The idea of a physical path is commonly used as a metaphor for different situations in life. Three different philosophers also make arguments that can be viewed in terms of a path. Nietzsche's notion of the promise in On the Genealogy of Morals is akin to a path in that the promiser vows to achieve a goal and follow a course of action that is required to get there. Freud's idea of normal human sexuality in Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality can also be seen as a path in that he feels it is normal for a person to narrow down their initially vast sexual impulses and conform to the normal straight path. This idea is also expressed in Plato's Phaedrus when the character of Socrates claims that he never leaves the city walls because there is nothing to learn outside of them. All three of these philosophers promote the idea that sticking to a path is more valuable than deviating from it; deviating is seen as a sign of weakness, or psychological illness, or just valueless. Although these philosophers go to great lengths to promote these views, their arguments are undone by the internal contradictions and ambiguities of the arguments themselves. Nietzsche's promise is based on the existence of memory, but memory is actually a product of forgetfulness, which Nietzsche says is valuable, and could not exist without it. Freud concedes that there may be no person who actually follows his normal path of sexuality, and that to deviate from the path actually is normal. Plato's Socrates realizes upon deviating from his path that there is much to be learned outside the city walls, and that deviating from it can help him appreciate the path even more. Though this does not prove that deviating from the path is actually more valuable than sticking to it, it does suggest that such valuations are not as clear as the three philosophers would make it seem.


Digital dermatitis (DD) is a superficial infectious dermatitis of the digital skin of cattle and sheep that can be very painful, causing severe lameness in affected animals. Bovine digital dermatitis (BDD) in dairy cattle has now been reported in most countries they are farmed, and DD in sheep, known as contagious ovine digital dermatitis (CODD) is rapidly emerging as a severe infectious foot disease since first reports from the UK in 1997. Spirochaetes, of the genus Treponema have frequently been found in large numbers in BDD lesions and are now considered the primary causative bacteria of BDD. Three treponeme phylogroups are consistently isolated from dairy cattle BDD in the UK and the USA, which are known as Treponema medium- like, Treponema phagedenis- like spirochaetes and Treponema pedis.
Over the past 40 years research has focused on dairy cattle BDD and overlooked whether the disease exists in beef cattle herds in the UK, and whether the same aetiological agents are causal. There is also limited information on the causative bacteriological agents of CODD. Furthermore, no definitive transmission routes or infection reservoirs of DD in either cattle or sheep had thus far been delineated, with only a single study finding a potential reservoir site of DD treponemes in the dairy cattle gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
Using molecular bacteriological studies it was found that CODD and beef cattle BDD, as in dairy cattle BDD, show a high association with the three DD treponeme phylogroups. All CODD and beef BDD lesions investigated had at least one of the three DD treponeme phylogroups present in the lesions and these treponemes were also isolated from a high proportion of lesions. No DD treponemes were detected in healthy sheep or beef cattle foot tissue. Upon 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis all isolates showed a high similarity, if not 100% identity, to representatives of each treponeme phylogroup isolated from dairy cattle BDD lesions, indicating a shared aetiology between DD in all three animals. Additionally, the same treponeme bacteria were detected and isolated from a new undefined foot disease in dairy goats in the UK indicating that cross-species transmission of DD may have occurred causing DD infection in a previously unaffected domestic livestock species.
To understand potential transmission routes and infection reservoirs of DD, the host GI tract and hoof trimming equipment were investigated. Of the sheep gingival (n= 40) and rectal tissues (n= 40), 1/40 gingival tissues were positive for DD- associated treponemes (T. pedis), and 3/40 rectal tissues (one containing T. medium- like and two tissues containing T. pedis). No DD- associated treponeme DNA was amplified from beef cattle rectal tissues (n= 40), however 4/40 beef gingival tissues were positive for DD- associated treponemes (all containing T. phagedenis- like). A T. phagedenis- like DD treponeme was isolated from the rectal tissue of a CODD symptomatic sheep. Beef cattle (n= 41) and sheep (n= 79) faeces failed to amplify DD- associated Treponema DNA. Twenty two treponemes were isolated from sheep faeces; however, upon phylogenetic analysis these clustered with considered non-pathogenic treponemes, which interestingly exhibited farm specific diversity in their 16S rRNA gene. Trimming equipment was tested after being used to trim cattle and sheep hooves, and subsequently after disinfection of equipment. Of the blades used to trim DD symptomatic animals (n= 26, cattle and sheep combined), 25/26 were found to be positive for at least one of the DD Treponema phylotypes. This figure was reduced to 10/26 (38%) after disinfection of the blades. Following culture of a swab, an isolate belonging to the T. phagedenis- like spirochaetes was isolated from a knife sample after trimming a DD positive cow.
Beef cattle sera from DD positive and negative farms were investigated to understand whether beef cattle's perceived lower prevalence of BDD in the UK is due to a lack of exposure to treponemes, or a protective immune response. Beef cattle from DD positive farms appeared to produce a strong immunological response to treponemes, compared with DD negative farm animal sera. Therefore the perceived lower prevalence of DD in beef cattle does not appear to be due to a protective response in these animals, but more likely due to a lack of exposure to DD treponemes.
In conclusion, these studies have produced vital information describing DD in beef cattle and sheep and their respective aetiological agents allowing for more appropriate treatments in the future. Additionally, given the two potential transmission routes delineated from the data, effective actions can be taken to prevent the spread of DD within current hosts and to limit emergence into yet unknown additional host species.


This paper examines wine grape supply contracts used in the main grape growing regions of Australia. An empirical analysis provides insight into specific aspects of contract design and implementation. Statistical analyses of sample data reveal differences between regions in contract specifications. Lower quality grape growing regions place a greater reliance on grape quality assessment to determine bonus/penalty payments compared to higher quality regions. Contracts in higher quality regions place greater emphasis on explicit winery involvement and direction in vineyard management. Results indicate that longer duration contracts are more inclusive in terms of the number of clauses included. Evidence of risk shifting (i.e., winery to grower) for high quality grapes is reported, where the price received by growers is determined by the bottle price of the wine produced.


The CFTR (Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator) activity and localization are influenced by the cytoskeleton, in particular by actin and its polymerization state. In this study we investigated whether the expression of the hypertensive mutations of α-adducin (G460W-S586C in humans, F316Y in rats), an actin capping protein, led to a functional modification of CFTR activity and surface expression. The experiments were performed on HEK293 T cells cotransfected with CFTR and the human wild type (WT) or G460W mutated α-adducin. In whole-cell patch-clamp experiments, both the CFTR chloride current and the slope of current activation after forskolin addition were significantly higher in HEK cells overexpressing the G460W adducin. A higher plasma membrane density of active CFTR channels was confirmed by cell-attached patch-clamp experiments, both in HEK cells and in cultured primary DCT cells, isolated from MHS (Milan Hypertensive Strain, a Wistar rat (Rattus norvegicus) hypertensive model carrying the F316Y adducin mutation), compared to MNS (Milan Normotensive Strain) rats. Western blot experiments demonstrated an increase of the plasma membrane CFTR protein expression, with a modification of the channel glycosylation state, in the presence of the mutated adducin. A higher retention of CFTR protein in the plasma membrane was confirmed both by FRAP (Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching) and photoactivation experiments. The present data indicate that in HEK cells and in isolated DCT cells the presence of the G460W-S586C hypertensive variant of adducin increases CFTR channel activity, possibly by altering its membrane turnover and inducing a retention of the channel in the plasmamembrane. Since CFTR is known to modulate the activity of many others transport systems, the increased surface expression of the channel could have consequences on the whole network of transport in kidney cells.


In response to Islamic-inspired terrorism and the growing trend of foreign fighters, European governments are increasingly relying on citizenship deprivation as a security tool. This paper will focus on the question of how the fundamental rights of individuals deprived of their citizenship are affected and which protection is offered for them by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms ('ECHR'). In many countries, these new and broader deprivation powers were left unaccompanied by stronger (procedural) safeguards that protect the human rights they might affect. Unlike the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the ECHR does not provide for an explicit right to citizenship. The question therefore rises what protection, if any, is offered by the ECHR system against citizenship deprivation and for the right to citizenship. Through a case study of the Belgian measure of citizenship deprivation, the (implicit) protection provided by the Convention-system is demonstrated.


NMR resonance peak assignment is one of the key steps in solving an NMR protein structure. The assignment process links resonance peaks to individual residues of the target protein sequence, providing the prerequisite for establishing intra- and inter-residue spatial relationships between atoms. The assignment process is tedious and time-consuming, which could take many weeks. Though there exist a number of computer programs to assist the assignment process, many NMR labs are still doing the assignments manually to ensure quality. This paper presents (1) a new scoring system for mapping spin systems to residues, (2) an automated adjacency information extraction procedure from NMR spectra, and (3) a very fast assignment algorithm based on our previous proposed greedy filtering method and a maximum matching algorithm to automate the assignment process. The computational tests on 70 instances of (pseudo) experimental NMR data of 14 proteins demonstrate that the new score scheme has much better discerning power with the aid of adjacency information between spin systems simulated across various NMR spectra. Typically, with automated extraction of adjacency information, our method achieves nearly complete assignments for most of the proteins. The experiment shows very promising perspective that the fast automated assignment algorithm together with the new score scheme and automated adjacency extraction may be ready for practical use.


While existing literature on offshore structures does touch on model testing, a comprehensive text discussing the design, construction, instrumentation, testing and analysis of physical models is lacking. This book aims to fill that vacuum and provide, through its survey of the theoretical and practical aspects of physical modelling, an in-depth coverage of the technology of model testing. Although the main focus is on offshore construction, the text should prove of use to the entire field of engineering, and its breadth of scope should appeal not only to engineers and naval architects but to scientists interested in structural or hydraulic testing as well.


How to improve the user experience for the networks is a problem should be extensively concerned about. In this paper, an approach to networks congestion analysis model based on Bayesian Network is proposed to realize the network system operation and maintenance effectively. Compare to the networks topology, the congestion pattern networks is constructed and each congestion object's conditional probability table and the joint probability distribution can be calculated according to the network data flow. The dependency between the congestion nodes can be presented and we can find the abnormal point in the networks topology. Experiment is conducted to verify the correctness and validity of the proposed method, and the results indicate that it is effective to construct the congestion pattern model with Bayesian Network, and it can be able to dig out the potential congestion path more accurately.


The ABC primosome is assembled from DnaA, DnaB and DnaC proteins at a stem-and-loop structure containing a dnaA box within its stem (A site), and catalyses primer RNA synthesis for DNA chain elongation. The DnaA protein can bind to the A site and the A-site-DnaA-protein complex can be isolated by gel-filtration chromatography in the absence of nucleotides. Mutations within the dnaA box completely abolish the binding of DnaA protein. Point mutations within the stem region outside the dnaA box also severely reduce the affinity of DnaA protein for the A site. These results indicate that not only the dnaA box but also other nucleotides and/or secondary structure features of the stem are important for proper recognition of the A site by DnaA protein. The preprimosome, which is able to synthesize RNA primers upon addition of primase, can be isolated by gel-filtration chromatography in the presence of ATP or adenosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate, a non-hydrolyzable analogue of ATP. The preprimosome can translocate along Escherichia coli single-stranded-DNA-binding protein-coated single-stranded DNA, utilizing the energy released by hydrolysis of ATP, as indicated by its helicase activity. dATP, as well as dCTP, can support the helicase activity of the preprimosome to some extent, while they are inert in helicase assays with DnaB protein in the absence of E. coli single-stranded DNA-binding protein. In keeping with this result, the isolated preprimosome, which appears to contain DnaA and DnaB proteins, is capable of hydrolyzing dATP as well as ATP and GTP. In a reconstituted replication assay, addition of excess dATP restores replication activities which have been inhibited by addition of adenosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate. The ability of dATP to support helicase and replicative activities of the ABC primosome indicates that the formation of the complex somehow modulates the structures of its component(s) so that they can utilize otherwise inert nucleotides. On the basis of these results, a scheme for the assembly of the ABC primosome at the A site is presented.


This book offers a concise introduction to fatigue crack growth, based on practical examples. It discusses the essential concepts of fracture mechanics, fatigue crack growth under constant and variable amplitude loading and the determination of the fracture-mechanical material parameters. The book also introduces the analytical and numerical simulation of fatigue crack growth as well as crack initiation. It concludes with a detailed description of several practical case studies and some exercises. The target group includes graduate students, researchers at universities and practicing engineers


In this paper, a new small-sample model selection criterion for vector autoregressive (VAR) models is developed. The proposed criterion is named Kullback information criterion (KICvc), where the notation vc stands for vector correction, and it can be considered as an extension of the KIC, for VAR models. KICvc adjusts KIC to be an unbiased estimator for the variant of the Kullback symmetric divergence, assuming that the true model is correctly specified or overfitted. Furthermore, KICvc provides better VAR model-order choices than KIC in small samples. Simulation results show that the proposed criterion selects the model order more accurately than other asymptotically efficient methods when applied to VAR model selection in small samples. As a result, KICvc serves as an effective tool for selecting a VAR model of appropriate order. A theoretical justification of the proposed criterion is presented


The author discusses certain reforms to the law of police powers which are currently being demanded by the English police. He notes that the English police have long acted under a regime of limited powers. These have proven to be irksome, but they have also conduced to a regime under which the police use the minimum powers possible and rely considerably on public support in the fight against crime. The police however urge that further powers are necessary, notably powers to stop and question persons in public places and to hold arrested persons for interrogation concerning the commission of offences before charging the person or bringing him before a magistrate. These wide powers resemble those of certain other systems, notably France, the practical workings of which are comparatively little known in Britain. They are of doubtful legality in view of the European Convention on Human Rights. The author questions the necessity for and the desirability of such powers. He contends that they are apt to be abused, and that the French experience affords a guide to what might happen. He argues that formal powers are no substitute for public support. He fears that powers to stop and search will cause resentment, and that little countervailing practical benefit will result from them. As regards powers to detain persons before charging, he argues that such procedures will erode existing civil liberties safeguards and that certain proposed safeguards such as limiting the time available to the police for detention will prove ineffectual. There will be little time to inform defence lawyers of the nature of the case at an early stage and magistrates will probably support the police. If detention is to be allowed judicial permission should, as a general rule, be sought in advance from a High Court Judge. Here he advances a model based upon the experience of Cyprus. The author also considers, briefly, the modalities of interrogation. He considers that the suspect must continue to have a right to silence. He must also have the right to the timely assistance of a defence lawyer, a right which presently is too often subverted by the practice. The author considers also that thought should be given to the question whether a suspect should have the right to the assistance of a lawyer during police interrogation. The author concludes that in assessing the nature of and necessity for accretions and additions to police powers, the English should not lose sight of their historic attachment to civil liberties.


The implementation of sustainable consumption requires research to assess the environmental impacts of different lifestyles, to develop proposals for changes in consumption patterns, to deliver insights into the factors that shape consumption, to develop and evaluate scenarios, and to study and evaluate efforts of implementation. It requires research to deliver tools and information to policy makers, industry and the interested public. Such ambitious goals can only be achieved through an international, collaborative research effort. This seminar takes stock of the current research in order to develop a common research agenda and a proposal for a research infrastructure, consisting of common classifications, protocols, databases, and assessment methods. The first part of the workshop focuses on the assessment of household environmental impacts, the understanding of consumption patterns and consumer behaviour, examples of sustainable consumption, acceptability of policy measures, and scenario analysis.The second part of the workshop discusses the development of a common, interdisciplinary research approach and a common research agenda. This effort may include the development of common data bases, data formats, models, protocols, indicators and assessment methods so that research becomes more cumulative and results can be more easily compared. It also requires that researchers from different disciplines develop a common platform, which includes a set of core research questions and common publication channels. This workshop is a first step towards developing the proposal for such a research infrastructure, as well as charting out a plan of action to put it in place.


The Decision Support and Risk Assessment for Operational Effectiveness (DeSRA) 2017 Conference Proceedings contain the peer-reviewed abstracts accepted for this conference. The DeSRA 2017 Conference took place at the NATO STO CMRE facilities in La Spezia, Italy, on 2-4 October 2017. Its overarching objective was to bring together personnel from the military, civilian, industry and research communities to discuss and identify environmental risks, planning shortfalls and ways-ahead to assist decision makers and improve operational effectiveness. These Conference Proceedings contain a total of 27 abstracts covering all the topics of the conference, such as: Recognized Environmental Picture (REP) and Risk Assessment; Environmental Information Flow for Decision Support and Command and Control (C2); Maritime Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (MISR); and Operational Experimentation (OPEX) Opportunities. Researchers and industry were exposed to real challenges faced in operations from the military and civilian organizations/institutions participating. Besides the speakers of the 27 Abstracts published in these proceedings, additional military and civilian personnel attended the DeSRA 2017 Conference to learn about state-of-the-art techniques and systems on the topics of the conference. They also had the opportunity to make contributions and influence the development of these techniques and systems. A total of 2 NATO bodies: ACO/SHAPE and STO CMRE, and 20 institutions/organizations from 13 NATO and Partner nations: 1 CAN, 2 DEU, 1 DNK, 2 ESP, 4 FRA, 2 GBR, 4 ITA, 1 NLD, 1 NOR, 1 NZL, 1 USA, participated in this NATO STO CMRE-lead conference. Details of the contributions made by the participants are incorporated in the Abstracts provided in these DeSRA 2017 Conference Proceedings.


Although energy-based methods have advantages over the Newtonian methods for kinetostatic modeling, the geometric nonlinearities inherent in deflections of compliant mechanisms preclude most of the energy-based theorems. Castigliano's first theorem and the Crotti-Engesser theorem, which don't require the problem being solved to be linear, are selected to construct the energy-based kinetostatic modeling framework for compliant mechanisms in this work. Utilization of these two theorems requires explicitly formulating the strain energy in terms of deflections and the complementary strain energy in terms of loads, which are derived based on the beam constraint model. The kinetostatic modeling of two compliant mechanisms are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the explicit formulations in this framework derived from Castigliano's first theorem and the Crotti-Engesser theorem.


Federal utilization review regulations require that hospitals establish admission and extended stay certification processes and conduct medical care evaluation studies. The computerized review system in use at Deaconess Hospital, St. Louis, has satisfied these regulations with minimum expenditure of time, effort, and money while insuring maximum accuracy and timeliness and consistency of reporting.


clindamycin. I suggest, therefore, that the only serious failure of the yellow cards was with practolol. This occurred not because of any fault in the system, but because people did not use it. It is perfectly true that the first sign of trouble is often the publication of an anecdotal case history. Doctors, especially young doctors, naturally prefer to see their names in print rather than to report to a committee which will keep their identity secret. Dr Venning's conclusions, however, deflect attention from the fact that many problems are reported on yellow cards and are dealt with before they become big problems. The removal of benziodarone and ibufenac within weeks of first marketing are good examples. The yellow cards played a vital role in uncovering the role of oral contraceptives in thromboembolism.1 By December 1964 29 cases had been reported, rising to 48 in February 1965. In March 1965 Cahal2 published a letter in the BMJ requesting that further cases should be reported, and by August the number of reported deaths equalled the number that would have been expected from the Registrar General's data. The pill was not a problem if all deaths had been reported, which seemed a very unlikely conclusion at that time. In 1966 I began the first epidemiological study to show a statistically significant association between the pill and thromboembolism, which it did in August that year. Publication was delayed until studies started later in the year by the Medical Research Council and the Royal College of General Practitioners had confirmed this association. Mere association, however, is not proof of cause. Here again the yellow cards were invaluable. In August 1966 I had noticed a large relative excess of reports of fatal pulmonary embolism linked with products containing mestranol. Later, we showed a dose-response effect which provided for the first time strong evidence that the pill was probably a cause of thromboembolism and this led to the much safer mini pill. Journal anecdotes contribute only 5%°O to the register of adverse reactions of the Committee on Safety of Medicines. Yellow cards are always available from the moment a new drug is marketed. I cannot agree with Dr Venning that "voluntary reporting and other early warning systems have made a negligible contribution to alerting." Literally hundreds of "signals" have been considered by the Committee on Safety of Medicines, and many serious problems have been quietly and efficiently attended to without the massive publicity afforded to practolol or more recently to benoxaprofen. W H W INMAN


Exponential Smoothing Technique is a useful forecasting tool in time series analysis. In contrast to the Regression Approach of forecasting, the technique is based upon unequally weighting the observed data with recent observations getting higher weightage than the remote ones. One such technique is the Triple Exponential Smoothing which is applied to the time series with a quadratic trend. The paper aims to highlight this method of forecasting with reference to time series of the Annual Number of Tourist Anivals in Nepal during the period 1971-1997. The predicted series of data arising from the Triple Exponential Smoothing statistically fits to the observed time series considered.


This is a fascinating and absorbing account of Royalist conspiracy and spies throughout the Civil Wars and the Commonwealth and Protectorate. It highlights the increasing importance of underground Royalist activity as the Stuart monarchs failed to regain their kingdoms. It also gives an insight into how the Royalist effort was organised and managed, especially the Royalists' ability to communicate across, counties, countries and even continents. It demonstrates the diverse backgrounds of Royalist agents and shows their cause was dependent upon individual talents, and was affected by the weaknesses of these spies due to a lack of overall direction.


A coupled system of hydrodynamic and volume integral equations is solved for analyzing electromagnetic wave interactions with non-local dispersion effects on nanostructures. The proposed scheme discretizes the scatterer into a mesh of tetrahedral elements and expands (unknown) electric flux and hydrodynamic current using Schaubert-Wilton-Glisson basis functions defined on this mesh. Inserting these expansions into the coupled equations and applying Galerkin testing yield a matrix system. An iterative scheme is used to solve this matrix system for unknown expansion coefficients. Numerical results show additional resonance peaks in the scattering cross section spectrum of nanospheres, which can be explained by non-local dispersion effects accounted for by the proposed method.


7SUMMAR4: Sixty-five operations workers (all males) in an electrolytic aluminum production facility were divided into two groups. The first group of 3U was employed for more than V years, and the second group of 2Y for V years or less. These men had no history of liver, kidney, or immune-related disease. 5-ray tests indicated that they were not suffering from occupational fluorosis (according to the standards of GB323[-Y2). For controls, V2 males from the service departments with no history of exposure to fluoride were used as controls. Neurobehavioral function of the longexposure group measured by the neurobehavioral core test battery (NCTB) revealed, with the exception of the Benton visual retention measurement, diminished performance for every testing index as compared to the controls. Even the scores for emotional state of the short exposure group were markedly lower than for the control. By relating these test results to fluoride exposure, our study demonstrated various effects of occupational fluoride exposure on the central nervous system, thereby providing early warning indicators that can be used to protect the health of workers who have occupational contact with fluoride.]


The human gastrointestinal tract houses trillions of microbes. The gut and various types of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and archaea, form a complex ecosystem known as the gut microbiota, and the whole genome of the gut microbiota is referred to as the gut microbiome. The gut microbiota is essential for homeostasis and the overall well-being of a person and is increasingly considered an adjunct "virtual organ," with a complexity level comparable to that of the other organ systems. The gut microbiota plays an essential role in nutrition, local mucosal homeostasis, inflammation, and the mucosal immune system. An imbalanced state of the gut microbiota, known as dysbiosis, can predispose to development of various gastrointestinal malignancies through three speculated pathogenic mechanisms: (a) direct cytotoxic effects with damage to the host DNA, (b) disproportionate proinflammatory signaling inducing inflammation, and (c) activation of tumorigenic pathways or suppression of tumor-suppressing pathways. Several microorganisms, including Helicobacter pylori, Epstein-Barr virus, human papillomavirus, Mycoplasma species, Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus bovis, are associated with gastrointestinal malignancies such as esophageal adenocarcinoma, gastric adenocarcinoma, gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma, colorectal adenocarcinoma, and anal squamous cell carcinoma. Imaging plays a pivotal role in diagnosis and management of microbiota-associated gastrointestinal malignancies. Appropriate use of probiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation, and overall promotion of the healthy gut are ongoing areas of research for prevention and treatment of malignancies. Online supplemental material is available for this article. ©RSNA, 2021.


Proceedings The 2020 European Bioinformatics Community for Mass Spectrometry (EuBIC-MS) Developers ' meeting was held from January 13 th to January 17 th 2020 in Nyborg, Denmark. Among the participants were scientists as well as developers working in the field of computational mass spectrometry (MS) and proteomics. The 4-day program was split between introductory keynote lectures and parallel hackathon sessions. During the latter, the participants developed bioinformatics tools and resources addressing outstanding needs in the community. The hackathons allowed less experienced participants to learn from more advanced computational MS experts, and to actively contribute to highly relevant research projects. We successfully produced several new tools that will be useful to the proteomics community by improving data analysis as well as facilitating future research. All keynote recordings are available on https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3890181.


Spinal osteochondromas are very rare, and they present with nonspecific localized pain owing to bone involvement. Diagnosis is made based on direct X-ray and computed tomography (CT) imaging of the exophytic bone lesion with pedunculated or sessile structure. Although asymptomatic patients can be observed, surgical excision is the main treatment modality. We present the case of a 34-year-old man with solitary thoracic osteochondroma. The patient presented with complaints of pain in the legs, numbness, and inability to walk. The diagnosis was confirmed with CT imaging showing calcified heterogeneous bone lesion originating from the left side of T1-2 facet joint. After total excision, histopathological examination revealed the diagnosis of osteochondroma. No new clinical or radiological findings were detected in the 10-month follow-up.


In institutional research, modern data mining approaches are seldom considered to address predictive analytics problems. The goal of this paper is to highlight the advantages of tree-based machine learning algorithms over classic (logistic) regression methods for data-informed decision making in higher education problems, and stress the success of random forest in circumstances where the regression assumptions are often violated in big data applications. Random forest is a model averaging procedure where each tree is constructed based on a bootstrap sample of the data set. In particular, we emphasize the ease of application, low computational cost, high predictive accuracy, flexibility, and interpretability of random forest machinery. Our overall recommendation is that institutional researchers look beyond classical regression and single decision tree analytics tools, and consider random forest as the predominant method for prediction tasks. The proposed points of view are detailed and illustrated through a simulation experiment and analyses of data from real institutional research projects.


We used embryonic chick pelvic cartilage as a model to study the mechanism by which cyclic AMP increases RNA synthesis. Isolated nuclei were incubated with [32P]-8-azidoadenosine 3,5'-monophosphate ([32P]N3cAMP) with no resultant specific nuclear binding. However, in the presence of cytosol proteins, nuclear binding of [32P]N3cAMP was demonstrable that was specific, time dependent, and dependent on a heat-labile cytosol factor. The possible biological significance of the nuclear binding of the cyclic AMP-protein complex was identified by incubating isolating nuclei with either cyclic AMP or cytosol cyclic AMP-binding proteins prepared by batch elution DEAE cellulose chromatography (DEAE peak cytosol protein), or both, in the presence of cold nucleotides and [3H]uridine 5'-triphosphate. Poly(A) RNA production occurred only in nuclei incubated with cyclic AMP and the DEAE peak cytosol protein preparation. Actinomycin D inhibited the incorporation of [3H]uridine 5'-monophosphate into poly(A) RNA. The newly synthesized poly(A) RNA had a sedimentation constant of 23S. Characterization of the cytosol cyclic AMP binding proteins using [32P]N3-cAMP with photoaffinity labeling three major cAMP-binding complexes (41,000, 51,000, and 55,000 daltons). The 51,000 and 55,000 dalton cyclic AMP binding proteins were further purified by DNA-cellulose chromatography. In the presence of cyclic AMP they stimulated poly(A) RNA synthesis in isolated nuclei. The 51,000-dalton cyclic AMP-binding protein was the predominant one that bound to the nuclei. While cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinsae activity was present in the cytosol and DEAE peak cytosol proteins, it was not present in the DNA-cellulose-bound, cyclic AMP-binding proteins. We conclude that one possible mechanism by which cyclic AMP increases RNA synthesis is by complexing to a 51,000-dalton cytosol cyclic AMP-binding protein and being subsequently translocated to the nucleus, where it is specifically bound and associated with induction of poly(A) RNA synthesis.


Background: Fluid overload is related to the development and prognosis of cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CSA-AKI). The study is to investigate the influence of serum creatinine (SCr) corrected by fluid balance on the prognosis of patients with cardiac surgery. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in 1334 patients who underwent elective cardiac surgery from January 1 to December 31, 2015. Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria for AKI were applied to identify CSA-AKI. SCr was measured every 24 hours during ICU period and was accordingly adjusted for cumulative fluid balance. Change in SCr, defined as ∆Crea, was determined by difference between before and after adjustment for cumulative fluid balance. All patients were divided as three groups: underestimation group (∆Crea ≥ P 75 ), normal group (P 25 < ∆Crea < P 75 ) and overestimation group (∆Crea ≤ P 25 ). Results: The incidence of AKI increased from 29.5% to 31.8% after adjustment for fluid balance. Patients in underestimation group showed prolonged length of ICU stay compared with normal group and overestimation group (3.2[1.0-3.0] vs 2.1[1.0-3.0] d, P < 0.001; 3.2[1.0-3.0] vs 2.3[1.0-3.0] d, P < 0.001). Length of hospital stay and mechanical ventilation dependent days in underestimation group were significantly longer than normal group ( P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed age, baseline SCr and left ventricular ejection fraction were independently associated with underestimation of creatinine. Conclusions: Cumulative fluid balance after cardiac surgery disturbs accurate measurement of serum creatinine. Patients with underestimation of SCr were associated with poor prognosis.


Integrin affinity for components of the extracellular matrix controls its activation. Integrin activation in turn is associated with numerous cell adhesion and migration events. Although many intracellular signaling pathways have been implicated in controlling the integrin-extracellular matrix interaction, the final step that results in the conformational change needed to kick integrins into activation mode has not been clear. Tadokoro et al. show that for several different classes of integrins and signaling pathways, the association of a cytoskeletal protein called talin is the final common step for integrin activation. S. Tadokoro, S. J. Shattil, K. Eto, V. Tai, R. C. Liddington, J. M. de Pereda, M. H. Ginsberg, D. A. Calderwood, Talin binding to integrin β tails: A final common step in integrin activation. Science 302, 103-106 (2003). [Abstract] [Full Text]


To the Editor: As an addendum to our report of 2 cases of unsuccessful cochlear implantation in 2 patients with superficial siderosis of the central nervous system (1), we would like to present briefly a successful outcome on another patient with the condition. A 56-year-old man presented with a 10-year history of progressive hearing loss and ataxia. A diagnosis of superficial siderosis of the central nervous system was made using magnetic resonance imaging. At the time of candidacy testing for cochlear implantation, there was no recordable hearing in either ear, and communication was only possible via written material on a whiteboard. Hearing in noise test revealed 0% auditory-alone and 21% auditory-visual. The patient underwent extensive counseling regarding cochlear implantation, including receiving a copy of our previous publication. A Nucleus Freedom device with Contour Advance electrode (Cochlear, Ltd., Lane Cove, New South Wales, Australia) was implanted on the patient's left ear without incident. After the operation, the patient's balance was significantly worse, but there were no other complications. The device was switched on 4 weeks later. The patient has received significant benefit from the device and is now just over 6 months after switch-on. The patient's speech discrimination scores for the first 6 months after switchon are as follows:


The synthesis, structural characterization and properties of new bio-based oligomers with bisguaiacol-type moieties esterified by diverse aliphatic linkers are described. These oligomers, produced by oxidative oligomerization of renewable dihydroferulic acid-based bisphenols with commercially available Trametes versicolor laccase, are proposed as promising sustainable antiradical/antioxidant additives for polymers. This environmentally friendly biocatalyzed process is performed under very mild conditions in open vessels and aqueous solution at room temperature. Modifications of the reaction conditions (use of an organic co-solvent up to 80% v/v and increase of the reaction temperature up to 60 °C) revealed that the polymerization degree of the oligomers may be controlled by adjusting the nature and the ratio of the co-solvent, the reaction time and the reaction temperature. Thermal analyses (TGA and DSC) demonstrated that these phenolic oligomers exhibit high thermal stability and that their Td 5% and Tg can be easily tailored by playing with both the structure of the bisphenol and the degree of polymerization. Similarly, these phenolic oligomers exhibit tunable potent antiradical/antioxidant activity as shown by DPPH analyses. These aliphatic–aromatic oligomers with bisguaiacol-type moieties are thus promising as easily accessible, eco-friendly antiradical/antioxidant additives for the stabilization of polymers in packaging and other applications.


Livestock are an important component of agricultural systems in the mountains and hills of Nepal. This study examined the present practices of livestock production systems in 12Village Development Committees (VDCs) of Nawalparasi district through a formal survey and participatory rural appraisal techniques. Livestock management and production systems were mainly analysed to identify problems and opportunities for further improvements. Results showed that cattle, goat and pig were found dominating livestock species across the study area. All of the breeds were indigenous and their productivity was very low. Animals were used for draft power and mainly manure, very few for milk and meat production. Howeveg livestock number sharply declined over the past two decades mainly due to forest degradation and shortage of feeding materials. Realising the role of livestock in the agricultural system, its improvement programs are essential for the sustainable livelihood of people residing in the study area.


The biological activity of selenium is dependent upon its speciation. We aim to integrate selenium speciation and metabolism into a discussion of the mechanisms by which selenium exerts its biological activity. First, we present the current status of selenium in the prevention of cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases with particular attention paid to the results of major chemoprevention trials involving selenium supplementation. A comprehensive review of the current understanding of the metabolism of common dietary selenium compounds - selenite, selenomethionine, methylselenocysteine and selenocystine - is presented, with discussion of the evidence for the various metabolic pathways and their products. The antioxidant, prooxidant and other mechanisms of the dietary selenium compounds have been linked to their disease prevention and treatment properties. The evidence for these various mechanisms -in vitro, in cells and in vivo- is evaluated with emphasis on the selenium metabolites involved. We conclude that dietary selenium compounds should be considered prodrugs, whose biological activity will depend on the activity of the various metabolic pathways in, and the redox status of, cells and tissues. These factors should be considered in future laboratory research and in selecting selenium compounds for trials of disease prevention and treatment by selenium supplementation.


Background: Single stage laparoendoscopic rendez-vous (LERV), single-stage laparoscopic common bile duct exploration – cholecystectomy (LCBDE), and two-stage endolaparoscopic (LC-ERCP) management of cholecystocholedocholithiasis can be performed with similar short and long-term outcomes. This multicentric study retrospectively examined the outcome and hospital costs of one-stage vs. sequential two-stage strategies of treatment. Methods: From January 2013 to December 2016, all the patients affected by cholecystocholedocholithiasis and treated at 2 different medical centers (General surgery and senology Unit Policlinico Vittorio Emanuele Hospital and G.B. Morgagni Hospital, Catania Italy) were enrolled in a retrospective study. Measures of outcome were hospital costs, postoperative morbidity and length of hospital stay. The 3 different approaches to cholecystocholedocholithiasis were retrospectively compared: two-stage endolaparoscopic (LC-ERCP) (Group A), laparoendoscopic rendez-vous (LERV) (Group B), and laparoscopic common bile duct exploration (LCBDE) (Group C) that includes laparoscopic trans-cystic common bile duct exploration (LTC-CBDE) and laparoscopic direct common bile duct exploration (LD-CBDE) Results: A total of 204 patients met the study criteria. One-stage laparoscopic management using a direct common bile duct exploration approach (LD-CBDE) was the least expensive option when compared to LTC-CBDE (LTC-CBDE 1480 € versus LD-CBDE 1264 €, p < 0.001). However, two-stage LC-ERCP appears to be, according to our experience, the least expensive of all (998 €). The rendezvous technique group demonstrated a better overall efficacy with a complete clearance of the bile duct in 100% of the cases, as compared to the 80% of the LCERCP group and 72% of the LCBDE. Postoperative morbidity was 5% in the LC-ERCP group versus 9.75% in the LERV group, and 3.12% in the LCBDE group, respectively. The average length of hospital stay was 7.7 days and 17, and 11.8 days in the LERV, LCBDE, and LCERCP, respectively. Conclusions: According to our experience, the Rendezvous technique provides the best strategy for the treatment of cholecystocholedocholithiasis in terms of clearance of the biliary duct, hospital stay, morbidity and costs. Randomized trials should be designed to confirm these findings.


In this paper we examine the factors contributing to the emergence of leadership in a group, and we explore the relationship between the role of the leader and the behavioural capabilities of other individuals. We use a simulation technique where a group of foraging robots must coordinate to choose between two identical food zones in order to forage collectively. Behavioural and quantitative analysis indicate that a form of leadership emerges, and that groups with a leader are more effective than groups without. Moreover, we show that the most skilled individuals in a group tend to be the ones that assume a leadership role, supporting biological findings. Further analysis reveals the emergence of different "styles" of leadership (active and passive).


One of the main challenges for the manipulation and storage of multipartite entanglement is its fragility under noise. We present a simple recipe for the systematic enhancement of the resistance of multipartite entanglement against any local noise with a privileged direction in the Bloch sphere. For the case of exact local dephasing along any given basis, and for all noise strengths, our prescription grants full robustness: Even states with exponentially decaying entanglement are mapped to states whose entanglement is constant. In contrast to previous techniques resorting to complex logical-qubit encodings, such enhancement is attained simply by performing local-unitary rotations before the noise acts. The scheme is therefore highly experimentally friendly, as it brings no overhead of extra physical qubits to encode logical ones. In addition, we show that, apart from entanglement, the resiliences of the relative entropy of quantumness and the usefulness as resources for practical tasks such as metrology and nonlocality-based protocols are equivalently enhanced.


Imaging systems play a crucial role in shaping understanding of our surroundings. Modern imaging systems enable the acquisition of images of objects at length-scales and resolutions previously deemed impossible. However, as the drive for better images and novel applications increases, several questions fundamental to our understanding of imaging are being raised. We are familiar with images containing many millions of photons, but how many photons does it take to form an image? In scenarios requiring covert imaging, or where high-light levels damage the sample being imaged, is it possible to image a sample with a very small number of very low-energy photons? This thesis will focus on answering these two questions.
In order to answer these questions I developed a heralded quantum imaging system. The strong spatial correlations inherent between down-converted twin photons have been utilised in many quantum imaging techniques for the past 25 years. Thus far, standard quantum imaging techniques have relied on scanning a fibre detector across the field of view in order to measure the spatial information in the image. However, the scanning mechanism fundamentally limits the detection efficiency of the imaging system.
Recent years have seen an increased interest in using the latest camera technology within quantum imaging systems. The advent of single-photon-sensitive cameras has opened up new possibilities within the quantum imaging field. It is now possible to obtain images of objects by detecting very low-light illumination across the full scene simultaneously.
In the heralded quantum imaging system presented in this thesis, a combination of quantum mechanics and a high-sensitivity camera was employed to obtain high contrast images containing very few photons. This was the first such system built. Using the correlations between the twin photons generated by our down-conversion source, and our development of compressive sampling techniques to post-process the acquired data enabled the acquisition of an image containing an average of only 0.5 photons per pixel. This represents a significant reduction when compared with a conventional image that contains of order 105 photons per pixel.
I also developed this imaging system to use twin photons at vastly different wave- lengths. The object was probed with low-energy infrared photons whilst the image was developed on a camera using the correlated visible photon. This disparity in energy between the two photons enabled the acquisition of images using only several thousand photons, corresponding to an energy deposition on the sample of only a few pJ.


Carbon nanotubes and graphene have many interesting properties. To exploit the properties in applications their synthesis and incorporation in devices has to be understood and controlled. This thesis is based on experimental studies on synthesis of carbon nanotubes and fabrication of nanoelectromechanical systems from carbon nanotubes and graphene. Vertically aligned nanotube arrays with heights over 800 μm have been grown using acetylene with iron as catalyst on alumina support using thermal chemical vapor deposition. By varying the partial pressure of acetylene it was found that the addition-rate of carbon was proportional to the coverage of acetylene molecules on the catalyst nanoparticle. In certain conditions the macroscopic pattern of the catalyst areas influenced the microscopic properties of the carbon nanotubes. It was shown that the initial carbon-precursor flow conditions could determine the number of walls produced. The amount of carbon incorporated into nanotubes was constant but regions that experienced less carbon precursor gas flow due e.g. to depletion, produced longer but fewer-walled nanotubes. Arrays of vertically aligned nanotubes were shown to deflect as a single unit under electrostatic actuation, making possible the fabrication of varactors. Measurements of deflection were used to determine an effective Young's modulus of 6 ± 4 MPa. The capacitance of such a device could be reproducibly changed by more than 20 %. Devices based on the nanoelectromechanical properties of few-layer graphene were fabricated and characterized. Electrostatic actuation of buckled beams and membranes led to a "snap-through" switching at a critical applied voltage. By characterizing this behavior for different sizes and geometries of membranes, it was possible to extract the bending rigidity of bilayered graphene, yielding a value of 35 −15 eV. CNTFETs with suspended graphene gates were fabricated. It was shown that a moveable graphene gate could control the conductance of the carbon nanotube and improve the switching characteristics. Inverse sub-threshold slope down to 53 mV per decade were measured at 100 K. The experimental data were compared with theoretical simulations and it was inferred that the subthreshold slope could be improved beyond the thermal limit by improving the design of the device.


Introduction: BMI is associated with Vitamin D in pre and postmenopausal women. As the estrogen level decreases during menopause, this promotes hypovitaminosis D. The present study assessed Vitamin D status and found its correlation with BMI in healthy pre- and postmenopausal women.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 pre-menopausal and 100 postmenopausal women. Blood samples were collected for estimation of Vitamin D by fully automated Chemi Luminescent Immuno Assay. Statistical analyses were done by using Graphpad Prism 6 and Pearson correlation coefficient was computed between Vitamin D and BMI.
Results: The mean levels of weight and BMI were increased significantly in post-menopausal women as compared to premenopausal women and the mean level of Vitamin D was decreased significantly in postmenopausal women as compared to premenopausal. In the present study, we observed that the BMI is significantly and negatively correlated with Vitamin D concentration in both pre (r=-0.549) and postmenopausal (r=-0.736) women and it was statistically significant.
Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in pre- and postmenopausal with BMI greater than 25 kg/meter2 and the decrease in Vitamin D was more in postmenopausal women as compared to premenopausal women and the Vitamin D was negatively associated with BMI in both pre and postmenopausal women.

Keywords: Postmenopausal, BMI, Vitamin D, Estrogen, Osteoporosis


Abstract. An investigation was made of monoamine-related agents on the Straub tail reaction (STR) due to central excitatory effect of morphine (10 mg/kg). Apomorphine (10 mg/kg) showed a tendency to enhance the STR, and L-dopa (150 mg/kg) and methamphetamine (5 and 10 mg/kg) produced a significant increase in the STR. Phenoxybenzamine and propranolol induced the inhibition of the STR to a large extent. Diethyldithiocarbamate (250 mg/kg) and disulfiram (200 and 400 mg/kg) had no influence on the STR. α-Methyl-p-tyrosine (100 and 400 mg/kg) reduced the STR. L-5-Hydroxytryptophan [L-5-HTP] (100 mg/kg) inhibited the STR significantly. Isocarboxazid (50 mg/kg), nialamide (50 and 100 mg/kg) and tranylcypromine (10 and 25 mg/kg) did not influence the STR. On the contrary, biochemical investigations showed that morphine (10 and 20 mg/kg) decreased the 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) content of the lumbosacral cord significantly, although no alteration of 5-HT content occurred in various sites of the brain, compared to a vehicle-treated group. Morphine (10 and 20 mg/kg) did not act on the dopamine or norepinephrine content of various sites of the brain and spinal cord. Our results suggest that the STR is, at least to some extent, the result of an increase in catecholaminergic activity and/or a decrease in tryptaminergic activity in the central nervous system of mice.


Thallus squamulose, yellow-brown to fulvous, not pruinose, underside black. Cortex paraplectenchymatous covered with necral layer, colourless below, brownish above, 27—34 µ, lumina 6—8 X 4—6 µ, brownish zone C + reddish. Apothecia one to several per squamule, congested, with somewhat elevated margin, and red-brown disc becoming rugulose with age, up to 1.3 mm. diam. Hymenium colourless, brown towards epithecium, J + blue, turning red-brown, 83—90 µ. Asci clavate, more than 100-spored, 67—70 X 16—18 µ. Spores 1-celled, cylindrical-ellipsoid, 4.5—5.8 X 0.8—2.5 µ. Paraphyses septate, sparingly branched, 1—2 µ, apices clavate, 4—5 µ.
There seems to be some uncertainty as to the citation of the second author. Arnold (1884: 316) on transferring Wahlenberg's Parmelia peliocypha to the genus Acarospora, retained the original spelling of the specific epithet, whereas Fries (1861: 189) had changed the latter into 'peliscypha'. However, since both recombinations are based on the same type, 'peliocypha' and 'peliscypha' should be regarded as orthographic variants. Fries's transfer is of an earlier date than Arnold's, but instead of the spelling as used by Fries, the original one should be adhered to (Art. 73).


This body of writing serves as accompaniment to a portfolio of musical compositions and visual media composed between September 2013 and August 2014. The work is in three parts. Part one sets the context of the compositions with reference to numerous other artists, explaining the political need for compositions of this kind and how these relate to the topic of emergence in relation to group performance and social enrichment. This part also makes reference to the philosophical influence behind the works and how these ideas might be relevant to wider society. Part two offers a commentary on the works themselves, explaining the thinking that brought them about, and a narrative of the development from one composition to the next. Part three offers a reflection of how well these works relate to the originally stated political agenda, as well as outlining my plans for future artistic direction.


Introduction School vouchers have not been proposed in a vacuum. Those who advocate vouchers, and those who oppose them, do so within a larger context of educational reform. The purpose of this policy research study is to examine that environment, in particular the varying ways in which vouchers are promoted as educational reform, as political strategy, as economic solution, and as public policy. Persistent controversy surrounding vouchers in the U.S. and the difficulty for policy researchers to measure the impact stem, in part, from these multiple roles that vouchers play in the minds of adherents and adversaries. This paper uses research data, court rulings, media reports, and proposed legislation to consider the many ways in which vouchers appear in this debate, demonstrating how the meaning of vouchers has evolved into this hydra of public policy. Further, the paper will identify limitations for the usefulness of vouchers in the future of U.S. public education. Early Calls for Vouchers as Economic Solution (1950's) Many sources provide a history of vouchers. (1) Most of them usually begin with the proposal by Milton Friedman (2) who as an economist definitely viewed vouchers as an economic solution. In those early days, Friedman called for a "modest amount, free vouchers for all." (3) He clearly defined vouchers, and most people accepted his definition of a voucher, as a partial or full tuition credit to offset the costs of private school tuition. When Friedman first proposed vouchers as an economic policy tool, there were no charter schools, as there are today, and no broader "school choice" debate. There were either public schools or private schools. The divisive political issues of the 1960s, the deterioration of the urban core, and other social problems had not become prevalent when Friedman suggested his first voucher proposal. Since that time, public and private schools have become less of an either/or proposition and more of a blurred spectrum, from fully public and inclusive schools, to magnet schools, charter schools, all the way to the other extreme of fully private and exclusive schools for elites. The first point to be made then is that when the economist Milton Friedman first suggested vouchers as an economic solution, he did so in a completely different educational, economic, political, and legal context than exists today. Vouchers as Educational Reform (1960-1980) In the 1960s, the war on poverty brought vouchers back on center stage in the policy arena. They emerged this time as an educational reform, though only one among many, to serve the needs of an increasingly diverse student population. When James Coleman (4) identified the achievement gap between black and white students, vouchers appeared as one potential policy tool. The effective schools research that followed Coleman's work in the 1970s put forward the notion that private schools did a better job of educating students, especially students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. Later, in fact, other researchers challenged the conclusions of Coleman's research that identified and defined the gap. These critics observed serious methodological problems in the Coleman study. Educational research has become far more sophisticated since then, and clearly it is very difficult to compare school effects because of the vast number of extraneous and confounding variables that are inevitably involved. More recent research has called into question the basic assumption that private school students outperform public school students when socioeconomic background is controlled. By the 1980s, the ingredient of global economic competition was added to the educational reform debate. The Nation at Risk report of 1983 (5) blamed educational failures for economic troubles and predicted widespread problems if America did not fix its schools immediately. Thus began the constant-acceleration problem, keeping up with the Joneses, in the international world. …


To the Editor. —We report herein evidence of human foamy virus (HFV) infection in patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) in Japan. Although HFV was the first identified human retrovirus, no definite relationship to a specific disease has been reported to date. Therefore, HFV has been characterized as "a virus in search of a disease." Human foamy virus protein is recognized to act as a superantigen, and HFV transgenic mice develop neurological abnormalities.1Thus, we hypothesized that HFV might be one of the putative pathogens for sarcoidosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or other pulmonary diseases, and surveyed for HFV gene elements in the genomic DNA of peripheral blood leukocytes or mRNA of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cells of 320 patients with various lung diseases including sarcoidosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Among them were three cases of FMF. The presence of HFV gene elements in genomic


Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) technology is being increasingly used for data collection in Critical Infrastructures (CIs). The paper presents an Intrusion Detection System (IDS), which is able to protect a CI from attacks directed to its WSN-based parts. By providing accurate and timely detection of malicious activities, the proposed IDS solution ultimately results in a dramatic improvement in terms of protection, since opportunities are given for performing proper remediation/reconfiguration actions, which counter the attack and/or allow the system to tolerate it. We present the basic ideas, discuss the main implementation issues, and perform a preliminary experimental campaign. Not only have experiments demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed approach in protecting the system against two very serious attacks to WSNs (namely: sinkhole, and bogus packet), but they have also proved that the stringent requirements (in terms of limited availability of resources) which are typical of current state-of-the-art WSN technologies, are met.


The ongoing biotechnology revolution promises a complete understanding of the mechanisms by which cells and tissues carry out their functions. As proteins are integral components of cell function, it is critical to understand their properties such as structure and localization. The study of protein subcellular localization (PSL) is important for elucidating protein functions involved in various cellular processes. The subcellular location of proteins is most often determined by visual interpretation of fluorescence microscope images, but in recent years, to perform high-resolution, high-throughput analysis of ten thousands of expressed proteins for the many cell types and cellular conditions under which they may be found creates, automated methods that are needed. In this review, we use a novel method that determines an improved features set, that distinguish subcellular patterns with high accuracy and high speed. This method based on modified threshold adjacency statistics (MTAS), the essence which is to threshold the images. Previous work that uses threshold adjacency statistics (TAS), introduces a simple set of Subcellular Location Features (SLF) which are computed by counting the number of threshold pixels adjacent.


Modern malware sharing common code within sub-families, in order to nullify the anti-malware has redundant features in them. These features are added in the code to obfuscate the anti-malware. Feature selection techniques remove these redundant insignificant features from the binary exe. This leads to better classification results. We have shown experimentally that the classification of two classes of rootkit family of malware generate better accuracy when feature selection techniques have been applied. The accuracy of 84.17% as against 66.67% when feature selection is not applied shows the significance of feature selection in malware classification.


Titanium exhibits many attractive properties. It is considered to be ubiquitous since it has the 9th-highest Clarke number of all the elements. However, the principal beta-stabilizing elements for titanium can be very expensive, making many titanium alloys expensive. Manganese is a beta stabilizer for titanium alloys and it is also considered to be ubiquitous since it has the 11th-highest Clarke number of all the elements. The behavior of Ti-Mn alloys during heat treatment has been investigated and it was found that in some alloys the isothermal omega phase is precipitated. Because this phase can lead to brittleness, it is very important to suppress its precipitation. Since it is well-known that aluminum suppresses isothermal omega precipitation, we investigated the effect of adding aluminum using Ti-7mass% Mn-0, 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5mass% Al alloys by performing electrical resistivity, Vickers hardness, and X-ray diffraction measurements. In solution-treated and water-quenched 0 and 1.5 alloys, only beta phase was identified, while hcp martensite and bate phase were identified in 3.0 and 4.5Al alloys. The resistivities at room and liquid-nitrogen temperatures were found to increase monotonically with increasing Al content. Isothermal  precipitation was suppressed by aluminum addition, while alpha precipitation was accelerated by Al addition.


Objective To establish the relationship between the history of hip and groin injuries in elite junior football players prior to elite club recruitment and the incidence of hip and groin injuries during their elite career. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Analysis of existing data. Participants 500 Australian Football League (AFL) players drafted from 1999 to 2006 with complete draft medical assessment data. Assessment of risk factors Previous history of hip/groin injury, anthropometric and demographic information. Main outcome measurement The number of hip/groin injuries resulting in ≥1 missed AFL game. Results Data for 500 players were available for analysis. 86 (17%) players reported a hip/groin injury in their junior football years. 159 (32%) players sustained a hip/groin injury in the AFL. Players who reported a previous hip or groin injury at the draft medical assessment demonstrated a rate of hip/groin injury in the AFL >6 times higher (IRR 6.24, 95% CI 4.43 to 8.77) than players without a pre-AFL hip or groin injury history. Conclusions This study demonstrated that a hip or groin injury sustained during junior football years is a significant predictor of missed game time at the elite level due to hip/groin injury. The elite junior football period should be targeted for research to investigate and identify modifiable risk factors for the development of hip/groin injuries.


Cetirizine is a piperazine-derived second-generation antihistaminic drug recommended for treatment of pruritus associated with atopic dermatitis. The present investigation encompasses development of a nanosized novel elastic vesicle-based topical formulation of cetirizine dihydrochloride using combination of Phospholipon® 90G and edge activators with an aim to have targeted peripheral H1 antihistaminic activity. The formulation was optimized with respect to phospholipid/drug/charge inducer ratio along with type and concentration of edge activator. The optimized formulation was found to be satisfactory with respect to stability, drug content, entrapment efficiency, pH, viscosity, vesicular size, spreadability, and morphological characteristics. The ex vivo permeation studies through mice skin were performed using Franz diffusion cell assembly. It was found that the mean cumulative percentage amount permeated in 8 h was almost twice (60.001 ± 0.332) as compared to conventional cream (33.268 ± 0.795) and aqueous solution of drug (32.616 ± 0.969), suggesting better penetration and permeation of cetirizine from the novel vesicular delivery system. Further, therapeutic efficacy of optimized formulation was assessed against oxazolone-induced atopic dermatitis in mice. It was observed that the developed formulation was highly efficacious in reducing the itching score (4.75 itches per 20 min) compared to conventional cream (9.75 itches per 20 min) with profound reduction in dermal eosinophil count and erythema score. To conclude, a novel vesicular, dermally safe, and nontoxic topical formulation of cetirizine was successfully developed and may be used to treat atopic dermatitis after clinical investigation.


We describe the characteristics of in vitro histamine release from human basophils passively sensitized with serum from a penicillin-allergic individual. The histamine release is induced by a synthetic bivalent hapten, bis benzylpenicilloyl 1,6 diaminohexane (BPO)2. We present data on the effect of a monovalent hapten, benzylpenicilloyl formyl-L-lysine (BPO)1, on the histamine release. We also examine how histamine release depends on the concentration of serum used for passive sensitization, the source of cells used for passive sensitization, and the time allowed for histamine release. We interpret these experiments in terms of a theory of equilibrium binding of bivalent haptens to cell surface antibody that is presented in the previous paper. The results are consistent with the idea that the amount of histamine release is controlled by the number of cross-linked IgE molecules on the cell surface. In particular, the histamine dose-response curve rises because cross-links rise, has a maximum because the cross-links are a maximum, and falls because the cross-links fall.


The aim of the study was to determine the effect of personality-oriented physical rehabilitation programs on the heart rate variability in women with post-mastectomy syndrome.
The following methods were applied: theoretical analysis of scientific and methodologic literature data, heart rate variability analysis, and mathematical statistical methods. The subjects of the study were 50 women with late symptoms ot^ost-mastectomy syndrome. The study was conducted during the ambulatory rehabilitation stage after Madden radical mastectomy. All the indicators of the heart rate variability were equivalent in the main and comparison groups at the beginning of rehabilitation. The impact of training was examined every 6 months over the course of a year.
Measurements were taken three times: at the beginning of rehabilitation and after 6 and 12 months. It was found that most of the investigated parameters of heart rate variability in both groups steadily improved during the year of rehabilitation. The average values of stress index and amplitude of mode after 12 months of rehabilitation were lower in the main group than in the comparison group but the values of the standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals and the very low-frequency component of the spectrum were better by 6.48 ms (p < 0.05) and 203.29 ms2 (p < 0.05), respectively.
The personality-oriented programs of physical rehabilitation were effective in augmenting heart rate variability and restoring autonomic balance in patients with post-mastectomy syndrome.


Building Information Modelling (BIM) is the trend of the future, with increased use documented in the construction industry in the last few years. To sustain the momentum of BIM, effective workforce development that aims to balance the supply-demand equation in the labor market is essential. For many, experience with BIM begins in academia. The challenges reside in the classic gap between academic focus on disciplinary principles and the industry needs for specific application proficiency. As a result, architecture and civil engineering education needs to embrace the opportunities provided by BIM and overcome the challenges presented by BIM to remain current and relevant. A growing number of architecture, engineering, and construction programs have begun to offer courses that include BIM-related content, and a few programs have strategies in place to fully integrate it. This paper presents a modular approach adopted by the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) to promote BIM-enabled learning. Experiences in creating and adapting Collaboration and Coordination Learning Modules to BIM education respectively in the Construction Management and Engineering Graphics programs at IIT are presented and discussed. The content created to implement and facilitate the learning and understanding of BIM are evaluated. The objective is to educate the both the engineers and architects of the future who will be actively using BIM routinely. This strategy relative to BIM Learning Modules is expected to help architecture, engineering, and construction professionals be prepared for the needs of the industry in the future.


Climate-induced uncertainty in crop yields is introduced in the Norwegian sector model Jordmod. The model is comprised of a supply module in which profits for more than 300 regional farms are maximized and a market module which maximizes social welfare in the agricultural sector. In the supply module, farmers determine their plant decisions and crop input levels (N-fertilizer) subject to a discrete number of weather outcomes affecting crop yields. After that, a specific weather distribution is chosen determining crop yields. The resulting input-output mix at farm level makes up the supply side of the commodity markets which together with linear demand functions determine equilibrium levels. The procedure is repeated for each discrete weather outcome. Note that plant decisions and crop input levels remain the same for all weather outcomes as farmers face the same uncertainty during all repetitions, but crop yield will vary. Hence, equilibrium prices and quantities will vary as well allowing their representation as stochastic distributions. In a preliminary empirical application, the stochastic results are contrasted with the deterministic results based on the mean values of the weather outcomes. This comparison will shed light on the potential error made by neglecting uncertainty at the farm level.


Age of information (AoI) is a powerful new metric to quantify the freshness of information and has gained increasing popularity in IoT applications. Existing models on AoI remain primitive and do not consider state-of-the-art transmission technologies such as 5G. They also fail to consider the impact of dynamic channel conditions. In this paper, we present Kronos, a 5G-compliant AoI scheduling algorithm that can cope with highly dynamic channel conditions. Kronos is capable of performing RB allocation and selecting MCS for each source node based on channel conditions, with the objective of minimizing long-term AoI. To meet the stringent real-time requirement for 5G, we propose a GPU-based implementation of Kronos on low-cost offthe-shelf GPUs. Through simulations and experiments, we show that Kronos can find near-optimal AoI scheduling solutions in sub-millisecond time scale. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first 5G-compliant real-time AoI scheduler that can cope with dynamic channel conditions.


In the article the authors consider the functioning of small farms. The paper focuses on crucial problems connected with the defi nition of small farms and with their traditional and modern functions. The paper presents farmers' opinions about small agricultural operations, as information was collected from 100 farmers from Kozienicki county, Poland. The farmers had from 1 to 5 ha of agricultural land. Respondents' declarations indicate that small farms perform mainly social functions. They expressed their defi nition of a small farm as one having from 1 to 10 ha of agricultural land. The majority of respondents were dissatisfi ed with their agriculture income. Their main reason for continuing activity in agriculture was the fact that they were the only successors in the family


Morphological relief analysis allows the identification of geomorphological forms and cartographic-environmental studies make extensive use of the medium (1:50,000) and large scale (1:250,000), where the topographical contrast is evident. However, at a detailed scale (<1:20,000) and for territories where the contrast of relief does not exceed 10 m in height, the morphological analyses must be adapted accordingly, because they contrib - ute information to altimetry studies and to the topographic configuration of units. Thus, through visual interpretation and manipulation of high-resolution topographical LiDAR data from Cozumel Island, a relief analysis is presented at a detailed scale for the purpose of recognizing the geomorphological units of karst origin, using altimetry and slope car - tography, digital models of elevation, and shading that permits the identification of 109 new exokarstic doline and uvala formations.


This paper presents a voice conversion technique using Deep Belief Nets (DBNs) to build high-order eigen spaces of the source/target speakers, where it is easier to convert the source speech to the target speech than in the traditional cepstrum space. DBNs have a deep architecture that automatically discovers abstractions to maximally express the original input features. If we train the DBNs using only the speech of an individual speaker, it can be considered that there is less phonological information and relatively more speaker individuality in the output features at the highest layer. Training the DBNs for a source speaker and a target speaker, we can then connect and convert the speaker individuality abstractions using Neural Networks (NNs). The converted abstraction of the source speaker is then brought back to the cepstrum space using an inverse process of the DBNs of the target speaker. We conducted speakervoice conversion experiments and confirmed the efficacy of our method with respect to subjective and objective criteria, comparing it with the conventional Gaussian Mixture Model-based method.


No branch of oncology has been more attuned to the vision of new genetically engineered targeted therapies than the field of hematopoietic malignancies. Ujjani and Cheson have produced a masterful summary of one extremely important component of the targeted therapy revolution—the realm of monoclonal antibodies directed against malignant lymphoma surface antigens.[1] The review presents a wonderful update and a glimpse of future potentially curative macromolecular cocktails. It is an attractive vision.


The effects of empirical viscosity measuring techniques that are commonly used in the determination of the viscosity of weak viscoelastic gels such as yoghurt on the microstructure of yoghurt were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In the measurement of viscosity, Brookfield and Haake viscosimeters were employed at 2 different measuring periods (15 and 30 s). The results obtained indicated that the increase in the measuring period (15 s versus 30 s) stimulated the further destruction of the casein gel network. Additionally, the Brookfield viscosimeter was more destructive than the Haake viscosimeter. In general, lower viscosity values were in good harmony with higher destruction in the gels, as shown by SEM micrographs.


Microfinance has become an important component of development, poverty reduction and economic regeneration strategy around the world. By the early twenty first century tens of millions of people in more than 100 countries were accessing services from formal and semi-formal microfinance institutions (MFIs). Much of the initial attention on microcredit came through work on Bangladesh's much-lauded Grameen Bank but, there are now many different 'models' for microfinance and many countries have substantial microfinance sectors.

This timely book, written by one of the major players in the UK in development economics explores, amongst others, topics such as:

 microfinance and poverty reduction
 microfinance, gender and social development
 microinsurance
 regulating and supervising microfinance institutions.

Topical and insightful, this important text examines what has become a vast global industry employing hundreds of thousands of people and attracting the attention of large numbers of governments, banks, aid agencies, non-governmental organizations and consultancy firms.


In this paper, I focus on the representations of Black women in contrast to Black men found within Frantz Fanon's philosophical work Black Skin, White Masks. I propose that while Fanon's racial dialectical work is very significant, he often lacks acknowledgment of the multidimensionality of the Black woman's lived experience specifically. Drawing on the theory of intersectionality, coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, I argue that Fanon does not recognize the different layers of oppression operating in Black women's lives to the degree that he fails to include them within his framework of both liberation and resistance from racial oppression.


Thanks in large part to nineteenth-century texts such as Edward William Lane's "Description of Egypt" and the "Description de l'Egypte" compiled by Napoleon's savants, contemporary researchers have a remarkable understanding of the ways in which ordinary Egyptians practiced their crafts and trades in earlier times. Many of these traditional arts and crafts - such as stonemasonry, marble work, blacksmithing, glassblowing, carpentry, wood turning, inlay work, and gilding - still survive today, although they are rapidly disappearing. As profound social and economic change continue to reshape Egypt, a rich tradition of skills, tools, specialized vocabularies, and social and spatial patterns associated with these crafts - once thought to be immutable - may vanish forever. With lively prose, painstaking research, and lavish illustration, "The Building Crafts of Cairo" succeeds in capturing these endangered ways of life and work before it is too late. Agnieszka Dobrowolska is the director of a joint project between the European Union and Cairo's Netherlands-Flemish Institute dedicated to documenting Cairo's traditional crafts. Moreover, for the past eleven years, she has worked hands-on as a conservation architect in Cairo, relying on local skills, techniques, and materials in the course of her projects, and coming into daily contact with craftsmen and artisans - visiting them in their workshops, observing their methods, and employing their crafts for practical purposes. The result is a record that is at once intimate, unexpected, and expertly observed, and a book that will appeal to both scholars and lay audiences.


OBJECTIVE: To analyze the impact of prostatic symptoms and to identify the factors associated with the problems caused by these symptoms. METHODS: A descriptive, transverse study was conducted on 133 patients. The problems arising from prostatism were analyzed by means of a self-administered questionnaire, using the Symptomatic Prostatic Index (SPI), which was compared with the International Prostate Symptom Score (I-PSS), uroflowmetry, morbidity, medication required and sociodemographic variables. The reliability and consistency of the SPI scale were analyzed and the variables associated with a greater impact of prostatism were determined by linear regression analysis. RESULTS: Patient mean age was 68.8 years. Mean scores were 20.1 and 4.75 for the I-PSS and IQL item, respectively. Mean and maximum urinary flow were below the 50th percentile in 95.2%. A high correlation was found between the items of the SPI questionnaire and between the items and the total score. The SPI scale showed a high discriminating power (delta = 0.95) and internal consistency (alpha = 0.82), and factorial analysis showed only one factor accounted for the 49.05% total variance. The SPI questionnaire score was 15.5 and involved the irritative symptoms, basically nocturia, proportionally more than the obstructive symptoms (p < 0.0001). A direct correlation was found between the higher SPI score and the severity of the prostatic symptoms (p < 0.0001) and, consequently, a worse quality of life (p < 0.0001). Younger patients tolerated the symptoms poorly (p = 0.002). Linear regression analysis confirmed that tolerance was worse in the younger patients with more severe symptoms and no other disease (r2 = 0.43, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The impact of prostatism increases according to its severity, particularly for the irritative symptoms, basically nocturia. Psychological factors may probably affect the variability of patient tolerance, indicating that the decision for treatment of BPH might be based on the problems it may cause and the impact on the quality of life more than on the severity of the symptoms.


The presence of the cytolethal distending toxin B gene (cdtB) was examined in eight Helicobacter sp. flexispira reference strains, Helicobacter trogontum ATCC 700114(T) and 12 Finnish porcine H. trogontum strains and canine flexispira isolates. Part of the cdtB gene was amplified by PCR with degenerate primers VAT2 and DHF1, cloned and sequenced. The presence/absence of the cdtB gene as determined by PCR was confirmed by Southern hybridization and toxin production by HeLa cell-line experiments. PCR amplification resulted in approximately 700 bp fragments from Helicobacter sp. flexispira taxa 2 (ATCC 49314), 3 (ATCC 49320) and 8 (ATCC 43880, ATCC 49308, ATCC 43879), from six canine isolates as well as from the control strains Helicobacter bilis and Helicobacter hepaticus. The hybridization patterns of HaeIII-, HindIII- and AseI-digested chromosomal DNA confirmed the results of the PCR experiments. The cdtB-positive strains had effects ranging from weak to strong on HeLa cell cultures. PCR amplification from the reference strains Helicobacter sp. flexispira taxa 1 (ATCC 43968), 4 (ATCC 49310) and 5 (ATCC 43966) and H. trogontum (ATCC 700114(T)), and also six of the Finnish strains, was unsuccessful. No toxic effect on HeLa cells was evident when bacterial suspensions of PCR-negative strains were used for toxicity assay. Our results are in accordance with previous observations that the cdtB gene is not present in all Helicobacter species. Further, the presence/absence of the cdtB gene in Helicobacter sp. flexispira strains was in accordance with recent taxonomic analysis of the same strains, which suggests that it could serve as a useful marker in Helicobacter taxonomy.


The authors report a rare complication observed after transhiatal esophagus extirpation performed for esophageal cancer. In this case the transverse colon herniated into the pleural cavity through the esophageal hiatus. Herniation completed on the 6.th. postoperative day and caused mechanical ileus. In the first few postoperative days, radiology pointed to a basal pulmonal infiltrate, later it resembled relaxation of the diaphragm, which was rather misleading. Recognition of the real situation was possible only on the 6.th.postoperative day. The patient was reoperated and the pathological state could be reversed. The esophageal hiatus was reconstructed. In the opinion of the authors the complication may have developed partly due to the opening of the left pleural cavity in the course of extrathoracal esophagectomy, and partly to the fact that the spleen was removed during operation. The outcome after reoperation was uneventful. The authors consider this as a rather rare and instructive case.


Use of the discontinuous Galerkin time-domain (DGTD) method for analyzing electromagnetic field interactions on microwave structures loaded with thin wires has been very limited despite its well-known advantages. Direct application of the three dimensional (3D) DGTD method to such structures calls for very fine volumetric discretizations in the proximity of the thin wires. In this work, to avoid this possible source of computational inefficiency, electromagnetic field interactions on thin wires and the rest of the structures are modeled separately using the modified telegrapher and Maxwell equations, respectively. Then, 1D and 3D DGTD methods are used to discretize them. The coupling between the two resulting matrix systems is realized by introducing equivalent source terms in each equation set. A weighted electric field obtained from the 3D discretization around the wire is introduced as a voltage source in the telegrapher equations. A volume current density obtained from the 1D discretization on the wire is introduced as a current source in the Ampere law equation.


Shear stress has been recognized as one of the biophysical methods by which to permeabilize plasma membranes of cells. In particular, high pressure transient hydrodynamic flows created by laser-induced cavitation have been shown to lead to the uptake of fluorophores and plasmid DNA. While the mechanism and dynamics of cavitation have been extensively studied using a variety of time-resolved imaging techniques, the cellular response to the cavitation bubble and cavitation induced transient hydrodynamic flows has never been shown in detail. We use time-resolved quantitative phase microscopy to study cellular response to laser-induced cavitation bubbles. Laser-induced breakdown of an optically trapped polystyrene nanoparticle (500nm in diameter) irradiated with a single nanosecond laser pulse at 532nm creates transient shear stress to surrounding cells without causing cell lysis. A bi-directional transient displacement of cytoplasm is observed during expansion and collapse of the cavitation bubble. In some cases, cell deformation is only observable at the microsecond time scale without any permanent change in cell shape or optical thickness. On a time scale of seconds, the cellular response to shear stress and cytoplasm deformation typically leads to retraction of the cellular edge most exposed to the flow, rounding of the cell body and, in some cases, loss of cellular dry mass. These results give a new insight into the cellular response to laser-induced shear stress and related plasma membrane permeabilization. This study also demonstrates that laser-induced breakdown of an optically trapped nanoparticle offers localized cavitation (70 μm in diameter), which interacts with a single cell.


Several studies have implicated fatty-acids as inflammatory regulators, suggesting that there may be a direct role for common dietary fatty-acids in regulating innate immune cells. In humans, a single high-fat meal increases systemic cytokines and leukocytes. In mice, short term high-fat feeding increases adipose tissue (AT) leukocytes and alters the inflammatory profile of AT macrophages. We have seen that short term high fat feeding to C57BL/6J male mice increases palmitic and oleic acid within AT depots, but oleic acid increase is highest in the mesenteric AT (MAT). In vitro, oleic acid increases M2 macrophage markers (CD206, MGL1, and ARG1) in a murine macrophage cell line, while addition of palmitic acid is able to inhibit that increase. Three day supplementation of a chow diet, with oleic acid, induced an increase in M2 macrophage markers in the MAT, but not in the epididymal AT. We tested whether increases in M2 macrophages occur during short term ad lib feeding of a high fat diet, containing oleic acid. Experiments revealed two distinct populations of macrophages were altered by a three day high milk-fat diet. One population, phenotypically intermediate for F4/80, showed diet-induced increases in CD206, an anti-inflammatory marker characteristic of M2 macrophages intrinsic to the AT. Evidence for a second population, phenotypically F4/80HICD11bHI macrophages, showed increased association with the MAT following short term feeding that is dependent on the adhesion molecule, ICAM-1. Collectively, we have shown that short term feeding of a high-fat diet changes two population of macrophages, and that dietary oleic acid is responsible for increases in M2 macrophage polarization.


CHRISTINA L. DE VRIES [*] Health issues are now, more than ever, issues of social justice and peace, of values in respect of human life and dignity, and of the striving for "wholeness". The need for the empowerment of women and for the care of the marginalized increases. This becomes painstakingly clear from the societal devastation following the AIDS epidemic. Health issues invade all segments of society and of individuals' lives. Thus churches cannot ignore health issues as "non-theological" aspects of the churches' mission. The shift of attention for health concerns from the religious domain towards the medical profession was accentuated during the 20th century, when, due to revolutionary new technology, health issues became more medical-technological issues, to be addressed by health professionals. In the second half of the century, health issues were not just defined as an issue between a patient and his/her doctor, but became an object of nationally and internationally managed intervention programmes. The realization arose that health seemed no longer just the opposite of disease, but that the health of populations and individuals was constantly under threat from poverty, violence and wars. Globalization, the power of multinational companies and the passive attitude of many governments towards health needs made the scenario even more gloomy: would health now become just another free market issue, and drugs merely an economic commodity? Would health be attained only by those who were willing and able to pay for it? Would healt h cease to be a basic human right for all? Where are the mechanisms left for societies to exercise solidarity for the weak and the poor? Do global economic principles overrule local societal values at national and sub-national level? What could and should be the role of churches? An excellent overview article by Sigrun Mogedal and Mirjam Bergh that addressed the global health situation and the churches' response was published in this journal in 1994. [1] It is still valid today, yet the scenario has become even more urgent. This present article will further highlight some of the challenges in health and health care, which urgently need to be addressed by the churches. Stocktaking Achievements of the 20th century The 20th century has become part of our shared history, now we can look at it and marvel at what it has brought to humankind: * Standards of living improved for large segments of populations, especially in Europe and the Americas. There is now better housing, greater access to clean water, sewage systems and latrines, which have all contributed greatly towards reducing the occurrence of tuberculosis, cholera and child mortality through diarrhoea. * There was an improvement in knowledge about healthy diets coupled with an increased availability of foods, and the development of vitamin and iron supplements for children and pregnant women. All of these increased people's life expectancy. * The discovery of antibiotics contributed towards reducing deaths from communicable diseases. * The development of vaccines in conjunction with the establishment of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) resulted in global programmes for the prevention of diseases. The results were impressive: the eradication of smallpox and the Extended Programme for Immunizations (EPI) against major childhood diseases are truly the highlights. * Revolutionary new technologies changed hospital care: more diagnostic and imaging facilities changed the role of doctors and hospitals, in the sense that technology became more prominent at the expense of care and comfort. * The development and adoption of family planning methods on a large scale (whether compulsory or voluntary) resulted in a demographic transition in many countries resulting in populations containing relatively less youth and more elderly people. …