic cyst with hepatic cyst wall biopsy. Pathology revealed blood without malignant cells. The patient tolerated the procedure well with improvement of his abdominal pain and normalization of his liver function tests and coagulation profile.


Improved resource efficiency and extended product life cycles are strategies prioritized by policy makers to achieve sustainable production and consumption. Literature suggests that Product Service Systems (PSS), competitive systems of products, services, supporting networks and infrastructure designed to satisfy demand using fewer resources than traditional business models can deliver these strategies. Whilst PSS' resource efficiency potential has been questioned, PSS may still help society move toward more sustainable futures. Indeed, PSS have been linked to the concept of circular economy in which resources are reused, recovered and regenerated to minimise environmental impact of consumption.

Yet PSS have not been widely taken up in consumer markets and consequently their potential to address sustainability challenges has not been realised. In response, this thesis investigates the social and cultural dynamics that shape PSS consumption. Two case studies are presented that draw upon Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) and Practice theory (PT) in pluralistic fashion and experts engaged to find ways to generate a dialogue and insights from these two perspectives. A flexible research design was followed with data collected by semi-structured interviews with consumers and experts. Data were analysed using a dynamic template approach.

The findings suggest that some consumers are encouraged to consume PSS as a way to construct identities expressing meanings and ideologies such as altruism and environmental protection. Consumers need, however, to learn access practices to consume PSS offerings. Furthermore, social- structural elements of living such as social conventions and the physical distribution of sites where consumers work and live prevent them from consuming PSS recurrently. Further research is needed to investigate how PSS consumption inspired by consumers' meanings and ideologies may be collective, recurring and integrated within the social structural aspects of living.


Uncertainty always exists as an unavoidable factor when developing context-aware applications for pervasive computing environments. In this paper, we propose a unified context model to support representation and reasoning about uncertain context. Our unified context model extends the existing, de-facto ontology-based context models with probabilistic models to support probabilistic reasoning. Especially, our context model can be easily integrated with existing ontology-based context-aware systems. Given the unified context model, unified context ontology can be built and used as frameworks in developing context aware applications. Besides, our recipe of supporting the probabilistic reasoning is flexible and adaptive to the highly variable features of pervasive computing environments


the paper relates a study in developing a quantitative elemental analysis for clay minerals by the EDXRF technique. Elements of interest are Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti and Fe. The regression method involved development of calibration graphs of each of these elements using six different clay minerals reference standards. straight lines were obtained from these calibration graphs with r2 values ranging from 0.923 to 0.997. The accuracy of this regression method was then tested by comparing the quantitative analysis result obtained from fundamental parameter method using argillaceous limestone reference standard as the sample. Fundamental parameter method gives a more accurate result than that of the regression method.


Decentralization and openness are inherent properties of multi- agent systems (MAS). The technologies they provide are thus the right abstrac- tion for developing Web-oriented applications. Moreover, di erent works have been proposed to use Semantic Web technologies (SWT) for representing vari- ous dimensions of MAS (e.g., interaction protocols, norms, organizations). Given these facts, we think it is time to go a step further by integrating SWT and MAS in order to improve reusability of data, knowledge, coordination strategies, etc. on the Web and across systems. In this paper, we take a rst step in this direc- tion by proposing a semantic description of multi-agent organizations, showing the bene t regarding integration with Web ontologies.


Substance abuse is a maladaptive pattern characterized by repeated adverse consequences related to the repeated use of the substance. Alcohol, khat, and cigarettes are commonly used substances in urban as well as rural areas. To prevent and control substance abuse, developing and implementing laws and policies are crucial especially for developing countries like Ethiopia. Tobacco/cigarettes, khat, and alcohol were reported to be the commonly used substances in Ethiopia. Substance abuse is known to be an emerging problem in Ethiopia; there is a lack of information regarding substance abuse. The adverse impact of substance use on the physical health, social wellbeing, and mental health of students was also stated but not well documented. There is legal consideration from the Ethiopian proclamation and policies but still, there are no clear and enough laws regarding drug abuse. In the current review, the hazardous effects of substance abuse, the most commonly missed substance use, and their legal consideration were summarized. Thus, this review aimed to assess the use of the most common substance abuse and legal consideration in Ethiopia.


Ability to sprint is a key parameter (Faude et al., J Sports Sci, 2012, 30:625–31) and is the most frequent action in goal situations. Previously, other authors have established linear relationship between countermovement jump, leg power and percentage body fat, and team success (Arnason et al. MSSE, 2014, 36(2), 278–85). The body composition, as seen through a large content of muscle and low content of fat tissue, could be a particularly strong predictor of rapid movement performance, as jumping performance or sprint (Copic et al., JSCR, 2014). Thus, our principal aim is to explore potential relationships between anthropometric measures and athletic performance, focusing on strength related variables. Twelve young soccer player (age 22 ± 2 y, body mass 69.5 ± 7.1 kg, height 179 ± 8 cm; body fat 7.6 ± 2.2%) performed a CMJ, CMJ-BW loaded, 40 m sprint (analysing partial times at 15 and 30 m) and one Repetition Maximum (RM) in back squat test. Main interesting findings from this study were the strong associations between anthropometric measures and relevant strength variables related to physical condition performance in soccer. CMJ and CMJ-BW Loaded was strongly correlated with 1 RM, 40 m sprint performance and shuttle sprint at 15 and 30 m (r from 0.64 to 0.89; p < 0.05 to <0.001). Likewise BF was surprisingly highly correlated to CMJ, 1RM and different sprint times (r from 0.54 to 0.86; p < 0.05 to <0.001). In accordance to (Comfort et al., JSCR, 2013, 28(1), 173–7; Brocherie et al. (2014) J Sports Sci 17: 1–12), the results of this study illustrates the importance of developing high levels of strength in order to enhance sprint and jump performance in youth soccer players. Besides, Nikolaidis (CEJM, 2012, 7(6), 783–9) evidenced that a threshold exists in BF, above which muscular power output is affected to a great extent. Therefore, BF was negatively associated with physical fitness parameters.


The aim of this study was to investigate if there exists a prototypical example of the notion game in two cultures, Sweden and Minnesota, USA, and in that case, if it is the same or if possible similarities are greater within generations, regardless of nationality. A questionnaire asking informants to name, in their eyes, typical games was sent to 48 Americans and 53 Swedes. The informants from each country were divided into age groups. The answers were analyzed and compared in different ways. Five out of six groups showed a great similarity in mentioning the game Monopoly as a typical game. Differences were also found. For example, sports were brought up to a higher degree in Minnesota than in Sweden, and the young groups differed from the other groups in the way that many respondents mentioned Computer games and Video games.


The atrial septum is probe patent in some 30% of the population, and is prone to have overt defects. Atrial septation is the coming together of several myocardial structures and mesenchymal tissues of intracardiac and extracardiac origin that must change identity to myocardium. We propose that the propensity for malformation of the atrial septum reflects this complicated morphogenesis. The morphogenesis of the atrial septum initiates from a ridge of mesenchyme, only a few hundred micrometres long, in the roof of the undivided atrial cavity. By growth of the myocardial primary septum, the mesenchymal ridge will be approximated to, and ultimately fuse, with the mesenchyme of the atrioventricular cushions. This fusion also takes in the so-called vestibular spine, and serves to close the primary atrial foramen. Interatrial communication is maintained by the development of perforations in the myocardial septum that will coalesce to produce the secondary foramen. Late in gestation, an infolding of the right atrial roof, previously identified as the secondary septum, will come to form the roof of the secondary foramen. Muscularisation of the mesenchymal ridge and vestibular spine serves to reinforce the attachment of the primary muscular septum to the atrioventricular insulating plane, with the muscularised components, and the cranial infolding, then producing the rims of the oval fossa as seen in the postnatal heart. We show that other lesions that produce the potential for interatrial shunting are outside the confines of the atrial septum, and hence are best considered as interatrial communications, rather than 'atrial septal defects'.


Two altitudinal relationships propel current crude oil exploration jurisprudence and litigation namely: Surface land ownership and sub-surface rights (including mineral ownership). In the United States, the conflicts between the surface and mineral owners has theatrically increased in the last decade. Elsewhere, notably Nigeria, conflicts over land rights and the ownership of sub-surface minerals is yet to be fully resolved. Our goal herein is to explore the interaction between the law of property and the tort of trespass as applicable to the surface and subsurface exploration and extraction of crude oil and natural gas with specific focus on the scientific advances in horizontal drilling techniques widely used by the oil corporations in the various oil reservoirs across the world. Horizontal drilling  is described in this paper, as the exercise of drilling for liquid and gaseous mineral resources by other means other than sinking vertical wells. We argue that, horizontal drilling is one of the easiest means by which governments could lawfully capture  crude oil and gas from reservoirs of neighbouring nations to the extent that joint development agreement becomes unnecessary. Also, we opined that nations such as Nigeria could easily resolve issues of resources allocation by reducing the spread of surface wells. This could be achieved through the establishment of very few centralised drilling sites where slant or horizontal drilling can tap into various reservoirs thereby, eliminating the contestation of local agitators.


Models of vegetation function are widely used to predict the effects of climate change on carbon, water and nutrient cycles of terrestrial ecosystems, and their feedbacks to climate. Stomatal conductance, the process that governs plant water use and carbon uptake, is fundamental to such models. In this paper, we reconcile two long‐standing theories of stomatal conductance. The empirical approach, which is most commonly used in vegetation models, is phenomenological, based on experimental observations of stomatal behaviour in response to environmental conditions. The optimal approach is based on the theoretical argument that stomata should act to minimize the amount of water used per unit carbon gained. We reconcile these two approaches by showing that the theory of optimal stomatal conductance can be used to derive a model of stomatal conductance that is closely analogous to the empirical models. Consequently, we obtain a unified stomatal model which has a similar form to existing empirical models, but which now provides a theoretical interpretation for model parameter values. The key model parameter, g1, is predicted to increase with growth temperature and with the marginal water cost of carbon gain. The new model is fitted to a range of datasets ranging from tropical to boreal trees. The parameter g1 is shown to vary with growth temperature, as predicted, and also with plant functional type. The model is shown to correctly capture responses of stomatal conductance to changing atmospheric CO2, and thus can be used to test for stomatal acclimation to elevated CO2. The reconciliation of the optimal and empirical approaches to modelling stomatal conductance is important for global change biology because it provides a simple theoretical framework for analyzing, and simulating, the coupling between carbon and water cycles under environmental change.