All cases (302) of malignant intraocular melanomas in Denmark between 1943--1952 were followed up and evaluated 25 years after enucleation, which was the treatment used immediately after diagnosis during that period. The follow-up percentage was 99, 82% of the total being dead at the time of follow-up, bringing the real course of the malignant uveal melanoma in a traditionally treated series nearer to the truth. The same series was analysed in 1963 and 1970. Three-quarters of the patients were hospitalized immediately before and/or in the process of dying. In the series of choroidal and/or ciliary body melanoma the autopsy frequency was 36. Death with metastases took place in 51% (150). Orbital recurrence was found in 2.5% and 8--12% of cases with extrascleral extension had orbital recurrence. This appeared at an average of 2 years after enucleation and 10% of metastases appeared within the first 6 months post-operatively, more than half within 3 years. The peak incidence was during the first year after enucleation. No second peak was observed. However, metastases appeared even after 23 years. The probability of being alive without metastases after 25 years was found to be 40%, assuming that the patient did not die of another cause. The prognosis was estimated using various clinical and histopathological parameters. Women below the age of 40 had a better prognosis than women above that age. Small tumours, spindle shaped cells, no invasion and low pigment content of tumour were all in favour of a good prognosis. Of the iris melanomas from the period dealt with, only one died with metastasis. The present lively discussion on early enucleation or conservative management is reported and finally the attitude of the Ophthalmic Tumour Centre towards therapy is indicated.


Self-compacting concrete (SCC) has been used widely. However, the study of life-span prediction of self-compacting reinforced concrete is not enough under chloride ion corrosion condition, For the reinforcing bars corrosion that chlorine ions invade into SCC,the life-span prediction of Self-Compacting Concrete is the key issue. In this paper, the life-span prediction model of SCC structure under chloride ion corrosion condition is established and used to analyze the life-span prediction of SCC samples. Prediction results matched the test results very well, which shows the rationality of this prediction formula.


As new building materials, plastic has light weigh, corrosion resistance, low thermal conductivity, thermal insulation, waterproof, energy-saving, molding convenient, high recycling characteristic, widely used in building materials. According to the research of improving its flame retardancy, strength, thermal insulation, waterproof properties, the application of plastic use in doors and windows, pipeline, building walls and roofs of buildings, etc. were reviewed, and the developing direction was discussed.


Abstract. Introduction: Cartographic design guidelines are traditionally grounded in the concept of work, striving for optimal efficiency and effectiveness when accomplishing tasks (Roth 2013a). Much like traditional maps, video game maps help players navigate through and make sense of complex and often realistic virtual geographies. While maps in video games have evolved with similar technology to traditional cartography (Ahlqvist 2011), these playful maps deviate from real-world maps in that they are designed to facilitate play and adhere to game design principles to create a challenging yet satisfying experience. My research investigates how the playful purpose of video game maps informs unique design choices in cartographic representation and interaction. Specifically, I examined how video game maps exhibit interactivity, immersiveness, incompleteness, and inclusiveness characteristics of playful maps through traditional cartographic frameworks and how video game maps utilize elements of interaction and representation as cartographic tools for play.


Smoking and alcohol consumption predispose to oesophageal mucosal damage and exacerbates gastro-oesophageal reflux. The alcohol and smoking habits of patients with severe oesophagitis (n = 24), Barrett's columnar lined oesophagus (CLO) (n = 58), and adenocarcinoma arising in CLO (n = 23) were studied. There was no significant difference between the age (median 67, 64, and 65 years respectively) or duration of symptoms (median 10 years) in each group. Patients with benign CLO were significantly more likely to be non-smokers and non-drinkers, or both than patients with both severe oesophagitis and adenocarcinoma (p < 0.001). Of those who smoked or drank, patients with CLO had a smoking history of a median 15 pack years (range 2-60 pack years), which was less than both the severe oesophagitis (median 45.5, range 5-150 pack years) (p < 0.01), and adenocarcinoma groups (median 55.25, range 4-200 pack years) (p < 0.001). Patients with adenocarcinoma had smoked for more years in total (median 38.5, range 4-54 years) than patients with CLO (median 29.5, range 6-55 years) (p < 0.01). Patients with severe oesophagitis (median 38.5, range 27-55 years) and adenocarcinoma patients had a similar long history of smoking both of which were greater than CLO patients (p < 0.003). Half of the severe oesophagitis group drank more than 40 units/week and six more than 100 units/week (median 40, range 1-->100 units/week), whereas CLO patients who drank did so more moderately (median 10, 1-100 units/week) (p < 0.02). Adenocarcinoma patients also had a somewhat greater alcohol intake than CLO patients, median 15 (1-100 units/week) (p<0.02). Smoking and alcohol consumption do not predispose to the development od metaplastic columnar lined oesophagus in patients with severe gastro-oesophageal reflux but are strongly associated with the development of adenocarcinoma in patients with established Barrett's oesophagus.


Background Safety culture of an institution is the reflection of actions, attitudes and behaviour of its members concerning safety. A good safety culture in an academic institution impacts on the quality of work and improves organisational performance. This paper aims to explore the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) on work safety culture (WSC) among a sample of academic and non-academic staffs in a university in Malaysia. Methods A cross-sectional study using self-administered questionnaire was conducted among 215 academic and non-academic staffs in a medical faculty in Malaysia. Results In general, 73.8% have good knowledge regarding WSC, 54.5% reported positive attitude regarding WSC and 74.1% practiced good WSC. Bivariate analysis was performed to examine the association between participants' KAP and several sociodemographic characteristics, as well as employment factors, followed by multivariate analysis to identify the predictors of KAP. Knowledge level on WSC was significantly associated with length of services, where participants who worked for less than eight years reporting better knowledge on WSC compared to their colleague with longer service duration (adjusted odds ratio, AOR = 1.76; 95% confidence interval, CI: = 1.21, 3.53). Positive attitude regarding WSC was significantly associated with being permanently employed compared to temporary employment (AOR = 2.72; 95% CI: = 1.11, 6.64), whereas the practice of good WSC was significantly associated with having good knowledge on WSC (adjusted OR = 4.91, 95% CI: 2.42,10.75), having good attitude towards WSC (adjusted OR = 2.22, 95% CI: 1.07,4.62) and being married (adjusted OR = 2.64, 95% CI: 1.13, 6.16) Conclusions This study concludes that good knowledge and positive attitude being important factors in determining good safety practice among the participants. While employment characteristics have shown significant association with knowledge and attitude, these did not determine the participants' practice on WSC. Therefore, appropriate education and safety promotion need to be given to all members of the faculty regardless of their socio-demographic and employment status to ensure optimum safety practices in the organisation.


The desire of knowledge, one of man's most important goals, there are also mixed wishes of other type, like ambition or competition, which can deviate him from his uninterested objectives. That is why there are many people who throw a suspect on this libido sciendi that has become a libido dominandi where the legal valorization of power and the idolatry of progress are combined. It will be the ethic comisions or comites to play a calming function that can work as a boundary to this cultural anguish. However, these possible deviations must not only be atributed to the desire of knowing in itself, but to the social system, which, troughout the institutions, compels investigators to compete among themselves with projects and publications, and obliges them to enter either into an economic competition or into an international confrontation in order to obtain recognition. As members of a scientific comunity, with its own interests, it is necessary for us to defend the autonomy of this libido cognoscendi in front of those who take social decisions, in the measure that economical resources for investigation depend on them. Uninterested investigation is still very important for the cultural wellfare of society, but it is important to be on guard, as man is not only in the centre of investigations, but also of its applications.


Computer-simulated synthetic populations are used by researchers and policy makers to help understand and predict the aggregate behaviour of large numbers of individuals. Research aims include explaining the structural and dynamic characteristics of populations, and the implications of these characteristics for dynamic processes such as the spread of disease, opinions and social norms. Policy makers planning for the future economic, healthcare or infrastructure needs of a population want to be able to evaluate the possible effects of their policies. In both cases, it is desirable that the structure and dynamic behaviour of synthetic populations be statistically congruent to that of real populations. Here, we present a parsimonious individual-based model for generating synthetic population dynamics that focuses on the effects that demographic change have on the structure and composition of households.


The subject of this paper is to estimate consumers' welfare loss when the BSE testing age criterion for cattle is revised from all months to older than 21 months, by analyzing the change in meat demand due to this revision. However this analysis is different from ordinary revealed preference methods in that the demand data after this policy change are stated, while the data before this change are revealed as usual. This is because this paper focuses on a policy change which is not substantially executed yet. Using this demand data I estimated the generalized corner solution model of Phaneuf et al. (2000) for an incomplete demand system model. When I simulated each monitor's welfare loss based on the model estimation result, the expected compensating variation per household per month was 214 yen at the sample mean and 55 yen at the sample median.


This paper presents a dynamic North-South general-equilibrium model where households have non-homothetic preferences. Innovation takes place in a rich North while firms in a poor South imitate products manufactured in North. Introducing non-homothetic preferences delivers a complete international product cycle as described by Vernon (1966), where the different stages of the product cycle are not only determined by supply side factors but also by the distribution of income between North and South. We ask how changes in Southern labor productivity, South's population size and inequality across regions affects the international product cycle. In line with presented stylized facts about the product cycle we predict a negative correlation between adoption time and per capita incomes. JEL classification: F1, O3


Summary At attempt is made to classify the bulk of scientific and technical literature. It is found that each class is governed by a varying set of linguistic formants; thus, for instance, the class of Instructions for Operation is characterized, among other things, by the use of the imperative mood in English, the infinitive in Russian, and the passive voice in German. Examples are given to show the application of class formants in actual work. While some classes are briefly sketched and some others only mentioned for the sake of a survey of all technical literature (books, congress papers, articles for journals, patent applications, invoices, etc.), one class—the Descriptive Leaflet —is investigated in greater detail. The class formants listed apply only to English and German as source and target languages; other class formants may apply to other languages. The examples were taken from actual work in the field of electrical engineering. The references were selected with the view of famil-iarizing the translator with the actual usage, i. e. the actual frequency of technical terms in their context.


In this paper the mathematical model is developed to perform mathematical simulation of the hot extrusion process. The model makes it possible to observe the influence of various system parameters on the extrusion process. All researches were carried out with the use of the ANSYS 5.6 RFS FE-software system. During the research the modeling and analysis of various events that can be observed (material dead zone appearing, capsule crimping, capsule damage etc.) was successfully carried out. The mathematical model was created on the basis of contact thermo-mechanics relations with physical and geometrical nonlinearities.


Research into exercise and particulate air quality demonstrated that increased physical activity and the related increase in minute ventilation are decisive factors enhancing the effect of polluted air on the well-being and/or health of the examined individuals. As the intensity of exposure increases, so does the amount of inhaled particulate matter. These facts were among the main subjects of heated discussions during the preparatory phase of the XXIX Summer Olympic Games, held in August 2008 in Beijing, China, because this megalopolis is one of the most polluted urban areas in the world. To assess the effect of air pollution on the elite athletes health, ambient temperature, relative humidity and particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter below 10 μm (PM10) were measured during the XXIX Olympic Games in Beijing between August 3 and 24, 2009 in the Beijing Olympic Village. Continuous (15-minute) temperature and relative humidity values were monitored by a datalogging thermo-hygrometer, and PM10 measurements were performed by a fast-responding DustTrak nephelometer. The temperature and PM10 concentrations were significantly higher during the week preceding the Olympic Games than during the Games. In contrast, the relative humidity was lower during the pre-Games period than during the Games. One possible explanation for this fact is that the promised restrictions of emissions in the traffic and industrial sector may have been successful; at the same time, however, decreased ambient temperature and increased frequency of rain presumably contributed to the substantial improvements in weather and pollution conditions. According to our results, we can conclude that the participants at the XXIX Summer Olympic Games in Beijing were not at risk from poor air quality in terms of health and/or performance.


In this study, in-situ performance test of a wet surface finned-tube evaporator of an air source heat pump which has a rating capacity of 20 RT is carried out. Since test conditions, such as indoor and outdoor air conditions cannot be controlled to satisfy the standard test conditions, experiments are done with the inlet air conditions as they exist. From the experimental data, air side heat and mass transfer coefficients were calculated by the well known heat and mass transfer analogy and tube-by-tube method. Since current procedure underpredicted the experimental sensible heat factor(SHF), a proper empirical parameter was introduced to predict the experimental data with satisfactory results. This study provides the method of evaluating the heat and mass transfer coefficients of a wet surface finned-tube evaporator of which in-situ performance test is necessary.


Introduction: Trichilemmal carcinoma (TC) is a rare neoplasm of skin appendages. It was first described in 1968 as tricoleptocarcinoma, and has an incidence of 0.05% in patients subjected to histopathological examination after excision of cutaneous lesions. TC has an indolent clinical course ; however, reports in the literature put in doubt this indolent behavior . Objectives: To provide an update on the management and prognosis of TC. Methods: A search of the PubMed and SciELO databases by using with the MeSH terms "trichilemmal carcinoma", "tricholemmal carcinoma", "adnexal skin tumor", and "carcinoma triquilemal" was performed. Results: Owing to the rarity of TC, most studies were case reports, which essentially corroborate the indolent nature of the disease. Surgical excision is the recommended treatment, and is associated with a low risk of recurrence and low morbidity and mortality. Conclusion: The behavior of the lesion and the procedure of treatment of TC are based on isolated cases or in a small series of cases. Because of its low prevalence, a multicenter collaboration of a greater number of cases can help define the best treatment recommendations, pathophysiology, and prognosis. Surgical excision remains the gold standard of treatment, and is associated with a low risk of recurrence. ■ ABSTRACT


Microparticles (MPs) are small (diameter < 1 m m) fragments that seem likely to represent some form of physiology and/or pathophysiology of the originating cell, be it endothelial, platelet, or leukocyte. Increased numbers of MPs are found in various disease states, including cardiovascular disease, and a considerable weight of literature suggests a value in dissecting the various aspects of cell biology. A role in coagulation has been proposed because there is evidence that some MPs expose tissue factor. This article reviews the definitions, mechanisms of production, and links with pathophysiology of MPs in arterial disease, and thus whether or not they can contribute to improved patient care


Although the neocortex has been considered to be highly resistant to the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP), we have recently shown that spaced and repeated stimulation of white matter afferents reliably induces neocortical LTP in the freely moving rat. The following study examined the effects of maximal electroconvulsive shock (MES) stimulation on the induction of LTP in the chronically prepared rat. MES stimulation was applied at different intervals following LTP-inducing trains over a 10 day period. High-frequency LTP-inducing stimulation resulted in amplitude changes in both early (9.28 ms to peak) and late (20.81 ms to peak) components of the evoked EPSP, as well as of the population spikes. There was a window of time following high-frequency stimulation within which MES could interrupt the induction of LTP MES stimulation applied immediately, or 1 h after, LTP-inducing trains prevented the induction of LTP LTP was not blocked, however, when the MES stimulation was applied 6 h after the LTP-inducing trains. MES stimulation applied to a fully potentiated animal transiently attenuated both the population spike and polysynaptic measures, but both components recovered within 24 h. These data support the idea of a consolidation gradient for neocortical LTP similar to that seen in behavioural studies.


We describe the management and clinical outcome of pregnancies among 100 Greek Cypriot women with thalassaemia: 88 with thalassaemia major and 12 with thalassaemia intermedia. A total of 152 successful pregnancies and 161 deliveries were included. All patients had endocrine assessment and frequent ferritin measurements. Multiple successful pregnancies included 7 twins and 1 triple pregnancy. Pregnant thalassaemics required significantly larger amount of total blood transfusion during pregnancy. There was a statistically significant increase in the ferritin levels during pregnancy, and levels remained significantly higher after pregnancy. Most pregnancies resulted in delivery of full-term healthy babies, and obstetric complications were rare, although some problems were encountered.


Existing design of Heat-Pipe Evacuated Tube Collector (HP ETC) for solar water heating require storage tank and additional heat exchanger required for air heating application which leads to the extra spacing and costing requirement. HP ETC have better thermal performance to produce high outlet temperature than flat plate collector (FPC), especially during diffuse solar radiation. But HP ETC normally focusing on water heating system. Furthermore, HP ETC and FPC installation need to be positioned either to south or north facing to ensure the solar thermal collector absorbs more solar radiation. Meanwhile, HP ETC need to be tilt at the correct angle to maximize the performance of the system. These could lead to design limitation. The aim of this research is to develop the new design of Evacuated Glass-Thermal Absorber Tube Collector namely EGATC for drying application. It was developed from conventional HP ETC evacuated glass tube. In this study comparison result of EGATC and HP ETC performance were evaluated. The three days outdoor experiment proves that the performance of EGATC was better than HP ETC in air heating application which is provide higher outlet temperature. Based on the result, EGATC (Day 1: 50.9 oC, Day 2: 53.9 oC, Day 3: 49.2 oC) performed better with slightly higher temperature at outlet temperature compare with HP ETC (Day 1: 46.7 oC, Day 2: 50.3 oC, Day 3: 46.9 oC). It is concluded that EGATC have better performance in term of temperature different and outlet temperature as compared to HP ETC. EGATC (Day 1: 53.6%, Day 2: 50.6%, Day 3: 49.8%) also have greater efficiency in term of heat storage capability as compared to HP ETC (Day 1: 42.7%, Day 2: 41.6%, Day 3: 41.1%). Regarding energy buffer storage, EGATC have better energy storage compared to HP ETC at sudden weather change such as diffuse solar radiation during clouds. The outlet temperature of EGATC (42.3 oC) was remained slightly higher compared to HP ETC (39.9 oC) at the beginning. The outlet temperature gradually drops slower during discharging period until the end of the experiment for 15 minutes towards outlet temperature 41.1ºC and 37.2ºC for both EGATC and HP ETC with temperature difference 1.2ºC and 2.7ºC respectively.


This article explores the social and political imagination of 'the Anthropocene' and the utopian counter images that can be derived from it. From the utopian studies perspective, I argue that the Anthropocene cannot provide sufficient societal alternatives for the current ecological predicament. This is due to the fact that the concept of Anthropocene relies too heavily on the image of abstract humanity to be able to offer real societal alternatives. It cannot name the social system we live in and, therefore, it cannot fundamentally challenge existing social arrangements. Based on utopian social theory, I conceptualize utopia as a counter image of the present motivated by a desire for better being. The contents and the politically transformative potentials of utopian counter-images depend on the conceptualization of the present itself. I contrast the utopian potentials of 'the Anthropocene' with that of 'the Capitalocene' which is more apt in outlining the social conditions of the present. Thus, the Capitalocene as a concept opens up more radical possibilities for imagining societal alternatives by conceptualizing the present socially.


Chemical abundances for 15 elements (C, N, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, and Ni) are presented for 83 stellar members of the 4 Gyr old solar-metallicity open cluster M67. The sample contains stars spanning a wide range of evolutionary phases, from G dwarfs to red clump stars. The abundances were derived from near-IR (λ1.5–1.7 μm) high-resolution spectra (R = 22,500) from the SDSS-IV/Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) survey. A 1D local thermodynamic equilibrium abundance analysis was carried out using the APOGEE synthetic spectral libraries, via χ2 minimization of the synthetic and observed spectra with the qASPCAP code. We found significant abundance differences (∼0.05–0.30 dex) between the M67 member stars as a function of the stellar mass (or position on the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram), where the abundance patterns exhibit a general depletion (in [X/H]) in stars at the main-sequence turnoff. The amount of the depletion is different for different elements. We find that atomic diffusion models provide, in general, good agreement with the abundance trends for most chemical species, supporting recent studies indicating that measurable atomic diffusion operates in M67 stars.


The transition from linguoid ripples to upper-stage plane bed under steady, uniform flow conditions in very fine sand (D 50 = 0.108 mm) was studied quantitatively using a flume. The transitional ripples, referred to as washed-out ripples, are symmetrical to slightly asymmetrical bed forms with a convex-up profile and low-angle foresets in the direction of the main flow. The washed-out ripples are stable between 10 degrees C-equivalent depth-averaged flow velocities of 0.75 m/s and 0.91 m/s. With increasing velocity in this range the 10 degrees C-equivalent average equilibrium height of the bed forms decreases from 12 mm to zero, the 10 degrees C-equivalent average equilibrium spacing decreases slightly from 138 mm to 103 mm, and the 10 degrees C-equivalent average migration rate increases from 1 mm/s to 3 mm/s. The changes in morphology and migration rate with increasing flow velocity from linguoid ripples to washed-out ripples result from a spatial shift of the locus of maximum sediment flux from the bed-form crest to the downstream wake region. The shift follows the increasing concentration of sediment particles in a near-bed traction carpet above the sediment surface. With increasing flow velocity the volumetric suspended sediment concentration at 0.01 m above ripple crests increases from 0.9% at the lower boundary to 1.6% at the upper boundary of the washed-out-ripple stability field.


In order to maximize the penetration of a projectile into a target, the acceleration on the projectile during the launch must be minimized. Low accelerations permit the design of long and slender projectiles which have better penetration capability. From this standpoint, power supplies for electromagnetic launchers must be able to provide rectangular current pulses with a high average to peak acceleration ratio. The authors discuss efforts to obtain the desired pulse shape from a compensated pulsed alternator (compulsator) when it is used as a power supply for railguns. A general theory of the pulse shaping technique is presented first. This is followed by a discussion on the tradeoffs between various equivalent generator configurations. Finally, the electromagnetic design of the compensated pulsed alternator being developed for task C of the Electromagnetic Gun Weapons System Program is presented. >


We propose a novel approach to digital character animation, combining the benefits of tangible input devices and sophisticated rig animation algorithms. A symbiotic software and hardware approach facilitates the animation process for novice and expert users alike. We overcome limitations inherent to all previous tangible devices by allowing users to directly control complex rigs using only a small set (5-10) of physical controls. This avoids oversimplification of the pose space and excessively bulky device configurations. Our algorithm derives a small device configuration from complex character rigs, often containing hundreds of degrees of freedom, and a set of sparse sample poses. Importantly, only the most influential degrees of freedom are controlled directly, yet detailed motion is preserved based on a pose interpolation technique. We designed a modular collection of joints and splitters, which can be assembled to represent a wide variety of skeletons. Each joint piece combines a universal joint and two twisting elements, allowing to accurately sense its configuration. The mechanical design provides a smooth inverse kinematics-like user experience and is not prone to gimbal locking. We integrate our method with the professional 3D software Autodesk Maya® and discuss a variety of results created with characters available online. Comparative user experiments show significant improvements over the closest state-of-the-art in terms of accuracy and time in a keyframe posing task.


The expansion of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)–for‐hire websites, known as Booters, has radically modified both the scope and stakes of DDoS attacks. Until recently, however, Booters have only received little attention from the research community. Given their impact, addressing the challenges associated with this phenomenon is crucial. In this paper, we present a rigorous methodology to identify a comprehensive set of existing Booters in the Internet. Before presenting our methodology, we illustrate the benefits of a set of booters on monitoring users from the Dutch NREN, SURFNet, from 2015 to 2017. Our methodology relies on well‐defined mechanisms to generate a Booter list, from crawling suspect URLs to characterizing and classifying the collected URLs. The list obtained using the methodology presented in this paper has a classification accuracy of 95.5%, which is 10.5% better compared to previous work.


Effective public participation is considered essential to making sound decisions for the protection and sustainable management of natural resources. This paper aims to analyze the preferences of forest villagers to protect state forests within the boundaries of villages and generate income for their livelyhoods. As a case study area in Turkey, forest villages of Rize-Ikizdere town were selected to carry out the research. In the study area, intensive forest protection activities are carried out under the administration of Trabzon Regional Directorate of Forestry. A questionnaire form was developed and applied to the villages of the town on a face-to-face basis. According to the survey results, while most of the participants preferred to hand over the forest protection responsibility from state to legal village administration, they indicated some concerns about taking over the responsibility of forest protection that would bring some risks under the proposed policy. In conclusion, most of the participants envisioned that the new policy was likely to develop mutual understanding of participation, thoughtfulness, worthiness and stewardship about forests rather than foreseeing it as a source of income generation, and help lessen the forest degradation to a certain extent.


In this article we provide a detailed comparison of two possible approaches to the study of the long time behavior of an electronic system, namely, the conventional Born–Markov approach and an alternative (symmetrized) Markov procedure recently proposed by our group. To this end, as prototypical device, we consider a quantum dot electronic transition weakly coupled to the lattice vibrations. Our results show highly unphysical behaviors of the conventional approach in the long time limit, under small perturbation of the equilibrium electronic distribution. The alternative procedure, on the contrary, provides the expected energy relaxation within a T1–T2 paradigm. Our findings are sharper than the somewhat more naive, and only transient, possible lack of positivity of the conventional Markov approach, already known in the literature. While only mentioning the important advantages of our symmetrized version with respect to already known secular approximation, and postponing further analysis to future works, we hereby stress how the commonly employed conventional strategy may seriously fail to model realistic nanostructures, whereas the new approach gives the expected physical behavior.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common complication of hepatitis C virus related cirrhosis (HCV-C). Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) has been proposed as a biomarker of HCC risk. S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) is a food supplement that has an excellent safety profile. The use of SAMe as a chemopreventive is based on abnormalities in methionine cycle (with decreased SAMe levels) in patients with cirrhosis, increased risk of HCC in experimental animals deprived of SAMe, and the prevention of liver cancer by SAMe administration in animal models of chemically-induced HCC.

Methods: This was a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind phase IIb trial to determine if SAMe (up to 2.4 grams/day) for 24 weeks reduced serum AFP levels in patients with HCV-C. Inclusion criteria: lab evidence of HCV-C (platelet count 15), or history of, or mass suspicious for HCC. Primary outcome was decline in AFP between week 0 and 24. Secondary outcomes: change in other HCC-related markers (des-gamma carboxyprothrombin, AFP-L3), blood tests for HCV RNA, SAMe metabolites, serum markers of oxidative stress, and quality of life.

Results: A total of 110 patients were enrolled and 87 completed study. After the 24-week treatment, AFP declined among patients receiving SAMe (-1.9 ng/mL) and increased among patients receiving placebo (+5.9 ng/mL; p=0.16). Neither des-gamma carboxyprothrombin (DCP) nor AFP-L3 changed significantly with SAMe treatment. There were no significant differences in serum HCV RNA between groups. Blood levels of SAMe and S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) increased 3-5 fold among patients receiving SAMe and were unchanged in placebo group (p<0.01). Serum glutathione and methionine did not change significantly. Several components of quality of life improved among patients receiving SAMe. There were 5 serious adverse events in the placebo group and 7 in the SAMe group; none were attributable to SAMe.

Conclusions: SAMe administration for 24 weeks in patients with HCV-C and elevated AFP did not decrease AFP significantly nor alter liver function. SAMe significantly increased serum SAMe and SAH levels, but did not alter serum glutathione level or serum markers of oxidative stress.

Citation Format: Timothy Morgan, Frank L. Meyskens, John Hoefs, Ke-Qin Hu, Tarek Hassanein, Thomas D. Boyer, Neville R. Pimstone, Kathy Osann, Rachel Gonzalez, L M. Rodriguez. SAMe versus placebo for the reduction of serum AFP in patients with hepatitis C cirrhosis and moderately elevated AFP: A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind phase II trial. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 3247. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-3247


This paper is submitted with an investigation concerning the effects of the Si thickness-induced variation of the electrical characteristics in the FDSOI with block oxide. We noticed that the traditional sidewall spacer process is used and processed to produce the block oxide enclosing the Si-body in our proposed structure, the undesirable ultra-short-channel effects can be significantly diminished via the suppressed charge sharing out of the source/drain to the body, as compared to the conventional UTBSOI MOSFET. Also, owing to the required thickness of the Si-body, the self-heating problem gets improved, so the reliability of these structures be upgraded and benefit a renewed interest in the single-gate FDSOI MOSFET for the future ULSI applications


Passion is defined as a strong inclination toward an activity that people like, that they find important and in which they invest time and energy, such as working or playing football. Since a specific measure to assess levels of passion in the workplace is lacking in Spain, the aim of this study was to adapt and validate the Passion scale (Vallerand et al., 2003) into Spanish. After translating it from English to Spanish using the forward-backward translation method, it was given to a sample of 548 Spanish workers. Exploratory factor analyses were conducted to test the replicability of the scale. The results confirmed the expected two-factor structure through internal replication using exploratory factor analysis. Criterion-related validity was tested by correlating both obsessive and harmonious passion to work engagement. With regard to internal consistency, adequate Alpha coefficients were obtained for both factors.


Early detection and timely treatment of diabetic retinopathy can preserve vision, yet many people with diabetes do not have their eyes examined regularly. The purpose of this study was to examine eye care practices of people with diabetes who had not previously accessed eye care services on a regular basis. Screening with non‐mydriatic retinal photography for diabetic retinopathy was initiated in 1996, and targeted people with diabetes who did not access eye care services on a regular basis. Each test area was revisited 2 years after the initial screening. Patients that did not attend the biennial screening were followed up by mail survey. Although none of the participants in this study had been previously accessing eye care services on a regular basis, 87% did so after attending the screening. These results indicate that mobile screening with non‐mydriatic photography, as an adjunct to current eye care services, has the potential to increase examination compliance for diabetic retinopathy and to achieve sustained behaviour change.


Caesalpinia bonduc (L.) Roxb. is branched scandent shrub. Leaves and Seed oil of this plant is used by Andh, Gond, Naikede, Pradhan and Kolam tribes of Mahur range forest of Nanded district to treat rheumatism. Seed oil is applied on wound for quick healing and oil is dropped in ear for tympanitis. Seed is used to treat stomach pain, dysentery and diarrhoea and its powder is used against indigestion and to expel intestinal worms and seed paste is applied on swelling. A Pharmacognostic study of seed drug is carried out for evaluation of drug and to detect the adulteration. It includes dermal characters like stomata, trichomes and anatomical features etc. The plant was analyzed for its preliminary screening of phytochemicals. The result reveals that the presence of bioactive constituents comprising flavonoids, reducing sugar, saponins and anthraquinones. The antimicrobial assay also performed to prove the proclaimed ethnobotanical claims. The present study is helpful to standardize or evaluation of drugs.


Abstract. A sky temperature map at 45 MHz covering declination between + 30° and + 60°  is presented. The sampling in right ascension is 20 min (~5°) and 2°  in declination in most of the map. The originality of the work was to use cosmic emission measurements from five VHF Stratosphere-Troposphere (ST) radars collected during long periods of routine meteorological surveys. This map, which has an accuracy in temperature of about 600 K, is intended first for radar reflectivity calibration and system performance monitoring. The presence of two strong radio sources, Cassiopeia A and Cygnus A, can also serve as the verification of the beam diagram, beam width, and beam pointing direction of the antenna. Finally, this work is an attempt to show the potentiality of ST radar for astronomical purposes. Key words. Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (instruments and techniques) – Radio science (radio astronomy)


With the rapid growth of technology in recent years, we are surrounded by or even dependent on the use of technological devices such as smartphones as they are now an indispensable part of our life. Smartphone applications (apps) provide a wide range of utilities such as navigation, entertainment, fitness, etc. To provide such context-sensitive services to users, apps need to access users' data including sensitive ones, which in turn, can potentially lead to privacy invasions. To protect users against potential privacy invasions in such a vulnerable ecosystem, legislation such as the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR) demands best privacy practices. Therefore, app developers are required to make their apps compatible with legal privacy principles enforced by law. However, this is not an easy task for app developers to comprehend purely legal principles to understand what needs to be implemented. Similarly, bridging the gap between legal principles and technical implementations to understand how legal principles need to be implemented is another barrier to develop privacy-friendly apps. To this end, this paper proposes a privacy and security design guide catalog for app developers to assist them in understanding and adopting the most relevant privacy and security principles in the context of smartphone apps. The presented catalog is aimed at mapping the identified legal principles to practical privacy and security solutions that can be implemented by developers to ensure enhanced privacy aligned with existing legislation. Through conducting a case study, it is confirmed that there is a significant gap between what developers are doing in reality and what they promise to do. This paper provides researchers and developers of privacy-related technicalities an overview of the characteristics of existing privacy requirements needed to be implemented in smartphone ecosystems, on which they can base their work.


This is an image of one of the installations for in the Refectory for the inauguration of the twentieth president of Rhodes College, Dr. Marjorie Hass. The inauguration took place on Saturday, January 13, 2018.


Introduction
The medicines use review (MUR), a new community pharmacy 'service', was launched in England and Wales to improve patients' knowledge and use of medicines through a private, patient–pharmacist appointment. After 18 months, only 30% of pharmacies are providing MURs; at an average of 120 per annum (maximum 400 allowed).1 One reason linked to low delivery is patient recruitment.2 Our aim was to examine how the MUR is symbolised and given meaning via printed patient information, and potential implications.

Method
The language of 10 MUR patient leaflets, including the NHS booklet,3 and leaflets from multiples and wholesalers was evaluated by discourse analysis.

Results and Discussion
Before experiencing MURs, patients conceivably 'categorise' relationships with pharmacists based on traditional interactions.4 Yet none of the leaflets explicitly describe the MUR as 'new' and presuppose patients would become involved in activities outside of their pre-existing relationship with pharmacists such as appointments, self-completion of charts, and pharmacy action plans. The MUR process is described inconsistently, with interchangeable use of formal ('review meeting') and informal ('friendly') terminology, the latter presumably to portray an intended 'negotiation model' of interaction.5 Assumptions exist about attitudes ('not understanding'; 'problems') that might lead patients to an appointment. However, research has identified a multitude of reasons why patients choose (or not) to consult practitioners,6 and marketing of MURs should also consider other barriers. For example, it may be prudent to remove time limits to avoid implying patients might not be listened to fully, during what is for them an additional practitioner consultation.


Basically, thermal spray and laser processing can be considered as half brothers since they show many common features due to the use of a (more or less) high-energy source for both. Their combination can therefore be very fruitful and prominent to achieve coatings, which results in their most recent and advanced applications. In the materials processing development story, the laser will thus have moved from cutting to coating. This keynote presentation focuses on the recently-developed coupling of laser processing to cold spray). In this dual process, a cold spray gun is combined to a laser head in a single device, e.g. on a robot. Series of coating experiments using various laser irradiation conditions, primarily pulse frequency, were carried out for Al-based and Ni-based alloys. Laser pre-treatment of the substrate just prior to cold spray, was shown to be beneficial for adhesion of cold-sprayed coatings. Adhesion improvement was exhibited and studied from LASATesting (LASAT for "LAser Shock Adhesion Test"). Incidentally, through LASAT also, the role of lasers in the development of thermally-sprayed coatings can be considered as major. Results are discussed in the light of a TEM (Transmission Electron Microscope) study of the coating-substrate interface with and without laser pre-treatment.


Classic Islamic theologies which focus on the study of monotheism, God's substances, characteristics, justice, promises and threats, throne, iman, kufr, fasiq , and shirk are believed to be in its stagnancy. Since they are theocentric-oriented, they cannot appropriately solve contemporary problems. They are dominated by some political interests, so that they become more subjective. Therefore, it is essential to establish a more grounded soluble theo-anthropocentric-oriented theology which can thoroughly solve social problems. Indonesian Islamic Scholars offer fifteen theological varieties, namely, rational theology, transformative theology, pluralism theology, harmony theology, renewal theology, dynamic theology, social theology, Islamic contemporary theology, applied theology, oppressed group theology, negative theology, Islamic political theology, economical theology, educational theology, and reading theology. Indeed, two significant notices can be revealed. First, some new theological varieties-Abdurrahman's transformative theology and Madjid's pluralism theology are introduced but they are implicitly written in title of their works. Second, some theological formulations criticize the former theologies, Indonesian Muslim's life, and conventional economic conditions which bring about more striking theological formulations.


A search of the literature has revealed that since Morquio's original description of a type of familial osseous dystrophy 43 cases of the condition have been reported in this country and abroad. Morquio1described 4 cases in a family of 5 children. The fifth child of this family was free of osseous dystrophy, but he was mentally defective. The father and mother were first cousins. Morquio pointed out that the bony alterations do not appear until after the first year, when the child begins to walk. The changes are painless and progressive for several months, eventually becoming stationary and permanent. The thorax, the vertebral column and the limbs become deformed, the head remaining normal. These skeletal deformities are symmetric and cause difficulty in locomotion. The patient on first sight appears as if he suffered from Pott's disease. The genu valgum, flat feet, deformity of the vertebral column and weakness


This cross sectional descriptive study was carried out to explore the relationship between the personality variables and academic performance of dental student. The study population was dental students. Study was carried out at one government and three non-government dental colleges. Sample size was 200 and sampling technique was purposive. Data was collected by self administered structured questionnaire. Academic performance data for each respondent were collected throughout the one academic year (2nd year) in dental students' files. It was measured by two term examination marks of four subjects based on 1 hour 30 minutes written exams. Personality of dental student was assessed through the Big Five Inventory (BFI). This well-established questionnaire was a 44-item measure of the Big Five personality factors: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness. The self administered items involve questions about typical behaviours or reactions, which was answered on a five-point Likert scale. This study revealed that there was no statistically significant relationship between student's personality characteristics and academic performance of dental students. Extraversion, neuroticism and openness had negative correlation with academic performance though it was not statistically significant. So, for better performance afore mention factors should be minimized as much as possible. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjme.v1i1.12852 Bangladesh Journal of Medical Education Vol.1(1) 2010 pp.1-7


An evaluation was undertaken to determine the optimal method for the in vitro susceptibility testing of 26 Nocardia asteroides complex isolates to the following antimicrobial agents: amikacin, ampicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, imipenem, minocycline, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Five testing methods were studied including the agar dilution, broth microdilution, and disk diffusion methods, the epsilometer test (E-test), and the BACTEC radiometric method. Results for each antimicrobial agent and each testing method were interpreted as indicating susceptibility, intermediate susceptibility, or resistance according to current guidelines of the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) for bacteria that grow aerobically and were then compared to a "gold standard" susceptibility test result. The gold standard result for each Nocardia isolate was established by a consensus of the results of the majority of testing methods used in the study. When the results were combined for all antimicrobial agents tested against all Nocardia isolates by all methods, the BACTEC radiometric method produced the highest level of agreement (97.9%) with the consensus results and had the fewest very major (n = 1), major (n = 2), and minor (n = 2) errors. In contrast, the results of the agar dilution method were in least agreement (93.2%) with the consensus results, and this method also produced the most very major (n = 8), major (n = 4), and, along with the disk diffusion method, minor (n = 6) errors. For all test methods, interpretive errors were most frequent when testing ampicillin or amoxicillin-clavulanate. Moreover, for all Nocardia nova isolates tested, ampicillin susceptibility results by any of the testing methods were not in agreement with the results of testing for beta-lactamase by the nitrocefin (Cefinase) disk method. We conclude that among the methods evaluated, the BACTEC radiometric method appeared to be the best for determining the in vitro susceptibilities of members of the N. asteroides complex to a panel of nine antimicrobial agents. However, none of the test methods, including the BACTEC method, accurately predicted the ampicillin resistance of the N. nova isolates tested, all of which produced beta-lactamase. Presuming that this beta-lactamase hydrolyzes ampicillin, this disparity may relate to the NCCLS breakpoints that were used, which may require modification for this antimicrobial agent when tested against N. nova isolates.


Nuclear energy in the Philippines has been thrust into the spotlight by the administration of President Duterte. A committee created by Executive Order 116 was tasked to formulate a national position on a possible nuclear program. For nuclear energy to be a sustainable alternative, it must be accepted by society at large. Conventional wisdom surrounding the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) has branded this project as a white elephant leading to rejection of nuclear energy among a significant number of Filipinos, particularly members of civil society. This study presents evidence that the BNPP was operational at the time the administration of President Corazon Aquino decided to shut it down. Moreover, the risks related to the BNPP's location are largely inconsequential. The BNPP became a white elephant because of an ill-advised political decision. Evaluating the viability of nuclear energy in the Philippines should therefore be balanced and deal solely with underlying technical and scientific issues, which are well known. Meanwhile, the role of nuclear energy in promoting a low-carbon society must be re-evaluated because of the sharp decline in the cost of variable renewable energy (VRE). If nuclear energy will eventually be incorporated in the plans of the Department of Energy (DOE), building a new large reactor would be too expensive. Two options are more feasible: revive the BNPP and/or invest in small module reactors (SMRs). Even if the latter has not yet been mainstreamed in the global energy market, SMRs are already on the radar of the DOE


In summary, our current understanding of the therapeutics of dyspnoea is inadequate and leaves plenty of room for improvement. Rationalization of the management of this symptom has the potential to improve the quality of life of countless patients with both malignant and non-malignant disease. To date, research studies addressing this issue are sparse. Those that have been conducted are incomplete in that almost all have assessed only the effect of single dose interventions in normal volunteers or patients with COPD. There is no information on either long term dosing with these drugs or their use in patients with cancer related breathlessness. It is possible that other pharmacological agents that have never been used for this indication may have therapeutic potential. The pharmacological treatment of breathlessness deserves further investigation, and clinical studies should be conducted in parallel with appropriate laboratory studies. Drug therapy is, however, but one aspect of the overall management of any symptom, and a thorough assessment of the role of non-drug interventions for dyspnoea is also essential. Well designed multicentre studies are urgently required to evaluate the symptomatic treatment of breathlessness, but such studies must be preceded by the development of valid and sensitive patient rated tools to assess this distressing and common symptom.


Over the last years, owing to hardware progress and the development of new methods, reflectometry has become a common diagnostic on plasma fusion devices. This paper presents some results obtained with reflectometry on transport, turbulence and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD). The emphasis is put on some new results from Tore-Supra. Combining the density profile and fluctuation measurement, it was shown on Tore-Supra that the particle pinch inside the q = 1 surface is close to the neoclassical value in ohmic plasma, while the observed small diffusion is in agreement with a very low level of density fluctuations inside the q = 1 surface. In β scaling experiments, no change in the fluctuation levels was found on Tore-Supra, in agreement with the observation of weak confinement degradation with increasing β. Zonal flows have been detected by Doppler reflectometry in ASDEX-U and with correlation reflectometry in T-10. On Tore-Supra, a fast decrease in the density fluctuation level at high poloidal wavenumbers was measured with Doppler reflectometry, suggesting a minor role of electron temperature gradient driven modes. Various forms of Alfvén eigenmodes (toroidal Alfvén eigenmodes, Alfvén cascades and possibly beta Alfvén eigenmodes) have been detected with reflectometry in TFTR, JET and Tore-Supra. The density fluctuations induced by the mode were found to be higher on the high-field side.


In this paper, we analyze the error probability of equal gain combining with quantized channel phase compensation for binary phase shift keying signalling over Rayleigh fading channels. The probability density and characteristic functions of the combined signal amplitude are derived and used to compute the analytic expressions for the bit error probability in dependance of the number of quantization levels L, the number of diversity branches NR and the average received signal-to-noise ratio. The analysis is utilized to outline the trade-off between NR and L and to compare the performance with non-coherent binary frequency shift keying and differential binary phase shift keying schemes under diversity reception.


This protocol describes the proteomics technique called System-wide Identification and prioritization of Enzyme Substrates by Thermal Analysis or SIESTA 1,2. SIESTA can be used for universal discovery of enzyme substrates that shift in thermal stability or solubility upon post-translational modification (PTM). Experimental design, proteomics sample preparation and data analysis are the key stages of this protocol. Data analysis can be performed using our SIESTA package hosted on GitHub 3. When performed with classical thermal proteome profiling (TPP), the protocol will take 5 days for sample preparation and 14 days of sample analysis by mass spectrometry (the current protocol). If our high-throughput version of TPP called Proteome Integral Solubility Alteration assay (PISA) 4 is used instead, the sample analysis time by mass spectrometry is reduced to 1-2 days for the same number of conditions.


We discuss a new acceleration or energization mechanism of charged particles in space and astrophysical plasmas. In the presence of an electrostatic potential gradient and a circularly polarized electromagnetic monochromatic wave, particles are accelerated efficiently by keeping cyclotron resonance with the wave due to the electrostatic dragging force. In addition, particles can propagate against the electrostatic potential even if they have smaller parallel energy. This mechanism is potentially widely applicable, in terms of particle acceleration and transport, to various space and astrophysical phenomena, such as shock environment and short-large amplitude magnetic structures. We introduce the basic physical process of the acceleration or energization mechanism theoretically and numerically.


Abstract Ammoniumillite (NH4-I) is one of the alteration products present in a breccia structure in the fossil hydrothermal system from Harghita Bãi (East Carpathians), Romania. A series from smectite (S) via ordered interstratified structures to NH4-I (40 to 5%S) was characterized by Xray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transforminfrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), and chemical analyses. Calculation of one-dimensional Xray patterns was simulated with the NEWMOD code. Transition from two- to one-water smectite interlayer was identified by XRD. Selected samples were saturated with K+, Mg2+, and Li+cations to differentiate low- to high-charge smectite or beidelite layers. X-ray patterns of random powders of K+saturated samples, heated at 300 °C show a transition from 1Md to cis- and trans- vacant 1M polytype. The cell parameters of the cisvacant and transvacant 1M polytype were calculated by oblique texture electron diffraction. The vibration frequencies at 1430 cm-1 of the NH bond were identified in the samples analyzed. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy images show morphological changes from flaky to lathlike shapes. The mean shape ratio of lath crystals ranges from 6 to 5.42 nm and the mean area from 7.8 to 24 × 104 nm2. The mean thickness of the NH4-I layers ranges from 4.62 to 7.89 nm. The calculated structural formula of end-member NH4-I (5%S) is: [(NH4+)0.66K+0.10Na+0.01Sr2+0.02]0.81 (Al3+1.85Fe3+0.01Mg2+0.15)2.01(Si4+3.30 Al3+0.70)4.00O10(OH)2. The fixed NH4+ content quantified ranges from 0.39 to 0.66 atoms per half unit cell [O10(OH)2]. Tetrahedral and octahedral substitutions took place as the %S decreases. The NH4-I-S series formed via direct precipitation from solution at different temperatures.


Purpose: This study was conducted to identify unmet healthcare needs among man and woman one-person households and to explore related factors by gender.
Methods: Data were drawn from the 2017 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The final sample consisted of 820 one-person households. The statistical analysis, conducted in SPSS version 20.1, included complex sampling analysis; descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, and logistic regression.
Results: The demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of women in one-person households were significantly different from those of men in one-person households. Women in single-person households were mainly in their 70s or older and married, and they tended to have a low education level, low income, and no formal occupation. Unmet healthcare needs were experienced by 17.3% of women in one-person households and 13.5% of men in one-person households, which was not a statistically significant difference (χ2=2.17, p=.139). Factors related to unmet healthcare needs were subjective health status and unmet dental care needs in single-person-household men. By contrast, having experienced impairment within the past year, stress, and unmet dental care needs were factors related to unmet healthcare needs in single-person-household women.
Conclusion: As one-person households become increasingly common, more attention needs to be paid to them and our understanding of them needs to be improved. Women in one-person households, in particular, are especially vulnerable, as they experience more unmet healthcare needs.


One of the first steps in glucosinolate biosynthesis is the conversion of amino acids to their aldoximes. The biochemistry of this process is controversial, and several very different enzyme systems have been described. The major glucosinolate in white mustard (Sinapis alba) is sinalbin, which is derived from tyrosine via its aldoxime, and this conversion is catalyzed by a cytochrome P450 (Cyt P450) monooxygenase. Phenylethyl- and alkenylglucosinolates are also present in white mustard leaves, as are the enzymes catalyzing the relevant aldoxime formation from homophenylalanine and methionine homologs, respectively. These enzymes are similar to those found in Brassica sp. and are distinct from the tyrosine-dependent enzyme in that they contain no heme and are unaffected by Cyt P450 inhibitors. They are instead inhibited by the flavoprotein inhibitor diphenylene iodonium and by Cu2+. In both white mustard and oilseed rape (Brassica napus) methyl jasmonate specifically stimulates indolylglucosinolate biosynthesis and yet has no effect on sinalbin accumulation in either cotyledons or leaves of white mustard. White mustard appears to be unique among crucifers in having a Cyt P450 aldoxime-forming enzyme for biosynthesis of one glucosinolate, although it also contains all of the non-Cyt P450 enzyme systems found in other members of the family. Sinalbin biosynthesis in white mustard is therefore an inappropriate model system for the synthesis of other glucosinolates in crucifers, including canola and oilseed rape.


The increasing population in Australia is highly urbanized. There is no doubt that the rapid growth in the numbers of residents in the metropolitan areas can highly affect the conditions in the public realm, places where people naturally interact with each other and their community. Therefore, a valid measurement of well-being is required for a planner to come up with solid decisions for improving the quality of urban management. An experimental technique is proposed in this paper for calculating the subjective area-based indicators of liveability based on the people's perception of surrounding environmental and social quality. In our study, a telephone survey on perceived liveability is conducted for Randwick and Green Square area in Sydney. Calculated indices based on the survey data are discussed among several population categories. (Resume d'auteur)


The unsafe behaviour prevention and control of general aviation pilots has become an emphasis in the general aviation safety management with the increasing number of general aviation enterprises, lengthening of flight time and frequent occurrence of public safety events caused by general aviation accidents. How to identify the factors influencing the unsafe behaviours of general aviation pilots and clarify the inter factor evolution mechanism is hot issue in the general aviation. To accurately identify the key factors influencing the unsafe behaviours of general aviation pilots and define the interaction mechanism between factors, using the unsafe behaviours of pilots in 200 global general aviation accidents during 2015-2019 and the association rule method, the bottom-layer factors of the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) model were analysed. Furthermore, the influence degree, influenced degree, centrality and causality of the influencing factors in the HFACS model were calculated, and the risk transfer path at different layers was determined on the basis of the integrated decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and fuzzy theory. Results show that the poor individual ready state is strongly associated with skill error, decision-making error and habitual violation. Moreover, 11 factors, such as poor physical environment, physical/intelligence limitation and poor technical environment, constitute the factors in the cause group for pilot unsafe behaviours. 7 factors, such as insufficient supervision, improper operation plan and failure to discover and correct problems, are the factors in the result group. Illegal behaviour, failure to discover and correct problems and decision-making error of pilots, which are of high centrality, are key factors influencing the unsafe behaviours of general aviation pilots. The conclusions obtained from this study compensate the deficiencies for the linear statistical model of risk factors and provide a novel method for regulating and controlling the unsafe behaviours of general aviation pilots.


Characterisation of inhalation aerosols focuses in the first instance on
aerodynamic particle size, which is measured using cascade impactors. The aerosol must contain large quantities of particles in the respirable size range 1-5 m. Deposition on impactor stages depends on the velocity of the particles as well as their size. Pressurised metered dose inhalers (pMDIs) produce very fast-moving spray plumes, so it is important to understand the dynamic nature of droplet formation processes and spray plumes. This paper presents a selection of findings from an optical diagnostics study of aerosol plumes generated by a Bespak 630 series actuator in conjunction with a series of HFA134a placebo formulations containing ethanol up to 20% w/w. Spray plume dynamics in the vicinity of the spray orifice and further downstream were characterised using phase-Doppler anemometry
(PDA), high-speed imaging and particle image velocimetry (PIV). The findings of the work demonstrate the complementary capabilities of these instruments. PDA provides simultaneous values of mean droplet size and velocity (and their associated statistics), but it is time-consuming to sample a sufficient number of locations to characterise the rapidly changing spray plume. PIV, on the other hand, provides information on entire flow fields albeit at lower spatial and temporal resolution. PIV
and PDA data for the velocity of various spray plumes were found to be in good agreement, which validates both techniques. High-speed imaging also captures the overall characteristics of the plume. The diffraction limit of the optical configuration used for imaging is around 10 m, so it is not possible to observe respirable droplets individually. However, the dynamics and trajectories of larger droplets can be studied. These larger droplets were found to be produced by highly localised atomisation processes, so the resulting droplets can be easily missed or undersampled in PDA surveys. These results suggest that further research on pMDI sprays with these combined tools will provide useful insights into the processes responsible for changes in droplet size and velocity, and can be expected to make a major contribution to improving the development of the next generation of pMDI inhalers.


We present new observations of the faint "Sirius-like" companion discovered to orbit HD 114174. Previous attempts to image HD 114174 B at mid-infrared wavelengths using NIRC2 at Keck have resulted in a non-detection. Our new L′-band observations taken with the Large Binocular Telescope and L/M-band InfraRed Camera recover the companion (ΔL = 10.15 ± 0.15 mag, ρ = 0.″675 ± 0.″016) with a high signal-to-noise ratio (10σ). This measurement represents the deepest L′ high-contrast imaging detection at subarcsecond separations to date, including extrasolar planets. We confirm that HD 114174 B has near-infrared colors consistent with the interpretation of a cool white dwarf (WD; J − L′ = 0.76 ± 0.19 mag, K − L′ = 0.64 ± 0.20). New model fits to the object's spectral energy distribution indicate a temperature Teff = 4260 ± 360 K, surface gravity log g = 7.94 ± 0.03, a cooling age tc ≈ 7.8 Gyr, and mass M = 0.54 ± 0.01 M☉. We find that the cooling ages given by theoretical atmospheric models do not agree with the age of HD 114174 A derived from both isochronological and gyrochronological analyses. We speculate on possible scenarios to explain the apparent age discrepancy between the primary and secondary. HD 114174 B is a nearby benchmark WD that will ultimately enable a dynamical mass estimate through continued Doppler and astrometric monitoring. Efforts to characterize its physical properties in detail will test theoretical atmospheric models and improve our understanding of WD evolution, cooling, and progenitor masses.


The area of distribution of the superficial circumflex iliac, superficial epigastric and superficial external pudental arteries is large and flaps based on them can meet the requirement of different recipient sites. We have transplanted free flaps based on the superficial epigastric artery for repairing plantar soft tissue defects in six leprosy patients. During the follow-up examination 58 to 118 months later there has been no recurrence of ulceration in any of these cases. The latissimus dorsi muscle, is mainly nourished by the thoracadorsal artery and the latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous flap is a large sized, composite structure with abundant blood provision and strong anti-infectious property. The latissimus dorsi flap can be used as an artery-pedicled island flap or as a free flap besides its use as a muscle graft, because of its constant vascular position, wide outer-diameter of the vessels and long pedicle. It can therefore be utilized for repairing soft tissue defect or replacement of paralyzed muscle. We have used the latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous free flap for repairing large skin and soft tissue defects resulting from plantar ulceration in three leprosy patients. During the follow-up period, one patient who had complete drop-foot and had refused corrective surgery had recurrence of the ulcer in the 12th post-operative month. No ulcers had recurred in the other two cases during the follow-up at 48 and 114 months.


OBJECTIVE
The authors investigated the natural history of asymptomatic nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs) with optic nerve compression.

METHODS
This study retrospectively analyzed the natural history of asymptomatic NFPAs with documented optic nerve compression on MRI diagnosed between 2000 and 2016 from 2 institutions. The patients were followed up with regular endocrinological, ophthalmological, and radiological evaluations, and the endpoint was new endocrinopathy or neurological deficits.

RESULTS
The study comprised 81 patients. The median age at diagnosis was 58.0 years and the follow-up duration was 60.0 months. As the denominator of overall pituitary patients, 2604 patients were treated with surgery after diagnosis at the 2 institutions during the same period. The mean initial and last measured values for tumor diameter were 23.7 ± 8.9 mm and 26.2 ± 11.4 mm, respectively (mean ± SD). Tumor growth was observed in 51 (63.0%) patients; however, visual deterioration was observed in 14 (17.3%) patients. Ten (12.3%) patients experienced endocrine deterioration. Fourteen (17.3%) patients underwent surgery for either visual deterioration (in 12 patients) or endocrine dysfunction (in 2 patients). After surgery, all patients experienced improvements in visual or hormonal function. The actuarial rates of treatment-free survival at 2, 3, and 5 years were 96.1%, 93.2%, and 85.6%, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, initial cavernous sinus invasion (HR 4.985, 95% CI 1.597-15.56; p = 0.006) was the only independent risk factor for eventual treatment.

CONCLUSIONS
The neuroendocrinological deteriorations were not frequent and could be recovered by surgery with early detection on regular follow-up in asymptomatic NFPAs with documented optic nerve compression on MRI. Therefore, conservative management could be an acceptable strategy for these tumors. Careful follow-up is required for tumors with cavernous sinus invasion.


Therapy of oral, esophageal and gastrointestinal candidiasis is still a common problem that can be solved by an administration of antimycotics. Major disadvantage of registered commercial antifungal medicinal products is their price, so the health care system and its payers may profit from extemporaneous compounding. An appropriate drug therapy for candidiasis (trush) is nystatin, which is a substance available in the Czech Republic for the magistral preparation relatively recently, since 2010. Making formulas for extemporaneous compounding is quite simple and preparations particularly useful for dentists, pediatricians, otolaryngologists, oncologists and gastroenterologists. The authors formulated composition of viscous oromucosal suspension, oral/oromucosal hydrogel and oromucosal gelatine globule which may be present as compounded products containing nystatin for oromucosal and/or oral administration. The preparation is practically verified and magistral products have been already used in clinical practice.


Local, regional, state and federal governments employ smart growth for a wide variety of purposes, yet seldom define it except by example. The current national emphasis on smart growth, great diversity of implementing tools, and frequent confusion with other planning trends suggest a need to analyze this particular planning trend. This paper uses a survey of self-identified smart growth tools to conceptualize and analyze smart growth. The results show smart growth isn't really new or innovative. While smart growth's vague appeal to all ideologies currently precludes it from becoming a progressive movement, the trend's pragmatism could unite these competing interests.


We consider the problem of Hinfin (uniformly optimal) control with non-zero initial conditions. Quantitative results are derived for examining whether the performance of an Hinfin controller is robust against uncertainty in the initial conditions of both the plant and controller. State-space approach for the construction of the controllers that achieve a certain Hinfin performance bound when the magnitude of the initial condition is known to lie within some maximum singular value bound is also presented


Abstract Salt cavities for the storage of natural gas in bedded or domal salt structures are an important element of current and future energy supply management. In Germany, the mechanical design of salt cavities has a history of more than 35 years. This paper gives a personal view of current salt cavity design. It discusses the geomechanical characteristics of storage cavities and principle safety demands for their design as well as recent design concepts and methods for providing geotechnical proof of safety with specialized criteria, limit values and safety margins. In view of the uncertainties inherent in the design of geotechnical mechanical structures, monitoring of excavation and operation are essential parts of underground geotechnical constructions. A new monitoring software code is presented that will help both to document that past and to plan future cavern operation. Cavern abandonment is an object of current research, especially the basic understanding of mechanisms acting or becoming active at elevated fluid pressures (gas or brine) at the level of primary (lithostatic) rock mass pressures. This paper presents some basic knowledge and a computer code for analysing the long-term behaviour of sealed liquid-filled salt cavities with simulation of pressure build-up, infiltration and following seepage flow.


The crucial role of town partnerships in the management, marketing and regeneration of places, and in factors that affecting its performance (such as retailing, planning, infrastructure, housing) has been widely emphasized in the literature (De Magalhaes, 2012; Diamond, 2002; Hemphill et al., 2006; Warnaby et al., 2004; Whyatt, 2004). Successful partnerships often refrain from the managerial or top-down approach, and emphasize on building bridges between all local stakeholders in an attempt to enhance community engagement and participation (Head, 2007). The ideal concept of "partnership" is one of joined-up place governance by all place stakeholders (Friend, 2006), a view that is supported by the UK government, which calls for "community participation", "involving the community" and "holistic partnership" throughout the attempt to "economically transform areas and create sustainable places where people want to live and can work and businesses want to invest" (DCLG, 2009; pg.1; Greig et al., 2010).
However, the creation of sustainable and successful partnerships is hampered by various parameters, such as the lack of stakeholder engagement and communication barriers between partnerships and local stakeholders (public, private, and voluntary). Whereas the future of towns is of relevance to a wide range of stakeholders (Nisco, Riviezzo, & Napolitano, 2008), only a small proportion of them seems to be interested in making a change and engages in collaborative town activities (Medway et al., 2000). Lack of collaboration and co-operation with stakeholders on a network level that stems from the inability to engage with them in the first place hinders the ability of partnerships to tackle complex and ill-defined problem solving in towns (e.g. the long-term decline of a town centre) (O'Higgins & Morgan, 2006). Barriers to communication are also prevalent between place stakeholders and partnerships, which leads to little involvement and no real empowerment of important stakeholders over town decisions (Davies, 2002).
The paper aims to address the issue of communication and stakeholder engagement through an empirical examination of 10 town partnerships that participate in a High Street project. Data were collected from direct and indirect observations, as well as town documents. Initial findings suggest that the difficulty of engaging stakeholders stems from failure to find the right way to get everyone "up to speed" with what is going on in town. Town partnerships recognise that "communication is key" to the prosperity of partnerships and the town. The challenges and problems of communicating with stakeholders, as well as ideas and proposals of tackling these will be presented in a communication model, which will emphasise multiple patterns of communication in partnerships. The study aims to contribute to the understanding and successful implementation of communication practices between stakeholders, in order to enhance participation and engagement in town partnerships.


The characteristics of the order flow in limit order markets has been significantly altered since the introduction of Market in Financial Instruments Directive. We revisit issues related to the shape of the limit order book and its information content in a post-MiFID world using message level data from London Stock Exchange's electronic limit order book. We find that the top of the limit order book contains less than £20,000 in depth and the slope of the order book is steep near the top. This has not translated into bad execution performance primarily due to a reduction in average trading size. However, we find that there are instances when the limit order book is extremely thin, especially for lower capitalization stocks. We further observe that the limit order book beyond the best quotes contains information about future short-term price changes. This information, however, is short-lived and can be only exploited in an algorithmic trading environment.


Abstract : This research investigates the impact of a geographical positioning system (GPS) on two different participant groups, university students and municipal crisis management teams. The goal is to identify differences in the work processes of teams that have access to a GPS in their command posts, compared to teams that use paper maps. A total of 132 students and 108 professionals, forming 40 teams, where tested in a simulated C4ISTAR mission environment. The identified differences was mapped to the corresponding C4ISTAR notions, indicating an influence on decision quality and performance, not only for military use but also for control and communication systems, designed to support municipal crisis management teams in Sweden.


Five East Asian currencies -- the Indonesian rupiah, Korean won, Singapore dollar, Taiwanese dollar, and the Thai baht -- are modeled in the framework of a monetary specification augmented by the relative price of nontradables. This relative price variable proxies for the Balassa-Samuelson effect in East Asian real exchange rates identified in Chinn (1997b). All of the currencies fit the long run implications of various types of monetary models, according to Johansen (1988) multivariate cointegration tests. Exchange rates do the bulk of adjustment toward equilibrium, except in the cases of the Thai baht and the New Taiwan dollar. For these currencies, interest rates and money supplies move to restore equilibrium. In ex post simulation, the out-of-sample fit of the estimated models is relatively good for the won, Singapore and New Taiwan dollars, and for the baht, although in no case is the exact magnitude and timing of the currency clashes predicted. The estimated model completely fails to track the rupiah out-of-sample.


From which may be drawn a general rule, which never or very rarely fails, that whoever is the cause of another becoming powerful, is ruined himself.1 Machiavelli recognized that how a nation deals with threats to its national security not only affects its power relative to other nations but, equally importantly, determines divisions of power within that nation. This is especially true in a republican form of government where the key to maintaining the integrity of that system of government is the separation of powers. Such is the case in the United States. By preventing the accumulation of power in any one branch of government, the doctrine of separation of powers among the legislative, executive, and judiciary branches acts as a fundamental safeguard for our constitutional form of government. Fidelity to this doctrine is often compromised when exigencies require a swift response to foreign threats. When that response entails the use of military force, attention is naturally drawn to the possibility of infringement on the separation of powers and the nondelegation doctrine. Equally problematic, however, and worthy of attention is a vast array of complementary or lesser war powers short of the use of military force that are granted to the president, but whose use is not as prominent and not as open to public scrutiny. Such lesser war powers are contained in the National Emergency Act (NEA)2 and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).3 These Acts are linked together because a declaration of a national emergency under the former triggers the broad regulatory powers enumerated in the latter. Under the IEEPA, the president has the power to fully regulate trade with other nations as well as impose criminal sanctions on American citizens who violate such regulations. This Note addresses the constitutional and pragmatic viability of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the National Emergency Act in light of the Supreme Court's revival of the nondelegation doctrine. Though the Court has examined the nondelegation doctrine mainly in the context of domestic legislation, the continued usurpation of legislative authority in foreign affairs by the executive branch, coupled with a changing idea of the proper balance of power in foreign affairs, warrants a renewed examination of the allocation of decisionmaking powers under the IEEPA and the NEA. Part I of this Note examines the growing divergence between the limited degree of discretion allowed to the executive in domestic legislation and the tremendous discretion given the president under the NEA and the IEEPA due to the lack of intelligible principles restricting presidential action under those acts. Part II criticizes how congressional acquiescence and judicial deference to the executive make the coordinate branches meaningless constraints on presidential authority in the area of foreign policy and lead to the usurpation of legislative power in violation of the nondelegation doctrine. Part III concludes that the only workable solution to these problems is not to require intelligible principles but to amend the NEA and the IEEPA to incorporate a "sunset provision" similar to that found in the War Powers Act. Such a provision would require Congress to take affirmative action-either by passing a joint resolution declaring a national emergency or legislation specifically authorizing the president's action-in order to continue the president's authority after an initial declaration of national emergency. By forcing Congress into the decisionmaking process, a sunset provision would provide a means of constraining presidential action under the IEEPA and the NEA. I. The Role of the Separation of Powers and the Nondelegation Doctrine in the Allocation of Legislative Authority As a fundamental safeguard of liberty, the U.S. Constitution divides the legislative, executive, and judicial powers among three branches of government. The founding fathers believed that the separation of powers was essential because "[w]hen the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person or body . …


Background Ergonomic risk factors such as force, frequency and repetition of tasks and awkward work posture in an office environment may contribute to musculoskeletal disorders resulting in occupational injuries, work lost times and reduced work performance. This study aimed at implementing ergonomic methods to recognise risk factors and performing an educational and training intervention to eliminate risk factors and prevent the risk of musculoskeletal injury. Methods A longitudinal study was designed to evaluate the effects of educational and training program among office employees from September 2012 to 2014. Rapid Office Strain Assessment was carried out to determine ergonomic risk factors and as a basis for intervention. Interventions based on Educational lectures, onsite training and publicity brochures. Pre and post tests were applied to participants to identify the changes after one year of intervention. Results We found that the level of occupational health risk perception was low among employees. Adverse work postures were identified as the most common risk factors in office operations. Interventions revealed improvement in occupational health awareness, attitude and behaviour. The prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort was reduced significantly after intervention (p<0.5). Discussion overall, educational and training interventions showed positive effects in decreasing exposure to awkward work postures and movement. The most of employees were satisfied with the program. Our findings suggest the need for preventing intervention consisting of education and training in office ergonomics. However, Studies are needed to examine the consistent effect of interventions on the outcomes


Estrogen replacement therapy has been shown to attenuate atherogenesis, although the mechanisms for this effect are incompletely defined. Previously, we showed that 17-beta estradiol (estradiol) attenuated oxidant stress-induced increases in vascular low density lipoprotein (LDL) accumulation. It was unclear whether estradiol's effect was imparted on the lipoprotein particle or the artery wall. To examine this, we chronically treated rats with the following sex hormones: low estradiol, high estradiol, progesterone, low estradiol + progesterone, placebo, or control. Carotid arteries (n = 8/group) were isolated and perfused with fluorescently labeled LDL. Rates of LDL accumulation were measured before and after treatment with 10 ng/ml tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) using quantitative fluorescence microscopy. We observed a 50% decrease in basal LDL accumulation rates (P < 0.01) and a 25% decrease in endothelial layer permeability (P < 0.01) in arteries from estradiol-treated animals. There was no effect of hormone replacement on rate of TNF-induced LDL accumulation (P = 0.451), while incubation of LDL with 65 pg/ml estradiol attenuated the TNF effect (P < 0.01). These experiments suggest two independent mechanisms of anti-atherogenic protection by estradiol: 1) decreased endothelial layer permeability; and 2) incorporation of estradiol into the LDL particle and prevention of LDL binding to the artery wall.


This paper examines the research output of lung cancer in the G7 and the BRIC countries by scientometric method. Data has been downloaded from Scopus database for the period of 10 years (2003-2012). This study compares the growth rate (CAGR), Collaboration Coefficient (CC) and Publication Activity (TAI) of the countries of both the groups. Two relative indicators- Absolute Citation Impact (ACI) and Relative Citation Impact (RCI) have been adopted to compare the quality and impact of the lung cancer research. We found that the BRIC countries had a significant growth in both in the number of articles and their share in the recent years when compared with the G7


This paper estimates the role of social capital in individual labor incomes in Brazil. It starts discussing the concept and the measurement of social capital, so that a procedure that identifies a group of individuals in society that has a negligible social capital can be built. As a consequence, the role of social capital in individual labor income can be estimated through a Mincerian type equation. Results indicate that this role reaches 63%, on average. This means that weak institutions have throw the Brazilian economy to a high dependence on social capital for the search processes in labor market and for the ability to generate trust on economic relationships. Therefore, public policies should always be concerned with their consequences for social capital formation and there should exist particular policies to increase trust and reduce the costs of search so that the role of social capital in individual incomes falls.


Purpose: To report 2 cases of cornea verticillata (CV) after vandetanib treatment for medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). Methods: In this retrospective interventional, case-report study, 2 patients who under vandetanib treatment for MTC were referred to our ophthalmology department because of vision complaints. Both subjects underwent a complete ophthalmologic examination, including confocal microscopy (CM) using the Heidelberg Retina Tomograph and Rostock Cornea Module. Results: A 70-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman, both with a history of MTC under treatment with vandetanib for 5 months and 30 months, respectively, presented with blurred vision. In both patients, a mild CV pattern was observed although deposits were more evident in the male patient. CM images showed hyperreflective deposits in the corneal epithelium and subepithelial nerve plexus. Bright microdots were also seen throughout the stroma, along with a few hyperreflective keratocytes in the anterior stroma. Conclusions: In both patients, vandetanib seemed to be the cause of CV. The CM images supported the idea of drug–lipid complex deposits in vandetanib-induced CV.


In this paper we present the economic determinants of the optimal length of a carbon offset contract. We find that because of a declining capacity of the soil to sequester carbon, the optimal length of the carbon contract is finite (the marginal benefit of remaining in the contract is declining over time, whereas marginal opportunity cost is rising). We also explore the effect of varying key parameter values on the optimal length in the contract. If the contract requires the farmer to sequester at a higher rate, the farmer chooses the contract for a shorter length of time, and this may decrease rather than increase social welfare. If society places a higher value on carbon accumulation, the contract is chosen for a longer length of time. Finally, if both the farmer and society have a higher discount rate, the model provides a somewhat surprising result. The overall time in the contract, and benefits from carbon accumulation are higher when the common discount rate is higher.


Objective
To determine the changes of protein expressions in human retinal microvascular pericytes (HRMPCs) stimulated with high glucose by using quantitative proteomics, which provides new clues for future investigation of diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Methods
HRMPCs were divided into two groups.The cells in control group were cultured in DMEM basic medium with 25 mmol/L glucose, while the cells in high glucose group were cultured in DMEM medium with 35 mmol/L glucose.The amount of living cells was measured by cell counting kit-8(CCK-8). The proteins were collected from the two groups and then were digested with trypsin.Peptides of 2 μg were injected into the time of flight-mass spectrometer and the acquisition mode was DDA.The results were further analyzed using bioinformatics software.

Results
CCK-8 results showed that the absorbance (A450) of HRMPCs in high glucose group was 0.75±0.04, which was significantly lower than 0.91±0.05 in control group (t=5.784, P=0.000 2). In total, 1 972 proteins were identified and 54 of them were significantly different between the two groups (fold change >1.5). Among them, 13 proteins were up-regulated, including CTNNB1 and CTBP2; while 41 proteins were down-regulated, including SQSTM1 and HMGCS1.The differentially expressed proteins were mainly involved in citric acid cycle and aerobic respiration.

Conclusions
The expressions of many proteins in HRMPCs change under the stimulation of high glucose, which may influence the respiration and the ATP production of cells and eventually induce the loss of pericyte.

Key words:
Diabetic retinopathy; Proteomics; Human retinal microvascular pericyte


A comprehensive list of the best measured wavelengths in the In II spectrum has been compiled. Uncertainties of the wavelength measurements have been analyzed, and existing inconsistencies have been resolved. An optimized set of fine-structure energy levels that fits all observed wavelengths has been derived. Uncertainties of the energy level values have been reduced by an order of magnitude. An improved value of the ionization limit of In II has been determined by fitting quantum-defect and polarization formulas for several series of levels. Intensities of lines observed by different authors have been analyzed and converted to a uniform scale. A set of recommended values of radiative transition rates has been critically compiled, and uncertainties of these rates have been estimated. The hyperfine structure interval in the 5s 2S ground state of In III has been determined from the measurements of the 5sng and 5snh series in In II.


Intensifying global dynamics of wildlife crime are rapidly reshaping conservation politics, practices and geographies. Most pronounced are the manifold violent responses to wildlife crime, including direct lethal action and increasing anticipatory action to prevent these crimes from happening in the first place. This paper reflects on these dynamics in relation to recent literature that employs Foucault's concept of biopower to understand the governance of increasingly precarious human and non-human life. Building on Brian Massumi's exposition of ontopower – an 'environmental power' that "alters the life environment's conditions of emergence" – I explore whether we are seeing a move from bio- to ontopower where the imperative is less the construction of systemic forms of governmentality to ensure life's 'optimisation' than on processually pre-empting incipient tendencies towards unknown but certain future threats to life. Phrased differently, ontopower focuses on how to prevent nature's destruction in the future through pre-emptive measures in the present. Drawing on empirical research on violent responses to rhino poaching in South Africa, the paper argues that we are seeing the uneven emergence of new geographies of conservation based on ontopower. It concludes by speculating whether conservation's insecurity is turning into its pre-emptive other by making (green) war necessary for non-human life's survival.


We consider the problem of learning causal relationships in continuous additive noise models (ANM) from a machine learning perspective. Causal discovery from ANMs has primarily focused on testing for independence between the residuals and the true parent set of a variable. We posit that this unique association between residuals and the true parent set can be leveraged with kernel mean embedding to predict causal relationships in observational data. In particular, we propose a framework that finds useful patterns and constructs the causal graph by predicting the true parent set of each variable. We present an analysis of the patterns from kernel mean embeddings that explains their discriminative ability in predicting causal relationships. Finally, we perform simulations that demonstrate the effectiveness of our method.