In many destinations, tourism is closely linked with the natural environment. Climate affects a wide range of the environmental resources that are critical attractions for tourism, such as snow conditions, wildlife productivity, biodiversity, water supply and the length and quality of tourism seasons. Climate also has an important influence on environmental conditions than can deter tourists, including infectious disease, bushfires, insect, water-borne pests and extreme weather events such as tropical cyclones. With climate, a number of researchers have lamented that the vulnerability of individual tourism industries and tourism destinations to climate variability has not been adequately assessed. Butler and Jones in 2001 indicated that Climate change could have greater effect on tomorrow's world and tourism and hospitality in particular than anything else we have discussed .The most worrying aspect is that to all intents and purposes the tourism and hospitality industries seem intent on ignoring what could be the major problem of the century (original emphasis). Now a day, a broad range of potential climate change impact on the tourism sector was identified. This paper indicates the consequences of climate change for tourism within the context of existing knowledge about the relationship between tourism and climate and weather. The importance of local-regional scale climate analysis for tourism is presented. It also provides a brief overview of recent advances in our understanding of global climate change. U


Enhancement algorithms are typically applied to video content to increase their appeal to viewers. Such algorithms are readily available in the literature and are already widely applied in, for example, commercially available TVs. On the contrary, not much research has been done on enhancing stereoscopic 3D video content. In this paper, we present research focused on the effect of applying enhancement algorithms used for 2D content on 3D side-by-side content. We evaluate both offline enhancement of video content based on proprietary enhancement algorithms and real-time enhancement in the TVs. This is done using stereoscopic TVs with active shutter glasses, viewed both in their 2D and 3D viewing mode. The results of this research show that 2D enhancement algorithms are a viable first approach to enhance 3D content. In addition to video quality degradation due to the loss of spatial resolution as a consequence of the 3D video format, brightness reduction inherent to polarized or shutter glasses similarly degrades video quality. We illustrate the benefit of providing brightness enhancement for stereoscopic displays.


Games have become established tools within participatory urban planning practice that provide safe spaces for collective actions such as deliberation, negotiation of conflicting agendas, scenario testing, and collaborative worldbuilding. While a body of literature on the effectiveness of games to address complex urban planning issues is emerging, significantly less literature addresses the design and development process of serious games with a possible space in its own right within urban planning practice. Our study investigates long term iterative processes of designing a game for visioning urban futures, specifically, how design iterations connect to the application of games in practice by accommodating or responding to emerging needs, goals, and relationships. We approach this topic through the case study of the Sustainability Futures Game, a game designed by the Helsinki-based creative agency Hellon to support business leaders, sustainability specialists, and city officials to imagine desirable alternative urban futures. Through storytelling and collective worldbuilding, players first imagine what sustainable urban living means for a specific city, frame their vision using the UN's sustainable development goals, and finally create concrete pathways towards reaching these goals. This article uses a genealogical approach to systematically analyse the five design iterations of the Sustainability Futures Game. It aims to elucidate the contextual and relational influences on the application of serious games in urban planning practice to understand how these influences might encourage or inhibit their potential to foster transformation towards sustainable futures.


INTRODUCTION
Over the past decade, the balance between the benefits and harms of breast cancer screening (BCS) has been widely debated. To date, no French study has interrogated women's points of view and preferences (in the economic sense) for this controversial screening. This study aims to bridge this gap. We aimed to elicit women's trade-offs between the benefits and harms of BCS.

METHODS
A discrete choice experiment questionnaire was developed and administered by a survey institute to French women in order to elicit their preferences and trade-offs between the benefits and risks of BCS (i.e., overdiagnosis and false-positive mammography).

RESULTS
Eight hundred and twelve women, representative of the French general population (age, socioeconomic level, and geographical location), completed the survey. The women would be willing to accept on average 14.1 overdiagnosis cases (median = 9.6) and 47.8 women with a false-positive result (median = 27.2) to avoid one BC-related death. Results from our simulations predict that less than 50% of women would be willing to accept 10 overdiagnosis cases (respectively, 30 women with a false-positive mammography) for one BC-related death avoided.

CONCLUSION
Women are sensitive to both the benefits and harms of BC screening and their preferences are highly heterogeneous. Providing balanced information on both benefits and harms to women through an informed decision-making process would be more respectful of women's preferences.


The effect of compressive loading on the fatigue properties of a quasi-isotropic graphite/epoxy composite is discussed. Tests were conducted using parallel-sided, unnotched T300/934 graphite/epoxy coupons cured at 177°C (350°F). Results are based on a large sample size (number of coupons tested at a particular test condition) which allowed a statistically significant evaluation of data scatter. All tests were conducted at room temperature. Fatigue tests were conducted at 10Hz under constant-amplitude loading. Static tensile and compressive properties were obtained for coupons without prior fatigue damage. Tension-tension and tension-compression fatigue stress-life curves were qualitatively evaluated using a small sample set at each stress level. Three specific stress levels were chosen and the extent of data scatter defined for each type of fatigue loading. Additional coupons were subjected to the same amount of fatigue damage and half were tested for tensile residual strength degradation and half for compressive. Such residual strength tests were conducted at the same two fatigue maximum stress levels for both tension-tension and tension-compression fatigue. Data scatter was larger for static compression tests than for static tension tests. Static and fatigue failure modes were dissimilar. Compressive load excursions reduced fatigue life especially at lower stress levels. At stress levels where fatigue failures occurred, degradation in residual strength due to fatigue also occurred. Data analysis was performed using three-parameter Weibull asymptotic fits, which proved to be superior in predicting failure rates than two-parameter fits. The effect of sample size on descriptions of data scatter and accuracy of extrapolation is discussed.


This paper presents an efficient fault detection approach to monitor the direct current (DC) side of photovoltaic (PV) systems. The key contribution of this work is combining both single diode model (SDM) flexibility and the cumulative sum (CUSUM) chart efficiency to detect incipient faults. In fact, unknown electrical parameters of SDM are firstly identified using an efficient heuristic algorithm, named Artificial Bee Colony algorithm. Then, based on the identified parameters, a simulation model is built and validated using a co-simulation between Matlab/Simulink and PSIM. Next, the peak power (Pmpp) residuals of the entire PV array are generated based on both real measured and simulated Pmpp values. Residuals are used as the input for the CUSUM scheme to detect potential faults. We validate the effectiveness of this approach using practical data from an actual 20 MWp grid-connected PV system located in the province of Adrar, Algeria.


Abstract A radiation model was used to simulate daily incoming solar radiation at four ships during Phase III of GATE. The accuracy of the simulations from several different cloud analyses based on ship or satellite data was estimated by comparison with measured values. The cloud-data source, objective analysis characteristics and analysis grid interval affected the accuracy of the radiation computations.


ABSTRACT Homelessness is a widespread and challenging social and public health problem across the United States. Homelessness exacerbates poor health, social, and economic functioning. Permanent supportive housing (PSH) is a housing program model that provides housing as well as a range of supportive services to address co-occurring physical, mental, and social needs. The Housing for Health (HFH) program is modeled on PSH and was launched by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services in 2012 with the aim of providing permanent supportive housing to individuals experiencing homelessness identified as frequent users of health services. This study uses data from 14 qualitative interviews with senior leaders and nine focus groups with tenants and program staff to understand tenant experiences with HFH and non-HFH programs, as they relate to care coordination. We report linkages to care and social services, variations in care coordination intensity, and the impact of workforce issues on tenant experience. The findings from this study underscore the value of housing programs that promote care coordination across service delivery sectors, and that adopt person-centered approaches to care. Lessons learned from programs like HFH are relevant for many stakeholders that may become providers of housing, as incentivized by recent Medicaid expansions.


In this paper, we propose a new algorithm for scheduling parallel programs represented as directed acyclic graphs onto multiprocessors with communication delays. In such systems, task duplication is known as a useful technique for shortening the length of schedules. The proposed algorithm adopts several heuristics based on GAs as well as task duplication. To apply a GA to scheduling, we design chromosomes using list representation so that each chromosome can uniquely represent a schedule of tasks. We also design genetic operators to control the degree of replication of tasks. Through simulation studies for three kinds of parallel programs under various scheduling conditions, we compare the proposed algorithm with an established algorithm proposed by Kruatrachue. As a result, it is found that the new heuristic algorithm outperforms the previous algorithm especially when communication delays are relatively small.


Intellectual integrity is the coming together of understanding derived from experience and critical skills available through scholarship. The parable evokes reflection in order to stimulate self-assessment and effect the saving experience of a radical change. Jewish scholars have found ways to mine the rich diversity of meaning in their scriptures; for interpretation allegorizing was one method used. This was later taken over by Christian theologians to interpret parables. In modern times literary criticism has attempted to divine an author's intended meaning. But more recently critics have questioned whether those intentions can be known with any certainty. To appropriate a parable the reader needs to integrate in his thinking the elements of which it is composed. Furthermore in the Gospels the saving works of Jesus and the parables interpret each other. Thus the parable needs to be considered in relation to the body of the writings of which it is a part. By the mental associations evoked by a parable, by the questions put to it, and by a required paradigm shift there can be a stimulus to new perceptions. It is not only the intellect but also the intuitions of the heart that enable perception. Two modern exponents of the parable are Kafka and Borges. According to Kafka, the reader is the problematic element in the appropriation of a parable. Essential to Borges's thought is the multiplicity of meanings in a literary text. For a life-enhancing encounter with the parable, the "artist-child" and the critic in the reader need to work in a harmonious balance.


Cyclopentadienyl ruthenium(II) thiosemicarbazone complexes with the general formula [Ru(η5-C5H5)(Ac-tsc)PPh3]·Cl (1), [Ru(η5-C5H5)(Ac-mtsc)PPh3]·Cl (2), [Ru(η5-C5H5)(Ac-etsc)PPh3]·Cl (3) and [Ru(η5-C5H5)(Ac-ptsc)PPh3] (4) were synthesized and characterized by various spectroscopic techniques (1H NMR, 13C NMR, IR and UV-vis). The molecular structures of the representative complexes 2 and 4 were studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The interactions of all the ligands and complexes with calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were studied using UV-vis and fluorescence emission spectroscopy. The results of binding studies revealed that the effective binding potentials of the complexes were higher than those of their parent ligands. All the new complexes 1–4 were investigated for their in vitro cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line. All the complexes significantly inhibited cell proliferation in MCF-7 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Cytological observations via an inverted phase contrast microscope and a Hoechst 33342/PI dual-staining assay showed typical apoptotic morphology of cancer cells upon treatment with complexes 2 and 3. It can thus be suggested that the complexes 2 and 3 are modulated by apoptosis. The findings of the present study indicated that complexes 2 and 3 may become potent drugs for the treatment of cancer-related diseases only after further investigation.


Links to databases and other library resources for construction and structural design. Also helpful for civil engineering, estimating, excavation, green design, sources of building materials, and related topics.


Summary Aim: The aim was to study the influence of singlephoton-transmission scan duration in 3D-PET on the quantitative values of attenuation coefficients and noise in transmission images and of activity concentrations and noise in attenuation corrected emission images of thorax phantom- and patient data. Method and material: Using dual collimated Cs-137 singles transmission sources (Eγ = 662 keV, A = 2* 614 MBq) on an ECAT ART tomograph series of transmission scans of a thorax phantom were acquired pre- and post-injection of 18F. 17 patients underwent two transmission scans. The scan time of the short transmission was chosen according to the results of the phantom studies (noise of Poisson statistics less than 4%). Transmission and attenuation corrected emission images were evaluated with respect to estimated linear attenuation coefficients, noise and specific activities in organs. Results: The phantom studies reveal little variation of the estimated linear attenuation coefficients as a function of scan duration. The estimates of the attenuation coefficients are found to be 1% lower than the expected values for pre- and up to 6.5% lower for post-injection transmissions. The noise level in the transmission images increases as expected for Poisson data. The noise level in the attenuation corrected emission images shows only little increase with decreasing transmission scan time whereas it is strongly influenced by a variation of emission scan time. In patient studies, less than 3% difference was found in the estimated linear attenuation coefficients as well as in the activity concentrations between short (pre or post-injection) and long transmission scans. The noise levels in transmission and emission images are 1% (pre-injection) and 4% (post-injection) higher for short transmission scans. Conclusion: Due to the high photon flux, single photon transmission offers good clinical performance with significantly reduced transmission scan durations (< 2 min/bed in pre-, < 4 min/bed in post-injection transmission).


Research questions: What are the brand images and brand identities of Renault Trucks, Novembal/Tetra Pak and IKEA? Is there a brand gap? How does country-of-origin have an effect on the perception of the brands? How does the respondent's sex have an importance in the perception of the brand and the effect of country-of-origin?Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to describe, compare and analyze the existence of brand gaps and the effect of country-of-origin with the final intention to provide management recommendations for the studied companies.Method: A quantitative consumer survey of 42 subjects was collected and analyzed. In addition, interviews were conducted with three Swedish companies, as well as an interview with the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Lyon. Aaker's (1997) Big Five model was used in the analysis.Conclusions: The study demonstrated the brand identities and brand images of the companies. A brand gap is widely present. Aaker's (1997) model had to be modified and includes new dimensions and traits. Country-of-origin (COO) plays a role in 100% of the consumers' perception and purchasing process. COO bias, ethnocentrism and animosity are present and play a role in the 42 consumers' attitudes and purchase decisions in Rhone-Alps. Men and women have different attitudes and degree of ethnocentrism towards the effect of country-of-origin (COE).


Renewed interest in the development of substantial coal reserves in the San Juan basin has given new impetus to the determination of the potential impact of expanded mining on paleontologic resources and to a reconsideration of depositional environments of Fruitland coals. Reanalysis of molluscan localities from the Fruitland and Kirtland Formations on lands of the Navajo Nation, in preparation for more extensive field studies, indicates that, of the 24 localities collected by C. M. Bauer in 1915, 12 are type localities for 17 species, representing a large percentage of the total fauna known from these formations. Differentiation of brackish and nonmarine environments on the basis of biostratigraphic distribution of species divides the Fruitland Formation into upper and lower units. Near the western margin of the San Juan basin, predominantly brackish environments are present near the base of the Fruitland, underlain by the littoral-marine Pictured Cliffs Sandstone, and extend up to 35.6 m in total thickness. Exclusively nonmarine sediments are present bove this horizon to the top of the Fruitland and throughout the Kirtland Formation. Nonmarine molluscan diversity seems to increase markedly at approximately 35.6 m. Below this horizon, only 7 taxa indicate freshwater environments. At 35.6 m, 8 taxa are introduced, and of these 7 occur only at this level. Above 35.6 m, only 2 taxa are introduced: Physa reesidei at about 61 m and "Unio" baueri at 123.5 m (Kirtland Formation). The only terrestrial mollusk reported is Planorbis chacoensis from near the base of the Fruitland Formation. End_of_Article - Last_Page 560------------


Twenty-one Charolais and 21 Friesian bulls were infused with deuteriated water (0.6 g/kg body weight). Blood samples were collected 6,9 and 24 hours after infusion. The dilution space was calculated by either the zero-time extrapolation method (EDC0) or by 6-hour marker concentration in blood water (EDC6). The animals were slaughtered and their empty body water (ECV) and total body water (ECTC) measured. The EDC0 overestimated by 3.2 p. 100 the ECTC and by 17.9 p. 100 the ECV. The standard error of ECTC estimation was lower (2.0 p. 100 of ECTC) than that of ECV (4.3 p. 100 of ECV). The EDC6 overestimated by 4.7 p. 100 the ECTC and was less related to it (SE of estimation = 2.4 p. 100 ECTC). It was concluded that the zero-time extrapolation method of determining the dilution space was preferable. The dilution space of deuteriated water was a fairly good estimate of total body water. Taking into account the close relationship between body water and body lipids, the dilution space measurement could be used to assess the chemical composition of live animals.


ChxlO is a homeobox transcription factor essential for the development of the vertebrate eye. A mutation in the human gene CHX10 causes microphthalmia and a similar phenotype is observed in the ocular retardation, ChxlO null mouse. Lack of ChxlO causes a reduction in proliferation of neural retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) in the developing retina, resulting in a reduction in the size of the eye. The aim of this study was threefold: to identify downstream targets of the ChxlO gene and discover more about the role of ChxlO at a molecular level, to further characterise the ChxlO'1' phenotype and the behaviour of the mutant RPCs, and to investigate the possibility that the ChxlO''" retina harbours stem cell-like cells. Firstly, Affymetrix GeneChip technology was used to compare the gene expression profile of wild type retina with that of the ChxlO null retina during early development. Significant differential expression was observed for 34 characterised genes genes involved in neuronal differentiation were down-regulated whereas genes involved in retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) specification were up- regulated. These findings highlight a novel role for ChxlO in maintaining the neural retina/RPE boundary. Secondly, experiments aimed at characterising ChxlO''' RPCs showed that they exhibit altered cycling properties compared to wild type RPCs and that their differentiation to neural retinal cells is delayed. The data resulting from these studies support a model in which the transition from Gl phase of the cell cycle to S phase or to differentiation is disrupted in the ChxlO''' retina. Finally, a population of proliferating cells was discovered in the adult ChxlO''' retina, which showed neurogenic properties and formed neurospheres in culture, a point of interest in the context of retinal stem cell research. The study conducted here has offered valuable clues as to how ChxlO affects retinal progenitor cell proliferation and differentiation at both a molecular and a cellular level. It is hoped this work will contribute to the current knowledge of eye development in general, and ChxlO's involvement in this process in particular.


Holothuria leucospilota Clark 1920 inhabiting tropical Darwin waters primarily undergo asexual reproduction by fission throughout the year (Purwati 2001). However, there is also evidence of sexual reproduction. Monthly sampling from August 1998 to January 2000 revealed that the gonadal tubules within each individual of H. leucospilota grew simultaneously. Complete spawning, where the oocytes throughout the gonad have equal opportunity to be released in one spawning event, could therefore be expected. Postspawning tubules were absorbed, resulting in the disappearance of gonads between reproductive cycles. The development of gonadal tubules in this holothurian does not conform to the "tubules recruitment model" proposed by Smiley (1988), as reassessed by Sewell et al. (1997). A seasonal reproductive cycle with a restricted spawning period was recognised in the population studied. The resting stage that occurred simultaneously amongst individuals in the population made it possible to estimate gametogenesis, which may take less than a year. It is likely that gamete release occured in the period between new moon and full moon of April, at the end of the wet season in Darwin. The continuous flooding of the reefs during this period is thought to be effective for fertilisation.


A revision of the ammonites from the Bakony Mountains (Hungary) based on collections of the Geological Institute of Hungary (MAFI) in Budapest, revealed the following sequence of faunas. The youngest Campanian ammonites from the South Bakony are three specimens of Pachydiscus ( P .) praecolligatus COLLIGNON, 1955 from the Sumeg area; this is a typical Campanian species. Two specimens of former "Lower Maastrichtian Pachydiscus neubergicus (HAUER)" from Haraszt quarry have been re-determined as Early Campanian Eupachydiscus l evyi (GROSSOUVRE, 1894). The fragmentary specimen of Mortoniceras sp. has been determined as Texanites ( Texanites ) sp. from the Upper Santonian. Two ammonite zones can be recognised for these sequences: Texanites sp. ( Santonian ) and Eupachydiscus levyi (Lower Campanian)


Problem solving is a key component of weight loss programs. The Social Problem Solving Inventory–Revised (SPSI-R) has not been evaluated in weight loss studies. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometrics of the SPSI-R. Cronbach's α (.95 for total score; .67-.92 for subscales) confirmed internal consistency reliability. The SPSI-R score was significantly associated (ps < .05) with decreased eating barriers and binge eating, increased self-efficacy in following a cholesterol-lowering diet, consumption of fewer calories and fat grams, more frequent exercise, lower psychological distress, and higher mental quality of life; all suggesting concurrent validity with other instruments used in weight loss studies. However, confirmatory factor analysis of the hypothesized five-factor structure did not fit the data well (χ2 = 350, p < .001).


Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family is a class of endogenous peptidases involved in normal physiological processes of the body, such as embryonic development, wound healing, angiogenesis, cartilage absorption, etc. However, during infection, over-expression of activated matrix metalloproteinase can lead to immunopathological change, induce disease or death, also contribute to the spread or survival of pathogens. Some human parasites such as Plasmodium, Toxoplasma gondii, Cysticercus cellulose, Angiostrongylus cantonensis larvae can invade the central nervous system, and cause inflammatory response dominated by eosinophil infiltration. This article reviews function and pathological mechanism of MMP during the infection of relevant parasites involving brain.


In 1972, a National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, comprising establishment figures chosen mostly by President Richard Nixon himself, issued a report that declared that "neither the marihuana user nor the drug itself can be said to constitute a danger to public safety" and recommended that Congress and state legislatures decriminalize the use and casual distribution of marijuana and seek means other than prohibition to discourage use. President Nixon ignored the report and Congress declined to consider its recommendations, but during the 40-plus years since its publication, at least 37 states have acted to refashion a crazy-quilt collection of prohibitions, nearly always in the direction favored by the commission. The specifics vary by state, but most reform legislation has followed one of three formulas: decriminalization of marijuana possession, legalization of marijuana for medical use, or legalization of marijuana for adult recreational use. In this issue brief, authors Katharine Neill and William Martin examine the facts and fears surrounding each of these options.


INTRODUCTION
In the current study, a systematic search and meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of prostate cancer radiotherapy on testosterone level of patients.

METHODS
To illuminate the effect of radiotherapy on the testosterone level of prostate cancer patients, a systematic search was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guideline in electronic databases of Scopus, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, and clinical trials up to December 2018 using relevant keywords. Based on a certain set of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 12 eligible studies which had data on the testosterone level following prostate cancer radiotherapy were included in the meta-analysis.

RESULTS
According to the various techniques of prostate cancer radiotherapy, the dose values scattered to the testicular tissues ranged from 0.31 to 10 Gy. Combining the findings from 12 studies, it was found that prostate cancer radiotherapy leads to a significant reduction in the testosterone level (Weighted Mean Difference [WMD]: -51.38 ng/dL, 95% CI: -75.86, -26.90, I2=0.0%, P<0.05). Furthermore, subgroup analysis by the patient number showed a significant reduction of the testosterone level at patient number < 50 (WMD: -80.32 ng/dL, 95% CI: -125.10, -35.55, I2= 0.0%) and 50 < patient number < 100 (WMD: -46.99 ng/dL, 95% CI: -87.15, -6.82, I2= 0.0%). Subgroup analysis based on treatment technique type revealed a significant reduction in testosterone level after conventional radiotherapy (WMD: -56.67, 95% CI: -100.45,-12.88, I2= 34.3%) and IMRT/SBRT technique (WMD: -57.42, 95% CI: -99.39, -15.46, I2= 0.0%) in comparison with the proton therapy (WMD: 0.00, 95% CI: -80.24, 80.24).

CONCLUSION
The findings showed a significant decrease in the testosterone level of prostate cancer patients after radiotherapy compared with pre-treatment levels.


In November 1997 the Japanese government confronted a problem of enormous proportions when the turmoil that had been roiling the financial markets since the collapse of a real estate and stock market asset bubble in 1990 reached a crescendo with the failure of four major financial institutions in quick succession in the space of a month. Prior to these failures, the damage done by the collapsing bubble had seemed to be limited to certain segments of the financial landscape, and the government's response consisted largely of targeted intervention when necessary for clearly insolvent financial institutions, with a more comprehensive approach yet to be developed. Yet with the November 1997 failures it was clear that the damage was not limited and that the crisis in the Japanese financial system was reaching a systemic stage. Given that the frameworks developed during the early stages of the financial crisis were not designed with such failures in mind, initial efforts to assist these more major financial institutions were organized on an ad hoc basis while Japanese authorities simultaneously worked on developing a new framework. Ultimately, two pieces of legislation were enacted that would provide much of this framework – an act allowing for the temporary nationalization of systemically important banks for purposes of restructuring them and an act earmarking additional funds for bank recapitalization.


Since 1994, the University of Minnesota has been undertaking a long overdue restructuring of power electronics and electric machines/drives courses. This restructuring allows digital control to be integrated into first courses, thereby teaching students what they need to learn, making these courses appealing, and providing a seamless continuity to advanced courses. By a concise presentation in just two undergraduate courses, this restructuring motivates students to take related courses in programmable logic controllers, microcontrollers and digital signal processor applications. This ensures a first-rate education that is meaningful in the workplace as well as in graduate education leading to a research and development oriented career. This restructuring has several components to it. Outdated topics that waste time and mislead students are deleted. To integrate control in the first courses, unique approaches are developed to convey information more effectively. In the first course in power electronics, a building block is identified in commonly used power converter topologies in order to unify their analysis. In the field of electric drives, the use of space vectors is introduced on a physical basis to describe operation of ac machines in steady state in the first course, and to discuss their optimum control under dynamic conditions in the advanced course. Appropriate simulation software and software-reconfigurable hardware laboratories using a DSP-based rapid prototyping tool are used to support the analytical discussion.


Self-regulation is needed in every individual, especially the single mothers who have child with autism. Good self-regulation of the single mother who have child with autism will have an important impact in helping children with autism to growing well. The research objective is obtaining the dynamics of selfregulation in the single mothers who have child with autism in Banda Aceh, by used qualitative research methods to the two respondents of research. Collect data by interviewing the respondents for ± 1.5 months. Analyze the data using the analysis case of per-respondent in narrative description. The research showed each respondent had different self-regulation, it is caused by differences in the chronology of case that has happened, differences in feelings of each respondent to accept this case, and differences in interpretation by each respondent in this case.


Rock daisies (Perityleae; Compositae) are a diverse clade of seven genera and ca. 84 minimum‐rank taxa that mostly occur as narrow endemics on sheer rock cliffs throughout the southwest United States and northern Mexico. Taxonomy of Perityleae has traditionally been based on morphology and cytogenetics. To test taxonomic hypotheses and utility of characters emphasized in past treatments, we present the first densely sampled molecular phylogenies of Perityleae and reconstruct trait and chromosome evolution. We inferred phylogenetic trees from whole chloroplast genomes, nuclear ribosomal cistrons, and hundreds of low‐copy nuclear genes using genome skimming and target capture. Discordance between sources of molecular data suggests an underappreciated history of hybridization in Perityleae. Phylogenies support the monophyly of subtribe Peritylinae, a distinctive group possessing a four‐lobed disc corolla; however, all of the phylogenetic trees generated in this study reject the monophyly of the most species‐rich genus, Perityle, as well as its sections: Perityle sect. Perityle, Perityle sect. Laphamia, and Perityle sect. Pappothrix. Using reversible jump MCMC, our results suggest that morphological characters traditionally used to classify members of Perityleae have evolved multiple times within the group. A base chromosome number x = 9 gave rise to higher base numbers in subtribe Peritylinae (x = 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, and 19) through polyploidization, followed by ascending or descending dysploidy. Most taxa constitute a monophyletic lineage with a base chromosome number of x = 17, with multiple neo‐polyploidization events. These results demonstrate the advantages and obstacles of next‐generation sequencing approaches in synantherology while laying the foundation for taxonomic revision and comparative study of the evolutionary ecology of Perityleae.


We present two methods for efficiently sampling the response (trajectory space) of dynamical systems operating under spatial uncertainty assumed to be representable with Gaussian processes. The dynamics of such systems depends on spatially indexed uncertain parameters that span infinite dimensional spaces. This places a heavy computational burden on the implementation of existing methodologies, a challenge addressed with two new conditional sampling approaches. When a single instance of the uncertainty is needed in the entire domain, we use a fast Fourier transform technique. When the Gaussian process has a compactly supported kernel, we use an incremental sampling approach, which not only is fast but also has a very small memory footprint. We prove that both methods produce the same distributions as the widely used Cholesky-based approaches while having much less complexity. We illustrate this convergence at a far smaller computational effort and memory cost for a simple vehicle model. Copyright c © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


A further assessment of the situation in 1963 convinced us that the limitations of the recently introduced immunosuppressive measures would not justify an attempt at cardiac transplantation in man at that time. Reluctantly we conclude that the position today has not fundamentally altered. In spite of tremendous efforts in many parts of the world no clear evidence is available to us of a change radical enough to affect the central issue: whether it is possible accurately and consistently to match tissues from different individuals. We have always borne in mind that considerable differences may exist between heart and kidney, but our experience of transplantation in animals of both organs has convinced us that both present a common problem. We consider that results from animal organ-grafting experiments are largely applicable to man and that we are justified in combining experience of human kidney transplantation with that of our work in animal cardiac transplantation to reach a conclusion that the human heart will not be exempt from the rules that govern acceptance of the kidney. Indeed, as you point out, the situation is complicated further in cardiac transplantation in man by the absence of a satisfactory temporary substitute for the heart, as is afforded by intermittent dialysis with the artificial kidney.


Sorafenib was the first multikinase inhibitor to be approved for use in metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Olmesartan medoxomil used in treatment of hypertension and was reported to inhibit angiogenesis in several models. The present study was designed to assess the safety of a combination of sorafenib plus olmesartan compared to monotherapies in mice bearing Ehrlich's ascites carcinoma cell line. Mice were divided to seven groups, 1) normal mice, 2) Ehrlich's ascites carcinoma control, 3 - 5) olmesartan (3, 10, 30 mg/kg/day), respectively, 6) sorafenib (30 mg/kg/day) and 7) the combination group: mice received olmesartan (30 mg/kg/day) plus sorafenib. All drug treatments continued for 21 days. At the end of the experiment, a complete blood count was performed and kidney and liver functions were estimated. The combination therapy produced a non-significant change in most of the measurements of complete blood count and liver enzymes when compared to normal animals. On the other hand, the combined therapy significantly increased blood urea nitrogen when compared to normal group but did not change the serum creatinine level. Concomitant administration of olmesartan with sorafenib did not significantly augment the toxicity of the later. Therefore; olmesartan might be a safe candidate with sorafenib in treatment of cancer if clinical data proved the benefit of this combination.


The kinetic sintering of Ni and Al nanoparticles is considered using molecular dynamics simulations. We report on the effects of nanoparticle size on sintering temperature and time, with results showing that surface energy has a slight effect on both results. The effect of surface energy on combustion temperature is limited to nanoparticles of less than 10 nm in diameter. An analysis of the various alloys formed during sintering gives insight into the reaction process. The formation of Al-rich compounds is observed initially with a final equilibration and rapid formation of the eutectic alloy immediately preceded by melting of the Ni nanoparticle. We have observed that nanoparticle size and surface energy are both important factors in determining the adiabatic reaction temperature for this material system at nanoparticle sizes of less than 10 nm in diameter.


This work presents an experiment proposal for continuous partial discharge analysis during an automated thermal cycle experiment for hydro generator stator coils/bars. It is an innovative approach because we propose to perform partial discharges test and thermal cycle experiment simultaneously, while they are usually performed individually. We developed an automated test bench that allows performing data acquisition throughout the experiments. We decided to force different coil failures during the tests to observe any changes in the partial discharges trend. First, we changed the thermal cycle temperature limits, and this led to coil overheating before an electrical failure occurred in the insulation. Later, we applied a voltage that was higher than the rated for the coil, which led to a faster electrical failure. The partial discharges trend changed moments before the electrical fault, and the system was able to identify such change. Our preliminary results show that the continuous analysis of partial discharges trends might lead to better maintenance planning by identifying the moment when the hydro generator aging gets critical.


The Optical Character Recognition (OCR) systems have been widely used in various of application scenarios, such as office automation (OA) systems, factory automations, online educations, map productions etc. However, OCR is still a challenging task due to the various of text appearances and the demand of computational efficiency. In this paper, we propose a practical ultra lightweight OCR system, i.e., PP-OCR. The overall model size of the PP-OCR is only 3.5M for recognizing 6622 Chinese characters and 2.8M for recognizing 63 alphanumeric symbols, respectively. We introduce a bag of strategies to either enhance the model ability or reduce the model size. The corresponding ablation experiments with the real data are also provided. Meanwhile, several pre-trained models for the Chinese and English recognition are released, including a text detector (97K images are used), a direction classifier (600K images are used) as well as a text recognizer (17.9M images are used). Besides, the proposed PP-OCR are also verified in several other language recognition tasks, including French, Korean, Japanese and German. All of the above mentioned models are open-sourced and the codes are available in the GitHub repository, i.e., this https URL.


"A dwarf Iycophyte from Devonian beds of the Rio Blanco Basin, Haplostigma jurquei Frenguelli 1952, is described on the basis of the type specimens. They were found in beds belonging to the Chigua and Punilla Formations, of Middle-Late Devonian age. The stems have spirally disposed long, spine-like appendages which lack vascularisation. Comparison is made with other taxa, and a brief discussion is presented on the genus Haplostigma. The stratigraphic ranges and regional distribution are reported for Malanzania nana Archangelsky, Azcuy & Wagner 1981 (Upper Carboniferous), M. antiqua Archangelsky 1983 (Middle Devonian) and Haplostigma furquei Frenguelli 1952 (Middle to Upper Devonian). Cf. Archaeosigillaria sp. A (=""Asteroxylon sp."" sensu Frenguelli 1951), Archaeosigillaria sp. B and Lycophyte (""Gen. et sp. indet."") of Devonian and lowermost Upper Carboniferous strata of the San Juan Precordillera are also described. The reference of Argentine material to the genera Haplostigma Seward and Cyclostigma Haughton is discussed."


In childhood days the land and its living things had evoked the curiosity of William R. Leigh (1866-1955), and, in later years, travel to Africa with a museum expedition was perhaps an unimagined possibility for an artist whose works had included wildlife. Leigh celebrated his subjects with warmth and integrity, whether dynamic scenes from the American West or animals of a pristine Africa.

Leigh was born in West Virginia and spent his early years amidst nature and in making sketches of his surrounds. His drawing ability led to enrollment in the Maryland Institute at Baltimore in 1880, where he excelled. With financial assistance from extended family, he moved forward in his training, and in 1883 he was bound for the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich (DuBois J. W. R. Leigh: The Definitive Illustrated Biography. Kansas City, MO: Lowell Press; 1977:i-209).


The principal investigator (PI) for this study analyzed mean scores on the
National Counselor Examination (NCE) of students from CACREP accredited and non-
CACREP accredited programs. Data was provided by the National Board of Certified
Counselors, Inc., for a total of ten examination administrations across six years.
The fourteen variables examined in the study consisted of the eight common-core
knowledge domains identified in CACREP standards, the five counselor work behavior
areas identified by NBCC via periodic job analysis of counseling practice, and one
overall or total score on the NCE. NCE mean scores of students from CACREP
accredited programs were higher than NCE mean scores of students from non-CACREP
accredited programs on all variables across all ten NCE administrations. Data seem to
indicate that students from CACREP accredited programs perform significantly better on
the NCE than students from non-CACREP accredited programs, in all fourteen variables.
Sample size was large, totaling 9707, so the PI calculated effect sizes using
Cohen's d for each variable to aid interpretation of statistical significance. Five variables
had large effect sizes of .70 or higher. The higher effect size statistics were associated
with the counselor work behavior areas, with the highest effect size (.85) associated with
the overall, or total, score on the NCE. Statistically significant results in the counselor work behavior areas, in the presence of large effect size statistics, may represent reasonably good support for CACREP accredited programs' superiority in developing overall counselor clinical skills and knowledge beyond simply content knowledge. Additionally, the large effect size of the Total Score variable might be interpreted to indicate that student knowledge gained from CACREP accredited programs is superior to student knowledge gained from non-CACREP accredited programs.


Cadmium is a toxic element that should be included in environmental risk assessments of contaminated soils. This paper argues, however, that hazards to wildlife from cadmium have often been overstated. The literature contains only meager evidence that wild animals have been seriously harmed by cadmium, even at severely contaminated sites. Although some researchers have reported that wildlife have accumulated concentrations of cadmium in their kidneys that were above suggested injury thresholds, the thresholds may be disputed, since they were well below the World Health Organization criterion of 200 mg/kg (wet weight) of cadmium in the renal cortex for protecting human health. Recent risk assessments have concluded that soil cadmium concentrations less than 1 mg/kg are toxic to soil organisms and wildlife, which implies that background concentrations of cadmium naturally found in soils are hazardous. An examination of the databases used to support these assessments suggested that the toxicity of cadmium has been exaggerated.


Purpose. Exposure to a liberal education or a set of liberal courses or curriculum is an approach to college learning that empowers individuals and prepares them to deal with complexity, diversity, and change in a competitive global economy. Public health education is a diverse, ever-changing field composed of complex challenges. Undergraduate student preparation for entry-level public health education specialists requires the mastery of the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing's Health Education Specialist's seven Areas of Responsibility. Due to the overlap in the Health Education Specialist Practice Analysis (HESPA) Areas of Responsibilities and the Liberal Arts (LA) guiding principles (three pillars) and Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP) learning essential outcomes, liberal arts universities are uniquely positioned to offer undergraduate public health education programs. Method. Health education specialist competencies and subcompetencies were mapped onto liberal arts pillars and LEAP learning essential outcomes. Public health education course activities from two public liberal arts universities were used to demonstrate the application of health education competencies between the LA pillars and LEAP learning essential outcomes. Results. LEAP essential learning outcome Domains 1 through 3 provide a foundation for and the development of HESPA Areas I, IV, VI, and VII. A fourth domain addresses Areas III and V. Conclusion. Liberal arts universities are uniquely positioned to provide students with an undergraduate degree in the increasingly popular public health education major due to the established parallels between liberal education and health education specialist learning outcomes.


In traditional Embedded Control Technology courses, students learn to develop assembly language programs to control peripherals, handle interrupts, and perform I/O operations. However, students find the subject are diffcult as the subject is presented in a lecture format. Unfortunetly, this Embedded Controller Technology (ECT) course is a compulsory course in any electrical or electronic field of engineering. This paper aims to describe development of a flexible multi-microcontroller training system based on 8-bit microcontroller in Microchip, Freescale (formerly Motorola) and Intel family. For this reason, a new laboratory evaluation tool (UMP-EVT) specifically will be designed to be as a learning tool for those who intend to learn microcontroller and for use in the academic environment. With an extensive of this training system, it could let the user to get start with their microcontroller application efficiently. In addition, it is further boosted by the introduction of Integrated Development Environment (IDE) features in order to create user-friendly environment. By using this UMP-EVT, users are exposed to practical experience of the microcontroller and provide an easy path to learn this intelligent electronic device in short time. In this respect, this UMP-EVT would be applicable for education and expose the electrical engineering students to the understanding fundamental of microcontroller in electronic design field.
Keywords: Educational, MCS51 microcontroller, HC11 microcontroller, PIC microcontroller


By appropriate combination of neutron scattering techniques, it is possible to obtain structural information at various distances from a solid/liquid interface and thus probe in some detail how the surface structures evolve into bulk structures. We have used neutron reflectometry (NR) with a newly developed shear cell, near surface small angle neutron scattering (NSSANS) again in combination with the new shear cell, and regular small angle neutron scattering (SANS) with a standard Couette shear cell to probe the structures formed in our aqueous surfactant systems and how they react to a flow field, particularly in the near surface region of a solid/liquid interface. We present data for a 20mM aqueous solutions of 70% cetyltrimethylammonium 3,5-dichlorobenzoate (abbreviated CTA3,5ClBz) and 30% CTAB. This system forms a very viscoelastic solution containing long threadlike micelles. NR only probes to a depth of about 0.5 {mu}m from the surface in these systems and clearly indicates that adsorbed onto the surface is, surfactant layer which is insensitive to shear. The depth probed by the NSSANS is on the order of 20-30 {mu}m and is determined by the transmission of the sample, the angle of incidence, and the wavelength. In this region, the rods align under shear into a remarkably well ordered hexagonal crystal. The SANS from the Couette cell averages over the entire sample, so that the signal is dominated by scattering from the bulk. While the near surface hexagonal structure is clearly visible, these data are not consistent with the crystal structure persisting throughout the bulk, leading to the postulate that the bulk structure is a two dimensional (2D) liquid where the rods align with the flow, but do not order in the other two dimensions.


Trypanosoma brucei (TB) cultured in rat blood, bovine serum, or lipid-depleted serum generated distinct differences in cholesterol availability. Whereas cell proliferation of the parasite was relatively unaffected by cholesterol availability, the ratios of cellular ergostenols to cholesterol varied from close to unity to 3 orders of magnitude different with cholesterol as the major sterol (>99%) of bloodstream form cells. In the procyclic form cultured with lipid-depleted serum, 15 sterols at 52 fg/cell were identified by GC-MS. The structures of these sterols reveal a nonconventional ergosterol pathway consistent with the novel product diversity catalyzed by the recently cloned sterol methyltransferase (SMT). A potent transition state analog of the TB SMT C24 alkylation reaction, 25-azalanosterol (25-AL; inhibition constant Ki = 39 nM), was found to inhibit the growth of the procyclic and bloodstream forms at an IC50 of ∼1 μM. This previously unrecognized catalyst-specific inhibition of cell growth was unmasked further using the 25-AL-treated procyclic form, which, compared with control cultures, caused a change in cellular sterol content from ergostenols to cholesterol. However, growth of the bloodstream form disrupted by 25-AL was not rescued by cholesterol absorption from the host, suggesting an essential role for ergosterol (24-methyl sterol) in cell proliferation and that the SMT can be a new enzyme target for drug design.


Centre for Affective Disorders, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK Abstract: Depression accounts for the predominant burden associated with bipolar disorder. The identification and management of bipolar depression are challenging, since bipolar depression differs from unipolar depression, responding poorly to traditional antidepressants, which may also induce a switch to hypomania/mania, mixed states and/or cause rapid cycling. Current treatment options for bipolar depression are limited and guidelines vary greatly in their recommendations, reflecting gaps and inconsistencies in the current evidence base. Moreover, some treatment options, such as quetiapine and olanzapine–fluoxetine, although clearly efficacious, may be associated with adverse cardiometabolic side effects, which can be detrimental to the long-term physical health and well-being of patients, increasing the likelihood of treatment non-adherence and relapse. Evidence for some more recent therapeutic options, including lurasidone and cariprazine, suggests that patients' symptoms can be effectively managed without compromising their physical health. In addition, novel agents targeting alternative neurotransmitter pathways and inflammatory processes (such as ketamine and N-acetyl cysteine) are emerging as promising potential options for the treatment of bipolar depression in the future.


This paper describes an on-chip interface for recovering power and providing full-duplex communication over an AC-coupled 4-wire lead between active implantable devices. The target application requires two modules to be implanted in the brain (cortex) and upper chest; connected via a subcutaneous lead. The brain implant consists of multiple identical "optrodes" that facilitate a bidirectional neural interface (electrical recording and optical stimulation), and the chest implant contains the power source (battery) and processor module. The proposed interface is integrated within each optrode ASIC allowing full-duplex and fully-differential communication based on Manchester encoding. The system features a head-to-chest uplink data rate (up to 1.6 Mbps) that is higher than that of the chest-to-head downlink (100 kbps), which is superimposed on a power carrier. On-chip power management provides an unregulated 5-V dc supply with up to 2.5-mA output current for stimulation, and two regulated voltages (3.3 and 3 V) with 60-dB power supply rejection ratio for recording and logic circuits. The 4-wire ASIC has been implemented in a 0.35-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> CMOS technology, occup-ying a 1.5-mm2 silicon area, and consumes a quiescent current of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$91.2~\mu \text{A}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. The system allows power transmission with measured efficiency of up to 66% from the chest to the brain implant. The downlink and uplink communication are successfully tested in a system with two optrodes and through a 4-wire implantable lead.


Ambient air pollution from ozone and fine particulate matter is associated with premature mortality. As emissions from one continent influence air quality over others, changes in emissions can also influence human health on other continents. We estimate global air pollution-related premature mortality from exposure to PM2.5 and ozone, and the avoided deaths from 20% anthropogenic emission reductions from six source regions, North America (NAM), Europe (EUR), South Asia (SAS), East Asia (EAS), Russia/Belarus/Ukraine (RBU) and the Middle East (MDE), three global emission sectors, Power and Industry (PIN), Ground Transportation (TRN) and Residential (RES) and one global domain (GLO), using an ensemble of global chemical transport model simulations coordinated by the second phase of the Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution (TF-HTAP2), and epidemiologically-derived concentration-response functions. We build on results from previous studies of the TF-HTAP by using improved atmospheric models driven by new estimates of 2010 anthropogenic emissions (excluding methane), with more source and receptor regions, new consideration of source sector impacts, and new epidemiological mortality functions. We estimate 290,000 (95% CI: 30,000, 600,000) premature O3-related deaths and 2.8 million (0.5 million, 4.6 million) PM2.5-related premature deaths globally for the baseline year 2010. While 20% emission reductions from one region generally lead to more avoided deaths within the source region than outside, reducing emissions from MDE and RBU can avoid more O3-related deaths outside of these regions than within, and reducing MDE emissions also avoids more PM2.5-related deaths outside of MDE than within. Our findings that most avoided O3-related deaths from emission reductions in NAM and EUR occur outside of those regions contrast with those of previous studies, while estimates of PM2.5-related deaths from NAM, EUR, SAS and EAS emission reductions agree well. In addition, EUR, MDE and RBU have more avoided O3-related deaths from reducing foreign emissions than from domestic reductions. For six regional emission reductions, the total avoided extra-regional mortality is estimated as 6,000 (-3,400, 15,500) deaths/year and 25,100 (8,200, 35,800) deaths/year through changes in O3 and PM2.5, respectively. Interregional transport of air pollutants leads to more deaths through changes in PM2.5 than in O3, even though O3 is transported more on interregional scales, since PM2.5 has a stronger influence on mortality. For NAM and EUR, our estimates of avoided mortality from regional and extra-regional emission reductions are comparable to those estimated by regional models for these same experiments. In sectoral emission reductions, TRN emissions account for the greatest fraction (26-53% of global emission reduction) of O3-related premature deaths in most regions, in agreement with previous studies, except for EAS (58%) and RBU (38%) where PIN emissions dominate. In contrast, PIN emission reductions have the greatest fraction (38-78% of global emission reduction) of PM2.5-related deaths in most regions, except for SAS (45%) where RES emission dominates, which differs with previous studies in which RES emissions dominate global health impacts. The spread of air pollutant concentration changes across models contributes most to the overall uncertainty in estimated avoided deaths, highlighting the uncertainty in results based on a single model. Despite uncertainties, the health benefits of reduced intercontinental air pollution transport suggest that international cooperation may be desirable to mitigate pollution transported over long distances.


In the past few years numerous assumptions were made on groundwater in the Karoo Basin and related shale gas development, but not many baseline studies were conducted on groundwater and on boreholes where methane currently occurs. This article focuses on one of these boreholes (BHA) in the Ubuntu Local Municipality area, located close to a dolerite ring structure, which is releasing methane gas. Water samples were analysed for macro and trace elements, environmental isotopes and methane concentrations. Chemical analyses results indicate that groundwater at this borehole may be a mixture between deep groundwater, shallow groundwater and meteoric water. A rise in the groundwater level and subsequent flowing artesian conditions that was observed, support the theory that mixing between deeper groundwater from the Ecca Group and shallower water from the Beaufort Group is taking place. These water level reactions could be due to possible seismic activity within close proximity to the dolerite ring structure and/or due to recharge and interflow to BHA.


This investigation was aimed at gaining relevant knowledge about the attitudes of University of Novi Sad consumers toward advertising through sport among. The sample included 168 students from Faculti of Sporth and Physical Education in Novi Sad, divided into six subsample groups: consumers, who do not watch sports events at all, then consumers who watch sports events 1-30 minutes, next 31-60 minutes, 61-90 minutes, 91-120 minutes, as well as consumers who watch sports events more than 120 minutes during the typical day. The sample of variables contained the system of three general attitudes which were modelled by seven-point Likert scale. The results of the measuring were analyzed by multivariate analysis (MANOVA) and univariate analysis (ANOVA) and Post Hoc test. Based on the statistical analyses it was found that signifi cant diff erences occur at multivariate level, as well as between all three variables at a signifi cance level of p=.00. Hence, it is interesting to highlight that it was found there are signifi cant diff erences showed up between the attitudes of consumers toward advertising through sport among the frequency of watching sports events. The signifi cant diff erences were found in two of three variables, while the consumers who do not watch sports events had much more negative attitudes toward advertising though sport.


Providing an efficient, safe and secure transportation service is a core factor for European growth, collaboration and employment. As such, this has been identified as a priority in the Europe 2020 strategy. Land transportation has two main challenges concerning security: avoiding interrupts of transport itself in order to assure the flow of freight and passengers and avoiding those transportation systems themselves become a mean for attacks. The European project CARONTE (Creating an Agenda for Research on Transportation security) intends to establish a future research agenda for security in land transport, which focuses on the relevant security gaps caused by emerging risks. Considering the current state of the art and existing research projects, CARONTE covers all threats, including cyber-crime, and security aspects for all land transportation modes, with respect to fundamental human rights and privacy. Accordingly, this paper provides an overview on existing and emerging risks, in terms of security, facing the rail mode as well as the potential measures, based on the risk assessment methodology adopted in the project. This work explains how, from the project point of view, the rising of new cyber-risks and the fast evolution of threats led by technological progress in the rail industry constitute the main challenges of the European rail security nowadays.


The problem of attaining citizenship expansion has always been a question of how does one intervene in the political domain when one is not recognized as a political subject with a concomitant capacity for political participation. Historically, progress has been achieved by refiguring political agency as based on performance rather than entitlement. As such, many theorists concerned with attaining political citizenship for oppressed groups of people evoke protest and enactment as a means of citizenship expansion. While there is no doubt that such enactments and protests have been formative to highly developed civil rights, the ability to enact those rights can often be denied.In this paper, I argue that the current incongruence between civil rights and ones ability to politically participate occurs due to a twofold problem. Firstly, is a failure within citizenship theory to acknowledge that a specific morality, historically embedded in citizenship rhetoric, continues to perpetuate cultural concepts of what is "good" despite claimed moral neutrality. Secondly and consequentially current citizenship rights, won through public protest, have not been initially granted due to public acceptance of resistant categories as often theorized. Rather the "act" of public protest demonstrates a protestor'sability to enact those moral qualities such as autonomy and courage, which signify and validate "traditional" citizenship morality. The protestor is thereby morally recoded as displaying a capacity to be one of "us" despite their possessing an exclusionary category. Thus, the category of exclusion, be it woman, black, Aboriginal, gay, lesbian, ethnic or religious, becomes culturally tolerated as one aspect of an otherwise apparently "good" citizen. Examples drawn upon in this paper include discourses and events surrounding the Cronulla Riots, The Sydney Gay Mardi Gras, and feminist analysis of the continuing lack of full political participation for women.


Article history: Received: October 2014 Received in the revised form: Novemrer 2014 Accepted: December 2014 The paper is an attempt to determine mutual relations between the length and type of activity related to intellectual work and the degree of mental fatigue and the heart rate reserve. The tests were carried out on the group of 25 persons, who through realization of particular training stages concerning operation of modern farm tractors through special logical tests and measurement of the heart rate generated information on the mental fatigue and stress during the experiment. It was found out that along with the increase of the duration of intellectual work, the time necessary for accomplishing a logical task and number of mistakes increases. It was also reported that with each test of a similar logical structure, the stress factor decreased and the process of learning took place in case of learning persons. Thus, during the last measurement, the investigated group obtained relatively better results than in the previous test.


We propose an algorithm for the visual detection and localisation of the hand of a humanoid robot. This algorithm imposes low requirements on the type of supervision required to achieve good performance. In particular the system performs feature selection and adaptation using images that are only labelled as containing the hand or not, without any explicit segmentation. Our algorithm is an online variant of Multiple Instance Learning based on boosting. Experiments in real-world conditions on the iCub humanoid robot confirm that the algorithm can learn the visual appearance of the hand, reaching an accuracy comparable with its off-line version. This remains true when supervision is generated by the robot itself in a completely autonomous fashion. Algorithms with weak supervision requirements like the one we describe are useful for autonomous robots that learn and adapt online to a changing environment. The algorithm is not hand-specific and could be easily applied to wide range of problems involving visual recognition of generic objects.


Abstract The study aimed to establish effective nomograms for prediction of tumor regional recurrence and distant recurrence of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients after partial or total thyroidectomy. These nomograms were based on a retrospective study on 1034 patients who underwent partial or total thyroidectomy for PTC. The predictive accuracy and discriminative ability of the nomograms were evaluated by the concordance index (C-index) and calibration curve. In addition, a validation cohort was included at the same institution. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that family history, maximal tumor diameter, capsular invasion, and lymph node staging were independent risk factors for regional recurrence-free survival; and family history, histological variants, capsular invasion, perineuronal invasion, and vascular invasion were independent risk factors for distant recurrence-free survival. They were selected into the 2 nomograms, respectively, and the C-index for regional recurrence-free survival and distant recurrence-free survival prediction were 0.72 and 0.83, respectively. In the validation cohort, the 2 nomograms displayed a C-index of 0.72 and 0.89, respectively. The nomograms developed in this study demonstrated their discrimination capability for predicting 3 and 5-year regional recurrence and distant recurrence after partial or total thyroidectomy, and can be used to identify high-risk patients.


Several experiments undertaken on cement and mortar samples with internal cracks of different shapes and sizes demonstrated that 3-D cracks growth in compression was qualitatively different from the 2-D cases. This paper employs pre-existing cracks in frozen PMMA(polymethylmethacrylate plastic) which are produced by the mechanical method to analyze the evolution of the boundary effect of PMMA and to study the mechanisms of cracks growth and coalescence. In the experiments, 3-D cracks are tested under uniaxial compression and finally draw two conclusions about failure mechanisms of PMMA and brittle materials.


Recent researches on neural network have shown significant advantage in machine learning over traditional algorithms based on handcrafted features and models. Neural network is now widely adopted in regions like image, speech and video recognition. But the high computation and storage complexity of neural network inference poses great difficulty on its application. CPU platforms are hard to offer enough computation capacity. GPU platforms are the first choice for neural network process because of its high computation capacity and easy to use development frameworks. On the other hand, FPGA-based neural network inference accelerator is becoming a research topic. With specifically designed hardware, FPGA is the next possible solution to surpass GPU in speed and energy efficiency. Various FPGA-based accelerator designs have been proposed with software and hardware optimization techniques to achieve high speed and energy efficiency. In this paper, we give an overview of previous work on neural network inference accelerators based on FPGA and summarize the main techniques used. An investigation from software to hardware, from circuit level to system level is carried out to complete analysis of FPGA-based neural network inference accelerator design and serves as a guide to future work.


Background: There is a long history of migration between Zimbabwe and South Africa. In recent years there has been a significant increase in the mix of Zimbabweans migrating to South Africa in search of better economic opportunities, fleeing political persecution, to pursue education. Little is known about the public health impact of this migration, the healthcare needs of the different categories of migrants, as well as their health-seeking strategies. The report aimed to explain the patterns of health care utilisation of Zimbabwean migrants in Johannesburg. Methods: A descriptive exploratory research design was adopted in which two methods were applied. First was the use of existing quantitative data from a recently completed survey (RENEWAL 2008) in which Zimbabwean migrants were the prominent international migrant group (n=118). Second, follow-up qualitative in-depth interviews with four respondents, were conducted to explore in detail specific cases where respondents used a public healthcare facility or where they had to make a difficult decision due to illness in a foreign country. Results: The majority of Zimbabwean migrants, who were relatively newly arrived, did not seek healthcare in South Africa neither did they report "ever falling ill". Out of 118 respondents only 25 reported an illness incidence of which 17 sought help from different health service providers, 11 of them at a government health facility. None of them was denied on the basis of their legal status. Some of the users of healthcare services were satisfied with the treatment they received. Conclusion: There is little evidence in the findings to support the hypothesis that legal status is a deterrent factor among migrants to seek treatment at government hospitals. Instead factors such as proximity of the healthcare facility to the respondent's place of residence were the more important reasons in choosing a certain healthcare provider. Also the generally low utilisation tendencies could be attributed to the "healthy migrant hypothesis". A survey with a larger sample size could establish more diverse patterns of health care utilisation among Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa.


The development of nondrug therapies for bronchial asthma (BA) is highly pressing. The application of respiration-correcting methods and means that implement a principle of biological feedback (BFB) is one of the promising lines. To polish procedures for practical work and to evaluate their efficiency, a respiration corrector has been devised, which visualizes a patient's external respiration rhythm and synchronizes it with the reference rhythm whose parameters are set by a physician or by a patient himself. The efficiency of BFB technique was evaluated in the treatment of BA in children. Studies using the device were done 2-3 times a day with 15-20 min in each session. The treatment regime averaged a fortnight. Its application relieved the occurred episode without drugs in most children with mild and moderate BA, prevented attacks and made them fewer, prolonged remission, and reduced the amount of bronchodilatating agents to be used. BFB correction made under the polyclinic setting is indicated for patients with mild and moderate atopic BA in the episode, postepisode, and interepisode periods and contraindicated for patients with severe BA when they have an episode. Treating BA via BFB correction diminishes psychosomatic disorders: anxiety, bronchodilator dependence, fear of a recurrent episode, whining, irritability, and insomnia.


Background: Cardiac surgery is, by definition, a "non-physiologic" intervention associated with systemic adverse effects. Despite advances in surgical technique, cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) technology as well as anaesthesia management and patient care, there is still significant morbidity and subsequent mortality. Aim: We consider that the contemporary demand for further improving patient outcome mandates the upgrade from optimal perfusion during the procedure as the gold standard to the concept of a "more physiologic" cardiac surgery. Our policy is a multidisciplinary perioperative strategy based on goal-directed perfusion throughout surgery incorporating in-line monitoring. This translates to "prevent rather than correct" malperfusion through real-time adjustment rather than correction of derangement detected late by incremental evaluation. Method: The strategy is based on continuous monitoring of cardiac index, SvO2, DO2i, DO2i/VCO2i and rSO2. Data acquisition is followed by action when needed; this includes stepwise: transfusion, increase of cardiac output and initiation of inotropic/vasoactive support. Moreover, implementation of minimally invasive extracorporeal circulation (MiECC) is considered as a fundamental component of physiologic perfusion when on-CPB, providing improved circulatory support and end-organ protection. Conclusion: We consider that, with this strategy which establishes optimal perfusion perioperatively, we attain the goal of a "more physiologic" cardiac surgery.


Purpose:Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an aggressive B-cell neoplasm with generally poor prognosis, for which current therapies have shown limited efficacy. Vorinostat is a histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) that has been approved for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Our purpose was to describe the molecular mechanism whereby vorinostat induces apoptosis in MCL with particular emphasis on the role of proapoptotic BH3-only proteins. Experimental Design: The sensitivity to vorinostat was analyzed in eight MCL cell lines and primary cells from 10MCL patients. Determination of vorinostat mechanism of action was done by flow cytometry, immunoblotting, HDAC activity assay kit, quantitative reverse transcription PCR, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and siRNA-mediated transfection. Results: Vorinostat inhibited total histone deacetylase activity leading to selective toxicity toward tumor cells. Vorinostat-mediated cell death implied the activation of mitochondrial apoptosis, as attested by BAX and BAK conformational changes, mitochondrial depolarization, reactive oxygen species generation, and subsequent caspase-dependent cell death. This phenomenon was linked to H4 hyperacetylation on promoter regions and consequent transcriptional activation of the proapoptotic BH3-only genes BIM, BMF, and NOXA. Selective knockdown of the three corresponding proteins rescued cells from vorinostatinduced apoptosis. Moreover, vorinostat enhanced the activity of the BH3-mimetic ABT-263 in MCL cells, leading to synergistic apoptosis induction. Conclusion: These results indicated that transcriptional upregulation of BH3-only proteins plays an important role in the antitumoral activity of vorinostat in MCL, and that HDACi alone or in combination with BH3-mimetizing agents may represent a promising therapeutic approach for MCL patients. Clin Cancer Res; 17(12); 3956–68. 2011 AACR.


This study aimed at performing content analysis and meta-analysis on dissertations related to brain-based learning in science education to find out the general trend and tendency of brain-based learning in science education and find out the effect of such studies on achievement and attitude of learners with the ultimate aim of raising awareness about increasing brain-based learning in science education in Turkey. The study was carried out with document analysis, which is one of the non-interactive qualitative research methods. Study sample consisted of 21 dissertations related to the effect of brain-based learning in science education. Both content analysis and meta-analysis were performed on the dissertations. The content analysis was carried out by using the "Paper Classification Form" by Sozbilir, Kutu & Yasar (2012). In the second stage, a meta-analysis of the relevant dissertations was performed to determine the effect of brain-based learning on achievement and attitude. It was found out that brain-based learning is mostly applied in science and technology education (66,67 %) at secondary level-I; some studies, though few, are conducted in biology (23,81 %) and physics (4,76 %) education; however, no study is available in the field of chemistry education at secondary level-II and primary education. It was also found out that teaching is the most frequently studied subject matter (80,95 %), of these dissertations, 48,57 % aimed at investigating the effect of this learning model on students' achievement and 40 % about the effect of the same on students' attitude, interest and so on. Moreover, it was seen that brain-based learning research in science education is mostly conducted with quantitative research methods (90,58%), most of which (76,20 %) employs the quasi-experimental method. In relation with study sample; 76,19 % of the studies are carried out at secondary level-I (5-8 grades) with 31 to 100 participants (76,19 %). It was revealed that in data analysis, descriptive analysis as a type of quantitative data analysis is used the most (57,65%), which covers percentile, frequency (24,71 %) and the mean, standard deviation, etc. (23,53 %); while infrential statistics (31.76%) includes t-tests at the highest frequency (17,65%). According to the meta-analysis results, the effect of brain-based learning on achievement in science education is calculated to be 1.382, which is high or wide, and the effect on attitude is 0.466, middle, according to the random effect model. These results indicate a positive and significant effect of brain-based learning approach on achievement and attitude of learners. Based on the study results, it is suggested that brain-based learning should be more widespread in the fields of chemistry, physics and biology and primary education and that qualitative and mixed research as well as quantitative research methodology should be done for obtaining reliable, valid and in-depth results in the future. Keywords: Science education, brain based learning, descriptive content analysis, meta analysis, Turkey.


Currently, topical glucocorticosteroids are the most frequently used drugs in dermatologic practice. Over the years, research has focused on strategies to optimize potency and, in particular, the anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive capacity of these drugs, while minimizing adverse effects. However, 'ideal' topical corticosteroids have not yet been synthesized. They should be able to permeate the stratum corneum and reach adequate concentrations in the skin without reaching high serum concentrations. Such characteristics can be obtained by increasing the natural lipophilicity of corticosteroids, e.g. by esterification. In the past, many structural modifications have been made to improve the efficacy of topical corticosteroids to produce drugs with greater potency, although this has often been associated with a higher likelihood of adverse effects. Betamethasone dipropionate and clobetasol propionate, known as fifth-generation corticosteroids, are a typical example of potent molecules that can control specific dermatoses very rapidly, but which are associated with a high risk of topical and systemic adverse effects. Recently, steroid components have been synthesized that aim to have adequate anti-inflammatory effects and minimal adverse effects. The newest topical corticosteroids used for the treatment of different dermatoses and allergic reactions of the respiratory tract (in particular asthma) are budesonide, mometasone furoate, prednicarbate, the di-esters 17,21-hydrocortisone aceponate and hydrocortisone-17-butyrate-21-propionate, methylprednisolone aceponate, alclometasone dipropionate, and carbothioates such as fluticasone propionate. These new topical corticosteroids are evaluated in the current review, which compares the risk/benefit ratio of each molecule with established agents. The new molecules, compared with the well known and established corticosteroids, generally have a higher anti-inflammatory effect, good compliance among patients (only a once-daily application is needed), rarely induce cross-sensitivity reactions and have weak atrophogenicity.


The fluorescence of 1-anilinio-8-naphthalenesulfonate (ANS) bound to human plasma albumin was enhanced when up to 2 moles of palmitate were added. Larger amounts of palmitate produced a progressive reduction in ANS fluorescene. Saturated and unsaturated fatty acids containing 14-18 carbon atoms produced similar biphasic effects on ANS fluorescence with human albumin. Fatty acids containing 10-12 carbon atoms produced only a reduction in ANS fluorescence, and those containing 2-8 carbon atoms had no effect. Similar results were obtained with canine albumin, whereas with bovine and rabbit albumins, fatty acids in all concentrations reduced ANS fluorescence. The tryptophan fluorescence of human albumin was decreased markedly by ANS, but not by palmitate. However, palmitate partially protected the tyrptophan fluorescence against quenching by potassium iodide. Equilibrium dialysis measurements indicated that ANS binding to human albumin was reduced when 3 or more moles of long-chain fatty acid were added per mole of albumin, suggesting that the decrease in ANA fluorescence produced by high concentrations of fatty acid was due to displacement of ANS from albumin. ANS binding was essentially unchanged when 1 or 2 moles of fatty acid were present. Therefore the enhancement in ANS fluorescence produced by low concentrations of fatty acid appears to result from a change in the interaction of ANS with albumin rather than from an increase in the amount of ANS that is bound The data obtained with this fluorescent model compound suggest that the binding of some drugs to albumin may be influenced by changes in the plasma free fatty acid concentration. Small increases, such as those which occur under ordinary physiological conditions, are likely to alter the molecular interactions between albumin and the drug without appreciably affecting the strength of drug binding. When the molar ratio of fatty acid to albumin approaches 3, however, a decrease in drug binding is likely to occur.


Abstract This essay begins with a look at several ingredients – such as subject mastery and careful course planning – that, combined, can lead to effective teaching. It then turns to some classroom activities that have proven to catch the attention of students and help them to learn about the intricacies of national security intelligence. These activities include the preparation of congressional briefing books related to mock hearings on intelligence programs; 'murder boards' that sharpen the critiquing skills of students, as well as their ability to speak more forcefully and convincingly; and the use of dramatic scenarios to spark classroom discussions about ethical challenges faced by intelligence agencies.


In a form analogous to the methods for the measurement of optical constants, a set of methods for the measurement of their changes is described. The methods compared measure light reflected at different angles, with different experimental arrangements; the conclusions reached are demonstrated experimentally with Ge, by electroreflectance measurements.


Abstract. The strong coupling between atmospheric circulation, moisture pathways and atmospheric diabatic heating is responsible for most climate feedback mechanisms and controls the evolution of severe weather events. However, diabatic heating rates obtained from current meteorological reanalysis show significant inconsistencies. Here, we theoretically assess with an Observation System Simulation Experiment (OSSE) the potential of the MUlti-platform remote Sensing of Isotopologues for investigating the Cycle of Atmospheric water (MUSICA) Infrared Atmospheric Sounding interferometer (IASI) mid-tropospheric water isotopologue data for constraining uncertainties in meteorological analysis fields. For this purpose, we use the Isotope-incorporated General Spectral Model (IsoGSM) together with a Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter (LETKF) and assimilate synthetic MUSICA IASI isotopologue observations. We perform two experiments consisting each of two ensemble simulation runs, one ensemble simulation where we assimilate conventional observations (temperature, humidity and wind profiles obtained from radiosonde and satellite data) and a second one where we assimilate additionally to the conventional observations the synthetic IASI isotopologue data. In the second experiment, we perform one ensemble simulation where only synthetic IASI isotopologue data are assimilated and another one where no observational data at all are assimilated. The first experiment serves to assess the impact of the IASI isotopologue data additional to the conventional observations and the second one to assess the direct impact of the IASI isotopologue data on the meteorological variables, especially on the heating rates and vertical velocity. The assessment is performed for the tropics in the latitude range from 10° S to 10° N. When the synthetic isotopologue data are additionally assimilated, we derive in both experiments lower Root-Mean Square Deviations (RMSDs) and improved skills with respect to meteorological variables (improvement by about 8–13 %). However, heating rates and vertical motion can only be improved throughout the troposphere when additionally to IASI δD conventional observations are assimilated. When only IASI δD is assimilated the improvement in vertical velocity and heating rate is minor (up to a few percent) and restricted to the mid-troposphere. Nevertheless, these assimilation experiments indicate that IASI isotopologue observations have the potential to reduce the uncertainties of diabatic heating rates and meteorological variables in the tropics and in consequence offer potential for improving meteorological analysis, weather forecasts and climatepredictions in the tropical regions.


In 2010, 300,000 surgeries were performed in the U.S. for pelvic organ prolapse (POP), and 100,000 of those involved the placement of surgical mesh. The use of mesh in abdominal surgeries for POP has been described for over 50 years, but the first surgical mesh product specifically for POP was approved by the FDA in 2002. Over the last decade, transvaginal mesh POP surgeries have become more common, and mesh "kits" have been approved and are increasingly used for transvaginal POP repair, but clinical trial evidence of their safety and effectiveness has lagged behind rapid adoption into practice.


This paper examines a method of clustering within a fully decentralized multi-agent system. Our goal is to group agents with similar objectives or data, as is done in traditional clustering. However, we add the additional constraint that agents must remain in place on a network, instead of first being collected into a centralized database. To do this, we connect agents in a random overlay network and have them search in a peer-to-peer fashion for other similar agents. We thus aim to tackle the basic clustering problem on an Internet scale, and create a method by which agents themselves can be grouped, forming coalitions. In order to investigate the feasibility of this decentralized approach, this paper presents simulation experiments that look into the quality of the clusters discovered. First, the clusters found by the agent method are compared to those created by k-means clustering for two-dimensional spatial data points. Results show that the decentralized agent method produces a better clustering than the centralized k-means algorithm, placing 95% to 99% of points correctly. A further experiment explores how agents can be used to cluster a straightforward text document set, demonstrating that agents can discover clusters and keywords that are reasonable estimates of those identified by the central word vector space approach.


Durability of the resistance to anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum lindemuthionum (Sacc. & Magnus) Lambs.-Scrib., could be increased if more than one resistance gene were incorporated into current bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivars. The objective of this study was to identify random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers linked to three independent resistance loci to facilitate gene pyramiding in common bean. Markers were identified by means of bulked segregant analysis and heterogeneous inbred populations. RAPD marker OF10 530 cosegregated in repulsion-phase (1.9 ± 1.4 cM) with the Co-1 (A) allele. A survey of diverse bean genotypes showed that the OF10 530 RAPD band could facilitate introgression of the Co-1 gene across the Andean and Middle American Phaseolus gene pools. RAPD marker OAB3 450 was linked in coupling-phase (5.9 It 1.7 cM) to the Co-5 (Mexique 3) allele. A coupling-phase (OAH1 780 ) and a repulsion-phase (OAK20 890 ) RAPD marker were linked to the Co-6 locus. These markers flanked the Co-6 locus and mapped at 12.3 ± 1.9 from the Co-6 allele and at 7.3 ± 1.5 cM from the co-6 allele, respectively. Coupling and repulsion-phase RAPD markers used as a codominant pair showed a higher selection efficiency (95%), for the identification of homozygous (Co-6 Co-6) F 2 individuals, than individual selection either for a coupling-phase (33%) or against a repulsion-phase (92%) RAPD phenotype. Durability of resistance to anthracnose could be improved if (i) two major resistance genes were pyramided by marker assisted selection, (ii) different genes were deployed in different regions, and (iii) resistance genes from different gene pools were combined.


The maintenance of healthy periodontal ligament cells in the donor tooth is one of the most important factors for successful tooth transplantation. This is achieved by minimizing the extraoral time during the surgical procedure. If a duplicate form of donor tooth could be obtained before extraction, it would be possible to precontour the recipient alveolar bone compatible with the donor tooth, and thereby reduce the extra-oral time of the donor tooth. We obtained a three-dimensional image with the real dimensions of the donor tooth from a CT Highspeed Advantage, allowing a life-sized resin model of the tooth to be fabricated. From 22 clinical cases, we achieved an average total transplantation time of 7.7 min. The average distance between the transplanted root surface and the alveolar bone from 12 available cases was 0.87 mm at the mesial cervix, 0.91 mm at the mesial apex, 0.98 mm at the distal cervix and 1.16 mm at the distal apex on the postoperative radiographs. Clinical data indicate that computer-aided rapid prototyping may be of value in minimizing the extra-oral time and possible injury to transplanted tooth during the process of autotransplantation.


Despite its widespread distribution and significance in the gut, the role of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide (PACAP) in internal anal sphincter (IAS) relaxation has not been examined. This study examined the role of PACAP in nonadrenergic noncholinergic (NANC) nerve-mediated relaxation of IAS smooth muscle. Circular smooth muscle strips from the opossum IAS were prepared for measurement of isometric tension. The influence of PACAP and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) antagonists and tachyphylaxis on the neurally mediated IAS relaxation was examined either separately or in combination. The release of these neuropeptides in response to NANC nerve stimulation before and after the nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor N ω-nitro-l-arginine and NO was also investigated. Both PACAP and VIP antagonists caused significant attenuation of IAS relaxation by NANC nerve stimulation. The combination of the antagonists, however, did not have an additive effect on IAS relaxation. VIP tachyphylaxis caused significant suppression of IAS relaxation by NANC nerve stimulation. PACAP and VIP were found to be released by NANC nerve stimulation and exogenous NO. The data suggest the involvement of PACAP in IAS relaxation primarily by the activation of PACAP1/VIP receptor and lack of its independent role in the relaxation. Furthermore, NO may regulate the presynaptic release of PACAP and VIP.


The concepts of health, disease, care and care practices in family units of marketers in Feira de Santana (BA), Brazil, are the object of the study, which aimed to understand the relationships between the concepts of health, disease, care and ways of seeing their care practices. An exploratory research through qualitative approach was conducted with 16 marketers through a semi-structured interview. The corpus was submitted to thematic content analysis. The concepts about health, disease and care are linked to the explanatory models of health-disease process emanating from the professional sector of care and to the socially constructed of action rationales and are coordinated with the ways of daily acting to provide care. The family stands out in the care of its members through solidarity, leveraging resources in order to overcome health problems. Among the therapeutic options, the marketers use the informal sector, especially home care provided by their support network. The family is a network of social support that assumes a moral and solidary duty in the provision of health care to its members without relinquishing the healthcare networks.