We investigate the motives and consequences of the consolidation of cooperative banks (Shinkin) in Japan during the period 1984-2002. Our major findings are as follows. First, less profitable and less cost efficient banks are more likely to be an acquirer and a target, though even less profitable and less cost efficient banks are more likely to be a target rather than an acquirer. In addition, a larger bank is more likely to be an acquirer and smaller one a target. These results are consistent with the regulators' motive for stabilizing the local banking system.iiSecond, acquiring banks improved cost efficiency after the consolidation. M&As also raised the loan interest rate and improved profitability and X-efficiency particularly since the latter half of the 1990s. Nonetheless, the improvement of ROA after the merger was not sufficient to fill in the initial gap of the capital ratio between merging banks and peers, resulting in the deterioration of the capital ratio of consolidated banks relative to peers. M&As did not contribute to sufficiently stabilize the local banking system despite the regulators' motive. Third, the consolidation tended to improve the profitability of merging banks when the difference in profitability and healthiness between acquiring banks and target banks were large, which is consistent with the relative efficiency hypothesis (e.g., Akhavein, Berger, and Humphrey, 1997).Length: 48 pages


In an increasingly competitive graduate market, information literacy (IL) has gained importance as students' progress through university and prepare for employment. The aim of the study was to evaluate the Information Literacy Test (ILT) developed by James Madison University (JMU). Eighty-nine, level four students from the Faculty of Business, Sport and Enterprise completed the ILT. Student impressions of the test were obtained upon completion. The mean test score was (x± SD) 56 ± 15%. Analysis suggested that standards 2 and 5 were areas of particular concern. Student feedback suggested question format and layout were popular, although subject specific questions were preferred. In addition the number of test questions should be reduced. Whilst the ILT was comprehensive, the format of the test and language used was possibly not conducive with UK HE institutions. Therefore the research team plan to formulate a Solent ILT based on the SCONUL seven pillars.


See related article, pp 273–280

Sodium and calcium homeostasis are tightly regulated by endocrine systems. Of particular importance are effects of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS) on sodium and of parathyroid hormone (PTH) and vitamin D on calcium homeostasis.

Although previous investigations studied the relationship between the RAAS and PTH in the setting of either absolute aldosterone excess, that is, primary aldosteronism (PA), or absolute PTH excess, that is, primary hyperparathyroidism, Brown et al addressed this issue in study participants without autonomous dysregulation of either aldosterone or PTH.1 This post hoc investigation was performed in obese and overweight patients under control of posture, diet, time of day, and medications known to modulate the RAAS.

The research group around Brown identified the expression of the angiotensin II (AngII) type I receptor and of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) in normal parathyroid glands and increased 2- to 4-fold in adenomatous parathyroid glands. Although low serum calcium levels are the physiological stimulus for the synthesis and secretion of PTH by the parathyroid glands, the data by Brown et al suggest an additional direct regulatory impact of the RAAS on PTH. This hypothesis was substantiated by an increase of PTH and aldosterone after AngII infusions and a decrease of both hormones after a single dose of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)–inhibitor captopril.

In view of a lacking effect of aldosterone infusion on PTH levels, Brown et al concluded that AngII might mediate the acute effects of the RAAS on PTH secretion, whereas aldosterone might mediate long-term effects on PTH via genomic MR-related mechanisms. With this in line, MR antagonists by spironolactone treatment for 6 weeks modestly but significantly lowered PTH, as well as serum calcium and …


Although in Anglo-American torts law there is no universal positive duty to require rescue, it is now a facet of many continental jurisdictions and increasingly in Canada and the USA to enact a "Good Samaritan" statute which gives an underpinning for rescue efforts. However, the corollary is that many of these statutes give immunity from suit to rescuers. Some of these statutes stipulate that rescuers must act with reasonable care, which is a codification of the Common Law structure. It follows that both that legislation and the Common Law exclude conduct by the rescuer which is "foolhardy", "wanton", "grossly negligent" or "reckless". What therefore is the test of a "negligent rescue" which might give rise to liability? What are the current parameters? Should rescuers be granted immunity in the United Kingdom? What might be the consequences of enacting a Good Samaritan statute here? Dr Fulbrook analyses some of the principal cases in Britain, the United States and Canada, and sets out a possible framework for litigation.


The purpose of this study was to explore the protective effects of different doses of rutin with the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties on acute lung injury (ALI) induced by oleic acid (OA) in rats. Thirty-five Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly separated into five groups comprising control, rutin 150 mg, OA, rutin 75 mg + OA and rutin 150 mg + OA. In the rutin 75 mg + OA and rutin 150 mg + OA groups, the lung malondialdehyde level (MDA) was significantly lower than that of the OA group. In the rutin 75 mg + OA and and rutin 150 mg + OA groups, the lung GPx (glutathione peroxidase), CAT (catalase) and SOD (superoxide dismutase) activities and GSH (glutathione) levels were significantly higher than those of the OA group, and significantly lower than those of the control group. iNOS expressions in the interstitial parts of the lungs were significantly lower than those of the OA group. The iNOS expression was lower in the 150 mg + OA group compared to the rutin 75 mg + OA group. It was concluded that on the ALI induced by OA, rutin had protective effects through the antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties and that the treatment of rutin as a supportive treatment in ALI was found to be practically useful.


Today bike sharing systems are becoming popular in many cities as short-distance transit vehicles. More than 18 million bicycles are available worldwide for public use and one of the main problems that afflicts such sharing systems is the loss of bikes, which can be stolen or simply left in unknown locations. Thus, many bikes are docked or tracked using GPS and costly cellular connections. In this paper, we consider the emerging Long Range (LoRa) technology for use in bike sharing systems. LoRa exploits free ISM bands and has been conceived for low power and low data rate applications. Additionally, LoRa is characterized by large cells and heterogeneous application domains, which may lead to extremely high numbers of devices coexisting in the same cell. Thus, in this paper we study the scalability limits of a typical LoRa cell, showing that the performance of LoRa in crowded scenarios can be quite limited when using high spreading factors (SFs). Then, we design and realize a prototype of LoRa tracker module that can be embedded in a bike and we test its use in a large area of Palermo city, Italy. According to our knowledge, this is the first paper that study the performance of LoRa for bike sharing systems.


Patients with SCLC should have a complete history and physical examination with particular attention paid to symptoms and signs of extensive disease and paraneoplastic syndromes. Hematology and biochemistry should be obtained at the initial assessment. A chest radiograph will usually have been performed prior to diagnosis. Further imaging should then be done to determine if the patient has limited or extensive disease. In the nonprotocol setting, extensive radiologic investigations are not required once a site of metastatic disease has been identified. If symptoms or signs are present to indicate a site of extensive disease, then this should direct the next test. In the absence of any specific findings then either bone scan or abdominal imaging with either US or CT scanning may be done based on the roughly equal likelihood of metastatic disease in liver or bone. Because a bone scan is less expensive, it is often the next test selected. If the bone scan is negative, abdominal imaging should then be performed, followed by brain CT scan. If these investigations are negative, the next study should be a thoracic CT scan. Bone marrow examination is probably unnecessary in the nonprotocol setting unless serum LDH levels are elevated. In the setting of a clinical trial, complete staging should be done and even more precise staging using the TNM system should be considered based on the improved survival of patients with proven stage I disease. Using more precise staging will allow accurate comparisons of clinical trials and eliminate or minimize the question of patient selection. Surgical staging with mediastinoscopy may come to have a role in accurately determining stage I or II disease.


The concept of adaptive shape parameters (ASP) has been presented for solution of incompressible Navier Strokes equations using mesh-free local Radial Basis Functions (RBF). The aim is to avoid ill-conditioning of coefficient matrices of RBF weights and inaccuracies in RBF interpolation resulting from non-optimized shape of basis functions for the cases where data points (or nodes) are not distributed uniformly throughout the domain. Unlike conventional approaches which assume globally similar values of RBF shape parameters, the presented ASP technique suggests that shape parameter be calculated exclusively for each data point (or node) based on the distribution of data points within its own influence domain. This will ensure interpolation accuracy while still maintaining well-conditioned system of equations for RBF weights. Performance and accuracy of ASP technique has been tested by evaluating derivatives and laplacian of a known function using RBF in Finite difference mode (RBFFD), with and without the use of adaptivity in shape parameters. Application of adaptive shape parameters (ASP) for solution of incompressible Navier Strokes equations has been presented by solving lid driven cavity flow problem on mesh-free domain using RBF-FD. The results have been compared for fixed and adaptive shape parameters. Improved accuracy has been achieved with the use of ASP in RBF-FD especially at regions where larger gradients of field variables exist.


In order to test doses of metribu zin (0,0; 0,35; 0,70 and 1,05 kg a.i.ha 1) in weed control and yield of soybe an (Glycine max (L.) Merri ll, Uberaba), an experiment was conducted under field conditions in a clayey red yellow podzolic soil with 2,9% organic matter at Vicosa, MG, during the 1985 /86 growing season. Most of the monocotyledqns species present in the experimental area consisted of Cyperus rotundus L., Brachiaria plantaginea (Link) Hitch and Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. Reduction observed was only for Brachiaria plantaginea as metribuzin doses increased, the sa me occuring with dycot iledons species existent in the area except for Oxalis oxypt era Prop. wich was not controlled by the doses using. The avera ge of the tota l weed density minus Cyper us rotundus, Oxalis oxyptera and Cynodon da+-ylon was 141, 124, 62 and 59 plants.m2 for 0,0; 0,35; 0,70 and 1,05 kg a.i.ha-1 metribuzin, respectively. The lowest dose of metri buzin (0,35 kg a.i.ha-1) was as sufficient to promote reduction on weed shoot biomass at the highest did (1,05 kg a.i.ha-1). However, the mean of the total weed density was drastically recuded in the doses of 0,70 and 1,05 kg a.i.ha-1. The metribuzin caused damage to soybean plants at highest dose (1,05 kg a.i.ha-1) employed with a slight leaf injury '(chlorosis) until 25 days after emergence. After this period it was observed a total recovery of the plants treat ed with this dose. The yield and the harvest index were not affected by doses of metribuzin.


This book examines the role of translation—the rendering of texts and ideas from one language to another, as both act and trope—in shaping attitudes toward nationalism and colonialism in Korean and Japanese intellectual discourse between the time of Japan's annexation of Korea in 1910 and the passing of the colonial generation in the mid-1960s. Drawing on Korean and Japanese texts ranging from critical essays to short stories produced in the colonial and postcolonial periods, it analyzes the ways in which Japanese colonial and Korean nationalist discourse pivoted on such concepts as language, literature, and culture.


To date, biofilters have been used primarily to control dilute, usually odorous, off-gases with relatively low volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations (< 1 g m-3) and VOC loads (< 50 g m-3 hr-1). Recently, however, U.S. industry has shown an interest in applying biofilters to higher concentrations of VOCs and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). In this study, the behavior of biofilters under high loads of binary VOC mixtures was studied. Two bench-scale biofilters were operated using a commercially available medium and a mixture of wood chips and compost. Both were exposed to varying mixtures of ethyl acetate and toluene. Concentration profiles and the corresponding removal efficiencies as a function of VOC loading were determined through frequent grab-sampling and GC analysis. Biofilter response to two frequently encountered operating problems--media dry-out and operating temperatures exceeding 40 degrees C--was also evaluated under controlled conditions. Microbial populations were also monitored to confirm the presence of organisms capable of degrading both major off-gas constituents. The results demonstrated several characteristics of biofilters operating under high VOC load conditions. Maximum elimination capacities for ethyl acetate were typically in the range of 200 g m-3 hr-1. Despite the presence of toluene degraders, the removal of toluene was inhibited by high loads of ethyl acetate. Several byproducts, particularly ethanol, were formed. Short-term dry-out and temperature excursions resulted in reduced performance.


LABVIEW is a powerful and versatile graphical programming language that had its roots in operation, automation control and data acquisition of the system. The pH control system of a non-linear wastewater treatment unit, contains heavy metals (Cu, Cr, Cd, Fe, Ni and Zn), had been developed depending on dynamics behavior of the process. The pH value of wastewater is change by addition chemicals (lime or Na 2S). The semi-batch pH process system dynamically behaved as a first order lag with dead time. The tuning of control parameters was carried by several methods; Internal Model Control (IMC), Minimum (ITAE) criteria and Adaptive mode. Since the process was fast, the Integral of Absolute of Error (IAE) criteria was used to compare between the above tuning methods. Adaptive control was the best and effective to determining the values of proportional gain (Kc), Integral time constant (τ I) and Derivative time constant (τ D ).PI mode was found to be the best for control the fast pH process.


An instrument measuring visual memory span in long term memory was tested on 239 community dwelling adults, aged 55-94 years, using 24 color photographs of common household objects, which were recalled ten minutes later. Significant correlations were found between the number of images recalled adage, level of education, level of income, intelligence, sex and social activity. Positions of images exhibited strong relationships with recall. The instrument has potential in clarifying memory span issues regarding development, gender, depression, spatial properties and efficacy of adult instructional methods. Introduction: An emerging context for research Ultimately, all that we do in adult education or anyother form of education rests upon the changes that are created in the brain. If no changes were made, nothing was learned. Learning is the creation of memory. If there is no memory, then the mind has nothing with which to work, no foundation for intelligent action. Learning, cognitive neuroscientists tell us, is built upon the chemical changes in the nerves and supporting cells (Gazzangia, et al. 1998). How long a memory lasts seems to be determined by changes in the nerve's synaptic wiring and glial support cell structures. However, many variables are frequently controlled by the instructor and deeply influence the changes in the brain and hence their memory. It follows that if effective learning is to occur, it becomes necessary that educators learn something of how the brain/mind functions. Regardless of the specific educational role of adult educators, we are basically interacting with each other's brains and the mind, which is an expression of the brain's function. But as educators, what do we know about how it works? Few educators appear to have any functional understanding of the mind/brain systems and how they interact with instructional methods; the resulting deficit suggests that our teaching is probably somewhat less than optimal. Educational and psychological research has moved far from B.F. Skinner's behaviorist positions where the brain didn't matter (Kelso, 1996). Psychology lacked a biological foundation when the brain was ignored, along with its evolutionary development. In the past two decades an amalgamation of cognitive psychology, biology, neuroscience, chemistry, and physics has formed a new field called Cognitive Neuroscience. This interdisciplinary field permits researchers to explore the exceedingly complex issues of the brain and mind. Our knowledge and understanding the brain/ mind systems have changed enormously in the past few decades. Researchers are beginning to realize that even the cognitive approach to learning is inadequate, or as John Ratey (1999) of Harvard Medical School stated, "Everything matters." Major cognitive theories on working memory, systems for attention, and learning being inextricably bound with emotions were supported by physical evidence from the Cognitive Neurosciences (Damasio 1994: LeDoux, 1996). With this vast wealth of new knowledge, major implications for both public and adult education have arisen. The following samples are some of the potentially relevant discoveries, each of which may affect the ability of the adult to learn: the role of emotions in the creation of memory, hormonal shifts (such as during or after menopause) that may alter both memory and attention (LeDoux, 1996); brain alternations which result from exposure to drugs or violence (Newberger, 1999; Volavka, 1995); the apparent generation of neurons in the brain's cortex throughout life impacts the ability to learn, as well as recovery from brain injury (Gould, 1999); the level of social and physical activity has an impact upon cognitive function (Rowe & Kahn, 1998); the probable existence of a "smart" gene; and the ability of the environmental conditions to switch brain genes on or off (Koslk, 2000). These discoveries, as well the numerous sexual differences in the mind's processing of language and shapes, represent a few of the areas that have witnessed extensive elaboration in the past decade. …


Switches in coiling direction of shells of the planktonic foraminifer Neogloboquadrina pachyderma have been extensively used as a paleotemperature proxy from the late Miocene through the Quaternary, exploiting the specific modern polar affinity of the sinistrally coiled form. Here we have reexamined the origin of the modern sinistral form in Pliocene and Pleistocene sediments from Ocean Drilling Program Site 1014 in the eastern North Pacific. By using morphometric and stable isotope data, we show that Pliocene and Pleistocene sinistral forms of N. pachyderma are morphologically and ecologically different and that modern-type sinistral form first appeared ca. 1 Ma. These findings suggest that N. pachyderma sinistral should not be used for calibrated paleoceanographic reconstructions prior to the middle Pleistocene and reinforce the need to assess the origin of specific ecological affinities of other modern planktonic foraminifer species. The first appearance of the modern form and the subsequent evolution of its mean shell size appear to have been synchronous in the North Pacific and the North Atlantic. Such hemispheric evolutionary synchronicity implies existence of trans-Arctic gene flow. The modern-type shell morphology and the specific cold-water affinity of N. pachyderma sinistral may have evolved in response to the onset of the 100 k.y. climate regime in the middle Pleistocene.


: Polymorphonuclear neutrophilic leukocyte chemotaxis was examined in vitro in the presence of the following antibiotics: tetracycline, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, gentamicin, methicillin, sulfadiazine, cephalothin, oxacillin, nafcillin and clindamycin. Results indicate that high concentrations (1 mg/ml) of tetracycline, nafcillin, erythromycin and sulfadiazine inhibited the chemotactic response of neutrophils. Tetracycline produced an inhibition at concentrations as low as 1mug/ml. A stimulation of the neutrophil chemotactic response was observed in the presence of chloramphenicol in all concentrations. The results are discussed with particular emphasis on the implications to host immunity.


Forty remission patients with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) underwent matched allogenic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) following preparation with cyclophosphamide and fractionated total body irradiation (TBI). As of March 1987, the median follow-up is more than 3 1/2 years. Thirteen patients are alive (11 relapse free) between 2 and 4 1/2 years post-BMT. Neither age, sex, remission number, prior extramedullary leukemia, nor WBC at diagnosis of ALL was statistically significant as a predictor of relapse-free survival. The development of acute graft-v-host disease (GVHD) in 17 patients was found, with time-dependent Cox regression analysis, to be associated with a significant reduction in post-BMT relapse risk (P = .04) and improved disease-free survival (P = .11). A prospective, randomized trial of maintenance chemotherapy with oral methotrexate and mercaptopurine did not demonstrate improvement in relapse risk or survival for those assigned maintenance chemotherapy (P = .7). These results suggest that allogeneic BMT can result in extended relapse-free survival for some patients with high-risk ALL. More effective preparative chemoradiotherapy and exploitation of the apparent graft-v-leukemia effect may be useful in future trials.


The present work was to develop and characterized site specific sustained release microspheres for intestinal infection. Hydrocortisone have the anti-inflammatory property so used to treat the intestinal infection which is caused by an overactive immune system, resulting in ulcers and inflammation along the lining of rectum and colon. So oral Hydrocortisone is prescribed to treat more severe symptoms of colitis. Coating was done with the colon specific polymer eudragit S100 and sodium alginate used as a matrix polimer and HPMC K4M and gellan gum was used as mucoadhesive polymers. Hydrocortisone mucoadhesive microspheres were prepared by orifice ionic gelation method. The prepared formulations were characterized for various physicochemical parameters such as particle size, percentage yield, drug entrapment efficiency, loose surface crystal study, surface accumulation study, % moisture loss, swelling poperties, wash off test and in vitro drug release of mucoadhesive microsphere at different pH up to 12 hrs. The drug entrapment efficiency of all formulations was reported as high profile ranges 80-97.44% and the surface pH in the ranges between 6.80 -7.02. The swelling index in the range 51.11-88.12%. It was found that the F1 shows the best cumulative drug release up to 12 hrs of the period. Hence it was concluded that the polymer possess substantial release with good mucoadhesion properties could be used for sustained drug delivery.


Taking both the enlargement process, as currently defined by the EU, and the structural funds as a given, this Paper examines what is the best way for candidate countries to fuel real convergence. The experience from earlier EU enlargements and current economic conditions within the CEEC10 suggest that placing too high expectations on enlargement per se would be misplaced. Further, regional transfers taking place under the structural and cohesion policies are unlikely to become the growth engines of the CEEC10. They may increase income in the receiving countries by an amount equal to the one transferred, but there is no evidence they will have an impact on long-run growth rates. To achieve long-run growth at rates higher than average an appropriate mix of European and national policies is needed. This includes further fostering of trade integration within the EU, restructuring public spending, creation of supply side incentives by proper reforms of fiscal and social insurance policies, free movement of capital and labour, together with a competitive level of labour income taxation. Based on historical experience two types of policies appear to be particularly relevant. First, public programs for long-term income support, corporate subsidies and other forms of income transfer have negative effect on economic growth. We believe they should be terminated as soon as possible. Second, labour and capital mobility are good for growth and economic convergence. In particular, the adoption or continuation of various transfer and/or regulation policies aimed at eliminating labour migration from the CEEC is wrong and damaging. The fear of migration has been magnified by skillful politicians: migrations in past enlargements have been small. There is no reason to expect it to be large in this case.


Introduction Tendons or regions within a tendon are subjected to tension, compression, friction or a combination thereof. The first aim of this study was1 to analyse the morphology and expression of extracellular matrix genes in six different regions of the Achilles tendon complex of intact normal rabbits. Men and women experience tendon conditions/injuries with different frequency (Cook, 2007; Cook, 1998; Taunton, 2002). Oestrogen receptors or their transcripts have been detected in human muscles (Wiik, 2009), ligaments (Liu, 1996) and rabbit tendons (Hart, 1998; 2005), making hormones a potential influencer of tendon injury and healing. The second aim2 was to assess the effect of ovariohysterectomy (OVH) on the regional expression of these genes. Methods Female New Zealand White rabbits were divided in two groups1 intact normal rabbits (n = 4) and2 OVH rabbits (n = 8). For each rabbit, the Achilles tendon complex was dissected into six regions: distal gastrocnemius (DG), distal flexor digitorum superficialis (DFDS), proximal lateral gastrocnemius (PLG), proximal medial gastrocnemius (PMG), proximal flexor digitorum superficialis (PFDS), and paratenon. For each of the regions, hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed for histological evaluation of intact normal rabbit tissues and mRNA levels for proteoglycans, collagens and genes associated with collagen regulation were assessed by RT-qPCR for both the intact normal and OVH rabbit tissues. Results The distal regions displayed a more fibrocartilaginous phenotype. For intact normal rabbits, aggrecan mRNA expression was higher in the distal regions of the Achilles tendon complex compared to the proximal regions. Collagen Type I and MMP-2 expression levels were increased in the PLG compared to the DG in the intact normal rabbit tissues. The tendons from OVH rabbits had lower gene expressions for the proteoglycans aggrecan, biglycan, decorin and versican compared to the intact normal rabbits, although the regional differences of increased aggrecan expression in distal regions compared to proximal regions persisted. Discussion The tensile and compressive forces experienced in the examined regions may be related to the regional differences found in gene expression. The lower mRNA expression of the genes examined in the OVH group confirms a potential effect of systemic oestrogen on tendon. References Cook, et al. Clin J Sport Med. 1998;8:73–77 Cook, et al. Tendinopathy in Athletes (pp. 10–28). Blackwell Publishing, 2007 Hart, et al . Clin Orthop Rel Res.1998;351:44–56, 1998 Hart, et al. Tendon Injuries: Basic Science and Clinical Medicine (pp. 40–48). Springer- Verlag. 2005 Liu, et al. J Orthop Res. 1996;14:526–533 Taunton, et al. Br J Sports Med. 2002;36:95–101 Wiik, et al. Histochem Cell Biol. 2009;131:181–189


Despite the fact that the yeast Candida is the number 4 cause of bloodstream infections
in the United States and ranks number 8 in Europe, adequate detection methods are
lacking. Furthermore, relatively little is known about the epidemiology of Candida. Our
aim was to improve the detection and identification of Candida infections and to study the
epidemiology of Candida infections in Europe.
We describe the development of a Nucleic Acid Sequence-Based Amplification
(NASBAim) assay for the detection of Candida species in blood and blood cultures. The
results were encouraging: when the NASBA assay was used to detect Candida in blood
cultures which were negative in the automated blood culture system, the number of
positive blood cultures increased with 62%. Furthermore, we demonstrated that a
substantial increase in detection rate can already be obtained with a 2 day pre-culture step.
Also, Candida RNA was detected in the blood of a patient, whereas no yeast was detected
by the automated blood culturing system. In another patient the NASBA assay detected the
infection two days earlier than the blood culture system. These results indicate that
improved detection of Candida infections (detection rate as well as speed) is possible.
Improved detection will lead to a reduced morbidity and mortality.
Another study described in this thesis shows that Amplified Fragment Length
Polymorphism (AFLPim) analysis is an excellent method for the identification of Candida
species. The different species show very distinct clusters. The potential of storing AFLP
patterns in general accessible databases will greatly enhance the chances of a correct
identification.
The second objective of this thesis was to study the epidemiology of Candida albicans
infections in Europe. It appeared that a relatively high number of isolates which were
involved in pneumonia produced (phospho)lipases, a putative virulence factor. Also, a
significantly higher number of these isolates were among the higher producers of this
enzyme. A similar trend was observed for the production of proteinases: all isolates
obtained from pneumonia were positive in the proteinase assay, and 96% of these isolates
were high producers. These results suggest that isolates involved in pneumonia are more
virulent than isolates obtained from the other types of infection that were studied.
Another interesting epidemiological finding is described. By using AFLP as a
fingerprinting method, we typed a large collection of European C. albicans isolates. It was
discovered, that isolates from Portugal and Spain all belonged to the same AFLP cluster
(cluster 1), whereas isolates from the United Kingdom and all but one isolate from
Germany belonged to another cluster (cluster 2). Isolates from France, Italy, Switzerland,
and Turkey were represented in both clusters. These results indicate the presence of an
Iberian and a Northern European clone.
It can be concluded that our first objective, improved detection and identification of
Candida infections, was feasible. The second objective, to study the epidemiology of C.
albicans infections in Europe, resulted in two interesting discoveries which can be the
onset of extensive epidemiological studies.


This paper presents a novel vehicle motion forecasting method based on multi-head attention. It produces joint forecasts for all vehicles on a road scene as sequences of multi-modal probability density functions of their positions. Its architecture uses multi-head attention to account for interactions between all vehicles, and long short-term memory layers for encoding and forecasting. It relies solely on vehicle position tracks, does not need maneuver definitions, and does not rasterize the scene as a spatial grid. This allows it to be more versatile than similar model while combining many forecasting capabilities, namely joint forecast with interactions, uncertainty estimation, and multi-modality. The resulting prediction likelihood outperforms state-of-the-art models on the same dataset.


This is a critique of Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) and their applicability to the north Australian pastoral industry. The report has been written to satisfy the Master of Tropical Environmental Management requirements. In this document I intend to: • introduce the north Australian pastoral industry, its history and current practices • review 'off the shelf environmental management systems (EMS) • consider the applicability of these EMS to the north Australian pastoral industry, and • make recommendations Today the north Australian pastoral industry is interested in demonstrating its environmental credentials by promoting industry standards (Tropical Savannas CRC 2002c ). In recent years there has been a growing interest in Environmental Management Systems (EMS) which are increasingly regarded by government bodies and by pastoral industry members as a tool for environmental accountability and to improve natural resource management (NRM) generally. Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) have recently completed a report on the implementation of IS014001, a formal EMS, on several different pastoral properties (Banney 2002). EMS is a relatively new concept and there has been limited evaluation ofEMSs and their applicability in the north Australian pastoral industry. Industry members do not know if EMS will effectively address the unique environmental issues of the industry in northern Australia. Having reviewed the literature on the topic I have concluded that it may not be practical to apply EMSs across the board in the north Australian pastoral industry. EMSs may be a management tool applicable to larger scale pastoral enterprises for the following reasons: • Such enterprises have the resources to support the administration and monitoring requirements of a formal EMS • EMSs are a tool that demonstrates environmental progress to enterprise stakeholders such as the Board ofManagement or shareholders. • They assist with maintaining corporate knowledge • They have potential as a marketing tool and may secure market access particularly in an environmentally conscious society. However the small to medium sized properties may lack the financial and human resources required to implement an EMS. Further, EMSs do not focus on scale that is appropriate for the large property sizes and regional context of northern NRM. Nor do EMSs emphasise NRM outcomes on the ground. To ensure all pastoral enterprises regardless of size can apply environmental management to their properties a more regional approach is needed. The development ofbest practice management (BPM) guidelines followed by environmental codes of practice (COP), to ensure appropriate natural resource management (NRM) occurs, is a practical solution, which can be adopted by all industry participants regardless of the size of the business.


The mathematical theory of porometers, as used by Gregory and his collaborators for the study of stomatal movements in leaves, is given for viscous and diffusive flow of gases. It is shown that under certain conditions the theory applies to both kinds of gas movements; a correction is included for those cases in which the basic assumptions for diffusion are not realized. From determinations of the total leaf resistance to gaseous flow the conductance of the stomata can be found if the mesophyll resistance is known. The importance of this quantity is discussed and demonstrated, methods of measuring it are suggested, and possible checks upon the reliability of the result are described. As an illustration, the theory is applied to some hitherto unpublished data on two pelargonium leaves; the treatment gives results that are internally consistent, and deduced rates of assimilation are found to be of the same order of magnitude as those observed in practice.


We consider a network game based on matching pennies with two types of agents, conformists and rebels. Conformists prefer to match the action taken by the majority of her neighbors while rebels like to match the minority. We investigate the simultaneous best response dynamic focusing on the lengths of limit cycles (LLC for short). We show that $$\hbox {LLC}=1$$LLC=1 or 2 when all agents are of the same type, and $$\hbox {LLC}=4$$LLC=4 when there is no conformist-rebel edge and no two even-degreed agents (if any) are neighboring each other. Moreover, $$\hbox {LLC}=1$$LLC=1 for almost all type configurations when the network is a line or a ring, which implies that a pure strategy Nash equilibrium is reached from any initial action profile. However, $$\hbox {LLC}=4$$LLC=4 for about one half of the type configurations with star networks.


The Eberswalde delta is composed of six separate depositional lobes that have prograded some 17 km from their apex. Crosscutting distributary relationships and compensated depositional lobes are clearly visible in images acquired by the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera. Here, several lobe systems have been examined for sinuosity, radius of channel curvature, meander-bend width, and channel width parameters. Channel sinuosities of between 1.2 and 1.8 defi ne low- to moderate-sinuosity systems typical of the type transporting bedload or mixed grain-size loads. Channel systems increase in sinuosity as they get older. However, some of the younger systems show specifi c reaches of increased sinuosity. These localized changes may be due to either abutment against resistant beds of older lobes or rise in base level at the channel system terminus. If the former, such an effect of older deposits on the morphology of the channels suggests that these older lobes were fairly well indurated prior to the deposition of the youngest progradational lobes. Eighty-six percent of distributaries in the Mars Eberswalde delta are 100‐240 m wide. Comparatively, 62% and 44% of distributaries in the Atchafalaya and Wax Lake deltas of Louisiana, respectively, are of similar size. Small distributaries may indicate lower average and shorter duration fl ows or coarser sediment in Mars distributaries than those typical of the Gulf Coast systems. The volume of the material in the Mars deposit suggests long periods of sediment deposition. Sinuosity indexes, meander-bend migration, and ridge-and-swale point-bar topography suggest periods of stable discharge on the delta surface.


A triangulated irregularly network (TIN) is always used to describe the land surface in a geographic information system (GIS), while the land surface abstracted and simplified has modeling errors inevitably, which play an important role in uncertainty estimation, while are ignored in the GIS literature. In this paper, we consider modeling errors and use error promulgation law to estimate positional uncertainty of a triangular tessellation. It indicates the difference between complex entities in the real world and geographic objects simplified in a digital world, and it makes uncertainty complete and credible.


• A review of our experience with 368 patients with 382 extremity injuries has resulted in a treatment plan resulting in improved patient care and limb survival. A thorough examination of the injured extremity will help diagnose a significant vascular injury in the presence of certain clinical findings, eg, bruit or thrill (100%), signs of acute ischemia (100%), absent pulse (91%), shock (89%), neurologic deficit (78%), and hematoma (55%). Arteriography in proximity injuries has resulted in an abnormal finding in 16% of cases. A total of 165 vascular injuries, including 112 arterial and 53 venous injuries, were repaired using a variety of techniques. In 136 patients undergoing operative intervention, there was no operative mortality and a 1.5% amputation rate. ( Arch Surg 1985;120:801-805)


This volume is a significant contribution to the study of the ancient Greek vocabulary used to describe the local origins of individuals. It sheds much new light on ancient grammarians, and other ancient writers (many of them 'lost' in the sense that they survive only in quotations in later sources). At the heart of the volume is a study of the sources which lie behind an enigmatic but important treatise, which survives only in epitome: the Ethnika of the grammarian Stephanus of Byzantium. This suppliment to the Lexicon of Greek Personal Names is the final work of its founding editor (d. 2007).


In this paper, the interconnection between 16×16 photodetector ROIC and substrate for the ROIC test was developed. Three kinds of substrate methods, i.e. high-density organic substrate, silicon interposer substrate and through-silicon-via (TSV) technology, were adopted. Three corresponding technical process flows were designed, and corresponding experiments were conducted. Finally, the interconnection between photodetector ROIC and substrates as well as the test of ROIC performance were realized. Above three solutions were compared and evaluated in process realizability, interconnection performance and cost etc. It turns out that TSV method is considered as the advanced and ideal interconnection solution for the test of 16×16, 32×32 and 64×64 photodetector ROIC.


Abstract Unemployment is considered a significant driver behind the so-called Arab Spring, and more generally behind protests, rebellions, and civil wars. However, the empirical evidence of this hypothesised link between unemployment and political instability is scant and contradictory. This article contributes to filling this gap. In addition, this is the first study which will concentrate on the role of unemployment in the case of the Arab Spring uprisings. The study utilises regression analysis and several survey data sets. The results show that compared to the employed, the unemployed are not more likely to have participated in the Arab Spring unrests or protests in the Arab world in general. Further analyses reveal that, as expected, the unemployed are less satisfied with life and not particularly interested in politics. In turn, being dissatisfied with life does not influence the likelihood that an individual revolts, but those interested in politics are considerably more active protesters. Taken together, the results indicate that the Arab unemployed were unhappy, but due to their low interest in politics this dissatisfaction did not drive them to the streets. These findings together with some earlier results from different corners of the world suggest that the linkage of unemployment and political instability is remarkably weaker than often assumed.


Endophthalmitis after penetrating keratoplasty is rare but more frequently observed than after other intraocular procedures. The main source may be a contaminated donor cornea. This survey reviews current concepts of donor globe decontamination and avoidance of infection during preservation. Basically, we suggest the use of a 3% PVP-Iodine solution for decontamination of donor globes. Using short-term preservation techniques, the tissue should be stored at ambient temperature after preparation of corneoscleral disc or before transplantation for a while to allow antibiotics to act against decontaminants. Tissue stored by organ culture should be kept in a sealed vial. Alternatively, the medium may be changed every 10 to 14 days under sterile conditions.


Considering a massive or massless free spinor field propagating in a flat five-dimensional space with its fifth dimension compactified either on a strip or on a circle, we analyze the procedure of generation of the four-dimensional Kaluza-Klein spinor mass towers. Requiring the five-dimensional Dirac operator to be symmetric, the set of all the allowed boundary conditions is obtained. In the determination of the boundary conditions and in the Kaluza-Klein reduction equations, the SO(3,1) and parity invariances in the space-time subspace are carefully taken into account. The equations determining the mass towers are written in full generality. A few numerical examples are given.


Today's corporate world has become an ultimate destination for every youth. Getting success in the profession is not only a dream but a determination for them. The reason behind this is rigorous competition and talents which are no less in the society. These jobs give high profile platform to employees. This also provides immediate growth opportunity and exposure to them so that the employees sharpen their skills and inherent qualities. Adequate knowledge about techniques and field related skills are must, but they are not sufficient. If an individual wants to sustain in this era he/she has to have strong communication skills. The increasing pressures and professional challenges widen the role of managers. Professional authorities in Multi National Companies always expect that their employees should possess efficiency and good communication skills. This paper highlights how communication skills take importance in making a professional successful in his/her career. Through this study it is shown that companies having employees with strong communication skills are more successful and their work environments are destinations for job seekers.


Quantum superposition of molecular electronic states is very fragile because of thermal energy fluctuations and the static conformational disorder induced by the intimate surrounding of constituent molecules of the system. However, the nature of the long-lived quantum beats, observed in time-resolved spectra of molecular aggregates at physiological conditions, is still being debated. We present our study of the conditions when long-lived electronic quantum coherences originating from recently proposed inhomogeneous broadening mechanism are enhanced and reflected in the two-dimensional electronic spectra of the excitonically coupled molecular dimer. We show that depending on the amount of inhomogeneous broadening, the excitonically coupled molecular system can establish long-lived electronic coherences, caused by a disordered subensemble, for which the dephasing due to static energy disorder becomes significantly reduced. On the basis of these considerations, we present explanations for why the electronic or vibrational coherences were or were not observed in a range of recent experiments.


The genus Rumex is a unique member of the Polygonaceae (Buckwheat) family of plants. A source of intrigue for Rumex lies in the diversity of the reproductive systems associated with the subgenera, species, and subspecies within this genus. Four previously circumscribed subgenera, some 200 species, and a number of subspecies comprise the collective Rumex genus. These species exhibit monoecious, dioecious, synoecious (hermaphroditic), and polygamous reproductive systems. Moreover, some of the dioecious species contain sex chromosomes, a phenomenon that is very rare in angiosperms. Apart from the confirmed morphological and phytogeographical distinctions, two of the four described subgenera, Acetosa and Acetosella, are distinctive in their exhibited sex chromosome systems. For this study, we used three chloroplast markers, rbcL, trnH-psbA, trnL-F, and dense taxon sampling, to reconstruct a molecular phylogeny for Rumex.The reconstructed phylogeny for this work resolves six major clades and one large grade in Rumex. In addition, the species with known dioecious reproductive systems derived from unique sex chromosome systems are resolved in two different clades nested within "the dioecious clade". These results suggest that the species with divergent sexual systems are more closely related to each other than to other species comprising the rest of the Rumex genus. Furthermore, some species with known synoecious reproductive systems are resolved in a single clade which is also nested within "the dioecious clade". These results imply a possible reversal occurring over time which suggests the highly plastic nature of reproductive systems among Rumex species.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of blood pressure (BP) rhythm on aortic functions in patients with metabolic syndrome. Seventy patients with newly diagnosed hypertension who fulfilled the metabolic syndrome criteria according to the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (NCEP/ATP-III) were evaluated with 24-hour BP holter monitoring. According to BP rhythm, 35 patients with dipper BP pattern and 35 patients with non-dipper BP pattern were enrolled as two groups in our study. Systolic and diastolic diameters of the ascending aorta were measured by M-mode echocardiography and aortic functions (aortic strain, distensibility, and stiffness index) were calculated. The nocturnal systolic and diastolic BPs were significantly higher in non-dipper patients than the dipper group. According to clinical parameters including age, gender, height, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, clinical systolic, and diastolic BPs, we did not find significantly difference between the two groups. Aortic strain was significantly higher (6.63 ± 3.37 vs. 1.81 ± 0.92; P < .0001) and aortic distensibility was lower (2.38 ± 1.18 cm−2/dyn/10−6 and 6.66 ± 3.67 cm−2/dyn/10−6; P < .001) in non-dipper group. These findings suggest that aortic functions were prominently deteriorated in non-dipper hypertensive patients than dippers with metabolic syndrome.


This paper sets out a systematic approach to using comparative methods in the archaeological study of complex societies. Three scales of comparison are indicated—micro, meso, and macro—corresponding roughly to the site, regional/cultural, and historical/evolutionary levels. While there is obvious overlap, each level has appropriate sets of methods and expectations, and each needs to be integrated in a sequential or hierarchical fashion. Examples of these levels are taken from early third millennium Greece and the Levant. A larger goal is to illustrate how comparison of superficially similar pre- and proto-historic cultures may aid in the study of dramatically different historic societies.


ABSTRACT Questions: How can floristic diversity be evaluated in conservation plans to identify sites of highest interest for biodiversity? What are the mechanisms influencing the distribution of species in human-dominated environments? What are the best criteria to identify sites where active urban management is most likely to enhance floristic diversity? Location: The Hauts-de-Seine district bordering Paris, France. Methods: We described the floristic diversity in one of the most urbanized French districts through the inventory of ca. 1000 sites located in 23 habitats. We built a new index of floristic interest (IFI), integrating information on richness, indigeneity, typicality and rarity of species, to identify sites and habitats of highest interest for conservation. Finally, we explored the relationship between site IFI and land use patterns (LUP). Results: We observed a total of 626 vascular plant species. Habitats with highest IFI were typically situated in semi-natural environments or environments with moderate human impact. We also showed that neighbouring (urban) structures had a significant influence on the floristic interest of sites: for example, the presence of collective dwellings around a site had a strong negative impact on IFI. Conclusions: Our approach can be used to optimize management in urban zones; we illustrate such possibilities by defining a 'Site Potential Value', which was then compared with the observed IFI, to identify areas (e.g. river banks) where better management could improve the district's biodiversity. Nomenclature: Kerguélen (2003).


This paper presents a new novel approach is described for real- time human/vehicle classification and motion analysis in real visual surveillance scene. Spatio-temporal 1-D signals based on the distances between the outer contour of binarized silhouette of a motion object and a bounding box placed around the silhou- ette are chosen as the basic image features called the distance vectors. The spatio-temporal distance vectors are extracted us- ing four view directions to the outer of the silhouette from the bounding box, they are top-, bottom-, left-, and right-views. De- pending on the distance vectors, correlation-based a similarity function in the time domain is produced for each view direc- tions to classify the motion objects and a similarity function in the frequency domain is then also extracted to analysis hu- man motions. Experimental results on the different test image sequences demonstrate that the proposed algorithm has an en- couraging performance with relatively robust and low computa- tional cost.


Japan's wholesale and retail industries are largely sheltered from international competition and offer an important opportunity for improving the productivity performance of the Japanese economy. Jorgenson, Nomura and Samuels (2016) estimate that the Japanese wholesale and retail industry was 33% less efficient than its U.S. counterpart, and that it was the largest contributor to the negative total factor productivity (TFP) gap between Japan and the United States in 2005. This productivity gap is mainly driven by higher margin rates and margin prices in Japan. Margin rates capture the cost share of margin in the purchaser's price, while margin prices reflect the prices per unit of wholesale and retail services. This motivates our study of product-level differences in wholesale and retail margin rates and prices. Using microdata from Japan's Census of Commerce (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), which cover 1997, 2002, 2007, and 2014, we estimate margin rates in Japan. An improvement in comparison to existing approaches is that we account for transactions within the margin sector (multiple rounds of margin activity), the differences in margin rates between domestically produced and imported goods, the type of transaction (e.g., cash sales, electronic money, and so on), and sales format (e.g., over-the-counter sales, internet sales, vending machine sales, and so on). We combine these with data produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis in the United States, in order to construct price level indexes (PLI) for about 200 types of wholesale and retail services. The margin PLIs provide more appropriate measures than the relative margin rates to evaluate the efficiency of the wholesale and retail industry. This is because the margin PLIs that we construct are able to separate the quantity of margin services from the margin rate on the product being sold. Our estimates show that Japan's wholesale margin rates of agriculture products are not significantly higher than those in the United States. However, our estimates of the margin PLIs indicate that Japan's wholesale prices of agriculture products are about three times higher. Thus, our framework highlights that comparing margin rates on their own obscures important differences in the price and quantity of margin services. At the aggregate level, our estimates reveal that Japan's wholesale margin price is 23% higher, but show that retail margin prices are similar. It is worth noting that we do not fully consider differences in the quality of service between Japan and the United States. Bearing in mind these caveats, our analysis illustrates that the wholesale services of foods, agriculture products, chemical products, and paper and paper products explain about 90% of the inferiority in price competitiveness of Japan's wholesale industry.


Kernel Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is a popular extension of PCA which is able to find nonlinear patterns from data. However, the application of kernel PCA to large-scale problems remains a big challenge, due to its quadratic space complexity and cubic time complexity in the number of examples. To address this limitation, we utilize techniques from stochastic optimization to solve kernel PCA with linear space and time complexities per iteration. Specifically, we formulate it as a stochastic composite optimization problem, where a nuclear norm regularizer is introduced to promote low-rankness, and then develop a simple algorithm based on stochastic proximal gradient descent. During the optimization process, the proposed algorithm always maintains a low-rank factorization of iterates that can be conveniently held in memory. Compared to previous iterative approaches, a remarkable property of our algorithm is that it is equipped with an explicit rate of convergence. Theoretical analysis shows that the solution of our algorithm converges to the optimal one at an O(1/T) rate, where T is the number of iterations.


Multilayer membranes constructed layer-by-layer (LbL) is finding increasing importance in many separation applications. The efficient construction of LbL multilayer on to hollow fiber substrates may offer many new opportunities for industrial applications. An organic–inorganic composite hollow fiber membrane has been developed using a dynamic LbL self-assembly. This poly(acrylic acid)/poly(ethyleneimine) multilayer was dynamically assembled onto the inner surfaces of ceramic hollow fiber porous substrates pretreated by Dynasylan Ameo silane coupling agents. The hollow fibers were subsequently heat crosslinked to obtain stable permselective membranes. The formation of multilayers on the hollow fibers was characterized with a SEM, EDX, an electrokinetic analyzer and IR spectra. The effects of layer number, feed temperature and water content in the feed on the pervaporation performance have been investigated. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of LbL assembly of polymer building blocks onto ceramic hollow fiber porous substrates. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 58: 3176–3182, 2012


Research in support of indoor mapping and modelling (IMM) has been active for over thirty years. This research has come in the form of As-Built surveys, Data structuring, Visualisation techniques, Navigation models and so forth. Much of this research is founded on advancements in photogrammetry, computer vision and image analysis, computer graphics, robotics, laser scanning and many others. While IMM used to be the privy of engineers, planners, consultants, contractors, and designers, this is no longer the case as commercial enterprises and individuals are also beginning to apply indoor models in their business process and applications. There are three main reasons for this. Firstly, the last two decades have seen greater use of spatial information by enterprises and the public. Secondly, IMM has been complimented by advancements in mobile computing and internet communications, making it easier than ever to access and interact with spatial information. Thirdly, indoor modelling has been advanced geometrically and semantically, opening doors for developing user-oriented, context-aware applications. This reshaping of the public's attitude and expectations with regards to spatial information has realised new applications and spurred demand for indoor models and the tools to use them. This paper examines the present state of IMM and considers the research areas that deserve attention in the future. In particular the paper considers problems in IMM that are relevant to commercial enterprises and the general public, groups this paper expects will emerge as the greatest users IMM. The subject of indoor modelling and mapping is discussed here in terms of Acquisitions and Sensors, Data Structures and Modelling, Visualisation, Applications, Legal Issues and Standards. Problems are discussed in terms of those that exist and those that are emerging. Existing problems are those that are currently being researched. Emerging problems are those problems or demands that are expected to arise because of social changes, technological advancements, or commercial interests. The motivation of this work is to define a set of research problems that are either being investigated or should be investigated. These will hopefully provide a framework for assessing progress and advances in indoor modelling. The framework will be developed in the form of a problem matrix, detailing existing and emerging problems, their solutions and present best practices. Once the framework is complete it will be published online so that the IMM community can discuss and modify it as necessary. When the framework has reached a steady state an empirical benchmark will be provided to test solutions to posed problems. A yearly evaluation of the problem matrix will follow, the results of which will be published.


Potassium channels inhibited by adenosine-5'-trisphosphate, K(ATP), found in the transverse tubular membrane of rabbit skeletal muscle were studied using the planar bilayer recording technique. In addition to the single-channel properties of K(ATP) we report its regulation of Mg2+ and by the guanosine-5'-trisphosphate analogue, GTP-y(gamma)-S. The K(ATP) channel (a) has a conductance of 67 pS in 250 mM internal, 50 mM external KCl, and rectifies weakly at holding potentials more positive than 50 mV, (b) is not activated by internal Ca2+ or membrane depolarization, (c) has a permeability ratio PK/PNa greater than 50, and (d) is inhibited by millimolar internal ATP. Activity of K(ATP), measured as open channel probability as a function of time, was unstable at all holding potentials and decreases continuously within a few minutes after a recording is initiated. After a decrease in activity, GTP-y-S (100 microM) added to the internal side reactivated K(ATP) channels but only transiently. In the presence of internal 1 mM Mg2+, GTP-y-S produced a sustained reactivation lasting 20-45 min. Incubation of purified t-tubule vesicles with AlF4 increased the activity of K(ATP) channels, mimicking the effect of GTP-y-S. The effect of AlF4 and the requirement of GTP-y-S plus Mg2+ for sustained channel activation suggests that a nucleotide-binding G protein regulates ATP-sensitive K channels in the t-tuble membrane of rabbit skeletal muscle.


As health care undergoes pervasive transformation, the need has become acute to develop leadership at all levels of nursing. Decision-making by staff nurses at the point of care has significant impact on patient care outcomes and quality of health care in today's decentralized institutions. Little empirical research has been undertaken to understand the process of leadership at the staff nurse level. This study used the framework of symbolic interactionism and grounded theory research methodology to explore the process of staff nurse leadership. Descriptions of the process used to practice leadership at the staff nurse level were collected from staff nurse leaders and nurse managers in tertiary care and critical access hospitals in a largely rural state. This process of leadership is illustrated in the theory of Leading at the Point of Care, Making a Choice emerged as the category central to the process of staff nurse leadership. Antecedents, intervening factors, consequences, and contextual factors are described. Staff nurse leadership is defined and reveals the vital role this leadership has in the delivery of quality patient care. Changes in existing systems of nursing education, healthcare institutions, and the profession are recommended to remove roadblocks to leadership by staff nurses.


Building on the work of Holm (2012), we continue to theorize the construction of the confidence intervals for ranks (CIR) and to analyze their empirical performance. First, we replace the original asymptotic test with two exact tests. Then we apply all the tests to real medical data to identify the high/low achieving groups of hospitals. Finally, we conduct a simulation study to compare the relative performance of test statistics, and to compute the empirical confidence coefficients of CIRs. This paper also identifies areas of improvement for future study.


The recent uptick in hospital adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) has been accompanied by growing concerns among some policy makers that hospitals may use these systems to select billing codes that reflect more intensive care or a sicker patient population in order to generate more revenue through higher reimbursements. Such "upcoding" would increase overall health care spending. We used national data to examine whether new adoption of EHRs was associated with increases in coded patient acuity or Medicare payments. We found that hospitals that adopted EHRs increased billing to Medicare, but at a rate comparable to that of matched controls of non-EHR adopters. In our difference-in-differences models, patient acuity and payment per discharge were essentially the same between adopters and nonadopters. We also failed to find a relationship between adoption and either patient acuity or payment within groups of hospitals that may be more likely to use EHRs to increase coding and revenue, such as for-profit hospitals and those in highly competitive markets. Thus, we found no empirical evidence to suggest that hospitals are systematically using EHRs to increase reimbursement. Our findings should reduce concerns that EHR adoption by itself will increase the costs of hospital care.


Aim/Background: Associations between axial length (AL) to corneal radius of curvature (CR) ratio and refractive status in a healthy Nigerian adult population were studied. Materials and Methods: Healthy students and members of staff of Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife, South West Nigeria, free of obvious ocular diseases except possible refractive errors were recruited. Consecutive consenting volunteers were recruited by simple random sampling and a proportionate sample of each population based on its representative fraction in the hospital community was recruited. The study was conducted between June and August 2011. Noncycloplegic objective refraction was done and spherical equivalent refraction (SER) of the right eyes was used for calculation. The AL, CR, and keratometric readings were measured with the IOL Master. The AL/CR ratio was calculated. The data were analyzed with statistical software package STATA 13. Results: Three hundred and fifty volunteers aged 18–60 years were studied. The mean ± standard deviation of AL/CR and SER were 3.04 ± 0.10 and −0.38 ± 1.42D, respectively. AL in myopia was significantly higher than in emmetropia and hypermetropia. There were no significant differences between CR in the refraction groups. Myopes had significantly higher AL/CR than nonmyopes. On controlling for age and gender, 1 mm increase in AL increased SER by −0.77D (95% confidence interval [CI] −0.91–−0.64D) while a unit increase in AL/CR increased SER by −8.89D (95% CI −10.00–−7.78D). Whereas AL accounts for 39% of variability in SER (P < 0.001), AL/CR accounts for 51% of the variability observed in SER (P < 0.001). Conclusion: This study has further confirmed that the AL remains a strong determinant of refraction, but a derived factor AL/CR accounts for more variation in final refractive status than AL in isolation.


Mathematical world is always wonderful, amazing, and meaningful. It was made of varieties of analysis and domains. To date, it helps to improve many branches of science and technology. Although the current domains or branches are marvellous, the natural numbers are the base for all the mathematics. Great mathematicians in history had an idea that there must be a special one (supreme number) controls the numbers' theory; either directly or indirectly. This idea initiated me to analyze the numbers theory and consequently a number was identified with supreme qualities.  Hence a computing tool (digit summed) was introduced at first, and then analyzed. Later it was compared with the famous mathematical approaches as to find a link between them. How does the supreme number influence mathematical approaches? This is the proving part of this research which has been checked with famous mathematics. I was surprised that most of the mathematics was influenced by one of the natural numbers. The assumption of old mathematicians is correct then. It was the most weighted number in the natural numbers. Yes, it is the nine (9) which had the supreme qualities and most of today's mathematics are directly and also indirectly have a relationship with it when digit-summed method is used. Eventually any results of numbers of mathematical world can be categorized into four as Supreme Numbers, NoneSupreme Numbers, Ordered-Supreme Numbers and Random-Supreme Number.


We examine color quantization of images using trellis coded quantization (TCQ). Together with a simple dithering scheme, an 8-bit trellis coded color quantizer reproduces images that are visually indistinguishable from the 24-bit originals. The proposed algorithm can be viewed as a predictive trellis coded color quantization scheme. It is universal in the sense that no training or lookup table is needed. The complexity of TCQ is linear with respect to image size, making trellis coded color quantization suitable for interactive graphics and a window-based display environment.


To the physicist casually interested in gravitation, a black hole is a passive object that swallows anything near it and cannot be made to disgorge it; it absorbs but cannot emit. At the close of the last decade the experts shared this view. Recently, however, this simple picture has changed entirely. Perhaps no single development highlighted more the new views about black holes than the quantum argument presented by Stephen Hawking of Cambridge University in 1974 that a black hole must radiate spontaneously with a thermal spectrum. The importance of this phenomenon is not so much in possible practical applications, not even in its astrophysical implications, but rather in that it has confirmed earlier suspicions that gravitation, thermodynamics and the quantum world are deeply interconnected. This connection, which might be symbolized by the thermodynamic engine shown in figure 1, engenders hope that we may achieve a synthesis of these three branches of physics in our time and bears witness to the profound unity of physics, a unity too often veiled in an age of increasing specialization.To the physicist casually interested in gravitation, a black hole is a passive object that swallows anything near it and cannot be made to disgorge it; it absorbs but cannot emit. At the close of the last decade the experts shared this view. Recently, however, this simple picture has changed entirely. Perhaps no single development highlighted more the new views about black holes than the quantum argument presented by Stephen Hawking of Cambridge University in 1974 that a black hole must radiate spontaneously with a thermal spectrum. The importance of this phenomenon is not so much in possible practical applications, not even in its astrophysical implications, but rather in that it has confirmed earlier suspicions that gravitation, thermodynamics and the quantum world are deeply interconnected. This connection, which might be symbolized by the thermodynamic engine shown in figure 1, engenders hope that we may achieve a synthesis of these three branches of physics in our time and bears witness to the profou...


Most cancer vaccine trials are based on efficacy studies against transplanted mouse tumors that poorly reflect the clinical situation. We constructed adenoviruses expressing interleukin-7 and B7.1 and tested their therapeutic efficacy after transfer into established transplanted and nontransplanted 3-methylcholanthrene-induced tumors. The adenoviruses efficiently induced rejection of transplanted tumors, leaving behind systemic immunity. Against nontransplanted tumors of similar size, there were almost no therapeutic effects. This result was not due to the site of tumor development, tumor type, general immune suppression, or differences in transduction efficacy. Adenoviral expression of b-galactosidase as a surrogate antigen in nontransplanted tumors induced cytotoxic T cells that were unable to quantitatively reach the tumor site. Based on rigorous mouse models and an effectivein situ immunization procedure, it is suggested that cancer vaccines can be effective, if at all, against "minimal residual disease"; additional experimental procedures must be found against established nontransplanted tumors.


Systemic insecticides, such as neonicotinoids, are a major contributor towards beneficial insect declines. This has led to bans and restrictions on neonicotinoid use globally, most noticeably in the European Union, where four commonly used neonicotinoids (imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, clothianidin and thiacloprid) are banned from outside agricultural use. While this might seem like a victory for conservation, restrictions on neonicotinoid use will only benefit insect populations if newly emerging insecticides do not have similar negative impacts on beneficial insects. Flupyradifurone and sulfoxaflor are two novel insecticides that have been registered for use globally, including within the European Union. These novel insecticides differ in their chemical class, but share the same mode of action as neonicotinoids, raising the question as to whether they have similar sub-lethal impacts on beneficial insects. Here, we conducted a systematic literature search of the potential sub-lethal impacts of these novel insecticides on beneficial insects, quantifying these effects with a meta-analysis. We demonstrate that both flupyradifurone and sulfoxaflor have significant sub-lethal impacts on beneficial insects at field-realistic levels of exposure. These results confirm that bans on neonicotinoid use will only protect beneficial insects if paired with significant changes to the agrochemical regulatory process. A failure to modify the regulatory process will result in a continued decline of beneficial insects and the ecosystem services on which global food production relies.


There is a widespread and deep awareness that all is not well with American public education nor with the students, educators, and administrators who are charged with making citizens literate. Joseph Adelson's work has gained considerable prominence in this ongoing reevaluation. Writing with force, verve, and the tools of advanced study, Adelson's book provides what might be the most comprehensive look at American Education since the work of Diane Ravitch. The materials include revised and updated versions of essays that caused a real stir when they first appeared in the pages of "Commentary", "Daedalus", "The American Scholar", and "The Public Interest", among other places.The work goes against the grain of rhetoric but quite with the grain of the best in social science: that the erosion of trust in the American young has been far less severe than in the American old, that the degree of pathology, alienation, and rebelliousness in the American adolescent population is far from alarming. On the whole, each and every serious research study shows the vast majority of teenagers to be competent, purposeful, at ease with themselves, and closely bonded to their families and their values. This is, however, no pollyannish version of American education, but a tough-minded critique of educators and administrators who prefer ideological generalities to empirical truths, and whose vested interests are not in the requirements of learning, but ultimately in its subversion. The invention of adolescence was a search for a problem child more nearly detected in problematic adults.


Plants acquire phosphorus from soil solution as phosphate anion. It is the least mobile element in plant and soil contrary to other macronutrients. It precipitates in soil as orthophosphate or is absorbed by Fe and Al oxides through legend exchange. Phosphorus solubilizing bacteria play role in phosphorus nutrition by enhancing its availability to plants through release from inorganic and organic soil P pools by solubilization and mineralization. Principal mechanism in soil for mineral phosphate solubilization is lowering of soil pH by microbial production of organic acids and mineralization of organic P by acid phosphatase. Use of phosphorus solubilizing bacteria as inoculants increases P uptake. These bacteria also increase prospects of using phosphatic rocks in crop production. Greater efficiency of P solubilizing bacteria has been shown through co-inoculation with other beneficial bacteria and mycorrhiza. This article incorporates the recent developments on microbial P solubilization into classical knowledge on the subject.


This article examines the evidence of morphological variation in the inflection of neuter nominative and accusative singular adjectives as well as other modifiers in Gothic (shorter nominal vs. longer pronominal forms in -ata) in an effort to test the traditional hypothesis on the principles that underlie the variation and examine the diachronic implications of the use of -ata forms. The discussion is based on a total of 76 examples of -ata. It is shown that -ata forms are found in attributive, substantivised and predicative contexts across the modifier lexicon (including adjectives, the quantifier alls, possessive and demonstrative pronouns, participles, etc.) and prevail in attributive as well as substantivised use. From a diachronic point view, the fact that the bulk of -ata forms are more systematically attested in the quantifier alls 'all' (a word that has strong pronominal properties) and possessive pronouns is indicative of the strong inflection being more primary to pronouns. It is then possible to propose a scenario of reconstruction where the strong inflection has been passed on from demonstrative pronouns to prototypical adjectives through pronominal adjectives (such as possessive pronouns and the like). It is suggested that the use of -ata forms is difficult to explain semantically. Instead, the evidence of inflectional variation in identical contexts and the sporadic attestation of -ata across the modifier lexicon suggests that the pronominal form is a marked relic of older usage. The scarcity of predicative -ata forms is argued to be unexceptional; it is shown that it can be explained in terms of the statistics of case usage. This eliminates the need to explain predicative -ata forms away, and the recognition of the fact that their use in Gothic extended to all syntactic contexts typical of adjectives (and other relevant modifiers) indicates that there is no syntactically-conditioned allomorphy in the neuter nominative and accusative singular. Finally, it is suggested that the patterning of -ata forms in relation to the noun, and, in particular, the tendency for these forms to be used in post-position to the head, is indicative of the adjective inflection having been pronominalised in the Germanic proto-language, when the typical pattern of word order in the noun phrase was with modifiers being used in post-position to nouns.


We examine the long-term pattern of state formation and the mythical historical Chinese unity under one single political regime based on the compilation of a large geocoded annual data series of political regimes and incidences of warfare between 221 BC and 1911 AD. By classifying our data sets into two types of regimes - agrarian and nomadic - and three types of warfare - agrarian/nomadic, agrarian/agrarian and internal rebellions - and applying an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, we find that nomadic-agrarian warfare and internal rebellion strengthens unification but agrarian/agrarian warfare entrenches fragmentation. Our research highlights the combination of China's precocious ideology of a single unified ruler, environmental circumscription on the easternmost end of Eurasia and persistent agrarian-nomadic warfare as the driving force behind China's eventual unity. We further discuss the long-run implications of Chinese unity on economic performance in a global context.


Advancements in computer technology and telecommunications have meant that all diagnostic images can now be acquired as digital signals, however the ethicolegal concepts surrounding this innovation remain unclear. In the UK there are limited practice guidelines on legal issues relating specifically to telemedicine or teleradiology. It is not yet clear whether the current law relates to telemedicine in the same way that it does for other medical specialties, or whether telemedicine raises new legal issues that need clarification. This article attempts to out- line some of the potential legal issues, but the absence of case law and legislation in this area will ensure that many questions remain unanswered. The legal implications of teleradiology/ telemedicine are addressed, and literature, laws and professional guidelines from the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand are reviewed, focusing on the American licensure laws, professional relationships with patients with regards to liability, responsibility, accountability and duty of care issues, as well as issues of missed diagnosis, misdiagnosis, security and confidentiality. Tele- radiology, while being actively practised worldwide, gives rise to many unanswered medicolegal questions. It is suggested that guidelines need to be implemented to safeguard patients and professionals alike.


OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE
This case report details the unexpected surgical difficulty encountered in treating a recurrent aneurysm after coil embolization and presents the histological findings of the resected aneurysm. This is only the second reported case of histological description of an aneurysm after coil embolization in a human.

CLINICAL PRESENTATION
A 60-year-old woman experienced a 3-month history of chronic headache. Neuroimaging studies demonstrated a 2-cm anterior communicating artery aneurysm. The aneurysm was treated with a two-stage endovascular coil embolization, resulting in almost complete occlusion of the aneurysm. A cerebral angiogram at 6-month follow-up demonstrated slight refilling of the aneurysm, and angiography at 18 months showed a marked increase in the size of the small remnant. Therefore, the patient was referred for direct surgical repair of the aneurysm.

INTERVENTION
The distal aneurysm dome, which had been packed with the coils and thrombus, was resected under temporary arterial trapping. An intra-aneurysmal endarterectomy was required, because the aneurysm wall developed intimal dissection that extended to the orifices of afferent and efferent arteries. The aneurysm was then obliterated with multiple clips, reconstructing the patent vessel lumen. However, the patient awoke from surgery with left hemiparesis. A postoperative angiogram disclosed occlusion of the right anterior cerebral artery. An histological study of the thrombosed aneurysm showed that the luminal surface of thrombus was not lined by endothelium.

CONCLUSION
This case demonstrated not only the limited efficacy of coil embolization treatment for wide-necked aneurysms but also the potential difficulty in the direct surgical repair for such recurrent aneurysms.


Effect of a commercial formulation (AgerinR) containing an isolate of Bacillus thuringiensis (sub sp. aegypti strain C18 and C129 spores and crystals) on citrus nematode, Tylenchulus semipenetrans on navel orange trees was studied under laboratory and field conditions. Under laboratory, the standard solution (S) prepared from Ω g agerinR in 100 ml distilled water caused the highest percentage of nematode mortality (56.7 %) followed by those caused by S/2 (55.0 %) and S/10 (36 %). Under field conditions, agerin at intermediate rate of 2 kg / feedan proved to be most effective against the citrus nematode as it caused percentages reduction 46.0 and 40.5% for number of juveniles in soil and females in roots, one month after application, respectively; followed by those of the highest one (3kg / fed.) at the same time. Accordingly, the intermediate rate of AgerinR achieved the highest percentage increases for fruit number and weight per tree and fruit yield per feddan as they were 180, 180 and 181 %, respectively followed by those of the highest one. The nematicide carbofuran achieved 30, 30 and 31.3 % reduction only for the respective criteria..


As Papua New Guinea's well-publicized "law and order" problem continues unabated, calls are often made for the destruction of squatter settlements and the dispersal of their inhabitants as a solution to urban crime. This article examines the popular imagery of urban "squatter settlements" in Papua New Guinea, which represents them as criminogenic habitats of unemployed and impoverished migrants. The imagery is generally as misleading as that of squatter and shanty environments elsewhere in the third world—a topic that is familiar in critical academic literature. But it is argued here that the shared imagery cannot be submitted to an analysis that simply draws on political-economic generalizations about housing and marginalization in "developing" nations. The notion of squatter settlements in the independent nation of Papua New Guinea has a specific origin in the imagination and attitudes of Europeans in the preceding colonial period. The historical transformations through which the imagery has been perpetuated are examined to understand how present-day urban Papua New Guineans can continue to demonize settlements in the face of lived experience that contradicts this censorious discourse.


Awareness of the surroundings as well as bodily cues is essential for effective social interaction. Nonverbal behavior such as gaze, facial expression, gesture and posture, provide cues for interpreting intent and relational status. These cues are also present as people traverse a physical setting, where locomotion and social expression integrate effortlessly. The goal of this study was to examine how human observers interpreted social behavior of virtual agents constrained by the physical environment of a movie theater with seating rows. An online survey compared videos of agents exhibiting only locomotion, and agents that also exhibited two different levels of social commitment. Results showed that people were able to interpret the social behavior correctly, indicating that adding it on top of complex maneuvering is possible. These results continue to build a bridge between the literature on agent navigation and agent social behavior.


In this interview Jane Yolen, award-winning author of children's picture books, talks of how her books come into being and the sometimes long period between the first spark of an idea and the time writing begins. She explains the many types of research that can be required for different types of books, giving examples from her own work. She also provides insight as to the role of the writer, the illustrator and the editor in creating the final version of a children's picture book. Finally, she reveals her own favourite children's picture books and gives advice to those wishing to write in this genre.


Research and work in progress papers are welcome. List of topics of interest includes (but is not limited to): * formalisms for program semantics; * formal models and semantics of programs and systems; * semantics of programming and specification languages; * formal description techniques; * logics for formal specification and verification; * deductive program verification; * automatic theorem proving; * model checking of programs and systems; * static analysis of programs; * formal approach to testing and validation; * program analysis and verification tools.


AIMS
Studies have yielded conflicting results regarding alcohol's influence on HIV outcomes, particularly after highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART). Discrepant findings may be related to confounding variables, including gender, patterns of alcohol abuse and type of alcohol beverage beyond the amount consumed.

METHODS
Using a cohort study, differences in HAART effectiveness after 24 weeks of therapy were compared as a function of amount and preference for alcohol, drinking only liquor (LI, n = 55) or only wine or beer (BW, n = 110). Given the critical role of thymus on HAART response, changes in thymus size, CD4s, naïve lymphocytes and viral loads were assessed.

RESULTS
After HAART, positive increases in both CD4s (+12 cell counts/mm(3)) and thymus size (+0.7 mm(3)) were evident in the BW group. In contrast, the LI subgroup exhibited a decline in both parameters (-4 CD4 cells/mm(3) and -0.6 mm(3) in thymus size). Women in the LI group exhibited significantly lower CD4 (163.4 +/- 46.2) and naïve counts (178 +/- 69.5) than LI men (CD4: 281.6 +/- 203, P = 0.05; lymphocytes: 301.4 +/- 198, P = 0.04). In adjusted regression models, the LI compared to the BW subgroup had greater odds of maintaining detectable viral loads (RR = 1.35, 95% CI 1.04-1.75; P = 0.03), increased thymus volumes (RR = 3.8, P = 0.04) and replenished naïve cells (RR = 13, P = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS
Liquor was associated with thymus deterioration and thus with poorer viro-immune outcomes after HAART. Subtyping participants by alcohol consumption patterns seems to be clinically relevant and needs to be accounted for in future studies.


Purpose: To compare the effectiveness of subconjunctival injection of dexamethasone with intracameral injection of dexamethasone in controlling immediate postoperative anterior uveitis after cataract surgery.  Materials and Methods: 330 patients of cataract underwent phacoemulsification with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation by same surgeon. They were divided into two groups comprising of 165 patients each. Patients in Group A, received subconjuctival injection of dexamethasone while patients in group B received intracameral injection of dexamethasone at the end of surgery. Patients were examined on 1st post-operative day on slit lamp for signs of anterior uveitis.  Results: On 1 st post op day, in group A, findings were, normal to moderate flare in anterior chamber (148 patients, 89.7%), severe flare in anterior chamber (17 patients, 10.3%), normal to moderate cells in anterior chamber (149 patients, 90.3%), severe cells in anterior chamber (16 patients, 9.6%), hypopyon in anterior chamber (16 patients, 9.6%), posterior synechiea (12 patients, 7.2%)  while in group B, normal to moderate flare in anterior chamber (153 patient, 92.6%), severe flare in anterior chamber (12 patients, 7.3%), normal to moderate cells in anterior chamber (155 patients, 93.9%), severe cells in anterior chamber (10 patients, 6.06%), hypopyon (8 patients, 4.84%), posterior synechiea (4 patients, 2.4%). The data was analyzed statistically by applying Chi square test using SPSS version 10. It showed that there was statistically significant difference in results between group A and group B on 1st post-operative day.  Conclusion: Dexamethasone, when injected intracamerally increase its efficacy by about 5 % as compared to subconjuctival route.


BACKGROUND
In this study, we aimed to investigate the early results of the safety and efficacy of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) injection along with the repair of the internal orifice in the recovery of complex perianal fistula.

METHODS
The study included patients who underwent autologous adipose tissue-derived stemcell injection for complex perianal fistula between December2017 and January2018. The FDA-approved Lipogems® system was used to prepare autologous micro-fragmented adipose stem cells. Demographic characteristics, history of inflammatory bowel disease, fistula type and length of fistula tract determined by endoanal ultrasound, mean operation duration, postoperative complications, and fistula healing of the patients were evaluated. Fistula healing was evaluated on the 30th ,90th days and 9th months.

RESULTS
A total of 10 patients, with male predominance, were included in our study. The mean age was 47±13.1 and mean BMI was 28.3±4.79. None of the patients had inflammatory bowel disease Based on endoanal ultrasound findings, fistula type was transsphincteric, extrasphincteric and suprasphincteric for 7, 2 and 1 patients, respectively. Calculated length of fistula tract based on ultrasound was 4.45±1.69(2.5-6.4). Mean duration of operation was 45±7 minutes. None of the patients had any treatment related toxicity, however, two patients experienced bruising at the liposuction site. Healing rate in the follow-up of 30-day, 90-day and 9-month was 70%, 80% and 70%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
In addition to surgical treatment in the form of curettage and closure of the fistula tract, autologous micro-fragmented adipose tissue injection is a safe, feasible, and reproducible procedure that can be performed based on the early results in complex anal fistula healing.

KEY WORDS
Lipogems®, Mesenchymal stem cell, Regenerative medicine, Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cell.


Pancreatic ectopia (PE) consists in the existence of pancreatic tissue outside its usual location in the normal pancreas. This rare condition, with an uncertain incidence, occurs most often in the stomach, duodenum and jejunum. The ectopic pancreas is usually asymptomatic but it may become clinically significant when it becomes affected with the same kind of complications which affect the normal pancreas - inflammation, bleeding, obstruction of the anatomic structure where it is located and malignant transformation. As the most common site of this kind of lesion is the submucosa, endoscopic ultrasonography is the most useful exam in its characterization; the final diagnosis is, however, histological. Surgical resection is indicated in symptomatic cases and when there is malignant transformation of the lesion. In this article the author presents a clinical case of gastric PE and makes a theoretical review about this entity, its etiopathogenesis, semiology, method of diagnosis and therapy, noting the indications and surgical options to treat this rare condition.


GRADE cows fed a commercial 50 per cent wettable DDT powder developed symptoms of DDT poisoning following a minimum dose of 514 mgm/kg actual DDT and recovered from maximum of 1100 mgm/kg. Each cow received a total of 720 grams (25 oz) of the wettable powder which is far in excess of the quantity which is likely to be ingested following the spraying of barns.


Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is defined as the occurrence of spontaneous seizures that involve the limbic system, with the hippocampal formation and associated structures being central to the most prevalent refractory form of adult focal epilepsy. TLE is often associated with psychotic features resembling the hallucinations and delusions that occur with schizophrenia. Given evidence that the ventral hippocampus plays an important role in the maintenance of temporal lobe seizures, we investigated whether an animal model of TLE using intrahippocampal injection of pilocarpine induces alterations in mesolimbic dopamine neuron activity. We found that in 60% of rats in which pilocarpine induced seizure activity, there was a significant increase in the number of dopamine neurons firing per electrode track. Furthermore, this occurred in concert with an increase in amphetamine-stimulated locomotor activity. Both observations are similar to those observed in a rodent developmental model of psychosis. Therefore, as in animal models of schizophrenia, TLE-associated psychosis is probably due to abnormal hippocampal overdrive of dopamine neuron activity.


A short-term greenhouse experiment was carried out with two phosphorus (P) levels of purple soil to investigate P availability and associated processes in the rhizosphere of two different P-efficiency wheat genotypes using a thin slicing technique. Two genotypes with different P efficiencies were grown in a root-compartment experiment under low P (P 10: 10 P mg/kg) and high P (P 100: 100 P mg/kg) treatments. Results show that readily extracted forms of soil inorganic P were depleted by the two wheat genotypes, depletion zones extended further adjacent to 4 to 6 mm. Enhanced depletion of sodium hydroxide extractable organic P apparent in the rhizosphere of high P-efficient wheat cultivar 10098 compared with low P inefficient wheat cultivar 10026 was related to the presence of greater concentrations of microbial biomass and higher soil acid phosphatase and phosphodiesterase enzyme activities. These results confirm that microorganisms and soil enzymic activities played important roles in the mineralization of soil organic P, particularly under high P-efficient wheat cultivar 10098. These results suggest that improving P efficiency based on the character of P efficiency acquisition in Pefficient genotype would be a potential approach for maintaining wheat yield potential in soils with low P bioavailability.


Applied general equilibrium (AGE) models, which feature multiple countries, multiple industries, and input–output linkages across industries, have been the dominant tool for evaluating the impact of trade reforms since the 1980s. We review how these models are used to perform policy analysis and document their shortcomings in predicting the industry-level effects of past trade reforms. We argue that, to improve their performance, AGE models need to incorporate product-level data on bilateral trade relations by industry and better model how trade reforms lower bilateral trade costs. We use the least-traded-products methodology of Kehoe et al. (2015) to provide guidance on how improvements can be made. We provide further suggestions on how AGE models can incorporate recent advances in quantitative trade theory to improve their predictive ability and better quantify the gains from trade liberalization.


Recent North American usage of the series boundary is divided: (1) following English tradition it is placed between the Toarcian and the Bajocian s.l. stages; (2) following central European tradition it is placed at the same position, but with the distinction of the Aalenian stage = Lower Bajocian s.l.; (3) following the resolution of the 1st Luxembourg Colloquium it is placed at the Aalenian/Bajocian s.str. boundary. Subsequent resolutions of the Cassis Meeting and, equivocally, of the 2nd Luxembourg Colloquium, however, rescinded the third usage because it conflicts with the original series definition and with the Lias/Dogger boundary; they also supported the Aalenian stage. Although no decision has as yet been taken by an internationally recognized body, the second alternative is strongly recommended in the meantime.