OBJECTIVE
To monitor the frequency of enteroparasites in lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and parsley (Petrosolium sativum) samples, marketed in commercial buildings in the municipality of Jaguaré, Espírito Santo, Brazil.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Between August 2016 and July 2017, five different popular commercial buildings (markets, supermarkets and fairs) in the municipality of Jaguaré, considered the main local vegetable suppliers were selected. Throughout the research, 30 vegetable samples were randomly selected for parasitological analysis in 3 replicates for each commercial building under study. The obtained samples were analyzed by the modified spontaneous sedimentation method at the Laboratory of Parasitology and Hematology of Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo.

RESULTS
Of the 30 samples analyzed, 83.3% were positive for parasitic contamination and the most common parasites were Hookworm, Balantidium coli, Isospora belli, Ascaris sp. and Entamoeba sp.

CONCLUSIONS
The results indicate a high degree of contamination of the vegetables, probably related to the precariousness of production, transportation and handling, making it necessary to adopt measures that ensure the best quality of food and, consequently, better population health.


Despite substantial technological improvements to the child support enforcement program, many single parents do not receive child support. Particularly for families whose incomes are below the poverty level, child support is frequently a vital financial resource. The federal government's primary motivation for establishing the federal Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program was to recover the costs associated with public assistance payments to poor single-parent families by collecting payments from the noncustodial parents. In this study, we use variation in the birthing costs over time and across counties in Wisconsin to identify the effect of child support debt on nonresident fathers' child support payments and formal earnings. Our results suggest that higher arrears, in themselves, substantially reduce both child support payments and formal earnings for the fathers and families that already likely struggle in securing steady employment and coping with economic disadvantage, a serious unintended consequence of child


Participatory performance enables audiences to make changes and contribute to the work, which means that their experience and responses become part of the aesthetic of the performance. This creates a particular live experience that needs more investigation in order to better understand the way participation works. This paper will set out and evaluate an audience research methodology developed specifically for participatory performance as an aesthetic form, to complement the audience research done on applied participatory practices, which tends to focus on instrumental outcomes. The methodology focuses on the experience of the participant as an aesthetic element of the performance and consists of three parts: participant observation during the performance, audience responses after the performance and a memory study. By examining the aesthetic experience of the participants we can gain a better understanding of participatory performance as a genre. This paper will discuss the first experiment of the methodology with a case study focusing on agency in 'I Wish I Was Lonely' by Hannah Jane Walker and Chris Thorpe.


Much has been written about the interaction of stressors (physical, social, and psychological) and alcohol addiction based on studies in humans and preclinical models. We begin by considering the significance and complexity of alcoholism and the options for effectively modeling it in animals, particularly rodents. We then focus on the following aspects of stress-alcohol interactions: (1) compulsive alcohol consumption, characterized by continued intake despite the presence of stressful or aversive consequences; (2) the possible relationship between acute stress and increased alcohol intake; (3) an apparent cross sensitization of stress and alcohol exposure, which increases both future reactivity to stress and the risk of developing alcohol addiction; and (4) efforts to target stress in therapeutic interventions for alcoholism. We also describe possible neuroadaptations and genetic factors that may interact with stress to increase susceptibility to alcoholism. Throughout, we describe the challenges and inconsistencies inherent in both human and animal studies of alcoholism, its etiology, and its impacts. We believe the relationship between preclinical and human studies is of paramount importance to understand addiction-related behavior in humans and to direct, improve, and expand animal models. It is our hope that a full understanding of the mechanistic bases of pathological alcohol intake will have translational benefits for the development of behavioral and pharmacological therapies.


One of the issues that is of concern to the government, experts and the public is that rape cases, especially rape crimes committed by adults to underage children, have lately caused a reaction among the community due to dissatisfaction with the criminal community dropped on the perpetrator, based on legal knowledge, the victim can claim damages / compensation or restitution to the convicted person. The problem approach method used is normative jurid, namely the law approach that is carried out on the Government Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia Number 43 Year 2017. The results of the study show that the Government Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia Number 43 of 2017 has provided detailed arrangements for the procedure for submitting restitution and procedures granting restitution for children who are victims of criminal acts or their heirs, but there are still shortcomings that need to be refined in this government regulation concerning substitute crimes, if my / defendant / convicted convicts implement a court decision that has permanent legal force regarding the implementation of restitution. As well as it is expected that in the future the judge's decision on the granting of this restitution can be in the form of additional criminal sanctions in addition to the principal penalty in the form of imprisonment and fine.


A recent article by Jean Hannah Edelstein featured in Fairfax's Daily Life website examines the impact of loneliness on health. Edelstein is right that loneliness exacerbates ill health and shortens life expectancies. But her claim that women are more severely affected by loneliness is outdated and overlooks the need for real policy reform to address the health implications of loneliness for men.


The term negotiation is more and more frequently used nowadays not only in trade or business activities, but also in many other fields of activity. People negotiate in all areas of social life (in the family, at work, in the street, in shops, in a company, in a political party, between states, etc.) whenever they seek to resolve differences of opinion or to get what they want. Any kind of negotiation starts from a series of basic conditions (the interdependence of the parties engaged in negotiations, the existence of some differences of opinion, the parties' joint work to achieve a mutually beneficial agreement). At the same time, any negotiation takes place in a certain setting, bordered by the object of negotiation, its aims and stakes, the place and time of its deployment. Depending on the areas where the process of negotiation appears, one can speak of three general types: the economic negotiation, the political negotiation and the social one. At this level, other classifications can be identified, according to the participants in the negotiations, the parties' interests, the negotiating environment, the time and duration of negotiations and the manner of completion, all in the limits of two extreme poles, the conflict and the cooperation between the parties involved.


Abstract : A comparison of four different methods of tuning the hydrogen maser has been made experimentally. This includes the magnetic relaxation, Zeeman transition, Zeeman transition using beam preparation and the pressure variation methods. Of these methods only the last two yield absolute frequency accuracy and were measured to coincide within the experimental error of 5 x 10 to the minus twelfth power. The pressure variation method is preferred for an automatic tuning system because only this method yields a high ratio of linewidth quenching and thus a high tuning accuracy. Experimental difficulties encountered in the application of the pressure tuning were overcome by modulating the pressure by means of varying the power of the hydrogen rf-discharge in the source. A linewidth quenching ratio of more than two was achieved using this method. A servo system based on this method was used to tune two hydrogen masers simultaneously which were only roughly temperature stabilized. The long term stability of 5 x 10 to the minus 12th power observed for the free running masers was thereby improved to 3 x 10 to the minus thirteenth power, which is equal to the short term stability of one maser during the eighty second tuning cycle. (Author)


The purpose of this paper is to investigate the feeding habits of Parapenaeus longirostris 1 in the Greek and Italian Ionian Sea. The individuals were caught from September 1999 to July 2000 on a seasonal basis (except winter) in the Greek Ionian Sea, and in August 2000 in the Italian Ionian Sea. A total of 324 males and 309 females of P. longirostris were analysed. A comparative analysis of the diet and feeding activity was made, taking into account sex, season, size classes and study area as factors influencing the feeding habits of the species. Dietary diversity was also estimated. P. longirostris displayed a high feeding preference on a large variety of bathypelagic, benthic and endobenthic preys, mainly polychaetes, crustaceans and molluscs. No clear differentiation in the feeding behaviour between sexes, including diet composition and feeding activity, was observed. The increased feeding activity during spring for males and spring-summer for females could possibly be attributed to metabolic processes. This species undergoes changes in its feeding habits with ontogeny. Larger specimens were more efficient predators than smaller ones, possibly because of their greater swimming ability. The increased feeding activity in the Italian Ionian Sea is possibly related to the different environmental conditions.


As a coastal emerging country, export-led marine economy has been the development model of Vietnam over the past decades since The Renovation 1986. Given the rise of globalization, regional economic integration and logistics enhancement have been identified as key engines for economic sustainability by Vietnamese government. Nevertheless, little sectoral and sub-sectoral evidence has been given for the platform shaped by policies relevant to export, logistics performance and regional economic integration. The paper employs the trade gravity model to study the relationship between seafood export, logistics performance and regional economic integration in the case of Vietnam. Sectoral and sub-sectoral trade gravity models are employed. Logistics performance from the exporter-side and importer-side is included in the estimations. Membership to effective regional trade agreements of Vietnam are proxies for regional economic integration. Zero trade issue is resolved by the Pooled Ordinary Least Squares (POLS), Poisson Pseudo-Maximum Likelihood (PPML) and Heckman Sample Selection estimations, while endogeneity is tackled by the difference and system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) models. Findings vary by estimation methods, data levels, product groups, and whether which side is considered. In addition, theoretical contributions and some seafood export-driving policy recommendations relevant to regional economic integration and logistics performance development are discussed.


Many bone diseases such as osteoporosis and periodontitis are caused by hyperactivation of osteoclasts. Calcium (Ca2+) signals are crucial for osteoclast differentiation and function. Thus, the blockade of Ca2+ signaling may be a strategy for regulating osteoclast activity and has clinical implications. Flunarizine (FN) is a Ca2+ channel antagonist that has been used for reducing migraines. However, the role of FN in osteoclast differentiation and function remains unknown. Here, we investigated whether FN regulates osteoclastogenesis and elucidated the molecular mechanism. FN inhibited osteoclast differentiation along with decreased expression of nuclear factor of activated T cells, cytoplasmic 1 (NFATc1), and attenuated osteoclast maturation and bone resorption. FN inhibition of osteoclast differentiation was restored by ectopic expression of constitutively active NFATc1. FN reduced calcium oscillations and its inhibition of osteoclast differentiation and resorption function was reversed by ionomycin, an ionophore that binds Ca2+. FN also inhibited Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase IV (CaMKIV) and calcineurin leading to a decrease in the cAMP‐responsive element‐binding protein‐dependent cFos and peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐γ coactivator 1β expression, and NFATc1 nuclear translocation. These results indicate that FN inhibits osteoclastogenesis via regulating CaMKIV and calcineurin as a Ca2+ channel blocker. In addition, FN‐induced apoptosis in osteoclasts and promoted osteogenesis. Furthermore, FN protected lipopolysaccharide‐ and ovariectomy‐induced bone destruction in mouse models, suggesting that it has therapeutic potential for treating inflammatory bone diseases and postmenopausal osteoporosis.


[This article assesses the recent jurisprudence of the European judicial institutions in the area of lesbian, gay and transgender human rights. It considers four areas of rights protection: privacy, non-discrimination, family, and marriage. It concludes that, although the record of the European judicial institutions has been mixed, recent developments suggest a greater willingness to protect lesbians, gay men and transgender people from rights violations.] INTRODUCTION Lesbian, gay and transgender human rights issues have only entered the international discourse on human rights in the last 20 years, even though lesbians, gay men and transgender people have suffered discrimination, persecution and injustice throughout the world since the beginning of the twentieth century. In the United Nations arena, there has been one quasi-judicial decision concerning the right to privacy for gay men: Toonen v Australia(1) before the UN Human Rights Committee (`HRC'). Although Mr Toonen and the Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby succeeded in that case, in other areas the UN has not been particularly receptive to lesbian, gay and transgender issues.(2) Indeed, in some instances the UN has been hostile to such issues, as demonstrated by the suspension of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (`ILGA') from consultative status with the Economic and Social Council.(3) In Europe, however, lesbian, gay and transgender activists have fared better in having sexuality issues addressed by the various European institutions.(4) In particular, they have achieved a significant measure of success in rights claims brought under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (`ECHR').(5) Unfortunately, not all sexuality rights claims before the European judicial institutions have succeeded. For lesbians and gay men, privacy claims have generally succeeded, whereas claims based on respect for family life and equality have historically not fared well. Transgender people have had even less success than lesbians and gay men. Importantly, however, in the past two years there have been a series of significant decisions that suggest that the European Court of Human Rights may take a more positive view of lesbian and gay claims -- and perhaps transgender claims -- under the ECHR. This article focuses on cases decided in the past five years.(6) In order to understand these cases, it is important to situate them in the context of the previous jurisprudence of the European judicial institutions. I thus include a brief discussion of previous cases of the now defunct European Commission on Human Rights,(7) the European Court of Human Rights, and the European Court of Justice (`ECJ'). The analysis is divided into four parts. First, I examine the European jurisprudence on privacy. Second, I consider cases dealing with nondiscrimination. Third, I examine the cases concerning respect for family life. Finally, I look briefly at the cases concerning marriage. In each section I consider lesbian and gay claims separately from transgender claims, as somewhat different issues are often involved. In conclusion, I offer some thoughts as to where the European Court of Human Rights might be heading in terms of lesbian, gay and transgender human rights claims. II PRIVACY Article 8 of the ECHR provides: 1 Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence. 2 There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. A Lesbians and Gay Men The European Court of Human Rights' jurisprudence on privacy for lesbians and gay men has been positive for many years. …


Nearest neighbor search is commonly employed in face recognition but it does not scale well to large dataset sizes. A strategy to combine rejection classifiers into a cascade for face identification is proposed in this paper. A rejection classifier for a pair of classes is defined to reject at least one of the classes with high confidence. These rejection classifiers are able to share discriminants in feature space and at the same time have high confidence in the rejection decision. In the face identification problem, it is possible that a pair of known individual faces are very dissimilar. It is very unlikely that both of them are close to an unknown face in the feature space. Hence, only one of them needs to be considered. Using a cascade structure of rejection classifiers, the scope of nearest neighbor search can be reduced significantly. Experiments on Face Recognition Grand Challenge (FRGC) version 1 data demonstrate that the proposed method achieves significant speed up and an accuracy comparable with the brute force Nearest Neighbor method. In addition, a graph cut based clustering technique is employed to demonstrate that the pairwise separability of these rejection classifiers is capable of semantic grouping.


Several problems are emerging in the context of communication networks and most of them must be solved in reduced computing time since they affect to critical tasks. In this research, the monitor placement problem is tackled. This problem tries to cover the communications of an entire network by locating a monitor in specific nodes of the network, in such a way that every link remains surveyed. In case that a solution cannot be generated in the allowed computing time, a penalty will be assumed for each link uncovered. The problem is addressed by considering the variable neighborhood search framework, proposing a novel constructive method, an intelligent local search to optimize the improvement phase, and an intensified shake to guide the search to more promising solutions. The proposed algorithm is compared with a hybrid search evolutionary algorithm over a set of instances derived from real‐life networks to prove its performance.


This paper studies nonparametric identification and counterfactual bounds for heterogeneous firms that can be ranked in terms of productivity. Our approach works when quantities and prices are latent rendering standard approaches inapplicable. Instead, we require observation of profits or other optimizing-values such as costs or revenues, and either prices or price proxies of flexibly chosen variables. We extend classical duality results for price-taking firms to a setup with discrete heterogeneity, endogeneity, and limited variation in possibly latent prices. Finally, we show that convergence results for nonparametric estimators may be directly converted to convergence results for production sets. JEL classification: C5, D24.


This paper presents both steady-state and dynamic analyzed results of a hybrid offshore wind and tidal farm connected to an onshore power grid using a flywheel energy storage system (FESS). The performance of the studied offshore wind farm (OWF) is simulated by an equivalent aggregated 80-MW doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) while the operating characteristics of the studied tidal farm (TF) are simulated by an equivalent aggregated 40-MW permanent-magnet generator (PMG). Both frequency-domain approach based on a linearized system model using eigenvalue analysis and time-domain scheme based on a nonlinear system model subject to a wind-speed disturbance condition are carried out. It can be concluded from the simulated results that the proposed FESS can effectively stabilize the studied hybrid OWF and TF under various conditions.


The study aimed to evaluate the antifungal potential of an extract of propolis obtained with edible vegetable oil (ODEP) and to identify antifungal compounds in this extract. Propolis sample was extracted with canola oil. After filtration, the oily liquid extract was submitted to solvent partition and dried to obtain ODEP, which was tested in vitro against Candida albicans strains. ODEP was fractioned on Sephadex and by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Active fractions and/or a pure compound were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance, liquid chromatographic mass spectrometry (LC–MS) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) to characterize their chemical composition. Bioassay-guided fractionation allowed the isolation of dihydrokaempferide, which was also quantified in ODEP by HPLC together with the total flavonoid content. Kaempferide and isosakuranetin were identified by LC–MS and LC–MS/MS in fractions with a potential activity against C. albicans. In vitro assays showed that some fractions from ODEP produced better inhibition of C. albicans than the propolis extract itself.

Practical Applications

Aqueous or ethanolic extracts of propolis (EEP) are widely used in alternative homemade medicine products mainly because of their antimicrobial and healing properties. Edible vegetal oils are known to extract bioactive compounds from propolis. The resulting extract (ODEP) has several advantages over the common EEP, such as the possibility of new pharmaceutical presentations for topical or internal applications. Because of the absence of ethanol in its formulation, edible ODEP are expected to be more tolerated. In this study, ODEP was active in vitro against Candida albicans strains. This supports the use of ODEP as an alternative to EEP and also its potential for topical application in combination with antifungal drugs. In addition, the ingestion of ODEP (e.g., contained in gelatin capsules), which have a high percentage of flavonoids, could be of nutritional value, helping to reach the recommended daily amounts of flavonoids and phenolic compounds.


In this paper, we introduce a new iterative learning control (ILC) method, which enables learning from different tracking control tasks. The proposed method overcomes the limitation of traditional ILC in that, the target trajectories of any two consecutive iterations can be completely different. For nonlinear systems with time-varying and time-invariant parametric uncertainties, the new learning method works effectively to nullify the tracking error. To facilitate the learning control system design and analysis, in the paper we use a composite energy function (CEF) index, which consists of a positive scalar function and L/sup 2/ norm of the function approximation error.


BACKGROUND: Ultrasonic tissue characterization (UTC), as evaluated through integrated backscatter, has the potential to detect precocious structural damage to myocardial tissue. In acute coronary syndromes (ACS) this technique is attracting attention due to its potential to evaluate myocardial viability. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of UTC in the emergency department. METHODS: We studied 28 individuals, classified in three groups: Group I (13; 52.2±15.5 years) with patients admitted with chest pain who have negative evaluation for acute coronary syndrome; Group II (9; 54.2±10.0 years) with acute myocardial infarction in right coronary artery territory; and Group III (6; 62.1±9.1 years) with acute myocardial infarction in the anterior descendent branch territory. For each individual, we analyzed four segments in the short axis view at the papillary muscle level (1 - anterior; 2 - anterior-lateral; 3 - inferior e 4 - septal), for the following parameters: corrected coefficient, amplitude, delay index and IBS pattern. RESULTS: The acute myocardial isquemic process in its initial phase was not detected by the corrected coefficient or by the IBS amplitude. The sincronicity parameters (delay index and IBS pattern), more sensible, were partially able to identify changes in more extension regions of myocardial infarction. CONCLUSION: More studies should be conducted to evaluate these parameters in the early phase of acute coronary syndromes.


Incumbents are more likely to be re-elected if they have a comparative advantage in the eyes of voters on some central issue. This paper argues that incumbents have an incentive to avoid reforms that reduce the government''s role in deciding these issues, in order to increase their chances of re-election. This point is illustrated in the context of the choice of an exchange-rate regime in an economy characterized by an "inflation bias". A flexible exchange rate allows the government to use monetary policy as a stabilization tool, while fixed exchange rates remove the "inflation bias" of the economy. On the one hand, it is shown that a more inflation-averse government may refrain from choosing fixed exchange rates in order to capitalize on the "inflationary" reputation of its opponent. This incentive is contrasted with the opposite incentive to "tie the hands" of the future government should be incumbent be defeated. On the other hand, it is shown that electoral considerations may reinforce the incentive of the more "inflationary" government to "tie its own hands" with fixed exchange rates.


There are 100,000 freighters on the seas. Between them they carry nearly everything we eat, wear and work with. And yet this massive global industry has remained largely unexamined: it passes by out of sight for most of us and, through the 'flags of convenience' system, its dubious practices often slip under the radar of regulators. In this unique investigation, Rose George travels the high seas with their powerful naval fleets, pirate gangs, and illegal floating factories, and visits the ports and their land-bound dockworkers, tycoons, missionaries, stevedores, border control guards, and ship-spotters. She meets the beachcombers who track the 10,000 containers that are lost every year, the robots who are gradually replacing human crews, and the environmentalists campaigning against the tide of marine pollution. Intrepid, informed and tenacious, George steers a sure course through the murky, character-rich waters of international shipping.


The Park City Group is composed of, in ascending order, the Kaibab Limestone, Plympton Formation, and Gerster Limestone. The Kaibab is fossiliferous limestone and dolomite; the Plympton is chert, dolomite, and siltstone; and the Gerster is fossiliferous limestone with minor amounts of siltstone. The age range is late Artinskian (late Leonardian) to early Guadalupian (Wordian). The succession of lithofacies constitutes two transgressive cycles. The earlier transgressive phase is represented by the Kaibab Limestone and lower Plympton Formation, and the later phase is represented by the upper Plympton Formation and Gerster Limestone. A northwest-trending high (part of the Cortez-Uinta axis) affected the sedimentation pattern.


Abstract. Billions of people rely on groundwater as being an accessible source of drinking water and for irrigation, especially in times of drought. Its importance will likely increase with a changing climate. It is still unclear, however, how climate change will impact groundwater systems globally and, thus, the availability of this vital resource. Groundwater recharge is an important indicator for groundwater availability, but it is a water flux that is difficult to estimate as uncertainties in the water balance accumulate, leading to possibly large errors in particular in dry regions. This study investigates uncertainties in groundwater recharge projections using a multi-model ensemble of eight global hydrological models (GHMs) that are driven by the bias-adjusted output of four global circulation models (GCMs). Pre-industrial and current groundwater recharge values are compared with recharge for different global warming (GW) levels as a result of three representative concentration pathways (RCPs). Results suggest that projected changes strongly vary among the different GHM–GCM combinations, and statistically significant changes are only computed for a few regions of the world. Statistically significant GWR increases are projected for northern Europe and some parts of the Arctic, East Africa, and India. Statistically significant decreases are simulated in southern Chile, parts of Brazil, central USA, the Mediterranean, and southeastern China. In some regions, reversals of groundwater recharge trends can be observed with global warming. Because most GHMs do not simulate the impact of changing atmospheric CO2 and climate on vegetation and, thus, evapotranspiration, we investigate how estimated changes in GWR are affected by the inclusion of these processes. In some regions, inclusion leads to differences in groundwater recharge changes of up to 100 mm per year. Most GHMs with active vegetation simulate less severe decreases in groundwater recharge than GHMs without active vegetation and, in some regions, even increases instead of decreases are simulated. However, in regions where GCMs predict decreases in precipitation and where groundwater availability is the most important, model agreement among GHMs with active vegetation is the lowest. Overall, large uncertainties in the model outcomes suggest that additional research on simulating groundwater processes in GHMs is necessary.


Visual exploration involves using visual representations to investigate data where the goals of the process are unclear and poorly defined. However, this often places unduly high cognitive load on the user, particularly in terms of keeping track of multiple investigative branches, remembering earlier results, and correlating between different views. We propose a new methodology for automatically spatializing the individual steps in visual exploration onto a large visual canvas, allowing users to easily recall, reflect, and assess their progress. We also present a web‐based implementation of our methodology called ExPlatesJS where users can manipulate multidimensional data in their browsers, automatically building visual queries as they explore the data.


Information systems is the study of technology, organizations, and people. An enterprise computer-based information system (CBIS) is type of technology where people can buy and sell their items online, therefore, it is a part of the online business process. This relationship has resulted in the reengineering of the information systems' model, the formulation of new requirements for training and education, and opening new investment windows for the development of new technologies at both the computer hardware and software application level to meet the needs of newly emerging business models. The aim of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive survey on enterprise CBISs in the context of its utilization and customer satisfaction.


Hereditary diseases cause yield and economic loses. It is important to examine hereditary diseases at the molecular level and to remove diseases from the herd. In our study, it was aimed to determine allele frequencies of genes that cause bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency, factor XI deficiency and complex vertebral malformation diseases in Holstein cattle. Blood samples were randomly taken from 300 Holstein cattle in different dairy farms in Kocaeli, Sakarya and Balikesir provinces. Deoxyribonucleic acid samples were isolated from blood samples by using the standard ammonium acetate salt-out method. The target regions were amplified by polymerase chain reaction to determine the mutant alleles causing bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency, factor XI deficiency and complex vertebral malformation. According to the nucleotide chromotograms of the samples subjected to bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency analysis, it was determined that 4 out of 300 cattle were heterozygous and 296 were homozygous. Polymerase chain reaction procedure for factor XI deficiency disease was sufficient, while samples amplified by polymerase chain reaction for complex vertebral malformation disease were subjected to restriction particle length polymorphism. Factor XI deficiency and complex vertebral malformation disease genes were all homozygous normal.


The conditions have been determined under which propane diffusion flames burning around sintered metal hemispheres in an atmosphere of air and nitrogen give a high concentration of carbon monoxide in the exhaust gases. Concentration profiles have also been obtained through representative flames and across the burner housing above the burner. The results show that when the flame burns with a deficiency of oxygen, the central core of the products contains a high concentration of propane as well as propylene, ethylene, acetylene and methane. In addition, just above the top of the burner, the oxygen concentration has fallen to almost zero, and even well away from the burner it is only a tenth of its original level. It is clear that pyrolysis reactions and secondary oxidation processes occur in the region above the burner and that it is these processes which are responsible for the increased formation of carbon monoxide which occurs with flames burning in a defic~ency of oxygen.


Background and Purpose: This paper is part of wider collaborative research activities aimed at finding information technology-based solutions to socially marginalized communities in the area of health provision.  This particular study is empirically scoped around Grabouw, a settlement in the Western Cape in South Africa. It is one of thousands of such settlements in South Africa which are alienated without equal access to education, health, transport, housing, jobs and a general descent livelihood. The fragmentation of South Africa's economy is largely attributed to its apartheid history where black Africans have been alienated from the mainstream economy. The purpose of the study is to apply one of the analysis tools, LACASA, which were developed within the ISD4D research group in order to understand the context of Grabouw community. The results will inform stakeholders of quick design approaches to reach usable, sustainable and useful solutions which address healthcare information needs of the community. Methods: The paper follows the ISD4D's "Daisy" approach to locate the study within the group's wider research context. The LACASA analysis tool (Tiihonen, 2011), is then applied in order to understand the healthcare challenges and needs of the Grabouw community. Interviews with healthcare workers, the local government and individual community members were undertaken to define the Grabouw general context and healthcare landscape in particular. This contextual analysis will lead to the design and development of solutions in the next phase of the ISD4D research for this particular community. Results : Preliminary observations are that Grabouw is an over-populated community with minimal healthcare facilities. There is very high unemployment and rampant crime. There are too many migrants from other African countries and also internally from far provinces of South Africa. The LACASA tool, adopted within the ISD4D research group, has been selected on the basis of its robustness to depict a rich contextual picture of a situation, thereby increasing shared understanding for information systems development. Conclusion: The paper provides a comprehensive contextual situation of the Grabouw community. The overall aim is to develop information systems that act as a quick solution to current information provision problems around healthcare. The paper also provides a methodological contribution to systems design and development activities as the LACASA tool depicts an overall understanding of information needs.  Keywords: ISD4D, LACASA, Contextual Analysis


AIM: To specify the cytokine profile in chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN) with aggravating renal function, to assess prognostic value of some cytokines in development of CGN in these patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Indices of the cytokine profile were followed up in 56 CGN patients with nephrotic syndrome and arterial hypertension and compared in those patients who developed CGN for 2 years (group 2) versus patients with intact renal function (group 1). RESULTS: Serum levels of IL-1beta and TNF-alpha were maximal in CGN patients with aggravating renal function. Such patients had a low concentration of serum IL-1beta receptors antagonists. Severity of proteinurea correlated with serum level of TNF-alpha. If the latter was higher than 120 pg/ml, there was a high probability of CRF development within 2 years. CONCLUSION: Pathogenesis of CRF in CGN is associated with proinflammatory cytokines, especially TNF-alpha. Its serum concentration can be used for evaluating risk of renal function deterioration.


Motivated by real challenges on energy management faced by industrial firms, we propose a novel way to reduce production costs by including the pricing of electricity in a multi-product lot-sizing problem. In incentive-based programs, when electric utilities face power consumption peaks, they request electricity-consuming firms to curtail their electric load, rewarding the industrial firms with incentives if they comply with the curtailment requests. Otherwise, industrial firms must pay financial penalties for an excessive electricity consumption. A two-stage stochastic formulation is presented to cover the case where a manufacturer wants to satisfy any curtailment request. A chance-constrained formulation is also proposed, and its relevance in practice is discussed. Finally, computational studies are conducted to compare mathematical models and highlight critical parameters and show potential savings when subscribing incentive-based programs. We show that the setup cost ratio, the capacity utilisation rate, the number of products and the timing of curtailment requests are critical parameters for manufacturers.


In his thorough analytical study of Beethoven's Piano Sonata in E, Op. 109, Nicholas Marston suggests a unique way of understanding this important work. The book provides an exhaustive study of its sources and an analytical approach to the structure of the sonata itself. The source study is based on a complete transcritpion of all the surviving manuscript sources for the work; the book includes a large majority of the sketches, and parts of the autograph score. The introductory chapter reivews Heinrich Schenker's work on Op. 109. In Chapter 2 Beethoven's letters, conversation books, sketchbooks and other sources are used to build up a detailed picture of the progess of his work on the sonata. The middle chapters form the core of the analytical study in which the sketches for each part of the three movements are analysed in detail, and the relevance of the sketches to the final version is explored. The final chapter extends the notion of 'sketch' beyond Op. 109 and summarizes the results of the study. No stone is left unturned: even Beethoven's previously misunderstood notation of final barlines in the autograph score is shown to be of structural significance. The book is important in several respects. The attitude adopted towards the sketches is postive , approaching them as valid compositional acts and not wrong turnings en route to a perfect final version. As an analytical study the book provides perhaps the most extended Schenkerian analysis of a Beethoven sonata yet published, and offers a rare Schenkerian analysis of a variation movement. It may equally be read as a extension or critique of Schenkerian thinking: it goes beyond Schenker both in its espousal of unconventional 'background' strucures and in its suggestion of a single structural plan for the entire three-movement work.


Abstract: Examination of urine leukocyte count usually use urine samples during and urine examination is performed while still fresh because elements in the form of urine begins to break down within 2 hours. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of storage time on the number of leukocytes urine checked immediately (0 hours) and were kept 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 minutes at room temperature. Types of Research true experiment to investigate the result of a treatment, research conducted on four samples of urine of patients with diabetes mellitus who meet several criteria, namely blood glucose levels> 200 mg / dl and urine amount leukositnya> 30 cells / mm3, calculated using the Improved Neubauer . The result showed a decrease in the number of stored urine leukocytes 30 minutes = 10%, 60 min = 25%, 90 min = 32%, 120 minutes = 39%, 150 minutes = 43%, and 180 minutes = 51%. Values obtained by linear regression test p = 0.034 (<α = 0.05). There is a significant relationship between duration of storage of urine with urine leukocyte counts were immediately checked (0 min) and stored 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 minutes at room temperature. Examination of urine leukocyte counts should be performed immediately or use the urine that is still in a fresh state.


The gravity equation is a current workhorse of empirical trade theory. It is generally acknowledged that this theory, which relates the extent of trade between countries to their respective sizes, distances, and relative trade barriers, was first developed by Jan Tinbergen in 1962. Acceptance of the gravity model as part of the discipline's core was limited by its scant theoretical foundation for the first 40 years of its existence. This paper finds that a theory of trade gravity was first developed by Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations. Moreover, it is shown that Smith's statement of a proportional relation between economic size and distance came about as an application of his general theory of differential capital productivity in different economic sectors, and his elaboration of a theory of the gains from trade originated by David Hume. It is further shown that Smith had an explanation of the size of border affects in trade volumes, and a gravity theory of trade restrictions.


The present work was undertaken to investigate the mutual effect of the individual melt treatment commonly applied in aluminum foundries such as grain refining, modification, degassing and filtration on the microstructures and the mechanical properties. A357 alloys were fabricated through various melt treatments such as degassing by gas bubbling filtration, modification via the addition of Al-Sr master alloy, grain refining through the addition of Al-Ti-B master alloy and filtration before pouring of the melt. Each melt treatment was performed at its optimum condition reported in the literatures. The effects of each melt treatment and their interactions on the microstructures and mechanical properties of A357 alloy were examined.


OF DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Statistics The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico


Despite global efforts to assess the early response and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in patients infected with or recovered from COVID-19, our understanding of the factors affecting its dynamics remains limited. This work aimed to evaluate the early and convalescent immunity of outpatients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and to determine the factors that affect the dynamics and persistence of the IgM and IgG antibody response. Seropositivity of volunteers from Mexico City and the State of Mexico, Mexico, was evaluated by ELISA using the recombinant receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein for 90 days, at different time points (1, 15, 45, 60, and 90 days) after molecular diagnosis (RT-qPCR). Gender, age range, body mass index (BMI), comorbidities, and clinical spectrum of disease were analyzed to determine associations with the dynamics of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. On 90 days post-infection, individuals with moderate and asymptomatic disease presented the lowest levels of IgM, while for IgG, at the same time, the highest levels occurred with mild and moderate disease. The IgM and IgG levels were related to the clinical spectrum of disease, BMI, and the presence/absence of comorbidities through regression trees. The results suggest that the dynamics of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG antibodies in outpatients could be influenced by the clinical spectrum of the disease. In addition, the persistence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 could be related to the clinical spectrum of the disease, BMI, and the presence/absence of comorbidities.


Direct seeded aerobic rice system has been developed and adopted as an alternative for medium-grain rice in many parts of the world, whereas efforts for aerobic basmati rice types are still in infancy. Among two major constraints for aerobic rice, weeds are progressively being eliminated to great extent through introduction of new herbicides; however, the issue of unfilled grains is still elusive. As potassium (K) deficiency produce sterile pollens in different crops, therefore possible K deficiency in aerobic rice production system may increase unfilled grains in rice. Therefore, it was hypothesized that K application may yield better by improving grain filling of basmati rice, especially, under aerobic conditions. Pot and field experiments were comprised of no K as control, K fertilization using 90 and 180 kg ha-1 keeping recommended N, P and Zn fertilization at the rate of 180, 125 and 25 kg ha-1. Two fine grain rice cultivars Basmati-515 and Super basmati were used due to their differential response to K fertilization. Results indicated that application of 180 kg K2O ha -1 significantly increased the K concentration in shoot, which increased the paddy yield. Highest chlorophyll contents were observed for Basmati-515 in aerobic rice and for Super basmati under flooded condition at 180 kg K2O ha -1. Decrease in number of un-filled grains may a contributory to paddy yield improvement in K fertilized treatments. The improvement in yield was more pronounced in Basmati-515 than Super basmati. Economic analysis showed higher benefit cost ratio for Basmati-515 with 90 kg Kg ha-1 under aerobic conditions. Net benefit of K fertilization was increased for both fertilizer rates and both cultivars except 180 kg K in Super basmati. As K fertilization increased the number of filled grains and improved the rice yield, therefore it is suggested to apply K fertilizers for better yield and expanded adaptability of aerobic rice production system for basmati rice. Availability of indigenous soil K under aerobic and flooded conditions should be quantified to develop precise K recommendations for both production systems of basmati rice.


A new approach to the design of collective communication operations in wormhole-routed mesh networks is described. The approach extends the concept of dominating sets in graph theory by accounting for the relative distance-insensitivity of the wormhole switching strategy and by taking advantage of a multi-port communication architecture, which allows each node to simultaneously transmit messages on diierent outgoing channels. Collective communication operations are deened in terms of sets of extended dominating nodes (EDNs). The nodes in a set of EDNs can deliver (receive) messages to (from) a diierent, larger set of nodes in a single message-passing step under dimension-ordered wormhole routing and without channel contention among messages. The EDN model can be applied to diierent collective operations in 2D and 3D mesh networks. In this paper, we focus on EDN-based broadcast and global combine operations. Performance evaluation results are presented that connrm the advantage of this approach over other methods.


1. Introduction
The Shahnameh opens with a preface which probably did not exist prior to Ferdowsi. Even if such a thing existed, it must have been different from the present introduction. Putting this aside, the rest of the Shahnameh has a clear beginning and ending. This has helped critics to determine the structure of the work as a whole by its content. However, we believe the Shahnameh includes two parts: the Mythical and the historical. Nevertheless, these parts are interconnected; the mythical part is concerned with creation and the historical with life and continuity. One fundamental motivation for the compilation of the Shahnameh has been the revival of Iranian identity. This has made the Shahnameh a national epic containing political content from the beginning of its inception. A sort of content which serves a political end. The cultural basis of the Shahnameh stands on the confrontation of Ahouramazda and Ahriman. Such a basis, in principle, justifies the question of creation as well as the continuation of collective life. Moreover, rethinking on any kind of connection between creation and continuity of life ends in a political pattern.
2. Methodology
In this article, we have investigated the transformation of the myth of creation from a structuralist point of view. There is no unanimously agreed-upon definition of myth; nevertheless, in most definitions, there is one common point: myth deals with the beginnings and creation, keeping a sacred view concerning creation, and expressing this view in the form of drama, action, experience, and revelation. When we meditate on inner secrets, eternal life and inner existence, we do not have access to a variety of ideas and means to express them. Therefore, we take advantage of ideas in a different system of thought. Myths are stable and powerful; they can continue to live in the hardest of the situations. Positivism and science have been busy striving to put an end to mythical views, but myth has continued its life in newer forms. In mythical thinking there is a tendency towards centralism rather than expansionism. This moves this sort of view towards dense contraction rather than vast expansion. The concentration of all forces on a single point is the necessary condition for any kind of mythical thinking and structure. No matter how far a myth evolves, it keeps revolving around the same basic force field. It never loses its link with its origin though the form and appearance may change.
3. Discussion
 In ancient Iranian culture, they believed that Ahouramazda initially created a human being (a human prototype) and a cow (a prototype of useful animals). Then, all other animals were created from the decomposition of these two prototypes. Names for these human prototypes are different, and each name may belong to an era of the history of Iran or a special place and area of the country. The first human prototype concept in Iranian culture maintains that this creature is the cause and means for the creation of other human beings. With the death of the human prototype, human beings defeat death and annihilation since the death brings about prosperity and the expansion of green life on earth. In later developments, at the age of rationalism and the expansion of logical thinking, the human prototypes change into the first generation of kings. One of the most dominant mythical patterns that has existed in Iranian thought is "prototypical archetype" of history. This view which has its roots in the myth of creation and the clash between Ahouramazda and Ahriman has made the Iranians to have a structured concept of history since this pattern has a predetermined structure which can accommodate different narratives (real or mythological). If a narrative does not have the capacity to be classified in this pattern, it will be changed, deformed or deleted.
 In studying the Shahnameh, it is necessary to pay attention to its creation along with its wholeness and integrated structure. Paying attention to the Shahnameh and its historical adventures, we can realize when Arabs dominated Iran, and had humiliating behavior with the Iranians, a strong tendency came up to revive Iranian identity against Arabs' humiliation. This problem of identity revival caused the Shahnameh to gain the stature of a national epic position, and find political content, a content based on cultural factors to follow a political mission.
Therefore, the Shahnameh is Iranian philosophy of history. To know Iranian philosophy of history, and national epic as its manifestation, it is necessary to pay attention to the cultural basis on which the stories of the Shahnameh are based on. This cultural basis includes the cosmic battle of Ahouramazda and Ahriman. In this system of thought, human beings were created to help God to defeat evil for the good. Here, two things depend on each other: creation and life continuity. However, any rethinking to link creation with life continuity leads to the manifestation of a political pattern. It is exactly for this transformation that in the Shahnameh the myth of creation transforms into a political one; even creation myth in Shahnameh, and the human being prototype converts into prototype kings and kingly patterns, and battle transfers from good and evil to their agents.
3. Conclusion
The presence of mythical patterns in national epic explains creation in various forms, especially the mythical from of the government. It shows various forms of government to get to its ideal and final form, Keykhosrov's kingdom. But this for of government is only ideal. As soon as we get away from the ideal world and approach the realities, we encounter more problems. It seems that dividing the mythical part of the Shahnameh into the Pishdadians and the Kianians, while under the influence of religious texts such as Avesta, shows a kind of structural understanding. The Iranians initially designed a form of primitive government; then, they experimented with this to form a more complex and practical system of government. They then made this developed form of government into an ideal one. After this, they tried to find a real alternative for this ideal form of government. It is for this reason that in the same mythical part of the Shahnameh the prototypical human being, belonging to a specific era of history or a particular place of the country, has turned into father and son in its political manifestation, each of them expressing part of the political thought. However, the design of their power and growth is based on a mythical pattern and familiarization. Some cases such as that of Zahak symbolize the evil, but in cases in which the possibility of father and son relationship has not been possible, and antagonistic aspects have no place in their nature, manifest as dynasty heads, and have had an unnatural birth. In cases without the possibility of being the dynasty head, while having some fame, they have been placed along with the kings and manifest heroic qualities. For this category, we can name Zaal, Kaveh and Rostam. Zahak, too, keeps such a status. However, Zahak has passed through the athletic stage and gained the position of a king. Nonetheless, politically viewed, it is the people who have elected him as their king. However, Zahaak is a monster in Avesta, while in Shah-Nameh, he is an Alien ruler. Therefore, there is a contradiction in the two sources, the former having a Bondaheshti view and the latter a political one. It is for this same reason that Rostam's mother is a relative of Zahaak. Therefore, it is necessary to think about king and hero formation along with each other. This, in turn, clarifies the clashes of Rostam with Kavus and Goshtasb and Esfandiar.


This poster illustrates the findings of my recent qualitative study that adopted a reflexive narrative methodology to explore whether electronic nonverbal cues (eNVC) can contribute to deeper learning through interaction and engagement in the online course discussion forums. The rationale for focusing on asynchronous discussions emanates from their absence from the list of instructional strategies used during the pandemic-forced pivot to remote teaching. Although discussion forums constitute the primary tool for distance education offered online, studies to date suggest that instructors not only rely on video technologies for emergency teaching, but also anticipate continued use of video conferencing tools post-pandemic. Narratives gathered throughout this study suggest that such tools can add to the frustrations of students facing various challenges such as: needing more time to process information before responding, having limited access to electricity and internet connection, or living in a crowded/noisy physical space that prevents them from focusing. While discussion forums can address some of these issues by liberating the learning environment from its spaciotemporal constraints, they are often perceived as lacking the level of interaction embedded in nonverbal cues exchanged during face-to-face communication. However, an examination of the categories of nonverbal cues reveals that some of them can infiltrate asynchronous, text-based communication as eNVC, including but not limited to: chronemics, absence or pauses in communication, and visual expressions. These eNVC are interwoven with written words like strands in a tapestry, and they have the potential of influencing the learners' and instructor's interaction and engagement that promote deeper learning. In the last decade, the term deeper learning emerged as an umbrella term for desirable attributes of twenty-first-century secondary education that prepare learners to succeed in education, career, and civic life. Scholars also describe deeper learning as an ever-evolving spiral that emerges at the intersection of mastery, identity, and creativity. The spiral analogy is pivotal to this study, along with the symbolism of the tapestry. The poster visually represents these imageries, connecting them with the participants' recommendations for providing every student with opportunities to experience deeper learning through interaction and engagement in the online course asynchronous discussions.


BACKGROUND
In the current literature and in clinical practice a very wide range of terms is used to describe medically unexplained somatic symptoms; this gives rise to a number of problems.

AIM
To propose an unambiguous multidisciplinary terminology which can solve a number of problems.

METHOD
A literature search was conducted using the database PiCarta and references in the literature found via that database. results The terms used in the current literature and the meanings they are given are very diverse and in several instances the terms and meanings are confusing, inaccurate or unclear.

CONCLUSION
The use of the terms 'medically unexplained somatic symptoms' and 'unexplained somatic symptoms' is a possible solution for many of the problems that arise.


In recent years, bitter partisan debates have erupted over Medicare reform. Democrats and Republicans have fiercely contested issues such as prescription drug coverage and how to finance Medicare to absorb the baby boomers. But as Jonathan Oberlander demonstrates in "The Political Life of Medicare", these recent developments are an exception in the long-term history of the program. Contrary to popular belief, from Medicare's inception in 1965 until 1994, a remarkable bipartisan consensus governed Medicare politics. In "The Political Life of Medicare", Oberlander provides the first comprehensive history of Medicare politics, from the decades of consensus to current debates over Medicare reform. He shows how tensions embodied in the program since its enactment drove the politics of Medicare benefits, regulation and financing policy during the consensus period. For instance, rising Medicare costs led "both" liberal and conservative policymakers to embrace stronger government regulation of the program while rejecting expansion of benefits. Both parties also accepted the liberal vision of Medicare as a universal government program to provide federal health insurance for the elderly. Oberlander incisively traces how this consensus unravelled because of fundamental changes in American politics, the health care system and policymakers' attitudes about the elderly. Revealing how Medicare politics and policies have developed over the past several decades, and what the program's future holds, Oberlander's analysis should interest anyone concerned with American politics and public policy health care, aging and the welfare state.


OBJECTIVE
Fetal lung maturation is an extremely important process that is necessary for the survival of the neonates. Conventionally, corticosteroids are administered maternally for inducing fetal lung maturation in preterm fetuses. Alternatively, single-dose intra-amniotic (IA) treatment might be speculated to improve lung maturity. In the goat model, we recently showed that high-dose IA betamethasone (BM) was associated with an increased number of stillbirths and emphysematous changes. The aim of the present study is to expand our previous findings and evaluate the histopathological effects of IA injection of a single high-dose of BM 48 h before induced preterm delivery, using our previously collected specimens.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Five hair goat fetal lungs that had received 8 mg/kg IA BM at gestational day 118 (term, 150 days) and scheduled for preterm delivery by cesarean section at day 120 of gestation were examined pathologically. Specimens were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and were interpreted by light microscopy.

RESULTS
The histopathological examination of the fetal lungs revealed edema, hemorrhage, slight inflammatory reaction, marked emphysema, and desquamation of the pneumocytes and bronchiolar or bronchial epithelial cells.

CONCLUSION
High-dose IA BM administrations to induce lung maturation can paradoxically cause severe pathological lesions in the fetal lungs. These might explain the toxic effects we encountered with this mode of treatment.


Background Insulin resistance (IR) triggers endothelial dysfunction, which contributes to erectile dysfunction (ED) and cardiovascular disease. Aim To evaluate whether IR was related to ED in young adult patients. Methods A total of 283 consecutive men complaining of ED at least six months were enrolled, with a full medical history, physical examination, and laboratory tests collected. Quantitative Insulin Sensitivity Check Index (QUICKI) was used to determine IR. The severity of ED was assessed by IIEF-5 questionnaire. Endothelial function was assessed by ultrasonographic examination of brachial artery flow mediated dilation (FMD). Results IR was detected in 52% patients. Subjects with IR had significant higher total cholesterol, triglycerides, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-c), glycated haemoglobin (HBA1c), high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and body mass index (BMI), but showed significant lower IIEF-5 score, FMD%, high density lipoprotein -cholesterol (HDL-c), testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) levels than patients without IR. Multiple regression analysis showed QUICKI and testosterone were independent predictors of IIEF-5 score. Furthermore, the incidence of IR was correlated with the severity of ED. Conclusions Compared with other CVFs, IR was found as the most prevalent in our subjects. Besides, IR was independently associated with ED and its severity, suggesting an adverse effect of insulin resistance on erectile function.


AIMS
Patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF) frequently have right bundle branch block. To better understand the contribution of cardiac dyssynchrony to dysfunction, we developed a method to quantify left (LV), right (RV), and inter-ventricular dyssynchrony using standard cine cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR).

METHODS AND RESULTS
Thirty patients with rTOF and 17 healthy controls underwent cine CMR. Patients were imaged twice to assess inter-test reproducibility. Circumferential strain curves were generated with a custom feature-tracking algorithm for 12 LV and 12 RV segments in each of 4-7 short-axis slices encompassing the ventricles. Temporal offsets (TOs, in ms) of the strain curves relative to a patient-specific reference curve were calculated. The intra-ventricular dyssynchrony index (DI) for each ventricle was computed as the standard deviation of the TOs. The inter-ventricular DI was calculated as the difference in median RV and median LV TOs. Compared with controls, patients had a greater LV DI (21 ± 8 vs. 11 ± 5 ms, P < 0.001) and RV DI (60 ± 19 vs. 47 ± 17 ms, P = 0.02). RV contraction was globally delayed in patients, resulting in a greater inter-ventricular DI with the RV contracting 45 ± 25 ms later than the LV vs. 12 ± 29 ms earlier in controls (P < 0.001). Inter-test reproducibility was moderate with all coefficients of variation ≤22%. Both LV and RV DIs were correlated with measures of LV, but not RV, function.

CONCLUSION
Patients with rTOF have intra- and inter-ventricular dyssynchrony, which can be quantified from standard cine CMR. This new approach can potentially help determine the contribution of dyssynchrony to ventricular dysfunction in future studies.


An accurate measurement of bubbly flow has a significant value for understanding the bubble behavior, heat and energy transfer pattern in different engineering systems. It also helps to advance the theoretical model development in two-phase flow study. Due to the interaction between the gas and liquid phase, the flow patterns are complicated in recorded image data. The segmentation and reconstruction of overlapping bubbles in these images is a challenging task. This dissertation provides a complete set of image processing algorithms for bubbly flow measurement. The developed algorithm can deal with bubble overlapping issues and reconstruct bubble outline in 2D high speed images under a wide void fraction range. Key bubbly flow parameters such as void fraction, interfacial area concentration, bubble number density and velocity can be computed automatically after bubble segmentation. The time-averaged bubbly flow distributions are generated based on the extracted parameters for flow characteristic study. A 3D imaging system is developed for 3D bubble reconstruction. The proposed 3D reconstruction algorithm can restore the bubble shape in a time sequence for accurate flow visualization with minimum assumptions. The 3D reconstruction algorithm shows an error of less than 2% in volume measurement compared to the syringe reading. Finally, a new image synthesis framework called Bubble Generative Adversarial Networks (BubGAN) is proposed by combining the conventional image processing algorithm and deep learning technique. This framework aims to provide a generic benchmark tool for assessing the performance of the existed image processing algorithms with significant quality improvement in synthetic bubbly flow image generation. Development of Advanced Image Processing Algorithms for Bubbly Flow Measurement


Citrus Huanglongbing (HLB) or citrus greening disease has been in Florida since at least 2005 and has spread to all of the citrus producing regions. The Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri) is the insect that transmits the suspected causal bacterium which is tentatively named Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus. Symptoms of the disease are first the yellow shoot (huanglongbing) and the development of the blotchy mottle symptom in the leaves. Mineral deficiency symptoms are often found on infected trees and may mimic normal deficiency symptoms. Fruit on infected trees may be small and lopsided and may abscise prematurely and therefore productivity is reduced. Tree decline eventually occurs. The suspected causal bacterium has not been obtained in pure culture and a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test along with symptoms, is the only way to verify infected trees. All citrus cultivars appear susceptible. Current management strategies are chemical and biological control to reduced psyllid populations, inspections for infected trees and removal of infected trees to reduce the available pathogen inoculum. Current research on psyllid control, psyllid transmission, symptomology, detection, culturing the causal agent, development of new detection methods, alternative hosts of the psyllid and the causal agent, physiology of the disease, resistant or tolerant cultivar development and more is discussed. HLB is a major problem for citrus production and often limits commercial production.


The current study investigated the relationship between children's spatial ability and their scientific knowledge, skills and understanding. Children aged 7-11 years (N=123) completed a battery of five spatial tasks, based on a model of spatial ability in which skills fall along two dimensions: intrinsic-extrinsic; static-dynamic. Participants also answered science questions from standardised assessments, grouped into conceptual topic areas. Spatial scaling (extrinsic static spatial ability) and mental folding (intrinsic dynamic spatial ability) each emerged as predictors of total science scores, with mental folding accounting for more variance than spatial scaling. Mental folding predicted both physics and biology scores, whereas spatial scaling accounted for additional variance only in biology scores. The embedded figures task (intrinsic static spatial ability) predicted chemistry scores. The pattern was consistent across the age range. These findings provide novel evidence for the differential role of distinct aspects of spatial ability in relation to children's science performance.


One current hypothesis for the initiation of Ca2+ entry into nonelectrically excitable cells proposes that Ca2+ entry is linked to the state of filling of intracellular Ca2+ stores. In the human T lymphocyte cell line Jurkat, stimulation of the antigen receptor leads to release of Ca2+ from internal stores and influx of extracellular Ca2+. Similarly, treatment of Jurkat cells with the tumor promoter thapsigargin induced release of Ca2+ from internal stores and also resulted in influx of extracellular Ca2 . Initiation of Ca2+ entry by thapsigargin was blocked by chelation of Ca2+ released from the internal storage pool. The Ca2+ entry pathway also could be initiated by an increase in the intracellular concentration of Ca2+ after photolysis of the Ca2+-cage, nitr-5. Thus, three separate treatments that caused an increase in the intracellular concentration of Ca2+ initiated Ca2+ influx in Jurkat cells. In all cases, Ca2+-initiated Ca2+ influx was blocked by treatment with any of three phenothiazines or W-7, suggesting that it is mediated by calmodulin. These data suggest that release of Ca2+ from internal stores is not linked capacitatively to Ca2+ entry but that initiation is linked instead by Ca2+ itself, perhaps via calmodulin.


Rainwater is an underutilized water resource that has become more important in recent years; due to severe water logging and water shortage in cities. The evaluation of rainwater harvesting potential is of fundamental importance in planning rainwater harvesting systems and management policies. In this study, we used minute-interval rainfall data and the water mass balance method coupling urban hydrological processes to assess the annual rainwater availability potential (RAP) of different underlying surfaces in the urban areas of Beijing (inside the 5th Ring Road). The estimated total RAP was 154.49 million m(3) in 2013. About 53% of rainwater could be effectively harvested for use, among which the rooftops had the highest harvesting ratio of 70%, and contributed about half of the total RAP. Indirect use of rainwater can be achieved through infiltration facilities, of which concave green land construction and porous brick pavement can increase the amount of rainfall that infiltrates into the soil by 18.89% and 55.69%, respectively. Rainwater harvesting and utilization could serve as a significant water source for the urban areas in Beijing.


Low-dimensional nanostructures, such as nanodots, nanowires and nanotubes, are especially attractive candidates for developing a bottom-up paradigm for nanotechnology-enabled architectures. In situ ultrahigh vacuum transmission electron microscope (UHV-TEM) is a powerful tool to investigate the dynamic changes of nanostructures. By observing growth and phase transitions in situ, understanding of their mechanisms can be used to model relevant processes. Recent development of UHV-TEM further enables the investigation on atomic-scale materials systems in a clean environment. With the precise knowledge of the changes occurred on an atomic level, accurate control of the growth process can be achieved [1]. The appropriate utilization of the UHV-TEM will be beneficial in studying the fundamental mechanisms of dynamic reactions, formation of transient phase, solid-state amorphization, epitaxial growth, growth kinetics and evolution of defects. The dynamical changes occurred on the nano scale are often unexpected, which also underscores the importance of the approach. In this presentation, we will highlight several examples to demonstrate the unique capability of in situ TEM to study the dynamical changes. The examples include growth of high-density titanium silicide nanowires in a single direction on a silicon surface [2], controlled growth of atomic-scale Si layer with huge strain in the nano-heterostructure NiSi/Si/NiSi through point contact reaction between nano-wires of Si and Ni and reactive epitaxial growth [3], observation of repeating events of nucleation in epitaxial growth of nano CoSi2 in nanowires of Si [4] and observations of electromigration in copper lines at room temperature [5].


Abstract:This article presents a hitherto unknown type of Early Iron Age fibula from Lofkënd in Albania, together with related examples from Kënet in northeastern Albania and Liatovouni in northwestern Greece. Dubbed the "Lofkënd type," this group of fibulae can be securely dated to the late 10th or 9th century B. C. The author discusses the evidence provided by archaeological context, as well as the date, distribution, and cultural affinities of the new type.


EDITOR,-Over the past 14 months we have monitored over 25000 request forms associated with faecal specimens delivered to pathology laboratories. Since some of these specimens have arrived not in the requisite specimen containers but in crisp packets, soda bottles, mustard pots, and jewellery boxes this suggests either that a container was unavailable or that it was discarded in favour of a more suitable, perhaps larger, vessel. After discussion with a small group of women aged between 24 and 55, all of whom had given either a urine or a faecal specimen previously, it became apparent that the importance of a sterile vessel was not understood. Although the women were hesitant about discussing this topic, it became clear that no one had informed them of "what to do with this tiny bottle." Providing faecal samples is as difficult for men as for women. Many specimen containers given out during consultations with a general practitioner are never returned to a pathology laboratory with a specimen. One obvious explanation for this is the bewilderment, and embarrassment, associated with being asked to give a specimen of this type. Another is the uncertainty of how to give a specimen. Instead of asking this "naive" question and causing further embarrassment, some people find that the most expedient solution is simply to ignore the request for a specimen altogether. With regard to having to provide urine specimens, all the women thought that the mouth of the bottle was too narrow. Rather than urinate on her hands, one woman bought a funnel to direct the specimen into the bottle. Most of the women used other containers and then transferred the specimens to the vessels provided. Given the client's unease, the likelihood of contamination, and the resultant doubt about the reliability of the results reported, there is scope for introducing larger specimen containers for both women's urine specimens and faecal specimens. Though a crisp packet is easily recognised as a possible confounding container, generally the contamination resulting from the transfer of a specimen to the requisite vessel will go unnoticed. Laboratory reports provide an imperfect estimate of community infection, so it seems prudent to make every effort to ensure that the accuracy of these reports is not compromised by avoidable factors. We suggest that doctors should spend more time explaining how to give a specimen and the importance of the sterile vessel provided. Not only would this put the client more at ease but it would also save expenditure by rendering repeat testing unnecessary.


A theoretical study of polar and semi/non-polar In Ga N/Ga N light-emitting diodes(LEDs) with different internal surface polarization charges, which can be grown on Si substrates, is conducted by using APSYS software. In comparison with polar structure LEDs, the semi-polar structure exhibits a higher concentration of electrons and holes and radiative recombination rate, and its reduced built-in polarization field weakens the extent of band bending which causes the shift of peak emission wavelength. So the efficiency droop of semi-polar In Ga N/Ga N LEDs declines obviously and the optical power is significantly improved. In comparison with non-polar structure LEDs, although the concentration of holes and electrons as well as the radiative recombination rate of the semi-polar structure are better in the last two quantum wells(QWs) approaching the p-Ga N side, the uniformity of distribution of carriers and radiative recombination rate for the nonpolar structure is better. So the theoretical analysis indicates that the removal of the internal polarization field in the MQWs active regions for non-polar structure LEDs contributes to the uniform distribution of electrons and holes, and decreases the electron leakage. Thus it enhances the radiative recombination rate, and further improves the IQEs and optical powers, and shows the best photoelectric properties among these three structures.


In this work, atmospheric pressure, ambient air plasma was used for pre-treatment of clay coated paper before silicone coating as well as for post-treatment to prepare the release liner with low adhesion. As a plasma source "industrial corona" in roll-to-roll configuration was used for plasma treatment. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of plasma pre- and post-treatment time on adhesive properties of silicone layer sprayed on the paper. Plasma pre-treated paper was sprayed with silicone oil of different amounts using spray gun and subsequently plasma post-treated for defined repetition. Surface of silicone sprayed paper was analyzed by water contact angle measurement immediately after oil spraying procedure. The possible changes in morphology were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, chemical composition by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and the adhesion by measuring tape peel force. The silicone coated paper was characterized by increase of hydrophobicity and decrease of release factor with significant impact of plasma post-treatment.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to prospectively assess the relation between red meat intake and incidence of type 2 diabetes.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
Over an average of 8.8 years, we evaluated 37,309 participants in the Women's Health Study aged >/=45 years who were free of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes and completed validated semiquantitative food frequency questionnaires in 1993.

RESULTS
During 326,876 person-years of follow-up, we documented 1,558 incident cases of type 2 diabetes. After adjusting for age, BMI, total energy intake, exercise, alcohol intake, cigarette smoking, and family history of diabetes, we found positive associations between intakes of red meat and processed meat and risk of type 2 diabetes. Comparing women in the highest quintile with those in the lowest quintile, the multivariate-adjusted relative risks (RRs) of type 2 diabetes were 1.28 for red meat (95% CI 1.07-1.53, P < 0.001 for trend) and 1.23 for processed meat intake (1.05-1.45, P = 0.001 for trend). Furthermore, the significantly increased diabetes risk appeared to be most pronounced for frequent consumption of total processed meat (RR 1.43, 95% CI 1.17-1.75 for >/=5/week vs. <1/month, P < 0.001 for trend) and two major subtypes, which were bacon (1.21, 1.06-1.39 for >/=2/week vs. <1/week, P = 0.004 for trend) and hot dogs (1.28, 1.09-1.50 for >/=2/week vs. <1/week, P = 0.003 for trend). These results remained significant after further adjustment for intakes of dietary fiber, magnesium, glycemic load, and total fat. Intakes of total cholesterol, animal protein, and heme iron were also significantly associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.

CONCLUSIONS
Our data indicate that higher consumption of total red meat, especially various processed meats, may increase risk of developing type 2 diabetes in women.


Indocyanine green (ICG) is the only near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent dye which is approved for medical applications. However, ICG has several drawbacks such as aqueous instability, photodegradation, and low fluorescence quantum yield (2.5% in water), which lead to the limitation on the use of ICG for in vitro and in vivo NIR fluorescence imaging. Free ICG rapidly aggregates in physiological buffer solutions, and its fluorescence diminishes within several days. The objective of this work is to provide an easy method for the enhancement of the stability and fluorescence brightness of ICG in aqueous solutions for NIR fluorescence imaging. Herein, we report that the incorporation of ICG into small calix[4]arene (S4-6) micelles (<5 nm in diameter) significantly improves the aqueous stability and fluorescence brightness of ICG. The fluorescence quantum yields of ICG-calix[4]arene micelles are increased up to ∼6% in aqueous solutions. Using the ICG-calix[4]arene micelles, we achieved non-invasive NIR fluorescence imaging of the liver and lymph system in mice. Furthermore, we achieved NIR fluorescence imaging of nude mice bearing human breast tumors using an ICG conjugated antibody which is incorporated into the calix[4]arene micelles. Preparation of the calix[4]arene micelles including ICG is very easy and the micelle system does not show significant cytotoxicity. The ICG-calix[4]arene micelle system acts as a highly stable and bright probe for in vitro and in vivo NIR fluorescence imaging.


Department of Special Surgery, Division of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science & Technology, Irbid, Jordan Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a leading cause of vision impairment in working-age adults. Patients with DR need extensive follow-ups with timely proper treatment. In Jordan, a complete lockdown was decided during the COVID-19 pandemic including the closure of outpatients' clinic. In this study, we assess the effect of the lockdown on the progression and visual outcome for patients with DR who had interruption in their plan. Methods: Retrospectively, we identified all patients who were scheduled for procedures for the management of diabetic retinopathy (DR) during the COVID-19-related quarantine period in Jordan from March 16th to June 6th, 2020. All demographics and clinical data, procedure information, and visual outcome were collected. Another control group of patients with similar characteristics who were scheduled for procedures related to DR before the COVID-19 pandemic from October 15th to December 31st, 2019 were included. Results: One hundred and thirty-seven eyes planned for procedures from 89 patients were included. The case group comprises 56 eyes (40.9%). The mean age of the patients was 61.4 years. The right eye was involved in 69 procedures (50.4%). The mean change in visual acuity for the case group in the procedure eye was 0.176 in LogMAR (drop of almost 9 LogMAR letters) and the mean change in visual acuity for the control group in the procedure eye was −0.103 LogMAR (gain of about 5 LogMAR letters). Also, the central subfield thickness (CST) values were significantly worse in the case group. Furthermore, patients in the case group had significantly more disease progression (new findings and worsening of the already established findings). Conclusion: Interrupting the important procedures for DR patients and delaying their follow-up may adversely affect their visual outcome. National decisions should consider conducting these procedures and exempt those patients from any lockdown with proper precautions. Moreover, certain measures would be considered, such as treat-and-extend protocol, home screening and portable OCT examination, and newer long-acting antiVEGF drugs.


Assortative Matching between workers and firms provides evidence of the complementarities or substitutes in production. The presence of complementarities is important for policies that aim to achieve the optimal allocation of resources, for example unemployment insurance. We argue that using wage data alone, it is virtually impossible to identify whether Assortative Matching is positive or negative. Even though we cannot identify the sign of the sorting, we can identify the strength , i.e., the magnitude of the cross-partial, and the associated welfare loss. We show first that the wage for a given worker is non-monotonic in the type of his employer. This is due to the fact that in a sorting model, wages reflect the opportunity cost of mismatch. We show analytically that this non-monotonicity prevents standard firm fixed effects to correlate with the true type of the firm. We then propose an alternative procedure that measures the strength of sorting in the presence of search frictions. Knowing the strength of sorting facilitates the measurement of the output loss due to mismatch.


This thesis seeks to explore everyday aspects of time. Traditionally, the psychological study of time has been defined as the processes by which a person adapts to and represents temporal properties in order to synchronise external events. On the other hand, a good understanding
of time is also vital when it comes to occupational and social organisation. How should time be considered across psychology remains an open question. While time perception is an established field in cognitive psychology, previous research has often focussed on either the perception of very short time intervals (milliseconds), or psychobiological effects of celestial time cycles (e.g. sleep/wake cycle or seasonal affective disorder). However, there remain several
other aspects of time that while categorically different are no less important for example, 'mental time travel' or chronesthesia is the ability to mentally project into the future or past. While these phenomena are well acknowledged, it is only in the last few decades that research has started to document other 'higher level' cognitive processes that exist beyond traditional psychophysical constructs. By combining a range of experimental and secondary data analysis methodologies, this thesis examines the relationship between everyday units of time and systematic changes in behaviour across socially derived time cycles (i.e. the calendar week and the working day). It also considers the effects of individual differences on aspects
of interpersonal organisation (e.g. punctuality and watch wearing). The main findings indicate that research into psychological time can and should go beyond minutes and seconds as present-day cognitive models are inadequate when it comes to accounting for everyday time processing errors. In addition, understanding the mechanisms behind higher-level timing processes may only become apparent if the topic makes a concentrated effort to become integrated with day-to-day cognition and behaviour. The results also have several applied implications including practical recommendations for optimising appointment systems in the
National Health Service. Finally, these findings are discussed in relation to the ongoing debate regarding where psychological time research should focus future efforts if it is to maintain its current momentum from a theoretical and applied perspective.


Although the electron-withdrawing effect of gold (Au) is highlighted in catalytic reactions, its enhancement mechanism for electron transport, especially in the electrochemical process, is still unclear. Herein, Au-decorated Bi2 O3 (Au-Bi2 O3 ) is proposed as a proof-of-concept to investigate the electron-withdrawing effect in the electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (eCO2 RR) process. Evidence from in situ Raman spectra and in situ XRD tests reveals that, compared to Bi2 O3 , Bi species in Au-Bi2 O3 can be reduced to metallic Bi more rapidly and more easily driven by the electron-withdrawing effect of Au. The XPS tests after eCO2 RR further validates the transformation from Bi3+ to Bi0 in Au-Bi2 O3 is more complete. Meanwhile, in the in situ Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, the key intermediates (CO2 *- and OCHO*- ) appear at the more positive potential, indicating that metallic Bi is favorable for eCO2 RR due to the lower energy barrier as corroborated by density function theory (DFT) calculations. Au don't directly participate in the conversion from CO2 to formate as the reaction sites, but utilize the electron-withdrawing effect to motivate Bi-sites to deliver higher catalytic activity and higher selectivity to formate at a lower applied potential. This study not only has an insight into the electron-withdrawing effect of Au on the eCO2 RR process, but also develops a new perspective for engineering electron-withdrawing effect in electrocatalysts for high-efficient CO2 -to-formate conversion.


Communication lower bounds have long been established for matrix multiplication algorithms. However, most methods of asymptotic analysis have either ignored the constant factors or not obtained the tightest possible values. Recent work has demonstrated that more careful analysis improves the best known constants for some classical matrix multiplication lower bounds and helps to identify more efficient algorithms that match the leading-order terms in the lower bounds exactly and improve practical performance. The main result of this work is the establishment of memory-independent communication lower bounds with tight constants for parallel matrix multiplication. Our constants improve on previous work in each of three cases that depend on the relative sizes of the aspect ratios of the matrices.


AIM The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of acute and chronic systemic stress response on orthodontically induced root resorption. METHODS Male Wistar rats were restrained during 1 hour a day by stress models of short (3 days) and long duration (40 days), while control group was not submitted to restraint (N.=10/group). The upper left first molars of all rats were moved mesially by a fixed orthodontic appliance exerting 50 g force upon insertion during the last 14 days of the experiment. Then, animals were killed for blood collection and mensuration of plasmatic corticosterone by radioimmunoassay; the tissues around mesial root of the first molar were processed for histological and histochemical techniques with tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase. The degree of root resorption and the number of odontoclasts were evaluated, being the contralateral side of each animal serving as its control (split-mouth design). RESULTS The results revealed that the plasmatic levels of corticosterone were significantly higher in both the stressed groups than in the control one. There were no significant differences in the degree of root resorption and in the number of odontoclasts on the root between the 3 groups studied. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that systemic stress alone can not be considered a risk factor for root resorption induced by orthodontic tooth movement.


Liquid hydrogen (LH2) compared to compressed gaseous hydrogen offers advantages for large-scale transport and storage of hydrogen with higher densities. Although the gas industry has good experience with LH2 only little experience is available for the new applications of LH2 as an energy carrier. Therefore, the European FCH JU funded project PRESLHY conducted pre-normative research for the safe use of cryogenic LH2 in non-industrial settings. The central research consisted of a broad experimental program, combined with analytical work, modelling and simulations belonging to the three key phenomena of the accident chain: release and mixing, ignition and combustion. The presented results improve the general understanding of the behavior of LH2 in accidents and provide some design guidelines and engineering tools for safer use of LH2. Recommendations for improvement of current international standards are derived.


The genetic divergence between populations or accumulated by a single population from an ancestral group can be quantified using different measures. None of them can be considered better than others in all respects. The type of marker(s) or gene(s) analysed, the temporal scale considered and the level of variation are differentially affecting the quality of an index, and standardisation for comparisons across groups of populations or species is important. Some commonly used measures of population differentiation are briefly discussed, and it is argued that these measures or related quantities can be used to estimate crucial evolutionary and demographic parameters such as divergence times and migration rates, and to identify genes affected by natural or artificial selection processes.

Key Concepts:

Several measures of population differentiation can be computed and their comparison may provide useful insights into the evolutionary history of populations.

Fst and related indices are moment estimators that measure the degree of population differentiation.

Fst computed from multi-allelic markers usually under-estimates population differentiation; some alternative indices do not show this behaviour.

Measures of differentiation can be used to define conservation units.

Differentiation measures can be used both to estimate demographic parameters and to detect genomic regions under selection.

The Lewontin–Krakauer and related tests are based on the idea that loci showing particularly high or low values of population differentiation have been shaped by selective processes.

Demographic parameters can be estimated from measures of population differentiation or using likelihood/Bayesian methods.

Keywords:

population structure;
Fst;
genetic distance;
divergence time;
migration;
selection;
genomics


Abstract In variational calculus, the minimality of a given functional under arbitrary deformations with fixed end-points is established through an analysis of the so called second variation. In this paper, the argument is examined in the context of constrained variational calculus, assuming piecewise differentiable extremals, commonly referred to as extremaloids. The approach relies on the existence of a fully covariant representation of the second variation of the action functional, based on a family of local gauge transformations of the original Lagrangian and on a set of scalar attributes of the extremaloid, called the corners' strengths [16]. In dis- cussing the positivity of the second variation, a relevant role is played by the Jacobi fields, defined as infinitesimal generators of 1-parameter groups of diffeomorphisms preserving the extremaloids. Along a piecewise differentiable extremal, these fields are generally discontinuous across the corners. A thorough analysis of this point is presented. An alternative characterization of the Jacobi fields as solutions of a suitable accessory variational problem is established.


This study aimed at describing how the nursing profession in Malta changed between 1964 and 1996 emerging as a profession a result of circumstances and changes within and without. Change appears to have been imposed from outside the profession but Maltese nurses did not react to changes whether it was to their benefit or not. Meanwhile, the cumulative effect of various factors such as demographical changes, educational status and political decisions initiated the process of professionalisation of nursing in Malta. Source materials included archival sources and oral history interviews with twenty four interviewees consisting of nurses and other persons who were influential during the time, including politicians. These were analysed in order to produce a narrative of professionalisation of nursing in Malta. This is the first indepth study on the subject. The chosen period under study begins in 1964, the year Malta gained independence and ends in 1996, the year when the post of Nursing Director was established, thus allowing nurses a relative autonomy. Nurses were initially led by the Sisters of Charity who supervised them. Changes in the demographics of nursing, the type of preparation needed for it and the management system together with political decisions that often followed similar ones taken abroad, affected Maltese nurses. The official opening of the St Luke"s School for Nurses and the introduction of nurse education at tertiary level were significant markers in the process of professionalisation. The thesis presents an insight into how Maltese nurses did not show much eagerness to reach professionalisation but were still propelled towards it by changes occurring extrinsically and then intrinsically. This is perhaps unique since nurses in other countries had nurse leaders who actively worked to reach professionalisation.