As digital media use has rapidly increased in prevalence and diversified in form, scholars across the globe have focused extensive attention on how the use of digital media relates to political participation. To assess the results of this emerging body of research, we conduct the first meta-analysis of repeated-wave panel data studies on the relationship between digital media use and political participation. The findings, based on 38 survey-based, repeated-wave panel studies (279 coefficients) bring new evidence to bear on two questions central to this literature. First, the findings provide new insight into the classic mobilization versus reinforcement debate: contrary to common assumption, the findings support a reinforcement effect, whereby those who are already politically active are motivated to use digital media. Second, the results indicate that the relationship between digital media use and political participation is durable, as studies with a longer time lag were more likely to yield positive and significant effects. Taken together, this evidence in support of a durable reinforcement effect implies the potential for digital media use to contribute to increased inequality in political participation over time. In the concluding discussion, we outline directions for further theoretical inquiry and empirical research that leverage the value of repeated-wave panel studies to make causal inferences.


Introduction Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) has led to a global pandemic since its emergence in December 2019. The majority of research into Covid-19 has focused on transmission, and mortality and morbidity associated with the virus. However, less attention has been given to its impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with Covid-19. Methods We searched for original studies published between December 2019 and Jan 2021 in PubMed, Scopus and Medline databases using a specific search strategy. We also explored literature on websites of distinguished public health organisations and hand-searched reference lists of eligible studies. The studies were screened by two reviewers according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) flowchart using pre-determined eligibility criteria. Data were synthesised, analysed descriptively and reported in line with PRISMA guidelines. Results In total, 1276 studies were identified through the search strategy. Of these, 77 studies were selected for full-text reading after screening the studies. After reading full-text, 12 eligible studies were included in this review. The majority of the studies used a generic HRQoL assessment tool; five studies used SF-36, five studies used EQ-5D-5L, and three used pulmonary disease-specific HRQoL tools (two studies used two tools each). The impact of Covid-19 on HRQoL was found to be considerable in both Acute Covid and Long Covid patients. Higher impact on HRQoL was reported in Acute Covid, females, older ages, patients with more severe disease and patients from low-income countries. Conclusion The impact of Covid-19 on HRQoL of Acute and Long Covid patients is substantial. There was disproportional impact on patients by gender, age, severity of illness and study country. The long-term impact of Covid-19 is still in its initial stage. The findings of the review may be useful to researchers, policymakers, and clinicians caring for people following Covid-19 infection.


Fresh economic data on industrial value chains suggest that the existing industrial structures of the Bioeconomy do not show promise of short-term growth. Pursuing public policies to promote the Bioeconomy will not be a quick fix to an urgent problem such as the lackluster Finnish economy. Building an entire industrial ecosystem with its complex web of value chains is viable only as a patient long-term strategy. Government policies indeed need to be designed by leveraging promising weak signals from the economy, to reasonably assure the viability of their outcome or impact. In comparison to the Bioeconomy, economic signals from ICT-driven ecosystems such as Smart Grid and Smart Mobility indicate the emergence of new industry structures


Start with a permutation matrix π and consider all matrices that can be obtained from π by taking downward row operations and rightward column operations; the closure of this set gives the matrix Schubert variety Xπ. We characterize when the ideal defining Xπ is toric (with respect to a 2n − 1-dimensional torus) and study the associated polytope of its projectivization. We construct regular triangulations of these polytopes which we show are geometric realizations of a family of subword complexes. We also show that these complexes can be realized geometrically via regular triangulations of root polytopes. This implies that a family of β-Grothendieck polynomials are special cases of reduced forms in the subdivision algebra of root polytopes. We also write the volume and Ehrhart series of root polytopes in terms of β-Grothendieck polynomials. Subword complexes were introduced by Knutson and Miller in 2004, who showed that they are homeomorphic to balls or spheres and raised the question of their polytopal realizations.


In, 2008 and 2009 a series of online professional development communities for groups of teacher-leaders in digital pedagogy was run. In each of the first two iterations, there was an early dropout of individuals who felt they 'did not belong'. Contributing to this sense of isolation was the immediate emergence of online networks in the introductions forums. These networks grew between individuals who were either more extrovert online communicators, or who had pre-existing networks that were re-connected through community membership. In subsequent communities, a social networking approach to pairing and grouping teachers was taken. The results indicated that the targeted group of individuals in the paired groups felt comfortable, welcome and supported within the community. In all groups in which the partnerships were established, there were no early cancellations of enrolment. In this paper I argue that it is likely that a group of individuals in an online environment community through either facilitated or non-facilitated networking with a small group/individual focus can successfully develop the potential to support engagement in community activity with a whole-group focus. I also contend that it is critical to distinguish networking activity from episodes of community formation, as the purposes and goals of each of these activity types are quite different.


By the addition of flake Cu particles to polyurethane the infrared emissivity of polymers can be decreased significantly. In this work, the flake copper particles were prepared by solution phase reduction method. The PU pre-polymer was prepared by a typical method which using polyether polyol N220 and tolylene diisocyanate (TDI). Cu/Polyurethane composite was prepared by using incorporation method. The structure and morphology of Cu particles and Cu/Polyurethane composite were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrum spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Detector (EDS). Moreover, the effects of copper particles content on infrared emissivity properties of composite were studied too. The results show that the flake Cu particles were prepared and dispersed well in polyurethane matrix. The infrared emissivity of composite was decreased with increasing particles loading. The composites get lowest infrared emissivity 0.546 when the loading of fillers increased to 20%.


This report studies when and why two Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) may represent the same stochastic process. HMMs are characterized in terms of equivalence classes whose elements represent identical stochastic processes. This characterization yields polynomial time algorithms to detect equivalent HMMs. We also find fast algorithms to reduce HMMs to essentially unique and minimal canonical representations. The reduction to a canonical form leads to the definition of "Generalized Markov Models" which are essentially HMMs without the positivity constraint on their parameters. We discuss how this generalization can yield more parsimonious representations of stochastic processes at the cost of the probabilistic interpretation of the model parameters.


Although evidence of virologic elimination, normalization of serum alanine aminotransferase levels, and reduction in liver inflammation are the principal therapeutic outcome goals in chronic hepatitis C patients, improvement in health-related quality of life (HQL) is also an important aspect of therapeutic outcome. In a recent report of chronic hepatitis C patients treated for 24 weeks with interferon, sustained virologic response (24 weeks post-treatment) was associated with improvement in HQL compared with nonresponse. We report on the relationship between sustained virologic response and Hepatitis Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (HQLQ) survey results of patients who relapsed after a previous course of interferon alfa who were subsequently treated with recombinant interferon alfa-2b (rIFN-alpha 2b) either alone or in combination with ribavirin. The HQLQ was administered at baseline, at treatment Weeks 12 and 24, and at follow-up Weeks 12 and 24. All patients received rIFN-alpha 2b 3 million International Units by subcutaneous injection three times weekly plus either oral ribavirin (1,000 or 1,200 mg) or placebo daily for 24 weeks. At baseline, patients scored lower than adjusted population norms in HQL. Relative to patients treated with rIFN-alpha 2b monotherapy, patients receiving combination therapy showed better HQL in 6 of 13 domains. Furthermore, sustained virologic response in either treatment group was associated with improvement in the scores of both generic and hepatitis-specific HQL survey domains. These results indicate that successful therapeutic resolution of hepatitis C infection improves HQL as assessed by generic and hepatitis C-specific measures of functional health and well-being. Furthermore, improvements in HQL outcome measures may predict reduced demand for health care resources and greater productivity in the workplace.


OBJECTIVE
This report describes the clinical findings and diagnostic images of a traumatic intrathoracic tracheal avulsion with a tracheal diverticulum in a cat. Furthermore, a complete description of the tracheal resection and anastomosis using one-lung ventilation (OLV) with total and partial intravenous anesthesia is made.

CASE SUMMARY
A 3-year-old neutered male domestic shorthair cat weighing 6.8 kg was presented to the University Teaching Hospital for evaluation of increased respiratory noise 3 months following unknown trauma. Approximately 12 weeks prior to presentation, the cat had been seen by the primary care veterinarian for respiratory distress. At that time, the cat had undergone a tracheal ballooning procedure for a distal tracheal stricture diagnosed by tracheoscopy. The tracheal ballooning had provided only temporary relief. At presentation to our institution, the cat had increased respiratory effort with harsh upper airway noise auscultated during thoracic examination. The remainder of the physical examination was normal. Diagnostics included a tracheoscopy and a thoracic computed tomographic examination. The cat was diagnosed with tracheal avulsion, pseudotrachea with a tracheal diverticulum, and stenosis of the avulsed tracheal ends. Surgical correction of the tracheal stricture via a thoracotomy was performed using OLV with total and partial intravenous anesthesia. The cat recovered uneventfully and at last follow-up was active and doing well.

UNIQUE INFORMATION PROVIDED
This case report describes OLV using standard anesthesia equipment that is available at most private practices. Furthermore, this case describes the computed tomographic images of the intrathoracic tracheal avulsion and offers a positive outcome for tracheal resection and anastomosis.


A dissertation submitted to the College of Business and Management Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Science in Population Studies of Makerere University


More stringent emission and fuel efficiency requirements for cars are leading to increased electrification of
drivetrains. There arises a need to be able to justify the significantly increased costs associated with the
electrification. One way to do this is to achieve new or improved functions using the new electric actuators
available at our disposal.
Significant number of publications are available that study making use of electrification to do basic functions
such as propulsion, regenerative braking and in some cases, direct yaw control. This project aims to go beyond
such basic functions, identify new functions and develop one of them with high potential.
First, brainstorming was done to identify new functions. These functions were subjected to detailed analysis
and rating to select the one with the highest potential. The vehicle configurations (location of motors, engine
and the wheels/axles they drive) were also analysed to identify the best among them. The selection process
yielded \Customise feel" as the best function.
Next, the function was developed to tune the transient yaw dynamics of the vehicle using an empirical
feed forward controller and the steering torque feedback using a model based controller. The steering torque
controller was rudimentary in design and was a proof of concept to show that effective control of steering
torque can be done. The yaw response controller on the other hand was a more comprehensive controller. The
controller parameters were determined through optimisation by Matlab's Genetic Algorithm. The controller
optimisation was done for step steer manoeuvres at different speeds. The tuned controller was then validated
for different manoeuvres and scenarios.
The results of simulations run with these controllers on a comprehensive 9 degree of freedom vehicle model
are presented and it is seen that a yaw response time reduction of between 30% to 60% and a yaw overshoot
reduction of between 15% to 80% can be achieved in the step steer manoeuvres at different speeds. The steering
torque was also reduced by the targeted 30% effectively.
It is seen that the torque vectoring capability is very effective in controlling both the lateral dynamics and
the steering torque of the vehicle. This capability of torque vectoring therefore opens up new possibilities in
effective control of vehicle motion and hence in future active safety systems


ABSTRACT Background Therapeutic songwriting (TSW) is an activity used with people who have neurological and psychological conditions. TSW can act as a tool for assisting people with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) struggling to regain coherence and meaning amidst the psychosocial sequelae that often accompanies this chronic, progressive medical condition. With help from a facilitating clinician, TSW addresses issues of building and maintaining interpersonal relationships in the face of considerable language challenges. Aim This study explored how two different forms of TSW were perceived by a participant with PPA in terms of the quality and meaningfulness of the activity, and as a modality for conducting communication therapy. Methods & Procedures The participant was a 64-year-old woman with the logopenic variant of PPA. She participated in 13 therapy sessions designed to increase her successful use of conversational repair strategies while engaged in TSW using two different techniques: Song Parody Technique (SPT) and modified song Collage Technique (SCT). The participant's perceptions were measured using the Meaningfulness of Songwriting Scale and a Songwriting Satisfaction and Enjoyment scale. A modified version of the ASHA Quality of Communication Life (ASHA QCL) was administered (pre and post) to measure the extent the participant believed TSW impacted her quality of communication life. The use of spontaneous repair strategies (word finding and picture board) during TSW tasks was tallied from recorded sessions. Outcomes & Results The participant found both forms of TSW meaningful. She enjoyed the activity and indicated creating the two songs was satisfying. She preferred the SPT over the modified SCT. When compared to pre-ASHA QCL measures, the participant felt it "easier to communicate" and to "stay in touch with family/friends". She rated herself higher in terms of feeling "included", "seeing the funny things in life", "trying when people didn't understand her", and was more "confident in her ability to communicate". The use of conversation repair increased from 20% to 80% of the opportunities during TSW. Conclusions Given the risk for psychosocial sequelae that often accompanies PPA, TSW was identified as an authentic, meaningful activity that created connectedness, while working on communication repairs during therapy. Even in the face of declining linguistic and cognitive abilities, TSW provided an opportunity for enriched social interaction, self-expression, motivation, confidence, and enhanced quality of communication. TSW addressed the importance of maintaining relationships in a manner that supported individualized choice and dignity for the participant.


The research aimed to examine the positive role art therapy could play in improving the attention span of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder co-morbid Intellectual Disability in the context of Karachi (Pakistan). The key presumption was that art therapy can help in decreasing inattention among the children with ADHD co-morbid Intellectual Disability. Purposive sampling was used for the selection of cases from schools in Karachi (Pakistan) which are offering educational services to the children with special needs. The sample comprised 14 children, ages 6 to 12 years (mean age= 7.391; SD = 1.315) with ADHD co-morbid Mild ID. Experimental design was adopted for carrying out the investigation, entailing the division of the sample into the treatment group (which received 25 art therapy sessions as a form of intervention) and control group (which was provided with regular classroom activities). The allocation of children to both groups was carried out through the ABBA technique as well as the use of observation. The tools of the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder test were used to gauge the differences in the level of inattention in both groups. Analysis of data was conducted through SPSS version 17.0, using descriptive statistics to examine the pattern of data as well as identify the level of effectiveness of art therapy through administering the Wilcoxon test. The findings of the study support the assumption that art therapy is useful for curtailing impulsiveness in children with ADHD. Therefore, it can be concluded that art therapy is likely to bring positive changes in the level of attention in children with ADHD co-morbid ID. The study carries implications for individuals practicing in the field of mental health care and special education.


Natural gas, used for heating and electricity generation, has become one of the important energy sources in the world since it provides low level emission of greenhouse gases and has significant economic and other environmental benefits. Turkey, a natural bridge between Europe and the Middle East, is one of the fastest-developing countries in the world. Although Turkey has a small proven natural gas reserve, natural gas consumption has increased in the past few years and it is expected to continue in the future with a chaotic and nonlinear trend. Therefore, the forecasting of natural gas consumption is very important for energy policymakers for future energy planning in Turkey. In this study, a grey prediction with rolling mechanism (GPRM) approach is proposed to predict natural gas consumption and to assist energy policymakers in Turkey. The GPRM approach is utilized since it has high prediction accuracy and applicability when limited data exist. Furthermore, the future projections have been conducted for natural gas consumption in Turkey.


Abstract Eocene ostracodes are described from the Japanese Islands for the first time. These ostracodes, from the Iojima Group in southwestern Japan, are represented by cosmopolitan and low- to midlatitudinal paleobiogeographic groups as well as an endemic group. Based on the distributions of selected genera, the ostracode fauna of the Iojima Group has tropical to subtropical affinities, affirming links with the Tethys Sea. Six species are described as new: Cytheropteron liue, Eopaijenborchella kamiyai, Eopaijenborchella okinoshimaensis, Ambtonia? matsubarai, Paracypris? kuritai, and Trachyleberis? funatsuensis.


Last week, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Dan Glickman unveiled a program that will double the agency9s spending on peer-reviewed grants--providing an additional $120 million--for work on everything from deciphering the genomes of prize heifers to making automobile fuel from crops. Unlike USDA9s existing competitive grants program, the National Research Initiative, which funds mostly basic research, the new initiative will have an applied edge. Agricultural researchers may only have a 1-year window of opportunity to use the additional funds, however, as their source--cash returned by the states to the U.S. Treasury in savings in the food stamp program--is controversial.


A novel microfluidic platform is presented for sorting by size dissociated neurons, glia and stem cells from biopsies of the central nerve system. A highly biocompatible aqueous polymer solution was used in hydrodynamic spreading controlled cell separation. Before cell separation, particles were used for demonstration. To verify the results the fractions were studied using flow cytometry. Further, they were cultured and differentiated. The study indicated that the technique is ready for biological study and that it has a high potential for applications in neural cell regeneration therapy.


The stock market is in the midst of an era of change unparalleled since the Great Depression, long-standing institutions — including the major stock exchanges — are being radically challenged by contemporary developments, and novel approaches to making markets for common stocks are appearing with increasing frequency. In addition, the Martin Report and the recent hearings of the Securities and Exchange Commission on the future structure of the equities market indicate that the regulatory climate surrounding the stock market can be expected to undergo serious change in the near future.


Motivation Drug immunomodulation modifies the response of the immune system and can be therapeutically exploited in pathologies such as cancer and autoimmune diseases. Results DREIMT is a new hypothesis-generation web tool which performs drug prioritization analysis for immunomodulation. DREIMT provides significant immunomodulatory drugs targeting up to 70 immune cells subtypes through a curated database that integrates 4,960 drug profiles and ~2,6K immune gene expression signatures. The tool also suggests potential immunomodulatory drugs targeting user-supplied gene expression signatures. Final output includes drug-signature association scores, FDRs and downloadable plots and results tables. Availability http://www.dreimt.org Contact email@example.com; firstname.lastname@example.com


Introduction. The fundamental difference between humanism and technocracy is the attitude toward a human: For a humanist, s/he is the goal, for a technocrat (of any professional affiliation), s/he is a means. For education, this became especially evident when it was labelled as a service sector. The technocratic projects of schooland society in the twentieth century turned out to be unsustainable. Humanistic projects have always remained the examples of 'abstract humanism' in history. Humanistic concepts of education are based on the self-actualization of a person, technocratic ones (the second half of the twentieth century) are based on Skinner'sideas that are still popular among practical people. The reason for their survivability is the simplicity and accessibility as well as the success of information technology that contributed to a new wave of technocracy. Humanistic concepts are not so obvious but they have no alternative.
Materials and methods. Humanistically oriented teachers, theoretical modelling, surveys, the methods of Cattell, Rosenzweig, and Fidler, the descriptive statistics and discriminant analysis.
Results. The situation is ambivalent. Humanists never shied away from advanced technologies and rational justification of their actions, while technocrats still do not always mask the anti-human nature of their position. Nevertheless, the problems of falsification and imitation of education noted by researchers as well as the charm of modern technologies are significant, and this veil hides (for many) the anti-humanity of technocracy. Our approach allows us to remain a humanist under the circumstances.
Conclusion. Technology has always been and remains only a tool in the hands of people. The main thing is what kind of the world image exists in their minds, what they are ready to do to achieve their goals. Scientists offer a new humanistic project with the use of the twenty-first-century technologies. This work is a fragment of such a project. The authors would like to see the real action on turning education into a true priority area on the part of the country's leadership.
Keywords: humanism, technocracy, modern education, information technology


Abstract. In safe and industrialized nations most people have only been sporadically in contact with disaster information. But nevertheless, suitable cartographic products are needed to support first aid responders and help teams trying to save as many lives as possible in disaster events. The spatial information on which these teams have to rely on are currently maps without any interactivity and flexibility which was detected by a requirements analysis asking stakeholders working in the field of disaster management. Based on this analysis a tabletop mixed reality application was developed. Within the application two case study scenarios were integrated. Both scenarios together showed the flexibility of the mixed reality approach for representing disaster information in a suitable and feasible way. The first scenario illustrates a large fire event as well as several additional information sources which can assist response and management teams in various directions. The second scenario displays an earthquake event visualizing damaged and destroyed houses and streets. This scenario as well integrates many different information sources and spans from small scale area visualizations to large scale indoor maps for highlighting e.g. injured people in distinct rooms or floors. The resulting application was evaluated by experts. First the application was presented and explained to the experts. Afterwards the experts were asked in a structured interview how they would evaluate the usability and willingness to use such an application in real scenarios. The experts were impressed by the available possibilities in representing and integrating disaster information via the tabletop mixed reality approach yet mentioned that a head mounted device compared to a smartphone would be more beneficial in practice.


Software maintainability is a crucial property of software projects. It can be defined as the ease with which a software system or component can be modified to be corrected, improved, or adapted to its environment. The software engineering literature proposes many models and metrics to predict the maintainability of a software project statically. However, there is no common accordance with the most dependable metrics or metric suites to evaluate such nonfunctional property. The goals of the present manuscript are as follows: (i) providing an overview of the most popular maintainability metrics according to the related literature; (ii) finding what tools are available to evaluate software maintainability; and (iii) linking the most popular metrics with the available tools and the most common programming languages. To this end, we performed a systematic literature review, following Kitchenham's SLR guidelines, on the most relevant scientific digital libraries. The SLR outcome provided us with 174 software metrics, among which we identified a set of 15 most commonly mentioned ones, and 19 metric computation tools available to practitioners. We found optimal sets of at most five tools to cover all the most commonly mentioned metrics. The results also highlight missing tool coverage for some metrics on commonly used programming languages and minimal coverage of metrics for newer or less popular programming languages. We consider these results valuable for researchers and practitioners who want to find the best selection of tools to evaluate the maintainability of their projects or to bridge the discussed coverage gaps for newer programming languages.


As innovation in technology continues to be a driving force in the telecommunications industry, companies are left struggling to provide services of equal caliber to maintain satisfaction and remain relevant in the eyes of consumers. Because of this, a common misunderstanding many companies have is thinking that the best way to retain or acquire new consumers is solely through innovation. While still very important, companies must also strive to better understand the needs of their customers with regard to the cultivation and maintenance of social capital. The purpose of this thesis was to examine how social capital is becoming a driving force for the telecommunications industry and determine the importance of social capital with regard to the relationship between wireless carriers and consumers in attempting to minimize churn. A sample of students at the University of Mississippi was surveyed and asked about their frequency of social network site (SNS) use on their smartphone, purpose of using SNSs, user satisfaction and likelihood to churn. The study found that higher satisfaction was associated with a lower likelihood to churn. It also found higher SNS use was associated with higher levels of social capital. Finally, the study found that higher levels of subclinical narcissism, while not significantly related to SNS use, have a significant relationship with higher levels of social capital.


The success of telecentre implementation along the developing countries depends largely on identifying the factors that may spur or hinder users' acceptance and use. The federal government in Nigeria projected that by the end of the year 2011; telecentre would be established in the entire country. However, despite this projection, limited empirical studies were conducted regarding the acceptance and use of telecentre in various communities in Nigeria. This research aimed at assessing the catalyst and obstacles regarding the telecentre usage. A total of 313 questionnaires were retrieved from the adopters and non adopters of telecentre in two communities of North East Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria. The finding shows positive correlation between the awareness of telecentre services with usage. Also, from the findings, the major barrier to the effective use of telecentre was attributed to the lack of awareness of services offered by the telecentre.


ABSTRACT Views of creativity highlight the importance of incubation or the significance of sketching as a means of seeing emergent properties. Both views put design students at a disadvantage. This study investigates the strengths and weaknesses of an alternative approach to design education, in which students were asked to develop a design idea through conceptual diagrams. This study investigates how conceptual diagrams might help architectural students to see the relationships between concepts and space and coordinate their dual development through conceptual diagrams. The study presents the development of the ideas of 13 second-year architectural students. Students' logbooks, together with their midterm and final review presentations, were studied to determine whether students drew any conceptual diagrams, whether they were instrumental in spatial organization, and how they introduced changes during the design process. The findings showed that this particular design education approach helped students start the design process and stay focused throughout the design process.


The piping industry has a need for a well-founded methodology to predict lifetime of pipeline components subject to stress concentration. Another useful tool would be a method to assess the impact of manufacturing processes on the slow crack growth (SCG) properties of a resin that can be used for process control in a manufacturing facility. In this paper we will propose an innovative methodology for predicting the time to failure of molded fittings due to the SCG failure mechanism that can also be used for optimized manufacturing process control. This method initially utilizes the well-known Rate Process Method (RPM) analysis of molded fitting assemblies for lifetime prediction. Stresses in the molded fittings are determined by finite element analysis. The method also utilizes the new Notch Ring Test (NRT) with rings cut from the molded fittings for assessing the impact of process conditions on SCG characteristics of PE fittings. Stresses in the NRT rings are also determined by finite element analysis. With these NRT data, the fitting manufacturer can develop a reliable method for process control by determining the effect of process variables on SCG performance. Correlation of the RPM data with the NRT data using the same molded fittings will provide an NRT process control method that has been validated by the RPM lifetime prediction method. By fully characterizing the SCG properties of the particular material used and fully characterizing the stress concentrations, a rational methodology for lifetime prediction is then available to the pipeline engineer, and a rational methodology for process control is available to the fitting manufacturer. This methodology can then be incorporated into national and international standards.


Candidal antigens were isolated by affinity chromatography from the sera of patients with disseminated Candida albicans infections. The immunodominant 47-kilodalton (kDa) antigen appeared to be a heat-stable breakdown product of several larger heat-labile components (84 to 92, 74 to 79, and 66 to 72 kDa). It was undetectable in normal sera and sera from four patients with systemic C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis, and C. krusei infections. Serum samples from 92 patients with proven systemic C. albicans infections were examined by the immunoblot technique. Seventy-four patients had detectable antibody, and 92% of these produced antibody to the 47-kDa antigen. All survivors had major serological responses to this antigen, whereas patients who died had no, minor, or fading responses. Fifty-five of the patients were neutropenic following cytotoxic chemotherapy for malignancies, usually lymphoproliferative disorders (hematological patients). The remainder were surgical or medical patients (nonhematological). Hematological patients differed from nonhematological patients in the range of antigens that were commonly recognized by their immune systems, although antibodies to the 47- and 60-kDa antigens were frequently present in both groups. They also differed in that they produced mainly an immunoglobulin M (IgM) response, failing to seroconvent to IgG. This did not reduce survival rates, which were similar in both groups. It may be responsible, however, for the lower antigen titers that were observed in hematological patients when measured by reverse passive latex agglutination.


This paper evaluates the influence of forecast horizon and observation fit on the robustness and performance of a specific freight rate forecast model used in the liner shipping industry. In the first stage of the research, a forecast model used to predict container freight rate development is presented by exploring the relationship between individual company's rates and aggregated market rates, and thus assists in dealing with uncertainty and market volatility for a given business situation. In the second stage, a design of experiment approach is applied to highlight the influence of the forecast horizon and observation fit and their interactions on the forecast model's performance. The results underline the complicated nature of creating a suitable forecast model by balancing business needs, a desire to fit a good model and achieve high accuracy. There is strong empirical evidence from this study; that a robust model is preferable, that overfitting is a true danger, and that a balance must be achieved between forecast horizon and the number of observations used to fit the model. In addition, methodological guidance has also been provided on how to test, design, and choose the superior model for business needs.


The large format monthly "Shidai" ("Modern Miscellany") was published between 1929 and 1937, spanning a period during which the Nationalist government vigorously promoted its agenda of building a new, modern China. After two decades of political chaos that followed overthrow of the last dynasty, the magazine seemed to celebrate the new potential for national progress. It was a showcase of the cultural world of Shanghai, and explored through visual images the many ways in which China had become a modern society. By using striking graphic design, compelling cover images, up-to-date layout, new typography and lettering, and sophisticated printing technology, "Shidai" both successfully represented, and was itself part of, China's modernizing visual culture. The magazine introduced the most visually powerful aspects of contemporary culture to its domestic audience, but at the same time tried to show a modern nation to the outside world. "Shidai" led a new trend of using stunning images to present current world and national events, news of celebrities and film stars, movie reviews, sports news, art exhibitions, women's fashion, and comic strips and cartoons.This paper suggests that "Shidai", edited throughout its existence by well-known artists and writers, conveyed the cultural ideals of Shanghai's literary circles. Its contributors shared the nation's mission of building a new modern China. What was printed on the pages of "Shidai", however, was not government propaganda, but demonstrated the convergence, for a time, of the hopes of Shanghai's cultural world with the political agenda of the new national government.


The Internet of Things is almost a new paradigm that is revolutionizing our society and our life. It is intended that all objects around us are connected to the network, providing worldwide access to information. This concept is gaining space, thanks to the large number of devices connected to the web, ranging from mobile devices to appliances. In the same time, the development of Internet of Things (IoT) give rise to a number of security-related and ethical issues which gain a new dimension in the light of the increased complexity of these technologies. The biggest problem is that IoT does not concern objects only; it is about the relations between the everyday objects surrounding humans and humans themselves. It`s important to emphasize that the majority of connected objects are not personal (as smartphones and PCs) and are unattended. Their physical security is not guaranteed (especially for the public networks) and the control of the objects may be lost sometimes. Cascade failures may appear, caused by the interconnectivity of a large number of devices, difficult to be simultaneously protected over the air transmission, with all the related problems. Despite all this problems, in this paper, we focus on the education area, where Internet of Things can be used to create new trends and tools for Long Life Learning process. Following a person - centred design process, the powerful possibilities opened by the Internet of Things are being included to eLearning in order to enhance the learning experience, and will bring more significant learning spaces and tangibility to the learning process.


We introduce a novel block rational Krylov method to accelerate three-dimensional time-domain marine controlled-source electromagnetic modeling with multiple sources. This method approximates the time-varying electric solutions explicitly in terms of matrix exponential functions. A main attraction is that no time stepping is required, while most of the computational costs are concentrated in constructing a rational Krylov basis. We optimize the shift parameters defining the rational Krylov space with a positive exponential weight function, thereby producing smaller approximation errors at later times and reducing iteration numbers. Furthermore, for multi-source modeling problems, we adopt block Krylov techniques to incorporate all source vectors in a single approximation space. The method is tested on two examples: a layered seafloor model and a 3D hydrocarbon reservoir model with seafloor bathymetry. The modeling results are found to agree very well with those from 1D semi-analytic solutions and finite-element time-domain solutions using a backward Euler scheme, respectively. Benchmarks of the block rational Krylov method demonstrate that it can be as up to 10 times faster than backward Euler. The block method also benefits from better memory efficiency, resulting in considerable speedup compared to non-block methods.


Clinical peculiarities and blood levels of several cytokines were studied in 199 children, aged from 1 to 15 years, in the acute period of different tick-borne infections. The mixed infection manifested itself by the more severe progression of general clinical presentations compared to monoinfections. Etiologically unspecific changes of blood concentrations of cytokines in the acute period of the disease were found. These data were associated with different clinical forms of tick-borne infections. The decrease in the interferon gamma production was associated with the most severe disease progression with focal nervous system disorders. The use of cycloferon as immune modulator in the complex therapy led to the increase in the interferon gamma level and the decrease of general clinical manifestations during tick-borne encephalitis and mixed infection.


AIM
To investigate the in vitro effects of pantoprazole on rat lower esophageal sphincter (LES) tone.

METHODS
Rats weighing 250-300 g, provided by the Yeditepe University Experimental Research Center (YÜDETAM), were used throughout the study. They were anesthetized before decapitation. LES tissues whose mucosal lining were removed were placed in a standard 30-mL organ bath with a modified Krebs solution and continuously aerated with 95% oxygen-5% carbon dioxide gas mixture and kept at room temperature. The tissues were allowed to stabilize for 60 min. Subsequently, the contractile response to 10(-6) mol/L carbachol was obtained. Different concentrations of freshly prepared pantoprazole were added directly to the tissue bath to generate cumulative concentrations of 5 × 10(-6) mol/L, 5 × 10(-5) mol/L, and 1.5 × 10(-4) mol/L. Activities were recorded on an online computer via a 4-channel transducer data acquisition system using the software BSL PRO v 3.7, which also analyzed the data.

RESULTS
Pantoprazole at 5 × 10(-6) mol/L caused a small, but statistically insignificant, relaxation in the carbachol-contracted LES (2.23% vs 3.95%). The 5 × 10(-5) mol/L concentration, however, caused a significant relaxation of 10.47% compared with the control. 1.5 × 10(-4) mol/L concentration of pantoprazol caused a 19.89% relaxation in the carbachol contracted LES (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION
This is the first study to demonstrate that pantoprazole has a relaxing effect in isolated LESs. These results might have significant clinical implications for the subset of patients using proton pump inhibitors who do not receive full symptomatic alleviation from gastroesophageal reflux disease.


This paper presents a novel approach for simultaneous silhouette extraction from multi-viewpoint images. The main contribution of this paper is a new algorithm for 1) 3D context aware error detection and correction of 2D multi-viewpoint silhouette extraction and 2) 3D context aware classification of cast shadow regions. Our method takes both monocular image segmentation and background subtraction of each viewpoint as its inputs, but does not assume they are correct. Inaccurate segmentation and background subtraction are corrected through our iterative method based on inter-viewpoint checking. Some experiments quantitatively demonstrate advantages against previous approaches.


Article history: Received 4 July 2015 Accepted 13 July 2015 Available online 18 July 2015 Cinema as an influential mass medium continuously represents different spaces, environments, events, and symbols, and through which it reproduces viewers' social reminiscence and merges imagination and reality in a constant manner. This paper attempts to illuminate the outlook of Iranian cinema on urban spaces (In this paper, urban space means "outdoor space" or "open space." However, our purpose of applying the term "urban space" is an emphasis on the word "urban." This includes what is connected with a city and its spaces and buildings, residents, and even social, economic, and political issues.), and to analyze the quality of their representation during the last two decades (1979–2006). Identifying displayed urban spaces and determining their strength and limitations, this endeavor not only offers guidelines on urban design pedagogy but also examines impacts of cinema on audiences' visual literacy and perception, thereby exploring their expectations of urban environment. Based on content analysis of selected movies, we find that the Iranian films only occasionally involve urban spaces, and if they do, this practice is confined to historical or cultural spaces. This failure could be attributed to the poverty of urban spaces and limitations facing the film industry in such spaces on the one hand, and lack of the directors' appropriate understanding of contemporary urban spaces and their mere attention to nostalgic spaces on the other hand. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of plantar pressure and reaction force measured using the Moticon and Pedar-x sensor insoles while rowing on a Concept2 ergometer. Nineteen participants performed four 500 m trials of ergometer rowing at 22–24 strokes/min; two trials wearing Moticon insoles and two wearing Pedar-x insoles in a randomised order. Moticon and Pedar-x insoles both showed moderate to strong test–retest reliability (ICC = 0.57–0.92) for mean and peak plantar pressure and reaction force. Paired t-test demonstrated a significant difference (p < 0.001) between Moticon and Pedar-x insoles, effect size showed a large bias (ES > 1.13), and Pearson's correlation (r < 0.37) showed poor agreement for all plantar pressure and reaction force variables. Compared to Pedar-x, the Moticon insoles demonstrated poor validity, however, the Moticon insoles had strong reliability. Due to poor validity, caution should be used when considering Moticon insoles to assess changes in pressure and force reliably over time, across multiple trials or sessions. Moticon's wireless and user-friendly application would be beneficial for assessing and monitoring biomechanical parameters in rowing if validity between measures of interest and Moticon's results can be established.


Using varying environmental parameters and nonadapting detection techniques, the authors propose a generic method for choosing the fault detection technique or techniques which are most appropriate for a given set of conditions. This result is achieved using a decision-making method under incomplete knowledge. The performance of each detection technique is derived under various conditions and environments with this method. The method is not yet complete because the performance outcome of all techniques is not fully defined. However, it provides a head start when attempting to optimize detection given consideration of a wide variety of techniques, parameters, and environmental parameters. >


We report about new design of wavelength triplexer using multiple polymer optical microring resonators. The triplexer consists of two downstream wavelength channels operating at 1490 ± 10 nm, 1555 ± 10 nm and one upstream wavelength channel operating at 1310 ± 50 nm. The parallel coupled double ring resonator was used for separation of the optical signal band at 1555 nm and filtered out signal bands 1310 nm and 1490 nm. The serially coupled triple optical microring resonator was used for separation of the optical signal band at 1490 nm and filtered out signal bands 1310 nm and 1555 nm. The design was done by using FullWAVE software by the finite-difference time-domain method. Simulation showed that optical losses for band at 1555 nm were -3 dB and crosstalk between signal bands 1555 nm and 1490 nm was 24 dB. Calculated optical losses for channel 1490 nm were less than -2.5 dB and signal bands at 1555 nm was filtered out with less than 18 dB loss. The bands at 1310 nm were fully filtered out from both downstream wavelength channels operating at bands 1490 nm and 1555 nm.


In higher plants, one-third to one-half of the mitochondrial tRNAs are encoded in the nucleus and are imported into mitochondria. This process appears to be highly specific for some tRNAs, but the factors that interact with tRNAs before and/or during import, as well as the signals present on the tRNAs, still need to be identified. The rare experiments performed so far suggest that, besides the probable implication of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, at least one additional import factor and/or structural features shared by imported tRNAs must be involved in plant mitochondrial tRNA import. To look for determinants that direct tRNA import into higher plant mitochondria, we have transformed BY2 tobacco cells with Arabidopsis thaliana cytosolic tRNA(Val)(AAC) carrying various mutations. The nucleotide replacements introduced in this naturally imported tRNA correspond to the anticodon and/or D-domain of the non-imported cytosolic tRNA(Met-e). Unlike the wild-type tRNA(Val)(AAC), a mutant tRNA(Val) carrying a methionine CAU anticodon that switches the aminoacylation of this tRNA from valine to methionine is not present in the mitochondrial fraction. Furthermore, mutant tRNAs(Val) carrying the D-domain of the tRNA(Met-e), although still efficiently recognized by the valyl-tRNA synthetase, are not imported any more into mitochondria. These data demonstrate that in plants, besides identity elements required for the recognition by the cognate aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase, tRNA molecules contain other determinants that are essential for mitochondrial import selectivity. Indeed, this suggests that the tRNA import mechanism occurring in plant mitochondria may be different from what has been described so far in yeast or in protozoa.


This paper presents a complete system for multiple object detection and classification in a 3D scene using an RGB-D sensor such as the Microsoft Kinect sensor. Successful multiple object detection and classification are crucial features in many 3D computer vision applications. The main goal is making machines see and understand objects like humans do. To this goal, the new RGB-D sensors can be utilized since they provide real-time depth map which can be used along with the RGB images for our tasks. In our system we employ effective depth map processing techniques, along with edge detection, connected components detection and filtering approaches, in order to design a complete image processing algorithm for efficient object detection of multiple individual objects in a single scene, even in complex scenes with many objects. Besides, we apply the Linear Spatial Pyramid Matching (LSPM) [1] method proposed by Jianchao Yang et al for the efficient classification of the detected objects. Experimental results are presented for both detection and classification, showing the efficiency of the proposed design.


BACKGROUND
Hysteroscopy is often done in infertile women starting in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) to improve their chance of having a baby. However, no data are available from randomised controlled trials to support this practice. We aimed to assess whether routine hysteroscopy before the first IVF treatment cycle increases the rate of livebirths.

METHODS
We did a pragmatic, multicentre, randomised controlled trial in seven university hospitals and 15 large general hospitals in the Netherlands. Women with a normal transvaginal ultrasound of the uterine cavity and no previous hysteroscopy who were scheduled for their first IVF treatment were randomly assigned (1:1) to either hysteroscopy with treatment of detected intracavitary abnormalities before starting IVF (hysteroscopy group) or immediate start of the IVF treatment (immediate IVF group). Randomisation was done with web-based concealed allocation and was stratified by centre with variable block sizes. Participants, doctors, and outcome assessors were not masked to the assigned group. The primary outcome was ongoing pregnancy (detection of a fetal heartbeat at >12 weeks of gestation) within 18 months of randomisation and resulting in livebirth. Analysis was by intention to treat. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01242852.

FINDINGS
Between May 25, 2011, and Aug 27, 2013, we randomly assigned 750 women to receive either hysteroscopy (n=373) or immediate IVF (n=377). 209 (57%) of 369 women eligible for assessment in the hysteroscopy group and 200 (54%) of 373 in the immediate IVF group had a livebirth from a pregnancy during the trial period (relative risk 1·06, 95% CI 0·93-1·20; p=0·41). One (<1%) woman in the hysteroscopy group developed endometritis after hysteroscopy.

INTERPRETATION
Routine hysteroscopy does not improve livebirth rates in infertile women with a normal transvaginal ultrasound of the uterine cavity scheduled for a first IVF treatment. Women with a normal transvaginal ultrasound should not be offered routine hysteroscopy.

FUNDING
The Dutch Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMW).


This study investigates the effects of mHealth interventions on sustainable behavior change and weight loss, drawing on in-app user activity data and online survey data. Specifically, we focus on the interactions within mobile support groups in Noom, an mHealth application for obesity intervention, to delve into how social support from facilitators and peers may play differential roles in promoting health outcomes. The results of structural equation modeling (N = 301) demonstrated that (a) perceived facilitator support was positively associated with group members' health information acquisition such as fitness-themed article reading whereas perceived peer support was positively linked to group participation such as posting and responding; (b) perceived peer support was positively related to normative influence among group members, which subsequently increased group members' responses to others' posts; and (c) health information reading and in-group posting promoted weight loss; however, merely responding to others' posts did not lead to weight-loss success. The findings suggest that the complementary influences of facilitators and peers must be considered to enhance the efficacy of support group interventions.


ABSTRACT Extensive black-sand placers are found on the beaches adjacent to the mouth of the Columbia River in the Northwest United States. Beachface sand samples were collected along 70 km of shoreline north and south from the river and were analyzed to determine the sorting patterns in order to understand the processes responsible for the formation of these placers. The heavy minerals are highly concentrated close to the river, reaching 60 to 70% of bulk samples from the summer beach. The concentrations decrease systematically with longshore distance, being reduced to less than 2% after 20 km of longshore transport from the river mouth. The median grain sizes of the principal minerals generally become finer with longshore distance, but an away-from-source coarsening is found within 5 to 8 km rom the river where the placers achieve their maximum development. Measurements of grain settling velocities show that sorting associated with this parameter may explain the bulk characteristics of the beach sediments but cannot account for the enrichment of the dense minerals and detailed sorting patterns responsible for the placer formation. Minerals requiring higher selective entrainment stresses and having lower bedload transport rates are those most concentrated in the placer deposits. This is the case for settling-equivalent fractions within the sands, as well as for the samples as a whole. We conclude that, as the sand is transported alongshore north and south away from the river, sorting is controlled initially by the differential settling velocities of the grains. However, close to the river mouth where the placer is most concentrated, the sorting patterns are best explained by selective entrainment and transport in the swash zone, with the highest density and finest grains being most difficult to mobilize and thus remaining within the placer. The transformation of dominant sorting modes is determined by the pattern of beach erosion which has been greatest adjacent to the jetties constructed at the mouth of the Columbia River.


Actively motile washed bull spermatozoa metabolize glycerol aerobically producing lactic acid and material estimating as fructose. This process is accompanied by increased O2 uptake and decreased aerobic fructolysis. Dihydroxyacetone, but not phosphoglycerol, is oxidized at a similar rate and lactic acid is formed. It may be an intermediate of glycerol breakdown. Sorbitol is also oxidized by washed bull spermatozoa producing lactic acid and material estimating as fructose. Glycerol and sorbitol combined yield fructose in amounts greater than their separate effects.


The creation of a sustainable world urgently requires managers of organizations to consider large-scale changes in the practices and policies of social and economic institutions. Compelling scientific and economic information on the environment, while the basis of much dialogue in higher education and in the public sphere, has failed to motivate adequate progress to date. In this article, therefore, we present an original theoretical model for a pedagogy that brings together the arts and sustainability. We postulate that motivation or "heart" to initiate such actions for the environment and persist in the face of societal and institutional inertia can come from the arts, particularly given their unique and time-proven ability to move the human heart in authentic ways. A sustainability pedagogy that utilizes the arts can be incorporated moreover into any discipline at any level of education. This  pedagogy reaches students not only intellectually but empathetically as well, thereby increasing the depth and effectiveness of learning. Indeed, emphasizing the content characteristics of complexity, modernity, and equity/justice as well as incorporating student reflection/discernment, experiential learning, and community engagement will further enhance an arts/ sustainability pedagogy. In this light, we briefly examine some preliminary courses integrating the arts and sustainability in four different disciplines, including business. We find these examples indicate that the pedagogy suggested by this theory is a promising avenue to pursue. Finally, we provide some specific suggestions for instructors. New pedagogy that integrates the arts with sustainability can thus contribute significantly to the education of future and current managers, those who are essential agents in effecting needed change.


Surface nuclear magnetic resonance (surface NMR) is the only geophysical exploration method that nondestructively provides direct information on subsurface aquifer properties (i.e., geometry, water content, hydraulic conductivity, and, partially, resistivity). The method combines the information accessible via nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements with a nondestructive surface acquisition approach to derive subsurface water information. These characteristics have made surface NMR a useful tool for hydrogeophysics during the last decade.


The management of supply chains of the agri-food sector has become a very complex structure. Product variety has decreased, changes in legislatives and quality management requirements have a high influence, international trade is much higher, consumer demands about product freshness and food quality is fluctuate and processors and retailers ask for the implementation of quality systems. This has resulted in individual changes in the process and organisation level of the enterprises and in order to keep the costs minimal. The focus of this paper will be a cost-benefit analysis for the implementation of quality management/assurance systems. Only a few studies with the focus on HACCP and food safety exists in the part of costs and benefits of quality systems in the agri-food industry. And an approach with an integrated accomplishment of quality systems is still not publicised. With the view on this additional aspect a decision support model was developed. This model presents the requirements of existent quality, environmental and occupational health standards and is a basic for a cost benefit model for special scenarios and individual solutions for enterprises.


The aim of the article is to provide an overview of the international and EU law framework concerning the relation between the research and teaching. The analysis of internal regulations of selected European states is provided for a broader vision and comparative perspective. Such an overview constitutes the initial ground for further research and evaluation of the applicable law and its implementation. The article constitutes a summary of the initial phase of the research project dedicated to the impact of the legal research on legal education based on the projects funded by the Polish National Science Centre.


ABSTRACT With the rapid development of new medical devices including dental implants, bacterial biofilm infections become more and more frequent. We developed a methodology to design bioactive coatings for medical devices based on functional aqueous nanogels. Nanogels with a controlled amount of surface-grafted anti-bacterial molecules (isoeugenol) were synthesized. The crucial step for the nanogel synthesis was the design of hydrophilic macromonomers with covalently attached isoeugenol molecules. This ensured covalent incorporation of isoeugenol into the nanogel surface and effective control over isoeugenol concentration and accessibility. We demonstrated that isoeugenol-modified nanogels exhibit superior antibacterial properties against some prominent pathogens: oral Streptococcus mutans and Porphyromonas gingivalis as well as Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus. Nanogels were used as building blocks to design thin functional coatings able to support cell adhesion and osteogenic differentiation of stem cells. These nanogels can be also decorated with RGDs or drug molecules that may accelerate the tissue regeneration process. We believe that the developed nanogel coating technology is a flexible toolbox, which can be used for the decoration of biointerfaces in different medical systems.


Abstract In this study, we introduce a new family of continuous distributions with one extra shape parameter, called the Burr-Hatke-G family, based on the Burr-Hatke differential equation. Some of its mathematical properties are derived. The maximum likelihood method is used to estimate the model parameters. Moreover, the log-Burr-Hatke-Weibull regression model based on new the generated family is introduced. The usefulness of the proposed family is demonstrated by means of the three real data applications. Empirical results indicate that the proposed family provides more realistic fits than other well-known family of distributions.


Analysis of the constant-voltage scaling characteristics of Fully-Depleted Castellated Gate (FDCG) MOSFETs reveals near term opportunities for these devices as the replacement for the "thick oxide" I/O device in CMOS System-On-A-Chip (SoC) technologies (e.g. the power transistor). Looking forward to the era of post-CMOS Integrated Nanosystems, FDCG MOSFETs utilized as PHY layer devices may provide the essential interoperable infrastructure for existing and yet-to-be-defined nanoscale devices.


Cost efficiency is a state of optimal allocation of factors of production in which any other allocation will result to higher cost. In that case, the selection of farm inputs at minimum cost will help to reduce production cost and hence improve profitability of the farmers This research investigated the optimal allocation of factors of production by sorghum/cowpea intercrop farmers in Kebbi State Nigeria, with the aim of generating reliable information on their determinants. The technique applied in order to achieve the objectives of the study were the data envelopment analysis (DEA) and the ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. The data were obtained mainly from primary sources through a questionnaire survey of 256 monocroppers and intercroppers. Seventy-three sorghum/cowpea intercroppers were used for the cost efficiency analysis. The results show that the average cost efficiency of the sorghum/cowpea farmers in the study area was 0.52 indicating that the farmers were relatively cost inefficient. The result further indicated that years of farming experience and age of the farmer positively affected cost efficiency while access to credit and land fragmentation were found to decrease cost efficiency. Reduction in production cost through accessing support services such as subsidies on farm inputs, provision of credit, extension services and trainings on good agricultural practices by Government agricultural related and non-governmental agencies will also help farmers to apply the recommended farm inputs, which is also likely to influence cost efficiency positively. Farmers should also be sensitized on the benefits of having contiguous farms. This will lead to increase in the benefits from improving cost efficiency of the farmers in Kebbi State.


Mobilisation of retrotransposons to new genomic locations is a significant driver of mammalian genome evolution. In humans, retrotransposon mobilisation is mediated primarily by proteins encoded by LINE-1 (L1) retrotransposons, which mobilise in pluripotent cells early in development. Here we show that TEX19.1, which is induced by developmentally programmed DNA hypomethylation, can directly interact with the L1-encoded protein L1-ORF1p, stimulate its polyubiquitylation and degradation, and restrict L1 mobilisation. We also show that TEX19.1 likely acts, at least in part, through promoting the activity of the E3 ubiquitin ligase UBR2 towards L1-ORF1p. Moreover, we show that loss of Tex19.1 increases L1-ORF1p levels and mobilisation of L1 reporters in pluripotent mouse embryonic stem cells implying that Tex19.1 prevents new retrotransposition-mediated mutations from arising in the germline genome. These data show that post-translational regulation of L1 retrotransposons plays a key role in maintaining trans-generational genome stability in the epigenetically dynamic developing mammalian germline.


IEEE 802.11 WLANs are becoming more and more popular in homes and urban areas. As compared to traditional WLAN setups (such as in campuses) where knowledgeable network administrators can make centralized decisions on channel selection, access points (APs) in these networks are often deployed by network nonspecialists in an uncoordinated manner, leading to unplanned topologies, interference, and therefore unsatisfactory throughput performance. We consider in this paper a distributed channel assignment algorithm for uncoordinated WLANs, where APs can self-configure their operating channels to minimize interference with adjacent APs. We first formulate the optimization problem on channel assignment which overcomes some of the weaknesses encountered by uncoordinated WLANs. We show that the problem is NP-hard, and propose an efficient, simple, and distributed algorithm termed CACAO (Client-Assisted Channel Assignment Optimization). In CACAO, the clients feed back traffic information to their APs. This leads to better network condition knowledge and better channel assignment decisions at the APs. We conduct extensive simulation study and comparisons using Network Simulator 2 (NS2). Our results show that CACAO outperforms other traditional and recent schemes in terms of TCP and UDP throughputs with a similar level of fairness. Furthermore, it converges quite fast and reduces cochannel interference significantly.


This chapter is a case study of a nonprofit medical foundation and an independent practice association. It discusses the different cultures and statutory, governance, and other issues, including the development of the bylaws and managed care agreement.


Given recent scientific advances, coastal flooding events can be properly modelled. Nevertheless, such models are computationally expensive (requiring many hours), which prevents their use for forecasting and warning. In addition, there is a gap between the model outputs and information actually needed by decision makers. The present work aims to develop and test a method capable of forecasting coastal flood information adapted to users' needs. The method must be robust and fast and must integrate the complexity of coastal flood processes. The explored solution relies on metamodels, i.e., mathematical functions that precisely and efficiently (within minutes) estimate the results that would provide the numerical model. While the principle of relying on metamodel solutions is not new, the originality of the present work is to tackle and validate the entire process from the identification of user needs to the establishment and validation of the rapid forecast and early warning system (FEWS) while relying on numerical modelling, metamodelling, the development of indicators, and information technologies. The development and validation are performed at the study site of Gâvres (France). This site is subject to wave overtopping, so the numerical phase-resolving SWASH model is used to build the learning dataset required for the metamodel setup. Gaussian process- and random forest classifier-based metamodels are used and post-processed to estimate 14 indicators of interest for FEWS users. These metamodelling and post-processing schemes are implemented in an FEWS prototype, which is employed by local users and exhibits good warning skills during the validation period. Based on this experience, we provide recommendations for the improvement and/or application of this methodology and individual steps to other sites.


Lively yet intriguing, The Body in Performance is a varied collection of essays about this muchdiscussed area. Posing the question "Why this current preoccupation with the performed body?" the collection of specially commissioned essays from both academics and practitioners in some cases one and the same person considers such cutting edge topics as the abject body and performance, censorship and live art, the presentation of violence on stage, carnal art, and the vexed issue of mimesis in the theatre. Drawing variously on the work of Franko B., Orlan, Annie Sprinkle, Karen Finley, and Forced Entertainment, it concludes with a creative piece about a 'Famous New York Performance Artist.' Contributors include Rebecca Schneider whose book The Explicit Body in Performance is a key text in this area, and Joan Lipkin, director and writer.... Download ebook, read file pdf The Body in Performance


Current top-notch deep learning (DL) based vision models are primarily based on exploring and exploiting the inherent correlations between training data samples and their associated labels. However, a known practical challenge is their degraded performance against "noisy" data, induced by different circumstances such as spurious correlations, irrelevant contexts, domain shift, and adversarial attacks. In this work, we incorporate this binary information of "existence of noise" as treatment into image classification tasks to improve prediction accuracy by jointly estimating their treatment effects. Motivated from causal variational inference, we propose a transformer-based architecture, Treatment Learning Causal Transformer (TLT), that uses a latent generative model to estimate robust feature representations from current observational input for noise image classification. Depending on the estimated noise level (modeled as a binary treatment factor), TLT assigns the corresponding inference network trained by the designed causal loss for prediction. We also create new noisy image datasets incorporating a wide range of noise factors (e.g., object masking, style transfer, and adversarial perturbation) for performance benchmarking. The superior performance of TLT in noisy image classification is further validated by several refutation evaluation metrics. As a by-product, TLT also improves visual salience methods for perceiving noisy images.


During germ cell development, cells undergo a drastic switch from mitosis to meiosis to form haploid germ cells. Sequencing and computational technologies now allow studying development at the single-cell level. Here we developed a multiplexed trajectory reconstruction to create a high-resolution developmental map of spermatogonia and prophase-I spermatocytes from testes of a Dazl-GFP reporter mouse. We identified three main transitions in the meiotic prophase-I: meiotic entry, the meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI), and concomitant pachytene activation. We validated the key features of these transitions in vivo using single molecule FISH. Focusing on MSCI, we found that 34% of sex chromosomal genes are induced shortly before MSCI, that silencing time is diverse and correlates with specific gene functions. These highlight a previously underappreciated level of regulation of MSCI. Finally, we found that spermatozoal genes in pachytene are activated in a temporal pattern reflecting the future anatomic and functional order of the sperm cell. Altogether we highlighted how precise and sequential changes in gene expression regulate cellular states in meiotic prophase-I.


Sucrose esters (SEs) are crucial tobacco smoke flavor precursors and play a significant role in tobacco's functionality. Due to their structural complexity, the separation and analysis of SEs in tobacco remain a major challenge, and massive structures of SEs have not yet been fully identified. In this study, the fractions enriched in SEs were obtained from oriental and flue-cured tobacco through a series of pretreatments, and two types of SEs (Types I and II) were distinguished by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MSn ) analysis, with Type II SEs newly characterized in tobacco. Five groups of main SEs were further purified using preparative high-performance LC (HPLC) coupled to an evaporative light scattering detector, and their structures were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry techniques including 1 H, 13 C, correlation spectroscopy, heteronuclear single quantum correlation, and heteronuclear multiple bond correlation. By combining LC-MSn and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, the structures of eight SE isomers were finally proposed, of which four were newly identified. These findings further enhance the understanding of the structural diversity of SEs in tobacco, serving as a valuable reference for future research on the elucidation, synthesis, and metabolism of SEs.


Rivers cross political boundaries where water issues cut across national, subnational, and sector
boundaries. We hold that addressing the scaled nature of interactions between stakeholders is
a helpful way to account for the complexity of transboundary water governance and the design
of governing institutions. We argue that identifying stakeholder interactions at different scales of
governance is a key to understand the shifts in the nature and degrees of cooperation and conflict.
Using the TWINS framework, this shifting pattern is studied in the part of Indus basin that is
within Pakistan. We use historical event data from the Pakistan side of the Indus basin to show
the key events of cooperation and conflict at regional, national and sub-national scales. We find
varying degrees of cooperation and conflict at different scales. We show that without recognizing
scale-based interactions among riparians, the nature and depth of conflict and cooperation among
all stakeholders remains obscured in the superficial understanding of cooperation as the official
version holds. We argue that a contingent approach to study cooperation and conflict at multiple
scales and among multiple stakeholders is needed to assess the true nature and degree of cooperation
and the ensuing effectiveness of transboundary governance structures.
Keywords: scale, transboundary water governance, cooperation, conflict, TWINS


The main objective of the study was to determine of practices of sterilization techniques at private dental clinics of Karachi, Pakistan. 150 dental clinics of the town were selected, owned and run by qualified dentists. The purpose of the study was explained to the owners /practitioners verbal consent was taken. Author designed the questionnaire by close ended questions in order to get information for sterilization method and infection control. The survey was completed in two weeks while five house officers of Karachi Medical & Dental College participated to in filling of questionnaire. The sample size of the study was 150 with 95% confidence interval. Sample selection criteria: (Inclusion) Dentists, Dental hygienists and Dental assistants who are responsible or oversee the sterilization procedure from dental clinics of District Central Karachi. Exclusion: Reception staff, dental technicians. The result shows that 121 (81%) out of 150 clinics used autoclave as the method of sterilization and 15(10%) of the clinics used dry heat as the method of sterilization. While 14(9.3%) still employ the boiling and chemical as method of sterilization. The result shows that the 65.3% were the owner of the clinic and 34.7 % were dentist among the respondents. It is worth noting that 115(76.7) were female and 35(23.3%) male were among respondent. Among the dentist who answered the questioner 79.3% were BDS and 20.7% were postgraduates. From the results of the study it is quite evident that the Infection control measures taken in dental clinics were quite satisfactory. It is worth noting that almost 81% of the clinics used autoclaving method of sterilization. Internationally, the method used for sterilization is autoclaving for the sterilization of instruments in the private dental clinics. Some of the dental clinics used, chemical and dry heat sterilizer for the sterilizations of instruments. However, PMDC (Pakistan Medical & Dental Council) or any other government organization did not set any legal bindings for the quality and standards of dental practice in Pakistan.


In this article, I draw on the major works of two Palestinian intellectuals—Edward Said and Hanan Ashrawi—and I compare the experiences of Palestinian intellectuals living in the United States with those living under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank. The writings of these two exemplary figures shape the conceptual underpinnings of my exploration of the way Palestinian academics navigate questions of complicity with the different hegemonic political systems that govern their lives. I argue that Said and Ashrawi model a steadfast refusal to be complicit in the state-led repression around them at the same time as they engage in principled dissent from their own national institutions in the name of a broader vision of universal emancipation. Yet, Said and Ashrawi embody two distinct modes of intellectual and political activity, shaped by their relative proximity to Palestine. The critical difference between their forms of dissent reveals how, for Palestinian-Americans, engagement with the question of Palestine is discursive and intellectual labor, while for Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, it can require interfacing one's body directly with the coercive apparatus of the state. In both cases, however, the Palestinian intellectual faces systematic assaults on his or her academic freedom. Sa'ed Atshan, "Complicity, Dissent, and the Palestinian Intellectual" page 2 of 9 CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 21.3 (2019):  Special Issue On Complicity and Dissent. Ed. Nitzan Lebovic


A high proportion of all cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs) are isquemic CVAs. In approximately 30% of patients, the cause is not determined and the CVA is considered cryptogenic. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most frequent causes of ischemic stroke, and so monitoring cardiac rhythm for long periods of time may help improve diagnosis. The use of implantable loop recorders that have algorithms for detecting AF may help to achieve this goal. We present a series of 14 consecutive patients referred from the neurology department between August 2009 and February 2011 with cryptogenic ischemic stroke and embolism. A Reveal XT (Medtronic Inc., Minneapolis, United States) recorder was implanted in all patients to detect AF. Ten (71.4%) patients were men, and the mean (SD) age was 65.4 (10.9) years. Eleven (79%) had hypertension and 5 (36%) had diabetes mellitus. None of the patients had a history of AF. All patients had undergone a study that included daily electrocardiography, laboratory tests, brain computed tomography scan, external Holter monitoring, transthoracic and transesophageal electrocardiography, supraaortic Doppler examination, and brain magnetic resonance angiography. Signs of mild atheromatosis without stenosis were detected in 4 patients in the supra-aortic trunk. The recorder was deployed in the left parasternal region in a subcutaneous pocket within a month of the episode. No complications were reported. A follow-up visit was scheduled at 1 month and then every 3 months. Additional visits were scheduled in the event of symptoms or activation of the recorder's alarm. The devices in 10 patients (71%) recorded 24 episodes of AF that were not confirmed after manual review. Analysis of these episodes showed that they corresponded to the detection of noise, intermittent T-waves, or frequent extrasystoles. All patients attended the scheduled visits. The implantable loop recorder detected AF in 5 patients (35.7%) (Figure). The clinical characteristics of these patients and the number and duration of the episodes are shown in the Table. The mean time to detection after deployment was 5.8 months, and no patient reported symptoms related to the arrhythmia. In all cases, patients started treatment with oral antiplatelet therapy. The patients in whom no AF was detected during the study period had a mean age of 61 (10.5) years compared with 74 (5.8) years for those in whom AF was detected (P=.01), with a mean follow-up of 29 (5.9) months and a mean of 7.25 visits (range, 5-12). In our series, the implantable loop recorder allowed diagnosis of AF in 36% of the patients who had experienced cryptogenic CVA. In all of these patients, the arrhythmia was asymptomatic. The clinical guidelines and expert consensus statements recommend extensive cardiac monitoring in patients who have experienced a cryptogenic CVA and in those with suspicion of silent AF. The different methods of monitoring cardiac rhythm have their drawbacks, and their performance has been analyzed. The implantable loop recorder has been introduced only recently for detection of AF. Implantation is simple and performed under local anesthetic. The Reveal XT recorder uses an AF algorithm based on detection of RR-interval irregularity, analyzed over 2-min periods. A study performed in patients with a high probability of AF showed high sensitivity (96.1%) and specificity (85.4%) for detection of the arrhythmia, although the presence of false positives was considered the main limitation of this technique. Rev Esp Cardiol. 2013;66(8):665–676


The behavioral characteristics of Caucasian and Anatolian honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) races and their reciprocal crossbreeds were examined in this study. The average levels of food consumption in the Caucasian (K), Caucasian x Anatolian (K x A), Anatolian x Caucasian (A x K) and Anatolian (A) genotype groups were determined to be 9.09±0.68, 6.62±0.72, 7.93±0.57 and 7.29±0.97 kg/colony respectively. In addition, the average population decline in the groups mentioned above were 43.45±3.40, 43.53±3.71, 40.71±3.89 and 31.11±5.09%, respectively. The average number of frames covered with bees in genotype groups were 10.88±0.06, 11.36±0.05, 12.13±0.05 and 12.38±0.06 per colony, and the average brood area were found to be 3870.79±75.24, 4569.85±63.66, 4322.90±63.66 and 4091.88±75.24 cm2/colony, respectively. The average weight gains of the colonies in genotypes during nectar flow were found to be 18.36±2.27, 16.69±1.36, 21.39±2.73 and 22.27±2.26 kg/colony. Also, the average numbers of flying bees per minute per colony were 88.71±11.18, 92.86±9.25, 98.00±14.62 and 104.14±16.92, and the average honey yields were determined to be 7.95±2.19, 8.43±1.50, 11.79±1.71 and 11.17±1.45 kg/colony, respectively.


The influence of the sympathoadrenal system on the thermic effect of glucose was examined by studying six tetraplegic patients with complete lesions of the cervical spinal cord. Indirect calorimetry and catheter techniques were employed, and measurements were made before and during 2 h after oral ingestion of 75 g of glucose. The results were compared with previous findings from an identical study in healthy subjects and with those from a control group of five tetraplegic patients receiving water instead of glucose. In response to glucose, energy expenditure rose from 69 +/- 5 to 79 +/- 5 and from 88 +/- 3 to 98 +/- 4 W, (not significant) in the patients and healthy subjects, respectively. In both patients and the healthy subjects the postprandial oxygen consumption increased exclusively in extrasplanchnic tissues. Splanchnic blood flow, which in normals increased 34 +/- 1%, did not change in the patients after glucose. Blood temperatures were unchanged in normals after glucose but rose by approximately 0.5 degrees C in the patients. The patients' arterial plasma concentrations of norepinephrine were low in the basal state and did not rise significantly after glucose. The arterial blood glucose concentrations after glucose were significantly higher in the patients than in the healthy subjects. Insulin levels rose to 105 +/- 20 mU/l in the patients and to 59 +/- 7 mU/l in the controls (P < 0.02).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


The marginalized and impoverished Downtown Eastside neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada has long been subjected to planning programs that have aimed to solve area problems through strategic government intervention. The 2011–2014 Local Area Planning Process, led by the City of Vancouver in consultation with local actors, represents the most recent of such programs. Despite the Local Area Planning Process's stated goal of inclusive participation, the resultant Downtown Eastside plan transformed the political landscape of the neighbourhood and met with derision from stakeholders for its potential to generate dramatic capital-led transformations. In this paper, we critique participatory planning through a case study of the Local Area Planning Process. We utilize a lens of critical toponymy (the investigation of the historical and political implications of place naming) as a methodological tool to examine planning technologies of power and their mobilization through governmental processes. We deploy a novel approach to toponymy, drawing on assemblage theory, that presents toponymy as a radically open and dynamic process mobilized relationally through a multiplicity of discourses and materialities. Our case study demonstrates that processes of toponymic assemblage within the Downtown Eastside Local Area Planning Process worked to (1) generate new territorial conflicts, (2) depoliticize community activism, and (3) co-opt racialized and class-based histories of displacement and dispossession to stimulate "revitalization" ("Japantown"). On the other hand, we found that in unanticipated ways, these processes worked to stimulate anti-gentrification activism, alliances, and resistance. Our analysis of planning highlights how toponymic agency can service oppressive and marginalizing place-framings, but it can also have liberating effects – by inspiring unlikely alliances and counter-framings.


The Concentrate Questions and Answers series offers the best preparation for tackling exam questions and coursework. Each book includes typical questions, suggested answers with commentary, illustrative diagrams, guidance on how to develop your answer, suggestions for further reading, and advice on exams and coursework. This chapter provides advice on preparing coursework in company law and the skills required to complete it successfully, to ensure you are best prepared for your assessment. Two coursework example questions, one essay and one problem question, with accompanying answer guidance, are also available. The chapter provides lots of important tips for coursework success and includes a final checklist of issues to consider before submitting your work.


Simulation is known to be an effective technique to understand and manage traffic in cities of developed countries. However, in developing countries, traffic management is lacking due to a wide diversity of vehicles on the road, their chaotic movement, little instrumentation to sense traffic state and limited funds to create IT and physical infrastructure to ameliorate the situation. Under these conditions, in this paper, we present our approach of using the Megaffic traffic simulator as a service to gain actionable insights for two use-cases and cities in India, a first. Our approach is general to be readily used in other use cases and cities, and our results give new insights: (a) using demographics data, traffic demand can be reduced if timings of government offices are altered in Delhi, (b) using a mobile company's Call Data Record (CDR) data to mine trajectories anonymously, one can take effective traffic actions while organizing events in Mumbai at local scale.


The repression of the E. coli lac operon seems to be more efficient than the current theoretical model allows for. Specifically, it is more quiet than expected during the replication of the chromosome. I have induced cells during short periods and counted the number of protein products from the operon to determine if there is a delay in activation of transcription that could account for the discrepancy. The results are compatible with a delay of 10-20 s, but the delay could not be conclusively proven. Furthermore, it has been investigated if the mechanism behind the delay might be differential localization of the lac operon with and without induction. It is shown that the lac operon is more often located in the periphery of the cell and in the internucleoid region when induced. These might be regions where genes are higher expressed, giving a delay in expression after de-repression before the gene is transported there.


The Spanish PETHEMA group designed a protocol for newly diagnosed PML/RARalpha-positive acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) in which induction and consolidation followed the original AIDA regimen, except for the omission of cytarabine and etoposide from consolidation. Induction consisted of 45 mg/m(2) all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) daily until complete remission (CR) and 12 mg/m(2) idarubicin on days 2, 4, 6, and 8. Patients in CR received 3 monthly chemotherapy courses: idarubicin 5 mg/m(2)/d x 4 (course no. 1), mitoxantrone 10 mg/m(2)/d x 5 (course no. 2), and idarubicin 12 mg/m(2)/d x 1 (course no. 3). Maintenance therapy consisted of 90 mg/m(2)/d mercaptopurine orally, 15 mg/m(2)/wk methotrexate intramuscularly, and, intermittently, 45 mg/m(2)/d ATRA for 15 days every 3 months. Between November 1996 and December 1998, 123 patients with newly diagnosed PML/RARalpha-positive APL from 39 centers were enrolled. A total of 109 patients achieved CR (89%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 83 to 95), 12 died of early complications, and the remaining 2 were resistant. Consolidation treatment was associated with very low toxicity and no deaths in remission were recorded. Molecular assessment of response by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) showed conversion to PCR-negative in 48 of 99 (51%) and 82 of 88 patients (93%) after induction and consolidation, respectively. The 2-year Kaplan-Meier estimates of overall survival and event-free survival were 82% +/- 4% and 79% +/- 4%, respectively. For patients who achieved CR, the 2-year disease-free survival (DFS) was 92% +/- 3%. These data indicate that a significant reduction in toxicity might be obtained in APL using a less intensive consolidation without apparently compromising the antileukemic effect. These results also suggest a minor role for cytarabine and etoposide in the treatment of newly diagnosed PML/RARalpha-positive APL patients.


This study aims to determine whether there are significant differences in the innovation process and its impact on the productivity of Spanish services firms, according to the level of knowledge intensity of the various sub-branches of services. To this end, microdata from the Technological Innovation Panel (PITEC) for the Spanish economy during the period of 2008-2013 were used, and the Crépon, Duguet and Mairesse (CDM) structural model was applied. The model incorporates the decision of the firm to innovate or perform R&D, the amount of the innovative effort, the production of innovation considered as an output of the investment in R&D, and the impact of such innovation on the productivity of the firm. The use of panel data for services firms with this structural model contributes to the scarce literature regarding innovation and productivity in the services sector. Following the classification of economic activities according their technology level prepared by Eurostat, we considered two subsamples, knowledge intensive service firms and less knowledge intensive service firms. In the two subsamples, it was found that there are similarities in the determinants of innovation and its intensity, that the predicted value of R&D intensity has a positive effect on the output of the innovative process, and that the latter has a positive impact on productivity. In these last two stages of the model the differences between the subsamples are considerable. In addition, heterogeneous patterns were observed at every stage of the model regarding the regional location of the firms.


Objective: To discover the ideal concentration of Advanced Platelet Rich Fibrin (A-PRF) as modification of PRF, for human Dental Pulp Stem Cells (hDPSCs) differentiation.  Material and Methods: hDPSCs were devided into five experimental groups: Group I (control group) consist of hDPSCs cultured in 10% FBS, Group II consist of hDPSCs cultured in 1% A-PRF, Group III consist of hDPSCs cultured in 5% A-PRF, Group IV consist of hDPSCs cultured in 10% A-PRF and Group V consist of hDPSCs cultured in 25% A-APRF. All group have been observed for 7 and 14 days and each group had three biological replicates (triplo). Formation of the mineralized nodules was detected after 7 days by Alizarin red-based assay and Dentin Sialophosphoprotein (DSPP) expression after 7 and 14 days quantified by ELISA reader. Statistical analysis was proven with Kruskal-Wallis and post hoc Mann-Whitney test.  Results: The differentiation of hDPSCs in all A-PRF groups was significantly different on day-7 (p 0.05). Significantly differences between Group II (1% A-PRF) and Group I (control), Group II (1% A-PRF) and Group III (5% A-PRF), also Group II (1% A-PRF) and Group V (25% A-PRF) was found from post hoc test analysis.  Conclusion: The ideal conditioned media concentration for differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells was on 1% up to 5% A-PRF group.


Human beings are the cynosure of the whole universe. Islam and Buddhism both emphasized the sanctity of human life. The killing of people is not allowed in Islam in any form whatsoever. In Buddhism, the non-violence (Ahimsa) philosophy states that every living thing's life is sacred. This study is aimed to identify the teachings of Islam and Buddhism regarding corpse's reverence and abortion. Islam markedly stress on the holiness of human life. In Islam, it is not permissible for a person to attack someone's life or property or reputation. According to Buddhist's concept of Karma and Cycle of Samsara, the life of human beings is equal to that of all other living things that is why Buddhism does not allow the killing of insects. A comparative methodology will be adopted in this study. It is concluded that both Islam and Buddhism have the same viewpoint on the sanctity of human life but regarding the corpse's reverence and abortion, these have a different perspective.